The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (562 page)

Conciliar controversy
(dispute about the relative authority of a council or a pope)
:

see
ANTIPOPE
.

 
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Concordat
.

An agreement between a religious group and the government of a country on matters of mutual concern. Thus the
Vatican
entered into concordats with both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. An important model is the Pactum Callixtinum, or Concordat of Worms (1122) whereby the contest between the Popes and the Holy Roman Emperors over the right to appoint bishops was resolved in favour of the Popes.

 
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Concrete logic
or Concrete science
(of Lévi-Strauss)
:

see
MYTH
.

 
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Concursive revelation
(a co-operative (i.e. between God and humans) understanding of revelation)
:

see
REVELATION
.

 
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Confessing Church
or Bekennende Kirche
.

The
Protestant
church in Germany organized in opposition to the official Nazi church organizations and policies. (see
KIRCHENKAMPF
).

 
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Christianity
1
An affirmation or profession of faith:

(i) the testimony of a
martyr
or
confessor
(e.g. 1 Timothy 6. 13);
(ii) a doctrinal statement in the Orthodox Church;
(iii) Protestant professions of faith, especially of 16th/17th cents.

2
An acknowledgement of
sin
. In Christianity, this may be made either in worship by a congregation (‘general confession’), or privately to a priest (‘auricular confession’: Lat.,
ad auriculam
, ‘to the ear’), who mediates God's willingness to forgive, and pronounces God's
absolution
.
The recognition and acknowledgement of fault occurs in all religions, and the term ‘confession’ is applied widely, although what is happening in the context of each religion may be very different.
Judaism
Confession of sin in Judaism
(Heb.,
viddu’i
) is an essential prequisite of expiation. Prayers of confession are part of the
synagogue
liturgy, particularly at
Rosh
ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur, and well-known prayers include Ashamnu (We have incurred guilt)
‘Al het
(For the sin), and
Avinu malkenu
(Our father, Our king).
Buddhism
In Buddhism confession is not made to a divine power and there is no concept of absolution or the forgiveness of sins. The act of confession (
p
pa-desan
) is the owning-up to one's failings or shortcomings in order to cultivate greater self-awareness and be freed from the burden of persecutory guilt. The occasion for confession in monastic Buddhism is a formal public event which takes place at the
Uposatha
ceremony. There is no counterpart to this formal ceremony for lay Buddhists.
Jainism
Confession (
alocana
and
pratikrama
a
) occurs twice daily for monks; laypeople make confession to their
guru
.