Influential Ties (Asynchronous - Online Only)
The Influence of Virgin Mary in Early Christianity in Religious Rivalries View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yanqing Cao
Previous studies have discussed the role of women in the rise of Christianity, yet the role of Virgin Mary remains to be explored. The purpose of the article is to show how characters of Mary shaped by male theologians of the early church could contribute to strengthening patriarchy, and therefore could be considered as an important factor for the victory of Christianity. While some scholars regard Mithraism as the main rival of early Christianity, often in such context sacred feminine is overlooked in religious rivalries. This paper compares Mary with an important goddess in Roman Empire, Isis, in respect to experience, function, character and position in belief systems, and summarizes Mary’s characters with Patristic literature. The study proposes that Mary’s virginity, maternity and obedience enable Christianity to be an appealing choice for the Roman Empire. The submissive image of Mary could serve as an ideological tool of patriarchy.
Alienation, Asceticism, and the Entrepreneurship of the Self: Towards an Anthropology of Ascesis Today View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session William Tilleczek
This paper proposes to deepen our understanding of the figure of the 'entrepreneur of the self' today using tools from the anthropology of ethics and from the Marxist conception of 'alienation.' In the neoliberal economy, there is a high degree of pressure on subjects to undertake practices of self-development and self-transcendance -- whether that be fitness, meditation, or yoga -- in order to maximize their human capital. In this sense, we are all entrepreneurs of the self even as we are spiritual or ascetic beings. I argue that this development is both promising and dangerous. Promising, because we are living through an 'ascetic renaissance,' during which a broad cultural awareness of the power of self-development has enabled the creation of new ways of being and social projects. Dangerous because, in spite of the initial promise of neoliberalism to end alienation, entrepreneurship of the self has rather alienated us in precisely that sphere which is the properer domain of liberation. I substantiate this analysis using an analytic grid that looks at self-development in its social context today and analyses it according to its teleology, deontology, ontology, and ascesis.
Police Chaplains Standing in the Crossroads Between the Community and Government View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session James Farnsworth
Police Chaplains provide vital services to police departments and the communities in which they serve. This paper examines the roles of Chaplains, ordained by various religious traditions and representing the diversity of the community, as spiritual and ethical mentors within police departments and as advocates for communities and their members. The paper begins with a review of pertinent literature on police chaplaincy and community policing programs. It then explores how Chaplains serve as transformational leaders – moral and ethical role models for officers, participating in welfare and morale programs for the officers and their families, and working as trusted mediators and advocates for the public. All of which allow Chaplains to affect change in the department and the community. Chaplains can have a transformational effect on members of the police department affecting the morale and wellbeing of those members and representing the outsider culture within the department - bridging relations between officers and members of the community being served. The paper concludes with recommendations on how Chaplains can make a positive contribution not only to the culture of the police department but also to the relationship the department has with the community it serves.
You Should Be Buddhist and Nationalistic: Religions in Thai Textbooks and Creation of “Good” Citizens View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kakanang Yavaprabhas
Textbooks are typically seen in Thai society as sources of standardized knowledge, and religions form relatively significant part of their contents. Various aspects of Thai textbooks have been covered in existing literature, but the topic of religions remains open for exploration. This study, thus, examines how religions appear in the textbooks. It adopts an anthropological approach to textbooks and critical discourse analysis to look at religions in the textbooks. In total, I analyze 42 textbooks of primary school level that are used for 3 subjects: Buddhism, Social Sciences, and Duties of Citizens. The level of primary school is selected because it should be the crucial time for students’ moral and ethical formation. Notably, contents relating to Buddhism overpower those of other religions. I propose that there are three main discourses formed by religions in the textbooks: discourses about us and others, about goodness, and about Buddhism, Thai-ness, and the Thai state. I argue that these discourses show how religions, particularly Buddhism, are used by the Thai state, who governs contents in the textbooks, in hoping to create its desirable good citizens. The “good” citizens here should be religious, preferably Buddhist, and have a particular sense of goodness and nationalism. Simultaneously, those who fail to conform to this version of good citizens are stigmatized.
