Literature and Religion

has been called the greatest English watercolorist of the twentieth century. 1 He is known for his plein air depictions and objectivity in his representation of traditional agrarian life, scenes that were vanishing with increased industrialization and urbanization in Interwar England. Hennell's biographer, Michael MacLeod, writes, "[h]e saw the close of an epoch and with it the ending of ways which had been rooted, like the crops and the trees, in the land" and avers that "[o]ne walks alone in a Hennell landscape whether or not it is peopled, for his gures, too, keep their distance. !e ultimate art for Hennell therefore seems to have been self-emptyingly re-enacted. " 2 Hennell gained esteem during the Second World War as one of the artists commissioned by the British War Artists Advisory Committee to paint changes in the landscape during wartime and ultimately to record military action overseas. 3 Even amid tankers, artillery, and the corpses of comrades, his aesthetic was practical, in service to reporting. His greatness as an artist lies in his capacity to transmit, paradoxically, an aching beauty through his strict discipline of distanced representation. Here, I trace how the life and art of John Bunyan (1628-1688) informed and inspired Hennell during an acute and extended period of mental breakdown and spiritual despair. !e Portrait of the Artist as a Young John Bunyan Hennell's memoir e Witnesses (1938) chronicles his hospitalization and diagnosis of schizophrenia from 1932 to 1935. Hennell was rst admitted with

W prezentowanym tu studium dojrzałej liryki Krzysztofa Kuczkowskiego – jednego z najbardziej oryginalnych współczesnych poetów katolickich, u którego głęboka znajomość warsztatu literackiego i autentyczne osobiste przeżycie religijne nie znoszą się nawzajem i nie unieważniają, lecz zostają zsyntetyzowane i wyzyskane jako dwoiste źródło oryginalnej poezji – szczególna uwaga poświęcona została wierszom z tomu Ruchome święta (2017). Autor opracowania traktuje je jako pierwszą tak jednoznaczną w dziele Kuczkowskiego próbę wyrażenia i uobecnienia w wierszach czegoś więcej niż literatury, zrealizowania projektu takiej „poezji religijnej”, która nie ograniczałaby się do relacjonowania poszczególnych stadiów na drodze poety do własnego wnętrza. Przedmiotem szczegółowej analizy i interpretacji są utwory inspirowane liturgią Wielkiego Tygodnia oraz najważniejszych chrześcijańskich świąt.

This article situates Zeina Hashem Beck's ghazals within the category of world poetry, aiming to avoid hegemonic notions of this category as much as possible. The ghazal is a form of lyric that originates as a mode in seventh-century Arabic poetry. Definitions depend on the historical period and linguistic tradition of its performance. Key moments of the form's migration include tenth-century adaptations to Persian and Urdu, as well as late eighteenth-century popularization in European languages. A translation project led by Aijaz Ahmad engendered a revival in English in the late twentieth century. However, many North American poets wrote free-verse versions criticized vehemently by Agha Shahid Ali in the introduction to his anthology Ravishing DisUnities (2000). Through the lens of historical poetics, this article argues that Hashem Beck draws on various stages in the ghazal's legacy for her own unique translingual iterations. Schooling in Lebanon and co-hosting of the podcast Maqsooda account for her indebtedness to Arabic poetry, yet she pays tribute to Shahid's anthology and writes anglophone ghazals that follow the rules upheld by the Kashmiri-American poet. Close readings of Hashem Beck's ghazals published to date identify translingual elements, as well as the ways in which motifs, such as love and exile lead to explicit localizations. The article thus demonstrates how Hashem Beck's ghazals combine influences from different phases in the form's development.

When Somerset Maugham published The Razor's Edge in 1944, he offered not merely a novel but a spiritual biography of a generation caught between the ruins of war and the allure of transcendence. The book's central figure, Larry Darrell, embodies the restless search for meaning that defined the twentieth century, a search that led many Westerners to turn eastward. Maugham, like Hermann Hesse before him, anticipated a fresh embrace of Eastern culture by Americans and Europeans almost a decade before the Beats were to popularize it. This was not an isolated phenomenon. Americans had already explored Eastern philosophy in the nineteenth century through the Transcendentalists, the Theosophists, the visit of Swami Vivekananda to Chicago in 1893, and later through Paramahansa Yogananda's move to the United States in 1920. Yet Maugham's novel distilled this encounter into a narrative that was both personal and universal, dramatizing the razor-thin path between worldly life and spiritual liberation.

Decolonisation in Africa extends beyond political independence to include cultural, intellectual, and linguistic liberation. African writers and scholars have consistently argued that colonialism imposed foreign languages,
values, and literary traditions that marginalized indigenous African identities and knowledge systems. Through language and literature, African intellectuals have sought to reclaim cultural autonomy, challenge colonial narratives, and redefine African realities from African perspectives. This article examines the role of language and literature in the decolonisation process across Africa. It explores how colonial language policies affected African societies, the debate surrounding the use of European versus indigenous languages in African literature,
and the contributions of prominent African writers to the decolonisation project. The study further analyses how literature serves as a tool of resistance, cultural preservation, and social transformation. Drawing from postcolonial theory and African literary criticism, the article argues that language and literature remain central instruments in the ongoing struggle for African identity, cultural dignity, and epistemic freedom.

Visando a aproximar a literatura das artes visuais, este trabalho pretende traçar um novo olhar acerca de algumas produções da poeta Cecília Meireles e da artista plástica Brígida Baltar, respectivamente através da obra lírica Viagem (1937) e da série fotográfica/fílmica intitulada Projeto Umidades (1994-2001). O ponto de encontro e contraste entre as duas artistas são suas propostas sobre o tema do efêmero, marcado pelas imagens poéticas ligadas ao elemento água em seus diferentes estados. Perspectivado por ambas as artistas, tal elemento delicado sugere um processo íntimo de descoberta, e representa uma metáfora acerca da própria natureza humana: volúvel, impermanente e transmutadora.

This course explores how Leonard Cohen's music reflects his deep fascination with a wide range of religious and mystical concepts derived from Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim traditions. From his hometown of Montreal to the beautiful island of Hydra in Greece, and from a Zen Monastery in California to the vibrant streets of Mumbai in India, this course will embark on an immersive journey through Cohen's spiritual quest that illuminates the intersection between art, religion, and the human experience. It will delve into the themes present in his work, such as the relationship between sexuality and the divine, the haunting questions surrounding evil and the Holocaust, the search for redemption, exploration of death and darkness, and recognition of life's dualities. Exclusive access to archival audiovisual materials will enhance each class session while guest speakers who have had personal connections with Leonard Cohen will provide unique perspectives that enrich students' learning experience.

Drawing on R. W. Emerson’s anthropology, which has exerted both explicit and implicit influence on modern philosophy, this study examines his theory of education—one of the foundations of modern “liberal” education—and opens a point of departure for extending it to contemporary issues. The key concept is “beauty."

LASU Journal of Religions and Peace Studies (JOREPS) is an international peer-reviewed Journal. Its objectives are to document and evaluate the theological, anthropological, sociological, psychological, ethical and philosophical aspects of religions and peace studies. As such, contributions in JOREPS include human religiosity, spirituality and their peaceful coexistence. Furthermore, as the Journal's title suggests, our focus shall be on contemporary and classical issues that border on religion and peace studies. The publication shall also include reviews of books which reflect the themes and focus of the journal. Guidelines to authors 1. Manuscripts should be written in English with MS Word format, Times New Roman on A4 paper size, 12-point font, 1.5 line-spacing with 1-inch margins all sides.

In your opinion, how difficult professional writing is? Many people think that it is easy, but professional writing is actually really hard. Authors have to make readers want to continue reading their books. One way to do that is by building specific symbols into their stories, such as colors and symbolic characters.

This paper investigates the transformative role of literature in addressing the farmers-herders conflicts and associated insecurity in contemporary Nigeria. Rooted in an interdisciplinary framework that combines literary studies, socio-political analysis, and peace-building theory, the study explores how Nigerian writers use narrative strategies to humanise conflicting parties, challenge reductive stereotypes, and foreground environmental and cultural complexities underlying the conflict. Through an examination of diverse literary forms, including novels, poetry, drama, and digital storytelling, the paper highlights innovative approaches such as eco-literature, multi-vocal narratives, and the revival of indigenous oral traditions that reimagine coexistence and promote dialogue. Furthermore, it argues for the integration of literary insights into policy frameworks and grassroots peace initiatives to foster inclusive and culturally resonant unique capacity to expand discursive spaces, cultivate empathy, and envision sustainable solutions, making it an

We are fascinated by the abnormal, transgressive, and irresolvable. Apart from zombies and other horrific tropes, there are also literary figures that are both obscene and enticing. We focus on the Marquis de Sade, whose macabre fictions continue to resonate in contemporary culture. We argue that various reactions to Sade's texts are marked by an irreducible embeddedness in Christian culture. This tends to lead into a focus on his fictitious excesses and attempts to explain and resolve his aberrance. In contrast, we read Sade theologically to reveal a radical attempt to return to the Hellenistic worldview of fearsome purity and the absolute essences overturned by Christianity. We then evaluate Sade's thought as an impossible alternative to the tendencies of algorithmic consumer culture that continues to feed off Christianity's insatiable outward orientation.

The article explores various manifestations of the religious in literature in Polish and Bulgarian humanistic traditions. The comparative approach highlights the significant culturally and religiously motivated differences in the status and understanding of this research subject in both traditions. In fact, this approach problematizes the (Westerncentric) epistemological matrix common to both traditions, defined as the “aesthetics of representation.” Drawing on the anthropology of religion and on the assumptions
of postsecular thought, the author proposes a research approach grounded in a “theology of presence.” The article demonstrates a way of adapting the postsecular approach to the study of the history of ideas and the history of the humanities, raising awareness of the cryptotheological entanglements of literary scholars, and calling for a discussion on literary discourses as significant sources for the study of the history of the concept of “religion” (its use and understanding).

I wish to convey my profound appreciation to Dr. Zhengdao Ye, who has consistently provided me with professional guidance and academic support. Without her warm encouragement and patience during my most challenging moments, I would not have been able to complete this thesis. I also extend my immense gratitude to Dr. Bao Thai for imparting his valuable knowledge in Vietnamese linguistics and for his support during the thesis revision stage. Furthermore, I am deeply thankful to Dr. Kim Wells for his meticulous editing of my thesis and for accompanying me through the final stages of its submission. I express special thanks to the Australian Government, Department of Education, and the Endeavour Scholarship for their financial support of my PhD program. My sincere appreciation extends to Hisako Yamauchi, who provided administrative assistance for my offshore submission. Lastly, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my late parents for their unwavering love and support throughout my academic journey.

This paper examines J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a profound meditation on the relationship between knowledge, power, and moral agency. By analyzing the symbolic function of the One Ring, the narrative arc of key characters, and the structural parallels to late antiquity and classical tragedy, this study argues that Tolkien critiques the technocratic impulse — the belief that total information equates to total control. Instead, the text posits that true salvation arises not from the accumulation of gnosis, but from the limitation of the ego through humility, community, and divine grace.

This paper investigates the transformative role of literature in addressing the farmers-herders conflicts and associated insecurity in contemporary Nigeria. Rooted in an interdisciplinary framework that combines literary studies, socio-political analysis, and peace-building theory, the study explores how Nigerian writers use narrative strategies to humanise conflicting parties, challenge reductive stereotypes, and foreground environmental and cultural complexities underlying the conflict. Through an examination of diverse literary forms, including novels, poetry, drama, and digital storytelling, the paper highlights innovative approaches such as eco-literature, multi-vocal narratives, and the revival of indigenous oral traditions that reimagine coexistence and promote dialogue. Furthermore, it argues for the integration of literary insights into policy frameworks and grassroots peace initiatives to foster inclusive and culturally resonant unique capacity to expand discursive spaces, cultivate empathy, and envision sustainable solutions, making it an

Il contributo ricostruisce alcuni nuclei fondamentali della riflessione di Franco Cardini sulla cavalleria medievale, assumendo il tema della nostalgia cavalleresca come chiave d’accesso a un immaginario storico, simbolico e antropologico di lunga durata. A partire dal verso ariostesco Oh gran bontà de’ cavallieri antiqui!, il saggio mostra come, nell’opera di Cardini, la cavalleria sia indagata non soltanto come istituzione militare o codice aristocratico, ma come sistema complesso di valori, riti, miti e rappresentazioni, capace di attraversare epoche diverse e di riemergere come archetipo etico e figura metastorica. Particolare attenzione è dedicata alla lettura cardiniana di Francesco d’Assisi e Galgano da Chiusdino come figure di trasformazione della militia: entrambi legati, in modi diversi, all’immaginario cavalleresco, essi trasfigurano la cavalleria in una forma spirituale, passando dalla militia huius saeculi alla militia Christi. Attraverso il confronto con Pio Rajna, con la matière de Bretagne, con il tema dell’avventura, dell’addobbamento, della giovinezza guerriera e della giunzione uomo-cavallo, l’articolo mette in luce la specificità del metodo di Cardini: una ricerca fondata sul rigore storico e documentario, ma aperta agli strumenti della filologia, dell’antropologia culturale, della storia delle religioni e dell’immaginario. Ne emerge una cavalleria intesa come struttura simbolica persistente: luogo di tensione fra violenza e disciplina, onore e nostalgia, rito e racconto, storia e mito. L’opera di Cardini sposta l’indagine dalle “origini” alle “radici” della cavalleria, interrogando il prestigio quasi sacrale del cavaliere, la funzione delle armi e del cavallo, e la permanenza di modelli archetipici capaci di illuminare, insieme, il Medioevo e il nostro presente.

The article reconstructs several fundamental aspects of Franco Cardini’s reflection on medieval chivalry, taking the theme of chivalric nostalgia as a key to a historical, symbolic, and anthropological imaginary of longue durée. Starting from Ariosto’s line Oh gran bontà de’ cavallieri antiqui!, the essay shows how, in Cardini’s work, chivalry is investigated not only as a military institution or an aristocratic code, but as a complex system of values, rites, myths, and representations, capable of crossing different epochs and re-emerging as an ethical archetype and a metahistorical figure. Particular attention is devoted to Cardini’s reading of Francis of Assisi and Galgano da Chiusdino as figures of transformation of the militia: both linked, in different ways, to the chivalric imaginary, they transfigure chivalry into a spiritual form, passing from the militia huius saeculi to the militia Christi. Through comparison with Pio Rajna, with the matière de Bretagne, and with the themes of adventure, dubbing, warrior youth, and the human-horse conjunction, the article highlights the specificity of Cardini’s method: a form of research grounded in historical and documentary rigour, yet open to the tools of philology, cultural anthropology, the history of religions, and the study of the imaginary. What emerges is an understanding of chivalry as a persistent symbolic structure: a site of tension between violence and discipline, honour and nostalgia, rite and narrative, history and myth. Cardini’s work shifts the investigation from the “origins” to the “roots” of chivalry, questioning the almost sacral prestige of the knight, the function of weapons and the horse, and the persistence of archetypal models capable of illuminating both the Middle Ages and our present.

The Post-Truth Prophesy: How Language Was Engineered to Fail
This book is not about the collapse of truth. It is about something far more unsettling: the systematic transformation of language itself into a tool that no longer preserves meaning, but constantly replaces it. In this bold and unsettling volume of The Miscommunication Trilogy, the focus shifts to one of the most overlooked forces shaping modern reality—the planned obsolescence of language. Drawing on prophecy, prediction, cognitive dissonance, technological acceleration, and the explosion of information systems, the text reveals a world where words no longer anchor reality but actively reshape it. Prophecies do not fail—they evolve. Predictions do not describe the future—they help create it. Scientific models, political narratives, economic forecasts, and cultural beliefs all operate within the same hidden mechanism: when they are proven wrong, they are not abandoned, but rewritten. At the heart of this transformation lies a powerful feedback loop. Language produces expectations, expectations guide behavior, and behavior reshapes reality—only for language to be updated again. In this cycle, meaning is never stable. It is constantly renewed, replaced, and repurposed. Just like technology, language becomes obsolete by design.
From ancient prophetic traditions to modern data-driven forecasting, from failed religious predictions to economic models that survive their own contradictions, this book uncovers the deep structures that allow belief systems to persist despite disconfirmation. It shows how entire societies maintain coherence not by discovering truth, but by continuously rewriting it. In a world overwhelmed by information, where narratives compete for attention and algorithms filter reality itself, the crisis is no longer what is true—but what can still be believed. The result is a new condition: not the absence of truth, but the erosion of its authority. The Post-Truth Prophesy is a philosophical investigation into the entropy of communication. It challenges the reader to rethink language not as a neutral medium, but as an active force shaping perception, action, and the future itself.
This is not a book that offers comfort. It offers clarity. And once seen, the mechanisms it reveals cannot be unseen.

Titus Brandsma (1881-1942), Dutch Carmelite and martyr, canonized in 2022, has been widely studied as a journalist, mystic and writer on spirituality. His poetry, however, still remains a relatively understudied part of his work. The purpose of this article is to provide a new evaluative survey of Brandsma's poetic oeuvre, and to trace the reception of his poetry during his lifetime, and through the postwar period until the present day. One of the effects of this research, presented in this article, is a bio-bibliographic analysis, which for the first time offers a comprehensive overview of Brandsma's poetry. As regards critical reception, this article focuses on the reasons why Brandsma's verse was initially neglected and he himself was not considered a poet by his biographers. It examines the factors responsible for a recent revival of interest in several, though not all, of Brandsma's poems, and their representation in recent biographies. The findings suggest that the postwar popular appeal of Brandsma's poetry, especially his prison poem "Before the picture of Jesus", and its growing international circulation, combined with an increased literary awareness and new methods of analysis, as well as changes to the understanding of literature itself, led to a much-needed reassessment of Brandsma as a poet in the first decades of the 21st century. However, the bibliography of Brandsma's poetry indicates that the majority of his poems require further in-depth research using modern literary-critical methods.

T.S. Eliot one of the most influential poets and critics of the twentienth century, was deeply shaped by his encounter with Hindu philosophy and religious thought. During his studies at Harvard and later exposure to indic texts, Elior engaged withe the Bhagavad Gita the upanishads and key concepts of Hindu metaphysics. These influences are evident in works such as the wastel Land (1922) and four quartets (1943) where he employs sanskrit terms cyclical notions of time and spirtual ideals of renunciation and detachment Eliot's use of the closing Sanskrit invocation" Shantin Shantin Shantin". in the waste land reflects his search for transcendence beyond western modernity. Rather than a superficial borrowing his engagement reveals a genuine intellectual and spiritual grappling with Hindu thought which provided him with new ways to confront themes of despair, fragmentation and redemption in the modern age. This paper explores the depth of Hindu influence on Eliot's poetry showing how eastern philosophy to the universality of his literary achievement.

铜器铭文作为商周时期的重要文字载体，与祭祀礼仪制度共同构成了当时社会教化的核心载体。商周祭祀礼仪以“敬天法祖”为核心，通过规范的仪轨、等级化的陈设构建社会秩序与伦理体系；铜器铭文则以文字记录的形式，将祭祀活动的内涵、礼仪规范与价值理念固化下来，实现教化意义的传承与扩散。从教化视角审视，铜器铭文既是祭祀礼仪制度的文字佐证，又是其教化功能延伸的重要媒介，二者相互赋能、协同共生——祭祀礼仪为铭文提供了书写场景与核心主题，铭文则为礼仪制度的教化功能提供了具象化、文本化的表达，共同服务于商周时期统治合法性建构、宗族伦理维系与社会秩序整合的需求。本文以商周时期典型铜器铭文与传世文献为研究对象，结合出土文物与史料互证方法，从教化内容、教化路径、教化功能三个维度，剖析铜器铭文与商周祭祀礼仪制度的内在关联，揭示二者在早期国家教化体系中的核心作用。（As an important textual carrier during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, bronze inscriptions, together with the ritual system of sacrifice, constituted the core carrier of social education at that time. The Shang and Zhou rituals of sacrifice centered on "respecting heaven and following ancestors", constructing social order and ethical systems through standardized rituals and hierarchical arrangements. Bronze inscriptions, on the other hand, solidified the connotation, etiquette norms, and value concepts of sacrificial activities in written form, achieving the inheritance and diffusion of educational significance. From the perspective of education, bronze inscriptions are both textual evidence of the ritual system of sacrifice and an important medium for extending its educational function. The two mutually empower and coexist in harmony - the ritual system of sacrifice provides the writing context and core themes for inscriptions, while inscriptions provide a concrete and textual expression for the educational function of the ritual system, jointly serving the needs of constructing the legitimacy of rule, maintaining clan ethics, and integrating social order during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. This paper takes typical bronze inscriptions and extant literature from the Shang and Zhou dynasties as research objects, combines the method of mutual verification of unearthed artifacts and historical materials, and analyzes the internal relationship between bronze inscriptions and the ritual system of sacrifice in the Shang and Zhou dynasties from three dimensions: educational content, educational path, and educational function, revealing the core role of the two in the early national educational system.）

En este artículo nos proponemos hacer una lectura de Tomás Carrasquilla desde el nacionalismo y el regionalismo, con el objetivo de identificar en su pensamiento las ideas sobre la identidad nacional. Nos basaremos en los ensayos de crítica literaria llamados “Homilías”, publicados por Carrasquilla en 1906 en la revista Alpha, en donde, a través de una crítica a la influencia del modernismo europeo en los escritores de su generación, el autor antioqueño expuso una defensa de los elementos autóctonos o regionales en la confección de una literatura nacional. Dicho propósito lo alcanzaremos a través de dos momentos: el primero, desde la exposición del férreo rechazo al modernismo que profesó Carrasquilla y, el segundo, mediante la definición de los conceptos medio ambiente, región y alma nacional. Concluiremos que en la proclamación de un 20 de julio literario Carrasquilla expone los rasgos de un pensamiento que oscila entre el regionalismo y el nacionalismo. Para esta búsqueda de las bases de la identidad nacional en Carrasquilla, nos apoyaremos en las definiciones canónicas de nacionalismo e identidad nacional de autores como Benedict Anderson, Ernest Gellner, Anthony D. Smith, Claudio Lomnitz y Gilberto Freyre. Finalmente, en términos metodológicos, este trabajo se desarrollará como una investigación de tipo documental y de nivel interpretativo.

Part of a special issue of NOVEL on "Belief in Fiction," this essay explores the provisional state of mind that goes by various names: fictionality, or ironic credulity, or the suspension of disbelief. One of a small handful of phrases that have crossed over from literary criticism into popular discourse, the "suspension of disbelief" is now generally understood to describe a state of mind that supports art, fiction, or other imaginative content.  This state of mind, I argue, is a secular formation, and developments in contemporary art, fiction, and popular culture suggest that it may be losing its purchase.  Using examples from the anthropology of religion (Tanya Luhrmann), hip-hop (Kendrick Lamar) and the autofictional novel (Karl Ove Knausgaard), this essay explores the lure of the real in the aftermath of fictionality.