The muslim slavs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (with reference to the Sandzak of Novi Pazar): Islam as national identity

Using results from a 2010 survey conducted in the Republic of Buryatia, this paper compares the responses of Russians and Buryats on questions of religious practice and belief, as well as the role of religion and religious organizations in the political sphere of contemporary Russia. Buryats more commonly identify with a religion and more frequently attend religious services in comparison to Russians living in the republic. There is greater consonance between the two groups on the public role of religion, with both Russians and Buryats generally supportive of the recent extension of religious education into schools and the creation of national holidays for all traditional religions, among other issues.     

Can charity and rights-based movements be allies in the fight against HIV/AIDS? Bridging mobilisations in the United States and sub-Saharan Africa

The activist-fuelled responses to HIV/AIDS around the world have resulted in unprecedented changes to the way infectious disease is defined and treated and in the mobilisation of resources for treatment in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the communities that have been critical sources of response are widely divergent. In the United States, where the epidemic was first identified, the strongest response was within the gay community, with its attendant rights-based orientation. In sub-Saharan Africa, faith-based communities have been critical actors, and have generally taken a charity-based approach to their work. As globalisation and the successes of the global AIDS movement draw these groups into closer contact, the question of whether these divergent approaches can work in alliance becomes ever more important. In this paper I use the concepts of collective identity and framing to examine the development of both approaches and to suggest that the activity of frame extension may be a helpful tool in bridging divergent approaches.     

清初一个开封犹太人宗教文化身份的认同--开封著名犹太人赵映乘考述

开封犹太人从儒业举的士子在清初犹太人中已形成相对数量的群体,他们循儒之途中所尊奉铑的汉俗和儒家主流文化对犹太族汉化的影响至关重要.在这些犹太人儒家士子中尤其以赵氏家族中的赵映乘最具代表性,其影响也最大,所以对其生平的考述亦可作为分析开封儒家士子在犹太人族群中的作用.用方志记载材料可以分析儒家主流文化以及汉俗文化对开封犹太人族群的影响.     

溺死尸体124例形态学分析

通过对124具溺死尸体的尸体征象出现率的统计分析,以明确哪些尸体征象可以在实际案件中用于确诊生前入水溺死。尤其对水中腐败尸体因腐败导致一些尸体征象消失,常难以确诊溺死。溺死腐败尸体左右心肌及心内膜颜色存在差异,对确诊溺死具有重要价值。     

回族教育的当代抉择

由于回族本身所具有的特点,回族教育呈现出宗教教育与世俗教育双重性的特点。回族教育在长期的发展过程中,面临着“两难选择”。如何正确认识二者的关系,是回族教育得以发展的关键所在。在现实生活中,回族穆斯林必须首选世俗教育即普通教育作为回族教育的重心,伊斯兰宗教教育应成为推动回族普通教育发展的促动器。     

The 2014 Fiji Elections and the Methodist Church

Abstract

The Methodist Church of Fiji has around one-third of Fiji’s population as members, and is a strong influence on all aspects of Fiji’s life, including its politics. Since 2006 the relationship between the Methodist Church of Fiji and the Bainimarama regime has been variously tense, acrimonious and downright hostile, with Church conferences cancelled by the government in 2009–2011 after the Methodist Church was accused of ‘playing politics’. A further attempt to minimise the influence of the Methodist Church has included government encouragement of the New Methodists (Souls to Jesus) movement in 2008–9. However, these government actions have been premised on the assumption that the Methodist Church is monolithic in its support for conservative Fijian chiefly values, often privileging these over more universalist values espoused by other Christian denominations. While this may have been generally true of the years 1989–2012, it has not always been the case. This paper suggests that more recently the dynamics within the Methodist Church have changed, a shift that is only partly influenced by Bainimarama’s actions.     

白族“本主崇拜”的定位问题综论

有关白族本主崇拜或本主文化的宗教形态、社会-文化功能等方面的诸多讨论,其关键和焦点都是本主崇拜的定位问题.这个问题既牵涉到宗教学和民族学的理论,又跟民族意识和国家民族政策的实施密切相关,对它的几个重要侧面做深入的定性分析,具有重要的学术意义.     

A semiotic study of regional branding reflected in the slogans of Korean regions

The purpose of the present analyses of regional slogans is to provide a semiotic perspective for understanding the symbolic communication systems involved in the construction of Korean regional governments. This study attempts to evaluate the slogans in terms of the semantic and morphological aspects of the texts. Findings show an overuse of signs within the slogans of regional governments that weakened the delivery of information regarding local identity. A leading slogan for a large region may create a unique identity in relative terms, whereas second-tier regions tend to mimic the success of others. The present research illustrates that each region of Korea cannot be differentiated in terms of a semantic analysis of linguistic signs. The communication tendencies that influence the creation of slogans for Korean regions are morphologically complex but semantically simple, resulting in the failure of these regions to secure distinctiveness in their individual brand identities.     

COW PROTECTION AND MINORITY RIGHTS IN INDIA: REASSESSING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Recent efforts to prevent cow-slaughter in India have prompted U.S. concern about violations of religious freedom. But although the politics of cow protection poses a significant threat to disadvantaged groups in India, efforts to ameliorate that threat through an international policy of religious freedom also carry serious risks. This paper reviews reports issued by the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom and by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. It argues that by unnecessarily portraying the politics of cow protection in terms of a stark conflict between Hindus and Muslims, they threaten to undermine the goal of reducing anti-minority discrimination and violence in India.     

贝叶文化的学术价值和研究难点

贝叶文化的学术探讨,是运用多学科、大视角对民族文化进行综合研究的有益尝试,也体现了全球一体化背景下民族文化研究的发展趋势。要解决贝叶文化研究中存在的问题,就应该突出重点,扎实做好基础工作,培养一批高素质的专业研究人才队伍,并开展国际合作。