Breakpoint or Binder: Religious Engagement in Dutch Civil Society

Civil society as a social sphere is constantly subjected to change. Using the Dutch context, this article addresses the question whether religiously inspired engagement is a binder or a breakpoint in modern societies. The author examines how religiously inspired people in the Netherlands involve themselves in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and voluntary activities. Religious involvement and social engagement in different European countries are compared and discussed. In addition, the author explores the models of civil society and applies these to both the Christian and Islamic civil society in the Netherlands. Using four religious ‘identity organizations’ as case studies, this article discusses the interaction of Christian and Islamic civil society related to secularized Dutch society. The character and intentions of religiously inspired organizations and the relationship between religious and secular involvement are examined. This study also focuses on the attitude of policymakers towards religiously inspired engagement and government policy on ‘identity organizations’ in the Netherlands.     

论西部民族地区城市化进程中的民族宗教问题

当前西部大开发的推进和城市化进程的加快,对西部民族地区的经济生活产生了深刻影响,这种影响同时也反映在宗教领域,并通过各种宗教现象与行为表现出来。文章在剖析当前我国西部民族地区城市化进程中所存在民族宗教问题的基础上,初步提出了解决这些问题的具体措施。这对于推进西部民族地区的城市化发展、维护城乡社会稳定,构建社会主义和谐社会具有重大意义。     

科学宗教观的新贡献 --学习江泽民"在全国宗教工作会议上的讲话"

江泽民“在全国宗教工作会议上的讲话”（以下简称《讲话》）通篇贯穿着“与时俱进”的时代精神,充分体现了创新气息和国情特点。《讲话》为我们提供了观察宗教的一个新视角,即以世界的眼光观察宗教;《讲话》概括了当代宗教存在的“三特点”及其作用的“四关系”,把马克思主义宗教观推进到了适应时代需要的新阶段;《讲话》是反映时代特点的我国宗教工作纲领,值得理论界和宗教工作者认真学习,并在实践中逐一加以贯彻。克服不适应于时代和实践的种种旧观念,是今后相当时期的一个重要任务。     

Constraining Political Transformation: The Two Faces of Activist Religious Organizations in the Search for a New Constitution in Kenya

Abstract

Religious organizations are key structural components of Kenyan civil society that have played or continue to play a critical role in socio-political developments. In the last two and half decades especially, religious institutions have been among the principal actors shaping the mechanics and trajectories of Kenya's political order. But religious organizations’ political behaviour, especially in the country's search for a new constitution, was contentious and remarkably inconsistent. There were moments of progressive actions but also behaviour that imperilled progress. This article probes this ambivalence of Kenyan faith groups in the struggles for a new constitution. It is argued that their political behavioural inconsistencies largely reflect an ethnic, class and, to a lesser extent, instrumentalized doctrinal or denominational schism that is ever present in the wider Kenyan society. By analysing how religious leaders and their organizations challenged political elite domination while remaining amenable to its influence, this article illustrates the contradictions of elite pacts in these struggles and how they constrained progressive transformation.     

新加坡宗教事务的法律治理

新加坡是东西方文明的交汇之地,妥善处理不同种族、宗教之间的关系至关重要。在对本国多元宗教、多元民族的基本国情充分认知的基础上,新加坡政府采取了务实的宗教政策。通过宪法和宗教自由法确立了政教分离、宗教自由和平等保护原则,制定了维护宗教和谐法,实现了宗教间的和谐与容忍,为世界各国宗教事务的法律治理树立了典范。