Research in Contemporary Religion

Dance plays an important role in many religious traditions, in rites of passage, processions, healing rituals or festivals. But it is also controversial, especially in Christianity. Colonial European Christian discourses tend to separate dance from religion(s) and spirituality. This volume explores dance as “Third Space”, following Homi Bhabha's postcolonial metaphor. The “Inter-Dance approach” combines interdisciplinary theoretical considerations with case studies. International experts examine dance controversies and discourses from the early church to World Christianity, as well as in Hasidic Judaism, Greek mysteries, Islamic Sufism, West African Togolese religions, and Afro-Brazilian Umbanda. Christian dance theologies are unfolded and the boundary-crossing potential of dance in interreligious and intercultural encounters is explored. The volume breaks new ground in how dance as ephemeral performative art, embodied thought and gendered discourse can transform studies of religion.

This book is the product of a South African - Nordic research collaboration that wanted to gain deeper insight into the role that faith-based organizations (FBOs) play in the lives of young people eking out a living from the margins of society. The book as such distinguishes itself as a first major international scholarly endeavor to explore the contemporary phenomenon of youth marginalization from a concerted interdisciplinary faith-based organizational interest. While the exploration of concepts such as NEET (an acronym for young people not in education, employment or training), social cohesion and FBOs constitutes an important point of departure, the book's essential contribution lies in the empirical work undertaken. In six case studies, conducted respectively in locations in South Africa, Finland and Norway, the authors make a deliberate attempt to give a voice to the young people with whom interviews were conducted. The result is a scholarly work that in its discussions and conclusions is both critical and appreciative of the involvement of FBOs in the lives of marginalized youths but also the research achievement itself. Perspectives that recognize the meaningful presence of FBOs in the lives and lived religion of many young people at the margins are presented, while authors do not shy away either from highlighting the shortcomings of FBOs to work more purposefully with young people in overcoming the conditions conducive to their marginalization. Ultimately, however, this book does not confine itself to a critical perspective on FBOs alone but through the contribution of some of its authors present illuminating insight into what may still be required from the point of view of academic research to participate in larger liberative practices involving young people but also FBOs at the margins of society.

Deconversion is a dynamical biographical process with long-term, slowly changing causes and consequences. Based on quantitative and qualitive data, Deconversion Revisited presents ten longitudinal case studies representing the lifespan from early adulthood to old age. These case studies are based on reinterviews with the Faith Development Interview and questionnaire data ten years later. The data yield insight in stability and change of biographies, faith development, psychological well-being and coping with disengagement from a variety of religious backgrounds.

The authors presented in this volume deal with important cases of Protestantization of religion or of debates on religion. One chapter deals with Protestant formatting of contemporary Islam, another discusses how Pentecostal Protestantism has an important role in formatting religion outside Europe today. Two of the authors analyse contemporary debates on circumcision and investigate how Protestant preconceptions influence these debates. Finally, several authors deal with the complex question of how Protestant religion is related to modern Secularity: either as a point of departure for “non-religion”, or as a point of departure for a Protestant understanding of secularity.

Meshack Edward Njinga explores the kinds of Bible study reading of the economically underprivileged Christians of southwest of Tanzania. He researched how economically underprivileged Christians read and interpret the text about poverty, themselves being poor people. Moreover, the study looked on how Christians move from the text to their context. As a result of research, the study has found that the economically underprivileged Christians use their context to inform the text rather than moving from text to the context.
In the CBS, the economically underprivileged Christians do theology. The kind of theology they are doing is a theology from below, the theology of the economically underprivileged. This is a practical theology which includes all people regardless of their academic background within African, specifically, Tanzanian Christianity. It involves all kinds of people regarding how they understand, communicate and live their Christian faith under perilous circumstances under which they are living in the community.

Christian theologies today struggle to make themselves relevant and respected in public discussions. One reason is a tendency among theologians to restrict themselves to discussions among their own. In this way they seldom contribute to discussions and make claims that are heard as important for people not belonging to the world of faith and piety.

This volume has a different goal. The intention is to bring updated and critical contributions to how theology can give substantial reflections relevant to a broader public.

The volume takes its starting point from ongoing international discussions on the universal. From post-colonial and post-liberal positions one claim that universal claims are oppressive. There is a long history of how universal pretentions covered for white, male and European supremacy. For this reason one argues that only positionalities from particular position are able to give hope and future to oppressed people and environmental collapses.

The contributions to this volume agree that there are toxic universalities that need to be strongly criticized. There are, however, also universalities that can defend the human and the nature. Scandinavian Creation Theology builds these universalities from life as given and pre-theoretical experiences. Here, there are potentialities for future non-toxic universalities.