Intercultural and Contextual Theologies
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African theological perspectives on intersubjective identity:In conversation with developments in Strong Artificial IntelligenceDevelopments in Strong Artificial Intelligence (AI) raise important questions about human identity. Of particular interest is how AI challenges the idea that human identity can be collapsed, without remainder, into the individual. In African theological anthropology there is an emphasis upon intersubjective relationality as a key aspect in the formation and understanding of human identity and uniqueness. This article explores the intersections of some of the claims of Strong AI in relation to some southern African notions of relational identity. This article argues that Strong AI invites us to reconsider some dominant individualized approaches to theological anthropology in relation to the doctrine of creation. It does so by decentring the locus of theological reflection from the individual human person and invites some reflection on what it might mean for theology if forms of AI begin to reflect on their own subjectivity, creation, and broader relationships with human and non-human creation.
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Christianisme, nomadisme et civilisation : une longue histoire mexicaineThis article explores the weight of Christianity in the concept of civilization that accompanies the processes of secularization through the Mexican case. It also seeks to show this same concept takes up an experience prior to the arrival of Christianity to America, typical of the relations between the sedentary societies of the Valley of Anáhuac and the nomadic peoples, an experience that is concentrated in the term Chichimecas. The main hypothesis is that through the concept of civilization it is possible to perceive in the heart of the republic the articulation between the Christian colonial heritage and this older tradition, as well as its synthesis in discourses and political actions, particularly in the conception of both the territory and the national population.
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El catolicismo y el deber fundamental del individuo y de la sociedad de “civilizarse”: civilización y cristianismo en los escritos de Mariano SolerIn 1875 Mariano Soler returned to Montevideo, after having been ordained priest in Rome and having obtained the doctorates in theology and canon law from the Gregorian University. He became a reference for young Uruguayan Catholics gathered in the Catholic Club (1875), led the foundation of the first Free or Catholic University (1878) and the Catholic Circle of Workers of Montevideo (1885). Close to Leo XIII, he was part of the group of clergymen who “recreated” the relations between Rome and Latin America. Third Bishop (1890-1897) and first Archbishop of Montevideo (since 1897), he developed a great activity as a writer and propagandist.The relationship between “Christianity and civilization” is a recurrent subject in his speeches and writings, between 1875 and 1908, the year of his death. Conceptual constants can be detected which associate the “great work of religious and social regeneration” with the alliance between Catholic Church and “civilization”. Christianity was and had been the creator of “civilization” and its weakening in the Uruguayan society would only imply corruption and barbarism. Subtle mutations are also appreciated, related to the recovery of republican principles and of material and scientific progress, associated with “civilization”. In that sense, civilization is understood as a process of “harmonic and progressive improvement of the physical, moral and intellectual faculties of man.”
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El Concilio Vaticano II y el ethos revolucionario en la Argentina de los sesenta-setentaThe main idea in this article is to analyze some of the political and religious effects that the theological, liturgical and pastoral renewal process of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) had over the Catholic Argentinian community. Such a process exerted an important ideological influence in the development of some rebellious political organizations during the sixties- seventies period (1959-1973). This was the case, for instance, of the Priest Movement for the Third World (MSTM) or the political and military organization of the Montoneros. They constitute two modes of expression that, in a different way and in a different degree, articulated the post-conciliar discourse together with the revolutionary and liberationist, non-confessional one that prevailed in the Third World, especially in Latin America, since the triumphant Cuban Revolution.
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La fe no es una ideología y el marxismo no es una fe - Entrevista a Frei Betto (Sao Paulo, Brasil, octubre 2011)According to the objective of thinking about Brazilian experience in the sixties, Frai Betto refers, in this interview, to his militancy, the connection between religion and politics, the dialogue between Marxism and Christianity, and armed struggle as an option of political struggle, providing us some tools to understand the complex connection among religion and politics.
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Eine Einführung in das Religionsverständnis der zeitgenössischen chinesischen ReligionswissenschaftPost-colonial studies of religions ask how the concept of religion can be scientifically defined when there is a consensus-based understanding of religion in everyday life. The subsequent investigation examines to which extent the Studies of Religion in contemporary China deal with this issue: namely, how a phenomenon can be scientifically defined or recognized as »religious«. For this purpose, the theories of three contemporary Chinese researchers in Studies of Religion – Zhuo Xinping, Lv Daji, and Mu Zhongjian – will be discussed in detail. The primary concern of these contemporary Chinese researchers is to emphasize the cultural character of religion in society instead of interpreting religion as an instrument of politics or as a psychological poison. To achieve this goal, Zhuo Xinping uses »Xuanzhi« (observing before judging) as the primary method to protect his objective and neutral position in the Studies of Religion. Lv Daji interprets »religion« as a unique system of cultural symbols in resuming the Marxist theory of religion. Mu Zhongjian tries to figure out the particularity of »Chinese religion« by clarifying the relationship between »Chinese religion« and Confucianism. This study claims, that as a result of their efforts, religion is increasingly treated as a normal cultural phenomenon in Chinese society.
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Introduction:Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism, in the Age of Pope FrancisIntroduction to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism, in the Age of Pope Francis.