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This study examines the relationship between Christian nationalism—a political theology and cultural framework that seeks to amalgamate the Christian faith and a country's political life and privilege Christianity in the public square over other faith traditions—and attacks against religious minorities in the United States. Some Christian nationalists believe that it is justifiable to undertake violent actions in order to realize the goals of Christian nationalism. We theorize that the political empowerment of Christian nationalist ideology in the form of politicians expressing Christian nationalist sentiments corresponds to physical attacks on religious minorities carried out by self‐professing Christians. We test this theory using a cross‐sectional, time‐series analysis of antiminority violence in the United States. The results provide robust support for our theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to challenge an ideologically overestimated view of diplomacy as a universal self-sustaining value and remedy for unpredictably chained and escalated conflicts in the world. The article shows the necessary connection between diplomacy and the fragility of human ethical decision-making, including in the areas of strategy, international politics, and military defense. This more modest approach also applies to proposals for diplomacy built on direct or indirect religious inspirations. The article calls for a nuanced critical approach to religious diplomacy and the positive transformation of the limits of human rational negotiation by the paradoxical "power of the powerless" and transcendental mystery. The final part provides three biblically-inspired Christian opportunities for this transformation: endurance of faith, voluntary self-denial (kenosis), and the complex "two level"—both protective and eschatological—pursuit of peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the creation and preservation of historical sources about the Mongols, with a focus on Marco Polo's account of East and Central Asia. It discusses how Polo's book differed from other accounts and its influence on European understanding of the Mongols. The article also explores the transmission and preservation of historical information in Mongol Eurasia, using the example of two prophecies related to the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty. It analyzes the inaccuracies in Polo's account and suggests that historical information compatible with the author's knowledge and the audience's imagination was more likely to be preserved. The text also discusses the use of the white wild goose as a metaphor for the Mongols in Chinese literature during the Yuan dynasty. It explores the symbolism of the wild goose and its association with the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty. The author argues that historical records should be understood as a reflection of the interaction between information, the author's understanding, and the changing expectations and interests of the audience. [Extracted from the article]

The research note examines the causes, methods, and manifestations of promoting and defending Catholic and broader Christian values in Poland’s foreign policy from the end of 2015 to 2023. First, I summarize the essential religious issues in Poland’s foreign policy after 1989. Second, I explore the “diplomacy of values” of Law and Justice, which positioned itself as a defender of Christianity and Christians worldwide. Using the example of foreign aid, I demonstrate the increased significance of religion in Poland’s external activity. Finally, I discuss the reasons for the “religious turn” in Poland in the international and national dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders worldwide. This study examined the effect of a spiritual connectivity intervention on individuals with depression in a randomized waitlist-controlled trial. Fifty-seven participants with mild or moderate depressive symptoms were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 28) or the waitlist control group (n = 29). The intervention comprised eight weekly sessions focusing on divine connection, forgiveness and freedom, suffering and transcendence, hope, gratitude, and relapse prevention. The outcome measures included depressive symptoms, anxiety, hope, meaning in life, self-esteem, and social support. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires at baseline (week 0), post-intervention (week 8), and 3-month follow-up (week 20). Repeated-measures ANOVA and one-way ANCOVA were used to compare the within-group and between-group differences in the changes in outcome variables. Participants in the intervention group showed significant improvements in depression, anxiety, spiritual experience, hope, self-esteem, and perceived social support after the intervention. Effect size statistics showed small to large differences (Cohen's d, 0.308 to −1.452). Moreover, 85.71% of participants in the intervention group also experienced clinically significant reductions in PHQ-9 scores from baseline to immediate post-intervention. This study highlights the effectiveness of a low-cost, accessible intervention suitable for community implementation by clergy and faith-based organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to investigate to what extent the relationship between endorsing a Christian representation of Dutch national identity and opposition to Muslim expressive rights can be explained by perceived ethnocultural incompatibility (between the Dutch and Muslim ways of life), and to what extent these relationships depend on individuals' level of Christian religiosity. We hypothesized that for nominal Christians – but not for religious Christians – higher levels of perceived ethnocultural incompatibility could explain the positive relationship between Christian representation endorsement and opposition to Muslim expressive rights. To test this hypothesis, an online survey was conducted among native Dutch adults (N = 275). The results showed that perceived ethnocultural incompatibility fully mediated the relationship between Christian representation endorsement and opposition to Muslim rights for nominal, religious and non-Christians. This illustrates that perceiving the Netherlands as Christian can translate into more opposition to Muslim expressive rights via stronger perceptions of ethnocultural incompatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Church of England's vision for education is generous and seeks to allow the riches of Christian life to overflow throughout schools. The vision is captured by the strapline 'Deeply Christian, serving the common good'. The present study assesses the contribution made to service this vision by the 43 Anglican cathedrals within England and the Isle of Man. Drawing on a careful analysis of information presented by the websites of these cathedrals, the study concluded that all 43 Anglican cathedrals dedicated considerable space on their websites to a regular programme of teaching and learning provision across the age range from early years foundation stage to sixth-form, relevant to a range of curriculum areas, and giving attention to pupils' personal development and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study experimentally investigated the effect of dogmatic and suggestive language in Christian-sourced excessive alcohol consumption messages among college-aged participants who identify as Christians or non-Christians, as well as the role of perceived similarity with the message source, on their self-reported freedom-threat, psychological reactance, and behavioral intentions to consume alcohol. The results from this study support psychological reactance theory and demonstrate the various message strategies to effectively communicate the negative health effects of excessive alcohol consumption to individuals who identify either as Christians or non-Christians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that greater religiosity is associated with higher levels of overall life satisfaction. However, previous research has focused primarily on Christian populations, and few have specifically analyzed Muslim populations. We examine the association between religiosity and overall life satisfaction in a Muslim population, controlling for demographic variables, socio-economic characteristics and self-rated health. Unlike most previous studies, we use a relatively large random sample of more than 17,000 individuals, which was obtained from the Israel Social Survey in the years 2002–2020. Our results show that greater religiosity is associated with higher levels of overall life satisfaction among Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safe and effective vaccines have been developed that protect against high-risk strains of HPV, but uptake is relatively low. We previously identified factors such as sexual attitudes and HPV knowledge that impact the intent of Christian parents to vaccinate their children against HPV. We hypothesized that culturally specific interventions in the form of short videos would be effective at improving HPV vaccine intentions and attitudes. We made three short educational videos, one with a Christian focus, one informational about HPV, and one control. Videos were distributed electronically with accompanying surveys, and responses were measured before and after watching a randomly selected video. The religious-focused and educational interventions significantly (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0015) improved intentions towards HPV vaccination. The religiously-focused video also significantly diminished the belief that the HPV vaccine is unnecessary because of a family's values (p = 0.014). Parents significantly credited both interventions with improving their intent to vaccinate their children against HPV (p < 0.001 for both). These results suggest that culturally focused educational interventions are effective at influencing vaccine intentions and attitudes, even when those are based on religious or cultural feelings. Highly specific interventions are likely to be necessary for optimal improvement in vaccine hesitancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article conducts a thorough examination of the demographic structure, naming conventions, and anthropometric characteristics of the Muslim and Christian communities in Bilecik in 1843. The study utilizes qualitative content analysis methods, employing population registers from the Ottoman Archives and other contemporary documents. The findings reveal that Muslims predominantly opted for names of Arabic origin, while Armenian and Greek Christian communities enhanced regional diversity through names reflecting their religious and cultural identities. Anthropometric analyses demonstrate that both communities exhibited similar average heights. Furthermore, the use of beards and mustaches reflects cultural differences; among Muslim men, these features were significant symbols of religious identity and social status, whereas among Christian men, they signified age-related esthetic choices and cultural diversity. Ultimately, this research illuminates the social and cultural framework of 19th-century Anatolia, providing detailed documentation of Bilecik's religious and ethnic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wenshi Ziliao (Cultural and Historical Materials) are spaces where contemporary Chinese official discourse and local self-expression are coordinated. But these spaces are extremely limited on religious issues. The Pingli missionary case in the Shaanxi Wenshi Ziliao is seen as an anti-imperialist patriotic movement. However, by re-examining this conflict through the analysis of other materials, this article finds that the outbreak of the Pingli case is closely related to local power structures, the conditions of missionaries and Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E.), and the socio-cultural atmosphere. These hidden stories, although overlooked by the compilers of Wenshi Ziliao, are re-emphasized by priests of the local church, revealing attempts by Christians to continually adjust their self-expression in response to official discourse under the contemporary Chinese church–state relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heterogeneous outcome correlations across treatment arms and clusters have been increasingly acknowledged in cluster randomized trials with binary endpoints, where analytical methods have been developed to study such heterogeneity. However, cluster-specific outcome variances and correlations have yet to be studied for cluster randomized trials with continuous outcomes. Methods: This article proposes models fitted in the Bayesian setting with hierarchical variance structure to quantify heterogeneous variances across clusters and explain it with cluster-level covariates when the outcome is continuous. The models can also be extended to analyzing heterogeneous variances in individually randomized group treatment trials, with arm-specific cluster-level covariates, or in partially nested designs. Simulation studies are carried out to validate the performance of the newly introduced models across different settings. Results: Simulations showed that overall the newly introduced models have good performance, reporting low bias and approximately 95% coverage for the intraclass correlation coefficients and regression parameters in the variance model. When variances are heterogeneous, our proposed models had improved model fit over models with homogeneous variances. When used to analyze data from the Kerala Diabetes Prevention Program study, our models identified heterogeneous variances and intraclass correlation coefficients across clusters and examined cluster-level characteristics associated with such heterogeneity. Conclusion: We proposed new hierarchical Bayesian variance models to accommodate cluster-specific variances in cluster randomized trials. The newly developed methods inform the understanding of how an intervention strategy is implemented and disseminated differently across clusters and can help improve future trial design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In 1910, in the city of Ruse, Hafız Mehmed Efendi’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Emine Safvetî, was kidnapped by Yordan Stefanov (Jordan Stefanov), a 45- year-old Christian, and the girl was forced to convert to Christianity. The little girl later married the said person. This incident attracted the reaction of Muslims living in Ruse. The court handed Emine over to her family because she was a child. However, as a result of the provocations of the Macedonian Bulgarian committee members, the little girl was kidnapped from the police station. As a result of the events that followed, bloody clashes took place between security forces and Bulgarian demonstrators. Meanwhile, the incident was politicized and turned into a political struggle between opposition parties and the ruling Democrats. During these events, the Turks in Ruse had a hard time. In this article, the causes and consequences of the event called the Rusçuk Vakası (Incident) in the Ottoman literature will be discussed in the context of the Turks in Bulgaria and the government-opposition conflict. Our main sources are Ottoman Archive documents and Ottoman newspapers. In addition, other types of research were also used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the unique syntax found in the Greek texts of Mark and Revelation. Both books exhibit a distinct propensity to begin sentences with the conjunction καί , a linguistic phenomenon known as "parataxis." A comparative analysis is conducted on a large swath of contemporary Greek narrative texts in an effort to locate where Mark and Revelation fall along the paratactic spectrum. The analysis draws on comparative linguistics and statistical analysis to argue that this paratactic style is a Semitic linguistic fingerprint, aligning more closely with the LXX and other early Jewish and Christian (EJC) texts but differs from pagan Greek narratives of the same era. The article concludes by summarizing how scholars have accounted for this Semitic fingerprint and what some implications might be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dürr-i meknūn (The hidden pearl) is one of the best-known and most frequently cited but least studied works of fifteenth-century Ottoman literature. An anonymously written encyclopedic work in Turkish, it covers a wide range of subjects, starting with the creation and ending with the day of judgment. Although no fifteenth-century copy has survived, the Dürr displays a close ideological and intertextual relationship with other well-known fifteenth-century Ottoman works that were the building blocks of an indigenous Ottoman religious, historical, political, and apocalyptic literature on which later generations relied. This article critically reviews the Dürr by situating it against the backdrop of the political context of the 1460s and early 1470s, informed by Sultan Meḥmed II's imperial policies seeking to unite the Islamic world under one rule and by the dire crusade threat menacing the Ottoman empire posed by Venice and its allies in 1472-73. I argue that the work was composed by a member of the scholarly elite to criticize Meḥmed's imperial ambitions and, most notably, his designs to conquer the Mamluk sultanate, which the Dürr identifies as a disastrous endeavor that would lead to the conquest of Islam by the Christians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article's subject is the migration of Apulian New Christians to Venetian Dalmatia in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. These New Christians were the descendants of Jews who had converted to Christianity at the end of the thirteenth century but who continued to constitute a group distinct from the rest of society until many had to flee Apulia due to growing repressions at the turn to the sixteenth century. Based on archival material from Zadar, Split, and Venice, this paper studies the Venetian ruled town of Split as an example of how close and multifaceted the contacts between Apulian New Christians and Venetian Dalmatia were, ranging from grain trade to permanent settlement. Although Venice tried to expel all New Christians from its territories, including Dalmatia, in the 1490s, they appear to have been tolerated in Split. How this was possible and how the Apulian New Christians integrated themselves into the local society is studied in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is clear that medieval Jews employed Christian wet nurses, as well as other Christian domestic servants, and that ecclesiastical condemnations did not prevail against social and economic interests. In Etsi Judeos Pope Innocent III, who had earlier complained loudly that Jews across France are unscrupulous usurers, thieves, blasphemers, and secret murderers of Christians, added the unsubstantiated complaint that "on the day of the Lord's Resurrection," i.e., Easter, after they have received the Eucharist, "the Jews make these women," that is, Christian wet nurses, "pour their milk into the latrine for three days before they again give suck to the children." This paper surveys both the ecclesiastical and medical or natural-philosophical sources that contributed to a protracted medieval debate over maternal nursing versus the employment of wet nurses; examines Innocent III's allegation that Jews force their Christian wet nurses to pour out their milk for three days after having received communion, and its novel implications; investigates complaints of cross-confessional nursing (whether of Christians nursing Jewish infants, or Jewish or Muslim wet nurses in Christian households); and explores a shift in later medieval and early modern Christian texts away from concerns over Christian wet nurses caring for Jewish infants toward racialized fears of Jewish women nursing Christian children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on John Keats's skepticism toward organized religion and his preference for the idea of life as a "vale of Soul-making," which contrasts with traditional Christian beliefs. Topics include critique of religious superstition, his admiration for Greek mythology; and the seemingly contradictory reference to the biblical figure of Ruth in his "Ode to a Nightingale."

This study explored the experiences of affectional and gender minority students at CACREP accredited counseling programs housed within conservative Christian institutions (CCIs) and the damage caused by the discriminatory environments there. The results highlight the opportunity and responsibility that CCIs have to both protect these vulnerable student populations and provide models for them as well as the need for the counseling field to align the expectations of practitioners with the expectations placed upon training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early modern Italy, stereotypes about Muslim men's supposed inclination towards the vice of 'sodomy' gave rise to fears that Christian masculinity was being tainted. Eighteenth-century court records from the Republic of Genoa and the Papal States contain numerous instances of cross-confessional male relations that faced persecution by state authorities. In each of these cases, Christian men were prosecuted for taking a sexually 'passive' role in relation to sexually 'active' Muslims, while the reverse scenario was never pursued. This article argues that the sexual focus of judicial authorities obscured the enduring bonds of affection and mutual obligation that developed between men across religious lines. The existence of these relationships unveils an intimate sphere of connections across faith in the early modern Mediterranean while highlighting an intersectional site of Christian social anxiety, where fears of religious contamination overlapped with concerns about same-sex intimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of an Islamic state has often been criticized on account of its failure to articulate full and equal citizenship for non-Muslims. It is also often assumed that non-Muslims in Islamic societies would want a form of individualist citizenship modelled on liberal democracy. This article contends that it is mistaken to suppose that non-Muslims in the Islamic world would automatically aspire to a universal form of citizenship founded exclusively on the political thought and political experience of liberal societies in the West. Using contemporary Egypt as a case study, it illustrates that there are points of convergence between the type of citizenship that is advocated by moderate Islamists and the type of citizenship that the Coptic Orthodox Church is striving for. Drawing on Coptic and Islamist political theory as well as the historical struggle of the Coptic Orthodox Church for their rights as a religious group, this paper points to important similarities between moderate Islamist conceptions of citizenship and those of conservative Coptic Christians. This paper considers such points of convergence with reference to communitarian political theory and addresses the implications of a communitarian form of citizenship for narratives that position Islamist conceptions of citizenship as antithetical to the interests of religious minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, for many centuries, the church was an institution that paid more attention to the spiritual affairs of Christians and interfered less in their political affairs. But with the beginning of the Crusades, Pope Urban II and other bishops as the leaders of the Christians sent them to the East to fight with the Muslims, and thereby ignited the fire of the Crusades. The present study, using the descriptive-analytical method, tries to answer the question of what was the position of Christian priests and Pope Urban II in Europe and what role did they play in the occurrence of these wars? The purpose of this research is to analyze the actions of this Pope and other bishops of the church in the formation of these wars and how Christians were influenced by their words and actions. The findings of the research indicate that Pope Urban II and his contemporary bishops raised the power of the church to its highest level at that time and used this position to incite Christian Europeans against Muslims. It seems that this issue was the most important factor in igniting the fire of the crusades. These priests started wars on various pretexts, including the appeal of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Komnen to the Pope, the mistreatment of Muslims with the Christian pilgrims of Jerusalem, and reminding the danger posed by Muslims to Christians. By continuing their propaganda, they started a religious conflict against Muslims, the flames of which raged for about two centuries and engulfed many people from both sides. Whether we consider the goal of the Crusades to be the domination of the Western or the Catholic Church over the Eastern or the Orthodox Church, the conquest of Jerusalem for religious motives or the acquisition of the material goods of the East by European Christians, in any case, the Christian clergy played a decisive role in the initiation and continuation of these wars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What happens to us after death is one of the oldest and most difficult questions. Even the standard response of many Christians, that we go to either Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory, can only partly satisfy, because while we experience the passing of time in a linear manner, those places are said to exist completely outside of time. How, then, can it make sense to speak of 'going' to Heaven or Hell after death? Must we not always and forever be there-even during our lifetimes? Russell Kirk, a Catholic historian from Michigan who often speculated about the afterlife in his fiction and non-fiction, developed the idea of 'timeless moments' to explain how our mortal lives could be placed within the context of an immortal afterlife. Such moments represent a fusion of the human and divine, in which past, present, and future come together. Timeless moments both help to determine whether we end up in Heaven or Hell and constitute our experience of those places. This paper applies Kirk's framework to the depictions of Purgatory and Hell in certain novels by Charles Williams and Stephen King. All three authors characterize the afterlife as a state of mind that is nevertheless closely associated with specific physical locations where the living and dead work out their salvation or suffer damnation at one and the same time. The timeless nature of Hell, finally, ensures that it is never too late to try to escape from it and seek redemption. Additional Keywords Russell Kirk; Stephen King; timeless moments; Heaven; Hell; Purgatory; Williams, Charles. Descent Into Hell; Williams, Charles. All Hallows' Eve; Kirk, Russell-Concept of timeless moments; King, Stephen. The Shining; King, Stephen. Doctor Sleep; Heaven in fantasy literature; Hell in fantasy literature; Purgatory in fantasy literature, Russell Kirk, one of the twentieth century's foremost spokesmen for traditional, or Burkean, conservatism, was also an accomplished author of Gothic fiction. He defended his literary endeavors as a natural [...]

LOSING OUR RELIGION: AN ALTAR CALL FOR EVANGELICAL AMERICA by Russell D. Moore PENGUIN, 272 PAGES, $29 SOUTHERNERS HAVE A way of burying their actual thoughts under a welter of [...]

DOWN A deeply rutted dirt road, far from Russia's centers of power and wealth, sits a small compound behind twelve-foot-high brick walls. People in the nearest village, several miles away, [...]

In this research, we use the notion of religious moderation to examine the relationship between Christians and Muslims in Hoyane village, Seko District, North Luwu. The perspectives of Christians are highlighted in this study. In the research locus, information was gathered via interviews and observation. To find out their opinions on dealing with Muslims, we spoke with leaders in the Christian community. The study's findings demonstrate that the existence of tabligh congregations strains ties between religions. Nonetheless, Christians attempt to live with this by maintaining their relationships with Muslims. Acknowledge the growing religious consciousness among Muslims and cultivate a welcoming and tolerant mindset. They also reinforce interfaith cooperation and unity through a cultural approach.

Religious attributes affecting Christians’ environmentalism have received considerable attention since the publication of Lynn White's thesis in 1967, which accused Christianity as the root cause of the ecological crisis. This study aims to assess the relationship between Christianity and environmentalism in Hong Kong, an Asian city where Christianity has been introduced for just more than two centuries. In general, Hong Kong Christians had a stronger willingness to sacrifice for the environment as compared to non‐Christians. Both stewardship worldview and Christian justice and love were identified as the main drivers for environmentalism in Christians, which can be further improved via church environmental education. Our findings provide a particular example to broaden the diversity of the Christianity‐environmentalism nexus and highlight the functional role of stewardship worldview in the Hong Kong context. However, we also call for stronger environmental education in Hong Kong's church to bridge the willingness‐behavior gap among local Christians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Rom 16:2, Paul refers to Phoebe in Cenchreae as "a patron [προστάτις] of many and of myself." After considering the various proposals regarding the nature of Phoebe's "patronage" toward Paul, I advance a hypothesis mentioned by Origen and some modern commentators in passing—that Phoebe was a προστάτις in that she provided hospitality services, such as accommodation and advocacy, to Paul and other Christian travelers. To support this interpretation, I bring to bear two types of evidence: epigraphic data regarding προστάτις and Paul's sociorhetorical purposes in Rom 16:2. Epigraphic evidence establishes that hospitality was a common aspect of being a προστάτης, as the term commonly defined πρόξɛνοι ("public friend-hosts"). In terms of rhetoric, Paul refers to Phoebe as a προστάτις in his commendation of her to the recipients in Rome (Rom 16:1–2), indicating that Phoebe's past hospitality as a προστάτις makes her deserving of the Romans' future hospitality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the impact of Christianity on the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries, highlighting how Christians influenced the production of knowledge in various academic disciplines. Legal, theological, military, historical, grammatical, and miscellaneous texts are examined to demonstrate how Christian scholastic practices became the basis for academic elaborations of the time. It also analyzes how these intellectual transformations affected the way books were approached and manuscripts were elaborated. The author concludes that the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire caused a cultural revolution. [Extracted from the article]

The National Gallery in London recently held two exhibitions, one on Frans Hals and the other on Francesco di Stefano, also known as Pesellino. The Pesellino exhibition showcased eight works, including two recently restored paintings. Pesellino's career was often overshadowed by his association with his grandfather, but the exhibition aimed to shed light on his talent as a draughtsman and his connections to the Medici family. The article focuses on two specific pieces, highlighting Pesellino's skill and attention to detail, as well as exploring their possible meanings and contexts. It concludes by discussing Pesellino's career and influence on later Florentine artists. [Extracted from the article]

This article employs interviews and primary and secondary sources to examine the discrimination, securitization, and instrumentalization faced by four main Christian denominations throughout Turkish history: the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, and Protestant communities. We shed light on how some religious minority groups have been utilized and represented within the framework of Turkish diplomacy and the pursuit of neo-Ottomanism. We contend that the blanket term 'Christian' is less applicable in Turkey's context, where religion becomes intricately intertwined with ethnicity. Thus, it becomes imperative to investigate each non-Muslim community independently, considering their unique trajectories, historical traumas, internal divisions, and relationships with the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown a decline in the birth rate over the decades. One of the causes has been the increasingly latent lack of interest among young adults in having children. Within this scenario, many Christians have asked themselves what the position of those who profess Christianity should be. More specifically, the question revolves around the obligation of procreation. Does the biblical text command human beings to have children or not? In order to answer this question, this paper uses as one of its epistemological fulcrums the thought developed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The German theologian makes interesting contributions to the topic and points out a path of peace (not so conventional for some) as a way of understanding the text of Gn 1:28. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do humans develop hope in the face of seemingly irreparable harm against each other? Drawing on interviews and participant observation with 30 BIPOC Christians and 40 White Christians whom they identified as long‐term allies, in this article, I consider how a slim minority of White Christians develop ways of hoping that sustain lasting antiracist engagement. I identify contributing factors to reorientations of hope, focusing on a type of catalytic event that I analyze as a form of exchange. As economic anthropologists from Marcel Mauss to David Graeber have elaborated, structures and moralities of gift giving reveal and define relationships. I extend that theory to argue that experiences of exchange relationships in turn shape the ways people hope. I trace a logic of exchange that interlocutors conceptualized using the term grace, an incongruous, freely given gift that anticipates future relationship in the context of unrepayable debt. As White Christians became highly aware of the systemic and historic immensity of racial injustice, their combined awareness of indebtedness and grace became formative to new kinds of relationship and hope. In response, they imagined and pursued a society in which love and repair across chasms of past harm are not taken for granted but are not impossible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on continuous literary and scholarly attention given to Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek," focusing on the Neoplatonic Christian principles of via negativa and via positiva that structure the book. Topics include central role of the chapter "Intricacy," the connection between seeing and language, and the use of computational text analysis tools to examine Dillard's distinctive linguistic style.

Practising Orthodox Christians in central Serbia live their liturgical lives within the idiom of Serbian peoplehood. This article probes the 'people' (narod) – perceived locally as an historically and geographically rooted ethno‐moral collectivity – as a core concept of belonging which is key for understanding post‐Yugoslav Orthodox life. The 'people' functions as a this‐worldly collective identity within which my interlocutors situate themselves as Orthodox persons, and through which they approach the Divine. Threats to Serb identity serve to foreground peoplehood as the supposedly prime site for Orthodox flourishing. Moving beyond state‐oriented analyses of 'religious nationalism', the article demonstrates not how 'nationalism' can be understood through 'religion', but how, to use Orthodox Serbs' own terminology, faith can be understood through the prism of peoplehood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Margaret Fuller's 1842 essay-letter, "A Credo," which represents a bold statement of Transcendentalist beliefs, advocating for an evolutionary spiritual process and challenging traditional Christian interpretations. Topics include Fuller's comparison of world religions with Christianity, her exploration of new roles for women, and her engagement with the Transcendentalist debates on Jesus and biblical interpretation.