Search Results (117)

This article investigates how women’s relative absence from medieval textual archives can be reconsidered through the study of visual and material culture. Focusing on Mongol and Yuan China and read in relation to The Travels of Marco Polo, it argues that women’s artistic production functioned as a form of embedded counter-archive that preserves traces of participation obscured in narrative sources. Drawing on Black feminist epistemology as a heuristic framework and employing critical fabulation and poetic inquiry as analytical methods, the study interprets silence as a meaningful historical trace rather than a void, and considers silence not as absence but as a structured condition of archival production. Four case studies—Guan Daosheng’s literati bamboo painting, the handscroll tradition associated with Lady Su Hui, imperial phoenix embroidery, and Silk Road textile fragments—demonstrate distinct modes through which women’s presence becomes materially legible: mediated visibility, formal containment, infrastructural anonymity, and circulatory displacement. These “quiet arts” reveal how women’s labour and creativity persisted within and alongside patriarchal inscriptional systems even when textual attribution receded. In dialogue with the shadow silhouettes of contemporary artist Kara Walker, the article further situates these premodern archives within a broader visual language of absence and recovery. Rather than reconstructing lost biographies, it proposes a transdisciplinary method—integrating art history, feminist theory, theology, and poetic inquiry—for reading material culture as a site where historical silence becomes structurally legible. It proposes a transdisciplinary approach that expands art historical methods for interpreting gender, authorship, and archival silence in medieval visual culture. Full article

This paper examines migration from Africa as a response to shifting identities and the resurgence of nationalism, bringing biblical traditions into dialogue with contemporary realities. In many African contexts, contested identities, ethno-religious nationalism, and exclusionary state policies intensify conditions of displacement alongside poverty, conflict, and terrorism. As a result, migration becomes both a survival strategy and a negotiation of identity in an increasingly fragmented world. Biblical narratives of forced migration provide an interpretive framework for understanding these movements. The Hebrew Bible recounts exilic experiences, such as the Babylonian deportation, that reshaped Israel’s communal memory, identity, and theology. Similarly, the New Testament highlights dispersions caused by persecution, showing how migration functioned as a catalyst for the expansion of faith communities and the reconstruction of belonging. These texts illuminate how forced migration is not only a consequence of crisis but also a transformative process that redefines identity and community. By employing sociological and theological methods, this study demonstrates how African migration in the context of nationalism parallels biblical paradigms of exile and dispersion. It argues that African migrants’ narratives of identity, marked by struggle, hope, and resilience, echo biblical testimonies of displacement and offer theological resources for interpreting migration today. In doing so, this paper contributes to interdisciplinary debates on migration by showing how biblical exilic traditions can inform responses to Africa’s ongoing challenges of nationalism, identity, and forced movement. Full article

The 19th century Protestant missionary James Legge is acknowledged for his voluminous and Christianity-inflected translations of Chinese classics of “Three Teachings”, yet his rendition of Buddhist texts remains under-examined. This study analyzes whether a value of Western theology exists in his portrayal of the Chinese monk Fâ-hien in A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, where the pilgrim should emerge as a devout Buddhist, a pioneering explorer, and a morally sensitive figure. Legge foregrounded these facets through paratexts such as illustrations and footnotes, but also repeatedly framed Fâ-hien within a biblical interpretation by frequently drawing parallels between Christianity and Buddhism. At the textual level, he shifted the original first-person narrative to a third-person perspective, which weakened the emotional and spiritual sense of Fâ-hien’s journey. Legge’s scholarly competence in Chinese learning and his role as Oxford’s first Professor of Chinese determined his precise representation of the rich connotations of Fâ-hien’s image, balancing academic rigor with an orientation toward Great Britain’s colonial education and imperial interests. His Christo-Buddhist intervention in the paratexts, associating the primary text with Christian culture, reveals his underlying missionary purpose to evangelize China. To this end, this study reveals how religious translation served both missionary and scholarly ends, contributing to Western perceptions of Chinese religion while illustrating the broader power dynamics of Christian engagement with modern China. Full article

This article adopts a comparative mythology framework in order to situate creation myths within a broad cultural context. It examines how different societies conceptualize the emergence of the universe through the interconnected notions of thought and word. The study demonstrates that, despite cultural diversity, these narratives articulate shared principles concerning the mental and linguistic foundations of existence while preserving tradition-specific expressions. The analysis is based on qualitative content analysis of primary mythological texts drawn from Hindu, Maori, Maya, Maiana, Dogon, Polynesian, Ancient Egyptian, and Turkish traditions, encompassing sources ranging from the Rig Veda and the Popol Vuh to the theology of Ptah and Dogon doctrines of word-based creation. These materials were examined through hermeneutic reading practices and comparatively evaluated using concept-oriented analytical categories. The findings indicate that cosmogonic myths operate beyond mere narrative description by structuring coherent models of creation in which cognitive intention and verbal articulation play constitutive roles. Full article

Based on leadership narratives collected between 2022 and 2025, this article examines how Ukrainian non-military organizational and community leaders who have remained in the country during the ongoing war interpret, embody, and enact theological meaning within their lived leadership experience. Drawing on two qualitative datasets—one collected in 2022 (n = 145) and a second in 2025 (n = 79)—the study employs a lived theology approach together with a reflexive thematic analysis to explore how theological meaning emerges organically as stated in leaders’ accounts of suffering, responsibility, presence, and hope. The findings indicate that participants articulated three overarching movements of lived theology: lament, leading to dependence on God; the sensed presence of God, leading to social solidarity and shared responsibility; and hope in God, orienting leaders toward post-war restoration. These movements function not as abstract or institutionally authorized doctrines, but as dynamic theological orientations generated through lived theological reflection as leaders connect their perceptions of God with the realities of wartime life. The study contributes to practical theology by demonstrating how theological reflection arises from concrete leadership practices under conditions of war. It further advances leadership studies by showing how theological sense-making, suffering, and responsibility converge in the lives of ordinary people—leaders and followers alike—forming a shared spiritual orientation that sustains communal life amid war and nurtures hope for post-war renewal. Full article

In the context of early modern Catholic global missions, the Jesuit strategies for proselytizing Protestant heretics within Europe exhibited operational mechanisms distinct from those employed in overseas non-Christian populations. Focusing on the seventeenth-century Jesuit drama Pietas Victrix, this article examines the process by which drama was forged into an ideological weapon serving the project of constructing legitimacy during the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Research demonstrates that Jesuit drama transcended the purely esthetic sphere of literature and art, becoming a propaganda tool that integrated Tridentine dogma, anti-Protestant polemics, and the sacralizing narratives of the Habsburg dynasty. In the play, the Jesuit Nicolaus von Avancini (1611–1686) converts abstract politico-theological ideas into tangible political loyalty through narrative strategies and the coordinated use of multiple art forms, mobilizing sensory spectacle and the affective force of total work of art within the Habsburg court—the empire’s core political arena—to reconfigure confessional identity, contest ideological leadership, and accumulate crucial social legitimacy for both the Habsburgs and the Society of Jesus. This paper contends that Jesuit drama, exemplified by Pietas Victrix, represents a missionary form rooted in Thomistic theology yet highly politicized. By situating the play within the context of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, it demonstrates how drama was forged into a potent ideological weapon for legitimacy contestation. This study provides a case for interpreting how the Jesuits utilized cultural media to participate in power construction and self-representation, thereby refining our understanding of the mechanisms of cultural politics in early modern Europe. Full article

The hermeneutical engagement with biblical texts informed by Dis/ability Studies expands the framework of historical-critical exegesis by introducing a perspective that seeks to deconstruct those conceptualizations and power structures which contribute to the stigmatization and discrimination of individuals who do not conform to the socioculturally constructed ideals of normalcy and autonomy. This article offers an overview of current scholarship on the subject and highlights the opportunities and possibilities for new interpretive directions opened up by a dis/ability-critical hermeneutic. Full article

Peter Lombard’s First Book of the Sentences presents formidable questions concerning the principle of the Son’s generation. Addressing a gap in contemporary scholarship, this article examines Lombard’s foundational exposition of the Father’s power and will to generate. Placing Lombard in dialogue with Thomas Aquinas, this study traces the development of this doctrine across Aquinas’s career, from his commentary on the Sentences to De potentia and the Summa theologiae. Our analysis adopts Aquinas’s own framework to investigate a series of questions: whether generation is an act of nature or will; whether the power to generate is part of omnipotence; whether it is essential or relational; and whether the Son possesses this power. This study finds that Aquinas’s conclusions often converge with Lombard’s intuitions. Both affirm that generation is by nature while simultaneously accompanied by a concomitant will, and that the generative power is rooted in the divine essence. Aquinas’s analysis, however, represents a significant metaphysical development. A key evolution is traced in Aquinas’s understanding of the power to generate, which shifts from being a quasi-natural power distinct from omnipotence to a form of paternal omnipotence. His characterization of this power also matures from being a middle ground between the essential and the relational to being principally essential, signifying the relation of paternity only obliquely. This trajectory toward a firmer grounding in the divine essence is supported by an increasingly refined set of arguments for the Son’s unicity, with principles like the determination of nature and divine simplicity becoming more prominent in his later works. By charting these developments, this article demonstrates how Aquinas builds upon Lombard’s foundational intuitions to construct a more systematic and robust Trinitarian theology. Ultimately, our analysis illuminates the intellectual journey from sound doctrinal intuition to profound metaphysical articulation, where the tenets of faith are secured by a cogent intellectual framework. Our analysis also offers a counter-narrative to contemporary assumptions, challenging modern conceptions of power as a zero-sum game and of freedom as mere arbitrary choice. Full article

This study examines the renewal of Ignatian spirituality from the Spanish school, emphasizing the contributions of General Pedro Arrupe during his eighteen-year tenure leading the Society of Jesus. Arrupe’s vision prioritized deep interior experience over mere religious practices, advocating for a spirituality rooted in divine gift and surrender. His leadership inspired a return to the fundamental principles of Ignatian spirituality, marked by a profound sense of God’s presence, self-offering, and a commitment to the apostolic mission. The research is organized around three main axes: textual and exegetical, historical and contextual, and systematic or dogmatic Ignatian theology. The first axis explores the contributions of scholars like Antonio María de Aldama and José Calveras, who emphasized returning to the original Ignatian texts and their exegetical significance. Their work highlighted the centrality of Christ, the spiritual exercises as a transformative tool, and the dynamic relationship between mission and identity within the Society. The second axis focuses on historical and contextual analysis, particularly through the work of Cándido de Dalmases, Ricardo García-Villoslada, and Jesús Iturrioz. These scholars reassessed Ignatius of Loyola’s biography and historical influences, moving beyond hagiographical narratives to consider broader theological and social movements of the 16th century, such as Erasmus’ humanism and the Catholic Reformation. The third axis, systematic Ignatian theology, is examined through figures like Pedro de Leturia and Ignacio Iparraguirre, who explored the doctrinal dimensions of Ignatius’ writings. Key themes include the Christocentric nature of Ignatian spirituality, the role of discernment in governance, and the balance between mysticism and apostolic mission. This research underscores the ongoing relevance of Ignatian spirituality by contextualizing its renewal within historical, exegetical, and theological frameworks, demonstrating its adaptability and enduring significance in contemporary spiritual discourse. Full article

This article explores the evolving roles of Sunnī and Shīʿī political actors in the current Gaza crisis, with a focus on how Iran has come to occupy the rhetorical and symbolic space once dominated by Sunnī Arab leadership. Historically, since the establishment of Israel in 1948, Sunnī regimes positioned themselves as the primary defenders of the Palestinian cause. However, recent shifts—originating in the late 1970s and evolving into the current wave of normalization agreements between Arab states and Israel—have weakened this leadership role. In this vacuum, Iran has articulated a theological-political narrative grounded in Shīʿī doctrines of resistance, martyrdom, and moral duty toward the oppressed, reframed through Khomeinist ideology to legitimize its regional geopolitical ambitions. Drawing on political theology as a theoretical framework, this article analyzes how sacred history shapes Iran’s foreign policy discourse and legitimizes its regional role. This article argues that the current Gaza crisis illustrates a significant transformation in the religious-political landscape of the Muslim world, as Iran leverages its Shīʿī identity to assert moral and political leadership over a cause once firmly associated with Sunnī solidarity. This study concludes that Shīʿism, led by Iran, has shown unwavering support for the Palestinian cause through its backing of Hamas in its latest conflict, despite Iran’s simultaneous pursuit of wider regional drives and ideological goals. Still, Iran’s foreign policies cannot be separated from the historical incidents that gave rise to the Shīʿī tradition of protest and resistance, which remain integral to how Iran’s Shīʿism positions itself in the present conflict. Full article

This article reimagines Hispanidad as a flexible cultural repertoire rather than a fixed ideology, examining how Francoism, after 1945, staged official doctrine as public spectacle that then served as “evidence” of its own legitimacy. Through a combined lens of political theology (Schmitt on decision and secularization) and media theory (Benjamin on the aestheticization of politics; Agamben on glory and acclamation), it analyzes Juan de Orduña’s Alba de América (1951) and its paratexts to show how National-Catholic principles—unity of faith and language, providential destiny, and obedience-based authority—were translated into affect through narrative voice, emblematic staging, liturgical music, and choreographed acclamation. Although the film underperformed commercially, it thrived institutionally, excerpted in newsreels and rebroadcast annually on October 12 as a ritual object of state culture. The article argues that spectacle in Francoist Spain functioned not only as propaganda but also as a mechanism for stabilizing power by shaping collective memory and everyday habits, revealing how aesthetic form can naturalize political authority and offering a model for analyzing the everyday workings of power across media and regimes. Full article

This study leverages emotional arc modeling along with close reading to examine the Chinese Ye Xian, Perrault’s Cendrillon, and two Grimm versions. While computational modeling suggests that Cinderella tales share similar “recognition scaffolds,” their emotional architectures reflect distinct moral universes. Story peaks and valleys vary according to individual narrative resolutions to a universal problem of virtue unrecognized. Ye Xian descends to maximum negative sentiment when sacred bonds rupture, aligning with Buddhist-Daoist ethics in which divine-human reciprocity supersedes other bonds. Perrault’s arc offers surprising asymmetry: linguistic violence (Culcendron) defines every valley, while material transformation marks every peak. The 1812 Grimm tale oscillates between degradation and elevation with peaks and valleys suggestive of a syncretism between folk magic and Protestant theology. The 1857 version flattens into a rough semblance of Perrault’s emotional architecture, but peaks and valleys reflect Protestant, rather than aristocratic, values. These many shapes of Cinderella suggest fairy tales may serve as a flexible emotional technology. Themes of good and evil are key features of these emotional architectures, but how they are expressed vary from tale to tale. Full article

This essay expands the canon of sources for liberative theologies by examining the artwork of leading Caribbean muralist Sir Dunstan St. Omer. In conjunction with his close friend—Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Walcott—St. Omer pioneered a form of artistic expression which he used to great and imaginative effect as counter-narrative to dehumanizing colonial myth. The essay presents two of the artist’s best-known murals, discusses their significance in the arc of Caribbean religiosity, and extrapolates critical insight for a contemporary Black Catholic mysticism. Full article

This article illuminates the cosmology of Raa Haqi (often called Dersim Alevism or Kurdish Alevism), a rarely examined strand within Alevi Studies. Existing scholarship’s emphasis on identity politics and sparse ethnography has left Raa Haqi’s mythological and cosmological dimensions underexplored. This paper approaches Raa Haqi through a dual authority framework: (1) Ocak lineages and Ocak–talip relations—sustained by kinship institutions like kirvelik, musahiplik, and communal rites such as the cem—and (2) jiares, non-human agents from the Batın realm that manifest in Zahir as sacred places, objects, and animals. Methodologically, I conduct a close, motif-based reading of folktales compiled by Caner Canerik (2019, Dersim Masalları I), treating them as ethnographic windows into living theology. The analysis shows that tales encode core principles—rızalık (mutual consent), ikrar (vow), sır (the secret knowledge), fasting and calendrical rites, ritual kinship, and moral economies involving humans, animals, and Batın beings. Dreams, metamorphosis, and jiare-centered orientations structure time–space, ethics, and authority beyond the Ocak, including in individual re-sacralizations of objects and sites. I conclude that these narratives do not merely reflect belief; they actively transmit, test, and renew Raa Haqi’s cosmological order, offering Alevi Studies a theory-grounded, source-proximate account of Kurdish Alevi mythic thought. Full article

This study examines al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt anthology as a foundational corpus wherein pre-Islamic and early Islamic Arabic poetry emerged not only as a cultural artifact but as a generative locus for theological reflection. Through a close reading of selected poems and nuanced engagement with the figurative language specifically metaphor, personification, and symbolic narrative, the research situates poetry as a mode of epistemic inquiry that articulates religious meaning alongside Qurʾānic revelation. Drawing on ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī’s theory of semantic structure and metaphor, in dialogue with Paul Ricoeur’s conception of metaphor as imaginative cognition, the study proposes that poetic discourse operates as a site of “imaginative theology”, i.e., a space wherein the abstract is rendered sensorially legible and metaphysical concepts are dramatized in affective and embodied terms. The analysis reveals how key Qurʾānic themes including divine will, mortality, ethical restraint are anticipated, echoed, and reconfigured through poetic imagery. Thus, al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt is not merely a literary corpus vis-à-vis Islamic scripture but also functions as an active interlocutor in the formation of early Islamic moral and theological imagination. This interdisciplinary inquiry contributes to broader discussions on the interpenetration of poetics and theology as well as on the cognitive capacities of literature to shape religious consciousness. Full article