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This paper centers on the godfather of the civil rights movement, Howard Thurman, and his most influential work, "Jesus and the Disinherited", as a pre-eminent text into early 20th century intercultural philosophy. Building upon Kipton Jensen's analysis in "Howard Thurman: Philosophy, Civil Rights, and the Search for Common Ground", this presentation will reframe Howard Thurman's unique philosophy as one that integrates spirituality, interculturality, and critical social analysis. It is well known that Thurman's treatise on the oppressed was carried in the pocket of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. throughout the civil rights movement for the ways it empowered nonviolent resistance for those marginalized by the dominant culture of the United States, which was (and still is) built on racism, military violence, and class-based oppression. This paper advocates that Thurman came to his philosophical conclusions through deep engagement with various cultural and philosophical traditions, most notably the Hindu spiritual–political paradigm of Mahatma Gandhi, and sought to harmonize these insights for African Americans in the USA. By investigating the intercultural foundations of "Jesus and the Disinherited", this paper will encourage scholars to explore how interculturality enriched Thurman's philosophy and how this fostered a more expansive vision of community in pluralistic societies. This article traces the roots of the development of "Jesus and the Disinherited", looking back to presentations Thurman gave as early as 1922, concluding with the publication of his book in 1949. And via this study, we will see the progression of Thurman's ideas and the impacts interculturality had on his philosophy and vision for social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper challenges the World Religion Paradigm (WRP) dominating religious studies, advocating for a decolonial approach that focuses on diverse and often marginalized religious expressions. The approach that prioritizes world religions over the rich diversity of religious expressions in multiple modernities turns out to be insufficient and biased. Through theoretical research, this paper explores the implications of multiple modernities for the religious landscape. Drawing on Eisenstadt's theory of multiple modernities, the analysis critiques linear notions of modernization and secularization, and it highlights the complex interplay between religious centers and peripheries. It develops a critical examination of how the theory of the Axial Age, by prioritizing elites and centers in the historical genesis of world religions, generates a preconception that overlooks the religious and spiritual productivity of the peripheries, which persists within current interpretative frameworks. To emphasize the dynamic between center and periphery as a key factor in understanding religious diversity, the text proposes some theoretical theses. By embracing a diversity paradigm and decolonizing frameworks, this paper offers a more inclusive understanding of religious phenomena, contributing to a broader discourse on religion and spirituality beyond Eurocentric perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to offer an interpretation of Ham Sok Hon's views on the dynamic relationship between religion and politics. While considerable discussion has already taken place in the Korean academic community across various fields, including philosophy, theology, and political science, many of which propose ssial philosophy as the metaphysical foundation of his political thoughts, there still remains a need for a more systematic understanding of their relationship, which I argue is closely linked to his concept of jeonilhwa gwajeong (the process of unification/integration). By exploring Ham's unique analysis, particularly in relation to the notion of ipcheseong (stereoscopic/multi-dimensional), this paper will underscore their shared roots and objectives across different spheres of life: one pertaining to salim (human affairs) seeking the pursuit of fairness and equality, and the other dealing with spirituality, aspiring to grasp the sublime aspects of human existence. Both religion and politics, as these movements are termed, are mutually dependent, with their culmination promising peace and harmony in historical reality. Through highlighting Ham's integrated perspective on religion and politics, I will ultimately suggest a specific discourse—civil religion—as a theoretical framework to effectively unravels Ham's viewpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For much of history, philosophers and theorists have considered the abstract, rational contemplation of music to be the true form of spiritual activity. This has often come at the cost of making the practical aspect of music (which consists of listening, performance, subjective experience, among others) subservient to theory. This paper examines the implications of separating abstract music theory from its practical side and explores where spirituality can be situated. It was not until the nineteenth century, under the influence of Schopenhauer, that a proper unification of music theory and practice truly took on metaphysical and spiritual dimensions. Schopenhauerian metaphysics allowed music to legitimately become a spiritual refuge in the age of positivism, paving the way for projects such as Scriabin's Mysterium. The described tension between theory and practice in Western music will be contrasted with Sufism as a point of comparison. The comparison will illustrate how a spiritual movement like Sufism poses a challenge for musicological research. Additionally, reflecting on the state of current music research, the paper explores how music and musicology of the twentieth century onward fall short of the spiritual aspirations of preceding generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was a medieval mystic. From a young age, she had many colorful visions and became well known and influential not only in her own time but in ours as well. Her music reached the mellow house scene in the 1990s, reviving Hildegard's spirituality for people today. In this paper, I will approach Hildegard as a philosophical practitioner and conduct an imaginary philosophical consultation. I will study her biography, listen to her words by some authentic text fragments and propose a spiritual exercise on her music in order not to just think about Hildegard of Bingen but to try and think like Hildegard of Bingen, in line with the principles of philosophical practice. This way, I will try to understand Hildegard in a practical way and not (just) annotate the regular (theoretical) interpretations of her life. I will distinguish three phases in her life as movements towards spirituality: (1) her relationship with the world, (2) her relationship with God, and (3) her relationship with herself as a spiritual being. I will argue that her life is an example of a philosophical life. Hildegard's "not fitting in any place" (being átopos) and her development define such a life as a path towards an authentic self, attained by spirituality. The paper intends to contribute both to the understanding of philosophical consultations and to the understanding of Hildegard of Bingen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of death, different ethnic groups have unique coping ways. The physical care and spiritual care for the dying can demonstrate the diversity and particularity of ethnic cultural thought. Taking two villages in the interlaced residential areas inhabited by Han, Tibetan, and Hui ethnic groups in Linxia and Wuwei of Gansu Province as examples, this paper focuses on the presentation and significance of multi-ethnic cultural integration in the process of end-of-life care, with a focus on spiritual care. One main point of this paper is that, although hospice care in the modern medical sense is not really implemented in the vast rural areas of China, local end-of-life care, based on the village medical system and religious rituals, equally plays an important role. This is mainly manifested through the implementation of the Narcotics Card System and the widespread spiritual care. The second main point of this paper is that the form of end-of-life care, which embodies the integration of ethnic cultures, contains a certain degree of nursing functions, while taking into account the spiritual care needed by the dying and the grief consolation needed by the bereaved family. Considering the lack of spiritual care and bereavement management in China's medical space, the religious approaches to end-of-life care, as delineated in this study, could serve as a source of inspiration for the country's efforts to integrate hospice services into its healthcare system. In short, compared with Western forms of hospice care, in which modern medicine constitutes the main body, China's local end-of-life care is more reflected in the diversity and integration of spiritual care for the dying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines transreligiosity in the context of the transmission of South Asian concepts of spirituality to the UK in the 20th century. Between the 1920s and 1990s, Indian teacher and author Phiroz Mehta (1902–1994) crossed borders in a colonial and postcolonial shuttling between India and the UK but also transgressed conceptual and practice borders of religion, teaching Indian religious concepts to post-Christian spiritual seekers in 1970s–80s South London. Mehta cultivated an elasticity between many religious and philosophical traditions, recognising the post-institutional fatigue of subjects who sought alternative forms of 'belonging without believing'. Privileging the domestic space for teaching, as well as transitory 'camp' gatherings in the UK and Germany, Mehta often operated in the social margins, combining teachings from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity with Zoroastrianism, Judaism (specifically Kabbalah), and Daoism. He offered his tutees the freedom to practice religion in whatever way they chose by drawing on a broad range of traditions concurrently to create a transreligiosity. This paper examines Panagiotopoulos and Roussou's 'transgressional webs of practising individualised forms of alternative spirituality' in relation to Mehta's followers in the 1970s-1980s and asks how transreligiosity relates to other theoretical analyses, such as religious exoticism, bricolage, religious appropriation, cultural re-articulation or assemblage. This paper focuses on qualitative interviews with original members of the Mehta community conducted between 2021 and 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the concept of ribāṭ and its practice have been the subject of intense debate. Recent summary papers on the eastern Mediterranean, Ifrīqiya, al-Maghrib al-Aqṣà, and al-Andalus, among others, have made it possible to compare different realities that express strong links with their local historical contexts. In this paper, we present the results of a new study that analyses the specific case of Northern Sharq al-Andalus, where the practice and institutionalisation of ribāṭ took shape from the early 9th century. There are three elements that lead us to corroborate this hypothesis: the documented presence of numerous individuals and groups voluntarily involved in the active and passive defence of the furthermost frontier of al-Andalus; the confirmation of a construction programme with homogeneous characteristics aimed at building fortified enclosures along the coast, and, lastly, the founding, in the early 9th century, of the Ribāṭ Kashkī centre at the mouth of the Ebro, a building were these practices would become centralised. In conclusion, we propose a much more complex scenario than that proposed previously, which enables us to characterise local forms of armed spirituality and sacralisation of the land that globally enriches the historical reading of ribāṭ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the complex relationship between technology, religion, and sacrifice, positing this last term as a pivotal concept for understanding the evolution and impact of technological advancements. Through a detailed examination of various cultural and religious frameworks, it explores how artificial intelligence and other modern technologies both challenge and redefine traditional notions of the sacred and the profane. By analyzing historical and contemporary practices, the study highlights the paradoxical role of sacrifice in the digital age, serving as both a metaphor for the loss inherent in technological progress and a foundational principle that shapes the ethical landscapes of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ritualised commemoration of the deceased belongs to the most common forms of communication with the dead. The meaning that people ascribe to a religious commemoration ritual is determined by a concrete religious doctrine, although it can be influenced by a broader cultural tradition. However, in the context of alternative spiritual currents, there can be many possible interpretations of communication with the dead, as there is no "official" doctrine supported by established institutions. In addition, alternative spirituality is marked by the emphasis on individuality, which results in the predominance of solitary practice. Yet, in various contexts, the tension between individuality and community can be manifested in different forms of ritualised behaviour, ranging from strictly private performances to prescribed group rituals. The paper addresses different levels of individual and collective practice in the context of alternative spirituality in Slovakia, a post-socialist country with a predominantly Christian, mostly Catholic, population. It makes use of the theoretical tools of Mary Douglas' theory relating to the connection between cosmological beliefs and particular forms of social life. Rituals and ritualised behaviour are considered in the case of the triduum of All Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day. The results of ethnographic research on spiritual circles operating in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, have shown that these holidays are perceived and practiced differently by people with different religious or spiritual affiliation. The individual interpretation and the degree of associated ritualised behaviour depend on personal background, as well as the social organisation of a circle to which a practitioner belongs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It seems that the early Jesuits misinterpreted the key Neo-Confucian terms taiji/li from an Aristotelian perspective in the seventeenth century, thereby leading to a dialogical failure in their initial encounter with Neo-Confucian tradition. What necessitates interreligious dialogue today is a pluralistic stance that deems all religious quests worthy in their own context. Therefore, this paper renews the dialogue between two spiritual traditions, long overdue, by reading two representative texts, side by side, from each tradition on self-cultivation: Reflections on Things at Hand (twelfth century) and The Spiritual Exercises (sixteenth century). The comparison showcases that the notion of "wanwuyiti", a concomitant of the Confucian ren, is tantamount to a religious imperative for human ethical engagements, and the Ignatian axiom "Finding God in All Things" energizes a spiritual self-transformation to forge an intimate bond with God and the world. While Neo-Confucian cultivation focuses on the removal of desires, seeking to maintain "equilibrium" and "centrality", the Ignatian exercises foreground commitment to "discernment" and "indifference". The Neo-Confucians address human and worldly affairs in a procedural manner, with ever-broadening horizons, to establish an orderly society. In contrast, the Ignatian self is directed toward an orderly life to serve, love, and bring ever more to God's Divine Majesty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of persons of all ages throughout the world. Older adults have been particularly susceptible to the virus and have died at higher rates than any other age group. Starting from the early days of the pandemic, gerontologists rallied to address a wide variety of issues affecting older people's lives. This paper reviews gerontological research that began shortly after the pandemic was declared and examines how a model of meaningful connectedness undergirding spiritual and religious experiences sheds light on the suffering and the resilience of older people during the pandemic. It notes that despite over four decades of research on the role of religion and spirituality in older people's lives, there has been little mention in major gerontology journals of the role of elders' religiousness and spirituality in their responses to the pandemic. The paper concludes with a call for gerontologists to pay closer attention to elder religiousness and spirituality and the many questions that need to be addressed regarding older people's experiences during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researching how spiritual resources which are unique to the individual (spiritual programmes, spiritual experiences, spiritual peer support groups) can be evaluated and incorporated in the recovery plan from any addiction is paramount to comprehend the profound inner world of any addiction. This collection of papers is inspired by years of collaboration in delivering academic programmes in Applied Spirituality. A recent statement from the Spirituality Interest Group of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) ([1]) recommended incorporating spirituality into research and clinical care in the treatment of addictions. [Extracted from the article]

In Western Australia (WA), Religious Education (RE) is a mandated learning area within the compulsory years of the Catholic school sector. RE is advocated as a curriculum subject, timetabled for and assessed alongside other subjects and focussed on developing religious knowledge and understanding. In addition to the RE lesson, faith development, or catechesis occurs through the intersection of RE and other faith-based activities in the Catholic school. In the early learning centre that caters for children prior to compulsory schooling, there is no formalised RE curriculum and educators are tasked with raising the religious awareness of children as opportunities arise. This paper presents findings from research that explored educators' understandings of, and practices in, promoting children's spirituality specifically in connection to RE. As a result, the paper advocates for spirituality as the starting point for developing young children's religious beliefs. In addition, it become evident through this investigation that understandings of spirituality, religiosity and RE continue to be complex and educators require assistance to disentangle these if they are to intentionally promote children's spirituality, and subsequently, their religious beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sport/faith interface has long been a site of contention for religious youth who routinely experience two significant obstacles to living out their faith amidst the complexities of sporting locales. The first is a general problem that pertains to the character of adolescent spirituality and is typified by a subscription to a compromised, diluted religious belief system known as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD). The second concerns the way in which the Christian religion functions as a servant to sport and when the reality of the gospel becomes subordinate to the identity, power, and cultural meaning and norms of the institution of sports and is commonly termed 'sportianity'. This paper maps the contours of a high school retreat for Christian student-athletes—Baylor University's Faith and Sports Institute (FSI) retreat- that intentionally seeks to address these problems. The paper is theological in that we interpret MTD as a religious belief system and how it structures and orients reality and the lived experiences of Christians in general and religious youth in particular. As contributors to the original design of the retreat, we unpack some of the relevant working cultural and religious presuppositions that have the potential to dominate how Christians think about and practice the integration of faith and sports. In turn, we explain key aspects of the baseline narrative for the design and development of the retreat and tease out how these presuppositions are antithetical to orthodox Christianity. In conclusion, we suggest a number of immediate implications that frame how the FSI retreat has moved forward in relation to the integration of Christian faith and sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to deal with an essential dimension of the process of discernment as Francis develops it, namely, the narrative. The paper treats the imaginative discernment exemplified in his use of storytelling, metaphors, and symbols to open a creative forum for discerning sacred truths in our personal lives. To justify the appropriateness of Francis's use of imagination in discernment, the first part of the paper analyzes Ignatius's use of the imagination, especially in the Rules for Discernment of Spirits. The second and lengthier part of the paper turns to Pope Francis's skilled narrative use of metaphors and symbols. He adopts the Ignatian imaginative style with metaphors that appeal to contemporary seekers. The various metaphorical twists that he incorporates into this experience have a privileged place in his spiritual pedagogy of accompanying, discerning, and walking together with people during difficult times. The metaphorical style of Ignatius and Francis allows for a comprehensive understanding of the role that imagination can play in the discernment of spirits. Besides enriching our understanding of discernment, this style can facilitate a Christian spirituality that enhances the search for and discovery of meaning within our contemporary lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and loneliness in the United States, using the 2018 General Social Survey to assess their interactions against a backdrop of declining traditional religious affiliation and a rise in "spiritual but not religious" identification. It examines religion and spirituality's capacity to counteract loneliness, a condition with significant health implications. The analysis uncovers complex relationships between aspects of religious life and loneliness, showing no mitigating role of spirituality when controlling for other factors, with complex and varied negative relationships of religious service attendance and self-rate religiosity to different aspects of loneliness. Yet, any potentially protective effect of religion varies, with minority religious groups reporting feelings of increased loneliness. These findings underscore religion and spirituality's nuanced roles in emotional well-being, indicating that their benefits (or not) against loneliness are complex, varied, and depend on the aspect of religion or loneliness observed, along with non-religious factors. The paper contributes to the literature on societal loneliness, changing religious and spiritual engagements, and highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to explore the role of religion and spirituality in understanding loneliness specifically, and personal and social well-being more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theological/spiritual reflection in psychotherapeutic practice has increased in recent years. Approaches for reflection and integration vary depending on the practitioner's spiritual and theoretical beliefs. The integrative approach utilized in this paper is derived from a phenomenological perspective of the author, who was schooled in pastoral theology and later family therapy. Considering the pastoral theologian Seward Hiltner's perspectival approach, this integrative approach creates a conversational method, integrating the client's concerns with specific narrative therapy interventions or practices and the theological/spiritual concepts of immanence–transcendence. Finally, this case study's methodology offers constructive questions that clinical practitioners can apply to specific psychotherapy approaches as well as theological concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many ways, the cascading effects of the age of the Anthropocene have accelerated life as we know it towards a certain kind of reckoning, which has only been exacerbated amidst the global inequities present within the COVID-19 pandemic. Trauma studies, as an interdisciplinary field, has recently been linked to the experience of despair at both personal and collective levels. Yet, trauma scholars are increasingly amenable to diverse forms of spirituality and its perspectives as core to the work of addressing suffering in the world, especially for marginalized communities as ways to access the wisdom of bodies, thoughts, emotions, and cultural/spiritual longings. Moving further in this direction, a practical theology which bridges trauma studies with Christian spirituality (and the emphases on spiritually rooted social action and the centrality of the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete: helper, counsellor, advocate, and comforter) is timely. This paper imagines how contemporary trauma care approaches might be supported by emergent forms of Christian spirituality enabling greater posttraumatic growth and resiliency and subsequently how this can renew the practice and study of Christian spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the concept of behavioral philosophy, discusses its relationship to philosophical counseling and psychotherapy, and focuses on the concept of normalcy as the normative foundation for a broader discussion on pathology versus philosophical dysfunctionality in life. Following the starting definitions, the argument proceeds to considering how normalcy as a normative foundation of both behavioral philosophy and philosophical counseling and of psychotherapy (along with pathology and pathologization) plays a role in the perspective of behavioral self-improvement sought by behavioral philosophy and by psychotherapy (for various reasons, depending on the psychotherapeutic school and methodology). The author concludes that normalcy, rather than pathology or mental disorder, is the focal concept to discuss in order to understand the role of spirituality and spiritual conviction and belief within the context of therapeutic change, whether it is interpreted philosophically or strictly psychotherapeutically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present essay, we want to show how the Canticle of the Creatures, which we might call "The Canticle of Universal Brotherhood", is much more than the Canticle of Brother Sun or of a single man. The author himself is much more than the exceptional case of a nature-friendly medieval saint who, therefore, continues to inspire the promoters of ecology and, especially after the papal encyclical Laudato Si', constitutes the ecumenical matrix for the care of our common home. To this end, in this paper, we focus on two moments that, in the construction of the tutelary figure of Francis of Assisi, constitute a kind of diptych or portals which open and recapitulate the reconstructive intuition he bequeathed to us: (1) the vocational moment: Go and repair my house; and (2) the testamentary moment, in which the Founder, who never wanted to found anything, legates his manifesto for building the common home as a universal brotherhood, turning the "stones" into a canticle. Above all, we want to highlight the relevance of Franciscan spirituality, expressed particularly in the Canticle of the Creatures, and thus the Franciscan aesthetics for the modern ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonisation, genocide, ecocide, and climate derangement are ongoing, unfurling, global tragedies. In so-called Australia, spiritual practitioners can respond to these crises by deepening their engagement with Aboriginal perspectives/practices. This paper contends that some Eurocentric habitual categorisations subtly misinterpret Aboriginal experiences of the sacred, such as identifying creation myths as beliefs comparable to post-Enlightenment representations of the sacred and identifying the performance of sacred activity with similar characteristics to separateness and priesthood. This leads to erroneous characterisations of Aboriginal ritual practices as being based on a strong hierarchy, distinctive castes, and esotericism. We argue that an embodied and practice-based sense of sacredness guides Aboriginal spirituality. As a living culture, Aboriginal ongoing care for Country provides an enfleshed, real, palpable enactment of human spirituality. We argue that Aboriginal spirituality has been fetishised to the neglect of a call to care for Country in the most 'mundane' sense of tending to food, water, air, etc., as embodied religious experiences. Delving into dadirri and death, we elucidate contemporary cases of practical care for Country that illustrate how being on, in, and with Country can be a contemplative experience. We conclude by outlining how caring for Country 'layers' the various expressions of Aboriginal religious experience socially, psychologically, interpersonally, and ritually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses Jack Kerouac's brief but intense conversion to American pseudo-Buddhism and the artistic effect of this biographical development, arguing that his conversion was total from a spiritual point of view and that its almost immediate effect was the production of a literary piece which should be read as a (fictional) pseudo-Buddhist hagiography, or a pseudo-ojoden. The article investigates Jack Kerouac's life as the life of a modern American Buddha, as a person engaged in a constant quest for spiritual enlightenment, who imbued his work with a spiritual feeling derived from his personal, direct, albeit limited experience with spirituality. His novel, The Dharma Bums, is a (fictional) pseudo-Buddhist hagiography because it is (auto)biographical, and the central characters are portrayed as enlightened, "holy" beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The engagement of UNESCO with indigenous peoples and their heritage provides insights into global norms that affect collective cultural rights, religion, and education of indigenous peoples. It also enables insights into structural and organizational challenges and opportunities indigenous peoples experience in the current world. Against this background, this paper analyzes exemplary UNESCO standard-setting documents that explicitly approach indigenous peoples. In doing so, the paper asks first, how these documents situate indigenous peoples in the context of cultural/religious diversity and education. Second, we reconstruct how UNESCO addresses the holistic education of indigenous peoples, and how does it relate to the notion of the holistic approach itself. Methodologically, the paper applies qualitative content analysis with close reading and situates UNESCO's developments in the theoretical framework of the study of religion. From this perspective, the results address ambiguities around the term "religion", when concentrated to ritual, and the possibility of convergences between universalist and holistic knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cosmopolitanism, which has recently become a matter of great scholarly interest, is an ethical and political theory that envisions all human beings as citizens in a single community. This paper presents a "rooted" approach to cosmopolitanism, claiming that local attachments can be essential to our ability to nurture a cosmopolitan orientation. More specifically, this paper explores the potential that lies in the connection between the ideas of 20th century Kabbalist, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (1884–1954), which stem from the mystical interpretation of reality and Jewish scriptures, and cosmopolitanism, viewed from an educational prism. To exemplify how a cosmopolitan-oriented religious education might look, the author presents a hermeneutic account of the social doctrine of Ashlag, whose writings, mediated by both orthodox and secular successors, have influenced millions. Relying on Ashlag's approach to otherness—one of the main themes in cosmopolitanism—the author shows how religious affiliations can serve as a strong impetus for the cultivation of cosmopolitan values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the contemporary Australian church reveals a spiritual malaise in which passive learning has become the main staple for many church members or attendees. This sense is heightened by demographic trends over the last fifty years that reflect a sustained decline in Australians identifying as religious. Although commitment to Christianity is seemingly softening, this sociodemographic picture is contraindicated by other research that reflects a growing hunger for spirituality among many Australians. Given this disparity, there is an opportunity to re-examine pertinent understandings of spiritual growth. In the literature, notions of spiritual growth are conceptualised by a variety of definitions and operationalised by a range of tools and practices. Analysis suggests that many models are limited by linearity, passivity, and reductionism and do not adequately resonate with the complexities inherent in spiritual growth. This literature review extends previous research by examining the state of the art in relation to spiritual growth. The paper converges around the synthesis that heutagogy and coaching are effective twin strategies that may direct self-determined learning towards enhanced spiritual growth. This paper conceptualises opportunities for future research and thereby lays the foundation for an important emergent research agenda. This article charts pertinent perspectives and prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ways in which the Letters of Ammonas, John Cassian's Conference IV, and the corpus of Macarius-Symeon appropriate and develop the motif of divine abandonment found in St. Antony and shifts it into a distinctly pneumatological key through Scriptural exegesis. Correcting a misconception popularized by Vladimir Lossky, this paper argues for a normative experience of divine abandonment in the Eastern Christian tradition via sustained engagement with the experience of those practitioners of desert spirituality. Engaging with the hermeneutics of Hans Georg Gadamer and following the previously established trajectories of Douglas Burton-Christie, I argue that the desert fathers, despite initial hesitation and eventual qualification, accepted the reality of pneumatic abandonment due to the interlocking pressures of Scripture and monastic experience. The paper concludes with some implications for contemporary pneumatological discussions by drawing critical parallels between the pneumatological tradition of the desert and the contemporary pneumatic doctrine of Ephraim Radner. Radner is affirmed in his insistence on individual pneumatic abandonment but is critically questioned regarding his articulation of the pneumatic abandonment of the Church through the vantage of Macarius-Symeon's stabilized pneumatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work sought to address the question of where religious violence is located in our constitution of experience, so as to show how transcendental phenomenology can help us begin to better understand religious violence. The paper begins with an outline of four distinct levels of phenomenological analysis provided by transcendental phenomenology. It then relates those four levels to religious experience, showing that religious violence can refer to violence occurring on all four of those levels. In doing so, it also shows that "religious experience" can refer both to particular experiences we call 'religious' and to a dimension of all experiencing. Finally, the paper ends with the suggestion that religious communities wishing to address the question of religious violence must pay attention both to the spiritual force that animates them and to the cultural context in which they express that force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retirement from sport is widely reported as a challenging time of transition in the lives of elite athletes and is one that has been explored from a range of different perspectives both by sport psychologists and socio-cultural scholars of sport. However, of late, a small number of scholars have considered athlete career transition within the context of religion and spirituality, identifying the religious identity and belief of athletes as central to their transition experiences. That said, this work does not go as far as developing a theological understanding of sports retirement. Here, we explore and frame the phenomenon of sports retirement through the theological lens put forward by the neo-Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr in his book Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. In this paper, we suggest how Rohr's ideas might help develop an alternative and more nuanced understanding of sports retirement, building on those currently promoted in sport psychology and the sociology of sport the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that interreligious dialogue through study and friendships across the religious divide makes participants less susceptible to religious and cultural misinformation that is often used to maintain social bubbles, in which members draw clear boundaries between "us" and "them". Differences between social groups can culminate in a struggle between "good" and "evil" that can escalate into tension and violence. Preventing tensions and conflicts requires respect for differences, willingness to engage in dialogue, and a sound understanding of what religion is and the historical processes that have determined its development, distinguishing between empirical facts and images to which believers adhere. Because the author is a Dutch sociologist turned journalist from a conservative Christian family involved in interreligious dialogue in the Netherlands, Israel, and Egypt, the literature review presents contemporary religious developments in all three countries. The literature review is flanked by the author's personal narrative on the events that changed his views on truth and spirituality, making him more aware of the commonalities between peoples of different beliefs and leading him to a lifelong commitment to interreligious and intercultural dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Victorian bourgeois ballad is a distinctive genre that demonstrates the spirituality of religion transferred to the drawing room. This paper will examine in detail four examples of the genre—The Lost Chord, The Holy City, Arise O Sun and The Volunteer Organist to examine the spirituality of the genre in terms of the materials used, the musical construction, the value system underpinning it and the expressive character. It will interrogate their relationship to the spirituality of Victorian Anglicanism and the place of this spirituality in the lives of the people with whom they were popular and its role in their social life, drawing on the author's own experience. It was also a genre in which women excelled and this and the notion of spirituality will be examined culturally, drawing on Foucault's notion of subjugated knowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this conceptual paper, we suggest that attachment theory is a viable framework for understanding key aspects of embodied religious and spiritual cognition, as seen in religious and spiritual metaphors, rituals, anthropomorphisms, and more. We also discuss embodied cognition as part of mystical experiences and other altered states of consciousness that may occur both within and outside of religious contexts. Therefore, religiospiritual cognition is introduced as an alternative term to religious cognition. We review the basic tenets of attachment theory and conceptually link embodied religiospiritual cognition to attachment-related processes. Finally, we conclude with directions for future research on embodied religiospiritual cognition from an attachment viewpoint. The field of psychedelic science may be especially promising for examining links between attachment and embodied religiospiritual cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the local beliefs of the sea gods in Japan, represented by the Sumiyoshi Sanjin 住吉三神, and their acceptance of the foreign culture of Mazu 媽祖. While there are many differences between the two in terms of their backgrounds, functions, and identities, the evolution of Japanese sea god beliefs has been characterized by a gradual acceptance of Mazu culture, culminating in the co-culturing of the two in shrines. This paper adopts an empirical research design to compare the local beliefs of the sea gods in Japan with the culture of Mazu and to analyze the reasons for their acceptance of Mazu culture from the perspective of the other. This article argues that the Japanese sea gods accepted Mazu for two reasons: the tangibility of Mazu's beliefs and the superb spirituality of Mazu's beliefs. Superb spirituality means effective protection, both in terms of safety at sea and swiftness in rescuing shipwrecks, and in terms of the smooth running of the fishing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores St Ignatius Loyola's relationship to the medieval tradition of theologia mystica, especially in the Spiritual Exercises. Although the evidence is scanty, it is clear that the young Iñigo was acquainted with the methods and structures of Abbot García de Cisneros' Exercitatorio de La Vida Espiritual during his extended stay at Montserrat and Manresa after his conversion of life. Commentators have disagreed over the extent of the influence of these writings on Ignatius' later spirituality; however, this paper will explore the 'family resemblances' between the type of spirituality developed by Ignatius after his stay in Catalonia and the later medieval spirituality expressed in the Abbot's work. In particular, the paper concentrates on one aspect of that work that has not received much attention: namely, the strand in Cisneros' work that explores the late medieval tradition of theologia mystica, particularly as reworked from the writings of Jean Gerson (1363–1429), sometime Chancellor of the University of Paris. The paper argues that Gerson's form of 'affective Dionysianism' shares much in common with the spirituality later developed by Ignatius, and will conclude with some final remarks as to how this helps us to understand the 'mystical desire' that lies at the heart of Ignatius' project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building upon earlier research, this paper unpacks the complex relationship between punk and Krishna Consciousness, in this instance through the lens of Paulo Freire's notion of praxis. Here, the intersection between punk, the Hare Krishna movement and the corresponding relationship between auto-didacticism and spirituality are examined as a means of interrogating subcultural participation and the hegemonic dominance of the anti-religious sentiment within punk. Freire's approach is examined within the context of this relationship, specifically regarding the inquisitiveness of the individual as they begin the process of engaging with Krishna Consciousness and spirituality, especially from the standpoint of punk. The importance here lies in the learning process being in a state of flux, where the continual re-creation of knowledge and inquiry becomes a means of consolidating the dialectical relationship between the self and the world around it. Here, punk becomes a valuable space in which to discover new ideas, a means of developing an aesthetic and subcultural/religious/spiritual membership within a framework of auto-didacticism; of illuminating the dialectical, hermeneutic relationship between consciousness and the world around us, central to Freire's concept of praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liturgical practice and its theological interpretation are not only very important to the Chinese inculturation of Catholicism in particular and Christianity in general but also of great significance in the establishment of an indigenized Christian faith and system of life. This paper will analyze the methodological approaches and historical inspirations for the inculturation of Christian liturgical theology through Giulio Aleni's (1582–1649) Explication of the Mass (Misa Jiyi, 弥撒祭义), the first book to utilize Chinese cultural resources to systematically interpret the Mass (Eucharist). Continuing the general Jesuit accommodation initiated by Matteo Ricci, Aleni established an indigenized liturgical system of theology through intercultural learning, borrowing, and creative construction. Three of his contributions especially stand out. First, Aleni explained the significance of the Mass in terms of the Chinese philosophical–ethical concepts of "repaying the roots" (baoben, 报本) and "giving thanks" (gan'en, 感恩). Second, he elaborated on communion with the Trinitarian God in the Mass through Jesus Christ by drawing on the ancient Chinese teachings of repaying (chou, 酬), commemoration (shi, 示), and hope (wang, 望), which Aleni related to "giving thanks to the Father," "commemorating Jesus," and "invoking the Holy Spirit." Finally, he provided a deep spiritual explanation of the Mass, using the traditional Confucian concepts of "self-restraint" (keji, 克己), "self-reflection" (fanji, 反己), and "spiritual meditation" (chouyi, 抽绎) to help believers understand the activities of repentance, commemoration, and prayer in the Mass. Overall, Aleni emphasized that the essence of the Mass was to achieve "communion with the heart of heavenly Lord" (xihe tianzhuzhixin, 翕合天主之心), which, as a pivot of faith, could be extended into daily life through its spiritual practice. Aleni, therefore, established a comprehensive system of "liturgy-spirituality-life" for Chinese Christians by indigenizing Christian liturgical theology through intercultural learning. His creative synthesis yielded a dynamic balance between Christian and Chinese traditions, absorbing Confucian resources to imaginatively enrich and expand the Christian tradition, while encouraging the creative transformation of the Christian tradition into the Chinese cultural community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first illustrated haggadah of the print era was published around 1505 by David and Samuel ibn Nahmias in Istanbul (henceforth "Istanbul Haggadah"). It was embellished with woodcuts that had been commissioned in 1492 in Naples. This paper approaches the Istanbul Haggadah as a cultural product of the early Sefardi Diaspora. A comparative iconographic method reveals idiosyncrasies in relation to the tradition of medieval manuscript haggadot, which are then contextualized within the cultural ambience of the early Sefardi Diaspora in Naples, where Don Isaac Abarbanel played a central role as a spiritual and communal leader. My analysis is based on three types of information and sources: Abarbanel's post-expulsion writings, among others a commentary on the haggadah; book-historical data on the early phases of printing; and historical information on the lives of the refugees. Most Sefardi printing projects from the post-expulsion years were aimed at meeting the spiritual needs of the community of exiles. The Istanbul Haggadah, and particularly its illustration program, was a fitting compliment to these endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the document Letter of his Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists, John Paul II pointed out that artists, with their creation, perform a professional social service for the benefit of the common good through the "spirituality of artistic service", which, through the perspective of "educational art," contributes to the life and revival of the individual and society. Since that document does not specify what a model of such spirituality would consist of, the goal of this paper is to offer a proposal for the theoretical elaboration of its potential framework. The topic is discussed from the perspective of Christian theological aesthetics. The starting point for the development of the spirituality of the artistic service model is Christian artistic creation. The indicated theoretical framework of the spirituality of artistic service is based on three dimensions of Christian artistic creation. The first represents Christian artistic creation that points to the depths of the mystery of the sacred through Christian symbols. The second dimension of Christian artistic creation relies on the contemporary form of religious imagery in changed cultural circumstances in order to adequately present a transcendent perspective of the meaning of existence. The third dimension of Christian artistic creation awakens admiration in the recipients through artistic contemplation, thus enabling a spiritual transformation and serving as the bearer of eschatological hope. In the end, it is shown that this model of spirituality in artistic service can serve as a good theoretical framework for the implementation of three new dimensions of Christian art suitable for the contemporary cultural environment: mystagogic, existential, and contemplative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very rich scholarly works have been produced to perform a comparative study between Emerson and Zhuang Zi. Many scholars in their comparative research have tried to find how Emerson and the transcendentalists such as Thoreau borrow ideas from Daoism. In this article, I will take a different approach. I aim to find how Emerson and Zhuang Zi's pursuit of spirituality in nature shapes different types of sense of place. The concept of spirituality is related to the pursuit of meaning in life and self-transcendence. This concept has gradually gained attention from the branches of religion, philosophy, geography, and psychology since, currently, due to the fast urbanization process, more people are separated from their land and move into cities. I will make a comparison between Emerson and Zhuang Zi from the concepts of spirituality, nature, and place. This perspective will shed light on the question of the conservation of various places due to their value and meaning, although I will not discuss conservation issues in this paper. In this article, I will first give a brief introduction to the meaning of spirituality by focusing on the three dimensions of this concept, which include meaning, self-transcendence, and spiritual practices. Then, I will discuss how the concept of nature in Emerson and Zhuang Zi's works is related to these three dimensions. Finally, I will examine why Emerson and Zhuang Zi treat wilderness and agricultural land, respectively, as a place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper is based on the study of the evolution of pilgrimages on the Santiago Way, highlighting the Portuguese Way to Santiago—Central Portuguese Way and Coastal Portuguese Way—which has experienced massive popularity over the years. The primary objective of this work is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the pilgrims' motivations to undertake the Santiago Way pilgrimage. A mixed methods approach is adopted based on the simultaneous use of quantitative and qualitative data. So, an analysis of secondary data, provided by the Oficina del Peregrino de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela and by the Municipal Department of Cultural Heritage Management of Porto is combined with a thematic analysis of seven interviews with stakeholders of the Portuguese Way to Santiago. The findings suggest that there is an increase in cultural and sports motivations, although spiritual and religious motivations continue to have a strong presence. The ecumenical character of the Santiago Way is also proved, given the large number of pilgrims of religions other than the Catholic one, who travel these paths—the vast territories that are traversed—until reaching the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. A new paradigm still needs to be registered, perceptible in the rise of Turigrims, pilgrims who benefit from support services that mitigate the hardships of the way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After-death communication (ADC) is the phenomenon of perceiving spontaneous and direct contact by a deceased loved one. Evidence suggests that ADC is a widespread human experience, particularly for bereaved individuals. Many people who have ADCs report them to be comforting, suggesting therapeutic potential. However, many individuals in Western cultures choose not to disclose their ADCs to mental health providers, citing fears of pathologization, disenfranchisement due to gender expectations, negative ADC encounters, or minimization by clinicians. For others, ADCs are deeply personal and people may keep the experiences to themselves for fear that providers might explain the ADCs away by framing them in purely psychological terms. As such, there is a paucity of literature on how therapists should best approach the topic of ADC with clients. The following narrative review offers clinical interview and assessment strategies from theoretical papers and empirical studies to guide this process. Clinicians are encouraged to self-reflect on their natural inclinations around ADC, assess general psychological functioning, normalize and validate the ADC experience, assess client feelings and explanations, and inquire about spiritual beliefs. Clinicians can also help clients to explore the meaning and personal significance of their ADCs as well as clients' perceived relationships with the deceased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their paper on funeral and birth rituals in Russia, [20] ([20]) draw our attention to the importance of transmitting knowledge about "ritual fractures". Birth and death are fundamental human experiences. Rituals surrounding perinatal loss thus not only resemble death rites but also initiation rites. While birth has been much less visualized than death, the here studied material and visual representations of birth show how birth is related to other rites of passages. [Extracted from the article]

Most professionals in health and long-term care know the importance of spirituality for well-being among older people; however, they are challenged to know how to approach the topic or what to do to enable the power of spirituality in their setting. This paper is based on an extensive search and content analysis of literature in the health and social sciences, and offers a step-wise approach to engaging with older adults on spiritual issues. The content analysis identified five levels of intervention. The first two levels require no special training (listening and acknowledging, referring). The next three levels—asking about spirituality, indirect, and direct interventions—each depend on a greater degree of preparation and expertise. All the levels offer the possibility of spiritual expression for clients/residents, and the opportunity for health and social service professionals to respond to these important issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Kabbalah creation myth, God creates the universe by "stepping back", releasing ten holy vessels with his light—only to have those vessels shatter with shards of divine light, or "shards" scattered throughout the earth. In a parallel approach, this paper suggests that the sacred must be sought in diverse encounters within everyday life and professional practice. In counseling or other therapeutic support, the definition of and search for spiritual dimensions must be broadened to thoughtfully incorporate the diverse experiences and expressions of people with intellectual disabilities. Similarly, those who seek to understand people's relationship with the divine and support meaning in their lives must welcome a wide range of "artistic" engagements, an approach exemplified in grief and loss intervention. This article concludes by pointing towards resonance as a helpful concept to reconceptualize accessible spirituality in future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) have been described extensively as being an integral part of subjective well-being and mental health, especially in Anglo-American regions. Accordingly, the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB) was developed in the European context to be able to contribute to the further development of this research field by means of a validated measure. In this paper, after an introduction to basic considerations about the scale, more recent developments (from 2012 to 2022) regarding the use of the MI-RSWB are presented. Thus, it is intended to focus here on (1) the presentation of standard values for the MI-RSWB for the Austrian general population, (2) several scale translations into different languages, (3) more recent data on the relationship between RSWB, personality, and mental health, and (4) the potential clinical applications of the RSWB dimensions. As a conclusion, further potential applications of the RSWB concept are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fundamental question of the 21st century centers around the role and place of humans in their environment. Given the great acceleration of consumptive practices engaged in the 20th century, humans stand on the brink of a 6th extinction event. In order to determine our place and role in our global environment, we need to reflect on where we are and what the future will be—we need to focus on the habits of our "co-inhabitation" of the planet. Given the positive and negative impacts of international and global activities, intercultural dialogues are necessary for the care of the ecology of the planet, and one of the most prescient dialogues is between Eastern and Western world views. While much comparative research has been conducted regarding the connection between American Transcendentalism and Chinese ancient philosophy, relatively little philosophical work has been conducted to demonstrate the connectivity between Henry David Thoreau and Taoism. Yet there are, in fact, profound similarities between the American naturalist and Chinese philosophy, in particular Taoism. This paper aimed to discover and manifest the connection and similarities between the philosophy of Thoreau and the ancient worldview of Taoism. Through this comparative study and intercultural dialogue, we seek to trace historical precedents and intercultural dialogue between American Transcendentalism and ancient Chinese philosophy in order to explore the groundwork for a new vision of environmental awareness in order to promote a better future with a community of co-inhabitants and emphasis on the well-being of all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While most traditional works on the life of Prophet Muḥammad focus on how his ostensible teachings and actions can be used as a template for human conduct, the thirteenth-century Sufi thinker, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn 'Arabī (d. 638/1240), turns his attention to the spiritual significance and inner reality of Prophet Muḥammad. Ibn 'Arabī argues that as the seal of the prophets, Muḥammad was not only given the Qur'an, which incorporated elements from previous revelations, nor was he just given a religion that had elements from prior religions; rather, in his very spiritual essence, he combined the essences of previous prophets. It is in this sense that Muḥammad represents the culmination of the prophetic life. In his Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, Ibn 'Arabī reveals the spiritual significance of all the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an, with the exception of Khālid ibn Sinān, whom Ibn 'Arabī considers to be a prophet and dedicates a chapter to, but who is not mentioned in the Qur'an. The present paper explores how the spiritual essences of previous prophets are manifested in Prophet Muḥammad, and the ways in which this comprehensiveness is exhibited in his life. This 'spiritual sīrah' is all the more significant in the modern context, where spirituality is privileged over religiosity. Ibn 'Arabī demonstrates that the spiritual basis of the life of Prophet Muḥammad cannot be extricated from his external actions. The 'spiritual sīrah' thus provides an antidote to the religious associational formalism that is rejected by many modern Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Centring on embodiment, gendered eco-spiritual responses to nature, enchantment and environmental crises in the Anthropocene, this paper explores engagement with nature as a spiritual experience and resource through 'Celtic' Christian prayer walks in the Isle of Man. Web-based and printed materials for the walks are analysed for references to nature and environmental responsibility, and the complexities of personal, gendered and theological relation to nature and the environment are explored through participants' accounts. The analysis is attentive to participants professing Christian faith and institutional affiliation as well as those without affiliation or faith, and to their gendered experience. Themes identified include nature-inspired 'Celtic' spirituality; personal relation to the non-human (the divine, nature and nature-as-divine); the landscape as a liminal 'thin place'; and social and environmental responsibility. The paper concludes by signalling the potential for bridging between pilgrimage-centred enchantment and eco-spirituality in order to mobilise engagement with and for the environment in the Anthropocene, including environmental conservation activities, lobbying or protest. Whilst eschewing gendered stereotypes, empirical findings evidence gendered patterns of engagement and responses to different expressions of spirituality. Attention to these differences could facilitate the engaging and mobilising of different cohorts of pilgrims with environmental agendas, inspiring personal and collective environmental action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about poetry and pilgrimage in Tembilahan, Indragiri Hilir, where Abdurrahman Siddiq, a prominent alim who lived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, is buried. In addition to his treatises on theology, mysticism, and ethics, Abdurrahman Siddiq is also renowned for his contribution to Islamic literature in Sumatra. He is a famous Islamic scholar and is respected in Indragiri Hilir for his spiritual messages delivered in the form of sya'ir (poetry). Malay Muslims have preserved the saint's legacy through the act of pilgrimage and various cultural events and festivals. This paper argues that the recitation of Abdurrahman Siddiq's poems during the pilgrimage to Tembilahan and Islamic festivals shows how Malay Muslims honor their respected saint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirituality has been proven in recent studies to be a key contributor in posttraumatic growth. One of the most well-known mystical thinkers in Islam, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn 'Arabī (d. 634/1240), nevertheless, believes that trauma does not facilitate spiritual growth, but rather has the capacity to reveal the spiritual potentiality that was latent within a person. This paper begins by exploring the concept of trauma in the Qur'an and how it may actualise the potentiality of humans. It then scrutinises Ibn 'Arabī's understanding of human potentiality or 'preparedness' (isti'dād) and how its actualisation leads to the rank of the Perfect Man (al-Insān al-kāmil). Finally, it adduces two examples (Mūsā and Yūnus) in whom traumatic experiences result in posttraumatic growth and the actualisation of their spiritual potentialities. In the case of the former, it is posttraumatic growth through preservation of the self; for the latter, it is posttraumatic growth through preservation of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]