Monograph "The Functionality of Religion: Ukrainian Context".

Department of Religious Studies, Institute of Philosophy. GS Skovoroda of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine can join one of the target programs of scientific research of the Department of History, Philosophy and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for 2012-2016 with the theme "Transformation of social functions of religion and their correction under conditions of globalization, postmodernity and secularization".

The science confidently consolidated the idea of ​​the functions of religion, which traditionally understand the nature and direction of the influence of religion on society. But when investigating individual religions in different epochs, scientists knew about functions, but did not see the influence of religion. As in Soviet times, for example: even when it was forbidden, religion functioned in cut-down forms, underground, but did not affect the vital functions of the vast majority of (...) people. One or another element of religion played a role in the entire religious complex, but it did not nearly work for the society and individual citizens. The function should characterize the activity. Here we must speak more about functionality as ability to perform certain functions and their visible and effective manifestations. (shrink)

Today, in social life, religion is undoubtedly an important factor in the social interaction of people, which can significantly influence the process of stabilization or destabilization of society, determine the direction of its development. Most of the population of our country, according to specific sociological studies, considers knowledge about the functioning of religion and the principles of organizing its institutionalized forms as socially significant and necessary for them.

Oksana Horkusha’s article «The World Outlook function of religion and church identity: challenges in the contempopary coordinates of Ukrainian reality» analyzes the world outlook functioning of churches in the events of modern Ukraine. The rhetoric and the activity of church institutions are explored, on the basis of which the 3 levels of perception of reality are distinguished: 1) global 2) "Russko-mirovsky" 3) Ukrainian. Given the characteristic of each of them.

Religion in our time continues to play a significant role in the life of society and personality. For an average person, it first of all appears as a set of functions that it performs for a particular community of believers. "Religion can be described through its functionality," A. Kolodnyi rightly observes, "but can not be understood through its essence".

Religion in society is known to be an important factor in people's social interaction because it provides a certain type of communication. In the process of such communication, the necessary information and social experience of previous generations is transmitted. Therefore, religion is to some extent a historical memory of the community. Defining itself in certain sign systems, social experience of past generations becomes public and becomes the property of new generations of people. From now on, it is no (...) longer necessary for each individual individually to experience everything in their own experience. The individual experience of a person may to some extent be replaced by the results of the experience of their predecessors, and therefore the need to "invent a bicycle" every time. (shrink)

Among philosophers of religion working prior to the nineteenth century, Immanuel Kant is preeminently useful to understand. For it is his statement of the problems and his lines of solution which are most widely known, and taken as the point of departure for subsequent criticisms and new interpretations of religion, It is natural for Fichte and Schleiermacher to build out from him and often against him, just as it is his treatment of ethics and religion that most (...) excites the new generation of university students, notably Schelling, Hegel, and then Schopenhauer. Directly or indirectly, Kant’s impact continues to be felt by such diverse minds as Kierkegaard and the Marxists, Feuerbach and the positivists, Nietzsche and the so-called British Hegelians. Since Kant furnishes the closest approximation to a joint historical reference field for these nineteenth-century philosophers of religion, to study him is already to gain some comprehension of what they are doing and why they think as they do in this area. (shrink)

The subject of our consideration was the question of the essence and specifics of the implementation of the communicative-translation function by the religion. Tasks put forward within the division: 1) characterize the specifics and structure of religious communication in the paradigm of the general theory of communication; 2) analyze the transformations of religious communication in the modern age; 3) highlight the specifics of the communicative and translated function of religion and the directions of its transformation in a globalized (...) world. (shrink)

Discrimination in the postmodern society can have many different causes and can affect people of different racial, ethnic, national or social backgrounds, such as communities of Asian or African descent, Roma people, indigenous peoples, Aboriginal people and people of different castes. Discrimination can also refer to people of different cultural, linguistic or religious backgrounds, people with disabilities or the elderly. Moreover, people can be discriminated because of their sexual orientation or preferences. Gender-based discrimination is also common, despite progress in many (...) countries. Women are also particularly prone to violent and abusive practices, and therefore often suffer from a double discrimination, both because of their race or origin and because of their gender, which is why feminist literature in recent years points to new acts or forms of discrimination against women. A major problem in the postmodern world is the discrimination that many people are subjected to, especially women and children, because they live in extreme poverty. These circumstances may force them to migrate and further contribute to a conceptual or social contamination, that may aggravate discriminatory tendencies in the societies where they migrate. The article aims to theoretically analyse the degree of functionality that the principle of non-discrimination based on gender, race, religion and sexual orientation has in the contemporary, postmodern, individualistic society. (shrink)

This article forms a critical reflection on the views of Spinoza, developed in the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, on the role of the ‘ceremonial law’ in the moral life of ancient Hebrew culture. According to Spinoza, a merely external obedience to the ceremonial law should not be confused with the sense of obligation towards the moral Divine Law of ‘justice and charity’: only in this last one can true piety be found. The idea is defended that Spinoza’s critical attitude towards the Jewish (...) ceremonial law should be understood against the larger background of his hermeneutics of superstition throughout the TTP. In the TTP superstition is unmasked as a form of undue adherence to a particular religious tradition and to merely outer ceremonies and practices. Superstition should be distinguished, however, from true religion, which, according to Spinoza, leads towards piety and virtue. How the idea of true religion, identified in the Ethics as the practical disposition and form of life of the truly wise philosopher, could be accounted for within the context of the TTP is investigated. The central thesis of this article is that despite his critical attitude towards the Jewish ceremonial law Spinoza should acknowledge – according to his own religious anthropology – that a genuine religion for ordinary human beings presupposes the adherence in one form or another to a religious tradition. Without a religious tradition, it appears, no concrete moral life, so no piety, is possible. This implies, however, that in Spinoza’s view there remains a gap between the true religion of the philosopher and true religion as it can be found in the life of ordinary humans. (shrink)

This essay presents an inquiry into the phenomenological epoche , specifically with a view to the function of the epoche in efforts to interpret sacred or religious meaning. Reflecting on contributions from phenomenology, hermeneutics, and deconstruction, with particular attention to the phenomenology of religion developed by Gerardus Van der Leeuw, I argue that the epoche can be defined in terms of hospitable restraint. By holding the presuppositions of one’s unique historical horizon in abeyance (e.g., presuppositions regarding the historical development (...) of religions or the ontological, theological, or scientific reality of religion), such restraint facilitates dialogue and diplomacy through an understanding of the alterity of the sacred and the alterity of others’ experiences of the sacred. (shrink)

One of the most important discourses in contemporary religious studies is the definition of the essence and role of religious education and the problem of its coexistence with the secular. On this occasion in the circle of researchers there are diverse, sometimes opposite, points of view. The following headings of the reception of expediency of the implementation of religious education are as follows: 1) the emphasis on the current legislation on the separation of church from the state, in particular the (...) laws of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" and "On Education"; 2) comparison of foreign experience in implementation of the implementation of religious education in the practice of social life, comparative analysis of the positions of supporters and opponents of religious education; 3) outline the problems of religious and spiritual education in the context of the formation of state-church relations, the complexity of incorporation of the religious component into the system of secular education, their demarcation; 4) the relevance of the distinction and delineation of religious and religious studies, the specificity of their functional orientation. (shrink)

Our research is based on a rather large "library" of various works by M. Drahomanov, which contains his views on religion. Among them: Paradise and Progress, From the History of Relations Between Church and State in Western Europe, Faith and Public Affairs, Fight for Spiritual Power and Freedom of Conscience in the 16th - 17th Centuries,, "Church and State in the Roman Empire", "The Status and Tasks of the Science of Ancient History," "Evangelical Faith in Old England," "Populism and (...) Popular Progress in Austrian Rus, Austrian-Russian Remembrance," "Pious The Legend of the Bulgarians "," The Issues of Religious Freedom in Russia, "" On the Brotherhood of the Baptist or the Baptist in Ukraine, "" The Foreword, " Shevchenko, Ukrainianophiles and Socialism "," Wonderful thoughts about the Ukrainian national affair "," Zazdri gods "," Slavic variants of one Gospel legend "," Resurrection of Christ ", etc. (shrink)

The article presents a portrait and analysis of the existential-psychocultural situation in postmodern Sweden. Drawing from recent research exploring psychology of religion and existential worldviews, and the Swedish findings from the international World Values Survey, an argument is made for thinking about existential function and dysfunction as public health issues. This is portrayed against the background of Sweden as one of the most secularized countries and simultaneously a country with one of the most encompassing welfare systems. Psychology of (...) class='Hi'>religion's updated role here would be to take responsibility for identifying and assessing the categories of function and dysfunction for an existential public health system. This role would also include the planning of policy for societal existential wellbeing, as well as planning prevention and intervention efforts for avoiding existential epidemiology. This new role fits well with public health's third revolution agenda focusing on health, wellbeing and quality of life. (shrink)

This excellent anthology in the philosophy of religion examines the basic classical and a host of contemporary issues in thirteen thematic sections. Assuming little or no familiarity with the religious concepts it addresses, it provides a well-balanced and accessible approach to the field. The articles cover the standard topics in the field, including religious experience, theistic arguments, the problem of evil, and miracles, as well as topics that have gained the attention of philosophers of religion in the last (...) fifteen years, such as reformed epistemology, the philosophical analysis of theological doctrine, and the kalam theological argument. The collection also includes topics often requested by instructors but seldom covered in competing texts, such as religion and science, religious pluralism, process theism, and religious ethics, offering greater flexibility in choosing exact topics for use in courses. The format of the book makes it an ideal teaching text, as each section begins with a brief introduction to the central topic or issue treated by the readings which follow. Each reading is preceded by a one paragraph summary, and a bibliography of suggested readings follow each section. Philosophy of Religion functions well as a stand-alone textbook for courses in the philosophy of religion, and is readily compatible for use as a primary source reader in conjunction with a secondary text. It is an ideal companion to Reason and Religious Belief, 2e (OUP, 1997). (shrink)

The aim of this study is to discuss the functional value of tawakkul in terms of individual psychology. As it is known, tawakkul, which is technically defined as "the individual's transferring the result of the work to Allah after making all his efforts so that the desired work can be concluded as desired", is a concept that the Qur'an and Sunnah have emphasized. In this respect, tawakkul, which is a religious value, is expected to provide a motivational power to the (...) individual in his work and actions. However, it should be apprecia-ted that tawakkul, which is fed from religious sources, is far from its motivational value, which is someti-mes expressed in an individual and social context. This situation often brings with it the questioning of this concept. Since tawakkul is a religious concept, it is known that religious belief sometimes gets its share from these questions. It is a fact that these inquiries often result in negative results. From this point of view, in this study, evaluations will be made about why tawakkul cannot produce the expected function most of the time. In this context, it is aimed to describe the functional value of a religiously correct tawakkul on the basis of individual psychology by making use of primary and secondary sources. (shrink)

This review engages Berger M, Reichardt T and Städtler M Der Geist geistloser Zustände: Religionskritik und Gesellschaftstheorie. The collection, along with each of the essays, is examined as a contribution to political and social critique of religion in light of secularization and pluralization.

Excerpt from The Social Function of Religious Belief And these conclusions, that religion is both coeval and coex tensive with the race, are strengthened by a, consideration of the obscure problem of religious origins, using the Word origin not in the sense of a starting point in time, but as cause or ground. In other words, the enquiry at this point is not historical, but psychological. The temporal origin of religion is veiled in the thick darkness of the (...) prehistoric ages. The genetic-causal ground of religion is, however, always open to investigation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

The image of the future of religions is interesting to us not only and not so much that to a certain extent presupposes or corrects the future, but also that it characterizes the religious present in which it functions, in close connection with the existing society. Situational versus general change of emphasis in the forms of existence and / or functionality of religion is the result of interaction with society, its various spheres and man. The formation of the (...) newest religious needs, due to which the functionality of religion manifests itself, is a factor in the emergence of various quasi-religious and paranute teachings, coumaromania - as components of mass social mythology. Instead of "traditionally new" religious education, there are even more recent, such as the Church of Copimizma, Pastafarian, Jedi, various manifestations of quasi-religions, etc. (shrink)

Introduction, by J. D. Bettis.--An introduction to phenomenology: What is phenomenology? by M. Merleau-Ponty.--The phenomenology of religion: The meaning of religion, by W. B. Kristensen.--A naturalistic description: Religion in essence and manifestation, by G. van der Leeuw.--A supernaturalistic description: Approaches to God, by J. Maritain.--A projective description: The essence of Christianity, by L. Feuerbach.--Religion as a faculty: On religion, by F. Schleiermacher. The Christian faith, by F. Schleiermacher.--Religion as a dimension: Religion as a (...) dimension in man's spiritual life, by P. Tillich.--Religion as a social function: Magic, science, and religion, by B. Malinowski.--Religion as structure and archetype: The sacred and the profane, by M. Eliade.--Religion as encounter: I and thou, by M. Buber. (shrink)

PeterKevern believes that the cognitive science of religion (CSR) provides a justification for the idea of spiritual care in the health services. In this paper, I suggest that he is mistaken on two counts. First,CSRdoes not entail the conclusionsKevern wants to draw. His treatment of it consists largely of nonsequiturs. I show this by presenting an account ofCSR, and then explaining whyKevern's reasons for thinking it rescues ‘spirituality’ discourse do not work. Second, the debate about spirituality‐in‐health is about classification: (...) what shall count as a ‘spiritual need’ and what shall count as ‘spiritual care’. It is about the politics of meaning, an exercise in persuasive definition. The function of ‘spirituality’ talk in health care is to change the denotation of ‘spiritual’, and attach its indelibly religious connotations to as many health‐related concepts and practices as possible.CSR, however plausible it may be as a theory of the origins and pervasiveness of religious belief, is irrelevant to this debate. (shrink)

This peer-reviewed text offers several perspectives on the diversity of brain function, including ways pathologized as disorders, and its relationship to religious beliefs. Topics include what mystical experiences tell us about human knowledge, cognitive influences behind human beliefs in God, the relationship between mental disorders and religious visions, spiritual experiences of children and non-human animals, and the potential influence of artificial intelligence and transhumanism on religion . . . 2022 Montaigne Medal Finalist and 2022 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist.

The ethnology of religion as a relatively new discipline and a separate branch of religious studies, which arose as a result of interdisciplinary study of ethnos and religion, studies various aspects of their interaction. First, within the framework of the ethnology of religion, terminological and semantic problems are solved: how to define and which semantics to put into the concept of ethnos and religion, ethnic religion, national religion, national church, and others like that. Secondly, (...) this science considers the ontological status of ethnic group and religion, that is, the possible existence of religion and ethnos in their interconnection and interaction. Second, the ethnology of religion poses and decides whether religion is an indispensable, organic feature of the ethnic group and what is religion about ethnos and ethnos in relation to religion. Investigating the functionality of religion and ethnos, the ethnology of religion, fourthly, deals with the problem of the origin and the origins of these two phenomena: whether they are one-time or different. Fifthly, the influence of religion on the formation of an ethnic group is revealed, and vice versa. Sixth, the ethnology of religion determines the patterns of ethnicity and religion in their interaction. And last, the ethnology of religion has to predict the prospects of the interrelations and mutual influence of the ethnic group and religion on the future. (shrink)

In a free society, it is common to hear the request that one â ~keep an open mind.â Just what exactly is it, however, to keep an open-mind? How does open-mindedness function? How does it square with important personal commitments? These issues are particularly acute when it comes to matters of religious belief in which open-mindedness can sound to the pious a bit too much like doubt. Certainly, in a discipline whose discourse remains rational dialogue, effort should be spent discerning (...) the contours of this virtue, especially in light of its formal role in establishing responsiveness to new inquiries in matters philosophical and religious. This book provides a collection of essays serving to promote conversation about open-mindedness, its virtue, and its role and application in problems in the philosophy of religion in particular. (shrink)

People have intuitively assumed that many acts of volition are not influenced by unconscious information. However, the available evidence suggests that under suitable conditions, unconscious information can influence behavior and the underlying neural mechanisms. One possibility is that stimuli that are consciously perceived tend to yield strong signals in the brain, and this makes us think that consciousness has the function of sending such strong signals. However, if we could create conditions where the stimuli could produce strong signals but not (...) the conscious experience of perception, perhaps we would find that such stimuli are just as effective in influencing volitional behavior. (shrink)

This article explores the cognitive science of religion to discover the challenges and implications for theology by providing a critical evaluation through the lenses of philosophy, evolutionary biology and neuroscience. Four positive implications of the cognitive science of religion are identified. Firstly, the cognitive science of religion can function as a strong hermeneutics of suspicion through which theologians can criticise dogmatic and authoritative religions and theologies. Secondly, the cognitive science of religion invites scholars of religion (...) and theology to consider the evolutionary view of survival. Thirdly, the discipline's counter-intuitive concept of God could provide the basic material for theology. Finally, the folk psychology this field depends on can be harmonised with theological emphasis on the weak. Despite these positive comments, it is nevertheless clear that a constructive encounter between the cognitive science of religion and theology should follow a careful critique of the former. Thus, I criticise that the cognitive science of religion is excessively dependent on evolutionary psychology and overemphasises a reductionist explanation of religion as merely a by-product of evolutionary adaptation whilst this study almost precludes any non-reductionistic model of mind such as 'connectionism' and 'enactionism' as well as any holistic interpretation of religion and theology. Finally, I conclude that theology of nature is a proper method for establishing a relationship between the cognitive science of religion and theology.CONTRIBUTION: The article explores a critical accommodation of and response to the cognitive science of religion which has challenged religion and theology. It can not only expand transdisciplinarity of theological discourse, but also enrich the discourse of science and religion. (shrink)