bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ontologisk urenhed i Gammel Testamente
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

The article discusses the rationality behind the category ontological (or natural) impurity in the priestly parts of the Pentateuch in the Hebrew Bible. After a discussion of Mary Douglas' hypothesis from 1966, correctly rejected by Jacob Milgrom, and a semiotic reformulation of Milgrom's definition of holy/common and unclean/clean, the thesis of Milgrom and others, according to which impurity basically signifies "death", is likewise rejected. As an alternative it is proposed that the basic difference between holiness and impurity consists in the difference between durative (transcendent) and periodic (human, terrestrial) life. This hypothesis meets Claude Lévi-Strauss' reflections on rationality of the taboo on menstruation in North American and other cultures; in both cases the rules of good behavious are based on a reluctance on the side of human beings towards the material world (in the Hebrew Bible garanted by Yahweh), the good periodicity of which should be protected against the powers inherent in the human  bodies.
Rejsende i religioner - et essay
Authors: Stefánsson Finn
Published: February 2018

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De franske forskelle og det kætterske Sydfrankrig
Authors: Laffitte Maryse
Published: February 2018

Modern France is as a whole a country of Catholic culture, despite the presence of other religions, in so far as Catholicism has managed to impose itself historically as a state religion. Nevertheless, France is divided into traditionally believing and non‑believing regions. The South of France was particularly heretic and constituted from the Middle Age to the Reformation a focus of religious and political resistance to the power of the Roman Church, the feudal lords, and the king of France. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Catharism, which can be considered an ‘exemplary’ heresy, impregnated the religion and culture of the Languedoc region and the county of Foix. The Cathar heresy was annihilated, but it is on this basis, which is also that of Catholicism, that Protestantism took root three centuries later.
Forståelsen af begreberne skæbne og fri vilje i moderne vestlig astrologi
Authors: Krogsdal Iben Egekvist
Published: February 2018

"Destiny, Free Will and Astrology". The relation between destiny and free will has, since Augustine, been crucial in the theological and philosophical approach to astrology and has led to the accusation that astrology represents pure fatalism. This article concentrates on two mainstreams in modern, Western astrology; esoteric astrology and humanistic astrology. The two different astrological schools solve the conflict between destiny and free will differently, yet stand together in rejecting the accusation of pure fatalism: Astrology is only fatalistic to the primitive unspiritual being. On higher levels of human development, will is introduced. The esoteric astrology claims that the ultimate aim of human existence through continuing incarnations is to become one with the divine. The Jungian inspired humanistic astrology emphasizes the capability of the inviduating individual to fill a structural emptiness set out be the horoscope. This is not achieved by becoming one with the divine, but by becoming one with oneself.
Hegel som korsteolog?
Authors: Andersen Vagn , Wind H. C.
Published: February 2018

Replik og duplik
Nyere opslagsværker om religion
Authors: Stefánsson Finn
Published: February 2018

Review-artikel
Tværfaglighed i antikdisciplinerne?
Authors: Bilde Per
Published: February 2018

Et svar på Ole Thomsens anmeldelse af PBs bog om religion i hellenistisk-romersk tid
Mikael Rothstein: Politikens håndbog i verdens religioner
Authors: Riis Carsten
Published: February 2018

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Demokrati og jødisk fundamentalisme i Israel
Authors: Paludan Peter Steensgaard
Published: February 2018

This study – Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel and Democracy – examines the political concepts and practice of the haredi (ultra-orthodox) political parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism. It tries to establish their traditionalist concept of legitimate political power and its distinctions compared to modern concepts. Basing itself to a large extent on the writings of Rabbi Eliezer Menahem Shahk and the “Lithuanian” haredi daily Yated Neeman, the article investigates the haredi understanding of freedom and democracy versus traditional Jewish law (halakhah), focusing on both haredi theoretical explanations of the concepts and on their actual political practice. It especially examines the haredi attitudes as regards three subjects: issues concerning a possible Israeli constitution, basic laws, and the function of the high court as a constitutional court. Hereby the differences between the haredi understanding and use of the term democracy and the modern liberal concept are pointed out. The last part of the article focuses on the electoral basis of haredi power, the growth of haredi communities by natural population increase, new haredi immigrants, new returnees to tradition, and the ability of in particular Shas to enlist voters from traditional (but non-orthodox) economically weak Sephardic circles. The article points to weaknesses in this power base which could in the future create problems for the haredi parties in their attempt to preserve the “status quo”, the balance between secular and religious in Israeli public life.
Interview med professor Clifford Geertz
Authors: Michelsen Arun
Published: February 2018

I had the honour of interviewing Professor Clifford Geertz at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, USA on 18 October 2000. The interview focused on Geertz’ theore­tical conceptions, the tradition which he draws on, the critique he has encountered, and interpretive anthropology’s future development. Of particular interest was the clarification of his much debated method, his definition of symbol and his famous definition of religion as a cultural system. Geertz emphasizes that he attempts to exercise an applied pragmatic phenomenological and hermeneutical method without any general theory (or philosophy) of meaning, phenomenology, or culture. He maintains that he only has a con­ceptual frame­work inspired by different scholars, who nevertheless have a similar focus and perspective, i.e., meaning and symbol. In relationship to this, Geertz defines his symbol within the Peircian semiotic tradition. Therefore, the term symbol is understood as a sign (an index for example), which becomes a symbol via a cultural interpretation. Furthermore, his definition of religion as a cultural system is, in his view, a non-essentialistic definition and therefore not - as Talal Asad claims - ethnocentric. Although it is Geertz’ opinion that interpretiveanthropology has been influenced by postmodernism, he predicts that inter­pretive anthropology’s future development will be in reasonable continuity with its past.
Odin og Ordet
Authors: Backhausen Kirsten
Published: February 2018

The Norse god Odin reigns over wisdom and poetry and thereby over language itself. Wisdom and language are joined together in the mead of poetry and several myths are concerned with the way Odin gains access to the mead. Mead is an intoxicating drink but the intoxication is first and foremost leading to a higher state of consciousness. The mead of poetry undergoes several transformations before it can be put to use, and linked to these transformations is the whole complex of death, rebirth and initiation. Mead and wisdom are drawn from the underworld and then symbolically reborn in the upper world, either through the mouth of Odin or by Odin undergoing a rite of initiation where he himself is reborn. Odin travels between the realms of the world and while travelling he brings mead, runes and wisdom from the underworld to the upper world. All these are connected to the word, and by supplying wisdom as well as the words to use in order to grasp that wisdom, he makes sure that the wisdom can be put to constructive use. By putting experiences into words you obtain a conscious  understanding of their meanings and thereby an ability to act upon the obtained knowledge. With the words Odin opens a channel between the two realms of the world, but he keeps a few words and magic chants to himself. Thereby he remains the master of the channel and makes sure that the two realms do not collapse into one with chaos as the result
Kippinge valfartskirke
Authors: Gad Tue
Published: February 2018

The Danish church of Kippinge in Falster is remarkable for being a centre of pilgrimage not only before the Reformation, but well into the 18th century. In spite of official censure, thousands of people went there, and miraculous cures were reported. Manuscript treaties from the 17th century are preserved, in which local clergymen fervently discuss whether that pilgrimage is a pious if unorthodox custom to be tolerated, or whether it is the work of Satan. The *”holy” object in the Middle Ages was a miraculous host; after the Reformation it seems to have been the church itself, but in the 18th century it was the adjoining well, which caused no theological objections.
Anmeldelse af "Le regard éloigné" af Claude Levi-Strauss
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

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Monstrøsitet som kulturel og religiøs diskurs
Authors: Feldt Laura
Published: February 2018

The present contribution attempts to understand and interpret the significance of monstrosity, a well-attested phenomenon in the history of religions. First, monstrosity is interpreted as a mode of cultural discourse pertaining to boundaries and the construction of cultural categories. Its social function is understood along the theories of Girard. The presented view, however, suffers from a lack of adequacy. It neither explains the use of monsters in religious discourses, nor does it indicate why they are often used to bring about transformation and change. In addition to this, it does not offer an explanation for why monsters may be seen as positive and benevolent creatures.Second, the use of monsters in religious discourses is examined and monstrosity is interpreted in relation to Turner’s concept of  liminality. The concept, however, is extended to include not only ritual sequences but also spatial and conceptual structures. In religious discourses, monsters can be seen as stigmatized pendlers between this world and ‘the other world’. It is claimed that monsters embody access to the transformative powers of transcendence and may thus be used both to ward off evil and to gain access to benevolence.In the last part of the contribution, these views are illustrated by an analysis of selected narrative and ritual monster traditions from the religions of ancient Mesopotamia. The examples document that monsters are not inherently evil creatures and that it makes sense to understand monsters in relation to boundaries and liminality. In religious discourses, monsters are used to focus on the relationship of humans to transcendence: preserving or obtaining blessing and life and warding off curse and death. Monsters are instruments for gaining access to transcendence, they are embodiments of liminality, and they are used to transform the existing order of things. Monsters dissolve differences and thereby thematize the possibility of change. In this manner, the use of monsters contributes to a questioning of fixed classifications and identities.
Forord
Authors: Redaktionen ,
Published: February 2018

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Wittgensteins begreb om religion
Authors: Albinus Lars
Published: February 2018

This article aims at describing Wittgenstein’s notion of religion. The point of departure is taken in his critique of Frazer’s Golden Bough, where magic is described as mistaken science. Wittgenstein’s point is that Frazer’s evolutionistic view of magic and religion is guilty of trivializing the matter. This critique is brought into perspective by Wittgenstein’s general critique of scientific reductionism as a certain language game and his view of magic and religion as forms of life which are simply given for description rather than explanation. In order to appreciate Wittgenstein’s own notion of religion, the article also tries to reconstruct his early notion of God on the grounds of Tractatus and the notebooks, and his later notion of God in relation to his thoughts on ‘language games’, ‘family resemblances’ and ‘forms of life’. Finally, a critical perspective is offered on the relativistic implications in these notions.
Disputats om "The Study of Religion in a new Key"
Authors: Geertz Armin W. , Jensen Jeppe Sinding
Published: February 2018

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Kognition og kultur: Boyer versus Wittgenstein
Authors: Albinus Lars
Published: February 2018

Cognitive science typically insists on procuring causal explanations for psychological activity on a pre-cultural level. In this article it is claimed that the price for doing so may be too high and that it escapes philosophical justification in the first place. A more specific criticism is directed against what thus seems to be an ignorant notion of culture in Religion Explained by Pascal Boyer. Drawing on Ludwig Wittgenstein and Meredith Williams, who is a lucid reader of his work, the psychological attempt to explain feelings and memories on the grounds of innate cognitive capacities is found to be profoundly misleading. The question is how to understand, on the one hand, human language and, on the other, the possible scope of scientific explanation. Arguing for an irreducible level of social reality, this article focuses on the limitations of cognitive science, while also bringing out the aporia caused by an epistemological trap of self-referentiality.
Scientologgy - et barn af moderniteten?
Authors: Rasmussen Ulrik Houlind
Published: February 2018

I forlængelse af Webers berømte og ambivalente analyse af modernitetens rationalisering anses nye religiøse bevægelser ofte for særligt veltilpassede til moderne, rationaliserede samfund. Forfatteren diskuterer eksisterende forsøg på at forstå Scientology som en specifik moderne religion (Locke, Wallis, Whitehead, Wilson) og argumenterer for, at tilsyneladende modsætninger i Webers tese i virkeligheden skyldes simplificeringer, hvor den dialektiske forståelse af moderniteten som karakteriseret af rationalisering og affortryllelse såvel som irrationalisering og genfortryllelse overses. Den såkaldte Joachim Ritterskoles fortolkning vha. begrebet ‘kompensation’ eller en ‘positiv splittelse’ muliggør forståelsen af nye religiøse bevægelser som klare manifesta­tioner af netop det, som Weber anså for fundamentalt for den moderne verden.
Ph.d.-afhandling om "Religiøs pluralisme fra et magtperspektiv"
Authors: Kühle Lene , Beckford James A.
Published: February 2018

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Religion og social sammenhæng. Kristendommen og den moderne velfærdsstat
Authors: Andersen Svend
Published: February 2018

Artiklen beskæftiger sig med påstanden om, at luthersk kristendom er en vigtig forudsætning for den danske velfærdsstat. Denne bygger på et noget-for-ingenting princip, der hævdes at forudsætte en kærlighedsmoral. Som udtryk for en sådan moral fremstilles K.E. Løgstrup. Efter et kort rids af lutherdommens historiske holdning til fattigdom afprøves disse synspunkter i form af en analyse af Løgstrups etiske argumentation for økonomisk ligestilling. Hans opfattelse sammenlignes med John Rawls’ princip om fordelingsretfærdig­hed. På trods af forskelle kan der hos de to uddrages den fælles tese, at støtten til velfærdsstaten og den sociale sammenhængskraft kan være begrundet i religion, men at det ikke behøver være tilfældet.
Naphtas ret - om kristendommens bidrag til den moderne velfærdsstat
Authors: Petersen Anders Klostergaard
Published: February 2018

Artiklen drøfter, i hvilken forstand og under hvilke præmis­ser kristendommen – i skikkelse af evangelisk-luthersk kristendom – kan siges at bidrage positivt til den moderne danske velfærdsstats sammenhængs­kraft. Den principielle adskillelse mellem religion og politik fremhæves som et gode, ligesom der argumenteres for, at det system, velfærdsstaten bygger på, er blevet til gennem en sekularisering af et kristent værdiunivers. Det pointeres, at velfærdsstaten som system er sårbar, dels fordi den grundlæggende bygger på symbolsk kommunikation, dels fordi den ikke har andet end sig selv at henvise til. I den sammenhæng fremhæves det, at religion – i konteksten evangelisk-luthersk kristendom – kan bidrage positivt til velfærdsstaten, fordi den supplerer de basale principper og værdier, velfærdsstaten er bygget op om, ved at forankre dem i en religiøs tydning, der ikke tillader relativeringer.
Corporate religion og Paulus' breve. Brug af Bibelen i moderne virksomhedsteori
Authors: Nielsen Jesper Tang
Published: February 2018

Artiklen introducerer anvendelsen af religionsbegrebet i nye teorier om management og marketing. Den danske medgrundlægger og administrerende direktør af reklamefirmaet Kunde & Co, Jesper Kunde, har lagt grunden for denne virksomhedsteoretiske retning. Hans første Bog, Corporate Religion, analyseres grundigt. Af undersøgelsen fremgår det, at Kundes opfattelse af religion svarer til Clifford Geertz’ klassiske kulturantropologiske religionsdefinition. Ydermere fremdrages en række paralleller til Paulus’ breve, der godtgør, at Kundes forståelse og brug af religiøse forestillinger kan ses som en interpretation og applikation af paulinsk religion. Til slut konkluderes det, at den management-teoretiske religion bevidst indarbejder socialkonstruktivistiske indsigter, hvorved religionen får rentabilitet, men mister sin evne til at modsige gældende værdisystemer.
Myte, fantasi og virkelighed
Authors: Davidsen Ole
Published: February 2018

On the basis of Freud’s article “Der Dichter und das Phantasieren”, it is possible to formulate a theory of myth as a distorted and elaborated manifestation of fantasies (wish-fulfilments) which have their source in ungratified wishes. It is the author’s hypothesis that “The Story of the Fall” is such a mythical manifestation, which builds a bridge between fantasy (Man is immortal) and reality (Man is mortal). Due to its semiotic structure of significance, the myth is able to adapt itself to reality without betraying the fantasy; and it is to presume that it is because of this very fact that the myth becomes a socially acceptable manifestation of the fantasy – in contrast to daydream, neurosis and phychosis.
Anmeldelse af "Troldkvinden og hendes anklagere. Danske hekseprocesser i det 16. og 17. århundrede" af Merete Birkelund
Authors: Poulsen Grethe Schmidt
Published: February 2018

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Rekonstruktion af Hopi-indianernes religion, kultur og mentalitet
Authors: Geertz Armin W.
Published: February 2018

Mange antropologiske, litteraturvidenskabelige og religionsvidenskabelige indianerstudier hjemsøges af primitivisme-romantik, og megen postmoderne og postkolonial litteratur svækkes af religiøse og etniske dagsordener, trods al berettiget fag- og samfundskritik. Jeg appellerer derfor til en ‘no nonsense’ tilgang til religion, en tilgang som jeg sammenfatter i begrebet etno-hermeneutik. Bidraget dokumenterer min egen vandring fra religionshistorisk kulturrelativist til samfundskritiker og universalist, sidstnævnte i kraft af erkendelser inden for den kognitive og neurobiologiske forskning. Faget ligger midt i spændingsfeltet mellem kulturrelativistisk partikularisme og almen menneskelig universalisme. Det kan ikke være anderledes, hvis vi skal leve op til et fag, der tager sit genstands oprindelser, former, funktioner, strukturer og betydninger alvorlig.
Homøostatisk intentionalitet vs. epistemisk kohærens
Authors: Schjødt Uffe
Published: February 2018

Balkanisering er det fænomen, at mennesker tilsyneladende kan leve med indbyrdes modstridende forestillinger i et religiøst verdensbillede, uden at disse modsigelser problematiseres. Fænomenet er en torn i øjet på religionsvidenskaben, der ofte antager at mennesker i en kultur opfatter religiøse forestillinger som et epistemisk sammenhængende system. I denne artikel argumenterer jeg for, at religiøse forestillinger ikke behøver at være indbyrdes kohærente for at overleve i den troendes forestillingsverden. Tværtimod, for at afhjælpe individet i alle livets aspekter, er det nødvendigt at bryde med systemets indbyrdes kohærens og åbne for produktionen af optimale strategier designet til at løse specifikke problemer.
Mennesket som ansvarlig aktør for sine prædestinerede handlinger
Authors: Perho Irmeli
Published: February 2018

Den lærde hanbalit Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (død 1350 e.v.t.) drøfter i bogen Shifa’ al-‘alil fi masaill al-qada wal-qadar wal-hikma wal-ta’lil prædestination og fri vilje. Han forsøger at vise, at den rette sunni tro hverken består i en ren prædeterminisme eller i en forestilling om en absolut fri vilje, men i en kombination af de to. Ibn Qayyims diskussion af en ‘praktisk’ tilgang til spørgsmålet om prædeterminisme vidner om en pendulering mellem to modstridende forestillinger. Han hævder, at prædestination kun skal tænkes bagud­skuende som forklaring på modgang. I relation til nutidige og fremtidige handlinger skal den troende se bort fra prædestination og handle ud fra en forestilling om fri vilje. Tro på prædestination må aldrig blive en undskyldning for ikke at handle.
Balder, Yudhisthira, Atys og Kyros – en strukturkomparativistisk analyse med udgangspunkt i Georges Dumézil
Authors: Laursen Maria Kallestrup
Published: February 2018

Udgangspunktet i denne artikel er taget i Georges Dumézils komparationer af den oldnordiske Baldermyte og det indiske epos Mahābhārata. Gennem artiklen har jeg anvendt Dumézils strukturkomparative teori og metode til at præsenterer en ny og tredje parallel til Baldermyten fra Herodots første bog Kleio. Artiklen konkluderer, at den struktur, der er til stede i Baldermyten og Mahābhārata (og for så vidt også i Kleio), ikke primært tematiserer en eskatologi, men derimod en dynastisk krise, i hvilken nogle faste elementer gør sig gældende. Disse elementer udgøres blandt andet af tre agenter (den gode, men syndige herskerslægt, den onde slægtning og den nye konge) og af en krig om kongesædet. Krigen resulterer i herskerslægtens og den onde slægtnings fald og i den nye konges generobring af hans slægts kongesæde.
Et svar på anmeldelsen i RvT 49 af "Gyldendals Leksikon om Nordisk Mytologi"
Authors: Stefánsson Finn
Published: February 2018

Intet resumé
Religion, hukommelse og viden - Jan Assmann, med udblik til Durkheim, Rappaport og Augustin
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

Den tyske egyptolog Jan Assmanns begreb om den 'kulturelle hukommelse' kan blive centralt for religionsvidenskaben. Dels er det relevant for den religionshistoriske forståelse af overgangen fra mundtlige religionsformer til former, hvor skriftligheden indgår som en essentiel del. Dels bidrager det til en understregning af hukommelsen som et essentielt tema i en generel religionsteori. Artiklen diskuterer Assmanns brug af Maurice Halbwachs og foreslår at se Assmanns teori som en reformulering af indsigter, der går tilbage til Emile Durkheim og som genfindes i fx Roy A. Rappaports ritualteori. Afslutningsvis foreslås via Augustins begreb om memoria at udvide temaet 'hukommelse' til temaet 'viden'.
Torah som kult- og kommentarobjekt
Authors: Schleicher Marianne
Published: February 2018

Artiklen korrigerer Assmanns evolutionære og basale skelnen mellem mundtlige og skriftlige kulturer ved at illustrere, hvordan jødedommen – en skriftreligion – i dens mest centrale religiøse handlinger udviser træk, som Assmann normalt ville forbinde med kultreligioner. Hvis man i stedet anerkender, at træk fra mundtlighedskulturer akkumulerer i skriftkulturer, gives man redskaberne til at skelne mellem to modi for helligtekstformidling. Den dominerende modus projicerer kulturel hukommelse ud på helligteksten for at lade den styrke sammenhængskraft i og individuel og kollektiv tilknytning til det omgivende samfund. Den anden modus, der primært benyttes af specialister og/eller medlemmer af eliten, tilbyder sig selv som et middel til at opnå en bevidst stilling- eller afstandstagen til helligtekstens diskurs inklusiv dens normative og formative værdier.
Utmaningen från Beckford
Authors: Rosen Ina
Published: February 2018

James Beckford påstår, at den samfundsvidenskabeligt orienterede forskning i religion kan drage nytte af forskning i den hverdagslige forståelse af religion for at få et skarpere blik på sit objekt. I denne artikel præsenteres Beckfords position, som har dannet udgangspunkt for et fokusgruppebaseret forskningsprojekt om almindelige københavneres forståelse af religion og tro.
Vad är ‘andligt’ i hypotesen om den andlige revolutionen?
Authors: Willander Erika
Published: February 2018

Hypotesen om den åndelige revolution (Heelas & Woodhead 2005) forudsætter, at religionens rolle formindskes til fordel for åndelighed. Religion defineres i denne sammenhæng som kristendom, der står i kontrast til åndelighed, som antages at have rødder i new age og alternativ medicin. Denne artikel undersøger, hvordan religion og åndelighed forstås og operationaliseres i forbindelse med hypotesen om den åndelige revolution samt datamateriale indsamlet i det såkaldte Enköpingsprojekt. Resultatet viser, at kristendom ikke er udelukket fra brug af alternativ medicin, og at religion og åndelighed er relateret. Som spørgsmålene er udformet, er det dog ikke muligt at udsige noget om andre formodede forskelle (fx mellem kilder til guddommelighed).
Minimalistisk religionsfilosofi
Authors: Andersen Svend
Published: February 2018

Artiklen er en præsentation og kritisk diskussion af Vagn Andersens doktorafhandling Transformationen Gottes. Abwandlungen des Begriffes des Unbedingten in der Moderne (2008). Der gives et kort overblik over afhandlingens indhold, hvorefter to problemer diskuteres: plausibiliteten af J. Habermas’ sprogfilosofi samt Vagn Andersens eget forslag til en nutidigt forsvarlig religionsfilosofi. Konklusionen er, at Habermas’ sprogfilosofi ikke er egnet som grundlag for den analyse af det religiøse sprog, der må være religionsfilosofiens hovedopgave.
Hvor står forskningen aktuelt i tidlig kristendom?
Authors: Petersen Anders Klostergaard
Published: February 2018

Artiklen tegner med udgangspunkt i The Cambridge History of Christianity 1. Origins to Constantine et billede afdet paradigmeskift, der i løbet af de sidste 25 år er sket i forskningen i tidlig kristendom. Samtidig peger artiklen på en række centrale nybrud, der illustrerer forskellen i forhold til den tidligere forskning. Det drejer sig om relationen mellem tidlig kristendom og jødedom; opgøret med kulturel ‘kassetænkning’ og essentialisme i rekonstruktionen af tidlig kristendom; fremhævelsen af mangfoldighed og opløsning af kategorierne ortodoksi og heterodoksi; opløsningen af gnosisbegrebet; et øget fokus på regionale studier; besindelse på mentalitetshistorisk arbejde. Den anmeldte bog fremhæves – trods mangler – som den på markedet bedste, hvis man vil have grundig information om og præsentation af, hvor forskningen i tidlig kristendom aktuelt befinder sig.
Religion og 'evolution'
Authors: Jensen Jeppe Sinding
Published: February 2018

I et meget bredt perspektiv synes religionen at have en generel historie eller evolution: der er begyndelser, en mængde forandringer over tid og, formodentlig, afslutninger. Evolution har dog været et tabuiseret tema i det meste af det 20. århundredes religionsforskning, men det er ved at ændre sig. Det er dog ikke uproblematisk at bruge begreber som ’evolution’ og ’religion’ og der fordres en vis videnskabsteoretisk og filosofisk omhu for at undgå reifikationer og forsimplinger. I tilfældet ’religion og evolution’ handler det om hvilke elementer og mekanismer, som reelt kan siges at være evolverede og i hvordan det giver mening at tale om evolution på gruppeniveau. I artiklen påpeges det, at der i tilfældet religion snarere (så vidt det empiriske materiale rækker) er tale om forandringer over tid der går i retning af komplikation og differentiering. Dette synes at gælde generelt for sociale og kulturelle institutioner. En væsentlig faktor i denne bevidsthedens historie er den symbolske eksternalisering, som ikke mindst skrift har muliggjort. Her inddrages den canadiske psykolog Merlin Donalds store hypotese om den menneskelig bevidstheds historie og den tilhørende teori om ’hybrid minds’: mennesket som både biologisk og kulturelt væsen, med en bevidsthed som rækker ud over individet. Den refleksive bevidsthed, som dette kan medføre, nemlig udviklingen af de mekanisker, som indgår i den ’kognitive styring’, bevirker at religiøse tolkningssamfund kan blive mere kritisk bevidste og udvikler sekulariseringstendenser. Ved religionens opløsning gennem den kritisk bevidsthed, er der mulighed for at ny forskning i menneskets mentale verden, f.eks. i moralpsykologien, kan danne baggrund for et videnskabeligt funderet og til dels normativt begrundet menneskesyn.
De besmittede og de skyldige
Authors: Kallestrup Louise Nyholm
Published: February 2018

De katolske inkvisitorer i det 16. og 17. århundrede fremhævede i deres domsafsigelser, hvorledes troldfolk gjorde sig skyldige i kætteri. I Danmark sås blandt teologer ligeledes en fordømmelse af trolddom som vrangtro. Men i Danmark havde kirken begrænset indflydelse på den praktiske håndtering af trolddomsprocesserne. Denne artikel undersøger, hvorledes kætterbegrebet kan spores, og hvilken betydning det antager, fra teolog til lovgivning og videre til retssagerne. Gennem en kulturhistorisk analyse af teologiske skrifter, øvrighedens indsats for at udrydde trolddommen og retssager for trolddom, konkluderer artiklen, at en undersøgelse af kætterbegrebet medvirker til at afskrive dikotomien lærd-almue, og lægger i stedet op til en videre undersøgelse af en trikotomi bestående af teolog-lovgivning-ret.
At være eller ikke at være luthersk
Authors: Nielsen Marie Vejrup
Published: February 2018

Denne artikel undersøger dannelsen af normative diskurser i tekster, der benytter henvisninger til Luther eller luthersk i den danske offentlige debat. Artiklen er baseret på et forskningsprojekt, der afdækkede udviklingen i sådanne henvisninger iJyllandsposten og Politiken fra 2000 til 2001. I forlængelse af projektet analyseres referencer til Luther/luthersk ud fra spørgsmålet om konstruktionen af ’ortodokse’ og ’kættersk’ positioner ud fra Jacques Berlinerblau og Gerd Baumanns overvejelser om dannelsen af forestillinger om egen identitet og andres identitet (en såkaldt selfing/othering-proces)i en moderne kontekst. Artiklen argumenterer for, at der finder en selfing/othering-proces sted i materialet ud fra identifikationen af tre diskurspakker der repræsenterer forskellige syn på sammenhængen mellem Luther/luthersk og værdier i det danske samfund i dag gennem analysen af cases med referencer til Luther/luthersk.
Anmeldelse af Umberto Eco: "Rosens navn"
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

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Tema: Religionshistorie og kulturel evolution
Authors: Petersen Anders Klostergaard , Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

Redaktionelt forord om dette nummers tema: Robert Bellah, religionshistorie og kulturel evolution
Agerbrugeren, den intellektuelle og individet. Præsentation og fortolkning af religiøs evolution efter Robert Bellah. Med en annoteret bibliografi over de historiske stadier, Bellah-style
Authors: Lang Bernhard
Published: February 2018

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Robert Bellah’s theory of religion and cultural evolution is illus-trated with three important phases: early horticulture, the invention of intellctual re-ligion in ancient Israel, and modern individualism. Bellah’s model is expanded with early horticulture as an independent phase.DANSK RESUMÉ: Inden for rammerne af Robert Bellahs evolutionære skema gives en oversigt over tre vigtige faser i religionshistorien: tidligt agerbrug, aksetidens intellektuelle religion, illustreret med eksempler fra israelitisk religion og tidlig kristendom samt moderne, individualistisk religion. Tidligt agerbrug bør betragtes som en selvstændig fase, mellem jæger-samler-kultur og arkaiske statslige kulturer.
Udstigere og immunsystemer, asketer og akrobater. Om Peter Sloterdijks Du musst dein Leben ändern. Über Anthropotechnik
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A presentation and discussion of Peter Sloterdijk’s monumental work from 2009, You Must Change Your Life. The author regards asceticism (in the etymological sense of exercise, training) both as an anthropological constant, the rea-son behind bio-cultural and cultural evolution, and as a special, conscious lifestyle, first formulated in the axial age (from around 500 BC). The analysis can (partly against the author’s own intentions) be seen as an important contribution to an evolutionary history of religion. A fuller understanding of the phenomenon of asceticism as a cultural constant needs, however, the supplement provided by Emile Durkheim’s theory of the ‘negative cult’.DANSK RESUMÉ: En gennemgang og diskussion af Peter Sloterdijks monumentale værk fra 2009, Du musst dein Leben ändern. Fænomenet askese (i betydningen øvelse, træning) ses her dels om en antropologisk konstans, årsagen til bio-kulturel og kulturel evolution, dels som en særlig bevidst livsstil, som først formuleres i aksetiden (fra ca. 500 f.Kr.). Analysen kan (delvis imod forfatterens egne intentioner) ses som et væsentligt bidrag til en evolutionær religionshistorie. Forståelsen af fænomenet askese som kulturhistorisk konstans kan imidlertid med fordel suppleres med inddragelse af Emile Durkheims analyse af ‘negativ kult’.
Jesus: en falleret bonderomantiker?
Authors: Petersen Anders Klostergaard
Published: February 2018

En reviewartikel af Per Bilde, Hvor original var Jesus? (Anis, 2011)
Anmeldelser
Authors: Davidsen Ole , Falkenberg René , Petersen Anders Klostergaard , Nygaard Simon
Published: February 2018

Anmeldelser af Bernhard Lang, Jesus - en jødisk kynikers liv og lære; Enno Edzard Popkes & Gregor Wurst, eds., Judasevangelium und Codes Tchacos; Jørgen Ledet Christiansen, Niels Hyldahl & Mogens Müller, Justins dialog med jøden Tryfon; Catharina Raudvere & Jens Peter Schjødt, eds., More than Mythology. Narratives, Ritual Practices and Regional Distribution in pre-Christian Scandinavian Religions
Religiøse rødder og ruter mellem øst og vest – cirkulær evolution og hybride spejlinger
Authors: Borup Jørn
Published: February 2018

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The object of the present article is the transformative processes of religion between East and West. The article analyses the construction of religious traditions as hybrids and products of circular transformations, based on actor networks, practice/teaching and concrete historical contexts. Empirical data and discussions of illustrative metaphors are given to explore also theoretical implications for such flows and circulations.DANSK RESUME: Denne artikel omhandler væsentlige aspekter af transformationen af religion mellem øst og vest. Artiklen analyserer konstruktionen af religiøse traditioner som hybrider og produkter af cirkulære transformationer, baseret på aktør-netværk, praksis/lære og konkrete historiske kontekster. Empirisk data og diskussioner af illustrative metaforer gives til undersøgelse af også teoretiske implikationer af sådanne flows og cirkulationer.
Militær og mindfulness. Refleksioner over en uhellig alliance
Authors: Kotnis Sita
Published: February 2018

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent years, mindfulness has become a major resource in the US military. This has provoked substantial criticism in American civil society, not least within contemplative environments. Considered as an expression of underlying Western ideas of contemplation and spirituality, this criticism may offer crucial insights into mindfulness as a modern, secular phenomenon. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork this article presents the empirical context of current military uses and adaptations of contemplative practises. The article also seeks to open the field for a closer investigation of the various configurations of ’ethics’ and ’meaning’ that underlie the criticism of the military appropriation. Finally, the article points out that the study of the possible dark sides of mindfulness, i.e. the potential to enhance injurious and harmful practices, is an under-researched as well as under-theorized field.DANSK RESUME: I det amerikanske militær er mindfulness i de senere år blevet en central ressource. Dette har affødt en del kritik i det amerikanske civilsamfund, ikke mindst i kontemplative miljøer – en kritik, der anskuet som udtryk for underliggende, vestlige forestillinger om kontemplation og spiritualitet, måske kan fortælle os noget centralt om mindfulness som moderne, sekulært fænomen. Med afsæt i et længerevarende etnografisk feltarbejde redegør denne artikel for den empiriske kontekst bag den samtidige militære anvendelse af kontemplative praksisser. Artiklen søger også at åbne op for en nærmere udforskning af de konfigurationer af ’etik’ og ’mening’, der ligger til grund for kritikken af den militære appropriering. Endelig påpeges det, at studiet af mindfulness’ mulige skyggesider, i form af potentialet til at optimere skadevoldende praksisser, er et både under-researchet og under-teoretiseret felt.
Anmeldelser
Authors: Petersen Anders Klostergaard , Bisgaard Lars , Ingesman Per
Published: February 2018

Anmeldelser af Euseb, Kirkehistorien, og Om dem, der led martyrdøden i Palæstina. Oversættelse og indledninger ved Jørgen Ledet Christiansen og Helge Kjær Nielsen; Carsten Bach-Nielsen, Per Ingesman, Niels Arne Pedersen & Jens Holger Schjørring, Kirkens historie, bind 1-2; Gunnar W. Knutsen, Religionskrig i Europa 1450-1700
Grænser for religion
Authors: Lüchau Peter
Published: February 2018

Where and in what context Danes accept religion is dependent upon their attitudes toward the boundaries of religion. Dependent upon the theoretical point of departure, the boundary may be expected to be situated between religion in the public and the private sphere (secularization theory) or between religious exercise of authority and religious self-expression (individualization theory). To determine which theory may best explain the Danes' view concerning the acceptable place of religion in Denmark, data from the International Social Survey Programme 2008 ‒ Religion III questionnaire are utilised. The analysis shows that the boundary of religion is situated at the point of religious exercise of authority, and thus individualization theory best explains the limits of religion in Denmark. Furthermore, it can be shown that this boundary is part of the existing value-based cleavages among the Danes.Hvor og i hvilken sammenhæng danskerne accepterer religion, afgøres bl.a. af deres holdning til, hvor grænsen går for religion i samfundet. Alt efter teoretisk udgangspunkt forventes grænsen at gå mellem religion i det offentlige og det private rum (sekulariseringsteori) eller mellem religiøs autoritetsudøvelse og religiøs selvudfoldelse (individualiseringsteori). Til at afgøre hvilket teoretisk udgangspunkt som bedst forklarer danskernes syn på religions rette plads i Danmark, benyttes data fra International Social Survey Programme 2008 ‒ Religion III spørgeskemaundersøgelsen. Det viser sig, at grænsen for hvor danskerne vil acceptere religion går ved religiøs autoritetsudøvelse, og dermed at individualiseringsteori bedst forklarer grænsen for religion i Danmark. Det kan ydermere vises, at denne grænse er en del af de eksisterende værdimæssige kløfter blandt danskerne
Nordkoreanske migranter i Kina. Konversion og socialt pres.
Authors: Læborg Mette Hee
Published: February 2018

Since the 1980s coercive persuasion has been scrutinized by sociologists in response to the preceeding discourse on supposed 'brainwashing' methods claimed to be utilized by new religious movements. The sociological consensus was that ‘brainwashing' and coercion rarely occur in religious conversion but this debate is revoked in light of Christian organizations' involvement with North Koreans in China. In China, North Koreans live under stressful conditions as illegal migrants exposed to criminal actions, while living under the threat of deportation. Christian organizations provide shelter, security and organize plights to a third country, if desired and possible, thus having a humanitarian functionality. The paper will argue that North Koreans in China, convert under grave social pressures as a result of well-organized religious groups, their availability, and social forces from the external world.
Indledning
Authors: Jensen Hans J. Lundager
Published: February 2018

Redaktionelt forord
Buddhistisk askese: Fra verdensforsagelse til coping og dannelse
Authors: Borup Jørn
Published: February 2018

Asceticism is a central concept in Buddhism. It is both a constituent ideal and a practice needing to be tamed by institutional religion. This article analyzes Buddhist asceticism as textual ideal and religious practice from an understanding of asceticism as both renunciation (Gavin Flood), and training (Peter Sloterdijk). Influenced by Mary Douglas' group/grid model, a typology is suggested in which both the Buddha legend, historical Buddhism in its various expressions and modern Japanese shugyō and Western mindfulness are placed. It is the article's claim that asceticism is a foundational Buddhist ideal and a practice with significance for the development and societal integration of the religion.
Skabelsen af et tredje helle: Badious post- og anti-nietzscheanske læsning af Paulus
Authors: Klostergaard Petersen Anders
Published: February 2018

The article discusses Badiou’s reading of Paul. Although it would be easy to criticise it on the basis of its overly anachronistic character, I argue that there may be more to it. I present his reading and situate it in the framework of his wider philosophical oeuvre. Core issues are the ideas of anti-philosophy, subjectivity, the event, the fabulous, singularity, universalism, and love. I accentuate Badiou’s use of Paul as exemplary of a post- and anti-Nietzschean philosophical undertaking. Four critical points are raised against Badiou’s use of Paul: (1) a lack of historical appreciation of the type of religion Paul represents. Had Badiou acknowledged the Axial Age character of Paul’s religiosity, he could have strengthened his argument by undergirding it historically; (2) a problematic element of anti-Judaism relating to the juxtaposition of Pharisees with Pétainists; (3) although Paul may be seen to revolt against one particular type of particularism, it is difficult to see how one can possibly surmise that Paul’s worldview and the role he ascribes to Christ-adherents can evade the accusation of exemplifying another form of particularism; (4) throughout Badiou’s reading, there is a lack of lucidity in the use of concepts and in the ductus of the philosophical argument. At points, the argument borders mysticism and religious discourse.

Artiklen giver en introduktion til den franske filosof Badious Paulus-læsning og placerer den i sammenhæng med hans øvrige filosofiske oeuvre. Jeg fremdrager en række centrale begreber i såvel hans Paulus-læsning som i hans filosofi generelt. Det gælder betoningen af det subjektive og subjektet, begivenheden, det fabuløse, det singulære, antifilosofi, universalisme og kærlighed. Jeg fremhæver Badious Paulus-læsning som udtryk for en post- og anti-nietzscheansk tænkning. Fire grundlæggende kritikpunkter kan rettes mod læsningen: 1) manglende sans for Paulus’ religionstype. Havde Badiou været bevidst om Paulus’ aksialreligiøse verdensforståelse, ville han dels have kunnet underbygge sin læsning historisk, dels have nuanceret forbindelsen til Nietzsche; 2) en antijudaisme hos Badiou udtrykt i sidestillingen mellem farisæere og pétainister; 3) mangel på forståelse i skelnen mellem singularitet og partikularisme for det paulinske verdenssyns partikularisme. Sans for Paulus’ aksialitet ville have åbnet Badious øjne for, at Paulus’ opgør med en type partikularisme ikke fjerner ham fra identitetsfiksering. Den transponeres i stedet fra en etnicitetsbaseret til en fideistisk grundet religion; 4) et uklarhedsproblem i Badious filosofi, som er essayistisk, fabulerende og ugennemsigtig i begrebsbrug og argumentationsgang. Derved forsynder den sig mod grundlæggende dyder i al filosofisk argumentation.
Georges Bataille og det hellige - introduktion til heterologien
Authors: Petersen Hans Alstrup
Published: February 2018

This article presents the French author and philosopher, whose heterology has had a decisive influence on the development of French text theory during the last decades. The point of departure is taken in Bataille’s analysis of the cave paintings in Lascaux, where the fundamental theme of prohibition and transgression is identified. Bataille’s reflections on economy follow thereafter, where economy is not centred on production and the circulation of wealth, but on the destruction, squander and sacrifice of the “accursed part” of economy: the place of religious, aesthetic and erotic activities in the general economy of social life. The “inner experience” which accompanies participation on these socially organized transgressions is treated in more detail in a section on religious sensitivity and its contradictory position at the borderline of prohibition and transgression. The problem is summed up in the conception of the heterogen (sacred) body: an “object” which is simultaneously rejected and incorporated into the social system of meaning. The article concludes with a text-theoretical discussion as an extension of Bataille’s parallel etween sacrifice and literary narrative.
Roger Callois og det Hellige
Authors: Hommelgaard Erling
Published: February 2018

This article introduces the French sociologist etc. Roger Callois. The article’s main focus is on comparative religion, i.e. the early part of Callois’ authorship, based on his work with Collège de sociologie, which he formed in collaboration with Georges Bataille in the late thirties. Dedicated to the socalled “sociology of the sacred”, they developed the concepts of the sacred and the profane as a basis for explaining rituals in religious life. With a background in 19th century hypotheses on totemism and Durkheimian analyses of elementary forms of religious life, Callois and Bataille examine the constitution of communal life. They maintain that rituals must be taken into consideration, when the formation of societies is to be described. This means that the theories of the sacrificial are put forward. Callois also treats the structure of prohibition in primitive religion as a protection against the confusion of the sacred and the profane. But the prohibitions must also b e seen in relation to the transgression, stressing what Callois exposes in his “theory of feasts” that the feast must be seen as a kind of doubling up the sacrifice, and therefore essentially an excess. Elaborating the Maussian thesis that “it is obligatory to believe in the myths”, Callois speaks about the “affective necessities” of the myth. By this he means the ability of the myths to evoke affects and feelings, often inimical to society, but also to catch these affects and lead them to satisfaction, thus encapsulating the myth with social coercion. Callois demonstrates this in the famous analysis of the praying mantis. Furthermore, Callois addresses the relationship between myth and ritual, using the Bergsonian formula of the myth as a substitution for the animal instincts evoking real behaviour in the way that the representations of the myth virtually evoke similar behaviour in human life. Moreover the function of the ritual is to perform in reality what the myth stages virtually.