Editorial Address & Advisory Board

Abstract

The first issue of volume five of the Journal of the Council for Research on Religion (JCREOR) is a call by the editors to examine and understand social cohesions and conflicts, with particular interest in what role religion or religious traditions play within communities of diverse peoples. We sought first to understand how tension points arise within communities, and second, to examine the role played by religion in creating or appeasing these tension points. This issue is thus dedicated to probing, not only the tensions that arise within religiously diverse communities but the solutions that are developed in response to criticism or conflict.

The studies in this issue address: the fractures that have been created in the Orthodox world by the Russian Orthodox Church’s support for the ongoing war in Ukraine; the tensions between liberal and traditional standpoints when discussing the Vedāntic tradition and the philosophy of the Upanishads; the tension and cohesion created by how different Turkish faith communities have been negotiating their role in the preservation of Ottoman architectural heritage; and, finally, how attempts at creating social cohesion in the Southern state of Karnataka have led to tensions between Muslim and Hindu communities.