Uppsala 1968 – The Swedish Context

The 4th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1968 was an event of global significance, drawing participants from around the world under the theme “Behold, I make all things new.” At the same time, it was an event taking place in Sweden – a country that by the 1960s had become a model of “responsible society,” with strong economic growth, an all‐encompassing welfare state, and an ambitious policy for international development that was channelling material aid to Southern Africa. For the Church of Sweden, the assembly marked a continuity with the 1925 World Conference on Life and Work convened in Stockholm by Swedish Archbishop Nathan Söderblom. In turn, the Swedish churches themselves were influenced by the Uppsala assembly, especially in the renewal of liturgy and worship. This article explores the Swedish dimension of the Uppsala assembly through examining the legacy of the Stockholm conference of 1925, the societal and political context in Sweden of the 1960s, the participation of youth, and the impact of the assembly on Swedish church life.     

EAST AND WEST IN THE FACE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

Abstract. Technological changes affect Western culture in three ways: the ratio between the lifetimes of technologies and the human lifetime is inverted; the three principal realms of human life (the home, the workplace, and leisure activity), as well as political systems, are affected; and the cohesion of the social body is threatened. The impact on Eastern culture is softened by a clearer role assigned to school, the resulting level of education, and the influence of Confucian ethics. However, acculturation will vary among countries, depending on the communication ability in the respective societies and the degree of development of social cellular structures, which are the most able to manage complexity.     

Ecological-Economy and Society in Europe: Outline of a Research Project

By understanding better how certain socioeconomic systems work, what chances for transformation they contain, and hence determining on these bases how they may evolve, we will be in a better position to look for the compatibilities and synergies that may be established among economic activities, social policies, and interventions in defense of environmental equilibria. It will also become clearer if, and how, it is possible to make these different needs interact for the better of all concerned. The research project illustrated here intends to contribute to our knowledge in this sense.     

Globalisation,society and religion: from mono‐metastructural theory to metatheoretical reflexivity

Examining globalisation theories, Eduardo Mendieta has come to the conclusion that there is a conceptual link between religion and social theory when theorising globalisation. His preference is for metatheoretical reflexivity type theories of globalisation that, in contrast with mono‐metastructural and matrix rearrangement theories, incorporate conceptual reflection on ‘religion’. With this typology in mind, the work of Ninian Smart and Wilfred Cantwell Smith, two authors in the study of religion for whom the era of globalisation was a central element in developing their views on religion and the study of religion, will be compared. Whereas Smart's views do not fundamentally break away from mono‐metastructural type theories, Smith's work, although highly problematic, gives some hints for developing a meta‐theoretical reflexivity type theory of religion, society and globalisation.     

Less Religion,Better Society? On Religion,Secularity, and Prosperity in Scandinavia

Abstract : Phil Zuckerman argues in his book Society without God that Scandinavian secularity is strongly correlated to Scandinavian prosperity. In this article, we argue that such usage is premature. First, there are methodological issues that are not properly dealt with. Second, providing a causal narrative in addition to mere correlation is needed. Third, we argue that the causes of Scandinavian prosperity are found in close connection to Scandinavian Lutheranism.     

Fabricated Humans? Human Genetics,Ethics and the Christian Wisdom Tradition1

Abstract: This article highlights the key social issues associated with genetic screening and testing. It identifies an uneasy combination of a cultural drive towards perfection alongside heightened perception of a risk society. Awareness of risk is particularly in evidence in clinical genetics, but is surprisingly silent in public discourse about stem cell research, which has tended to flounder through its unilateral focus on the status of the early embryo. This article concentrates on current practice, such as the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, and offers a critical analysis of current debates about ethical issues. It argues that Christian ethics can contribute positively to the debate by drawing on the tradition of prudence or practical wisdom, which goes beyond the secular alternatives of both the consequential analysis of risk and benefit and the precautionary principle.     

实现和谐社会的道德思考

社会主义和谐社会是一个道德化的社会,是物质生产、民主法治、利益分配机制、人际交往方式、精神化生活等与不断实现的社会主义现代化相一致的理性社会。构筑时代道德、创建道德环境、完善道德化制度、注重道德教育、重视官德建设是当前加强道德建设,加快实现和谐社会的主要方法和重要途径。