Giovanni LAPIS | Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (original) (raw)
Books by Giovanni LAPIS
This work addresses the theme of Japanese religions in order to rethink theories and practices pe... more This work addresses the theme of Japanese religions in order to rethink theories and practices pertaining to the field of Religious Education. Through an interdisciplinary framework that combines the study of religions, didactics and intercultural education, this book puts the case study of Religious Education in England in front of two ‘challenges’ in order to reveal hidden spots, tackle unquestioned assumptions and highlight problematic areas. These ‘challenges’, while focusing primarily on Japanese religions, are addressed within the wider contexts of other East Asian traditions and of the modern historical exchanges with the Euro-American societies. As result, a model for teaching Japanese and other East Asian religions is discussed and proposed in order to fruitfully engage issues such as orientalism, occidentalism, interculturality and critical thinking.
Papers by Giovanni LAPIS
Zeitschrift für Religionskunde | Revue de didactique des sciences des religions 12, 58–77., 2024
Research on Asian religions has represented a challenge to the study of religion and chance for r... more Research on Asian religions has represented a challenge to the study of religion and chance for rethinking it. Therefore, this article aims to reflect on the teaching of religions at school by starting from the challenges that Asian religions pose, such as their resistance to the Christian-centric paradigm of religion and their modern and contemporary developments that work in close relationship with hegemonic Western views of religion. This reflection is offered in concrete terms through the proposal of a flexible model for teaching Asian religions that covers the dimensions of axiology, epistemology, teaching, and learning. Theoretical discussion grounding the model and its practical indications are presented.
Religions, 2024
The religions of South and East Asia resist Eurocentric interpretations, such as the so-called Wo... more The religions of South and East Asia resist Eurocentric interpretations, such as the so-called World Religion Paradigm. However, they are subjected in various ways to hetero- and auto-orientalist representations that respond to Western ideals and expectations. This article analyzes how Italian Catholic teachers use online representations of East Asian religions in their lessons to teach these traditions. The aim is to shed light on the interplay, facilitated by online environments, between contemporary processes of Eurocentric and Orientalist interpretation and the educational and confessional motivations of confessional religious education teachers. The result of the analysis indicates that these factors concur to reinforce misleading representations, which contradicts the intercultural aims proclaimed by teachers and other Teaching of Catholic Religion stakeholders. Nevertheless, this article also individuates those elements that could be fruitfully framed in an academic study-of-religions perspective and suggests a modality of cooperation between Catholic Religion teachers and scholars of religions.
Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni 89/2, 2023
The research on Asian religions informed by the postcolonial/critical perspective has contributed... more The research on Asian religions informed by the postcolonial/critical perspective has contributed to rethink the concepts, theories, and methods of the study of religions. This article explores the role of this theme in relation to nonconfessional Religious Education (RE). It first discusses the three “challenges” brought forth by the study of Asian religions: the inadequacy of the Eurocentric concept of religion, the legacy of modernity and colonialism, and some globalizing dynamics informed
by neoliberal values. Then, on this background it analyzes some recent RE developments in Sweden and England. I argue that the theme of Asian religions is useful in spotting and overcoming Eurocentric, Christian-centric, and modernist assumptions, even when an inclusive and self-critical RE is supposedly set up.
Annali di Ca' Foscari. Serie Orientale, 2023
Research on the cultural influence of Asian religions in Western countries tends to overlook youn... more Research on the cultural influence of Asian religions in Western countries tends to overlook younger actors as receivers and producers of innovation. By applying a theoretical framework that highlights the cultural role of nationalism, neoliberalism and consumerism in shaping religious behaviour, the article analyses, through interviews, the interpretation of Asian religions among a purposive sample of adolescents and put them within the larger context of the physical and mediatic presence of these religions in society. It argues that these adolescents further align themselves with those trends in Italian society which follow the so-called ‘Global Market Regime’. It also provides reflections on the implications of this situation concerning religious and intercultural education.
Book Chapters by Giovanni LAPIS
Christopher R. Cotter, David G. Robertson (a cura di), Oltre le religioni mondiali: ripensare i Religious Studies, ed. it. a cura di Giovanni Lapis, Brescia, Morcelliana., 2023
Saggio introduttivo a: Christopher R. Cotter, David G. Robertson (a cura di), Oltre le religioni ... more Saggio introduttivo a: Christopher R. Cotter, David G. Robertson (a cura di), Oltre le religioni mondiali: ripensare i Religious Studies, ed. it. a cura di Giovanni Lapis, Brescia, Morcelliana.
Thomas P. Kasulis, Intimità o integrità. Filosofia e differenza culturale, a cura di Giovanni Lapis, Milano-Udine, Mimesis Edizioni, 2015
Saggio introduttivo a: Thomas P. Kasulis, Intimità o integrità. Filosofia e differenza culturale,... more Saggio introduttivo a: Thomas P. Kasulis, Intimità o integrità. Filosofia e differenza culturale, a cura di Giovanni Lapis, Milano-Udine, Mimesis Edizioni
Il mondo che verrà. Immagini dell'oltretomba nelle religioni del mondo, Torino, SEI, 2015
Capitolo in libro. AA. VV., Il mondo che verrà. Immagini dell'oltretomba nelle religioni del mond... more Capitolo in libro. AA. VV., Il mondo che verrà. Immagini dell'oltretomba nelle religioni del mondo, Torino, SEI, pp. 285-306
Edited Books by Giovanni LAPIS
Avvantaggiandosi della doppia prospettiva di filosofo e nipponista, Thomas P. Kasulis traccia nuo... more Avvantaggiandosi della doppia prospettiva di filosofo e nipponista, Thomas P. Kasulis traccia nuove prospettive euristiche nel campo degli studi interculturali. L’autore identifica due tendenze fondamentali, una verso l”intimità” e una verso l”integrità”, che operano dietro alle differenze culturali che più sembrano stridere tra di loro. Il modo di conoscere il mondo, il modo di porsi nei confronti di persone e cose, la percezione artistica e la concezione della politica; queste e altre direttive che formano il profilo caratteristico di una data cultura (o sottocultura) vengono determinate da una o dall’altra tendenza. Entrambe tuttavia, una volta analizzate, hanno una loro coerenza e razionalità, pur essendo fondamentalmente così diverse nei loro assunti di base. Questo libro offre un nuovo approccio all’intercultura, superando sia l’universalismo che un mero relativismo culturale, in favore di un ri-orientamento verso valori in realtà non estranei, ma semplicemente in secondo piano, permettendo un migliore confronto con contesti culturali diversi.
Il paradigma delle "religioni mondiali" è da tempo oggetto di controversie nel campo dei Religio... more Il paradigma delle "religioni mondiali" è da tempo oggetto di controversie nel campo dei Religious Studies, perché nel suo sforzo normativo, che pone tradizionalmente in rilievo come religioni universali i grandi monoteismi-cristianesimo, ebraismo, islam-seguiti da hinduismo e buddhismo, rischia di essere non inclusivo e riduttivo del fenomeno reale delle religioni, differenziate tra loro storicamente e geograficamente, e nelle loro forme primitive o più recenti. In quest'ottica il volume fornisce elementi per ripensare il modo di concepire e insegnare le religioni, presentando un'ampia gamma di soluzioni innovative rispetto agli schemi tradizionali. I contributi di studiosi internazionali, che illustrano le sfide poste al paradigma delle "religioni mondiali" nei loro diversi contesti scientifici, istituzionali e geografici offrendo specifici suggerimenti bibliografici, rappresentano una prospettiva di ricerca innovativa negli studi di religionistica e nell'approccio all'insegnamento stesso della religione.
CHRISTOPHER R. COTTER è co-editore capo del Religious Studies Project e co-direttore del Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network.
DAVID G. ROBERTSON è co-editore capo del Religious Studies Project e Bulletin Editor per la British Association for the Study of Religion. Insegna Religious Studies alla Open University, Regno Unito.
GIOVANNI LAPIS, curatore di questa edizione italiana, è dottore di ricerca in Studi sull'Asia e l'Africa. Ha svolto attività di ricerca all'Università Ca' Foscari Venezia approfondendo il rapporto tra religioni asiatiche e Religious Education.
Conference Proceedings by Giovanni LAPIS
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the Journal Scuola Democratica REINVENTING EDUCATION, Roma, ASSOCIAZIONE “PER SCUOLA DEMOCRATICA, 2021
This paper explores the relevance of east Asian religions for the field of Religious Education (R... more This paper explores the relevance of east Asian religions for the field of Religious Education (RE). Critical studies of extra-European, particularly east Asian religions, contributed to the rethinking of the study of religion\s. Similarly, I argue that this topic helps individuating biases and implicit modernist and orientalist discourses also in RE. I focus on two 'challenges' as critical lenses. The first is the inadequacy of the Christian-Protestant paradigm of religion, centered on the inner world of the practitioner and its exclusive religious belonging. The second is the influence of the historical and cultural entanglements between East Asia and the Euro-American regions. Some examples from RE in England and Sweden, two renowned instances of non-confessional RE, are discussed. The last part argues that such challenges can turn into pedagogical opportunities in terms of "competences for democratic culture".
roceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances, HEAd’17, 2017
This paper aims to present JALEA, an innovative web tool for the acquisition of the Japanese lang... more This paper aims to present JALEA, an innovative web tool for the acquisition of the Japanese language dedicated to higher education learners. In particular it highlights the innovative learner-centered approach based on the self-guided discovery of grammar structures and words’ meanings through the combined use of realia (multimedia contents referring to real-life situations in Japan), hyperlinks and interactive features such as pop-up dictionary, character-writing explanations, slow-motion option in video examples, etc. Moreover, it illustrates the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) characteristics of this web tool, permitting on the one hand the smooth working of the application on several platforms (pc, tablet and smartphone); on the other, its sustainability and maintainability thanks to the implementation of a layer accessible to maintainers (backend) with several automatization features that facilitate the addition of more contents, also by personnel with low ICT k...
Translations by Giovanni LAPIS
La filosofia e l'altrove. Festschrift per Giangiorgio Pasqualotto, 2016
European Projects by Giovanni LAPIS
Study of Religions Against Prejudices & Stereotypes» (ERASMUS + Project number 2016-1-IT02-KA201-024707, 2018
Call for Papers by Giovanni LAPIS
In the recent decades, the scholarship on religious education (RE) from a study-of-religion/s (So... more In the recent decades, the scholarship on religious education (RE) from a study-of-religion/s (SoR) point of view has been developing. Outside descriptive-analytical research on how religions are engaged in education, it also produced theoretical-normative studies on principles and methods for teaching about religions in school from a SoR perspective.
A common thread in both types of research are the critique and the overcoming of modern/Protestant-based understanding of religion and related categories. This panel, organized by the EASR working group on Religion in Public Education, aims at further deepen such (self-)deconstruction of eurocentrism by crossing borders and drawing upon “out of Europe” particularities and challenges. Inputs may be comparative (e.g., how SoR scholars of South Africa or Japan engage RE issues?); epistemological (e.g., how do we conceptualize religious affiliation in China?); content-related (e.g., how to narrate Christianity in a non-eurocentric fashion?); educative (e.g., which educational values can be universally upheld in RE? How about particular contexts?)
The panel invites contributions from area studies concerning both RE or general religious topics relevant to SoR-based RE. Scholars from extra-European regions are particularly welcome to share their research and reflections on RE and SoR-based RE. We encourage both RE scholars and practitioners who developed theoretical and practical approaches to overcome eurocentrism to present their insights. Finally, we also invite broad reflections on the relevance, for SoR-based RE, of the global fluxes of people and religious ideas in connection with other global dynamics of economic/political/ideological nature.
This work addresses the theme of Japanese religions in order to rethink theories and practices pe... more This work addresses the theme of Japanese religions in order to rethink theories and practices pertaining to the field of Religious Education. Through an interdisciplinary framework that combines the study of religions, didactics and intercultural education, this book puts the case study of Religious Education in England in front of two ‘challenges’ in order to reveal hidden spots, tackle unquestioned assumptions and highlight problematic areas. These ‘challenges’, while focusing primarily on Japanese religions, are addressed within the wider contexts of other East Asian traditions and of the modern historical exchanges with the Euro-American societies. As result, a model for teaching Japanese and other East Asian religions is discussed and proposed in order to fruitfully engage issues such as orientalism, occidentalism, interculturality and critical thinking.
Zeitschrift für Religionskunde | Revue de didactique des sciences des religions 12, 58–77., 2024
Research on Asian religions has represented a challenge to the study of religion and chance for r... more Research on Asian religions has represented a challenge to the study of religion and chance for rethinking it. Therefore, this article aims to reflect on the teaching of religions at school by starting from the challenges that Asian religions pose, such as their resistance to the Christian-centric paradigm of religion and their modern and contemporary developments that work in close relationship with hegemonic Western views of religion. This reflection is offered in concrete terms through the proposal of a flexible model for teaching Asian religions that covers the dimensions of axiology, epistemology, teaching, and learning. Theoretical discussion grounding the model and its practical indications are presented.
Religions, 2024
The religions of South and East Asia resist Eurocentric interpretations, such as the so-called Wo... more The religions of South and East Asia resist Eurocentric interpretations, such as the so-called World Religion Paradigm. However, they are subjected in various ways to hetero- and auto-orientalist representations that respond to Western ideals and expectations. This article analyzes how Italian Catholic teachers use online representations of East Asian religions in their lessons to teach these traditions. The aim is to shed light on the interplay, facilitated by online environments, between contemporary processes of Eurocentric and Orientalist interpretation and the educational and confessional motivations of confessional religious education teachers. The result of the analysis indicates that these factors concur to reinforce misleading representations, which contradicts the intercultural aims proclaimed by teachers and other Teaching of Catholic Religion stakeholders. Nevertheless, this article also individuates those elements that could be fruitfully framed in an academic study-of-religions perspective and suggests a modality of cooperation between Catholic Religion teachers and scholars of religions.
Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni 89/2, 2023
The research on Asian religions informed by the postcolonial/critical perspective has contributed... more The research on Asian religions informed by the postcolonial/critical perspective has contributed to rethink the concepts, theories, and methods of the study of religions. This article explores the role of this theme in relation to nonconfessional Religious Education (RE). It first discusses the three “challenges” brought forth by the study of Asian religions: the inadequacy of the Eurocentric concept of religion, the legacy of modernity and colonialism, and some globalizing dynamics informed
by neoliberal values. Then, on this background it analyzes some recent RE developments in Sweden and England. I argue that the theme of Asian religions is useful in spotting and overcoming Eurocentric, Christian-centric, and modernist assumptions, even when an inclusive and self-critical RE is supposedly set up.
Annali di Ca' Foscari. Serie Orientale, 2023
Research on the cultural influence of Asian religions in Western countries tends to overlook youn... more Research on the cultural influence of Asian religions in Western countries tends to overlook younger actors as receivers and producers of innovation. By applying a theoretical framework that highlights the cultural role of nationalism, neoliberalism and consumerism in shaping religious behaviour, the article analyses, through interviews, the interpretation of Asian religions among a purposive sample of adolescents and put them within the larger context of the physical and mediatic presence of these religions in society. It argues that these adolescents further align themselves with those trends in Italian society which follow the so-called ‘Global Market Regime’. It also provides reflections on the implications of this situation concerning religious and intercultural education.
Christopher R. Cotter, David G. Robertson (a cura di), Oltre le religioni mondiali: ripensare i Religious Studies, ed. it. a cura di Giovanni Lapis, Brescia, Morcelliana., 2023
Saggio introduttivo a: Christopher R. Cotter, David G. Robertson (a cura di), Oltre le religioni ... more Saggio introduttivo a: Christopher R. Cotter, David G. Robertson (a cura di), Oltre le religioni mondiali: ripensare i Religious Studies, ed. it. a cura di Giovanni Lapis, Brescia, Morcelliana.
Thomas P. Kasulis, Intimità o integrità. Filosofia e differenza culturale, a cura di Giovanni Lapis, Milano-Udine, Mimesis Edizioni, 2015
Saggio introduttivo a: Thomas P. Kasulis, Intimità o integrità. Filosofia e differenza culturale,... more Saggio introduttivo a: Thomas P. Kasulis, Intimità o integrità. Filosofia e differenza culturale, a cura di Giovanni Lapis, Milano-Udine, Mimesis Edizioni
Il mondo che verrà. Immagini dell'oltretomba nelle religioni del mondo, Torino, SEI, 2015
Capitolo in libro. AA. VV., Il mondo che verrà. Immagini dell'oltretomba nelle religioni del mond... more Capitolo in libro. AA. VV., Il mondo che verrà. Immagini dell'oltretomba nelle religioni del mondo, Torino, SEI, pp. 285-306
Avvantaggiandosi della doppia prospettiva di filosofo e nipponista, Thomas P. Kasulis traccia nuo... more Avvantaggiandosi della doppia prospettiva di filosofo e nipponista, Thomas P. Kasulis traccia nuove prospettive euristiche nel campo degli studi interculturali. L’autore identifica due tendenze fondamentali, una verso l”intimità” e una verso l”integrità”, che operano dietro alle differenze culturali che più sembrano stridere tra di loro. Il modo di conoscere il mondo, il modo di porsi nei confronti di persone e cose, la percezione artistica e la concezione della politica; queste e altre direttive che formano il profilo caratteristico di una data cultura (o sottocultura) vengono determinate da una o dall’altra tendenza. Entrambe tuttavia, una volta analizzate, hanno una loro coerenza e razionalità, pur essendo fondamentalmente così diverse nei loro assunti di base. Questo libro offre un nuovo approccio all’intercultura, superando sia l’universalismo che un mero relativismo culturale, in favore di un ri-orientamento verso valori in realtà non estranei, ma semplicemente in secondo piano, permettendo un migliore confronto con contesti culturali diversi.
Il paradigma delle "religioni mondiali" è da tempo oggetto di controversie nel campo dei Religio... more Il paradigma delle "religioni mondiali" è da tempo oggetto di controversie nel campo dei Religious Studies, perché nel suo sforzo normativo, che pone tradizionalmente in rilievo come religioni universali i grandi monoteismi-cristianesimo, ebraismo, islam-seguiti da hinduismo e buddhismo, rischia di essere non inclusivo e riduttivo del fenomeno reale delle religioni, differenziate tra loro storicamente e geograficamente, e nelle loro forme primitive o più recenti. In quest'ottica il volume fornisce elementi per ripensare il modo di concepire e insegnare le religioni, presentando un'ampia gamma di soluzioni innovative rispetto agli schemi tradizionali. I contributi di studiosi internazionali, che illustrano le sfide poste al paradigma delle "religioni mondiali" nei loro diversi contesti scientifici, istituzionali e geografici offrendo specifici suggerimenti bibliografici, rappresentano una prospettiva di ricerca innovativa negli studi di religionistica e nell'approccio all'insegnamento stesso della religione.
CHRISTOPHER R. COTTER è co-editore capo del Religious Studies Project e co-direttore del Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network.
DAVID G. ROBERTSON è co-editore capo del Religious Studies Project e Bulletin Editor per la British Association for the Study of Religion. Insegna Religious Studies alla Open University, Regno Unito.
GIOVANNI LAPIS, curatore di questa edizione italiana, è dottore di ricerca in Studi sull'Asia e l'Africa. Ha svolto attività di ricerca all'Università Ca' Foscari Venezia approfondendo il rapporto tra religioni asiatiche e Religious Education.
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the Journal Scuola Democratica REINVENTING EDUCATION, Roma, ASSOCIAZIONE “PER SCUOLA DEMOCRATICA, 2021
This paper explores the relevance of east Asian religions for the field of Religious Education (R... more This paper explores the relevance of east Asian religions for the field of Religious Education (RE). Critical studies of extra-European, particularly east Asian religions, contributed to the rethinking of the study of religion\s. Similarly, I argue that this topic helps individuating biases and implicit modernist and orientalist discourses also in RE. I focus on two 'challenges' as critical lenses. The first is the inadequacy of the Christian-Protestant paradigm of religion, centered on the inner world of the practitioner and its exclusive religious belonging. The second is the influence of the historical and cultural entanglements between East Asia and the Euro-American regions. Some examples from RE in England and Sweden, two renowned instances of non-confessional RE, are discussed. The last part argues that such challenges can turn into pedagogical opportunities in terms of "competences for democratic culture".
roceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances, HEAd’17, 2017
This paper aims to present JALEA, an innovative web tool for the acquisition of the Japanese lang... more This paper aims to present JALEA, an innovative web tool for the acquisition of the Japanese language dedicated to higher education learners. In particular it highlights the innovative learner-centered approach based on the self-guided discovery of grammar structures and words’ meanings through the combined use of realia (multimedia contents referring to real-life situations in Japan), hyperlinks and interactive features such as pop-up dictionary, character-writing explanations, slow-motion option in video examples, etc. Moreover, it illustrates the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) characteristics of this web tool, permitting on the one hand the smooth working of the application on several platforms (pc, tablet and smartphone); on the other, its sustainability and maintainability thanks to the implementation of a layer accessible to maintainers (backend) with several automatization features that facilitate the addition of more contents, also by personnel with low ICT k...
In the recent decades, the scholarship on religious education (RE) from a study-of-religion/s (So... more In the recent decades, the scholarship on religious education (RE) from a study-of-religion/s (SoR) point of view has been developing. Outside descriptive-analytical research on how religions are engaged in education, it also produced theoretical-normative studies on principles and methods for teaching about religions in school from a SoR perspective.
A common thread in both types of research are the critique and the overcoming of modern/Protestant-based understanding of religion and related categories. This panel, organized by the EASR working group on Religion in Public Education, aims at further deepen such (self-)deconstruction of eurocentrism by crossing borders and drawing upon “out of Europe” particularities and challenges. Inputs may be comparative (e.g., how SoR scholars of South Africa or Japan engage RE issues?); epistemological (e.g., how do we conceptualize religious affiliation in China?); content-related (e.g., how to narrate Christianity in a non-eurocentric fashion?); educative (e.g., which educational values can be universally upheld in RE? How about particular contexts?)
The panel invites contributions from area studies concerning both RE or general religious topics relevant to SoR-based RE. Scholars from extra-European regions are particularly welcome to share their research and reflections on RE and SoR-based RE. We encourage both RE scholars and practitioners who developed theoretical and practical approaches to overcome eurocentrism to present their insights. Finally, we also invite broad reflections on the relevance, for SoR-based RE, of the global fluxes of people and religious ideas in connection with other global dynamics of economic/political/ideological nature.