RELIGIOUS CHANGES IN MACEDONIAN SOCIETY

Author(s): Ružica Cacanovska / Language(s): English Issue: 01/2016

The revitalization of religion in Macedonian society can be perceived through the process of de-privatization of the religion, i.e. the abandonment of the private, often called invisible sphere and its obvious and fervent appearance on the public scene. The intensification of religious life in the religious collectivities themselves, more and more imposes and enters the public sphere, followed, for example, through their general greater presence in the media, stressing the place and the position of religion in the structuring of the national collectivity itself, animation of the issues related to the restitution of seized property, religious education or religious instruction, as well as many other issues that are of interest to the believers and citizens in general. The public role of religion is obviously oriented, in general, towards its ethic dimension and the need to conceive, to develop and to realize the commitment of the religious communities in the spectrum of social activities.

Universal Humanism – A Globalization Context is the Classroom of Unheard Options...how to Become More Human

Author(s): Tone Svetelj / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

Within the context of multi-cultural and multi-religious society, embedded in the process of globalization, a traditional understanding of humanism offers insufficient frameworks for an adequate comprehension of human flourishing and human search for meaning. In addition, modernity frames and evaluates in many aspects insufficiently the incomparable worth of the human person. This article offers some guidelines for further philosophical, theological and pedagogical reflection on a humanism that is more suitable for our life in the process of globalization and modernity. Such humanism continually moves us toward a better comprehension of what “human” means within a universe of divergent cultures, religions, traditions, and races. This humanism is called universal humanism, based on the Greek word kaqolou , comprising both universality and wholeness. The first part of this article analyzes some of the main characteristics of humanism in the Greek and Roman contexts, which provide historical and theoretical frameworks for universal humanism. The second part justifies the relevance and usefulness of such humanism: it helps us to transcend singular cultures, nations, political systems, religions, and, by default, to discover or explore anew the meaning of the human person on a global level. The last part of this article suggests some pedagogical attitudes that will help us to embrace and remain in a dialogical relationship with all of humanity, in order to enrich our comprehension of the incomparable worth of the human person, this time from a universal perspective.

L’engagement missionnaire actuel du diocèse de Tarnów dans le contexte du 225 è me anniversaire de sa création. L’Église de Tarnów – les envois des missionnaires et leurs répercussions

Author(s): Krzysztof Czermak / Language(s): French Issue: 2/2013

This article presents actual missionary involvement of the diocese of Tarnów in the context of the 225th anniversary of its existence. For 38 years, Catholic missionaries from the diocese of Tarnow have been traveling the globe educating other cultures about the Christian faith as well as organising everything needed for the improvement of people’s spiritual and physical lives. So, missionary activities have two dimensions – spiritual and material. The bishop’s role, as the ruler and centre of unity in the diocesan apostolate, is to promote missionary activity, to direct it and to coordinate it, but always in such a way that the zeal and spontaneity of those who share in the work may be preserved and fostered. The missionary activities in the diocese of Tarnow have been strongly supported by the bishops: Jerzy Ablewicz, Józef Życiński and Wiktor Skworc, who have sent 118 priests to the three continents. The Tarnow missionary work is a great contribution to the evangelization of the countries in Africa, South America and, more recently, in Asia (mostly Kazakhstan). This commitment has been marked by the seal of martyrdom by one of the priest – Fr. Jan Czuba who was murdered in the Republic of Congo in 1998. Currently, the Diocesan Missionary Agency has sent 46 priests as missionaries: 14 to Africa, 27 to Latin America and 5 to Kazakhstan. Apostolic activity is organized not only by priests, but also by lay missionaries: one in Cameroon, two in the Central African Republic and additionally two volunteers.

JP2 Generation Phenomenon

Author(s): Krzysztof Pawlina / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2012

Generally speaking, young people in Poland do not reject religion. The vast majority of youth declare themselves to be believers. Their faith, however, is characterized by subjectivity and selectiveness. Situationism is a trait of the Polish young generation. They make their choices dependent on something… Gaining a good education, a good job and starting a family are important life goals for young people. The youth of the 21st century are called “the youth without wings”. Those young people do not have any great ideals. They are not attracted by high values of a changing the world, they do not aim at establishing a better social system. The youth of the 90’s used to set up non-governmental organizations, they took up social activity in the third sector. The young people of the 21st century comprise a generation focusing on their own future. It is not a struggling generation but rather one evading or minimizing their activity in spheres which do not bring them direct benefits. Whatever is not practical, needed for today, is discarded.

Szempontok a Kalotaszegen szolgáló lelkészek kapcsolatainak néprajzi elemzéséhez

Author(s): István Máté / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 03/2017

In this study I am trying to emphasize the main components of the pastors’ social network, referring to those who serve within the Reformed Church in Calata area. First of all I would like to map the family and kin relationships representing the background of the above-mentioned persons, out of which two thirds are first generation intellectuals. Secondly, I analyze the wide ties of the pastors’ local integration depending on the internalization of the unwritten local rules, formal and informal relationships, and the percep- tion of habits, all of these offering a deeper understanding of these kind of societies. The presence of these “incomers” seem to be a factor of stability in these villages, through the multiple roles and connections they own. Regarding the economic dimension of these leaders’ presence, they are able to obtain financial support for several civil and religious projects. Within the hierarchy of the diocese’s structure, we can find those persons, who, by refusing the isolation of their parish, are ready to serve for the benefit of others.

Krvoproliće i sveta osveta

Author(s): Sudhir Kakar / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 1+2/2006

Religija i terorizam imaju dugu zajedničku povijest. Neki pojmovi, kojim se u različitim jezicima nazivaju teroristi, religioznog su podrijetla. Tako riječ fanatik, koja je izvedena iz latinskog fanum (hram), označava čovjeka opsjednuta vjerom. Zeloti su bili židovska sekta koja se u prvom stoljeću poslije Krista borila u Izraelu protiv Rimljana i trovala žitnice i bunare. Oni su čak sabotirali opskrbu Jeruzalema vodom i vršili individualne atentate. A asasini su bili radikalna šijitska sekta koja se borila protiv križara. Za njih je ubijanje bila sveta dužnost, dok je svima onima koji su pali za vrijeme izvršavanja ove dužnosti obećavan ulazak u raj.

The Autonomy of Religious Denominations in Romania

Author(s): Cătălina Mititelu / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2016

Over the centuries, the manifestations of Church autonomy, in its relationships with the state, and, in fact, the materialization of the support granted to the Church by the state differed from one ruler or prince to another, and from one era to another. In Romania, the Church autonomy and the state’s support followed the Byzantine tradition, stipulated by the ancient juridical principle of the συμψωνία, expressed in terms of reciprocal consent for the collaboration and the benefice of the two basic institutions of the human society, the state, and the Church. Both the constitution currently in force and Law 489/2006 demonstrate the autonomous status of the religious denominations in Romania, although some jurists continue to perceive it in terms of the language used by the Law of 1905 in France, whereby the two areas, that is, the spiritual-religious and the secular ones, were separated; hence the improper assertion that the state is “neutral” to any religious faith (Art. 9 of Law 489/2006).

NOVI RELIGIJSKI POKRETI U BOSNI I HERCEGOVINI

Author(s): Edhem Bašić / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 7/2001

The last few decades are characterized with sudden awakening and development of new religiousness, new or renewed teachings, which are scientifically called the new religious movements. These new religious communities are the universal phenomenon. According to the institutions researching this social and theological challenge, formation and work of these new religious movements has been noticed on all continents. It is not unusual to meet young people on the street offering us to learn about Jesus vision of life, to discover the real meaning of life, to join the only true Islamic community etc. In the first part of the article the author lists the basic social strivings of postmodern era that influenced this kind of individualistic and, basically, nontraditional relation towards religion.

A kisebbségi lét mint sajátosság és méltóság

Márton Áron apostoli küldetésének egy értelmezése

Author(s): László Virt / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2016

Bishop Áron Márton expected the Hungarian society which became a minority aft er the Treaty of Trianon to be able to recover. He thought that being in minority was a starting point in the life of the nation. He showed the dignity of living in minority through universal moral values. He claimed that a person living in minority would have moral surplus and so he or she would be able to overcome this diffi cult situation.

Formation of Adult Lay Catholics for Commitment in the World

Author(s): Józef Stala / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

The teaching of the Second Vatican Council develops an understanding of the Church as an integral entirety, present in the world and operating in accordance with its nature and purpose. Every personal commitment of a lay faithful, every effort made and each achievement has an impact on others and the whole Church. However, the commitment of adult Catholics to the world requires their appropriate preparation. Therefore, this article will first present the ecclesiological foundations of the lay faithful’s earthly commitment, and then, the process of their preparation, taking into consideration their personal and religious development. Finally it will also explore the meaning of the community as the place of their permanent formation.

Szabad egyház szabad államban. Kalandozások a baltikumi egyházak reformációtörténetében

Author(s): Kinga Marjatta Pap / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 05/2017

In 1582, Livonia and Transylvania had a common emperor – István Báthory, a defender of the Catholic faith. At that time, the Reformation initiated in Germany had already gained a strong foothold on the shores of the Baltic sea. Through a brief historical overview of the history of church and society in the three Baltic states, the article strives to offer different perspectives to the notion of freedom: freedom of faith, freedom of the individual believer, the freedom of a nation, and the responsibility of those living in freedom.

Betolakodók vagyunk egymás álmaiban

Author(s): Ádám Dési / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2-3/2018

Yossi Klein Halevi: Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor. HarperCollins, New York, 2018.

Cerkiew prawosławna na Ukrainie i w Rosji po 2013 r. wobec wyzwań politycznych, konfliktu rosyjsko- ukraińskiego oraz pytań o granice suwerenności

Author(s): Katarzyna Jędraszczyk / Language(s): English,Polish Issue: 01/2018

The aim of the article is to analyze the place and importance of the Orthodox Church in the society and political culture of Ukraine after 2013. In the context of foreign policy, the challenge for each country is the foreign activity of the Churches (as a non-territorial and transnational entity). The new political realities following the “revolution of dignity”, the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas set new challenges for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. They showed that the great trap for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church is the concept of ruskij mir and influence of the Russian Orthodox Church’s authority over the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Kremlin’s policy harms the image and interest of the Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian Orthodox bishops, subordinated to the Moscow Patriarchate, find it difficult to keep their loyalty to the Ukrainian state and church authorities in Moscow at the same time. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is internally diversified with apparent generational differences. Part of the older generation has strong ties with the hierarchs in Russia. The younger generation, which does not remember the Soviet period, sees in the formal independence from Moscow the opportunity to develop their own careers and the Church as an institution.

THE CRUSADES. CONCEPT AND PARADOXES

Author(s): Raul-Constantin Tănase / Language(s): English,German Issue: 2/2018

THE PERIOD OF THE CRUSADES IS AN IMPORTANT EPOCH FOR THE HISTORIOGRAPHY THAT BENEFITS OF VARIOUS STUDIES FROM DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW: ECONOMICAL, SOCIAL, CULTURAL,RELIGIOUS, MILITARY AND POLITICAL. THE CRUSADES WERE EXPEDITIONS PREACHED BY THE POPE IN ORDER TO REGAIN THE HOLY PLACES UNDER MUSLIM OCCUPATION. THESE INCURSIONS BECAME SIMULTANEOUSLY PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY GRAVE AND PALESTINIAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT. IN ROMANIAN SPACE, THE LITERATURE IN THE FIELD PRESENTS A SERIES OF GAPS IN THE RECEPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE PHENOMENON OF CRUSADES. THIS STUDY AIMS TO ANALYZE THE CONCEPT OFCRUSADE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE CHRONICLERS AND THE INTERPRETATIONS OFDIFFERENT SCHOLARS AS WELL AS THE PARADOXES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SACRED WARS OFCHRISTENDOM.

The Crisis of Social Ties as a Challenge for the Christian Vision of Social Life

Author(s): Janusz Głąbiński / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

The author of this article analyses the crisis of social ties as a huge challenge for the Christian vision of social life. Firstly, he refers to the moral and religious crisis of the postmodern era, and the depreciation of the social status of the human. Then, he presents the uniqueness of human being as well as potentiality. According to the Christian integral anthropology, presented by personalism, man remains a spiritual and material coexistence.In the last part, the author underlines the Christian idea that a society should acknowledge the dignity of each of its members, as well as guarantee the optimal functioning of human communities. Consequently, social procedures and institutions should be preceded by a consensus assuring the ethical minimum. If a society does not accept the fundamental values like: the dignity of every human being, the protection of their life, justice, equality, solidarity, it cannot function, at least not as a community of persons.

Kontext als Grundlage für Kommunikation in Afrika

Author(s): Jacek Jan Pawlik / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2013

The article indicates the importance of the context in the interpretation of events and the inter-ethnical relationships in West Africa. Traditional societies, treating human identity in terms of relationships, insist on the interpretation of the circumstances of the events happening. An important role in the everyday life is played by the so-called situational context that allows the supplementing of verbal communication. It is the subject of the first part of the article. The second part refers to the socio-political context. The context allows giving a proper interpretation of the events, because Africans believe nothing happens without a profounder reason. Moreover, the present author points to the role of moral panic as a contextual framework that imposes an interpretation which is, for example, in accordance with the paradigm of witchcraft. The third part of the article is devoted to the role of context in the adoption of foreign remittances. Based on the example of mass conversions of the Dagbani people, the author shows the importance of the confluence of certain external circumstances in the evangelisation of the people.

Biserica ortodoxă română : Trei decenii de statistici, sondaje, târnosiri, caterisiri

Author(s): Dan Marian Ungureanu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 09+10/2017

The relationship between the Romanian people and the Orthodox Church is that of an alcoholic husband and a musty wife. He does not notice, she does not notice. Society does not ask anything for the Church. The Church does not offer anything measurable to society. The situation of the Romanian society is an anomaly in the sense of Merton, a situation in which the moral ideals of society are completely disconnected from its actual functioning.

Cinci sute de ani de protestantism: de la lupta contra vânzării de indulgențe la prosperity gospel

Author(s): Dan Marian Ungureanu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 11+12/2017

Fragmentation of Protestantism has led to large doctrinal divergences and sociomorphism - adapting the message to the wishes of the community.

Rodzinne uwarunkowania postaw żywieniowych studentów opartych na religijności

Author(s): Agnieszka Buczak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2017

Introduction. The study aims to analyse religious dietary customs determining family life. The research is an example of an empirical application of the concept of attitudes whose origins lie in one’s adopted worldview, which is also true of health-promoting education. Material and methods. The survey was conducted in 2016 in three academic centres. It involved 387 students studying in teacher training courses. Nutritional customs based on one’s religiosity were diagnosed using a proprietary Nutritional Attitude Scale, verified by factorial and discriminatory analysis. In the investigation of family-related determinants, the Family Assessment Scales by A. Margasiński were used. Results. The relationship between the assessment of the family functioning and nutritional dietary customs related to religiousness are influenced by gender, which acts as an intermediary variable. It turns out that , in the group of the surveyed men, a positive assessment of family’s functioning is conducive to the observance of religious principles related to nutritional customs. In the case of women, the dependencies are not so significant as there are fewer correlations. Conclusions. Religiousness differentiates nutritional customs of people with different worldviews. The family background and internal relationships are important factors determining religious nutritional and dietary customs.

Polacy w obliczu Tanatosa – kontynuacja i innowacja wzorów kulturowych dotyczących śmierci i umierania

Author(s): Emilia Zimnica-Kuzioła / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2017

The purpose of the following article is to provide a sociological reflection focusing on the problems of transience and death. By referring to representative surveys and specialist articles published in journals and on the Internet, I wish to present the specificity of Polish experience of grief, faith traditions, honoring the memory of the dead and, at the same time, note changes such as, for example, a dynamic growth of the funeral industry. Additionally, the paper indicates the existing social support in the form of numerous thematically arranged websites available on the Internet, which offer multidirectional help to those in mourning.