Article by Assistant Professor Vuk Grgić Published in the Academic Journal Religions

An article by Assistant Professor Martina Vuk Grgić entitled Rethinking the Complexities of the Body and Disability: Theological Account – MDPI has been published in the academic journal Religions. Since 2013, Dr. Vuk Grgić has been researching the themes of vulnerability and disability, and she was invited to contribute this paper as part of a special issue of Religions.
 

The article critically examines the perspective of “body capital”, manifested in contemporary practices of body modification, which reflect social standards and the expression of identity. The promotion of body capital standards, including body image enhancement and “photoshopping” the body, creates a social environment in which those who do not conform to these standards are rejected and stigmatized. This may include people with disabilities, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses or different physical appearances.

The paper seeks to explore perspectives on embodiment through the lens of major discourses on disability, biblical anthropology, and the theology of disability. These perspectives advocate for the inherent dignity and value of the body, challenging contemporary norms, body capital, and bodily projections, while highlighting the importance of the biographical and spiritual dimensions of human embodiment, as well as human interdependence. Such an approach stands as an alternative to the reductionist view of the body, which places physical attributes above a holistic understanding of personhood.

About the journal

The academic journal Religions (ISSN 2077-1444) is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access scientific journal published by MDPI. It publishes interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed studies of religious thought and practice. The journal is available online and aims to promote critical, hermeneutical, historical, and constructive themes related to interdisciplinary approaches to religion, theology, and the spiritual traditions of world religions. Religions serves the interests of a wide range of scholars and academics in religion, including theologians, philosophers, social scientists, anthropologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, and others engaged in the multidisciplinary study of religion.

The article is available at the link.