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The issue of the ecclesiastical history of the secondary lands of the Bohemian Crown continues to offer a number of topics for possible research. One of them is the relationship of King John of Luxembourg to the ecclesiastical institutions in Upper Lusatia, which he gradually brought into his immediate possession. He was thus able to fully develop his donating activities there. The aim of this paper is, based on sources of a diplomatic nature, to analyse and interpret the monarch’s policy towards the various ecclesiastical institutions in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a reflection upon the research findings of Rebecca Allen and Anne West in relation to religious schools in London. While welcoming this contribution to the systematic study of faith schools (a neglected area of empirical inquiry), the paper argues that the use of 'religious schools' as a unitary category is problematic for the analysis. It also suggests that certain historical and cultural contextual knowledge is required when analysing the characteristics of different categories of religious schools. This response is intended to be helpful for future researchers into the different types of faith school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christian nonprofits have an important place in the religious landscape of the United States. They are providing a wide range of goods and services to individuals, congregations, and even denominations. Despite their substantial and growing influence, we know little about how these organizations are using the billions of dollars they collectively receive. I examine one issue that is frequently of interest to both scholars and the public. Using new data on over 1,900 Christian nonprofits, the analysis looks at leadership compensation in these organizations. I focus on how organizational resources, internal and external monitoring, and leadership power influence whether and how much Christian nonprofits compensate their leaders. Resources and leadership power are found to be positively associated with the amount of compensation given to leaders in Christian nonprofits, while monitoring does not have a significant association. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper navigates the complex roles that the Catholic Church assumes in fragile democracies, exploring whether it functions as an influencer, a moral guide, or a judge in shaping public policies and societal values using the Peruvian context as a focal reference. The authors begin by providing an overview of the global religious landscape, highlighting the diverse and polarized trends within the ecclesial institution. In the second part of this paper, this study delves into the homilies of two influential Peruvian prelates, Mgr. Cipriani and Mgr. Castillo, representing opposing theological currents within the Catholic Church, offering a pertinent exploration of how religious institutions engage with evolving international and local trends in the context of democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early medieval period saw the spread of Buddhism from India into China and the development of Daoism as a religious institution. By the early Tang dynasty, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism were referred to as the three teachings, and had developed separate institutions; representatives of the three teachings were competing at court for patronage and influence. This paper probes the extent to which the institutionalization of these three teachings as separate, often competing, entities is mirrored at the philosophical level and attempts to delineate the fault lines of philosophical contention among them. Scholarship on Daoist chongxuan philosophy, as it developed in early Tang Changan, documents Daoists' utilization of Buddhist concepts and terminologies, implying shared discourses. This paper extends this investigation to include Confucianism, focusing on excerpts from two texts written in early seventh-century Changan: the Confucian Zhouyi zhengyi and the Daoist Daode jing yishu, as a case study for a synchronic contextualization across the boundaries of the teachings. Analyzing explicit demarcation discourses and intertextual occurrences of specific terminologies, the paper juxtaposes the Daoist and Confucian conceptualizations of the "sage who embodies Dao". Through this analysis, the paper explores shared discourses and demarcations in philosophical thought among the three teachings, emphasizing the complexity of fault lines in philosophical arguments, which resist simplistic alignment with sectarian affiliations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper stems from the research for my PhD thesis to identify, survey and classify the surviving documentary sources, published and unpublished, on Irpinia and the Sannio Beneventano: almost 1600 documents, both public and private, produced in the Lombard and Norman period. More specifically, this study investigates the conservation methods adopted within the archives of religious institutions whose existence and functioning depended on their titula and munimina. While the sources are very reluctant to provide information on the archival practices adopted in major churches and monasteries, the analysis of the diplomatic-archival notes affixed to the verso of the charters nevertheless provides some additional information. Adopting an approach combining palaeography, diplomatics and archive science thus allows us to paint a less generic picture than that hitherto known. The survey and examination of the verso annotations, usually given little attention in editions of the documents, proved highly significant for the identification of historic ecclesiastical archives, for the practices of archiving and preserving the papers, as well as for the identification of specific and recurrent methods of managing and conserving the documentary heritage of the old churches and monasteries, urban or rural, which represented significant gathering and reference places for the territory under their control. For some of these foundations, moreover, the study of unpublished documents has made it possible to add new evidence to what is already historically known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public face of religion in Latin America is undergoing constant transformation, and its relocation in the public sphere is part of a broader process of cultural and social change. This contemporary religious scene is characterized by a plurality of voices generated not only by traditional ecclesiastical institutions, but also by diverse practices and discourses where mediatization processes play an important role. This paper will examine how urban believers—mainly Catholics and evangelicals—are reconstructing and negotiating their religious identity and belonging, as well as their interactions in everyday life as participants in wider social contexts beyond traditional religious institutions in Lima, Peru, South America. It addresses questions such as how mediatized religious practices shape and re-signify religious identity, and how mediated religion facilitates the creation of new meanings, forms, and approaches of public engagement. I will also discuss how lived religion shapes the communicative practices and strategies of believers who are living out their beliefs in ways that go beyond traditional sacred places and spheres of secularity. This paper is part of a research project called "The Transformation of Lived Religion in Urban Latin America: A Study of Contemporary Latin Americans' Experience of the Transcendent." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mosque had a significant role in all the Muslim community. This religious institution has played a key role in the Albanians since the 14th century when the people accepted Islam and up to the present day. The significant role of the mosque has been reflected through several folkloric works, which serve as a memory for the deeds, worries, and problems of the Albanian people throughout their history. The main goal of this paper is then to put to the fore the image of the mosque on the Albanian folklore at different stages and times. The mosque in Kosovo has been examined from different historical, religious, and geographical perspectives, including the architecture and ornaments – the image by which the mosque is presented on the Albanian folklore, fulfils the current landscape with new data and promotes a deeper understanding of the mosque on its own. In this paper, we understand the role of the mosque in establishing the Islamic identity of Albanians, organization of Albanian society, education, culture, the Albanian state building, protection from national assimilation, and its great resistance during invasion. The results shown have been obtained using a statistical and hermeneutic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

That Smith must make his case in favor of including religious associations within the general sociological study of voluntary associations is bewildering for two reasons. It is bewildering both that such a study has been generally overlooked and that contemporary sociologists have so unaccountably forgotten the lessons of the "classical tradition." Max Weber, Ernst Troeltsch, and historians and social thinkers like A.S.P. Woodhouse, A. D. Lindsay, William Ebenstein, and James Luther Adanzs all demonstrated the central role of religious groups in helping to establish the "voluntary principle." Smith's emphasis helps to recapture that tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the current characteristics of the religiosity of young people in Slovakia based on data that were obtained in a survey as part of the research project "Perspectives of the Development of Religiosity in Slovakia", carried out in 2017–2020. The data presented in the article pertain to several areas related to the religious lives of young people. Firstly, data on general changes in the respondents' religiosity (such as a weakening or a strengthening) are presented, followed by data on the causes that the respondents consider having influenced these changes. Secondly, since many of the respondents claimed factors related to receiving a lot of information as such causes, the article presents data to determine to what extent the respondents paid attention to religious media in Slovakia (newspaper, radio, television, and websites). Lastly, we present the data on the respondents' attitudes towards the moral acceptance of some themes that are religiously controversial or politically divisive in Slovak society today. We then discuss the indications that emerge from the data on the religiosity of young people in Slovakia today, overall concluding that there is often an occurrence among Slovak youth of claiming an affiliation to an official church/confession/religious institution while developing and acting on individual religious opinions or beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to examine the formation path of the United Temple. Since research on the United Temple has focused more on its organization and religious practice in contemporary Singapore, the paper looks at the sub-temples under the Singapore United Temple, analyzing their paths toward unification from a more extended historical perspective. The authors divide sub-temples into three categories: ancestral temples (血缘庙), geographic temples (地缘庙), and deity-related temples (神缘庙) and compare their flexible strategies. This paper tries to explain how the formation of the United Temples was influenced by multiple spatial, social, and cultural factors. The blood lineage, religion, and regional ties from the homeland could still be essential when the localized, community-based social links beyond the boundaries play an equally crucial integrative role in forming United Temples. It is the contention of the authors of this paper to study the United Temple—the unique religious space in Singapore—as the potential syncretic field of the present and the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satra and Namghar are the two major religious institutions integral to the Assamese society. Both these institutions have immense contributions towards the growth and development of greater Assamese culture and society, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The Satra institution's origin can be traced back to the time when Srimanta Sankaradeva initiated the Neo-Vaishnavite movement in the fifteenth century to propagate and spread the ideals of Neo-Vaishnavism (a sect of Hinduism). The Namghar, on the other hand, is a prayer house where the devotees assemble to sing the names of God. The primary trait of the Satra is the Namghar which is the common feature of every village, town and city of Assam. As a result, the Neo-Vaishnavism of Sankaradeva has become a vibrant religion. This paper is an appraisal of the significance and influence of Satra and Namghar towards the integration of the greater Assamese society. The fieldwork for this paper has been conducted in various Satras of Majuli, the largest river island in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Bioethics / Revue canadienne de bioéthique is the property of Ecole de Sante Publique de l'Universite de Montreal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although the parish church is a frequent concept in domestic medievalist literature, it remains mainly within the framework of somewhat stereotypical ideas about the development of church organisation. Absent is a deeper reflection on what the parish church and the parish meant or could have meant in the different sections of the medieval period. At the same time, this is an interdisciplinary problem that affects art-historical research in many ways. The following text aims to offer a stimulus to such reflection. The first part of the paper outlines a brief view of the parish church as an institution that has been the subject of a long journey of historical development but which, despite its fundamental influence on the lives of people of all social groups, remained without a generally binding ecclesiastical-legal definition until the publication of the Code of Canon Law in 1983. The second part focuses on the issue of parish and branch churches. Many of these needed a justifying cause for their establishment, which most often was the long journey to an existing parish church. Specific examples are used to illustrate the highly differentiated functional content and interrelationships of the churches forming the so-called lower church organisation, i.e., the parish system. The intention is to show that this differentiated functional content is combined with an undefined period terminology, which ultimately also influences the archaeological and architectural-historical interpretations of the individual objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mediterranea - Ricerche Storiche is the property of Mediterranea-Ricerche Storiche and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Annie Besant was a Victorian radical whose outspoken views included advocacy of women’s rights and atheism. In her mid-forties she went to live in India. Her An Autobiography (1893) charts her dramatic political and ethical awakenings, up to the point where she joined the Theosophical movement. It describes how she was unhappily married to a clergyman, contemplated suicide, embraced atheism, and legally separated from her husband. The present paper is an attempt to explore Annie Besant’s rebellion against patriarchal and religious institutions through an in-depth study of her autobiography with special reference to the chapter “Atheism as I Knew and Taught It”. The paper will analyze how Annie Besant revolted against the performative construction of identity which is the result of the patriarchal religious discourses, and how breaking the binary of theist/atheist gave her strength to further deconstruct the male/female binary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious tourism is a steadily growing tourism product niche in Uganda after wildlifebased tourism. However, limited research has curtailed planning and development of religious tourism in the country. As a contribution to knowledge on his subject, this paper analyses the tourism policy, planning and institutional frameworks as a precursor to harnessing the potential of religious tourism in the country. Applying a mixed methods approach, the evolution of religious tourism in Uganda was reviewed. To examine actor perceptions and benefits of religious tourism, two case studies were undertaken with the help of a structured questionnaire and key informant interviews. A SWOT analysis was conducted to analyse the policy, planning and institutional frameworks of religious tourism. Findings reveal that in spite of limited institutional input, religious travel has organically evolved since the 1880s. Worshipers, visitors and neighbouring community at the religious sites concur that religious tourism can be developed as it generates socio-religious and economic benefits. The SWOT analysis indicates that Uganda has a high religious tourism potential with a number of sites located in different parts of the country. However, their potential is not yet fully realised due to a number of gaps in policy, planning and institutional frameworks. The paper recommends the establishment of a comprehensive policy, planning and institutional framework to guide actor coordination, infrastructure and facilities development, product diversification, sustainable financing and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the communist regime seized power in Albania in 1944, the vilification, humiliation, persecution and execution of clergy of all faiths, including Muslim, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, were conducted publicly. Religious estates were nationalized in 1946, and around the same time, religious institutions were closed or converted into warehouses, gymnasiums, workshops or cultural centers. In the communist constitution of 1976, Albania became the first constitutional atheist state in the world. In Article 37 of the Constitution was stated "the state does not recognize any religion". Albanians were forced to deny their religion, change their belief system and adopt the new socialist way of life that praised secular gods such as the Communist Party and its leaders. The image of the party leader replaced religious icons. Young people were encouraged to follow worldly pursuits, including offering their life for communist deities. With the fall of communism, Albanian clerics and foreign missionaries encouraged the revival of religiosity in the country. Because in Albania, religious institutions and clergy did not exist for more than 3 decades, foreign actors played a major role in the return of religion to social life and among young people. Post-communist Albania represents a quintessential case study of importing religion into a formerly atheistic country that lacked qualified clergy, religious institutions and strong religious beliefs. In the permissive post-communist Albania, people, especially young people, attributed different meanings to religion and religiosity. Mere investigations and surveys of faith communities along traditional lines would fail to provide useful insights into the significant transformations that have impacted the religious field in Albania after the fall of the communist regime and the current challenges faced by new and "traditional" denominations. The post-communist religious context is dominated by two opposing currents: The first trend is marked by the legal organization of religious practice in the public space, which grants freedoms and equality to the "traditional" religions recognized by the state, but autonomous and independent from it. The other trend is shaped by the rituals and practices of believers from abroad who are pushing for the creation of new autonomous religious communities. This paper is not investigating religious "communitarianism" along traditional lines but rather examines salient religious identification and societal relationships and discusses their implications. This analysis rests on survey data and free-flowing and open-ended interviews conducted mainly with students of the Political Science Department of the University of Tirana and of the European University of Tirana, as well as research of different social networks. The article is divided into three parts, which present the following: literature insights, the historical background of Albania's secularization and current religious trends and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For countries with an abundance of rain, there is definite potential to implement a rainwater harvesting system for different applications. This paper describes feasibility studies of an open-pond rainwater harvesting system for ablution purposes, analysing the quality of harvested rainwater and formulating a rainwater harvesting model with suitable performance measures. The formulated model can be used to analyse the feasibility of the system in any locality by inputting local meteorological data. Quality analysis has shown that the harvested rainwater can be used safely for ablution purposes, albeit with a slightly acidic pH below 6.5. At a depth of 1.0 m and using the current pond configuration of a local mosque, the reliability of the system is 62.5% (228 days per year), and the amount of water saved is 345 m3, which is 60.7% of the water demand. It has been shown that a pond surface area of 60–70 m2 provides optimum reliability and water saving, and more water savings can be expected with a more economical usage of water during ablution. These results indicate the feasibility of implementing a rainwater harvesting system for ablution purposes in religious institutions to help curb the water shortage crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the journal for members to submit their research papers. It outlines the specific topics that should be included in religious research that include the development of multi-site worshipping communities, the future of religious orders, and the leadership challenges in religious communities. It also notes that presentations related to social dimensions of religion are also welcome. Moreover, researches that focus on divergent efforts to reshape religious communities are also encouraged to be submitted.

Numerous uncertainties are hanging over the biotechnology of human cloning which has prompted medical ethicists and religious organizations to ask questions that bordered on its ethical and religious considerations. In cloning humans, ethical and religious issues arise both in its clinical and laboratory settings hence, the morality of manipulating human genes is the foremost ethical issue among scientists and religious scholars. Therefore, this paper evaluated the human cloning technology using the personalism and prudential personalism ethical-religious models to arrive at a workable moral paradigm. To achieve this objective, the paper employed the phenomenological and critical-literary literature review methods. The paper argued that previous ethical and religious researches have not adequately employed the „ideal" ethical models to appraise the morality of human cloning hence; using the personalism and prudential personalism ethical-religious models were appropriate to reveal that every human life has worth and its commodification is an aberration. The paper concluded that based on the paradigm of prudential personalist ethics, cloning humans (especially, human reproductive cloning) negates respect for human life, human dignity, and communal goods hence it should not be practiced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qur'ān plays a major role in the understanding of many Malay Muslims in their daily practices and beliefs. Due to this, works of exegesis or tafsir of the Qur'ān have appeared in Malay since the 1940s. These exegeses play a role in the conceptualising of Muslims' view of themselves and others. Seeing the importance of Islam, various state religious institutions were created to provide and cater for teaching Islam to the public. As the Qur'ān is seen as a major factor in the conceptualisation of Muslims, this paper analyses the use of exegetical works on the Qur'ān in the teaching of the masses with the supervision of the state. The topic chosen is the view of these exegeses of the Qur'ān on other religions. The article will cover three main tafsir in contemporary Malaysia: Tafsir Nur al-Ihsan, Tafsir Juzu' 'Amma and Tafsir al-Rahman. It will be seen that tafsir is used by different state and local actors in the Malay religious scene to push a conservative understanding of religion that is helpful to preserve a homogenised Malay Muslim identity. Even though Jews and Christians are mentioned in the Qur'ān as People of the Book, many of these exegeses label them as "kafir" or deniers of the message of the Qur'ān. As is seen in one of the examples in the paper, even those not associated with the state directly have followed this approach, making an insular Malay Muslim identity, especially when referring to other religions and perhaps making dialogue between religions difficult if not nearly impossible. This paper highlights certain aspects of these exegeses and how they are a conservative way of interpreting the Qur'ān, which is against the more open, modern and pluralist way that is needed in today's modern world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to explore the public dimension of religion in Korea. First, it examines the Western and East Asian contexts on the concept of 'public', noting that the gap in notions of public is large between East Asian and Western traditions. The following section discusses Habermas' 'institutional translation proviso' in relation to the notion 'public'. The institutional translation proviso serves as the basis for further discussion on rethinking the public role of religion in Korea in the era of climate crisis. We argue that 'secular' translations of religious convictions can help religious citizens and communities engage in public discourses on ecological challenges. We then consider major limitations of Habermas' understanding of religion. In the following section, we move on to discuss Albert Schweitzer and process theology in order to demonstrate how religious languages can be reinterpreted on the basis of modern experiences of ecological challenges. We then consider Buddhist alternatives for overcoming the climate crisis. The final section introduces José Casanova's account of public religions and discusses its implication for envisioning the public role of religious organizations in ecological efforts. Reviewing the contributions made by religious organizations to the Korean society, we suggest that 'ecological publicness' of religion can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a case study of a religious order whose shared interpretive schemes (the schemata that map its experience of the world), especially its understanding of its mission, were being substantially changed. During this time the order underwent a major revision in structure. On the basis of the case, the paper explores ways interpretive schemes undergo fundamental change and ways these changes are linked to restructuring. The paper proposes that major changes in interpretive schemes occur through dialectical processes in which old and new ways of understanding interact, resulting in a synthesis. The process of change in interpretive schemes is in a reciprocal relationship with changes in structure. This relationship is not direct, but rather is mediated by the actions of organizational members and their emotional reactions to change. Environmental forces are likely to initiate the change, but the way the environment is interpreted by organizational members affects the type of change that takes place. Similarly, the way the organization's leadership initiates or responds to alternate interpretive schemes limits the type of change in understanding that can occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the specific legal nature of cultural goods and, from that aspect, the specific and numerous restrictions on property rights. As a special kind of object, which have special quality, functions and purpose in society, cultural goods are the object of a special property law arrangement. Such, especially property related regulation, in the case of cultural goods, is the result of the coexistence of individual (“private”) and public (social) interest in preserving cultural heritage as a general good of society. Restrictions on property rights on immovable cultural heritage, represent a specific concretization of the social attachment of property rights. As the main source of cultural property rights in the Republic of Serbia, the Law on Cultural Heritage, passed more than a quarter of a century ago, regulates the area of property rights on cultural goods incompletely and imprecisely, even in conflict with later regulations, the Constitution and the Law on Public Property. Numerous provisions on the rights and obligations of the owners of immovable cultural property are incomplete and imprecise and guarantees of property rights are insufficient. The paper also raises the issue of cultural property rights and property restrictions on immovable cultural heritage, which are at the same time worship temples, whose owners and users are churches and religious organizations (res sacrae). It is necessary to adjust the property restrictions of the owners of these immovable cultural heritage, to the specific needs of churches and religious organizations, as well as to further limit the possibility of encroachment on the right of ownership by public authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Fronteras de la Historia is the property of Instituto Colombiano de Antropologia e Historia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Review of International Affairs (04866096) is the property of Institute of International Politics & Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Blame avoidance has been one of the most applied strategies by policy makers in both democratic and non-democratic regimes to avoid responsibility and accountability in cases of failure and tragic events. It is also known that politicians have used religion for Machiavellian purposes, as exactly advised by Machiavelli. However, a systematic empirical analysis of how religion is used for blame avoidance by politicians has not been conducted. In this article, we aim to address this gap by examining the empirical data derived from the weekly Friday sermon texts produced by Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs and delivered in more than 90 thousand mosques every week to a large segment of the population in Turkey, where the majority claims to be religious. Starting with its violent response to the peaceful Gezi protests in 2013, the ruling AKP has opened up a new phase in Turkish political history by resorting to civilizational populism: it blamed the Western world for financing and masterminding the protests, using the protestors as internal pawns to attack Turkey and the Muslim World, suppressed the protests brutally and entered into a populist authoritarian regime. Our paper shows, following this turn, how the Diyanet sermons started using religion to help with the AKP's blame avoidance. The Diyanet either parroted the AKP's conspiratorial narrative or tried to convince the citizens that all negativities are works of God and with these humans are being tested by God. The AKP's use of religion to avoid blame is a text-book case of how both a religious institution and religious discourse can be used to help the incumbent avoid responsibility. Whenever, there was a problem that would the AKP votes, the Diyanet's sermons tried to shift the blame to either God or citizens or conspiratorial enemies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the shadow of the Syrian conflict generating millions of displaced people, education provision for Syrian children has become one of the biggest challenges for Turkey. This paper sheds light on the role and rationale of faith-based humanitarian organizations in education provision for Syrian children in Turkey based on the interviews conducted with representatives of humanitarian organizations. The paper presents the wider socio-political context of Turkey to analyze the motivations of the Islamic humanitarian sector in exercising education facilities for a linguistically and culturally different population. In that context, this paper attempts to contribute to the fledgling literature on education as a humanitarian response from an institutional perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the causal relationship between mutual religious association and the formation of social ties. We analyze dyadic relationships and show that joint attendance at a religious institution (RI) increases the probability of sharing information with and trusting a peer. We use a novel spatial instrumental variable strategy that combines insights from homestead inheritance institutions with triangular distances between peers and RI locations within villages in Kenya. We find that shared attendance at an RI increases the likelihood of receiving advice from a peer by 30 percentage points, demonstrating the strong impact of weak ties formed through social spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annales UMCS, Sectio K (Politologia) is the property of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The carriage of Schooling services in whole world, particularly for developing countries in Asia, is impacted by scarcity of resources and security challenges. Beside sacristy of resource and security challenges the religious institutions (Madarsas) are blamed for their basis, administration, tenacity, funding, pedagogy, curricula, relations with the state, and global violence since menacing incident of 9/11. One of core subjects of Madaras is Teaching and memorizing Quran. Although Alternatives to Madaras Quran teaching since years informally people are home schooling or sending children to neighbors. However digital evolution can help all Madrasas, parents and teachers in better way. In era of transformative marketing where customers, users or learners of any product or service or course customized solutions are available, similarly, in only Quran learning, memorization and teaching there are several websites and mobile applications which offer customized services. Current research paper enlists more than 100 mobile applications for Quran learning and memorization. It investigates in detail top fourQuran memorization mobile applications through analyzing users' feedback. Most of the users are happy with the mobile applications experience. The top improvement areas in existing mobile applications are background play, Recitation speed low or high option, User friendly, free mobile application. Users are not happy charging apps, In return people suggest the application to have donation option so that, those who cannot afford to buy subscription, learn and memorize Quran. The mobile applications listed in the research paper are also helpful for elders who want to read and memorize Holy Quran. The study can be helpful for academics and practitioners to improve the Quran memorizations applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on the article by Lansing and de Vet regarding the irrigation management performed by water temples and commoner priests. She discusses issues raised by the article that have come under criticism from scholars such as the alleged democratic organization of irrigation in agriculture, pest control as the goal of water temple management. She explores the attempts of Vayda and Schulte Nordholt to depend Lansing over the dynastic involvement in the irrigation management.

This paper explores the Naha Confucius Temple case, resolved by the Supreme Court in February 2021, in light of postwar decisions on Articles 20 and 89 of the Japanese constitution. Religion is a contested category in Japanese legislation, appearing both in the constitution and in laws regulating the freedoms and restrictions of legally registered religious organizations. While the organization behind the Confucius Temple in Naha was registered as a general corporate juridical person, the majority opinion sided with the plaintiffs' argument that the free lease granted to the temple by the municipality of Naha constituted a violence of the ban on public sponsorship of religious institutions and activities. In order to reach their decision, the Supreme Court and the lower courts not only had to decide on whether Confucianism was a religion or not, but also on whether the organization behind the temple—a group dedicated to the history and memory of the Chinese immigrant community in Naha—should in fact be considered a religious organization. The outcome of the case is a good example of religion-making in courts of law, with a central institution of power employing notions of sui generis religion to regulate and define civil actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shape of religious media communication changed dramatically because of the opportunities given by digital media and by the process of the secularization, structural changes in religious organizations, and the challenge enabled by the huge loss of credibility in the eyes of the world. We can observe certain dynamics in the professional approach of official Catholic media, especially those based in the Vatican. Its on-line project Vatican News has provided news service since 2017, now in almost forty languages. In the spirit of continuing the reform of the Roman curia, for which the founding of Secretary for Communication (now dicastery) was the "pilot" area, Pope Francis appointed the first layperson to lead any office of curia in 2018, and journalist Paolo Ruffini became the prefect. A few months later, one of most famous experts on the Vatican, also a lay person, journalist Andrea Tornielli, became editorial chief of the Dicastery for Communication. Other personal changes continued soon. The goal of this article is to analyse the initiative that Ruffini and Tornielli took in their office during six months after their appointment. The quantitative content analysis of both their Twitter accounts, closely connected with the newscast produced by Vatican News, is the scientific method used in this paper. There were detected new journalistic genres in the social media space (e.g., short video, editorial, story), vast popularity of Pope Francis, and success of his own Twitter activity (he obtained even tens of thousands of followers) or, contrarily, the omission and inconsistency when introducing uneasy themes (abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, ecology or economy) to the public. There was also the surprising realization that Ruffini is more popular in the Twitter milieu than Tornielli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper investigates the legal issues surrounding religiously based asylum claims and the main patterns adopted in European countries, with a special focus on Italy. It demonstrates the risks resulting from the implementation of contradictory standards across Europe and proposes how European courts could make a significant contribution by establishing common standards. European courts have recently adopted a more interventionist approach, with a view to expanding the range of cases involving religious discrimination, intolerance, and persecution that make the victim worthy of international protection. These recent actions could more effectively safeguard the essential core of religious freedom in all of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of this century, laws regulating the status of churches and religious communities were adopted in Serbia and the countries of the region. These laws are aligned with international standards for the protection of human rights. This paper will present the most significant aspects of new legislation regulating the legal status of religious organizations in Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. The aim is to identify similarities and differences in the proposed or implemented solutions by comparative analysis, to identify their main advantages and disadvantages, as well as to point out the possibilities of their improvement and harmonization with international standards, especially in the field ofprotection of the collective aspect offreedom of religion. The article consists of three parts. The first summarizes the laws on churches and religious communities in the mentioned countries with an emphasis on issues that will be analyzed separately in other parts of the paper. The second part deals with the registration of churches and religious communities and the continuity of their legal personality. The third part of the paper contains an analysis of the regulations that change and re-regulate the scope of benefits and privileges afforded to churches and religious communities by the legal order. The concluding considerations outline the results of the analysis and point out further directions for the development of regulation in the domain of state-church law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The individual's personality, character, thinking, skills and habits depends upon education. Education helps in the growth and boost the qualities of an individual such as physical, mental and emotional make-up as well as temperament and character. This paper enlightens the significant role of education in developing and mounting the personality of 'Omar Ibn al- Khattāb (R.A). He was one of the most powerful and influential Muslim caliphs. His vibrant ideology of superiority of principles and laws made him eminent among his acquaintances. He was a man of determination and a mission, therefore, he thought, evaluated and acted according to it. He established a system of justice, morality, education and training. He was born as an ordinary'Omar but education and guidance of Islam made him “'Omar The Great". This paper ends with the note that a balanced, successful and well-adjusted personality can be designed only by educating the individuals. Educational institutions, religious organizations and enrich culture play an important role in shaping the sturdy personality as is evident in case of 'Omar(R.A). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine wealth dynamics through the Great Recession along a dimension previously not studied, religious affiliation. Specifically, this paper analyzes wealth differentials and relative wealth losses among religious groups at the mean and along the wealth distribution before and after the Great Recession.Design/methodology/approach Drawing on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and including a wide array of control variables, the paper analyzes the impact of religious affiliation groups on wealth pre- and post-Recession, using OLS, generalized least squares and quantile regression models.Findings The findings show that wealth differentials among religious groups exist both before and after the Recession and that wealth disparities are greater for people at the low end of the wealth distribution, who lost disproportionately more wealth across religious groups.Social implications The results suggest that the Great Recession further increased wealth inequality yet along another dimension, religious affiliation. These findings imply that in order to decrease wealth inequality and minimize other harmful effects of adverse macroeconomic events, religious institutions may provide education on financial management strategies, especially to those at the low end of the wealth distribution.Originality/value This paper is the first of its kind to build upon two bodies of literature: the research on religion and wealth and the research on wealth losses and the Great Recession. It is also the first paper to explore the religion–wealth relationship after the Great Recession and along the wealth distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While most research on authority in organizations has been limited to rational-legal bureaucracies, this paper reviews Weber's three pure types of legitimate authority—rational-legal, traditional, and charismatic—and explores the relationship between authority type, organizational form, societal environment, and organizational outcomes for three multinational churches. The paper compares and contrasts the Christian Congregations, the Assemblies of God, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS or Mormon) in the U.S. and Brazil, each denomination typifying a different Weberian type of authority but coexisting in the same social and institutional environment. Implications of these cases for both Weberian and institutional theory are then developed, and propositions are advanced that might be used in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at the conference titled "Music and Musicians in Ecclesiastical Institutions: Early Modern Andalusia" on December 6-7, 2006 organized by Universidad Internatiocional de Andalucia in Baeza in Andalusia, Spain is presented. Topics include the aims and perspectives for the study of ecclesiastical institutions, music, and Andalusia and the Iberian world. Several critics were mentioned including Franco Piperno, Jeffrey Kurtzman, and Owen Ree.

This paper seeks to understand how the Catholic Church manages its involvement in gender politics in Lithuania and exerts power. Lithuania signed the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the so-called Istanbul Convention) in 2013 but ratification efforts continue to date. The Convention has become a political "hot potato" and caused ideological confrontations. The Catholic Church is here a political actor, leveraging its influence across multiple levels and cycles of the political decision-making process. NGOs have initiated campaigns in attempt to counter the discourse of oppositional conservative and religious political actors. I utilize anonymous in-depth interviews with various relevant actors to gain a more accurate and nuanced picture of the Church's engagement in holding back the ratification efforts. Ultimately, this case study also enriches theoretical literature on institutional opportunity structures and informal institutions in relation to religious influence in morality policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the Faith-Based Initiative in the USA, substantial research has resulted in an increased awareness of religious congregations and faith-based organizations as welfare service providers. The next frontier appears to be the role of religious organizations in international social and economic development, a topic that only recently started to attract academic interest. In this paper, we review available literature on the role that religious, or faith-based, organizations play in international social and economic development. We also provide results from our own study of USA international NGOs that are faith-based. We divide the paper into the positive contributions of faith-based international NGOs and the drawbacks of theseNGOs. We find that faith-based nonprofits constitute almost 60 percent of USA-based international development organizations, and their contribution to international social development is quite considerable. We conclude with a call for further research and nuanced understanding of the role religion plays in international development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monastic archives of Iceland have rarely been made the subject of specific studies. This article is intended to survey the history of one such archive, belonging to the Benedictine Abbey of Þingeyrar in Northern Iceland, which was founded 1133 and dissolved 1551. Through its extraordinarily rich literary production this monastery left an indelible mark on the Northern-European cultural heritage. After the Reformation Þingeyrar Cloister remained a state-owned and ecclesiastical institution until modern times. Its archive, which is partly preserved to this day, is both the most extensive of its kind to survive in Iceland and uniquely remained in place for almost eight centuries, making it possibly the longest operated archive in the Nordic countries. The Icelanders may be better known for their sagas and mythological poetry, but their industrious literacy certainly extended to creating bureaucratic documents in accordance with the Roman tradition. French Benedictines were among the first in the world to turn the art of archival management into an academic discipline, and the Icelandic Professor Árni Magnússon (d. 1730), who is best known for his great collection of Old Icelandic manuscripts, was the first Nordic scholar to employ their methods effectively, which he used to investigate the Archive of Þingeyrar. Surveying the history of this Icelandic archive gives us insight into a constitutive science fundamental for our access to the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Histórica: Historia Moderna is the property of Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Assam is a land of complex history and folklore situated in North East India where religious beliefs, both institutional and vernacular, are part and parcel of lived folk cultures. Amid the domination and growth of Goddess worshiping cults (sakta) in Assam, the sattra unit of religious and socio-cultural institutions came into being as a result of the neo-Vaishnava movement led by Sankaradeva (1449–1568) and his chief disciple Madhavadeva (1489–1596). Kalasamhati is one among the four basic religious sects of the sattras, spread mainly among the subdued communities in Assam. Mayamara could be considered a subsect under Kalasamhati. Aniruddhadeva (1553–1626) preached the Mayamara doctrine among his devotees on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river. Later his inclusive religious behaviour and magical skill influenced many locals to convert to the Mayamara faith. Ritualistic features are a very significant part of Mayamara devotee's lives. Among the locals there are some narrative variations and disputes about stories and terminologies of the tradition. Adaptations of religious elements in their faith from Indigenous sources have led to the question of their recognition in the mainstream neo-Vaishnava order. In the context of Mayamara tradition, the connection between folklore and history is very much intertwined. Therefore, this paper focuses on marginalisation, revolt in the community and narrative interpretation on the basis of folkloristic and historical groundings. The discussion will reflect upon the beliefs, ritualistic aspects, and myths of the tradition. Fieldwork materials will be employed to discuss the tension between local practices and mainstream neo-Vaishnava influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a study exploring the information practices of members of a religious organization. Its focus is the "Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery." Particularly, this paper focuses on the study's findings in relation to participants' information practices in constructing their understanding of "the Temple." The study is informed by an information practices theoretical perspective, drawing on work from a variety of disciplines, including Castells' space of flows, and Fisher's information grounds. Data was gathered from participant observation, interviews with both monks and devotees and email follow-ups, and analysis of the online presence of the temple through its website. Five social constructs for the temple appear frequently in the interviews: Virtual space; Physical/geographical place; Virtual space; Symbol; Process and practices; and Organization. Participants' information practices are not only limited to spiritual purposes but also are linked to various social practices, activities, and interests. The study's findings suggest that constructions of place play a hitherto underexplored role in the multi-layered relationship between people and information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]