December 14, 2019 LEONARD SWIDLER Curriculum Vitae I
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Why Interfaith Dialogue, Religious Pluralism, Liberation Theology, and Secular Humanism Are Needed for a Robust Public Square
religions Article Humbling the Discourse: Why Interfaith Dialogue, Religious Pluralism, Liberation Theology, and Secular Humanism Are Needed for a Robust Public Square Peter Admirand School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Whitehall, Dublin 9, Ireland; [email protected] Received: 12 June 2019; Accepted: 23 July 2019; Published: 25 July 2019 Abstract: Our public square is in need of much refurbishment, if not reconstruction. Access for many seems barred by various ideological platforms and walls. Some are deemed too much of this, another too much of that: liberal, religious, anti-Trump, anti-Brexit, pro-life, anti-gay—whatever the label or brand—and some access points are opened, others closed. Gatekeepers are many, deeming who really counts, who really represents. The public square, of course, should be big, bustling, semi-chaotic “places”, rife with ideas, questions, passion, and curiosity, yet measured by standards of decorum, listening, and mutual respect. Most importantly, it should be characterized by a robust (or spunky) humility, aware of its strengths and its weaknesses. It is fair to say that in 2019, our public square could use a little uplift. While certainly not a miracle cure, nor the only possible salves, interfaith dialogue, religious pluralism, liberation theology, and secular humanism have much in their favor to nuance, challenge, and yes, purify our present polarized, and so sometimes catatonic public square. After a brief overview first explaining the title, along with what is meant in this paper by the secular and humility, it will then be argued how interfaith dialogue, religious pluralism, liberation theology, and secular humanism can liberate and purify our public square discourse—namely by practicing and promoting a robust humility. -
A Vision for the Third Millennium the Age of Global Dialogue Dialogue Or Death !
LEONARD SWIDLER A Vision for the Third Millennium the Age of Global Dialogue Dialogue or Death ! 1. A Radically New Age hose thinkers who early in the twentieth cen tury with great historical/sociological analysis In his article «A Vision for the Third Millennium, The Age T of Global Dialogue: Dialogue or Death», Swidler attempts predicted the impending demise of Western to show that humankind is in a crucial transition from a Civilization were clearly mistaken. After World War I, stage where monologue is the chief characteristic of rela- in 1922, Oswald Spengler wrote his widely acclaimed tions, to one where dialogue is the chief characteristic. 1 Because of technological advances, dialogue is both more book, The Decline of the West . After the beginning of possible than ever before and also more necessary than World War II Pitirim A. Sorokin published in 1941 his ever before. The change from monologue to dialogue is a likewise popular book, The Crisis of Our Age2 . Given the change from a way of interacting modeled on confronta- massive, world-wide scale of the unprecedented de- tion to one modeled on listening. The change is being caused by a number of important parallel shifts, such as struction and horror of the worlds first global war, an increased awareness of the tenacity of knowledge and 1914-18, and the even vastly greater of the second glo- the shrinking of the world to a «global community». But bal conflict, 1939-45, the pessimistic predictions of while Swidler characterizes the change from monologue to dialogue as «the most fundamental, most radical and these scholars and the great following they found are utterly transformative of the key elements of the newly understandable. -
Churches in Serbia and Germany in Dialogue
TOWARD THE HEALING OF MEMORIES AND CHANGING OF PERCEPTIONS: CHURCHES IN SERBIA AND GERMANY IN DIALOGUE A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Angela V. Ilić MAY 2012 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Leonard J. Swidler, Advisory Chair, Department of Religion Dr. Terry Rey, Department of Religion Dr. John C. Raines, Department of Religion Dr. Paul B. Mojzes, Rosemont College Dr. Kyriakos M. Kontopoulos, External Reader, Department of Sociology © by Angela Valeria Ilić 2012 All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines a series of interchurch consultations that took place between 1999 and 2009 with the participation of the Evangelical Church in Germany, the Roman Catholic German Bishops’ Conference and the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Protestant-Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical encounters began in the immediate aftermath of the Kosovo crisis, and aimed to support Serbia’s democratization and European integration. At a total of nine meetings, delegates from the participating churches, together with politicians, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and scholars from various fields, discussed the role of churches and religion in the two countries. The meetings provided a forum for exchanging knowledge and addressing the challenges confronting the churches and their social organizations. Through lectures, discussions, and meetings in working groups, the consultations focused on theological, legal, political, and social topics, such as church and state relations in Serbia, the role of churches in secularized society, Serbia’s relationship to the rest of Europe, reconciliation, and the healing of memories. Focusing on the content and the outcomes of the consultations, the author places them into the broader ecumenical, social and political context in which they took place. -
How National and Religious Identities Influence the Decision to Marry in Egypt
675 Reconciling Conflicting Identities: How National and Religious Identities Influence the Decision to Marry in Egypt Courtney P. Erwin1 Karim and Layla2 met at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and dated for three years. During those three years, they experienced the usual ups and downs of a young relationship. Both Karim and Layla also struggled with the implacable problem of falling for the fundamentally “wrong” person: Karim is a Muslim, and Layla is a Copt.3 Karim and Layla knew that their relationship dangerously navigated around hostile boundaries. After too many familial battles, the Coptic boy and the Muslim girl resigned themselves to the inevitable and broke up. After all, a future together was nearly impossible—where would they get married, and who would marry them? No one in Egypt would challenge the explicit religious prohibitions against interfaith marriage,4 much less compromise one’s own convictions concerning such an illicit union. Nor would the Egyptian government offer Karim and Layla protection against discriminatory religious postures, the government having implemented legislation relegating family law, including marriage, to one’s individual religion.5 Had they decided to stay together and to marry outside Egypt, Karim and Layla would have lost their friends and families and would have faced legal complications within Egypt.6 While friendships between the Muslim majority and Coptic minority populations are accepted in Egypt, romantic relations crossing the religious divide are not. Religious identification is a large part of the dynamic between today’s Egyptian Muslims and Copts. This religious identification legitimizes discrimination by each religion against the other in order to protect the religious legacy of both groups. -
The Age of Global Dialogue
THE AGE OF GLOBAL DIALOGUE Leonard Swidler Humans tend to group themselves in communities with similar understandings of the meaning of life and how to act accordingly. For the most part, in past history such large communities, called cultures or civilizations, have tended on the one hand to live unto themselves, and on the other to dominate and, if possible, absorb the other cultures they encountered. For example, Christendom, Islam, China. I. THE MEANING OF RELIGION (IDEOLOGY) At the heart of each culture is what is traditionally called a Religion, that is: "An explanation of the ultimate meaning of life, and how to live accordingly." Normally all religions contain the four "C's": Creed, Code, Cult, Community-structure, and are based on the notion of the Transcendent. Creed refers to the cognitive aspect of a religion; it is everything that goes into the "explanation" of the ultimate meaning of life. Code of behavior or ethics includes all the rules and customs of action that somehow follow from one aspect or another of the Creed. Cult means all the ritual activities that relate the follower to one aspect or other of the Transcendent, either directly or indirectly, prayer being an example of the former and certain formal behavior toward representatives of the Transcendent, like priests, of the latter. Community-structure refers to the relationships among the followers; this can vary widely, from a very egalitarian relationship, as among Quakers, through a "republican" structure like Presbyterians have, to a monarchical one, as with some Hasidic Jews vis-a-vis their "Rebbe." The Transcendent, as the roots of the word indicate, means "that which goes beyond" the every- day, the ordinary, the surface experience of reality. -
Nurturing a Culture of Dialogue - Report of the Visit to Skopje, Macedonia
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe Volume 21 Issue 4 Article 3 8-2001 Nurturing a Culture of Dialogue - Report of the Visit to Skopje, Macedonia Paul Mojzes Roanoke College Leonard Swidler Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Eastern European Studies Commons Recommended Citation Mojzes, Paul and Swidler, Leonard (2001) "Nurturing a Culture of Dialogue - Report of the Visit to Skopje, Macedonia," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 21 : Iss. 4 , Article 3. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol21/iss4/3 This Article, Exploration, or Report is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. June 14-19, 2001 Nurturing a Culture of Dialogue - Report of the Visit to Skopje, Macedonia, Background by Paul Mojzes and Leonard Swidler At the beginning of the Third Millennium one of the most pressing issues is the violence that swirls around religion and politics. When a list of contemporary flashpoints is drawn up, religion sadly frequently figures centrally: Northern Ireland, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, Sudan... Often the Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity, Islam - play a major role in these centers of violence: the Middle East, Bosnia, Kosovo, Indonesia, Azerbaijan/Armenia, -
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A forum for academic, social, and timely issues affecting religious communities around the world. Toward a Gender-Aware Approach to Abrahamic Dialogue, By Virginia A. Spatz Abstract Interfaith dialogue, in practice, frequently overlooks gender as a key element in faith experiences, despite academic recognition of gender's interaction with spirituality, religious experience, and faith community roles. Abrahamic dialogue often includes men and women with substantially gendered views and practices. Moreover, dialogue itself can raise gender issues for participants from egalitarian communities. Dialogue lacks a systematic approach to this reality. This article examines Leonard Swidler’s popularly referenced “Dialogue Decalogue,” along with some “new” commandments for feminist men proposed in 1973, to suggest the beginnings of a systematically gender-aware approach to Abrahamic dialogue. Introduction While academic circles have long recognized a variety of ways in which gender interacts with spirituality, religious experience, and roles in faith communities, the practice of interfaith dialogue generally fails to incorporate any such recognition. Guidelines for inter-religious and interfaith dialogue rarely discuss gender. Abrahamic dialogue has developed no systematic approach to gender as a key element in faith experience, although men and women – especially older participants and those from Muslim or orthodox Jewish communities – may bring substantially gendered views. Moreover, Abrahamic dialogue itself can raise gender issues for participants otherwise unaccustomed to facing these on a regular basis. This article examines Leonard Swidler's popularly referenced “Dialogue Decalogue,” along with some “new” commandments for feminist men proposed in 1973, to suggest the beginnings of a systematically gender-aware approach to Abrahamic dialogue. While text-based, this article makes no claims to “scholarship,” and examples throughout are from the author’s personal experience as a woman, a Jew, and a participant in interfaith worship and study. -
Problem Statement Two Trends, Each Propitious on Its Own, Could Spell
Problem Statement Two trends, each propitious on its own, could spell disaster for the world since they are concurrent. First, advances in automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning will boost productivity but these new technologies can also bring a job-eliminating tsunami. Second, the recent youth bulge has swelled populations under 15 to 41% in Africa and 26% in the world, while world population is projected to grow to nearly 10 billion by 2050. An energetic workforce will boost productivity but what happens when the young have no jobs? The unemployed millions may try to migrate northwards—from Africa to Europe and from Central and South America to the United States and Canada, causing new social disruptions and revival of nativism of old. Violence is already getting worse across the world and its economic impact reached $14.8 trillion, according to the 2018 Global Peace Index report. In the United States, more than 215,000 children have experienced gun violence at school since the Columbine High massacre in 1999, as reported by the Washington Post. Unlike the 20th century when progress was chiefly intelligence-based, prosperity this century is primarily creativity-driven. Creativity kindles ideation and invention, which fuels new business development so the young entrepreneurs can gainfully employ themselves as well as others. Essential though for collaborative innovation and social harmony is empathy because it breeds mutuality and makes compromise tolerable. Creativity and empathy are hence salient human attributes. Their development, however, must start with schoolchildren—before the well-documented “4th-grade slump” in their creativity gains a foothold or ingrained prejudices discolor their “mirror neurons” responsible for empathy. -
Theologies of the Land and State of Israel: the Role of the Secular In
Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations A peer-reviewed e-journal of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations Published by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College Theologies of the Land and State of Israel The Role of the Secular in Christian and Jewish Understandings Ruth Langer Boston College Volume 3 (2008) http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol3 Langer, “Theologies of the Land and State of Israel” 1 http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol3 Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations Volume 3(2008): 1-17 The sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the modern State learn how the other can operate with a different perspective on of Israel provides us with an opportunity to search for deeper the world, with a different set of presuppositions and a differ- understanding on a central but under-discussed topic in Chris- ently nuanced set of values. Otherwise, we miss what is distinc- tian-Jewish dialogue. It has been avoided most often because tive about our dialogue partners. This is particularly critical of the sheer complexity of the issues involved: the pitfalls in- when we share so many aspects of culture that we become un- volved for Christians globally in negotiating between Israeli and aware of the need to translate, presuming that our words and Palestinian political issues; the wide range of Jewish responses ideas are received as we intend them. to these same issues; and a sense that political issues have no place in dialogue between religious communities. While ac- Our brains can be compared to filing cabinets or hard drives. -
From Crisis to Post-Crisis in Macedonia
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe Volume 22 Issue 4 Article 4 8-2002 From Crisis to Post-crisis in Macedonia Paul Mojzes Rosemont College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Eastern European Studies Commons Recommended Citation Mojzes, Paul (2002) "From Crisis to Post-crisis in Macedonia," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 22 : Iss. 4 , Article 4. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol22/iss4/4 This Article, Exploration, or Report is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. From Crisis to Post-crisis in Macedonia by Paul Mojzes Paul Mojzes, founding editor of REE, is professor of Religious Studies at Rosemont College and co-editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies. He and Leonard Swidler of the Global Dialogue Institute organized the conference in Skopje. CAREE, of which Mojzes became president again in early 2002, was one of the sponsors. For much of the year 2001 Macedonia was in a state of low-level civil war. Ethnic Albanian terrorists and insurgents, many crossing over from Kosovo, put the country on the brink of an all-out war and perhaps disintegration after only a decade of independence. Tense negotiations under strong pressure by Western governments, including the USA, using the stick and carrot approach, yielded at least temporary results: a revised constitution and a shift toward greater pluralism, that has been experienced painfully by the Slavic Macedonian majority. -
What Can We Say About Phoebe? J
What Can We Say about Phoebe? J. David Miller The conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome includes The masculine form prostates and its Latin equivalent patronus his most extensive catalog of coworkers. In addition to Paul him- regularly receive the translation “patron,” and we should wonder self, the chapter mentions thirty-seven specific individuals, ten of why translators and commentators have been reluctant to recog- them women. At the head of this list stands Phoebe: nize this sense in the feminine form. James Dunn, for example, has expressed concern: “The unwillingness of commentators to I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church give prostatis its most natural and obvious sense of ‘patron’ is at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is most striking.”4 fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require Indeed, literary and archaeological evidence offers glimpses of from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself the f work o women patrons.5 Consider Phile of Priene in south- as well. (Rom 16:1–2 NRSV) west Asia Minor, who in the first century BC “constructed at her No other page of the Bible mentions Phoebe, leaving us little to own expense the reservoir for water and the city aqueduct.”6 n I the early second century AD, Plancia Magna was benefactress of the go on. What, then, can we say about Phoebe? immense and ornate gates of Perge, the leading city of Pamphy- We f know, o course, her name, which means “bright,” “radi- lia.7 t A the close of the third century AD, Aurelia Leite provided ant,”r o “pure.”1 Though the name Phoebe occurs only here in for the restoration of a gymnasium on the Aegean island of Paros.8 the New Testament, it was not uncommon in the Greco-Roman The f case o Junia Theodora is particularly relevant, for she lived in world.e W also know she was from Cenchreae, situated approxi- mid-first-century Corinth—the same era and area as Phoebe. -
Endangered Species of the Physical Cultural Landscape: Globalization, Nationalism, and Safeguarding Traditional Folk Games
Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 3-17-2021 9:00 AM Endangered Species of the Physical Cultural Landscape: Globalization, Nationalism, and Safeguarding Traditional Folk Games Thomas Fabian, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Barney, Robert K., The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Kinesiology © Thomas Fabian 2021 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Fabian, Thomas, "Endangered Species of the Physical Cultural Landscape: Globalization, Nationalism, and Safeguarding Traditional Folk Games" (2021). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7701. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7701 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Folk sports are the countertype of modern sports: invented traditions, bolstered by tangible ritual and intangible myth, played by the common folk in order to express a romantic ethnic identity. Like other cultural forms, traditional sports and games around the world are becoming marginalized in the face of modernization and globalization. In 2003, UNESCO ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in an attempt to counter such trends of cultural homogenization. As elements of intangible cultural heritage, folk sports now fall under the auspices of UNESCO safeguarding policies.