客家“围龙屋”的宗教与哲学

客家“围龙屋”不仅是世俗日常生活的居室空间,也是宗教哲学的文化空间,它以建筑图式和符号表达出古老的宗教哲学内容。客家“围龙屋”的宗教与哲学在居室空间上表现为三个层次:其里层以堂屋神龛为核心构成宗教崇拜圈;其中层以建筑图象构成哲学符号圈;其外层以山川“风水”构成宗教哲学氛围圈。它们以物化的建筑形式显示出居室主人的宗教哲学意识和相应的文化精神。     

从中国考古发现看原始宗教对中国传统文化的影响

本文根据中国考古发现所反映的原始宗教迹象,结合古文献和民族学“活化石”资料,运用辩证唯物论的方法,论证了玉崇拜、龙崇拜、祖先崇拜这三个相互为用并以祖先崇拜为核心和基调的原始宗教形式,认为它对中华传统文化模式的形成和发展有着深远的影响,特别是祖先崇拜在儒释道三教融合过程中起到了“融合剂”的前提作用,从而构成了中华传统文化模式的三大突出特点。     

石峻先生与中国佛教哲学的研究

石峻教授(1916～1999)的学术生涯中,佛教哲学研究是其重要的一个方面,他认为“作为世界三大宗教之一的并且有它悠久历史和丰富典籍以及各种文物资料的佛教,是值得人们认真研究的。”他这样解释佛教哲学:佛教哲学不是指广义的佛学,它一向重视宇宙和人生“常”和“变”的关系、一般和特殊的关系、各种相互对立的思想范畴之间相互依存、互不分离的关系。他对于中国佛教哲学的研究,有着整个宗教研究的背景,而不是单纯就佛教研究佛教,他专门撰有《世界三大宗     

儒学与儒教之争辨析

自20世纪80年代以来,国内学界关于儒学与儒教之争已逾20年。概括起来,主要涉及如下值得思考的问题。第一,什么是判定宗教的依据。主张汉代至清代的官方意识形态即儒教是宗教者,最核心的观点是儒教崇拜天地鬼神,而鬼神崇拜只能用宗教来定性。宗教学家普遍认为,神灵信仰是宗教的核心要素,其他如宗教仪式、教规教戒等是次要因素。目前国内外学界对“宗教”的定义大致如此。比如,《辞海》对宗教的定义是:“社会意识形态之一。相信并崇拜超自然的神灵,是自然力量和社会力量在人们意识中的歪曲、虚幻的反映。”英文版《不列颠百科全书》对宗教的定…     

从比较宗教学的视野看中国宗教文化模式

孔汉思和秦家懿在《中国宗教与基督教》一书中把世界主要宗教分成三大河系:其一是亚伯拉罕系三大宗教,即犹太教、基督教、伊斯兰教,源出闪米特人,以先知预言为其特点;其二是印度宗教,以神秘主义为其特点;其三是远东宗教,源于中国,其中心形象是圣贤,是哲人宗教。该书对三大宗教河系特点的概括尚需商榷,但将源自中国的宗教列为三大河系之一,是颇有见识的。美国学者保罗·尼特在《一个地球多种宗教》中进一步指出了中国在历史上就是宗教多元的国家,“中国人都是宗教的混血儿”,而欧洲人和美国人,是“在惟一宗教模式中成长”,他看到了东方与西方在宗教信仰上有“多元”和“一元”的差别。尽管欧美国家有大量移民,带来各种宗教,但宗教之间不能交叉信仰,个人不可能是宗教的混血儿。     

天人简论——人与自然

这里我们发表一篇张岱年同志于1948年撰写的论文《天人简论——人与自然》。张岱年同志是我国著名学者,早在三十年代即从事哲学与哲学史的研究,对中国哲学史研究做出了重要贡献。张岱年同志在后记中称《天人简论》一文是他“四十岁以前思想的总纲”,“力图把现代唯物论与逻辑分析方法以及中国哲学的优秀传统结合起来。”《天人简论》可以说是这样一种尝试的产物。这篇论文虽写作于近四十年前,但对于当前研究中国传统哲学以及发扬中国传统哲学的优秀遗产,依然有着借鉴作用。     

基督教的崇拜仪式

在我国称为“基督教”的,其实只是“新教”或称“抗罗宗”确切地说、“基督教”是包括“天主教”。“正教”、“新教”和其他此较小教派的统称,本文所言“基督教”专指基督教新教。任何一种宗教都有崇拜活动,上海辞书出版社出版的《宗教词典》解释崇拜“是宗教的基本要...     

“天人之学”与“心性之学”

<正> 中国传统哲学可以概括为“天人之学”。“心性之学”是“天人之学”的重要内容或主要发展趋向。“心性之学”的内容反映了中国传统哲学的特殊性质,也反映了不同学派和思想家之间的重要分歧。《易传》说:“一阴一阳之谓道,继之者善也,成之者性也。”《中庸》说:“天命之谓性,率性之谓道,修道之谓教。”《孟子》说:“尽其心者知其性也,知其性则知天矣。”这些都是先秦时期儒家关于“天人”关系的重要“心性”思想。儒家“心性”思想的实质是要为伦理     

“生”·“命”·“性”·“道”——对先秦人文意识嬗变的一种阐释

春秋战国之际是古代中国人心灵眷注的焦点由“命”转向“道”的时代,这时代为此后演变中的中国哲学孕育了某种富于酵母效用的精神性状。探究这精神性状所以发生的原委可能有多种蹊径,本文拟选择的路向是由先秦人文意识所凝聚的几个枢纽性范畴指示的。一、“生”:从“帝”崇拜到“生生之谓易”如果说对于人生和世界的终极性思考,毕竟在于从经验的“多”中去领会某种虚灵的“一”,那么,可以断言,这种“一”在中国先民那里很早就开始酝酿了。从甲骨卜辞可知,至少在殷商时期,中国人已经有了相当确定的“帝”崇拜意识。“帝”是当时人们信奉的至…     

略论宗教崇拜的社会心理功能

宗教崇拜是一种制度化了的、特殊的社会行为，具有特殊的社会心理内涵。由于它所具有的社会心理功能常常为人们所忽视或不解，因而大大增加了宗教崇拜的神秘性。宗教崇拜既有与其它仪式行为和宗教行为相一致的社会心理功能，又有着可以满足人们的某些特殊心理需要，由特殊心理机制导致的特殊的社会心理的功能。本文主要探讨宗教崇拜所具有的“心理慰藉”、“社会教化”和“社会认同”三方面的功能。     

Gifts of Money and Gifts of Time: Folk Religion and Civic Involvement in a Chinese Society

Drawing on representative survey data collected in Taiwan, this study examines the effects on volunteering of Chinese folk religion. We find (1) practicing ancestor worship lowers people’s likelihood of donating to secular groups while local deity worshippers are more likely to donate money to religious organizations. (2) Sectarian group membership can significantly promote members’ odds of volunteering in religious groups. (3) Individual folk religion is positively associated with the odds of religious giving and volunteering. (4) Individual folk religion adherents mainly donate to Buddhism, Taoism, and Folk Religion, but on an occasional basis.     

Approaches to the study of media and religion: Notes from the Editors of the Journal of Media and Religion with recommendations for future research

As the Journal of Media and Religion (JMR) begins its seventh year, the editors pause to reflect on research directions and make recommendations for future research. Based on studies in JMR and other sources, three research approaches are identified: (1) The Proliferation of Mediated Religion, or the idea that media are creating multiple places of worship beyond the physical walls of traditional congregations, (2) Religious Audiences as Interpretive Communities, where shared interpretations of popular media content are increasingly important in understanding religious groups, and (3) Media Criticism drawing on the cultural aspects of religion in critiquing media genres and texts.

A dominant theme across the three approaches is that individuals are increasingly willing to have religious experiences through media of popular culture. The numinous is recommended as an integrative concept to facilitate research of new forms of mediated religion.     

儒家的宗教性及其与西方基督教精神之比较

本文力图从一个中西学术界争论颇多的问题———“儒家是否是宗教”的问题中发掘出问题背后所隐含的中西宗教文化交流的时代契机。作者首先对儒家“宗教性”的概念进行定义 ,然后从哲学、道德和超越性三方面阐释了儒家宗教性的具体体现 ,并比较分析了传统向度意义上的儒家和西方基督教在宗教精神方面的不同 ,包括超越意识、终极性宗教存在、对“人”的认识以及对“心灵”的认识。最后探讨了儒家与基督教对话的可能性和必要性。     

Approaches to the study of media and religion: Notes from the Editors of the Journal of Media and Religion with recommendations for future research

As the Journal of Media and Religion (JMR) begins its seventh year, the editors pause to reflect on research directions and make recommendations for future research. Based on studies in JMR and other sources, three research approaches are identified: (1) The Proliferation of Mediated Religion, or the idea that media are creating multiple places of worship beyond the physical walls of traditional congregations, (2) Religious Audiences as Interpretive Communities, where shared interpretations of popular media content are increasingly important in understanding religious groups, and (3) Media Criticism drawing on the cultural aspects of religion in critiquing media genres and texts.A dominant theme across the three approaches is that individuals are increasingly willing to have religious experiences through media of popular culture. The numinous is recommended as an integrative concept to facilitate research of new forms of mediated religion.     

Di 帝 and Tian 天 in Ancient Chinese Thought: A Critical Analysis of Hegel’s Views

The notions of Di (Emperor), Shangdi (God in heaven), and Tian (Heaven) were endowed with a variety of meanings and were used to refer to different objects of worship in ancient Chinese religion. In different eras, Di referred to the earthly emperor as well as to the heavenly emperor; Tian referred to the physical sky as well as to a supreme personal god in different contexts. Hegel oversimplified these three notions when he characterized ancient Chinese religion as a kind of natural religion. This article aims to clarify Hegel’s misunderstanding of ancient Chinese religion by clarifying the meanings and references of these three notions as they appeared in the Yin-Shang and the Zhou Dynasties.     

Religion and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among young Muslim women in Saudi Arabia

Fifteen young women suffering from OCD in Saudi Arabia were interviewed about their experience of the illness and the roles played by religion. Religion was not perceived as a cause of the illness, but the illness can show itself in religious symptoms – notably with respect to prayer, and in a phase in which the young women were very strict and literal-minded with themselves and their families, with respect to religious observance. Religious symptoms were reported as more upsetting than other symptoms – being seen as damaging to the sufferer's piety. Other facets of the importance of religion in the experience of OCD were shown in help-seeking, in choosing to go first to religious healers for treatment, and only when these were unsuccessful were mental health professionals consulted. At this point, it was very important that the professional should be seen as trustworthy, and the criterion of trustworthiness was religiosity, specifically the use of pious, Qura’anic quotations, and a covered face (for a woman)/long beard (for a man). The accounts of the roles of religion in the experiences of the young women interviewed suggest that religion is an arena – but not the sole arena – for the expression of OCD symptoms. Religion plays an important role in determining the acceptability of treatments and treatment providers.     

Penelhum on skeptics and fideists

Professor Penelhum has argued that there is a common error about the history of skepticism and that the exposure of this error would significantly improve our understanding of a current confusion in the philosophy of religion with regard to the issue of the rationality of religious beliefs. Penelhum considers certain contemporary philosophers of religion such as Plantinga skeptics because he reads Plantinga (for example) as arguing that religious beliefs are properly groundless in virtue of the fact that none of our beliefs have any ultimate grounds, and Penelhum argues that this sort of defense of religious belief is both limited and dangerous for religion. I argue that on the interpretation of ancient skepticism which Penelhum gives ancient skepticism is just what it has often been claimed to be: either practically untenable or incoherent or both. I show that in any case the confusion in philosophy of religion which Penelhum wants to sort out with the help of ancient skepticism is not one of which its alleged proponents are guilty. The views of Plantinga and others who take his line are more complex and powerful than Penelhum's presentation makes them seem; these views do not constitute an acceptance of skepticism but a denial of a certain sort of foundationalism. Contrary to Penelhum, then, I argue that ancient skepticism does not serve as a significant corrective for certain trends in contemporary philosophy of religion.     

Controllable Oddness as a Resource in Creativity

Religion, although often a powerful source of comfort, can also become a source of sadness, stress, or confusion in people's lives. Given the many demonstrated links between religiosity and well-being, some people may turn to religion with the primary aim of seeing how religion might help or profit them. Granted, religious belief and involvement can provide many benefits, including social support, a sense of meaning, purpose, and direction for one's life, an environment that fosters the development of virtue, and perhaps even a close, personal relationship with God. However, problems can arise in any of these areas, creating stumbling blocks that can create personal distress and weaken religious interest or commitment. This article considers four major stumbling blocks associated with religion: interpersonal strains, negative attitudes toward God, inner struggles to believe, and problems associated with virtuous striving.     

RELIGIOUS NATURALISM—WHERE DOES IT LEAD?

I respond to the four symposiasts who commented on my recent book Religion Is Not About God (2005)—religious studies scholars Donald Braxton and David Klemm, philosopher William Rottschaefer, and cognitive scientist Leslie Marsh. Various general and specific points relative to the nature of religion and the future of religion are either clarified or defended. Among the issues that receive attention are (1) the status and adequacy of my proposals for religious naturalism: Can it motivate wholeness, and is it finally a form of pantheism? (2) ritual practices, particularly those of Christianity, reinterpreted within the framework of religious naturalism; and (3) the adequacy of any naturalistic position to account for subjective properties of consciousness.