Academic literature on the topic 'Christianity - comparative studies'

ABSTRACTRecent efforts to write the global history of Christianity respond to demographic changes in Christianity and use “global” in three ways. First, “global” suggests efforts at more comprehensive historical retrieval, especially to place the beginnings of Christian communities not within mission history but within the church history in those areas. Second, “global” can refer to the broader comparative perspectives on Christianity's history, especially the history of religions. Finally, “global” can indicate attempts to retell the entire Christian story from a self-consciously worldwide perspective. Recent works also raise new theological and pragmatic challenges to the discipline of church history.

Comparative theology involves systematic dialogue with another religion aimed at deepening and expanding one’s own tradition. The process of interreligious learning may take various forms which I have identified as: intensification, rediscovery, reinterpretation, appropriation, or reaffirmation. This article explores these types of learning through a focus on the topic of discipleship in Christianity and Hinduism. Though the notion of church may be less central to Hinduism, Christianity has much to gain from a systematic theological engagement with Hindu notions of discipleship and with their anthropological and philosophical underpinnings.

This article challenges a tendency that grew up in fascist studies in the 1930s to treat Fascism and Nazism as the only authentic expressions of fascism, and to evaluate and understand all other manifestations of the generic force as more or less derivative of them and hence of secondary importance when understanding ‘the nature of fascism’ as an ideology. This has created an artificial location of each fascism as being either at the core or periphery of the phenomenon, and has reinforced a Eurocentrism that leads to parallel movements in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and South Africa to be neglected. It calls for wider acceptance of the realization that researching movements that did not seize autonomous power, such as the Croatian Ustasha, the Romanian Iron Guard, or the Transylvanian Saxons, can enrich understanding of aspects of Fascism and Nazism, such as the role of racism, eugenics, anti-Semitism and organized Christianity in determining the ideological contents ad fate of a particular fascism.

AbstractCurrent approaches to classifying African Christianities include generalizing approaches like Ogbu Kalu’s assertion of ongoing revival and particular studies associated with the anthropology of Christianity. Here I argue for a generational approach to African Christian communities, noting what has been achieved and what remains to be done.Two recent ethnographies show the promise in the anthropology of Christianity for fruitful comparative approaches to African Christianity. Dorothy Hodgson’s study of Catholic evangelization of the Maasai and Matthew Engelke’s examination of a Zimbabwean independent church both develop concepts—inculturation and semiotic ideology, respectively—that prioritize African theological work in making Christianity suitable for African believers. Such conceptual approaches can include African Christians overlooked in past classifications and promote insightful comparisons. However, concepts that offer a comparative framework to address sociological belonging to mission-founded churches are still needed for a generational approach to African Christian communities.

Abstract This article takes an interdisciplinary look at protectionist doxa at the intersection of two distinct fields: early Christian studies and rabbinics. I argue that both fields maintain a protectionist doxa of difference; that is, a doxa that early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism are fundamentally different from each other. This difference, which supports the constitution of each field as separate from the other, nevertheless has a secondary effect of shaping our approach to our objects of study—early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. Specifically, this doxa of difference occludes the ways in which early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism can be similar. I focus specifically on the current “polysemy” debate within rabbinics and show how this doxa has functioned to obstruct comparative approaches across disciplines rather than facilitate them.

The dialogue between and comparative research into Christianity and Buddhism theoretically involve the issues of self and other. Faced with the cultural reality of religious diversity, theologies of religions provide four modes of dialogue through which Christianity can interface with religious others. The exploration of the infinite and transcendent traits of otherness in contemporary phenomenological philosophy, as well as the emphasis on differences in postmodern philosophy, contributes to maintaining a clear awareness of otherness and self-identity in the Buddhist–Christian dialogue. Following the dialogical path in comparative theology, which leads one out of oneself, into the other, and back into oneself, in experimental Buddhist-Christian dialogue activities, both Christianity and Buddhism figure as the self and the other. If they openly accept each other’s otherness and heterogeneity, view each other as mirrors, and criticize and reflect on themselves, then creative insights into themselves will ultimately be generated. Their selves will be rediscovered, and their understanding and expression will be updated. Reflecting on the Buddhist–Christian dialogue from four aspects, namely, ultimate realism, cosmology, ethics, and religious ideals, can eliminate some misunderstandings and deepen both parties’ understandings of themselves and others.

Students of comparative religion, cognitive scientists, art historians, and historians sometimes use paradigms from non-western religions to raise questions about the role of material objects in Christianity. Recently, such discussion has focused on images and controversies about them. This article argues that the most important material manifestation of the holy in the western European Middle Ages was the Eucharist and suggests both that understanding it is enhanced by the use of comparative material and that considering it as a case study of divine materiality leads to a more sophisticated formulation of comparative paradigms.

The major aim of the religious person is to obey God’s injunctions and follow His ways. If he or she shall do so, he or she will attain success in this world or in the world-to-come. Thus, the Abrahamic religions have come to center on precepts involving man’s relationship with God and an occupation with spirituality. Accordingly, the central figures and those who head the religious hierarchy are rabbis (in Judaism), priests and monks (in Christianity), and Imams (in Islam), who are practiced and proficient in religious spiritual life. This means that the religions are primarily occupied with spirituality. In addition, monotheism portrays an abstract God, such that those who wish to resemble Him must necessarily strive for spirituality. As a result, the occupation with material matters was completely marginalized. Due to the prime place given to “spirituality”, this article seeks to examine the attitude to corporeal work in the Abrahamic religions. The conclusion - in contrast to the initial-intuitive outlook–the religions are not occupied exclusively with spirituality. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the worship of God includes corporeal work, both as a subsistence need and as a religious value.

This dissertation is a qualitative study of how femininities are shaped by religion and culture. Since religion and culture is a very broad field, this study attempts to examine how femininities are shaped by notions of 'pollution' during menstruation and childbirth. These beliefs about pollution are thought to be part of religion and culture. This comparative study examines how beliefs on pollution differ in two groups of women namely Christian and Hindu women. The sample of women for this study was chosen purposefully using the snowball sampling technique. A sample of six Hindu and six Christian women who were relatively similar in terms of education and income was chosen from the Rylands/Athlone area in the Western Cape. The limited size and nature of this sample makes generalizations difficult. Individual interviews using in-depth, open-ended questions were conducted. The questions were aimed at providing insight into women's experiences of menstruation, menarche, sexual intercourse during menstruation and pregnancy, childbirth and the religious restrictions and taboos these experiences entailed. The aim was to describe women's subjective experiences of 'pollution'. The interviews were conducted in the homes of the women as this was likely to be an environment that respondents would feel comfortable in. Interviews were tape-recorded and then transcribed in order to present the findings in the respondent's own words as far as possible. It was found that Hindu women faced religious and cultural restrictions where menstruation was concerned. They did not light the lamp in their shrines at home or attend temple services until the cessation of menstruation whereupon a ritual bath was taken. During childbirth Hindu women were seen as being 'most polluted' during the first ten days after giving birth. This period of ritual impurity ended forty days after giving birth. During this time, all the women in this study did not leave the house, cook, attend temple or light the lamp as a result of this ' impure' state. After performing a ritual bath and shaving the newborn's hair, these women were reintroduced into the community. In contrast, the Christian women in this study did not face any religious or cultural restrictions during menstruation and childbirth. The Christian women were actually encouraged to attend church as soon as possible after giving birth. Beliefs about 'pollution' during menstruation and childbirth were analyzed using structural-functional theory. It was argued that 'pollution beliefs' serve various functions in society, mostly to ensure gender inferiority and male dominance. There were also differences in the Hindu and Christian respondent's views on marriage and the sex of their children. It was found that the women's experiences of menstruation and childbirth were shaped to a large extent by religion and culture. Femininities were linked to religion and culture as attitudes on 'pollution' stemming from culture affect the way women view themselves and their bodies.

Palestine is known as the birthplace of Christianity. However the Christian population of this land is relatively insignificant today, despite the continuing institutional legacy that the 19th century Western missionary focus on the region created. Palestinian Christians are often forced to employ politically astute as well as theologically radical means in their efforts to appear relevant within an increasingly Islamist-oriented society. My thesis focuses on two ecumenical Christian organisations within Palestine, the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem (headed by the Anglican cleric Naim Stifan Ateek) and Dar Annadwa Addawliyya (the International Centre of Bethlehem-ICB, directed by the Lutheran theologian Mitri Raheb). Based on my field work (consisting of an in-depth familiarisation with the two organisations in Palestine and interviews with their directors, office-staff and supporters worldwide, as well as data analyses based on an extensive literature review), I argue that the grassroots-oriented educational, humanitarian, cultural and contextual theological approach favoured by the ICB in Bethlehem is more relevant to the Palestinian situation, than the more sectarian and Western-oriented approach of the Sabeel Centre. These two groups are analysed primarily according to their theological-political approaches. One, (Sabeel), has sought to develop a critical Christian response to the Palestine-Israel conflict using the politico-theological tool of liberation theology, albeit with a strongly ecumenical Western-oriented focus, while the other (ICB), insists that its theological orientation draws primarily from the Levantine Christian (and in their particular case, the Palestinian Lutheran) context in which Christians in Israel-Palestine are placed. Raheb of the ICB has tried to develop a contextual theology that seeks to root the political and cultural development of the Palestinian people within their own Eastern Christian context and in light of their peculiarly restricted life under an Israeli occupation regime of over 40 years. In the process, I argue that the ICB has sought to be much more situationally relevant to the needs of the Palestinian people in the West Bank, given the employment, socio-cultural and humanitarian-health opportunities opened up by the practical-institution building efforts of this organisation in Bethlehem.

This thesis is a comparative study that focuses on the writings of an Oxford-trained Indian Christian theologian, priest and Bishop named A.J. Appasamy (1891-1975), and his theological interaction with the texts and tradition of the Srivaiṣṇava reformer Rāmānuja (1017-1137). For my doctrinal focus I have chosen to explore Appasamy’s four-fold Johannine application of the ‘Body of God’ analogy - the ‘Universe’, ‘Incarnation’, ‘Eucharist’ and ‘Church’ being his four divine embodiments. Post-Independence, Appasamy faced criticisms from expatriate theologians who described his theological project as ‘bold heresies’, a ‘synthesis of Christianity and Vedanta’ that has ‘shifted the axis’ from Christianity to ‘Hindu religion’. By following the leads in Appasamy writings back to his devotional tradition, I argue that such charges are, in fact, baseless and that his application of the analogy is rooted, rather, in the sacramental theology of his own Anglican tradition. To do so I demonstrate how his views on divine embodiment closely reflect the theological developments that took place in the first half of the last century between the time of Charles Gore and William Temple. Methodologically, I am arguing for the need to understand theological discourse as being semiotically and traditionally situated, embedded in mythic narrative and embodied in ritual practice. In doing so, however, I further argue that just as Appasamy’s detractors have failed to read him in the context of his devotional tradition, so, too, has Appasamy done with Rāmānuja. By reading Rāmānuja more as a Vedāntic philosophical theologian than as a sectarian practitioner, he has abstracted the Ācārya from his tradition - a tradition that is undoubtedly temple-based. On this basis I challenge Appasamy’s use of Rāmānuja’s terms and propose what I believe to be a better reading of John’s Gospel for future comparative interaction with the Srivaiṣṇava tradition.

Religion
Ph.D.
This study brings excerpts from the Acts of Thomas (Act 1.11-16 and Act 3.30-33) together with two Buddhist jātakas (Udaya Jātaka - #458 and Visavanta Jātaka -#69) to consider how stories might have been transmitted in the early centuries of the common era in a milieu of mercantile exchange on the Indian Ocean. The Acts of Thomas is a 3rd century CE Syriac Christian text concerned with the apostle Thomas proselytizing in India. The jātakas are popular didactic narratives with a pronounced oral dimension that purport to be accounts of the Buddha’s previous lives. Syriac Christians possessed knowledge about Indian religious practices linked to renunciation, and it is plausible that they adapted Buddhist jātakas to convey Christian ideas in the account of Thomas journeying to India and converting people there. Epigraphic evidence from the western Deccan in India attests to yavana, or Greek, patronage of Buddhist institutions in cosmopolitan settings where ideas and commodities circulated. Against the grain in scholarship on early Christianity that tends to privilege Latin and Greek sources, this project moves the lens of analysis eastward to consider Indian influence on early Christianity as expressed in the Acts of Thomas. A literary comparison of the texts under consideration with reference to the historical and cultural context of exchange reveals similar models of renunciant practices in Buddhism and Christianity that establishes new grounds for consideration of interconnectivity across ‘East’ and ‘West.’
Temple University--Theses

Background: This thesis aims to show that the narratives of the Nag Hammadi Apocalypse of Pauland First Apocalypse of James are written for a Valentinian audience. The purpose is to broaden the field of research on Valentinianism by showing how the authors and their implied readers composed and perceived the texts in question. Method: Comparing the mythological language of the two narratives and their description of a hero’s journey in a transcendent reality it is possible to disentangle the Valentinian material from the imaginative world of the reader, a world consisted of ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology as well as Jewish apocalypticism and early Christian legends and traditions. The texts are also compared with new research in the field, other related Valentinian scriptures, the New Testament, and Christian Apocrypha. Results: The texts are pseudepigraphic and written within a Jewish apocalyptic genre sometime during the late second or early third century. The symbolism and the diverse metaphors of the narratives indicate that the texts incorporate a specific soteriological message through embedded Valentinian mythology. The implied reader is to understand that the material world is an illusion and that the purpose of the initiate is to awaken the mind and acquire knowledge about the truth. By doing so the redemption of the believer’s spirit from its human body and soul leads to the spirits reunion with God. Conclusion: The analysis of the texts points toward the fact that the narratives could very well have been used for catechetical or other educational purposes within a Valentinian community. The language and form of the two narratives fit to serve this purpose. In many ways, the reader has to be initiated within a Valentinian context in order to grasp the intended message.

Godkännande datum 2019-06-10

This thesis is concerned with the hypothesis that an intellectual conversation between Christian and Hindu traditions on questions of aesthetic concern may not only prove mutually illuminating as such but also touch obliquely upon matters of religious and theological concern without exciting the defensive response often posed by more familiar strategies of inter-faith ‘dialogue'. It seeks to establish the existence of sufficient conditions for such a conversation within the respective traditions. The Introduction considers the relevant model of ‘conversation' distinguishing it from other forms of encounter between religious traditions. It proceeds by identifying three shared concerns: freedom and constraint, aesthetic experience and religious encounters, and the relationship between the material artwork and its significance. The first three chapters address them by examining various elements in Hindu traditions, including a detailed treatment of the Śilpaśāstras, a comprehensive consideration of the concept of rasa and its relation to religious experience, and an exploration of the role of the senses in scriptural traditions, the importance of Form and the value of the art object as a devotional aid. Finally it outlines the notion darśan, of seeing and being seen by a deity through a material image. The last three chapters address them by examining the work of Christian theologians including Dorothy Sayers on Art as Idea, exploring bequeathed traditions in iconography and the music of John Tavener, and expounding Tolkien's category of ‘sub-creation'. It considers the work of David Brown, Richard Viladesau, John Ruskin, Frank Burch Brown and Abraham Kuyper who span a putative spectrum of equating aesthetic and religious experience at one end and strictly demarcating between them at the other end. It explores the relationship of the physical art object with its spiritual significance in the work of Dorothy Sayers, John Carey, Rowan Williams, David Brown and Trevor Hart.

During June of 2015, an anthropological and sociological study was conducted in the Dominican city of Bani. On the surface, the banilejo people appear to be devout Catholics. However, having had access to their personal lives, it was evident that their peculiar family traditions and folklore hinted at their liminal identities. This study involved interviewing 23 female subjects with questions found in the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitorial manuals. In addition, their mitochondrial DNA sequences were analyzed and demonstrated a high percentage of consanguinity and inbreeding within Bani's population. The genetic analysis of their mitochondrial DNA yielded genetic links with Jewish women from worldwide Jewish communities. Victor Turner's communitas theory and Geertz's thick description were used as the methodology. Ultimately, the sociological and anthropological analysis of their way of life evidenced how their ancestors preserved Jewish identity covertly throughout the inquisition time period (1481-1834) and how they continue to perpetuate it in contemporary times through consanguinity, and the power of superstition and taboo.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2001
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The dissertation aims to establish to what extent the Old Testament could be interpreted from an African perspective, using the scapegoat sacrifice in Leviticus 16 and the Nefo'o ritual of the Bafut of Cameroon as relevant examples. Because sacrificial practice was a normal occurrence in the religions of the Israelites (Old Testament) and those of other nations - and African society in particular - questions are raised that require urgent answers, namely: Is it possible to identify any elements of sacrifice from the African background, and specifically the Nefo'o ritual of the Bafut of Cameroon, which may facilitate the theological interpretation and understanding of the Old Testament. The approach employed is a qualitative methodology with the sub-category of participant observation. We also used a socio-rhetorical interpretation approach to the Old Testament text of Leviticus 16. When the above-mentioned two rituals are compared, they portray aspects of both similarities and dissimilarities. The work has been divided into the following seven chapters: Chapter one introduces the topic through the identification and the development of the problem. Some concepts and keywords from the title are discussed in the contexts of the Bafut of Cameroon and ancient Israel. Chapter two provides the background to the Nefo'o ritual of the Bafut of Cameroon, tracing both the origins of the Bafut people and the Nefo'o ritual. The Bukari people, the aborigines of the tribe and the seat of the Nefo'o shrine are highlighted. Chapter three presents a survey of sacrifices in West Africa, the ancient Near East and Israel. Special attention is reserved to the sacrificial systems of the ancient Israelites. Chapter four gives a brief introduction to the Pentateuch with special treatment of the modern trends in the study of the pentateuchal sources and the theologies of the authors. This is to situate the book of Leviticus in the Pentateuch with which we are concerned. Chapter five presents an introduction to the book of Leviticus and examines its significance among the other pentateuchal books. Attention is given to certain recurrent theological themes in the book and its implication for Leviticus chapter 16. Chapter six provides a socio-rhetorical interpretation of the text of Leviticus 16, with special attention to the establishment of the Day of Atonement and the scapegoat sacrifice. Specific attention was paid to the significance of atonement in Lev. 16. Chapter seven compares the scapegoat sacrifice of Leviticus 16 and the Nefo'o ritual of the Bafut of Cameroon. This is followed by a theological interpretation of the Nefo'o ritual and a summary of the results and conclusions. African theologians - whose own cultures possess a great deal of ritual practices - have not given enough attention to a contextual interpretation of the Scriptures of the Old Testament. The biblical faith has to exist among African Traditional Religions and other cultural practices. Some contextual interpretation of the Scriptures of the Old Testament is being suggested. Such aspects as the Nefo'o shrine, which is situated in the midst of the Bafut community, could be seen to explain the Tent of Meeting among the Israelites. Other aspects include the priest, the community, the ancestors and the release of the live goat into the woods, bearing the sins of the people. Thus the Nefo'o ritual can be used as an analogy to explain the biblical understanding of atonement in an African context. Leviticus 16 is not only the centre of the book of Leviticus but also the centre of the Pentateuch (Torah). Atonement can also be seen to be the theological heart of the Old Testament and of the whole Bible. Thus it is crucial to communicate this in an African environment using all the hermenuetical tools available.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie dissertasie is daarop gemik om te bepaal tot watter mate die Ou Testament vanuit In Afrika-perspektief geinterpreteer kan word met gebruikmaking van die sondebokofferande, soos beskryf in Levitikus 16 en die Nefo'o ritueel van die Bafut bevolking van Kameroen as betrokke voorbeelde. Omdat die bring van offerandes normale praktyk in die godsdienste van die Israeliete (soos beskryf in die Ou Testament) en van ander nasies - en spesifiek van Afrika-gemeenskappe - is, ontlok dit vrae wat dringend beantwoord behoort te word. Is dit moontlik om daardie elemente van offerande vanuit In Afrika-perspektief - en spesifiek vanuit die oogpunt van die Nefo'o ritueeI van die Bafut van Kameroen - te identifiseer wat kan bydra tot die teologiese interpretasie en begrip van die Ou Testament? Die benadering wat gevolg word, is 'n kwalitatiewe metodologie, met die sub-kategorie van deelnemende waarneming. Ons het ook In sosio-retoriese interpretasie benadering tot die Ou Testamentiese teks van Levitikus 16 gevolg. Wanneer die bovermelde twee rituele met mekaar vergelyk word, openbaar hulle aspekte van sowel ooreenkomste as van verskille. Die werk is die volgende sewe hoofstukke verdeel: Hoofstuk een lei die onderwerp in deur die identifisering en die ontwikkeling van die probleem. Sekere begrippe vervat in die sleutelwoorde van die titel word bespreek in die kontekste van die Bafut van Kameroen en van anti eke Israel. Hoofstuk twee bied In agtergrond aan tot die Nefo'o ritueel van die Bafut bevolking van Kameroen, waarin die oorsprong van sowel die Bafut bevolking as van die Nefo'o ritueel nagegaan word. Die Bukari bevolking, wat die oorspronklike inwoners was en die setel van die Nefo'o altaar word beskrywe. Hoofstuk drie bevat In oorsig van offerandes in Wes-Afrika, die anti eke Nabye Ooste en Israel. Spesiale aandag word geskenk aan die offerande stelsels van die anti eke Israeliete. Hoofstuk vier is In kort inleiding tot die Pentateug, met spesiale verwysing na die moderne tendense in die studie van Pentateugverwante bronne en die teologiese uitgangspunte van die skrywers. Dit word gedoen om die posisie van die boek van Levitikus, waarmee ons bowenal gemoeid is, in die Pentateug te bepaal. Hoofstuk vyf bied In kort inleiding tot die boek van Levitikus en gaan sy betekenis na teen die agtergrond van die ander boeke Vall die Pentateug. Aandag word geskenk aan sekere herhalende teologiese temas in die boek en die implikasies daarvan vir Levitikus 16. Hoofstuk ses bevat 'n sosio-retoriese interpretasie van die inhoud van Levitikus 16, met spesiale verwysing na die instelling van die Versoendag en die offerande van die sondebok. Spesifieke aandag word geskenk aan die rol van boetedoening in Levitikus 16. Hoofstuk sewe vergelyk die sondebok offerande van Levitikus 16 en die Nefo'o ritueel van die Bafut van Kameroen. Dit word gevolg deur 'n teologiese interpretasie van die Nefo'o ritueel, 'n 'n opsomming van die praktyke en ook gevolgtrekkings. Afrika-teoloe, wie se eie kulture oor 'n ryke mate van rituele praktyke beskik, het tot dusver nie voldoende aandag aan 'n kontekstuele interpretasie van die Ou Testament geskenk nie. Die Bybelse geloof moet steeds in naasbestaan met die tradisionele Afrika-gelowe en ander kulturele praktyke staan. 'n Sekere kontekstuele interpretasie van die Ou Testamentiese geskrifte word aan die hand gedoen. Seker aspekte, soos die Nefo'o altaar, wat midde in die Bafut gemeenskap gelee is, kan met die ontmoetingstent van die Israeliete vergelyk word. Ander punte van ooreenkomste en verskille tussen die Bafut en die anti eke Israeliete, sluit in priesters, die gemeenskap, voorouers, en die vrylating in die woud van die lewendige bok wat die sondes van die bevolking dra. Dus kan die Nefo'o ritueel as 'n analogie vir die verduideliking van die Bybelse begrip van versoening in 'n Afrika-konteks aangewend word. Levitikus 16 is nie slegs die kern van die hele boek van Levitikus nie, maar inderdaad ook van die hele Pentateug (Torah). Versoening kan ook as die teologiese kern van die Ou Testament van die hele Bybel gereken word. Daarom is dit noodsaaklik om hierdie begrip in 'n Afrika-konteks te kan kommunikeer met die aanwending van aile beskikbare hermeneutiese hulpmiddele.

Abstract It is impossible not to conclude from reading Sharpe’s reliable account of the origins of the modern study of religion in his Comparative Religion: A History (1986) that the guiding concept lying behind the thought of almost all the founding fathers, and usually quite explicitly stated, is that of a transcendent intelligent Being who gives meaning and purpose to human history. There are several qualifications to make about this generalization. Sharpe himself emphasizes throughout his book the struggles of comparative religion to establish itself against the opposition of established Christianity and its doctrines of a unique, once and for all revelation acting as the sole guarantee of salvation. He also emphasizes the tradition of objective, disinterested historical and philological scholarship. Further, he indicates the important writers in the study of religion who tended to develop humanistic and non-theological theories of religion. These theorists included pioneering sociologists and anthropologists such as E. Tylor, J. G. Frazer, and Durkheim. I would further suggest here--though I cannot argue it in detail-that both the theological and the humanistic tendencies, in individualist and holistic forms, were to varying degrees implicit in Deism and German romantic philosophy, respectively.

Among scholars of Christian theology and philosophy working in universities in China are card-carrying CCP members, many without any personal faith or denominational allegiance, yet whose thinking and writing on Chinese Christianity and culture have proved significant in and beyond academia. While far from representative of the church, their academic scholarship is valuable for its theological insight as well as for the institutional presence of its practitioners. This chapter considers the writings of Yang Huilin (b. 1954), a key figure in the Sino-Christian theology movement and a professor of comparative literature and religious studies, whose work triangulates between philosophy, literary/critical theory, and theology. The chapter suggests that recurrent questions across Yang’s work condense ultimately into two: the use of language and the pursuit of meaning. These culminate in his promotion of a “Chinese Scriptural Reasoning” and call for a “nonreligious religion.”

Abstract Until recently, most studios of African religions have concentrated on various aspects of beliefs and practices while paying little attention to their historical development, When scholars have considered the history of religions in Africa, they have tended to focus on lslam and Christianity and to restrict their interest in African traditional rnligions to the processes of conversion to and syncretism with “world” religions. Current textbooks on African religions have focused on certain comparative themes in the study of religions and have assumed that the ethnic divisions related to these religions have endured for centuries. Historical chap1crs, if included at all, address the impact of colonization, Islam, and Christianity but overlook other typos of religious change. For example, John Mbiti, the author of the most widely read textbook on African religions, addresses the issue of precolonial religious history in two paragraphs of his introduction, before asserting what he sees as a fundamental obstacle to such studies: “In the traditional set-up where the African concept of time is mainly two-dimensional, human life is relatively stable and almost static. A rhythm of life is the norm. and any radical change is either unknown, resented or so slow that it is hardly noticed.” Such a representation of African religions both reflects and reinforces a basic assumption about “traditional” societies, that they have little sense of their own history. What changes have occurred arc, from this perspective, merely fine-tunings to preserve a spiritual equilibrium, not major shifts in fundamental religious ideas. For Mbiti, significant religious changes begins in “the second half of the nineteenth century and swiftly gaining momentum towards the middle of the twentieth cen-tury” with the beginnings of colonization.

This chapter introduces the reader to skaldic poetry and the figure of the skald, using Egill Skallagrímsson’s Arinbjarnarkviða as an example of skaldic poetry’s characteristic pragmatics, formal features, and themes, and demonstrating how these reflect the status of the body as premodernity’s master medium. It explains the concept of a medium that is used in the book and outlines a history of medial approaches to medieval studies, particularly Old Norse studies. Specific aspects of the premodern Scandinavian media situation such as the comparatively late arrival of Christianity and book culture are investigated, and the term ‘mediology’ is introduced and defined.

This chapter focuses on France and the Soviet Union. France and the Soviet Union constitute the two most prominent European examples of a concerted campaign by twentieth-century states to reduce or even eliminate the social influence and political role of Christianity, especially as represented by the national church. In the further reaches of the Soviet Empire in Eastern and central Europe, Communist Party aims were similar, though in some countries—such as Poland—their implementation was highly problematic. Although obviously differing in the extent of their antagonism to religion itself, the two case studies reveal the capacity of the modern state, if it so chooses, to marginalize Christianity from the mainstream of public life and destroy much of the institutional and economic infrastructure of historic national churches. Yet both examples equally suggest that such measures of “official” secularization turned out to be comparatively impotent in subverting popular Christian belief and practice.

Ibn Khaldun can be regarded as the first sociologist. In Europe, the work of August Comte and Saint-Simon established evolutionary sociology in the early nineteenth century. Marx and Engels developed their Asiatic Mode of Production to explain the backwardness of many Asian societies, but the sociology of Islam did not start until the 1960s with interest in Max Weber’s contribution to the comparative sociology of religion. This early work was often influenced by western colonialism in its treatment of Islam as a backward religion. Recent interest in the religions of ‘the Axial Age’ (BC800-400) has treated both Christianity and Islam as modern versions of the Axial Religions. Marshall G.S.Hodgson is one of the greatest modern students of Islam which he studied as a global system stretching from China through central Asia to Spain. He referred to this as the Islamic Oikoumene. Unfortunately, modern interest in Islam has often been stimulated by politics rather than by scholarship. Because of the Iranian Revolution in 1979,‘Irangate’ and the attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001, Islam was seen as a threat that required analysis for political and not academic reasons.