K. M. University, India Christianity in the Land of Santhals: a study of Resistance and Acceptance in Historical Perspective(03U)

Rennie, Bryan Stephenson

Westminster College, USA

The Philosophy of Science and the Study of Religion: How can Methods and Theories from the Philosophy of Science Contribute to the Interpretation of Religious Data?: Second panel(10K)

"Neurotheology" and the cognitive theory of religions are just two recent examples of approaches that have applied a deliberately scientific methodology to the interpretation of religious phenomena. Attempts to develop a specific and restricted definition of terms such as ritual and religion also move the study of religion in the direction of a more "scientific" paradigm. However, the philosophy of science underlying such applications and underlying the assumption that such applications are desirable, calls for a careful and self-conscious investigation that is so far lacking. The intention of this panel is to investigate the application of the philosophy of science to the study of religion, particularly as it applies to pre-existing theories and methods in the study of religion. Although there is a considerable amount of current interest in the cognitive approach to the study of religion this panel is intended to be investigate the broader application of concepts and methods of scientific approaches to the study of religion.

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, English
Rennie, Bryan Stephenson

Westminster College, USA

Myths, Models, and Metaphors(11K)

Clifford Geertz's widely-used paper "Religion as a Cultural System" (in Michael Banton (ed.), Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion, 1965) makes the claim that "the importance of religion lies in its capacity to serve … as a source of general, yet distinctive conceptions of the world, the self and the relations between them …- its model of aspect - and of rooted, no less distinctive "mental" dispositions - its model for aspect." However, apart from a highly critical article by Hans Penner and Nancy Frankenberry (Journal of Religion, 79:4 [1999] 617-640) little attempt has been made to investigate this understanding of religion as model. This paper briefly considers the validity of Penner and Frankenberry's criticism and investigates possible applications of the elaborate analysis of models and metaphors in the philosophy of science since the time of Mary Hesse to the analysis of religious phenomena.

Organized panel
Rhodes, Colin

Loughborough University, UK

On 'World Art'(15L)

Organized panel

Rhodes, Robert

Otani University, Japan

The Development of Keiji Nishitani's Philosophy of Emptiness(07E)

*chairperson

Organized panel
Rhodes, Robert F.

Otani University, Japan

Nihon Ojo Gokurakuki, Ojoyoshu and the Construction of Pure Land Discourse in Heian Japan(15M)

Yoshishige No Yasutane's Nihon Ojo Gokurakuki was the first "Ojoden" composed in Japan, and contains the biographies of 42 people (including monks, nuns and lay believers) who were believed to have attained rebirth in Amida Buddha's Pure Land. It was compiled sometime between 983 and 985, just before Genshin completed his Ojoyoshu (Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land), the first systematic Japanese text on Pure Land doctrine and practice, in 985. In my paper, I will compare the different ways in which these two texts develop their Pure Land discourses. The Ojoyoshu constructs a Pure Land cosmology in which suffering within the Six Realms of transmigration is contrasted with the bliss of Amida Buddha's Pure Land, in order to urge Pure Land devotees to seek birth in Amida's paradisial realm. On the other hand, the Nihon Ojo Gokurakuki describes how the practices of individual Pure Land devotees led to their birth in the Pure Land. The narratives frequently focus on the practitioner's moment of death, indicating the importance attached to this moment in successfully achieving birth in Amida's realm.

Organized panel
Riahi, Abdelmalek

University Moulay Ismil, Morocco

Sufi Dimensions of War and Peace: The Example of the Tijaniyya Order(03O)

Islam has generally been regarded as the most worldly and least ascetic religion. Many reasons may be adduced to this judgment, such as the condemnation of celibacy, the absence of a priesthood with a spiritual function, and above all that preliminary compromise with the exigencies of political life which was reached in Islam already during the life time of its founder. Yet, among the earliest generations of Muslims there were many men who brought the spirit of devotion into their daily activities, and for whom Islam was a discipline of the soul. Among them is the Great Master Ibn 'Arabi, who is usually praised as an advocate of religious tolerance, and everyone who tried to underline the "mystical ideal of tolerance" followed his foot steps, including the founder of the Tijaniyya. The paper will particularly discuss this example and attempt to answer three questions: where, when and how did it emerge?

Organized panel, English
Richardson, James T.

(02L)

Roundtable session

Richardson, James T.

University of Nevada, USA

Religious Conditions in Post-Socialist Countries and the Challenges of a Religiously Plural Society(06E)

*respondent

Organized panel
Ridgeon, Lloyd Vincent John

University of Glasgow, UK

The Tradition of Javanmardi: A Sufi Basis for Conflict Resolution(02O)

The harmonious co-existence of different cultures, nationalities, races and religions has assumed greater significance in the light of the atrocities that humans have committed in the last century. The Islamic tradition all too often receives media attention that highlights human-rights abuses, yet the tradition of Islam, especially the mystical tradition, provides numerous examples of individuals who have celebrated cultural and religious pluralism. This paper will highlight the ethical teachings of one such Sufi, 'Umar Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi (d. 1234). Contemporary critics of such Islamic pluralists argue that this kind of world-view is nothing but a Western imposition, an "American-Islam", an orientalist construct to render Islam weak and impotent. However, these medieval works reveal such claims to be insubstantial. The paper will present the main arguments of Suhrawardi's ethical teachings that are included within his Persian treatises on javanmardI (literally, manliness), and contrast them with some other recent ethical works by Muslim scholars, such as Fazlur Rahman, 'Abd al-'Aziz Sachedina and 'Abdallahi Ahmad an-Na'im. Such texts reveal the ancient foundations of an ethical system that has permeated into many Islamic societies through Sufism, which may have lost its strength as a social institution, but remains a potent force as a crucial ingredient in the mind-set of many Muslims.

Organized panel, English
Riekert, Stephanus Johannes

University of the Free State, South Africa

Peace and War in Ancient Egyptian Religion(17C)

Iconographical and textual materials illustrate that there was a relationship between the theogony, cosmogony and the kingship mythology. The Pharaoh is characterized as having a divine origin and at the same time the functions of the state nestled in him. In war scenes he is depicted with divine attributes. He is therefore a divine warrior. On the other hand, we have a votive scene in which the Pharaoh gives an offering consisting of the cut off hands of his conquered foes. In this one could perhaps consider the Pharaoh to be a kind of high priest. Other scenes affirm the mediatorial role of the Pharaoh as bringing peace and dispending the blessing to his subjects and allies.

Organized panel, English
Riesebrodt, Martin

University of Chicago, USA

Revisiting the Concept of Religion(04K)

Recently, scholars in the Foucauldian and post-colonial tradition have challenged the universal applicability of the concept of religion. They have argued that religion is a modern Western concept with strong political implications that should be abandoned or at least be carefully contextualized. This panel is designed to take this challenge seriously and to explore its merits as well as its shortcomings. Papers that revisit the concept of religion from a theoretical, historical, or social scientific perspectives are welcome. For example, papers could address the concept of religion within different theoretical approaches, analyze discourses on religion at different historical points in time, or study institutionalizations of religion historically or in the contemporary world.

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, English
Riesebrodt, Martin

University of Chicago, USA

Religion: Just Another Modern Western Construction?(04K)

Recent critiques have shed serious doubt on the legitimacy of the concept of religion. Most of these critics have been scholars working in the Foucauldian or post-colonial theoretical perspectives emphasizing the political implications of the category. Although their arguments have provided a most welcome challenge, I would like to justify the concept of religion from a sociological, "referential" point of view. Instead of focusing on the categories actors and institutions employ, I emphasize the presuppositions on which their mutual references rest. In other words, even if no single concept exists which could be translated as "religion," I claim that "religious" actors and institutions have always recognized each other as similar. They have mutually constituted, defined, and transformed each other; they have competed with each other, polemicized against each other, and borrowed from each other. And emperors have regulated religious institutions through specific edicts throughout history.

Organized panel, English
Riesebrodt, Martin

University of Chicago, USA

Japanese Views on Max Weber and Modernization Theory(05V)

*chairperson

Organized panel
Riswold, Caryn Donna

Illinois College, USA

A Response to THE UNDERLYING TERROR:(01C)

When the President of the United States asserts that "you are with us or you are with the terrorists.…," and that "freedom and fear are at war… we know that God is not neutral between them…," he assumes and suggests that struggles against evil are clear-cut, easily distinguished from the good, and able to be simply resolved. When it comes to the present "war on terrorism," this rhetoric is not satisfactory. Theological and philosophical discourse on the nature of evil reveal its complexities; Social scientific resources examining the evil of terrorism reveal its nuances; Pedagogical implications of this work suggest what we must do as we respond to the presidential rhetoric about evil and the war on terrorism. Discourse about evil must be complicated, as the nature of evil is complicated. Understanding this allows us to seek real means to struggle for justice in the midst of terror.

Symposium, English
Ro, Kil Myung

Korea University, Korea

Characteristics of the New Religious Movements in Korea(07D)

A number of new religious movements have emerged in Korean society since the 19th century. Although these movements have become part of Korean religious culture showing various aspects, naming them still remains controversial. Some refer to the movements as 'Ethnic Religious Movements' because of the belief that they were byproducts of imperialism and foreign religions. Others name them as 'People(Minjung)'s religious movements' because they have originated from the lower class that have been suppressed by the ruling class. Yet, it is hard to conclude that only one standpoint is reasonable, because all the perspectives are related to each other. This paper argues that Korean new religious movements be understood as 'Movements for retrieval of people's identity', which have been developed in response to the crises of internal contradiction and external shock.

Symposium
Robouam, Thierry

Sophia University, Japan

Humor and Religion in Japan(02P)

*respondent

Organized panel
Rocha, Cristina

University of Western Sydney, Australia

Two Faces of God: Religion and Social Class in the Brazilian Diaspora in Sydney(06V)

This paper examines the religious practices of Brazilians living in Australia through case study analyses of a Brazilian Evangelical Church and a Spiritist centre in Sydney. I argue that their religious choice reflects their social class position prior to their arrival in Australia. Amongst the poor, Evangelicalism is the religion of choice in both Brazil and Australia, while adherence to French Spiritism is a middle class phenomenon. In this context, I argue that religion and social class play as meaningful a role as ethnicity for the construction of identity of this diasporic community. Moreover, I contend that the process of globalisation plays a significant role in shaping these religious practices by forging transnational linkages across cultural and national boundaries. In particular, I show that both religious centres in Sydney have established connections with similar institutions in the USA and Japan, where there is a more established Brazilian community.

Organized panel, English
Roda-Dafielmoto, Annabelle

Notre Dame University, Philippines

Back to the Tunnel of History: A Crystallization of Unity(01G)

Organized panel, English

Roda-Dafielmoto, Annabelle

Notre Dame University, Philippines

Religion and Colonization: the Mindanao Experience(06O)

The tragedy of religious conflicts between Christians and Muslims has shaped a niche of prejudices especially in the southern Philippines—Mindanao. This dates back to the Spanish colonization in the 15th century and the American occupation in 1900's. The deceptive traces of the colonizers radically touched the cohesive society of the Islamic believers. Many years after, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was born. It claims to be the true bearer of Islamic interests. However, the Muslims' claim for Mindanao as their land created a wider and deeper hatred between them and the people of Mindanao. This is evidenced by the wars and terroristic events that mauled the graceful image of this island. Moreover, there are a lot of efforts done in the name of peace and unity yet many radical Muslims persistently claim that the history of Mindanao is yet to be written. Yet, in fact, it has been written in the thick pages of everybody's life through the authentic endeavors of many religious groups to accommodate this urgency. There is the need then to go back to the foundation of our history and interpret it together. This means that , all groups in Mindanao should exert collaborative effort in looking into significant milestones of our history. By initiating dialogue with religious groups, this aim for unity can take its first course.

Organized panel, English
Rodrigues, Hillary Peter

The University of Lethbridge, Canada

Durga: Hindu War Goddess of Peace(12E)

The mythology of Durga, the Hindu Great Goddess (Devi), is replete with her martial exploits in which she destroys hosts of enemies. Even iconography commonly depicts her armed with many weapons and engaged in the sanguine act of slaying the demon Mahisa. Although this characterization firmly identifies Durga as a Goddess of War, I will argue that for most Hindus, Durga is actually a Goddess of Peace. After discussing how Durga is often utilized as a rallying symbol for militant Hinduism, I hope to demonstrate that the Devi mainly functions as a matrix of power and protection within which life may prosper peacefully. Drawing from myth and contemporary ritual, such as the Durga Puja, I suggest that Durga offers access to an amoral power, allowing human beings to be architects of their own circumstances. For most worshipers, the Goddess is propitiated not to rouse others to active violence, but to invoke a sober, defensive empowerment that nourishes the realization of their life goals.

Organized panel, English
Rodriguez Arribas, Josefina

Harvard University, USA

Abraham ibn Ezra: Astronomical Spheres and the Ten Commandments of the Jewish Faith(12G)

The idea of unity and correspondence between heavens and earth, as well as God's immanency into His creation, key thesis in Abraham ibn Ezra's writings (11th-12th C.), are especially evident in his explanation on the relationship of the ten spheres of his cosmological system and the Ten Commandments of the Law as they were given to Moses at the Sinai. In addition to this, the link with the ten fundamental numbers must be included because Ibn Ezra considered them as involving cosmological meanings. In this way, the Jewish ethics expressed in the Decalogue reproduces, in its enunciation, the order of the spheres and the hierarchy of numbers. In a clear neo-platonist context, for Ibn Ezra, human moral conduct reproduces soul's way through the spheres in the descent that precedes birth, as well as in the ascent that follows death.

Symposium, English
Romer, Thomas Christian

University of Lausanne, Switzerland

The Construction of the Figure of Moses According to Biblical and Extra-Biblical Sources(04R)

This paper argues that the tradition of Moses is multi-formed in origin: there are conflicting portraits of Moses in biblical and non-biblical literature, and this diversity needs to be explained. In doing this, Biblical scholars have unduly neglected the large corpus of Hellenistic material. The existence in the Pentateuch of diverse conceptions of Moses (cosmopolitan versus exclusionist) is seen as consistent with the diversity of readings of who and what Moses was attested in the Hellenistic corpus. Focusing on Artapanus, we will show that many Pentateuchal stories are either echoed by or supplemented with alternative conceptions of Moses in the non-biblical literature in Greek. This papers presents one aspect of a research project on Moses between Athens and Jerusalem, in which the presenter is involved together with Ph. Borgeaud and Y. Volokhine.

Organized panel, English
Romer, Thomas Christian

University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Constructions of Jewish Traditions: Textual and Ritual Analyses(04R)

*chairperson

Organized panel
Rotermund, Hartmut, O.

Ecole Pratique Des Hautes Etudes, France

Shugendo in the European Eye: Centering on the 16th Century(07C)

Europe's first knowledge on Japan depends mainly on the 16th-century writing of missionaries, be it in the field of language, religion, social structure or cultural particularities: Jesuit letters and reports are materials of undeniable interest. In this paper I will investigate those passages dealing with the syncretistic Buddhism of Shugendo, the austerities of yamabushi practitioners. Many misunderstandings and Christian views underlie these documents, from which I shall take my examples. Taking up the Ten world exercise, the legendary image of En no gyoja and his acolytes, the female prohibition of nyonin kinsei, or the most essential notion of soku-shin-jobutsu, I shall consider some significant details of Shugendo at the end of the medieval period.

Organized panel, Japanese
Rukmani, Trichur

Concordia University, Canada

Tension between Himsa (Violence) and Ahimsa (Non-Violence) in Hindu Thought(14M)

This paper addresses the many strategies that are employed in later Hindu philosophical and religious literature to reconcile the paramount importance given to non-violence (ahimsa) as the highest ethical value with the ritual violence (himsa) that was allowed in Vedic yajna (sacrifice). The argument of the paper is that this was a gradual evolution from a Vedic philosophy that was more oriented towards leading a dharmic life within the confines of Rta (moral and physical order) to a philosophy which was increasingly turning inwards by the time of the Upanisads, in order to discover one's true identity, and in which the highest value had been transformed to that of liberation or moksa. Original Sanskrit texts both philosophical and religious will be used to develop the argument.

Organized panel, English
Ruml, Mark Francis

University of Winnipeg, Canada

Arvol Looking Horse, the Protection of Ceremonies, and the Heyoka(06G)

Arvol Looking Horse is a Lakota spiritual leader who is the 19th generation keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle. Some have referred to him as the "Native American Pope" and many people look to him for spiritual guidance. He has been known for traveling around the world spreading a message of peace and unity among all races. On March 13 2003 he issued a "Protection of Ceremonies"statement, followed by a second part on July 7. Many people see his current position as a complete reversal of everything that he has said and stood for up to this point. This paper explores the impact of Arvol Looking Horse's statement by examining responses posted on the World Wide Web and responses obtained through discussions with Dakota and non-Dakota people who participate in Dakota ceremonies. The paper concludes by postulating that Arvol Looking Horse's statement is best understood from what might be called "a heyoka interpretive perspective."

Organized panel, English
Ruparell, Tinu

University of Calgary, Canada

Hybrid Religious Identities and the Hermeneutics of Interreligious Dialogue(03L)

Interreligious dialogue as a discourse practice can be understood through network theory where individuals act as nodes in a complex social network linking together parts of wider religious traditions. As in most scale-free networks significant and effective communication between such broad religious conglomerations most often takes place through key individuals acting as, in network terms, 'hubs' and 'mavens'. Provisionally accepting a scale-free network model, this paper analyses the hermeneutics of interreligious dialogue as a scale-free discourse particularly as it guides and constructs the roles and religious identities of individuals acting as hubs and mavens. I argue further that successful hubs and mavens display significant degrees of religious hybridisation and propose a 'processual' theory, deriving from Ricoeur and Rorty, towards levering such hybridised hubs towards furthering fruitful understanding between religious traditions. Given the inordinate influence wielded by hubs, I conclude that developing 'hybrid strange negotiators' are key in future interreligious dialogue.

Organized panel
Ryba, Thomas

University of Notre Dame/ Purdue University, USA

Natural Law as the Dually Legitimated Ground of a Global Bill of Human Rights(10B)

The possibility of a centrally-administered global system of law brings the status of human rights and their foundation to the fore. Historically, various philosophies of law have attempted different legitimizations, so that the positivist theory of law, the utilitarian theory of law, Kantian cosmopolitan theory of law and classical natural law theory have all proposed competing grounds for human rights. In this paper, I will defend the thesis that an extension of the classical natural law theory is preferable to the above alternatives because it allows two exclusive legitimizations of human rights according to independent secularist and religious assumptions. In other words, I will argue that natural law is superior as a foundation for a global bill of rights because it allows both the religious and the secularists to "buy into" it, though for different reasons. Providing a few examples of how this religious legitimization might be accomplished, I will argue that grounding human rights on natural law is a preferable approach because it supports a transnational system of laws, while preserving the particularity of both the secularist and religious interpretations of the origin of this system.

Organized panel, English