Vol. 7 No. 1 (2025): International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion
Foreword
This issue of the International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion (IJCHR) brings together a rich tapestry of scholarship that reflects the intricate and often overlapping themes of cultural identity, spirituality, tradition, postcolonial critique, and innovation in the contemporary world. The articles in this volume examine how societies negotiate the preservation of heritage while adapting to modern challenges, particularly in education, healthcare, language, gender, governance, and the arts.
One central theme that emerges is the vital role of tradition as a living force, from the use of the Indonesian game Dakon as a pedagogical tool for foreign learners, to the Blaan tribe’s culturally grounded response to the COVID-19 crisis in Southern Mindanao. These studies showcase how traditional knowledge systems and practices continue to shape collective well-being, resilience, and identity.
Language and religious expression are other recurring threads, especially in Southeast Asia. In the context of the sacred, articles on Javanese sociopragmatics and Filipino personalism interrogate how cultural and religious values are encoded and transmitted through speech, rituals, and everyday communication. Similarly, the testimonial literature and postmodern metafiction analysis reveal how narratives become acts of memory and resistance, particularly in postcolonial and diasporic contexts.
In response to globalization, contributors examine the transformation of cultural institutions and identities, from Indian diaspora diplomacy in Indonesia to the urbanization of Ukrainian culture, highlighting both opportunities and tensions in preserving cultural integrity amid rapid societal change. The issue also engages with digital innovation, exploring how art and cultural management must evolve in an increasingly interconnected and data-driven world.
The theme of education as a site of cultural negotiation is powerfully present. Several articles call for decolonizing curricula, integrating indigenous perspectives, and reevaluating the role of cultural storytelling in higher education and heritage promotion. These contributions collectively argue for education that honors context, diversity and lived experience.
Finally, through explorations of health, gender, and climate consciousness, this volume reminds us that cultural research is not confined to the abstract. It has deep implications for policy, social equity, and sustainability, revealing how culture is a foundation for justice, care, and community.
Taken together, the articles in this issue represent a growing movement toward scholarly inquiry that is grounded, inclusive, and critically engaged. We hope readers find in these pages both a mirror of our complex realities and a window into meaningful possibilities for cultural dialogue and transformation.
Renniel Jayson Jacinto Rosales, MATh, PhD Cand.
Managing Editor
Message from the Editor
It is with great honor that I present the June 2025 issue of the International Journal of Culture, History, and Religion (IJCHR), a scholarly platform devoted to critically exploring and disseminating knowledge across the intersecting fields of cultural studies, historical inquiry, and religious thought.
In an age marked by both cultural convergence and fragmentation, the role of research in understanding the intricacies of identity, heritage, belief systems, and historical processes has never been more essential. IJCHR remains committed to publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed research that advances theoretical knowledge and contributes to practical insights applicable to policy, education, interfaith dialogue, and cross-cultural collaboration.
Our journal invites scholars, historians, cultural analysts, religious practitioners, educators, and policymakers to engage with our platform. We encourage submissions that examine lived traditions, indigenous epistemologies, historiographical debates, cultural transitions, faith-based practices, and the ethical intersections between the sacred and the secular. Whether rooted in empirical research, philosophical critique, or comparative analysis, every article we publish seeks to challenge, inform, and expand the global discourse.
This issue features diverse contributions, from analyses of ritual symbolism and contested histories to studies on the resilience of cultural identities in the face of globalization. Each piece reflects our journal’s vision to foster meaningful, inclusive, interdisciplinary dialogues.
As an Editor-in-Chief, I deeply appreciate our contributors, reviewers, and editorial team’s scholarly rigor and dedication. We remain steadfast in our goal to provide an open intellectual space where past and present, tradition and innovation, belief and critique may all meet in critical conversation.
We welcome your continued engagement, and we look forward to future contributions that shape and deepen our understanding of culture, history, and religion in the 21st century.
Dr. Alma B. Manera
Editor-in-Chief
Published:
2025-06-16
