History of Religion

This research analyzes the importance of printing in the spread of secular Franciscan way of life in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Modern Age. Analysing the evolution of print production and its internal characteristics, we see a parallel between the growth of the movement and the rise of publications, from the early 17th century. The 18th century is the height of all that production and the first half of the  nineteenth century, a period of decline. With regard to issues of publications, printed works that predominate are those who talk about the rule and other legal texts, followed by the sermons and funeral prayers, the collections of privileges, the devotional works and the lives of the saints of the order.

What implications does the Srin-mo, a pre-Buddhist deity who traverses across almost all of the periods of time in Tibetan religious life, have on the social status of women? Embodying the places and spaces of Tibet, a malevolent demoness called the Srin-mo has been essential in laying the formation of Tibetan Buddhism. The concept of the Srin-mo can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet: Bön. The story of the Srin-mo is not a creation myth in the sense of a worldly inception,  but the story of the demoness does represent the creation of a harmonious society, spurring from the preceding time of primordial chaos found amongst the Bön religion. Looking at the origins of the demoness’ story is necessary in order to understand how and why the Srin-mo holds efficacious power over the land and people of Tibet. Here, I will investigate the case of the Srin-mo, which is controversially one of the most important beings in Tibet, but unquestionably, an irrevocable component of understanding what implications geography holds on Tibet.

The Ukrainian sacred culture and especially its wooden
churches tradition is an outstanding European phenomenon which has been formed on complex intercultural basis. Being placed between eastern and western Christian brunches, Ukrainian culture has assimilated characters of both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox
influence. On the other hand being located in the middle
of European area it occurred in the middle of multicultural interrelations, in the very center of European cultural traditions crossroad. The folk wooden architecture of Ukraine was developed in the context of Eastern Slavic traditions.
European architecture has also made its great impact on the Ukrainian culture. IX-XII century is connected with the time of architectural forms and constructions general unity development. In XVI-XVIII century the national specific features of Ukrainian wooden architecture was  intensively developed. That is why its features were manifested in Ukrainian distinguish of style.

Thorkild Jacobsen (1963; 1976) entwarf ausgehend von den Begriffen von Rudolf Otto (1917) ein Modell der mesopotamischen Religion, das sich durch seine Konsistenz auszeichnet und weite Bereiche von Göttervorstellungen, Mythologie und Ritual abdeckt. Dieser Beitrag will sowohl die Attraktivität wie die Grenzen des substanzialistischen religionsphänomenologischen Ansatzes herausarbeiten, der durch eine monotheistisch geprägte Perspektive gekennzeichnet ist. Des weiteren zeigt sich, wie weit verbreitet dieser Ansatz in der Altorientalistik war und ist, während funktionalistische Ansätze (etwa von E. Durkheim, C. Geertz) kaum rezipiert wurden. In Hinblick auf die religionshistorischen Befunde ist hervorzuheben, dass bei heutigem Wissensstand die Repräsentation von Herrschaft in der Götterwelt schon in der Uruk-Zeit nachweisbar ist, während der von Jacobsen als urtümlich aufgefasste Dumuzi-Amaʼušumgalana aufgrund seiner Namensform einer späteren Schicht des frühen dritten Jahrtausends angehört. Die Quellen der Uruk-Zeit, insbesondere die schriftliche Repräsentation von Städtenamen durch ihre jeweiligen Götter, deuten die Existenz eines mesopotamischen Pantheons schon im Chalkolithikum an. Man muss deshalb davon ausgehen, dass mit der Differenzierung von Göttern nach ihren Funktionsbereichen schon in der Uruk-Zeit auch eine lokale Gliederung einherging.

St. Catherine of Alexandria was born in the ancient capital city of Egypt, Alexandria, as a daughter of the king Kustos. She did not renounce her faith in the period of Christian persecution that took place in the reign of Maxentius, the emperor. Between 307 and 312 she was taken captive and tortured with the aim of forcing her to renounce her faith, which eventually led her to death. The story of Catherine’s heroism made her famous. As a result, we can learn more about her suffering and death.
St. Catherine of Alexandria was described in visions of three mystics from the Middle Ages: St. Mechthild of Magdeburg, St. Gertrude the Great, and St. Dorothea of Montau. Worshipping the heroic evidence of Christianity of St. Catherine, each of the mystics emphasized other moral and spiritual aspects arising from the martyr’s life. In her meditations, St. Mechthild stressed the strength of mind in the fight against devil, indomitableness in practicing faith and Catherine’s Christian responsibility for her own deeds. St. Gertrude the Great in her scripts placed an emphasis on intelligence and wisdom of an 18-year old girl who disputed with wise men in order to convert herself. St. Dorothea of Montau, in turn, took considerations about St. Catherine’s life personally, referring the martyr’s death to her own desire to end her life in that world with a view to meeting the Christ in heaven.

Taft R. F. The Great Entrance. A History of the Transfer of Gifts and other Preanaphoral Rites of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. [A History of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, vol. II]. Roma, 1975. (Orientalia Christiana Analecta; 200).

Votive objects or ex-votos are a broad category of material artifacts produced with the intention of being offered as acts of faith. Common across historical periods, religions, and cultures, they are presented as tokens of gratitude for prayers answered, as well as the physical manifestation of hopes and anxieties. Agents of Faith explores votive offerings in the context of material culture, art history, and religious studies to better understand their history and present-day importance. By looking at what humans have chosen to offer in their votive transactions, this volume uncovers their most intimate moments in life and questions the nature, role, and function of one of the most fundamental aspects of the relationship between people and things—the imbuing of objects with sentiment. Encompassing exquisite works of art as well as votives of humble origin and material, with objects dating from 2000 B.C. to the twenty-first century, the beautiful illustrations and wide-ranging text expose the global reach of votive practices and the profoundly personal nature behind their creation.

Religion and Orientalism in Asian Studies analyzes the role of religion in past and present understandings of Asia. Religion, and the history of its study in the modern academy, has exercised massive influence over Asian Studies fields in the past century. Asian Studies has in turn affected, and is increasingly shaping, the study of religion. Religion and Orientalism in Asian Studies looks into this symbiotic relationship - both in current practice, and in the modern histories of both Orientalism and Area Studies

Reviewed in: BUKSZ--Budapesti Könyvszemle (Beatrix F. Romhányi), Catholic Historical Review (Katherine L. Jansen), Collectanea Franciscana (Aleksander Horowski), Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters (Veronika Lukas), Hungarian Historical Review (Dorottya Uhrin), Il Santo (Eleonora Lombardo), Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken (Ralf Lützelschwab), Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique (Michael Robson), Speculum (Thomas F. Luongo)

(English below)
    «Propuesta teórica» con que la Comisión Teológica Internacional de la EATWOT lanza el «Nuevo Paradigma Arqueológico-Bíblico», para su estudio académico y su utilización pedagógica y pastoral.
    A short but practical and pedagogical presentation (offprint) of the so called “new archaeological-biblical paradigm,” with an informative purpose, that may become a guide to start studying the theme, both individually or collectively, even as a pastoral instrument of education for the communities. Of course this is just a point of support, what is important is the direct study of the sources.

This essay was published in The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology, edited by Christopher A. Beeley and Mark E. Weedman, for the CUAP Studies in Early Christianity (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018); this is the uncorrected proofs. Exploring the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the Son's relation to the Father, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, it is one of five essays suggesting Johannine contributions to trinitarian discussions in the early church.

In order to better cope with the pressures and stresses of the current day, modern psychology is anxiously seeking to find new therapies to address the increasing disorders within the human psyche. In the process new fields of research, such as humanistic and transpersonal psychology, curiously appear to borrow more and more from the wisdom of the ages. This volume, containing eighteen articles by noteworthy expositors of the perennial philosophy such as Huston Smith, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Frithjof Schuon, presents the spiritual psychology of the wisdom traditions as a much-needed antidote to the current impasse in modern psychology.

Some Endorsements for Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy:

“[Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy] is more than an anthology. It is a wisely crafted collection of classic and contemporary scholarship noting that what many are seeking is what has always been, a perennial philosophy, that remains foundational. As one of the authors, Tage Lindbom, properly notes, ‘Secularization is a fish in troubled waters.’ This book claims the waters and is essential reading for all those who may have forgotten or are simply ignorant of the rich foundation provided by the perennial philosophy.”
—Ralph W. Hood, Professor of Psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, past president of the Psychology of Religion division of the American Psychological Association, co-founder of The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and co-author of The Psychology of Religion

“A necessary and bracing critique of the assumptions and limitations of contemporary Western psychology, this generous volume is also a passionate call and learned guide towards a truer perspective that embraces man's spiritual nature.”
—Gabor Maté, M.D., and author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

“Knowing the nature of the mind is perhaps the most difficult undertaking, especially in today’s world. To comprehend the nature of mind one needs to turn to the domain of religion and spirituality. Yet the truth of the mind and its complexity cannot explicitly be defined in words. Inner or transcendent wisdom sees the mind’s own nature without the duality of the seer. Suchness (tathatā) of mind is only experiential and not expressible. The words used to describe thought are themselves a product of thought, which is conditioned and limited. Thus, differences and contradictions are unavoidable. Therefore, a comparative study of different viewpoints and commentaries is immensely important to awaken the inner intelligence to see the mind as it is. Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy: Studies in Comparative Religion edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is an outstanding effort in this direction.”
—Samdhong Rinpoche, former Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa) of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, author of Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism and Today’s World

“The rise of psychology has impacted the study and practice of spirituality, the experiences and attitudes relevant to ultimate human values that transcend ordinary behavior. Each chapter of this remarkable book demonstrates this interaction in a unique and provocative way. But rather than using psychology to reduce and ‘psychologize’ spiritual topics, its authors demonstrate how directives from the spiritual traditions can enhance and even illuminate the enduring importance of psychology in the 21st century.”
—Stanley Krippner, Saybrook University, co-author of Spiritual Dimensions of Healing

“The work at hand is a thinking and debating man’s delight. If you have any interest at all in attempting to include an educated and enlightened view of man’s higher functions in your purview of the world, you will learn from and enjoy this collection of essays. If you already have some knowledge in this area, brace yourself: you may see some of your favorites sharply criticized. A thought-provoking work.”
—Bruce W. Scotton, University of California, San Francisco, co-editor of Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology

“This book, superbly edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, is a masterful critique of the field of psychology and its loss of the sacred ground in which it once was rooted. It offers depth psychologists an opportunity to contemplate timeless truths echoed through the centuries by perennial philosophers who have always claimed psyche is subordinate to Spirit. Although ignored in depth psychology’s early years due to prejudice and lack of understanding, this is a message today’s psychotherapists must take seriously. Human beings need a deeper and wider transpersonal vision of who and what we are, which the saints and sages of the world’s spiritual traditions have always pointed to. In psychotherapy with a therapist committed to such a vision, patients penetrate into their unconscious depths and not infrequently awaken to the Ground of all Being. Their suffering itself occurred because they had turned away from Spirit. Above all, this volume passionately calls upon depth psychology to remember its origin in the perennial wisdom at the core of the great religions. There is something of a polemic in these pages. It deserves to be considered by depth psychologists of all persuasions.”
—Bryan Wittine, Transpersonal psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst

“This anthology from Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is a must reference for anyone who is interested in psychology and its relationship to spirituality, and in developing an inclusive dialogue between disciplines that favor an integral outlook on the person and his or her potential. Selections in this anthology will inspire us to reexamine the metaphysical underpinnings of psychology, and remind us how important it is to rise above science’s attempt to reduce the human being to an epistemic object.”
—Sangeetha Menon, National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bangalore, India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Beyond Experience: Consciousness in Bhagavad Gita

“This anthology has some of the most discerning essays and reviews on spirituality and psychology, which provide much-needed care and caution to all those engaged in bringing them together or who wish to do so in future. Therefore, it is a must-read for all those who teach, research, consult, or study in such frontier areas as transpersonal psychology, states of consciousness, mind-body relation, holistic health, Indian psychology, and so on. It will be an invaluable textbook for courses in these and other related areas. I congratulate the editor of the book.”
—Kiran Kumar K. Salagame, University of Mysore (India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Psychology of Meditation: A Contextual Approach

“One of the finest collections of essays on the Perennial Philosophy—a must-read for all psychologists who are engaged with spirituality and transpersonal psychology. The essays which critique modern psychology (including transpersonal psychology, and the framework of Carl Jung), in the light of the Perennial Philosophy are a revelation and make compelling reading. The book serves as a corrective to the excesses of modern psychology, and to this end Sotillos has done a commendable job. I for one will include the book in some of the graduate courses that I teach.”
—Suneet Varma, University of Delhi, co-editor of Foundations of Indian Psychology

“To its credit modern science by-and-large is becoming more cognizant of the essential connection between spirituality and psychological health and well-being and most of all its positive implications within the field of psychology. While there is ample data to document this in a plethora of academic journals and books, this new book Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy adds a novel contribution to the dialogue between psychology and spirituality, which captures many nuances that for the most part go unnoticed within these discussions, and last but not least, it provides a keen eye of discernment to understand this intricate relationship on a deeper level that is crucially needed. This work will be a valuable asset to students and long term mental health practitioners and professors alike who seek to better understand the relationship between psychology and spirituality.”
—Harold G. Koenig, Duke University, Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, co-author of The Handbook of Religion and Health

This paper tries to answer why the perception of the Devil changed a tempter doing God's will in the early medieval period, into an autonomous evil power waging war against God and Christendom by the early modern period.  To answer this, the paper looks at changes in theological understandings, major historic events, and artistic interpretations of the Devil.

RESUMO

O bispo Dom Duarte Leopoldo e Silva encomenda a decoração da terceira versão da Igreja de Santa Cecília, localizada na cidade de São Paulo, a Benedito Calixto de Jesus, que trabalha em conjunto com Oscar Pereira da Silva, Carlo De Servi, Conrado Sorgenicht e Gino Catani. Este trabalho visa especificamente discutir e compreender os mecanismos do mecenato religioso na cidade de São Paulo envolvidos nessa encomenda, no início da Primeira República, analisando as condições impostas pela Igreja Romanizadora, sob a luz do conceito de piedade visual, proposto por David Morgan (2005). Salientam-se, igualmente, os aspectos históricos, políticos, sociais, teológicos e artísticos inerentes a essa encomenda. Embora todas as pinturas dentro dessa igreja tenham sido analisadas, o foco recai sobre a produção religiosa de Benedito Calixto na Santa Cecília, por possuir elementos que a tornam ímpar tanto dentro dela, quanto dentro da própria Igreja, enquanto instituição, características essas vinculadas à encomenda de Dom Duarte e suas relações com os demais artistas que produzem obras religiosas para a mesma Igreja, ocupando um arco temporal de dez anos, de 1907 a 1917.  Assim, pretende-se contribuir para o aprimoramento dos estudos de arte religiosa brasileira do início do século XX, durante o período da Primeira República.

Palavras-chave: Dom Duarte Leopoldo e Silva; Benedito Calixto de Jesus; arte religiosa; mecenato religioso; Igreja Romanizadora

ABSTRACT

Bishop Dom Duarte Leopoldo e Silva commands the decoration of the third version of Santa Cecília Church, located in the city of São Paulo, to Benedito Calixto de Jesus, who works together with Oscar Pereira da Silva, Carlo De Servi, Conrado Sorgenicht and Gino Catani. This dissertation aims specifically at both discussing and understanding the mechanisms of religious patronage in the city of São Paulo related to this order, at the onset of the First Republic, analyzing the conditions imposed by the Romanizing Church, form the perspective of the concept of visual piety, as proposed by David Morgan (2005). It also addresses the historical, political, social, theological and artistic aspects inherent to this order. Although all the paintings belonging to this church were analyzed, this study focuses mainly on Benedito Calixto’s religious works at Santa Cecília, as they hold characteristics that make it stand out both inside this temple and the Church itself, as an institution. Those are related to Dom Duarte’s order and his connections with the other artists producing religious works for the same Church, within a ten-year time frame, from 1907 to 1917. Thus, this study targets at contributing to the development of Brazilian religious Art studies in the beginning of the 20th century, during the First Republic period.

Keywords: Dom Duarte Leopoldo e Silva; Benedito Calixto de Jesus; religious art; religious patronage; Romanizing Church

The 2nd Global African Indigenous and Derived Religions Conference provided a platform for scholars of African Indigenous Religions and African-derived religions to critically appraise the status, nature and role of global African Indigenous and Derived Religions, bringing together academics, practitioners and 'activists' in civil society, from Africa and the Afro-American diaspora with special emphasis on Brazil, as one of the major countries of African culture. This aimed to provide a forum for trans-Atlantic exchange, also in the southern hemisphere, which is very neccesary. The conference encouraged research and explored avenues for the documentation and preservation of African indigenous and derived religions, both as a matter of intrinsic value as with regard to their lasting influence on Christianity, Islam and on Esotericism in the 'West'. The special importance of the study of Africa Indigenous Religion - in the forms it has developed in Africa and in the Americas - for the affirmation and further development of African and Afro-Descendant identities, in terms of politics of identity in many fields has been recognized.

This is a slightly revised version of my doctoral thesis, in which I have attempted to assemble all the available evidence on the genesis and early development of the directional guardians in Indian culture (mainly Brahmanical / Hindu). The term "Ancient India" should not hide the fact that this group of minor deities continues to occupy an important place in Indic religious practices.

The intro is available on my personal website via the link. The Shape of Sex is a pathbreaking history of nonbinary sex, focusing on ideas and individuals who allegedly combined or crossed sex or gender categories from 200–1400 C.E. Ranging widely across premodern European thought and culture, Leah DeVun reveals how and why efforts to define “the human” so often hinged on ideas about nonbinary sex.

The Shape of Sex examines a host of thinkers—theologians, cartographers, natural philosophers, lawyers, poets, surgeons, and alchemists—who used ideas about nonbinary sex as conceptual tools to order their political, cultural, and natural worlds. DeVun reconstructs the cultural landscape navigated by individuals whose sex or gender did not fit the binary alongside debates about animality, sexuality, race, religion, and human nature. The Shape of Sex charts an embrace of nonbinary sex in early Christianity, its brutal erasure at the turn of the thirteenth century, and a new enthusiasm for nonbinary transformations at the dawn of the Renaissance. Along the way, DeVun explores beliefs that Adam and Jesus were nonbinary-sexed; images of “monstrous races” in encyclopedias, maps, and illuminated manuscripts; justifications for violence against purportedly nonbinary outsiders such as Jews and Muslims; and the surgical “correction” of bodies that seemed to flout binary divisions.

In a moment when questions about sex, gender, and identity have become incredibly urgent, The Shape of Sex casts new light on a complex and often contradictory past. It shows how premodern thinkers created a system of sex and embodiment that both anticipates and challenges modern beliefs about what it means to be male, female—and human.

by Aloysius Muzzanganda Lugira (z-lib.org) -- The World Religions series, of which
this book is a part, sets out to achieve this aim. It is written and designed to appeal to both students and general readers. The books offer clear, accessible overviews of the major religious traditions and institutions of our time. Each volume in the series describes where a particular religion is practiced, its origins and history, its central beliefs and important rituals, and its contributions to world civilization. Carefully chosen photographs complement the text, and sidebars, a map, fact file, glossary, bibliography, and index are included to help readers gain a more complete understanding of the subject at hand.

Section on the Śivadharmaśāstra now published in the Introduction to "A Śaiva Utopia" (Bisschop/Kafle/Lubin, Napoli, 2021), available here:
https://www.academia.edu/67886226/A_%C5%9Aaiva_Utopia_The_%C5%9Aivadharma_s_Revision_of_Brahmanical_Var%E1%B9%87%C4%81%C5%9Bramadharma |

Dharmaśāstra codes prescribed rules for other strata of society, including Śūdras and mixed-caste groups, circumscribing their legitimate social and religious agency. Later religious traditions, under the influence of more egalitarian devotional sentiments, modified Smārta caste policies. This paper focuses on three neglected examples, the Śivadharmaśāstra, the “Varṇāśramakāṇḍa” of the unpublished Kāśyapottarasaṃhitā, and the Varṇāśramacandrikā. These works are considered in light of their socio-historical context, and in relation to the late-medieval Śmārta works on Śūdradharma (examined in recent dissertations by Benke and Vajpeyi). These three works exemplify efforts by devotional movements to extend and adapt older Brahmanical categories in such a way that putatively Śūdra castes can partake of the ritual entitlements otherwise identified with Brahmanical status. Thus the Brahmanical birth-based status is subordinated to a ritually mediated spiritual kinship, which implies a conceptual reconfiguration of the Dharmaśāstric genre itself
The Śivadharmaśāstra (ca. 6th c.), the oldest part of the “Śivadharma corpus,” which teaches a Pāśupata-influenced bhakti religion for married householders steeped in Smārta religious practice, redefines varṇa and āśrama categories in light of an emergent lay Śaivism. Based on my provisional edition of adhyāya 11, I present its delineation of a śiva-āśrama analogous to the āśramas of classical Dharmaśāstra, but open to women and Śūdras. This is compared to the “Varṇāśramakāṇḍa” of the Kāśyapottarasaṃhitā, an unpublished late-medieval work outlining a Śrīvaiṣṇava version of varṇāśramadharma, with rules for performing the “purification of Śūdras” (śūdra-śuddhi) and special saṃskāras for Śūdras. Finally, I offer observations on the ultimate subversion of Brahmin prerogative: a Dharmaśāstra by a Śūdra. The Varṇāśramacandrikā (late 17th c.), composed by a member of the Dharmapuram maṭam, a non-Brahmin (Vēḷāḷa) Śaivasiddhānta institution in Tamil Nadu, argues that traditional Smārta literature in fact supports the notion that certain Śūdras are eligible for all levels of dīkṣā and abhiṣeka in Śaivasiddhānta.

The focus of this article is the hagiographies and novenas to San Benito de Palermo that circulated in the territories of New Spain, most of which were produced locally in the 18th and 19th centuries. While these devotional books can be used as a means of taking the measure of official holiness during the years of their publication, upon closer analysis this body of religious literature reveals the virtues and attributes of this Sicilian Saint that descended upon, among others, people of African descent. For this reason, the discussion surrounding his «skin color» constituted the principal obstacle against which this Negro Franciscan found himself struggling constantly. In the final section, the paper highlights the role of the Franciscans in New Spain during the colonial period in America as the community that, through the medium of the printing press, most strongly promoted the cult of this illustrious figure.

The work of the Paduan antiquarian Lorenzo Pignoria constitutes one of the most interesting examples of a general reflection on religion at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The short treatise analysed in this article, aims to insert a group of “deities” from Asia and the Americas within the project of the mythographic work of Vincenzo Cartari. Promoting an assimilation of these extra-European deities, Pignoria also proposes a singular visual theory of polytheism. In order to illustrate this innovative methodology, this work focuses on the complex narration through which the Paduan antiquarian manages to build an incorporation of a group of Mexican deities whom he had known by consulting pictographic documents in the Vatican Apostolic Library.

During the formative period and early history of the Ottoman state the discipline of the History of Religions was not to be found in the curricula of the madrasas (schools), institutions that served as the basic and perhaps the  most advanced teaching organisations throughout the empire. Nor was  the subject taught in other schools. The studies on the History of Religions that came into being in nineteenth-cen-tury Europe had a considerable influence in the Ottoman state. Con-sequently, in  1874 the programme of the Darulfiinun Edebiyat Fakultesi (Istanbul University, Faculty of Literature) included a  class on Tarih-i Umumi ve Ilm-i Esatiri'l-Evvelin (literally: General History and Science of the Religions of Ancient Peoples, or 'Mythology').