Neither public nor private religion: the Russian Orthodox Church in the public sphere of contemporary Russia

Cross-country comparative studies of religion (e.g. the Religion Monitor) do not cover some important issues regarding the religious situation in Russia. The problem of contemporary Russian religiosity is beyond individual religiosity or religiosity as a spiritual phenomenon. In Russia—one of the countries which experienced Communism as a period of enforced secularization, there are very few people who have had any religious socialization or who have the experience of belonging to the Christian Church or to any religion. The main point of this article is that what is happening with religion in post-Soviet Russia cannot be adequately explained by the concept of ‘public religion’ and the dichotomy of public vs. private religion, due to the practices of private religion manifesting at a very low level among the Russian population, despite the fact that a large number of Russians consider themselves to be Orthodox Christians. However, the representation of the Church in the public sphere has little to do with what concerns Russians who are in some way involved in parishes. As an alternative tool we propose to describe the religiosity of Russians through the methods of network analysis. Results of a content analysis of contemporary Russian and Soviet media, survey data of the Russian population, and data obtained in a network analysis of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church are used for substantiating this conclusion.     

Emmanuel Levinas and the New Science of Judaism

This article addresses Emmanuel Levinas's re‐conceptualization of Jewish identity by examining his response to a question he himself poses: “In which sense do we need a Jewish science?” First, I attend to Levinas's critique of modern science of Judaism, particularly as it was understood in the critical approaches of the nineteenth‐century school of thought, Wissenschaft des Judentums. Next, I detail Levinas's own constructive proposal that would, in his words, “enlarge the science of Judaism.” He retrieved classical textual sources that modern Judaism had neglected, while at the same time he enlarged Judaism's relevance beyond a historical community by turning to phenomenology as a rigorous science. Finally, I conclude with some reflections on the broader implications of this new science of Judaism for Jewish ethics and identity in a post‐war period.     

《圣经》中希伯来医学文化探析

医学文化是希伯来文明的重要组成部分,是世界非物质文化遗产。在圣经时代,希伯来人的医学与宗教紧密结合。一些宗教戒律逐渐演变成希伯来的民俗和传统文化。希伯来人治疗心理疾病主要通过宗教仪式和祈祷求得上帝的拯救;在保健和预防疾病方面是保持圣洁。犹太教的一些戒律具有养生保健作用。犹太教在希伯来医学的发展中打下了深刻的烙印。     

Atmospheres of the other: Building and feeling Stockholm's orthodox synagogue

In this article, I use the concept of atmosphere to analyse disparate sources related to the process of sacralisation of the orthodox synagogue Adass Jisroel in modern Stockholm. Using the synagogue as an entry point, I explore the affective landscapes related to its unofficially sacred places in firstly a Pietist orphanage and secondly a cinema, and how they shaped inner-communal relations. The material components of Adass Jisroel's sites elicited different emotions from different visiting bodies: its orthodox members aimed to create a space of religious continuity and communal integrity, reformed guests othered the members, while poorer orthodox Jews felt alienated. By analysing these multiple affective experiences linked to material changes of set architectural designs, I outline, for the first time, the orthodox minority's unstable position between fragility and stability in Sweden's capital from 1870 until the 1940s. On a greater scale, through this case study, I propose that the concept of atmosphere provides the field of emotional geography with conceptual muscle to both excavate silenced minority voices, and explore the role of the built environment in eliciting emotions that shape, cement, contest and transform the inner-communal hierarchal landscape that unofficially sacred places are irrevocably situated in.     

Psychology and democracy in the name of God? The invocation of modern and secular discourses on parenting in the service of conservative religious aims

This article analyses an insular religious community's guidance literature on parenting which adopts aspects of the democratic and the psychological discourses commonly accepted to be Western, modern and secular in character. I argue here that due to its social structure as a religious enclave, the Haredi community stresses the equality of its members. When the surrounding community becomes more egalitarian the Haredi community is forced to increase its internal equality in order to prevent defection of its members and as part of this effort it incorporates democratic discourses and practices from the outside. Some of these relate to the relations between children and their parents and educators. As I will show, the loss of authority of elders, as part of this process, forces Haredi rabbis and educators to incorporate Western psychological discourse as an alternative means of social control. Through this examination of Haredi guidance literature on parenting, the article explores which aspects of those discourses are rejected and which are adopted and why. It also considers the broader meanings and implications of this process.     

The Churches and the Evolution of Europe

This article offers the reader some theological reflections on the 2014 ‘Agreed Statement on Christology’ (ASC). Its scope is thus limited to shedding light on certain aspects of the document that appear to the author as theologically complex and not self-explanatory. The author’s intention is not to provide the reader with a comprehensive theological evaluation of the document, but to initiate a discussion about the content of the statement so as to provide some theological groundwork for a future comprehensive evaluation. The article starts with a brief and schematic exposition of theological developments during the fourth to early fifth centuries that threatened ecclesial unity. It then delineates certain problematic aspects of Christological thought that pushed a united Christendom to the state of disunity. The main body of the article then endeavours to elucidate two sections of the ASC which were of particular interest to the author. An assessment (necessarily partial) of the ASC’s theological significance and of its ecumenical import concludes the article.     

Religion and the crisis in Ukraine

This article investigates religious nationalism in the Russian–Ukrainian conflict, which has appeared in political and popular rhetoric and has been expressed through violence. From the Tsarist era, Kyiv and Crimea have featured centrally in Russian national mythology as the cradle(s) of Russian Christianity. This nationalist conception of space persisted after political borders changed with the collapse of the Soviet Union, as has the Russian Orthodox Church's historic jurisdiction in Ukraine. As a result, Russian Orthodox believers retain a special affinity for Kyiv and Crimea, and many Ukrainian citizens have looked to Moscow for matters of faith. Subjects of inquiry include religious nationalism, the baptism of Slavic Prince Vladimir (Volodymyr), Orthodox holy places in Crimea and Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill's Russian World concept, and religious violence in Ukraine and Crimea.     

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.     

Three Orthodox Models of Christian Unity: Traditionalist,Mainstream, Prophetic

The assumption is often made that the Orthodox Church has a unified approach to ecumenical engagement with other churches. This paper argues that while there is a ‘mainstream’ model (reflected especially in the thought of Georges Florovsky), there is also a minority ‘traditionalist’ model. While having radically different attitudes towards the modern ecumenical movement (traditionalists are vehemently opposed), both of these accept the premise that the historical Orthodox Church alone is the fullness of the Christian Church and that doctrinal agreement and incorporation into the Orthodox Church must precede sacramental communion. A more open alternative model (‘prophetic’) reflects proposals made in the twentieth century by theologians such as Sergius Bulgakov, Nicholas Afanasiev, Anton Kartashev and Nicholas Zernov. These were not taken up at the time but it is argued that they deserve to be studied again by Orthodox bishops and ecumenical leaders as possibilities for bold prophetic action toward Christian unity.     

Science as a Paradigm for Halakhic Thought: an Introduction to the Theology of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

In the 20th century there was a single individual whose personality provided the inspiration for, and whose writings defined the parameters of, what came to be known as Modern Orthodox Judaism. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903?–?1993) served as the Rosh Yeshiva (Senior Talmudic Scholar) of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, and Professor of Philosophy at Yeshiva University for almost 50 years. He was widely acknowledged, by all segments of the Jewish community, as the outstanding Talmudic scholar of his generation. At the same time, concern for the interface of tradition with modernity was central and pivotal to Soloveitchik's thought. In spite of his profound impact on American Orthodox Judaism, Soloveitchik's work is relatively unknown outside of this community. This article explores the implications of Soloveitchik's work for epistemology and methodology within the “science and religion” dialogue.