Religion Past and Present
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Subject: Religious Studies
Edited by: Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning†, Bernd Janowski and Eberhard Jüngel
Religion Past and Present (RPP) Online is the online version of the updated English translation of the 4th edition of the definitive encyclopedia of religion worldwide: the peerless Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). This great resource, now at last available in English and Online, Religion Past and Present Online continues the tradition of deep knowledge and authority relied upon by generations of scholars in religious, theological, and biblical studies. Including the latest developments in research, Religion Past and Present Online encompasses a vast range of subjects connected with religion.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
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Religion Past and Present (RPP) Online is the online version of the updated English translation of the 4th edition of the definitive encyclopedia of religion worldwide: the peerless Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). This great resource, now at last available in English and Online, Religion Past and Present Online continues the tradition of deep knowledge and authority relied upon by generations of scholars in religious, theological, and biblical studies. Including the latest developments in research, Religion Past and Present Online encompasses a vast range of subjects connected with religion.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
Baltic Countries
(2,991 words)
[German Version] I. General – II. Non-Christian Religions – III. Christianity – IV. Religion, Society, and Culture in the Present
I. General
1. The name Baltic derives from the term “mare Balticum,” commonly used for the Baltic Sea since the High Middle Ages. At first it applied only to later Estonia and Latvia as the Baltic provinces of the Russian empire, which had earlier simply been called Livonia after…
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Religion Past and Present
Baltic Religion
(1,526 words)
[German Version] I. Definition – II. Sources – III. General Description – IV. Gods and Human Beings
I. Definition The Old Prussians, Lithuanians, and Latvians constitute the Baltic group within the Indo-European family of nations. Old Prussian, which was spoken in West Prussia well into the 17th century, is known to us from documents of the 14th–16th century and a translation of Luther's Small Catechism.…
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Religion Past and Present
Baltzer, Eduard Wilhelm
(162 words)
[German Version] (Oct 24, 1811, Hohenleina, district of Merseburg – Jun 24, 1887, Durlach). After theological studies in Leipzig and Halle (1834–1838), and a diaconate in Delitzsch (1841), Baltzer's election to a pastorate in Nordhausen (previously Halle) was not confirmed by the consistory because of his intercession on behalf of the
Lichtfreunde (Friends of Light). He thereupon founded a “free Protestant congregation” in Nordhausen. Until 1881, Baltzer was also the h…
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Religion Past and Present
Bamberg
(518 words)
[German Version] I. City – II. Diocese – III. Bishopric – IV. Archbishopric
I. City Though Bamberg is not documented until the 10th century, excavations on the
Domberg (the site of the castle) have revealed traces of occupation dating from the period of the Hallstatt culture and from the 8th century. After changing hands a number of times, the main settlement on the Domberg became the seat of a territorial domin…
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Religion Past and Present
Bancroft, Richard
(87 words)
[German Version] (1544, Farnworth, Lancashire – Nov 2, 1610, London), opponent of Puritanism (Puritans/Puritanism) and advocate of episcopacy. Educated in Cambridge, he became bishop of London in 1597 and archbishop of Canterbury in 1604. His efforts to safeguard the independence of ecclesiastical courts failed, but he did reestablish the episcopacy in Scotland. Frederick V. Mills Sr. Bibliography R. Bancroft,
A Survey of the Pretended Holy Discipline, 1593, repr. 1972 W.H. Frere, ed.,
Puritan Manifestoes, 1907 A. Peel, ed.,
Tracts ascribed to Richard Bancroft, 1953
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Religion Past and Present
Banerjea, Krishna Mohan
(307 words)
[German Version] (May 24, 1813, Calcutta – May 11, 1884, Calcutta). Born into an orthodox Brahmin family in Calcutta, Banerjea began to have doubts about his ancestral religion while still in school. He found a new perspective through his encounter with the Scottish missionary A. Duff, under whose influence he was baptized in 1832 in a Presbyterian church. His theological studies ended …
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Religion Past and Present
Báñez, Domingo
(206 words)
[German Version] (Bañes) (Feb 29, 1528, Valladolid – Oct 21, 1604, Medina del Campo) was a Spanish theologian of Basque extraction. He entered the Dominican order in 1547, studied theology in Salamanca from 1548 to 1552 under D. de Soto and M. Cano, and taught in various educational institutions belonging to his order from 1552 to 1577. …
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Religion Past and Present
Bangladesh
(551 words)
[German Version] (autochthonous religions, India). Bangladesh covers an area of 143,998 km2 and has a population of 141 million, of which 98% are Bengali. Thus, Bangladesh is an ethnically, culturally, and religiously homogeneous country. 87% are Muslims (mostly Sunni); 12% Hindus; 0.6% Buddhists; 0.3% Christians, primarily members of lower Hindu casts and castless gro…
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Religion Past and Present
Banishment
(2,105 words)
[German Version] I. Comparative Religion – II. Biblical – III. Church History
I. Comparative Religion The terminology and conception of banishment develop primarily in the context of legal language. Commandments and prohibitions require sanctioning, must become authoritative, and are thus connected with magical incantations (Magi). In popular culture, the verbs “to ban” and “to arrest” …
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Religion Past and Present
Banks
(370 words)
[German Version] provide several basic services: they facilitate saving and investing, provide capital, help people build homes or purchase durable goods, and enable monetary transactions. They also provide tools for individual and commercial cash management. By accepting funds as deposits and extending loans, they function as intermediaries between savers and investors. …
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Religion Past and Present
Banner
(498 words)
[German Version] I. Liturgy – II. Art History Sacred Objects
I. Liturgy Nowadays, the liturgical use of banners in the Catholic Church is mostly limited to processions. The former custom of decorating the triumphal cross with a victory banner during Eastertide was derived from the symbolism of the banner as the victory banner of the risen Lord. The
Rituale Romanum 9, I, 5 requires church banners to be real banners. Ecclesiastical organizations are allowed only flags and pennants. The church does no…
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Religion Past and Present
Banns of Marriage
(112 words)
[German Version] At an early stage in the development of legal systems, it was common practice to make public announcements of legal proceedings that were of general concern; this practice extended to projected marriages. When the church expanded its authority to include marriage, it published the banns of forthcoming marriages, primarily to bring any obstacles to light. Following Luther's instructions (
Traubüchlein, 1529), the churches of the Reformation used the publishing of banns as an occasion for liturgical intercession,…
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Religion Past and Present
Bantu
(310 words)
[German Version] The term “Bantu” was introduced into African linguistics in 1858 by W.H.I. Bleek to designate the prefixing class languages. He chose the word
bantu (“people”), since it appears in similar form in almost all these languages. The Bantu live south of a line running from Mount Cameroon to the Tana delta in Kenya. It is difficult to identify common cultural traits shared by all Bantu. They practic…
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Religion Past and Present
Baptism
(22,186 words)
[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. New Testament – III. Church History – IV. Dogmatics – V. Practical Theology – VI. History of Liturgy – VII. Law – VIII. Missions – IX. Art
I. History of Religion From the standpoint of the history of religion, baptism is not a general type of rite (Rite and ritual) but a lustration ritual that is carried out not only in Christianity but also in historically related religions such as …
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Religion Past and Present
Baptismal Font
(881 words)
[German Version] I. Liturgy – II. Art History
I. Liturgy The baptismal font shows how baptism was administered: decorations indicate the theological meaning of baptism, and changes in the form of the font point to changes in the liturgical significance of the rite. Early Christian baptism was probably administered in flowing waters, either by pouring these over the head of …
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Religion Past and Present
Baptismal Renewal/Reminder
(231 words)
[German Version] Baptism is the foundational sacrament of Christian life and identity. Consequently, a series of forms for commemorating baptism and symbolically recalling baptism has developed: the use of holy water as a sign of the anniversary of one's baptism, the confession of faith (
symbolum[Confession [[of faith]]]), the Paternoster and aspersion with holy water before the Sunday Eucharist. In the Middle Ages, holy water was seen as apotropaic, and the celebration of the annual baptismal commemoration died out, the meaning of the
symbolum and the Paternoster in relation…
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Religion Past and Present
Baptistery
(484 words)
[German Version] Since the beginning of the 4th century, this word refers to the Christian baptismal room (previously only in Dura Europos c. 230); baptism had previously been performed in flowing water. The name comes from the bathing basin of the
frigidarium in ancient Roman baths. In the middle of the structure stands the
piscina, which is sunk into the floor and often decorated with mosaics. Three or seven steps descend into the basin, which is thus too shallow to permit the immersion of a…
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Religion Past and Present
Baptist Missionary Society
(173 words)
[German Version] The Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) was founded in 1792 by a group of Particular (Calvinistic) Baptists, including A. Fuller and W. Carey. Its original name was “The Particular-Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen.” The BMS sent its first missionaries to North India (1793), and later began w…
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Religion Past and Present
Baptists
(5,875 words)
[German Version] I. Denomination – II. Church History – III. Missions
I. Denomination Because the Baptists came into existence in a situation of persecution, they have consistently held to the doctrine of freedom of conscience as one of their most fundamental convictions. This is the basis for the Baptists' historically conditioned refusal to publish a dogmatic declaration that claims to speak for …
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Religion Past and Present
Baptist World Alliance
(239 words)
[German Version] In 1905, Baptists from all over the world met in London to form the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). The BWA is a worldwide fellowship of 189 Baptist conventions and unions in more than 200 countries. In 1997, there were about 42 million adult baptized believers in the member organizations of the BWA. (This number does not include the more than 10 …
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Religion Past and Present