Christian Aid and LGBTI rights: breaking the silence

In recent years Christian Aid has begun to explicitly recognise and respond to discrimination faced by LGBTI people globally. A catalyst for this shift was the re-criminalisation of homosexuality in Uganda, Nigeria, and India in 2014, as well as partner reports of rising violence towards LGBTI people in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, breaking the silence on LGBTI issues within the organisation came predominantly through the emergence of an informal staff sexuality network. This article offers a critique of Christian Aid’s journey from being initially hesitant to engage with issues of LGBTI discrimination to recognising that as a faith-based development agency it can no longer remain silent. Taking such steps, however, has not been without challenges or risks.     

Portrayals of the internal God among Ashkenazi Jewish Orthodox lesbians in Israel

Abstract

Most of the existing literature on Ashkenazi Orthodox Jewish lesbians focuses on sociological aspects, mainly the negative attitudes held by religious communities towards their sexual identity and the various problems that arise from these. Less attention has been paid to lesbians’ psychological coping mechanisms with the tensions between their two central identities: the religious and the sexual. Ashkenazi Orthodox lesbians find themselves in a complicated situation where they remain on the margins of both their “natural” communities: the religious one and the homosexual one. As a result, they feel rejected, isolated, and even punished by society. As believers, God is their ultimate refuge. But there are different conceptions of God, ranging from benevolent to persecutory, accepting or highly judgmental and punishing. This variance has not been considered in regard to the dual identity of Ashkenazi Orthodox lesbians. This article focuses on this neglected issue, examining Ashkenazi Orthodox lesbians’ conception of God and its relation to their managing the conflict between their apparently conflicting identities.     

埃伦?伍德对20世纪70年代后西方新左翼理论的批判--以普兰查斯、拉克劳-墨菲和后现代主义为典型

埃伦?伍德批评20世纪70年代后西方新左翼在理论上日渐背离经典马克思主义，其中以普兰查斯、拉克劳与墨菲、后现代主义最为典型。在她看来，普兰查斯过分抬高了意识形态与政治的重要性，其理论中存在诸多矛盾与混乱，并具有很大的危害；而拉克劳与墨菲的理论中存在诸多对马克思和马克思主义的误读，其“激进民主”方案也缺乏可靠的社会根基，政治策略本质上是一种改良主义；后现代主义的产生有其特定的历史根源，其理论逻辑混乱，政治主张亦具有很大的迷惑性并可能导致严重后果。伍德批判的出发点在于捍卫经典马克思主义的思想地位，其中贯穿着马克思主义思维方法，但在有些问题上批判过于笼统，分寸上也不是很适当。     

Intellectual disability and faith communities: perspectives of Catholic religious leaders

Faith communities create community and are important to many individuals with intellectual disability. However, relatively little is known about how intellectual disability is construed among faith leaders and the inclusion of people with intellectual disability in faith communities. To address these gaps in knowledge, we interviewed 12 Catholic priests, parochial vicars, and deacons to explore: their experiences with individuals with intellectual disability; their beliefs towards the involvement of individuals with intellectual disability within faith communities; and how religion informs their understanding of intellectual disability. We identified five religiously-anchored narratives of intellectual disability, and explore implications for individuals with intellectual disability and faith communities.     

Megachurch involvement at the local level: Examining conditions for church action in economic development

The roles of small congregations and their social impacts are well known, but few theoretical studies investigate megachurch congregations. These mammoth organizations have the potential for advancing social good, but minimal research specifically focuses on the activities of these congregations in economic development (ED). This study addresses this dearth of information by answering the following research questions: (a) In what ways are megachurches involved in ED activities? (b) Who benefits from these programs and how are the programs offered? and (c) What factors influence megachurches to offer ED activities? We frame our investigation using both demand‐ and supply‐side arguments from Frumkin's (2002) model of nonprofit and voluntary action. Online survey data and follow‐up interviews with 42 megachurch leaders in the Dallas/Fort Worth and greater Houston areas show that megachurches are implementing ED activities in alignment with demand‐side explanations, especially when advancing opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed. However, supply‐side arguments provide more explanatory power, indicating that volunteer engagement with ED activities plays a significant role in the provision of ED services through megachurches. Our study offers a better understanding of why megachurches carry out ED activities with considerable attention devoted to how megachurches partner with other congregations, nonprofits, and government entities to encourage economic growth and improve the economic well‐being of community members.     

Caring by Silence: How (Un)documented Brazilian Migrants Enact Silence as a Care Practice for Aging Parents

ABSTRACT

While existing work on transnational aging and care has largely focused on the substance of transnational communication and what is being said, this article examines what is being ‘silenced’ during transnational exchange. I argue that to better understand aging and intergenerational caregiving we need to pay careful attention to what is not being said during transnational contacts, suggesting that silence and ‘communication voids’ are often formulated and enacted as a care practice. Drawing on ethnographic research with Brazilian migrants in the United States whose aging parents live in Brazil, I illustrate how migrants curate their lives abroad and sieve their lived experiences as an act of care for their aging parents back home. In so doing, I reveal the significance of faith as a coping strategy in the process of silencing and concealing emotions and as a means to fight loneliness, cope with adversity, and protect family exchanges.     

忍辱、逃离与流浪：论《微物之神》的女性创伤书写

运用弗洛伊德的创伤理论来解读印度女作家阿兰达蒂·洛伊获奖作品《微物之神》,剖析了小说中三代女性所遭遇的身体和心理上的创伤,将宗教、阶级、性别和创伤主题有机连接在一起,从而反映了不仅仅是个别女性,更代表印度女性的整体创伤记忆,同时也表达了印度广大女性对自身生存状态的关注和期待改变的强烈愿望。     

从宗教学看壮族布洛陀信仰

壮族布洛陀信仰属于原生型巫教,可称为原生型民族民间宗教,它与壮族的生存与发展紧密联系在一起,是壮族特有的文化传统。布洛陀信仰的活动在社会批判运动连续不断的年代,曾一度销声匿迹。改革开放以来,由于宗教理论的改进和宗教政策的宽松,由于社会对民族文化(包括宗教文化)的重视和对民间信仰的关注,由于布洛陀信仰研究的开展,壮族地区布洛陀信仰开始了它的重建的过程。以广西田阳敢壮山为中心,壮族民众自发地恢复布洛陀祭祀和相应的文化活动,规模越来越大,并得到学者的理论支持和政府的理解。这种民族信仰重构现象,表现了壮族民族文化主体意识的增强和布洛陀信仰的旺盛生命力及其对新的时代的调适能力,如引导得当,会丰富中华民族多元一体的文化内涵,推动两个文明建设,充实壮族人民的文化生活。     

人口流动对基督教全球传播的影响

基督教流动人口是基督教在全球传播过程中的关键因素。在基督教存在的前五个世纪,广泛的人口流动将基督教变成了全球化的信仰。广泛的人口流动在其它主要的世界宗教在世界各地的传播过程中也发挥了重要作用,但是,就基督教来说,流动可能是这种信仰固有的因素。基督教超越罗马帝国成为全球性信仰是个非常复杂的过程,包含许多不同类型的人口流动。跨国界的领袖们、俘虏、难民和流浪者、商人是人口流动的四种主要类型。虽然,东部教会传教的成功是短暂的,但是东部教会在第一个千年形成的移民传教模式无疑为21世纪的基督教提供了典范。基督教在过去的两三个世纪里再次全球化,基督信仰作为新的中心在非洲、拉丁美洲和亚洲的某些地区出现,表明"人口流动"在基督教全球传播过程中的作用比以前更加明显。当代基督教的全球化与早期基督教的全球化在发展道路上有很大不同,但有一点是不变的,即基督教的全球化仍将主要依靠流动者的行动和决策。     

生态视域下大学生理想信念教育优化路径探讨

理想信念教育是高校思政工作的核心，文章从生态学的视角分析了大学生理想信念教育的现状，并提出从教育目标、主体关系、客体选择、介体形成、环体营造等方面优化大学生理想信念教育生态体系，以达到培养社会主义合格建设者和可靠接班人的目的。