ISSN 0967-8948 +> +++> +++++> +++++++> +++++> D I S K U S +++> +> The on-disk journal of international Religious Studies Vol. 2 No. 1 Spring 1994 If you know how to use DISKUS, please go to CONTENTS/2#1. If you are new to DISKUS, please read on... ===========================================================* HELP FOR READERS OF DISKUS Welcome to Vol.2, no.1 of DISKUS. We hope you enjoy it. You can print out the contents of DISKUS or read DISKUS on-screen. If you haven't already looked at the file called !WHAT_TO.DO, please read that file before proceeding any further. It may save you a lot of time! In a conventional printed journal, page numbers are used to find items. There are no page numbers in DISKUS. Instead, each item in DISKUS - an article, an announcement, etc. - is given a simple code to help you find it immediately using your wordprocessor's 'FIND' or 'SEARCH' function. 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Contents of Vol. 2 No. 1 EDITORIAL.............................................EDIT/2#1 ARTICLES .............................ARTICLES/2#1 Fiona BOWIE 'Hildegard of Bingen and Medieval Women's Sexuality'..........................................BOWIE/2#1 Marion BOWMAN 'Islam, Adat and Multiculturalism in Malaysia'....BOWMAN//2#1 Peter McKENZIE 'Otto, Wach and Heiler: Towards a Systematic Phenomenology of Religion'........................McKENZIE/2#1 Lia POP 'Religion in a Romanian Town: Values and "Interethnicity" in Oradea'............................POP/2#1 Klaus-Dieter STOLL 'Pay Now, Pray Later - Part 2: The Electronic Church in the United Kingdom.......STOLL_2_/2#1 ANNOUNCEMENTS: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please send notices and news for inclusion in the next issue of DISKUS by 1 September 1994 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Conferences: NEW AGE & CONTEMPORARY RELIGIONS IN THE BRITISH ISLES - Bath, 14 May 1994...............................NEW AGE/2#1 16th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (ASRSA) University of Namibia, 27-29 June 1994...............ASRSA/2#1 PAGANISM IN MODERN BRITAIN Newcastle University, 12-14 September 1994...........PAGAN/2#1 BASR Annual Conference - Bristol, 26-29 September 1994....................BASR94/2#1 IABS CONGRESS IN MEXICO............................IABSMEX/2#1 11th Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Mexico City, 24-28 October 1994. ELECTRONIC MEDIA AND RELIGIONS CONFERENCE St Martin's College, Lancaster, 3-6 April 1995...ELMAR/2#1 Publications RELIGION TODAY....................................RELTODAY/2#1 'NEW AGE' SPECIAL ISSUE OF RELIGION TODAY.............RTNA/2#1 BASR OCCASIONAL PAPERS................................BOPS/2#1 STUDIES IN CENTRAL & EAST ASIAN RELIGIONS............SCEAR/2#1 Other Information Sources BASR (British Association for the Study of Religions)......BASR/2#1 INFORM..............................................INFORM/2#1 GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS..........................GUIDE/2#1 DISKUS ADDRESSES AND INFORMATION......................INFO/2#1 ===========================================================* Editorial Welcome to the third issue of DISKUS, which contains papers by five authors as well as a number of conference announcements and other information that should be of interest to DISKUS readers. The papers are apparently diverse, ranging from Rudolf Otto and Aidilfitr to medieval sexuality, Romanian interethnicity and Virtual Reality. In fact, such diversity or 'proliferation' in the subject-matter of the study of religions is one of the very issues confronted by Peter McKenzie in his stimulating discussion of 'Otto, Wach and Heiler ...'. McKenzie's paper is an exceptionally clear, wise and substantial contribution to understanding what is meant by the phenomenological study of religion. Even allowing for proliferation, an article on medieval women's sexuality might seem out of place in DISKUS, a journal which claims to focus on contemporary religions, but Fiona Bowie's paper addresses thoroughly contemporary issues in her exploration of influential and enduring male medieval theological attitudes towards, and gynaecological theories about, women, contrasting these with the affirmation of a very different image of the female in Christianity presented by Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard herself appeared (virtually) on BBC television recently, portrayed with gusto by the actress Patricia Routledge. Enthusiastic promotion of 'alternative' views about Christianity such as Hildegard's were definitely not the sort of thing envisaged by the BBC when it first ventured into religious broadcasting in the 1920's. As Klaus-Dieter Stoll points out in the concluding part of his 'Pay Now, Pray Later', one of the BBC's earliest principles was 'no representation of non-mainstream groups and heterodox ideas'. Stoll reminds us how far we have come but warns us also to watch where we are going, in the wake of the 'big bang' of broadcasting deregulation in 1990. Lia Pop in 'Religion in a Romanian Town' explores the particular problems of multiculturalism in contemporary Romania, focusing on ethnicity and religious affiliation as both determinants of difference, and starting-points for openness to a positive valuation of multiculturalism. The institutional contexts of church and hospital provide arenas in which different values are accentuated or dissolved, whether through the exercise of choice or the exigency of illness. We hope there will be many further contributions from Eastern European scholars of religion in future issues of DISKUS. The same issue of multiculturalism but in an altogether different context is the theme of 'Islam, Adat and Multiculturalism in Malaysia', Marion Bowman's comparison between Gulf and Malaysian Islam in which the author generates, from a study of everyday items such as dress, food and greeting cards, significant insights into contemporary trends in Islam in different parts of the world. Such a study supports the claim made by Peter McKenzie that, while the value of anthropological, historical etc. approaches to religion is not in dispute, the phenomenological study of religion has its own distinctive standpoint, one which keeps religion in the foreground and enables fruitful comparison across time and cultures without sacrificing detail. We hope you enjoy this issue of DISKUS. The Editors -------------------------------- Note: Contributions for DISKUS should be sent to Dr. Gavin Flood at Lampeter. The full address and contributors' guidelines can be found at the end of this DISKUS file. ===========================================================* ARTICLES Reminder for new readers: In this file (2#1__DIS.KUS) you will find only abstracts of the main articles below. The full versions are held in separate files on the disk - details are given with each abstract. This system helps to avoid any DISKUS files becoming unmanageably long. Please refer to the Contents page above (CONTENTS/2#1) to see what other items may be found in this issue of the journal. ===========================================================* BOWIE, Fiona (Lampeter) HILDEGARD OF BINGEN AND MEDIEVAL WOMEN'S SEXUALITY DISKUS, 2 (1994) no. 1, pp. 1-14 Abstract This article examines some of the theological and related gynaecological views of women current in the West during the middle ages, and the extent to which these views influenced the ways women were treated and in which society was structured. A second theme is the internalisation of dominant views of female sexuality by women, and their responses to them. Scientific ideas on women and women's sexuality in the Middle Ages included the debate on female seed or sperm, poisonous women, the question of celibacy versus marriage, and the dangerous and persisting notion that woman's pleasure is a prerequisite for fertility, even in rape. The influential Isidore of Seville classified male and female in terms of force and softness. Hildegard of Bingen accepted but then subverted his categories, asserting through her visions the equality of men and women, reconsidering the place of virginity and reinterpreting the Fall as intellectual rather than sexual. Hildegard thereby provided an influential alternative female perspective on human nature and sexuality, more integrated than that presented as normative by male commentators. The complete paper is found in DISKUS file BOWIE.2#1 ===========================================================* BOWMAN, Marion (Bath) ISLAM, ADAT AND MULTICULTURALISM IN MALAYSIA. DISKUS, 2 (1994) no. 1, pp. 15-27 Abstract This article explores the contrasts and tensions between Gulf Islam and Malaysian Islam, particularly between Gulf cultural tradition and Malaysian _adat_ (the Bahasa Malaysian word for custom or cultural tradition) which are evidently dissimilar, and the inherent difficulties when Islam is just one ingredient, albeit the dominant one, in a multicultural situation. The article outlines some of the issues involved. Drawing on fieldwork experience in Malaysia and the Gulf amongst other sources, the author considers aspects such as food, greetings cards and clothes to uncover contemporary trends in the celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri as an example of the dynamism and complexities of the Malaysian situation. The complete article is found in DISKUS file BOWMAN.2#1 ===========================================================* McKENZIE, Peter R (Leicester) OTTO, WACH AND HEILER: TOWARDS A SYSTEMATIC PHENOMENOLOGY OF RELIGION. DISKUS, 2 (1994) no. 1, pp. 29-41 Abstract This paper looks at Rudolf Otto's phenomenology of religion within wider developments in the field, and considers some recent criticisms of his approach. The author identifies 'Das Heilige' (The Idea of the Holy) as the beginnings of a systematic phenomenology developed by many others including Eliade. The contributions of Wach and Heiler to the emergence of a possible systematic phenomenology are particularly identified. Three recent criticisms are then considered: (1) the proliferation of study of religions which seems now to take it beyond any possibility of a systematic account; (2) empiricism, prioritising facts over systems, and (3) contextualism, redirecting attention from what is global to what is local and situational. These three criticisms are dealt with in turn; the special position held by the study of religion is affirmed. Just as other disciplines have their own standpoints in which religion is just one chapter, so the study of religions requires its own systematic overview, incorporating the social, political etc. aspects of religion, but of necessity refining its categories over time. Otherwise, relevant insights gained through the systematic phenomenological study of religion may go unrecognised. The full paper is found in DISKUS file MCKENZIE.2#1 ===========================================================* POP, Lia (Oradea) RELIGION IN A ROMANIAN TOWN: VALUES AND 'INTERETHNICITY' IN ORADEA. DISKUS, 2 (1994) no. 1, pp. 43-55 Abstract The article deals with the religious situation of Oradea, a Romanian town with a complex national and ethnic structure comprising Romanians, Hungarians, Gypsies, Germans, Slovaks, Jews and others including Greeks. In the words of the author, the hypothesis of the study is that 'inter-ethnic relationships are the result of a process of living together based on values and creators of values. The most important value in this system is precisely ... the judgement that inter-ethnicity is a value in itself .... This revaluation starts both from individuals and, especially, from socio-cultural institutions. I tried to check this hypothesis with reference to two specific institutions, the Church and the Hospital. ... The Church is the preserver of ethnic identity ... and by acting in this way it is the creator of a relative socio-cultural 'distance'. The Hospital is an institution which annuls ethnic distance - which programmatically 'forgets' differences in order to be able to see each individual only as a human being, a suffering human being.' Following analysis of a number of aspects including inter-religious approaches, and differing attitudes to suicide, the conclusion is that 'the value of inter-ethnicity in the two abovementioned institutions is different. In the hospital people live in inter-ethnicity. Inter-ethnicity is a fact and any doubt about it as a value seems out of place. The assertion made by the French philosopher Eugene Dupreel is thus verified: "Only the threatened values are treated explicitly as values, and not as forces or things." The full text of the article is in DISKUS file POP.2#1 ===========================================================* STOLL, Klaus-Dieter (Lancaster) PAY NOW, PRAY LATER - PART 2: THE ELECTRONIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED KINGDOM DISKUS, 2 (1994) no. 1, pp. 57-73 [Part 1 of this article is in DISKUS 1 (1993) no.1] Abstract The article concludes the discussion of developments in the Electronic Church (EC) by considering the history of, and recent changes in, religious broadcasting in the UK. The 1990 Broadcasting Act opened up unprecedented possibilities for religious organisations and interests to use electronic mass media. Three types of EC initiatives are examined and evaluated: (1) Pathway Productions, a department of the Church of Scotland set up to promote a 'mainstream' religious broadcasting service for its existing audience; (2) GRF Christian Radio, a long-established independent radio production company providing a variety of religious programmes for various mainstream Christian organisations; (3) London Christian Radio, a new form of Christian independent local radio aimed at a London audience and funded by Christian organisations rather than directly by the listeners, and (4) Vision Broadcasting Ministries, a a USA-style operation marketing its production and broadcasting facilities to a variety of (sometimes conflicting) Christian groups and raising funds directly from viewers. Finally, the author investigates some 'Christian' computer games offered by 'Alive Software' and predicts the imminent arrival of 'Virtual Reality' in the EC sphere. '...the question is now, what is the value of the old defiled and defiling world in relation to the new clean reality ... and what political implications does this development have for the desire to make the real world more like the Virtual Reality?' The full text of the article is in DISKUS file STOLL_2.2#1 ===========================================================* ************************************************************* ******* ******** ****** NEW AGE & CONTEMPORARY ******* ***** RELIGIONS IN THE BRITISH ISLES ****** **** ***** *** SECOND ANNUAL ONE-DAY CONFERENCE **** ** *** * hosted by ** * STUDY OF RELIGIONS * * BATH COLLEGE OF HIGHER EDUCATION * * * * SATURDAY 14 MAY 1994 * * * * CONFERENCE THEME: "INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS" * ** ** *** *** ************************************************************* Programme 9.30 Registration 10.00 Judith Thompson (LSE) Sahaja Yoga: International Connections 11.00 Elizabeth De Michelis Contemporary Hatha Yoga in the UK 11.15 Coffee 11.30 Richard Roberts (St Andrews) "Globalized Religion"? The Parliament of the World's Religions in Theoretical Perspective. 12.30 Lunch 1.45 Jay Sakashita (Stirling) Shinnyoen in the UK 2.30 Paul Greer (Stirling) International Continuities in New Age Spirituality 3.15 Tea 3.30 Marion Bowman (Bath) The Noble Savage and the Global Village: Cultural Evolutionism in New Age Thought 4.15 Concluding Session (Close 5pm) Contact: Marion Bowman, Bath College of Higher Education, Newton Park, BATH BA2 9BN. 0225-873701 x404/368. [ m.i.bowman@uk.ac.bath] ===========================================================* 16th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION ..........ASRSA/2#1 FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (ASRSA). University of Namibia, 27-29 June 1994 Scholars interested in submitting a paper are asked to send their title PLUS ABSTRACT not exceeding 150 words. The closing date has been given as 11 March 1994 so it may be too late for submissions. Contact Dr Anil Sooklal by Fax 031-820-2383. Conference Fee - R40.00. All delegates are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements. Prof. C Lombard (Head of Dept of Religion and Theology, University of Namibia) is willing to assist delegates in arranging suitable accommodation in the students residences. Contact him at: University of Namibia Dept of Religion and Theology Private Bag 13301 Windhoek, 9000 Namibia Tel: 061-307-2064; Fax: 061-307-2444 ===========================================================* PAGANISM IN MODERN BRITAIN PAGAN/2#1 Conference at Newcastle University, 12-14 September 1994.11 The draft programme includes papers on Paganism, Celts, Druidry, Goddess, Shamanism, Myth, Ecology, Rites of Passage, Magic and New Age by speakers including Ronald Hutton, Vivianne Crowley, Graham Harvey, Philip Shallcrass, Art Quester, Asphodel Long, Brian Bates, Prudence Jones, Leila Edwards, Ken Rees, Adrain Harris, Annie, Amy Simes, Marion Bowman, Susan Greenwood and Michael York. Contact: Dr Charlotte Hardman or Dr Graham Harvey Dept of Religious Studies The University of Newcastle Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU Tel: 091-222-6525 ===========================================================* 11th Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Mexico City, 24-28 October 1994. Please submit paper and panel proposals to, and obtain further details from: Prof. Flora Botton Director, Centre for Asian and African Studies El Colegio de Mexico Camino al Ajusco No.20 Codigo Postal 01000 Mexico, D.F. Tel:(525) 645-59-55 Fax:(525) 645-04-64 ===========================================================* BASR (British Association for the Study of Religions) *****************40th ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE***************** >>>>>>>> Theme: CONTEMPORARY SYMBOLS OF THE SACRED <<<<<<<<<< 26-29 September 1994 at Burwalls Conference Centre, University of Bristol Conference Organiser: Peggy Morgan, Westminster College, Oxford Papers so far on the programme include: Ninian Smart, Sacred Nationalism (Public Anniversary Lecture) John Hinnells, Transplantation of the Sacred: The Zoroastrian Experience in India and Britain (BASR Public Annual Lecture) Richard Lannoy, Rediscovering Sacred Art Eleanor Nesbitt, Splashed with Goodness; the many meanings of Amrit Peter McKenzie, The Fluidity of Yoruba Symbols Michael Pye, Focusing the Sacred in Shinto Peter Donovan, Haka and Hongi, Karanga and Karakia: Maori Rituals Add Magic to Everyday Life Paul Badham, Near Death Experiences as a Contemporary Form of Religious Experience Douglas Davies, Modern Symbols of the Sacred: Crematoria and Mormon Temples Catherine Cornille, Inculturation and the Transformation of Sacred Meaning Terry Thomas, The Sacred as a Viable Concept in the Contemporary Study of Religions Bill Pickering, Problems in Locating the Sacred: Comparing Otto to Durkheim Other contributors: include Peter Clarke, Stephen Turnbull, Marion Bowman, Edward Bailey, Ursula King, Brian Bocking, Julia Iwersen. There will be an afternoon at Glastonbury with Marion Bowman. PAPERS Offers of papers should be sent before the end of June to Peggy Morgan (address above). APPLICATIONS To register for the conference write to Alan Rogers, 4 Fossett Way, Wyke Regis, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 9HD. Conference Fee (non-returnable) 15 pounds (students 5 pounds) Cost of full board at Burwalls 120 pounds. Deposit of 15 pounds is needed at application, returnable if cancellation is necessary before the end of June. Balance payable at registration. There is a reduction on the cost of residence for 5 doctoral students towards the end of their work. They should submit a paragraph on their work with the recommendation and signature of their supervisor by end of June to Alan Rogers. BOOKING FORM Name & Title of Applicant................................ Institution.............................................. Indicate here if applicant is a doctoral student......... Contact Address:......................................... ......................................................... I enclose the non-returnable conference fee of 15 pounds. I require accommodation and enclose the deposit of 15 pounds. Signed:.............................. Date................ [Cheques payable to "British Association for the Study of Religions"] ===========================================================* ELMAR/2#1 ELECTRONIC MEDIA AND RELIGIONS CONFERENCE Saint Martin's College, Lancaster, UK, 3-6 April 1995 CALL FOR PAPERS Saint Martin's College Lancaster is currently preparing a conference on Electronic Media and Religions, to take place from 3-6 April 1995 at St Martin's. The conference will focus on local and national religious broadcasting in the United Kingdom and will also cover emerging aspects of the new communications/information technology such as religious software and Virtual Reality devices. Papers on these themes are especially invited. Please contact: Klaus Dieter-Stoll ELMAR Project Co-ordinator Religious Studies Department St Martin's College Lancaster LA1 3JD UK ===========================================================* ===========================================================* Publications RELIGION TODAY A Journal of Contemporary Religions Ed. P.B.Clarke Centre for New Religious Movements King's College University of London Strand London WC2R 2LS Tel: 071-836-5454 x 3796 RELIGION TODAY is a journal of contemporary religion which provides a forum for discussion and analysis of new religions as well as trends and developments within mainstream churches and the world's major religions. Religion today plays a unique role in the academic debate in this field, as there is no other British journal of its kind. Produced in a magazine format, the journal is published three times per year, with a Spring, Summer and Autumn/Winter edition. Subscriptions: 9 pounds for annual subscription (3 issues including postage & packing) 18 for two years subscription (6 issues) US20.00 dollars for an annual subscription overseas (3 issues) Please send the journal to: Name................................. Address.................................................. ......................................................... Country ===========================================================* 'NEW AGE' SPECIAL ISSUE OF RELIGION TODAY.............RTNA/2#1 A special issue of RELIGION TODAY containing 5 substantial papers from the 1st annual Bath conference on 'Contemporary and New Age Religions in the British Isles' by Ronald Hutton, Marion Bowman, Monica Sjoo, Richard Roberts, Graham Harvey and Michael York is now available (April 1994). Order from Elizabeth Arweck at the RELIGION TODAY address above. ===========================================================* BASR OCCASIONAL PAPERS................................BOPS/2#1 The following BASR short papers are available, price 1 pound per single copy including postage or 4 pounds for 5 papers from: Dr Terry Thomas, The Open University in Wales, 24 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF1 9SA 1. Miranda Green 'Women and Goddesses in the Celtic World' (1991) 2. Christine Trevett 'The Quaker Margaret Fell: Religion and Gender in a Seveneteenth- Century Dissenting Group' (1991) 3. Ann Bancroft 'Hildegard of Bingen to Meinrad Craighead: A Continuation of the Truly Feminine in Conceptions of Divinity' (1991) 4. Julia Leslie 'Religion, Gender and Dharma: The Case of the Widow-Ascetic' (1991) 5. Peter Antes 'How to Study Religious Experience in the Traditions' (1992) 6. Marion Bowman 'Phenomenology, Fieldwork and Folk Religion' (1992) 7. George Chryssides 'Unificationism: A Study in Religious Syncretism' (1993) 8. Michael Pye 'Syncretism versus Synthesis' (1993) ===========================================================* STUDIES IN CENTRAL & EAST ASIAN RELIGIONS............SCEAR/2#1 Journal of the Seminar of Buddhist Studies Copenhagen Vol.5/6 focusses on the religions of Tibet, and includes articles by two recently deceased eminent scholars, Leon Hurvitz and Anna Seidel. The Journal costs DKK 144 per annum (US dollars 24) including postage. Subscribers should add US 6 dollars to cover bank charges. Orders to: Seminar for Buddhist Studies (SBS) CESEAS, University of Copenhagen Stokhusgade 5, 1st Floor, 1317 Copenhagen K, DENMARK The editors invite scholarly contributions to SCEAR which cast light on religious phenomena OF ALL KINDS AND FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF STANDPOINTS e.g. philosophical, linguistic, historical, anthropological etc. in the area encompassing Tibet, Central Asia, Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan. ===========================================================* Information Sources BASR (British Association for the Study of Religions)......BASR/2#1 The British Association for the Study of Religions is a registered charity (no.801567) affiliated to the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) whose object is the promotion of the academic study of religions through the international collaboration of all scholars whose research has a bearing on the subject. The BASR pursues these aims within the United Kingdom through conferences, publications and an Annual General Meeting. Membership of the BASR is open to scholars whose work has a bearing on the academic study of religions and who are normally resident in the U.K. Those interested in membership should write to the Hon. Secretary, Dr Kim Knott, Dept. of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT. Annual subscription to BASR is 12 pounds. For postgraduates etc. the subscription is 6 pounds. Overseas scholars may receive the BASR Bulletin (4 per year) for 10 pounds. ===========================================================* INFORM - INFORMATION NETWORK FOCUS ON RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS INFORM is a non-sectarian Charity which was started in 1988 in order to conduct research into new religious movements and to help enquirers by providing information about the movement that is as objective, balanced and up-to-date as possible. Honorary Director: Prof. Eileen Barker (LSE) Further information available from: INFORM Houghton Street London WC2 2AE Tel: 071-955-7654 Fax: 071-242-0392 (mark for INFORM) ===========================================================* ABOUT DISKUS..... DISKUS subscription: 1 year (2 issues) œ5 pounds (UK) or $15 dollars/ œ10 pounds overseas (airmail) Cheques/orders payable to "Bath College of Higher Education" Please specify disk size/type when ordering (e.g. PC 3.5, or 5.25, Amstrad PCW 3, Apple Mac 3.5 etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------   ISSN 0967-8948   D I S K U S   The on-disk journal of international Religious Studies DISKUS is the first disk-based journal of Religious Studies. Each issue is published and distributed on computer disk only, in a simple format easily accessible by your word-processing program. DISKUS features: - an emphasis on contemporary religions, and contemporary issues in Religious Studies. - a mix of religious traditions in each issue of the journal - a broadly phenomenological approach, by which we mean articles about religion rather than articles written from a religious standpoint. - articles written in a lucid style, accessible to an international readership of researchers, students and educators in Religious Studies. DISKUS is cheaper than standard printed journals. You can study, scan and even index the contents of DISKUS in your own wordprocessing program, and print off part or whole as required. Academic papers (of any reasonable length), notices, reports, letters, books for review, and other short contributions submitted for publication in DISKUS should be addressed to: Dr Gavin Flood DISKUS, Dept. of Theology & Religious Studies St David's Univ. College Lampeter, SA48 7ED, UK Tel: 0570-422351 x 315. Fax: 0570-423641 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subscription Form: Please send me DISKUS (tick issues required): Vol 1, 1993 (2 issues, Spring & Autumn). Vol 2, 1994 (2 issues, Spring & Autumn). Vol 3, 1995 (2 issues, Spring & Autumn). UK & Europe: I enclose 5 pounds per volume (2 issues) (UK Cheques payable to 'Bath College of H.E.) Overseas (Airmail) subscriptions or payment by Eurocheque: I enclose 15 USdollars, or 10 UKpounds. Name: (PRINT)...................................Prof/Dr/Ms/Mr Address:...................................................... Country: ................... Tel:............. Fax:............ Please send DISKUS on IBM compatible 5.25 Disk[] 3.5 Disk[] (tick one) Other (e.g. Amstrad PCW 3-inch Disk, Apple Mac 3.5) please specify....................... Please return the subscription form and your payment to: Prof. Brian Bocking DISKUS, Study of Religions Bath College of Higher Education Newton Park, Bath, BA2 9BN, UK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joint Editors of DISKUS: Prof. Brian Bocking Dr Gavin Flood Study of Religions Dept. Dept. of Theology Bath College of Higher Education & Religious Studies Newton Park St David's Univ. College Bath BA2 9BN Lampeter, Dyfed SA48 7AR Tel: 0225-873701 x 368 Tel: 0570-422351 x 315 Fax: 0225-874082 Fax: 0570-423641 e-mail: b.bocking@uk.ac.bath ===========================================================* GUIDE/2#1 DISKUS: Guidelines for Contributors Version 3 Spring 1994 PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE SENDING IN YOUR CONTRIBUTION 'DISKUS: Guidelines for Contributors' will be included in each issue of DISKUS and amended in the light of experience. If you plan to submit an item to DISKUS, please look in your most recent issue of DISKUS for updated Guidelines. CONTENTS GUIDELINES DISKUS features:  an emphasis on contemporary religions, and contemporary issues in Religious Studies.  a mix of religious traditions in each issue of the journal  a broadly phenomenological approach, by which we mean articles about religion rather than articles written from a religious standpoint.  articles written in a lucid style, accessible to an international readership of researchers, students and educators in Religious Studies. Style Guide: DISKUS is evolving a policy on referencing and layout of articles. It is preferred that referencing is done through numbered endnotes e.g. <3> or in the author-date style e.g. (BROOKS, 1979:23). Some writers may wish to number paragraphs in order to refer backwards and forwards in their paper; others may wish to write in more discursive style. Sub-headings are often useful. 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