The editorial presents the conference "Religion and Politics" arranged by the Centre for the Study of Christian Cultures at the University of Turku in November 2018. Articles 3-7 of the current issue are based on papers presented at the conference.
The editorial presents the conference "Religion and Politics" arranged by the Centre for the Study of Christian Cultures at the University of Turku in November 2018. Articles 3-7 of the current issue are based on papers presented at the conference. ; publishedVersion ; Peer reviewed
When talking about the relationship between Christianity and politics two things are certain: there will be a split on whether or not people believe the two should have a relationship at all, and that at some point the conversation will focus on the perceived success or failure of the Moral Majority. Founded by Jerry Falwell and Paul Weyrich in 1979 to give a voice to Christian conservatives, the Moral Majority quickly became the most prominent Evangelical political lobbying group in the country and managed to achieve a level of influence that eluded many of the other Evangelical groups that were founded for similar reasons. Due to its success and rise to power, the Moral Majority became a listing rod for those opposed to the belief that Christian principles should be legislated and the group also sparked the conversation within Evangelical circles throughout the country about the proper role that Christianity should play in the secular world. By taking a closer look at the leaders of the Moral Majority, how the group was organized, the theological foundations that inspired their active participation in politics, the continuing effect that the group had on both Christianity and politics, and conclusion of all those questions posed about the organization can finally be achieved.
"Annual sermon preached before the Baptist Missionary and Publication Societies at San Francisco, May 28, 1899." ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Mode of access: Internet.
Este artículo propone objetivar el paradigma de la teología de la liberación (TL), como fenómeno sociopolítico contemporáneo característico de la relación entre la religión (en ese caso el cristianismo) y la política, en América latina. Aquí, el planteamiento central consiste en sostener que la TL constituyó un sistema propio, el cual tiene aún hoy presencia e impacto social. Ese sistema debe ser entendido en la singularidad de sus lógicas sociales e ideológicas. Su análisis no puede ser reducido a intereses teóricos y modelos externos, ni someterse a los propios mitos de los actores. En primer lugar, se define la pertinencia de la aplicación de la noción de paradigma a la teología de la liberación y se reconstruye su genealogía dentro del catolicismo contemporáneo, así como el contexto social, político e ideológico del cual surgió. En segundo lugar, se delimita el modelo paradigmático de la TL, diferenciado de su genealogía y de su entorno, para identificar sus evoluciones sucesivas y diversas expresiones hasta la actualidad. ; This article proposes to objectify the liberation theology (LT) paradigm, as a contemporary social-political phenomenon of the relationship between religion (in this case, Christianity) and politics in Latin America. The core statement alleges that LT built its own system, which has still presence and social impact. Such system is to be understood in the singularity of its social and ideological logics. The analysis of it cannot be reduced to theoretical interests and external models without submitting to the actors' own myths. First, the relevance of applying the paradigm notion to the liberation theology is defined and its genealogy is rebuilt within the contemporary Catholicism, as well as the social, political, and ideological context from which it arose. Then, the LT paradigmatic model is determined, differentiated from its genealogy and environment, in order to identify its successive evolutions and various expressions up to the present.
The political practice is at the core of the personal and ecclesial Christian experience. This dynamic has as its absolute the historical faith in JESUS within the execution of popular sovereignty building common good, the separation between Church and State, the prevalence of ethics and law, the realization of the preference option by poor people, the constitution of an authority and the obtaining of minimum political consensus at local, national and international level. The theological ethical background of all this issue from the bible, the ecclesial tradition and the commitment of contemporary Christian community, is the goal of this article. ; La praxis política es parte constitutiva y esencial de la vivencia cristiana tanto personal como eclesial. Esta dinámica se distingue por tener como absoluto la experiencia histórica de JESÚS en el ejercicio de la soberanía popular (la cual busca la construcción del bien común), la separación entre la Iglesia y el Estado, la prevalecía de la ética y el derecho, la realización de la opción preferencial por los pobres y la constitución de una autoridad y de consensos políticos mínimos a nivel local, nacional e internacional. Cual sea el fundamento ético teológico de todo este devenir desde el hecho bíblico, la tradición eclesial y el compromiso de la comunidad cristiana contemporánea, conforma el objetivo de este artículo.
My senior project is about the connections between religion and politics with a focus on Christianity and the Oregon Legislature. My study includes interviews with various Oregon Politicians, both Republicans and Democrats. Interviews were conducted at the State Capitol and included the use of a short questionnaire. The goal of this study is to identify how religion has influenced various political decisions with a focus on the development of legislation.
Christian organizations in the United States take positions in favor of or against progressive efforts to address poverty primarily based on theological considerations. In order to support governmental programs and regulations such as welfare, comprehensive health care and higher minimum wages, they must believe that structural changes, rather than an increase in religious faith, will likely solve intergenerational poverty. However, religious organizations effectively lobby in favor of such efforts primarily in their capacity as providers of charity and health care services to the poor. Because opinion within most denominations on poverty is divided, there are competing theological interpretations which weaken the standing of denominational leaderships and lobbyists to speak for their traditions when they use religious rhetoric. Some conservative evangelical organizations have slowly come to accept governmental programs because of the long-term interests of their charitable agencies. I argue that the Catholic Church lobbies more effectively than mainline Protestant denominations in favor of governmental programs because of its larger charitable agencies. This is despite the fact that the Catholic Bishops occasionally oppose governmental programs, such as Democratic comprehensive health care reform proposals, because of the possibility that they may fund abortions. Though opposition to abortion is a theological priority for the Catholic Church, the bishops remain close to the Democrats on economic issues despite increasing political polarization. I argue that minimum wage policy has provided an opportunity for Catholic, mainline Protestant, black Protestant and progressive evangelical congregations to come together on a relatively simple and popular policy issue where change can and must occur at the local and state level. My primary methods are examinations of media accounts and congressional committee hearing transcripts.
My dissertation, The Cultural Politics of Evangelical Christianity in the Dominican Republic, is broadly concerned with questions of religion, identity and culture. Through ethnography, I explore the dynamic intersections of religious identity, culture and morality as they are lived in the context of urban poverty. Based on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork in Villa Altagracia, Dominican Republic, my dissertation examines the lives of Pentecostal community members and the ways in which they negotiate identity, status and power in the context of religious heterodoxy and Catholic cultural supremacy. My dissertation contributes new insight into the dynamics of religious heterodoxy and pluralism, religion as strategic identity, and Pentecostalism as an important social and cultural institution at the local level. Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religious denomination in the Dominican Republic. This dissertation is concerned with the social and cultural effects of this growth at the local level and the ways in which Dominicans put their faith to work in their everyday lives. Pentecostalism in the Dominican Republic, because it is an entrenched feature of barrio life, features prominently in everyday negotiations of identity, status, and power. As such, Pentecostalism is an important vector in identity politics at the local level as well as social process and communion throughout the country. In the first chapter of this dissertation I explore exchange in the religious field and the relationship between Catholicism, Dominican vodú, and Pentecostal Christianity in the barrio and show how meaning is both shared and contested at the local level. In the second chapter I outline a politics of distinction at the center of local Pentecostal practice and show how Evangelical identity enables converts to transcend hierarchies of stigmatizing difference. In the third chapter I explore the relationship between the church and youth gangs. I explain the simultaneous popularity of both institutions for young men and conclude that both offer residents popular alternative spaces for critical agency and oppositional culture. In the last chapter I locate Pentecostalism within the context of Dominican ideas about masculinity, fidelity, and morality and explain how believers use Christian identity to claim respect in their communities
The noise is deafening, the scurry confusing. The ''public square,'' far from being ''naked,'' is teeming with activity, much of it explicitly Christian. Christian groups in America today can no longer be accused of ignoring public life and spurning politics. The problem is no longer neglect, as it once might have been, but disagreement, dissension, and bewilderment. A growing number of Christians in America now believe that their faith must shape public life. But many are not sure how. The cacophony of voices complicates the problem. Sincere Christians, claiming the Bible for infallible support, often come down on opposite sides of such contemporary issues as abortion, creationism in the classroom, prayer in public schools, and Latin American politics. Moreover, their theoretical views of the relationship between Christianity and public life often differ sharply from each other. While Christian activists debate each other, def end their own positions, and recruit new members to their organizations, many faithful members of local churches stand on the sidewalks of the public square, listen to the debate, and wonder whom they can trust and what they should believe. The proper relationship between religion and public life has become enormously complex in modern American society.