by Michael S. Hahn The cult of saints was one of the most prominent and significant forms of worship and devotion in the late-antique and medieval periods. However, in the last forty years, there has been a shift in scholarly opinion as to how this movement began and developed, and its place in late-antique society. […]
Category: Convocamus
Convocamus is the name we gave to our pieces that stand at the crossroads of Theology, Academia, Culture, and Politics. They include explanations, opinions, reviews, and theopoetic dives into art and culture. We hope to offer readers insight into the various ways that Theology shapes the world around us.
An Essay on Personal Religious Conviction and Political Duty
by Stephanie Redfern Jones A few nights ago, I watched an episode of the popular BBC television quiz programme, Mastermind, and although it featured notable celebrities, I was surprised to see Tim Farron. The ex-Liberal Democrat party leader resigned in June 2017 over what he said was clash between his personal Christian convictions and political […]
Does it Matter Where our Christmas Traditions Came From? – Towards a Positive Genealogy of Christmas.
by Chris Lynch Amidst the rituals and tropes associated with celebrating Christmas, thinkers and commentators occasionally intervene to highlight how Christmas as practised in 2017 Britain is in some important respects culturally specific, politically problematic, and not as straightforwardly wrapped up with ‘authentic’ Christianity as commonly assumed. Motivating these interventions seems to be the thought […]
Colorado Cake: Is ‘Religion’ driving Legal Discrimination? Not so fast
by Theo Poward You may be vaguely familiar with the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case which is currently pending before the US Supreme Court. In July 2012, same-sex couple Charlie Craig and David Mullins from Colorado visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in Denver to order a custom wedding cake for a celebration of their marriage. Masterpiece’s owner […]
The life and theology of Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy
by Alex Taylor ‘How can it be that God can reign in glory, / Calmly content with what His Love had done, / Reading unmoved the piteous shameful story, / All the vile deeds men do beneath the sun? Are there no tears in the heart of the Eternal? / Is there no pain to […]
Secularism: Contemporary Pleas for Complexity
by Chris Lynch Over the last few months, several thoughtful and conceptually rigorous books have been released exploring the topic of secularism. Two that stand out for their critical acclaim but also for their scholarly style are: Andrew Copson’s Secularism: Politics, Religion, and Freedom; and Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination (a point-counterpoint text written by […]
A Pyrrhic Victory of the Politics of Tolerance?
by Frederik Seidelin On Tuesday, people in Denmark went to the polls to elect local councillors for the next four years. The campaigning period saw right-wing populists opposing building permits for mosques, opposing Muslim women wearing headscarves in the health sector, and similar religion-related value politics that we have, sadly, come to expect in Western […]
When Monks Take a Break
by Raymond Pagnuccio From sunrise to sunset the life of a Buddhist monk is fairly routine no matter where in the world they may be. For most monks in Myanmar, their daily routine is pretty mundane. A typical day unusually begins around 4:30 in the morning with prayers followed by chores, breakfast and more prayers. […]