Tengri as supreme sky

What it is: Tengri designates the sky and also, in many contexts, the supreme power associated with the sky.

How the tradition understands it: It appears as source of order, legitimacy, and destiny, especially in ancient Turkic and Mongol traditions.

Textual basis and context: Ancient inscriptions, oral traditions, and historical descriptions associate Tengri with the high sky and supreme divine power.

Objections and debates: There is debate about when the term means physical sky, supreme divinity, or celestial attribute applied to other realities.

Supportive

Catholicism and democracy

catholicism,democracy,religious-freedom,modernity

Relationship between Catholicism and democracy evolved in modern era.

Reference: Studies on relationship between Catholicism and democracy.
Content: Initially suspicious of liberalism, the Church gradually accepted democracy and religious freedom; Vatican II recognized pluralism as compatible with faith.
Use in debate: Source to discuss political Catholicism, religious freedom, and democracy.

Darwinism and religious reception

darwinism,evolution,religion,theology

Darwinism was received with resistance and dialogue by religions.

Reference: Studies on religious reception of Darwinism.
Content: Christian, Islamic, and Jewish traditions received Darwinism with different reactions; Catholic magisterium accepts evolution as long as the soul is created directly by God.
Use in debate: Source to discuss relationship between religion, science, and anthropology.

Galileo affair and faith

galileo,catholicism,science,faith

Galileo case marked relationship between faith and science.

Reference: History of the Galileo affair and its later reception.
Content: Galileo was condemned by the Inquisition in 1633 for defending heliocentrism; in 1992 John Paul II recognized error of the Church; remains symbol of dialogue between faith and science.
Use in debate: Source to discuss relationship between religion and science, and evolution of magisterium.