The Zhuangzi and You 遊: Defining an Ideal Without Contradiction

You ?[ is a crucial term for understanding the Zhuangzi. Translated as ??play,?? ??free play,?? and ??wandering,?? it is usually defined as an ideal, playful Zhuangzian way of being. There are two problems with this definition. The first is logical: the Zhuangzi cannot consistently recommend playfulness as an ideal, since doing so vitiates the essence of you??it becomes an ethical imperative instead of an activity freely undertaken for its own sake. The second problem is performative: arguments for playful Zhuangzi as exemplar resemble those of the logicians and philosophers who appear to come in for Zhuangzian criticism. This essay addresses these tensions by demonstrating how the Zhuangzi ambiguates the nature and value of you. Apparent endorsements of you are not freestanding, instead occurring in grudging replies of teachers to overly zealous students. In light of this recontextualization, a new version of you is offered that accommodates ??non-playful?? ways of being.     

The decapitation of Slovenia’s Catholic Church: social factors and consequences

This article discusses the financial collapse of Slovenia’s Catholic Church, a scandal which resulted in the deposition of the country’s archbishops, and its impact on religious belief and on the relations within the Slovenian Catholic establishment and community. Trust in the Church and religious participation have dropped markedly in Slovenia over recent years. While there are no significant changes in religious belief, other religious indicators continue to reflect an ongoing moderate trend towards secularisation that is characteristic of Slovenia in the post-socialist era. The public discourse of the Church’s leadership and lay Catholics reveals tensions on the reasons behind the fall of the Church’s financial empire and on the question of responsibility in the removal of Slovenia’s archbishops. Two general types of reactions were identified in a content analysis of texts from a five-month period after the last depositions. Views within the Slovene Catholic Church, which uphold the institution’s traditional stance, tend to explain these developments as part of a conspiracy against the Church. Others that are more open and reflective are critical towards the actions of the Church and demand change from within the institution.     

The Effect of Group Size on Interfaith Marriage Among Catholics1

This article examines the relationship between the religious composition of Catholic dioceses and interfaith marriage rates among Catholics. Building on Blau's(1977) theory of intergroup relations and previous research on intermarriage, we argue that Catholics are most likely to marry outside their group when they comprise a relatively small percent of the population in their dioceses. They are most likely to marry other Catholics when they are a large percentage of the population. Research in the 1940s and 1950s supports this hypothesis, as do diocesan–level data reported in the 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, and 1995 editions of the Official Catholic Directory . We conclude with a discussion of what these findings imply for future research on interfaith marriage among Catholics and among members of other religious groups.     

“A disease of our time”: The Catholic Church's condemnation and absolution of psychoanalysis (1924–1975)

The present paper is focused on the evolution of the position of the Catholic Church toward psychoanalysis. Even before Freud's The Future of an Illusion (1927), psychoanalysis was criticized by Catholic theologians. Psychoanalysis was viewed with either contempt or with indifference, but nonpsychoanalytic psychotherapy was accepted, especially for pastoral use. Freudian theory remained for most Catholics a delicate and dangerous subject for a long time. From the center to the periphery of the Vatican, Catholic positions against psychoanalysis have varied in the way that theological stances have varied. In the middle decades of the twentieth century, some Catholics changed their attitudes and even practiced psychoanalysis, challenging the interdict of the Holy Office, which prohibited psychoanalytic practice until 1961. During the Cold War, psychoanalysis progressively became more and more relevant within Catholic culture for two main reasons: changes in psychoanalytic doctrine (which began to stress sexuality to a lesser degree) and the increasing number of Catholic psychoanalysts, even among priests. Between the 1960s and the 1970s, psychoanalysis was eventually accepted and became the main topic of a famous speech by Pope Paul VI. This paper illustrates how this acceptance was a sort of unofficial endorsement of a movement that had already won acceptance within the Church. The situation was fostered by people like Maryse Choisy or Leonardo Ancona, who had advocated within the Church for a sui generis use of psychoanalysis (e.g., proposing a desexualized version of Freudian theories), despite warnings and prohibitions from the hierarchies of the Church.     

The Eastern Catholic Churches and the paradox of Vatican II

The author investigates the challenges to Catholic ecclesiology presented by two Eastern Catholic Churches – the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church – as they assert prerogatives validated by the teachings of Vatican II. In their reception of the Council these Churches highlight the need to develop the Trinitarian and Eucharistic ecclesiology rediscovered by the Council. This practical development is mirrored in the progress of the International Roman Catholic–Orthodox Dialogue and the teachings of Pope John Paul II. Although a final resolution still awaits, it is evident in the treatment of the Eastern Catholics by the Vatican that reception of the Council demands a renewed understanding of the mutual interdependence of primacy and conciliarity. Such a development will only hasten Christian reunification.     

The dialectic of Australian Catholic education

Australian Catholic schools are enjoying extensive popularity, with schools in general experiencing maximum enrolment capacities. The irony in this phenomenon is that Catholics are being attracted to non‐Catholic schools, and many non‐Catholics are seeking enrolment in Catholic schools. Moreover, the vast majority of Catholics in Catholic schools (parents, students, teachers) are not practising and those that do often hold a plurality of views in faith and morals that are inconsistent with Church teaching. Given this reality, the aims of the Australian Catholic school need to be re‐examined.     

Generations of Catholics in Eastern Africa: A Practice‐Centered Analysis of Religious Change

This article considers how well Martin Riesebrodt's practice‐centered theory of religion addresses religious change among Catholics in eastern Africa. Two arguments are advanced using a generational change scheme. First, Riesebrodt's focus on religious practices assists in understanding many changes that African Catholics and their communities have experienced over time. It acknowledges believers’ perspectives and the impact of missionaries, and it generates comparative insights across different cases. However, Riesebrodt's approach has limitations when developing a comparative perspective on historical transformation in these communities. Therefore, his focus on the objective meaning of interventionist religious practices needs supplementing: (1) capturing religious change within a given religion requires attention both to practices and their subjective appropriation by believers, and (2) in the forging of collective identities, theological reflection by elites helped connect Catholic practices to preexisting worldviews and Catholic practices marked generational change by distinguishing Catholics from other African Christians.     

From the “metaphysics of the individual” to the critique of society: on the practical significance of Michel Henry’s phenomenology of life

This essay explores the practical significance of Michel Henry??s ??material phenomenology.?? Commencing with an exposition of his most basic philosophical intuition, i.e., his insight that transcendental affectivity is the primordial mode of revelation of our selfhood, the essay then brings to light how this intuition also establishes our relation to both the world and others. Animated by a radical form of the phenomenological reduction, Henry??s material phenomenology brackets the exterior world in a bid to reach the concrete interior transcendental experience at the base of all exteriority. The essay argues that this ??counter reduction,?? designed as a practical orientation to the world, suspends all traditional parameters of onto(theo)logical individuation in order to rethink subjectivity in terms of its transcendental corporeality, i.e., in terms of the invisible display of ??affective flesh.?? The development of this ??metaphysics of the individual?? anchors his ??practical philosophy?? as he developed it??under shifting accents??throughout his oeuvre. In particular, the essay brings into focus Henry??s reflections on modernity, the industry of mass culture and their ??barbaric?? movements. The essay briefly puts these cultural and political areas of Henry??s of thinking into contact with his late ??theological turn,?? i.e., his Christological account of Life and the (inter)subjective self-realization to which it gives rise.     

Beyond Original Sin: A Paradigm Shift for the Age of Neuroscience

In this article I explore the implications of Jesus?? location of the kingdom of heaven in the lived experience of the individual and of the findings of neuroscientific research for a paradigm shift in Christian theology, one that moves us beyond the Adamic myth and belief in original sin. Support for a theological paradigm shift based on lived experience is provided by Capps (1993) and for this particular paradigm shift by Pagels (1989) and Ricoeur (2004). I point out that the doctrine of original sin supports and fosters the negativity bias of the brain and inhibits the resculpting of the brain. Drawing on Hanson??s (2009) evidence in support of the brain??s neuroplasticity (i.e., its capacity to change itself) and on Brach??s (2003) critique of the ??trance of unworthiness,?? I make the case for meditative and mindful awareness practices in Christianity and other religious traditions as proven methods for the resculpting of the brain in order that individuals may experience greater joy, contentment, and awareness of the goodness of life and of God??s creation. A longitudinal neuroscientific research study of Roman Catholic nuns (Newberg and Waldman 2009) provides evidence in support of the role of contemplative prayer and meditation in generating the joy and serenity that Jesus?? allusion to the hidden treasure envisions.     

Some Notes on the Play of Basketball in its Circumstantial Detail, and an Introduction to Their Occasion

In the late 1980s, I wrote up some notes on the play of pick-up basketball and sent them to Harold Garfinkel, who incorporated them into an un-published monograph in 1988. They were motivated by an interest in exhibiting the sense of ??detail?? for ethnomethodological studies. An edited version is presented below. They follow a front piece of recollection and discussion about Garfinkel??s distinctive interests in matters of ??detail,?? their tie to structure and structure??s circumstantiality, and their place in EM studies.     

Changes in Roman Catholic Beliefs and Practices in Ireland between 1981 and 2008 and the Emergence of the Liberal Catholic

This study aimed to investigate the changes that have occurred in the religious beliefs and practices of Roman Catholics in Ireland between 1981 and 2008 and to examine the extent to which Catholics have become liberal in their attitudes towards social issues over this period. Data were derived from 23 religious indicators and six social items sourced from the European Values Study (EVS). Only Roman Catholic respondents (n=3810) were included in the analysis. Data were analysed using ANOVA, t-tests, and chi-square tests. The majority of religious indicators were found to be in significant decline between 1981 and 2008. Also, Catholic attitudes towards homosexuality, euthanasia, abortion, prostitution, divorce, and the use of ‘soft drugs’ were found to have become significantly more liberal over this period. These findings support not only the notions of privatisation of religion and morality but also the emergence of a liberal ethos among a considerable proportion of Catholics in Ireland. Results are discussed in relation to theories of secularisation, believing without belonging, and the emergence of Liberal Catholics. Suggestions for future research, such as investigating the effect of conflict between one’s Catholic identity and liberal views, are made.     

The Worker-Priest Archetype

The concept of the worker-priest archetype, in its most recent official form, originated in France's Roman Catholic Church as a missionary attempt to “rediscover the masses” of the industrial class workers in the French factories of the 1940s. This effort was shut down by the Vatican in the 1950s out of fear of Communist influence within the movement. With the advent of the Vatican II Council (1962–1965) of the Catholic Church, new life seemed to have been infused into this archetype. For example, the liberation theology movement in Latin America was strongly influenced by Vatican II. In the United States, many new forms of liturgical celebration were created, and social reform movements, doubtless as part of the 1960s social-revolutionary energy, emerged and were fostered. When the conservative faction within the Catholic hierarchy reacted to what they perceived as dangerous and threatening developments in the church, they acted to stop this liberal movement. One likely consequence of this slamming shut the windows that had been newly opened by Vatican II was a mass exodus of Catholic priests in the United States who left the clergy and entered civilian life.

?This article focuses on interviews with three of the men who were active Catholic priests, two of whom chose to leave the priesthood and one who remained a priest but moved the focus of his work to the “inner city.” There he cared for young black men as an unofficial social worker/priest, operating on his own to serve a population traditionally underserved by the Catholic Church.     

Revisiting the Cultural Dope

This essay focuses on the ??cultural dope,?? an ironic reference in Harold Garfinkel??s Studies in Ethnomethodology to the rule-following actor in conventional sociological theories. In the nearly half-century since the publication of that book, the ??cultural dope?? has been incorporated into numerous criticisms of ??models of man?? in the human sciences. Garfinkel??s account appeals to many writers because it seems to present an alternative picture of the actor: an individual who is self-aware, reflective, and skilled in the conduct of daily affairs. A problem with such a generalized picture of the actor is that it may seem to encourage uncritical acceptance of whatever ??the public?? (or a broad segment of the public) happens to believe or support. This paper revisits Garfinkel??s account of the cultural dope, and contrasts ??conservative?? and ??radical?? readings of what Garfinkel does with that figure. The ??conservative?? reading leaves the edifice of a social-structural model largely intact, and provides an alternative, more complex, picture of individual action than that of a cultural dope. The ??radical?? reading places relevant social structures in a dependent relation to the contingencies of action, and thus destabilizes the very theoretical edifice that sets up the problem of how to integrate individual actions with stable social structures. In line with the ??radical?? reading, this paper suggests that Garfinkel creates serious difficulty for any generalized ??model of man,?? regardless of whether it portrays the individual as active or passive, well-informed or ignorant, or reflexive or not.     

Intrinsic Religiosity and Volunteering During Emerging Adulthood: A Comparison of Mormons with Catholics and Non‐Catholic Christians

Emerging adulthood is a period when religious beliefs are likely to be shaped. Studying the influence of religious culture on prosocial behavior among emerging adults aids our understanding of the process and effects of religious socialization. Mormon religious culture places a particularly strong emphasis on caring for family and fellow Mormons. Because intrinsically religious individuals internalize their religious community's values, we hypothesized that the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and volunteering would be stronger among Mormons than among Catholics or non‐Catholic Christians. We tested this hypothesis using a sample of Mormon (N = 118), Catholic (N = 304), and non‐Catholic Christian (N = 542) emerging adults (18–29 year olds) across three volunteering contexts (religious, family, and secular). Controlling for extrinsic religiosity and worship attendance, the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and frequency of volunteering was greater among Mormons than Catholics and non‐Catholic Christians in the context of religious and family volunteering. However, intrinsic religiosity was not a significant predictor of secular volunteering. Our findings suggest that Mormon culture influences the frequency and type of volunteering engaged in by young Mormon adults.     

Neo-positivist metaphysics

Some philosophers argue that many contemporary debates in metaphysics are ??illegitimate,?? ??shallow,?? or ??trivial,?? and that ??contemporary analytic metaphysics, a professional activity engaged in by some extremely intelligent and morally serious people, fails to qualify as part of the enlightened pursuit of objective truth, and should be discontinued?? (Ladyman and Ross, Every thing must go: Metaphysics naturalized, 2007). Many of these critics are explicit about their sympathies with Rudolf Carnap and his circle, calling themselves ??neo-positivists?? or ??neo-Carnapians.?? Yet despite the fact that one of the main conclusions of logical positivism was that metaphysical statements are meaningless, many of these neo-positivists are themselves engaged in metaphysical projects. This paper aims to clarify how we may see a neo-positivist metaphysics as proceeding in good faith, one that starts with serious engagement with the findings of science, particularly fundamental physics, but also has room for traditional, armchair methods.     

The Difference Catholic Makes: Catholic Faculty and Catholic Identity

This study examines, for the case of Catholics, the thesis that a "critical mass" of devoted faculty members—50 percent or more, according to the papal document Ex Corde Ecclesia—serves to promote or preserve the religious character of religiously affiliated institutions of higher education. Factor analysis and structural equations are employed to analyze a random sample of faculty members ( n = 1,290) and institutional profiles ( n = 100) of American Catholic colleges and universities. Catholic faculty show higher support for Catholic identity in latent structures of aspiration for improved Catholic distinctiveness, a desire for more theology or philosophy courses, and longer institutional tenure. Institutions having a majority of Catholic faculty exhibit four properties consistent with stronger Catholic identity: a policy of preferential hiring for Catholics ("hiring for mission"), a higher proportion of Catholic students, higher faculty aspiration for Catholic identity, and longer faculty tenure in the institution. These latter two characteristics are not due simply to aggregation, but are stronger, on average, for Catholic faculty when they are in the majority. Preferential hiring marks Catholic identity, but is ineffective to increase the proportion of Catholic faculty. I conclude that the prediction of the critical mass thesis is correct.     

Rape Myths: History, Individual and Institutional-Level Presence, and Implications for Change

Rape myths, which are present at both the individual and institutional/societal levels, are one way in which sexual violence has been sustained and justified throughout history. In light of an increasing accumulation of rape myth research across a variety of disciplines, this paper proposes to use a feminist lens to provide an overview of the historical origins of rape myths, to document the current manifestations of these myths in American society, and to summarize the current body of research literature. We focus on the history of several specific rape myths (i.e., ??husbands cannot rape their wives,?? ??women enjoy rape,?? ??women ask to be raped,?? and ??women lie about being raped??) and how these particular myths permeate current legal, religious, and media institutions (despite their falsehood). The paper concludes with suggestions for further research and describes how existing evidence could be used to aid in eradicating rape myths at both the individual and institutional levels.