Browsing by Author "Porcu, Elisabetta"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    A Qualitative Analysis of the ISKCON Movement in South Africa
    (2022) Bishop, James; Porcu, Elisabetta
    This thesis explores the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) movement in South Africa. I employ qualitative analysis and use David Chidester's theory of symbolic exchange to analyze contestations over symbols between ISKCON devotees and proponents of competing perspectives in the contemporary South African context. I analyze the “battlefield” of symbol contestation and its many participants who wish to “own” sacred symbols, alienate others from this ownership, and how symbols are appropriated to serve specific “interests”. Evaluating discourses and contestations over symbols clarify central tenets in the ISKCON movement's worldview, what the religion seeks to communicate, to whom it communicates, the strategies it employs, and its interests that are served.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Fluidity between ethno-religious and national identifications: a study of identity and ethics in Mauritius
    (2023) Ragoo, Ramesh; Porcu, Elisabetta
    Mauritius, an island with a population of nearly 1.3 million, is composed essentially of different local diasporas with numerous religious backgrounds. After more than three centuries of active cohabitation, a cosmopolitan and democratic nation is emerging. One of the traits of the island is the relatively peaceful co-existence of a diversity of religions and cultures, often considered a unique case of reference for the world. On the other hand, although the Mauritian constitution (1968) and public discourses by leaders of successive governments advocate for a democratic secular state, the nexus between communities (including religions as per the constitution) and political power predominates. At times, small tensions or communal conflicts do arise, which incite for research on sustainable peace. Other faiths have also emerged, cutting across traditional communities and breaking the tie with political power. Moreover, the legal requirement for legislative candidates at national elections to identify themselves with one of the four constitutional communities has become controversial. Against this background, this qualitative research, based on a social identity theory and employing an autoethnographic approach, aims to analyze the contributions of academics and religious organizations to the creation of a sustainable plural Mauritian society. A particular attention is paid to interfaith dialogue, with an emphasis on common religious values and ethics, which is gaining importance to address the 21st century social and national issues. Religion, and particularly the Council of Religions, constituted at the turn of this century, play a leading role in the transition from a multi-cultural, communally centered society to an intercultural and cosmopolitan one. To narrow down the study, two areas shall be examined: self-identification and ethics, from legacy to advocacy.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Giving without merit: nuns in a post-merit Buddhist economy
    (2022) Willenberg, Karen; Porcu, Elisabetta
    Buddhist monastic institutions have endured for centuries, supported by donations from the lay community. This economic system has been driven by the religious concept of merit, a concept which is regarded as producing adverse economic effects for nuns. However, scholars have begun to identify the absence of belief in merit in Buddhist organisations operating outside Asia and to consider the implications of this post-merit Buddhism for the funding of monastic institutions. The purpose of this paper is to consider the position of nuns in a Buddhist economy that operates without reference to merit and to demonstrate that the economic effects of gender in this model of the Buddhist economy are not a given, but the product of a negotiated attribution of value involving both the lay and monastic community.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Monotheism in the New Religious Movements of Japan: Historical and Taxonomical Challenges in Western Studies
    (2023) Chandler, Kegan; Porcu, Elisabetta
    The study of Japan's New Religious Movements (NRMs) has long been a preoccupation of Western scholars. However, significant disagreement and confusion has existed in the West over whether some of these movements, exemplified in this study by Kurozumikyō, Tenrikyō, and Konkōkyō, are monotheistic or not. Scholars have alternatively described these NRMs as “polytheistic,” “monotheistic,” or “pantheistic,” while some have attempted to straddle multiple categories at once, or have treated these movements as entirely sui generis. This thesis, focusing on Western studies, argues that this long history of Western dissonance is the result of a complex layering of taxonomical, socio- cultural, and academic issues, including too-narrow definitions of monotheism, nationalistic discourse in Japan, scholarly avoidance of “Western” terminology and concepts, essentializing East-West dichotomies which emphasize “Japanese polytheism” and “Western monotheism,” and scholarly assumptions about devotional practices. This thesis begins to address this classificatory impasse by first expanding on recent advancements in the taxonomy of religion, including a definition of monotheism that takes into account its nuances and includes new monotheistic subcategories, and then by revisiting the teachings of Kurozumikyō, Tenrikyō, and Konkōkyō through this interpretive lens. In addition to problems of categorization, this thesis also contributes to the resolution of issues related to the historical development of monotheism in the NRMs. On an assumption that premodern Japanese religion offered NRM founders no trace of monotheism, some Western scholars have concluded that the emergence of NRM monotheism must be owed to contact between the founders and Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians). This thesis conducts a new historical investigation in light of the new taxonomy, ultimately revealing several more plausible Japanese, non-Christian sources of monotheism in the history of Japanese religion. These findings indicate the need for a reformation of the image of monotheism in Western studies of Japan.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The Gion Festival in Kyoto and Glocalization
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022-07-27) Porcu, Elisabetta
    The Gion Festival is a world-famous festival that takes place in Kyoto in July. It dates back to the Heian period (794–1185) and originated as a goryō-e ritual to placate departed spirits and disease-divinities. It is linked to the Yasaka Shrine, and it represents a great variety of religious and cultural influences. It is a complex and multidimensional event where issues of globalization can be seen at play at the local level. Against this background, this paper analyzes the Gion Festival as a religious and cultural phenomenon in relation to glocalization and the production of locality. In particular, it explores how the City of Kyoto represented the festival in connection with the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the local–global interactions that relate to international tourism and global bureaucracy.