Cross-Perspective I: Changes in the Religious Field

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60076658%3A12260%2F25%3A43911269" target="_blank" >RIV/60076658:12260/25:43911269 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Cross-Perspective I: Changes in the Religious Field

Original language description

In many contexts, changes of the religious field such as (post-)secularization and interfaith collaboration impact the role of diaconia and its theological understanding. In their analysis, Karel Šimr and Michal Opatrny start from the description of secularization in western and post-communist countries and the situation of diaconia and caritas in post-secular societies, where the church is given the task of taking care of the needy in a substitutive role. For a closer analysis, they use systems theory to describe diaconia as a way of interacting between church and a secular society. Diaconia in its substitutive role brings solidarity and confidence into a society that lacks these values. The authors theologically interpret this function as fulfilment of the original meaning of diaconia as mediation, according to John Collins. This becomes manifest among others in diaconia advocating social justice, in public theology and public concepts of pastoral care. Generalizing their analysis, the authors discuss several modes of the societal role of diaconia. Whether diaconia is a part of the welfare state, a gap filler in situations of great poverty or an advocate for social transformation in societies suffering from severe injustice, depends especially on denominational roots as well as on the relation between church and diaconia and between church and state. Given the actual major movements in the religious field in many – not only European – societies, the further analysis of the links between society and diaconia in general, but also of the links between in-situ interpretations of the religious field and diaconal practices proves to be a highly interesting issue of further dialogue and research.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

C - Chapter in a specialist book

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60303 - Theology

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Book/collection name

Diaconia in contexts. Regional case studies and Linking Perspectives

ISBN

978-1-917059-67-1

Number of pages of the result

11

Pages from-to

131-141

Number of pages of the book

492

Publisher name

Regnum

Place of publication

Oxford

UT code for WoS chapter

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