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Peace be upon you!
This November, CRCS UGM launched a literature review on Interreligious Dialogues on Ecology in Indonesia written by MA Student Religion and Policy at Radboud University during his two months internship at CRCS UGM. In addition, there is also regular monthly review which summarized four contemporary religious issues in Indonesia. This November we also presented three insightful discussions on the issue of Religion and the Pandemic; Christianity and Ecology; also Masturbation and Religious Hegemony which concludes the Wednesday Forum for this semester. Two book reviews related to politics and religion complete this November issue. Enjoy!
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● N E W P U B L I C A T I O N S ●
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The Possibilities for Interreligious Dialogues on Ecology in Indonesia: a Literature Review
There are number of articles and books written about religion and ecology, but until now there is not that much written about the practical implication of these topics for the Indonesian society. This literature review is conducted to better understand how religious values can be relevant to advocate against the current environmental issues in Indonesia.
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Monthly Update on Religious Issues in Indonesia-November 2021
This edition summarizes the news of the burning of the Ahmadiyah Mosque in Sintang, West Kalimantan by the masses and restrictions on religious freedom for Shiites. In addition to these two issues, this month's report also depicts the journey of several issues that have emerged in recent months: from anti-radicalism, religion and pandemic issues, to religion and the environment.
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● B O O K R E V I E W S ●
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POST-ISLAMISM, THE MUSLIM BOURGEOISIE AND SECULARISM IN TURKEY
When Samuel Huntington publishes Clash of Civilization? (1993), many academics and the international public have concluded that the character of Islam is not compatible with liberal democracy. Through his investigation of “Islamic-inspired political movements” in the context of Turkish domestic politics, Yavuz shows that political Islam movements can go hand in hand with liberal democracy.
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REVISITING RATIONALITY, IMPLORING INTUITION
Why are “rational” people divided over politics and religion? Any rational argument will not work if it is made by the opposing side. On the other hand, any ridiculous remarks are often accepted by loyal partisans. Why do we refuse to listen? Are we really rational?
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● W E D N E S D A Y F O R U M ●
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[Wednesday Forum Report]
Negotiating Identity of Non-Religion
in Indonesia against Stigma
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Being a non-religious individual in a country that upholds divinity as one of its fundamentals is an arduous life. Stigmatization and discrimination continue to haunt. Then, how do non-religious people in Indonesia negotiate this identity?
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[Wednesday Forum Report]
Islamizing Democracy in Madurese-way
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The dynamics of Islam and local politics which are imbued by the tradition of violence in Madura presents another feature of democracy in Indonesia, namely Islamized democracy. Madura is a microcosm of how Islam and politics mingle, collide, and at the same time try to form mutually beneficial relationships.
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WEDNESDAY FORUM, 03 NOV 2021
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SABBATH, NYEPI, AND PANDEMIC:
The Relevance of Religious Traditions of Self-Restrain
for Living with the ‘New Normal’
This study focuses on the relevance of religious traditions of self-restraint, particularly Sabbath and Nyepi, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. From an economic perspective, the pandemic interrupts a lifestyle marked by an unceasing process of production and consumption that affects almost all aspects of life. Such a lifestyle, known as ‘productivism’, has been confronted with ‘antiproductivism’ promoted by groups of Marxism-inspired intellectuals and activists. Employing the method of public theology, this study reveals that religious traditions of self-restraint prepare humanity to anticipate interruptions of regularity, such as a pandemic, in a way that is critical of productivism yet distinct from antiproductivism. From a spiritual perspective, the pandemic and religious traditions of self-restraint should be perceived as synergistic appeals to a balanced lifestyle that is socially, economically, and ecologically harmonious.
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WEDNESDAY FORUM, 10 NOV 2021
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RELIGION AND ECOLOGY: 54 YEARS AFTER THE ‘WHITE’ THESIS
This presentation is an evaluation of two anthologies (1974, 2017) which contain responses to Lynn T. White. Gerrit Singgih traces the present ecological destruction to application of religious worldviews in the past, and concludes that Christianity, or more exactly, Protestantism, which for him is a very anthropocentric religion, is responsible for the destruction. Although the majority of the responders show that White’s article from 1967, which become famous as the ‘White’ thesis, is one-sided, they still acknowledge its relevance for today. Indonesian Christians could respond to the thesis in a fruitful way, by engaging in a dialogue with local or nature religions in reappraising the divine immanence in nature, and struggle together in preventing further ecological destruction.
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WEDNESDAY FORUM, 17 NOV 2021
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ON MASTURBATION:
Religious Purity and Institutional Hegemon
in Abrahamic Religions and Buddhism
The interpretations of Abrahamic sources draw connection between masturbation and such ideas as lust and impurity, which are measured with reference to a spiritual elite. Buddhism sees sexual desire in relation to suffering that must be able to overcome for those who desire enlightenment. The holy status of Catholic priests and Buddhist monks, who are viewed as a spiritual elite, is achieved by abstaining from sex and masturbation, and this hierarchy serves to designate as impure the practice of masturbation.
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● U P C O M I N G A G E N D A ●
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The 3rd International Conference on Indigenous Religions
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