Church leaders and their contrasting opinions in theface of the Great WarCardinal Désiré-JosephMercier, Archbishop of Malines, was the incarnation of the Belgian resistanceagainst the German occupation during the First World War. With his famous pastoralletter of Christmas 1914 'Patriotisme et Endurance' he reached a wide audience,and gained international influence and respect.Mercier's distinct patriotic stance clearly determined his views ofnational politics, especially of the 'Flemish question', and his conflict withthe German occupier made him a hero of the Allies. The Germans did not alwaysknow how to handle this influential man of the Church. Pope Benedict XV did notalways approve of the course of action adopted by the Belgian prelate. Whereas Mercierjustified the war effort as a just cause in view of the restoration ofBelgium's independence, the Pope feared that "this useless massacre"meant nothing but the "suicide of civilized Europe".Through a criticalanalysis of the policies of Cardinal Mercier and Pope Benedict XV, this book shedsrevealing light on the contrasting positions of Church leaders in the face ofthe Great War.This publication isGPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

A comprehensive history of the interaction between religion and colonization Religion in today's Democratic Republic of Congo has many faces: from the overflowing seminaries, the Marian shrines of the Catholic Church, the Islamic brotherhoods and the Jewish community of Lubumbashi, to the 'African' churches of the Congolese diaspora in Brussels and Paris, the healers of Kimbanguism, the televangelism of the booming Pentecostalist churches in the great cities, the Orthodox communities of Kasai and the 'invisible' Mai Mai warriors in the brousse of Kivu. During the colonial period religion was no less central to people's lives than it is today. More surprisingly, behind the seemingly smooth facade of missions linked closely to imperial power, also then faith and worship were marked by diversity and dynamism, tying the Congo into broader African and global movements. The contributions in this book provide insight into the multifaceted history of the interaction between religion and colonization. The authors focus on the institutional (including legal) political framework, examine the complex interaction between indigenous and 'imported' non-African religious beliefs and practices, and zoom in on the part religions played in the independence movement, as well as on their reaction to independence itself.Contributors: Piet Clement (Bank of International Settlements), Bram Cleys (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Anne Cornet (Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren) Marie Dunkerley (Exeter University), Zana Aziza Etambala (Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren), Anne-Sophie Gijs (Université Catholique de Louvain), Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo (University of Coimbra), Emery Kalema Masua (University of the Witwatersrand), Sindani E. Kiangu (Université de Kinshasa), Elisabeth Mudimbe-Boyi (Stanford University) Dominic Pistor (Simon Fraser University), Jean-Luc Vellut (Université Catholique de Louvain), Vincent Viaene

Sacredarchitecture as reality and metaphor in secularised Western societyChristian monasteriesand convents, built throughout Europe for the best part of 1,500 years, are nowat a crossroads. This study attempts to understand the sacred architecture ofmonasteries as a process of the tangible and symbolic organisation of space andtime for religious communities. Despite the weight of seemingly immutablemonastic tradition, architecture has contributed to developing specificreligious identities and played a fundamental part in the reformation ofdifferent forms of religious life according to the changing needs of society.The cloister is the focal point of this book because it is both architecture, aphysically built reality, and a metaphor for the religious life that takesplace within it. Life Inside the Cloisteralso addresses the afterlife and heritagisation of monastic architecture insecularised Western society.