Journal of Dharma, is an International Quarterly published by the Centre for the Study of World Religions (CSWR), established at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram (DVK), Pontifical Athenaeum of Philosophy, Theology, and Canon Law, Bengaluru, India. It was launched in 1975, ‘to fill the gap of a felt need in the contemporary society’ ‘to foster intercultural understanding from an inner realization of religions.’

Understanding religion as ‘one of the deepest dimensions of culture’ Journal of Dharma was committed to ‘disseminate the seeds of the Sacred in every bit of our secular existence and to re-integrate the entire material Universe in the Spirit of Truth and Holiness’ (Inaugural Editorial).

Together with the promotion of inter-religious dialogue, Journal of Dharma promotes dialogue between the sacred and secular with the conviction that the ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ are basic dimensions of reality. In a world of mass human migration and ever faster dissemination of ideas and images, no fact of human life is independent of religious influence and religious life and practices are also influenced by these branches of human knowledge and life.

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The Globethics library contains articles of Journal of Dharma as of vol. 1(1975) to current.

Recent Submissions

  • TOWARDS ECONOMICS OF ENOUGH AND ETHICS OF CARE

    Nandhikkara, Jose (Dharmaram College, 2023-06-30)
    The intersection of the economics of enough and the ethics of care offers a compelling vision for a more sustainable and equitable world. By infusing our economic systems with empathy and compassion, we can dismantle the structures that perpetuate inequality and environmental degradation. Together, these paradigms guide us toward a future where economic prosperity is not measured solely by material wealth but by the well-being of individuals and the health of our planet. The sustainable prosperity and peace of people and the planet is valued over the relentless pursuit of economic growth.
  • TOWARDS ETHICALLY GUIDED KNOWLEDGE SOCIETIES

    Nandhikkara, Jose (Dharmaram College, 2023-03-30)
    In the intricate tapestry of human existence, an unwavering thread weaves through our consciousness – a recognition of good and bad, right and wrong, just and unjust. As Homo sapiens, we possess the unique ability to discern, to deliberate, and to differentiate between what appears to be the case and what is the case. In this distinctive capacity lies the essence of our ethical being – Homo ethicus – where we distinguish not only between facts but also between the actual state and the morally required state of affairs; we distinguish between what is the case and what ought to be the case. This ethical compass, deeply rooted in our humanity, serves as a cornerstone for both personal fulfilment and societal progress. In the symphony of progress and ethics, each of us is both an audience and a conductor. The choices we make today resonate in the chords of tomorrow. As we weave ethics into the fabric of knowledge societies, we sculpt narratives of shared and sustainable prosperity and peace for people and the planet–narratives that celebrate not just what we can achieve, but who we can become.
  • RELIGION AND DEVELOPMENT PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE PEACE

    Nandhikkara, Jose (Dharmaram College, 2022-12-30)
    The pages of the Journal of Dharma 47.4 invite us to reflect on the intricate mosaic that is the intersection of Religion and Development. It challenges us to navigate the nuances, acknowledging the shadows while embracing the light. Our mission is clear – to explore the intricate bond between religion and peace and to illuminate the contribution of the faithful to humanity's aspiration for lasting peace. Our world is a tapestry woven from diverse threads of faith, culture, and ideology. To dismiss any strand as inconsequential is to rob ourselves of the rich complexity that makes our global community so vibrant. As we step forward, let us recognize the shared values that underpin both religion and the pursuit of progress. Let us forge partnerships that are rooted in ethical principles, transcending boundaries, and uniting us in our shared commitment to sustainable prosperity and peace for people and the planet.
  • MICHAEL J. SANDEL’S ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON HUMAN ENHANCEMENTS

    Arnald Mahesh (Dharmaram College, 2023-06-30)
    Human Enhancement (HE) refers to any deliberate technological and/or biomedical intervention on the healthy human body or mind to improve our physical and/or mental capabilities above the level that is typical of human beings to increase our welfare. While the phenomenon of HE is garnering lots of momentum, the ethical conundrums surrounding it are also on the increase. Against this background, this article evaluates the validity of Michael J. Sandel’s ethical perspective on HE as he is a prominent participant in the mainstream philosophical debate on HE. The article begins by analysing the reasons for Sandel’s unease with HE, which led him to propose his stance. After that, it discusses how HE affects the main features of the moral landscape. Then it critically investigates Sandel’s argument and its viability. Finally, based on Sandel’s concerns that human nature is likely to be affected by HE, the article inquires whether human nature has any normative significance in the ethical appraisal of HE.
  • PROSUMERISM AND COMMERCIALISATION OF RELIGION

    Mathew, Rintle; Ittimani, Deepa (Dharmaram College, 2023-06-30)
    With the development of digital technology and social media, prosumerism, the merging of consumption and production, has gained popularity. Due to this, there are more active online religious groups and user-generated religious material now. However, there is still much-untapped ground regarding prosumerism’s ethical implications for religious communities. This essay addresses the ethical issues and opportunities raised by the coexistence of prosumerism and religious cultures and the historical and cultural environment in which they have arisen. We look at how social media and digital technology affect religious practices, the place of user-generated material in religious expression, and how prosumerism could affect interfaith discussion and social justice advocacy. We contend that prosumerism offers religious cultures ways to express themselves more freely and creatively via their religious practices and build new religious communities. In contrast, it could promote individualism and consumerism at the expense of established religious authority structures, which might impact how religious groups engage with the rest of society. Having a sophisticated and thorough grasp of the ethical ramifications of prosumerism for religious cultures is crucial. We may learn more about the shifting place of religion in society and the potential problems that digital technologies and social media bring by analysing the junction of these two phenomena.
  • ETHICAL INTERFACE OF MARKET SOCIETIES AND MUSIC PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

    Efurhievwe, Margaret A.; Okpeki, Philo Igue (Dharmaram College, 2023-06-30)
    Music production and marketing is a sustainable marketing strategy focusing on increasing profitability while minimising unfavourable social and environmental repercussions. Goal 17 of the SDGs supports international collaboration for sustainable development. Nigeria has taken charge of the actualisation process of the music industry, inspiring people to take action and using it to further the SDGs. This research examines the ethical interface between market societies and music production in Nigeria, exploring how market systems and Nigerian musical production intersect ethically and how sustainability fits into celebration and consumer culture. The methods employed in this research were a literature review and contextual evaluation. The study found that the transition from analogue to digital technologies greatly influenced music production in Nigeria, with customers and the music market also playing a role, including promoting music production and marketing as an ethical strategy that places a thriving society above financial well-being. It concluded that, although Nigeria’s music industry is still in its infancy, marketing ethics can provide various opportunities to advance partnerships and expertise in this field to achieve long-term sustainable development.
  • UNCERTAIN ECONOMIC WORLD AND THE URGENCY FOR A CRITICAL ETHICAL HORIZON

    YUN, JI SUN (Dharmaram College, 2023-06-30)
    In this market-driven world, humans are to reflect on the new ethical horizon that embraces it. The market society implies an impact of the unlimited market according to which all spheres of life can be commodified. The market society, as one of the important constitutive elements of people’s lives, inevitably shares borders with our ethical values. This article analyses, with a critical perspective, the problem of economic insecurity and poverty as reinforced by capitalism. The analysis of the systemic inequality in terms of instability and the rise of the precariat shows how capitalism exploits human resources. The consideration of externality and the impact of the company can determine various dimensions of society, such as the environment and consumer health, could impose ethical responsibilities on companies and direct the market in different ways for the benefit of society.
  • BUILDING A DATA ETHICAL FUTURE

    Puthur, Limson; Karakunnel, Meljo; Miranda, Divya; Arora, Tarun (Dharmaram College, 2023-06-30)
    Technology-driven choices are shaping the digital engagement of individuals and policymakers. Rapid technological advancements and the increasing utilisation of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have presented profound ethical challenges concerning privacy, accountability, and transparency. Existing Data Acts, internet policies, and government frameworks fall short of protecting individuals and states from violations of their digital footprints. This article advocates for a human-centric approach to data ethics, drawing on the concept of the common good, as articulated by John Rawls. Through a systematic review of global data privacy laws, acts, guidelines, and practices, the article examines potential disparities and emphasises the need for universal data legislation, guidelines, and policies. It highlights the significance of data policies and frameworks in fostering ethical data usage, trust, and integrity. By applying Kant’s philosophy of respecting individuals’ autonomy, the article emphasises the importance of informed consent and recommends ethical guidelines for both users and content creators.
  • TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

    KD, Wilson; Jeevaraj, Edwin (Dharmaram College, 2023-06-30)
    Ethics, which constitutes principles that guide human conduct, deserves particular attention in this era of the Anthropocene, when human actions greatly influence ecology. Renaissance humans have hegemonised humanistic ethics of living and interacting with the world since the Enlightenment. While exalting human exceptionalism, humanism has relegated all other forms of existence to a subservient taxonomy, categorising them as raw material for human empowerment. The self-exalted autonomous subject, homo sapiens, faces the threat of extinction in the wake of unprecedented and violent ecological reactions. The exponential growth of the agency of intelligent machines also calls to question the autonomous human agency propagated by humanism. A paradigm shift is the moment’s need; this paper suggests posthuman ethics as an alternative. The new worldview, post-humanism, places the homo sapiens in relation to the rest of the universe. Philosophical post-humanism, proposed by Francesca Ferrando, foregrounds posthuman ethics that are post-humanistic, post-anthropocentric, and post-dualistic. They form a roadmap towards a sustainable future.
  • ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE FACTORS AND CORPORATIONS

    Pandikattu, Kuruvilla; Cheruparambil, Ginish (Dharmaram College, 2023-06-30)
    After taking an overall view of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in industry and management, which have become popular in the last decade, the authors look into their gradual development in the globalised world and their significance in contemporary investing, the driving force of industries. There is a gradual evolution from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to ESG, showing modern society’s progressive awareness of the need for moral values and sustainable growth. Finally, the authors examine the specific and growing situation in India, where ESG has not been mandatory. An analysis of the gradual emergence of ESG in India makes it clear that ESG is key to moral vision, sustainable development and inclusive growth, which are the moral imperatives for our sustainability. The ESG is to be made mandatory after giving enough time for the industry to change over.
  • ETHICAL SOCIETIES AND PEDAGOGY

    Vazhappilly, Pius V Thomas (Dharmaram College, 2023-03-30)
    The paper maps the terrain and dynamics of the desired transformation of knowledge societies into ethical societies and establishes the necessitating inner logic and its tenors of the primacy of the ethical composition of any modern, open, knowledge societies, with the model of a critical, dialogical concept of democracy and pedagogy. It tries to attain such a goal by presenting two contemporary thinkers of our times, Juergen Habermas and Charles Taylor. Having discussed the inner paradigm of ethical societies, i.e., a social dialogically constituted, open democracy, the paper moves on to its main argument in order to show how pedagogy and the institution of education, particularly, the higher educational institutions/universities are to be the prime ethical concerns and the organizational base of any ethical societies and hence, knowledge societies.
  • ETHICS IN INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM

    N., Umadevi; Dutta Chowdhury, Payel (Dharmaram College, 2023-03-30)
    The indigenous Naga tribes had a rich knowledge system passed orally through generations. This Indigenous Knowledge System had been the foundation of ethical living and survival mechanisms for the Nagas during adverse times. Over time, changes in religious beliefs and practices and the advent of modernisation shook the principles of this ethical world. This paper examines the portrayal of the Naga philosophy of life, closely knit by participatory living and affinity towards nature in select fiction and non-fiction, to argue that this indigenous knowledge system was the foundation for the sustenance of the community. The study also examines the community’s indigenous religious beliefs and practices vis-à-vis the impact of conversion to Christianity on these people. Given the transitions in various indigenous societies due to the impact of modernisation, the paper delves into the importance of the indigenous knowledge system as the major contributor to harmonious living.
  • SKILL PERFORMANCE OF ARTISANS AS AN ETHICAL MODEL

    jung, woojin; Han, Jeong-Kyu (Dharmaram College, 2023-03-30)
    This study argues that the skill performance of Cook Ding in the Zhuangzi is an ethical model of Daoism by examining its cognitive characteristics and derives ethical implications based on the model. In the Zhuangzi, the most prominent stories are about artisans, who are portrayed as ideal beings. The ethics of the Zhuangzi is not a theory about the standards of conduct; instead, it is a description of the inner state of the sage and a system of theory and practice that can lead to such a state. This study suggests that the skilful performance of Cook Ding displays practical rationality, if not abstract reflection and that it is an autotelic self-cultivation process. Based on these suggestions, the study derives two ethical implications from Cook Ding’s performance: i) the skill performance of the artisan can be regarded as not only an economic means but also a process of self-cultivation. ii) even if the other beings to whom we respond in the market are means to sustain our lives, we should treat them as beings with whom we share a symbiotic relationship.
  • RELIGIOUS ICONOGRAPHY

    OTTUH, Peter; Omosor , Festus O.; Abamwa , Oghenekevwe E. (Dharmaram College, 2023-03-30)
    Nigeria’s present political and economic backwardness is evidence of the absence of moral and ethical standards among its populace. The study looks at the ethical motif of religious symbols in the domain of religious iconography and uses the same as an ethical interface in knowledge societies. The research is qualitative and uses a participant observation approach to achieve its results. The research demonstrates how religious icons interact with society in a critical and creative-ethical way. The study is significant for promoting social ethics and morals as a prerequisite for a developed Nigeria and society in general. It concludes that religious symbols contribute to the development of a strong ethos that conveys society’s moral principles since they are essential to the sustainability of knowledge societies; hence, they should be given special values such that they could lead to national integration that eliminates the vices and tendencies that limit any knowledge society.
  • ETHICS OF CARE AS A CORE VALUE OF THE RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR DESIGN INDUSTRY

    Tsai, Hsiang-Yuan (Dharmaram College, 2023-03-30)
    Adoption of the case study method, this study discusses the residential Interior design and the ethics of care that share common concerns: relation, conversation, and home. These commonalities help designers think and act with the ethics of care. With empathy and care for the user, the builder, and the home environment, design methods and techniques are used to make the home space a place where people can recognise and practice caring ethics and where the caring environment of the home becomes the foundation of a moral society. Therefore, besides being people-centred, residential interior design should have the ethics of care as its core value to meet the needs of individuals, families, and society.
  • PATENTABILITY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY INVENTIONS

    Azyu, Helen P; Chakraborty, Avishek (Dharmaram College, 2023-03-30)
    Advances in technology have made patenting of biotechnology inventions mandatory. The patent law system contains general clauses prohibiting the patenting of inventions contrary to public order or morality. Recent years have brought numerous debates on limiting the possibility of patent protection for biotechnology inventions for ethical reasons. The existing literature examines bioethical justification in terms of the principles of respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the uncertainty of ethics guidelines provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and section 3(b) of the Indian Patents Act 1970 and the applicability of the bioethics principles.
  • RE-GESTATING THE ECO-ETHICS OF RĀMĀYAṆA IN ANTHROPOCENE

    Verma, Pankaj Kumar; Dwivedi, Prabha Shankar (Dharmaram College, 2023-03-30)
    The paper critically evaluates the eco-ethical practices of the knowledge society in the period of Rāmāyaṇa from an eco-aesthetical perspective. In the current anthropocentric epoch, reorienting people toward eco-ethical values is a considerable challenge. Ecological ethics is one of the key concepts of eco-aesthetics, which can be read through the ancient Indian epic Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa. Also, the articulation of human-nature interrelations is deeply embedded in the Sanskrit literary tradition, which Vālmīki’s epic narrative illustrates in the Rāmāyaṇa. Against this backdrop, this article proceeds with a discussion of the root causes of the ecological crisis in the Anthropocene. The paper explores the ecological ethos and knowledge rooted in the Hindu religion through a few select secondary works of literature. Further, the paper discusses the concept of eco-aesthetics in the present ecosophical discourse. Finally, the article critically assesses the text of Rāmāyaṇa for the philosophical and aesthetical deliberations of eco-caring, seeking to bring those eco-ethical notions from the epic to the fore that can potentially induce ecological awareness in people.
  • WAR, PEACE AND RELIGION

    Kim, Youngju; Kim, Hyosook (Dharmaram College, 2022-12-31)
    The purpose of this paper is to analyze the way Empress Jingū, the goddess of the Japanese national religion Shintō, was re-examined and used as an ideology of the Japanese Empire during the Japanese colonial era in both Korea and Japan. Jingū, enshrined in Hachiman Shrine, is famous for the legend of the conquest of the Korean Peninsula with the help of other gods. During the Japanese colonial era, the Japanese Empire justified its rule by using the myth of Jingū, whose lineage had been forgotten for a long time, arguing that the goddess was of Korean descent. This was an instance of the subversion of religion for imperial expansion. Japanese Empire, in particular, promoted Jingū as a symbol of the union of blood between Korea and Japan in colonized Korea and constructed State Shintō Shrine, which enshrines Jingū. The intensified apotheosization of Jingū was used for Japan’s war of aggression, subverting Shinto’s original purpose of promoting life and peace. By doing so, the Japanese Empire attempted to religiously integrate Korea and the Korean people into the State Shintō system, thereby enabling itself to exploit human and material resources for wars under the guise of development and peace in East Asia.
  • RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR AND THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN BROKERING PEACE

    OTTUH, Peter; Omosor , Festus Osom; Iwhiwhu , Jonathan O. (Dharmaram College, 2022-12-31)
    One of the biggest threats to world peace and human survival is violence within societies, whether or not it has any external connections. In this context, it is important to understand how religion contributes to advancing peace in society. This study evaluates the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine and emphasises the contribution of religion to sustainable peace in both nations. The research employs a literature-based analysis method, drawing upon selected extant literature to discover new relationships among existing knowledge on the subject. The study reveals that employing different theological perspectives and religious roles, including those of religious leaders, can encourage a commitment to brokering sustainable peace in Russia and Ukraine. It concludes that Religions should promote the SDG16 “sustainable peace strategy” to make significant and revolutionary changes in all nations of the world.
  • RELIGIOUS HATE SPEECH vs PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE

    M S, Suvidutt; Tomer, Aditya (Dharmaram College, 2022-12-31)
    Hate speech is viewed in the context of institutionalised prejudice and a community’s eventual marginalisation – be it politically, socially, economically, religiously, culturally, racially, sexually, etc. The best method to combat religious hate speech in a democratic setting like India is to preserve, embrace, and practise ‘constitutional values’. It is pointless to promote new laws that prohibit or restrict freedom of expression in order to avert attacks on religion. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has extensively commented on religion, secularism, and hate speech. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 addresses hate speech by urging the development of peaceful and inclusive communities, universal access to justice, and effective, responsible, and inclusive institutions at all levels. The United Nations’ efforts to make the SDGs a reality also contribute to fighting the issue of hate speech as part of accomplishing these interrelated goals that assist in establishing a peaceful and resilient society. This paper elucidates the heated arguments involved in the hate speech that is antithetical to secularism, inclusive societies, and sustainable development.

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