Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies

Marius Jucan, Măştile Libertăţii: America În Scrisorile Lui Thomas Jefferson (Cluj: Casa Cărţii De Ştiinţă, 2007) (Freedom’s Masks. America Seen Through The Letters Of Thomas Jefferson)

2026-08-28T13:56:49+03:00

Review of Măştile Libertăţii: America În Scrisorile Lui Thomas Jefferson by Marius Jucan (Cluj: Casa Cărţii De Ştiinţă, 2007)

Kwame Anthony Appiah, Cosmopolitism. Etica Într-O Lume A Străinilor (Cosmopolitanism. Ethics In A World Of Strangers, Bucureşti: Andreco Educational Grup, 2007.)

2026-08-28T14:02:43+03:00

Review of Etica Într-O Lume A Străinilor (Cosmopolitanism. Ethics In A World Of Strangers, Bucureşti: Andreco Educational Grup, 2007.) .

Leon Volovici, De La Iaşi La Ierusalim Şi Înapoi (From Iasi To Jerusalem And Back, Bucureşti: Editura Institutul Ideea Europeană, 2007.)

2026-08-28T14:10:43+03:00

Review of Leon Volovici, De La Iaşi La Ierusalim Şi Înapoi (From Iasi To Jerusalem And Back, Bucureşti: Editura Institutul Ideea Europeană, 2007.)

Michael Zank, New Perspectives On Martin Buber, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006.

2026-08-28T14:15:03+03:00

Review of Michael Zank, New Perspectives On Martin Buber, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006.

Inexprimabilul: Cu Elie Wiesel Despre Filosofie și Teologie (The Unspeakable: With Elie Wiesel on Philosophy and Theology)

2026-08-27T18:00:05+03:00

Of the representatives of the Romanian Diaspora, Elie Wiesel is the figure that has the widest public recognition, as a human rights activist and also as a writer. Due to the fundamental themes that he develops, his thinking is claimed both by philosophers and theologians. Wiesel says that with the experience of the Holocaust, all the categories that mold human creation must be rethought from the perspective of the Unspeakable of this extreme experience. Starting with this experience, the post-Holocaust philosophy must help us ask questions and find answers regarding human reason in extreme conditions, to mold the plan of action and human responsibility, to speak of the human condition in a world where God is absent. For Wiesel, theology must be oriented towards community and the needs of individuals. It has to be a theology of otherness, in the sense that it must sustain the idea of the fulfillment of the individual in his relation to the other. Wiesel chooses literary discourse to express philosophical and theological ideas. It seems to him that this type of discourse can express the magnitude of the genocide perpetrated against the European Jews more adequately than other disciplines.

Identity Under (Re)Construction. The Jewish Community From Transylvania Before And After The Second World War

2026-08-27T18:09:50+03:00

When talking about the identity of a certain community, we are inclined to appeal to essentialist, almost metaphysical notions. This often results in a unitary, deeply rooted and stable perception of the analyzed community. But this view is not always accurate enough, for it does not offer an account of a specific history. By offering a short history and a structural presentation of the Jewish community from Transylvania, before and shortly after the Second World War, our article’s purpose is to overpass, by questioning, the shortcomings of an essentialist interpretation of the discussed community. Taking into account the long history of pogroms, applied anti-Semitism and persecutions on religious or ethnic grounds that took place along the 20th century, our work aims at depicting whether religion was and remained a major characteristic, i.e. an unique communal specificity in the re(creation) of Jewish identity in Transylvania, before and after the Second World War.

On The Social And Existential Meaning Of Jewish Mysticism Today: Pitfalls And Potential

2026-08-27T18:14:11+03:00

The authors review the profound and diverse ways in which mysticism is embedded in and influences belief, lifestyle, identity and politics in Jewish life in Israel and North America. They outline some existential and cultural dimensions of the conditions in which this phenomena flourish, specifically relating to the condition of post-modernity. The seeming dominance of mysticism over more rational forms of religious belief and behavior is explored. The opposite ideational and historic trends within Jewish mysticism as they relate to national lifestyle, being alternatively closed and parochial or open and universal are reviewed. The authors suggest that, in light of the current situation within and outside of the Jewish people, the latter approach needs to be strengthened.

The Political And The Hypostases Of The Human. Towards A Recognition Culture

2026-08-27T18:21:57+03:00

The aim of our study is to single out a possible path towards the recognition culture in a world strained by deep social cleavages and by a strong conflict among values. In this context, we consider that a recognition culture is possible only by activating the comprehensive being that each of us, humans, is. The study attempts to answer the desideratum of the recognition culture by developing a model of the political founded on the correlation of certain aspects of the human and of the political. The identification of the hypostases of the political and the human and the correlations between them help us understand one of the specific anthropo-political mechanisms that may allow us to reach the recognition culture that is based on accepting the other and assuming one’s own fallibility. This is what we define as the anthropological model of the comprehensive political.

To Be Thoughtful of the Other

2026-08-27T18:33:25+03:00

In my paper I examine the question of tolerance. In the first part of the discussion I follow up the process in the course of which the problem of tolerance appearing in connection to the practice of religious freedom in the 17th-18th centuries leaves the territory of religious morality and the relation of church and state, and is placed into the empirical sphere of a general human relation to the otherness of the other, and with it to the private sphere of the individual. However, the intolerance continuously present in our life world still keeps the question in the forefront of theoretical interest. In the second part of the paper I examine the relationship of tolerance and intolerance, proving that the tolerance conceived as the experience of being tolerated induced intolerance. This situation can be exceeded by a change of attitude outlined by philosophical hermeneutics, the essence of which is the practical and behavioral application of the principle of “being thoughtful of the other”.

François Bernier și Brahmanii: Un Obstacol în Calea Conversaţiei Inter- Culturale (François Bernier And The Brahmans: Exposing An Obstacle To Cross-Cultural Conversation)

2026-08-27T18:37:20+03:00

Taking its cue from François Bernier’s Voyages and focusing on the assumptions that stand in the background of Immanuel Kant’s view of the encounter between Christianity and Hinduism, this text endeavors to bring to light the theoretical framework that shaped the dialogue between the West and the East since the 18th century. The author’s contention is that the way that Western philosophy has tended to conceive of universal values has been one of the fundamental obstacles that has hindered a genuine cross-cultural conversation in this sense.

Are Dialogues Antidotes To Violence? Two Recent Examples From Hinduism Studies

2026-08-27T18:41:22+03:00

One of the convictions in religious studies and elsewhere is about the role dialogues play: by fulfilling the need for understanding, dialogues reduce violence. In this paper, we analyze two examples from Hinduism studies to show that precisely the opposite is true: dialogue about Hinduism has become the harbinger of violence. This is not because ‘outsiders’ have studied Hinduism or because the Hindu participants are religious ‘fundamentalists’ but because of the logical requirements of such a dialogue. Generalizing the structure of this situation, we argue that, in certain dialogical situations, the requirements of reason conflict with the requirements of morality.

Christian Theology And Racist Ideology: A Case Study Of Nazi Theology And Apartheid Theology

2026-08-27T18:45:55+03:00

This article focuses on the role that distorted Christian theology played in the construction of the racial ideologies of Nazism and Apartheid. The central theoretical argument is that these theologies were instrumental in sacralising the history of a specific group by creating origin myths, by idolising the ingroup, defining the outgroup, by providing racist ideologies with rituals and symbols and by
creating final utopian solutions. The theological doctrines that were used are characterised by certain common features, such as a collectivist anthropology, the identification of the church with an ethnic group, the view of history as a source of revelation, and the appropriation of myths. The article concludes with the remark that the modern global environment is particularly vulnerable to racism. It is therefore important for Christianity to clearly identify the common characteristics of pseudo-racist theology and to educate its adherents on the difference between authentic theology and pseudo-theology, so that they will not fall prey to destructive forms of religion that encourage racism.

Academic Freedom And Religiously-Affiliated Universities

2026-08-27T18:49:25+03:00

This paper explores the relationship between the principle of academic freedom and religiously-affiliated higher education. The arguments advanced are based on a general theory concerning the role of universities in a democratic society, and as such they are intended to apply to any such society, irrespective of the particulars of religious higher education in a specific national context. The article
looks at three classes of arguments advanced against a “secular” standard of academic freedom: arguments on the nature of academic disciplines in religious colleges; arguments concerning the relationship between the institutional mission of religious universities and academic freedom; and arguments from democracy and religious freedom. The paper concludes that none of these arguments are successful in claiming a different standard of academic freedom for religiously-affiliated universities; and that, further, a “secular” standard leaves such institutions adequate room to express their religious dimension.

Considerations On Some Historical And Contemporary Issues In Lucian Blaga’s Metaphysics

2026-08-27T18:53:30+03:00

The Romanian thinker Lucian Blaga, poet, playwright, and philosopher, created works in all of these fields that were penetrated and united by the same brilliant spirit, reflecting an admirable desire of reaching a philosophical consciousness. Firstly, this article deals with the so-called “historical issues” of this metaphysics. During his formative years he set about to create a philosophical system that aimed at dealing with the problems of transcendence. Blaga’s criticism of some of the most famous and influential philosophical positions, such as critical philosophy, positivism, and phenomenology is explored. Secondly, this article attempts to continue the debate on the actual interpretations of Blaga’s metaphysics, especially his insight into “contemporary issues” such as inter-religious dialogue and American Pragmatism. Blaga’s philosophical works have scarcely been discovered by readers out side Romania and it is the purpose of this paper to show Blaga’s relevancy to broader philosophical arguments.

Cîteva Corelaţii Medico- Istorice, Embriologice și Teologice Referitoare La „Coborîrea Minţii în Inimă” (Some Medico-Historical, Embryological And Theological Correlations Concerning “Bringing The Mind Down Into The Heart”)

2026-08-27T18:56:54+03:00

The paper presents some knowledge of history of medicine – especially those from the embryological field – correlated with theological marks in order to motivate the rightfulness of the method of „bringing the mind down into the heart”, a procedure during the Jesus Prayer. The ascetic Fathers mentioned that the mind is an energy which starts from the heart and reaches the brain – which offers the possibility to express itself. It is possible to consider that this transfer begins since the primitive heart is in the same plane and before the cerebral area. Then, after the folding of the embryo, the heart will be placed under the brain. So “bringing the mind down into the heart” is also biologically feasible. Although the primitive heart is structured after the neural tube, it starts beating at 21 to 22 days, unlike the brain which began its function on the 40th day. This explains the theological meaning of the heart, wider than the signification of the mind (attribute of the brain).

O Interpretare Modernă a Voinţei Umane a Fiului Lui Dumnezeu Întrupat la Sfântul Maxim Mărturisitorul și Părinţii Anteriori

2026-08-27T19:01:19+03:00

The author analyses the theology of Saint Maximus the Confessor and its interpretation in modern theology. The great work of Hans Urs von Balthasar “The Cosmic Liturgy” began a new theological focus on the profoundness of Saint Maximus synthesis which was continued by several scholars: Policarp Sherwood, J. M. Gariguess, J. C. Larchet, Andrew Louth etc. The author analyses especially the work “Theologie de l’agonie du Christ” belonging to François-Marie Lethel (Paris, 1979). In a critical approach to this work he finds major misinterpretations and established several erroneous trends in the Maximian studies.