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The tasks of this text are not historical, at least in the sense of describing historical facts or sources. Today in the factual history of Russian philosophy, there are no greater lacunae or enigmas. Thus the principal goal of this chapter is conceptual: it is to comprehend the phenomenon of Russian religious philosophy both in its diachrony and in synchrony. These two aspects will be considered not nacheinander, but nebeneinander that is not in succession, but in parallel to each other. I will trace the course of philosophical events trying not so much to describe factual details as to expose logics and structures of this course, concepts and ideas involved in it.

This chapter is an attempt to provide a background to and a framework for conducting psychotherapy for Africans with a migratory background. It is important to bear in mind that Africa is a continent with people of various economic, historical, and sometimes cultural background. Africans migrate for a variety of reasons; some of these may be due to social, economic, educational, and training purposes. The suggested framework is based on a psychoanalytic based psychotherapeutic approach. The chapter emphasizes that although cultures may vary there are instances of universally occurring situations in cultures that are substantially different from our own. In this chapter it is suggested that anyone interested in working with individuals from a distinct cultural or substantially different background from his/her own can also benefit from some familiarity with the etiquette, values, and beliefs of that society. Some background understanding of West African religious philosophy may also be helpful. The intial assessment should be as comprehensive as possible. The treatment approach as suggested would emphasize the need to identify the themes that emerge from the assessment and subsequent meetings with the client. The approach should be supportive and facilitatory. The therapist should be willing and open to be informed by the patient.

Angell examines African-American educator and theologian Howard Thurman’s encounters with, and appeals to, Quakerism and Buddhism, in light of Thurman’s intense emphasis on human experience. Thurman first encountered a Buddhist, possibly Chinese teacher Jia Linbin, while preaching in Oberlin, Ohio. Thurman’s relationship with Quaker theologian Rufus Jones and his mid-1930 encounters with Asian religions in South Asia are considered, as well as Thurman’s sermons on Buddhism delivered in 1950 and 1953. Angell argues that Thurman’s encounters with Buddhists were an important factor in the origin and development of Thurman’s distinctive religious philosophy focused on finding common ground and transcending divisive aspects of creeds and racial and cultural identities.

Responsivity—or individualised adaptation of treatment within correctional settings—is a particularly important aspect of the therapeutic process and has been identified in recent analyses as a significant predictor of lower levels of recidivism among people with convictions for sexual offences. Religious faith is conceptualised as a key aspect of some people’s identities and has been argued to play a potentially important protective role in the treatment of people with sexual convictions. This chapter outlines how embedding religious philosophies into strategies for treating this population can act as a novel source of responsivity. Insights from Quaker, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions are discussed.

Major monotheistic religions (Christianity and Islam), comprising of 55% of world religions’ followers (Hackett and Mcclendon 2015), conceptualize God as a supreme power who is in charge of the affairs of the universe and is the planner and an executor of everything that occurs. Religious philosophies of these religions encourage minimalism in personal life aspects, charitable behavior, as well as long-term orientation (belief in afterlife in heaven/hell). Therefore, the reliance of religious people on possessions/wealth is expected to be less as compared to nonreligious people. It may make them less likely to take measures to ensure their financial well-being. Since religious affiliations affect choices of consumptions and life behavior profoundly, it is valuable to assess the effect of religiosity on financial behavior. Statistical trends hint at the low financial well-being of religious people, but the phenomenon remains largely underexplored and calls for more investigation.

This chapter will argue that the Guodian corpus has a coherent religious philosophy that is best characterized using Prasenjit Duara’s term “dialogical transcendence.” Being dialogical means that transcending does not involve a departure from the human realm, and this is inclusive of all the messiness entailed therein. The model for how Guodian religion functioned is surprisingly analogous to later religious beliefs in China. In particular, it has a striking resemblance to the Buddhist sutra Vimalakirti. Contextualizing Guodian in this large span of religious history is necessary to avoid seeing it as merely a social philosophy. The humanism inherent in both Guodian and Vimalakirti is a hugely significant element of the Chinese religious experience and it has remained so through the present day. The comparative lens employed in this chapter has the ability to clarify both our understanding of Guodian and also later developments in Buddhism. Specifically, Guodian offers new insight into why particular Buddhist sutras became popular in China.

The concluding chapter focuses on two poems in which Sara Coleridge reflects on STC’s literary career and her own vocation. The first poem discussed is an experimental hybrid text in Latin, based on lines from Horace’s Odes, II. 9. This highly innovative adaptation is a public statement of confidence in her mediation of STC’s religious philosophy, and in her ultimate success in revising his reputation. The second poem discussed is ‘For My Father’, Sara Coleridge’s deeply personal response to STC’s late sonnet, ‘Work Without Hope’. The chapter offers a close reading of ‘For My Father’, which reveals how, for Sara Coleridge, the personal and professional, the domestic and public, past loss and future redemption, are inextricably related and coalesce in her vocation of religious authorship.

By expanding on the relation between space and culture, this chapter scrutinizes the interaction between the grid plan and the Protestant Ethic. Moving between a critique of religious philosophy and the psychology of the urban form as a social construct, the chapter exemplifies the entanglement of cultural values with the spatial order. The author argues that this entanglement and its particular realization in the very form of U.S. cities has had a powerful effect on modern vision, just as, in Max Weber’s formulation, religious techniques of self-regulation continued long after religious faith had waned. The chapter suggests that the American grid plan was a sign of a peculiarly modern form of repression based upon the denial of meaning and difference through the production of abstract urban spaces of neutrality.

Is transhumanism a religious movement? While proponents of transhumanism reject the movement’s identification with religion, a variety of scholars have identified parallel characteristics between transhumanism and the world’s religious traditions. While comparative approaches are helpful, this chapter provides a functional analysis of the idea of extropy, arguably transhumanism’s core philosophy, in the context of Niklas Luhmann’s application of systems theory to religion. I will show that the philosophy of extropy and its realization through technological enhancement fits Luhmann’s form/context model concerning the function of religious meaning within social systems.

It is easy to observe that neither an appeal to reason nor a rationalized factual exegesis will explain his reaction or dissuade the displayed customary response.

There are reasons to be dissatisfied with the philosophy of religion, as currently practised. While it includes some excellent work, it is shamefully narrow in its focus on Christian theism and the range of topics it covers. The broader approach adopted here is comparative and epistemological: it focuses on claims to knowledge within the world’s religions.

This chapter offers a theory of religion as a cultural artefact with historical significance that lies beyond historical facticity or the lack of it. An individual or group’s religion connotes above all a belief system that constitutes an option among a myriad of options, rather than a single inherent truth based on historical fact. While challenging to institutional religion and its many adherents, it is contended that such an appreciation of religion is not necessarily a threat to either but in fact has potential to be a source of enrichment to both, as well as to religion’s enhancement of global harmony. It is when such an appreciation is not present that an exclusivist ‘trigger’, lying hidden in any religion, can be released and become the cause of immeasurable conflict.

Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism have endured millennia of regime changes to shape Chinese life, morals, and social structures, and their core tenants continue to influence the Chinese people today.

In this chapter, Robert Scotney argues for an alternative conception of wilderness to the so-called ‘received wilderness idea’. It defines wilderness as the kind of environment that is free from human control in the sense that it does not have human activity as its dominant shaping feature. Scotney agrees with Callicott and others that the received wilderness idea fails to reflect the reality of natural environments, and is even harmful in some of its applications. But he doesn’t agree with these critics that the objections raised against the received wilderness idea necessarily have to lead to the conclusion that the concept of wilderness should be abandoned altogether.