bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Three Types of Monastic Temple in Hindu India
Authors: Sadler Albert William
Published: August 2016

Much of what is vital in contemporary urban Hinduism is centered in maths, temples maintained by religious orders. The activities of both monks and laymen in these centers reflect the unique solution of their community to the perennial Hindu problem of balancing Wisdom, Ecstasy, and Works. Maths of the ancient Shankara Order clearly reflect the dichotomy between the monks' quest for wisdom and the laymen's practice of devotion, as noted by Max Weber; maths of the medieval Chaitanya Order show, in their layout, the centrality of kirtan (ecstatic communal worship); maths of the modern order of Sri Ramakrishna reflect the modern emphasis on practical service to the community through education and medicine. In each case, the configuration of the monastic-temple enclosure reflects the spirit of the community and the order.
Faith as Freedom: Solidarity with the Alienated and Confidence in the Future
Authors: Gutierrez Gustavo
Published: August 2016

An introductory discussion of Christian perspectives on freedom is followed by a consideration of the developments that preceded the genesis of Liberation Theology. That leads into the issues: Given the complexity of contemporary structures in a technological society where the number of those marginated by the system has become acute, who is my neighbor and how do I concretely love him or her? Transformation of history requires action flowing from faith and a willingness to live conflict. But how does one announce God as Father in a non-human world? What are the implications when we tell a non-person that he or she is a son or daughter of God? Believers must develop a critical consciousness and a praxis which confronts the actual conditions of life. To be a Church is to be in solidarity with all who suffer but we must remember that the gospel message is not ideological since it does not identify with any social form. It hopes against hope.
Bildungsromane and the Pedagogy of Comparative Religion
Authors: Miles John A.
Published: August 2016

Both the world religions survey and the phenomenology of religion experience present fatal difficulties when undertaken as a first course in religion. Useful features of both can be saved and difficulties avoided in judicious use of Bildungsromane in which different religious traditions figure prominently. Several such are named and their use discussed.
How My Mind Has Changed, 1960-1975
Authors: Curran Charles E.
Published: August 2016

A distinguished Catholic moral theologian outlines in a systematic way the changes that have occurred in his understanding of Catholic moral theology during the last fifteen years. This historical developmental essay touches on various concrete issues while reviewing the contexts which influenced them and the stance with which they were addressed. Ethical models and methodologies are reviewed and official Church teaching discussed. While the changes of the last fifteen years are seen as enormous, it is maintained that they are in continuity with the best of the Roman Catholic theological tradition.
American Catholics and Revival Religion 1850–1900
Authors: Dolan Jay P.
Published: August 2016

By studying the parish mission under the rubric of revivalism the author claims that revival religion enjoyed widespread popularity in the American Catholic community in the second half of the nineteenth century. This conservative tradition had a wider appeal and exerted a greater influence among the bulk of Catholics than the liberal progressive gospel of Americanization.

The parish mission had its roots in Europe and was introduced to the U. S. by various religious orders, the Redemptorists and Jesuits in particular. By comparing the parish mission with Protestant revivals the term Catholic revivalism emerges as the most apt description for the religion fostered at the mission.

To illustrate the meaning of revival religion among Catholics the author studies handbooks for Catholic revivals, sermons of mission preachers and newspaper accounts of the mission. In particular he concentrates on the sermons of Redemptorist and Paulist preachers. From these sources the article argues that Catholics were being nurtured in an evangelical piety that stressed individual conversion; the preachers proclaimed a theology of individualism that was rooted in the theme of repentance and pressed upon the people in an urgent, emotion-filled manner. The moral qualities of right behavior were also stressed and chief among these was the spirit of temperance. A notable difference from Protestant revivalism was the Catholic emphasis on the sacrament of penance in the personal experience of conversion. Catholic revivals encouraged a sacramental evangelicalism that emerged as a major motivating force in the religion of American Catholics in the nineteenth century.
Studies in Religious Ethics: Taking Human Life
Authors: Gustafson James M.
Published: August 2016

Over the past decade I have periodically taught an undergraduate course entitled “Studies in Religious Ethics: Taking Human Life.” Three traditions are studied: Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism. “Studies in Religious Ethics” has precedence in the title in order to convey the intention that the readings would be in the ethics of religious traditions, and that the principal purpose of the course is to come to a better knowledge and understanding of ethics in the context of religious thought and communal life. I intend, thereby, to deflect the interest of persons who are interested only in the moral questions of taking human life. “Taking Human Life” was chosen for two reasons. First, the moral teachings on these questions and the ethical and theological justifications for them provide specific points of reference around which particular comparisons between Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism can be made. One can, for example, look at the questions of capital punishment, and by following the arguments of a standard Catholic source, an article that assesses the classic Jewish tradition, and a Protestant theologian like Karl Barth, begin to indicate both the methods and the contents of each tradition. The practical moral questions become avenues which one can take into the history of each tradition, into the ethical theories of each tradition, and into the patterns of moral authority of each tradition. A second reason for “Taking Human Life” is that the questions used are those to which contemporary students frequently have affective responses of considerable depth, and also opinions which have not been thoroughly considered. While it is not a major purpose of the course to bring students’ opinions under critical scrutiny, their interest in the questions motivates their participation in the class, and a latent consequence of their reading and the discussions is a critical examination of the reasons they hold their frequently outspoken opinions.
History, Religion, and Ideology: the Caleb Tradition
Authors: Flanagan James W.
Published: August 2016

The interaction among religion, ideology, and history must be kept in mind if one is to understand any of these or their role in society. Within the Hebrew Bible, the Caleb Tradition illustrates how religion and politics influenced several writers' interpretations of early Judahite and Israelite history, and in turn, how their histories were employed for religious and political ends. By recognizing these relationships, the reader is able to unravel one of the most complicated periods in Israel's history, which has been obscured by early historians-politicians-theologians. The study also suggests problems that may be expected when a biblical basis is proposed for modern society.
Eve, Mary and the Historians: American Catholicism and Women
Authors: Kenneally James J.
Published: August 2016

In viewing women as other “Mary's” many American Catholics have contested movements such as suffrage and higher education, believing them to be threats to a stable society and women's natural position in the home. Such a concept contained the seeds of its own destruction, for other Catholics, on the basis that pious, pure, females were superior to males, advocated that women's influence be extended beyond the immediate family. Contrasted with this “Mary” perception was that of woman as a tempting “Eve” whose societal activities must be confined, since she might undermine male spirituality. These stereotypes, each contributing to anti-feminism, have also influenced historians of Catholicism who tend to ignore the lives and problems of Catholic women. At this juncture in American Church history there is need for-an analysis of feminism's apparent erosion on the faith of Catholic women, and of an explanation as well of how prominent, influential women were able to reconcile their lives outside the home with their Church.
A Discipline in Quest of an Identity: Religious Education
Authors: Marthaler Berard L.
Published: August 2016

If religious education is to have a proper place in seminary, college and university curricula, it needs to acquire a clear identity as an academic discipline. A course must be developed which deals with foundations of religious education, its history and philosophy. Its relationship with theology and moral education demands special treatment.
The New Religious Dimension in Western Marxism: I
Authors: Siebert Rudolf J.
Published: August 2016

For decades, orthodox Marxists understood Marxist dialectical materialism merely as a turning upside down of Hegel's absolute idealism. Humanistic Marxists have corrected the Marxist concept of the relationship between economic basestructure and cultural superstructure which in turn leads them to a more differentiated view of religion as part of the cultural superstructure. Since the 1920's, Western Marxists discovered that the relationship between Hegel's idea dialectics and Marxian reality dialectics is much more complicated than orthodox Marxists and their opponents, the positivists, previously assumed. Marxist dialectical materialism is not necessarily an ontological materialism, but rather a regional one. That allows Humanistic Marxists today to speak more favorably about some metaphysical and theological trends and to produce a more adequate and deeper critical theory of religion than Marx himself was able to create.
Revelation and Relativism in the Theology of H. Richard Niebuhr
Authors: Ede Alfred J.
Published: August 2016

H. Richard Niebuhr's theological perspective was formed at a time when Protestantism was adjusting to a radically altered position on the American landscape, similar in many ways to the present American Catholic predicament. This essay initiates a dialogue between Niebuhr and Catholic theology at a point that is key to his thought, the theology of revelation. The positions of Niebuhr and Vatican II's Dei Verbum, although developed within different theological frameworks, provide a basis for beneficial discussion. Both view revelation as the self-disclosure of God in Jesus Christ to an historical community that is the bearer of that revelatory experience. For Niebuhr, however, revelation of the God of radical monotheism elicits a faith response to the center of being and value that shatters the boundaries of all closed societies and redirects all moral considerations. His development of the theological implications of historical relativism offers a corrective for the Church's henotheistic tendencies to distort its own meaning and mission by fashioning a closed society. Vatican II took steps to extend the vision of the Church beyond the confining barriers of past ecclesiologies. Niebuhr's theology provides one possible framework within which those first steps can be explored toward a more truly catholic understanding of faith.
Dante's Divine Comedy: An Introduction to Medieval Theology
Authors: Egan Keith J.
Published: August 2016

That the Commedia of Dante can be a stimulating initiation for undergraduates into the rich and exciting world of Medieval Theology is the conclusion of an experiment at Marquette University. The distinct advantages and some of the hazards encountered by the teacher of this course are shared in this article. Students in this experiment had the opportunity not only of becoming acquainted with the theological insights of the medieval world but were also able to enter into the discipline of Dante that integrated the tasks of poet and theologian.
Toward a Moral Theology of Social Consciousness
Authors: Rigali Norbert J.
Published: August 2016

A certain “rugged individualism,” characterizing classical Catholic moral theology, can be traced to theology's defining love according to the model of appetite. This model of love, in turn, is part and parcel of the prepersonalistic, static “faculty psychology” that logically and inevitably flows from the Aristotelian, substance-accidents worldview. To overcome classical individualism in principle and to become solidly established as a socially conscious science, moral theology must operate from a new understanding of love—love understood according to the model of freedom.
Can Freedom by Created?
Authors: Ford Lewis S.
Published: August 2016

God may be free either to create or not to create a world distinct from himself. But that world, to have any being over against God, must be ontologically detached from God. The beings of that world must exercise their own freedom, and that freedom must be independent of God. God may create the world out of no thing, but out of an uncreated freedom.
World Religions and the Finality of Christ: a Critique of Hans Küng'sOn Being A Christian
Authors: Knitter Paul F.
Published: August 2016

Küng's case for the relevance of Christianity and his program for dialogue with other religions include claims for the exclusive uniqueness and normativity of Christ. This article raises the following questions: (1) Are such claims necessary for personal commitment to Christ and for fidelity to the New Testament witness? (2) Do they allow for genuine dialogue with other religions? (3) Are they even possible in the light of prevalent norms for theological and historical-critical methodology?
Film as Hierophany
Authors: Bird Michael
Published: August 2016

Within the discussion of religious art there arises the fascinating question of how art can engender the awareness of those special (hierophanous) moments in culture where the sacred dimension breaks through into otherwise profane experience. This question requires a consideration of the peculiar relationship which a given art form has to its world (e.g., imitation vs. interpretation, recording vs. transformation).

The special potency of cinematic art in its relationship to physical and spiritual reality, and to surface and depth, is the subject of the present article. While religion-and-film discussions frequently focus upon religious themes in film, the purpose of the following analysis is that of considering a theology of film, taking account of fundamental questions of cinematic theory. Among thinkers whose systems suggest possibilities for dialogue are theologian (Paul Tillich), a phenómenologist (Mikel Dufrenne) and a “school” of film theorists, including especially the followers of André Bazin.
An Objective Disorder: Homosexual Orientation and God's Eternal Law
Authors: Bonsor Jack A.
Published: August 2016

Recent declarations by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have disallowed any effort to rethink the tradition's negative evaluation of homosexuality. Citing Thomas Aquinas, the CDF appeals to eternal law as an important warrant for its position. Homosexual orientation is an objective disorder. It is an inclination to intimacy which violates God's design for human sexuality. This claim excludes further consideration of the topic. This study examines Aquinas' claim to know God's eternal law. At the heart of Aquinas' argument is the simile that creation is like a human artifact and God like an artist. When we know the work we know the Artist's intent. Heidegger's hermeneutical account of the work of art suggests that Aquinas has overlooked the historical grounds for the relationship between artist and artifact. Aquinas has the simile wrong. If Heidegger's approach is a reasonable alternative to that of Aquinas, then a space is opened within Catholic discourse to rethink the question of homosexuality.
An Abyss at The Heart of Mediation: Louis-Marie Chauvet's Fundamental Theology of Sacramentality
Authors: Miller Vincent J.
Published: August 2016

In his imposing work, Symbol and Sacrament, Louis-Marie Chauvet creatively explores the implications of symbolic mediation for the whole of Christian theology. Central to Chauvet's “fundamental theology of sacramentality” is the assertion that there is an inescapable absence within any mediation of presence. With this critical principle, he attempts to counter ecclesial triumphalism. Despite this critical concern, Chauvet's impressive project suffers from a naive optimism concerning symbolic mediation. Religious symbols are misused not only by those who assume direct, unmediated presence but also by those who coopt them to ideological ends. Chauvet's theology provides no principle of discernment concerning the possibility of the corruption of the Christian symbol tradition. His use of the notion of Gelassenheit to describe the proper posture toward religious symbols stifles critical reception. This article offers suggestions for correcting these shortcomings in Chauvet's worthwhile project using the thought of Levinas, Habermas, and Ricoeur.
Hazards of the Therapeutic: On the Use of Personalist and Feminist Teaching Methodologies
Authors: Homan Ken
Published: August 2016

This article expands a project begun as a participant in the first American Academy of Religion and Lilly Endowment Teaching Workshop on Religion. The original project examined feminist teaching methodologies and how a male theology professor could use these methodologies in a general undergraduate theology classroom. This work describes the processes of feminist and personalist teaching methodologies and analyzes their impact on undergraduate theology classrooms.

While these approaches help students come to a greater sense of participation in and ownership of their knowledge, there has also been the attending risk that such pedagogies seemingly involve the student too intensely, too personally, and the course becomes a form of therapy. This study examines how this therapeutic turn appears to develop. It concludes with a discussion about the need for clearly articulated teaching methodologies and how their use where appropriate helps us anticipate and respond to therapeutic classroom dynamics.
Divine Immutability in Process Philosophy and Contemporary Thomism
Authors: Whitney Barry L.
Published: August 2016

Process philosophers and theologians have long been critical of the traditional (Thomist) doctrine of divine immutability (Section I); yet until quite recently their protests had been largely ignored in Roman Catholic circles. The purpose of this present article is to draw attention to the fact that a number of contemporary Roman Catholic theologians have begun to take the Whiteheadian-Hartshornean challenge seriously, indeed to the extent that they have felt pressed, in response, to seek and exploit implicit, latent resources within Thomas' texts in order to explicate a more adequate Thomist conception of God's interrelationship with his creatures (Section II). Process metaphysics is defended versus several criticisms raised by Roman Catholic writers (Section III).
The Guru: Perceptions of American Devotees of the Divine Light Mission
Authors: Saliba John A.
Published: August 2016

A common feature of many Eastern religious groups which have found a foothold in Western society is the presence of a charismatic guru around whom belief and devotion can be centered. This study examines one such religious leader, Guru Maharaj Ji of the Divine Light Mission. Attention is directed towards the nature of the guru in the eyes of his followers, the task and mission both assumed by him and attributed to him, and the devotional or worshipful aspect exhibited by the devotees. The ambivalent figure of this guru and the possible crises of the Mission, namely, the question of the sucession of the guru and the youthful age of Maharaj Ji, are deemed important enough to influence the future course of the Divine Light Mission and the role the guru will play in its life.
Devotion in the Bhāgavata Purāna and Christian Love: Bhakti, Agape, Eros
Authors: Sheridan Daniel P.
Published: August 2016

The Bhāgavata Purāna, a ninth century encyclopedic Hindu text, combines Vedantic non-dualism and Vaiṣṇava devotionalism or love of God. Its non-dualism accommodates the reality of the universe with its individual selves in the all-encompassing reality of God. The BhP has two forms of devotion: one is a meditation which absorbs the devotee within the unity of God's reality; the other is an ecstasy which glories in separation from God in order to love God more. The Eros-Agape motif is used to compare this tradition of the love of God with those of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Like them, the BhP stresses the personhood of God; unlike them, it stresses an ontological, not a mystical or spiritual, union of Deity and devotee.
The Church and Catholic Higher Education
Authors: O'Brien David J.
Published: August 2016

Recurrent debates about the church and higher education in the United States involve differing understandings of the nature and purpose of the church as well as differing understandings of the university. Catholic colleges and universities remain important but underutilized resources for the American church as it pursues its mission. Institutional, communitarian and servant models of the church must be examined more rigorously before they are used to prescribe changes in higher education. None is without problems. In a pluralistic and free society, a public church,” self-consciously mediating the tensions between Christian integrity, Catholic unity, and civic responsibility, provides an altogether appropriate stance for Catholic colleges and universities as well. It points not to a neat resolution of outstanding difficulties but to ongoing dialogue among the publics to which both church and higher education must address themselves.
Psychology as a Resource for Christian Spirituality
Authors: Ruffing Janet
Published: August 2016

Psychology is a valuable resource for spirituality when researchers incorporate mutually critical correlations in their use of this discipline. It can be used to identify pathological elements in religious practice, uncover unconscious motivation, provide developmental schemas, and describe responses to meditative experiences. Researchers in spirituality will most likely draw on different schools of psychology in relationship to the particular phenomenon under investigation. Their critical perspective will uncover the presuppositions of psychologies that are either hostile to religion or neglect relationship to transcendence within their theories. Researchers in spirituality will want to retain a religious vocabulary and theological perspective.
The Use of Virtue and Character in Applied Ethics
Authors: Donahue James A.
Published: August 2016

This article explores the criticism made against “virtue ethics” that it is insufficiently normative and thus is unable to assist decision makers in making practical moral choices. By assessing the claims, strengths, and weaknesses of contemporary proposals for “character ethics,” the article contends that a virtue approach to ethics does yield some central moral norms. An ethical perspective that combines these norms with the insights offered by the idea of virtue itself provides a compelling framework for moral choice. A case study illustrates the claims.
A Peircean Approach to Trinity as Community: A Response to Some Responses
Authors: Gelpi Donald L.
Published: August 2016

In this article, the author responds to several recent scholarly criticisms of his book The Divine Mother: A Trinitarian Theology of the Holy Spirit. In responding to these objections, he argues that, by invoking the logic and metaphysics of Charles Sanders Peirce in rethinking the foundations of trinitarian theology, he has formulated a theological construct of the trinity as community, which differs substantively from the efforts of other contemporary theologians to do the same, while at the same time avoiding inadequacies present in their constructs.
Poetry as Yoga: The Spiritual Ascent of Sri Aurobindo
Authors: Cappadona Diane Apostolos
Published: August 2016

This essay examines the relationship of aesthetic and religious experience as evidenced by the poetry and yoga of Sri Aurobindo. The fundamental thesis is that the poetic process is transformative and as such is analogous to yoga. Governed by imagination, the poetic experience reveals itself in the categories of symbol and image. Aesthesis being directed by imagination involves not merely the cognitive but also the affective and volitional aspects of the human: a key moment of integration and therefore, of transformation. The development of Aurobindo's work and the transformation of his consciousness by imagination provides the opportunity to examine the relationship between imagination and myth. Two principal insights emerge. First, the goal of the yogic and poetic processes is the transformation of consciousness. Second, the individual's act of aspiration and surrender is neither unconscious nor a giving up of consciousness. Rather, the action of aspiration and surrender as the conscious and voluntary acceptance of the operation of imagination grounds the entire process: poetic, philosophic and yogic.
A Multi-Faceted Look at the Unseen City
Authors: O'Brien Maureen , McNeill Donald
Published: August 2016

This article describes an interdisciplinary, team-taught introduction to the urban situation, called “The Unseen City.” The course began two years ago, as a three-credit follow-up to a popular Notre Dame program called “Urban Plunge,” through which undergraduates visit inner cities across the United States and experience urban problems firsthand. The aim of “The Unseen City” is to foster greater understanding of the complexities of the city, primarily through economic, political, and theological perspectives; and to allow students the opportunity to pursue their own particular interests in this field. To accomplish this, the course includes three major components: “experiential,” of which the Urban Plunge is the main element; “academic”—the class sessions, readings, assignments, and exams; and “specialized,” primarily accomplished through an open-ended student research activity. Each of these components is separately discussed, and the final section comments on some of the advantages and disadvantages of the unusual structures of the course, especially the team-teaching format and the expectations placed on students. A syllabus, with a partial reading list, is also included.
The Ongoing Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg
Authors: Johnson Elizabeth A.
Published: August 2016

The ongoing Chrislology of Wolfhart Pannenberg is a rich locus for discerning several major currents in the field of contemporary Christology, for not only does it reflect certain prevalent emphases but it has in fact initiated them. It is the purpose of this article to examine how that is in fact the case.

First it is shown how Christology played a major role in the early Pannenberg's overall theological synthesis, forming the key source of his original perception of the structure of reality and of reality's relationship to God. Next, Christology itself is focused upon. Three aspects of Pannenberg'sJesus— God and Manare highlighted as having been widely influential, viz., the method of proceeding “from below” with the history of Jesus providing the starting point; the emphasis on the resurrection; and the stress on Jesus' dedication to the Father (rather than to the Logos) as the basis for understanding his unity with God. The third section of the article traces Pannenberg's recent development in Christology, particularly as reflected in a series of (untranslated) essays in the last decade. Advances in his understanding of method and the growing role of anthropology and Trinitarian doctrine are noted. The article closes with a look to the future, including Pannenberg's own projection of the direction he will be taking in Christology.
From Angst to Encounter: Nathan Scott's Journey in Theology and Literature
Authors: Apostolos-Cappadona Diane
Published: August 2016

Nathan A. Scott, Jr. is identified as a leading figure in the development of the interdisciplinary field of theology and literature. This essay presents an interpretation of his methodology and scholarly development over a thirty-year period (1952-1981). Paul Tillich's theology of culture is understood as the major methodological and theological influence on Scott's early work. Martin Heidegger's philosophy (preeminently the essays on aesthetics) is the major influence in the development of Scott's mature scholarship. Scott's methodology has a seven-step structure and the textual analysis of his works is presented in a chronological manner. The central foci in the shift in Scott's inquiry are the type of literature he analyzes and his understanding of the role of the poet. The essay concludes with an evaluation of Scott's contribution to this field of study and suggestions for its future development.
Socrates and Jesus on Non-Retaliation and Love of Enemies
Authors: Gill David
Published: August 2016

This essay is a comparison of the teachings of Socrates and Jesus on non-retaliation and love of enemies as they appear in Crito 47c-49d and Republic I, 331e-336a, and in Matthew 5:38-48 and Luke 6:27-36. It asks in each case precisely what the authors meant and how they grounded their conclusions.

Socrates held that one must never do harm to another even in return for harm received. His arguments were based on his general theory of virtue and on certain ambiguities in Greek ethical language. Ultimately the arguments are based on a form of self-interest; retaliation is a form of injustice and hence harmful to the one who practices it. He does not propose a doctrine of general non-violence, nor does he ever say that one must actually love one's enemy.

The gospel texts go beyond simple non-retaliation and make positive love of all enemies, inside and outside the community, an absolute command of Jesus. It is a positive attitude and is not based on hope of love in return. God will reward it, but the primary motive is imitation of the Heavenly Father, whose daughters and sons the disciples are. Enemy love does not give them this status; rather it flows from the fact of discipleship.
Reformed Epistemology in a Jamesian Perspective
Authors: Tilley Terrence W.
Published: August 2016

This essay argues that the reformed epistemologists (William Alston, Alvin Plantinga) have not (yet) sustained claims in religious epistemology significantly more extensive than William James did in the Varieties. It argues that even if reformed epistemologists show that religious belief can have a positive epistemic status, their approach may finally lead to relativism (given that religious traditions generate contradictory religious beliefs) because it offers no method for finding which, if any, concrete religious beliefs might be preferable to hold or in which religious practices one should engage, if any, and because it fails to distinguish between original and derived religious belief. I suggest that more attention must be paid to “social epistemology” if religious epistemology is to go significantly beyond James's accomplishments.
Commitment, Theology, and the Dilemma of Religious Studies at the State University
Authors: Hann Robert R.
Published: August 2016

The dominant practice among scholars in Religious Studies has been to exclude committed religious belief from the teaching of religion. Theology was once the center of the academic study of religion, but its present-day exclusion has deprived Religious Studies of a methodological center characteristic of a true academic discipline, and thus Religious Studies appears to be merely a marginal interdisciplinary program rather than a discipline in its own right. Theology was once taught in a denominational way that is inappropriate to the pluralism of a secular university. Another understanding of theology, however, is as a distinctive worldview offering a unifying perspective on life, a worldview which has the same rights on the campus as any other contemporary worldview. The presence of theology so understood would restore the methodological center to the discipline of Religious Studies and would enhance that intellectual pluralism to which the modern university is committed.
The “Catholic Tradition” of Christianity and the “Religion of the Republic”
Authors: Wentz Richard E.
Published: August 2016

This essay explores the theology of the Religion of the Republic (what Robert N. Bellah called civil religion in America) in order to compare it with elements in the catholic tradition of Christianity. The assumption is that the Religion of the Republic has much in common with the consensual religiosity of American evangelicalism.

Using John Williamson Nevin's “Catholicism” of the Mercersburg theology, the author provides a critique of the theology of the Republic and suggests a principle of radical catholicity which offers a profound role for the church in the destiny of the American Republic.
The Struggle to Name Women's Experience: Assessment and Implications for Theological Construction
Authors: Graff Ann O'Hara
Published: August 2016

Feminist theologians claim that women's experience is the key to both their critical and constructive theological endeavors. This article is first an effort to sort out the ways women's experience has been named and used for theological reflection particularly through the lens of gender constructs as these have been called to our attention in relation to social location, language, and the quest for human wholeness. Second, it explores the implications of this work on women's experience for constructive feminist theology.
Mapping the Sacred Landscape: Spirituality and the Contemporary Literature of Nature
Authors: Burton-Christie Douglas
Published: August 2016

This essay is an attempt to sketch a preliminary map of the emerging dialogue between spirituality and the contemporary literature of nature. This includes: (1) a consideration of their distinctive approaches to the mapping of the sacred landscape; (2) an exploration of some of the ambiguities and tensions within the literature of nature toward matters of religion; (3) an outline of recent developments within the discipline of spirituality that enable scholars in that field to respond more thoughtfully to questions raised by nature writers; (4) a description of the genres found in the burgeoning literature of nature writing and the themes that make it a useful resource and conversation partner for spirituality; (5) an evaluation of three prominent themes of contemporary nature writing—relationship, mystery, and moral responsibility—of particular importance for developing a contemporary spirituality of nature.
“Rights of the Earth” and “Care for the Earth”: Two Paradigms for a Buddhist-Christian Ecological Ethic
Authors: May John D'Arcy
Published: August 2016

Ecology has become a religious concern, but its religious significance remains ambivalent, and politically it is open to exploitation by the right and the left. An ecological ethic needs to be related to the justice tradition with its correlative concepts of rights and responsibilities as these apply to “nature,” but it also needs an interreligious foundation. Buddhism and Christianity are able to make complementary contributions toward formulating an ecological ethic. “Justice” in the West has both biblical and Roman origins, but the Western concept ofiusmay also be correlated with the Indian concept ofdharmaas universal harmony and order. Justice may also be placed in the larger context of an ethic of care based on disinterested love of all beings and the transcendence of conflict. The concept of responsibility, however, remains central to the formulation of an ecological ethic and poses specific, though complementary, challenges to both Buddhist and Christian traditions.
The Anthropic Principle in Cosmology and Theology
Authors: Mooney Christopher F.
Published: August 2016

The “anthropic principle” has grown from scientific and philosophical reflection on the unlikely combination of circumstances needed, from the moment of the Big Bang through evolutionary history, to produce human life as we know it. This article describes the anthropic principle, in its “strong” and “weak” forms. It concludes with some thoughts on the possible theological implications of the anthropic discussion. From a theological perspective, the anthropic principle can be seen as part of the ongoing human effort to employ myth in the construction of a cosmology. It suggests both a sense of the design of the universe as well a the possible need for a Designer with some purpose and overall plan.
Friedrich Von Hügel's Spirituality of Empowerment
Authors: Leonard Ellen M.
Published: August 2016

As a Catholic lay person Friedrich von Hügel developed a spirituality which sought to integrate scholarship, including the critical study of religion, with a full religious life, one which holds the institutional, the intellectual, and the mystical elements in a creative tension. He did this during and after the period known as “Roman Catholic Modernism,” a difficult time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church as it responded to perceived threats with severe restrictions. This essay explores how von Hiigel's spirituality was one of empowerment by considering him as advocate and networker, writer, and spiritual director. He not only developed a lay approach to spirituality but a spirituality of scholarship which can still inspire contemporary Christians.
Seeking Full Dignity: Catholic Social Teaching and Women in the Third World
Authors: DeFerrari Patricia
Published: August 2016

This article explores the key factors conditioning the position of women in developing countries and then searches official Catholic social teaching for a response. The first major section of the article explores gender bias as it shapes development efforts in the third world. Findings indicate that substantial progress in developing nations depends on including women in decision-making processes at all levels. Such inclusion requires improved access to resources as a significant element in the elimination of gender bias.

The second section of the article addresses official Catholic social teaching as it pertains to the status of women in society. This section concludes by identifying two significant affirmations in the tradition and three limitations.

A final section challenges the tradition of Catholic social teaching by calling for both the development and adoption of an anthropology that realizes the radical equality and fundamental difference between women and men and a fuller inclusion of women in the very process of developing Catholic social teaching.
Teaching Merton to Undergraduates
Authors: Rausch Thomas P.
Published: August 2016

Thomas Merton is one of the most significant figures in twentieth-century Catholicism. His books are still to be found in almost any bookstore with a section devoted to religion. Yet today, just over twenty-five years after his death, both Merton himself and the monastic life he represented are virtually unknown to most Roman Catholic undergraduates. This article describes a seminar on Merton offered for undergraduates. It outlines the books and articles used, the way the seminar was structured, and the reactions of the students, to Merton himself and to the issues he raises in his works.
A University that Evangelizes? Ex corde ecclesiae Six Years Afterwards
Authors: Heft James L. , O'Donovan Leo J.
Published: August 2016

After years of consultation, on August 15, 1990, Pope John Paul II published an Apostolic Constitution, Ex corde ecclesiae. Familiar as the document is to many readers, especially in Catholic higher education, in the sixth anniversary year of its appearance it continues to merit careful review. The document is divided into two parts, with the first section describing the identity and mission of a Catholic university and its mission of service while the second proposes seven General Norms for implementation. In early 1991, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops established a committee of seven bishops and eleven consultants, eight of whom were college or university presidents, to oversee the implementation of the Constitution. Later, in August 1994, a Project Director, the Reverend Terrence Toland, S.J., was appointed.
Newman on Human Faith and Divine Faith: Clarifying Some Ambiguities
Authors: Connolly John R.
Published: August 2016

The primary objective of this investigation will be to examine Newman's distinction between human faith and divine faith with the hope of arriving at some insights which will help clarify the ambiguities found in Newman's writings on this subject. Based upon a critical analysis of Newman's writings, this article will examine how Newman understands the relationship between human faith and divine faith in terms of their different material and formal objects. The interpretation presented in this article also has significance for the contemporary analysis of other aspects of Newman's notion of faith, for instance, the nature of the affirmations, the role of the will, and the role of grace in both human and divine faith.
The Virtual Classroom: Using an Electronic Discussion Group to Teach Theology
Authors: O'Keefe John J.
Published: August 2016

The growth of the Internet in recent years has been truly remarkable. The World Wide Web and electronic mail have changed the way the world does business, but does it have any impact on the way theologians teach? This article argues that electronic discussion groups (lists) can enhance theology classes by increasing the possibilities for student interaction with course material and with each other. An electronic discussion can be particularly helpful in theology courses that emphasize personal reflection. Free from the pressures associated with the classroom, students often find the electronic medium more conducive to thoughtful participation.
Dialogue and Conversion
Authors: Schepers Maurice
Published: August 2016

On August 12, 1996, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago († November 14, 1996), released a statement entitled “Called to Be Catholic Church in a Time of Peril,” which concretized an initiative called the Catholic Common Ground Project. This project is to be staffed by the thirteen-year-old, New York-based, National Pastoral Life Center, which was originally established under the auspices of the Administrative Committee of the U.S. Bishops' Conference. The peril which is the project's concern is the polarization that has developed in the Catholic Church in the United States in the course of the thirtyodd years elapsed since the close of the Second Vatican Council.
Remarking the Silence: Prayer after the Death of God
Authors: Sanders Theresa
Published: August 2016

The critique of ontotheology undertaken by Heidegger and expended by Derrida calls into question not only the meaning but the possibility of God-language. In response, thinkers such as Kevin Hart have attempted to map out an area of non-metaphysical theology that draws on the resources of negative theology. Hart's work, The Trepass of the Sign, however, contains three significant ambiguities. First, he defines negative theology as a denial that God can be described using predicates, but in his text negative theology has a quasi-positive (rather than merely negative) role. Second, Hart contends that negative theology precedes positive theology, but in fact it seems to depend upon a prior affirmation of God. Third, Hart offers no rationale for negative theologians' use of the word “God.” Derrida writes that the only way out of negative theology's referential vacuity is prayer: which, he continues, mires that theology in metaphysics. However, if prayer is understood as agape rather than knowledge or supplication, a way through Hart's ambiguities might be found.
Swami Vivekananda and Bede Griffiths on Religious Pluralism: Hindu and Christian Approaches to Truth
Authors: Malkovsky Bradley
Published: August 2016

This article summarizes and compares the theology of religions propounded by two important modern participants in the Hindu-Christian encounter, Swami Vivekananda and Bede Griffiths. It will be seen that both thinkers construct theologies of religion in the form of hierarchies, and that, moreover, these hierarchies reveal a specifically Hindu and Christian understanding of spiritual truth and of divine presence. The article advocates the view that a comparison of these two understandings of truth can be beneficial to both Hindus and Christians by broadening each's understanding of divine presence and of what constitutes human liberation. At the heart of the comparison is the controversy over the meaning and final goal of creation and history.
Taking Consumer Culture Seriously
Authors: Miller Vincent J.
Published: August 2016

Theological reflection on the problem of consumerism is often guided by the implicit assumption that beliefs and values are the principal causal factors within human action and culture. As a result, the most common tactic for countering consumerism is to contrast its premises and values with those of the gospel. Such an approach comes naturally to theology, a discipline in which the importance of belief is foundational. This approach is inadequate for addressing the problem of consumerism, however, because it overlooks its most fundamental challenge: the commodification of culture. The most pernicious effects of consumerism are manifest not by changes in the “content” of beliefs but in their underlying form. Religious and ethical beliefs are commodified—reduced to objects of exchange and consumption, to shallow, interchangeable commodities. Drawing from the extensive scholarship on the commodification of culture, this essay explores the effects of consumerism upon religious belief and practice. Guided by this analysis it will attempt to reconceive tactics for countering consumerism's negative effects.
Christology: In Dialogue with Feminism
Authors: Lilburne Geoffrey R.
Published: August 2016

Rightly understood, christology is feminism's strongest ally. The historical context for this investigation is the emergence of the “second stage” of feminism (Freidan) which challenges feminist theology to move beyond criticism to construction in dialogue and mutuality with men (Part I). A critical review of feminist christological work (Daly, Heyward, Ruether) points towards the liberal view of Jesus and a “therapeutic” view of soteriology. In view of the methodological elusiveness and the inescapable maleness of the historical Jesus and in view of the radical nature of sexism as systemic evil, these biases may indicate weaknesses (Part II). Drawing upon some recent reformulations of the trinity (Jenson, Moltmann, Congar), the paper proposes that a trinitarian christology will directly address the soteriological requirements of feminist theology and will provide a model of God which centers in mutuality, equality and freedom, and thus avoids oppressive, male qualities (Part III). Finally the implications of this christology are drawn to the practicalities of the feminist/masculinist debate.