Search Results (2,668)

This study critically examines the civil–religious influence of Korean conservative Protestantism, which mobilizes heteronormative strategies to oppose anti-discrimination and family rights legislation, through the lens of Christian normativity. These movements justify heteronormative values by appealing to the immutability of the “creation order” in Genesis. Yet such literalist interpretations disregard contemporary findings in evolutionary biology and animal behavior that document same-sex phenomena across species, thereby framing creation and evolution in rigid opposition. Imported from American fundamentalism, “creation science” has further fueled an anti-intellectual public sentiment that naturalizes heterosexuality as divine law. The absolutism of the creation order and special revelation exposes deep theological contradictions when confronted with the existence of diverse sexual and gender identities. In response, this study turns to process theology, which reimagines creation as open-ended, dynamic, and co-creative. Engaging Catherine Keller’s apophatic theology to reopen theological space for sexual minorities, it further develops Justin Sabia-Tanis’s interpretation of transgender transformation as a process of co-evolution, in dialogue with Donna Haraway’s notion of cyborg hybridity. Moreover, drawing on John B. Cobb Jr.’s “persuasive political theology,” it argues that participation in divine co-creation must be expanded into the socio-political sphere. Ultimately, this study seeks to resist anti-intellectualism and advocate for a transformative Christian civil religion in Korea—one oriented toward justice, inclusion, and continual co-creation. Full article

Background: The interplay between QoL and psychological distress may differ cross-culturally. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between quality of life (QoL) and psychological distress, among an Egyptian Christian background sample. Methods: Participants completed QoL and K-10 questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and partial correlation controlling for age were conducted to explore these relationships. Results: The sample had a mean age of 50.64 years (SD ± 9.6) and was slightly male dominated (57.1%). QoL scores ranged from 4.23 to 5.52 on a 7-point scale, with the highest scores in personal relationships and the lowest in community engagement. K-10 scores indicated low to moderate psychological distress, with feeling tired without reason scoring highest. A significant negative correlation was found between QoL and K-10 scores (r = −0.354, p < 0.001), suggesting higher QoL is associated with lower psychological distress. Material comforts and health showed the strongest negative correlations with K-10 scores. The relationship between QoL and psychological distress remained significant after controlling for age (r = −0.347, p < 0.01). Self-awareness and self-expression emerged as key factors positively correlated with overall QoL. Conclusions: Enhancing QoL, particularly in areas of material comfort, health, and personal growth, may effectively reduce psychological distress. Interventions should be culturally tailored to respect linguistic and religious backgrounds. Further research with more diverse samples and longitudinal designs is recommended to deepen understanding of these relationships. Full article

Meditation practitioners, historically and today, sometimes report experiencing energy-like sensations in their body. While recent empirical studies have explored such experiences in the context of Buddhist and Yogic practice, no comparable research has yet examined energy-like sensations in Jewish, Christian, or Islamic traditions. We interviewed 30 practitioners and 30 teachers from Abrahamic contemplative traditions and found that energy-like somatic experiences were common within our sample. Twelve practitioners (40%) spontaneously reported having experienced at least one, and thirteen teachers (43%) described them occurring either personally or to their students and colleagues. These experiences occurred along a continuum of intensities and valences, with interpretations ranging from anticipated signs of progress to striking unexpected events. Participants drew on a variety of metaphors and frameworks to make sense of these experiences. They often blended ideas from multiple traditions and mixed concepts from spiritual and psychological explanatory models. When comparing these descriptions from our sample to those reported by Western Buddhists in earlier research, we observe notable commonalities as well as differences in the patterns of energy-like experiences across these traditions. Our findings suggest that energy-like somatic experiences emerge through a complex interaction of cultural and bodily processes, where interpretive frameworks interact with attentional and biological processes to determine the specific phenomenology and outcomes of these energetic sensations. Full article

Contemporary interpretations of psychedelic spirituality are dominated by the “mystical experience model,” which emphasizes that psychedelics can lead to well-being through bringing about ego dissolution and a unitive mystical experience. Rooted in perennialist and dualist assumptions—often derived from Christian mysticism, Vedanta, and Plotinian Neoplatonism—this framework has shaped both scientific discourse and popular understanding of psychedelic states. However, the mystical experience model is controversial: (1) secular critics consider it as too religious; (2) it is a form of mystical exceptionalism, narrowly focusing on only certain extraordinary experiences; (3) its ontological assumptions include a Cartesian separation between internal experience and external reality and a perennialist focus on ultimate reality; (4) it neglects psychedelic learning processes; (5) in the ritual and ceremonial use of psychedelics, shared intentionality and practices of sacred participation are more important than the induction of individual mystical experiences. This article proposes an alternative and complementary model grounded in theurgy, based on the Neoplatonism of Iamblichus and the participatory ontological pluralism of Bruno Latour. Unlike the mystical experience model, which privileges individual unitary experiences, theurgy affirms ritual mediation, ritual competence, and both individual and collective transformation. Theurgic ritual practice makes room for the encounter with autonomous entities (framed by Latour as “beings of religion”) that are often reported by participants in psychedelic ceremonies. By examining how the theurgic framework can expand our understanding of psychedelic spirituality in a way that is truer to psychedelic phenomenology, especially the presence of autonomous entities, imaginal realms, and the centrality of intention and ritual, this article argues that theurgy offers a nuanced and experientially congruent framework that complements the mystical experience model. Framing psychedelic spirituality through theurgic lenses opens space for a vision of the sacred that is not about escaping the world into undifferentiated unity, but about individual and collective transformation in communion with a living, differentiated cosmos. Full article

In the interface of Christian ethics, autoethnography and Indigenous knowledge, I propose a Christian moral imagination of cohabitation based on interdependence and enablement. I use non-archival community knowledge and oral memory to excavate moral wisdom from my grandmother’s garden. I argue that to be interdependent is to be human, and the creation of a “social condition of livable lives” is a necessary requirement of cohabitation. Methodologically, this paper builds on liberative ethics and its emphasis on moral oughts as “derivatives of survivals”. I conclude that the deep-seated intentionality to live well and be fully human is the soul of Christian ethics. Though the story centers on my grandmother and her kitchen garden, the paper is transnational and contributes to the global discussion on what it means to live well. It adds moral knowledge centered on Indigenous people’s world-making paradigm. This paper is not an Indigenous perspective of Christian ethics. Rather, it is a paradigmatic paper built on the way that Indigenous people engage with the world (relationality) and with each other. Full article

In this paper, I analyze the account of miracles given by ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jīlī (d. 811/1408), one of the major interpreters of the Sufi metaphysics of Ibn ʿArabī (d. 638/1240). Al-Jīlī outlines his theory of miracles in chapter fifty of his major work, al-Insān al-kāmil fī maʿrifat al-awākhir wa-l-awāʾil, which is devoted to the Holy Spirit. Based on a close reading of this chapter and other relevant sections of al-Insān al-kāmil, I suggest that al-Jīlī’s interest in miracles reflects the miracle-saturated Yemeni environment in which he wrote, and find that he most often uses taṣarrufāt (“acts of free disposal”) to denote saintly miracles, rather than the more common karāmāt. Most significantly, I show how, based on his threefold categorization of humanity (into those dominated by their physical form, spiritual things, and divine things), he articulates a hierarchy of the miraculous, distinguishing between bodily miracles, which indicate the dominance of the Holy Spirit, and the higher level of creative speech acts, which reflect the dominance of God’s creative attributes. Finally, notwithstanding the fact that his account of miracles and the Holy Spirit chimes with certain Christian ideas, I show that miracles, in his view, point to the spiritual pre-eminence of the Prophet Muhammad. Full article

This article examines the paradigm shift in Christian mission from conversion-centered models toward dialogical and justice-oriented praxis. Taking the Steyler Missionaries as a case study, this approach engages post-Vatican II theology, postcolonial critique, and Comparative Theology to demonstrate how mission can embody epistemic humility, contextual sensitivity, and theological hospitality. Based on qualitative interviews and textual analysis, the study highlights how dialogical mission reshapes Christian identity through mutual transformation rather than doctrinal transmission. The findings indicate that Comparative Theology provides a significant methodological and theological resource for interreligious engagement, enabling missionaries to move beyond hegemonic proclamation toward relational and ethically grounded witness. By integrating theological reflection with empirical insight, the article demonstrates how dialogical mission contributes to a reconfiguration of Christian witness in pluralistic and postcolonial contexts and offers a constructive framework for the future of mission practice. Full article

The introduction of Christian culture to China during the late Ming Dynasty marked a pivotal moment in Sino–Western cultural exchanges. Jesuit missionaries, adhering to a strategy of aligning with Confucianism while rejecting Buddhism, encountered significant challenges in gaining acceptance. Their discourse on “hell” provoked opposition from both Confucian scholars and Buddhists. This paper focuses on key missionary works from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, specifically Tianzhu shilu 《天主实录》 (True Record of the Lord of Heaven), Tianzhu shiyi 《天主实义》 (The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven), Sanshan lunxue 《三山论学》 (The Records of Debate in Fuzhou), Tianzhu shengjiao shilu 《天主圣教实录》 (True Record of the Sacred Teachings Concerning the Lord of Heaven) and Kouduo richao 《口铎日抄》 (Diary of Oral Admonitions). Exploring this notable cultural controversy and analyzing the intricate process of rejection and acceptance within this cultural collision will undoubtedly provide special insights into deepening our understanding of different religions’ beliefs about the afterlife and facilitating dialogue among civilizations. Full article

The transformation of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) among minority populations undergoing cultural and linguistic assimilation over time is poorly understood. Arbëreshë communities in Greece, who have preserved Albanian-derived traditions for centuries, offer a unique opportunity to examine how folk plant knowledge adapts over time. This study examines the linguistic labels and culinary uses of wild greens among Arbëreshë (or Arvanites), an ethno-linguistic minority traditionally speaking Arbërisht or Arvanitika, the Tosk dialect of Albanian, who have resided in the Argolis and Corinthia regions of the Peloponnese for several centuries. In 2025, fieldwork was conducted in four rural Arbëreshë villages in the Argolis and Corinthia regions of Greece, combining semi-structured interviews with 24 elderly participants, participant observation, and the collection and identification of botanical specimens. The contemporary dataset was compared with historical ethnobotanical records from the 1970s to assess temporal changes in the use of wild vegetables and folk plant nomenclature. Our results reveal that current Arbëreshë ethnobotanical heritage has undergone profound Hellenisation, with 62% of folk plant names of Greek origin, 14% Albanian, and 24% hybrid, reflecting strong linguistic and cultural assimilation over the past half-century. The traditional boiled green mix (lakra in Arbëreshë, chorta in Greek) remains central to the local cuisine, which is rooted in foraged plants, although its culinary applications have diversified. In total, 37 taxa of wild vegetables across 37 genera and 14 families were documented in 2025, compared with 21 taxa across 21 genera in the filtered 1970 dataset. Core families, such as Asteraceae and Brassicaceae, remained dominant, while new families, like Malvaceae and Portulacaceae, appeared, possibly indicating both ecological and culinary changes. These findings raise questions about whether the Arbëreshë wild vegetable heritage was strongly influenced by the surrounding Greek majority or primarily acquired after migration, potentially facilitated by intermarriages and shared Orthodox Christian affiliation. Overall, our study highlights a largely Hellenised Arbëreshë biocultural heritage and underscores the urgent need for national and regional stakeholders to recognise and celebrate the remaining minority’s linguistic and ethnobotanical diversity. The transformation of local ethnobotanical knowledge over the past fifty years appears influenced by ecological availability, socio-cultural dynamics, and changing taste preferences. Full article

In the last half century, the approach that identifies the influence of the Enlightenment in the academic and public activities of the ecclesiastical intellectuals has taken root in the history of ideas, including in Central and Eastern Europe. One of the aims of this trend is to identify the reform ideas that emerged among the leaders of Christian churches and non-Christian religious communities to modernize pastoral practice. As one of the most important results, the changes that took place in the second half of the 18th century are no longer seen as the inevitable consequence of external forces, primarily from the state, but also as the derivative of internal aspirations in dialog with the ‘Zeitgeist’. Previous scholarly work, however, rarely examined the theoretical considerations behind the reform of religious practice, which can in fact be explained by changes in the image of the church among the ecclesiastical intelligentsia. The study aims to illustrate these changes in the ecclesiastical image by means of three contemporary texts, focused on the episcopal oath and the reform of the clergy. Full article

Drury reports Wittgenstein telling him, “I am not a religious man but I can’t help seeing every problem from a religious point of view, I would like my work to be understood in this way”. My paper attempts to make sense of this strange claim. I first consider the meaning Wittgenstein gives to ‘religious’ in speaking of questions he explicitly designates as such, and then explain how that (sort of) meaning could also apply to the (other) characterisations he provides of his philosophical work. I also consider the subsidiary question, and suggest two very different reasons as to why Wittgenstein nonetheless did not consider himself ‘a religious man’. While I find much confusion in what Wittgenstein says about religion, his crucial insight is that both religious and philosophical thinking are characterised by the same kind of difficulty. Both spring from our moral–existential confusion and despair over finding, or accepting the sense we find, in our life with others. In the later parts of this paper, I show how the metaphysical I–world perspective of the Tractatus (the first specific form taken by Wittgenstein’s own ‘religious point of view’) exemplifies this very rootedness of philosophical/religious thinking in despair, and how in Wittgenstein’s later philosophy, including in some of his later explicitly religious remarks, an I–You perspective starts to emerge, one where our difficulties in sense-making are seen as the other side of our difficulties in opening ourselves to each other in love. I also suggest, however, that an unresolved tension nonetheless remains in Wittgenstein’s late thinking between an I–You orientation and a focus on collective normativity. Finally, I suggest that foregrounding love tends to dissolve the very idea of specifically ‘religious’ problems quite generally, and so leaves us with a double question about how to understand religion as such, and about whether, or how, we can give coherent sense to Wittgenstein’s idea that his point of view is specifically ‘religious’. Full article

This study aims to advance knowledge in the concept of therapeutic milieus by connecting nature, spirituality, and health to develop sustainable destinations. It combines the advantages of a conceptual paper and a multi-case study, offering a range of solutions demonstrated with three types of settlements: a county capital, a middle-sized town, and a small town. The GIS analysis identified several areas where the co-existence of thermal water, sacred sites, and verdant landscapes is in abundance, and five potential study areas were selected. Additional selection criteria included the GDP of the counties, visitation data, and synergy potential. Field work using field notes and photographs reconfirmed the results of the mapping and found unique value propositions that could enhance the value of health tourism. The theoretical research suggested three areas with synergy potential: culture, gastronomy, and sports. Based on the findings, a framework for therapeutic milieus showing three different scenarios was prepared. As for the economic and social implications, the research highlighted that adopting a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating insights from geography, cultural studies, and psychology, could make destinations more resilient, thus benefiting both tourists and locals. This study represents a substantial contribution to the milieu theories by incorporating natural, cultural, and spiritual elements into a flexible framework for therapeutic milieus. Future research may explore therapeutic milieus outside the Christian context or investigate the demand side. Full article

The weather imagery of the nickname “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17) for James the Greater and his brother John the Evangelist, conflating the noise of thunder with the sound of the heavenly voice, invited vivid analogies—vocal, natural, and supernatural—in interpretations of this biblical passage and its liturgical adaptation. Yet, although James and John were both venerated in the medieval Western liturgy as thunderous witnesses to the Gospel, their voices were heard differently. Comparative analysis of medieval liturgical music and readings for St James the Greater, particularly at the pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostela, and St John the Evangelist across the medieval West reveals how thunder imagery was voiced by the clergy to promote the apostolic mission of St James and to highlight the visionary sublimity of St John. These largely overlooked examples demonstrate more broadly how the sonic environment of the natural world influenced the performance and perception of divinely-inspired voices in Christian worship. Full article

In 1844, Hermann Müller, a Catholic law professor from Würzburg, published a hefty volume on Nordic Greekdom and the Original History of North-Western Europe. The study claimed to hold definitive proof of the north-European origins of Hellenism, Abrahamic monotheism, and the entire human race. Germanic history was not German at all, Müller argued, but Celtic, and underneath it lay another hidden history of Nordic Greekdom, of which Southern Hellenism had been but a minor branch. Though it is today largely forgotten, Müller’s book elicited several responses upon publication and as late as the 1920s in Nazi literature. This article examines the reception of Nordic Greekdom as a striking example of the politicization of antiquity as an origin myth, arguing that the array of modern historicizations of antiquity and of Christianity’s place within it forms a ruptured and incoherent continuity of which ideologies as dissimilar as liberalism, Christian conservatism, and fascism—to name but a few—were all a part. Tracing this variety across ideological divides avoids overly rigid dichotomies such as the distinction between theological and racial antisemitism, while acknowledging the persistent, vast significance of Christianity within these discussions, whether as a living faith or as a discarded inheritance. Full article

The adherents of various religions have during times of prayer and worship oriented themselves toward a fixed, sacred direction or location. Since ancient times, followers of Judaism have turned in prayer to Jerusalem. Traditionally, Zoroastrians have prayed facing a source of light—typically the sun or a fire—representing divine truth and presence. By the second and third centuries of the common era, many Christian communities prayed facing the east when offering the Lord’s prayer and other supplications. Initially, Muḥammad and his followers prayed toward Jerusalem, called the “Qiblih” (a technical word first used in the Qur’án for the direction of ṣalát, the Islamic obligatory prayer), but near the midpoint of Muḥammad’s ministry, the Qiblih was changed to the Kaabah in Mecca. In the mid-nineteenth century, the Báb, founder of the Bábí religion, redefined the Qiblih as “Him Whom God shall make manifest,” a figure whose imminent appearance the Báb anticipated. Years later, Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, confirmed the Báb’s designation of the Qiblih and claimed to be the figure promised by the Báb—and, thus, the Qiblih. Since Bahá’u’lláh’s passing in 1892, Bahá’ís have regarded the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh near ‘Akká as their Qiblih. This paper considers three issues related to the concept of the Qiblih. First, it briefly surveys the concept in Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, and other traditions. Second, it examines the significance and implications of the Qiblih in Bahá’í texts and their antecedents in Bábí texts. In this regard, it argues that in Bahá’í theology, the Qiblih symbolizes the role, station, and authority of the Manifestation of God, the figure who, in Bahá’í thought, serves as the intermediary between God and humanity from age to age. Moreover, Bahá’u’lláh’s designation of a new Qiblih signaled the independence of the Bahá’í religion. Third, this study explores how from a Bahá’í perspective, Quranic verses concerning the Qiblih may be viewed. These include how Muḥammad’s alteration of the Qiblih to the Kaabah reflected his authority as the Manifestation of God to change a prior law. Further, attention is given to Qur’án 2:143 (“And thus We have made you a middle community…”), which occurs in the midst of the only verses in the Qur’án that decree a change in the Qiblih. Whereas Quranic commentators and scholars of Islam, influenced by the doctrine of Islam’s finality, interpreted the word “middle” (vasaṭ) in this verse as meaning just, moderate, or exemplary, Bahá’u’lláh affirmed the word’s more basic meaning and regarded the Muslim community as a religious community between other communities that preceded it and that will come after it, thus anticipating the emergence of a new religious community, which could potentially have its own Qiblih. Full article