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"In Roman imperial culture before Constantine (r. 306-337), Christianity was a diverse phenomenon (Fredriksen, 2014). Identities were largely "evolving and fluid" and the distinctions and boundaries between different social groups "whether those traditionally termed heretical and orthodox, or Jew and Christian" were not yet that clear (Paget & Lieu, 2017, p. 2). Christianity was a work-in-progress with no official form, and the process of configuring Christianness in a largely non-Christian world was ongoing (Buell, 2005, p. 26 ebook). From this perspective, it makes more sense to speak about Christianities, even though precisely that plurality would be denied by those seeking to establish a single Christian norm"--

This article presents an ethnographic analysis of the educational and religious tensions that emerged during a five-day biblical seminar run by the Israel Defense Forces' Identity and Jewish Consciousness Unit. We argue that despite the official focus on professionalization as a pedagogical parameter, the seminar participants themselves reacted to biblical narratives in ways that indicate a distinct kind of personal and individualized discourse. By focusing on this disjuncture, we highlight the very real limitations larger (governmental or civilian) institutional entities face as they attempt to shape religious attitudes within the Israeli public arena. Examining how seminar participants interpret biblical narratives can enable scholars to portray a more nuanced account of how religion and "religionization" function within the Israel Defense Forces.

AbstractThis study asks how religious change at the social level (as expressed in increased religiosity) influences the religious behavior of public organizations. The study's empirical foundation is three Israeli case studies that focus on the impact of growing religiosity in Israeli Jewish society on three large public institutions: the military, healthcare, and schools. Based on comparative analysis of the three case studies, it is shown that variation in the extent of religionization in public organizations is influenced primarily by the religious composition of workers and consumers of a specific public organization. The influence of political pressure from above, however, is marginal. In addition, this study demonstrates how organizational religionization is differentially mediated by institutional mechanisms/structures: institutional layering or conversion.

AbstractThe central claim of this article is that the multi-dimensional changes in the modern family structure may be explained as a manifestation of the simultaneous processes of secularization and religionization. On the one hand, the rising acceptance of secular alternatives to the traditional family structure indicates that modernization processes weaken religious behavior and authority, as the classical secularization thesis has claimed. On the other hand, ongoing loyalty to the religious family patterns, and even their relative intensification, reflect the opposite trend. Serving as a case study, the changes in the Israeli religious family structure — reflected by civil marriage, cohabitation, and out-of-wedlock children — clearly illustrate how modernization generates horizontal and vertical fragmental processes in which religion and secularism supplement as well as compete with each other, creating an increasingly divided society in which religiosity and secularism flourish side by side among various groups and within distinct realms.

This article offers, for the first time, a theoretical model of religion&rsquo ; s influence on the formulation and execution of national security policies. To build this model, it analyses the influence of religion on Israel&rsquo ; s national security policymaking&mdash ; before and after Israel&rsquo ; s security environment went through a process of religionization beginning in the 1970s. The article proposes that religion&rsquo ; s effect on national security policymaking is comprised of three tiers that follow one another in the decision making sequence and, yet, are independent from one another: (1) operational beliefs embedded in the state&rsquo ; s security thinking on the relations between religion and security ; (2) opportunities and constraints on the state&rsquo ; s freedom of action, due to the role religion plays in global, regional and domestic politics as well as bilateral relations ; and (3) governmental utilization of religion to realize national security goals. At its conclusion, the article demonstrates that the model is applicable to other countries as well, using the case of France&rsquo ; s policies in the 21st century.

"Israel: A Politically Monitored Military in a Militarized Society" published on by Oxford University Press.

The paper starts from the hypothesis that current religious change may be best approached within the categorial framework not of a sociology of religion, conceived of and practiced as a sociology of religion of individuals and value but a political sociology of religion (Guizzardi) focused upon political exchange aimed at generating legitimacy and, therefore, creating consensus. Two current complementary trends of religious change, described as politization of religion and religionization of politics (Robertson), are interpreted in such a way. Firstly, some aspects of the current politization of religion have been ... described, and, secondly, the crucial aspects of religionization of politics, projected primarily upon the background of transitional processes in former Yugoslavia have been identified and analysed. (SOI : PM: S. 206)

This paper discusses the types, faith attributes, development characteristics, and limitations of Christian social organizations in China. China's religious social service organizations mainly include four types of organizations: associations, private non-enterprise units, foundations, and venues for religious activities. From the perspective of faith attributes, they can be divided into faith-permeated organizations, faith-centered organizations, faith-affiliated organizations, faith-background organizations, and faith–secular partnerships. Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China's Christian social services have been in a period of organizational reconstruction. The main development characteristics are as follows: (a) social services have begun to take on multiple forms ; (b) institutional services have transferred their original focus on those with disabilities to the elderly, and the services have been gradually extended from the low-income populations to other target groups ; and (c) the basic functions of social services are still in the recovery stage, and the organizational system and service scale are not complete and sufficient. The multiple limitations of Christian social services involve (a) the social development stage and institutional background ; (b) government policy text and implementation ; and (c) maturity of its own organizational structure and service ability. There is still a long way to go to achieve the basic goals of reconstruction and development.

The paper starts from hypothesis that current religious change may be best approached within the categorical framework not of a sociology of religion, conceived of & practiced as a sociology of religion of individuals & values, but a political sociology of religion (Guizzardi), focused on political exchange aimed at generating legitimacy &, therefore, creating consensus. Two current complementary trends of religious change, described as politicization of religion & religionization of politics (Robertson), are interpreted in such a way. First, some aspects of the current politicization of religion have been identified & described. Second, the crucial aspects of the religionization of politics, projected primarily on the background of transitional processes in former Yugoslavia, have been identified & analyzed. Finally, an interpretation of such trends has been elaborated, basically by taking into consideration two crucial discrepancies & their precariousness. The first one is the discrepancy & precariousness of legitimacy of dominant political strategies to be obtained by a politics coherently situated in the relative, dissociated from any kind of absolute & sacred. The second is the discrepancy & precariousness of a possible religious revival to be achieved strictly on religious bases. 35 References. Adapted from the source document.

The paper starts from hypothesis that current religious change may be best approached within the categorical framework not of a sociology of religion, conceived of & practiced as a sociology of religion of individuals & values, but a political sociology of religion (Guizzardi), focused on political exchange aimed at generating legitimacy &, therefore, creating consensus. Two current complementary trends of religious change, described as politicization of religion & religionization of politics (Robertson), are interpreted in such a way. First, some aspects of the current politicization of religion have been identified & described. Second, the crucial aspects of the religionization of politics, projected primarily on the background of transitional processes in former Yugoslavia, have been identified & analyzed. Finally, an interpretation of such trends has been elaborated, basically by taking into consideration two crucial discrepancies & their precariousness. The first one is the discrepancy & precariousness of legitimacy of dominant political strategies to be obtained by a politics coherently situated in the relative, dissociated from any kind of absolute & sacred. The second is the discrepancy & precariousness of a possible religious revival to be achieved strictly on religious bases. 35 References. Adapted from the source document.

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