Vol. 5 No. 1 (2024): Religious Tensions & Religious Cohesions

The first issue of volume five of the Journal of the Council for Research on Religion (JCREOR) deals with social cohesions and conflicts, with particular attention paid to the role religion/religious traditions play within communities of diverse peoples. The issue is dedicated, not only to probing the tensions that arise within religiously diverse communities, but also the solutions these communities have developed in response.

The first article, by David K. Goodin, is a third installment in his ongoing exploration into the tensions created within the Russian Orthodox Church in light of the current war in Ukraine. The second article, by Rajan, discusses the tensions that have arisen between liberal and traditional standpoints vis-a-vis the Vedāntic tradition and the philosophy of the Upanishads. The penultimate article, by Fawaz Abdul Salam, examines the tensions surrounding Istanbul’s Ottoman architectural heritage, and explores how Turkish faith communities are negotiating their role in the preservation of such heritage. Through a case study on the Belur Math in West Bengal, the final article by Tara Conners highlights how central government infrastructure programs in India are creating tensions and cohesions between politics and religion.