发挥宗教在构建社会主义和谐社会中的积极作用

宗教是客观存在的社会现象,并具有独特的社会功能。充分发挥宗教的积极因素,限制其消极因素,对构建社会主义和谐社会具有十分重要的意义。     

Respecting multiculturalism? Respecting religion?

ABSTRACT

This response to Balint focuses on his stance towards minority cultural and religious practices where he is in general sceptical of special accommodation. I argue that there are grounds to grant special rights and other accommodative measures towards such minorities on the basis of freedom and citizenship (both values Balint endorses), and appraisal respect, a value he rejects. The upshot is more support for a hands-on, active state than the hands-off state that Balint favours.     

Nobody Is a Prophet in their Own Land? Evaluations of Pope Francis in Latin America

Using data drawn from surveys of Latin American elites and citizens, this article aims to analyse the determinants of evaluations of Pope Francis, with a special focus on ideology and religious denomination, religiosity, and trustworthiness of the Catholic Church. Results show that the Pope remains linked to opinions on the Church, but not to religiosity, and that differences in personal religious affiliations (or lack thereof) among respondents are sharper among citizens than among elites. Furthermore, Pope Francis is found to be not closely associated to the left–right axis in Latin America, except in the case of Argentine MPs, where the right-leaning members express lower opinions of the Pope.     

尊崇与反叛——试析乔治·爱略特宗教观和道德观的双重性

乔治·爱略特的作品以强烈的宗教意识和道德感著称。她宣布放弃基督教,并在作品中反映出对基督教的怀疑态度,同时却自认为不是无神论者,不反对基督教中的合理成份。爱略特独特的人道主义宗教观便是她宗教上的双重态度的产物。在道德方面,爱略特不论在小说中还是个人生活中都表现出对传统道德规范的蔑视与反叛,但同时她又常常颂扬并在行动上顺从传统道德准则。     

State-backed discrimination against Shia Muslims in Malaysia

This article traces the origins of legalized discrimination, religious hatred, and systematic marginalization of a community of Malaysian Muslims – the Shias – perpetuated in the name of Islam. It demonstrates how a central government-derived fatwa (religious legal opinion) banning Shi’ism and the propagation of Shia teachings in the country since 1996 has been used to justify a range of human rights violations, not limited to the religious freedom of this minority group. Apart from Syariah legislation, the state has utilized this fatwa alongside other tools, including the religious bureaucracy and the media, to persecute Shia in Malaysia. Anti-Shia efforts are also supported and propagated by non-state Islamists who often work hand-in-hand with state actors.     

Evangelical violence: Western Christianity and the use of force against the Third World

Abstract

Recognising the impact of religion on state action, this article identifies two variables that interact to affect the type and level of violence employed by Western states against Third World targets. First, variation in the degree to which the prominent Christian denominations and organisations within these states view evangelisation as either an individual-level or national-level process – Christian individualism vs Christian nationalism – has determined church support for using violence as a tactic. Second, the level of influence that churches and missionary organisations have over their home states affects the ability of Christian actors to directly impact state actions. Western violence against Third World peoples is expected to be lowest when churches and Christian organisations view evangelisation in primarily individualistic terms and have significant influence over the state. The article examines the relationships between concepts of evangelisation, Christian influence over state policies, and levels of violence against the Third World by examining British, French and German colonialism during the late colonial period of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.     

Religious market structure and democratic performance: Clientelism

Is there a connection between government intervention in religious competition and partisan clientelism in democratic systems? Drawing on the economics of religion, we argue that alongside commonly examined population-level religious processes (religious diversity), state-level religious processes (government regulation of competition in the religious market) affect institutional performance in electoral democracies. Linking comparative indicators of religion-state relations with measures of partisan clientelism, statistical analysis suggests that uncompetitive religious markets, such as those where a dominant religion is sponsored by the state, create incentives, infrastructures and opportunities that favour clientelism. The study emphasises the importance of light-touch regulation of religion not merely as a normative principle narrowly related to religious freedom, but also as a potential remedy that can enhance the quality of political institutions.     

论伊斯兰教在马来西亚政治中的作用和影响

本文主要分析伊斯兰教在马来西亚政治中的作用和影响。文章回顾了马来西亚政教关系的演变过程,分析了伊斯兰教在其现行政治结构中的影响,指出重视伊斯兰教因素在对抗反对党、维持现有君主立宪制、推行经济政策和处理外交事务中起着重要的作用;展望了2013年5月大选之后即在纳吉布总理第二任期中,伊斯兰教在马来西亚政治中可能出现的新变化。     

对农村妇女信教问题的分析与思考

农村基层组织薄弱、思想政治工作淡化、精神文化生活贫乏以及妇女自身科技文化素质偏低等是女性信教者增多的主要原因.女性信教者增多已经干扰了农村两大文明建设,直接影响到当前农村社会的发展与稳定.解决农村妇女信教问题要突出农村思想政治教育的科学性、可参与性、针对性和实效性等具体应对措施.     

宗教的社会功能及其社会角色扮演——涂尔干的宗教社会学思想研究

涂尔干是法国社会学派最为重要的代表人物之一,他对宗教的兴趣主要是来自家庭、近代法国思想传统和"社会学主义"的方法论倾向三方面的影响。涂尔干的宗教社会学理论立场的主要基点可以概括为社会唯实论和社会整体观。研究涂尔干的宗教社会学思想,结合当前中国现实社会中普遍的信仰缺失问题,可以关涉当下中国社会道德信仰体系的整合与重建。