Suchergebnisse

Preface: A universe and an origami – Conducting an interdisciplinary work -- Introduction -- Methodology -- Chapter 1. Forgiveness -- Chapter 2. Reconciliation -- Chapter 3. Memory -- Chapter 4. Peacebuilding roles of religious leaders -- Chapter 5. The square of religious influence – an integrative model for understanding religion, conflicts, and peacebuilding.

This article discusses the different roles of religious leaders in peacebuilding processes, and their specific understanding of peace. It is based on analysis of 75 in-depth interviews with Catholic, Orthodox, and Muslim religious leaders from Bosnia and Herzegovina, conducted in the period from 2015 to 2017. In the first part, peace is analyzed as a concept that contains elements of giftness, spirituality, and praxis. Arguing for the relevance of all three elements, the article warns against possible misunderstandings that can come when peace is assessed only through directly measurable indicators. In the second part, peacebuilding activities of religious leaders are divided into three groups: 1) before conflicts, 2) during conflicts, and 3) in post-conflict phases. In those scenarios, religious leaders play preventive, reactive, and transformative roles, respectively. The preventive role comprises all activities related to the development of moral character and social ethics that promote non-violence. The reactive role includes activities related to humanitarian assistance, spiritual and emotional accompaniment, denunciation of crimes, and promotion of alternative social visions to those of group-separation. Lastly, in the post-conflict phase (the transformative role), peacebuilding is inseparable from the challenges related to the legacy of past violence, especially those of forgiveness, reconciliation, and memory of conflicts.

The book analyzes the relationship between religion and peacebuilding through three major topics: forgiveness, reconciliation, and memory in post-conflict settings. In the first part, the book explores the differences between various forms of forgiveness (self-forgiveness, interpersonal forgiveness, intergroup forgiveness), ethical imperatives, and religious connotations behind the term. The second part addresses the challenges of reconciliation, especially when the term is presented as a political or an ideological project to be obeyed. By positing the disparity between 'reconciliation with something' and 'reconciliation with someone' the chapter outlines the potential dangers of reconciliatory activities that have little sensitivity to victims and leave no space for public deliberation. The chapter on memory is centered around two axes: memory as legacy and memory as pathology. It discusses the importance of constructing common mnemonic frameworks related to past tragedies, but it also presents how elements of tragic memories can obstruct groups' ability to 'come to terms with the past' and impede intergroup dialogue. The final chapter outlines how religion interacts with those three elements and subsequently influences peacebuilding processes.

The book analyzes the relationship between religion and peacebuilding through three major topics: forgiveness, reconciliation, and memory in post-conflict settings. In the first part, the book explores the differences between various forms of forgiveness (self-forgiveness, interpersonal forgiveness, intergroup forgiveness), ethical imperatives, and religious connotations behind the term. The second part addresses the challenges of reconciliation, especially when the term is presented as a political or an ideological project to be obeyed. By positing the disparity between 'reconciliation with something' and 'reconciliation with someone' the chapter outlines the potential dangers of reconciliatory activities that have little sensitivity to victims and leave no space for public deliberation. The chapter on memory is centered around two axes: memory as legacy and memory as pathology. It discusses the importance of constructing common mnemonic frameworks related to past tragedies, but it also presents how elements of tragic memories can obstruct groups' ability to 'come to terms with the past' and impede intergroup dialogue. The final chapter outlines how religion interacts with those three elements and subsequently influences peacebuilding processes.

The paper presents contemplations about the role of Christianity in renewing modern culture. The central point of the research is the event of the Pentecost, described in the Acts of the Apostles, that represents the union of the sacred and secular in the renewal of mutual understanding and experience. The revelation of God disseminated by the original Church is juxtaposed to the broken unity described in the building of the tower of Babylon. The Pentecost, as a model of renewal of unity of mankind, represents a prototype of any Christian announcement, and the Second Vatican Council leans on it to a great extent. Special attention is paid to the vision of »Council Christianity« in the writings of Željko Mardešić that offer a first-rate theological corpus in keeping with the Council renewal. Christianity as seen by Mardešić is far from any project of ideologisation, politicisation or secularisation. The crises of faith in modern times have greatly been promoted by an inappropriate response to the challenges. As a symptom of the crisis there also emerge new spiritual movements, a form of the eclectic and informal spirituality that is beginning to compete with institutionalised religions. The last section of the paper makes suggestions for renewing the evangelisation and dialogue with the world that should neither be judgemental nor mimicric, but mature, authentic, inspired, optimistic and filled with deep confidence in personalism and freedom.

The paper presents contemplations about the role of Christianity in renewing modern culture. The central point of the research is the event of the Pentecost, described in the Acts of the Apostles, that represents the union of the sacred and secular in the renewal of mutual understanding and experience. The revelation of God disseminated by the original Church is juxtaposed to the broken unity described in the building of the tower of Babylon. The Pentecost, as a model of renewal of unity of mankind, represents a prototype of any Christian announcement, and the Second Vatican Council leans on it to a great extent. Special attention is paid to the vision of »Council Christianity« in the writings of Željko Mardešić that offer a first-rate theological corpus in keeping with the Council renewal. Christianity as seen by Mardešić is far from any project of ideologisation, politicisation or secularisation. The crises of faith in modern times have greatly been promoted by an inappropriate response to the challenges. As a symptom of the crisis there also emerge new spiritual movements, a form of the eclectic and informal spirituality that is beginning to compete with institutionalised religions. The last section of the paper makes suggestions for renewing the evangelisation and dialogue with the world that should neither be judgemental nor mimicric, but mature, authentic, inspired, optimistic and filled with deep confidence in personalism and freedom.

The paper presents contemplations about the role of Christianity in renewing modern culture. The central point of the research is the event of the Pentecost, described in the Acts of the Apostles, that represents the union of the sacred and secular in the renewal of mutual understanding and experience. The revelation of God disseminated by the original Church is juxtaposed to the broken unity described in the building of the tower of Babylon. The Pentecost, as a model of renewal of unity of mankind, represents a prototype of any Christian announcement, and the Second Vatican Council leans on it to a great extent. Special attention is paid to the vision of »Council Christianity« in the writings of Željko Mardešić that offer a first-rate theological corpus in keeping with the Council renewal. Christianity as seen by Mardešić is far from any project of ideologisation, politicisation or secularisation. The crises of faith in modern times have greatly been promoted by an inappropriate response to the challenges. As a symptom of the crisis there also emerge new spiritual movements, a form of the eclectic and informal spirituality that is beginning to compete with institutionalised religions. The last section of the paper makes suggestions for renewing the evangelisation and dialogue with the world that should neither be judgemental nor mimicric, but mature, authentic, inspired, optimistic and filled with deep confidence in personalism and freedom.

"This book presents state-of-the-art discussions around the Jasenovac Concentration Camp. Initially one of the largest camps of the Second World War, Jasenovac became a symbol of supra-national unity during the Yugoslav period and in the 1990s reemerged as a contested symbol of narrational victimhood. By analyzing some of the most controversial topics related to the Second World War in south-eastern Europe: the Holocaust, the genocide of Serbs and Roma, the issue of political prisoners and state-sponsored crimes, censorship during Communist Yugoslavia, the use of memory in war propaganda, and representation of tragedies in museums and art, it allows for a greater understanding of the development of intergroup violence in the former Yugoslavia. It will be of interest to scholars and students of history, genocide studies, memory studies and sociology as well as professionals working in the field of conflict resolution and reconciliation"--

"This book opens a new research field in Balkan contextual theology. By embracing culturally rich traditions of the Western Balkans as its starting point, it explores their existential and theological bearings. Placed at the crossroads of civilizations and religions, this region has witnessed some of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. At the same time, it has produced unique textures of inter-cultural life. The volume addresses some of the most poignant phenomena endemic to the region, such as sevdalinka music, intimate forms of neighborhood, archetypes of 'sacred warriors,' the experience of democratic jet lag, collective melancholy, and intergenerational trauma. As the first book of this nature, it aims to encourage further development of contextual theological thinking in the region and promote its international reception"--

In this article the authors discuss the role of Jasenovac Concentration Camp in Croatian and Serbian political and social spheres. Connecting the historical data with the analysis of the recent mutual accusations of genocide between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the authors demonstrate the pervasive presence of Jasenovac in Serbian and Croatian political discourse. Presenting different modes of social construction around Jasenovac, from the end of the Second World War to the present, the article proposes a specific reading of Jasenovac as a form of the "past that does not pass." In this respect, Jasenovac is seen as a continuous reference point for understanding collective losses and group suffering, both past and present, in Serbian and Croatian society. Although historically distanced by seventy years, the events surrounding Jasenovac are still constantly recurring in both political and private, official and unofficial, spheres of life, functioning as a specific symbol around which narratives of ethnic, national, and religious understanding as well as inter-group conflicts are thought and constructed. The role of political and social factors in the construction of frequently incompatible narratives is further underlined by the analysis of selected oral testimonies related to the war in Yugoslavia in 1990s.