African American and Dalit Interpretations of the Bible: A Way of Socio-Political Innovation
Traditionally speaking, the combination of religion and innovation - or religio et novitas - is very problematic. The aim of this paper is to show biblical interpretation as a possible tool for «social innovation», or rather in situations where a change in social practices derives from a radical cha...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | Italian |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2018
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| In: |
Annali di studi religiosi
Year: 2018, Volume: 19, Pages: 73-93 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Traditionally speaking, the combination of religion and innovation - or religio et novitas - is very problematic. The aim of this paper is to show biblical interpretation as a possible tool for «social innovation», or rather in situations where a change in social practices derives from a radical change in mentality and in the values to which it gives rise. The possibility of Biblical interpretation having an effect on society bears on two kinds of question: on the one hand, regarding the contents of the Biblical nar-rative; on the other hand, religious images have the power to effect a transformation of values that promote social change. To show this, the paper analyses the role of the interpretation of Gen 9:20-27 in the origin of racism with regard to African-Americans in North America and to Dalits in India. As we will see, it is not the narrative content of the Biblical text that authorizes a line of interpretation, but rather the readers are the ones who attribute a meaning to the text because of perceived needs in their situations, which are extraneous to the biblical text. |
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| ISSN: | 2284-3892 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Annali di studi religiosi
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.14598/ANNALI_STUDI_RELIG_19201806 |