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This book focuses on the value and necessity of modern sociology to Pope Francis’s church reform project known as the Synod on Synodality. It explores the behavioral and research aspects of this latest synod, applying sociological perspectives and methods and drawing on secondary literature, media reports, and church documents. The author argues that sociology is crucial for translating the major theological concepts into behavioral and research indicators to empirically ground the overall theological framework of the synod as an ecclesial innovation rather than a revolution in the Catholic Church. The importance of sociological research methodology is emphasized to guide the synod’s complex and multi-stage qualitative data collection, which seeks to understand the synodal concerns of all Catholics in today’s world. The book addresses the need for scientific approaches to church reforms and for a nuanced complementarity between sociology and theology. It will be of particular interest to scholars of theology, religion, and sociology, as well as those actively involved in the workings of the Catholic Church.
Applying sociological theories, this book argues that the Catholic Church's adoption of mandatory clerical celibacy has resulted in various negative consequences, including weak social control against clerical sexual abuse, and so advocates a new model of clerical formation.
This book looks at how the multiplicity of formal and informal normative systems that actualize the post-disaster recovery goals of the country’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 has resulted in the inadequate housing and relocation of Typhoon Ketsana victims in the Philippines. Using the sociological and normative pluralist perspectives and the case study method, it evaluates the level of conformity of the components of the housing project according to international conventions and legal standards. It highlights the negative unintended consequences caused by the complex normative regimes of various competing stakeholders, rigid real estate regulation, and the unscrupulou...
This book introduces Catholic social teaching (CST) and its teaching on the common good to the reader and applies them in the realm of public health to critically analyze the major global issues of COVID-19 that undermine public interest. It uses the sociotheological approach that combines the moral principles of CST and the holistic analysis of modern sociology and also utilizes the secondary literature as the main source of textual data. Specifically, it investigates the corporate moral irresponsibility and some unethical business practices of Big Pharma in the sale and distribution of its anti-COVID vaccines and medicines, the injustice in the inequitable global vaccine distribution, t...
This volume brings into conversation two major moral traditions in the social sciences and humanities that offer common areas for understanding, interpreting, and transforming the world. Over the last decade, moral theologians who work on issues of poverty, social justice, human rights, and political institutions have been finding inspiration in the capability approach (CA). Conversely, social scientists who have been working on issues of poverty and social justice from a CA perspective have been finding elements in the Catholic social tradition (CST) to overcome some of the limitations of the CA, such as its vagueness regarding what counts as a valuable human life and its strong individual ...
This book shows the results of research in different countries on how to measure digital competence among future generations of teachers and facing the challenges brought by the convergence of analogue and digital media. This book provides answers to the research questions: How should the key competencies related to media pedagogy be effectively measured and compared? What is the level of digital literacy of pre-service teachers in selected countries? The individual chapters are based on a systematic review of research results (from the last two decades) to show trends related to changes in measurement and levels of digital competence. This book is valuable for researchers training future generations of teachers in the use of new media as well as to those trying to measure the development of the information society, as well as those conducting research in the field of comparative pedagogy (including the transfer of the most effective solutions in the field of media pedagogy).
This book is part of a six-volume series on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience. The series aims to fill in gaps in theory and practice in the Sendai Framework and provides additional resources, methodologies, and communication strategies to enhance the plan for action and targets proposed by the Sendai Framework. The series will appeal to a broad range of researchers, academics, students, policy makers, and practitioners in engineering, environmental science, geography, geoscience, emergency management, finance, community adaptation, atmospheric science and information technology. This volume provides a holistic approach to developing disaster risk reduction strategies and policies, expl...
To better understand the heterogeneity of the international online intermediary liability regime, The Oxford Handbook of Intermediary Liability Online is designed to provide a comprehensive, authoritative and 'state-of-the-art' discussion of by highlighting emerging trends. This book discusses fundamental legal issues in intermediary liability online, while also describing advancement in intermediary liability theory and identifying recent policy trends. Sections I and II provide a taxonomy of internet platforms, a general discussion of possible basis for liability and remedies, while putting into context intermediary liability regulation with fundamental rights and the ethical implications ...
This book offers an in-depth, archive-based analysis of “scientific atheism”, focused on the development of the field in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Scientific atheism was established as a Soviet import in 1963 at Jena University, with a presence in East German universities, propaganda and politics for nearly 30 years. The chapters explore the sociological work done by scientific atheists such as Olof Klohr, how they defined religion and atheism, and their role as actors of atheisation in various fields. As well as reflecting on the specific religious and political context in East Germany, the author makes comparison with other communist-ruled countries. Drawing on extensive and unique documentation, this book will be of interest to scholars of atheism and secularism, religion and politics, religious history, German history and East European studies.