The article discusses various meanings which were ascribed to religion in the parliamentary debates of the perestroika period, which included Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and other religious and lay ...deputies. Understood in a general sense, religion was supposed to become the foundation or an element of a new ideology and stimulate Soviet or post-Soviet transformations, either creating a new Soviet universalism or connecting the Soviet Union to the global universalism of human rights. The particularistic interpretations of religion viewed it as a marker of difference, dependent on or independent of ethnicity, and connected to collective rights. Despite the extensive contacts between the religious figures of different denominations, Orthodox Christianity enjoyed the most prominent presence in perestroika politics, which evoked criticisms of new power asymmetries in the transformation of the Soviet Union and contributed to the emergence of the Russian Federation as a new imperial, hierarchical polity rather than a decolonized one.
Out of many modes and motivations Jere Kyyrö; Teemu T. Mantsinen
Approaching religion,
11/2022, Letnik:
12, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
This article explores a sequence of events, a combination of Orthodox Christian village and chapel festivals, associated processions and a cross-border procession, through the theoretical concept of ...ritualisation. The sequence of events takes place annually in the Finnish villages of Saarivaara and Hoilola, the Pörtsämö wilderness cemetery and the former Finnish municipality of Korpiselkä, located today in Russia; it attracts participants with religious and other motives, including nostalgia and family history. An analysis is made of how different and sometimes contradictory modes of action are structured and intertwined to form a coherent ritual event. On the basis of original anthropological research undertaken near and over the border between Finland and Russia, in Karelia, it emerges that the ritual mastery by Orthodox priests and shared goals and motives of heritage and culture give the journey a necessary structure, which can be studied and explained in terms of ritualisation.
This book probes into the dynamics between Orthodox Christianity and the COVID-19 pandemic, unraveling a profound transformation at institutional and grassroots levels. Employing a multidisciplinary ...approach, and drawing upon varied data sources, including surveys, digital ethnography, and process tracing, it presents unprecedented insights into church-state relations, religious practices, and theological traditions during this crisis. Chapters analyze divergent responses across countries, underscore religious-political interplay, and expose tensions between formal and informal power networks. Through case studies, the book highlights the innovative adaptability within the faith, demonstrated by new religious practices and the active role of local priests in responding to the pandemic. It critically examines how the actions of religious and political figures influenced public health outcomes. Offering a fresh perspective, the book suggests that the pandemic may have permanently influenced the relationship between Orthodox Christianity, public health, and society.
In this article, we explore the learning of newcomers in a religious community through a micro-sociological approach, making use of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger’s (1991) notion of “legitimate ...peripheral participation” to conceptualize initial stages of inclusion and involvement in social practice. Our case study concerns Orthodox Christianity and is based on material gathered through fieldwork in a course targeting potential new members organized by a Finnish Orthodox parish. In the analysis, we inquire into how beginners learn skilful participation in Orthodox liturgical life, and specifically embodied ritual conduct. This learning takes place primarily through participation in real-life divine services. The article highlights challenges faced by beginners in acquiring the embodied repertoire of Orthodox ritual, including adapting to the artistic use of ritual gestures, and negotiating the meanings produced through them. Furthermore, it also illustrates how nuanced dynamics between newcomers and old-timers influence the learning process.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Although we have increasingly assumed that UFO events are extraterrestrial in nature, there are ...alternative explanations for these extraordinary phenomena. Of these, the theory that UFOs manifest malevolent spiritual realities is often hastily dismissed because it violates modern society’s secular assumptions. As is explained, however, an a priori dismissal is arbitrary since it rests on similar evidential grounds. After the case is made that logical consistency demands that the spiritual theory be given a fair hearing, this article draws on U.S. data on reported UFO sightings to demonstrate that a state’s religious climate significantly determines the frequency of such sightings there. It is argued that these findings constitute circumstantial evidence that modern society is culturally induced – rather than led by the evidence – to embrace the interpretation that UFO phenomena are extraterrestrial in nature.
What constitutes ‘good’ or ethical behaviour in business is a debatable issue in the
increasingly modernistic profit-driven and materialistic world of the 21st Century. This article addresses this ...pertinent issue by examining the viewpoint of Orthodoxy as it relates to business ethics and ethics in general. It is argued that ethics as a distinct field of study cannot be found in the tradition of the Orthodox Church. What are the pitfalls of modernism when it comes to ethical issues in business as it is evident that modernism and Christianity diverge considerably. It is further argued that theology can undoubtedly make a distinguishing contribution to business ethics practice. Viewed through a moral realism lens, Orthodoxy communicates that any ethical vision is inseparable from and ultimately grounded in an Orthodox understanding of the Trinitarian Godhead. Viewed teleologically, the objective of human life is Theosis which commences in physical existence and continues into eternity in a spiritual sense. The limitations of the present study, as well as the areas of prospective research, have been taken into consideration. The paper nonetheless attempts to propose a tentative way of thinking about business ethics epitomising the implication of Orthodoxy for right business conduct.
The aim of this article is to analyse the dynamics of religion-ethnicity
relation in the Republic of North Macedonia. Special emphasis is placed on
the current ethno-political tensions between ...Albanians and Macedonians and
the use of religion and religious symbols in this collision, which is
reflected both in the political discourse and in the everyday life and
relationships, influencing perceptions and collective notions of people
about religion and ethnicity. The findings show that the process of
maintenance and shift of the ethno-religious boundaries is dynamic,
multidirectional and multi-layered. It is influenced by domestic political,
social, economic and cultural developments, international factors such as
the EU and NATO accession of the country, as well as the spread of radical
Islamic ideologies.
This scientific paper deals with religious Orthodox holidays and their significance within Serbian culture. The facts that celebration of religious holidays has been very widespread in recent years ...and that they have been receiving extensive media coverage are indicative of their considerable social importance and topicality. Religious holidays are an inalienable part of the Serbian national heritage, and the UNESCO has even declared slavas to be part of global immaterial cultural heritage. Religious holidays have always had the mission of socializing social groups, as well as individuals. The Orthodox approach to religion has never pretended to abolish or replace before-Christian holidays and rituals with Christian ones. It merely enriched them, drawing on them and endowing them with novel, Christian raiment. This is the very reason why the Orthodox tradition is exceptionally rich in symbiotic layers of the rustic and the Christian. Many old, before-Christian holidays have been preserved thus, acquiring new functions, while the Orthodox Christianity introduced elements of the Eternal, without interfering much with the ingrained habits of community life of earlier eras.
In this study, I discuss the devotional lives of Finns who have joined the Orthodox Church of Finland as adults. The analysis is based on interviews conducted with 29 converts to Orthodoxy. My ...specific focus is the interplay of interiority and exteriority in my interlocutors’ religious practice. To conceptualise this dynamic, I turn to Adam Seligman’s theorisation of ritual and sincerity as two modes of organising social action. For Seligman, ritual action relies on the outer form, whereas sincere action prioritises the inner form – intention and mindset – instead. My interlocutors’ religious trajectories challenge the standard conceptualisation of the modern subject as someone who is primarily concerned for the truthful expression of their internal states and therefore rejects any external restrictions placed on their actions. After all, they had voluntarily transferred to a religious group that emphasises compliance with an outer form. My analysis demonstrates that while the interviewees understood sincerity as the driving force of religious practice, they valued Orthodox ritual as a resource. Moreover, their engagement in ritual action helped them come to terms with the ambiguities of their daily lives, including their conflicting obligations and wavering commitment, and to experience their lives as imbued with religion nonetheless.
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