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This paper aims to uncover a hidden history of Cantonese Christian literature. Written Cantonese has been present since the late Ming dynasty in parallel to the emergence of a distinct Cantonese identity. Western missionaries, for the sake of evangelism, facilitated the development of written Cantonese in South China since the mid-nineteenth century. At that time, missionaries put a lot of effort into translating religious leaflets and booklets, the Bible, the book of prayers, and even Cantonese–English dictionaries. These works contributed to standardizing written Cantonese and indirectly helped to develop Cantonese identity. I will critically examine how Cantonese Christian literature declined for the sake of nationalism, as the first publication of Heheben 和合本 (Mandarin Union Version) in Protestant Christianity in 1919 represented the unification of the Church by using written Mandarin. After elaborating on the unintentional alliance of missionaries with Cantonese in the nineteenth century, in conclusion, I will make a brief comparison of Hong Kong Church in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, which is inactive in the continuous written Cantonese movement in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS) has established a strategic initiative to help all students identify their unique gifts and gain tools for living their personal vocations on a daily basis and throughout the course of their lives. As a Catholic institution of higher education, FUS is actively building an institutional culture that will enable "an ever clearer discovery of one's vocation and the ever greater willingness to live it so as to fulfill one's mission" (John, 1988, para. 58). This paper summarizes various initiatives underway at FUS related to personal vocation formation, especially those related to engaging first-year students. There are three categories of personal vocation development activities that FUS has developed: institutional-level, cohort-oriented, and classroom-based activities. Five of the initiatives described are co-curricular, while four are integrated into for-credit coursework. These different types of student interventions are distinguished both in method and audience but share the same goal of engaging students and empowering them toward a Christ-centered direction in their personal vocation. This paper presents the foundations for personal vocation, arguing for why this topic is essential for a Christian education, and it presents an overview of eight different personal vocation approaches taken at FUS, how each of the approaches have been instantiated, and a summary of their achievements as of the 2021–22 academic year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical research on the lives of Christian elite athletes has focused primarily on their appropriation of faith-based behaviours and practices, and the ways in which their value and belief systems impact their performance. While these accounts provide useful insight into personal experience and practical application, they are largely devoid of theological underpinnings. Drawing on the findings of a small-scale qualitative study of the faith journeys of 15 ex-professional footballers, this paper seeks to present a theologically informed understanding of identity formation within elite sport. We begin by problematising the disjuncture between theocentric and anthropocentric approaches to the ways in which the specific identities of Christian elite athletes are often formed. We then explore the key issues that shaped the contours of the respondents' experiences as they sought to negotiate their faith amidst the harsh realities of professional footballing life. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of appropriate support networks to identity formation in Christian elite athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While studies indicate that Pentecostal teachings center the egalitarian move of the Holy Spirit with empowering effects on the social lives of the Dalits in the South Indian Pentecostal landscape, the persistence of ethnocentric behavior from "Syrian Christian" Pentecostals continues. Hence, this paper focuses on exploring the historical development of a Syrian Christian identity marker as a privileged one that became prefixed by the Pentecostals in Kerala, especially in Travancore. In this regard, this paper seeks to answer questions such as: How did caste dynamics structure the formation of Christian communities in Kerala? How did the historical Western missionary interactions deal with local caste-influenced distinctions (especially between the "Syrian Christian" and Dalit communities)? How did Pentecostalism challenge and perpetuate the Syrian Christian caste identity? Through an intersectional (religion and caste) historical analysis, this paper shows that the Syrian Christian community has been integrated into the caste system for the last two thousand years of Christian history in Kerala. At the same time, via a more inclusive historical narrative, the paper highlights Dalit conversions to Christianity since the sixteenth century as a critique against the privileged status of Syrian Christianity, even more so when Pentecostalism arrived at its shores, impacting the emergence of Dalit Pentecostalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radical Right-wing populism frequently involves 'divide and rule' strategies as a means to attain and consolidate political power. In the cases of Viktor Orban's political regime in Hungary and Donald Trump's four-year presidency (and its aftermath), we find a pronounced attempt to create narrative hegemony of a sense of nation built upon Christian civilization and foundationalist understandings of national identity. Moreover, both cases reveal processes of social border-making that are reflected in norming and the creation of distinctions based on degrees of national authenticity. Applying an ontological security and critical borders studies approach, this paper will specifically focus on the different ways in which border-making processes, or bordering, are implicated in the exercise of illiberal political power in the Hungarian and US cases. Despite many similarities, the actual mobilization of popular support reflects local conditions and has resulted in rather different political outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the legacy of the ecclesiastical community preserved in the ecclesial memory (tradition) intended for all times, and therefore also for the "challenges of today" inscribed in the particular "signs of the times". Without a doubt, this includes the desire of western man for a content, happy, and fulfilled life in all aspects of human life. The main aim of the article is to provide the most plausible answer about the meaning of man's existence and the paths to its fulfilment not only to the believer living in a certain cultural framework, but also to everyone who asks this question. Our answer cannot help but emerge from the Trinitarian mystery, which was, still is and will always be the foundation of proclamation and of all new pastoral paths, even for the twenty-first century Church, world and man. After all, if it is true that the essence of the triune God is both universal union and unification, it is the trinitarian relational Being that establishes the foundations for a new humanity. The mystery of the divine Trinity is thus implicit in both chapters of the lecture, in which we speak of a new Christian identity, of the phenomena of "the silent God", and of the mission of practical theology as a theology of life, that is to say, a theology that makes man's encounter with God possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of one's identity in late modernity is sometimes viewed as a project of the autonomous self in which one's identity may shift or change over the course of one's existence and development. For the Christian, however, one's identity is both a divine gift, and a task of ecclesial formation, and for both the gift and the task, Christian baptism is fundamental. Baptism represents the death of the self and its rebirth in Christ, a decisive breach with the life that has gone before. Baptism establishes a new identity, a new affiliation, a new mode of living, and a new life orientation, direction, and purpose. This paper explores the role of baptism in the formation of Christian identity, finding that Christian identity is both extrinsic to the self and yet also an identity into which we are called and into which we may continually grow. The essay proceeds in three sections. It begins with a survey of recent philosophical reflection on the concept of identity, continues by reflecting on the nature of Christian baptism in dialogue with this reflection, and concludes by considering in practical terms how baptism functions in the process of conversion–initiation toward the formation of mature Christian identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To inform its readership and potential contributors, this paper revisits and builds on the work of Dulaney's (2014) study of the Christian Business Academy Review (CBAR). In this article, the researchers analyze CBAR titles and abstracts and titles from the Academy of Management Learning and Education (AMLE) for the period from 2014 to 2023 and compare those results to Dulaney's original findings. To further name the specific discourse of the journal, the researchers conducted a thematic analysis of the CBAR's abstracts. The results of this study show the CBAR to be a dynamic and growing venue for both single and multiple authors to engage in the sharing of ideas and resources related to the teaching of a great variety of business topics from a Christian worldview and to college teaching as a profession. Perhaps most importantly, the CBAR has remained true to its stated purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship on the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex (BMC) has analysed various features of the manuscript, mostly attempting to answer questions like "Why was this codex created?" and "What purpose did it serve?" Some have given more specific answers, while others believe the document to be largely enigmatic. To further the academy's understanding of this ancient codex, this paper will examine the BMC, which comprises 11 different writings, for evidence of early Christian social identity formation. More specifically, it will heuristically apply Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Social Identity Complexity Theory (SICT) to reflect on identity and boundary construction in the BMC. It will be argued that various features of this ancient codex reveal a process of social identity formation, specifically an emerging orthodox Christian identity that is seeking positive distinctiveness and striving to reinforce the boundaries between an ingroup and various other outgroups. Furthermore, it is argued that the evidence of these features, in the context of persecution and competing Christianities, denotes a lower level of social identity complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Syrian uprising and subsequent civil war have been extensively studied with a predominant emphasis on sectarianism between the Sunni and Alawite sects. This narrow focus overlooks the profound influence of other religious and ethnic elements within Syrian society. This article aims to broaden the analytical lens by examining the position and attitudes of Christians in the Al‐Hasakah governorate regarding the Syrian uprising and opposition forces. The article addresses two key inquiries: first, the factors influencing Christians' position in Al‐Hasakah regarding the Syrian uprising, and second, the ramifications of these positions on intercommunal relationships in the region. The paper argues that the collective memory of fear experienced by Christians, manipulated by the Syrian regime, has contributed to the emergence of "sectarianism from below" and "sectarianism from above." The former reflects the construction of sectarian identities by Christians in response to discrimination and marginalization, while the latter pertains to influential institutions perpetuating sectarian identities and divisions. The findings highlight the complex interplay of factors shaping communal attitudes and relations during times of upheaval and conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the experience of negotiating the identity of Indonesian Orthodox Christians in the context of inter-religious communication in Depok. The discussion is intended to find out the identity negotiations carried out by the Orthodox Christian Community during the presence of religious people in Depok so that differences of opinion and understanding between religious communities can be mediated and to find out the obstacles in maintaining communication between Indonesian Orthodox Christians and Protestant, Catholic and Muslim Christians. This research uses qualitative methods which are carried out using a phenomenological approach, while phenomenological research is a type of qualitative research that sees and hears closely and in detail regarding individual understanding of the experiences needed. So, this study aims to find out and confirm the 10 main assumptions in negotiating identity in the context of inter-religious communication in Depok and knowing the obstacles to maintaining inter-religious communication in Depok. Data were collected by interview, observation, and document methods. The validity of the data was obtained by means of triangulation, examination of respondents, and assessments from supervisors. Data were analyzed by (1) data reduction, (2) data presentation, and (3) drawing conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-semitism, racism, pro-life beliefs, and extreme Christian ideology have long been acknowledged to be a feature in far-right terrorist violence in the United States. However, what has been less acknowledged is the underpinning element of misogyny. This paper aims to reflect on why this is. First, it looks at the chronological trajectory of "common-couple violence" to "patriarchal terrorism" to "misogynistic terrorism." Even though scholarship on this form of terrorism can be traced back to the 1970s, mainstream Terrorism Studies has never fully engaged with the idea. This is echoed in a recent assertion that misogyny and violence against women is not political and therefore not terrorism. Second, this paper aims to demonstrate that this lack of engagement works in tandem with the bare minimum of acknowledgement of misogyny in the far-right. Explicitly, it argues that it is hard to see misogyny in a largely patriarchal and masculinist system. This is even more important today with the rise of Incels and the manosphere, especially in how these support the US's flirtation with Trump's misogynist and racist driven neo-fascism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central European countries with a historically dominant Roman Catholic heritage belong to a particular cluster in respect to the governance of religion. This paper focuses on Hungary and Slovakia and addresses the effect of religious nationalism on the regimes of governance of religion in the two countries. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, there was a brief period of neutral stance towards religion, which was characterized by liberal values. With the introduction of the bilateral Concordat agreements with the Holy See, both countries started to treat traditional Christian Churches preferentially. By the 2010s legislation in both countries created restrictive entry barriers for "new" religions. This created two or multi-tiered systems for "old" and "new" religions, in which the former enjoyed closer relationship with the state. As a result, the separation of church and state has become blurred. Preferentially treated churches reappeared in the public space as providers of certain educational and social services. Preferentially treated churches and the state developed asymmetrically interdependent relationships, the state having the upper hand. Meanwhile, increasingly populist and nationalist parties instrumentalized religion by involving Christianity in their nationalistic political discourse. This helped create a normative space, in which the state is able to give further preferential treatment to certain religious groups over others. The emphasis on Christian national identity underpinned these governments' narratives that conflates migration with security and Islam, which pushed those religious groups on the margins, which do not fit in the religious nationalist narrative of the increasingly right- and populism-leaning governing elite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to highlight the importance of internalizing Christian religious doctrine in strengthening Christian identity, due to the declining faith among Indonesian Christian youth, which was reflected in the increasing number of members exiting from the church. Therefore, this research attempted to strengthen the identity of Indonesian Christian youth by developing what is termed the Moses internalization model. Social research methods and hermeneutics were used in order to achieve appropriate results. The results could be used to develop the Moses internalization model in order to teach Christian religious doctrine to young Indonesians in churches and schools, thereby strengthening their level of identity. The paper demonstrates the centrality of the example posed by Moses which serves as an internalization process, which has four stages. The first is doctrinal information, the second stage comprises doctrinal application exercises or training, the third is identity formation, and the fourth stage is the crystallization and strengthening of identity. Moses informed the Israelites through doctrines that God is One and God is God. The people were to fear the Lord and keep all the given statutes and commandments. They were taught to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). The model or framework of Moses for a Christian's identity can be applied to pastoral ministry. This model is thus is offered as a support for pastors in the important aspect of forging and internalizing strong Christian identities in their adherents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the career of Pedro Augusto del Valle as a lens through which to explore Puerto Rican responses to U.S. colonialism, and the islanders' influence on mid-twentieth century domestic politics, both of which are often elided in the literature. Most of the scholarship on Puerto Rico focuses on pro-independence or autonomist figures and movements. In contrast, Del Valle embraced Americanization and American Empire, before becoming an influential figure in the U.S. far right in the mid-twentieth century. Though Del Valle was an outlier, he was not unique. Rather, this study contends that he is one example of a group of Puerto Rican elites and military officers who embraced a white, American, and Christian identity. Moreover, it argues that the omission of these figures from the historical record has produced an overly simplified narrative of the evolution of Puerto Rican nationalism and obscured both Puerto Ricans' contributions to U.S. foreign policy in Latin America and the diverse origins of the U.S. Far Right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that Chinese Australian Christians have unaddressed wounds of internalized racism and a colonized and colonizing mentality that adversely impacts their evangelistic witness and mission work by elevating Anglo-centric Christianity and subordinating their own ethno-racial status. Drawing on theoretical analyses, the sources of internalized racism and colonial mentality in Chinese Australians are first outlined within their ancestral countries of Hong Kong and Malaysia, and then their host country of Australia. Second, the essay explains how Anglo-centric Christianity impacts Chinese Australian Christians in the academy and then in missions, perpetuating prejudice towards one's own ethnic group, complicity in racialized systems, as well as elevating Anglo-centric Christian thought as biblically normative. Third, the paper shows how the rise of Asian Christianity could further privilege Anglo-centric theologies at the expense of indigenous and/or Asian theologies. Consequently, internalized racism and a colonial mentality negatively affect the mission endeavours of Chinese Australians, particularly to new Chinese migrants and other people of colour. Finally, proposed ways to combat internalized oppression will be offered so that Chinese Australian Christians and other diasporic Christians living in the West do not perpetuate systems of racial injustice in the name of Christ locally or overseas through mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative article examines the making of a distinct Christian identity through confessional teaching of Christianity. As there had been very little empirical research on teachers of religious education and none on teaching Christianity in Israel, this pioneering paper investigates the teachers' views on their goals and challenges, while analysing how Christian identity is constructed, reworked and negotiated in their practice. In doing so, the article reflects on the meaning and implications of two moods of being a Christian in Israel: being a member of a Christian minority within the Arab minority in Israel (minority within minority), and being a member of a Christian minority of the Muslim and the Jewish majorities in Israel (minority of two majorities). The article examines how teachers educate for both moods and ponders over the sociopolitical interests served by the teachers in religious education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the rededication of two formerly "Arian" churches, S. Severinus and S. Agata dei Goti, by Gregory I, Bishop of Rome from 590 until 604. These rededications are investigated from three perspectives. Part I sketches the historical and topographical context of the buildings. Part II considers Gregory's motives. Without denying the practical benefits of church restorations, rededication was an inexpensive way for Gregory to display papal authority during a time of diminished resources and an opportunity to publicly perform and reinforce Rome's orthodox Christian identity. The final part of this paper examines the rhetorical strategies employed by Gregory to describe the rededication of S. Agata in the Dialogues. Importantly, the story of S. Agata is part of a series of vignettes illustrating the victory of Christian orthodoxy over heresy, especially Arianism. This narrative took on added significance in the early 590s as the Lombards threatened the city of Rome. The saints chosen by Gregory to rededicate S. Agata and S. Severinus may have been intended to evoke both the Arian past and the orthodox present of these churches. And although the rituals used to make S. Agata fit for Catholic worship were not significantly different from those used to dedicate any church in late antique Rome, Gregory transformed the rededication ceremony into a dramatic story of the triumph of the city's orthodox community, its church, and its bishop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline of paganism in Late Antiquity contributed to the transformation of culture of the roman society. With the victory of Christianity, which became firstly a dominant and later the only accepted religion, the objects of the classical culture became a problematic heritage. The aim of the paper is to present the Christians’ shifting attitude towards the material remains of the pagan culture and the way in which they influenced and shaped the identity of the Christian community. These processes are analyzed on the example of Rome in the period from the 4th to the 6th century. Special attention is paid to the area of the Roman Forum, which was characterized by exceptional accumulation and density of the monuments which constituted the pagan heritage. Since it was the central and representative space, the symbolical character of the forum was very important for the leaders of the local community and its transformations reflect very well the changing attitude of the Christians towards the pagan heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Interstudia is the property of Alma Mater and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since Emily Brontë published Wuthering Heights in 1847, critics have debated the nature of Heathcliff's background. Overwhelmingly, they have viewed Heathcliff as the representation of an Irish, Black, or Roma individual. This paper argues that Brontë incorporated nineteenth-century stereotypes of Jews into her character. Brontë would have been familiar with these stereotypes through her reading of Blackwood's Magazine which regularly published articles that negatively depicted Jews. Heathcliff's physical characteristics, his initial inability to speak English, his lineage, and his eventual success all support my contention that Brontë used Jewish stereotypes to create Heathcliff. Additionally, Heathcliff wanders the earth after death, and he is denied access to the Christian afterlife, an idea that confirms his Jewish roots. Such a representation ultimately challenges configurations of Christian identity in Victorian England. By invoking these cruel and unflattering stereotypes, Brontë comments on English society. Heathcliff becomes a character who incorporates both positive qualities and negative stereotypes and allows us to rethink stereotyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors considered the identity of Christian teachers to be an urgent matter because of rapid changes in society, and assumed that such a consideration could help to envision education in an authentic way. They recognised that the current understanding of Christian identity emphasises unity with Christ and, therefore, set out to demonstrate that this unity is not only a matter of private spiritual life, but must also be carefully considered in professional practice. This article is not a research paper per se, but rather an exploratory, constructive essay. The authors examined and elaborated on unity with Christ with the help of the so-called three offices of Christ: prophet, priest, and king. After interpreting the Heidelberg Catechism and bringing it into critical dialogue with contemporary voices, they identified the implications of the three offices for educational practice. The office of prophet was reflected in both the implicit and explicit messages of the teacher. The office of priest was observable in a teacher's compassionate behaviour, while the office of king was seen in the teacher's humble citizenship and struggle against evil, as well as in the ethical views that a teacher promotes in class. Three offices were found helpful in rethinking Christian teachers' role. The implications of this research included the potential for counterbalancing dualistic practices (role of the prophet), placing an emphasis on care instead of neoliberal pressures (role of the priest), and envisioning subject content within the coming of the kingdom (role of the king). Contribution: Through its consideration of the teaching profession in terms of the three offices of Christ, this article's research seeks to enhance the professional identity of faithful Christian teachers. While the focus is primarily on those employed in Christian schools and also intends to influence the identity of those working in secular settings. The authors argue that teachers are prophets in the messages they impart, priests when they act compassionately, and kings when they encourage dedicated and exemplary citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late nineteenth century, the Phrygian funerary imprecation, known as the Eumeneian formula, has been considered one of the clearest indicators of Christian religious identity on inscriptions from Roman Asia Minor. After a brief précis of the early scholarly history of interpretation of this formula and the historiographical assumptions which underpinned its identification as Christian, this article attempts to reframe how we understand the specific context out of which these inscriptions emerge—that of the wider socio-religious context of Roman Asia Minor—and to examine the degree of continuity which these inscriptions have in terms of religious sentiment with similar pagan examples from wider Anatolia. The central contention of this article is that the Eumeneian formula inscriptions, quite apart from what they can tell us about the socio-political status of early Christians and their relationships with their wider civic environment, are also an important index for understanding early Christian popular religion in the pre-Constantinian period and how ordinary Christians expressed their religious identity in a potentially hostile environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a wider study on the formation and maintenance of academic identity among lecturing staff at a faith-based university in Papua New Guinea, we explore the perceived influence of an institutional Christian ethos. The wider study treated topics such as values and academia, how interviewees experience and enhance their identity as an academic, what they most and least enjoy about academic work, and possible cultural tensions between Western and local values. Our analysis in this paper focuses on responses to the research question: "What roles does a Christian ethos play in shaping your academic identity at Divine Word University?" The question was designed to elicit responses on how an institutional faith ethos and personal academic identity are viewed as related. Four broad themes were identified from academics' responses to the specific question. These themes suggest that an institutional Christian ethos is seen as shaping academics' role identities in multiple ways across three levels: on a personal level, as reinforcing academic values and academic commitment; at a community level, through contributing to creating a campus academic community; and at a national level, through framing the task of student learning as a contribution to nation building and ethical citizenship, not only to instrumental purposes of employment. We suggest that at this University, a Christian ethos helps to give shape and definition to concepts of academic identity in an environment where longstanding Western ideals of the academic profession are not well-known. Overall, for academics at Divine Word University, the institutional ethos is perceived to contribute positively to academic identity but its continuation cannot be taken for granted. We offer some proposals for improved practices that might apply to the University and to Christian higher education in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Christian church was accused of colluding with Western imperialism, and this led to the anti-Christian movement. The Chinese church responded by accelerating a movement of church independence. Discussions of this movement have often been incorporated into a discourse of aggression and resistance between East and West. Such discussions obscure the differences between individuals and the plurality of thought in the Chinese church. Based on the textual analysis of his writings, the article aims to reveal previously overlooked details within Jia Yuming's justification of the independence movement by. On the one hand, Jia responded to nationalism by pointing out the ethnic and national identities and obligations of Christians. On the other hand, he avoided conflict with the Western missions in the process of independence, thus taking the church's independence out of the context of East–West confrontation. Finally, he reconciled the conflict between national identity and the Western image with the ecumenical values of Christ and the Christian reformation of society, unifying both sides with ultimate spirituality. His justification draws attention to an attuned theological path of thought in the process of indigenization of the Chinese church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of the current challenges to the identity of the Christian pilgrim in the face of the dynamic growth of religious tourism. The semantic inflation that results in every wanderer being described as a pilgrim implies a new configuration of pastoral care, especially in terms of responding to the perceived "consumerism of the sacred." In the context of Zygmunt Bauman's observations concerning the transformation of the pilgrim into the tourist, the article proposes a reverse type of reflection, that is, how the tourist can become a pilgrim in the reality of modern-day pilgrimage routes. The Camino de Santiago was chosen as the point of reference, and current pastoral activities – both institutional and individual – were analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of one’s identity in late modernity is sometimes viewed as a project of the autonomous self in which one’s identity may shift or change over the course of one’s existence and development. For the Christian, however, one’s identity is both a divine gift, and a task of ecclesial formation, and for both the gift and the task, Christian baptism is fundamental. Baptism represents the death of the self and its rebirth in Christ, a decisive breach with the life that has gone before. Baptism establishes a new identity, a new affiliation, a new mode of living, and a new life orientation, direction, and purpose. This paper explores the role of baptism in the formation of Christian identity, finding that Christian identity is both extrinsic to the self and yet also an identity into which we are called and into which we may continually grow. The essay proceeds in three sections. It begins with a survey of recent philosophical reflection on the concept of identity, continues by reflecting on the nature of Christian baptism in dialogue with this reflection, and concludes by considering in practical terms how baptism functions in the process of conversion–initiation toward the formation of mature Christian identity.

How does the local raga-based music setting of Psalm 24:7–10 become associated with Christian identity in an Islamic context? How does Psalm 24 strengthen the faith of the marginalized church and broaden messianic hope? In what ways does Psalm 24:7–10 equip local Christians for missional engagement? This paper focuses on the convergence of the local raga-based musical concept of sur-sangam and the revealed text of Punjabi Psalms/Zabur 24:7–10. It argues that while poetic translated text in Punjabi vernacular remains a vital component of theological pedagogy, local music expresses the emotional voice that (re)assures of the messianic hope and mandates missional engagement in Pakistan. Throughout the convergence, musical, messianic, and missional perspectives are transformed to a local phenomenon and its practice is perceived in a cross-cultural connection. Furthermore, examining the text and tune of Punjabi Zabur (Psalms) 24:7–10 in the Indo-Pak context may stretch the spectrum of religious repertoire in the contemporary intercultural world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the intersection of racial and religious identity among progressive US Christians in the context of transnational travel. We approach our analysis through a comparative ethnographic study of two majority-Black and two majority-white Christian Palestinian solidarity tours, representing mainline, evangelical, and historically Black Protestant progressive theological traditions. We conceptualize majority-white tours as "journeys to the margins" and majority-Black tours as "journeys among the margins," considering how the racial makeup and theological orientation of trips offer a range of affordances for meaning-making, identity construction, and solidarity-building. Using Judith Weisenfeld's religio-racial framework, we focus on how participants' progressive Christian values are embedded in divergent racial schemas. Attending to how the logics of these schemas are reinforced or interrogated in transnational encounters, we extend Weisenfeld's concept from the nation-state to the transnational as we examine how participants reproduce, revise, and re-envision religio-racial frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities nationwide have sought ways to support the retention of students on their campuses, particularly first-generation students. One such method is through summer bridge programs designed to offer academic and social support to new incoming students in the months before their first year begins. Christian institutions' faith-based mission statements are integral to developing programming to support first-generation students, as the cultural habitus that emerges from the school's Christian identity creates a unique cultural landscape that first-generation students navigate. This study is a phenomenological analysis of the experiences of six first-generation college students (FGCS) enrolled in a pilot bridge program on a Christian campus in the Pacific Northwest. The program was created to support the unique needs of FGCS by beginning with a summer orientation and a two-week course and program on campus. Students reported dynamics congruent with the literature on first-generation students, such as academic and financial challenges, mental and personal health issues, and for Latinx students in particular, difficulties navigating dual roles as a student and family member. Unique to our sample is how these challenges are embedded within a Christian college context: Feelings of belonging are inevitably intertwined with this identity, posing unique advantages and disadvantages to their retention. Overall, we argue that the Christian higher education environment is well positioned to enhance the high impact of the bridge programs for their students, although challenges remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of 'Christian Europe' has returned with a vengeance in recent times. It figures prominently in the political rhetoric of conservative nationalists, who link appeals to Europe's Christian heritage and identity to avowedly illiberal political projects. This article examines this revived idea of Christian Europe by contrasting it with the meanings that prominent Christian Democratic leaders ascribed to the term in the post‐war era. This contrast is insightful because it reveals what is distinctive about present understandings of Christian Europe, and it is politically relevant because some of the most committed contemporary proponents of Christian Europe claim to be 'true' Christian Democrats. Using Ernst‐Wolfgang Böckenförde's work on the emergence of the modern state as a broad analytical frame, I show that today's visions of Christian Europe are more modern, statist and secular than their post‐war counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adapting the SWOT matrix used in the study of the effectiveness of organizations, this article employs the notion of "strategic fit" to examine reasons frequently put forward to explain the positive reception of Swami Vivekananda's message by sympathizers during his visits to the United States and England. The article suggests that Vivekananda maximized the strategic fit of his message by addressing prominent Christian theological concerns of the day, which would have impinged on many in his circle who retained their Christian identity. It is argued that, by recasting these concerns within the framework of his understanding of Vedānta, Vivekananda loosened, if not completely untied, the theological moorings of the religious way of thinking of his audience, as exemplified by his invitation that each person should accept Ramakrishna "in your own light" and his emphasis on the "most intensely impersonal" nature of the religion he offered. The article concludes that Vivekananda's insistence on the "impersonal nature" of the religion he promoted, and the fluid interface between Hindu arguments and his idea of a universal religion, arguably left contentious questions for later generations of devotees to resolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Walisongo: Jurnal Penelitian Sosial Keagamaan is the property of State Islamic University, Institute for Research & Community Services and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Yet unlike Spinoza's, Hartshorne's God is more than the sum of its parts: God has a "dual transcendence" which is "all-surpassing and all-inclusive of the creaturely bodies, which are to God as cells to a supercellular organism."[27] This God is omnipotent in the sense that God is the most powerful being possible - but the principle of chance observable even at the subatomic level is exponentially multiplied when it comes to the complexities involved in human decision-making, such that God "influences all that happens but determines nothing in its concrete particularity." Like post-liberal theologian George Lindbeck (but absent the latter's Christian triumphalism), Belser conceives of theology as a "grammar of the imagination" and invites us to become fluent in multiple languages: "to make room for difference, to remember that all our different languages, all our ways of mirroring the infinite, are limited and partial - and also vital, generative, rich."[40] The Jewish Amidah prayer begins "God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob" - and, Belser notes, egalitarian liturgies include "God of Sarah, God of Rebecca, God of Rachel, God of Leah" (I would note, following Delores Williams, that this list is missing "God of Hagar"[41]). With Brightman and feminist process theologian Catherine Keller, Kushner's God is not one who creates I ex nihilo i , but one who brings order out of chaos.[37] Yet Kushner's God seems more personal than process and also seems selectively interventionist in a way that is not consistent. In our cosmological construction we are, therefore, left with the final opposites, joy and sorrow, good and evil, disjunction and conjunction - that is to say, the many in one - flux and permanence, greatness and triviality, freedom and necessity, God and the World. [Extracted from the article]

In the currently resurging contestation about religion and nationalism in the public sphere, secularism has become one of the most intensively contested political concepts. Even staunch advocates concede that across Euroamerica, secularism has in many ways failed to deliver on its promise to guarantee state neutrality and free exercise of religion. However, scholarship critically investigating the effects of secularism is often unclear about what discrimination, harm, or violence it seeks to uncover, creating misunderstandings among secularism's advocates and critics alike. This contribution suggests that there are three major analytical angles that should be distinguished: the liberal egalitarian critique, the decolonial critique, and the genealogical critique. To demonstrate the benefits and limitations of each perspective, the contribution draws on the case study of Christian national identity politics in Bavaria targeting Islam. It makes the case for the conscious combination of these three perspectives in the analysis of the 'religion-culture-citizenship' nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relation between religiousness and prejudice has been the topic of a large research literature, yet this was so far mostly limited to Western societies with a Christian heritage. Purpose: This study sought to compare the religiousness–prejudice relationship between adherents of monotheistic and non-monotheistic religions. Focusing on inter-religious prejudice we examined whether theological exclusivism moderated this relationship. Methods: Multi-group structural equation modeling was applied using global data from the 6th wave of the World Values Survey. Results: No support was found for the expected divide between religious groups. Religious identity, belief, and practice each related differentially to prejudice across the religions. Exclusivism was more consistently negatively related to prejudice and moderated the relation with religious identity for Orthodox Christians and Buddhists. Conclusions and implications: We conclude that religious attitudes or orientations (i.e., how people believe) are more important to understand prejudice towards religious others than religious traditions or multiple dimensions of religiosity (i.e., what and how strongly they believe). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars studying Christian higher education frequently suggest that faculty are the campus constituents with the most influence over the future of an institution's Christian mission. Thus, both faculty hiring and development are important elements for maintaining and strengthening the Christian identity of a university over time. Despite this importance, we do not know of a study that has surveyed the missional faculty-development processes of Christian colleges and universities. We utilized a survey research design to determine how Christian institutions educate faculty to integrate their Christian mission into their teaching, scholarship, and institutional service. We found that institutions tended to offer introductory trainings and workshops early in the career of faculty. After these early programs, the most effective faculty development resources identified were the conversations facilitated through discipline-specific academic journals and professional organizations. Moving forward, the institutions from which we heard hoped for increased resources and institutional prioritization for these conversations, especially at the advanced and senior faculty level. In conclusion, we suggest four opportunities for practical innovation to ensure future growth and engagement of faculty development for Christian mission: include a proactive approach to hiring practices, place a renewed emphasis on Christ-animated scholarship, continue to expand the conversation beyond the humanities, and introduce programming and incentives aimed at engaging senior faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research has focused on financial and social goals in impact investing, we add to the limited research that focuses on how individuals manage identity multiplicity, defined as three or more role identities. Based on our qualitative study of Christian impact investors, we develop a model of identity multiplicity work, explaining how individuals manage their multiple role identities (financial, social, and religious) to reduce identity tensions during the process of impact investing. We find individuals engaged in an interactive, ongoing three-step process of identity multiplicity work: prioritizing one of their salient identities, managing their identity multiplicity interrelationships, and reinforcing their prioritized identity. Investors generally prioritized an identity that was neither financial nor social, but rather religious. We also find this identity work implemented through three novel mechanisms: shadowing, one identity casts a shadow over another thereby enabling the simultaneous pursuit of related goals; distinguishing, all identities are retained and at least a minimum threshold of role expectations are met; and surrendering, partial sacrificing of goals of one (or more) identity in favor of another identity based on an individual's self-reflective importance of the role. Our findings offer new insights to multiple identities, impact investing and business ethics literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scholarship on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Jews has focused on two questions: (1) To what extent did the persecution of the Jews drive Bonhoeffer's actions with respect to the Third Reich, and (2) Did Bonhoeffer's theology of Judaism and the Jewish people undergo a change as a result of the Nazi program of persecution and extermination? The work ranges from writers who reject the hagiography of a Bonhoeffer who for the sake of the Jews joined the resistance and paid the ultimate price, to those who argue that the persecution of the Jews was key in the development of Bonhoeffer's theology and his resistance to National Socialism. Bonhoeffer biographer Eberhard Bethge figured large in this second group; Bethge's work in this area coincided with his involvement in Christian post-Holocaust theology, an expression of the intensely philojudaic theology that emerged in the West following World War II. Driven by the desire to atone for millennia of anti-Jewish doctrine and action, post-Holocaust theology has exerted a strong influence on Bonhoeffer scholarship. The argument of this article is that the postwar focus on Christian anti-Judaism has led the church away from confronting the exceptionalism that persists in Christian identity and teaching. In its penitential zeal, the postwar project to renounce church anti-Judaism has instead replaced it with a Judeo-Christian triumphalism and a theological embrace of political Zionism that betray fundamental gospel principles. These run counter to the passionate opposition to the merger of hyper-nationalism and religion that informs Bonhoeffer's radical, humanistic Christology. Fashioning Bonhoeffer as a martyr for the Jews and as a forerunner of post-Holocaust theology does damage to the legacy of his theology and distorts the lessons of his life and witness. This carries implications for the role of the church in confronting the urgent issues of our time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Christian Caritas and Diakonie are Germany's largest welfare providers. They currently recruit abroad and in refugee shelters to fill staffing shortages in care. Yet, they also seek to preserve their organisations' Christian identity. Drawing on interviews with facility managers, my research explores how these initiatives shape institutional life in care homes. Specifically, I examine meanings attributed to conversion, notably in relation to Muslim staff. My analysis shows that Christians, nominal ('by heritage') or observant, are seen to 'naturally embody' care ethics and have privileged access to permanent contracts and leadership positions. The churches' politics of identity, I argue, racialises affiliation with Christianity into a category of belonging naturally inhabited by some, and only potentially – and always debatably – attainable for others. The analysis feeds into controversies about conversion in the sociology of race and extends scholarship on identity politics beyond its usual focus on minority or far-right activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay investigates the importance of death in Chanson de Roland for the purposes of enacting and changing borders of cultural identity. It argues that Roland responds to contemporary concerns over Christian superiority vis-à-vis the Islamic world. The representation of communities in Roland is dynamic and changing over the course of the poem: Christian and Saracen communities are initially behaviourally different but with superficial qualities of resemblance that threaten to efface the perceived moral and chivalric superiority of Christendom. Roland's slaying of a specific group of Saracen knights effects a potent clarification and reformulation of communal boundaries between Christians and Saracens, removing any ambiguity or illusion of moral parity between the two camps. Meanwhile, his own death allows for a consolidation of a uniform Frankish Christian identity and a transformation in social and political structures. Finally, the execution of Ganelon functions to qualm unsettling fears over lingering heresy and affirms the non-ethnic basis for Christian identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Christian growth must not only be considered in terms of the growth of numbers. The growth in the church must also be considered in the level of depth and the quality of Christian conversion within a cultural milieu. The depth of the faith has a lot to do with how the Gospel speaks directly to the minds and hearts of its hearers. Moreover, the Gospel can speak to the hearts and minds of its hearers when the indigenous world views that condition the inner lives of the people are given serious consideration. The study is a review of the major works of Sidney George Williamson on the Christian faith and Akan culture in Ghana. As an early student of the tension between the Christian faith and Akan culture and the challenges of Christian identity, Williamson draws attention to the fact that Christianity can adequately meet Akan Christian needs when it pays attention to the cultural world view of the people it seeks to serve. The study as a qualitative one uses both primary and secondary sources. Interviews and observations were conducted in some Akan communities on the integration of Christian faith and Akan cultural worldview. The study points to the fact that the construction of theology among Akan Christians must be done from the inside to the outside and not from outside to the inside, the approach that Western missionaries adopted. The spiritual needs of Akan Christians will be adequately met when they hear the Gospel in their own cultural understandings rather than theology done in the West offered to the Akan in European worldview. The study further calls attention to the preparedness of the churches in the Akan cultural environment for paradigm shifts in the Christian faith and Akan Cultural engagements in post-missionary African Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Containing the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States requires mobilizing a large majority of the mass public to vaccinate, but many Americans are hesitant or opposed to vaccination. A significant predictor of vaccine attitudes in the United States is religiosity, with more-religious individuals expressing more distrust in science and being less likely to get vaccinated. Here, we test whether explicit cues of common religious identity can help medical experts build trust and increase vaccination intentions. In a preregistered survey experiment conducted with a sample of unvaccinated American Christians (n = 1,765), we presented participants with a vaccine endorsement from a prominent medical expert (NIH Director Francis Collins) and a short essay about doctors' and scientists' endorsement of the vaccines. In the common religious identity condition, these materials also highlighted the religious identity of Collins and many medical experts. Unvaccinated Christians in the common identity condition expressed higher trust in medical experts, greater intentions to vaccinate, and greater intentions to promote vaccination to friends and family than those who did not see the common identity cue. These effects were moderated by religiosity, with the strongest effects observed among the most religious participants, and statistically mediated by heightened perceptions of shared values with the medical expert endorsing the vaccine. These findings demonstrate the efficacy of common identity cues for promoting vaccination in a vaccine-hesitant subpopulation. More generally, the results illustrate how trust in science can be built through the invocation of common group identities, even identities often assumed to be in tension with science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bible translation and indigenous hymnody have always been important parts of the localization of the Christian faith. In this study, we describe how local songwriters creating songs with lyrics based on translated scriptures play a vital role in the process of localization in Christian communities in Indonesia. We focus primarily on thirty-nine scripture songwriting workshops that we and our colleagues conducted over the past six years in Indonesia, as well as ongoing interactions we had with communities in Ambon and Central Sulawesi. We begin with a literature review to establish the influences which shaped our songwriting workshops and our motivation for conducting them, and then we describe the workshops themselves and the process of musical localization that took place. Throughout the study, we highlight the role of local agency, the importance of fusion genres, and the creation of unique Christian identities through the localization of music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]