Cristiana Facchini | Università di Bologna (original) (raw)

Books by Cristiana Facchini

TOC Section I: CONCEPTUALISING TOLERANCE Chapter 1 Defining Tolerance: Conditions and Resources ... more TOC
Section I: CONCEPTUALISING TOLERANCE

Chapter 1 Defining Tolerance: Conditions and Resources for Tolerance

Anne Sarah Matviyets (Jewish Philosophy and Religion, University of Hamburg)

Chapter 2 A Social Psychological Approach to Tolerance:

The Disapproval–Respect Model

Bernd Simon (Social and Political Psychology, University of Kiel)

Section II: TOLERANCE WITHIN A RELIGIOUS CONTEXT AND AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 3 Reasons for Religious Toleration in the Roman Empire: The Voice of the Emperor

Mar Marcos Sánchez (Ancient History, History of Religion, University of Cantabria)

Chapter 4 Tolerance and Lived Religion

Jörg Rüpke (Comparative Religious Studies, University of Erfurt)

Chapter 5 Toleration and Cohabitation: Remarks on the Jews and the City in the Early Modern Period

Cristiana Facchini (History of Christianity and Religious Studies, University of Bologna)

Section III: TOLERANCE IN JEWISH AND ISLAMIC TRADITIONS

Chapter 6 Theories of Tolerance in Jewish Philosophy

Warren Zev Harvey (Philosophy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Chapter 7 The Fatimid Empire: a Case for Religious Toleration?

Serena Tolino (Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Bern)

Chapter 8 Between Belief and Unbelief: Paradigms of Toleration in Medieval Jewish and Islamic Writings

Bakinaz Abdalla (Philosophy, Theology, and Religion, University of Birmingham)

Section IV: TOLERANCE IN THEOLOGY AND DIALOGUE

Chapter 9 Tolerance and Dialogue in Hamburg from one Perspective within Islamic Theology

Shaykha Halima Krausen (Islamic Studies and Interreligious Dialogue, Academy of World Religions, University of Hamburg)

Chapter 10 From Tolerance to Acceptance. Towards a New Paradigm of Interreligious Coexistence

Georges Tamer (Oriental Philology and Islamic Studies, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

Section V: (IN)TOLERANCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

Chapter 11 De (in)tolerantia Judaeorum: A Hitherto Almost Forgotten Source of Tolerance Studies in German Protestant University Archives—The Dissertationes

Giuseppe Veltri (Jewish Philosophy and Religion, University of Hamburg) and Guido Bartolucci (Early Modern History, University of Bologna)

Chapter 12 On Tolerance and Intolerance in the University

Anke Engemann and Christiane Thompson (Theory and History of Education, Goethe-University Frankfurt)

Archiv für Religionsgeschichte, 2023

TOC

Archiv für Religionsgeschichte , 2023

Durch die Veröffentlichung der Originalarbeiten in diesem Jahrbuch gehen sämtliche Nutzungs recht... more Durch die Veröffentlichung der Originalarbeiten in diesem Jahrbuch gehen sämtliche Nutzungs rechte an den Beiträgen, einschließlich des Rechtes der Übersetzung, an den Verlag über. Das Werk einschließlich aller Beiträge ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen.

Facchini C., Gianotto C., Lupieri E., Norelli E., Rescio M., eds., Non uno itinere. Ebraismi, cristianesimi, modernità, Studi in onore di Mauro Pesce in occasione del suo ottantesimo compleanno, Morcelliana Brescia , 2021

Religion and Urbanity Online, eds. S. Rau, J. Rüpke, De Gruyter Berlin-Boston , 2022

Ed. by Fuchs, Martin / Linkenbach, Antje / Mulsow, Martin / Otto, Bernd-Christian / Parson, Rahul... more Ed. by Fuchs, Martin / Linkenbach, Antje / Mulsow, Martin / Otto, Bernd-Christian / Parson, Rahul Bjørn / Rüpke, Jörg

Berlin De Gruyter 2019

Ed. by Fuchs, Martin / Linkenbach, Antje / Mulsow, Martin / Otto, Bernd-Christian / Parson, Rahu... more Ed. by Fuchs, Martin / Linkenbach, Antje / Mulsow, Martin / Otto, Bernd-Christian / Parson, Rahul Bjørn / Rüpke, Jör

The central hypothesis of the newly established International Centre for Advanced Studies on "Rel... more The central hypothesis of the newly established International Centre for Advanced Studies on "Religion and Urbanity" at the Max-Weber-Kolleg in Erfurt is that many features of past and present religions would be more

In The Jews and the Nation-States of Southeastern Europe from the 19th Century to the Great Depr... more In The Jews and the Nation-States of Southeastern Europe from the 19th Century to the Great Depression: Combining Viewpoints on a Controversial Story, eds. Marco Dogo and Tullia Catalan, Cambridge Scholars

The Proceedings the IAHR Congress 2015 (Erfurt) Online version includes keynote articles, informa... more The Proceedings the IAHR Congress 2015 (Erfurt) Online version includes keynote articles, information about IAHR business meetings, the running of the Congress and all abstracts of the papers that were delivered during the IAHR World Congress.

https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/465404

Table of contents of the forthcoming monographic issue of Quest. Issues in contemporary Jewish hi... more Table of contents of the forthcoming monographic issue of Quest. Issues in contemporary Jewish history 8 (2015)

TOC Section I: CONCEPTUALISING TOLERANCE Chapter 1 Defining Tolerance: Conditions and Resources ... more TOC
Section I: CONCEPTUALISING TOLERANCE

Chapter 1 Defining Tolerance: Conditions and Resources for Tolerance

Anne Sarah Matviyets (Jewish Philosophy and Religion, University of Hamburg)

Chapter 2 A Social Psychological Approach to Tolerance:

The Disapproval–Respect Model

Bernd Simon (Social and Political Psychology, University of Kiel)

Section II: TOLERANCE WITHIN A RELIGIOUS CONTEXT AND AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 3 Reasons for Religious Toleration in the Roman Empire: The Voice of the Emperor

Mar Marcos Sánchez (Ancient History, History of Religion, University of Cantabria)

Chapter 4 Tolerance and Lived Religion

Jörg Rüpke (Comparative Religious Studies, University of Erfurt)

Chapter 5 Toleration and Cohabitation: Remarks on the Jews and the City in the Early Modern Period

Cristiana Facchini (History of Christianity and Religious Studies, University of Bologna)

Section III: TOLERANCE IN JEWISH AND ISLAMIC TRADITIONS

Chapter 6 Theories of Tolerance in Jewish Philosophy

Warren Zev Harvey (Philosophy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Chapter 7 The Fatimid Empire: a Case for Religious Toleration?

Serena Tolino (Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Bern)

Chapter 8 Between Belief and Unbelief: Paradigms of Toleration in Medieval Jewish and Islamic Writings

Bakinaz Abdalla (Philosophy, Theology, and Religion, University of Birmingham)

Section IV: TOLERANCE IN THEOLOGY AND DIALOGUE

Chapter 9 Tolerance and Dialogue in Hamburg from one Perspective within Islamic Theology

Shaykha Halima Krausen (Islamic Studies and Interreligious Dialogue, Academy of World Religions, University of Hamburg)

Chapter 10 From Tolerance to Acceptance. Towards a New Paradigm of Interreligious Coexistence

Georges Tamer (Oriental Philology and Islamic Studies, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

Section V: (IN)TOLERANCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

Chapter 11 De (in)tolerantia Judaeorum: A Hitherto Almost Forgotten Source of Tolerance Studies in German Protestant University Archives—The Dissertationes

Giuseppe Veltri (Jewish Philosophy and Religion, University of Hamburg) and Guido Bartolucci (Early Modern History, University of Bologna)

Chapter 12 On Tolerance and Intolerance in the University

Anke Engemann and Christiane Thompson (Theory and History of Education, Goethe-University Frankfurt)

Archiv für Religionsgeschichte, 2023

TOC

Archiv für Religionsgeschichte , 2023

Religion and Urbanity Online, eds. S. Rau, J. Rüpke, De Gruyter Berlin-Boston , 2022

Berlin De Gruyter 2019

https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/465404

Archiv für Religionsgeschichte, 2023

In The Role of the Urban in the History of Religion, eds. Cristiana Facchini & Jörg Rüpke

Section I: CONCEPTUALISING TOLERANCE Chapter 1 Defining Tolerance: Conditions and Resources for ... more Section I: CONCEPTUALISING TOLERANCE

Chapter 1 Defining Tolerance: Conditions and Resources for Tolerance

Anne Sarah Matviyets (Jewish Philosophy and Religion, University of Hamburg)

Chapter 2 A Social Psychological Approach to Tolerance:

The Disapproval–Respect Model

Bernd Simon (Social and Political Psychology, University of Kiel)

Section II: TOLERANCE WITHIN A RELIGIOUS CONTEXT AND AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 3 Reasons for Religious Toleration in the Roman Empire: The Voice of the Emperor

Mar Marcos Sánchez (Ancient History, History of Religion, University of Cantabria)

Chapter 4 Tolerance and Lived Religion

Jörg Rüpke (Comparative Religious Studies, University of Erfurt)

Chapter 5 Toleration and Cohabitation: Remarks on the Jews and the City in the Early Modern Period

Cristiana Facchini (History of Christianity and Religious Studies, University of Bologna)

Section III: TOLERANCE IN JEWISH AND ISLAMIC TRADITIONS

Chapter 6 Theories of Tolerance in Jewish Philosophy

Warren Zev Harvey (Philosophy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Chapter 7 The Fatimid Empire: a Case for Religious Toleration?

Serena Tolino (Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Bern)

Chapter 8 Between Belief and Unbelief: Paradigms of Toleration in Medieval Jewish and Islamic Writings

Bakinaz Abdalla (Philosophy, Theology, and Religion, University of Birmingham)

Section IV: TOLERANCE IN THEOLOGY AND DIALOGUE

Chapter 9 Tolerance and Dialogue in Hamburg from one Perspective within Islamic Theology

Shaykha Halima Krausen (Islamic Studies and Interreligious Dialogue, Academy of World Religions, University of Hamburg)

Chapter 10 From Tolerance to Acceptance. Towards a New Paradigm of Interreligious Coexistence

Georges Tamer (Oriental Philology and Islamic Studies, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

Section V: (IN)TOLERANCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

Chapter 11 De (in)tolerantia Judaeorum: A Hitherto Almost Forgotten Source of Tolerance Studies in German Protestant University Archives—The Dissertationes

Giuseppe Veltri (Jewish Philosophy and Religion, University of Hamburg) and Guido Bartolucci (Early Modern History, University of Bologna)

Chapter 12 On Tolerance and Intolerance in the University

Anke Engemann and Christiane Thompson (Theory and History of Education, Goethe-University Frankfurt)

Archiv für Religionsgeschichte, 2023

Storicamente, 2022

Theories of religion, which appeared in the second half of the Nineteenth century, focused their ... more Theories of religion, which appeared in the second half of the Nineteenth century, focused their attention on the analysis of sacrifice. The theorizing process that is so distinctive of this period contributed to define a number of relevant concepts that exerted a relevant influence in the Twentieth century. This article aims to illustrate the path which led to relevant theories of sacrifice unearthing the conversation among some scholars and intellectuals of different European countries whose work contributed to the rise and institutionalization of new disciplinary fields: sociology, anthropology, ethnology, history of religions, psychoanalysis.

Storicamente, 2022

Dentro e fuori: dai ghetti alla piena emancipazione, in A. Contessa, S. Della Seta, C. Ferrara degli Uberti, S. Reichel, Beyond the ghetto. Inside & Out, Cinisello Balsamo (MI), Silvana Editoriale, 2020, pp. 174 – 181, 2020

Alessandro Guetta, Pierre Savy, eds., Non contrarii, ma diversi, Viella, Roma, , 2020

Historia Religiomum 12 , 2020

Per i riferimenti bibliografici si invitano gli autori ad attenersi scrupolosamente alle norme sp... more Per i riferimenti bibliografici si invitano gli autori ad attenersi scrupolosamente alle norme specificate nel volume di Fabrizio Serra, Regole editoriali, tipografiche & redazionali, Pisa-Roma, Serra, 20092, in particolare al capitolo Norme redazionali, consultabile e scaricabile Online alla pagina « Pubblicare con noi » del sito web www.libraweb.net * Gli articoli proposti per la rivista devono essere inviati, per posta elettronica e in formato pdf, all'indirizzo del Direttore :

Annali di storia dell’esegesi 37/1 Annali di storia dell’esegesi 37/1 225-264, 2020

Annali di Storia dell'Esegesi è classificata nella categoria A dell'ANVUR per l'Area 11 e per l'A... more Annali di Storia dell'Esegesi è classificata nella categoria A dell'ANVUR per l'Area 11 e per l'Area 10 settore A4 e nella categoria A e INT1 dallo ERIH (European Reference Index for the Humanities). All articles are subject to peer review process.

Valeria Merola, Sabina Pavone, Francesco Pirani, Personaggi storici in scena, Macerata, EUM, 2020, pp. 31 - 58 , 2020

Marian Burchardt, Maria Chiara Giorda, Geographies of Encounter: The Making and Unmaking of Multi-Religious Spaces, London, Palgrave MacMillan, 2021, 2021

Rustschuk, sul Basso Danubio, dove sono venuto al mondo era per un bambino una città meravigliosa... more Rustschuk, sul Basso Danubio, dove sono venuto al mondo era per un bambino una città meravigliosa, e quando dico che si trova in Bulgaria ne do un'immagine insuf ciente, perché nella stessa Rustschuk vivevano persone di origine diversissima, in un solo giorno si potevano sentire sette otto o lingue. Oltre ai bulgari, che spesso venivano dalla campagna, c'erano molti turchi, che abitavano in un quartiere tutto per loro, che con nava col. quartiere degli "spagnoli", dove stavamo noi. C'erano greci, albanesi, armeni, zingari. (Canetti, 2004, p. 14) THE CITY AND THE LONG NINETEENTH CENTURY No other age has experienced such a spatial densi cation of social existence. (Osterhammel, 2014, p. 244) This article is part of the research project 'Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations' funded by the DFG (FOR 2779).

Religious Individualisation Historical Dimensions and Comparative Perspectives Edited by M. Fuchs et al., Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, Volume 1, 2019

In my contribution, I will look at three well-known cases in which impiety played a role: the det... more In my contribution, I will look at three well-known cases in which impiety played a role: the detail-rich trial of Andocides (§ 1), the famous trial of Socrates (§ 2), and the salacious trial of the courtesan Phryne (§ 3).¹ In all these cases, we have some information about the trial but never all the evidence that was once available to the jurors. In the case of Andocides, I discuss his trial in detail to give an idea of what was at stake in a trial for impiety and what arguments the prosecution could produce. Having looked at the trial, we then focus on its background in connection with the theme of individualisation. For the trial of Socrates, we will concentrate on the grounds for the prosecution and condemnation, and for that of Phryne we will try to reconstruct what this famous courtesan actually did in order to be brought to justice. In the conclusion (§ 4) we will tie these cases closer to the subject of religion and individualisation.

The Jewish Ghetto and the Visual Imagination of Early Modern Venice

Martin Fuchs, Antje Linkenbach, Martin Mulsow, Bernd-Christian Otto, Raul Bjorn Parson, Joerg Rue... more Martin Fuchs, Antje Linkenbach, Martin Mulsow, Bernd-Christian Otto, Raul Bjorn Parson, Joerg Ruepke, eds. Religion Individualisation: Historical Dimensions and Comparative Perspectives, Berlin De Gruyter, pp. 1327-1347

Religious Individualization. Historical Dimensions and Comparative Perspectives, hrsg. von Martin Fuchs, Antje Linkenbach, Martin Mulsow, Bernd-Christian Otto, Rahul Bjørn Parson und Jörg Rüpke, 2019

When, at the beginning of the 20th century, the influential German theologian Albert Schweitzer p... more When, at the beginning of the 20th century, the influential German theologian Albert Schweitzer published a historiographical account of the "historical Jesus", a number of silent films devoted to the life and death of Christ had already appeared in Europe and the United States. This article analyses the rise of early silent films about Christ against the backdrop of the debate intensified by growing interest in the "historical Jesus", presenting some of the similarities and divergences that representations of the life of Jesus produced in different media as mass culture became increasingly relevant.

Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, 2019

This article is devoted to Leon Modena’s anti-Christian polemical work Magen ve-herev (1643 ca.) ... more This article is devoted to Leon Modena’s anti-Christian polemical work Magen ve-herev (1643 ca.) as a useful source for the reconstruction of notions about the historical Jesus in the early modern period. In this work, Modena depicts Jesus in a sympathetic way, placing his religious activity against the backdrop of second Temple Judaism. Modena’s Jesus is fully Jewish, and Magen ve-herev offers different perspectives on the religious and historical context of Jesus’ life, and on the development of Christianity. The text is interpreted not exclusively against the backdrop of Jewish anti-Christian polemics but as the result of an increasing interest in the history of Christianity and ecclesiastical history, mainly as a response to the religious strife that resonated in the Republic of Venice and its ghetto.

Journal for Religion Film and Media, 2019

Facchini C., von Wyss-Giacosa P. (2019), eds. Understanding Jesus in the Early Modern Period and ... more Facchini C., von Wyss-Giacosa P. (2019), eds. Understanding Jesus in the Early Modern Period and Beyond - Across text and other media. Monographic issue of Journal for Religion, Film and Media 5/1 (2019)

The Kollegforschungsgruppe (KFG, “DFG-Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities”) „Religion a... more The Kollegforschungsgruppe (KFG, “DFG-Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities”) „Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal transformations" at the Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies of the University of Erfurt (Max-Weber-Kolleg) invites applications for fellowships for the time period between 1 September 2019 and 28 February 2021. Fellowships are granted for a period of 3 to 6 months. Fellows must reside in Erfurt during the fellowship period.

Deadline 22 April 2019

Abstract Affinity, Conflict and Change in the Music of the Venetian Ghetto Rituals of Death in Ea... more Abstract Affinity, Conflict and Change in the Music of the Venetian Ghetto Rituals of Death in Early Modern German Cities

Time: Thursday, 27/Jun/2019: 9:15am-11:15am Session Chair: Cristiana Facchini Location: Philosoph... more Time: Thursday, 27/Jun/2019: 9:15am-11:15am Session Chair: Cristiana Facchini Location: Philosophicum (Jakobi 2)-111 Session Abstract The central hypothesis of the newly established International Centre for Advanced Studies on "Religion and Urbanity" at the Max-Weber-Kolleg in Erfurt is that many features of past and present religions would be more plausibly viewed as the outcome of specific effects and uses of city-space and their social and cognitive bases rather than as inherent characteristics of a specific 'religion'. Many religious phenomena, and especially major religious changes, can be better understood by viewing them in spatial terms, that is, as a result of a dialectic of "co-production" (Day) of city-space and urban life, on the one side, and religious representations and practices, on the other. Therefore, change is not conceptualized by presupposing religion and the city as two static entities, but rather implying a "continual process in which the urban and the religious reciprocally interact, mutually interlace, producing, defining, and transforming each other" (Lanz). Designating a process in which religion and the urban are involved, 'urban religion' is the formula that defines also the state of a religion which is shaped by the interaction with the urban spatial environment and which can periodically crystallize into major changes whose assessment and naming is a responsibility of the scholar. Focusing on changing urban environments against the backdrop of long-term periodizations such as the Roman empire, the rise of Islam, and the European age of explorations (with the Reformation and the development of colonial empires), this panel aims to reflect upon forms of connectivity (cooperative or/and conflictual) and target religious dynamism through the lenses of religious intellectualization and ritual invention. These are two kinds of religious changes that appear recurrently in the cross-culturally entangled, worldwide history of religion and urbanism all the way through. How and how far are religious intellectualization and ritual invention made possible by the engagement of religious communication "with the conditions of specific urban environments at particular moments in the environmental, political, and social histories of cities" (Orsi)? Divided into two subpanels dedicated to intellectualization of religion and ritual invention, respectively, we welcome papers from religious studies, urban studies, urban history, archaeology and related disciplines.

Chairs: Cristiana Facchini & Joerg Ruepke European Academy of Religion Annual Conference Bologna... more Chairs: Cristiana Facchini & Joerg Ruepke

European Academy of Religion Annual Conference Bologna, March 4-7 2019

@ European Academy of Religion Annual Conference Bologna, March 4-7 2019 Global history and the s... more @ European Academy of Religion Annual Conference Bologna, March 4-7 2019
Global history and the study of religion. New methodologies and historical trajectories

CISSR – Centro Italiano di Studi Superiori sulle Religioni Italian Centre for Advanced Studies on... more CISSR – Centro Italiano di Studi Superiori sulle Religioni
Italian Centre for Advanced Studies on Religions
Incontro annuale sulle Origini cristiane
Annual Meeting on Christian Origins
Centro Residenziale Universitario di Bertinoro
27 – 29 settembre, 2018
University Residential Centre of Bertinoro
September 27 – 29, 2018

EASR European Association for the Study of Religion Leuven 2017

Jesus and his scholars. A relationship through the looking-glass (25 min) Cristiana Facchini, Uni... more Jesus and his scholars. A relationship through the looking-glass (25 min) Cristiana Facchini, University of Bologna Some remarks about a new paradigm for the study of the historical Jesus (25 min) Discussion (25 min) Break (30 min) Cristiana Facchini, University of Bologna, Presiding (2 min)

World Congress of Jewish Studies 2017 Medieval and Early Modern Jews and the Christian Past

EASR Helsinki Panel organized with Paola von Wyss-Giacosa

EASR European Association for the Study of Religions Helsinki 28 June 28 - 1 July, 2016

EASR European Association for the Study of Religions Panel I & II Title: Historiographical wars o... more EASR European Association for the Study of Religions
Panel I & II
Title: Historiographical wars of nineteenth century Europe
Jesus, and the parting of the ways

National Conference of the Italian Association of History of Religions

Book presentation in Rome

Since its very birth, Christianity has been a plural tradition. However, various attempts have be... more Since its very birth, Christianity has been a plural tradition. However, various attempts have been made throughout Christian history to police the plurality of religious knowledge and religious identities and to handle religious "otherness". This panel enquires into Christian discourses on heresy, "the Other", coercion, persecution, violence, martyrdom and tolerance, and searches for ways of representing them in the study of religions. The papers span a range of topics and periods: the repression of heresy in medieval Europe; charges of ritual murder by the Jews between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and Jewish responses to these charges; the reinterpretations and uses of martyrdom in early Protestant/Catholic conflicts; conflicting knowledge in 16th-century debates about the reality of witchcraft; and the discourse on modernism as an esoteric current and as a resurgence of ancient "heresies" at the turn of the 20th century These topics, however, all share an interest in how knowledge of "the Other" was negotiated, established and reinterpreted in Christian discourses, and in how this knowledge was connected to practices of repression.

6h Annual Meeting on Christian Origins Bertinoro, September 26–28, 2019 Deadline for proposals: 3... more 6h Annual Meeting on Christian Origins
Bertinoro, September 26–28, 2019
Deadline for proposals: 31 May 2019

Since the late 15th century several different historical factors influenced the research of the Christian past and the analysis of the figure of Jesus. The increasing refinement of philology fueled by Humanism and the study of ancient texts proved to be relevant in readdressing theological questions concerning the nature of early Christianity. The Reformation set forth a religious conflict that rekindled ancient polemics and, in turn, the study of antiquity. The search for the most authentic religious experience of Jesus and the Christian community became one of the most relevant topic of different religious groups. Thanks to technological innovations such as the rise of print and the amelioration of communication infrastructures, ideas and texts circulated widely both in print and manuscripts disseminating new representations of Jesus and the early Christianity. As a result of the inception of new science and the discoveries linked to the age of exploration, new notions of religion appeared and greatly influenced the understanding of the history Christianity. Furthermore, we wish to break the scholarly periodization which separates the early modern and the modern period, aiming to connect them in order to assess when and how new notions about the study of Jesus emerged and how they accordingly changed in relations to the rise of different epistemological paradigms.

6th Annual Meeting on Christian Origins Bertinoro, Italy September 26–28, 2019 DEADLINE for pro... more 6th Annual Meeting on Christian Origins
Bertinoro, Italy
September 26–28, 2019

DEADLINE for proposals: 31 May 2019

6th Annual Meeting on Christian Origins, Bertinoro (Italy), 26-28 September 2019

6th Annual Meeting on Christian Origins, Bertinoro (Itay), 26-28 September 2019

EASR European Association for the Study of Religion Religion – Continuations and Disruptions TAR... more EASR European Association for the Study of Religion
Religion – Continuations and Disruptions
TARTU 25-29 June 2019

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: 10 JAN. 2019

To apply: To submit an abstract, please create a user account and log in to the EASR 2019 ConfTool portal.
Go to: https://easr2019.org

The panel you may want to join is: (C. FACCHINI, E. R. URCIUOLI): Urban religion and religious change. Intellectualization of religion and ritual invention

EASR 2019 TARTU 25-29 JUNE 2019 URBAN RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE Intellectualization of relig... more EASR 2019 TARTU 25-29 JUNE 2019

URBAN RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE Intellectualization of religion and ritual invention
Panel chairs: Cristiana Facchini and Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli

EASR TARTU 25-29 JUNE 2019 Panel: URBAN RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE Intellectualization of re... more EASR TARTU 25-29 JUNE 2019

Panel: URBAN RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE
Intellectualization of religion and ritual invention
Chairs: Cristiana Facchini & Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli

To submit an abstract, please create a user account and log in to the EASR 2019 ConfTool portal. The deadline for the submission is 15 December 2018.

Call for papers: deadline 15 December 2018

The CFP of the Bertinoro Annual Meetings on Christian Origins (27-29 September 2018) is now open.... more The CFP of the Bertinoro Annual Meetings on Christian Origins (27-29 September 2018) is now open.
This unit invites all those who are interested in the history of scholarship of early Christianity, the 'historical Jesus' and Second Temple Judaism. The deadline for submission is 31 March 2018. Information about submission and application procedure are to be found here
https://cissr.wordpress.com/annual-meetings/how-to-participate.

For any kind of information you can contact Cristiana Facchini, Miriam Benfatto (miriam.benfatto2@unibo.it), & and Emiliano Urciuoli (emirubens@yahoo.it)

V CISSR Meeting on Christian Origins (Bertinoro: September 27-29, 2018) Unit: Studying Jesus and... more V CISSR Meeting on Christian Origins (Bertinoro: September 27-29, 2018)
Unit: Studying Jesus and early Christians in modern times: New perspectives & methods
The deadline for the submission of the paper proposals to the coordinators of a single Programme Unit is on Saturday 31st March.
You can find all the information about the participation rules at: https://cissr.wordpress.com/annual-meetings/how-to-participate.

Unit: Study of the Historical Jesus (English

3rd Annual Meeting on Christian Origins

Recensione a Raffaella Perin, La radio del papa. Propaganda e diplomazia nella seconda guerra mon... more Recensione a
Raffaella Perin, La radio del papa. Propaganda e diplomazia nella seconda guerra mondiale, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2017, pp. 7-288.

Book review of Aaron Hughes, Jacob Neusner on Religion. The Example of Judaism, Routledge, New Yo... more Book review of Aaron Hughes, Jacob Neusner on Religion. The Example of Judaism, Routledge, New York – London, 2016, pp. VII-121, in Religion 47/1 (2017)

Raúl González Salinero -María Teresa Ortega Monasterio (a cura di), Fuentes clásicas en el judaís... more Raúl González Salinero -María Teresa Ortega Monasterio (a cura di), Fuentes clásicas en el judaísmo: de Sophía a Hokmah, Madrid, Signifer Libros, 2009, 223 pp. In questo volume sono stati raccolti otto interventi presentati al Primo Seminario italospagnolo di Studi sull'Ebraismo, che si è occupato dell'influsso e della ricezione della cultura classica nell'ebraismo di epoca antica e medievale. Come ha dimostrato Shmuel Eisenstadt, la civiltà ebraica è sempre stata in continua competizione con le civiltà ospiti; proprio questa conflittualità ha consentito un profondo e reciproco scambio culturale fra i diversi ambienti. Questo libro ne è la dimostrazione, visto che mostra l'esperienza storica degli ebrei in una prospettiva intellettuale comparativa.

Intersezioni, Jan 1, 2005

Intersezioni Rivista di storia delle idee ISSN : 0393-2451. Numero: 1, aprile 2005, Indice. DOI: ... more Intersezioni Rivista di storia delle idee ISSN : 0393-2451. Numero: 1, aprile 2005, Indice. DOI: 10.1404/19463. Steven Nadler, Baruch Spinosa e l'Olanda del Seicento Cristiana Facchini, pp. 155-159 € 6 [pdf 163K ...

La Storia delle religioni e la sfida dei pluralismi SMSR

The paper explores the interconnection between historiography of Judaism and Judaism as a lived r... more The paper explores the interconnection between historiography of Judaism and Judaism as a lived religion

The paper aims at offering a first inquiry into the process of individualization in early modern ... more The paper aims at offering a first inquiry into the process of individualization in early modern Judaism from the perspective of 'entangled history'. This methodological approach, while more demanding, is surely appropriate in returning a more vivid, yet contradictory and controversial, historical picture and dynamism of Judaism before the period of political emancipation.

Eresie ed eretici nella storia del cristianesimo, CUSSC Conference – Milan, Italy

Torino Casa Valdese corso Vittorio Eamnuele II, 23 28-29 novembre 2019

6th Annual Meeting on Christian Origins Bertinoro Italy 26-28 September 2019

Deadline 15 September 2019

Religion and Urbanity: “Theorising Mutual Formations“ 6th–8th November 2018 | Augustinerkloster, ... more Religion and Urbanity: “Theorising Mutual Formations“
6th–8th November 2018 | Augustinerkloster,
Erfurt

CFP deadline 20 November 2018

Deadline for submissions: June 15, 2018 Individual papers: Please send us a proposal (about 300 w... more Deadline for submissions: June 15, 2018
Individual papers: Please send us a proposal (about 300 words) for a 20-minute presentation, including title of the paper, technical equipment required for the paper and name, affiliation, and full contact details of
the speaker.
Panel sessions: Proposals should include the title of the session, an
abstract of its content and purpose (max. 500 words), the titles of the papers and the names, affiliations and full contact details of the
speakers.
All proposals should be sent to Judith Frishman: j.frishman@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Call for Papers for the Conference on Interpreting Rituals: Historiographical Perspectives and Pl... more Call for Papers for the Conference on
Interpreting Rituals: Historiographical Perspectives and Pluralistic Contexts
Leiden University, October 29-‐31,
2018

Convegno internazionale 22-23 Marzo Macerata

Sabbateanism has recently been the subject of renewed interest among social and religious histori... more Sabbateanism has recently been the subject of renewed interest among social and religious historians. Attention has been focused on the vicissitudes of Sabbatai Zevi himself as well as on the movement that gathered around him in 1665 and 1666, and that would continue to express itself through activist missionizing and subterranean conventicles in the decades and even centuries that followed. Both proponents and opponents of the movement have offered historians opportunities to investigate the social, religious, and cultural dynamics of the period. And of course, the general trends of apocalyptic and millenarianism as well as of conservatism and repression outside the Jewish community also have much to teach us about the contributing factors, the fate, and the long-term implications of this powerful messianic movement. Our workshop will seek to investigate the context and particular impact of Sabbateanism in Italy. Several Italian cities were important centers of this messianic movement, among them Livorno, Mantua, Modena, Padua, Ancona, and Venice. Existing treatments have stressed that Italian cities served the movement both as spiritual centers and as nodes in Mediterranean networks of communication. Accordingly we will focus on Sabbateanism on the Peninsula itself, trying to explore its broader contexts among both Jews and non-Jews. We are eager to trace earlier examples of apocalyptic, millenarian, and messianic speculation, then offer case studies of the presence of specifically Sabbatean nuclei, and follow up by looking at pietists and activists in the 18th-century who continued Sabbatean themes. Throughout, we are searching for possible theoretical relationships between a variety of early modern millenarian and messianic enthusiasms, seeking thus to situate this Jewish cultural explosion in its broader context. We hope to take advantage of the treasury of resources and scholarship on early modern Italian religious thought and practice—stretching from Renaissance hermeticism through sometimes heretical utopianism, Quietism, popular beliefs in omens, prophecies and the importance of astrology and magical

The Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion (LUCSoR), the Dutch Association for the Study of Religion (NGG), The Netherlands School for Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion (NOSTER) in cooperation with the University of Erfurt Research Centre „Dynamics of Jewish Ritual Practices in Pluralistic Contexts from Antiquity to the Present“ are pleased to announce their joint conference on Interpreting Rituals: Historiographical Perspectives and Pluralistic Contexts, to be held on October 29-31, 2018 at Leiden University.

ne discute Cristiana Facchini Seminario dottorale del curriculum storico-religioso Tutti gli in... more ne discute Cristiana Facchini

Seminario dottorale del curriculum storico-religioso Tutti gli incontri si svolgono alle ore 15.00 presso l'Aula A della sezione storico-religiosa del Dipartimento di Storia, Culture, Religioni Daniel Lord Smail " S t o r i a p r o f o n d a "

International Conference, Vienna 14-16 November 2017 Abstracts

International Conference: Vienna, November 14-15, 2017 “Can Polemics Innovate?” Change and Contin... more International Conference: Vienna, November 14-15, 2017
“Can Polemics Innovate?” Change and Continuity in Jewish–Christian
Polemics from Late Antiquity to the Modernity

June 14-16, 2017 "Shared Ritual Practices and Divided Historiography: Media, Phenomena, Topoi" ... more June 14-16, 2017

"Shared Ritual Practices and Divided Historiography: Media, Phenomena, Topoi"

Erfurt Germany

Ritual dynamics in Judaism and Christianity

International Workshop History of Early Modern Jews

La Storia delle religioni e la sfida dei pluralismi SMSR

Discussione libro: Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un Papa liberale e nazionale, Viell... more Discussione libro:
Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un Papa liberale e nazionale, Viella, Roma, 2018

Atelier de recherche 2018-19 Organized by Michel Espagne and Pascale Rabault-Feuerhahn

“Mostrate questo libretto ai vostri figli e dite loro…”. Una vita illustrata di Antonio Gramsci d... more “Mostrate questo libretto ai vostri figli e dite loro…”. Una vita illustrata di Antonio Gramsci del 1947

Venerdì 23 marzo 2018 - ore 17.00 Sala Convegni Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna. Via delle Donzelle, 2 - Bologna

Nell’occasione: proiezione del testo illustrato del 1947 dedicato alla vita di Antonio Gramsci

Intervengono
Sandro Bellassai, Università di Bologna
Chiara Daniele, Segretario dell’Edizione nazionale degli scritti di A. Gramsci
Cristiana Facchini, Università di Bologna

Coordina
Jacopo Frey, Autore di graphic novel

Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory Laboratorio di ricerca interdisciplinare Religions Matter.... more Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory
Laboratorio di ricerca interdisciplinare

Religions Matter. Methods, Theories, and Practices in the Study of Religion // Religions Matter. Metodi, teorie e tendenze della ricerca

Seminario dottorale del curriculum storico-religioso del Dottorato in Storia, Antropologia, Relig... more Seminario dottorale del curriculum storico-religioso del Dottorato in Storia, Antropologia, Religioni, Diaprtimento di Storia, Culture, Religioni, Università La Sapienza

La Storia delle religioni e la sfida dei pluralismi SMSR

https://cissr.net/annual-meetings/

For any kind of information you can contact Cristiana Facchini, Miriam Benfatto (miriam.benfatto2@unibo.it), & and Emiliano Urciuoli (emirubens@yahoo.it)

Quest - Issues in Contemporary Jewish History Call for Papers

International Conference, Venice 4-7 December

by Alessandro Saggioro, Marianna Ferrara, Giulia Gasparro, Mara (Maria) Amodio, Luca Arcari, Luca Bozzarello, Federico Brusadelli, Marinella Ceravolo, Sara Colantonio, Valentina D'Alessio, serena di nepi, Daniela DUMBRAVA, Cristiana Facchini, Simone Fracas, Carmine Pisano, Ennio Sanzi, Francesca Sbardella, Carla Sfameni, Chiara O. Tommasi, Andrea Annese, and Donato Di Sanzo

Pur in diverse prospettive, la Storia delle religioni si è da sempre occupata dello studio delle ... more Pur in diverse prospettive, la Storia delle religioni si è da sempre occupata dello studio delle religioni al plurale. Tale studio, in Italia, si è rivolto in maniera preponderante alle culture del passato, come conseguenza sia del fiorire di scuole di ricerca, sia di scelte individuali degli studiosi. Nell'età contemporanea, però, la pluralità delle religioni - nei diversi contesti e nelle diverse forme nelle quali viene individuata - appare come una chiave di volta per la comprensione di ampi processi culturali e sociali. Di conseguenza, la costruzione di modelli di analisi relativi al pluralismo religioso costituisce, in generale, una nuova frontiera per le scienze sociali ma, in particolare, anche per una disciplina accademica che intenda contribuire a riscrivere una storia delle idee e delle produzioni culturali. La Società Italiana di Storia delle Religioni (SISR) ha scelto di dedicare a questi temi il convegno tenutosi alla Sapienza Università di Roma nel 2016, di cui questo volume costituisce gli atti. In modi diversi, i saggi qui raccolti forniscono il proprio apporto disciplinare all'analisi di modelli pluralistici attuali, facendosi forti dello sguardo da lontano maturato negli studi sul passato

Cities have been a privileged topic of research among architects, art historians, sociologists, a... more Cities have been a privileged topic of research among architects, art historians, sociologists, and historians since the rise of industrial civilization. To be more precise, conceptions about the city and its functioning, its structure and organization, are at the core of many civilizations, and its ties with religion are at times very deep, not to say foundational. Scholars have increasingly focused on the relationship between religious diversity and the history of cities, analyzing how the impact of Reformation changed the spatial and ritual organization of religious life, and how religious minorities found or did not find their place within the urban fabric. This seminar aims to address the theme of religious diversity and urbanity since the early modern period trying to assess some of the changes brought about by the enlightenment and nationalism.

Conference 27-29 March 2019. Universität Hamburg, 2019

Paris, February 1, 2019 Jesus and the rise of the apocalyptic imagination: Jewish interpretati... more Paris, February 1, 2019

Jesus and the rise of the apocalyptic imagination:
Jewish interpretations in Italy (1910s-1930s)

Albeit the Wissenschaft des Judentums was launched in Germany at the onset of the 19th century, it had always been, since its very inception, a transnational scholarly enterprise that outreached many European countries. Recent scholarship has, indeed, stressed this transnational dimension, recovering correspondence networks, and focusing on other areas that were characterized by different political, philosophical, and religious cultures, such as England, France, Holland, Italy, or the composite Habsburg Empire.
In this contribution I will focus on Wissenschaft des Judentums in Italy during the first three decades of the twentieth century, a period which witnessed the demise of the Liberal regime and the rise of Fascism. It is precisely during this period that the Catholic Church strengthen its own research projects on biblical and religious matters, clearly aiming to counter Protestant hegemony and avert the ‘Modernist crisis’ in its midst.
In doing so, I will focus on research themes that were deeply controversial for Christians, Jews, and scholars who pledged as non-confessional: the historical Jesus and the rise of Christianity. As the ‘historical Jesus’ of the nineteenth century slowly faded away as an icon of liberal Protestantism, a number of new historical narratives arose, some of which emphasized the ‘eschatological’ dimension of his religious message. At the same time both the Religionsgeschichte Schule and the works of scholars such as Alfred Loisy reached Italy and were widely discussed among intellectuals of different religious and cultural backgrounds.
My contribution aims to unearth Jewish interpretation of the ‘historical Jesus’, focusing both on the Italian and the international context. I will attempt to recover how this field of inquiry was organized in Italy and how Jewish scholars related to it, especially with regards to the apocalyptic/eschatological thesis. I will therefore analyse the works of authors such as Arnaldo Momigliano, Giorgio Levi della Vida, and the German Jewish rabbis/scholars who arrived at the beginning of the century. The interpretation of the historical Jesus crossed a number of subjects that were potentially dangerous and open to polemics, especially in regard to the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. The study of these religious themes unravelled in the midst of dramatic political changes, that under the increasing eye of the fascist regime, empowered the Church and the state and led, ultimately to the implementation of racial laws.

1er fevrier 2019 - Les etudes juives: transferts disciplinaires et transferts cultureles h 9,30-1... more 1er fevrier 2019 - Les etudes juives: transferts disciplinaires et transferts cultureles h 9,30-12,30 Rue D'Ulm 29 CNRS/Ecole Normale Supérieur (Paris)

Carlotta Santini - L'exegese biblique face au l'instrument du mythe
Cristiana Facchini - Jesus and the rise of the apocalyptic imagination: Jewish interpretations in Italy (1910s-1930s)

Bertinoro (Italy) 27-29 September 2018

Research Seminar on and around Neurohistory, Deep History and Religion(s).

La razza prima del razzismo: a che punto è la riflessione degli storici A partire dagli anni Nova... more La razza prima del razzismo: a che punto è la riflessione degli storici A partire dagli anni Novanta del XX secolo le ricerche sulla razza e sul razzismo hanno mutato prospettiva. Molte indagini hanno tentato di ricostruire la genesi del razzismo occidentale guardando ai secoli che precedono la nascita della parola (in Francia, nel contesto dell'affaire Dreyfus) e la legittimazione ideologica degli approcci "scientifici" per la classificazione e la gerarchizzazione dei fenotipi umani, con la nascita di movimenti di massa esplicitamente razzisti. Se in uno studio ancora importante come quello di Mosse le origini dell'approccio razzista venivano fatte risalire al Settecento illuminato (estetismo neo-classico, nascita dell'antropologia), negli ultimi tre decenni filosofi e storici hanno tentato di scavare più a fondo e di stabilire una linea di continuità tra l'eredità classica, il pensiero umanistico, il primo colonialismo europeo e ciò che sarebbe avvenuto dopo l'Ottocento. Questo cambio di paradigma si è accompagnato al ben noto dibattito (Langmuir, Nirenberg e altri) sul rapporto tra antigiudaismo teologico e antisemitismo scientifico che individua nel Quattrocento iberico degli statuti di limpieza de sangre introdotti dai vecchi cristiani per discriminare i conversos un punto di svolta importante. L'attenzione crescente per lo sterminio degli ebrei d'Europa nel XX secolo, insomma, ha avuto riflessi anche sugli storici del mondo antico, medievale e moderno nella chiave della continuità. Se in Benjamin Isaac la nascita del razzismo occidentale è collocata nella tradizione classica (teoria dei climi, concetto aristotelico di schiavitù naturale, imperialismo romano), in un recente libro di Geraldine Heng il focus sposta sul medioevo (visione dei mongoli e dell'Asia, elaborazione dei miti sanguinari antigiudaici, rapporto Irlanda-Inghilterra). Si tratta di una genesi presente anche nel libro di Francisco Bethencourt, che mette sul banco degli imputati il monoteismo cristiano, l'ideologia crociata e le prime classificazioni coloniali europee, facendo il punto sul dibattito internazionale dopo un importante convegno i cui atti sono apparsi nel 2009 (The Origins of Racism in the West). Lo stesso Nirenberg è tornato sul nodo dell'anti-giudaismo tracciandone una storia tanto risalente da principiare nell'Egitto ellenistico. La questione delle possibili radici di lungo periodo della discriminazione anti-ebraica si è sovrapposta-e talvolta si è intrecciata in modo fecondo-con quella dell'atteggiamento degli arabi e degli europei nei confronti nelle popolazioni africane sub-sahariane, prima e dopo l'esplosione della tratta atlantica degli schiavi. Su questo terreno le novità sono state importanti, mentre negli studi più recenti si può apprezzare un approccio comparativo più raffinato che guarda anche alle possibili declinazioni del "razzismo" in contesti non mediterranei e non occidentali (Cina, Giappone, società hindu). L'intervento in breve cercherà di rendere conto dei risultati più innovativi dei dibattiti degli ultimi trent'anni, di individuare i rischi del "continuismo" e di individuare le domande ancora aperte. Fabio Dei (Università di Pisa) Razzismo, neorazzismo, antirazzismo: categorie esplicative dell'azione sociale? Il tema del mio intervento è: che cos'è il razzismo in una fase storica e in un ambiente sociale in cui il termine è usato esclusivamente come accusa di ordine morale? Il razzismo ha la sua storia: quella di una dottrina elaborata da numerosi intellettuali nel corso del XIX secolo e della prima

Firenze 20 Settembre - 1 Ottobre 2019

Convegno internazionale organizzato dal Gruppo italo-francese di studi ebraici Pisa, 25-26 Marz... more Convegno internazionale organizzato dal Gruppo italo-francese di studi ebraici

Pisa, 25-26 Marzo 2019

International Conference, Rome, January 20-22, 2019

Il Centro Italiano di Studi Superiori sulle Religioni (CISSR), fondato nel 1999, promuove la rice... more Il Centro Italiano di Studi Superiori sulle Religioni (CISSR), fondato nel 1999, promuove la ricerca scientifica sulle religioni, soprattutto nell'ambito della storia del cristianesimo e del giudaismo. Il Centro favorisce lo sviluppo degli studi sulle religioni nella formazione universitaria, organizzando convegni scientifici, offrendo supporto per la formazione post-universitaria e promuovendo iniziative culturali sulle religioni.

First conference of the "Gruppo italo-francese di studi ebraici Groupe italo-français d’études ju... more First conference of the "Gruppo italo-francese di studi ebraici Groupe italo-français d’études juives"

“Nella Terra di Diana. Festival di Antropologia e Storia delle Religioni” (Nemi, 5-8 settembre 20... more “Nella Terra di Diana. Festival di Antropologia e Storia delle Religioni” (Nemi, 5-8 settembre 2019)

Scientific organization: Francesco Cassata, Guri Schwartz Discussione del libro: Ignazio Veca, I... more Scientific organization: Francesco Cassata, Guri Schwartz

Discussione del libro:
Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale, Viella, Roma 2018

Cristiana Facchini e Guri Schwartz dialogheranno con l'autore, coordina Francesco Cassata

This book brings together a number of contributions that throw a new light on the history of Jewi... more This book brings together a number of contributions that throw a new light on the history of Jewish communities in late-medieval and early modern Italy (15 th-18 th centuries). The different, monographic approaches form a homogeneous interpretation of this history, a collective and original reflection on the question of Jewish minority in a broader (Christian) society. Both the Christian and the Jewish sides are taken into consideration, and an important number of chapters consider concrete situations, Jewish texts and authors very rarely studied in the research on Jewish-Christian relation.

Corso di formazione online rivolto a docenti della scuola secondaria di II grado, con particolare... more Corso di formazione online rivolto a docenti della scuola secondaria di II grado, con particolare riferimento alle discipline quali storia, filosofia, letteratura ed educazione civica.

European Association for the Study of Religion (EASR) Conference, Vilnius, Lithuania, 4-8 September. Panel: Minority Religions (with Erica Baffelli, Alexander van der Haven, Titus Hjelm, Rosalind Hackett, and Cristiana Facchini.

Religious Minorities Online (RMO) is the premier academic resource on religious minorities worldw... more Religious Minorities Online (RMO) is the premier academic resource on religious minorities worldwide, reflecting the state of the art in scholarship. It is written by leading scholars and is rigorously peer-reviewed.

Religious minorities are part of the social map of many countries on the globe. Some of these are ancient communities, but others are more recent. Some are a minority in one place while a majority in another cultural context (or had been in the past), whereas others have always lived in the shadow of majorities. Most minorities have little power, but others are actively engaged in the wider society and exercise significant political, economic, or military influence.

While religious minorities are relevant as social and religious phenomena in their own right, equally important is how they are viewed and treated by others. Suspicions and fears of minorities as well as admiring and exoticizing them reveal much about the societies they live in.