责任与担当:当代中国佛教信仰价值取向之讨论

正任何宗教都是客观存在的社会现象,都是在与现实社会互动中产生、传播、发展的。宗教由其内在的宗教观念、情感与外在的宗教行为、组织四要素构成,并相互影响、相互制约,成为完整的宗教信仰体系。其中,宗教行为是信仰者内在信仰的外在表现,通过一定的组织形态与活动方式,规定或影响着信仰者的价值观念与价值取向,使之成为具有独特作用的社会力量以及社会文化体系[1]。由     

试谈道教科仪的功用

道教科仪是体现道教信仰内容的行为方式,俗话称“道场”。它是道教信仰者接受道教教化、加强道教信仰、培养道教情感、以及交流思想见解的重要手段。它随着历史的发展,在不同的地区,和不同的宗派,形成了具有地方特色的道教科仪。信众邀请道士为他们举行消灾延生或超度道场,我们道士要为他们念经拜忏,举行步罡踏斗、破狱冲表等科仪,从而,使信众的心灵得到慰藉,愿望得到满足,但从一个道教徒的角度来看,我们的宗教科仪有些什么功能、有些什么作用呢?值得我们深思。一、通神和济度功能道教信众来到宫观做道场,或为了祈求自己和家人的健康和平安,…     

探究宗教存在的心理因素

宗教因人而生,因人而存,因此,尽管宗教产生和发展的根源多种多样,但都离不开人的心理原因。一、提供精神慰藉——一种精神医疗术宗教通过为信仰者提供一种驾驭自身、适应客体的特殊方式,实现自我冲突的平衡,获得心理慰藉。在宗教里一切矛盾被臆想所消除:现实压迫被精神自由克服。这种心理慰藉,缓解了信仰者面对生活中的危险和变动所感受到的恐惧情绪,成为解除精神紧张状态的手段。有学者认为,这种虚幻的补偿是宗教所特有的功能;一些西方国家的学者则把成熟的宗教情操作为健康人格定向的基础。宗教之所以有这种特殊的补偿功能,是因为宗教适合…     

地藏信仰与现代文明

九华山是佛教中四大菩萨之一地藏菩萨的道场，也是全世界地藏信仰者的精神圣地。自上世纪80年代开始，随着中国对外开放的全面进行以及全球经济一体化步伐的加快，九华山出现了历史上罕见的朝山热潮。一批批来自世界各国各地区的信众们来到这里，他们虔诚地匍匍于地藏菩萨的脚下，在菩萨慈光的摄受下，领悟人生的真谛，调整自己的人生位置，这不能不是一个奇特的宗教现象。为了更好地弘扬地藏文化，让地藏信仰真正深入到我们的社会生活中来，我们有必要对这一奇特的宗教现象作一番重新的认识。     

论宗教伦理的世俗性与超越性

宗教伦理有世俗性和超越性两方面。宗教伦理的世俗性,是宗教处理人与人之间的现实联系,使人有序安定地生活在人世间,能够信仰宗教和实践宗教的基础;宗教伦理的超越性,是宗教倡导信仰者要超越自我而与神的规范、教诲相联系,超越人的现实性而与神的永恒性相联系,超越现实世界而与神的彼岸世界相联系。世俗性和超越性是宗教伦理作用于信众的重要特征。     

藏传佛教物象世界的格式塔：时间与空间

藏传佛教中关于业力轮回的众生命运和通过身、语、意的修持而达圆觉成佛之境的信仰通过其纷繁眩目的宗教物象让僧侣和信众获得了关于佛教奥义的“经验”、“体验”和“认知”,并由此循环往复地在社区和家庭中代际传递,令信仰不仅是一种思维方式,更成就了一种特殊的生活方式。本文通过对藏传佛教物象体系中具有代表性的程式化图像和习俗化行为的典型分析,试图解答藏传佛教借助这些具有象征意义的物象,把“经验”和“认知”整合起来,营造出一种特殊的信仰环境和心理真实,这种借由时间和空间范畴的物象体系建构起来的视知觉的格式塔,作为族群的集体经验表达,或者说作为一种集体无意识,引领和结构着他们的日常生活。 唐小蓉,四川大学公共管理学院社会学与心理学系讲师;陈昌文,四川大学公共管理学院社会学与心理学系教授、博士生导师。     

法藏寺及其信仰建设──近代上海“人间佛教”实践管窥

一、导言 寺院是佛教活动的中心，是信仰理念展现和发挥的枢纽，是修行实践和社会教化的基地；是反映佛教面貌的一面镜子，是了解佛教精神的一个窗口，是佛教荣辱兴衰的一种象征。因此，寺院的社会价值不应仅仅在于其艺术形式的壮美，而主要在于其精神内涵的崇高，在于其价值取向的积极意义。所以，寺院不但是佛教活动的物质载体，而且更是佛教信仰的精神实体，其信仰建设才是根本。 寺院主要由出家僧众住持，因此，信仰建设首先应从出家僧众开始。更重要的，他们（她们）是在家信众的领路人，是他们的精神导师和人格楷模。对一般信仰者来说…     

从龙门石窟造像题记探析北魏女性佛教信仰特征

北魏时期,佛教从社会上层向中下层传播和发展。河南洛阳龙门石窟是这一时期佛教物象的典型代表,窟中由女性信仰者参与创作的造像题记承载了大量女性群体佛教信仰心理信息。通过题记内容的对比与分析发现,北魏时期女性佛教信众发展非常迅速,覆盖社会各阶层;造像对象、主题及祈福内容反映出各阶层女性信仰心理呈现趋同化特点;伴随多民族文化融合及儒释道三教合流,北魏女性佛教信仰显示出多元文化取向。     

五代、两宋十六罗汉图像的配置与信仰

五代、两宋时期的十六罗汉图像呈现出较为清晰的配置演变过程,从最初与释迦佛或释迦三尊组合,到与三佛、观音组合,再以独立形式呈现,十六罗汉图像体现出了由组合向独立,由单一向多元的转换特征。究其原因,与信众对罗汉信仰诉求的侧重点变迁有着密切联系,同样也是时代变革下不同社会面貌的具体反映。     

传统信仰与基督宗教的冲突与融会:张店镇个案研究

以一个中原乡镇为例,考察了当地的传统信仰与西方制度化的基督宗教的冲突与矛盾、互动与融会。研究表明,除了在偶像崇拜与祖先供奉的问题上发生矛盾与冲突以外,两者为争夺信众和主导地位而发生的宣传战也是一个重要表现。其融会与互动则体现在"民俗的兼容"、"价值伦理的比附"及"信众的流动"等方面。文章并探讨了教籍多元的问题,认为由于教籍多元现象的存在,儒释道三教合一的文化仍是当地的重要基石。     

Effect of Icon Affiliation and Distance Moved on Detection of Icon Position Change on a Situation Awareness Display

Continuous gradual change is often difficult to detect, although it may be easy to detect the difference between the initial and end state if directly compared. Two experiments examined people's ability to detect gradual changes in icon position on a situation awareness map. People observed sequences of icon moves that consisted of ten .9-mm colinear moves or five 8.75-mm colinear moves and reported when they noticed a change. The relatively small moves were less likely to be detected than the relatively large moves; however, an entire sequence of the .9 mm moves was rarely missed. Green icon moves were significantly less likely to be detected than blue or yellow icon moves. This may have been due to the stimulus features of the icons or those features in interaction with the map background. Various methods that might assist icon change detection are discussed.     

The Christian Faith in an Inter‐Faith Context

Abstract :  In developing a Christian Theology of the World Religions, this article makes the following claims: (1) the central issue is Christology including the all‐sufficiency of Christ's work to accomplish salvation for all; (2) by distinguishing between general and special revelation, Christians can confirm that God has witnesses among all the world's religions; (3) Christianity ought to continue to live out of its missionary impulse, to proclaim the gospel of salvation, and to provide an apologetic defense of its truth claims; (4) Christian clergy should approach inter‐faith settings with extensive knowledge of the world's religions; (5) and seminaries should revamp their curricula to teach a truly Christian theology of World Religions.     

Consuming Religion: Faith in the Future and the Future of Faith

Books reviewed in this article:
John Drane, The McDonaldization of the Church: Spirituality, Creativity, and the Future of the Church
George Ritzer, Enchanting A Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption     

Intentional Faith: An Alternative View of Faith Development

Faith was defined as the search for an integrating center of value and meaning that is cognitional in nature, developmental in process, and transcendental in its dimensions. An original psychometric measure was constructed and tested in two samples in a midwestern metropolitan area. The life span sample of Catholics (N = 509) ranged in ages 18–84, median age 49. Respondents were 40% male, 60% female. The sample of college students (N = 303) had a mode age of 19, but was ethnically and religiously diverse. The results indicated that the covariance structure of the scale was equivalent for the two samples. The scale clearly measures 4 independent aspects of faith: Self and Moral development, God and Death, Ritual, and Authority. Reliability was established for four developmental Ways of Faith, based on Bernard Lonergan's intentionality analysis: Common Sense Faith, Thoughtful Faith, Responsible Faith, and Transcendent Faith. The data suggested that faith development may be best conceived as a continuous reworking of one's faith, rather than a sequence of acquisition and abandonment of beliefs. A mixed pattern of modest gender, age, and attachment effects was found for the Ways of Faith. A measure of self-church identification was found to be a consistent correlate of faith development.     

Voting in Bad Faith

What is wrong with participating in a democratic decision-making process, and then doing something other than the outcome of the decision? It is often thought that collective decision-making entails being prima facie bound to the outcome of that decision, although little analysis has been done on why that is the case. Conventional perspectives are inadequate to explain its wrongness. I offer a new and more robust analysis on the nature of voting: voting when you will accept the outcome only if the decision goes your way is an act of bad faith: you are not taking part in a ‘process that decides what we will do’. This analysis sheds light on understanding the intrinsic nature of voting and what we are doing when we make decisions collectively.