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In the paper, the author presents Jerzy Prokopiuk's (1931-2021) outlook on gnosis and Gnosticism. Prokopiuk was a Polish esotericist, translator, and non-academic specialist in religious studies. His views on this subject can be divided into four areas: (1) definition of gnosis; (2) the essence and description of Gnosticism as a historical religious formation; (3) description and understanding of the post-Gnostic tradition; (4) gnosis and Gnosticism as a hermeneutic tool. As to (1) definition of gnosis, the Prokopiuk presents three forms of this special kind of knowledge: escapist gnosis (knowledge liberates the human spirit from material body and the physical world); transformational gnosis (knowledge transforms the human soul, body and earthly nature); lateral gnosis (idea of alternative worlds). Regarding (2) Gnosticism, Prokopiuk says that its source was ancient mysteries and a particular type of religious experience. He sees (3) the post-Gnostic tradition as an unbroken chain of esoteric groups and figures from late antiquity to the present day. Finally, gnosis and Gnosticism are (4) a hermeneutic tool for Prokopiuk because they allow him to interpret phenomena and texts of culture (in the field of literature, cinema, psychology, and others). The paper also reflects on the usefulness of some of Prokopiuk's ideas for contemporary humanities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vegetarian diet was seen by esotericists at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the only diet fully compliant with the laws of Nature. Adopting it was therefore treated not only as a way of staying healthy (i.e. maintaining a psycho-physical and spiritual balance) and progressing spiritually, but also as a duty towards Nature and a way to preserve its original, pure and therefore beneficial character. The aim of this paper is to analyse pro-vegetarian and – as the author claims – at the same time pro-ecological discourse developed within the Polish esoteric milieu at the turn of the twentieth century. Based on the example of Polish esoteric vegetarians, the specificity of argumentation and characteristic depiction will be presented as well as the practical implementation of the proclaimed postulates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the experience of the first generations of women studying in Switzerland. The text corpus consists of autobiographical accounts, letters, and fiction by German, Russian, and Polish authors. Among the first female students in Switzerland, there were such figures as Vera Figner, Olga Lubatovich, Franziska Tiburtius, Ricarda Huch, Rosa Luxemburg, Anna Tomaszewicz-Dobrska, Gabriela Iwanowska-Balicka, Zofia Daszyńska-Golińska, and Józefa Joteyko. The paper discusses the issues of (international) female cooperation and solidarity, on the one hand, and, on the other, it highlights the disparity between the self and the world, as well as the efforts to maintain the separateness of the national group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarises a pilot study aiming to apply George Lakoff's concept of moral politics in the Polish context. Based on an analysis of a corpus built from articles published in Polish rightwing weekly magazines between 2019 and 2021 and addressing the topic of the LGBTQIA+ community, the text argues that the way of formulating and expressing views regarding socio-political issues systematically depends on an implicitly applied cognitive model of morality (in this case, the strict father morality postulated by Lakoff). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to present the most characteristic elements of the contemporary Russian discourse on spells. The empirical material used here was based on magical handbooks and spell collections by Natalia Ivanova Stiepanova, who calls herself (coming from a well-known house of folk healers) the Healer from Siberia. The paper explains the genesis of Russian people's sensibility to all signs of esotericism and shows huge popularity of magical practices in contemporary Russia. The paper also highlights mutual relations between magic, science and religion taking place in these areas (nowadays and in the past). The analysis of the material has shown that Russians today are firmly convinced of the existence of charms (bad spells cast with glances or words) which may cause various misfortunes. It is equally popular among them to believe that with the help of appropriate - as suggested by Stiepanova - magical rituals, a bad spell can be undone (got rid of). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses selected research topics developed by feminist theologians connected with the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. The Circle was established in 1989 and was led for many years by Mercy Amba Oduyoye, a Ghanaian Methodist theologian. Today the Circle attracts women theologians from three generations and various African countries. The paper refers to feminist and postcolonial theories as well as some more African-oriented topics developed in the Circle’s writings. Complex and ambiguous reinterpretations of the so-called African Traditional Religion are framed by references to inculturation and liberation theology. The final part of the paper refers to the concept of “oral theology” and theology in practice. The author’s ethnographic fieldwork in Ghana among Catholic women is mentioned to draw parallels between the theological practical approach and the anthropological concept of lived religion.

The paper discusses cosmogony presented by Uddālaka Āruṇi attested in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.1-6), according to which world forms arise by giving them a name. I argue that the experience that motivates the thinking of Uddālaka is ritual, the essence of which is to give people and objects a name, thanks to which their status dramatically changes for the duration of the ritual. An analysis of a selected passage of the king's coronation described in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (5.3.4) reveals the fundamental importance of the verses uttered during preparation of the water for the consecration. The reconstruction of an experience that influences philosophical thought makes it possible to see its coherence and depth, and the fact that this experience is a ritual, a common experience of humanity, enables it to be better understood by those who grew up in other philosophical traditions as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers the form, status, and importance of the Qur'anic message in the first two centuries of Islam. The argument is that the term "Qur'an" could not have originally referred to the final body of revelation in a text form. Rather, the concept of the Qur'an must have functioned among the faithful as a term for oral transmission before the scripturalization of the revelation, and it is this oral function of the Qur'an that is primal to its literate function. It seems that just as in Judaism and Christianity, in Islam the process of remembering, passing on, collecting, and codifying the textus receptus, along with its stabilization and sacralization, was a centuries-long self-propelled operation shaped primarily by the oral tradition (especially in the presumed culture of illiterate people). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a long time, the world thought that the collapse of the USSR in 1991 would lead to a similar outcome in North Korea. Although the Kim regime suffered harsh economic troubles, it was able to distance itself from communism without facing an ideological crisis and losing mass support. The same core political myths are still in use today. However, after the DPRK left the ideas of socialist realism behind, it has become clearer that the ideology of the country is a political religion. Now, its propaganda is using more supernatural elements than ever before. A good example is the movie The Big-Game Hunter (Maengsu sanyangkkun) in which the Japanese are trying to desacralize Paektu Mountain, but instead experience the fury of the holy mountain in the form of thunderbolts. The movie was produced in 2011 by P'yo Kwang, one of the most successful North Korean directors. It was filmed in the same year Kim Chŏng-ŭn came to power. The aim of the paper is to show the evolution of the DPRK political myth in North Korean cinema, in which The Big-Game Hunter seems to be another step in the process of mythologization. It is crucial to understand how the propaganda works, as it is still largely the cinema that shapes the attitudes and imagination of the people of the DPRK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper an attempt will be made toward interpreting selected stanzas from the work of Nārāyaa Guru (1854-1928), a mystic and social reformer from Kerala. In his Malayalam work the Kualinī Pāŭ (The Song of the Kundalini Snake), Guru depicted an ancient yogic concept of Kualinī, a coiled power residing in the state of sleep within the subtle energy centre (mūlādhāra) situated at the base of the central body channel (suumnā). The very same concept appears in many other works by Nārāyaa Guru, including Śiva Śatakam (One Hundred Stanzas on Śiva). An analysis of these stanzas in the light of the Siddha tradition (Tirumandiram by Tirumūlar) reveals that not only has the Kualinī concept been borrowed from the Dravidian literature, Nārāyaan introduces the Tamil Siddhas' style of description of mystic experiences to his philosophical works, using metaphorical-twilight language which excludes the possibility of univocal interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper elaborates on the meaning of the meditation techniques described by Zhiyi in the field of Chan Buddhist studies. In order to show the importance of considering these techniques in the study of Chan Buddhism, in the first part of the paper the author discusses the historical connections between the Tiantai and Chan schools, presenting the influence of Tiantai on the development of Chan Buddhism. In the second part the author presents a contextual analysis of the main meditation practice of the Caodong school, that is silent illumination technique, based on the technique described by Zhiyi and called six wondrous dharma gates. The aim of the analysis is the show the usefulness of considering Zhiyi's works in Chan studies methodology. This usefulness results from the ability to clarify the obscure, metaphor-laden, poetical sentences typical of Chan, based on Zhiyi's precise language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadayev (1794-1856), the author of the famous Philosophical Letters, is usually regarded as a "paradoxical" conservative, a representative of historiosophy and a social thinker. In the present paper Chaadayev is discussed from the perspective of the philosophy of religion with special emphasis put on the following issues: tradition vs religion (the traditionalist's standpoint), history vs religion, freedom vs religion, and an outline of the proposed philosophy of religion (or religious philosophy). The paper also touches upon typically Russian issues: Russian identity facing the West, and primarily religious Occidentalism, which was the position taken and elaborated by Chaadayev. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proposed paper concerns the hitherto unstudied regional hagiographic tradition of Śańkara - the great Indian philosopher and founder of the pan-Indian monastic order within the Advaita Vedanta doctrine in Kerala (South India). This literary tradition is represented by a series of lesser-known texts in Sanskrit and Malayalam. The objective of this article is to examine some of the cultural and literary methods of space valorization and creation of literary cartographies. The sacred topography created through the hagiographic narrative causes the overlap of spatial religious concepts and physical geography of temples, monasteries and pilgrimage sites. Therefore, the theoretical approach applied during the examination of the hagiographic tradition in question remains informed by the method of literary cartography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is devoted to the holy day of the Yezidis, Wednesday, and the Spring festival of Çar°emiya Sor. I propose an interpretation of the meaning of this day, pointing to the supposed relationship between the meaning of Wednesday and the description of 'fourth day' in the Old Testament tradition. I also show that the annual feast of Çar°emiya Sor, just like every Wednesday of the week, for the Yezidis commemorate the creation of the material world and subjecting it to the power of angels (especially to the Peacock Angel) and heavenly bodies. I rely mainly on the Yezidi sources and materials gathered during my own field research in Iraq and the South Caucasus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the main philosophical explanations for the existence of evil and suffering in the world which have been suggested in the current debate taking place in philosophy of religion. All these explanations assume as a basic fact the existence of a God who is a Creator of the world in which evil and suffering take place. However, the explanations of evil and suffering are not simply presented, but critically discussed. The most important and popular explanation for the fact of evil and suffering in our world, discussed in the paper, is a rationalist theory that God has different kinds of reasons for allowing evils to exist in the world. The other explanation which is mentioned in the paper, the a-rational or probabilistic one, claims that many evil events and sufferings in the world happen which have no reason or explanation. Such evil events are not any part of a divine mind or plan. However -- and this is the main conclusion of the paper -- the existence of chance evil events does not have to be incompatible with the existence of a God and a Creator of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to introduce Japanese demonology. The paper focuses on the spirits known as yōkai, providing answers from the incredibly scarce publications in Polish covering issues related to Japanese demonology. The article examines the origin of the term yōkai and thedifferences in meaning between yōkai, mononoke and ayakashi. It goes on to explain the difference between yōkai and kami, as well as introducing a categorisation of spirits to explain how new yōkai are generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“I Consider Myself a Heretic and a Gnostic, and I Pride Myself on Being One.” Jerzy Prokopiuk’s Esoteric Reception of Gnosis and Gnosticism In the paper, the author presents Jerzy Prokopiuk’s (1931–2021) outlook on gnosis and Gnosticism. Prokopiuk was a Polish esotericist, translator, and non-academic specialist in religious studies. His views on this subject can be divided into four areas: (1) definition of gnosis; (2) the essence and de- scription of Gnosticism as a historical religious formation; (3) description and understanding of the post-Gnostic tradition; (4) gnosis and Gnosticism as a hermeneutic tool. As to (1) definition of gno- sis, the Prokopiuk presents three forms of this special kind of knowledge: escapist gnosis (know- ledge liberates the human spirit from material body and the physical world); transformational gnosis (knowledge transforms the human soul, body and earthly nature); lateral gnosis (idea of alternative worlds). Regarding (2) Gnosticism, Prokopiuk says that its source was ancient mysteries and a par- ticular type of religious experience. He sees (3) the post-Gnostic tradition as an unbroken chain of esoteric groups and figures from late antiquity to the present day. Finally, gnosis and Gnosticism are (4) a hermeneutic tool for Prokopiuk because they allow him to interpret phenomena and texts of culture (in the field of literature, cinema, psychology, and others). The paper also reflects on the usefulness of some of Prokopiuk’s ideas for contemporary humanities.

This article presents a case study of a Swedish-based NGO, Assyrians Without Borders (AWB), whose priority objective is to help Middle Eastern Christians, mainly Assyrians/Syriacs, in need in their homeland. The paper argues that Assyrians/Syriacs in Sweden have developed three forms of citizenship – religious, political and democratic. All three forms are transnational and have the potential to challenge the idea of national citizenship as being the dominant model of citizenship. Participating in AWB is understood as practising democratic citizenship, a concept seen as the Swedish ideal of model citizenship. The paper claims that AWB empowers its members and helps them to construct a mutually reinforcing dual Assyrian-Swedish identity.

The paper analyses the concept of "the new martyrdom" functioning today in the Russian Orthodox Church. Through this prism, presented on the icon of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russian Church, we examine the official Orthodox perception of the Soviet past, especially the period of persecutions in 1917-1937. Attention is paid to the way the historical facts are shown and to the narrative which is thus created. The authors conclude that the icon and its official description create a glorious vision of history, emphasising the uniqueness of new martyrs' testimony and abolishing questions about the cause of the revolution and the persecutors. The huge number of martyrs becomes evidence of the spiritual greatness of Russia, whereby victims are treated instrumentally, to give a spiritual meaning to the persecutions, perceived as a part of the eternal struggle between good and evil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I demonstrate the concept of the Jewish godhead as presented in the drama Between Two Worlds: The Dybbuk by S. An-sky (Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport), and analyse the phenomenon of a dybbuk, which was very popular in the culture of Hasidim. It should be mentioned that the research subject became the Russian original of the text of An-sky’s drama. The text was found in St Petersburg in 2001. The original differs significantly from its Yiddish and Hebrew versions: the Russian version of The Dybbuk is preceded by a long “Prologue”, where the play’s author suggests its most important ideas to the viewers. Thus, the reinterpretation of An-sky’s drama, seen from a philosophical perspective, enables one to justify the thesis that the author was conscious of some incoherency intrinsically present in the realm of the religious beliefs of Hasidic communities, where both the God of Biblical and Talmudic narratives, and the impersonal godhead of Kabbalah were, simultaneously, worshipped. What is more: the author also focuses on the weakness of the godhead, as he or she has been deprived of his or her primordial, male-female, unity. At the same time, while analysing An-sky’s text, I draw attention to the fact that in this play a dybbuk, an evil spirit existing in a living person’s body, is portrayed as a much better entity: An-sky’s dybbuk is a soul of a man who died prematurely, and who is wandering and missing his earthly lover, similarly to Shekhinah, who is missing her lover in heaven, and is wandering in exile, together with the Jewish nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, there has been increasing criticism of the dichotomy which is deeply rooted in research on religion and Judaism, namely the dichotomy between linear and cyclical notion of time with categories of history and myth respectively related to them. The aim of this article is to point out how in one religious tradition different models of time can coexist and be inextricably intertwined. The text which supports this idea is the anonymous kabbalistic treatise entitled Sefer ha-Temunah, probably composed in the mid-14th century within areas of the Byzantine Empire. The main topic of this treatise is the kabbalistic doctrine of cosmic cycles (shemittot and yovel), which is an idea of worlds periodically created and returning into a state of chaos. In this work I adapt Moshe Idel’s view, according to which the elementary structure of time in Judaism in its ritual dimension is based not on relations between precisely defined events, but on the central role played by the number seven and the process of counting to seven itself. The paper examines what role is played by the number seven and the system of associations constructed over it in the cyclical concept of time presented in Sefer ha-Temunah. I also adopt the assumptions of theory of ritual by Roy A. Rappaport to indicate that the source of the idea of cyclical time in cosmic scale is the experience of repeatability of events in ritual. This view is confirmed on the basis of the hermeneutics of Sefer ha-Temunah and allows a better understanding of this text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islam in some EU countries is a traditional religion, which has existed in their territories for centuries, while in other it constitutes a new phenomenon. In countries where there is a traditional Muslim presence, Islam is officially recognised by the state and its functioning is defined by the law concerning traditional religions. The functioning patterns differ from country to country due to different models of state-church relations, confessional laws and legal traditions. Sometimes Islam as a religion and its spiritual functionaries are financed by the state (e.g. in Romania), but there are countries where the state funding of religion is prohibited by law (e.g. in Poland). This paper collects some characteristic cases of the legal situation of Muslims in various European states and presents the extent to which the Muslim religion is financed, or the lack of such financing resulting from the legal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates links between religion and migration processes through a study of religious communities’ approaches towards migrants. Drawing from the religious economy perspective, the paper explores the under-researched topic of the role of migration in the dynamics of a religious field in the context of Central and Eastern Europe. The qualitative research performed in 2020 in Krakow – one of the key destinations for migrants in Poland – confirms the claims of religious economy that monopolists and quasi-monopolists are usually more reluctant to adapt to social changes. On the other hand, less-privileged but entrepreneurial religious communities are more aware of migrants’ situation, and respond to their needs in the following ways: 1) providing cosmopolitan “temporary homes”; 2) bridging cultures; 3) setting up ethno-cultural service hubs. We argue that these kinds of engagements have significant implications for the dynamics inside the religious market. * The research behind this article was funded by the Krakow University of Economics within the project POTENCJAŁ no 32/GPM/2021/POT.

The aim of this article is to explore the perceptions and understanding of the term kejawen, not only in academic publications (from Geertz to Mulder), but first and foremost in terms of changes to Indonesian law and society. Kejawen, traditional Javanese beliefs and traditions, are officially not recognised in Indonesia as a "true" religion (agama). This paper discusses the definitions as well as the interpretations of religion in contemporary Indonesia in the context of religious discrimination, especially "non-official" religions and beliefs in the world's largest Muslim -- but formally still not Islamic -- state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the idea of the cosmic order and sacrificial rites associated with ritual violence, which can be found in many different mythologies and religions. The whole analysis is based on René Girard's theory of primordial force as a fundamental factor that cultivates culture. According to the consideration, the concentration of rapidly exploding violence (caused by natural disasters or social conflicts) on a victim not only re-establishes an order between agents (through concentration of aggression on one point), but also leads to an idea of universal harmony, which can be disturbed by "evil" deeds and restored through the repetition of sacrifice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the way Plotinus proved God's absolute transcendence, the One and His noncomplexity and singularity. Despite his support for apophatic theology, he was forced to also use notions of cataphatic theology. He called God by the names of Good, Beauty, Truth, Life and Might. He had much to say about Him, although at the same time he declared that the One cannot be described in a human language. It is therefore impossible to practise a consistent aphophatic theology if one wishes to lead people to God. Plotinus, however, tried to do so in his works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the way Plotinus proved God's absolute transcendence, the One and His noncomplexity and singularity. Despite his support for apophatic theology, he was forced to also use notions of cataphatic theology. He called God by the names of Good, Beauty, Truth, Life and Might. He had much to say about Him, although at the same time he declared that the One cannot be described in a human language. It is therefore impossible to practise a consistent aphophatic theology if one wishes to lead people to God. Plotinus, however, tried to do so in his works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates different accounts of the distance between religious and nonreligious persons, postulated by Wittgenstein in his Lectures on Religious Belief: the hypothesis that religious and nonreligious language is incommensurable, the supposition about "ordinary" and "extraordinary" uses of word "belief," and the non-cognitive approach to religious language. I argue (after Cora Diamond) that none of these accounts can be regarded as sufficient, because the text of Lectures does not contain any general theory of disagreement between believer and nonbeliever. Instead of that, Wittgenstein offers a picture of several different relationships that may occur between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at reconstruction of the main fear patterns that have arisen as a side effect of scientific achievements. We try to show that a significant number of them refer to the image of the world as inanimate mechanism. To relieve these fears and integrate scientific claims into a coherent worldview, one must use other types of rationality, such as the theological one, or rely on a nonrational response. These processes, however, are deeply embedded in the social context. The analysis focuses on the internet discursive practices of the three important actors (science, parascience and traditional religion) competing for their expert monopoly to define the world and offering their own answers to science-based fears. We learn that the boundaries of the discourses are closely guarded, while the tension appears where they are violated explicitly. This fact probably explains why "orthodox" authors (science and religion) treat parascience so aggressively. In trying to be "native" in each discourse, everywhere parascience remains "heretic," the one threatening the status quo, the disturbing and annoying Stranger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vegetarian diet was seen by esotericists at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the only diet fully compliant with the laws of Nature. Adopting it was therefore treated not only as a way of staying healthy (i.e. maintaining a psycho-physical and spiritual balance) and progressing spiritually, but also as a duty towards Nature and a way to preserve its original, pure and therefore beneficial character. The aim of this paper is to analyse pro-vegetarian and – as the author claims – at the same time pro-ecological discourse developed within the Polish esoteric milieu at the turn of the twentieth century. Based on the example of Polish esoteric vegetarians, the specificity of argumentation and characteristic depiction will be presented as well as the practical implementation of the proclaimed postulates.

Conservative Moral Politics in the Polish Discourse about LGBTQIA+ This paper summarises a pilot study aiming to apply George Lakoff’s concept of moral politics in the Polish context. Based on an analysis of a corpus built from articles published in Polish rightwing weekly magazines between 2019 and 2021 and addressing the topic of the LGBTQIA+ community, the text argues that the way of formulating and expressing views regarding socio-political issues systematically depends on an implicitly applied cognitive model of morality (in this case, the strict father morality postulated by Lakoff). * Tekst powstał w ramach projektu „Bóg, obywatel, religia i wspólnota w polskim dyskursie o LGBTQIA+” (DEC-2020/04/X/HS1/01584) finansowanego ze środków przyznanych przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki w ramach konkursu MINIATURA 4.

The fundraising activity initiated by the Birla family in India resulted in the construction of more than 20 Hindu temples, commonly referred to as the Birla Mandirs. Although they vary in terms of architectural forms and iconographic programs it seems, that one basic and common theme remains - to show reformed Hinduism as a religion that is the pillar of the identity of the people of New India. It is understood at the same time as separate but also higher than other great religions, yet assuring a place within its confines for all of them. It is – as the authors argue in this paper - the practical realization of the thought expressed in the Ṛgveda(I 164.46) and repeatedly referred to in the Birla temples as ‘ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti’, which seems to be the motto of all foundations of the Birla family.

Philosophy, ritual and performativity in ancient Indian thought on the example of the Chandogia Upanishad 6.2.4 The paper discusses cosmogony presented by Uddālaka Āruṇi attested in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.1-6), according to which world forms arise by giving them a name. I argue that the experience that motivates the thinking of Uddālaka is ritual, the essence of which is to give people and objects a name, thanks to which their status dramatically changes for the duration of the ritual. An analysis of a selected passage of the king’s coronation described in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (5.3.4) reveals the fundamental importance of the verses uttered during preparation of the water for the consecration. The reconstruction of an experience that influences philosophical thought makes it possible to see its coherence and depth, and the fact that this experience is a ritual, a common experience of humanity, enables it to be better understood by those who grew up in other philosophical traditions as well.

This paper critically re-examines some of the prevailing narratives about the religious ideology of the early Taliban and analyses the four most common conventional concepts of it: being an oversimplified version of Islam, being born in madrasas located in Pakistan, being a local variation of Deobandism and being a Pashtun nationalist movement. The author argues that the ideology of pre-2001 Taliban is a non-static, multilayered and oversimplified interpretation of religious dogmas mixed with local tribal customs and definitely more rural fundamentalism than political Islamism. In the first section, the author provides basic definitions, such as ideology and Deobandism. The second section is a presentation of the religious context of Afghanistan and roots of the Taliban. The next section is an analysis of the Deobandi influence over Taliban religious life followed by a paragraph about Pashtunism and the Pashtunwali role in Taliban’s ideology. The next paragraph concerns the practical dimension and implementation of religious rules on the policy of Afghanistan during the first emirate.

Meskhetian Turks are a Turkish-speaking ethnic group, which lived in Georgia until 1944. The origins of this ethnic group is a matter of academic dispute. Since their beginnings, they have been under the influence of many cultures due to their location on the borders of the Christian and the Muslim worlds. In 1944, they were forced to leave Georgia and were displaced and dispersed throughout the territory of the Soviet Union, mainly to Central Asia. There are currently around 350–600 thousand Meskhetian Turks scattered all over the world. They are the only ethnic group which did not gain permission from the Soviet authorities to return to their homeland of Georgia. The deportation is the most tragic event in the history and collective memory of Meskhetian Turks which has directly affected their traditions, their religiousness, and their religious and national identity. The aim of this paper is to analyse how these events and the present situation have influenced and reshaped religious and national identity of Meskhetian Turks as well as their traditions in the Soviet and post-Soviet period.

The Oral and Written Traditions of the Qur’an and Its Place in Early Islam The paper considers the form, status, and importance of the Qur’anic message in the first two centuries of Islam. The argument is that the term “Qur’an” could not have originally referred to the final body of revelation in a text form. Rather, the concept of the Qur’an must have functioned among the faithful as a term for oral transmission before the scripturalization of the revelation, and it is this oral function of the Qur’an that is primal to its literate function. It seems that just as in Judaism and Christianity, in Islam the process of remembering, passing on, collecting, and codifying the textus receptus, along with its stabilization and sacralization, was a centuries-long self-propelled operation shaped primarily by the oral tradition (especially in the presumed culture of illiterate people).

The Reformation is described mostly as an upheaval. In fact, it is worth considering this period as transformation. The article is an attempt to modify the usual perception of this historical period. At the very beginning the paper discusses the idea of transformation from a sociological perspective. Then it introduces a comparison of the Reformation with other transitions and the late Middle Ages. This allows at the end to define the Reformation as a kind of consequence of medieval times and their transformation.

This article presents Catalan independentism as a political religion. The main area of interest is the process of evangelisation to ensure the effectiveness of contemporary thought and the independence movement in Catalonia. The aim of the analysis is to verify the instruments and mechanisms through which an effective and permanent evangelization in the spirit of independentism is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to investigate philosophical Christology in the works of Eric Voegelin. It seems that for Voegelin, in the person of Jesus Christ the so-called metaleptical structure of consciousness along with divine reality became luminous as present in every human being. What is more, divine reality (self-)revealed in the event of Christ as an eschatological movement of transfiguration. But the Voegelinian Christ is not the hypostatic union of God and man, but the full presence of divine reality in the consciousness of a man named Jesus. I conclude that Voegelinian Christology points to conditions of God's revelation: the appearance of God is limited by the metaleptical structure of consciousness and his own transcendence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to present the religious situation of Welsh society based on data from the censuses conducted in 2001 and 2011. On the basis of selected reports, the problem of discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief is also raised, as well as the issue of the existence and functioning of denominational schools in Wales. The analysis reveals the important role of religion in the process of creating the Welsh national identity, apart from, and often in conjunction with, such elements as even the Welsh language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this article is to outline the Buddhist idea of a pure, luminous mind. First, the conception of a "luminous mind" (pabhassara citta) from the Pāḷi Nikāyas is considered. Two functions ascribed to this idea are examined: its soteriological role, i.e. pure mind as a enlightenmentenabling factor, and its role as a "link" between consecutive saṃsāric existences. Next comes the examination of the Theravāda idea of bhavaṅga, which is seen as being related to the pure mind in its diachronic function. Main part of the article deals with combining the notion of a pure mind with Mahāyāna Buddhism by showing the role of the "innate mind" (cittaprakṛti) in tathāgatagarbha tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement of siddhas selectively drawing upon Buddhist tradition was a very important component of early Vajrayana. One of the vital features of siddhas' religion was violation of social standards in the course of rituals. Ritual transgression was a means to enter the amorphous and anormative state of being that was understood as the source of all things and the potential to transform a novice. The learnings of siddhas expressed cultural trends, so they captured the attention of Buddhist monks. The adaptation of siddhas' learning to monastic circles consisted in serious reduction of transgressive activities, interpretation of ritual transgression in accordance with traditional Buddhist soteriology, and rationalising of transgressive behaviour. The synthesis of siddhas' learnings and monastic tradition achieved a dominant position among Indian Buddhists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to present the literature with the purpose of exploring the spiritual elements of mindfulness as they may be integrated into practice. Mindfulness meditation can foster an increased sense of spirituality by disengaging from a narrow self-focus, and engaging a much broader view of interconnectedness in which oneself is not seen as separate from other people and the world. Integrative theoretical framework of self-awareness, -regulation, and -transcendence (S-ART) explains the mechanisms of mindfulness. The proposed framework informs research in the contemplative sciences about definition, typology, structure, function, correlates and dynamics of spirituality, meditation, contemplation and mystical experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conversions to Christianity in Iran before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, being an evident result of the missionary activity conducted in this area from the 19th century, could be studied as part of the history of Christianity among Iranians. Conversions to Christianity, rather rare in the period analysed, are connected to the social and political changes in the whole country. There are two moments which seem to have given the best opportunity for spreading Christianity among Iranian people: 1) the political transformation starting in the 1920s - the end of the Qajar dynasty and the beginning of the reign of Reza Pahlavi, before he started to implement his national policy and 2) the 1960s - the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Among all Christian churches existing in Iran at that time, only the Anglican Church was focused mainly on proselytising and turning Iranian Muslims, Jews or Zoroastrians to the Christian faith. However, the statistics indicate that, in spite of such activity, the total number of converts prior to the revolution did not exceed 1000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of Pentecostal Christianity in Iran in the years 1908-1916 was connected above all to the activity of the Assyrians living in the south-western part of the country, and especially the area surrounding the city of Urmia. At the turn of the 20th century, this relatively small area became the subject of numerous Christian missions - Catholic, Presbyterian, Anglican and Orthodox - which had a significant influence on the region's religious structure. On top of its religious activity, the thriving and very active Presbyterian mission, founded in 1835, contributed to the region's cultural revival by establishing a network of schools. It also offered the opportunity for continued education in the USA, something which Andrew Urshan benefited from in the early 20th century. Having connected with the Pentecostal movement during his stay in the USA, he founded the Persian Pentecostal Mission in Chicago, giving himself the task of propagating Pentecostal experiences among Assyrians in Iran. As early as 1908, Urshan's associates travelled to Iran, whereas he followed several years later, in 1914. However, the political situation connected with the outbreak of the First World War and military actions in northern Iran meant that missionary work was impossible. The mission broke up, and ceased to operate in 1916. It was significant particularly for its attempt to combine Pentecostal experiences with the history of the Assyrians themselves - as Urshan's writings testify - and for its efforts to remind them of, or rather restore, the apostolic legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]