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Because religion is so central to the lives and experience of the vast majority of people throughout the world, it figures very prominently in a variety of ways in interhuman relations. Unfortunately, 'religion' often appears to be one of the potent sources of mistrust, discord and strife between and among individuals, groups and cultures. What frequently lies at the root of such suspicion and dissension is general ignorance concerning the religious other, a lack of knowledge about his or her beliefs, aspirations and views of the good and morally honorable life. And even if people have some factual knowledge about other religions, they regularly display little understanding of them and their adherents. Learning both to know and understand people of other faiths and their religions is absolutely requisite to the realization of paradigms of coherent and intelligent 'convivance,' that is, living together in sensible, peaceable and cooperative harmony. An effective agency for fostering such knowledge and understanding is the discipline of theology of religions, which examines how religions have and ought to view other religions. And it is particularly the practice of comparative theology of religions which bears the most promise in this regard. The present symposium consists of precisely this kind of comparative exercise and may be viewed as an important contribution to the development of a new project which endeavors to enlarge the horizon and broaden the focus and reflection of theology of religions as that has been gradually developed during the last few decades, a new enterprise, in other words, which seeks to universalize and mutualize theology-of-religions discourse. One of the important things this volume shows is that the views religions have of other religions differ from one another in very substantial ways, which is explained by the fact that they derive from diverging paradigms of faith, belief and ritual and specific cultural and social contexts. This textbook demonstrates how strongly different Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto and Confucian views are from those of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, which latter in turn also exhibit considerable differences among themselves. These differences are greater than people immersed in their own cultures often realize or expect. It is becoming ever more clear that ignorance of or disinclination to acknowledge or refusal to accept these real differences constitute major root causes of serious conflicts in the world. The essays in this book, written by representatives of the major world religions, offer descriptive and/or prescriptive appraisals of other religions in general or one other religion in particular from the perspective of the religion of the author concerned. It is hoped that this unique exercise in intercultural theology of religions will generate insights and new forms of understanding which can be used by religious leaders and other educators to help correct the disposition toward religious haughtiness, insularity and communalism and the dangerous leanings toward interreligious suspicion, antipathy and animosity which are all too often evident in our contemporary societies

Religion and politics have depended on and influenced one another since the origins of what we know as Latin America. Their relation is both mutual and multifaceted; mutual because religion and politics have evolved together over the years, taking material and symbolic support from one another, and multifaceted because it embraces interinstitutional conflict and accommodation (e.g., the "church-state" relations which dominated earlier scholarship) as well as more subtle and elusive exchanges whereby religious and political orders gave legitimacy and moral authority to one another. In this process, religious notions of hierarchy, authority, and obedience reflected and reinforced the pattern of existing social and political arrangements to such an extent that the two orders often seemed indistinguishable.

In einer Notiz aus dem Jahr 1921 versuchte Walter Benjamin Kapitalismus "als" Religion zu bestimmen, eine These, die der Autor des vorliegenden Aufsatzes religionsphilosophisch und kapitalismustheoretisch überprüft. Benjamin definiert den Kapitalismus als eine reine Kultreligion, also ohne Dogma und Theologie. Dies hindert ihn nicht, ihm eine exponierte Eschatologie zuzuschreiben. Mit Blick auf den protestantischen Fundamentalismus wird deutlich, daß kapitalistisches Erwerbshandeln nicht nur "gottgefällig" ist, sondern geradezu theologischen Maximen folgt. Der Kern dieser Maximen nähert sich dem, was Marx als Kulturfetisch - also unter einem religiösen Terminus - analysiert hat. Diese religiöse Aufladung kapitalistischen Handelns verstärkt sich, so das Resümee, wenn die objektive Wertlehre unter Bedeutungsschwund steht und subjektive Wertlehren bzw. instrumentalistische Selbstdeutungen der Ökonomie sich durchsetzen. Der Aufsatz schließt mit Bemerkungen zur religionsgenerierenden Struktur des Kapitalismus und der Erläuterung einiger "Paradoxien". (prn)

The relationship between populism and religion is complex because populists hijack religion but are often more interested in belonging than believing. This is one reason why there is a growing distance between populists and many leaders of mainline churches. To understand this complex field, we have to take social crises seriously and see how a static religion is, according to Henri Bergson, the first response to the precariousness of human life. This type of religion has led to closed societies leaning toward pseudospeciation and parochial altruism. Bergson, however, did not only describe static religion but also recognized dynamic religion leading to an open society. Jesus Christs Sermon on the Mount, with its call to love ones enemy, is his key example. By going beyond Bergson, we can recognize dynamic religion as the mystic core of all world religions. Dynamic religion enables a universal fraternity, which is an essential element of every democracy in overcoming its populist temptations by respecting, internally, the rights of minorities and, externally, the universal human rights. Three examples from different religious backgrounds show how dynamic religion supports democracy through fraternity: the fraternal tradition in modern Catholicism, the Muslim philosopher S.B. Diagne and the Hindu M.K. Gandhi. ; (VLID)5254209 ; Version of record

Der Autor geht davon aus, daß die therapeutische Praxis einer der Berührungspunkte zwischen Spiritualität und Heilung ist, und daß sich hieraus ein positiver Schritt in Richtung auf eine afrikanische Theologiebildung ergeben könnte, die zum Aufbau der modernen Gesellschaft beiträgt. Im ersten Teil behandelt er den Glauben als eine Dimension der Religion eines Volkes und des Individuums. Der Glaube beeinflußt die Psychologie, die Soziologie, die Ökonomie, die Religion und die Politik eines ganzen Volkes. Im zweiten Teil werden bestimmte therapeutische Elemente der Religion der Propheten und der unabhängigen Kirchen herausgearbeitet. Aus dieser religiösen Praxis läßt sich das ganze Bewußtsein einer Seelsorge und einer Theologie des Lebens ableiten. Abschließend analysiert der Autor die Spiritualität und die symbolische Wirkkraft des Ahnenkults. (BG)

"Heinrich Meier hat die instruktive Vortragsreihe auf Fragen der politischen Spannungen zwischen Religion und Politik zu-gespitzt. Das Programm verrät einen durch '9/ 11' geschärften Blick auf das den Weltreligionen innewohnende Gewaltpotential. Schon aus Gründen meiner fachlichen Beschränkung möchte ich den Blick auf uns selber lenken. Und statt des Brotes nahrhafter historischer Darstellungen biete ich nur die Steine trockener konzeptueller Überlegungen an. Aus der Sicht der zeitgenössischen politischen Theorie werde ich zunächst einige Stichworte zu den immer noch strittigen liberalen Vor-stellungen von der Rolle der Religionsgemeinschaften im demokratischen Rechtsstaat sammeln (I) und dann, freilich nur in Thesenform, daran erinnern, wie die westliche Philosophie, die heute als selbstbewußter Interpret und Anwalt der politischen Aufklärung auftritt, selber in diese spezifisch westliche Konstellation verwickelt ist (II)." (Autorenreferat)

Introducing Chinese Religions is the ideal starting point for students exploring the fascinating religious traditions of China. This introduction covers the whole spectrum of Chinese religious history, from the multi-faceted religious heritage of pre-modern China, to the practice of different religions in China today, as well as the spread and influence of Chinese religions throughout the world. Mario Poceski, an experienced teacher of Chinese religions, explores the three main traditions of Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism, as well as the development of Western and popular religions in the region, such as Christianity and Islam. The book introduces students to the richness and diversity of Chinese religious life, pointing out mutual influences and intersections of the religions of the region, and how they interact with other elements of Chinese culture and society, including politics, literature and art. Illustrated throughout, the book also includes text boxes, summary charts, a glossary and a list of further reading to aid students` understanding and revision. The accompanying website for this book can be found at www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415434065.

1. Religion and identity : theoretical considerations -- 2. Bosnian, Croatian, and Slovenian Catholicisms in contemporary Europe -- 3. Bosnian, Croatian, and Slovenian Catholicisms : narratives, legacies, and collective identities -- 4. Collectivistic Christianities in the European context.

Das Verhältnis von Religion und Medien ist eines der zentralen Probleme der Religionsgeschichte. Wie schon in früheren Zeiten, aber vermehrt im beginnenden 21. Jahrhundert wird der gesellschaftliche Diskurs über Religion insgesamt durch Massenmedien geprägt und gestaltet. Der Band versammelt Sondierungen von Religionswissenschaftlerinnen und Religionswissenschaftlern in diesem innovativen Forschungsfeld anlässlich einer Tagung der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Religionswissenschaft im Jahr 2009. Die untersuchten Medien reichen vom Geld über Printmedien und Kleidung bis hin zu Comics und Internet. Eingeleitet werden die Studien durch theoretische Überlegungen zur Beziehung zwischen Religion, Gesellschaft und medialen Kommunikationsstrukturen.