Artisans, Athletes, Entrepreneurs, and Other Skilled Exemplars of the Way

We introduce management and spirituality scholars to the “knack” passages from the c. 4th century B.C.E. text, the Zhuangzi. The knack passages are parables about low status figures, such as wheelwrights, furniture makers and cooks, whose actions offer insights into the spirituality of ordinary work and, we argue, of entrepreneurship. Such non-corporate settings are lesser-studied domains for spirituality. Ancient Chinese writings have been noticed by spirituality and management writers but we call for deeper scholarly textual attention. We seek also to model more attention to the renaissance in scholarship on classical China. More ambitiously, we hope to show that these passages are not only germane but worthy of careful consideration. Our efforts reflect the influence of Slingerland\u27s (2003) study of “effortless action” as a central soteriological goal in ancient China

We have always been transreligious: An introduction to transreligiosity

The paper is a proposition and exploration of the term ‘transreligiosity’. We argue that transreligiosity is more apt to describe the transgressive character of religiosity, focusing more particularly on the transversality of spaces, symbolic or otherwise, which are created in religious phenomena. We examine the porosity of religious boundaries and, ultimately, propose the term transreligiosity to embrace them, placing emphasis on their transreligious character, while perceiving them as a pivotal fragment of transreligiosity. We take some of Latour’s key concepts on ‘purification’, to argue for the ultimate impossibility of it in the sphere of religiosity. While processes of purification have been powerful through efforts to institutionalize and centralize religiosity, on a vernacular level, this has had a contrary effect. Religious subjects have been distanced from a more direct participation (‘mediation’). Hence, they are constantly creating transreligious instances in order to abolish and transgress those rigid borders.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A Practical Theological Exploration of Christian Evangelism in Relation to Contemporary Christian-Buddhist Dialogue in the U.S.A.

This dissertation, informed and shaped by Christian-Buddhist encounter and dialogue in the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century, seeks to contribute to a reconstruction of the theology and practice of Christian evangelism as a form of contemplative spiritual guidance. By examining qualitative data from a study of the interreligious experiences of Christian-Buddhist practitioners and spiritual seekers, and by placing that data in conversation with several current theologies of evangelism, this project in practical theology explores how the theology and practice of evangelism can be enhanced by a deeper responsiveness to religious pluralism in general, and Christian-Buddhist engagement in particular. The dissertation recommends a practical theology of evangelism in correlation with Christian-Buddhist dialogue; engagement in interreligious dialogue as a virtuous Christian practice; recovery and renewal of contemplative spirituality as a source of evangelism; and transformation of evangelism as contemplative spiritual guidance. By providing empirical data from in-depth interviews and participant observation, and by analyzing texts from the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches, this study advances current theological debate while seeking to move beyond the standard threefold typology used by theologians to construct a theology of inter-religious engagement: exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. The dissertation concludes that exclusivists too often disregard the lived experiences of interreligious practitioners and fail to address important practical theological questions that surface in the relations between interreligious dialogue and Christian evangelism. Conversely, emerging proposals to adopt a pluralist approach toward other religions and to construe evangelism as merely “interreligious dialogue” is inadequate to the invitational aims of evangelistic practice. The analysis of selected theological texts reveals creative tension between interreligious dialogue and evangelizing mission. While such tension causes confusion and suspicion from inside and outside of the church, it is also indicative of the possibility of mutual enrichment and transformation through a reflexive relationship. Qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with ten Christian-Buddhist practitioners and spiritual seekers, along with participant observation at a Christian-Buddhist retreat center reveals a profound spiritual hunger for experiencing God, who is both transcendental and immanent, and the inadequacy of propositional presentations of the Gospel in a postmodern and religiously plural context

En etnografisk analys av dubbla identifikationer och vardagsreligiositet

Artikeln undersöker hur frågor om finlandssvenskhet och judiskhet kopplas samman, kontrasteras och diskuteras i intervjuer med personer som – på skiftande vis – identifierar sig med bägge identitetsmarkörer. Artikeln söker svara på frågan hur det svenska i Finland uppfattas av intervjupersonerna: rymmer detta också det judiska och känner de sig hemma i den föreställda finlandssvenskheten? Med vardagsreligiositet (vernacular religion) som analytisk ram söker artikeln belysa de svåra val som uppkommer i vardagen för personer som vill leva judiskt på svenska i Finland idag, samt lyfter fram hur finlandssvenska kulturtraditioner värnas och förs vidare i judisk tappning i dagens Finland

World Christianity

World Christianity publications proliferate but the issue of methodology has received little attention. World Christianity: Methodological Considerations addresses this lacuna and explores the methodological ramifications of the World Christianity turn. In twelve chapters scholars from various academic backgrounds (anthropology, religious studies, history, missiology, intercultural studies, theology, and patristics) as well as of multiple cultural and national belongings investigate methodological issues (e.g. methods, use of sources, choosing a unit of analysis, terminology, conceptual categories,) relevant to World Christianity debates. In a closing chapter the editors Frederiks and Nagy converge the findings and sketch the outlines of what they coin as a ‘World Christianity approach’, a multidisciplinary and multiple perspective approach to study Christianity/ies’ plurality and diversity in past and present. Readership: All interested in the study of Christianity worldwide as well as scholars from religious studies, theology, history, or anthropology, concerned with methodology

Dynamics of Religion

RGVV(History of Religion: Essays and Preliminary Studies) brings together the mutually constitutive aspects of the study of religion(s)—contextualized data, theory, and disciplinary positioning—and engages them from a critical historical perspective. The series publishes monographs and thematically focused edited volumes on specific topics and cases as well as comparative work across historical periods from the ancient world to the modern era

An analysis of the interaction between zazen and meditation in the Catholic tradition

Different forms of Buddhism have migrated to Great Britain and there is a great deal of curiosity about them. Catholics, not just in Great Britain but throughout much of the English-speaking world, have shown much interest, particularly since the second Vatican Council. Zazen, a form of meditation that is practised in Zen Buddhism, is of interest to a growing number of Christians. As a non-Christian practice, however, is zazen in harmony with Catholic teaching as set out in magisterial documents? The thesis addresses two key questions: (1) To what extent is Zen Buddhist spirituality compatible with Catholic thought and tradition? (2) To what extent do magisterial documents enable a Catholic to participate in the meditation methods of a non-Christian belief system, in this case, Zen Buddhism? The thesis responds to these two questions by reflection on scholarly literature, the study of magisterial documents and the conducting of a series of one-to-one interviews with both Christians and Zen Buddhists. I had originally intended to carry out these interviews in person but the beginning of this stage of my research coincided with the onset, and subsequent spread, of the coronavirus outbreak. The interviews were, therefore, conducted instead through on-line conference platforms such as Zoom. At the heart of this thesis is a theological analysis of three issues of contemporary interest. These are 1) the nature of jukai and its overlap with Catholic sacraments of initiation 2) Zen Buddhist-Catholic interreligious relationships: dialogue and dual belonging, and 3) Contemplative prayer vis á vis zazen. The research is original and not only addresses a subject that is of current interest but does so in a way that distils complex theological issues into a topic of relevance to all those interested in the relationship of Catholics and non-Christian prayer

The Diversity Of Worldviews Among Young Adults

This open access volume features a data-rich portrait of what young adults think about the world. It collects the views of students in higher education from various cultural regions, religious traditions, linguistic groups, and political systems. This will help readers better understand a generation that will soon rise to power and influence. The analysis focuses on 12 countries. These include Canada, China, Finland, Ghana, India, Israel, Peru, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, and the USA. It employs a mixed-methods approach, invested in the study of an individual's views and values using state-of-the-art methodology, including the innovative Faith Q-sort. This instrument is new to the field and developed for assessing the entanglement of subjective views and personal beliefs. The study also incorporates a comprehensive values survey as well as other survey tools that look into people's social capital, media use, social values alignment, and subjective well-being. Each chapter is co-authored by an international team of scholars with research interest in the particular topic. The rationale for this principle is the need to engage individuals from different cultural backgrounds, scholarly disciplines, and methodological and substantive competences. In the end, this innovative approach presents an informed, empirically grounded analysis of the values and worldviews of the future generation. It sheds an important light on how changes in the religious landscape are intertwined with broad and diffuse processes of socio-economic and global cultural change. ; Presents a multidisciplinary exploration of the values and worldviews of a generation that is soon going to rise to power and influence Features a unique mixed-methods approach to the study of religions, worldviews, and values Details a collaborative effort by an international team of scholars from different cultural and academic backgrounds to study a complex and shifting topi

Relate North : Culture, Community and Communication

This anthology contains contributions from Canada, England, Finland, Norway, Russia and Scotland. The interrelated themes of ‘culture’, ‘community’ and ‘communication’ formed the basis of the call that was issued to researchers, artists and designers. Drawing on projects and studies from northern countries, Relate North: Culture, Community and Communication explores contemporary practices in arts-based research and knowledge exchange in the fields of art and design. The chapters and visual essays in the book interpret the terms ‘arts’ and ‘design’ broadly to include, for example, crafts, indigenous making, media and product design. Aspects of culture and community are explored through the lens of contemporary arts and design. The contributing authors provide thought-provoking accounts of current practice in art, design and education. Relate North brings together the work of leading scholars to explore issues of contemporary art, design, and arts-based research. The book will be of interest to a wide audience including, for example, practice-based researchers, artists, designers, anthropologists, geographers and social scientists in addition to those with a general interest in Northern and Arctic issues.publishedVersio

Relate North : Culture, Community and Communication

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