Suchergebnisse

At the first glance, the comparison of Jews and Russians in the Russian economical mythology suggests that in the early period (11th through 16th centuries), religion set a framework for their antinomy, whereas later (17th through 19th centuries), the role of religion was gradually reduced to mere form, filled up with economical substance. However, the picture gets more complicated if we take into account that even at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was still governed (and for the most part populated) by superstitious people, largely uninterested in economy. Although the form of the Russian nationalism (including anti-Semitism) was progressively adjusted to the Western patterns of economical mythology, its substance retained that symbiotic totality of religious and economical imagination, which was compatible with both Russian monarchy and Soviet socialism.

Examines HIV/AIDS awareness, behavior change, prevention efforts, living with HIV, media, public opinion, religion, morality, research, policy-making, and other issues, in context of very high and increasing rates of HIV infection; 7 articles and an annotated bibliography. Partial contents: From awareness to behavioural change: challenges in HIV/AIDS control in Southern Africa/Namibia, by Michael Rabbow; "We sat there half the day asking questions, but they were unable to tell where AIDS comes from...": local interpretations of AIDS in Botswana, by Georgia A. Rakelmann; "Living positHIVely in Tanzania": the global dynamics of AIDS and the meaning of religion for international and local AIDS work, by Hansjörg Dilger; Media reception and public discourse on the AIDS epidemic in Namibia, by Matthias Rompel; AIDS, morality and indigenous concepts of sexually transmitted diseases in Southern Africa, by Angelika Wolf.

Las discusiones sobre el género en historia, lenguaje, literatura, artes, educación, medios de comunicación, política, psicología, religión, medicina y ciencia, sociedad, derecho y lugar de trabajo se han conver- tido en temas centrales del saber feminista contemporáneo. A medida que la investigación sobre el género prolifera, lo hace también la tendencia a suponer que el significado del género no es problemático . Sin embargo, diferentes estudiosas y estudiosos emplean el género de ma- neras notablemente diferentes. ; Discussions of gender in history, language, literature, the arts, education, the media, politics, psychology, religion, medicine and science, society, law, and the workplace have become central to contemporary feminist scholarship. As research on gender proliferates, so does the tendency to assume that the meaning of gender is unproblematic. However, different scholars employ gender in markedly different ways.

Das Thema - die katholische Kirche in der sich transformierenden tschechischen Gesellschaft - kann von verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten aus aufgefasst werden. Ich trete an dieses Thema vom Standpunkt der politischen Wissenschaft heran, also bei Anwendung sozialwissenschaftlicher Methoden. Dies hebe ich deshalb hervor, um gewissen Missverständnissen vorzubeugen, von denen (nicht nur bei uns) die politologischen und soziologischen Auffassungen der Religion von Zeit zu Zeit begleitet werden. Ich erinnere also, dass die Sozialwissenschaften nicht alle Dimensionen und Funktionen der Kirchen erfassen können, sondern sie können sich nur mit einigen ihren Aspekten befassen, zum Beispiel mit der Kirche als einer Institution, ihren Interaktionen zu anderen Institutionen des gesellschaftlichen Systems und ähnlich. Wir können uns individuell auch der anderen Dimensionen des religiösen und kirchlichen Lebens bewusst werden, aber im Rahmen einzelner wissenschaftlicher Disziplinen müssen wir von ihnen gewissermaßen absehen, weil es nicht möglich ist, sie durch zuständiges wissenschaftliches Instrumentarium zu operationalisieren. (Fiala 1995). Das festgelegte Thema versuche ich in drei Problemkreisen zu behandeln. Erstens (1.) werde ich mich der inneren Entwicklung der katholischen Kirche nach November 1989 widmen, zweitens (2.) der Beziehung der Kirche zum Staat und zur Politik überhaupt und drittens (3.) dann der tschechischen Kirche als einem Bestandteil der Zivilgesellschaft. ; Das Thema - die katholische Kirche in der sich transformierenden tschechischen Gesellschaft - kann von verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten aus aufgefasst werden. Ich trete an dieses Thema vom Standpunkt der politischen Wissenschaft heran, also bei Anwendung sozialwissenschaftlicher Methoden. Dies hebe ich deshalb hervor, um gewissen Missverständnissen vorzubeugen, von denen (nicht nur bei uns) die politologischen und soziologischen Auffassungen der Religion von Zeit zu Zeit begleitet werden. Ich erinnere also, dass die Sozialwissenschaften nicht alle ...

Citing the UN's designation of the year 2001 as a year for promoting dialogue between civilizations & the present-day proliferation of globalization literature, a reexamination of Samuel Huntington's (eg, 1993) "clash of civilizations" thesis is presented. It is contended that Huntington's hypothesis has denigrated Third World nations' role in causing change & encouraging dialogue in international institutions. Moreover, Huntington's assertion that competing religious perspectives will be responsible for combat between civilizations is challenged. An alternative perspective, identified as "civilizational parallelism," that perceives cultural & religious differences as nonthreatening to various civilizations is advocated. It is noted that several prominent world religions have presently advanced platforms for increased interreligious dialogue; however, it is acknowledged that interreligious dialogue is merely a part of the larger global dialogue. The need for current theological leaders to recognize similarities between religions is articulated. J. W. Parker

The Weberian explanation for why capitalism emerged in the West & nowhere else is examined, focusing on Max Weber's emphasis on the relationship between social stratification & religion. It is held, however, that Weber's ideas went beyond his explanation of the Protestant ethic to include elements that illuminate the notions of rational thinking & rational socioeconomic behavior. Weber tried to explain the lack of capitalism in the Arab world by comparing the philosophies behind major religions. It is argued that the Arab monetary economy collapsed in the latter part of the 10th century, which is what actually prevented capitalism from developing there. The notion that the Arab Mashreq was ready to embrace capitalism in the 10th century is considered, & it is acknowledged that Weber identified the most salient factors in the Arabic monetary stagnation, patrimonialism & sultanism. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractFor the past twenty years, the organized black consciousness movement in Brazil has argued that Protestant Christianity is a highly assimilationist religion that pushes black converts to abandon their racial identity and seek incorporation into dominant white culture. The present study, based on a year of ethnographic fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro, challenges this view. By analyzing how Pentecostal churches address the issues of appearance, color, courtship, and womanhood, this research note argues that although evangelical Christianity involves a variety of beliefs that are incompatible with a strong ethnic identity, this religion also includes a range of ideas and practices that nourish rather than corrode black identity. The essay concludes by exploring the historic potential of several churches that have made the intersection of faith and race an explicit part of their agenda.

This study addresses the meaning of marriage in the first year through themes in joint narratives told by 343 African American and White urban newlyweds in first marriages. Controlling for spouses' education, household income, years lived together prior to marriage, premarital parental status, and length of narrative in logistic regression analysis, the authors found no significant differences between African American and White newlyweds on children, education, family, finances and time themes. They found significant differences between the couples on achievement, couple relations, religion, and work themes. White newlyweds were more likely to report achievement and work themes; African-American newlyweds were more likely to report themes of couple relations and religion. The authors discuss these results in terms of the different and similar meanings of African American and White marriages as well as implications for family practice.

Analyses of 1991 survey data (N = approximately 2,500 respondents) indicate that two main factors explained differences in public opinion about abortion between East & West Germany: (1) The social composition of the two societies, with secularization & high levels of women's employment producing more support for abortion in East Germany. (2) The significant factors explaining abortion opinion, social characteristics & religion, differed in 1991. For East Germans, women's employment played a significant role in determining abortion opinion, while religious denomination did not. In contrast, West Germans were largely unaffected by women's employment status, although the factors that determined abortion attitudes differed by sex. A replication of the analysis with 1996 data indicates the growing importance of religion in the East. However, women's employment continues to be insignificant in explaining abortion attitudes in West Germany. 4 Tables, 2 Figures, 38 References. Adapted from the source document.

L'auteur développe une analyse de la matrice idéologique de l'islamisme à partir des discours des fondateurs du FIS algérien et met en évidence tant leurs filiations intellectuelles dans certains courants de la religion musulmane que leurs liens internationaux. Il décrit les différentes phases de la montée en puissance de l'islamisme en Algérie et tout en reconnaissant dans ce processus la responsabilité de l'État-FLN, il nie que celui-ci puisse en être le géniteur idéologique.
En refusant dépenser une rupture entre autorité spirituelle et pouvoir politique, c'est l'hégémonie sur toute la société, puis sur le monde qui est en réalité envisagée par les islamistes. La conformité du religieux à la religion et de ces deux entités au pouvoir est au mieux une imposture et au pire un crime.
En Algérie aujourd'hui, c'est provisoirement le pire qui se commet.

If Islam is to be studied anthropologically, then it must be considered a distinctive historical totality that organizes various aspects of social life, rather than a heterogeneous collection of objects designated as Islam by various people. Ernest Gellner's (1981) attempt at conceptualizing Islam as a totality is shown to rely on non-Islamic conceptions of religion & politics. Gellner's account is also present as a dramatic struggle, with each character, eg, rural tribe or urban merchant, playing its part. This schematic description of social behavior leaves no room for the idiosyncratic gesture. Gellner's dramaturgical presentation of Islam also excludes those who do not appear to act, eg, women & peasants. It is concluded that any conceptualization of the Islamic religion that does not account for historical tradition as an organizing narrative will fail to understand Islam. 42 References. H. von Rautenfeld

Compares Athenian (Greece), US, & French democracies on three grounds: persistence of tradition, treatment of religion & property, & adherence to federalism. Both Athenian & US democracies were formed over two centuries of change, while the French model resulted from a short ten-year struggle. Freedom of religion was preserved in the Athenian & US models, but the Jacobins destroyed it in France. The free market largely ruled in the US & Athens, but confiscation & redistribution of property were the central economic policies of revolutionary France. Under federalism, Athens & the US profited from decentralization, but France carried the burden of a centralized government. Although free of the burdens of centralization evident in France, today the US faces a crisis between the will of the majority & the elites who turn their backs on the key elements of a functioning democracy by subverting the will of the majority. J. Cowie

This article addresses democratic construction in Islamic societies throughout the Algerian experience. Its main conclusions can be summarized as follows. First, in all Muslim societies, there exists an Islamicist utopia that stands as an obstacle not only to democracy but also to political modernity. Until now, this utopia has been contained only by repression that finally impedes the democratization. Second, Islam presents itself as a public religion that participates in the legitimization of political power. The democratic ideology, however, is compatible with religion to the extent that it is lived as a private concern. Finally, the Islamicist utopia and the public aspect of Islam aim at maintaining society's communal structures. They refuse to make the singularity of the political arena independent and reject differentiation through politics within a society that claims to be fraternal.

Communism in the Soviet Union has long served officially as religion's surrogate. It has offered an organized and compelling belief system with which to rationalize the misfortunes of the past, establish codes of behavior to manage the present, and conceptualize the future. Although communist theory categorically rejects religion, it actively promotes, and is itself predicated on, institutions of "faith" in the abstract sense. The herculean industrialization and literacy campaigns of the early decades of Soviet rule that forever transformed the USSR's largely illiterate, agricultural society vividly illustrate the power and popular legitimacy of communist institutions of "faith" such as the Party and the Komsomol. Trusting that earthly sacrifice will bring future rewards has been as much the basis of Soviet communism as it has been of the Abrahamic tradition of religion addressed in this issue.