Perspectives on 2021

Below, you will find the articles published in the book Perspectives on 2021. Each individual article contains all sources and several related articles. Enjoy reading!

Society

Religious appropriation: The right to be offended?	How mindfulness was reinvented by removing its Buddhist roots	Why is a fast celebrated in a secular society?	Is it legitimate to wear religious symbols in the workplace?	Poland – an example of delayed secularisation?
The Christian symbolism in The Lord of the Rings	Does Christianity need poetry?	House of One: What is driving Europe’s newest interfaith project?	Are ‘holidays’ more inclusive than ‘Christmas’?

COVID-19

Insights from the dashboard: Leadership and COVID-19	Communion during confinement	Long-term impact: COVID-19 and the British Jewish community	Coronavirus crisis affects church membership	Coronavirus and the transhuman future
The Vatican’s complex history with vaccines	Building confidence in the vaccine amongst British Muslims	COVID-19 and freedom of religion	The problematic use of the Star of David for protest in the COVID era	Faith-based food assistance in times of the pandemic

Education

Austrian education on religion in a transformation process	Islam and the educational gender gap in Europe	Ancient structures under fire in Belgian education	Christianity and controversies in Norwegian education	Balanced religious education at Portuguese public schools
From state atheism to religious education	Dutch Religious Education: A fine line?	Coping with diversity in Religious Education in Germany	A secular teaching of religious facts	Insights from the dashboard: Education across Europe
The commercialisation of knowledge: Challenges and opportunities

Sustainability

Preaching to save the earth

Reformed churches versus the climate crisis

World religions calling for climate action at COP26

Insights from the dashboard: What are religious leaders doing about sustainability?

Politics

The far-right on the rise in Romania	The power of papal trips	Should churches be involved in politics?	The Hill We Climb: A prayer for unity sowing division?	What are the religious roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Should Biden be given the Eucharist?	Are church and state really separated? The cases of Italy and Sweden	France: Fighting Muslims or Islamist separatism?	A harmonious relationship? Angela Merkel and the German Jewish community

Wellbeing

Does religion make you happy?

Spirituality as a tool to battle mental illness

Leaving religion behind

Inquiries into past abuses in the Catholic Church

Breaking the silence: Awareness of spiritual abuse in UK religious communities

Inclusivity

Is there room for Jews and Muslims in Europe?	How empowering can theology be? Europe and Black theology	Inclusion on whose terms? The Church of Sweden and the Roma minority in Sweden	Cancel culture: An introduction	Tolerance and reluctance: Afghanistan and the Catholic Church
Do religions objectify people with disabilities?	The LGBTQ+ community: Loved or unaccepted by evangelical churches?	The Vatican on gay marriage	Data from the dashboard shows inequality across Europe

Normativity

The rule of Croatian nationalism and Roman Catholicism

Normativity and Catholicism in a changing Irish landscape

Political correctness in Italy

Awareness of normativity as a tool for dialogue

Navigating religious freedoms within a secularising society

Digitalisation

Can AI replicate religious leaders and rituals?

AI and privacy in Europe

New tech, politics, and old religion: What is the future of technology in religion?

Swipe right for a wife: The curious phenomenon of Christian dating websites

Gokuism: The anime religion