Research On Religion » Italy

Andrea Molle on Spirituality and the Martial Arts

tonygill — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 08:00:43 +0000

While Christians have often been told to turn the other cheek when conflict erupts, there is another tradition that seeks to prepare for conflict while simultaneously promoting inner peace and spiritual enlightment. That alternative tradition exists within the world of the Eastern martial arts, such as aikido, judo, karate and a number of other styles. Prof. Andrea Molle, an assistant professor of political science at Chapman University, discusses his insights into the world of martial arts. His perspective is unique as he not only maintains a scholarly interest in this topic, having published several articles on the topic of religion and the martial arts, but he also holds a second degree black belt in aikido and teaches this discipline to youth at a Southern Californian Christian church.

We begin our journey by looking into the background of Prof. Molle, discovering where he developed his interest in the martial arts. His personal story reveals a great deal about how a variety of non-spiritual reasons often lead people into the practice of martial arts, but then how it has a transformative impact on their lives. In addition to his personal experience, Andrea gives us some historical background about the connection between combat techniques that were used to train militaries and several Eastern religions, including Buddhism and Shintoism. This leads to an interesting discussion about how fear and anxiety are often motivators for people to learn to fight, but how people who continue in the martial arts rarely cite the need for self-defense as a reason for continuing their training. We also reflect upon the role of ritualistic combat and why that is important.

In connecting the martial arts to religion directly, we cover three potential pathways linking these two seemingly antithetical experiences. First, we look at whether the martial arts serve as a “gateway” to pre-established religion and address the concern that many Christian parents have that this physical activity will lead their kids away from their traditional faith. Andrea doesn’t think this is a common phenomenon, although the data to support this is rather sketchy. We then bring up the second link between the martial arts and religion, and that is through spiritual exercise. Andrea notes that what happens here is many people use martial arts to add to their “portfolio” of religious understandings, which then brings up the issue of “muscular Christianity.” The third path relates to the martial arts as becoming a “secular religion” or, as Andrea calls it now, a “quasi-religious” organization. He details what this mean by looking at the characteristics that many international martial organizations share. Here we note how people use the larger martial arts community to serve their communal needs.

Our conversation finishes with Andrea’s experience in teaching martial arts to youth. We examine why he became involved in this, how church members and Christian families view this, and what he teaches the kids. Andrea also reflects upon what he has learned about teaching and his own martial arts journey. Recorded: September 2, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

Andrea Molle’s biography at Chapman University.

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Christian Novetzke on Kung Fu Fighting and Eastern Religion.

Ron Mock on Pacificism, War, and Terrorism.

Carolyn Warner on Religion & Generosity

tonygill — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 08:00:07 +0000

What motivates religious individuals to give, either of their time or money? And do such motivations vary across faith traditions? We look at the issue of generosity among religious communities with Carolyn Warner, professor of political science at Arizona State University, who reviews the findings of several studies she is conducting with co-researchers Adam Cohen, Ramazon Kilinc, and Christopher Hale. What makes this multi-faceted project so interesting is that, unlike previous studies that tend to focus only on Christian denominations in the U.S., Prof. Warner’s team compares Catholics and Muslims in four cities in Europe — Dublin (Ireland), Paris (France), Milan (Italy), and Istanbul (Turkey). In each city they survey and conduct some interesting experiments on both Catholic parishes and Muslim organizations. In other words, not only are the researchers examining Catholics in Ireland, but they make sure to study Muslims in that same city. Likewise, they find a Catholic population in Istanbul to compare as well.

We start with a discussion on the difference between charity and generosity, a difference that Carolyn and her co-authors find to be very important. Whereas the former term (charity) indicates a relationship that is vertical — between a “superior” handing down something to an “inferior” — the term generosity tends to be more horizontal in its meaning. Carolyn then talks about the general sociological issues involved in studying generosity, noting that individual and community giving represent a collective action problem and the acts of generosity can be viewed as either public goods or club goods depending on the target population of the generous acts. In general, club goods are directed towards members within the religious community (e.g., Catholics helping fellow Catholics in the parish), whereas the public good aspect of generosity refers to giving beyond the boundaries of one’s spiritual community (e.g., Muslims aiding non-Muslims).

We note that religion has always been attributed with generous giving and we review some of the general reasons why scholars believe religion has a positive effect. Carolyn mentions various aspects that have been explored in the past, including the role that community plays, the institutional setting, ritualistic behavior, heightened sensitivity to the plight of others that religious ideas impart, and theological exhortations to give. Given the inter-disciplinary composition of Carolyn’s research team, Tony asks how difficult it was for a social psychologist (Adam Cohen) and a political economist (Carolyn) to talk with one another and come to a mutual understanding of what might be at play in the act of generosity. Following this Carolyn explains the rationale for choosing the various research sites and the groups studied, including why the Gülen movement was chosen as the specific Muslim group to examine. This portion of the conversation encompasses the (supposedly) relevant differences in organizational structure and theology between Catholics and Muslims.

We then turn to the results of this study, focusing first on the findings from the semi-structured interviews. Carolyn notes how Catholics tended to frame their generosity in terms of “love of Jesus” and “love of others,” often pulling from Matthew 25:40, whereas Muslims tended to emphasize duty to God, noting that Allah had given individuals gifts and it was thus important to use those gifts to help others. We also discuss the differences in ritualistic giving behavior and how that motivates generosity within these two groups. Despite these differences, the research team discovered that both groups emphasize the “sense of community” as a motivational prompt for helping others. This sense of community is not only the desire to help others, but as with any other social organization, the desire to be with others. She also addresses whether or not these charitable activities were oriented towards in-group giving (i.e., club goods) or out-group (i.e., public good). This discussion is more nuanced than one might think with an interesting observation about Catholics in Istanbul and their socio-legal standing.

We finish with a discussion of the experiment that Carolyn’s team carried out. She describes the methodology and findings of the experiment. In addition to quirky problems that always arise when conducting social scientific research, the research team was surprised to find out that the Muslim participants did give their fee for participating in an experiment to a specific group, but not a group that they had initially anticipated. And if you are listening closely during this part of the interview you can hear Rocky J. Barkington, the official canine mascot of Research on Religion, providing some insightful commentary in the background. Carolyn then shares her broad-based conclusions regarding what the research team has found to date, including some thoughts on whether or not religious charity might substitute for government provision of social welfare. Recorded: May 29,2013.

RELATED LINKS

Carolyn Warner’s bio at Arizona State University.

Description of Warner’s generosity project at The Science of Generosity Initiative at the University of Notre Dame.

The Best System Money Can Buy: Corruption in the European Union, by Carolyn Warner.

Confessions of an Interest Group: The Catholic Church and Political Parties in Europe, by Carolyn Warner.

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Michael McBride on Religious Free-Riding and the Mormon Church.

Dan Hungerman on Religious Charity and Crowding Out.

Margarita Mooney on Her Monastic Vacation

tonygill — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:00:22 +0000

Would you ever consider taking a vacation in an actual, working Catholic monastery? Prof. Margarita Mooney, and assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, did just that … and not just once! Margarita, who has appeared on our show several times before, discusses her recent stay with the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará in Toscana, Italy. We learn that this was not her first experience living among those who have chosen a religious life. But before diving into the details of her trip, we discuss what it means to live a monastic life within the Catholic faith, and what trends are affecting those who take this life as a spiritual calling. Prof. Mooney clarifies the differences between monasteries, convents, and religious orders for Tony, who long ago forgot all the things he learned in his own Catholic upbringing. We then examine the extent of, and reasons for, the declining number of Catholics choosing a religious vocation. Tony asks Margarita about what type of person does take up this life and we both agree that there needs to be deeper research into this question as it has been a relatively understudied topic. The heart of our interview is devoted to Margarita’s various trips to religious monasteries, particularly those affiliated with the Servants of the Lord. She provides a fascinating personal history about how she came to such experiences, including being asked at one point whether or not she would consider becoming a nun. While choosing the path of a social scientist instead of the cloister, Margarita has still remained fascinated by this deeply religious way of life and explains how she became connected with the Servants of the Lord, as well as the monks of the Belmont Abbey. We are given a brief history of the Servants of the Lord, a relatively new order that traces its roots to Argentina. And then it is off to Italy to discuss what she did and what she observed during her four day stay with the nuns. Prof. Mooney gives us a glimpse of the daily activities of the nuns, how she interacted with them, and what she learned in the process. We conclude with Margarita noting how “monastic vacations” can be undertaken by anyone, whether one be Catholic or not, and how they can provide a sense of spiritual renewal. Recorded: February 4, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Margarita Mooney’s webpage.

“My Monastic Vacation,” by Margarita Mooney on The Black, White, & Gray Blog at Patheos.com.

Video on the 25th Anniversary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (mentioned in the interview).

Faith Makes Us Live: Surviving and Thriving in the Haitian Diaspora, by Margarita Mooney.

Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará official website.

The Monastery at Belmont Abbey in North Carolina (includes information on visiting).

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Margarita Mooney on Pope Benedict XVI and Cuba.

Margarita Mooney on Religion & Haitian Immigrants

Brian O’Neel on Saint Who? Some Holy Unknowns

tonygill — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:00:03 +0000

Do you know your saints? You probably have head of St. Peter, St. Paul, and even St. Patrick. And, of course, in modern times we have had the widely-known Mother Teresa of Calcutta beatified. But what about St. Pietro Parenzo, Bl. Sebastian de Aparicio, St. Januarius, or the Martyrs of Korea? Who dat?! Brian O’Neel, author of Saint Who? 39 Holy Unknowns discusses sainthood in the Catholic Church. After a bit of lighthearted football banter, we explore the issue of how one becomes a saint in the Catholic Church. Brian leads us through the process and provides several examples along the way. We talk about the history of this process, noting that the standard for sainthood was fairly loose from the 500s to the 1100s, but has been more rigorous since. He is quick to note that sainthood is not mereley a “Catholic hall of fame,” but rather includes some very stringent standards for living a holy life above and beyond the call of most pious individuals. Tony notes that Pope John Paul II is in the process of beatification and asks about whether or not all popes make it to sainthood eventually. Brian responds that while many popes do become saints, not all have lived a life worthy of that great honor. Tony then asks if anybody has been removed from the canon of saints and is surprised by the answer. Not only do some saints get removed, but “someone” that everyone knows as a saint — St. Christopher, the patron saint of travellers — was removed because there is no proof that such a person ever lived. Brian provides another interesting example of a child saint from the town of Trent that was removed because there was no proof related to this boy’s death having occured as local lore has it. Brian also corrects Tony about his understanding of St. Patrick, pointing out that his is not the patron saint of drinking. However, we learn that there was another Irish man who is associated with being a patron of overcoming alcoholism, the venerable Matthew Talbot. The conversation then turns to the lives of unknown saints that Brian has written about in his most recent book, starting out with a story about how the idea for this book was conceived and how he found people who are relatively uknown. We then break out and discuss some of the people covered in this book, including Tony’s favorite Sebastián de Aparicio, the first cowboy, and Saint Faith of Conques, the “practical joker.” We finish off with a discussion of the Matyrs of Korea, providing a brief history of Catholicism in Asia and exemplifying the global reach of Christianity and how all cultures have helped to inspire our faith. Interestingly, Korea has produced the fourth most number of saints after Italy, France, and Germany. Brian closes with his thoughts about the importance of the saints and how we too can be energized by their faith no matter how unknown they may be. Recorded: October 17, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Saint Who? 39 Holy Uknowns, by Brian O’Neel.

39 New Saints Your Should Know, by Brian O’Neel.

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John Sweeney on the Pope Who Quit.

James Felak on Pope Pius XII, the Wartime Pontiff.

James Felak on Pope John Paul II.

Jim Papandrea on the Early Church Fathers.

James Felak on Pope Pius XII, the Wartime Pontiff

tonygill — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:00:24 +0000

Imagine that you were just appointed the head of the Catholic Church at the outset of the most devastating war ever known to mankind. Further imagine that this war was raging on the continent in which you were headquartered and that you were living in the capital city of one of the primary belligerents of this war. How would you respond knowing that millions of innocent civilians — both Catholic and Jewish — were being slaughtered outright? We take up the life and times of Pope Pius XII, who ascended to the papacy on the eve of Germany’s invation of Czechoslovakia and Poland, with Prof. James Felak, professor of history at the University of Washington. We start out with a brief examination of how popes choose their names and then dive into the nature of the controversy surrounding Pius XII. Interestingly, Prof. Felak notes that Pius XII was widely lauded for his courageous actions during World War II and that the controversy over his seeming “inaction” only emerged in 1963 following the release of Rolf Hocchuth’s play The Deputy. It was reawakened again in 1999 following another book accusing Pius XII of being “Hitler’s pope.” We roll back history a bit to examine the early life of Eugenio Pacelli and his pathway to the “Throne of St. Peter.” We then spend significant time examining the wartime context in which Pius XII found himself in so as to better understand the diplomatic manuevering of the Vatican at this time. Prof. Felak notes how the pope tended to keep his criticism of war attrocities at a general level so as not to endanger the Church in various nations, nor to threaten some of the activities of grassroots Catholic activists in places such as Germany and Poland. This discussion also entails an examination of how the Church functions institutionally with a realization that clergy, religious orders and lay members have a certain degree of autonomy from the Holy See. Following this discussion, we then look at the other proclamations and activities of Pius XII on issues such as medical ethics and how he laid the foundation for the Second Vatican Council. Prof. Felak finishes with some general observations about the legacy of Pius XII and what we can take away from his tenure to better understand our contemporary times. Recorded: July 3, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. James Felak’s biography at the University of Washington.

After Hitler, Before Stalin: Catholics, Communists, and Democrats in Slovakia, 1945-1948, by James Felak.

RELATED PODCASTS

James Felak on Pope John Paul II and Communism.

Jon Sweeney on the Pope Who Quit.

Lan Chu on Catholicism in Vietnam.

Catherine Wanner on Religion in Russia.