Starting from conception till death, man as a being relates with others. In this relationship he often encounters lots of problems that threaten his existence. One of them is the threat to his dignity. This experience is vivid in many countries particularly in Africa. But my work is limited to an ethnic group in Nigeria, namely Igbo people. The work discloses the extent 'displacement of value' in Igboland has contributed to the devaluation of human dignity and the attempts made to combat it. This displacement resulted in what we can call "value crisis". Some elements, like Igbo culture and cultural communication with foreign cultures that have tentacles in modernized orientation, are discussed as 'transmission carriers'. In order to x-ray properly the heart of this research and communicate the necessary messages, the work is presented in six chapters. However, this summary will not be presented in chapters. Thus the need for a research on the reason for the failings and crisis of approach regarding this aspect of Igbo life that deals with the value of human dignity. This comes to term with the question which asked has the interest in the enhancement of the dignity of man waned because the effort towards this goal seem futile and unnecessary…Or is human dignity something we care about but take for granted as a cultural inheritance that no longer needs defence?” This question arouses thoughts on the value of HD. The entire work tried to justify the view that the protection of HD is for all times a true assignment of all. This must neither be considered to be relevant only for a time nor only for a portion or a group of individuals. Thus a special attention on this regard is demanded especially in modern day Igbo society. / Von der Zeugung bis zum Tod ist der Mensch ein Wesen in Beziehung zu anderen. Unabhängig davon hat der Mensch ein Problem damit, die Würde des anderen wahr werden zulassen. Daher die Notwendigkeit einer Forschung bezüglich der Annäherungskrise in der Richtung eines Igbo Lebens, das sich mit dem Wert der menschlichen Würde beschäftigt. Das steht im Zusammenhang mit der Frage: Ist die Sorge um die menschliche Würde etwas, womit man sich mal beschäftigt hat, heute aber nicht mehr, weil die Mühe umsonst zu sein scheint, oder ist diese menschliche Würde etwas wichtiges, aber auch als selbstverständliches Kulturerbe, das keiner Verteidigung mehr bedarf? Diese Frage setzt Gedanken hinsichtlich der menschlichen Würde in Bewegung. Das Projekt berechtigt die Annahme, dass die Verteidigung des Werts der menschlichen Würde eine gemeinsame Aufgabe ist. Dabei sollte es nicht als für eine gewisse Zeit relevant angesehen werden, noch für eine bestimmte Gruppierung. Das bedarf einer gewissen Aufmerksamkeit in der modernen Gesellschaft der Igbo.

Unter der Fragestellung nach dem Umgang mit Macht in der jungen Kirche werden relevante Stellen aus der Apostelgeschichte (Apg) analysiert: die Übertragung von Macht durch die Wahl der Sieben (Apg 6,1-7); die ermaechtigende Beauftragung von Barnabas und Saulus (Apg 13,1-3); die gemeinsame Wahrnehmung von Macht durch die Jerusalemer Versammlung (Apg 15,1-41); schliesslich das Vermaechtnis des Paulus in der Miletrede (Apg 20,17-38). Synchrone Methoden (angelehnt an die narrativen Analysemethoden von G. Genette und S. Rimmon-Kenan) und die klassische historische Kritik ergaenzen sich dabei. Seitenblicke zeigen die Analogien zwischen dem Leben der christlichen Gemeinden und anderen Organisationen (bspw. Vereine, juedische Diasporasynagoge) in ihrem zeitgenoessischen Umfeld, die Lukas besonders betont. Mit Hilfe der Macht-Theorie von H. Arendt werden die Ergebnisse aus der Apg als Zeugnis für das Bewusstsein einer gemeinsamen Macht aller im Volk Gottes interpretiert, die in demokratischen Formen ihren Ausdruck fand. Auf der Basis der grundlegenden Christenrechte - Freiheit, Gleichheit und Geschwisterlichkeit -, wie sie das NT bezeugt, werden schliesslich Grundzüge einer demokratischen Reform der katholischen Kirche erarbeitet. / Under the question, how the early christian church dealt with power, relevant passages from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts) are exegetically analysed in this thesis: the transfer of power within the election of the Hellenistic Seven (Act 6:1-7); the empowering commission of Barnabas and Saul by the Antiochian christian community (Act 13:1-3); the common practising of power in the Jerusalem assembly (Act 15:1-41); finally the last will of Paul, given in his farewell address at Milet (Act 20:17-38). In doing so, synchronous methods (following the narrative analysing-methods of G. Genette and S. Rimmon-Kenan) and the classic instruments of the historical criticism complete one another. Some Sideglances are able to point out the analogies - especially emphasized by Luke - between the life of the early christian communities and other organisations in their contemporary environment (e.g. associations or the Jewish synagogue). Following the theory of power, given by H. Arendt, the results from the analysis of Acts are interpreted as a testimony for the consciousness of the common power of all members in the people of God, which is expressed in democratical forms of organizing. Based upon the fundamental rights of all christians - freedom, equality an brotherhood -, as the New Testament proofs them, basics for a democratic reform of the catholic church are finally presented.

The tendency towards the exploitation of the resources of creation is the result of a long historical and cultural process. The modern African Communities have witnessed man’s growing capacity for environmental transformative intervention. The aspect of the conquest and exploitation of resources in rural communities such as in the Niger Delta of Nigeria has become predominant and invasive, and has even reached the point of threatening the environment’s hospitable function: the environment only as resource risks threatening the environment as home. In this respect, the ethical judgement of the social realities on ground is very decisive. And this is the very important aspect where the Catholic Social Ethics has a role to play. Because of the environmental crisis in this region through technological advancement, there is urgent need for a balance through the introduction of the model of a sustainable development. The socio-ethical model of sustainability in this work is a framework so constructed that women, men, families and communities in the Niger Delta are to be the agents which determine what their developmental strategies are. Although their developmental opportunities and decisions are sometimes constrained by various factors, it remains the fact that they alone bear responsibility for their environment and must live with the consequences. So if sustainable development in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is to extend beyond narrow technical understanding, it must one that generally seek to embrace the cultural and social systems of the people. This will go a long way in reducing dependency and increase self-empowerment and will place more value on what the people understand and practice. Bede Chinedum Nwadinobi, a native of Alike Obowo in Imo State (Nigeria), is a Catholic Priest of Okigwe Diocese (Nigeria). He studied Philosophy and Theology at St. Joseph Major Seminary Ikot-Ekpene. He also worked as a Vice-Principal of Queen of Apostles College Okigwe (Nigeria). At the University of Würzburg (Germany), he earned his doctorate in Catholic Theology specializing in Catholic Social Science. / Umweltprobleme und nachhaltige Entwicklung (eine Studie des Niger Delta Region von Nigeria)

Work is seen by many thinkers as the fundamental dimension of man`s existence on earth. Through work, he provides his basic necessities on earth and co-operate with God in the work of creation. He received this mandate to work from the very beginning of creation by God. In carrying out this mandate, man every human being reflects the very action of the creator of the Universe. God worked and intended that man who is created in His image and likeness continues the work of creation by working. Even though Man suffers and sweats through work and yet, in spite of all this toil-perhaps in a sense because of it – work is a good thing for man. It is not only good in the sense that it is useful or something to enjoy; it is also good as being something worthy, that is to say something that corresponds to man's dignity that expresses this dignity and increases it. This project examines man as a creature called to work and born into work. It is true that through work, man provides himself and his family with the basic necessities of life and everyday needs for the reason he charges wages for his sweat. Work goes beyond and should exceed the boundaries of the material benefit that comes out of it to the satisfaction and fulfilment for the very purpose we should work. The modern society has attached so much importance to money and material possession, the question then is how do we go along working in the spirit of improvement and renewal of the earth? The modern man understands work only as a means of making his daily bread. For this reason, he engages himself in an occupation that he has little or no interest in. He ends up quarrelling everyday with the people that he or she is supposed to serve through work. The result is low work output and waste of talents and the society loses an opportunity for improvement as every creature is supposed to contribute uniquely. A good example is Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with a population estimate of about over 170,000,000 people and the sixth Oil producing Nation. / Diese Dissertation betrachet den Mensch als eine Kreatur, die zur Arbeit berufen und in die Arbeit hineingeboren ist. Es ist wahr, dass man durch die Arbeit sich um die Grundbedürfnissen dieses Lebens und um die täglichen Bedarf für selbst und die Familie sorgt, aus diesem Grund verlangt er Lohn für seine Arbeit. Wir alle wissen, wie wichtig das Geld für die Gestaltung des Lebens ist. Allerdings bin ich der Meinung, dass der Grund für die Arbeit die Grenze vom Lohn und vom materiellen Nutzen übersteigen sollte. Vielmehr sollte es bei der Arbeit um die Erfüllung und die Zufriedenheit gehen. In der modernen Gesellschaft, in der viel Wert aufs Geld und auf materiellen Besitz gelegt wird, ist es unbedingt notwendig, sich darüber Gedanken zu machen, wie ernst es den Menschen mit dem Auftrag Gottes die Erde zu erneuern und die Welt zu verbessern ist. Der moderne Mensch versteht den Grund für die Arbeit nur als ein Mittel um das tägliche Brot zu zu erarbeiten. Deshalb sucht er manchmal einen Beruf, für den er keine Interesse hat und am Ende ist er weder mit sich noch mit den anderen die ihre Leistung brauchen zufrieden. Diese Situation raubt der Gesellschaft die Gelegenheit einer Entwicklung, da jeder Mensch etwas dazu beitragen sollte. Ein gutes Beispiel ist Nigeria mit etwa 170.000.000 Einwohnern, dass sehr reich an Mineralöl ist.

This dissertation presents a comprehensive exploration of the bamboo branch song (zhuzhici 竹枝詞), a classical Chinese poetry genre. One of the defining features of the bamboo branch song genre is its emphasis on all aspects of local culture. As a result, these poems typically have a specific focus on a particular place. This dissertation takes the bamboo branch songs of Shandong Province as its primary subject. The dissertation is divided into two parts. The first section focuses on a cultural study of the bamboo branch song genre. By examining the genre, this dissertation concludes that the bamboo branch song is a genre of vernacular poetry in imperial China. The language has a vernacular style, and the content has a clear focus on local affairs. The subsequent section delves into the Bamboo Branch Songs of Shandong Province, with almost 2,000 poems collected from different sources. From everyday routines to customs, travel culture, and historical episodes, the poems cover a wide range of topics, offering a detailed glimpse into the various facets of the region's society. Women play a significant role in the poems about social life in Bamboo Branch Songs of Shandong Province. They were often the central figures in the ceremonies of festivals, and their behaviour was given special attention. The bamboo branch song genre has an internal character as a form of travel writing. The poems were usually written by authors who had made observations on their journeys. This dissertation delves into the travel culture of the capital Ji'nan, through the lens of bamboo branch songs, providing valuable insights into the region. Another common motif of bamboo branch songs is history. Some nostalgic poems deal with local historical sites, events, legends and personalities. This dissertation finds that these poems contain unique historical information with a microcosmic and individual perspective. / In dieser Dissertation wird eine Untersuchung der klassischen chinesischen Gedichtgattung des Bambuszweig-Lieds (zhuzhici 竹枝詞) vorgelegt. Eines der charakteristischen Merkmale der Gattung ist die Betonung der lokalen Kultur. Folglich haben diese Gedichte in der Regel einen spezifischen Fokus auf einen bestimmten Ort. Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit den Bambuszweig-Liedern der Provinz Shandong und gliedert sich in zwei Teile: Der erste Teil konzentriert sich auf eine kulturelle Untersuchung des Genres, die zu dem Schluss führt, dass das Bambuszweig-Lied ein Genre der volkstümlichen Poesie im kaiserlichen China ist. Seine Sprache hat einen volkstümlichen Stil, und der Inhalt ist eindeutig auf lokale Angelegenheiten ausgerichtet. Der zweite Abschnitt befasst sich mit den Bambuszweig-Liedern der Provinz Shandong, wo fast 2.000 Gedichte aus verschiedenen Quellen gesammelt wurden. Von alltäglichen Abläufen bis zu Bräuchen, Reisekultur und historischen Episoden decken die Gedichte ein breites Themenspektrum ab und bieten einen detaillierten Einblick in die verschiedenen Facetten der Gesellschaft der Region. Frauen spielen in den Gedichten über das gesellschaftliche Leben in den Bambuszweig-Liedern der Provinz Shandong eine wichtige Rolle. Sie waren oft die zentralen Figuren in Feierlichkeiten, und ihrem Verhalten wurde besondere Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt. Die Gedichte wurden in der Regel von Autoren verfasst, die auf ihren Reisen Beobachtungen gemacht hatten. In dieser Dissertation wird die Reisekultur der Hauptstadt Ji'nan durch die Bambuszweig-Lieder beleuchtet, was wertvolle Einblicke in die Region ermöglicht. Ein weiteres gemeinsames Motiv der Bambuszweig-Lieder ist Geschichte. Einige nostalgische Gedichte befassen sich mit lokalen historischen Stätten, Ereignissen, Legenden und Persönlichkeiten. In dieser Dissertation wird festgestellt, dass diese Gedichte einzigartige historische Informationen mit einer mikrokosmischen und individuellen Perspektive enthalten.

In this paper, we show how this plural legal landscape is negotiated by litigants, especially women, and thereby illustrate the procedural interplay between civil and religious courts through this adjudication process. The ethnography of adjudication at the Darul-Qaza situated in a large Muslim neighbourhood in Kanpur and the institution’s intersections with the societal (We mean the tribunals that function at the neighbourhood or community level) secular courts show how Muslim personal law functions. In this paper, we identify both the links between the Darul-Qaza and civil courts, and the processes of evidence making and legal reasoning that are integral to this interlegality. We argue that the issue of personal law should be understood within the post-colonial legal structure of India and with a good understanding of the processes through which disputes in the delicate area of family, affect and kinship are addressed and resolved. The above case shows how resolution occurs in a family dispute when plural institutional mechanisms are at work. This paper explores the adjudication process at a Darul-Qaza to understand how religion-based family laws get constituted as litigants seek both religious counsel and civil authority.

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Diese Schriftenreihe dokumentiert die Forschungsergebnisse des Humanities Centre for Advanced Studies 'Multiple Secularities - Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities' (Kolleg-Forschergruppe KFG).

For the last few decades, sociological debates about religion and secularisation have been characterised by confrontation between (often American) critics and (mostly European) defenders of secularisation theories. There has also been a remarkable rise in academic and public debates about the role of secularism in political regimes and in national as well as civilisational frameworks. These debates are shaped by the context of the changing position of the West in world politics, Islamist terror and the war on terror, struggles of religious minorities for recognition and influence, and the concomitant negotiations over the place of religion in the public sphere, as well as the emergence of post-national citizenship. Contributions from political theory, social anthropology and religious studies that emerged from this context have enriched the debate, but also contributed to fragmenting existing theories on the relationship between religion and modernity. Whereas scholars previously aimed to develop ‘general theories’ of secularisation that included deviations from the general model, newer approaches tend to highlight the specificity of Western European developments as opposed to those in the rest of the world, and sometimes even highlight their incomparability.

The project seeks to explore the boundaries that distinguish between the religious and non-religious, in modern as well as pre-modern societies. In doing so, we are aligning ourselves with current debates but we are approaching the debated issues from a basic theoretical perspective. At present, a general distinction can be drawn between three narratives: The first claims the dwindling presence and relevance of religion (“secularisation”); the second regards religion to be returning globally, consequently irritating the self-perception of modern societies (“return of religions”, “post-secular society”). According to the third, religion has always been present and has simply changed shape, meaning secularisation assumptions are misleading (“invisible religion”). There is also a theoretical-methodological conflict to be taken into consideration. Where the secularisation hypothesis considers its theories and methods to be universally applicable, the critics of this theory not only increasingly challenge the transferability of Western development paths, but also the transferability of the concepts used. This applies right down to the challenge of the religious/secular dual, which is understood to be an expression of Western experience and power of interpretation that forces other cultures into Western schematisations. In contrast, we are formulating an alternative position, in which we are trying to explore the boundaries between the religious and non-religious beyond normative concepts. We are particularly seeking such boundaries in regions that differ greatly from the so-called “West” in the “Modern World” in terms of culture and history: In various Asian regions and – partly overlapping with these – in the so-called “Islamic World”, but also in different epochs. This is linked to a plea for comparability across multifaceted regions and cultural contexts, and for investigating their entangled history.