Pathways to Knowing
Exploring the Significance of Religious Locations in Taipei: Mapping, Comparing, and Investigating Their Role in Spiritual Sustainability View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lan Chih Wen, Wang Ming Hui
Religions play a significant role in urban development, reflecting the cultural, social, and economic dynamics of urban societies. In Taipei, religious locations are an integral part of the city's cultural landscape, reflecting the diverse religious traditions and practices of its people. This research outlines a two-part study exploring the significance of religious locations in Taipei, comparing the meanings of local and non-local religions, and investigating their role in spiritual sustainability.
Featured Religion and Education in Post-dictatorial Greece (1974-1989): Mapping the Field View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nazir Paul Nazar
The debate on the role of religion in Greek education is not new. Its roots can be traced back to the collapse of the military junta and the restoration of democracy (Metapolitefsi) in 1974. The redefinition of Church-State relations, the need for democratic education reforms, and the emergence of a new current of theological thought in the 1970s and 1980s raised the question of renewal in Religious Education. However, the impact of these processes on educational policymaking in religious education has attracted very little attention within the research community. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the historical framework by highlighting the key aspects that shaped education policy in religious education during the first period of the Metapolitefsi era (1974-1989). To achieve this goal, archival sources such as parliament proceedings, school curricula, government circulars, church encyclicals, union announcements, and press publications were used. The available data suggest that the first decade of the Third Hellenic Republic was a period of intense “mobility” regarding the role of religion in public education, which ushered in a new model of interaction between stakeholders that is still in use today.
Liturgy and Academics!: The Contribution of the School of Theology of the University of Athens to the Work of the Special Synodical Committee for Liturgical Rebirth of the Church of Greece
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Fotios Apostolos
In our paper, we make reference to the Special Synodical Committee for Liturgical Rebirth of the Church of Greece and its contribution to the request for the renewal of worship from its foundation up to our days. We emphasize the pleasant collaboration with the Greek academic community and especially with the Theological School of the University of Athens. Prominent liturgists and professors from the Theological School of Athens continuously participate in the committee's work with original presentations at the conferences it organizes and publications, which contribute significantly to the renewal efforts, which actually began with the establishment of the committee by the blessed Archbishop Christodoulos in 1998. The various reactions that this whole initiative caused made evident the difficulty of a precise theological delimitation of the term Liturgical renewal and what it entails for the liturgical life of the Church today. The purpose of our study is to demonstrate the contribution of the academic community and particularly of the Theological School of Athens to the renewal liturgical movement of the Greek Church, and the attempt to define the renewal of worship through the liturgical tradition of Orthodoxy.
