Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. Studia Religiologica – czasopismo redagowane w Instytucie Religioznawstwa Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego od 1977 roku. Publikuje artykuły, recenzje, sprawozdania i raporty z zakresu wszystkich subdyscyplin religioznawstwa.
Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. Studia Religiologica – czasopismo redagowane w Instytucie Religioznawstwa Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego od 1977 roku. Publikuje artykuły, recenzje, sprawozdania i raporty z zakresu wszystkich subdyscyplin religioznawstwa. Wszystkie artykuły publikowane w czasopiśmie są dostępne bezpłatnie.
Studia Religiologica,
Tom 57, Numer 2,
Ahead of print
Adaptacja kulturowa Łyśca, to jedno z kluczowych zagadnień w studiach nad dziedzictwem kulturowym jednego z najwyższych szczytów Gór Świętokrzyskich, skupione na pytaniu o sakralną funkcję w czasach przedchrześcijańskich, jej charakter, genezę, metrykę etniczną oraz zależność od otaczającej natury. Dotychczasowe poglądy oscylują między akceptacją a sceptycyzmem poznawczym. Jednakże tylko część badaczy odrzuca sakralną metrykę szczytu. Większość przychyla się do tezy, że plateau Łyśca było zagospodarowane jako górskie sanktuarium o metryce sięgającej daleko wstecz przed osadnictwem słowiańskim. Prezentowany artykuł jest podsumowaniem dotychczasowego stanu badań oraz próbą jego oceny. Autor skłania się do kontynuowania interpretacji szczytu jako dawnego górskiego sanktuarium o cechach tzw. „świętego gaju”, wyłączonej przestrzeni sakralnej delimitowanej datowanym na VIII/IX w. otaczającym kamiennym podwójnym wałem zgodnie z dotychczasowymi sugestiami badań archeologicznych lub jak u Germanów świątyni naturalnej w typie nemetonu. Pierwotnym powodem sakralizacji szczytu oraz obiektem odrębnej adoracji oraz źródłem nazwy wzniesienia było gołoborze, naturalny twór skalny pozbawiony lasu (goły od boru), który wpłynął na uformowanie się nazwy całego szczytu „Łysiec”, od przymiotnika „łysy”, w znaczeniu „góra łyskająca”, „błyskająca” z białą plamką – gołoborzem jako świetlnym (wypalonym przez światło?) znamieniem. Sugeruje także, że Łysiec dla czasów słowiańskich mógł być górą perunową, poświęconą Perunowi, władcy nieba, błyskawic, gromów, burzy.
Studia Religiologica,
Tom 57, Numer 2,
Ahead of print
Adaptacja kulturowa Łyśca, to jedno z kluczowych zagadnień w studiach nad dziedzictwem kulturowym jednego z najwyższych szczytów Gór Świętokrzyskich, skupione na pytaniu o sakralną funkcję w czasach przedchrześcijańskich, jej charakter, genezę, metrykę etniczną oraz zależność od otaczającej natury. Dotychczasowe poglądy oscylują między akceptacją a sceptycyzmem poznawczym. Jednakże tylko część badaczy odrzuca sakralną metrykę szczytu. Większość przychyla się do tezy, że plateau Łyśca było zagospodarowane jako górskie sanktuarium o metryce sięgającej daleko wstecz przed osadnictwem słowiańskim. Prezentowany artykuł jest podsumowaniem dotychczasowego stanu badań oraz próbą jego oceny. Autor skłania się do kontynuowania interpretacji szczytu jako dawnego górskiego sanktuarium o cechach tzw. „świętego gaju”, wyłączonej przestrzeni sakralnej delimitowanej datowanym na VIII/IX w. otaczającym kamiennym podwójnym wałem zgodnie z dotychczasowymi sugestiami badań archeologicznych lub jak u Germanów świątyni naturalnej w typie nemetonu. Pierwotnym powodem sakralizacji szczytu oraz obiektem odrębnej adoracji oraz źródłem nazwy wzniesienia było gołoborze, naturalny twór skalny pozbawiony lasu (goły od boru), który wpłynął na uformowanie się nazwy całego szczytu „Łysiec”, od przymiotnika „łysy”, w znaczeniu „góra łyskająca”, „błyskająca” z białą plamką – gołoborzem jako świetlnym (wypalonym przez światło?) znamieniem. Sugeruje także, że Łysiec dla czasów słowiańskich mógł być górą perunową, poświęconą Perunowi, władcy nieba, błyskawic, gromów, burzy.
Conservative Moral Politics in the Polish Discourse about LGBTQIA+
This paper summarises a pilot study aiming to apply George Lakoff’s concept of moral politics in the Polish context. Based on an analysis of a corpus built from articles published in Polish rightwing weekly magazines between 2019 and 2021 and addressing the topic of the LGBTQIA+ community, the text argues that the way of formulating and expressing views regarding socio-political issues systematically depends on an implicitly applied cognitive model of morality (in this case, the strict father morality postulated by Lakoff).
* Tekst powstał w ramach projektu „Bóg, obywatel, religia i wspólnota w polskim dyskursie o LGBTQIA+” (DEC-2020/04/X/HS1/01584) finansowanego ze środków przyznanych przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki w ramach konkursu MINIATURA 4.
There has been an academic interest in fatwas regarding abortion since the 1980s (Anees 1989; Rispler-Chaim 1993, 2003; Faúndes, Barzelatto 2006). With the globalisation of ummah – the Islamic community – and the expansion of the internet, online fatwas have started to provide normative answers to inquiries from Muslims from all over the world. Van den Branden and Broeckaert researched non-voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide expressed in English e-fatwas (2009, 2011). Using their approach and framing e-fatwas in the context of Roy’s view on the virtual Islamic community (2000, we have selected and analysed eighty English Sunni e-fatwas on abortion. On the level of structure, these e-fatwas are very similar – often rooted in the Quran and Sunna but not classical jurisprudential discussions on the subject. On the level of content, they do not deviate from Islamic jurisprudence, which does not encourage abortion but permits it in particular circumstances during specific stages of fetal development – generally, before four months or 120 days of gestation. In the light of our study, English Sunni e-fatwas on abortion constitute an important part of Islamic bioethical teachings and thus deserve further research.
Czyściec by Michał Kondrat in the Light of Contemporary Teaching of the Church and the Pop-Cultural Turn in the Catholic Dogma
This article presents an attempt at an analysis of the fictionalised documentary Czyściec by Michał Kondrat (2020) in the context of the contemporary teaching of the Church and postulate of a popcultural turn in Catholic theology, formulated by Józef Majewski. Directing strategies, topoi, and graphic metaphors from this hybrid film – the script of which refers to Stefania Horak’s mystical experiences – are interpreted in the context of a long tradition of reflections on the topic of purgatory and the key principles of the post-conciliar teachings of the Catholic Church on this subject. These analyses and interpretations enable consideration of whether the said film aims at refreshing the forms of expression of purgatory-related topics. They also let the reader explore whether the mass-culture elements included in the film can help the viewer become more spiritually mature and whether they deepen the eschatological reflection.
Polish Antigones and Holiness in the Dis-enchanted World. Changing of the Cultural Pattern in the Relationship with Protestant Cemeteries in Poland after 1989
In this article, the authors set themselves the goal of describing the pattern of civil engagement comparable to that of Antigone in relations with the state on the case study of people associated with the “Anna Foundation,” saving the evangelical (protestant) cemetery in Gostków (Lower Silesia) from the mid-nineteenth century. The area of operation of this foundation is the local communion of multicultural influence. The research method involved reading sources, a series of qualitative interviews with activists and other subjects with “borderline experience,” a description of photographic documentation and an interpretation of the history of modernity. The article is a case study and an attempt to interpret a broader phenomenon of saving cemeteries of various denominations from destruction and oblivion in Poland after 1989. This study contributes to studies on culture and religion, and the philosophical and theological reflection of late post-modernity. In interpreting the phenomenon of civic involvement, the authors use the concepts of “disenchantment of the world,” “rationalization,” “bureaucratization” and “the garden state,” as well as “re-enchanting of the world” and “holiness in the secular age.” In the conclusions, the authors propose to correct both the definition of “world enchantment” and the definition of the inevitable secularization of the world in late (post) modernity. The authors argue that in the time of the post-pandemic crisis and the climate catastrophe, Albert Schweitzer’s “reverence for life” may be an equivalent that is appropriate for the non-rational elements of contemporary culture.
This article investigates links between religion and migration processes through a study of religious communities’ approaches towards migrants. Drawing from the religious economy perspective, the paper explores the under-researched topic of the role of migration in the dynamics of a religious field in the context of Central and Eastern Europe. The qualitative research performed in 2020 in Krakow – one of the key destinations for migrants in Poland – confirms the claims of religious economy that monopolists and quasi-monopolists are usually more reluctant to adapt to social changes. On the other hand, less-privileged but entrepreneurial religious communities are more aware of migrants’ situation, and respond to their needs in the following ways: 1) providing cosmopolitan “temporary homes”; 2) bridging cultures; 3) setting up ethno-cultural service hubs. We argue that these kinds of engagements have significant implications for the dynamics inside the religious market.
* The research behind this article was funded by the Krakow University of Economics within the project POTENCJAŁ no 32/GPM/2021/POT.
Conservative Moral Politics in the Polish Discourse about LGBTQIA+
This paper summarises a pilot study aiming to apply George Lakoff’s concept of moral politics in the Polish context. Based on an analysis of a corpus built from articles published in Polish rightwing weekly magazines between 2019 and 2021 and addressing the topic of the LGBTQIA+ community, the text argues that the way of formulating and expressing views regarding socio-political issues systematically depends on an implicitly applied cognitive model of morality (in this case, the strict father morality postulated by Lakoff).
* Tekst powstał w ramach projektu „Bóg, obywatel, religia i wspólnota w polskim dyskursie o LGBTQIA+” (DEC-2020/04/X/HS1/01584) finansowanego ze środków przyznanych przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki w ramach konkursu MINIATURA 4.
There has been an academic interest in fatwas regarding abortion since the 1980s (Anees 1989; Rispler-Chaim 1993, 2003; Faúndes, Barzelatto 2006). With the globalisation of ummah – the Islamic community – and the expansion of the internet, online fatwas have started to provide normative answers to inquiries from Muslims from all over the world. Van den Branden and Broeckaert researched non-voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide expressed in English e-fatwas (2009, 2011). Using their approach and framing e-fatwas in the context of Roy’s view on the virtual Islamic community (2000, we have selected and analysed eighty English Sunni e-fatwas on abortion. On the level of structure, these e-fatwas are very similar – often rooted in the Quran and Sunna but not classical jurisprudential discussions on the subject. On the level of content, they do not deviate from Islamic jurisprudence, which does not encourage abortion but permits it in particular circumstances during specific stages of fetal development – generally, before four months or 120 days of gestation. In the light of our study, English Sunni e-fatwas on abortion constitute an important part of Islamic bioethical teachings and thus deserve further research.
Czyściec by Michał Kondrat in the Light of Contemporary Teaching of the Church and the Pop-Cultural Turn in the Catholic Dogma
This article presents an attempt at an analysis of the fictionalised documentary Czyściec by Michał Kondrat (2020) in the context of the contemporary teaching of the Church and postulate of a popcultural turn in Catholic theology, formulated by Józef Majewski. Directing strategies, topoi, and graphic metaphors from this hybrid film – the script of which refers to Stefania Horak’s mystical experiences – are interpreted in the context of a long tradition of reflections on the topic of purgatory and the key principles of the post-conciliar teachings of the Catholic Church on this subject. These analyses and interpretations enable consideration of whether the said film aims at refreshing the forms of expression of purgatory-related topics. They also let the reader explore whether the mass-culture elements included in the film can help the viewer become more spiritually mature and whether they deepen the eschatological reflection.
Polish Antigones and Holiness in the Dis-enchanted World. Changing of the Cultural Pattern in the Relationship with Protestant Cemeteries in Poland after 1989
In this article, the authors set themselves the goal of describing the pattern of civil engagement comparable to that of Antigone in relations with the state on the case study of people associated with the “Anna Foundation,” saving the evangelical (protestant) cemetery in Gostków (Lower Silesia) from the mid-nineteenth century. The area of operation of this foundation is the local communion of multicultural influence. The research method involved reading sources, a series of qualitative interviews with activists and other subjects with “borderline experience,” a description of photographic documentation and an interpretation of the history of modernity. The article is a case study and an attempt to interpret a broader phenomenon of saving cemeteries of various denominations from destruction and oblivion in Poland after 1989. This study contributes to studies on culture and religion, and the philosophical and theological reflection of late post-modernity. In interpreting the phenomenon of civic involvement, the authors use the concepts of “disenchantment of the world,” “rationalization,” “bureaucratization” and “the garden state,” as well as “re-enchanting of the world” and “holiness in the secular age.” In the conclusions, the authors propose to correct both the definition of “world enchantment” and the definition of the inevitable secularization of the world in late (post) modernity. The authors argue that in the time of the post-pandemic crisis and the climate catastrophe, Albert Schweitzer’s “reverence for life” may be an equivalent that is appropriate for the non-rational elements of contemporary culture.
This article investigates links between religion and migration processes through a study of religious communities’ approaches towards migrants. Drawing from the religious economy perspective, the paper explores the under-researched topic of the role of migration in the dynamics of a religious field in the context of Central and Eastern Europe. The qualitative research performed in 2020 in Krakow – one of the key destinations for migrants in Poland – confirms the claims of religious economy that monopolists and quasi-monopolists are usually more reluctant to adapt to social changes. On the other hand, less-privileged but entrepreneurial religious communities are more aware of migrants’ situation, and respond to their needs in the following ways: 1) providing cosmopolitan “temporary homes”; 2) bridging cultures; 3) setting up ethno-cultural service hubs. We argue that these kinds of engagements have significant implications for the dynamics inside the religious market.
* The research behind this article was funded by the Krakow University of Economics within the project POTENCJAŁ no 32/GPM/2021/POT.
Symbolic Representations of the Pendulum Movement (in Polish and East Slavic Folklore and Traditional Culture)
This article is devoted to the symbolic representation of the pendulum movement, such as rocking, swaying and swinging. The research covered Polish and East Slavic folklore, ethnographic and linguistic material. The analysis aims to reach the conceptual basis of pendulum motion developed from the physical experience of movement and related events such as magical practices and rituals. To interpret the material, pre-linguistic conceptual schemas and narrative study, it uses tools to reconstruct the procedures of rites de passage. Examining the contexts and associations accompanying the magical activities of pendulum motion led to the disclosure of archaic beliefs that go back to the myth of creation. The broad spectrum of issues related to the performative power of rocking, swaying and swinging allowed us to present an embodied conceptualisation of the primary movement experience as the universal model of cosmic rhythms.
The Presence of Messianism and Millenarianism in Brazilian Folk Religiosity in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, numerous unorthodox Christian religious communities sprang up in many parts of the vast Brazilian interior. Their worldview basis was the belief that the present life takes place in times of cosmic and social crisis. Waiting for the day of the Last Judgement was associated with attempts to establish a just social order, consistent with Christian norms and values. These communities were led by charismatic leaders, perceived by their participants as incarnations of saints. In this article, we ask about the circumstances and reasons for this religious and social revival, and we consider them in the perspective of the meeting of European culture with the cultures of the New World, understood as the process of creating a new, common symbolic universe.
* Artykuł przygotowany przy finansowym wsparciu Narodowego Centrum Nauki – grant nr 2017/27/B/HS1/00234.
Zoroastrian Women in Temples: Places of Worship in the Perspective of the Zoroastrians Diaspora in the USA
In this article, I approach the issue of temple visits by Zoroastrian women living in the USA. I analysed the field material in terms of the motivations and circumstances of these visits. The analysis showed that the women visit both Zarathushtrian places of worship in the immediate area, as well as those located further away, including in their old homelands, although they valorise them differently and motivate the need for such visits differently. Some perform religious practices at temples of other religions.
This article is an attempt to present the problem of abandoning the Muslim religion in favor of Christianity. The article is based on materials collected and stored in the archives of Russia (Saint Petersburg), Lithuania (Vilnius), and Belarus (Grodno). These mostly contain either surviving records of baptisms sent to the consistory or police reports. The cases of conversion among nineteenth-century Muslims in the territory of the Russian Empire cited in the article have served as the basis for this phenomenon’s typology in the Muslim Tatar community. Moreover, they have provided the basis for analyzing whether it is possible to fit them into pre-existing conversion models in social sciences. The examples quoted in the text show the kinds of life problems that prompted Muslim Tatars to abandon the religion of their ancestors, e.g., terminal illness, the issue of marriage, or the likelihood of rejection by one’s group. It should be mentioned that there had already been conversions among Muslim Tatars in the early period of their settlement. However, this trend has never taken on a mass character, as evidenced by the relatively good condition of the Muslim community living in the former territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The Ritual Places of Contemporary Pagans in Kraków
In the following article I describe ritual places used by four Kraków Neopagan groups (Native Polish Church, Group Mir, Free Rodnovers of Kraków, and Reformed Druids of Gaia Poland). The most important locations include the surroundings of Krakus Mound (along with the Liban quarry below and the ‘sacred circle’ on the opposite site of the quarry) and Grove by the Wilga river. The used sites and their context are analysed, as well as the reasons why a particular place was chosen. I focus on the perspective of my interviewees, using Kim Knott’s spatial analysis and the combination of the three approaches by Belden C. Lane. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with members of the studied groups, I distinguish three categories of reasons (physical; connected to culture and tradition; metaphysical), which show the multidimensional character of the decisions made and many perspectives in which ritual places are perceived.
This text is dedicated to uncovering conditions for interpretation in the philosophy of Eric Voegelin. According to Voegelin, human existence is a matter of interpretation and its essence is constituted in tension towards the so-called divine ground of reality, i.e. nonobjective transcendence. I argue that the condition for any understanding of the human being, as well as the reorientation of human existence, is the divine presence dwelling in language, in history and in the subject itself. However, it is not a presence of some kind of object, content, or being –rather, it is a unpresentable ‘flow’or ‘flux’of presence, a flow that instils a primordial mobility in reality and orients man in his being.
* The article was written as part of the research project 2019/33/N/HS1/01868 “Filozofia religii Erica Voegelina – pomiędzy fenomenologiąa hermeneutyką”, financed by the Narodowe Centrum Nauki in Poland.
Symbolic Representations of the Pendulum Movement (in Polish and East Slavic Folklore and Traditional Culture)
This article is devoted to the symbolic representation of the pendulum movement, such as rocking, swaying and swinging. The research covered Polish and East Slavic folklore, ethnographic and linguistic material. The analysis aims to reach the conceptual basis of pendulum motion developed from the physical experience of movement and related events such as magical practices and rituals. To interpret the material, pre-linguistic conceptual schemas and narrative study, it uses tools to reconstruct the procedures of rites de passage. Examining the contexts and associations accompanying the magical activities of pendulum motion led to the disclosure of archaic beliefs that go back to the myth of creation. The broad spectrum of issues related to the performative power of rocking, swaying and swinging allowed us to present an embodied conceptualisation of the primary movement experience as the universal model of cosmic rhythms.
The Presence of Messianism and Millenarianism in Brazilian Folk Religiosity in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, numerous unorthodox Christian religious communities sprang up in many parts of the vast Brazilian interior. Their worldview basis was the belief that the present life takes place in times of cosmic and social crisis. Waiting for the day of the Last Judgement was associated with attempts to establish a just social order, consistent with Christian norms and values. These communities were led by charismatic leaders, perceived by their participants as incarnations of saints. In this article, we ask about the circumstances and reasons for this religious and social revival, and we consider them in the perspective of the meeting of European culture with the cultures of the New World, understood as the process of creating a new, common symbolic universe.
* Artykuł przygotowany przy finansowym wsparciu Narodowego Centrum Nauki – grant nr 2017/27/B/HS1/00234.
Zoroastrian Women in Temples: Places of Worship in the Perspective of the Zoroastrians Diaspora in the USA
In this article, I approach the issue of temple visits by Zoroastrian women living in the USA. I analysed the field material in terms of the motivations and circumstances of these visits. The analysis showed that the women visit both Zarathushtrian places of worship in the immediate area, as well as those located further away, including in their old homelands, although they valorise them differently and motivate the need for such visits differently. Some perform religious practices at temples of other religions.
This article is an attempt to present the problem of abandoning the Muslim religion in favor of Christianity. The article is based on materials collected and stored in the archives of Russia (Saint Petersburg), Lithuania (Vilnius), and Belarus (Grodno). These mostly contain either surviving records of baptisms sent to the consistory or police reports. The cases of conversion among nineteenth-century Muslims in the territory of the Russian Empire cited in the article have served as the basis for this phenomenon’s typology in the Muslim Tatar community. Moreover, they have provided the basis for analyzing whether it is possible to fit them into pre-existing conversion models in social sciences. The examples quoted in the text show the kinds of life problems that prompted Muslim Tatars to abandon the religion of their ancestors, e.g., terminal illness, the issue of marriage, or the likelihood of rejection by one’s group. It should be mentioned that there had already been conversions among Muslim Tatars in the early period of their settlement. However, this trend has never taken on a mass character, as evidenced by the relatively good condition of the Muslim community living in the former territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The Ritual Places of Contemporary Pagans in Kraków
In the following article I describe ritual places used by four Kraków Neopagan groups (Native Polish Church, Group Mir, Free Rodnovers of Kraków, and Reformed Druids of Gaia Poland). The most important locations include the surroundings of Krakus Mound (along with the Liban quarry below and the ‘sacred circle’ on the opposite site of the quarry) and Grove by the Wilga river. The used sites and their context are analysed, as well as the reasons why a particular place was chosen. I focus on the perspective of my interviewees, using Kim Knott’s spatial analysis and the combination of the three approaches by Belden C. Lane. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with members of the studied groups, I distinguish three categories of reasons (physical; connected to culture and tradition; metaphysical), which show the multidimensional character of the decisions made and many perspectives in which ritual places are perceived.
This text is dedicated to uncovering conditions for interpretation in the philosophy of Eric Voegelin. According to Voegelin, human existence is a matter of interpretation and its essence is constituted in tension towards the so-called divine ground of reality, i.e. nonobjective transcendence. I argue that the condition for any understanding of the human being, as well as the reorientation of human existence, is the divine presence dwelling in language, in history and in the subject itself. However, it is not a presence of some kind of object, content, or being –rather, it is a unpresentable ‘flow’or ‘flux’of presence, a flow that instils a primordial mobility in reality and orients man in his being.
* The article was written as part of the research project 2019/33/N/HS1/01868 “Filozofia religii Erica Voegelina – pomiędzy fenomenologiąa hermeneutyką”, financed by the Narodowe Centrum Nauki in Poland.
Understanding and Importance of Honour and Pudeur in Muslim Communities of the Maghreb
This article introduces the concepts of honour and pudeur in the Maghreb – an area whose culture was shaped mainly by three factors: the tribal traditions of the indigenous Berber people, the customs of the Arabs who arrived there in the seventh century, and Islam. Two complementary principles mentioned in the title are among the most important regulators of all aspects of the lives of traditional Maghreb communities: social, family, individual and personal. The author tries to define both concepts, which, despite their apparent obviousness, turns out to not be an easy task. She examines the reasons for their high position in the system of values of societies living in the western part of North Africa and the ubiquitous manifestations of their impact that are visible in, for example, local customs, rituals, social structure and the organisation of space. She also explores the selected, individual consequences of living under constant pressure from the community which controls the lives of its members.
This paper critically re-examines some of the prevailing narratives about the religious ideology of the early Taliban and analyses the four most common conventional concepts of it: being an oversimplified version of Islam, being born in madrasas located in Pakistan, being a local variation of Deobandism and being a Pashtun nationalist movement. The author argues that the ideology of pre-2001 Taliban is a non-static, multilayered and oversimplified interpretation of religious dogmas mixed with local tribal customs and definitely more rural fundamentalism than political Islamism. In the first section, the author provides basic definitions, such as ideology and Deobandism. The second section is a presentation of the religious context of Afghanistan and roots of the Taliban. The next section is an analysis of the Deobandi influence over Taliban religious life followed by a paragraph about Pashtunism and the Pashtunwali role in Taliban’s ideology. The next paragraph concerns the practical dimension and implementation of religious rules on the policy of Afghanistan during the first emirate.
Muslim Women in the National Movement of Crimean Tatars since the Late Nineteenth Century. The Birth of Women’s Activism, Their Historic Role and Social Position
The socio-political movement of Crimean Tatars since the second half of the nineteenth century, aiming for political and territorial autonomy in Crimea, is traditionally associated with the name of its iconic leader Mustafa Dzhemilev. Meanwhile, a closer look at the nation’s struggle to reach its goals allows us to also see the role of women by no means reduced to the function of mothers and wives of activists. Examples can be drawn from the dawn of the movement to the present day, describing the profiles of prominent female figures whose socio-political activities have influenced the formation of the modern national and religious identity of Crimean Tatars. This publication presents a description and analysis of the role women played in the history of the nation during its independence movement. Using the example of outstanding silhouettes, the author demonstrates that Crimean Tatar women activists often performed key tasks at the most decisive moments of history, which in no small measure influenced the relatively high position of Muslim women in the social hierarchy of the nation.
Meskhetian Turks are a Turkish-speaking ethnic group, which lived in Georgia until 1944. The origins of this ethnic group is a matter of academic dispute. Since their beginnings, they have been under the influence of many cultures due to their location on the borders of the Christian and the Muslim worlds. In 1944, they were forced to leave Georgia and were displaced and dispersed throughout the territory of the Soviet Union, mainly to Central Asia. There are currently around 350–600 thousand Meskhetian Turks scattered all over the world. They are the only ethnic group which did not gain permission from the Soviet authorities to return to their homeland of Georgia. The deportation is the most tragic event in the history and collective memory of Meskhetian Turks which has directly affected their traditions, their religiousness, and their religious and national identity. The aim of this paper is to analyse how these events and the present situation have influenced and reshaped religious and national identity of Meskhetian Turks as well as their traditions in the Soviet and post-Soviet period.
Recenzja: Ireneusz Ziemiński, Religia jako idolatria. Esej filozoficzny o nieuchronności elementów idolatrycznych w religii, Uniwersytet Szczeciński, „Rozprawy i Studia”, T. (MCXCVIII) 1124, Szczecin 2020, ss. 218.
Recenzja: Słownik biograficzny uczestników ruchu zadrużnego w XX wieku, red. M. Dymek, T. Szczepański, „Trygław. Kwartalnik Metapolityczny”, Warszawa 2019, ss. 180.
Recenzja: Polskie tradycje ezoteryczne (1890–1939), seria „Światło i Ciemność”, edycja specjalna, T. I–V, red. serii M. Rzeczycka, T. 1–IV: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, Gdańsk 2019; T. V: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego / Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Gdańsk–Warszawa 2020; [English edition: Polish Esoteric Traditions (1890–1939): Selected Issues, ed. A. Świerzowska, transl. S. Jones, Gdańsk University Press, Sopot 2019, ss. 335].
Recenzja: Ireneusz Ziemiński, Religia jako idolatria. Esej filozoficzny o nieuchronności elementów idolatrycznych w religii, Uniwersytet Szczeciński, „Rozprawy i Studia”, T. (MCXCVIII) 1124, Szczecin 2020, ss. 218.
Recenzja: Słownik biograficzny uczestników ruchu zadrużnego w XX wieku, red. M. Dymek, T. Szczepański, „Trygław. Kwartalnik Metapolityczny”, Warszawa 2019, ss. 180.
Recenzja: Polskie tradycje ezoteryczne (1890–1939), seria „Światło i Ciemność”, edycja specjalna, T. I–V, red. serii M. Rzeczycka, T. 1–IV: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, Gdańsk 2019; T. V: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego / Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Gdańsk–Warszawa 2020; [English edition: Polish Esoteric Traditions (1890–1939): Selected Issues, ed. A. Świerzowska, transl. S. Jones, Gdańsk University Press, Sopot 2019, ss. 335].
Understanding and Importance of Honour and Pudeur in Muslim Communities of the Maghreb
This article introduces the concepts of honour and pudeur in the Maghreb – an area whose culture was shaped mainly by three factors: the tribal traditions of the indigenous Berber people, the customs of the Arabs who arrived there in the seventh century, and Islam. Two complementary principles mentioned in the title are among the most important regulators of all aspects of the lives of traditional Maghreb communities: social, family, individual and personal. The author tries to define both concepts, which, despite their apparent obviousness, turns out to not be an easy task. She examines the reasons for their high position in the system of values of societies living in the western part of North Africa and the ubiquitous manifestations of their impact that are visible in, for example, local customs, rituals, social structure and the organisation of space. She also explores the selected, individual consequences of living under constant pressure from the community which controls the lives of its members.
This paper critically re-examines some of the prevailing narratives about the religious ideology of the early Taliban and analyses the four most common conventional concepts of it: being an oversimplified version of Islam, being born in madrasas located in Pakistan, being a local variation of Deobandism and being a Pashtun nationalist movement. The author argues that the ideology of pre-2001 Taliban is a non-static, multilayered and oversimplified interpretation of religious dogmas mixed with local tribal customs and definitely more rural fundamentalism than political Islamism. In the first section, the author provides basic definitions, such as ideology and Deobandism. The second section is a presentation of the religious context of Afghanistan and roots of the Taliban. The next section is an analysis of the Deobandi influence over Taliban religious life followed by a paragraph about Pashtunism and the Pashtunwali role in Taliban’s ideology. The next paragraph concerns the practical dimension and implementation of religious rules on the policy of Afghanistan during the first emirate.
Muslim Women in the National Movement of Crimean Tatars since the Late Nineteenth Century. The Birth of Women’s Activism, Their Historic Role and Social Position
The socio-political movement of Crimean Tatars since the second half of the nineteenth century, aiming for political and territorial autonomy in Crimea, is traditionally associated with the name of its iconic leader Mustafa Dzhemilev. Meanwhile, a closer look at the nation’s struggle to reach its goals allows us to also see the role of women by no means reduced to the function of mothers and wives of activists. Examples can be drawn from the dawn of the movement to the present day, describing the profiles of prominent female figures whose socio-political activities have influenced the formation of the modern national and religious identity of Crimean Tatars. This publication presents a description and analysis of the role women played in the history of the nation during its independence movement. Using the example of outstanding silhouettes, the author demonstrates that Crimean Tatar women activists often performed key tasks at the most decisive moments of history, which in no small measure influenced the relatively high position of Muslim women in the social hierarchy of the nation.
Meskhetian Turks are a Turkish-speaking ethnic group, which lived in Georgia until 1944. The origins of this ethnic group is a matter of academic dispute. Since their beginnings, they have been under the influence of many cultures due to their location on the borders of the Christian and the Muslim worlds. In 1944, they were forced to leave Georgia and were displaced and dispersed throughout the territory of the Soviet Union, mainly to Central Asia. There are currently around 350–600 thousand Meskhetian Turks scattered all over the world. They are the only ethnic group which did not gain permission from the Soviet authorities to return to their homeland of Georgia. The deportation is the most tragic event in the history and collective memory of Meskhetian Turks which has directly affected their traditions, their religiousness, and their religious and national identity. The aim of this paper is to analyse how these events and the present situation have influenced and reshaped religious and national identity of Meskhetian Turks as well as their traditions in the Soviet and post-Soviet period.
Visiting Hell parks is a popular pastime in contemporary Thailand. Situated near Buddhist temples, these gruesome sculpture gardens depict the Buddhist vision of Hell. These grotesque and violent sculptures are usually seen as an oddity and a form of low art. Perhaps for this reason, they are rarely studied by scholars. This article focuses on the parks as modern entertainment. Usually found in rural areas, these spots try to answer the challenges of the commercialisation and globalisation of Thai society. A detailed analysis of four Hell parks, Wang Saen Suk, Wat Pa Lak Roi, Wat Pa Non Sawan and Wat Pa Thewapithak, shows that these religious amusement parks serve not only as means of entertainment but are also places of Buddhist morality.
* This work was supported by the Jagiellonian University’s Council of Students’Academic Associations as part of the Badanie nieortodoksyjnych świątyń buddyjskich w północno-wschodniej Tajlandii i Birmie [Study of unorthodox Buddhist temples in Northeast Thailand and Myanmar] Grant.
“The Implementation of the Buddha-Dharma in the Construction of Socialist Society”. On the Beginning of Legalization of the First Buddhist Community in the Polish People’s Republic
The pioneering community of Polish Buddhists called “Zen Circle”, operating in the 1970s, raised well-founded concerns of national public and administrative order bodies. This group, derived mainly from artistic and hippie environments, should be considered one of the most original and radical manifestations of an alternative and contesting culture to the reality of the People’s Republic of Poland. At the same time, the effectiveness of the activities undertaken by the community in the administrative field, led to a precedent situation in which its religious and non-religious activities were legalized. In this article, I reconstruct the administrative efforts made in the first period of community activity (1975–1978), but above all, I analyze the attitudes and motivations of the parties involved in the above-mentioned process: community members, decision-making officials and services responsible for the internal security of the country. Based both on the group’s internal materials and interviews with members, as well as on documents prepared by state bodies, I analyze the process of shaping the identity of the first Polish Buddhists.
Activity of the Buddhist Community „Zen Circle” in 1978–1980 in the Context of Political and Administrative Conditions of the Polish People’s Republic
The article attempts to present the beginnings of the first Buddhist community in Poland, the „Zen Circle”, which crystallized and legalized its activity in the conditions of a state with an undemocratic political system. In the chronological aspect, it is a continuation of the content contained in the article entitled The Realization of the Buddha-dharma in the Construction of Socialist Society. On the Beginnings of the Path to the Legalization of the First Buddhist Community in the People’s Republic of Poland, focusing on the period when the painter Andrzej Urbanowicz (1938–2011) was the leader of the community. This text presents and analyzes the further efforts of Buddhists who, under the leadership of Andrzej Janusz Korbel (1946–2015), developed effective forms of religious and popularizing activity, and led to the registration of the community (1980), despite police and administrative repressions that began almost a decade earlier. In the second part of the article, I pre- sent some possible reasons for the decision taken by the Office for Religious Affairs to enter the „Zen Buddhist Community in Poland – Religious Association” into the register of associations. The lack of preserved documentation containing the formal argumentation of this decision prompts us to formule hypotheses that will be discussed in more detail in the doctoral dissertation being prepared.
The topic of knowledge of God is one of the most important questions discussed by St Gregory Palamas in the majority of his works. Palamas distinguishes four basic types of knowledge of God: knowledge of God drawn from creation, Christian knowledge gained from Scripture and Tradition, mystical knowledge understood as true wisdom, and the deifying vision of the Light of Tabor, which is called knowledge only in an improper sense of this word. All the above types of cognition concerning God are deeply embedded in the whole of Palamite theology, being linked to ideas such as objective distinction between God’s essence and energy or teaching about deification through participation in divine grace.
“I Consider Myself a Heretic and a Gnostic, and I Pride Myself on Being One.” Jerzy Prokopiuk’s Esoteric Reception of Gnosis and Gnosticism
In the paper, the author presents Jerzy Prokopiuk’s (1931–2021) outlook on gnosis and Gnosticism. Prokopiuk was a Polish esotericist, translator, and non-academic specialist in religious studies. His views on this subject can be divided into four areas: (1) definition of gnosis; (2) the essence and de- scription of Gnosticism as a historical religious formation; (3) description and understanding of the post-Gnostic tradition; (4) gnosis and Gnosticism as a hermeneutic tool. As to (1) definition of gno- sis, the Prokopiuk presents three forms of this special kind of knowledge: escapist gnosis (know- ledge liberates the human spirit from material body and the physical world); transformational gnosis (knowledge transforms the human soul, body and earthly nature); lateral gnosis (idea of alternative worlds). Regarding (2) Gnosticism, Prokopiuk says that its source was ancient mysteries and a par- ticular type of religious experience. He sees (3) the post-Gnostic tradition as an unbroken chain of esoteric groups and figures from late antiquity to the present day. Finally, gnosis and Gnosticism are (4) a hermeneutic tool for Prokopiuk because they allow him to interpret phenomena and texts of culture (in the field of literature, cinema, psychology, and others). The paper also reflects on the usefulness of some of Prokopiuk’s ideas for contemporary humanities.
Visiting Hell parks is a popular pastime in contemporary Thailand. Situated near Buddhist temples, these gruesome sculpture gardens depict the Buddhist vision of Hell. These grotesque and violent sculptures are usually seen as an oddity and a form of low art. Perhaps for this reason, they are rarely studied by scholars. This article focuses on the parks as modern entertainment. Usually found in rural areas, these spots try to answer the challenges of the commercialisation and globalisation of Thai society. A detailed analysis of four Hell parks, Wang Saen Suk, Wat Pa Lak Roi, Wat Pa Non Sawan and Wat Pa Thewapithak, shows that these religious amusement parks serve not only as means of entertainment but are also places of Buddhist morality.
* This work was supported by the Jagiellonian University’s Council of Students’Academic Associations as part of the Badanie nieortodoksyjnych świątyń buddyjskich w północno-wschodniej Tajlandii i Birmie [Study of unorthodox Buddhist temples in Northeast Thailand and Myanmar] Grant.
“The Implementation of the Buddha-Dharma in the Construction of Socialist Society”. On the Beginning of Legalization of the First Buddhist Community in the Polish People’s Republic
The pioneering community of Polish Buddhists called “Zen Circle”, operating in the 1970s, raised well-founded concerns of national public and administrative order bodies. This group, derived mainly from artistic and hippie environments, should be considered one of the most original and radical manifestations of an alternative and contesting culture to the reality of the People’s Republic of Poland. At the same time, the effectiveness of the activities undertaken by the community in the administrative field, led to a precedent situation in which its religious and non-religious activities were legalized. In this article, I reconstruct the administrative efforts made in the first period of community activity (1975–1978), but above all, I analyze the attitudes and motivations of the parties involved in the above-mentioned process: community members, decision-making officials and services responsible for the internal security of the country. Based both on the group’s internal materials and interviews with members, as well as on documents prepared by state bodies, I analyze the process of shaping the identity of the first Polish Buddhists.
Activity of the Buddhist Community „Zen Circle” in 1978–1980 in the Context of Political and Administrative Conditions of the Polish People’s Republic
The article attempts to present the beginnings of the first Buddhist community in Poland, the „Zen Circle”, which crystallized and legalized its activity in the conditions of a state with an undemocratic political system. In the chronological aspect, it is a continuation of the content contained in the article entitled The Realization of the Buddha-dharma in the Construction of Socialist Society. On the Beginnings of the Path to the Legalization of the First Buddhist Community in the People’s Republic of Poland, focusing on the period when the painter Andrzej Urbanowicz (1938–2011) was the leader of the community. This text presents and analyzes the further efforts of Buddhists who, under the leadership of Andrzej Janusz Korbel (1946–2015), developed effective forms of religious and popularizing activity, and led to the registration of the community (1980), despite police and administrative repressions that began almost a decade earlier. In the second part of the article, I pre- sent some possible reasons for the decision taken by the Office for Religious Affairs to enter the „Zen Buddhist Community in Poland – Religious Association” into the register of associations. The lack of preserved documentation containing the formal argumentation of this decision prompts us to formule hypotheses that will be discussed in more detail in the doctoral dissertation being prepared.
The topic of knowledge of God is one of the most important questions discussed by St Gregory Palamas in the majority of his works. Palamas distinguishes four basic types of knowledge of God: knowledge of God drawn from creation, Christian knowledge gained from Scripture and Tradition, mystical knowledge understood as true wisdom, and the deifying vision of the Light of Tabor, which is called knowledge only in an improper sense of this word. All the above types of cognition concerning God are deeply embedded in the whole of Palamite theology, being linked to ideas such as objective distinction between God’s essence and energy or teaching about deification through participation in divine grace.
“I Consider Myself a Heretic and a Gnostic, and I Pride Myself on Being One.” Jerzy Prokopiuk’s Esoteric Reception of Gnosis and Gnosticism
In the paper, the author presents Jerzy Prokopiuk’s (1931–2021) outlook on gnosis and Gnosticism. Prokopiuk was a Polish esotericist, translator, and non-academic specialist in religious studies. His views on this subject can be divided into four areas: (1) definition of gnosis; (2) the essence and de- scription of Gnosticism as a historical religious formation; (3) description and understanding of the post-Gnostic tradition; (4) gnosis and Gnosticism as a hermeneutic tool. As to (1) definition of gno- sis, the Prokopiuk presents three forms of this special kind of knowledge: escapist gnosis (know- ledge liberates the human spirit from material body and the physical world); transformational gnosis (knowledge transforms the human soul, body and earthly nature); lateral gnosis (idea of alternative worlds). Regarding (2) Gnosticism, Prokopiuk says that its source was ancient mysteries and a par- ticular type of religious experience. He sees (3) the post-Gnostic tradition as an unbroken chain of esoteric groups and figures from late antiquity to the present day. Finally, gnosis and Gnosticism are (4) a hermeneutic tool for Prokopiuk because they allow him to interpret phenomena and texts of culture (in the field of literature, cinema, psychology, and others). The paper also reflects on the usefulness of some of Prokopiuk’s ideas for contemporary humanities.
Czasopismo zostało dofinansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie umowy nr 279/WCN/2019/1 z dnia 16 lipca 2019 z pomocy przyznanej w ramach programu „Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych”.
Przygotowanie i wydanie w otwartym dostępie anglojęzycznych artykułów wydawanych w czasopiśmie "Studia Religiologica" w celu lepszego umiędzynarodowienia czasopisma - zadanie finansowane w ramach umowy 626/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Uniwersytet Jagielloński ze środków Instytutu Religioznawstwa.
This article surveys a seemingly straightforward topic: seventeenth- and eighteenth-century deism. It is approached from a historical and philosophical standpoint, chiefly via the analyses of Wayne Hudson. An in-depth study of Hudson’s work indicates that we are dealing with an unexpected diversity of views, as outlined in works such as The English Deists. His remarks concerning various concepts which pass for deist would seem to spoil the fun of those who would seek to create simple visions of history and of a range of analytical philosophers. These investigations into deism also take a broader perspective, showing it as a characteristically modern rendition of non-religious divinity, expressed by the term “the god of philosophers”. The history of the travails of the separation of philosophical concepts of divinity from religious beliefs is important for at least two reasons. For one, it highlights a philosophical tendency to present a structure of reality independent of traditional religious imaginings, and for another it allows us to consider human historically-conditioned expectations and claims through the variety of ways of portraying “the divine”.
The fundraising activity initiated by the Birla family in India resulted in the construction of more than 20 Hindu temples, commonly referred to as the Birla Mandirs. Although they vary in terms of architectural forms and iconographic programs it seems, that one basic and common theme remains - to show reformed Hinduism as a religion that is the pillar of the identity of the people of New India. It is understood at the same time as separate but also higher than other great religions, yet assuring a place within its confines for all of them. It is – as the authors argue in this paper - the practical realization of the thought expressed in the Ṛgveda(I 164.46) and repeatedly referred to in the Birla temples as ‘ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti’, which seems to be the motto of all foundations of the Birla family.
Philosophy, ritual and performativity in ancient Indian thought on the example of the Chandogia Upanishad 6.2.4
The paper discusses cosmogony presented by Uddālaka Āruṇi attested in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.1-6), according to which world forms arise by giving them a name. I argue that the experience that motivates the thinking of Uddālaka is ritual, the essence of which is to give people and objects a name, thanks to which their status dramatically changes for the duration of the ritual. An analysis of a selected passage of the king’s coronation described in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (5.3.4) reveals the fundamental importance of the verses uttered during preparation of the water for the consecration. The reconstruction of an experience that influences philosophical thought makes it possible to see its coherence and depth, and the fact that this experience is a ritual, a common experience of humanity, enables it to be better understood by those who grew up in other philosophical traditions as well.
Not only Houris: wildān muḫalladūn and ġilmān in the Koran and Muslim Religious Literature
In descriptions and discussions of the Muslim concept of paradise, much space is always devoted to the famous – as well as infamous – Houris. My article, however, is devoted to another paradise thread, that is, an analysis of fragments of the Koran where “immortal youths” (wildān muḫalladūn) are mentioned. These are verses 56: 17–19 and 76: 19. In slightly different words (ḡilmān muḫalladūn) they are also referred to in verse 52: 24. This topic has not yet been sufficiently covered in the studies in the field of Arabic and Islamic studies. Christian Luxenberg devoted some space to him in his controversial work on the Syro-Aramaic reading of the Koran. Much more space has been devoted to “immortal youths” by Muslim scholars, both classical and modern, not avoiding references to the ambiguities that may arise in connection with these verses.
Evangelisation in the Spirit of Catalan independence
This article presents Catalan independentism as a political religion. The main area of interest is the process of evangelisation to ensure the effectiveness of contemporary thought and the independence movement in Catalonia. The aim of the analysis is to verify the instruments and mechanisms through which an effective and permanent evangelization in the spirit of independentism is possible.
“The Bolshevism of Antiquity” – Christianity as Revolution. The Perspective of Alain de Benoist’s New Right: selected aspects
The topic of the article is the interpretation of Christianity by Alain de Benoist, thinker of the New Right. He believes that Christianity has brought about a revolution in the world-view of European peoples. Stating that it is ‘Paganism’ that was the original and authentic basis of European spirituality, mentality, and axiology, Benoist calls Christianity the “Bolshevism of Antiquity”. The article outlines the concepts of Christian desacralisation of the world, the inaugural dissociation, and the theory of progress. The analysis showed that the foremost revolutionary trait of Christianity is the radical dualism of the created and uncreated being, which is in direct contradiction with the pre- Christian / European ontological monism.
This article surveys a seemingly straightforward topic: seventeenth- and eighteenth-century deism. It is approached from a historical and philosophical standpoint, chiefly via the analyses of Wayne Hudson. An in-depth study of Hudson’s work indicates that we are dealing with an unexpected diversity of views, as outlined in works such as The English Deists. His remarks concerning various concepts which pass for deist would seem to spoil the fun of those who would seek to create simple visions of history and of a range of analytical philosophers. These investigations into deism also take a broader perspective, showing it as a characteristically modern rendition of non-religious divinity, expressed by the term “the god of philosophers”. The history of the travails of the separation of philosophical concepts of divinity from religious beliefs is important for at least two reasons. For one, it highlights a philosophical tendency to present a structure of reality independent of traditional religious imaginings, and for another it allows us to consider human historically-conditioned expectations and claims through the variety of ways of portraying “the divine”.
The fundraising activity initiated by the Birla family in India resulted in the construction of more than 20 Hindu temples, commonly referred to as the Birla Mandirs. Although they vary in terms of architectural forms and iconographic programs it seems, that one basic and common theme remains - to show reformed Hinduism as a religion that is the pillar of the identity of the people of New India. It is understood at the same time as separate but also higher than other great religions, yet assuring a place within its confines for all of them. It is – as the authors argue in this paper - the practical realization of the thought expressed in the Ṛgveda(I 164.46) and repeatedly referred to in the Birla temples as ‘ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti’, which seems to be the motto of all foundations of the Birla family.
Philosophy, ritual and performativity in ancient Indian thought on the example of the Chandogia Upanishad 6.2.4
The paper discusses cosmogony presented by Uddālaka Āruṇi attested in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.1-6), according to which world forms arise by giving them a name. I argue that the experience that motivates the thinking of Uddālaka is ritual, the essence of which is to give people and objects a name, thanks to which their status dramatically changes for the duration of the ritual. An analysis of a selected passage of the king’s coronation described in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (5.3.4) reveals the fundamental importance of the verses uttered during preparation of the water for the consecration. The reconstruction of an experience that influences philosophical thought makes it possible to see its coherence and depth, and the fact that this experience is a ritual, a common experience of humanity, enables it to be better understood by those who grew up in other philosophical traditions as well.
Not only Houris: wildān muḫalladūn and ġilmān in the Koran and Muslim Religious Literature
In descriptions and discussions of the Muslim concept of paradise, much space is always devoted to the famous – as well as infamous – Houris. My article, however, is devoted to another paradise thread, that is, an analysis of fragments of the Koran where “immortal youths” (wildān muḫalladūn) are mentioned. These are verses 56: 17–19 and 76: 19. In slightly different words (ḡilmān muḫalladūn) they are also referred to in verse 52: 24. This topic has not yet been sufficiently covered in the studies in the field of Arabic and Islamic studies. Christian Luxenberg devoted some space to him in his controversial work on the Syro-Aramaic reading of the Koran. Much more space has been devoted to “immortal youths” by Muslim scholars, both classical and modern, not avoiding references to the ambiguities that may arise in connection with these verses.
Evangelisation in the Spirit of Catalan independence
This article presents Catalan independentism as a political religion. The main area of interest is the process of evangelisation to ensure the effectiveness of contemporary thought and the independence movement in Catalonia. The aim of the analysis is to verify the instruments and mechanisms through which an effective and permanent evangelization in the spirit of independentism is possible.
“The Bolshevism of Antiquity” – Christianity as Revolution. The Perspective of Alain de Benoist’s New Right: selected aspects
The topic of the article is the interpretation of Christianity by Alain de Benoist, thinker of the New Right. He believes that Christianity has brought about a revolution in the world-view of European peoples. Stating that it is ‘Paganism’ that was the original and authentic basis of European spirituality, mentality, and axiology, Benoist calls Christianity the “Bolshevism of Antiquity”. The article outlines the concepts of Christian desacralisation of the world, the inaugural dissociation, and the theory of progress. The analysis showed that the foremost revolutionary trait of Christianity is the radical dualism of the created and uncreated being, which is in direct contradiction with the pre- Christian / European ontological monism.
On the Need for Anthropological Study of the Organizational Dimension of Religion
Qualitative research on religion often overlooks its organizational aspect, even though most of religious life takes place within an organizational framework. Religious organizations are active on many levels: they educate and control religious specialists, shape religious materiality, and in many other ways influence how relationships with the sacred are conceptualized and lived out. The organization of religious life has implications that should be studied by researchers interested in lived religion, especially when they deal with such issues as religious experience, the integrative role of religion, ritual efficacy, and the transmission of practices and beliefs.
* Niniejszy artykuł powstał jako efekt rozważań będących wynikiem kilku projektów badawczych, w tym obecnie prowadzonego projektu badawczego NCN Opus 2019/33/B/HS3/02136.
The Reformation is described mostly as an upheaval. In fact, it is worth considering this period as transformation. The article is an attempt to modify the usual perception of this historical period. At the very beginning the paper discusses the idea of transformation from a sociological perspective. Then it introduces a comparison of the Reformation with other transitions and the late Middle Ages. This allows at the end to define the Reformation as a kind of consequence of medieval times and their transformation.
The roots of German nationalism among members of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland are bound with the activity of German authorities who tried to separate the German community in the occupied Kingdom of Poland during the First World War. German nationalism of the era was based on religious, social, and political factors, such as the idea of a unified German nation both within and outside of the German Reich. According to this idea, the German state was to be the defender of the German people worldwide. Such ideas woke the separatist tendencies inside the Augsburg Church. The political situation in the Second Polish Republic and spread of the national socialist ideology in the 1930s increased the separatist tendencies in the Church and led to a conflict with its pro-governmental Consistory and the General Superintendent, later Bishop Juliusz Bursche.
The Oral and Written Traditions of the Qur’an and Its Place in Early Islam
The paper considers the form, status, and importance of the Qur’anic message in the first two centuries of Islam. The argument is that the term “Qur’an” could not have originally referred to the final body of revelation in a text form. Rather, the concept of the Qur’an must have functioned among the faithful as a term for oral transmission before the scripturalization of the revelation, and it is this oral function of the Qur’an that is primal to its literate function. It seems that just as in Judaism and Christianity, in Islam the process of remembering, passing on, collecting, and codifying the textus receptus, along with its stabilization and sacralization, was a centuries-long self-propelled operation shaped primarily by the oral tradition (especially in the presumed culture of illiterate people).
This article presents a case study of a Swedish-based NGO, Assyrians Without Borders (AWB), whose priority objective is to help Middle Eastern Christians, mainly Assyrians/Syriacs, in need in their homeland. The paper argues that Assyrians/Syriacs in Sweden have developed three forms of citizenship – religious, political and democratic. All three forms are transnational and have the potential to challenge the idea of national citizenship as being the dominant model of citizenship. Participating in AWB is understood as practising democratic citizenship, a concept seen as the Swedish ideal of model citizenship. The paper claims that AWB empowers its members and helps them to construct a mutually reinforcing dual Assyrian-Swedish identity.
Clergy (Kler, 2018) by Wojciech Smarzowski has aroused great controversy and many discussions about the position and role of the Catholic Church in contemporary Poland. I would like to look at the portraits of priests in the film in relation to the images previously created in Polish cinema. I am not going to analyze particular examples, but point to selected motifs and characters in order to interpret the images of clergymen and the church in their context. I will consider both the construction of individual characters and the image of the Catholic Church as an institution.
On the Need for Anthropological Study of the Organizational Dimension of Religion
Qualitative research on religion often overlooks its organizational aspect, even though most of religious life takes place within an organizational framework. Religious organizations are active on many levels: they educate and control religious specialists, shape religious materiality, and in many other ways influence how relationships with the sacred are conceptualized and lived out. The organization of religious life has implications that should be studied by researchers interested in lived religion, especially when they deal with such issues as religious experience, the integrative role of religion, ritual efficacy, and the transmission of practices and beliefs.
* Niniejszy artykuł powstał jako efekt rozważań będących wynikiem kilku projektów badawczych, w tym obecnie prowadzonego projektu badawczego NCN Opus 2019/33/B/HS3/02136.
The Reformation is described mostly as an upheaval. In fact, it is worth considering this period as transformation. The article is an attempt to modify the usual perception of this historical period. At the very beginning the paper discusses the idea of transformation from a sociological perspective. Then it introduces a comparison of the Reformation with other transitions and the late Middle Ages. This allows at the end to define the Reformation as a kind of consequence of medieval times and their transformation.
The roots of German nationalism among members of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland are bound with the activity of German authorities who tried to separate the German community in the occupied Kingdom of Poland during the First World War. German nationalism of the era was based on religious, social, and political factors, such as the idea of a unified German nation both within and outside of the German Reich. According to this idea, the German state was to be the defender of the German people worldwide. Such ideas woke the separatist tendencies inside the Augsburg Church. The political situation in the Second Polish Republic and spread of the national socialist ideology in the 1930s increased the separatist tendencies in the Church and led to a conflict with its pro-governmental Consistory and the General Superintendent, later Bishop Juliusz Bursche.
The Oral and Written Traditions of the Qur’an and Its Place in Early Islam
The paper considers the form, status, and importance of the Qur’anic message in the first two centuries of Islam. The argument is that the term “Qur’an” could not have originally referred to the final body of revelation in a text form. Rather, the concept of the Qur’an must have functioned among the faithful as a term for oral transmission before the scripturalization of the revelation, and it is this oral function of the Qur’an that is primal to its literate function. It seems that just as in Judaism and Christianity, in Islam the process of remembering, passing on, collecting, and codifying the textus receptus, along with its stabilization and sacralization, was a centuries-long self-propelled operation shaped primarily by the oral tradition (especially in the presumed culture of illiterate people).
This article presents a case study of a Swedish-based NGO, Assyrians Without Borders (AWB), whose priority objective is to help Middle Eastern Christians, mainly Assyrians/Syriacs, in need in their homeland. The paper argues that Assyrians/Syriacs in Sweden have developed three forms of citizenship – religious, political and democratic. All three forms are transnational and have the potential to challenge the idea of national citizenship as being the dominant model of citizenship. Participating in AWB is understood as practising democratic citizenship, a concept seen as the Swedish ideal of model citizenship. The paper claims that AWB empowers its members and helps them to construct a mutually reinforcing dual Assyrian-Swedish identity.
Clergy (Kler, 2018) by Wojciech Smarzowski has aroused great controversy and many discussions about the position and role of the Catholic Church in contemporary Poland. I would like to look at the portraits of priests in the film in relation to the images previously created in Polish cinema. I am not going to analyze particular examples, but point to selected motifs and characters in order to interpret the images of clergymen and the church in their context. I will consider both the construction of individual characters and the image of the Catholic Church as an institution.
Redakcja zeszytu:
Małgorzata Grzywacz, Elżbieta Przybył-Sadowska
Czasopismo zostało dofinansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie umowy nr 279/WCN/2019/1 z dnia 16 lipca 2019 z pomocy przyznanej w ramach programu „Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych”.
Przygotowanie i wydanie w otwartym dostępie anglojęzycznych artykułów wydawanych w czasopiśmie "Studia Religiologica" w celu lepszego umiędzynarodowienia czasopisma - zadanie finansowane w ramach umowy 626/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Uniwersytet Jagielloński ze środków Instytutu Religioznawstwa.
This text begins a research project concerning those thinkers who associate the discussion about the possibility of thinking about God with the problem of difference. The main question of these considerations is this: How does God appear on the differentiated horizon, while torn by difference always conceived in a defined manner? If difference is inevitably inscribed in thought, then how is God inscribed in difference? These questions lead to another: How does difference rule in reflection on divinity? In other words: How far does the way that difference is conceived affect how we reflect upon the deity? When looking for answers to these questions, we take the first step towards Heidegger. Owing to the special status of ontological difference and the trace it leaves on thinking “on the horizon” of difference, it is with this that we begin movement toward differentiation as such. The question about God and the difference in Heidegger’s thought in this text takes the following form: How does God appear in a sphere divided by the difference between Being and beings? How does ontological difference mark the conception of God?
* The article was written as part of the “Józef Tischner – Polish Philosophy of Freedom and European Thought” research project (11H 13 0471 82), financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Attitude of the Courage to Be – Response Given Not Only to Hamlet
The article comprises an analysis of the concept of “courage” as an ontological and ethical principle, constituting the chief category in the philosophical theology of Paul Tillich, called “the philosopher of borderlands,” regarded as the most important thinker in the Protestant, liberal theology of the 20th century. In his philosophical theology or theological philosophy the notion of “courage to be” provides an essential point of reference in the context of spiritual development of the human individual, as well as revealing possibilities of giving sense to being, which appears itself to man as devoid of sense. In the first part, the concept of “courage to be” is itself subjected to analysis as the ontological and the ethical principle. According to Tillich, the existentially (ethically) oriented being constituted a step in the individual’s life, which is already connected with conscious life and self-affirmation. The second part discusses Tillich’s understanding of faith as the “to be or not to be” of human existence. The author of Dynamics of Faith says that the courage to be can be expressed either in individuation, that is, in the personal relationship and encounter with God, which represents the existentialist approach, or by means of participation in God’s power. Tillich proclaims that only the virtue of courage can overcome the anxiety arising from lack of sense and from doubt, which is characteristic of human life.
In this article the author follows Derrida’s deconstruction of the Babel tower parable, showing how God’s name is structured by difference, instead of identity. The story of the tower of Babel introduces not only the origin of languages and the necessity of translation, but the ultimate untranslatable – the name. God’s name, hence every name becomes for Derrida another quasi-transcendental, which conditions of possibility (identity) are concurrently conditions of impossibility (difference).
The article deals with issues related to the history of the relations between churches as institutions, and their individual clergymen, and the Nazi state. The source referred to in this article is the intimate journal of Minister Friedrich Onnasch (1881–1945), the superintendent of the Koszalin Church District and parish priest of Saint Mary’s Church in Koszalin, murdered by Soviet troops in Barlinek in February 1945. A document written on a regular basis, never published, is a detailed account (though coded, due to censorship), showing the experience of the clerical office in a time of totalitarian oppression. It shows the situation in the Evangelical Church after 1933 and the commitment of Minister Friedrich Onnasch and others, among them Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), associated with Pomerania, in the movement of the Confessing Church. It explores the areas of Christian religion in its Evangelical topography, limited to the space of the former Prussian province of Pommern (Provinz Pommern) and Western Pomerania after 1945.
The article addresses representations of the Evangelical denomination at contemporary permanent museum exhibits in the region of Masuria, inhabited between 1525–1945 by a Protestant majority. Applying semiotic analysis, the author presents the outcomes of field studies in the local museums in Olsztyn, Mikołajki, Mrągowo, Ogródek, Szczytno, and in the open-air museum in Olsztynek. The principal research question is the issue of visibility and recognisability of Evangelism-related items at permanent exhibits. The author concludes that there are three types of omissions in the presentation of the history of Masurian Evangelicals. The silencing of the Protestant past of Masuria results from the cultural colonisation that took place after 1945 and from identifying Evangelicalism with Germanness in the common consciousness of the currently dominant Polish Roman Catholic community.
“Refueling with axé,” or Religious Therapy in the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé
In the article the author stresses the role of the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé in health therapies, showing that, in spite of linking Candomblé mostly with Black Brazilians from lower social strata, successfully applied religious therapies based on the strategy of “refueling with axé” nowadays attract many well-educated, rich, white representatives of the local elites. These new adherents find in Candomblé ways of improving their health, but also a sense of community and support that sometimes even make these “clients,” in spite of still existing prejudice, take a decision about initiation.
This text begins a research project concerning those thinkers who associate the discussion about the possibility of thinking about God with the problem of difference. The main question of these considerations is this: How does God appear on the differentiated horizon, while torn by difference always conceived in a defined manner? If difference is inevitably inscribed in thought, then how is God inscribed in difference? These questions lead to another: How does difference rule in reflection on divinity? In other words: How far does the way that difference is conceived affect how we reflect upon the deity? When looking for answers to these questions, we take the first step towards Heidegger. Owing to the special status of ontological difference and the trace it leaves on thinking “on the horizon” of difference, it is with this that we begin movement toward differentiation as such. The question about God and the difference in Heidegger’s thought in this text takes the following form: How does God appear in a sphere divided by the difference between Being and beings? How does ontological difference mark the conception of God?
* The article was written as part of the “Józef Tischner – Polish Philosophy of Freedom and European Thought” research project (11H 13 0471 82), financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Attitude of the Courage to Be – Response Given Not Only to Hamlet
The article comprises an analysis of the concept of “courage” as an ontological and ethical principle, constituting the chief category in the philosophical theology of Paul Tillich, called “the philosopher of borderlands,” regarded as the most important thinker in the Protestant, liberal theology of the 20th century. In his philosophical theology or theological philosophy the notion of “courage to be” provides an essential point of reference in the context of spiritual development of the human individual, as well as revealing possibilities of giving sense to being, which appears itself to man as devoid of sense. In the first part, the concept of “courage to be” is itself subjected to analysis as the ontological and the ethical principle. According to Tillich, the existentially (ethically) oriented being constituted a step in the individual’s life, which is already connected with conscious life and self-affirmation. The second part discusses Tillich’s understanding of faith as the “to be or not to be” of human existence. The author of Dynamics of Faith says that the courage to be can be expressed either in individuation, that is, in the personal relationship and encounter with God, which represents the existentialist approach, or by means of participation in God’s power. Tillich proclaims that only the virtue of courage can overcome the anxiety arising from lack of sense and from doubt, which is characteristic of human life.
In this article the author follows Derrida’s deconstruction of the Babel tower parable, showing how God’s name is structured by difference, instead of identity. The story of the tower of Babel introduces not only the origin of languages and the necessity of translation, but the ultimate untranslatable – the name. God’s name, hence every name becomes for Derrida another quasi-transcendental, which conditions of possibility (identity) are concurrently conditions of impossibility (difference).
The article deals with issues related to the history of the relations between churches as institutions, and their individual clergymen, and the Nazi state. The source referred to in this article is the intimate journal of Minister Friedrich Onnasch (1881–1945), the superintendent of the Koszalin Church District and parish priest of Saint Mary’s Church in Koszalin, murdered by Soviet troops in Barlinek in February 1945. A document written on a regular basis, never published, is a detailed account (though coded, due to censorship), showing the experience of the clerical office in a time of totalitarian oppression. It shows the situation in the Evangelical Church after 1933 and the commitment of Minister Friedrich Onnasch and others, among them Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), associated with Pomerania, in the movement of the Confessing Church. It explores the areas of Christian religion in its Evangelical topography, limited to the space of the former Prussian province of Pommern (Provinz Pommern) and Western Pomerania after 1945.
The article addresses representations of the Evangelical denomination at contemporary permanent museum exhibits in the region of Masuria, inhabited between 1525–1945 by a Protestant majority. Applying semiotic analysis, the author presents the outcomes of field studies in the local museums in Olsztyn, Mikołajki, Mrągowo, Ogródek, Szczytno, and in the open-air museum in Olsztynek. The principal research question is the issue of visibility and recognisability of Evangelism-related items at permanent exhibits. The author concludes that there are three types of omissions in the presentation of the history of Masurian Evangelicals. The silencing of the Protestant past of Masuria results from the cultural colonisation that took place after 1945 and from identifying Evangelicalism with Germanness in the common consciousness of the currently dominant Polish Roman Catholic community.
“Refueling with axé,” or Religious Therapy in the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé
In the article the author stresses the role of the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé in health therapies, showing that, in spite of linking Candomblé mostly with Black Brazilians from lower social strata, successfully applied religious therapies based on the strategy of “refueling with axé” nowadays attract many well-educated, rich, white representatives of the local elites. These new adherents find in Candomblé ways of improving their health, but also a sense of community and support that sometimes even make these “clients,” in spite of still existing prejudice, take a decision about initiation.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Uniwersytet Jagielloński ze środków Instytutu Religioznawstwa.
Czasopismo zostało dofinansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie umowy nr 279/WCN/2019/1 z dnia 16 lipca 2019 roku z pomocy przyznanej w ramach programu „Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych”.
Przygotowanie i wydanie w otwartym dostępie anglojęzycznych artykułów wydawanych w czasopiśmie „Studia Religiologica” w celu lepszego umiędzynarodowienia czasopisma – zadanie finansowane w ramach umowy 626/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.
Since its appearance in the scientific discourse, the figure of trickster has become a subject of many controversies and a source of speculation in many research fields. Despite multiple endeavours to synthesise this topic, researchers seem to be still far from solving the “trickster problem. ”The article attempts to recall the classical arguments in the field, in order to identify the sources of puzzling issues and to find common motifs linking diverse deliberations. Researchers of different schools seem to agree on the archaic nature of trickster myths. This is indicated by the paradoxicality, ambivalence, unpredictability and multidimensionality of the trickster figure and its specific wisdom in the form of cunningness gravitating towards a shamanic complex, as well as the dispersion and chaotic character of mythical episodes.
In the Greek epic tradition associated with the Trojan cycle, the protagonists are played by Achilles and Odysseus, two heroes with contrasting characteristics. The Homeric poems endeavor to approximate the character of Odysseus to Achilles. They cannot, however, break with his traditional image in which he represents the trickster type. Both preservation of the traditional image and its reinterpretation is typical of the oral tradition. Comparison with other traditions of the oral epic reveals a connection between the trickster character and the antagonist of the hero-protagonist. Both polarized characters represent two types of behavior assessed by the listening audience in terms of their usefulness for the survival of the community. In his readiness for sacrifice, the hero represents an altruistic attitude, positively valorized as moral behavior. The trickster’s egoistic behavior moves away from moral principles, but it can also ultimately bring benefit to the whole community. Similarly to the behavior of the trickster-antagonist, that of the hero-protagonist is also ambivalent, as it brings harm to the community, which –though temporary –often takes on the dimension of a disaster.
The goal of this article is to juxtapose the trickster model suggested by William J. Hynes in the text Mapping the Characteristics of Mythic Tricksters: A Heuristic Guide with the stories of Sisyphus and Autolycus. A philological method proposed in this article is based on a way of understanding a myth narrowly, as a narrative with a specific meaning, which can be expressed in any literary genre. According to this definition, every mythology which is available today is an attempt at presenting a story of particular mythical events and the fortunes of gods and heroes. Therefore, stories about Sisyphus and Autolycus are myths that have been transformed and which in their essence may have multiple meanings and cannot be attributed to one artist. The philological method is, in this way, based on isolating all fragments of the myth relating to the above protagonists and subsequently presenting them as a coherent narrative.
This article is based on study of the tricksters’tricks played by the heroines of the Russian epos known as bylinas. Variants of bylina plots with female protagonists have been contemplated, taking into consideration the concept by Michel de Certeau of two modes of practices – tactic and strategic –and James Scott’s concept of “the weapons of the weak.”The narrator informs the audience first about the modi operandi under various circumstances, and second about the underlying values governing the choice of this or that modus operandi. Systematic studies of variants of bylina plots confirm the fact that the narrators pay a lot of attention to the personality, appearance and agency of epic heroines. The cunning tricks, daring deceptions, bold choices and exceptional physical fortitude of the heroines surprise the singers of the tales. The activities of female characters are analysed in the social context. The story-telling is a method of teaching modes and ways of real-life behavior. The bylinas’ singers are rendering their personal experience and knowledge in fictionalized form.
Jung dealt with the concept of the trickster archetype in many of his works. References to his interpretations of the impact of this archetype and the myths associated with this figure are also scattered in many places of his works devoted to various issues. The notion of the archetype is extremely complex in his grasp, and the ways of understanding it are evolving, similarly to the concept of the unconscious. These evolutions are related to the transition from the plan of patterns of individual human development, to the development of the species, to the recognition of the very patterns of the development of reality, so they contain references to the psychological, anthropological, and philosophical levels. According to Jung, the trickster archetype expresses –in the most general terms –the conflict of these patterns, which introduces a certain factor to the development process that is both disharmonizing and dynamizing at the same time.
The article is aimed at presenting that the features of a myth (known from literature in the field of anthropology, semiotics, and cognitive science) are also present in marketing communication related to shaping the image of brands. However, they are used in a scattershot manner, as specific marketing messages usually use only certain selected features of a myth. The article shows techniques of brand mythologization by combining three features of myths (permanent structure of events, bricolage, counter-intuitiveness) with three possible ways of their application for marketing communication (modeling, export, import).
Since its appearance in the scientific discourse, the figure of trickster has become a subject of many controversies and a source of speculation in many research fields. Despite multiple endeavours to synthesise this topic, researchers seem to be still far from solving the “trickster problem. ”The article attempts to recall the classical arguments in the field, in order to identify the sources of puzzling issues and to find common motifs linking diverse deliberations. Researchers of different schools seem to agree on the archaic nature of trickster myths. This is indicated by the paradoxicality, ambivalence, unpredictability and multidimensionality of the trickster figure and its specific wisdom in the form of cunningness gravitating towards a shamanic complex, as well as the dispersion and chaotic character of mythical episodes.
In the Greek epic tradition associated with the Trojan cycle, the protagonists are played by Achilles and Odysseus, two heroes with contrasting characteristics. The Homeric poems endeavor to approximate the character of Odysseus to Achilles. They cannot, however, break with his traditional image in which he represents the trickster type. Both preservation of the traditional image and its reinterpretation is typical of the oral tradition. Comparison with other traditions of the oral epic reveals a connection between the trickster character and the antagonist of the hero-protagonist. Both polarized characters represent two types of behavior assessed by the listening audience in terms of their usefulness for the survival of the community. In his readiness for sacrifice, the hero represents an altruistic attitude, positively valorized as moral behavior. The trickster’s egoistic behavior moves away from moral principles, but it can also ultimately bring benefit to the whole community. Similarly to the behavior of the trickster-antagonist, that of the hero-protagonist is also ambivalent, as it brings harm to the community, which –though temporary –often takes on the dimension of a disaster.
The goal of this article is to juxtapose the trickster model suggested by William J. Hynes in the text Mapping the Characteristics of Mythic Tricksters: A Heuristic Guide with the stories of Sisyphus and Autolycus. A philological method proposed in this article is based on a way of understanding a myth narrowly, as a narrative with a specific meaning, which can be expressed in any literary genre. According to this definition, every mythology which is available today is an attempt at presenting a story of particular mythical events and the fortunes of gods and heroes. Therefore, stories about Sisyphus and Autolycus are myths that have been transformed and which in their essence may have multiple meanings and cannot be attributed to one artist. The philological method is, in this way, based on isolating all fragments of the myth relating to the above protagonists and subsequently presenting them as a coherent narrative.
This article is based on study of the tricksters’tricks played by the heroines of the Russian epos known as bylinas. Variants of bylina plots with female protagonists have been contemplated, taking into consideration the concept by Michel de Certeau of two modes of practices – tactic and strategic –and James Scott’s concept of “the weapons of the weak.”The narrator informs the audience first about the modi operandi under various circumstances, and second about the underlying values governing the choice of this or that modus operandi. Systematic studies of variants of bylina plots confirm the fact that the narrators pay a lot of attention to the personality, appearance and agency of epic heroines. The cunning tricks, daring deceptions, bold choices and exceptional physical fortitude of the heroines surprise the singers of the tales. The activities of female characters are analysed in the social context. The story-telling is a method of teaching modes and ways of real-life behavior. The bylinas’ singers are rendering their personal experience and knowledge in fictionalized form.
Jung dealt with the concept of the trickster archetype in many of his works. References to his interpretations of the impact of this archetype and the myths associated with this figure are also scattered in many places of his works devoted to various issues. The notion of the archetype is extremely complex in his grasp, and the ways of understanding it are evolving, similarly to the concept of the unconscious. These evolutions are related to the transition from the plan of patterns of individual human development, to the development of the species, to the recognition of the very patterns of the development of reality, so they contain references to the psychological, anthropological, and philosophical levels. According to Jung, the trickster archetype expresses –in the most general terms –the conflict of these patterns, which introduces a certain factor to the development process that is both disharmonizing and dynamizing at the same time.
The article is aimed at presenting that the features of a myth (known from literature in the field of anthropology, semiotics, and cognitive science) are also present in marketing communication related to shaping the image of brands. However, they are used in a scattershot manner, as specific marketing messages usually use only certain selected features of a myth. The article shows techniques of brand mythologization by combining three features of myths (permanent structure of events, bricolage, counter-intuitiveness) with three possible ways of their application for marketing communication (modeling, export, import).
Czasopismo zostało dofinansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie umowy nr 279/WCN/2019/1 z dnia 16 lipca 2019 z pomocy przyznanej w ramach programu „Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych”.
Przygotowanie i wydanie w otwartym dostępie anglojęzycznych artykułów wydawanych w czasopiśmie „Studia Religiologica” w celu lepszego umiędzynarodowienia czasopisma – zadanie finansowane w ramach umowy 626/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Uniwersytet Jagielloński ze środków Instytutu Religioznawstwa.
The aim of the article is to analyze the missionary action of the Orthodox Church undertaken among Greek Catholics in the Recovered Territories of Poland following World War II. As a result of “Operation Vistula” the Orthodox and Greek Catholic population was settled in the Recovered Territories. As a result of the communist policy implemented by the communist authorities, the Orthodox Church took action to provide religious care to Greek Catholics. This policy was aimed at significantly weakening the Greek Catholic Church. It was also hoped that it would be liquidated. Despite the attempts made, the Greek Catholics preserved their identity, and after 1956 they began the process of building their own parish structure.
Christian Orders in Contemporary Protestantism. Outline of the Problem on the Example of the Female Community from Grandchamp
The article concentrates on the renewal of monastic life in the European evangelical churches after 1945. The Reformation, initiated by the speech of Martin Luther (1483–1546), brought about great changes in this respect, questioning the current principles of the presence of the monk’s life in the Christian community. Criticism of religious life, formulated by the father of the Wittenberg Reformation, was undertaken by both Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531) and John Calvin. Until the 19th century, monasticism had not seen rehabilitation of the churches that emerged in the wake of the Reformation. This did not mean, however, that it was completely forgotten. Due to renewal movements, including radical Pietism, which in the 17th and 18th centuries became popular in Protestant Europe, monastic issues returned. Eminent figures in the history of Christianity were discovered. Their world of faith and personal experience was mediated through community life, based on prayer rules and practices known since the time of the original church. At the same time in France, Germany and England a return to the abandoned ways of implementing Christian life began. The article analyses the inspiring community of Grandchamp to indicate the way tradition in the churches deriving from the Reformation has been discovered and re-read.
This paper discusses the phenomenon of Kāpil Maṭh (Madhupur, India), a Sāṃkhyayoga āśrama founded in the early twentieth century by the charismatic Bengali scholar-monk Swāmi Hariharānanda Ᾱraṇya (1869–1947). While referring to Hariharānanda’s writings I will consider the idea of the re-establishment of an extinct spiritual lineage. I shall specify the criteria for identity of this revived Sāṃkhyayoga tradition by explaining why and on what assumptions the modern reinterpretation of this school can be perceived as continuation of the thought of Patañjali and Īśvarakṛṣṇa. The starting point is, however, the question whether it is possible at all to re-establish a philosophical tradition which had once broken down and disappeared for centuries. In this context, one ought to ponder if it is likely to revitalise the same line of thinking, viewing, philosophy-making and practice in accordance with the theoretical exposition of the right insight achieved by an accomplished teacher, a master, the founder of a “new”revived tradition declared to maintain a particular school identity. Moreover, I refer to a monograph of Knut A. Jacobsen (2018) devoted to the tradition of Kāpil Maṭh interpreted as a typical product of the nineteenth-century Bengali renaissance.
In the present paper an attempt will be made toward interpreting selected stanzas from the work of Nārāyaṇa Guru (1854–1928), a mystic and social reformer from Kerala. In his Malayalam work the Kuṇḍalinī Pāṭṭŭ (The Song of the Kundalini Snake), Guru depicted an ancient yogic concept of Kuṇḍalinī, a coiled power residing in the state of sleep within the subtle energy centre (mūlādhāra) situated at the base of the central body channel (suṣumnā). The very same concept appears in many other works by Nārāyaṇa Guru, including Śiva Śatakam (One Hundred Stanzas on Śiva). An analysis of these stanzas in the light of the Siddha tradition (Tirumandiram by Tirumūlar) reveals that not only has the Kuṇḍalinī concept been borrowed from the Dravidian literature, Nārāyaṇan introduces the Tamil Siddhas’style of description of mystic experiences to his philosophical works, using metaphorical-twilight language which excludes the possibility of univocal interpretation.
The focus of this article is on the spatial aspect of the daily temple rites of Gauḍīẏa Vaiṣṇavism. The study is a contribution to theoretical reflection on rituals and their role within religious systems. Studies on rituals as multi-media entities have tended to concentrate on “visible”aspects of ritual such as objects, actors or symbols, while ritual space has often been neglected. However, in this essay, I would like to show that ritual space may operate as an interactive “field of ritual,”which structures the conduct of practitioners and is subsequently structured by them. The text is modelled as an interpretative case-study grounded in field research performed in a Gauḍīẏa Vaiṣṇava temple in Kolkata. The goal of the article is to develop a theoretical approach appropriate for this particular set of data which, nevertheless, could serve as an inspiration for theorizing in analogical cases.
For a long time, the world thought that the collapse of the USSR in 1991 would lead to a similar outcome in North Korea. Although the Kim regime suffered harsh economic troubles, it was able to distance itself from communism without facing an ideological crisis and losing mass support. The same core political myths are still in use today. However, after the DPRK left the ideas of socialist realism behind, it has become clearer that the ideology of the country is a political religion. Now, its propaganda is using more supernatural elements than ever before. A good example is the movie The Big-Game Hunter (Maengsu sanyangkkun) in which the Japanese are trying to desacralize Paektu Mountain, but instead experience the fury of the holy mountain in the form of thunderbolts. The movie was produced in 2011 by P’yo Kwang, one of the most successful North Korean directors. It was filmed in the same year Kim Chŏng-ŭn came to power. The aim of the paper is to show the evolution of the DPRK political myth in North Korean cinema, in which The Big-Game Hunter seems to be another step in the process of mythologization. It is crucial to understand how the propaganda works, as it is still largely the cinema that shapes the attitudes and imagination of the people of the DPRK.
The aim of the article is to analyze the missionary action of the Orthodox Church undertaken among Greek Catholics in the Recovered Territories of Poland following World War II. As a result of “Operation Vistula” the Orthodox and Greek Catholic population was settled in the Recovered Territories. As a result of the communist policy implemented by the communist authorities, the Orthodox Church took action to provide religious care to Greek Catholics. This policy was aimed at significantly weakening the Greek Catholic Church. It was also hoped that it would be liquidated. Despite the attempts made, the Greek Catholics preserved their identity, and after 1956 they began the process of building their own parish structure.
Christian Orders in Contemporary Protestantism. Outline of the Problem on the Example of the Female Community from Grandchamp
The article concentrates on the renewal of monastic life in the European evangelical churches after 1945. The Reformation, initiated by the speech of Martin Luther (1483–1546), brought about great changes in this respect, questioning the current principles of the presence of the monk’s life in the Christian community. Criticism of religious life, formulated by the father of the Wittenberg Reformation, was undertaken by both Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531) and John Calvin. Until the 19th century, monasticism had not seen rehabilitation of the churches that emerged in the wake of the Reformation. This did not mean, however, that it was completely forgotten. Due to renewal movements, including radical Pietism, which in the 17th and 18th centuries became popular in Protestant Europe, monastic issues returned. Eminent figures in the history of Christianity were discovered. Their world of faith and personal experience was mediated through community life, based on prayer rules and practices known since the time of the original church. At the same time in France, Germany and England a return to the abandoned ways of implementing Christian life began. The article analyses the inspiring community of Grandchamp to indicate the way tradition in the churches deriving from the Reformation has been discovered and re-read.
This paper discusses the phenomenon of Kāpil Maṭh (Madhupur, India), a Sāṃkhyayoga āśrama founded in the early twentieth century by the charismatic Bengali scholar-monk Swāmi Hariharānanda Ᾱraṇya (1869–1947). While referring to Hariharānanda’s writings I will consider the idea of the re-establishment of an extinct spiritual lineage. I shall specify the criteria for identity of this revived Sāṃkhyayoga tradition by explaining why and on what assumptions the modern reinterpretation of this school can be perceived as continuation of the thought of Patañjali and Īśvarakṛṣṇa. The starting point is, however, the question whether it is possible at all to re-establish a philosophical tradition which had once broken down and disappeared for centuries. In this context, one ought to ponder if it is likely to revitalise the same line of thinking, viewing, philosophy-making and practice in accordance with the theoretical exposition of the right insight achieved by an accomplished teacher, a master, the founder of a “new”revived tradition declared to maintain a particular school identity. Moreover, I refer to a monograph of Knut A. Jacobsen (2018) devoted to the tradition of Kāpil Maṭh interpreted as a typical product of the nineteenth-century Bengali renaissance.
In the present paper an attempt will be made toward interpreting selected stanzas from the work of Nārāyaṇa Guru (1854–1928), a mystic and social reformer from Kerala. In his Malayalam work the Kuṇḍalinī Pāṭṭŭ (The Song of the Kundalini Snake), Guru depicted an ancient yogic concept of Kuṇḍalinī, a coiled power residing in the state of sleep within the subtle energy centre (mūlādhāra) situated at the base of the central body channel (suṣumnā). The very same concept appears in many other works by Nārāyaṇa Guru, including Śiva Śatakam (One Hundred Stanzas on Śiva). An analysis of these stanzas in the light of the Siddha tradition (Tirumandiram by Tirumūlar) reveals that not only has the Kuṇḍalinī concept been borrowed from the Dravidian literature, Nārāyaṇan introduces the Tamil Siddhas’style of description of mystic experiences to his philosophical works, using metaphorical-twilight language which excludes the possibility of univocal interpretation.
The focus of this article is on the spatial aspect of the daily temple rites of Gauḍīẏa Vaiṣṇavism. The study is a contribution to theoretical reflection on rituals and their role within religious systems. Studies on rituals as multi-media entities have tended to concentrate on “visible”aspects of ritual such as objects, actors or symbols, while ritual space has often been neglected. However, in this essay, I would like to show that ritual space may operate as an interactive “field of ritual,”which structures the conduct of practitioners and is subsequently structured by them. The text is modelled as an interpretative case-study grounded in field research performed in a Gauḍīẏa Vaiṣṇava temple in Kolkata. The goal of the article is to develop a theoretical approach appropriate for this particular set of data which, nevertheless, could serve as an inspiration for theorizing in analogical cases.
For a long time, the world thought that the collapse of the USSR in 1991 would lead to a similar outcome in North Korea. Although the Kim regime suffered harsh economic troubles, it was able to distance itself from communism without facing an ideological crisis and losing mass support. The same core political myths are still in use today. However, after the DPRK left the ideas of socialist realism behind, it has become clearer that the ideology of the country is a political religion. Now, its propaganda is using more supernatural elements than ever before. A good example is the movie The Big-Game Hunter (Maengsu sanyangkkun) in which the Japanese are trying to desacralize Paektu Mountain, but instead experience the fury of the holy mountain in the form of thunderbolts. The movie was produced in 2011 by P’yo Kwang, one of the most successful North Korean directors. It was filmed in the same year Kim Chŏng-ŭn came to power. The aim of the paper is to show the evolution of the DPRK political myth in North Korean cinema, in which The Big-Game Hunter seems to be another step in the process of mythologization. It is crucial to understand how the propaganda works, as it is still largely the cinema that shapes the attitudes and imagination of the people of the DPRK.
Czasopismo zostało dofinansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie umowy nr 279/WCN/2019/1 z dnia 16 lipca 2019 z pomocy przyznanej w ramach programu „Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych”.
Przygotowanie i wydanie w otwartym dostępie anglojęzycznych artykułów wydawanych w czasopiśmie "Studia Religiologica" w celu lepszego umiędzynarodowienia czasopisma - zadanie finansowane w ramach umowy 626/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Uniwersytet Jagielloński ze środków Instytutu Religioznawstwa.
At the beginning of the 20th century, national mythologies inscribed in the Christian tradition were held in high regard within the milieu of Polish and Russian followers of esotericism. The international anthroposophical movement initiated by the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner is a special case. Among his Russian and Polish devotees sprang the common idea of the Slavic spiritual mission in the service of Archangel Michael. The author of this article explores this idea using the example of a sculpture entitled Initiation/Archangel Michael made in 1927 by the Polish artist Amalia Luna Drexler, who belonged to the group of “first generation”anthroposophists.
Stefan Łubieński (1893–1976), composer, fine artist, diplomat, spiritual seeker, and thinker, was a Polish nobleman, follower of Anthroposophy and author of such books as Ways to Spiritual Light and Man between Microcosm and Macrocosm. With his first wife, Zina Łubieńska, he resided in Japan in the first half of the 1920s. Although Łubieński published his autobiography and the names of the two Poles were mentioned at that time, the time they spent in Japan has not yet been analysed by scholars. This article is an attempt to unravel the Łubieńskis’life in Japan and show how it is placed in the context of Japanese culture in the 1920s. Furthermore, it will document the ways the Łubieńskis operated within the transnational network of Theosophists that spread among artists, foreign and Japanese alike, as a way to meet and exchange ideas. One of the circles the Łubieńskis joined, together with Noémi and Antonín Raymond, was the Garakutashū(en. “Circle for the Study of Odd Things and Junk”), a casual setting for open discussion about passion for collecting objects, hobbies, and a shared interest in Japanese arts such as woodblock printing, calligraphy, and ink painting. The transnational method used in this article foregrounds the importance of thinking through a lens highlighting transnational networks and enables us to recognize the Łubieńskis as a part of the Theosophical Society (TS), Garakutashū, and other networks of modern Japan.
The article is an attempt to show the importance of Christianity in the reinterpretation of the Indian yoga tradition, in order to include it in a new (Polish) cultural context. Christianity allowed transformation of this culturally alien concept in such a way that it ceased to be seen as something foreign and exotic, and started to be treated as a Polish discipline –in a way specifically addressing the needs and conditions of the Polish nation. The article focusses on the approach to yoga proposed by Wincenty Lutosławski, the author of the first “Polish yoga”handbook, although other interpretations are also referred to, in order to demonstrate the widest possible approach to this discipline.
The study shows the penetration of the Theosophical movement into Austro-Hungarian territory, highlighting this process in the Czech lands from the end of the 19th century. It also examines the development of the Theosophical movement in the territory of Czechoslovakia during the interwar period, and analyses the conflict that occurred in the Theosophical circles as the result of accepting or rejecting the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti, recognised as the manifestation of Majtreja, but also as the expected Messiah. The analysis also considers the activities of the Star Order in the East, which was founded for the purpose of spreading the teachings of Krishnamurti.
The purpose of the article is to present the idea of a religion of the future as conceived by the esoteric community of Wisła in Cieszyn Silesia during the interwar period. Esoteric interpretations of Christianity formed its basis, inspired mainly by the Polish romantic tradition connected with Bible reading, as well as the esoteric and spiritual ideas that were popular at that time, originating from Theosophy and spiritism. An important role in this context was played by considerations on the salvational mission of Christ, albeit presented in a perennialist and Gnostic manner. The esoteric spirituality from Wisła of the interwar period later paved the way for a modern alternative spirituality in Poland.
At the beginning of the 20th century, national mythologies inscribed in the Christian tradition were held in high regard within the milieu of Polish and Russian followers of esotericism. The international anthroposophical movement initiated by the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner is a special case. Among his Russian and Polish devotees sprang the common idea of the Slavic spiritual mission in the service of Archangel Michael. The author of this article explores this idea using the example of a sculpture entitled Initiation/Archangel Michael made in 1927 by the Polish artist Amalia Luna Drexler, who belonged to the group of “first generation”anthroposophists.
Stefan Łubieński (1893–1976), composer, fine artist, diplomat, spiritual seeker, and thinker, was a Polish nobleman, follower of Anthroposophy and author of such books as Ways to Spiritual Light and Man between Microcosm and Macrocosm. With his first wife, Zina Łubieńska, he resided in Japan in the first half of the 1920s. Although Łubieński published his autobiography and the names of the two Poles were mentioned at that time, the time they spent in Japan has not yet been analysed by scholars. This article is an attempt to unravel the Łubieńskis’life in Japan and show how it is placed in the context of Japanese culture in the 1920s. Furthermore, it will document the ways the Łubieńskis operated within the transnational network of Theosophists that spread among artists, foreign and Japanese alike, as a way to meet and exchange ideas. One of the circles the Łubieńskis joined, together with Noémi and Antonín Raymond, was the Garakutashū(en. “Circle for the Study of Odd Things and Junk”), a casual setting for open discussion about passion for collecting objects, hobbies, and a shared interest in Japanese arts such as woodblock printing, calligraphy, and ink painting. The transnational method used in this article foregrounds the importance of thinking through a lens highlighting transnational networks and enables us to recognize the Łubieńskis as a part of the Theosophical Society (TS), Garakutashū, and other networks of modern Japan.
The article is an attempt to show the importance of Christianity in the reinterpretation of the Indian yoga tradition, in order to include it in a new (Polish) cultural context. Christianity allowed transformation of this culturally alien concept in such a way that it ceased to be seen as something foreign and exotic, and started to be treated as a Polish discipline –in a way specifically addressing the needs and conditions of the Polish nation. The article focusses on the approach to yoga proposed by Wincenty Lutosławski, the author of the first “Polish yoga”handbook, although other interpretations are also referred to, in order to demonstrate the widest possible approach to this discipline.
The study shows the penetration of the Theosophical movement into Austro-Hungarian territory, highlighting this process in the Czech lands from the end of the 19th century. It also examines the development of the Theosophical movement in the territory of Czechoslovakia during the interwar period, and analyses the conflict that occurred in the Theosophical circles as the result of accepting or rejecting the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti, recognised as the manifestation of Majtreja, but also as the expected Messiah. The analysis also considers the activities of the Star Order in the East, which was founded for the purpose of spreading the teachings of Krishnamurti.
The purpose of the article is to present the idea of a religion of the future as conceived by the esoteric community of Wisła in Cieszyn Silesia during the interwar period. Esoteric interpretations of Christianity formed its basis, inspired mainly by the Polish romantic tradition connected with Bible reading, as well as the esoteric and spiritual ideas that were popular at that time, originating from Theosophy and spiritism. An important role in this context was played by considerations on the salvational mission of Christ, albeit presented in a perennialist and Gnostic manner. The esoteric spirituality from Wisła of the interwar period later paved the way for a modern alternative spirituality in Poland.
Czasopismo zostało dofinansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie umowy nr 279/WCN/2019/1 z dnia 16 lipca 2019 z pomocy przyznanej w ramach programu „Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych”.
Przygotowanie i wydanie w otwartym dostępie anglojęzycznych artykułów wydawanych w czasopiśmie "Studia Religiologica" w celu lepszego umiędzynarodowienia czasopisma - zadanie finansowane w ramach umowy 626/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.
The Western Esoteric Tradition as an Object of Sociological Studies: History and Prospects
The article is aimed at presenting a particular way of developing sociological reflection upon the tradition of Western esotericism in the categories of counterculture. The author makes an attempt to indicate the significance of practicing this reflection within a separate sociological subdiscipline – the sociology of esotericism. The study consists of two parts: the first comprises a reconstruction of the sociological perspective in the research into Western esoteric tradition, while in the second, a certain way of practising sociology of esotericism is suggested, one focussing on the notions of visibility and recognition.
Research Perspectives in Political Science of Religion
The article presents political science of religion as an explanatory framework of the political role of religion, grounded in political science. It proceeds from the critique of the prevailing legal and theological approaches as being normatively overloaded and failing to grasp the actual impact of religion on power relations, to formulating metatheoretical/methodological postulates of the political science of religion as an empirical subdiscipline of social science. It then proposes a multilevel approach to the study of the political role of religion. It consists of three distinct – but integrated – theoretical perspectives: the economic or transactional approach, grounded in rational choice theory and economic theories of religion; the social movements theory (SMT) approach, looking at the internal assets, organization and dynamics of religious actors; and the cultural/humanistic approach, exploring evolutionary, psychological and sociological determinants behind individual propensity to religion-inspired political mobilization.
Literary Cartography in the Keralan Hagiographies of the Advaita Vedānta Tradition
The proposed paper concerns the hitherto unstudied regional hagiographic tradition of Śaṅkara – the great Indian philosopher and founder of the pan-Indian monastic order within the Advaita Vedānta doctrine in Kerala (South India). This literary tradition is represented by a series of lesser-known texts in Sanskrit and Malayalam. The objective of this article is to examine some of the cultural and literary methods of space valorization and creation of literary cartographies. The sacred topography created through the hagiographic narrative causes the overlap of spatial religious concepts and physical geography of temples, monasteries and pilgrimage sites. Therefore, the theoretical approach applied during the examination of the hagiographic tradition in question remains informed by the method of literary cartography.
Metropolitan Józef Sołtan was one of the most prominent hierarchs of the Orthodox Church in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century. Most researchers believe that Józef Sołtan, Smolensk Orthodox Bishop (1503-1507) and later the Metropolitan of Kiev (1507-1521), was the son of Sołtan Alexandrowicz and Wasylissa Chreptowiczówna, brother of Alexander Sołtan. The findings presented in the article show that the view of the origin of the family of metropolitan Józef Sołtan from the Łohojska line is fully credible in confrontation with the names of the persons mentioned in the Supraśl book of the deceased. An analysis of the Supraśl book of the dead shows that it contains the names of people from the family of Archbishop Józef Sołtan, and that Eliasz Sołtan, a farmer from the Łohojsk region, is the same person as Metropolitan Józef Sołtan.
Universal Basic Income from the Perspective of Catholic Social Thought
A universal basic income is a government guarantee that each citizen receives a minimum income. It is also called a citizen’s income, guaranteed minimum income, or basic income. The intention behind the payment is to provide enough to cover the basic costs of living and provide financial security. The concept has regained popularity as a way to offset job losses caused by technology.The incomes would be unconditional, automatic, non-withdrawable, individual, and considered a right. The main goal of the article was to consider whether the idea of universal basic oncome income is compatible with Catholic social teaching. Opinions on this matter are still divided, and there are no official statements from the Church's Magisterium on this matter.
Rec.: Jakub Bohuszewicz, Od opętania do rytuału. Pojęcie i praktyka transu w kultach vodun i katolicyzmie, „Jagiellońskie Monografie Religioznawcze”, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2017, ss. 276.
Recenzja książki: Monika Ryszewska, Polskie muzułmanki. W poszukiwaniu tożsamości, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń 2018, 328 stron
Rec.: Jakub Bohuszewicz, Od opętania do rytuału. Pojęcie i praktyka transu w kultach vodun i katolicyzmie, „Jagiellońskie Monografie Religioznawcze”, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2017, ss. 276.
Recenzja książki: Monika Ryszewska, Polskie muzułmanki. W poszukiwaniu tożsamości, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń 2018, 328 stron
The Western Esoteric Tradition as an Object of Sociological Studies: History and Prospects
The article is aimed at presenting a particular way of developing sociological reflection upon the tradition of Western esotericism in the categories of counterculture. The author makes an attempt to indicate the significance of practicing this reflection within a separate sociological subdiscipline – the sociology of esotericism. The study consists of two parts: the first comprises a reconstruction of the sociological perspective in the research into Western esoteric tradition, while in the second, a certain way of practising sociology of esotericism is suggested, one focussing on the notions of visibility and recognition.
Research Perspectives in Political Science of Religion
The article presents political science of religion as an explanatory framework of the political role of religion, grounded in political science. It proceeds from the critique of the prevailing legal and theological approaches as being normatively overloaded and failing to grasp the actual impact of religion on power relations, to formulating metatheoretical/methodological postulates of the political science of religion as an empirical subdiscipline of social science. It then proposes a multilevel approach to the study of the political role of religion. It consists of three distinct – but integrated – theoretical perspectives: the economic or transactional approach, grounded in rational choice theory and economic theories of religion; the social movements theory (SMT) approach, looking at the internal assets, organization and dynamics of religious actors; and the cultural/humanistic approach, exploring evolutionary, psychological and sociological determinants behind individual propensity to religion-inspired political mobilization.
Literary Cartography in the Keralan Hagiographies of the Advaita Vedānta Tradition
The proposed paper concerns the hitherto unstudied regional hagiographic tradition of Śaṅkara – the great Indian philosopher and founder of the pan-Indian monastic order within the Advaita Vedānta doctrine in Kerala (South India). This literary tradition is represented by a series of lesser-known texts in Sanskrit and Malayalam. The objective of this article is to examine some of the cultural and literary methods of space valorization and creation of literary cartographies. The sacred topography created through the hagiographic narrative causes the overlap of spatial religious concepts and physical geography of temples, monasteries and pilgrimage sites. Therefore, the theoretical approach applied during the examination of the hagiographic tradition in question remains informed by the method of literary cartography.
Metropolitan Józef Sołtan was one of the most prominent hierarchs of the Orthodox Church in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century. Most researchers believe that Józef Sołtan, Smolensk Orthodox Bishop (1503-1507) and later the Metropolitan of Kiev (1507-1521), was the son of Sołtan Alexandrowicz and Wasylissa Chreptowiczówna, brother of Alexander Sołtan. The findings presented in the article show that the view of the origin of the family of metropolitan Józef Sołtan from the Łohojska line is fully credible in confrontation with the names of the persons mentioned in the Supraśl book of the deceased. An analysis of the Supraśl book of the dead shows that it contains the names of people from the family of Archbishop Józef Sołtan, and that Eliasz Sołtan, a farmer from the Łohojsk region, is the same person as Metropolitan Józef Sołtan.
Universal Basic Income from the Perspective of Catholic Social Thought
A universal basic income is a government guarantee that each citizen receives a minimum income. It is also called a citizen’s income, guaranteed minimum income, or basic income. The intention behind the payment is to provide enough to cover the basic costs of living and provide financial security. The concept has regained popularity as a way to offset job losses caused by technology.The incomes would be unconditional, automatic, non-withdrawable, individual, and considered a right. The main goal of the article was to consider whether the idea of universal basic oncome income is compatible with Catholic social teaching. Opinions on this matter are still divided, and there are no official statements from the Church's Magisterium on this matter.
Czasopismo zostało dofinansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie umowy nr 279/WCN/2019/1 z dnia 16 lipca 2019 z pomocy przyznanej w ramach programu „Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych”.
Przygotowanie i wydanie w otwartym dostępie anglojęzycznych artykułów wydawanych w czasopiśmie "Studia Religiologica" w celu lepszego umiędzynarodowienia czasopisma - zadanie finansowane w ramach umowy 626/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.
This text presents current debates concerning gender relations in Cuban santería. After a short presentation of the santería religious system, the concepts of femininity and masculinity among the orichas are discussed. Their meaning, differing from Western ideas on manhood and womanhood, is partly attributed to original Yoruba gender concepts widely discussed in recent anthropological literature. The role of men and women in santeria organisational hierarchy and in ritual is also presented in the light of corresponding discussion on their status. The author suggests that the study of gender concepts within santería aids in the understanding of complex gender relations in Cuban society.