The Importance of Understanding the Sociology of Religion

http://hds.harvard.edu/news/2016/01/20/importance-understanding-sociology-religion#

The Importance of Understanding the Sociology of Religion

Warren Goldstein is a sociologist of religion teaching at HDS. While his research aims to develop a critical sociology of religion as a "new paradigm" in the sociology of religion, he is more broadly interested in the development of a critical paradigm in the study of religion as a whole.

Can Buddhism Save the World?

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/01/15/can-buddhism-save-the-world/

JANUARY 15, 2016

Can Buddhism Save the World?

by MICHAEL WELTON

Interfaith Network : Jan 2016 Bulletin

http://www.interfaith.org.uk/publications/all-publications/e-bulletin/148-ifn-e-bulletin-december-2015-january-2016/file

Interfaith Network : Jan 2016 Bulletin

Items Faith and public life updates
Refugees and migrants - responses
Faith and inter faith response to terrorist attacks in Paris
Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life - report
Government review of the Muslim Brotherhood
Law Commission Review of marriage law
Consultation on cremation
National Faith Community Representative Bodies meet
Collective Worship and Religious Observance in Schools
RE for Real report
House of Commons Briefing Paper on RE
etc

A new Settlement : religion and Belief in Schools

http://faithdebates.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/A-New-Settlement-for-Religion-and-Belief-in-schools.pdf

A new Settlement : religion and Belief in Schools

by Charles Clarke and Linda Woodhead 

Living with Difference: Community, Diversity and the Common Good

http://www.corab.org.uk/

Living with Difference: Community, Diversity and the Common Good

The report of the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life, convened by the Woolf Institute and chaired by Baroness Butler-Sloss.
It is titled "Living with Difference: Community, Diversity and the Common Good".

RE for REal report and Recommendations

http://www.gold.ac.uk/faithsunit/reforreal/

In a context of deep religious illiteracy in the UK, RE for REal explores the role of schools in equipping young people with the knowledge and skills to engage effectively with religion and belief diversity, in schools, in their communities, in future workplaces and in wider social contexts.

The project analyses the views of pupils, parents and teachers in secondary education and of employers, on what school leavers need to know about religion and belief in relation to the current religion and belief landscape, as evidenced in research and current educational policy.

It builds on the Religious Education Council’s A Review of Religious Education in England (2013) by providing a new evidence-base to support and facilitate continuing national discussions. By engaging protagonists in the field in a cycle of reflective analysis, it will further stimulate and facilitate wider debate around the future role and shape of RE in schools.

Below, you will find supporting documents to accompany our recent study:

Full report (PDF download)

Executive summary (PDF download)

Recommendations (PDF download)

RE for REal brings together views on what children need to know and understand about religion with research evidence on the real religious landscape and explores the gaps between the two. It is unique in that it will bring together key groups of influence to create a forum in which to discuss how to align these two in future policy and planning for schools.

Nuns' stories from around the world

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/wisdom-from-the-female-faces-of-zen/story-e6frg6so-1227544252211

Nuns' stories from around the world

NATRE: New RS Exams: Accreditation timeline

http://www.natre.org.uk/news/latest-news/new-rs-exams-accreditation-timeline/

New RS Exams: Accreditation timeline

Below is a timeline of the process for the specifications for the new Religious Studies GCSE and A-level.

Please note that these dates may be subject to change.

• 3 August 2015 - Awarding organisations submit draft specifications, sample assessment material and assessment strategy to Ofqual for accreditation.
• 7-10 September 2015 - Ofqual panels of subject experts review awarding organisations' submissions.
• 1 October 2015 - Ofqual decision on the accreditation of specifications.
• 8-9 October 2015 - Ofqual inform AOs of their decision on accreditation. AOs then make any necessary changes and submit revised specification and assessment material for re-accreditation.
• Late Autumn 2015 - Accredited specifications submitted to schools to allow teachers enough time to prepare for first teaching in September 2016.
• September 2016 - First teaching of new RS GCSE specifications in schools

Find more information on the draft specifications here

Invented Religions

http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/podcast-carole-cusack-on-invented-religions/

Invented Religions

What is an “Invented Religion”? Why should scholars take these religions seriously? What makes these “inventions” different from the revelations in other religions? What happens when an author does not want their story to become a religious text?

War Remembrance in Japan's Buddhist Cemeteries

1. http://japanfocus.org/-Brian-Victoria/4353/article.html
2. http://japanfocus.org/-Brian-Victoria/4367/article.html

War Remembrance in Japan's Buddhist Cemeteries (1-2)

War Remembrance in Japan’s Buddhist Cemeteries, Part I: Kannon Hears the Cries of War The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 13, Issue. 31, No. 3, August 03, 2015 Brian Victoria Abstract While the role of Yasukuni Shrine in both commemorating and eulogizing Japan’s wartime aggression is well known (and controversial), little to no attention has been paid to a similar role played by a number of Buddhist temples in contemporary Japan. For example, Kōa Kannon (Kannon for a Prosperous Asia) temple (興亜観音寺), located in Atami, a hot-springs resort south of Tokyo, is one such war-eulogizing Buddhist temple. This temple was initially established in the late 1930s at the initiative of Imperial Army General Matsui Iwane, supreme commander of the Japanese attack on Nanjing in December 1937, better known as the "Rape of Nanjing." In the postwar era, Kannon Bodhisattva, the Buddhist personification of compassion enshrined at Kōa Kannon, has gone on to become one of the main Buddhist figures employed throughout the country to comfort the “heroic spirits” (eirei) of all Japanese soldiers who died in the war while, at the same time, valorizing and eulogizing the war they fought in. In addition to Kannon-centric temples, the major Shingon sect-affiliated monastic complex on Mt. Kōya now plays a major role in the remembrance of the war dead, including an effort to transform convicted "war criminals" into national “martyrs” (junnan-sha), an effort backed by the current Japanese government. http://japanfocus.org/-Brian-Victoria/4367/article.html War Remembrance in Japan’s Buddhist Cemeteries, Part II:  Transforming War Criminals into Martyrs: “True Words” on Mt. Kōya The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 13, Issue. 34, No. 3, August 24, 2015 Brian Victoria

'Buddhism New' Saddhā,Buddhist Confidence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cpcHqEc38s

'Buddhism New' Saddhā,Buddhist Confidence

'Buddhism New' Secular Buddhism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22C1sGbE-XE

'Buddhism New' Secular Buddhism

HuffPost: The Top 5 Reasons to study Religion

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-laderman/the-religion-pitch_b_7921450.html

The Top 5 Reasons to study Religion

It's not easy being chair of a religion department. August is an especially cruel month as we close out one academic year and start up a new one, and begin again to struggle with an increasingly vital challenge: recruiting and keeping more majors.

tricycle: Across the Expanse, Anne C. Klein on the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism

http://www.tricycle.com/blog/across-expanse

July 15, 2015

Across the Expanse

Anne C. Klein on the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism

This interview with the scholar-practitioner Anne Carolyn Klein was originally published in the July–December issue of Mandala, a magazine run by the nonprofit organization Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. We are republishing it here because of its excellent discussion of transmission, the secularization of Tibetan Buddhism as it has come West, and other ideas that speak practically and directly to the experiences of Western dharma practitioners. —Eds.

The Hindu: Buddhist renaissance in China

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/modis-china-visit-cultural-parks-planned-to-lift-hindi-chini-bhai-bhai-spirit/article7202427.ece

The Hindu : Updated: May 14, 2015 01:45 IST

Cultural parks planned to lift Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai spirit

..

‘It is a Buddhist renaissance in China’

With China and India ready to inject a cultural vigour to their bilateral ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on soft power dovetails completely with China’s remarkable ongoing cultural renaissance, says Dana Schuppert, who is the driving force behind the initiative of setting up two sister cultural parks in Beijing and Bengaluru.

“The cultural renaissance that we are experiencing under President Xi [Jinping] is a great Buddhist renaissance. Buddhism is number one together with Confucianism and Taoism. These are three schools of thought that shape the Chinese mindset. The distance this country has travelled from the trauma of the Cultural Revolution is unbelievable,” she said in an exclusive interview with The Hindu.

..

SOAS: Thai Buddhism Day on 4th June

http://www.soas.ac.uk/add/wp/languages-and-culture-outreach-activities/04jun2015-thai-buddhism-day-2015.html

SOAS :

Thai Buddhism Day 2015

Date: 4 June 2015Time: 10:00 AM

Finishes: 4 June 2015Time: All Day

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Type of Event: Workshop

A celebration of the Buddha's birthday at SOAS.

Discover Thailand, its language, culture and religion!

For students in Years 7, 8 and 9.

Schools are welcome to bring up to 10 students each.

Lunch will be served.

Register here.

Thai Buddhism Day Programme

10:00- Welcome
10:10-11:40- Presentation and conversation- basic facts about Thailand and Thai Buddhism.
11:40-12:40- Language taster
12:40-13:25 Lunch break
13:25-14:15 -Thai demons and ghosts: role play
14:15-14:40- Extract from the animated film “The Buddha” showing the Buddha’s enlightenment scene flowed by a short talk and guided meditation.
14:40-14:55- Fruit salad game/Counting game
14:55-15:15- Make your own Buddha; students will receive Buddha templates according to their date of birth and will decorate them, to take home with them.
15:15-15:30 Evaluation

Contact email: routes@soas.ac.uk

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=6,12294,0,0,1,0#.VUY0L6nZVng

Vesak Message 2015 by Ven. Mahinda Thera

The Buddhist Channel, May 3, 2015

SUKHO BUDDHANAM UPPADO - Happy is the birth of all Buddhas
Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia) -- Vesak is mostly celebrated as a merit-making festival, but we must not lose our focus on the true significance of Vesak, and the real reasons for merit-making at this time.

University of the West (LA) : Spring 2015 Lecture Series

University of the West (LA) : Spring 2015 Lecture Series

 

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXAGHVGP8fk
 Buddhism Faces the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities, "The Revival and Rapid Growth of Buddhism in the last Decades of the 20th Century." Given at University of the West

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov1dZS2fcK4
 Buddhism Faces the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities. Monasticism grew along with the Buddhist revival but often had to adapt to changing world conditions and globalization. Recruitment reflects demographics of family size and this leaves the tradition with an uncertain future.

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZnFKygFMck
Dr. Lewis Lancaster Spring Lecture 2015 Series: Lecture 3, "Challenges of Contemporary Followers: Growth of Urban Society".
 
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwckrMfKozQ
 "Meditation and Mindfulness Practices in Daily Expressions", by Dr. Lewis Lancaster. Videotaped a Hsi Lai Temple.

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovhtQZrxKsk
Lecture 5: "Maintaining Existing Buddhist Structural Developments. "Spring 2015 Lecture Series on the challenges and opportunities faced by Buddhism in the 21st century.

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvHg7crJDNA
"Catching Glimpses of 21st Century Buddhism". Filmed at Hsi Lai Temple. The seeds for the future of 21st century Buddhism are already with us. The question is how to spot those elements that will develop into the tradition over the rest of this century. Changes are inevitable and largely predictable.

Andrew Holecek - The Now and Future of Buddhism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUsNOKzEJ6E

Andrew Holecek - The Now and Future of Buddhism 

 Published on Feb 28, 2015

Andrew Holecek discusses 12 important considerations for the future of Buddhism.

From the Fourth Turning Media Program: http://fourthturningbuddhism.com/prog...

BG 352: Buddhism Unbundled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZfmZ0TZAV8

BG 352: Buddhism Unbundled

Published on Feb 18, 2015

Vincent Horn is a mind hacker & Buddhist geek. In this keynote from the 2014 Buddhist Geeks Conference Vincent explores the unbundling of components like meditation and mindfulness from contemporary Buddhism. He then explores the process of re-bundling and what the future of both Buddhist and Buddhist-inspired models may look like as new combinations of knowledge come together in novel, and sometimes timeless, ways.