secularization

Post-Christian or Post-Atheistic Society? Some Characteristics of the Russian Regime of Secularity

The authors argue that the specificity of the Russian case of secularity is generally underestimated. This leads to two negative consequences. First, it leads researchers to considering the regimes of secularity in Eastern Europe as variations of the “Soviet model,” which is false.

Three Forms of Mediatized Religion: Changing the Public Face of Religion

The text is a translation of the chapter by Stig Hjarvard from the edited volume “Media and Religion: The Nordic Perspectives”. Hjarvard develops a typology of the mediatized religion: (1) “religious media”, (2) “journalism on religion”, and (3) “banal religion”. While the first type corresponds in part to organized religion and may serve to project religious narratives into the public realm, the other two forms are driven primarily by various media considerations.

Body and Sociality in New Age Pilgrimage

The paper explores the interaction with sacred places in New Age pilgrimage. There is a tendency in social theory of religion to define New Age spirituality as individualized form of religiosity in accordance with the notion of “private religion”. Such an interpretation is based on the priority of personal beliefs and narratives upon bodily aspect of religious experience and the ways of reflecting about it.

Struggling for Equal Burial: Funeral Administration in Early Soviet Union

Bolsheviks’ program of separation of Church from State involved a bunch of issues connected to the abolishment of social and confessional inequality. Funeral reform initiated by the government decree on funerals and cemeteries (1918) was a part of this program. The decree stated the abolishment of funeral classes, deprived Church from all funeral incomes and stated “equal burial for everyone.” The paper, based on the materials from State Archive of Moscow Region (GAMO), reflects the results of the atheist funeral reform in Moscow in 1920–1930s.

500th Anniversary of the Reformation: Ecumenism as Church and Public Phenomenon in Today’s Germany

The 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 was held in Ger‑ many for the first time as an ecumenical event. Within its framework, a number of important official church documents about rethinking the history of the Reformation were adopted, common worship services held, and a large number of projects implemented at the region‑ al, national and international levels.

“Everson”, “McCollum”, “Zorach”: The Supreme Court and the Debate on Church-State Relations in the United States in the Late 1940s — Early 1950s

This article studies the situation in church‑state relations in the United States in the late 1940s — early 1950s. The Supreme Court’s decisions in the Everson (1947), McCollum (1948) and Zorach (1952) cases concerned the majority of U. S. religious bodies. These decisions provoked debates on the issues of the secularization of American society and cooperation between church and state in various fields. Interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment was an important subject of the polemics too.

German Criminal Legislation in the Religious Sphere: History and Contemporary Discussions

Discussions about criminal law in the religious sphere have become relevant in Europe. This article presents the main milestones in the development of German criminal law in the field of «religious crimes» (insulting religious feelings, obstructing worship, desecration of religious objects, etc.) in the context of church‑state relations during different historical periods — the Middle Ages, Reformation, Enlightenment, Kulturkampf, National‑Socialism, and post‑war.

Our Lady of Katyń: Religious Imagery and the Politics of History

Religion, Politics and Modernity in Georgia: The Case of May 17th, 2013

A Political Dimension of the Russian Religious Philosophy

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