Publikationsserver der UB Marburg
Not a member yet
601 research outputs found
Sort by
God\u27s Salvation Church: Past, Present and Future
No full textIn March of 1998 God\u27s Salvation Church, also known as Chen Tao, held the attention of the international media with their prophecies that God would physically descend in the town of Garland, Texas, on the last day of the month. The group\u27s leader, Hon-Ming Chen, and the group\u27s spokesperson, Richard Liu, held many press conferences to handle the overwhelming demand for interviews. Following the events of March 31 the media interest subsided. Although they are still practicing their religion, the church has received relatively little attention since the apparent failed prophecy of March 31. The following is an attempt to explain the history of Hon-Ming Chen and God\u27s Salvation Church. Included is a discussion of the group\u27s current status and their possibilities for the future. Due to the length of this article, Chen Tao theology, which is a mixture of Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, UFO beliefs and scientific theories, will not be discussed in very great detail
E. B. Tylor and the Anthropology of Religion
No full textPAPER PREPARED FOR THE 95th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, SAN FRANCISCO, NOVEMBER 21, 1996In light of the retrospective theme of this Annual Meeting, it is fitting that we pay homage to Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917). His appointment as Reader in Anthropology at Oxford in 1884 was the first academic appointment of an anthropologist qua anthropologist in the English-speaking world. And in his two volume classic, Primitive Culture (1871), Tylor, as Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952:150-151) observe, "was deliberately establishing a science by defining its subject matter." Yet although Tylor is not far removed from us in time, and while he writes in a language very similar to our own, we might nevertheless take note of Lesley Hartley\u27s lines, "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there" (Prologue, The Go-Between, 1953). Despite Tylor\u27s pleasing and seemingly lucid prose, his concerns, sensitivities, and insensitivities do not fully match ours. If we are to improve our scholarly understanding and appreciation of his efforts, we must try to learn as best we can what Tylor was against as well as what he advocated, and what he hoped to achieve within the context of the intellectual ambiance in which he operated
Body, Emotion and Violence: Palestinian Suicide Bombing/Martyrdom (1993-2005)
No full textPalestinian suicide bombing/martyrdom speaks both to the symbolic significance of the human body and also to the connections that this form of violence has to religious and interconnected political authorities and influences. This article examines these religiously and politically inspired events using an analysis of emotion and body, placing particular emphasis on their mediation through culture. Drawing on Palestinian poetry, art and websites as well as existing research thatincludes mostly un-theorised discussions of body and emotion (especially humiliation) within the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, this article goes beyond the blatancy of the final explosive act. As such, it uncovers a variety of deeply embedded cultural motifs and metaphors that speak to how body and emotion permeate the Palestinian cultural landscape and collective consciousness.This process, in turn, unearths the importance of ideologies that centre on religion, nationality, authority, land and self to the shaping of the cultural milieu from which the suicide bomber/martyr emerges
Sabine Doering-Manteuffel: Das Okkulte. Eine Erfolgsgeschichte im Schatten der Aufklärung - Von Gutenberg bis zum World Wide Web
No full textThis is the first book-length account of contemporary Shin Buddhist ethics in English. It describes the ethical thought of numerous modern scholars of the Shin school (mainly from the Ōtani-ha and Honganji-ha), as well as the activities of contemporary activists who struggle against war and discrimination, and for peace and social welfare. It is a unique mixture of textual analysis with primary data gathered through fieldwork and participant observation. Until the publication of Dessi’s study, most scholarship on Shin ethics in English consisted of essays (some of these translated from Japanese). Dessi adds to this previous scholarship by introducing the depth and breadth of works on Shin ethics in Japanese
Some methodological reflections about the study of religions on video sharing
No full textThis article offers an overview of methodological difficulties that arise in the study of religions on video sharing websites (VSW). We suggest how to put these difficulties in perspective and how to overcome them. A typology lists the various forms of religions represented on this type of website. We will also try to understand why some religious groups have created their own video sharing websites. Finally we will give possible interpretations of this phenomenon and suggest some ways to use this type of material in academic research and teaching about religions
Ah Ma and her Beliefs: The Migrant Experience and Religious Practices of a Chinese Immigrant Woman in Twentieth Century Singapore
No full textThis essay aims to use my family history as a prism to examine the religious beliefs and practices of the Chinese diaspora in twentieth century Singapore. It contends that religion played a vital role in shaping the communal identity and contributing to the spiritual well-being of the Chinese migrants. By exploring the migrant experience, and analyzing the religious beliefs and practices of my Ah Ma as told to me, this essay attempts to answer three big questions: what did religion mean to the overseas Chinese community in general and my Ah Ma—a Chinese immigrant woman—in particular?; what were these religious beliefs and practices, and what functions did they serve?; and finally, how could the study of my Ah Ma’s religious beliefs offer an alternative narrative to Singapore’s history
Demonizing the “Other:” Fundamentalist Pakistani Madrasahs and the Construction of Religious Violence
No full textThis article explores the role of fundamentalist, extremist teachings and alleged child abuse in Pakistani Islamic schools, known as madrasahs, in the construction of Islamic violence. A comparison of the educational deprivation, psychological harm, and physical and sexual abuse endured by madrasah students with the experiences of former Canadian residential school survivors, indicates that these two groups generally suffer various pathological internal and external reactions to violence. Further research should attempt to investigate allegations of harm experienced by madrasah students, with the goals of policy reform to protect these children, and the modernization and standardization of problematic madrasah curricula
Religiosity as a demographic factor - an underestimated connection?
No full textTwo topics are currently the subject of separate discussions in science and society: the demographic shift and the “return of the religions.“ This article appeals to data from the ALLBUS 1 survey of 2002 to demonstrate that these two phenomena (as well as a number of other questions) can be explained if the connection between religiosity and birth-behavior is taken into account
Religionswissenschaft und Religionen: Eine riskante Nähe und ihre Notwendigkeit (Abschiedsvorlesung)
No full textThis article gives the text of a public farewell lecture at the University of Marburg delivered by the author during the summer semester of 2004 (on June 3 rd), preceding retirement in the autumn. The title cannot be translated easily into English but may be rendered: "The study of religions - and religions: a tricky intimacy and its necessity". The lecture seeks to validate the study of religions in the university context, at a time of severe economic stringency, with a methodological argument which does not shy away from an intimate closeness to the phenomenon under study, but at the same time insists on the independent profile of the appropriate academic discipline, namely Religionswissenschaft. In such a perspective, it is argued, it is possible to contribute to the interreligious and intercultural dialogical situations which are so evidently and urgently needed in the world at the present time. Examples given include explorations of the relationships between Buddhism and Christianity, and current interactions with Indonesian Islam, -- work which has been shared with colleagues in Marburg and elsewhere. Needless to say, empirical and analytical studies must be firmly rooted in particular specialities. This is demonstrated by reference to studies in Japanese religions with special reference to Shintō, with a focus first on the imperial enthronement ceremonies and second on recent varieties of circulatory pilgrimage Japan. The latter theme is further documented in an illustrated "Occasional Paper" (No. 30) of Marburg University\u27s Centre for Japanese Studies, which was first presented on this occasion. The lecture was accompanied by a visual presentation, partly humorous. A version including the various images may be posted later on my personal homepage; if so it will include a shot of the audience taken on the occasion, to accompany those of audiences in Java
Hubert Knoblauch: Qualitative Religionsforschung. Religionsethnographie in der eigenen Gesellschaft
No full textNachdem in den vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten zunehmend mehr qualitative Untersuchungen über Religionsgemeinschaften in Deutschland und auch über rezente, individuelle Konstellationen von Religiösität entstanden, hat der Berliner Soziologe und Religionswissenschaftler Hubert Knoblauch dem methodologischen Notstand Abhilfe geleistet. Abgesehen von einer kurzen Einführung Martin Baumanns gab es im deutschen Sprachraum schlicht noch kein empirisches Methodenlehrbuch, das sich der Religionsthematik widmete