Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies

JSRI cover no. 9 - Winter 2004

2026-09-15T13:14:35+03:00

JSRI cover no. 9 - Winter 2004.

Trăsături ale tranziției culturale românești. Observații privind reconstrucția societății civile și existența unui model cultural identitar

2026-09-15T13:15:50+03:00

The author intends to look at Romanian cultural transition as an ongoing process which since 1989 has known an accelerated pace according to the fall of communism and the real perspectives of integration in the European Union. Seen within the cultural constraints of globalization, the impact of social and cultural change in Romanian society affected considerably the cultural behavior of the individual as well as the setting of new institutions, their functioning and implicitly the rhythm of democratization. Remarking on modernization in Eastern Europe, the author considers that unless civil society asserts its presence, reconstructing the Romanian public sphere, transition may be a reversible process.

Religious Tolerance as the Basic Component of Inter-Religious Dialogue

2026-09-15T13:20:59+03:00

The problem of religious tolerance is of supreme importance in the contemporary world. Just as, a few centuries ago, many wars were provoked by religious motifs, so today clashes on religious grounds provoke military conflicts that have long overgrown the walls of churches and mosques and keep growing in spite of the sacred traditions of the religions themselves. "Orientation to lovei" fails to work, and the "neighbor" becomes an enemy if he does not confess the same religion. Where shall we search for the reason behind religious hostility? What is the history of intolerance? Who was the first to throw the stone that shook the foundations of peaceful coexistence of particular families and whole states? We propose to turn to the following themes: 1. World religions and relations between them (on the question of Christian- Judeo-Islamic dialogue) 2. Relations inside world religions (on the example of Christian confessions) 3. Interrelations between world religions and new religious movements.

Dialogul ecumenic anglicano- luteran la nivel mondial, regional și local. Excurs istorico-dogmatic

2026-09-15T13:25:43+03:00

In 1967, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) appointed a Committee in order to begin formal conversations. The first series of theological dialogues resulted in the Pullach Report (1972), which surveyed the variety of issues affecting AnglicanLutheran relations. The ACC and the Executive Committee of LWF convened a Joint Working Group in 1975 to review responses to the Pullach Report. A new Joint Working Group was convened in 1983. The Cold Ash Report (1983) surveyed the state of LutheranAnglican relations and explored the concept of full communion, as a description of the life together. Finally, in 1998 the Anglican-Lutheran International Working Group was convened by ACC and LWF. The Porto Allegre Report (2002) provide a picture of the present state of AnglicanLutheran relations, and analyze issues raised by the present relations between Anglicans and Lutherans.

O reinterpretare a pluralismului din perspectiva creștină

2026-09-15T13:29:39+03:00

This paper attempts at giving a definition of pluralism from a Christian point of view, concerning the construction of a Christian identity of Europe. The sources of the article range from the Economic Chart and the dialogue between Habermas and cardinal Ratzinger, to the beliefs of a Lutheran bishop, to the orthodox ecclesiology of one of the New Testament and to the reconciliation between the Catholics and the Orthodox believers.

Intrinsic and equal human worth in a secular worldview. Fictionalism in human rights discourse

2026-09-16T00:56:40+03:00

One of the most central ideas of secular, humanistic morality is the thesis of intrinsic and equal human worth. Paradoxically, it is very hard to place this thesis in a secular worldview, because an indifferent universe can not make room for intrinsic values and a priori human rights. Nevertheless, it would not be a good solution to jettison the whole human rights discourse. Therefore, this paper proposes the stance of moral fictionalism: to believe that the discourse entails or embodies a theory that is false, but to carry on employing the discourse, as if this were not the case, because it is useful to do so. As such, the ideas of intrinsic and equal human worth can be the subject of ëdisbelieving acceptanceí by the secular moral philosopher.

Using Literature as a Strategy for Nation Building: A Case Study from Nigeria

2026-09-16T00:59:46+03:00

What my article attempts to articulate is the role of literature in constructing, <<inventing>> national identities that are the base for the claims of a nation's existence. To achieve this, I first provide a short definition of the concepts of nation-building and national identity. I argue that literature is an important tool in the process of building a nation and creating a national identity. I further focus on the writings of Chinua Achebe, a 20th Century Nigerian author, in an attempt to exemplify the theory of literature as tool in nation building. I argue that, through the use of legends, mythic histories, and folklore, literature succeeds in creating patterns of meaning and in contextualizing the issues of national identity. These patterns and contexts enable and undergird the cultural values that enable the reconstruction of national identity. Achebe's writings are part of a large sphere of practices meant to recover and reconstruct a Nigerian national identity and through this, build a nation.

Partide etnice și partide regionale. România vs. democrații stabile

2026-09-16T01:04:10+03:00

This article describes the relation between the existence of regional parties in Romania vs. stable democracies like Belgium and Germany and the degree of regional issue dimensions reflected by partiesí electoral support. It also reflects the impact of regional dimension on voting behavior. The research is based on the nationalization concept introduced by Mark P. Jones and Scott Mainwaring, well operationalized here by Gini Index based vote share of parties in subunits applied on one or more countries. From here, the study wants to promote a new formula which permits the evaluation of regional dimension from all issue dimensions of a country and counting the score like a reflection of differences between parties (regional, national), the differences between voters expectations on regional issues, the competition pattern, the increase or decrease of the national issue dimensions by changing inside the given party system.

Lindbeck's Scheme-Content Distinction: A Critique of the Dualism Between Orders of Language

2026-09-16T01:08:18+03:00

There are several tensions present in George Lindbeck's postliberal theology. One of these is between realist intuitions and a non-epistemic account of truth, on the one hand, and a social- constructivist non-realism with regard to theological statements. Theology is relegated to the status of second-order discourse, while first order language comprises the practices, rituals, vocabulary of a religion. I am challenging this intermediary status of religion with the help of Donald Davidson's critique of the dualism between scheme and content. Since there isn't much to be made of the notion of epistemic intermediaries (either as 'content' or as 'scheme') it does not make sense to continue to speak either in terms of realism or of non-realism. This clears the way for treating theology as cognitive.

What's in a Name? Modest Considerations on the Situatedness of Language and Meaning 1

2026-09-16T01:12:45+03:00

In this paper I tackle the relationship between language, knowledge and power. To this end, I try to give some reasons for the non-arbitrariness of some words, as well as for the non-arbitrariness of grammatical genders in Romance languages, especially Romanian and French. I focus on several specific linguistic structures and uses of particular words in these two languages. I particularly deal with the construction of a third grammatical gender, the neuter, in Romanian, in comparison to the two grammatical genders existing in French, trying to see how the application of Irigaray's theory on the gender of nouns functions for Romanian language. There is no third grammatical gender in French, and therefore Irigaray's argument is proved to be invalid for Romanian. The questions that lead my analysis are: What corporeality does the third grammatical gender, the neuter in Romanian, point to? How are we to consider neuter words? Is the neuter a necessary and sufficient proof for considering Romanian a less sexist language? Is the neuter the guarantor of impartiality and equilibrium in a grammatically gendered language?

Pluralism și multiculturalism

2026-09-16T01:18:41+03:00

The author focuses on several dimensions of multiculturalism as an ideology of pluralism and diversity. To this end, he uses a series of correlative terms, such as: diversity, autonomy, cultural canon, interculturalism. The affirmation of the cultural identity is shown to be a resource for participating to the public life, to the negotiation of the interests and for participating to the political process of decision-making. The author believes that the access to the public sphere presupposes the previous elaboration of special policies meant to guarantee the preservation of the alternative identities. Consequently, the educational policies are proved to be very important. An illustrative example is the multicultural model of Babeș-Bolyai University from Cluj, Romania.

Bernard Miège, Societatea cucerită de comunicare Ed. Polirom, Iași, 2004

2026-09-16T01:22:36+03:00

Review of Bernard Miège, Societatea cucerită de comunicare Ed. Polirom, Iași, 2004.

*** Caiete de antropologie istorică. Oamenii și moartea în societatea românească

2026-09-16T01:26:38+03:00

Review of *** Caiete de antropologie istorică. Oamenii și moartea în societatea românească.

Sorin Adam Matei, Boierii minții. Intelectualii români între grupurile de prestigiu și piața liberă a ideilor. Ed. Compania, București, 2004

2026-09-16T01:30:59+03:00

Review of Sorin Adam Matei, Boierii minții. Intelectualii români între grupurile de prestigiu și piața liberă a ideilor. Ed. Compania, București, 2004.

Nicu Gavriluță - Hermeneutica simbolismului religios. Studii și eseuri Editura Fundației AXIS, Iași, 2003

2026-09-16T13:53:12+03:00

Review of Nicu Gavriluță - Hermeneutica simbolismului religios. Studii și eseuri Editura Fundației AXIS, Iași, 2003.

Florea Lucaci, Creație și ființare. Un temei în ontologia umanului Editura Dacia, Cluj Napoca, 2002

2026-09-16T13:56:52+03:00

Review of Florea Lucaci, Creație și ființare. Un temei în ontologia umanului Editura Dacia, Cluj Napoca, 2002.

CLAHR (Colonial Latin American Historcal Review), Vol. 11, Fall 2002, No. 4

2026-09-16T14:00:04+03:00

Review of CLAHR (Colonial Latin American Historcal Review), Vol. 11, Fall 2002, No. 4.

Stéphane Mosès, Sistem și revelație. Filosofia lui Franz Rosenzweig București, Ed. Hasefer, Colecția Judaica, 2003

2026-09-16T14:02:37+03:00

Review of Stéphane Mosès, Sistem și revelație. Filosofia lui Franz Rosenzweig București, Ed. Hasefer, Colecția Judaica, 2003.

Carl E. Braaten, No Other Gospel! Christianity among the World's Religions Minneapolis, USA: Fortress Press, 1992. Paperback: 146 pp. including endnotes and index

2026-09-16T14:06:46+03:00

Review of Carl E. Braaten, No Other Gospel! Christianity among the World's Religions Minneapolis, USA: Fortress Press, 1992. Paperback: 146 pp. including endnotes and index.

Jean Servier, Terorismul Institutul European, Iași, 2002, Traducere de Bogdan Geangalău, Cu un studiu introductiv de Nicu Gavriluță

2026-09-16T14:09:57+03:00

Review of Jean Servier, Terorismul Institutul European, Iași, 2002, Traducere de Bogdan Geangalău, Cu un studiu introductiv de Nicu Gavriluță.

Moshe Halbertal, Ezoterism și exoterism. Restricțiile misterului în tradiția iudaică Ed. Limes, Cluj-Napoca, 2004, traducere din limba engleză de Roxana Havrici

2026-09-16T14:12:55+03:00

Review of Moshe Halbertal, Ezoterism și exoterism. Restricțiile misterului în tradiția iudaică Ed. Limes, Cluj-Napoca, 2004, traducere din limba engleză de Roxana Havrici.

Moshe Idel, Perfecțiuni care absorb: Cabala și interpretare Ed. Polirom, Iași, 2004, prefață de Harold Bloom, traducere de Horia Popescu

2026-09-16T14:16:27+03:00

Review of Moshe Idel, Perfecțiuni care absorb: Cabala și interpretare Ed. Polirom, Iași, 2004, prefață de Harold Bloom, traducere de Horia Popescu.

Moshe Idel, Golem Ed. Hasefer, București, 2003. Traducere de Rola Mahler-Beilis.

2026-09-16T14:19:24+03:00

Review of Moshe Idel, Golem Ed. Hasefer, București, 2003. Traducere de Rola Mahler-Beilis.