The Religion Factor

This week, The Religion Factor will offer some attention to the Master Programs in Religious Studies that are offered at our faculty. The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies in Groningen offers six unique Master’s degree programmes that concentrate on the dynamic interrelationship between religion and culture. Emeera Matthews, from the United States, is the first to share her experiences with us.

In the lead-up to his seminar at the University of Groningen next week, guest contributor Terrell Carver from the University of Bristol explores the tensions between atheism, secularism and religious freedom. Until recently atheism seemed to be a relatively lonely, unprovocative and unorganised ‘private’ activity.

Homosexuality is one of the major political issues in our contemporary world. Especially African countries are getting known for their massive public and political rejection of same-sex relationships and “gay rights”. Frequently in the media we hear, for example, about new, stricter legislation on same-sex practices, about people arrested and jailed because of homosexuality-related offences and about the murder of gay-right activists.

“Burgerschap bestaat in de identificatie met het typisch Nederlandse van onze samenleving.” (1) Met dit citaat uit de integratienota 2007-2011 laat de overheid zien dat ze verwacht dat nieuwkomers zich op sociaal-cultureel vlak aanpassen. Maar waaraan?

The Protestant Church in the Netherlands recently added a ‘social media guide for ministers and pastoral workers’ to its professional code. The guide encourages the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter as a communication channel, acknowledging its potential to reach new audiences. But it also highlights certain risks – in particular, the difficulty of maintaining an online identity that supports a church official’s professional credibility and authority.

CNN has an excellent piece on the faith of Barack Obama. The author, John Blake, argues that Obama is a religious pioneer that challenges the dominant frame where a good Christian is equated with a right-wing conservative. According to Blake, Obama brings back the social gospel tradition which was dominant at the start of the 20th century. And his source of inspiration is the Black Church.

A contribution by Jacobine Gelderloos. Regularly I come across voices who express doubts about the relevance of the church for society, both inside and outside the church. People who say that the church is ‘out of touch’ with society, that the church is outdated because it has not been able to keep up with developments in society – the church seems to speak another language than the rest of our daily world.

De gedachte dat religie niet aan het verdwijnen is, is inmiddels gemeengoed. Wat dat betreft is de rol van religie nog het best te vergelijken met een bal die je probeert onder water te duwen. Als je de bal op de ene plaats onder water duwt, weet je nooit precies zeker waar de bal weer op zal duiken. Zo is het ook met religie.

In her blog-post on the Religion Factor, Cecelia Lynch discusses FBOs in the context of the neoliberal competition on the ‘market’ of international development. In my work on and with development FBOs in the Netherlands I see this illustrated.