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Typically, scholars view/read the enigmatic apostle Paul monolithically—that is, through either a Greco-Roman or Jewish socio-cultural lens. The traditional Lutheran (Greco-Roman/Western) lens was criticized in the mid-/late-twentieth century by scholars highlighting Paul's Jewishness—resulting in the so-called "New Perspective on Paul" and "Paul within Judaism" movements. This paradigmatic post-Shoah shift of Pauline interpretation begs the questions, "Should we abandon Greco-Roman readings of Paul?" and "Should we continue to read Philippians and Paul through a singular (Jewish) lens?" Building upon the work of Markus Bockmuehl, Abraham Malherbe et al., I argue for an "eclectic and pragmatic" approach. I explain how "monocular" (Greco-Roman or Jewish) and even "binocular" (Greco-Roman and Jewish) approaches flatten Paul's complex thought world and Sitz im Leben as an in-Christ church-planting missionary. The purpose of this study is to read Philippians and Paul "kaleidoscopically"—considering the distinct Romanitas, juxtaposed and colliding cultures, worldviews, and religions that Paul likely encountered in the cosmopolitan colonia of first-century Philippi. This article transcends the Greco-Roman/Jewish debate surrounding Paul—highlighting the literary and archaeological evidence of competing pagan, Jewish, and Pauline Christ cults in first-century Philippi—and thus encouraging scholars to read Philippians and Paul through a "kaleidoscopic" rather than a monolithic lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the cult of Mount Wutai was a milestone event in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Crucial in that development was a novel depiction of Mañjuśrī, believed to be transmitting the deity's "true visage" (zhenrong). While consensus suggests that the primary new aspect of that depiction is the ethnicity of the attendant for Mañjuśrī's animal vehicle, it is puzzling that the true visage of a saintly figure is defined externally, by his attendant, rather than internally, within his own stylistic or iconographic configuration. This paper critically re-evaluates arguments and evidence surrounding this issue and argues that the image of the True Visage Mañjuśrī invented at Mount Wutai has specific iconographic features in his own representation. Uncovering the heretofore neglected iconographic specificities provides a more fine-grained understanding of how visual devices contributed to the cult of Mount Wutai, while also bringing renewed thinking about the notion of auspicious images and their replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on Stefano Bigliardi's recent Cambridge University Press Element New Religious Movements and Science, which provides an historical and comparative examination of how science is conceptualized within five New Religious Movements. We analyze Bigliardi's methodology and results, and offer multiple suggestions on how scholarship on NRMs and science can be extended and deepened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the discovery of two Paleo-Arabic inscriptions believed to be authored by companions of the prophet Muhammad. The inscriptions provide insights into the early Islamic period and demonstrate the paleographic and orthographic features of the script. The spelling of the name of God, Allāh, in the inscriptions is analyzed, and the shapes of certain letters are examined. The article also explores the religious background of pre-Islamic Arabia, particularly the shift from polytheism to monotheism. The inscriptions challenge the notion of widespread polytheism and shed light on the prevalence of monotheism in the region. [Extracted from the article]

In popular management literature corporations are sometimes loosely compared to cults. The comparison is a severe allegation as it implies the transgression of subordinate employees' integrity. This paper explores to what extent such comparisons with cults are warranted as well as the implications this has for the practice of corporate culture management. On grounds of the author's unique, first-hand experience in both corporate and cultic environments a retrospective autoethnographic (RAE) approach was chosen to further explore the supposed resemblance. The comparison is structured along Lifton's eight criteria of thought reform and reveals that although akin to cults in all aspects corporations also fundamentally differ due to the infeasibility, at least for now, of controlling the corporate environment in totalist fashion. This might explain why so many attempts to change corporate cultures fail as these initiatives are based on the anachronistic idea that culture change can be "implemented" by somehow "inculcating" employees with "company values." A sanitized form of brainwashing that fails in the corporate environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activities, outputs, and histories of youth organisations across a range of contexts can give us a privileged understanding of later political movements that find their roots with those youth movements. Scholars have already paid a great deal of attention to youth movements as part of totalitarian regimes, revolutionary and rebellious factions, as well as weird and wonderful cults. However, our understanding of the realities and impact of youth groups tied to minoritised language movements in Iberia remains underdeveloped and fails to reflect on the agency of youth. In the case of Catalonia – the focus of this article – a number of youth groups emerged in the delicate, and politically fraught period between Spain's disastrous defeat at hands of the United States in 1898 and the sudden rise of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship (1923–1930). Nearing the end of this timeline, the Pomells de Joventut de Catalunya (1920–1923) were one such organisation that sprung up to serve both God and Catalonia, a combination which would garner interest from the Catalan elite but also single them out for annihilation at hands of Spanish nationalism. This article seeks to disclose the history of the Pomells, their wider networks and relations to the power structures of the day, how young people made the organisation their own through small actions, and, finally, the demise and afterlives of the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores legitimization strategies related to cultural consumption in the Czech media space by comparing the representations of cultural products in influencer communication on social media and in legacy (print and online) media outlets. Departing from the theoretical debate on the intersection of cultural omnivorousness and the emergence of algorithmic culture, the article poses the question: what strategies do influencers on social media and journalists in legacy media outlets employ to present consumption of cultural products as legitimate, interesting, and cool? Based on qualitative content analysis of 10 Instagram profiles of prominent Czech influencers and culture sections of 10 Czech legacy media, it discusses two main discursive legitimization strategies: (1) the notion of authenticity, used by social media influencers and (2) the notion of cult, used by legacy media in two distinctive ways – as (a) legendary, part of the pop cultural canon and (b) new, contemporary, part of up-to-date cultural savviness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inscription carved on the interior corner of the north-west anta of the Temple of Artemis at Sardis records the obligations of a certain Mnesimachos in return for a loan of money he received from the temple funds. Unable or unwilling to pay his loan, Mnesimachos declared his decision to convey his estate to Artemis and accept the conditions of the contract. This estate, including villages, dwellings, and peasant-serfs, had been given to him by King Antigonos Monophthalmos around 300 bce. The present work attempts to focus on the sequence of events in Mnesimachos' life and their relation to the history and architecture of this important temple. The new reading of these events as a result of the last two decades or excavations at Sardis offers us a synthetic understanding of the Hellenistic history of the city and an insight into Mnesimachos' willingness to forgo his estate in a financial deal that ultimately tricks the goddess. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The religious veneration of Bharat Mata began with the three temples honouring her in the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Varanasi, Haridwar, and Ujjain. They symbolise the nation by anthropomorphising the territory and establish the relationship between nation-divine and its citizen-devotee through 'darshan' wherein the latter is imbued with feelings of patriotism. By studying the narratives emerging from these spaces, referred to as temple publics, it has been argued that they are reflective of majoritarian politics, where the aim is to construct a new religion called nationalism, with Bharat Mata at its helm and a set of rituals and unique traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the special section Comparative X: Religious and Gendered Transitions, linking the experiences of religious exes and transgender people through their mutual and different uses of "X" to mark liminal identity and status. Reframing religious disaffiliation through the lens of transition, the article presses on the overlap and intersection of religious and gendered movements to connect these different but related crossings as Xes. Through this crossed and comparative framework, it offers a way of looking at the norming systems of religion and gender together through the movements of those who cross them. Expanding comparative studies in religion through the interfaithless, it introduces comparative ex-religious studies as a new subfield. Drawing on the literature of religious disaffiliation and queer and transgender studies in religion, the article considers how changing the orientation through which we approach religion from its Xes might lead to a better understanding of how the normative structures of "religion" and "gender" shape one another transitively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

QAnon is beginning to gain attention in scholarly circles, but these sources often disagree about how to categorize the movement. This amounts to the meta-dispute between those who view QAnon primarily as a religious "cult," and those who grant it greater credibility as a political populist movement. Using quantitative and qualitative methods we test the proposition that QAnon could be a mix of both. Results from both analyses suggest that QAnon is best understood primarily as a political populist movement, but one that utilizes religious rhetoric. The findings thus highlight the asymmetric nature of the conflation of religion and politics in the contemporary American civil sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document titled "Spiritual Elasticity and Crisis: From Non-Religiosity to Transreligiosity—An Introduction" explores the concept of spiritual elasticity in response to crises. It discusses how contemporary religiosity can adapt and transform during times of crises, including non-denominational and New Age spirituality. The document identifies four levels of elasticity: high elasticity, low elasticity, hyperelasticity, and inelasticity, and highlights the importance of understanding these varying degrees of elasticity in spirituality to gain insights into how individuals and communities respond to crises. The text also discusses the concept of transreligiosity, the crossing of boundaries between different religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, and its relationship to the secular. It suggests that there is a growing interest in personalized and decentralized forms of religiosity and calls for further research in this area. Additionally, the text explores the relationship between transreligiosity and wellbeing, emphasizing the adaptability and negotiation involved in transreligious practices. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores Maurice Blondel's (1861–1949) later notion of the "cycloid" of thought, particularly as this helps us to understand his earlier work L'Action (1893). The aim is to demonstrate how Blondel incorporates aspects of the Christian faith, particularly the Eucharist, into his philosophy without abrogating his "method of immanence". In particular, the article shows how Blondel saw attention to the Christian spirit as essential to the development of a metaphysics that attends both to finite actions and to the action of God, actus purus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging in 1917 amidst the anxieties of World War I, the Cult of Our Lady of Fátima began with a vision witnessed by three shepherd children in rural Portugal. News of the apparition quickly spread, drawing hundreds, then thousands of pilgrims to the Cova da Iria. This potent symbol of faith soon transcended its origin, migrating in the form of venerated statues and dedicated shrines that sprouted across the globe. Particularly intertwined with Portuguese emigration, the cult's reach extended to former colonies in Africa and Asia ("Ultramar") and distant communities like Brazil. Statues of Our Lady became beacons of familiarity and solace, offering "homes away from home" for displaced populations. This essay focuses on the discourses surrounding the cult between the early 1930s and 1950s, exploring how Fátima served as a focal point for navigating the social, political, and cultural conflicts inherent in the emigration experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passage of marriage equality via the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 ushered in a new era for religion and politics in Australia. The polarised public debate that was provoked in the lead-up to the legislation continued and only served to entrench the perceived incompatibility of religious freedom and LGBTIQ+ rights. The articles in this Symposium responding to these developments were first presented as works-in-progress at a Macquarie University workshop on 'Religion and Politics after Marriage Equality'. In the Introduction to this Symposium, we briefly outline the history and context of the religious freedom debate that crystalised after 2017 to introduce the three interdisciplinary articles that follow, each offering a unique perspective on the public, political, and highly personal controversies that accompanied this momentous change. Together these articles seek to enhance our understanding of how the discourse of religious freedom is being wielded for political gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the decline of the fraternity of St. George in Nottingham between 1459 and 1546. It uses the guild's accounts in conjunction with Nottingham's rich surviving documentary materials to investigate the financial management of the fraternity by its officers. It argues that the officers were adept at negotiating shifting economic conditions by switching between various revenue streams. However, this adroit management did not stem the tide of membership decline. It discusses the role of religious reform in the guild's ultimate demise. It investigates why the decline in membership started long before any moves towards state-sponsored religious reform in the 1540s. It examines the impact of key individuals upon the guild's history. It argues that, for a more nuanced view of the decline of fraternal organizations in this period, a recognition of individuals' impact upon institutions needs to be incorporated into our understanding of institutions' influences upon the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the prophecy of Zephaniah, the fate of Judah and that of foreign nations in the purposes of God are intertwined, both in regard to judgement and salvation. Judah needs to learn from God's dealings with the nations. God's verdict and judgement on the nations (1.14–18; 2.4–15) are lessons for sinful Jerusalem, which is under the same threat (2.1–3; 3.1–8). Likewise, but more positively, and this is the focus of the present article, cultic unfaithfulness in contemporary Judah (1.4–6) is set in contrast to the prospect of future cultic devotion to Y hwh by the nations of the world (2.11b; 3.9–10). The prediction of God's favourable dealings with the nations of the world is a salutary lesson to the Judahites and should motivate them to reform the cult and faithfully serve Y hwh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars who study the Northern Kingdom of Israel repeatedly refer to it as a centralised state or kingdom and often take a neo-evolutionary approach in their assessments of its character. This paper argues for a different approach, one in which the agency of northern Israelite actors/taxpayers and their intricate kinship-based networks are highlighted. It applies collective action theory, which states that rational social actors cooperate with rulers, and the patrimonial household model, which states that social order is viewed as the extension of the ruler's (and god's) household, to an analysis of administration and cult in northern Israel during the Iron II. It argues that the Omrides benefited from taxpayer cooperation and a reliance on complex kin-based systems. The same can be said for the Nimshides who, it is suggested, were operating within an even less centralised system than their predecessors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Radochowska Cave is known primarily from the find of a cave bear skull, intended to be placed intentionally by Palaeolithic hunters in a 'stone cage'. This find was supposed to be proof of the existence of the cult of bear hunters at this site. Critical analysis did not give a clear answer to its occurrence or a clear negation of this phenomenon. Research is not facilitated by the fact that a large part of the collection was lost after World War II. The found part, especially numerously represented by predatory mammals, made it possible to verify the old lists of fauna and extend them with a number of new species, often unknown from the Polish Sudetes, such as Cuon alpinus europaeus or Panthera pardus. The analysis showed the presence of two main faunistic associations. The older one, dated to MIS 3, is represented by a number of cold-loving forms. Remains of Holocene species and those from the very end of the last glaciation represent the second faunal assemblage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council serves as a decision to guide the implementation of Muslim religious worship in Indonesia. Problems that occur related to religious harmony are indications of cult practices in Indonesia. This research looks at Islam and Cults in Indonesia and the mechanism of the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa policy towards the dissolution of cults. In addition, this study looks at the implications of the Fatwa Policy of the Indonesian Ulema Council on Muslim harmony. This research used a desk research approach through qualitative methods and aimed to identify objectives, select sources, collect data, and compile and analyse data to conclude. The results showed that MUI Fatwa plays an essential role in maintaining the order of religious life in Indonesia by determining the religious life of Muslims based on Islamic teachings. This includes determining the status of heretical groups, involving proper interpretive science, dissolving and stopping heretical activities, and cooperating with the government and religious leaders to protect the community. MUI's Fatwa has a positive impact on the eradication of cults based on a solid Islamic legal foundation, acting as a party that protects the community from deviant activities.

This article explains the public engagement of the Catholic Church in Poland in the post-Communist period (from 1989 to approximately 2015) as a symbolic challenge to the state. It draws on Simon Harrison's theory of symbolic conflicts—conflicts over symbolic capital—applied to power struggles involving religious actors in contemporary political systems. The Polish Church engaged in a valuation contest against the state in which it tried to champion its own religious interpretation of several key elements of Polish statehood and national identity using items from its own symbolic arsenal, including the notion of Pole-Catholic and an emphasis on the Christian origins of Poland. Similarly, by solemnizing state ceremonies with religious symbolism and politicizing the cult of religious figures, the Church sought to sacralize the public sphere. Although these challenges to the symbolic inventory of the state have not led to its total replacement by a competing set of religious symbols, the series of low-intensity conflicts generated a considerable amount of symbolic capital for the Church and contributed to maintaining its authority as a value-based public actor. This, ultimately, helped in sustaining the Church's political leverage throughout most of the post-1989 period, well into the second decade of the twenty-first century. It is only in the last few years that the Church's support for a more stringent abortion law, the scandals connected with sexual abuse by the clergy and its concealment by the hierarchy, and questions over Pope John Paul II's moral integrity have considerably harmed its public image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I explore hagiographical narratives about Khwāja Yaḥyā Kabīr (d. 1430), among the earliest of the Sufi masters to be identified as Afghan. The social memory of Yaḥyā Kabīr's life exemplifies the function of hagiography as a key arena for the production of historical knowledge, generating a vivid and specific imaginary of the past for devotees. My goal here is to present a reading of the hagiography, but first I will situate it within the discursive nexus of Persian historical writing, which often essentialized Afghans as innately barbarous while peripheralizing Afghan homelands (identified with the Sulaiman Mountains). Yaḥyā Kabīr's hagiography is both reflective of Indo-Afghan anxieties about social hierarchies and a device by which marginalizing traditions could be subverted through a highly textured portrayal of the past. As such, it exemplifies how saints' lives can index not only the hierarchies of imperial life, but also the techniques by which to escape them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The River God cult held a significant place in state rituals in imperial China. While scholars have primarily focused on the evolution of the River God sacrificial system, with its interplay of the official granting of noble titles and popular beliefs, this paper offers a further examination of the River God cult. By reading the "Stele of the (Shrine) Temple for the River God honored as the Duke of Numinous Source" (hedushen lingyuangong cimiao bei 河瀆神靈源公祠廟碑), created in the Tang Dynasty, this study explores the interactive relationship between the River God cult and state power in the Hezhong 河中area during that time period. We contend that the traditional River God cult and the participation of both officials and civilians in common rituals throughout past dynasties not only created a concentration of historical memories and reverent emotions but also established a strong social foundation for belief in the River God within the Hezhong region. This cult attracted both state endorsement and popular support. Thus, Guo Ziyi 郭子儀 (697–781), a famous military general in the Tang Dynasty, sought to renovate a temple and erect a monument for the River God. This monument was to serve as a cultural symbol that would strengthen the connection between the state and the local community, and hence ease the social tensions in the Hezhong area after the An Lushan Rebellion. In sum, such a construction would enhance the psychological and cultural identity of the people with both the mandate of heaven and the Tang imperial authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a unique miniature in a fifteenth-century Ashkenazi Passover Haggadah. The image represents a young woman holding an open book at a spread Seder table at the opening words of the Maggid, the narrative part of the Haggadah. The image of the woman is reminiscent of Christian representations of female patrons, saints, and the Virgin Mary herself. Having demonstrated this similarity, this article attempts to explain it by exploring to what degree the concept of the 'ideal woman' was shared in Jewish and Christian cultures. Since the lady in the Haggadah is clearly interacting with a book, the article also surveys textual evidence of female education in medieval Ashkenaz and women's participation in religious rituals, to examine to what degree portraying the lady this way could reflect the reality of fifteenth-century Ashkenaz. The findings suggest that the authorship of the Haggadah may have deliberately drawn a visual parallel between the lady in the Haggadah and the Virgin Mary in order to challenge the latter's unique position in Christianity and counterweight her ever-growing cult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cuneiform culture the New Year Festival was an important ritual of kingship. The most fundamental source for the reconstruction of this festival is a small corpus of cuneiform ritual texts that describe the ritual actions and prayers to be performed during the first days of the year. Those texts were written by Babylonian priests during the Persian‐Hellenistic period (484–140 BCE), when Babylonia had come under foreign rule. Why were these ritual texts outlining a royal ritual created at a time when Babylonia was governed by foreign rulers, who had little interest in Babylonian religious traditions? Why write down rituals at all? In this paper, I show how these New Year Festival texts are programmatic more than instructional, as they give shape to a new ritual paradigm in which Babylonian priests, not kings, are the central authority of the cult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tenrikyō, one of Japan's oldest "new religions," remains one of the archipelago's most fascinating, yet most understudied religious organizations within English‐language scholarship. Since its founding in 1838, the group has undergone multiple radical transformations as it has negotiated its place within Japanese society and the fluctuating place of religion therein. Once a rural group of relative outcasts drawn by the healing powers of its foundress, the group became a vital arm of Japanese colonial expansion through missionary work as a Shinto sect in the decades after her death. Since the promulgation of the country's postwar constitution, the movement once again asserted its independence, refocused itself on public service and the teachings of its foundress, and has grown into a complex, transnational religious organization with multiple generations of followers across no fewer than 15 countries. This essay provides a brief overview of the movement's development with particular focus on its history of global expansion and the growth of its cultural institutions. It aims to provide a balanced introduction to the movement by critically reviewing sources and materials produced by non‐members, members, scholars from Tenri University (part of Tenrikyō's secular mission), and the movement's own institutions alike. It offers avenues for potential future research on the movement, paying special attention to diaspora, the formalization of its cultural identity, and its development beyond Japan's borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of Islam to the South Asian region of Kashmir and its role in shaping the socio-religious and political contours in the region is a highly charged debate in academic as well as popular circles. This article examines the early modern debates about the vegetarian food practices of a sixteenth-century Sufi saint of Kashmir, Baba Hyder Rishi (b. 1504) and contemporary debates around the modern cult mainly centered around his shrine in the Anantnag (locally known as Islamabad) town of south Kashmir. It is divided into two parts; the first focuses on debates during the saint's own lifetime and the second analyses modern debates about what has by now emerged as a cult around the saint's shrine. We begin with a critical re-evaluation of the wide-spread notion that the saint's practice of vegetarianism was, much like his predecessors in the local Rīshī Sufi order, grounded in local Buddhist-Hindu customs and thus exemplifies the syncretic nature of Islam in Kashmir. Instead, we argue that both the defence and contestation of the saint's practice as well its modern cult was and continues to be located within the Islamic tradition itself. We use this discussion for a critical reflection on the widely prevalent idea of religious syncretism in Kashmir and the over-simplified and ahistorical view of Islam as a monolith, and then explore the possibility of using Islamic 'multiplicity' as an alternate analytical category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byzantine religious architecture of Cilicia presents strongly regional characteristics. This region possesses a rich architectural heritage from the Late Antique period, and various plan practices can be found here. The most commonly seen of them is the basilica plan scheme, where apses are closed off by a straight wall from the east, which also reflects the cultural connection with Syria. However, another notable plan scheme, almost exclusively found in the Cilicia Region, features spaces connected to the naves to the east of the main apses. The apsidal spaces to the east of the church are connected to each other by a corridor. The first researchers that studied the region merely described the overall status regarding this peculiar spatial design of Cilicia. However, they failed to suggest a definite function. It is observed that these spaces to the east of the apsis are associated holistically with tombs and/or the cult of saints toward the end of the twentieth century. Having a basilica plan directly associated with the cult of saints thanks to the sacred cave underneath, the Saint Thecla Church draws attention as the strongest basis for this argument. It seems that the spatial setup in the Church's eastern part gave rise to the association of the cult are in the cave with this section. South Church in Yanıkhan represents another strong argument as it certainly hosts a martyrion as seen from the epigraph inscribed onto the lintel above the church's main gate. The domed square unit, which is allegedly situated to the east of the two interconnected apsidal spaces to the east of the church, is characterized directly as a martyrion. However, the architectural data of the two buildings have to be reviewed and the other regional buildings, to which functions are ascribed on the basis these two buildings, have to be discussed. These spaces, often associated with tombs and/or the cult of saints, constitute the main subject of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Together with Procopius' other texts; namely "Wars" and "Secret History", "Buildings" is one of the principal sources for writing the history of the reign of the emperor Justinian (527-565). "Buildings" is a panegyric and conforms to literary conventions. Procopius portrays Justinian as a powerful patron who expanded and transformed the empire, and ended the schism in Christianity by uniting the Church. The first book of Buildings is dedicated to Constantinople and focuses on the churches of the imperial capital. In the second book, Procopius focuses on Mesopotamia and Syria. He starts with Dara and devotes a passage even longer than the one he wrote on Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. When he wrote Buildings, the discussions about Christology were as pressing as the wars with Persians, and Mesopotamia and Syria were the main centers of Syriac miaphysite Christianity. Procopius rarely mentions the churches in this book on the eastern frontier and he never talks about the miaphysites. Northern Mesopotamia is an important frontier and it may seem only natural that Procopius chose to focus on fortifications to depict a strong frontier. This article argues that while avoiding tackling the Christological disputes of the day, Procopius gave implicit references related to the unity of the Church by employing some literary devices and suggests that some buildings that Procopius neglected may have pointed to the division in the Church. Procopius dedicates a long section to the Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople which has been claimed was built in the Hormisdas Palace for the miaphysite refugees and compares it with the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, which had relics of these saints received from the Pope in Rome. His narration can potentially be interpreted as a reference to the unity of the Church. While discussing Procopius' preferences in choosing his material and treatment, this article shows the potential of analysing the many layers of his texts and reads the "Buildings" in a new light in relation to the miaphysites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When applied to Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe, the concept of cultural hybridity provides a framework for understanding how global religious movements can adapt to and incorporate local cultural elements. This process results in a unique form of religious expression characterised by convergence and syncretism, reflecting cultural and religious identity's dynamic and fluid nature. This hybridity in religious practice is a testament to the ongoing, interactive cultural exchange and adaptation process. This article delves into the intricate cultural hybridity, convergence, glocalisation and syncretic tendencies within the characteristic features of New Religious Movements (NRMs) in Harare, Zimbabwe, illuminating their multifaceted role in addressing spiritual and material needs. Through a comprehensive exploration of selected NRMs that emerged from the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe, including Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries and Grace Oasis Ministries, this article unravels the central role of prophets and pastors in shaping the fundamental ethos of these religious entities. A striking and thought-provoking parallel emerges between the hallmark features of these NRMs and the tenets of African Traditional Religion and many other religious traditions. This parallel extends to practices such as exorcism, worship, healing, and deliverance, thus manifesting a profound form of religious expression informed by cultural hybridity, convergence, syncretism, and glocalisation. While there are ambiguities around scholarly debates on the definition of these terms, the article delves deep into the intricate religious elements embedded within the NRMs' characteristic features, such as hymns, modes of worship, healing rituals, and deliverance ceremonies. These elements are tangible manifestations of their unique position at the crossroads of diverse belief systems. The cultural hybridity, convergence, syncretism, and glocalisation tendencies within NRMs offer gateways to invaluable networks, fostering social cohesion and the sharing of critical information. Consequently, these characteristics have become instrumental in the holistic development of individuals and communities within the vibrant religious landscape of Harare. Thus, this article provides profound insights into the nuanced dynamics of NRMs in Zimbabwe, shedding light on their various dimensions. It contributes substantially to our comprehension of the intricate interplay between spirituality, material prosperity, and the rich tapestry of religious traditions in Harare and the broader context of religious studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health/salvation nexus can be better understood if analyzed through the transformations that have affected the social relationship with the sacred in Western society. These changes have caused relevant implications concerning the sphere of "ultimate meaning", in the words of Peter Berger. Today, we are witnessing a weakening of legitimized "theodicies" capable of promising—according to Max Weber—salvation and guaranteeing "just equalization", that is, compensation or metaphysical condemnation for worldly conduct. However, this occurs to different extents depending on whether we are in the field of Western religions or new forms of spirituality. Medicine deserves a separate discussion. The hypothesis is that the health/salvation nexus leans towards salvation in the case of Western religions; towards health in the case of medicine; and, in the case of new forms of spirituality it leans neither exactly towards health nor exactly towards salvation: new forms of spirituality promise more than the achievement of health, but less than the achievement of salvation. Ultimately, the health/salvation nexus is structured differently depending on how much Western religions, new forms of spirituality and medicine are able to respond, more or less effectively, to the questions of "theodicy" and of "ultimate meaning". I use the term of "theodicy" in the way Max Weber and Peter Berger conceived it: therefore, this concept can also be usefully applied to non-theistic and secular worldviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Books are complex objects. They have an undeniable material dimension, because they are artifacts characterized by a refined technology that has evolved over the centuries, and at the same time, they are vectors of intellectual products, consisting of the work(s) that they convey. However, books may also have a third dimension, since they embody the sacrality of a cult, belong to a performing rite, are offered to god(s) for the salvation of a soul, etc. Therefore, they incorporate an intrinsic sacredness for the simple reasons that they contain certain texts and are used on certain occasions to perform a certain rite. This paper explores the sacred aspect of Coptic codices and their third dimension, analyzing in particular the special case of books buried with a deceased person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article redacts certain sections of the author's recent book on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement. Specifically, it offers an updated overview—based on earlier studies—of the TM movement's development and what led to its enormous success, while also providing analysis of the movement using metrics gleaned from the academic study of new religious movements. The author places primary attention on assessing whether or not TM and its attendant philosophy constitutes a religion, and, based primarily on metrics offered by Bainbridge and Stark, argues that it is not only a religion but a variety of Neo‐Hinduism. Attention is also given to the TM movement's deep appeal for the youth culture of the 1960s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can strategists reduce the adversary's capability or will to fight through militarily inspired awe? While strategic and emotion theories suggest an affirmative answer, evidence from strategic history indicates awe does not work well in practice. Historically, military power has only inspired awe on a limited scale, unreliably, disparately and not repeatedly. Furthermore, the emotion does not translate into favourable strategic effects because of the fluid emotional landscape which characterizes combat and politics. These findings question the wisdom of relying on awe in strategic practice but also hold implications for the extant and future strategic thought, particularly the emotion centric one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sometimes, all that remains from the history of a place is its name. Thus, toponyms may provide valuable information. Moving backward in time, we trace the ancient history of the Arab/Crusader village Bēt ˁAṭab in western Judea, with remains from Middle-Bronze II (MB II), Iron III and Hellenistic periods. In Roman times it was Eusebius' Ēnadab, 'Spring of ˁaṭab', identified near the spring of this name mentioned in the Survey of Western Palestine. While missing from Masoretic Biblical town lists, Tatami of the Septuagint derives by dropping the b- from reconstructed batˁaṭami, traced to Northwest Semitic languages exhibiting the ay>ā diphthong contraction. The MB II final -i is analysed as an enclitic -mi, found also in the Execration Text (ET) Shechem, and as enclitic -ma in personal names from Alalaḫ VII. The 'prince' of nearby ET 'Ashnah (=Beth Shemesh) had an identical name as later Niqmi-epuh, King of Yamḫad, suggesting settlers from Yamḫad/Alalaḫ during the early 2nd millennium bce. In Bronze Age Bēt-X toponyms X was a deity. Thus, batˁaṭami = 'place of the vulture-goddess shrine'. This, and additional evidence, suggest that Egyptian king Senwosret III could have set a shrine to goddess Nekhbet on Bēt ˁAṭab's summit during his Shechem campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Negev desert, the southern half of Israel, is an arid-to-hyper-arid region. Despite that, some 13,000 ancient sites have been recorded here to date, and many were excavated. One characteristic of the Negev (as well as of other deserts) is the abundance of prehistoric and early historic cult sites, dated ca. 8000–2000 BCE. Another is the many ancient roads. The roads, the main types of cult sites and the connection between them are described and discussed in the following sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the spread of several special techniques for tomb ceiling construction in Northeast Asia from the 2nd to the 5th centuries and the mixed beliefs of Buddhism and the cult of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu 西王母) that were embedded in the design of these ceilings. In the 2nd century, stone tombs with ceilings formed by stepped layers of stone slabs flourished in Shandong and northern Jiangsu. These tombs are usually believed to be the prototypes of the stone tombs with more complicated stepped ceilings that appeared in the Goguryeo Kingdom on the Korean Peninsula in the 4th century. However, the way in which the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE) stone tombs in eastern China influenced the Goguryeo tombs over relatively long distances in the following centuries is open for discussion. This paper argues that Youzhou 幽州, i.e., the Province of You 幽 ruling the areas including Beijing, northern Hebei, Liaoning, and the northwest of the Korean Peninsula, was a crucial area for the dissemination of these special ceilings of stone tombs. The officials of the Province of You were keen to introduce highly developed masonry craftsmanship from Shandong to construct their ideal shelters for an afterlife in an age full of regional wars and unexpected deaths. Newly introduced Buddhism and traditional beliefs in the immortal land of the Queen Mother of the West were potential driving forces for the dissemination and popularity of these stone ceilings as spaces for worship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the 20th century, new religious movements (NRMs) emerged within established religions. Within Catholicism, these NRMs are known as new ecclesial movements and communities. A significant number of founders of these Catholic NRMs have been reported and found guilty of various types of abuses, including sexual abuse, abuse of power, abuse of conscience, and spiritual abuses. This article examines the repercussions of these scandalous behaviors on the foundations and institutions established by the accused founders. Firstly, we investigate how contemporary Catholic communities employ interpretations provided by traditional congregations regarding their founders in the postcouncil era. They utilize these interpretations to legitimize the charismatic founders of their respective movements. Secondly, we assess the feasibility of disentangling the accomplishments of these communities from the shadow cast by their controversial originators. Our findings advocate for the contextualization of works authored by individuals under scrutiny. This approach is presented as a more constructive and effective alternative to wholesale dismissal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original beliefs of the Uyghurs, which have been overshadowed by their conversion to Manichaeism and Buddhism, have not been thoroughly studied until recently. However, Uyghur inscriptions as well as Chinese and Islamic sources provide us with some information regarding their beliefs. In the first part of this article series, the Uyghurs' belief in various cults related to celestial and natural beings was explored. In this second part, other religious elements will be analysed. The Uyghurs possessed a cult of ancestors, in which souls were believed to fly away. Funeral ceremonies called yoγ are noted to contain animal and human sacrifices as well as self‐harming activities. Worship included animal sacrifice and idol worship. Qam (shamans) performed rituals, including fortune telling and weather magic. Religious terminology included qut (divine fortune), ülüg (destiny), yol (luck), and yazuq (sin). They held the numbers seven and nine in high esteem as sacred numbers, while sacred lights descending from the sky and the sacred consort of a mythological ruler were important motifs. Although some scholars have written that Buddhism was practiced by the Uyghurs before their conversion to Manichaeism in the 760s, further research has shown that this was not the case. This article also reveals how their ancient beliefs survived even after their conversions to major religions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains and corroborates the mechanisms by which civic and political spaces opposed to Hindu nationalism have been attacked, especially after the arrival of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2014. Three mechanisms are discerned for replacing pluralistic values with Hindu majoritarian ones. Sometimes institutions are just allowed to drift by interpreting old rules in new ways. For example, no formal rules for media control have changed but the government's control over media has increased substantially. At other times, incremental legal and policy changes are executed to make the change explicit, often building on a new moral purpose. To give another example, the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) was amended and weaponized against NGOs in a layered way in 2020. Finally, when political opposition is weak, institutions that have provided guarantees for protecting diversity have simply been displaced by new and radically different ones. This was the case with abrogating Article 370, which converted the special status of the subnational state of Jammu and Kashmir to the status of two federally administered union territories--Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. These mechanisms place India in a competitive authoritarian frame, where those in power deploy electoral majorities to systematically attack the political opposition, making it more di(cult for it to rise. Despite these propensities, opposition parties have won elections in some of India's subnational states. The challenges facing the world's most populous democracy are significant, even though competitive elements co-exist. These elements in a competitive authoritarian regime, however, are under severe stress. India's democratic credentials can be revived only if the competitive elements of India's democracy stand united against ethno-nationalist Hindu majoritarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new religion of Spiritualism emerged in the mid-19th century. Through mediumship, Spiritualists contacted the dead, believing them to have "passed over" to another plane of existence. It spread from America to Great Britain before arriving in Australia in the 1850s. This article charts the history of the world's oldest continuously running Spiritualist organisation, the Victorian Spiritualists' Union (VSU, est. 1870), exploring the unexpected survival of the movement in Australia. It challenges the common idea that Spiritualism enjoyed only a brief revival in the interwar period and has maintained a tenuous status ever since. Rather, I argue that Spiritualism has experienced several peaks and troughs since its emergence in Australia, including a widespread revival in the 1970s, spearheaded by the VSU. Spiritualism in Australia survives due to the development of a church movement, the advocacy of groups such as the VSU, the generous volunteer efforts of individual Spiritualists, the acquisition of church buildings, and its geographic mobility, all of which have allowed Spiritualist churches to be responsive to changing social and cultural conditions for more than a century. It is one of Australia's largest and most resilient alternative religious movements, not simply a Victorian-era curio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While traditional and non-traditional issues of security are at the very top of the policy agenda, security studies has been subject to much criticism. These concerns have often been framed in terms of challenges to the field's relevance. This paper seeks to further the debate on relevance in security studies. Specifically, the paper examines the field in three major dimensions of relevance: responsiveness, diversity, and intellectual pluralism. Unlike previous disciplinary investigations, which have solely focused on United States (US) security studies, this paper examines trends pertaining to relevance in security studies in the USA as well as in Europe. The paper finds some evidence of responsiveness, a slight trend toward a more equitable share of female authors, and conflicting evidence when it comes to intellectual pluralism. The paper suggests that the field appears more as a 'broad church' than 'irrelevant cult' when its output in the USA, as well as in Europe, is taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how India – both as a modern nation-state and a symbolic geography – is digested by Chinese self-cultivators to negotiate their belonging in China's spiritual nationhood, defined as the landscape of belief that corresponds to the geo-body of the nation-state. It follows the practitioners of Oneness (Heyi), one of the most popular Indian new religious movements in China today, for whom such negotiations are riddled with tensions. While Oneness practitioners align themselves with political orthodoxy disseminated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), emphasizing China's special role as a spiritual leader for humanity, they engage in quasi-religious heterodox practices, risking being labeled an "evil cult" (xie jiao). These frictions occur at the junction of two contrasting notions of spiritual nationhood, one derived from lingxing (spirituality) and the other from jingshen, a secularized notion of spirit that situates the CCP as the sacred center of the polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As aquatic invasive species spread, their impacts on native systems are variable and important to understand from a management perspective. DNA sequencing and morphological analysis of stomach contents can provide insight into the diet of invasive opportunistic feeders, such as smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). Since their illegal introduction in 2017, smallmouth bass have proliferated in Cultus Lake, British Columbia and potential impacts on two species-at-risk (sockeye salmon and pygmy sculpin) are currently unknown. Bass (n = 204) were sampled in the spring/summer of 2020–2021 in Cultus Lake. DNA barcoding (n = 145) and visual analysis (n = 204) of diet were completed. Diet composition, factors influencing the predation of species-at-risk, and dietary shifts were analyzed. DNA analysis identified 32 more taxa at the family level than morphological analysis. Multiple logistic regression showed that bass were more likely to predate on Oncorhynchus nerka within the bass spawning grounds, and over 90% of bass had sculpin in their diets. Diet composition did not shift as bass size changed, demonstrating sustained predation on fish from 100 to > 300 mm total length. These results highlight the importance of understanding the potential impacts of an invasive species before investing in suppression to create effective plans and leverage funding opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many interpretations of fandom communities as religious focus on fandom in relation to the "world religions" and the institutional authority they carry. By way of contrast, the author aims to interpret fandom based on religious practice, primarily the Christian Cult of the Saints as a practice of religious devotion. The perspective of religious practice emphasizes that the communities that form as fandom often exist in tension with more traditional religious networks, similar to saint cults. To demonstrate this parallelism, the author explores community formation around saints and fantasy characters as serious play expressed in books of hours and fanzines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council serves as a decision to guide the implementation of Muslim religious worship in Indonesia. Problems that occur related to religious harmony are indications of cult practices in Indonesia. This research looks at Islam and Cults in Indonesia and the mechanism of the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa policy towards the dissolution of cults. In addition, this study looks at the implications of the Fatwa Policy of the Indonesian Ulema Council on Muslim harmony. This research used a desk research approach through qualitative methods and aimed to identify objectives, select sources, collect data, and compile and analyse data to conclude. The results showed that MUI Fatwa plays an essential role in maintaining the order of religious life in Indonesia by determining the religious life of Muslims based on Islamic teachings. This includes determining the status of heretical groups, involving proper interpretive science, dissolving and stopping heretical activities, and cooperating with the government and religious leaders to protect the community. MUI's Fatwa has a positive impact on the eradication of cults based on a solid Islamic legal foundation, acting as a party that protects the community from deviant activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]