宽容:宗教自由及宗教对话的前提

"宽容"(tolerance)出现于16 世纪,即在宗教教派分裂的历史语境下,从拉丁语和法语中借用而来.在此种生成语境下,这个词最初的含义比较狭窄,意味着对异己信仰的容忍.在16 和17世纪,宗教宽容渐渐变成了一个法律概念,各国政府颁布了倡导宽容的法律条文,规定官员和守法的信徒们在与宗教少数派的交往中,必须采取宽容态度.这样,从执政者颁布的、要求对另类信仰者及其实践采取宽容态度的法令中,逐渐衍生出一种普世的道德心态与行为准则,它允许一定条件下的充分自由和不同观点的共存,这种道德心态与行为准则就是我们通常所理解的"宽容".     

Religious Freedom in Transition: Spain

Abstract

After a peaceful and well-conducted transition towards democracy (1975–78), the Spanish Constitution was enacted in December 1978. This article starts with the events which led to the Civil War (1936–39) and studies the relationship between the Spanish state and the Catholic Church throughout Franco's dictatorship. This background is necessary for a proper understanding of the current legal framework on religion, which is the main aim of this article. In the light of the pronouncements of the Spanish Constitutional Court (SCC), I analyse the various paragraphs of Article 16 of the Constitution, especially with regard to the position of individuals and communities. I also deal with the relationship between religious freedom and ideological freedom. I offer a critical judgment on the position of the Catholic Church and the other religious denominations which concluded agreements with the Spanish state in 1992. Finally, I highlight current trends, particularly the difficult relationship between the socialist government and the Catholic Church in the last few years. Although the situation had significantly improved by 2007, there are still occasions on which tension between the two institutions is manifest.     

China's Policy on Freedom of Religious Belief

Intheworldtoday,religiousmotivated,related,factorsarecausingsomecountriesandregionsintoturmoilandgivingrisetoregionalstrife.Thisunfortunatesituationhasdrawntheattentionoftheinternationalcommunity.Inordertofindwaystoresolutiontheseproblems,wemustnotonlydrawlessonsfromtheseconflicts,butalsodrawontheexperiencesofourlong-standingexampleofpeacefulcoexistenceamongreligiousbelievers.China,attheothersideofthePacific,hasneverexperiencedlarge-scalereligiousconflict.Thisisaremarkablesituation.Ifyouhavea…     

自由主义的宗教信仰自由的困境与危机

如何理解"宗教"与"宗教信仰自由"?前提是需要重新分析和审视时代背景与社会生活的变化。西方自由主义的政治哲学和道德伦理赋予"宗教"、"宗教信仰自由"的问题西方历史与语境下的含义,并成为这一含义的理论基础。而在全球化时代,自由主义对"宗教信仰自由"的解释不再无懈可击。本文意在区分我们所身处的时代与此前时代,自不同的维度理解既有概念,视"宗教信仰自由"为一个探寻的概念,丰富与发展"宗教信仰自由"的内涵,以增强其适应性。     

试看《1998年国际宗教自由法案》中的“宗教自由”

有些学者高调主张宗教进入社会所有公共领域,宗教自由是主要的法理依据,赋予宗教一厢情愿的功能则是它的理论基础。本文仅就法理而言,这类主张来自美国《国际宗教自由法案》宣扬的宗教无政府主义,实质在搅乱舆论,干涉他国内政。它驾凌于他国的法权和主权之上,也违背美国的建国宗旨和宪法原则——政教分离。所以这一《法案》在其本国无效,我们的响应者也到了该打住的时候了。     

从《无神论——绪论》看宗教自由和反无神论观念

《无神论》是美国马丁(MICHAEL MARTIN)教授写的一部名著,副标题《哲学的合理性证明》,1990年出版。书前有一篇颇长的《绪论》,针对一些有神论者的批评,作了扼要的回应,从中可以看出当代西方宗教神学是如何抨击无神论的,以及他对这些抨击所作的逻辑反驳和对无神论的合理性证明。我特别感兴趣的问题,还有作者无意中透露出来的美国的意识形态和宗教自由问题。作者回忆说,他幼年受家庭影响,倾向无神论,但同时知道,无神论在美国民众的心目中是很坏的,因为“他们大多数人都信仰上帝”。记得“三年级的一天,我向一个有同情心的指导顾问透露…     

给美国国际宗教自由委员会的信

为加强中美两国宗教界的相互了解,国家宗教局邀请英国国际宗教自由委员会代表团干2005年8月来华访问。访问期间,中方按照双方商定的日程,安排了许多会见和参观活动。离华前,代表团对访问和中方的安排表示满意。但令人不解的是,该委员会在日前发表的《中国政策报告》中,竟然不顾事实,颠倒是非,攻击和诬蔑中国的宗教政策和宗教状况。对此,中国基督教海外联络部发表了——     

Religious Fundamentalism,Religious Coping,and Preference for Psychological and Religious Treatment

Religion may not be simply another variable in the assessment of treatment-seeking but an alternative worldview about the nature of suffering and its appropriate treatment. This study examines the relation of religious fundamentalism and religious coping on relative preference for psychological or religious help-seeking in 142 undergraduate students. Higher levels of religious fundamentalism and deferred religious coping were found to be associated with greater preference for religious rather than psychological help-seeking. The results suggest that religious issues need to be included in the investigation of help-seeking.     

Metaphor,Religious Language,and Religious Experience

Is it possible to talk about God without either misrepresentation or failing to assert anything of significance? The article begins by reviewing how, in attempting to answer this question, traditional theories of religious language have failed to sidestep both potential pitfalls adequately. After arguing that recently developed theories of metaphor seem better able to shed light on the nature of religious language, it considers the claim that huge areas of our language and, consequently, of our experience are shaped by metaphors. Finally, it considers some of the more significant implications of this claim for our understanding of both religious language and religious experience.     

Religious Affiliation,Religious Service Attendance,and Mortality

Very few studies have examined the effects of both religious affiliation and religiosity on mortality at the same time, and studies employing multiple dimensions of religiosity other than religious attendance are rare. Using the newly created General Social Survey-National Death Index data, our report contributes to the religion and mortality literature by examining religious affiliation and religiosity at the same time. Compared to Mainline Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and other religious groups have lower risk of death, but Black Protestants, Evangelical Protestants, and even those with no religious affiliation are not different from Mainline Protestants. While our study is consistent with previous findings that religious attendance leads to a reduction in mortality, we did not find other religious measures, such as strength of religious affiliation, frequency of praying, belief in an afterlife, and belief in God to be associated with mortality. We also find interaction effects between religious affiliation and attendance. The lowest mortality of Jews and other religious groups is more apparent for those with lower religious attendance. Thus, our result may emphasize the need for other research to focus on the effects of religious group and religious attendance on mortality at the same time.     

Religious Experience,Religious Worldviews,and Near-Death Studies

The tense relation prevailing between representatives of conservative religion and other near-death researchers may be illumined by a look at the different functions religion has fulfilled in the past. Religion may be seen as centering on the meaningfulness of the world, on spiritual experience, or on salvation. In this essay, I sketch the place of these themes in the Great Religions. These themes have inherent mutual tensions that in the case of Christianity cannot necessarily be settled by appeal to the Bible, because different Christian groups have somewhat differing views of the source of authority. Furthermore, the Bible's authority is challenged by the results of modern scholarship. In light of these reflections, I see Michael Sabom's Light & Death (1998) as showing valuable data and insights but failing to respond to significant challenges.     

Religious Activities, Religious Orientation, and Aggressive Behavior

Theorists and clinicians have long believed that religious practice may reduce aggression and other destructive behaviors. To date, most evidence for a relationship between religiosity and aggression comes from nonexperimental studies. The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. First, to examine experimentally whether two religious practices reduce aggressive behavior; second, to determine if specific aspects of religious orientation and spiritual transcendence are related to level of aggression, expressed under controlled laboratory conditions. Sixty-two participants assigned to one of three experimental groups (memorize Bible passages, prayer/meditation, or control group) completed a laboratory task of aggression. Participants also completed religious and spirituality instruments, along with self-ratings of aggressive disposition. Results indicated that neither memorization of biblical passages nor meditation reduced aggression. Intrinsic-oriented religiosity participants self-reported lower aggression than extrinsic-oriented participants, but no differences were found on the laboratory task of aggression. Spiritual transcendence showed no behavioral aggression differences .     

南非宗教自由权利的宪法保护探析

南非现行宪法通过之前,由于种族歧视和种族隔离政策的推行,宗教自由权利的法律保护范围和力度都存在许多不尽如人意之处;从南非临时宪法到现行宪法通过之后,宗教自由权利的保护获得更加充分的保障;在宪法中确立宗教自由权利条款能够使宗教自由权利有力地抵御来自公共权力的侵害,宗教自由权利只有在宪法这种高级法的保护下,才能真正实现;南非在宪法中确立宗教自由权利的保护有着非同寻常的意义。     

宗教信仰自由与科学无神论教育--一个关系社会主义时期宗教问题的思考

这些年来,在现实社会生活中,出现了许多极为反常的现象。一些地方超出宗教政策允许的范围,出现了滥建庙宇之风。“气功热”、“传统文化热”、“特异功能热”遍及全国城乡,而其中的许多内容是在宣扬封建迷信。一些宣传鬼神迷信的出版物大量出版,充斥街头书摊,看相、算卦、看风水一类的迷信现象沉渣泛起。“一些迷信、愚昧活动日渐泛滥,反科学、伪科学活动频频发生,令人触目惊心”(1994年12月5日中共中央、国务院《关于加强科学普及工作的若干意见》)“法轮功”一类邪教孳生、蔓延、坐大成势。一些共产党员、党员干部也迷失方向,放弃辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的世界观,相信迷信邪说、相信有神论,有的人陷入了“法轮功”