"Originally published in 1977, The Hindu Religious Tradition provides a detailed exploration into the different doctrines regarding the nature of Religious Reality and the many paths of search for this Reality within the Hindu religion. The book discusses these differing doctrines from the point of
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view of their philosophical significance and their use in man's search for the divine in consideration of the traditional teaching that the divine is already in man and can be realised in direct experience. It provides a comprehensive account of this tradition through considering all aspects that are integral to it, and highlights that the profundity of this tradition lies in that it cannot be limited to the requirements of any one form of conceiving the divine." (Publisher description)
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"The secular, pluralist culture of the West encourages a subjective approach to spiritual truth where stimulating emotional experiences, such as those provided by film, can contribute to personal conceptions of the sacred. Examining Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as the principal cas
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e-study and Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void (2009) and Lars von Trier's Melancholia (2011) as comparative examples, Sarah Balstrup argues that these directors harness the affective properties of film to generate altered states of perception in a manner analogous to religious practice. Powerful feelings of dissociation and indescribable significance typical of mystical testimony appear in viewer responses to these films, demonstrating the continued sacralisation of such states of mind. In their own way, each film confronts the viewer with an apocalyptic revelation of the impersonal forces of the universe, moving away from personhood and the human narrative, into pure sensation. They present a non-deterministic spiritual truth that can be intuited but not explained, mirroring developments in the religious sphere. Investigating the relationship between cinematic technique and religious experience, Spiritual Sensations offers an alternative approach to the study of religion and film that has been principally focused on narrative symbolism and the dramatisation of values. Spiritual Sensations makes a further contribution to the field by analysing films contextually, considering viewers' subjective responses in light of religious and cultural change." (Publisher description)
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"Después de la segunda guerra mundial circuló en América Latina el ideario de que los países podían “desarrollarse” si seguían ciertos pasos entre los que se incluía un cambio de actitudes y de mentalidad en su población. Según esto, los trabajadores debían capacitarse y modificar algu
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nos hábitos de vida para que, con su propio esfuerzo, lograran superar los obstáculos que los mantenían en condiciones de pobreza. Por esta razón, algunos sectores de la Iglesia católica en Colombia impulsaron una visión que promovía un deber ser del trabajador, bajo el supuesto de que en la población colombiana había una espiritualidad del subdesarrollo que le impedía mejorar sus condiciones de vida. Este libro investiga las representaciones de los trabajadores rurales y urbanos en el semanario El Campesino, el periódico El Catolicismo y la Revista Javeriana entre 1958 y 1981. El examen detallado de estas tres publicaciones católicas evidencia, por un lado, el ideal de trabajador en tiempos de labor y de ocio que proponía la Iglesia en la segunda mitad del siglo XX y, por el otro, la forma en la que se ha buscado inculcar la idea de que el éxito o el fracaso económico son frutos estrictamente del esfuerzo personal y de los hábitos de los trabajadores." (Cubierta del libro)
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"Un sueño ha tenido su cabal cumplimiento. Un proyecto ha llegado a su meta. Un reto ha logrado vencer obstáculos y escollos. Ese sueño, proyecto y reto tienen un nombre: Biblia de la Iglesia en América (BIA), que fue publicada en mayo del 2019. Esta Biblia, que es del CELAM, es la que hoy ocupa
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estas páginas de la revista MEDELLÍN del CEBITEPAL, el Centro Bíblico Teológico Pastoral de América Latina y El Caribe, que fue fundado como CEBIPAL poco antes de iniciarse esta obra. Una de las tareas fundamentales de ese centro fue la realización de la BIA. Todas las personas que colaboraron en este centro son testigos vivos de proyectos y planes, de trabajos y reuniones que han quedado plasmados en esta Biblia. Los tres primeros artículos tocan el tema histórico. Otros cuatro ayudan a entender los criterios fundamentales que guiaron esta obra. Por último cuatro notas breves se refieren a ejemplos de unas traducciones concretas del Antiguo y Nuevo Testamento." (https://revistas.celam.org)
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"The current study investigates how Church communicators perceive the role of social media platforms and influencers in their overall stakeholder engagement strategy. Building upon the Organization-Public Relationship (OPR) body of literature, we conducted 13 in-depth interviews with public relation
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s professionals at megachurches throughout the United States. Findings reveal a reliance on one-way communication strategies to build relationships that shifted two-way communication as congregations prioritized digital connections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also found that Church communicators understand the concept of social media influencers differently than their corporate communicator peers to also include influence on another’s spiritual beliefs and well-being." (Abstract)
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"The intersection of media with theology is reciprocating: media boosts theology in its functions to inform, connect and educate; theology humbles the globalizing media with a reminder – media is in mediation but not in domination. Media and theology thus intersect at mediating (negotiating, inter
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ceding, resisting, protesting) and they should avoid the temptation to colonize. The essays are presented in two overlapping clusters: Mediascapes (intersection of media and a selection of land- and sea-scapes) and Mediations (implications of mediating theology for interrogating hegemonies). The topics addressed include social media and #tag cultures, the fourth industrial revolution and artificial intelligence, homiletics, social resistance, Palestine, Latin America, climate change, and Covid-19." (Publisher description)
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"The handbook is divided into five parts, each taking global developments in the field into account: Theoretical Reflections, Power and Authority Conflict, Radicalization and Populism, Dialogue and Peacebuilding, Trends. Within these sections, central issues, debates and developments are examined, i
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ncluding: religious and secular press; ethics; globalization; gender; datafication; differentiation; journalistic religious literacy; race, and religious extremism." (Publisher description)
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"Muslims in the Movies provides a series of essays that explore the portrayal and reception of Muslims in Euro-American film, transnational productions, and global national cinemas. The volume brings together a group of internationally recognized experts to introduce Muslims in the films of Europe,
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North America, Australia, Iran, Egypt, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The interdisciplinary collection explores issues of identity, cultural production, and representation through the depiction of Muslims on screen and how audiences respond to these images. Together, the essays operate as an introduction to the subject of Muslims and film for new readers while also serving as new works of critical analysis for scholars of cinema." (Publisher description)
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"Catholic social thought offers a vision and principles for a community wherein all creation flourishes. An important principle in Catholic social thought is the option for the poor, which describes the commitment of the Catholic Church to the well-being of the marginalized and vulnerable. However,
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the body of Catholic social thought does not necessarily focus on models or concrete practices to actualize said principles, as these will be dependent on the particular context of the people living out the principles of Catholic social thought. Catholic social ethicists require resources and tools to help put these principles into practice, especially in the face of complex social issues such as poverty or economic inequality. One such possible tool is design thinking, a problem-solving methodology used by organizations in the face of wicked problems. Design thinking offers concrete tools that can help communities solve challenging problems and has been used in the social sector as well as in business. Thus, this article argues that design thinking offers a concrete methodology that encourages creativity and systems thinking in crafting solutions to unprecedented and complex problems in order to help people exercise the option for the poor more readily. Design thinking can help provide language and strategies that can illuminate and operationalize the option for the poor in ways that are understandable and helpful for all, even those who may not necessarily subscribe to Catholicism." (Abstract)
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"This article analyzes discourses of conversion involving members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) in the city of Madrid, Spain. Drawing on the biographies of members and religious leaders and focusing on their testimonials of conversion in particular, I observe how the church’
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s message of a better life after conversion always relates to a misguided past. I have proposed the concept of self-othering to link the process through which members internalize and interpret their transformations through religion with othering, as the first step, and individual salvation, as the second step. This study observes specific rites of passage, namely baptisms, which induce an individual to become a member of the church. Self-othering as a concept helps to explain how individuals reinterpret their past and present lives through the lens of religious conversion." (Abstract)
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"Secularization has accelerated. From 1981 to 2007, most countries became more religious, but from 2007 to 2020, the overwhelming majority became less religious. For centuries, all major religions encouraged norms that limit women to producing as many children as possible and discourage any sexual b
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ehavior not linked with reproduction. These norms were needed when facing high infant mortality and low life expectancy but require suppressing strong drives, and are rapidly eroding. These norms are so strongly linked with religion that abandoning them undermines religiosity. Religion became pervasive because it was conducive to survival, encouraged sharing when there was no social security system, and it is conducive to mental health and coping with insecure conditions. People need coherent belief systems, but religion is declining. What comes next? The Nordic countries have consistently been at the cutting edge of cultural change. Protestantism left an enduring imprint, but the 20th Century welfare added universal health coverage, high levels of state support for education, welfare spending, child care, pensions and an ethos of social solidarity. These countries are also characterized by rapidly declining religiosity. Does this portend corruption and nihilism? Apparently not. These countries lead the world on numerous indicators of a well-functioning society, including economic equality, gender equality, low homicide rates, subjective well-being, environmental protection and democracy. They have become less religious, but their people have high levels of interpersonal trust, tolerance, honesty, social solidarity and commitment to democratic norms." (Publisher description)
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"The growing importance of social media influencers (SMIs) as sources for attitude and behavior necessitate a focus on influencers (and their strategies to influence) in public relations research and practice. This study investigated perspectives among a specific type of SMI – the religious or fai
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th-based influencer. In-depth interviews with 17 religious influencers reveal motives and meanings of individuals who take on the title of influencer. Findings suggest a dichotomy of altruism and egoism in religious influence, and the prevalence of parasocial interaction underlying the SMI influence efforts. Results also suggest lessons for influencer relations as an emerging focus in public relations theory and practice." (Abstract)
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"The tension between the two historical realities, Hinduism as an ancient Indian religion and Christianity as a religion associated with foreign power and colonialism, continues to animate Hindu-Christian relations today. On the one hand, The Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations describes
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a rich history of amicable, productive, even sometimes syncretic Hindu-Christian encounters. On the other, this handbook equally attends to historical and contemporary moments of tension, conflict, and violence between Hindus and Christians. Comprising thirty-nine chapters by a team of international contributors, this handbook is divided into seven parts: theoretical and methodological considerations; historical interactions, contemporary exchanges; sites of bodily and material interactions; significant figures; comparative theologies; responses. The handbook explores: how the study of Hindu–Christian relations has been and ought to be done, the history of Hindu–Christian relations through key interactions, ethnographic reflections on current dynamics of Hindu–Christian exchange, important key thinkers, and topics in comparative theology, ultimately providing a framework for further debates in the area." (Publisher description)
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"Wie steht es aus Sicht der Katholikinnen und Katholiken um ihre katholische Kirche? Betrachten sie diese überhaupt als "ihre" Kirche? Welche Medien nutzen Katholikinnen und Katholiken, um kirchliche und religiöse Inhalte und Botschaften zu erhalten? Diesen und weiteren Fragen geht der "MDG-Trendm
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onitor - Religiöse Kommunikation 2020/21" nach. Die Trendstudie wird seit 1999 zum vierten Mal im Auftrag der MDG erhoben und kann somit Daten aus ca. 20 Jahren vergleichen. Durchgeführt wurde sie vom Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach in Kooperation mit der SINUS Markt- und Sozialforschung. Dem Wandel der Zeit folgend fokussiert der neue Trendmonitor insbesondere die digitalen Angebote und Kommunikation der katholischen Kirche. Darüber hinaus werden auch kirchliche Medien betrachtet, die erst seit wenigen Jahren am Markt sind, wie zum Beispiel Mitgliedermagazine. Eine weitere Neuheit des neuen Trendmonitors ist das letzte Kapitel. Hier finden sich Kommentare von renommierten Medienexperten und Wissenschaftlern: Die Daten der beiden Institute werden durch unterschiedliche Perspektiven wie eine religionssoziologische, kommunikationswissenschaftliche oder pastoraltheologische betrachtet." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Can religious messages be transmitted through the media? If so, how and why? Taking these questions as its starting point, and focusing on the relationship between media and religion, this book presents an analysis of the relationship between religion and the media. It explores the inherent qualiti
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es of media communication channels and codes and the ways in which they affect the dissemination of religious messages, as well as the arguments over religion used in public discourse. The book also presents a critical analysis of church media in Slovakia, and shows that although the media do have the capacity to convey religious messages, they can only do so in a superficial manner and thus do not represent a suitable instrument for mediating deep spiritual content or serving as a vehicle for evangelization. Another key finding here is that the differences between the basic argumentation structures of the religious and secular worlds are irreconcilable, meaning that conservatives and progressives can expect little more than a basic sense of tolerance and decency from each other." (Publisher description)
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