Beyond Christian Nationalism: How the American Committee on Religious Rights and Minorities Made Religious Pluralism a Global Cause in the Interwar Era

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David Mislin

2016-12-01

Full Text Available During the 1920s and 1930s, the American Committee on Religious Rights and Minorities offered a potent challenge to the view of the United States as a Christian nation. The Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish members of the committee drew on a wealth of interfaith commitments to develop a critique of religious persecution around the world, especially the increasing anti-Semitism across Europe. In an era marked by isolationism, nationalism, and Christian triumphalism, the committee offered a competing vision of pluralist internationalism.

Religious Schooling and Prejudice in Canada: Implications for Public Funding of Christian Education.

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Hiemstra, John L.

1994-01-01

Using data from the Canadian National Election Study, the paper examines whether religious schooling will lead to increased prejudice and intolerance, noting relationships with public funding. In general, Christians and Jews with religious schooling had similar or better scores on tolerance of Jews and non-whites than did public school students.…

Community and Christianity in the Black Church.

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Morris, Joseph R.; Robinson, Dianne T.

1996-01-01

Explores the experience of Christianity for many African Americans and how such experience provides a foundation for social activism. Discusses Black church burnings with respect to the more traditional Christian African American view of religion. Explores implications for incorporating the religious traditions of Christian African Americans into…

Genealogy of Religious Experience in Studies of religiosity

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Alireza Shojaeezand

2009-08-01

Full Text Available As a fascinating issue for the scholars in Religion Studies, religious experience has a long-lasting theological and social background in Christianity and Occidental history which has caused to the present increasing attention to the matter. However, as other concepts ad categories, its development in Iran has experienced a distorted process of just Academic and theoretical debates and not to experience it practically. Avoiding evaluating the term from Islamic theological point of view, while introducing some of its theological or historical and social backgrounds in the west, I attempt to make theologists and philosophers of religion, in addition to the religious psychologists and sociologists pay more attention to the necessity of caution and focus on the nature and status of religious Experience in Religion Studies, and its relation with religiosity.

Social justice and religious participation: a qualitative investigation of Christian perspectives.

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Todd, Nathan R; Rufa, Anne K

2013-06-01

This investigation examines how self-identified Christians in the Midwest U.S. understand and work for social justice, with a focus on their process of social justice development and the role of religious congregations in promoting social justice. Using a grounded theory analysis of 15 in-depth interviews, results indicated multiple understandings of social justice such as meeting basic needs, fixing social structures and systems to create equal distributions of resources, promoting human rights and dignity, and as a religious responsibility. Participants also described a process of social justice development facilitated by exposure to injustice, mentors, educating others, and the importance of finding a social justice community. Distinct personal barriers to social justice engagement were identified such as resources and negative emotions, whereas congregational leadership was important for congregational involvement. General frustration with congregations was expressed regarding low social justice engagement; however, participants balanced this frustration with hope for the positive potential of congregations to promote social justice. Together these findings show multifaceted understandings of social justice and a dynamic process of social justice development for these self-identified Christians. Implications for future research and partnership with religious individuals and congregations also are discussed.

Book Review: Lubańska Magdalena, Muslims and Christians in the Bulgarian Rhodopes. Studies on Religious (AntiSyncretism

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Karolina Bielenin-Lenczowska

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Book Review: Lubańska Magdalena, Muslims and Christians in the Bulgarian Rhodopes. Studies on Religious (AntiSyncretism "Muslims and Christians in the Bulgarian Rhodopes. Studies on Religious (AntiSyncretism", a book by Magdalena Lubańska is a summary of her research carried out for many years among the Christian Orthodox and Muslim Pomaks in Rhodope mountains of Bulgaria. There Lubańska conducted in-depth interviews and carried out ethnographic observation about the knowledge regarding neighbours of different religion, their beliefs and religious practices.   Recenzja książki: Lubańska Magdalena, Muslims and Christians in the Bulgarian Rhodopes. Studies on Religious (AntiSyncretism Książka Magdaleny Lubańskiej jest podsumowaniem jej badań prowadzonych od wielu lat wśród prawosławnych oraz muzułmanów w Rodopach, w Bułgarii. Lubańska przeprowadziła pogłębione wywiady i obserwację etnograficzną, dotyczącą sąsiadowania mieszkańców różnych religii, ich wierzeń i praktyk religijnych.

Associations between religious behavior and attitude to Christianity among Australian Catholic adolescents: scale validation.

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Dorman, J P

2001-10-01

In a sample of 1,166 Catholic high school students (age = 13-18 years), the author used confirmatory factor analysis to validate a 30-item instrument that assesses 6 dimensions of attitude to Christianity (viz., attitude to prayer, attitude to God, attitude to Jesus, attitude to the Bible, attitude to Christian practice, attitude to social justice). Goodness-of-fit indices for the proposed measurement model revealed that the model fitted the data very well, thus confirming the instrument's structure. A correlation analysis revealed associations between religious behavior and attitude to Christianity.

Religious Pluralism and Civic Rights in a “Muslim Nation”: An Analysis of Prophet Muhammad’s Covenants with Christians

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Craig Considine

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This article examines the roles that religious pluralism and civic rights played in Prophet Muhammad’s vision of a “Muslim nation”. I demonstrate how Muhammad desired a pluralistic society in which citizenship and equal rights were granted to all people regardless of religious beliefs and practices. The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of his time are used as a framework for analysis. These documents have received little attention in our time, but their messages are crucial in light of current debates about Muslim-Christian relations. The article campaigns for reviving the egalitarian spirit of the Covenants by refocusing our understanding of the ummah as a site for religious freedom and civil rights. Ultimately, I argue that the Covenants of Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of his time can be used to develop a stronger narrative of democratic partnership between Muslims and Christians in the “Islamic world” and beyond.

When ingroups aren't "In": perceived political belief similarity moderates religious ingroup favoritism.

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Carlee Beth Hawkins

Full Text Available Motivated thinking leads people to perceive similarity between the self and ingroups, but under some conditions, people may recognize that personal beliefs are misaligned with the beliefs of ingroups. In two focal experiments and two replications, we find evidence that perceived belief similarity moderates ingroup favoritism. As part of a charity donation task, participants donated money to a community charity or a religious charity. Compared to non-religious people, Christians favored religious charities, but within Christians, conservative Christians favored religious charities more than liberal Christians did. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the perceived political beliefs of the charity accounted for the differences in ingroup favoritism between liberal and conservative Christians. While reporting little awareness of the influence of ideology, Christian conservatives favored religious charities because they perceived them as conservative and liberal Christians favored the community charity because they perceived it as liberal.

Good feelings in christianity and buddhism: religious differences in ideal affect.

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Tsai, Jeanne L; Miao, Felicity F; Seppala, Emma

2007-03-01

Affect valuation theory (AVT) predicts cultural variation in the affective states that people ideally want to feel (i.e., "ideal affect"). National and ethnic comparisons support this prediction: For instance, European Americans (EA) value high arousal positive (HAP) states (e.g., excitement) more and low arousal positive (LAP) states (e.g., calm) less than Hong Kong Chinese. In this article, the authors examine whether religions differ in the ideal affective states they endorse. The authors predicted that Christianity values HAP more and LAP less than Buddhism. In Study 1, they compared Christian and Buddhist practitioners' ideal affect. In Studies 2 and 3, they compared the endorsement of HAP and LAP in Christian and Buddhist classical texts (e.g., Gospels, Lotus Sutra) and contemporary self-help books (e.g., Your Best Life Now, Art of Happiness). Findings supported predictions, suggesting that AVT applies to religious and to national and ethnic cultures.

Demanding a religious place. Three female Christian visionaries in the Middle East

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Jansen, W.H.M.

2011-01-01

Recently, a number of scholars have attempted to bring to light the forgotten and neglected history of religious Christian women in the Middle East. For this paper I will review this literature and compare the life stories of three female mystics in order to understand whether and how these women

Perceptions of High School Biology Teachers in Christian Schools on Relationships between Religious Beliefs and Teaching Evolution

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Mangahas, Ana Marie E.

2017-01-01

This mixed method study explored Christian teachers' beliefs in religious schools on evolution, their attitudes toward evolution, and their perceptions on the effect of those beliefs on the teaching of evolutionary content. Teachers (N = 52) from Association for Christian Schools International (ACSI) accredited schools in California and Hawaii…

When Ingroups Aren’t “In”: Perceived Political Belief Similarity Moderates Religious Ingroup Favoritism

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Hawkins, Carlee Beth; Nosek, Brian A.

2012-01-01

Motivated thinking leads people to perceive similarity between the self and ingroups, but under some conditions, people may recognize that personal beliefs are misaligned with the beliefs of ingroups. In two focal experiments and two replications, we find evidence that perceived belief similarity moderates ingroup favoritism. As part of a charity donation task, participants donated money to a community charity or a religious charity. Compared to non-religious people, Christians favored religious charities, but within Christians, conservative Christians favored religious charities more than liberal Christians did. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the perceived political beliefs of the charity accounted for the differences in ingroup favoritism between liberal and conservative Christians. While reporting little awareness of the influence of ideology, Christian conservatives favored religious charities because they perceived them as conservative and liberal Christians favored the community charity because they perceived it as liberal. PMID:23251406

The Effect of Religious Involvement on Life Satisfaction among Korean Christians: Focused on the Mediating Effect of Spiritual Well-Being and Self-Esteem.

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Yoo, Jieun

2017-12-01

The present study examined the relationship between two categories of religious involvement, namely religious belief and religious behavior, and life satisfaction among Korean Christians (N = 278) with spiritual well-being and self-esteem as potential mediators in this relationship by using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results supported the full mediated structural model and indicated that religious belief had a significant indirect effect on life satisfaction through the mediators, spiritual well-being and self-esteem. Religious behavior did not have an indirect or direct effect on life satisfaction among Korean Christians. The significance, implications, and limitations of the study were discussed.

Types Of Christian Tourism

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Cornelia Petroman

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Christian tourism is asub-type of tourism where pilgrims travel alone or in group as missionaries orpilgrims or to spend their free time to recollect; it attracts a large numberof travellers. Christian tourism can be practiced by religious young people,missionaries, participants to religious convents, amateurs of religiouscruises, religious camps, visitors of religious attractions, religiousadventurers. Christian tourism can be considered a sub-type of religioustourism because of the large number of people involved in this type of tourismworldwide. Christian tourism as a sub-category of religious tourism coversthree main sub-types: traditional pilgrimage practiced by most world religions,missionary travel to different areas in the world, and confessional voyage. Thestructure of hospitality industry is common to all types of tourism but, fortraditional pilgrimage, there must be special places for the pilgrims to sleep,eat and pray, because they belong, in most cases, to the medium-income touristcategory.

[Christian religiosity and psychothematics].

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Zweifel, A; Scharfetter, C

1977-01-01

Correlations of (christian) religiosity and religious thematization in functional psychoses with paranoid syndromes (60 pat.) were studied by an extensive questionnaire. In regard of the frequency of religious themes in the paranoid syndromes there was no difference between catholic and protestant confession. Probands with religious experiences in their psychoses had other religious socialization (a home with special interest in religious subjects). They are themselves more active in regard to religious practices, more interested in religious problems, refer more often to fear of devil and hell, feel themselves more frequently close bound to the church. The premorbid religious activity increased in the period of 6 months before hospitalisation. They judge their fathers retrospectively more often as permissive. Concerning psychopathology probands with religious thematization in their psychosis had higher values of "grandiosity" in the IMPS (LORR), had more often experiences of immediate inspiration, evidence and clearness. They were hospitalized for a longer period than probands without religious thematization.

154 THE NEUROTIC CHRISTIAN: IMPLICATIONS FOR CHRISTIAN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

personality as assessed by Cattell's 16PF questionnaire. They found that the ... infantile, self-serving and superstitious religious belief; religious insecurity leading to compulsive rituals of ..... harm than good in this area. The trained Christian ...

Religious Education towards Justice: What Kind of Justice Is to Be Taught in a Christian Context?

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Monika Bobbert

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Education is a human right. It prepares human beings for life, helps to develop individual abilities and opens up social opportunities—e.g., earning one’s own living. Religion interprets our human existence in connection to a transcendental dimension. Religion can also influence moral values and behavior. The Christian religion established a basis for social life, and thus deals with religious and moral justice. As the Christian faith is understood as the identity of the qualities of love of God, of your neighbor and even of your enemy, it has to look for justice in the world. Modern Christian ethics does unfold interpersonal and global justice for all people and tries to give good reasons for moral claims. Religious education in a Christian context has to answer the question of what kind of justice is to be taught and by what means justice, as a goal of education, can be reached within such a setting. This article will unfold, from an ethical point of view, what kind of knowledge and competence teachers must have and what kind of goals can be followed with regard to their pupils or students. The results of this reflection imply certain pedagogical methods and means and exclude others—although it is not possible to go more deeply into a pedagogical discussion.

Representational coexistence in the God concept: Core knowledge intuitions of God as a person are not revised by Christian theology despite lifelong experience.

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Barlev, Michael; Mermelstein, Spencer; German, Tamsin C

2018-01-25

Previous research has shown that in the minds of young adult religious adherents, acquired theology about the extraordinary characteristics of God (e.g., omniscience) coexists with, rather than replaces, an initial concept of God formed by co-option of the person concept. We tested the hypothesis that representational coexistence holds even after extensive experience with Christian theology, as indexed by age. Christian religious adherents ranging in age from 18 to 87 years were asked to evaluate as true or false statements on which core knowledge intuitions about persons and Christian theology about God were consistent (both true or both false) or inconsistent (true on one and false on the other). Results showed, across adulthood, more theological errors in evaluating inconsistent versus consistent statements. Older adults also exhibited slower response times to inconsistent versus consistent statements. These findings show that despite extensive experience, indeed a lifetime of experience for some participants, the Christian theological God concept does not separate from the initial person concept from which it is formed. In fact, behavioral signatures of representational coexistence were not attenuated by experience. We discuss the broader implications of these findings to the acquisition of evolutionarily new concepts.

Judeo - Igbo traditional religious conception of sin: socio – religious ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Theword sin ismore of a religious termthan ordinary. It is basically an action of defiance. That is, an action through which one deviates from the correct way or through which one misses the mark. This paper looked at how the Jews of theOld andNewTestament periods understood the concept of sin in their society.

Determinants of Secondary School Learners Performance in Christian Religious Education in Lelan Sub County, Kenya

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Akaranga, Stephen; Simiyu, Patrick Cheben

2016-01-01

In Kenya, Christian Religious Education is taught and examined by the Kenya National Examinations Council in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education at the end of the four years of Secondary Education cycle. The teaching of this subject in Secondary Schools ensures that learners are offered an opportunity to develop morally and spiritually…

Modern Christian healing of mental illness.

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Favazza, A R

1982-06-01

Healing of mental illness through religious practices was a key element of early Christianity. In the early twentieth century such healing was associated with blue-collar and rural Fundamentalists, but religious healing practices have gained widespread acceptance by many middle-class, conservative Christian groups. "Evil demons" are now equated with envy, pride, avarice, hatred, and obsessions with alcohol and gambling. Many psychotherapeutic techniques of modern Christian healers appear to be rediscoveries of psychoanalytic insights expressed in religious metaphors. Most responsible healers encourage clients to seek medical and psychiatric help, especially for serious mental disorders. Psychiatrists need not share patients' religious beliefs, but for treatment to be effective these beliefs must be understood and respected.

Religious leaders' perceptions of advance care planning: a secondary analysis of interviews with Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh and Bahá'í leaders.

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Pereira-Salgado, Amanda; Mader, Patrick; O'Callaghan, Clare; Boyd, Leanne; Staples, Margaret

2017-12-28

International guidance for advance care planning (ACP) supports the integration of spiritual and religious aspects of care within the planning process. Religious leaders' perspectives could improve how ACP programs respect patients' faith backgrounds. This study aimed to examine: (i) how religious leaders understand and consider ACP and its implications, including (ii) how religion affects followers' approaches to end-of-life care and ACP, and (iii) their implications for healthcare. Interview transcripts from a primary qualitative study conducted with religious leaders to inform an ACP website, ACPTalk, were used as data in this study. ACPTalk aims to assist health professionals conduct sensitive conversations with people from different religious backgrounds. A qualitative secondary analysis conducted on the interview transcripts focussed on religious leaders' statements related to this study's aims. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed using an inductive, comparative, and cyclical procedure informed by grounded theory. Thirty-five religious leaders (26 male; mean 58.6-years-old), from eight Christian and six non-Christian (Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh, Bahá'í) backgrounds were included. Three themes emerged which focussed on: religious leaders' ACP understanding and experiences; explanations for religious followers' approaches towards end-of-life care; and health professionals' need to enquire about how religion matters. Most leaders had some understanding of ACP and, once fully comprehended, most held ACP in positive regard. Religious followers' preferences for end-of-life care reflected family and geographical origins, cultural traditions, personal attitudes, and religiosity and faith interpretations. Implications for healthcare included the importance of avoiding generalisations and openness to individualised and/ or standardised religious expressions of one's religion. Knowledge of religious beliefs and values around death and dying

Christian Caritas in Christian Pedagogy

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Leszek Aftyka

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The article highlights the leading ideas of Christian pedagogy, which are the upbringing of children and youth of spiritual and moral values. The author stresses that Christian pedagogy serves the effective tool for the formation of the spirituality of the younger generation, the formation of philosophical representations and beliefs, etiquette, spiritual traditions and values of people in the universally accepted commandments of God. Considerable attention is paid to the formation of high morality of the younger generation, etiquette, love of people, religiousness, etc. In the Christian religion the highest value compared to all other virtues is „love”. The Christian love is rooted primarily in the commandment of love for God and man, that is why genuine charity comes from the heart full of love. This article presents the teaching of Christ for mercy to others and its practical application in the first Christian Communities. The author described the economic organization and charitable initiatives in the communities of early Christians.

Forms of Religious Glocalization: Orthodox Christianity in the Longue Durée

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Victor Roudometof

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This article advocates a “glocal turn” in the religion–globalization problematic. It proposes a model of multiple glocalizations in order to analyze the historically constituted relationship between world religions and local cultures. First, the conceptual evolution from globalization to glocalization is discussed with special reference to the study of the religion. Second, the necessity for adopting the perspective of the longue durée with regard to the study of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is explained. Third, an outline of four forms of religious glocalization is proposed. Each of these forms is presented both analytically as well as through examples from the history of Eastern Christianity (from the 8th to the 21st century. It is argued that this approach offers a model for analyzing the relation between religion, culture and society that does not succumb to the Western bias inherent in the conventional narrative of western modernization and secularization.

‘When She Calls for Help’—Domestic Violence in Christian Families

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Leonie Westenberg

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Violence in relationships is a common experience for a significant number of women. VicHealth (Australia has noted that one of the underlying and contributing factors towards violence against women is their environment, citing ‘faith-based institutions’ such as churches as one such environment for many women. Indeed, international research shows that the language of religion is often used by women to explain abuse. Additionally, abused Christian women are more likely to remain in or return to unsafe relationships, citing religious beliefs to support avoidance of ‘family break-ups’ despite abuse. In contrast, however, churches can address domestic violence within a context of care, with emphasis on a theology of biblical equality. This paper examines how domestic violence may be supported by Christian language and belief, and suggests an ‘alternate theology’ concerning religious language in concepts of gender roles, sacrifice, submission, and suffering. It reviews current research on the connection between Christian religious language and domestic violence against women, to highlight the Christian church’s role as a contributing factor to such abuse. Finally, the paper makes some suggestions on how religious language can, in contrast to perpetuating abuse through norms, sever the connections between domestic violence and religious language.

When Christianity and homosexuality collide: understanding the potential intrapersonal conflict.

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Subhi, Nasrudin; Geelan, David

2012-01-01

Reconciling sexual orientation with religious and spiritual beliefs can be challenging for Christian homosexuals, since many Christian churches teach that homosexual behavior is sinful. A qualitative study of 10 male and 10 female Christian homosexuals was conducted via semistructured interviews. This article seeks to explore the potential conflict between Christianity and homosexuality faced by the respondents. Participants' life stories and experiences varied widely. A few respondents were unaffected by the potential conflict between Christianity and homosexuality, however, the majority were affected. Effects included depression, guilt, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and alienation. Implications of the findings for support personnel are included.

A Critical Study of C.F.Davis's Views on Revelatory Religious Experiences

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Ali Shirvani

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Revelatory experiences which are regarded as a major type of religious experiences comprise what their subjects may call sudden convictions, inspiration, revelation, enlightenment, the mystical vision and flashes of insight. In Davis's point of view, these experiences have distinctive features: (i They are usually sudden and of short duration (ii the alleged new knowledge seems to the subject to have been acquired not through reasoning or sense perception (iii the alleged new knowledge usually seems to the subject to have been ' poured into ' or ' showered upon ' him her by an external agency (iv the revelations carry with them utter convicition (v the gained insights are often claimed to be impossible to put into words.  This paper is to present how Davis describes religious experiences of this category from a Christian philosophical approach to religion. It also studies her point of views from a critical Islamic mystical vision. Through this critical and comparative study, it would be revealed that what Davis claimed to be known as revelatory religious experiences has close relationship with what is called "Kashfe Ma'lanavi" (spiritual intuition in Islamic mysticism. These are examined closely in Muslims' mystical sources. Distinction between Prophet's revelation and other instances of revelatory religious experiences and exploring their main differences were of close attention for Muslim mystics (Orafa.

Religious Belonging, Religious Agency, and Women’s Autonomy in Mozambique

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Agadjanian, Victor; Yabiku, Scott T.

2016-01-01

Women’s autonomy has frequently been linked with women’s opportunities and investments, such as education, employment, and reproductive control. The association between women’s autonomy and religion in the developing world, however, has received less attention, and the few existing studies make comparisons across major religious traditions. In this study, we focus on variations in levels of female decision-making autonomy within a single religious tradition—Christianity. Using unique survey data from a predominantly Christian area in Mozambique, we devise an autonomy scale and apply it to compare women affiliated to different Christian denominations as well as unaffiliated women. In addition to affiliation, we examine the relationship between autonomy and women’s religious agency both within and outside their churches. Multivariate analyses show that women belonging to more liberal religious traditions (such as Catholicism and mainline Protestantism) and tend to have higher autonomy levels, regardless of other factors. These results are situated within the cross-national scholarship on religion and women’s empowerment and are interpreted in the context of gendered religious dynamics in Mozambique and similar developing settings. PMID:26973353

Varieties of Quest and the Religious Openness Hypothesis within Religious Fundamentalist and Biblical Foundationalist Ideological Surrounds

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P. J. Watson

2013-12-01

Full Text Available According to the Religious Openness Hypothesis, the religious and psychological openness of American Christians is obscured by a defensive ghettoization of thought associated with a Religious Fundamentalist Ideological Surround and can be discovered instead within a Biblical Foundationalist Ideological Surround. A test of this claim examined Religious Fundamentalism, Biblical Foundationalism, Quest, and Multidimensional Quest Scales in 432 undergraduates. Christian Religious Reflection, Religious Schema, and Religious Orientation measures clarified these two ideological surrounds. Partial correlations controlling for Biblical Foundationalism described a Religious Fundamentalist Ideological Surround that more strongly rejected Quest and that more generally displayed a failure to integrate faith with intellect. Partial correlations controlling for Religious Fundamentalism revealed a Biblical Foundationalist Ideological Surround that was more open to Quest and that offered numerous demonstrations of an ability to unite faith with intellect. These data supplemented previous investigations in demonstrating that Christianity and other traditional religions have ideological resources for promoting a faithful intellect.

Christian Ethics in a Corrupt Society: A Challenge to Christians in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Christian ethics revolves around morality that concentrates on whether an action is morally good or bad. It implies that Christian ethics which is a branch of religious ethics ensures that people's actions are in tandem with the acceptable moral standard, thereby contributing a lot in human moral development. It becomes ...

Christian Spiritual Experience as a Model of a Culture of Dialogue

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Rybicki Adam

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A space for dialogue between people and the cultures is a focus of this article. To start with, the biblical basis for analysing spiritual experience is presented, followed by the components of Christian spiritual-religious experience. It is also explored whether it is possible to cross-reference the said components with the culture of dialogue. A particular focus is made on the spirituality of encounter and mysticism that leads to a conclusion that a reliable and continuously deepening reflection on Christian spirituality shows its value not only on a “vertical” (upright plane, i.e. a dialogue with God, but also on a horizontal, flat plane. It shapes the overall attitude of a person, both towards other people and towards themselves, as well as towards the world around them. Certain elements may play a major role in shaping the culture of dialogue between people and the communities of people. These elements are: relational character, desire of getting to know “the other you”, emphasizing the dignity of “the other you”, mutual respect, shared search for and acceptance of the truth and a communal dimension (communion. The ethical aspects of spiritual experience – including a mystical experience – such as conscience, virtue or value, have also been regarded because the ethical elements play a very important role in the dialogue of people and communities.

Studying religious music at the grassroots level: a look into the discourse practices of Christian metal bands online

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Henna Jousmäki

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Religious issues are studied in various ways, most prominently by sociologists of religion. This paper suggests that in today’s world of globally intersecting webs of people, places, ideas and action, scholars and readers interested in religion will find themselves benefiting from cross-disciplinary approaches which help them to conceptualize and describe today’s phenomena at different levels. This paper describes how the emerging discipline of the sociology of language and religion may be applied to studying Christian metal bands’ discourse online. Although previous studies give a good idea of the structures, practices and tendencies in and related to Christian metal, little is reported on what happens at the very micro-level of Christian metal – for example, how they represent themselves to their audiences, what they sing about, and what else they say and, importantly, how they say it. To fill this gap, Christian metal bands’ online presence is examined with a particular interest in how the bands utilize online spaces to build up Christian metal identity and culture with the help of textual, discursive, and multimodal resources. This includes a look at the online self-representation of Christian metal bands, a more detailed investigation of the uses of the Bible on bands’ websites, as well as perspectives on an important part of Christian metal; namely the lyrics.

Christian rock concerts as a meeting between religion and popular culture

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Andreas Häger

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Different forms of artistic expression play a vital role in religious practices of the most diverse traditions. One very important such expression is music. This paper deals with a contemporary form of religious music, Christian rock. Rock or popular music has been used within Christianity as a means for evangelization and worship since the end of the 1960s. The genre of "contemporary Christian music", or Christian rock, stands by definition with one foot in established institutional (in practicality often evangelical Christianity, and the other in the commercial rock musicindustry. The subject of this paper is to study how this intermediate position is manifested and negotiated in Christian rock concerts. Such a performance of Christian rock music is here assumed to be both a rock concert and a religious service. The paper will examine how this duality is expressed in practices at Christian rock concerts.

Christianity and Schizophrenia Redux: An Empirical Study.

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Kéri, Szabolcs; Kelemen, Oguz

2016-04-09

This paper explores the relationship among schizophrenia, spirituality, and Christian religiosity. We interviewed 120 patients with schizophrenia and 120 control individuals (74.2 % of individuals with self-reported Christian religions). Patients with schizophrenia showed increases in positive spirituality and decreases in positive congregational support, as measured by the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality. There was no significant difference in Christian religiosity. Higher positive spirituality was predicted by more severe self-disorder, perceptual disorder, and positive clinical symptoms. Schizophrenia patients with religious delusions did not exhibit enhanced Christian beliefs and rituals. These results do not confirm the hypothesis of general hyper-religiosity in schizophrenia.

Religious experiments in colonial Calcutta: modern Hinduism and bhakti among the Indian middle class

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Ferdinando Sardella

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Any discussion of India from the point of view of the West must deal with the problem posed by the colonial past and the ways in which India was colonized, interpreted and constructed to fit into an imperialist agenda. The terms ‘Hinduism’ and ‘religion’, for example, are themselves quite problematic, since they are born of Western and Judeo-Christian thought, and may not reflect the complexity and diversity of Indic traditions well enough. A translation and transmission of terms and concepts from one cultural domain to another is required, but it is bound to be merely tentative and approximate, since a comprehension of the full meaning of words and concepts related to Indic religions presupposes an extensive grounding in the rich religious thought of India. Bhaktisiddhānta lived on the border between the nineteenth and the twentieth century, between the black and the white towns of Calcutta, between India and the West, and between two world wars. His effort to search for and apply bhakti to the social, political and cultural crises of his time is important for grasping the vitality and dynamism of Indic religions in our time. It is also important for appreciating the struggle carried out by a growing Indian and Hindu middle class to bridge the gaps between East and West, and on the basis of indigenous culture produce new ideas for reciprocal co-operation, which in the case of Bhaktisiddhānta were related to the idea and practice of bhakti.

Cultural border crossing: The interaction between fundamental Christian beliefs and scientific explanations

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Elimbi, Celestine Nakeli

The purpose of this study is to investigate the interaction between people's fundamental Christian beliefs and scientific explanations. When people with fundamental Christian beliefs encounter scientific explanations, such explanations may interact with their deeply rooted beliefs in a way that is likely to produce tensions. It is expedient to understand the classroom/professional experiences of such individuals and how they manage these tensions. I will apply Jegede's collateral learning theory as a lens to look at how individuals manage the tensions between their religious and scientific worldviews. Gaining insight into people's experiences in the classroom/work place and how they manage these tensions will potentially inform classroom instruction and ways by which we can help students with fundamental Christian beliefs maintain their pursuit of science related careers by easing the nature of the borders they cross. Sources of data will include participant reported perspectives of how they manage the tensions and observations of real-time resolution of potentially conflicting explanations from their religious and scientific worldviews.

Christianity Facing the Ageing of Global Population

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Anna Sanecka

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The ageing population is a great challenge for the whole world including churches, Christian communities, Christian families and the so-called “Christian countries”. The respect and support for elderly people is almost a common rule of social life in developed countries regardless of religious views. But in the Christian world this obligation has very strong religious justification – obligation enshrined in the Commandments of Old (the fourth/fifth Commandment and New (the second one of The Greatest Commandments of Love Testaments. Therefore between the Christianity – understood as a set of different communities sharing their beliefs in Jesus Christ – and aging population there are many very different connections including among others: honour and respect, privilege, obligations, giving – receiving relations, duty, charity, solidarity, dependency. They are present both in the teaching and the practice of different Christian communities starting with Churches, through NGOs and Christian societies, ending with Christian families. The paper shows some of these connections. It also tries – based on a case of Poland – to answer the question whether the Christianity is ready to face the aging of global population

Marginal Christian spirituality: An example from a meditation group

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Versteeg, P.G.A.

2006-01-01

Spirituality is one of the forms of religion that seems to thrive in secularised Western societies. It has become an umbrella term for a variety of experience-oriented religious practices in Western societies. The popularity of spirituality is clearly visible within Christian settings, both inside

Re-Envisioning Religious Education in Light of Persons with "Disabilities"

Science.gov (United States)

Kyle, Eric J.

2013-01-01

The lived experience of persons with disabilities necessarily challenges our understandings of religious education. In this article, the author reviews how the marginalized lives of persons with disabilities might lead us to re-envision how religious education is defined and embodied in Western Christian communities. Based on this, suggestions are…

Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God or for America? Christian Nationalism, the Christian Right, and the Contra War

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Lauren Frances Turek

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This essay uses the concept of Christian nationalism to explore the religious dynamics of the Contra war and U.S.–Nicaraguan relations during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Religious organizations and individuals played crucial roles on both sides in the war in Nicaragua and in the debates in the United States over support for the Contras. Evangelistic work strengthened transnational ties between Christians, but also raised the stakes of the war; supporters of the Sandinistas and Contras alike alleged a victory by their adversary imperiled the future of Christianity in Nicaragua. Christian nationalism thus manifested itself and intertwined in both the United States and Nicaragua. Examining how evangelicals and Catholics in the United States and Nicaragua, as well as the Reagan administration, the Contras, and the Sandinistas, used Christian nationalism to build support for their policy objectives sheds light on both the malleability and the power of identifying faith with the state. Having assessed Christian nationalism as a tool and a locus of conflict in the Contra war, the essay then steps back and considers the larger methodological implications of using Christian nationalism as a category of analysis in U.S. foreign relations history.

Why Teach Doctrine? A Response to Dan Moulin's "Challenging Christianity: Leo Tolstoy and Religious Education" in "Journal of Beliefs and Values," Vol. 30, No. 2, August 2009

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Thompson, Penny; Watson, Brenda

2010-01-01

In response to the article by Dan Moulin it is argued that the representation of Christianity in British religious education relies on central beliefs and practices that are widely shared. In contrast to Moulin we consider that the teaching of doctrine is important in order to prevent serious misunderstanding of Christianity. Focussing on a…

Apokalyptický film - předpoklady, podoby a funkce

OpenAIRE

Novák, Michal

2011-01-01

The bachelor thesis "Apocalyptic movie - background, forms and function" deals the apocalyptic movie phenomenon as a functional element in the occidental civilization since 1920s until now. It investigates the origins of apocalyptic thinking, i.e. expectation of the end- time, and emphasizes its religious, philosophic and practical impact in society based on Judeo- Christian tradition. It tries to adumbrate recent public apprehension, evoked by technology development, spreading of diseases, o...

Managing Religious Conflicts in Nigeria: The Inter-Religious ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigeria with over 150 million people consists of muslims and christians who live across the country. The religious divide in the country crisscrosses more than 250 ethnic groups as well as deep political divisions that cross religious lines. Over the last decade, numerous 'hotspots' around the country have suffered from ...

Temporal Features of the Differentiation between Self-Name and Religious Leader Name among Christians: An ERP Study

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Ruixue Xia

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Existing neuroimaging studies have shown that religion, as a subjective culture, can influence self-referential processing. However, the time course of this impact remains unclear. The present study examined how Christians process their own names, the name of their religious leader (i.e., Jesus, and a famous person’s name (i.e., Yao Ming. Behavioral and EEG data were recorded while the participants performed a name-color judgment task for these three names. The behavioral data showed no significant differences in reaction time or accuracy among the names. However, the ERP data showed that the P200 and P300 amplitudes elicited by the self-name and religious leader name were larger than those elicited by the famous name. Furthermore, the self-name also elicited a larger P300 amplitude than the religious leader name did. These results suggested that both the self-name and the religious leader name were processed preferentially due to their important social value for the self as compared to a generally famous name. Importantly, the dissociation between the self-name and the religious leader name was observed at a high-order cognitive stage, which might be attributed to their different roles in one’s self-concept.

Christian Commitment and Personal Well Being: Exploring the Connection between Religious Affect and Global Happiness among Young Churchgoers in Australia

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Francis, Leslie J.; Penny, Gemma

2016-01-01

Drawing on data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey, this study was designed to assess the connection between religious affect (as a measure of Christian commitment) and global happiness (as a measure of personal well being) among a sample of 6,194 young churchgoers in Australia between the ages of 8 and 14 years, attending a…

From Contextual Theology to African Christianity: The Consideration of Adiaphora from a South African Perspective

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Joel Mokhoathi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The move towards contextual Christianity in Africa is an essential venture if Christianity is to communicate with the African cultural heritage. As a universal religion, Christianity has to find an expression within the cultural context. However, the contextualization of Christianity in Africa appears to have permitted the practice of syncretism. It has resulted in the emergence of African Christianity, which is the amalgamation of Christianity and African Traditional Religion. The amalgamation of Christianity and African Traditional Religion appears to overlook the essence of both religions as there is currently no clarity on how Christianity can best be expressed within the African cultural and religious heritage. This paper employs the document review method to explore the things that fall in between—“adiaphora”, which the proponents of contextual Christianity may have overlooked with regard to the African cultural and religious heritage. These include the pragmatic nature of the African cultural and religious heritage, and the African traditional methods of healing.

STATE POLICIES ON RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN INDONESIA

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M. Mujiburrahman

2008-02-01

Full Text Available This article discusses how Indonesian state manages its religious diversity. The state policies on religious diversity cannot be understood without analyzing the history of how the founding fathers decided to choose Indonesia as neither secular nor Islamic country, but somewhere between the two. The author discusses three topics, namely the recognized religions, Muslim fear of Christianization, and dialogue and inter-religious harmony. Based on the Decree No.1/1965, Confucianism was one of six religions recognized by the state. However, in the Soeharto era, around 1979, this religion was dropped from the list, and only after his fall Confucianism has been rehabilitated, and even the Chinese New Year has been included as one of the national holidays in Indonesia. In terms of Muslim-Christian relations, there were tensions since 1960s, particularly dealt with the issue of the high number of Muslims who converted to Christianity. It was in this situation that in 1967 a newly built Methodist Church in Meulaboh, Aceh, was closed by Muslims, arguing that the Church was a concrete example of the aggressiveness of Christian missions because it was built in a Muslim majority area. Since the Meulaboh case, the Muslims consistently insisted the government to accommodate their four demands: (1 restriction on establishing new places of worship; (2 restriction onreligious propagation, and control of foreign aid for religious institutions; (4 Islamic religion classes should be given to Muslim students studying in Christian schools; (5 inter-religious marriage should not be allowed. Apart from these contested issues, the government and religious leaders have been trying to avoid conflict and to establish cooperation and peace among religious groups in the country through inter-religious dialogues, either organized by the government or sponsored by the leaders of religious groups themselves. The author argues that specific socio-political contexts should be

Modern Christian Landscape in Nanjing, China: A Literature Review

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Cheng Fang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Between the First Opium War in 1840 and the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the development of modern Christianity in Nanjing expanded beyond the parameters of faith and spirituality, while interacting closely with Nanjing’s city life and space across a wider spectrum, such that a unique religious and cultural landscape was produced. Through an extensive literature review of 115 articles identified on this topic, this paper analyzes the development of the space of Christian churches in Nanjing, and further documents the pattern of interactions between Nanjing’s development as a modern city and its religious cultural landscape. Moreover, drawing from the theoretical perspective of Sense of Place, the paper summarizes the characteristics of religious cultural landscape in the aspects of vision and structure, function and modernization, and memory and identity, and points out that the Christian landscape should also be conducted from the activation of material form, local functions and historical meanings to achieve sustainable development of Christian landscape. Finally, the paper offers planning and design strategies for the continued growth of Christian landscape in Nanjing.

Near-Death Experiences in a Multi-religious Hospital Population in Sri Lanka.

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Chandradasa, Miyuru; Wijesinghe, Chamara; Kuruppuarachchi, K A L A; Perera, Mahendra

2017-07-01

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are a wide range of experiences that occur in association with impending death. There are no published studies on NDEs in general hospital populations, and studies have been mainly conducted on critically ill patients. We assessed the prevalence of NDEs and its associations in a multi-religious population in a general hospital in Sri Lanka. A randomised sample of patients admitted to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital was assessed using the Greyson NDE scale and clinical assessment. Out of total 826 participants, NDEs were described by 3%. Compared to the NDE-negative participants, the NDE-positive group had a significantly higher mean for age and a ratio of men. Women reported deeper NDEs. Patients of theistic religions (Christianity, Islam and Hinduism) reported significantly more NDEs compared to patients from the non-theistic religious group (Buddhism). NDE-positive patient group had significantly higher reporting of a feeling 'that they are about to die', the presence of loss of consciousness and a higher percentage of internal medical patients. This is the first time that NDEs are assessed in a general hospital population and NDEs being reported from Sri Lanka. We also note for the first time that persons with theistic religious beliefs reported more NDEs than those with non-theistic religious beliefs. Medical professionals need to be aware of these phenomena to be able to give an empathic hearing to patients who have NDE.

Christian Nurture and the New Cosmology

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Price, Elizabeth Box

2008-01-01

Christian Religious Education recognizes the crisis in perception caused by eroding cosmologies and engages persons in the reformulating of Christian stories that negate a limiting materialism perpetuating consumerism destructive to life. A course is developed for theological students in which they may become aware of cosmology and its New Story,…

Orthodox Christian Education in Modern Russia: Structure and Content

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Sklyarova, T. V.

2018-01-01

The article describes Orthodox Christian education as a kind of religious education. It offers a definition of Orthodox Christian education and characterizes its structure in modern Russia. It proposes a model for the Orthodox Christian education system, including introductory, basic, professional, and advanced academic levels. The author…

Da religião do sacrifício à religião da fraternidade =From the religion of sacrifice to the religion of fraternity

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Susin, Luiz Carlos

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Há uma relação entre religião e violência que consiste basicamente em sacralização da violência através da sublimação da mesma como sacrifício. Ora, o sacrifício está no coração de toda religião, de forma descarada nas religiões arcaicas e de forma metamorfoseada e mascarada na evolução histórica da religião. A Escritura testemunha as ambiguidades do sacrifício e o choque profético entre o sacrifício e a misericórdia. O Cristianismo, em sua fonte, é a superação radical do sacrifício, mas, ao longo da história, novas metamorfoses do sacrifício surgem no Cristianismo. É a volta às fontes e a renovação de sua experiência na confraternização universal, testada pelos excluídos, que legitimam a originalidade do Cristianismo e um sentido realmente cristão para a palavra sacrifício. There is a relation between religion and violence that consists basically in making violence sacred through its sublimation as a sacrifice. Therefore, sacrifice is at the heart of all religion, in a blatant way in archaic religions and in a metamorphosed and masked way in the historical evolution of religion. The Scriptures witness the ambiguities of sacrifice and the prophetic shock between sacrifice and mercy. Christianity, in its origin, is the radical overcoming of sacrifice, but throughout history new ways sacrifice has metamorphosed appear in Christianity. It’s the return to the sources and the renewal of this experience in universal fellowship, tested by those excluded, who legitimate the uniqueness of Christianity and a true Christian meaning to the word sacrifice.

Christian Religious Education Research in the Japanese Context

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Okuda, Kazuhiro

2006-01-01

Protestant Christianity was brought to Japan during the modernization of that country in the middle of the nineteenth century. Before the Second World War, except for a short time, Christianity in Japan as a Western religion had experienced a difficult course of history because of hostility due to nationalism of the populace and the leaders of the…

Religious Tourism - a Finnish Perspective

OpenAIRE

Nieminen, Katri

2012-01-01

This thesis deals with religious tourism. The objectives of this study are firstly to understand what religious tourism is, who the tourists attracted to religious tourism are, what the destinations and motives for religious holidays are and what the future of religious tourism looks like. This study is limited to dealing with Christian religious tourism. There is a survey made to find out firstly how religious tourism is understood and what the important destinations for religious touri...

Church Attendance and Religious Experience

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Marianne Nilsen Kvande

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that gender may moderate the relationship between religiousness and mental health in most countries, but few studies have been conducted in Norway and Denmark. This study examined gender differences in religious experiences and church attendance as predictors of existential well-being among 295 women and 233 men from the general Norwegian population. Analyses showed that the structural equation models for women and men did not differ significantly on the global level. The models for women and men, however, showed different patterns. Among men, church attendance and negative religious experiences predicted existential well-being; among women, positive and negative religious experiences were related to existential well-being, but church attendance was not. The present findings suggest that men may benefit more from active religiousness, whereas women may benefit more from affective religiousness. Comparing these results with research in other cultural contexts, we find that different operationalizations of church attendance yield the same types of patterns across cultural contexts. Consequently, the benefits of religiousness may be similar for women and men irrespective of cultural context.

The Religious Facebook Experience: Uses and Gratifications of Faith-Based Content

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Pamela Jo Brubaker

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study explores why Christians ( N  = 335 use Facebook for religious purposes and the needs engaging with religious content on Facebook gratifies. Individuals who access faith-based content on Facebook were recruited to participate in an online survey through a series of Facebook advertisements. An exploratory factor analysis revealed four primary motivations for accessing religious Facebook content: ministering, spiritual enlightenment, religious information, and entertainment. Along with identifying the uses and gratifications received from engaging with faith-based Facebook content, this research reveals how the frequency of Facebook use, the intensity of Facebook use for religious purposes, and also religiosity predict motivations for accessing this social networking site for faith-based purposes. The data revealed those who frequently use Facebook for posting, liking, commenting, and sharing faith-based content and who are more religious are more likely to minister to others. Frequent use also predicted seeking religious information. The affiliation with like-minded individuals afforded by this medium provides faith-based users with supportive content and communities that motivate the use of Facebook for obtaining spiritual guidance, for accessing religious resources, and for relaxing and being entertained.

A Neuro-psychological Explanation of Religious Experience?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Runehov, Anne Leona Cesarine

2004-01-01

and for the problem arising when drawing inadequately reasoned conclusions. Key Words Religious experiences, religious Erlebnis, religious Erfahrung, (religious) ideology, neuroscience, neuropsychology, pain, PET, reductionism, partial reductionism, Transcendental Meditation, epilepsy, schizophrenia.......The search for the basis of religious experience among neurological processes in the brain has resulted in a widespread debate within, as well as outside the academic world. The aim of this paper is to analyse to what extent a neuro-psychological theory could explain the phenomenon of religious...... experience. To clarify what the neuro-psychological studies of the present paper mean by the concept of religious experience, the concept has been divided into three different types: the Erlebnis or RErl type, the Erfahrung or RErf type and the ideological or RIT type of religious experience. In his studies...

Middle Eastern Christian spaces in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galal, Lise Paulsen; Hunter, Alistair; McCallum, Fiona

2016-01-01

Despite little scholarly attention, Middle Eastern Christian Churches are a well-established element of the European religious landscape. Based on collaborative research, this article examines how three mutual field visits facilitated a deeper understanding of the complexity that characterises...... church establishment and activities among Iraqi, Assyrian/Syriac and Coptic Orthodox Christians in the UK, Sweden and Denmark. Exploring analytical dimensions of space, diversity, size, and minority position we identify three positions of Middle Eastern Christians: in London as the epitome of super...

Christians in South Africa: The statistical picture

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. Christians in South Africa; The statistical picture. Government censuses since 1960 indicate that the religious picture was already largely fixed by the 1950s. Already at that stage some 3 out of 4. South Africans identified themselves as 'Christians'. Since then this percentage grew steadily, mainly because of ...

Religious beliefs along the suicidal path in northern Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Chun-Kai; Lu, Hsin-Chin; Liu, Shen-ing; Sun, Yi-Wen

2011-01-01

This study aimed to understand the current inclinations toward depression and compulsion for members of four different religious groups, and to predict religious beliefs along the suicide path through analyzing the lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts for members of these religious groups. Participants in this cross-sectional study, which adopted purposive sampling, were members of Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism, and Taoism in northern Taiwan. In the case of suicide experiences, suicides among people one knows, and tendency toward compulsion and depression, there are statistical differences between the four religions. According to the results, some people with suicidal tendency will attend religious activities; therefore, we predict that religious beliefs play an important role in suicide prevention.

Self-esteem and in-group bias among members of a religious social category.

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Hunter, J A

2001-06-01

In a sample of New Zealand university students, the author extended earlier research into the relationship between self-esteem and intergroup discrimination. He found no support for the hypothesis that social-category members (i.e., Christians) experience an elevation in the domain of self-esteem (i.e., religious self-esteem) judged as more relevant to the in-group after evaluations favoring the in-group. Regardless of whether the evaluation targets behaved positively or negatively, the respondents in the experimental condition evaluated in-group (Christian) targets more highly than out-group (Atheist) targets. After evaluations favoring the in-group, the respondents did not experience an elevation of religious self-esteem, global self-esteem, or mathematical self-esteem (judged as less relevant to the in-group).

Zambia: Multi-Faith Religious Education?

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Carmody, Brendan

2006-01-01

As countries' populations become more religiously diverse, a need to review the religious education syllabus that operates is often perceived. One such country is Zambia, which was not only traditionally religiously diverse but has become even more so with the advent of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism and other non-African faiths. This article…

Understanding religious behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, S

1979-01-01

The attached (to mother) fetus-infant finds his religious expression in Buddhism. The attached (to group) juvenile finds his religious expression in Judaism and other tribalisms. The attached (to spouse) adult finds his religious expression in agnosticism and secularism. Attached phases are placid and of progressively decreasing emotional intensity. The three detaching phases are hurtful and hence soteriological, and are also of progressively decreasing emotional intensity. The toddler-young child finds his religious expression in Christianity, the adolescent in atheism and/or Marxism, and the aged, sick or dying plucks at any religious or secular aid.

An Examination of Ideology among Selected K12 Christian School Superintendents

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Dolson, Jimmy L.

2013-01-01

This research project focused on explaining the decision making process of K12 Christian school superintendents whose schools belong to the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) organization. In spite of their similar religious and philosophical beliefs, ACSI K12 Christian school superintendents differed significantly in…

The 4th R: Encountering Conservative Christianity in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett-Fox, Rebecca

2016-01-01

This article examines how scripts that circulate among culturally and theologically conservative Christian students, whether they are categorized as "born again," "Religious Right," "Christian Right," "nondenominational," "evangelical," or "fundamental," aim to prime students for the…

Comparative Framework for Understanding Jewish and Christian Violent Fundamentalism

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Arie Perliger

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Although most scholars agree that in the last couple of decades, religious fundamentalism has become the dominant ideological feature in the landscape of modern terrorism, many prefer to ignore the fact that this is not a development which is restricted to the Islamic world, and that other religious traditions have also experienced growth in groups which prefer to use violent strategies to promote their sacred visions. The current chapter strives to fill this gap by analyzing the emergence of violent religious groups in two distinct, non-Islamic, religious traditions. At first glance, the Christian Identity and the Religious-Zionist movements have very little in common. However, both movements served as a breeding ground for the emergence of violent fundamentalist groups aspiring to facilitate an apocalyptic/redemption scenario by engaging in illegal violent campaigns. Moreover, in both cases, the role of spiritual leaders was crucial in shaping the radicalization of the groups and their target selection, and the violence had a clear symbolic narrative. In other words, for the members of these violent groups, the violence served a clear role in the mobilization of potential supporters, and the branding and dissemination of the movement's ideology. Finally, while in general, terrorism is perceived as the weapon of the weak, in these two cases it was perpetrated by individuals/groups affiliated to communities belonging to the dominant religious framework in their respective polities (i.e., the Religious-Zionist and Christian Identity movements are perceived by their members as branches of Judaism and Christianity. Hence, by utilizing a comparative framework, the article will not just analyze the violent manifestations that emerged from these two movements, but also try to identify the unique factors that characterize and facilitate the emergence of religious groups within religious communities belonging to the dominant religious tradition in their

Parental Involvement in Elementary Children's Religious Education: A Phenomenological Approach

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Bunnell, Peter Wayne

2016-01-01

The issue of parental involvement in religious education is an important one for the family, the church, the Christian school, and society. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe parents' concepts and practices of involvement in their children's religious education as evangelical Christian parents in Midwestern communities.…

Medical ethics--a Christian view.

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Habgood, J S

1985-01-01

All ethics has a religious dimension. This paper considers how specific Christian insights concerning death, suffering, human nature and human creatureliness can help to expose more fully the moral issues at stake in some of the dilemmas faced by doctors. It ends by acknowledging the crushing burden of decision-making which rests on many in the medical profession, and indicates the importance of religious resources in dealing with this. PMID:3981562

Core Intuitions About Persons Coexist and Interfere With Acquired Christian Beliefs About God.

Science.gov (United States)

Barlev, Michael; Mermelstein, Spencer; German, Tamsin C

2017-04-01

This study tested the hypothesis that in the minds of adult religious adherents, acquired beliefs about the extraordinary characteristics of God coexist with, rather than replace, an initial representation of God formed by co-option of the evolved person concept. In three experiments, Christian religious adherents were asked to evaluate a series of statements for which core intuitions about persons and acquired Christian beliefs about God were consistent (i.e., true according to both [e.g., "God has beliefs that are true"] or false according to both [e.g., "All beliefs God has are false"]) or inconsistent (i.e., true on intuition but false theologically [e.g., "God has beliefs that are false"] or false on intuition but true theologically [e.g., "All beliefs God has are true"]). Participants were less accurate and slower to respond to inconsistent versus consistent statements, suggesting that the core intuitions both coexisted alongside and interfered with the acquired beliefs (Experiments 1 and 2). In Experiment 2 when responding under time pressure participants were disproportionately more likely to make errors on inconsistent versus consistent statements than when responding with no time pressure, suggesting that the resolution of interference requires cognitive resources the functioning of which decreases under cognitive load. In Experiment 3 a plausible alternative interpretation of these findings was ruled out by demonstrating that the response accuracy and time differences on consistent versus inconsistent statements occur for God-a supernatural religious entity-but not for a natural religious entity (a priest). Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Church of England Schools as Centres for Religious Abuse or Avenues for Religious Nurture? (The Rights of Children to Encounter Faith in the School Context)

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Worsley, Howard

2008-01-01

After an overview of the British context in 2005 and its ambivalent attitude to Church schools, this article explores the issues of potential religious abuse, alongside a preferred holistic Christian discipleship. The final section explains how Church schools can operate in a way that encourages Christian nurture and prevent religious abuse. The…

Religious Experience from a Neuro-Psychological View

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Hadi Vakili

2011-08-01

Full Text Available The search for the basis of religious experience among neurological processes in the brain has resulted in a widespread debate within, as well as outside the academic world. The aim of this paper is to analyze to what extent a neuro-psychological theory could explain the phenomenon of  religious experience. To clarify what the neuro-psychological studies of  the present paper mean by the concept of  religious experience, the concept has been divided into three different types: The Erlebnis or RErl type, the Erfahrung or RErf type and the ideological type of religious experience or RIT type. Furthermore, the present paper is focused on the work of neuro-psychologist M. A. Persinger [1997, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1987, 1985, and 1984]. In his studies, Persinger indicates that mystical experience (RErl has its seat in the right hemisphere of the human brain, whereas (religious ideology (RIT is related to the left hemisphere. Consequently, the hemisphere in which the (religious experience is taking place seems to label the type of experience. Persinger, interested in the powerful effects of religious experience (of the RErf type on human beings, asserts that if we could understand the neuro-cognitive processes involved in experiencing religiously, such processes might be copied for clinical use in order to improve psychiatric therapy for curing depression. Thus, Persinger studied and compared people practicing religious meditation with people who did not, and also studied the results of PET scanning on the experiences of schizophrenic and epileptic patients. PET scanning measures the metabolic activity in the hemispheres, ranging it on a scale from under normal to over normal activity. This paper will account for the relevance of comparing these two apparently different studies and for the problem arising the experience of pain because, neurologically, pain, like religious experience,is said to be caused by processes in the human brain.

"Flee from the Worship of Idols": Becoming Christian in Roman Corinth

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Byler, Dorvan

2016-01-01

The religious contexts in which early Christian communities grew were important factors in the first-century development of Christianity, affecting what it meant to become a Christian--either as a convert from a background in Judaism or as a convert from a background in Greek, Roman, or Egyptian cults. Surrounding religions and cultural norms…

Religious morality (and secular humanism) in Western civilization as precursors to medical ethics: A historic perspective

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Faria, Miguel A.

2015-01-01

In discussing bioethics and the formulation of neuroethics, the question has arisen as to whether secular humanism should be the sole philosophical guiding light, to the exclusion of any discussion (or even mention) of religious morality, in professional medical ethics. In addition, the question has arisen as to whether freedom or censorship should be part of medical (and neuroscience) journalism. Should independent medical journals abstain from discussing certain issues, or should only the major medical journals — i.e., the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) or Lancet — be heard, speaking with one “consensual,” authoritative voice? This issue is particularly important in controversial topics impacting medical politics — e.g., public health policy, socio-economics, bioethics, and the so-called redistributive justice in health care. Should all sides be heard when those controversial topics are discussed or only a consensual (monolithic) side? This historical review article discusses those issues and opts for freedom in medical and surgical practice as well as freedom in medical journalism, particularly in opinion pieces such as editorials, commentaries, or letters to the editor, as long as they relate to medicine and, in our special case, to neuroscience and neurosurgery. After answering those questions, and in response to a critical letter to the editor, this review article then expounds comprehensively on the historical and philosophical origins of ethics and religious morality. Necessarily, we discuss the Graeco-Roman legacy and the Judeo-Christian inheritance in the development of ethics and religious morality in Western civilization and their impact on moral conduct in general and on medical and neuroscience ethics in particular. PMID:26110085

Contrasting Policies towards (Mainly) Christian Education in Different Contexts

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Watson, Keith

2010-01-01

During the past 10 to 15 years there has been a renewed interest in the place of religion, religious education and religious schools in different parts of the world. This began in the USA and Europe with the development of private Christian schools. It was later followed by the resurgence of religious schools in the former parts of the Soviet…

Ethno-Religiosity in Orthodox Christianity: A Source of Solidarity & Multiculturalism in American Society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Durante

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This study will analyze the processes of community organization implemented by Eastern Orthodox Christian ethno-religious groups, and Greek Orthodox Christian communities in particular, to establish themselves in American civil society. It will be argued that the symbiotic relationship formed between ethnicity and religion in this tradition, as well as the democratized grassroots mode of community organization that American civil society fosters, contributes to a strong sense of belonging amongst members of the ethno-religious Orthodox Christian congregations. In turn, this sense of belonging has produced a multi-layered mechanism for solidarity-building in these communities. It will then be suggested that in addition to contributing to America’s religious diversity, the preservation of ethno-linguistic heritage by the various Orthodox Christian churches simultaneously contributes to America’s poly-ethnicity and linguistic diversity as well. Last, it will be argued that the continued survival of ethno-religiosity in American Orthodoxy can either lead to further isolation amongst the separate ethnic congregations, or it can alternatively open avenues for the cultivation of a form of Orthodox Christian multiculturalism that supports neither homogeneity nor isolationism.

Religious aspects of assisted reproduction

Science.gov (United States)

Sallam, H N; Sallam, N H

2016-03-28

Human response to new developments regarding birth, death, marriage and divorce is largely shaped by religious beliefs. When assisted reproduction was introduced into medical practice in the last quarter of the twentieth century, it was fiercely attacked by some religious groups and highly welcomed by others. Today, assisted reproduction is accepted in nearly all its forms by Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism, although most Orthodox Jews refuse third party involvement. On the contrary assisted reproduction is totally unacceptable to Roman Catholicism, while Protestants, Anglicans, Coptic Christians and Sunni Muslims accept most of its forms, which do not involve gamete or embryo donation. Orthodox Christians are less strict than Catholic Christians but still refuse third party involvement. Interestingly, in contrast to Sunni Islam, Shi'a Islam accepts gamete donation and has made provisions to institutionalize it. Chinese culture is strongly influenced by Confucianism, which accepts all forms of assisted reproduction that do not involve third parties. Other communities follow the law of the land, which is usually dictated by the religious group(s) that make(s) the majority of that specific community. The debate will certainly continue as long as new developments arise in the ever-evolving field of assisted reproduction.

Empowering religious institutions through the basic Christian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Two approaches to development, the Farming systems approach and the Basic Christian Community approach are examined in terms of success rates. Both approaches record a partial success due to one – sided emphasis on development. The farming systems approach which enjoys financial support from funding ...

The Myth of Religious Experience Revisited

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Zangwill Nick

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This article replies to Manuel Fasko’s “The Demystification of Nick Zangwill’s ‘Myth of Religious Experience’” (2017, showing how author’s argument against the possibility of religious experience presented in “The Myth of Religious Experience” (2004 remains in tact.

Online Religious Advertising: The Case of Australian Christian Youth Festivals

Science.gov (United States)

Teusner, Paul Emerson

2014-01-01

This chapter explores the changing nature of Christian denominational discourse in an Australian context as informed by Internet technologies. It will take as its case study three Internet sites developed and published for the promotion of three separate Christian youth festivals held in Australia between July 2008 and January 2009, undertaking a…

Animal Welfare in Different Human Cultures, Traditions and Religious Faiths

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E. Szűcs

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Animal welfare has become a growing concern affecting acceptability of agricultural systems in many countries around the world. An earlier Judeo-Christian interpretation of the Bible (1982 that dominion over animals meant that any degree of exploitation was acceptable has changed for most people to mean that each person has responsibility for animal welfare. This view was evident in some ancient Greek writings and has parallels in Islamic teaching. A minority view of Christians, which is a widespread view of Jains, Buddhists and many Hindus, is that animals should not be used by humans as food or for other purposes. The commonest philosophical positions now, concerning how animals should be treated, are a blend of deontological and utilitarian approaches. Most people think that extremes of poor welfare in animals are unacceptable and that those who keep animals should strive for good welfare. Hence animal welfare science, which allows the evaluation of welfare, has developed rapidly.

House Church: Investigating Chinese Urban Christians’ Choice of Religious Practicing Site in Wuhan, China

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Junqiang Han

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we discuss the reasons why urban Christians choose certain sites for religious activities and explain the rapid development of house churches in urban areas in China from the perspective of individual Christians, through survey data obtained by the Chinese Urban Research Center for Ethnic and Religious Affairs Management in the city of Wuhan. We found that Christians who attend religious activities in urban house churches are generally younger in age, higher in education level, and more likely to be working in independent, private, or foreign-invested enterprises. Further investigation reveals that “Three-Self churches” are few in number and poorly planned geographically, resulting in very limited service abilities, thus being far from satisfactory for all believers. Moreover, the activities of such churches are unvaried and lack attractiveness. On the other hand, in house churches, Christians are able to build tight-knit social networks and house churches are more competitively aware in the “religious market”, leading some urban Christians to choose house churches, thereby inciting the fast development of house churches in Chinese urban areas.

Religiousness and Stress among College Students: A Survey Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Schafer, Walter E.; King, Michael

1990-01-01

Examined how current religious preference, attendance at religious services, importance of religion, and Christian rebirth were related to perceived stress among college students (N=195) in a communitywide survey. Found no association between any of the religiousness variables and perceived stress. (Author/ABL)

No One Expects a Transgender Jew: Religious, Sexual and Gendered Intersections in the Evaluation of Religious and Nonreligious Others

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Ryan Cragun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available While a large body of research has established that there is substantial prejudice against atheists and nonreligious individuals, both in the US and in other countries where nonreligious people are minorities, to date very little research has looked beyond attitudes toward solitary identities (e.g., “atheists” vs. “gay atheists”. Given the growing recognition of the importance of intersectionality in understanding the experiences of minorities, in this article we examined attitudes toward intersected identities, combining five (nonreligious identities (i.e., Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist, and nonreligious with four sexual/gender identities (i.e., heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and transgender using a 100-point thermometer scale (N = 618. We found that sexual/gender identities were more influential in ordering the results than were religious identities, with heterosexual individuals being rated most positively, followed for the most part by: homosexual, bisexual, and then transgender individuals. However, within the sexual/gender identities, (nonreligion ordered the results; Christians and Jewish individuals rated most highly among heterosexuals while nonreligious and atheist individuals rated most highly among transgender individuals. We suggest these results indicate that people believe minority sexual/gender identities “taint” or “pollute” religious identities, unless those religious identities are already perceived as tainted, as is the case for atheists and the nonreligious.

RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION AND SOCIAL DISTANCE BETWEEN RELIGIOUS GROUPS IN YOGYAKARTA

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Cahyo Pamungkas

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explains how political, religious, and economic changes in Yogyakarta affect the formation of religious identity and social distance between different religious groups. The strengthening of religious identity in this area took place in the period of the Diponegoro War (1825-1830 when religious issues were used in the mobilization against the Dutch colonialist. Then, the spread of Christianity in Java at the end of 19th led to several tensions between missionaries and several Islamic organizations, but never developed into communal violence. In 1930s, the relation between religious groups remain harmonious due to the development of tolerant culture and pluralism. During the 1980s, the use of religious identity grew both in urban and rural areas in line with social processes of modernization. Da’wat activities on Campus (Lembaga Dakwah Kampus plays important roles in promoting religious life in urban areas. The 1998 political reform marked the rise of religious fundamentalist movements that to a certain degree contributes to social distance between religious groups.

Judeo-Spanish Language Maintenance Efforts in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Malinowski, Arlene

The aim of the paper is to ascertain the size and cultural vitality of the Sephardic component of the 50 Sephardic congregations and communities in the United States. Particular attention is focused on the extent to which Judeo-Spanish, the language of the Sephardim, continues to play a role within the group. The history of Sephardic expulsion and…

Spreading the "good news" of total quality management: faith, conversion, and commitment.

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Fleming, S T; Bopp, K D; Anderson, K G

1993-01-01

In many ways the spread of total quality management (TQM) across this country can be compared to a religious conversion. Both cases are characterized by a philosophical shift with far-reaching changes in responsibilities and incentives for the people involved. This article bridges the disciplines of theology and health services management by elaborating a metaphor in which TQM is compared to various aspects of the Judeo-Christian faiths, such as the role of laws and standards; the importance of miracles, prophets, and evangelists; and the practical applications of living out the faith.

Shrines and relics between Late Antiquity and Middle Ages: Christianization of the space or sacralization of the Christianity?

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Luigi Canetti

2002-12-01

Full Text Available This essay analyzes the importance of relics and sanctuaries against the backdrop of the sacralization of Christianity and the latter’s re-elaboration into a religious system that occurred in urban milieux in the late ancient times. The main steps of this process, which came to a climax in the 4th century, are the Christianization of time and space as well as the reinterpretation of Christ’s death in terms of a sacrifice.

The Christian Environmental Ethic of the Russian Pomor

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Stephen Brain

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This article revisits Lynn White's famous 1967 article that placed the blame forenvironmental problems in the Western world on the Judeo-Christian belief system, anddiscusses the case of the Pomor, a Russian sub-ethnicity who settled on the shores ofthe White Sea in the twelfth century. Although maintaining their Orthodox faith aftermigrating to the edge of the Slavic cultural zone, the Pomor adopted an entirely newway of life suited to the climate of the far north. Rather than concentrating onagriculture, which proved unreliable at the extreme northern latitude, they turned theirattention to the exploitation of marine resources: fishing, sealing, and whaling.Contending with the harsh elements on a daily basis, the Pomor developed a worldviewcalled "sacral geography," which fused animism with Christian eschatology. Sacralgeography, in addition to providing an interpretive system for the natural world, alsoobligated the Pomor to observe and respect the natural world by limiting their economicstrategies. The result was a unique environmental ethic. In the late nineteenth centuryand early twentieth century, the Pomor environmental ethic came under direct criticismfrom larger social forces-first the local business community and then the Soviet statebecauseof its low productivity. Ultimately, Stalin's aggressive economic and politicalpolicies succeeded in eliminating the Pomor environmental ethic as an effective curb onresource exploitation.

Gilson, Krapiec and Christian Philosophy Today

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Pawel Tarasiewicz

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The author undertakes an attempt to answer the following question: is Christian philosophy possible today? The question seems to be of great importance due to the fact that what Christians who try to do philosophy usually encounter is bitter criticism which comes to them from two sides at once: that of academy and that of the Church. In short, for academy their philosophy is too Christian, and for the Church it is too academic. Being indebted to the insights of Étienne Gilson and Mieczyslaw A. Krapiec (the original Polish spelling: Mieczysław Albert Krąpiec, pronounced: myechisuaf albert krompyetz, the author comes to the conclusion thatChristian philosophy is possible today only if: 1 it isnot identified with the art of persuasion, as its final end lies in gaining understanding rather than being convincing, 2 itis the work of a Christian, and 3 it has thereal world as its object and metaphysics as its method. ForChristian philosophy—which in essence consists indoing philosophy by Christians in order to get morerational understanding of their religious faith—shouldbe identified with theperfection of the intellect achieved by practicingthe classical philosophy of being.

Generic Structure Potential of Christian Apologetics

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Onwu Inya

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Religious texts have been examined by scholars from different theoretical standpoints. However, a close survey of the literature reveals that little attention has been paid to Christian apologetics from a linguistic perspective. Also, an examination of studies along the lines of Generic Structure Potential (henceforth GSP shows that the genre status of Christian apologetics has not been indicated. This gap provides the motivation for this paper, which investigates the GSP of Christian apologetics. Twenty texts written by various key contemporary apologetic writers were purposively selected for the study. The following generic structure potential catalogue was generated:The paper reveals that the elements of the GSP concertedly work to advance, argue for or defend the Christian belief system. The paper also suggests that the model could be applied to other forms of apologetic instances.

Religious aspects of assisted reproduction

Science.gov (United States)

Sallam, HN; Sallam, NH

2016-01-01

Abstract Human response to new developments regarding birth, death, marriage and divorce is largely shaped by religious beliefs. When assisted reproduction was introduced into medical practice in the last quarter of the twentieth century, it was fiercely attacked by some religious groups and highly welcomed by others. Today, assisted reproduction is accepted in nearly all its forms by Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism, although most Orthodox Jews refuse third party involvement. On the contrary assisted reproduction is totally unacceptable to Roman Catholicism, while Protestants, Anglicans, Coptic Christians and Sunni Muslims accept most of its forms, which do not involve gamete or embryo donation. Orthodox Christians are less strict than Catholic Christians but still refuse third party involvement. Interestingly, in contrast to Sunni Islam, Shi’a Islam accepts gamete donation and has made provisions to institutionalize it. Chinese culture is strongly influenced by Confucianism, which accepts all forms of assisted reproduction that do not involve third parties. Other communities follow the law of the land, which is usually dictated by the religious group(s) that make(s) the majority of that specific community. The debate will certainly continue as long as new developments arise in the ever-evolving field of assisted reproduction. PMID:27822349

Stuck in the Middle with Jews: Religious Privilege and Jewish Campus Life

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Goren, Seth

2014-01-01

Many scholars have examined religious privilege in society and on campus, evidencing the privileged place Christianity generally enjoys and the marginalization that Jews often encounter, regardless of the school they attend. That said, in considering the Jewish higher education experience, something else is at play here. When juxtaposed with…

The Judaic-Christian origin of nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandeis, Gary H; Oates, Daniel J

2007-06-01

Many nursing homes today have a religious heritage. While governmental regulations control how much of the care is delivered, the foundations and goals of many homes predate governmental rules and payment policies. This paper explores the basis of Jewish and Christian thought in providing groundwork for religiously based nursing homes. Although the underlying principles are similar, differences in approach and execution for the formation of these homes exist.

Heroism in three Old English poems: A Christian approach

OpenAIRE

Catherine Woeber

1995-01-01

It has been contended that the value system and terminology of Old English heroic poetry were not suitable vehicles for the later religious poetry, that their Germanic garb ill-fitted the Christian poems. This view, however, does not take cognisance of the the fact that there exists a Christian heroism in its own right. Only Christian scholarship can fully account for this phenomenon and show how the subject matter of this poetry is consonant with the heroic diction and formulae in which it i...

The will to embrace: An analysis of Christian- Muslim relations

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Test

nature of the religious conflicts related to Christianity and Islam, especially looking for instances where ...... However, one is never truly free from one's identity, as the self is continuously recreated. ..... boundaries become porous. ...... Religious freedom should be upheld, because it flows from the very dignity of the human.

The Religious Identities and Social Stucture of Bosnia-Herzegovina

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Nebojša Šavija-Valha

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the structural preconditions of articulation of religious identities in Bosnia-Herzegovina from the historical perspective. These have been produced by the processes of Christianization and Islamization at the intersection of heterogeneous origin of Bosnian-Herzegovinian population, the influence of paganism and folk beliefs, and the geopolitical situation on the border line between the great empires. Due to the influence of these factors, these processes have never been successful in encompassing the entire population, which has always been divided among several simultaneously co-existing religious institutions: Catholicism, Christian Orthodoxy, the Bosnian Church and Islam. Through the institution of Millet, allowing its subjects relative cultural and social freedoms within their religious communities, the Ottoman Empire provides the communities with preconditions for ethnic modelling, but also for “political” articulation. The interplay of these agents has provided a base for interaction among the religious groups, which can be seen at two complementary levels: the vertical one, “the political”, ruled by hierarchical and discriminative relations; and the lateral one, “the social”, which is a sphere of egalitarian trans- and inter-ethnic social practices. Both levels have their religious aspects: at the first, it is about institutionalized religions; at the second, about “folk” religion, a syncretism of pre-Christian tradition and Christian and Islamic elements. Hence, religion has been acting in a totalizing way in Bosnian-Herzegovinian society, appearing both as a primary repertoire of symbolic elements and as a basic mechanism of further group identifications – ethnic and national.

Self-esteem: a comparative study of adolescents from mainstream and minority religious groups in Pakistan.

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Iqbal, Shahid; Ahmad, Riaz; Ayub, Nadia

2013-02-01

The present study aimed to investigate the level of self-esteem among religious minority adolescents (Christians and Hindus) by making a comparison with their dominant counterparts (Muslims) in Pakistan. It was hypothesized that adolescents of religious minorities would have lower level of self-esteem than their dominant counterparts. In the present study 320 adolescents participated, in which 160 adolescents belonged to minority religious groups (i.e. 76 Christians and 84 Hindus) and 160 adolescents belonged to dominant religious group i.e. Muslims. To assess self-esteem of the participants, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg in Society and the adolescent self image, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1965) was used. One Way Analysis of Variance reveals that religious minority adolescents (Christians and Hindus) inclined to have lower self-esteem as compared to their dominant counterpart (Muslim adolescents).

The beginnings of Christianity in Cyprus. Religious and cultural aspects

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Łukasz Burkiewicz

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The history of Christianity in Cyprus has a long and beautiful tradition, whose beginnings are connected with four important figures: Saint Lazarus and apostles Paul, Barnabas and Mark. The apostles came to Cyprus in the first half of the 1st century, when the island was under the Roman rule. According to tradition, by preaching God’s Word they became the founders of the Cypriot Church. Their mission was not an easy one, and the pressure of the indignant Jewish community led to the capture of Paul in Paphos and his consequent whipping at the whipping post. The post can still be seen today among the ruins of the church of Agia Kyriaki Chrysopolitissa. Barnabas sacrificed his life for his faith: he was captured in Salamis, and then burnt at the stake by a Jewish mob. Roman Proconsul Quintus Sergius Paulus became the first important Roman official who converted to Christianity, and Cyprus became the first Roman province which adopted Christianity. Tradition also links Saint Lazarus with the island: allegedly, after being miraculously resurrected by Jesus in Bethany, he came to Cyprus, where he became a bishop and where he preached God’s Word and converted pagans into Christianity for the next 30 years.

Shared beliefs enhance shared feelings: religious/irreligious identifications modulate empathic neural responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Siyuan; Han, Shihui

2014-01-01

Recent neuroimaging research has revealed stronger empathic neural responses to same-race compared to other-race individuals. Is the in-group favouritism in empathic neural responses specific to race identification or a more general effect of social identification-including those based on religious/irreligious beliefs? The present study investigated whether and how intergroup relationships based on religious/irreligious identifications modulate empathic neural responses to others' pain expressions. We recorded event-related brain potentials from Chinese Christian and atheist participants while they perceived pain or neutral expressions of Chinese faces that were marked as being Christians or atheists. We found that both Christian and atheist participants showed stronger neural activity to pain (versus neutral) expressions at 132-168 ms and 200-320 ms over the frontal region to those with the same (versus different) religious/irreligious beliefs. The in-group favouritism in empathic neural responses was also evident in a later time window (412-612 ms) over the central/parietal regions in Christian but not in atheist participants. Our results indicate that the intergroup relationship based on shared beliefs, either religious or irreligious, can lead to in-group favouritism in empathy for others' suffering.

Faith in Islam and Christianity and its impact on health

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Mohammad Mahdi Ahmad farazi

Full Text Available Of the most central elements of religions and most important issues in theology and the Contemporary study of religion is the category of faith and its greatest impact on various aspects of life. Faith, in Islamic and Christian theology, has common and also distinct aspects. The truth of Faith in Islamic thought was multidimensional and consists of a wide range of Confession of language, intellectual knowledge, heart affirmation and inner experience to the treatment involves external actions. In Christianity, it was faith in confirmation of the revealed proposition that led to a sense of transcendence and meta-proposition and created Interest mode in human And sometimes faith apply to the experience of presence and manifestation of God in life. The position of consensus and association between Islam and Christianity was consists of the doctrine of Belief in God and the prophecy and resurrection. This belief is based on the functionalist view affected on body and psyche (or soul health of the human. The impact of Faith on physical and mental health has been separately approved by the specialists. The impacts of faith and religious teachings on physical health have been investigated through psycho-neuro-physiological way that Faith and Religious teachings produce positive emotions in human. The emotions through autonomous nervous system strengthen the immune system and its optimal performance in a way that the messenger molecule called neuropeptide Y, carry the messages related to thoughts and transport it through the blood circulation, and the mental state directly relate to the body's cells. This is the most important factor in strengthening or weakening the immune system influenced by the thoughts and beliefs. Moreover, Te'osumatic medicine known as the God-body medicine, after the psychosomatic or psycho-body medicine confirms the impact of faith on the health and recovery of individuals. They believe that illness and death of individuals

Writing Histories of Disability in India: Strategies of Inclusion

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Buckingham, Jane

2011-01-01

Existing historical understandings of disability are dominated by European and American experience and tend to assume Judeo-Christian ideas of stigma and exclusion are universal norms. This paper emphasises the unique experience of disability in India and the role of poverty, gender, caste and community in compounding the marginalisation felt by…

47 THE ROLE OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS IN CHRISTIAN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HP

Sunday schools, Church, indigenous education, Mass media, Christian ... The result of this has been the emergence of social problems and other challenges. .... to provide both religious and elementary education to the children of the poor,.

Research Note: College Students’ Attitudes toward Christianity in Xi’an, China

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Chao Wang

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Atheism is the mainstream belief system in contemporary China. In recent years, a growing number of Chinese have converted to different religions, particularly Christianity. In this study, we conducted a survey in the region of Xi’an to investigate the following three questions: How common is Christianity among college students in Xi’an? How many of them have converted to the Christian faith? How do they gain their knowledge of Christianity? It is a popular notion in China that many college students have, in recent times, converted to Christianity. However, our survey results do not provide support for this. While many students encounter Christian faith on university campuses, especially through organizations such as The Fellowship, students in this survey report low religious affiliation.

The religious polemics of the Muslims of Late Medieval Christian Iberia : Identity and religious authority in Mudejar Islam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Colominas Aparicio, M.

2016-01-01

This dissertation investigates the politics of identity of the Muslims in Late Medieval Christian Iberia (Mudejars). Mudejars had to endure the pressure exerted by the Christian majority society and also the criticism from their co-religionists in Muslim lands who contested their exceptional

The contribution of deontological Christian ethics to the contemporary human rights discourse

OpenAIRE

J. M. Vorster

2009-01-01

This article examines the possible role of a Christian deontological ethics in the contemporary human rights debate. It concludes that a Christian deontological ethics in the Reformed tradition can be positively engaged in the human rights debate when Biblical theological topics are transposed into moral directives applicable to the current human rights concerns, such as religious extremism, femicide, ideologies of intolerance and ecocide. As an example of the applicability of a Christian deo...

Christian Community in Action: Bruderhof Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Spielhagen, Frances R.; Cooper, Bruce S.

2007-01-01

The Bruderhof communities in the United States have organized their own private schools with a distinctly Christian philosophy of education, adding to the interesting mix of American private and religious schools. Rooted in early 20th century German pedagogy, romanticism, and shared responsibility, Bruderhof schools represent the essence of a…

Kipling’s Ecclectic Religious Identity

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Serdar Ozturk

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865 -1936 is one of the most popular writers in English, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rudyard Kipling does not subscribe to any particular religion, but he is deeply a religious man because he believes in one absolute God, and the divine purpose behind the creation of man. Although Rudyard Kipling uses a lot of Christian symbols in his works, he is not a Christian. In some of his stories, he shows a unique insight into the redeeming power of love, which is the main pillar of Sufism. He also accepts some of the Islamic precepts however he is not a Muslim. He is very sympathetic to Buddhism and Hinduism and always alludes to Hindu gods and goddesses, but he does not believe in Hinduism or Buddhism. Rudyard Kipling uses a lot of religious themes, motives and symbols in his Works but he does not subscribe to any particular religious views at all.

CHRISTIANITY AND COLONIALISM IN SOME ENGLISH SHORT STORIES

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Tatang Iskarna

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Colonial and postcolonial studies are often linked to the power domination of the West upon the East in the way that the East economically, politically, and socially oppressed. Colonialism is often associated with three elements, the explorers dealing with geographical information, missionaries approaching the local people culturally, and the colonial administrators ruling the colony. Gold, glory, and gospel are the European’s concern. However, in representing the relation between Christianity and colonialism there is critical dialectic amongst historians, anthropologists, Christian missions, or cultural critics. Some propose that Christianity is considered to be the religious arm of colonialism. Others state that Christianity is spread without any secular interest as it is a great commandment of Jesus Christ. A few believe that Christianity give critical resistance against colonialism. The relation between Christianity and colonialism cannot be simplified as being neutral, in complicity, or in opposition. So, it is worth-discussing to understand how European writers construct the relation between Christianity and colonialism in their literary work. How Christianity is constructed and how Christianity is related to colonialism will be discussed in this paper. Using postcolonial paradigm, two English short stories will be analyzed in that way. They are Rudyard Kipling’s “Lispeth” and Doris Lessing’s “No Witchcraft for Sale”.

The Place of Love in the Special Religious Education Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Chalwell, Kaye

2016-01-01

Special Religious Education is faith-based single tradition religious education taught in many Australian public schools by volunteer teachers who are adherents of the faith they are teaching. This paper derives from a qualitative study of the pedagogy of Christian Special Religious Education teachers that took place between 2010 and 2014. Love is…

Eco-Dimensionality as a Religious Foundation for Sustainability

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Susan Power Bratton

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Academics have critiqued the Abrahamic faiths, particularly Christianity, as inadequate to respond to today’s environmental dilemmas due to abstract theological qualities like the concept of a unified or transcendent God. Christianity and Islam are the earth’s most populous religions, however, and they are growing in the global south. A literature review finds that both indigenous and world religions develop strategies for environmental sustainability. Examples include: Amazonian fisheries, Islamic gardens, monastic forest management, Baptist LEED certified buildings, and Christian agrarian stewardship. These cases share a characteristic termed eco-dimensionality, defined as the integrative expression of environmental values, caretaking norms and sustainable practices in all aspects of religion, that recognizes and specifically adapts to keystone environmental processes and ecosystemic or geo-physical diversity. Religious eco-dimensionality incorporates: inventorying biota and ecosystems, recognizing environmental spatial and temporal dynamics at multiple scales, understanding communitarian and anti-communitarian human behaviors, structuring social networks, adopting sustainable technologies, and developing an integrative repertoire of religious symbols, aesthetic endeavors and ceremonies. Eco-dimensionality can evolve to address new issues. Negatively stereotyping faith traditions can inhibit constructive conversations concerning environmental issues and development of religious symbols and practices enhancing eco-dimensionality.

Homeschooling and religious fundamentalism

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Robert Kunzman

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This article considers the relationship between homeschooling and religious fundamentalism by focusing on their intersection in the philosophies and practices of conservative Christian homeschoolers in the United States. Homeschooling provides an ideal educational setting to support several core fundamentalist principles: resistance to contemporary culture; suspicion of institutional authority and professional expertise; parental control and centrality of the family; and interweaving of faith and academics. It is important to recognize, however, that fundamentalism exists on a continuum; conservative religious homeschoolers resist liberal democratic values to varying degrees, and efforts to foster dialogue and accommodation with religious homeschoolers can ultimately help strengthen the broader civic fabric.

Faith in Islam and Christianity and its impact on health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Reza Ajdar

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Of the most central elements of religions and most important issues in theology and the Contemporary study of religion is the category of faith and its greatest impact on various aspects of life. Faith, in Islamic and Christian theology, has common and also distinct aspects. The truth of Faith in Islamic thought was multidimensional and consists of a wide range of Confession of language, intellectual knowledge, heart affirmation and inner experience to the treatment involves external actions. In Christianity, it was faith in confirmation of the revealed proposition that led to a sense of transcendence and meta-proposition and created Interest mode in human And sometimes faith apply to the experience of presence and manifestation of God in life.   The position of consensus and association between Islam and Christianity was consists of the doctrine of Belief in God and the prophecy and resurrection. This belief is based on the functionalist view affected on body and psyche (or soul health of the human. The impact of Faith on physical and mental health has been separately approved by the specialists. The impacts of faith and religious teachings on physical health have been investigated through psycho-neuro-physiological way that Faith and Religious teachings produce positive emotions in human. The emotions through autonomous nervous system strengthen the immune system and its optimal performance in a way that the messenger molecule called neuropeptide Y, carry the messages related to thoughts and transport it through the blood circulation, and the mental state directly relate to the body's cells. This is the most important factor in strengthening or weakening the immune system influenced by the thoughts and beliefs. Moreover, Te'osumatic medicine known as the God-body medicine, after the psychosomatic or psycho-body medicine confirms the impact of faith on the health and recovery of individuals. They believe that illness and death

Faith in Islam and Christianity and its impact on health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Reza Ajdar

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Of the most central elements of religions and most important issues in theology and the Contemporary study of religion is the category of faith and its greatest impact on various aspects of life. Faith, in Islamic and Christian theology, has common and also distinct aspects. The truth of Faith in Islamic thought was multidimensional and consists of a wide range of Confession of language, intellectual knowledge, heart affirmation and inner experience to the treatment involves external actions. In Christianity, it was faith in confirmation of the revealed proposition that led to a sense of transcendence and meta-proposition and created Interest mode in human And sometimes faith apply to the experience of presence and manifestation of God in life.   The position of consensus and association between Islam and Christianity was consists of the doctrine of Belief in God and the prophecy and resurrection. This belief is based on the functionalist view affected on body and psyche (or soul health of the human. The impact of Faith on physical and mental health has been separately approved by the specialists. The impacts of faith and religious teachings on physical health have been investigated through psycho-neuro-physiological way that Faith and Religious teachings produce positive emotions in human. The emotions through autonomous nervous system strengthen the immune system and its optimal performance in a way that the messenger molecule called neuropeptide Y, carry the messages related to thoughts and transport it through the blood circulation, and the mental state directly relate to the body's cells. This is the most important factor in strengthening or weakening the immune system influenced by the thoughts and beliefs. Moreover, Te'osumatic medicine known as the God-body medicine, after the psychosomatic or psycho-body medicine confirms the impact of faith on the health and recovery of individuals. They believe that illness and death

Emerging Religious Marketplace in Nigeria: A Quest for Interpretation

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In contemporary Nigerian society, the evolving trends in Christian religious culture suggest that neoliberal (social) mind-set is influencing certain practices in many Churches. The objective of this paper is to examine how the above mentioned contemporary culture influences current religious landscape. The sociological ...

Christianity, development, and women's liberation.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, B

1999-03-01

This paper explores the relationship between Christianity, development, and women's liberation. The article examines the opportunities and constraints, which exist for women in the tradition of mainstream Christianity regarding their sexuality and family life. These concepts were investigated within the community level, the church itself, convent life, in the economy, and at wider national and international levels. Subordination of women through religion is the result of imposing social codes regarding women's roles, behavior, and relationships with men. However, equality can be achieved if the forms and substance of religious practice is reexamined and changed with liberation of women in mind. There is also a need to address the cultural and spiritual imperialism brought about by religion.

Phenomenology and the Possibility of Religious Experience

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Mercer Ronald L.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Work in what has been known as the theological turn in French phenomenology describes the way in which human beings are always, already open to a religious encounter. This paper will focus on Levinas as a proper transcendental phenomenologist as would be characterized by parts of Husserl and Husserl’s last assistant Eugen Fink. What Levinas does in his phenomenology of the face/other (which gets tied up in religious language is to describe an absolute origin out of which the subject arises. This point of origin structures the self in such a way as to always, already be open to that which overflows experience and, thus, makes possible the very experience of an encounter with the numinous. Such an approach to religious experience for which I am arguing simply takes Levinas at his word when he declares “The idea of God is an idea that cannot clarify a human situation. It is the inverse that is true.” (“Transcendence and Height” Understanding the structure of the subject as open to that which cannot be reduced/totalized/ encapsulated is to recognize that the human situation is ready for the possibility of religious experience.

Self-perceived role and function of Christian prison chaplains and Buddhist volunteers in Hong Kong prisons.

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Chui, Wing Hong; Cheng, Kevin Kwok-yin

2013-02-01

Although there have been a handful of studies examining the work of chaplains and prison volunteers in a Western setting, few have endeavored to conduct research into the experiences of religious workers in Asian penitentiaries. To fill this gap, this article reports on exploratory research examining the work of a selected group of religious workers in Hong Kong prisons. A total of 17 religious workers were interviewed: 10 prison chaplains and 7 Buddhist volunteers who paid regular prison visits. Qualitative findings generated from in-depth interviews present three themes: the range of religious activities performed, the importance of religion for the rehabilitation of inmates, and the hope of continued religious support to prisoners after discharge. The significance of this research is that it sheds light on the understudied work of prison chaplains and volunteers in Hong Kong and portrays the difference between the works of the Christian ministry and Buddhist volunteers.

Religious Activities and their Tourism Potential in Sukur Kingdom, Nigeria

OpenAIRE

Emeka Okonkwo

2015-01-01

Religious tourism is a form of tourism whereby people of the same faith travel individually or in groups for religious purposes. This form of tourism comprises many facets of the travel industry ranging from pilgrimages, missionary travel, leisure (fellowship), vacations, faith-based cruising, crusades, conventions and rallies, retreats, monastery visits and guest-stays, Christian and faith-based camps, to religious tourist attractions. In Sukur Kingdom, most tourists embark on religious trav...

The Christian Support Networks for Immigrants in Palermo

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Marie Bassi

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Based on a fieldwork conducted in Sicily, this paper analyses how, when faced with the emergence of immigration, Christian organisations in Palermo become involved with the migration issue, notably thanks to the pioneering commitment of certain clerics. It draws attention to the heterogeneous nature of the Christian sphere, the internal secularisation of the religious organisations working with migrants, and the transformations of the church-related associative sector from a volunteering to professional expertise model. In sum, the capacity for organisational and ideological adaptation of religious organisations has enabled them to retain social control of the territory by becoming inescapable stakeholders in the migration issue. This study also identifies the practices and the know-how of the actors involved in these organisations, and singles out the motives that lead them to engage with these organisations and the meaning they attach to their implication

Perceptions of lesbian and gay (LG) individuals as desecrators of Christianity as predictors of anti-LG attitudes.

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Trevino, Kelly M; Desai, Kavita; Lauricella, Shauna; Pargament, Kenneth I; Mahoney, Annette

2012-01-01

This study applied religious coping theory to examine the relationship between participants' perceptions that lesbian and gay (LG) individuals desecrate Christian values (the stressor) and anti-LG attitudes (the response) and whether religious coping influences the relationship between these variables. Greater agreement with desecration messages was associated with higher levels of anti-LG attitudes. Positive religious coping was associated with lower levels of anti-LG attitudes while negative religious coping was associated with higher levels. Greater exposure to messages that LG individuals desecrate Christian values was associated with greater agreement with those messages. Longitudinal studies with more diverse samples are needed to examine causality and the generalizability of the findings. However, these results have implications for preventing and mitigating anti-LG attitudes.

Theory U as a conceptual framework for Christian education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeitler, Ullrich Martin Rudenko

2014-01-01

In late modern society, wide-spread secularization and compulsory development challenge religious education. Otto Scharmer’s development theory, Theory U, is assumed to give an answer to how we might work with Christian education. It is argued, that the concepts of letting-go, presencing and lett...... and letting-come are giving an adequate conceptual framework for new professionalism in Christian education. Using Theory U will bring practical theology in line with the new third-generation approach which is conducive of sustainable practice....

63 THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHRISTIAN MORAL EDUCATION FOR ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

retirement of alleged fraudulent public officers, “the ethical revolution” of Alhaji ... of governance, good governance, education, moral education and Christian ..... causes serious set backs to many businesses and even foreign investments. ... Otonti, A. N. (1983): Overview of historical, sociological, ethical and religious issues ...

The efficacy of adult christian support groups in coping with the death of a significant loved one.

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Goodman, Herbert; Stone, Mark H

2009-09-01

Psychologists sometimes minimize important resources such as religion and spiritual beliefs for coping with bereavement. Alienation of therapeutic psychology from religious values contrasts to professional and public interest in religious experience and commitment. A supportive viewpoint has come about partially as a result of recognizing important values which clinicians have found absent in many of their clients. Until spiritual belief systems become integrated into the work of clinicians, clients may not be fully integrative in coping with loss. The key finding of this study was that individuals who participated in Christian and secular support groups showed no statistically significant difference in their mean endorsement of negative criteria on the BHS, and no statistically significant difference for their mean score endorsement of positive criteria on the RCOPE. However, a Christian-oriented approach was no less effective than a psychological-oriented one. In both groups, a spiritual connection to a specific or generalized higher power was frequently identified which clients ascribed to facilitating the management of their coping.

Religion and Subjective Well-Being: Western and Eastern Religious Groups Achieved Subjective Well-Being in Different Ways.

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Shiah, Yung-Jong; Chang, Frances; Chiang, Shih-Kuang; Tam, Wai-Cheong Carl

2016-08-01

Culture can moderate which variables most influence subjective well-being (SWB). Because religion can be conceptualized as culture, religious differences can be considered cultural differences. However, there have been few studies comparing how different religious groups evaluate SWB at any given time. This study is among the first to investigate this issue. The present study compared Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and atheists. In addition to demographic items, 451 Chinese adults completed Chinese version of the Socially Oriented Cultural Conception of SWB Scale. Religious belief was distributed as follows: 10 % Christian, 20 % Buddhist, 25 % Taoist, and 43 % atheists. As predicted, the socially oriented cultural conception of SWB was found to be highest among Buddhists, followed in order by Taoists, atheists, and Christians. It was concluded that the various religious groups achieved SWB in different ways.

Mothers and Spirits: Religious Identity, Alcohol, and Death

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Candi K. Cann

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Mothers and Spirits examines the intersection of women, alcohol, and death through a comparative analysis. Offering a brief history of the study of drinking, followed by a short analysis of drinking in European and Chinese cultures, Cann examines two religious texts central to the roles of women and alcohol in Chinese religious thought and Christianity. Finally, Cann utilizes the historical and textual background to contextualize her ethnographic study of women, alcohol, and death in Mexican Catholicism, Chinese religions, and American Southern Baptist Christianity. Cann argues that both alcohol and temperance are used as a way to forge, cement, and create gender identity, constructing alternate discourses of power and inclusivity.

Religious Pluralism, yet a Homogenous Stance on Interest Rate: The Case of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

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Ahmed S. Abou-Zaid

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Despite the conventional consensus that interest rates are efficient mechanism of allocating loanable funds and the most influential monetary policy instrument in modern economies, the three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, prohibit the use of interest and consider charging interest as an act of exploitation and extortion. Several passages and verses in the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran make their position on interest clear and definitive, from the Bible’s dictum, “Do not charge your brother interest” to the Quran’s exhortation “give up what remains of your demand for usury.” This paper reviews those passages and verses, provides different scholars’ perspectives on these verses, and relates them to the current financial system. The paper also presents several recent events that support the religious position by showing the negative impact of interest on countries, societies, and individuals. These events have, in fact, inspired many economists and financial institutions to seek alternatives to the current system.

Preferences for religious education and inter-group attitudes among Indonesian students

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sterkens, C.J.A.; Yusuf, M.

2015-01-01

This article analyses Indonesian students’ preferences for different types of religious education, with the help of their personal characteristics and inter-group attitudes. We investigate a comparative understanding of Muslim, Christian and Hindu students of different types of religious education.

Christian – Muslim Relations in Nigeria: The Problems and Prospects

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Christian – Muslim Relations in Nigeria: The Problems and Prospects. ... Basic findings of this study show that Nigeria.s stability, democracy, and national ... must embrace Inter-religious dialogue which demands religions nurture, faith, trust, ...

Analysing Religion and Education in Christian Academies

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

This paper asserts that the religious assumptions of Christian academies need to be fully examined in relation to any analysis of their cultural practices, impact or policy implications. It proposes that Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, cultural capital and symbolic power can be broadened out from their traditional use in accounting for social…

Religious views of the 'medical' rehabilitation model: a pilot qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamey, Gavin; Greenwood, Richard

2004-04-22

To explore the religious beliefs that patients may bring to the rehabilitation process, and the hypothesis that these beliefs may diverge from the medical model of rehabilitation. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with representatives of six major religions--Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, and Hinduism. Representatives were either health care professionals or religious leaders, all with an interest in how their religion approached health issues. There were three recurrent themes in the interviews: religious explanations for injury and illness; beliefs about recovery; religious duties of care towards family members. The Buddhist, Sikh, and Hindu interviewees described beliefs about karma--unfortunate events happening due to a person's former deeds. Fatalistic ideas, involving God having control over an individual's recovery, were expressed by the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian interviewees. All interviewees expressed the fundamental importance of a family's religious duty of care towards ill or injured relatives, and all expressed some views that were compatible with the medical model of rehabilitation. Religious beliefs may both diverge from and resonate with the medical rehabilitation model. Understanding these beliefs may be valuable in facilitating the rehabilitation of diverse religious groups.

Religious education in public schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Tim

2017-01-01

With special attention to Denmark, this article discusses to what degree religious education in public school in the Scandinavian countries, often said to be among the frontrunners as regards non-confessional religious education, reflects and accommodates an increased religious pluralism as well...... the 'repoliticization' and 'securitization' of religion (with special regard to Islamophobia, Islam and immigrant Muslim minorities), concludes, inter alia, that parts of the RE curricula do not just include a wider variety of religions but also helps to counter, if not stop, changes that have to do with the new...... plurality of religions. The analysis indicates that religious education is meant to serve the promotion of social cohesion by way of promoting knowledge and understanding of the new multi-religious world, at the same time as it continues to promote and propagate, for example, Danish culture as Christian...

The Roots of the Religious Cold War: Pre-Cold War Factors

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Dianne Kirby

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The article is an examination of the roots of the amalgam of complex forces that informed the ‘religious cold war’. It looks at the near and the more distant past. Naturally this includes consideration of the interwar years and those of the Second World War. It also means addressing divisions in Christianity that can be traced back to the end of the third century, to the official split of 1054 between Catholic and Orthodox, the impact of the Crusades and the entrenched hostility that followed the fifty-seven years imposition on Constantinople of a Latin Patriarch. It surveys the rise of significant forces that were to contribute to, as well as consolidate and strengthen, the religious cold war: civil religion, Christian fundamentalism and the Religious Right. The article examines both western and eastern mobilization of national religious resources for political purposes.

The Importance of Christian Thought for the American Libertarian Movement: Christian Libertarianism, 1950–71

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Lee Haddigan

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Murray N. Rothbard argued that there are many philosophic and non-philosophic arguments that provide a satisfactory basis for individual liberty. Rarely, however, did he discuss the claims of Christianity to be a suitable foundation for individual freedom. By looking at the Christian libertarians of the Old Right, between 1950 and 1971, the article contends that religious values were the most important reason for libertarians pursuing a society composed of free individuals during that period. By examining the journals Faith and Freedom, Christian Economics, and the Freeman, and the positive views of Rev. Carl McIntire, the author explains the philosophy of Christian libertarianism. It is the belief that individual freedom is only the highest political end; the necessary means for God’s Creation to develop unhindered their conscience and the full ‘sacredness of their personality.’ Christian libertarians maintain that individuals cannot be coerced by government to lead a virtuous life. They must instead be persuaded, by a true understanding of the life of Jesus especially, to choose to follow the moral life sanctioned by the Bible. The desire to follow the Golden Rule voluntarily, Christian libertarians explain, is the God-given template that allows a society of individuals to live in freedom. It was this Christian ethic, Christian libertarians insist, couched in terms of the Natural Law, that inspired the founding fathers to establish a system of government where the individual is free to enjoy their ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ The article concludes by discussing Frank S. Meyer’s ‘fusionist’ attempt to find a uniting theme for traditionalists and libertarians, and suggests that it was the Christian libertarian philosophy in all but name. It also suggests that if America has any valid claim to be ‘Exceptional,’ then it is based on the nation’s traditional defence of individual freedom as a God-given grant.

The Sacramental and Moral-Educational Function of the Christian Orthodox Cult

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Miron Vasile

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The Christian Orthodox Cult intervenes for our Salvation and blessing, gives us the possibility to cherish God and to offer Him our gratitude for the bounties we receive through religious services. This divine Cult helps us stay in touch with Him, deepen our faith, clean our sense, enlighten our mind, become stronger in our decision of doing good deeds and live like brothers in the spirit of the Christian love.

The prodigal son: some psychological aspects of Augustine's conversion to Christianity.

Science.gov (United States)

Nauta, Rein

2008-03-01

Augustine's conversion is considered exemplary for its Christian testimony. However, the psychological aspects are also relevant, for Augustine's conversion to Christianity was as much inspired by personal and cultural ambitions as by religious convictions. For Augustine, the conversion to the Christian faith spelled a life of asceticism--a life of celibacy, a virtuous and chaste existence, which also offered him a means of escape from the threatening ambiguity of parental relations and a chance to realize the cultural ideal of the civilized philosopher who has subjugated the passions of the flesh. In this paper we explore the psychological dynamics of the absent father, the suffering mother and the prodigal son and the role they played in Augustine's conversion to Christianity.

Scrupulosity in Islam: a comparison of highly religious Turkish and Canadian samples.

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Inozu, Mujgan; Clark, David A; Karanci, A Nuray

2012-03-01

Scrupulosity is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) characterized by a tendency to have persistent doubts about God, sin, and the adequacy of one's religious behaviors and devotion. To date, no published studies have compared scrupulosity in high- and low-religious Muslim and Christian samples. In the present study religious school students as well as high- and low-religious university students in Turkey and Canada were compared on the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS), Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ-44), and symptom measures of obssesionality and negative affect. Between-group comparisons revealed that the highly religious Turkish sample scored significantly higher than the highly religious Canadian students on the PIOS Fear of God but not the Fear of Sin subscale. Separate multiple regression analyses revealed that the Clark-Beck Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (CBOCI) Obsessions subscale, OBQ-44 Importance and Control of Thoughts subscale, and guilt were significant unique predictors of PIOS scrupulosity. These findings suggest that subtle differences exist in how scrupulosity is manifested in Islamic and Christian believers. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Secularization and its Impact on the Jews’ Religious Life

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Vasile Adrian

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Secularization brings forward a desacralized world, exclusively oriented to the material and concerned with the “fashion of the day” rather than with the Spirit of God. Secularism made man wander from god and ignore the religious, spiritual and moral principles found in Christianity and Judaism. Secularization caused all social, economic or political aspects be expressed outside these principles and, many times, against them. Man’s religiousness has become something personal and original that has nothing to do with community or the life of the community, thus becoming a strictly private or intimate option, and in many case even a taboo. Therefore we speak about a privatization of the religious feeling that has no connection to Christianity or Judaism. Unfortunately Judaism has been affected in some other way besides what concerns religious life. We are referring to the anti-Semite feeling that reached its peak at the beginning of the last century and tragically ended in the holocaust in which millions of Jews lost their lives.

Claiming Luther as a Religious Resource

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Marie Vejrup

2011-01-01

heritage and contemporary culture: (1) strong connection; (2) no connection/disconnection; (3) negotiated connection. The conclusions of this analysis provide the foundation for a discussion of civil religion in zones of conflict over religious and cultural identity in a contemporary northern European......The article examines references to a specific religious heritage (Lutheran Christianity) within the debate sections of two national Danish newspapers. The aim of the analysis is to provide empirical data as a background for a discussion of conflicts concerning the connection between religious...... heritage and contemporary society. The themes of the public debate surveyed are identifi ed as related to changes in the religious and cultural landscape in Denmark, such as the presence of Muslim immigrants. Three main discourse packages are identifi ed in relation to the connection between religious...

The perspective of christian moral education for good governance in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... governments programmes of development; ignorance, poverty, unemployment, insecurity, decaying infrastructure in education and hospital sectors, power outage and ethno-religious conflicts are still prevalent. The paper examined the concepts of governance, good governance, education, moral education and Christian ...

Neuroscientific Explanations of Religious Experience are Not free from Cultural Aspects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Runehov, Anne Leona Cesarine

2008-01-01

We cannot disregard that the neuroscientific research on religious phenomena such as religious experiences and rituals for example, has increased significantly the last years. Neuroscientists claim that neuroscience contributes considerably in the process of understanding religious experiences, b...... neuroscientific issues, also cultural-religious assumptions that underlie this conclusion. Key Words Culture, Neuroscience, Religious Experience, Meditation. Udgivelsesdato: January...

Missionary colonial mentality and the expansion of Christianity in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Historical evidence shows that Batswana possessed rich cultural and religious traditions that contributed to the rapid spread of Christianity in Bechuanaland Protectorate (the present Botswana). The Western missionaries chose to reject or marginalize these traditions, which were based on the concept of the Supreme Being ...

Sexual Violence on Religious Campuses

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderwoerd, James R.; Cheng, Albert

2017-01-01

Religious colleges and universities make up a substantial segment of the higher education landscape in North America, but the incidence of sexual violence on these campuses remains understudied. This study estimates the incidence of sexual violence on independent Christian campuses using a sample of part-time and full-time undergraduate students…

USE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION BY CHRISTIAN RELIGION TO TRAIN, EDIFY AND EDUCATE ADHERENTS

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P. SATYANARAYANA

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Distance Education has been growing fast, in a marvelously diverse fashion. The efficiency, effectiveness, validity and utility of distance teaching-learning are on increase. All communities and religious groups are making use of distance learning methodology to upgrade their knowledge, skills and attitudes. Christina educational institutions in all the parts of the world are being benefitted by the Christian distance education programme. Christian websites make up more than 80 percent of the websites of the world’s five major religions. Globalisation is facilitating many Christian pioneers of multiple denominations to adopt distance teaching-learning beyond all frontiers and barriers. Baker’s guide to Christian Distance Education profiles upto 150 Christian degree programmes. Some of the popular programmes are indicated here. Christians who constitute 2.33 percent of Indian population are educationally benefitted by Christian distance education programmes. A major Christian distance education programme is offered by Andhra Christian Theological College. Its four distance courses attract students all over the country. How quality is important in distance teaching and learning is highlighted here.

Fighting for Dear Life: Christians and Aggressive End-of-Life Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Shinall, Myrick C

2014-01-01

Patients or their family members sometimes give religious reasons for requesting life-sustaining technologies that have little hope of restoring health. This poses an ethical challenge for clinicians and a potential strain on limited health-care resources. Among Christians, one explanation for a preference for aggressive, life-prolonging care is the influence of the idea of martyrdom, which became the normative form of dying in early Christianity. The ancient discourse of martyrdom and the modern discourse of aggressive medical care both share a martial orientation and commend an ethos of combat. This paper examines ancient Christian martyrdom discourse to illuminate its affinity with the discourse of aggressive medical care. The ethos of martyrdom has shaped Christian attitudes toward death such that preference for aggressive medical care at the end of life is understandable.

Defense of a fragment: The theological pertinence of the advanced symphony of Christian Duquoc

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Paulo Sérgio Carrara

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article is situated in the area of inter-religious dialogue, one of the great paradigms of actual theology. After Vatican Council II, which treated about the salvation of non Christians and of the members of other religions, theology deepened this theme and appeared several proposals for an inter-religious dialogue. For theologians it imposed the challenge of joining the constructive necessity of Jesus Christ for the salvation of all and the place of other religious traditions in God’s salvation plan. The proposal of the French Catholic theologian, Christian Duquoc, which he called postponed symphony, arouses attention to its singularity in affirming the positive side of the divisions and fragments. His approach is situated within the Catholic Theology that emerged after Vatican II, in which there are several prospects for interreligious dialogue. His theology emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in building the possible unity in diversity of fragments. The present article evaluates the theological importance of the French theologian’s proposal in favor of inter-religious dialogue. 

Moral thought-action fusion and OCD symptoms: the moderating role of religious affiliation.

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Siev, Jedidiah; Chambless, Dianne L; Huppert, Jonathan D

2010-04-01

The empirical literature on the relationship between moral thought-action fusion (TAF) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by mixed findings. Previous studies have reported religious group differences in moral TAF and the relationship between moral TAF and religiosity. In light of those studies and considering the apparent role of moral TAF in scrupulosity, the purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the possible role of religion as a moderator of the relationship between moral TAF and OCD symptoms. The results revealed that (a) Christians endorsed higher levels of moral TAF than did Jews independent of OCD symptoms; (b) religiosity was correlated with moral TAF in Christians but not in Jews, suggesting that Christian religious adherence is related to beliefs about the moral import of thoughts; and (c) moral TAF was related to OCD symptoms only in Jews. That is, for Christians, moral TAF was related to religiosity but not OCD symptoms, and for Jews, moral TAF was related to OCD symptoms but not religiosity. These results imply that moral TAF is only a marker of pathology when such beliefs are not culturally normative (e.g., as a function of religious teaching or doctrine). (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Critique of Timothy Vang’s Hmong Religious Conversion and Resistance Study

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Nao Xiong

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We review Timothy Vang’s dissertation on the growth and decline of the Hmong Christian church. We argue that Vang’s arguments are methodologically and theoretically flawed. Furthermore, we try to show that his dissertation is not so much an objective analysis of Hmong religious adaptation, but rather an attempt to define and subjugate certain Hmong cultural and religious beliefs and practices as backward and inferior to Christianity. We suggest that it is these kinds of problematic arguments, often couched in academic language, that further perpetuate misinterpretations and misrepresentations about “culture” and “religion” in Hmong American communities.

On the bodies of women: the common ground between Islam and Christianity in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Charmaine; Ibrahim, Jibrin

2010-01-01

This article explores the common ideological ground between Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, in the ways in which gender and sexuality are configured in relation to women's bodies. The latter constitute key sites for the inscription of social norms and practices inherent in particular interpretations of religion. We proceed by examining the interplay between religion and politics in historical context and in specific concrete instances. While the religious right among Muslims and Christians share the view that women's bodies are sexually corrupting and therefore in need of control, this perspective is also found in secular institutions. At the same time Christians and Muslims are strongly opposed to controls on women's bodies that may lead to either religious group being identified as 'the other'. The linkage made between women's bodies and 'public morality' produces diverse forms of gender inequality. The moralising of political economy that these processes entail complicates the terrain on which challenges to the politicisation of religion and its gender politics need to be sustained.

USE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION BY CHRISTIAN RELIGION TO TRAIN, EDIFY AND EDUCATE ADHERENTS

OpenAIRE

P. SATYANARAYANA; Emmanuel DK MEDURI

2013-01-01

Distance Education has been growing fast, in a marvelously diverse fashion. The efficiency, effectiveness, validity and utility of distance teaching-learning are on increase. All communities and religious groups are making use of distance learning methodology to upgrade their knowledge, skills and attitudes. Christina educational institutions in all the parts of the world are being benefitted by the Christian distance education programme. Christian websites make up more than 80 percent of...

Religion in public spaces : emerging Muslim-Christian polemics in Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbink, G.J.

2011-01-01

In Ethiopia, as in other parts of Africa, relations between Christians and Muslims show a new dynamic under the impact of both state policies and global connections. Religious identities are becoming more dominant as people's primary public identity, and more ideological. This development has

Sacral geography of Orthodox Christianity and religious tourism

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Grčić Mirko

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Introductory part of the paper briefly presents the case study of sacred geography. This scientific discipline, as a branch of cultural geography, deserves more attention due to the development of cultural tourism and the protection of cultural heritage in globalization. Aim is to systematize and display characteristics of sacred objects and places of pilgrimage in the traditional orthodox Christianity. The author hopes that this work will attract the attention of geographers and intellectual circles, and stimulate researchers to devote greater attention to this important and current issue.

Christian Resistance to Gay-Proselytism in a Secular Nigeria: Anathema or Social Heroism?

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Endong Floribert

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The criminalization of homosexuality in Nigeria has partially been inspired and acclaimed by a number of religious schools of thought, including Christian opinion leaders. Such an influence of religion on politics has been seriously questioned. Using observations and literary sources, this paper underlines the unconstitutionality of Christian antigay proselytism at the political sphere of the Nigerian State, anchoring its claim on the constitutional provision stipulating the secular character of Nigeria. It however interprets such a move (the “influential” Christian anti-gay proselytism as an inevitable expression of the religious character of Nigeria’s social and cultural spheres. Furthermore, the paper argues that the Nigerian Federation is “fully secular” only on paper and not in practice. Secularity is partially observed at the political sphere of the State. Religion and populism continue to shape major socio-political schemes (as seen in the criminalization of homosexuality in Nigeria. With such a socio-political influence of religion, legislative projects such as the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition Act and political strategies such as the Nigerian Government’s resistance against western gay-proselytism can only be massively celebrated. In line with this, (Christian anti-gay proselytism at the Nigeria’s political sphere is logically viewed less as an anathema, and more as socio-political heroism.

Reinterpreting Individualism and Collectivism: Their Religious Roots and Monologic versus Dialogic Person-Other Relationship.

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Sampson, Edward E.

2000-01-01

Examining religious roots of individualism and collectivism and seeing them as defining alternative conceptions of the person-other relationship reveals close links between Christianity and the former and rabbinic Judaism and the latter. Dominant Christian views have framed debates on individualism-collectivism, defining options available for…

Religious Belief as a Determinant Factor of Food Processing in Ilorin ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Religion has a strong connection with food processing and whether Christians or Muslims, food is an integral part of religious functions. In Islam, halal (lawful) is no longer simply a matter of extra religious regulations on food and food processing; it has become a huge and rapidly expanding global market that includes and ...

Mothers and Spirits: Religious Identity, Alcohol, and Death

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Candi K. Cann

2016-01-01

Mothers and Spirits examines the intersection of women, alcohol, and death through a comparative analysis. Offering a brief history of the study of drinking, followed by a short analysis of drinking in European and Chinese cultures, Cann examines two religious texts central to the roles of women and alcohol in Chinese religious thought and Christianity. Finally, Cann utilizes the historical and textual background to contextualize her ethnographic study of women, alcohol, and death in Mexican ...

The role of Sunday schools in Christian socialisation of children in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study recommends that improved and well equipped Sunday schools would be attractive and effective in religiously educating African children and youth hence positively influencing them and enhancing their quality of life. Keywords: Sunday schools, Church, indigenous education, Mass media, Christian education ...

From the Cross (and Crescent) to the Cedar and Back Again: Transnational Religion and Politics Among Lebanese Christians in Senegal

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Leichtman, Mara A.

2013-01-01

This article examines the changing relationship between religion, secularism, national politics, and identity formation among Lebanese Christians in Senegal. Notre Dame du Liban, the first Lebanese religious institution in West Africa, draws on its Lebanese “national” character to accommodate Lebanese Maronite Catholic and Greek Orthodox Christians in Dakar, remaining an icon of “Lebanese” religion, yet departing from religious sectarianism in Lebanon. As such, transnational religion can vary from national religion, gaining new resonances and reinforcing a wider “secular” ethno-national identity. PMID:24077518

JULIAN THE ABJURER AND CHRISTIAN WORLD IN THE NOVEL "THE DEATH OF THE GODS" BY D. MEREZHKOVSKY

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Neda Andritch

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The article elaborates on the concept of the protagonist in the novel The Death of the Gods, Julian the Abjurer by D. S. Merezhkovsky in the light of his attitude to Christian thought and Christians. The analysis accounts for the key religious and philosophic searches by Julian the Abjurer. Special attention is paid to the instances of "unwise wisdom" of Julian the Abjurer and reasons for his "patronizing violence" in relation to Christians.

Reinterpreting individualism and collectivism. Their religious roots and monologic versus dialogic person-other relationship.

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Sampson, E E

2000-12-01

Examining the religious roots of individualism and collectivism and seeing them as defining alternative conceptions of the person-other relationship reveal a close link between Christianity and the former and between rabbinic Judaism and the latter. Comparisons between these 2 religious formations in the Western world expose a relationship between Christian individualism and an instrumental and monologic understanding of the person-other relationship and a contrasting rabbinic view that offers a formative and dialogic understanding of that relationship. Because the Christian view has been dominant, its understandings have framed the debates on individualism-collectivism and defined the options available for the person-other relationship, providing a somewhat distorted picture of the possibilities for humankind. The dialogic and formative perspective of the rabbinic tradition introduces an alternative portrait of human nature.

Is thought-action fusion related to religiosity? Differences between Christians and Jews.

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Siev, Jedidiah; Cohen, Adam B

2007-04-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between thought-action fusion (TAF) and religiosity in Christians and Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform). There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that religiosity is related to obsessive cognitions in Christian samples, but conceptual and empirical ambiguities complicate the interpretation of that literature and its application to non-Christian groups. As predicted on the basis of previous research, Christians scored higher than Jews on moral TAF. This effect was large and not explained by differences in self-reported religiosity. The Jewish groups did not differ from each other. Furthermore, religiosity was significantly associated with TAF only within the Christian group. These results qualify the presumed association between religiosity and obsessive cognitions. General religiosity is not associated with TAF; it rather depends on what religious group. Moreover, large group differences in a supposed maladaptive construct without evidence of corresponding differences in prevalence rates call into question the assumption that TAF is always a marker of pathology.

Religious Education in Syria: Unity and Difference

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Cardinal, Monique C.

2009-01-01

This article discusses the almost identical syllabuses of the Christian and Muslim religious education programmes of the Syrian Arab Republic. Content analysis of the students' textbooks and teachers' guides (in Arabic) reveals common themes of citizenship education and national unity. Classroom observations in Damascus also highlight how…

Christianity and sport

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Gojković Goran

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we will demonstrate, relying on theology, that Christianity, i.e. ascetic experience of the Church and sport are two sides of the same coin which is reflected in community or, rather, communion (When Christianity is concerned, or team work towards the goal when it comes to sport.

The Study of Wilfred Cantwell Smith’Viewpoint on the Problem of Religious Diversity

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Hamed Nazarpoor Najafabadi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The issue of religious diversity, the religious truth and salvation of the followers of religions is one of the important issues of religious studies, especially philosophy of religion. On this issue there are three viewpoints: religious exclusivism, religious inclusivism and religious pluralism. This study reviews Cantwell Smith's viewpoint about the issue of religious diversity. Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1916-2000 is one of the contemporary scholars in religious studies and one of the thinkers of the twentieth century with extensive knowledge in various fields of the humanities. He is one of the best historians of the twentieth century in the comparative study of religion. The Study of Cantwell Smith's works and his views on religious diversity show that he is follower of religious pluralism. Smith's life, personal beliefs and communication with people of other faiths is an influential factor in shaping his pluralistic vision. His experience with other religions, kept him from general thinking about the other religions, and he gradually came to the conclusion that they are not unsaved and without God; but their lives, just like Christians, has religious features and traits. Type of his communication and administrative and social activities in convergence Christian sects and followers of different religions, reflects his pluralistic spirit and thought. According to Smith's personal approach in religious studies, his emphasis on the distinction between internal and external aspects of religion, emphasizing on the inner aspect of religion, i.e. faith, personal faith and incapacity of others in approve or reject faith, his pluralistic view can be inferred. According to Smith, the study of religion is to investigate the meaning of the appearances of religion in the eyes of those who believe in it, study people's faith and survey persons, not study data. Smith believes that the concepts of faith and cumulative tradition should be used instead of the

Heroism in three Old English poems: A Christian approach

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Catherine Woeber

1995-03-01

Full Text Available It has been contended that the value system and terminology of Old English heroic poetry were not suitable vehicles for the later religious poetry, that their Germanic garb ill-fitted the Christian poems. This view, however, does not take cognisance of the the fact that there exists a Christian heroism in its own right. Only Christian scholarship can fully account for this phenomenon and show how the subject matter of this poetry is consonant with the heroic diction and formulae in which it is couched. Three Old English poems dealing with aspects of Christ’ saving ministry will be examined to show that Christ is depicted as a hero bringing victory through suffering in God’s plan of salvation, rather than as a heroic warrior as he is usually regarded, fighting in the armour of the Germanic hero. A close study of these poems shows that the authors understood Christian heroism to mean more than brave battling on the side of God; rather, it is complete submission to the will of God.

[Euthanasia/assisted suicide. Ethical and socio-religious aspects].

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Chiriţă, V; Chiriţă, Roxana; Duică, Lavinia; Talau, Gh

2009-01-01

Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide are viewed differently by moral and religious references. In a religious way, cardinal confessions (Christianity, Judaism, Islamism, Buddhism) condemn euthanasia/assisted suicide and, in the same time have a more relaxed attitude regarding passive euthanasia. Other aspects of euthanasia regard financial/economic and ethical-medical considerations. All these contradictory standpoints are expressed in some legal acts that make specifications on the concept of "euthanasia"--Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (1994) and Netherlands's Euthanasia Law (2001).

Christian Educators' Use of Prayer to Cope with Stress.

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LaBarbera, Robin; Hetzel, June

2016-08-01

Teachers experience significant work-related stress, and research asserts that they show greater mental health symptoms associated with this stress as compared to many other professions. Psychological distress among educators has been reported in the literature to be twice that of the general population. In other lines of research examining religious practices such as prayer, researchers have documented the overall positive impact of prayer on one's mental health. This study identified sources of stress for an international sample of 916 Christian educators, and the use of religious practices such as prayer, to determine whether prayer served as a coping strategy for their work-related stress. A mixed methods approach was used to measure three key variables: sources of stress, spiritual practices, and job satisfaction. Qualitative findings were used to analyze participants' sources of stress, and quantitative findings were used to measure their practice of spiritual disciplines and job satisfaction. A statistically significant relationship was found between frequency of prayer and job satisfaction, providing support for the initial hypothesis.

Christian Privilege, History, and Trends in U.S. Religion

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Fairchild, Ellen E.

2009-01-01

In her seminal essay on white privilege, McIntosh (1988) began a discussion on privilege that has taken hold in areas outside her original intent. In this chapter, the author discusses privilege as it pertains not only to race and gender but to religion, especially the Christian faith. The author incorporates the current state of religious flux in…

The identity and witness of Arab pre-Islamic Arab Christianity: The Arabic language and the Bible

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David D. Grafton

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This article argues that Arab Christianity has had a unique place in the history of World Christianity. Rooted in a biblical witness, the origins and history of Arab Christianity have been largely forgotten or ignored. This is not primarily as a result of the fact that the Arab Christian historical legacy has been overcome by Islam. Rather, unlike other early Christian communities, the Bible was never translated into the vernacular of the Arabs. By the 7th century the language of the Qur’an became the primary standard of the Arabic language, which then became the written religious text of the Arabs. This article will explore the identity and witness of the Christian presence in Arabia and claims that the development of an Arabic Bible provides a unique counter-example to what most missiologists have assumed as the basis for the spread of the Christian faith as a result of the translation of the Christian scriptures into a vernacular.

Religious characteristics of US women physicians.

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Frank, E; Dell, M L; Chopp, R

1999-12-01

Physicians' religious attributes are unknown, and may affect patient care. The Women Physicians' Health Study (WPHS) is a random sample (n = 4501 respondents, 59% response rate) of US women physicians aged 30-70; the first large, national study of US women physicians. In this study US women physicians were less likely to be Christian than were other Americans (61.2% of women physicians versus 85.1% of the general population), but were more likely to be Jewish (13.2% vs 2.0%), Buddhist (1.4% vs 0.3%), Hindu (3.9% vs 0.4%), or atheist/agnostic (5.9% vs 0.6%). Protestantism (29.3% of the population) and Catholicism (24.9%) were the most commonly reported religious identities. The strongest religious identity was claimed by Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists. Thus, women physicians' religious beliefs differ from those of the general population in the US. This may be particularly important for physicians practicing with patient populations with different religious affiliations, and in addressing clinical questions with ethical or religious dimensions.

Religious Experience and its Essentialism in William James and Ghazzali’s Views

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Ahmad Ebadi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Religious experience is an approach to which Western thinkers are considered pioneers among whom Schleiermacher is the most prominent. "The essentialism of religious experience" is one of the several approaches that have been adopted in the case of religious experience. Accordingly, the religion that has sides and various dimensions has been reduced to a religious experience and the religious experience is introduced as the essence of religion. What is presented in this article is a comparative study of the essence of religious experience from the perspective of William James and Ghazzāli. Although mystical experience has a different structure form the religious experience and Ghazali as well as other Muslim philosophers and mystics paid more attention to the way of mystical experience, in the works of Ghazali there are also a traces of religious experience and hence, they are adaptable to some aspects of religious experience offered by William James. William James defines the religion “as the feelings, acts, and experiences that can occur for every individual in their solitudes and he believes that feeling is the essential pillar of religion and inherently reinforces it”. Religious experience is the essence of religion and it means that-the truth of the faith is the same as feelings and emotions that emerge from rational reflections on concrete reality as such, and other spiritual, transcendental, mystical and psychological actions are the consequences of these experiences. On the other hand, in the Muslim world, Al-Ghazzali believes that: The ultimate and holy aim of religion is the perception and experience of ultimate truth that can be achieved through good deeds, worship, asceticism and piety. This article tries to find similarities and differences in essence of religious experience of the two thinkers, because it is only in the theory of the essentialism of religious experience that the similarities and differences of

Suffering in the mystical traditions of Buddhism and Christianity

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Jakub Urbaniak

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This article seeks to explore the mystical approaches to suffering characteristic of both Buddhism and Christianity. Through the analysis of the meanings, the two traditions in question ascribe to suffering as a ‘component’ of mystical experience; it challenges the somewhat oversimplified understanding of the dichotomy ’sage-the-robot versus saint-the-sufferer’. Thus it contributes to the ongoing discussion on the theological–spiritual dimensions of the human predicament, as interpreted by various religious traditions. It also illustrates (though only implicitly in what sense – to use the Kantian distinction – the mystical experience offers boundaries (Schranken without imposing limits (Grenzen to interfaith encounter and dialogue. Man [sic] is ready and willing to shoulder any suffering, as soon and as long as he can see a meaning in it. (Frankl 1967:56

The influence of religiosity on violent behavior of adolescents: a comparison of Christian and Muslim religiosity.

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Baier, Dirk

2014-01-01

Different criminological theories assume that religiosity protects against violent behavior. Up to now, this assumption is tested empirically almost exclusively for the Christian religiosity. The study presented here questions whether such a relationship between religiosity and violent behavior could be found for Muslims, likewise. Using a German-wide representative school survey of 16,545 male students in the ninth grade, who belong either to a Christian or an Islamic denomination, it can be revealed that only for Christians a higher religiosity correlates with a lower rate of violent behavior. This influence of Christian religiosity can be explained by mainly control theory variables. For Muslims, there is no significant correlation between religiosity and violent behavior in a bivariate analysis. A multivariate analysis, however, reveals a suppression effect: Controlling for alcohol consumption, Muslim religiosity increases violent behavior. In addition, high religious Muslims agree more often to norms of masculinity and consume more often media violence, which are risk factors of violent behavior. Accordingly, it can be concluded that religiosity is not a violence-protecting factor in general; instead, a more differentiated view for separate religious groups is necessary.

Are You Oil or Sand? Resolving Conflict in Christian Global Healthcare

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David L. Stevens

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Drawing from his experience as a cross-cultural health worker in Africa and his roll in training others for similar missionary service, the author discusses common sources of conflict at a local level inside a larger pressure chamber of political differences, economic tensions, religious extremism, corruption, crime and even armed conflict. Almost all Christians serving in global healthcare are providing care in the midst of some level of conflict. Conflict at the interpersonal level ultimately impacts the effectiveness of teams, organizations, institutions, governments and nations. He gives practical wisdom on handling conflict toward productive, cooperative and sustainable work leading to widespread healing impact.

Response of religious groups to HIV/AIDS as a sexually transmitted infection in Trinidad

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Genrich Gillian L

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are significant determinants of HIV transmission in the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T, where the adult HIV/AIDS prevalence is 2.5%. T&T is a spiritually-aware society and over 104 religious groups are represented. This religious diversity creates a complex social environment for the transmission of a sexually transmitted infection like HIV/AIDS. Religious leaders are esteemed in T&T's society and may use their position and frequent interactions with the public to promote HIV/AIDS awareness, fight stigma and discrimination, and exercise compassion for people living with HIV/AIDS (PWHA. Some religious groups have initiated HIV/AIDS education programs within their membership, but previous studies suggest that HIV/AIDS remains a stigmatized infection in many religious organizations. The present study investigates how the perception of HIV/AIDS as a sexually transmitted infection impacts religious representatives' incentives to respond to HIV/AIDS in their congregations and communities. In correlation, the study explores how the experiences of PWHA in religious gatherings impact healing and coping with HIV/AIDS. Methods Between November 2002 and April 2003, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 religious representatives from 10 Christian, Hindu and Muslim denominations. The majority of respondents were leaders of religious services, while two were active congregation members. Religious groups were selected based upon the methods of Brathwaite. Briefly, 26 religious groups with the largest followings according to 2000 census data were identified in Trinidad and Tobago. From this original list, 10 religious groups in Northwest Trinidad were selected to comprise a representative sample of the island's main denominations. In-depth interviews with PWHA were conducted during the same study period, 2002–2003. Four individuals were selected from a care and support

From Hillforts to Saints: Sun Tropoi and Patterns of Christianization in NW Spain

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Quintela, Marco V. García; García, A. César González; Veiga, Yolanda Seoane

2015-05-01

We present three Iron Age landscapes in the province of Ourense (northwest Spain), consisting of a hill fort with an acropolis used for religious purposes, and an "extra-urban" location used for ritual functions. Both locations are associated with the solstices, corroborating the validity of considering them jointly in each case, and the three cases jointly as a model. In the three locations, the oldest Christian saints and festivals we are able to identify re-use the dates of the solstices, and others, marked by Iron Age monuments. These observations open the way for research in several directions: the definition of religious landscapes from the Iron Age; the reason why there is not a 'Roman landscape'; the relationship between the Indo-European legacy and the introduction of Christianity; and the relationship between local calendars and the Celtic, Julian and Gregorian 'cultural' calendars.

Christian meditation. A Path to oneself and Others. Qualitative study of Christian meditation and cultural encounters in lives of adults in Latvia

OpenAIRE

Šķupele, Alise

2015-01-01

Abstract This master thesis examines individual experiences regarding “Christian Meditation” of John Main and cultural encounters. Through qualitative interviews with Christian meditators the thesis aims to understand the subjective meanings of Christian Meditation from the informant’s point of view. The purpose of the thesis is to explore the subjective experiences of Christian Meditation and cultural encounters; and to explore the subjective experiences of the meaning of Chri...

Healing Chains, Relationships of Power and Competing Religious Imageries in the Monastery of Saints Kosmas and Damian in Kuklen (Bulgaria

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Magdalena Lubanska

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article offers an anthropological analysis of a conflict over the use of a set of 'healing chains' and other focal objects kept in the Orthodox Christian monastery of Saints Kosmas and Damian in Kuklen, Bulgaria. In a nutshell, the conflict captures the leading religious imageries propagated by the custodians of the monastery on the one hand, and the spiritual leaders of a new religious movement, so-called Deunovians, on the other. The analysis helps situate some of the significant changes currently affecting the religious culture of Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria within a broader social and cultural context.

"Bauchman v. West High School" Revisited: Religious Text and Context in Music Education

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Perrine, William Michael

2017-01-01

In 1997 the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that school officials at West High School did not violate Rachel Bauchman's constitutional rights by including Christian religious music as part of its curriculum, or by staging school performances at religious sites. Three philosophical questions are investigated in this paper: whether the…

Coming to America for Spiritual or Academic Growth? Experiences of International Students at One Christian School

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Yin, Lishu

2013-01-01

The number of international students flocking to North American private Christian schools has continued to grow. The author examined the overall experiences of 67 international high school students studying at a private Christian school in South Carolina. Their frustrations and struggles with academic and spiritual growth in a new cross-cultural…

Luther's Antisemitism in Historical Context: A Necessary Discussion for Christian Educators

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Lindquist, David H.

2013-01-01

Martin Luther remains a complex, contradictory figure whose impact on modern Western history cannot be overstated. Among the most controversial aspects of Luther's work is his ambivalent perspective of the Jews. The early Luther viewed the Jews warmly, depicting them as Christianity's historical and religious ancestors. Later, however, he…

RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL CRITICISM OF THE PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH TO EKZEGETICS OF DREAMS

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Viyacheslav Alekseevich Ermakov

2015-08-01

Full Text Available n this article the author reconstructed and generalized the religious and philosophical aspects of Christian criticism of psychoanalytic methodology of dreams interpretation. The research opens an occult specifics of a psychoanalytic oneurocritics. There is a consideration of a concept how such factors as «cocaine promotion» affects Freudian theory of dreams, a freemasonry and cabalism. The article reveals that Christian ekzegetics of dreams is essentially opposite to psychoanalytic interpretation of dreaming experience. The author makes a hypothesis of before-Freud unity of psychiatric and Christian approaches to interpretation of dreams and an orientation of psychoanalysis on destruction of this unity. The assumption of spiritual and psychological danger of application of psychoanalytic approach of dreams interpretation in psychological work is reasonable. The author comes to a conclusion that the Freudian methodology of dreams interpretation has been developed with the purposes of introduction of anti-Christian occult psychology in the theory and practice of medical and psychiatric activity and elimination of Christian vicarial psychotherapy.Purpose. The research objective consists of retrospective reconstruction of the main critical aspects of the psychoanalytic concept of dreams presented in Christian approach to ekzegetics of dreams.Methodology. Method of this research is a comparative analysis of Christian and psychoanalytic approaches of understanding the nature and essence of dreaming process and its interpretation.Results. Results of research can be used as in the scientific purposes of critical genera-lization and studying of the theoretical model of a dream developed by psychoanalysis and in educational activity where students can compare Christian and psychoanalytic approaches.Practical implementation: psychology, philosophy history, sociology, theological researches.

Attitudes toward epilepsy and perceptions of epilepsy-related stigma in Korean evangelical Christians.

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Lee, Sang-Ahm; Choi, Eun-Ju; Jeon, Ji-Ye; Paek, Joon-Hyun

2017-09-01

The scriptural description of Jesus driving out an evil spirit from a boy with epilepsy supported the idea of the spiritual nature of epilepsy for centuries. Korea has a shorter history of Christianity than the Western world. We determined whether there are differences in attitudes toward epilepsy and perception of epilepsy-related stigma between people with and without belief in evangelical Christianity in Korea. Data were collected from evangelical churches and theological colleges. People without religious beliefs were enrolled as a control group through convenience sampling. The Public Attitudes Toward Epilepsy (PATE) scale and the modified Stigma Scale for epilepsy were used. Familiarity with and knowledge of epilepsy were also assessed. Evangelical Christians were categorized as professional or nonprofessional depending on whether they had received professional education in Christian theology. A total of 227 evangelical Christians and 139 controls were included. The scores on the Stigma Scale and in the two PATE domains were significantly lower in the professional Christian group than in the controls or the nonprofessional group (pKorea. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The formation of Christian theology in Alexandria

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Willem H. Oliver

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Jesus was born in Palestine. He was the main determinant for the foundation of a religious movement or sect later called Christianity. This movement, founded in Palestine after the ascension of Jesus, with Jerusalem as its main centre of worship, was merely a Judaeo-Christian sect. In Jerusalem, the adherents to this movement were not really distinctive from the Jewish religion, as they worshipped the same God, Yahweh, went to the same Temple and/or synagogues and kept the same Jewish Laws. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, many Jews, including the �believers in Christ�s teachings� (the earliest Christians fled Jerusalem for different parts of the Roman Empire such as Transjordan, Syria and Africa. Different �Christianities� developed in the main cities of the Roman Empire � Rome, Antioch and Alexandria. In each of these cities, the believers in Christ�s teachings developed their own religion alongside Judaism. This article argued that it was in Alexandria, a world famous city during the time of the Roman Empire, especially renowned for its academic excellence, that the new religion best found and made its own stand. The Catechetical School, with scholarly heads and writers, such as Clement and Origen, started to develop a theology that set the standard for Christian theology in the Empire.Intradisciplinary�and/or�interdisciplinary implications: The general assumption is that Jerusalem, as the origin of Christianity, was the place where it had its formation. This article proposed that it was actually Alexandria where Christianity was best found and became distinctive from Judaism. However, a lack of original sources on this subject area limited the research.

Pedagogies of piety : Comparing young observant Muslims and Christians in the Netherlands

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Beekers, Daan|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/323248527

2014-01-01

In this article, I compare the active religious engagement found among many of today's young Dutch Muslims and Christians. I show that such comparison requires a move beyond the separate frameworks through which these groups are commonly perceived, found both in widely shared public discourses

Pedagogies of piety: Comparing young observant Muslims and Christians in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beekers, D.T.

2014-01-01

In this article, I compare the active religious engagement found among many of today's young Dutch Muslims and Christians. I show that such comparison requires a move beyond the separate frameworks through which these groups are commonly perceived, found both in widely shared public discourses

RELIGIOUS DIMENSION OF COMPUTER GAMES

OpenAIRE

Sukhov, Anton

2017-01-01

Modern computer games are huge virtual worlds that raisesophisticated social and even religious issues. The “external” aspect of thereligious dimension of computer games focuses on the problem of the polysemanticrelation of world religions (Judaism,Christianity, Islam, Buddhism) to computer games. The“inner” aspect represents transformation of monotheistic and polytheisticreligions within the virtual worlds in the view of heterogeneity and genredifferentiation of computer games (arcades, acti...

The Role of Religious Leaders in Suicide Prevention

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Tatsushi Hirono

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine American and Japanese clergy’s perception of their role in the prevention of suicide. The research questions are as follows: (a How do clergy in the United States and Japan perceive suicide? (b Do they see suicide differently? and (c How do they envision the role of suicide prevention? The hypotheses are as follows: (a Christian clergy think that suicide is an unacceptable “sin”; (b Buddhist clergy are more accepting of suicide than Christian clergy; (c there are role differences related to suicide prevention in the Japanese and American religious communities; and (d American and Japanese religious leaders have a different view of their obligations related to suicide prevention. The investigator sent 400 anonymous mail surveys, respectively, to New York and Tokyo. The surveys asked about the clergy’s personal beliefs and the Church’s role in suicide prevention. The investigator analyzed the responses using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The major findings are that many American Christian clergy consider suicide to be a sin, but that “God’s love is available for people who committed suicide.” Many Japanese Buddhist clergy think how one dies is not the most important issue.

Christian Hip Hop as Pedagogy: A South African Case Study

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Abraham, Ibrahim

2015-01-01

Drawing on interviews with creators of Christian hip hop music in South Africa, this article demonstrates that this genre of popular music and youth culture is utilised as a form of pedagogy to transmit religious beliefs and values to contemporary youth. The pedagogical aspects of hip hop have been recognised in research on the topic, but the…

Holy anorexia: Eating disorders symptomatology and religiosity among Muslim women in the United Arab Emirates.

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Thomas, Justin; O'Hara, Lily; Tahboub-Schulte, Sabrina; Grey, Ian; Chowdhury, Nayeefa

2017-12-05

There is a substantial body of literature reporting a negative association between religiosity and psychiatric symptoms. In the context of eating disorders, however, this relationship appears to be reversed. The few studies exploring the relationship between religiosity and eating disorders have mostly focused on the Judeo-Christian religious traditions in Western nations. The present study examines this relationship among Muslim college women from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All participants (N = 1069) independently completed the religious commitment inventory (RCI-10) and the eating attitudes test (EAT-26). As hypothesised, there was a positive association between religiosity and eating disorders symptoms. Furthermore, those scoring above the EAT-26 cut-off reported significantly greater levels of religiosity. These findings suggest that heightened religiosity among young Emirati women may represent a vulnerability factor for eating disorders. Preventative initiatives in the UAE should consider focusing on religiosity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Would the Discovery of ETI Provoke a Religious Crisis?

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Peters, Ted

Noting how some prophets of crisis forecast that traditional religious traditions are vulnerable to challenge if not collapse upon confirmation of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent beings, this chapter subjects this claim to examination. Citing findings from the Peters ETI Religious Crisis Survey, we find evidence that those who affirm religious belief have no difficulty affirming the existence of ETI and incorporating ETI into their respective worldviews. This applies to Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants, Evangelical Protestants, Jews, Mormons, Buddhists, and to those who self-identify as non-religious. Surprisingly, the self-identified non-religious respondents are the only ones who fear a religious crisis precipitated by contact with extraterrestrials, a crisis expected to happen to others but not to themselves. Turning to the new field of Astrotheology, the question of de-centering both geocentrism and anthropocentrism is raised in light of the prospect of discovering intelligent celestial neighbors.

Measuring the Contribution of Independent Christian Secondary Schools to Students' Religious, Personal, and Social Values

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Francis, Leslie J.; ap Siôn, Tania; Village, Andrew

2014-01-01

From the late 1960s independent Christian schools have emerged in England and Wales, initiated either by churches or by parents. Many of these new independent schools are linked through the Christian Schools Trust. The impact that these schools are exerting on their students may be of interest for the churches with which they are associated and of…

Sex, secularism and religious influence in US politics.

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Bernstein, Elizabeth; Jakobsen, Janet R

2010-01-01

Through an analysis of alliances between secular and religious actors in US politics and a specific case study on anti-trafficking policy, we show that the intertwining of religion and politics in the US comes from two sources: 1) the secular political and cultural institutions of American public life that have developed historically out of Protestantism, and which predominantly operate by presuming Protestant norms and values; and 2) the direct influence on US politics of religious groups and organisations, particularly in the past quarter-century of lobby groups and political action committees identified with conservative evangelical Christianity. The sources of policies that promote gender and sexual inequality in the US are both secular and religious and we conclude that it is inaccurate to assume that religious influence in politics is necessarily conservative or that more secular politics will necessarily be more progressive than the religious varieties.

Teaching about Christianity: A Configurative Review of Research in English Schools

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Fancourt, Nigel

2017-01-01

This article presents a systematic review of empirical research on teaching about Christianity in state schools in England between 1993 and 2013. First, I explain the background to this religion's current place within English religious education. The value of a configurative review is set out, and inclusion criteria are outlined, leading to the…

Influence of Religious Beliefs on the Health of Cancer Patients.

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Tsai, Tai-Jung; Chung, Ue-Lin; Chang, Chee-Jen; Wang, Hsiu-Ho

2016-01-01

This study investigated the influence of religious beliefs on the health of cancer patients and identified the factors contributing to the influence. A questionnaire survey was conducted using a convenient sampling method. A structured questionnaire was used to the samplings, and the data of 200 cancer patients were collected. The effects of religion on the health of cancer patients achieved an average score of 3.58. The top five effects are presented as follows: (a) Religion provides me with mental support and strength, (b) religion enables me to gain confidence in health recovery, (c) religion motivates me to cope with disease-related stress positively and optimistically, (d) religion helps me reduce anxiety, and (e) religion gives me courage to face uncertainties regarding disease progression. Moreover, among the demographic variables, gender, type of religion, and experience of religious miracles contributed to the significantly different effects of religion on patients. Specifically, the effect of religion on the health of patients who were female and Christian and had miracle experiences was significantly (< .01) higher than that on other patients. These results are helpful in understanding the influence of religious beliefs on the health of cancer patients and identified the factors contributing to the influence. The result can serve as a reference for nursing education and clinical nursing practice.

Politics of religious minoritisation and glocalisation: notes towards a study of religious networks of transnational

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Joanildo Burity

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This article offers a preliminary analytical framework for the study of one of the main forms of global expression of religious movements in the contemporary scenario and its specific impact on the public sphere: the involvement of networks of social and political activism at translocal, trasnational and global levels. This is done through the analysis of the relationship between religion and globalisation, with particular attention to Christian groups, stressing two sets of processes: first, the dynamics of visibility and latency within these experiences; and second, the convergence betweenprocesses of minoritisation and imbrication of local and global (which will be developed though the concept of glocalisation. The study will be conducted as a comparative analysis of existing networks between Brazil, Argentina and the United Kingdom. 

Chinese University Students and Their Experiences of Acculturation at an Ethnic Christian Church

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiaoyang; Rhoads, Robert A.

2018-01-01

This paper examines the experiences of Chinese international students from East Coast University (a pseudonym) in the United States through their participation in a Chinese ethnic-based Christian church (CCC). Employing ethnographic-based fieldwork, the study highlights how Chinese international students see their experiences in CCC as a source of…

Ecclesiastical architecture, topography, and religious communication in the Bolivian highlands

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Astrid Windus

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The paper investigates the role of architecture, topography, and space for the religious communication and the creation of sacred space in the colonial Bolivian altiplano. It scrutinizes different forms and techniques of representation of Christian and Andean concepts in religious architectures, like churches and churchyards. Moreover, taking into account the case of the Andean town of Carabuco, its topographical characteristics, architectural artifacts and the representation of both in a visual source of the 17th century, it sheds new light on the processes of communication and appropriation of religious knowledge in a colonial contact zone.

Multiple Religious Belonging: Hermeneutical Challenges for Theology of Religions

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Oostveen Daan F.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The phenomenon of multiple religious belonging is studied from different perspectives, each of which reveals a different understanding of religion, religious diversity and religious belonging. This shows that the phenomenon of multiple religious belonging is challenging the applicability of these central notions in academic enquiry about religion. In this article, I present the different perspectives on multiple religious belonging in theology of religions and show how the understanding of some central scholarly notions is different. In Christian theology, the debate on multiple religious belonging is conducted between particularists, who focus on the uniqueness of religious traditions, and pluralists, who focus on the shared religious core of religious traditions. Both positions are criticized by feminist and post-colonial theologians. They believe that both particularists and pluralists focus too strongly on religious traditions and the boundaries between them. I argue that the hermeneutic study of multiple religious belonging could benefit from a more open understanding of religious traditions and religious boundaries, as proposed by these feminist and post-colonial scholars. In order to achieve this goal we could also benefit from a more intercultural approach to multiple religious belonging in order to understand religious belonging in a nonexclusive way.

Like a Prophet - On Christian Interpretations of a Madonna Video

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Andreas Häger

1996-01-01

Full Text Available Throughout the history of Christianity, its relationship to art has been a complicated one, concerning the use of art in worship as well as the views on "secular" art. This article deals with a current example of the latter. More specifically, the article examines some examples of Christian views on popular music. The best-known reactions to pop and rock music' by Christians are likely to be negative ones, probably because these are usually the most loudly declared. But there is also another aspect to the Christian discourse on popular music. Some Christians try to emphasise what is perceived as a positive message in "secular" rock music. This part of the debate is the main concern in this paper.The examples used deal with one of the most controversial pop artists, Madonna, and one of her most discussed works, the video `Like a Prayer'. Madonna Louise Ciccone, born 1958, has been one of the most successful, most imitated and certainly most talked about popular artists of the past decade. She has — at least to a certain degree quite consciously — stirred up controversy with several of her videos. Raised a Catholic, her use of religious themes and images is one aspect that has caught special attention.

Dark Ages Religious Conflicts and their Literary Representations: The Winter King, by Bernard Cornwell

OpenAIRE

Carlos A. Sanz Mingo

2011-01-01

This paper analyses the religious situation in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries as reflected in Arthurian literature. This reflection usually depicts religious strife which brought a political division between the British kingdoms. This, in turn, provoked the final defeat against the Anglo-Saxons. Four religious creeds will be dealt with: the native Celtic religion and the cults that the Romans brought with them from the Eastern Mediterranean, including Christianity and the mysteries ...

Democracy's Jewish and Christian Roots: What World History Textbooks Don't Tell You.

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Gagnon, Paul

1987-01-01

Discusses the fact that although Jewish (along with Greek ideas) and Christian ideas make up the roots of Western culture, they are hardly mentioned in recent historical textbooks. This shortchanges students because they fail to learn the religious sources of human rights and democracy. (PS)

The contribution of deontological Christian ethics to the contemporary human rights discourse

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J. M. Vorster

2009-07-01

Full Text Available This article examines the possible role of a Christian deonto- logical ethics in the contemporary human rights debate. It concludes that a Christian deontological ethics in the Reformed tradition can be positively engaged in the human rights debate when Biblical theological topics are transposed into moral directives applicable to the current human rights concerns, such as religious extremism, femicide, ideologies of intolerance and ecocide. As an example of the applicability of a Christian deon- tological ethics from a reformed perspective, the following Bibli- cal topics are investigated: human dignity on the basis of the “imago dei”, creation and creational integrity, the kingdom of God and forgiveness. Furthermore, the article proposes that other concepts can be added to this list such as the Biblical idea of life, eschatology, covenant and holiness.

THEORY AND PRAXIS OF RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE Igboin O ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dean SPGS NAU

person holds his religious or moral views exclusively as true while regarding opposing others ..... authorship and added that it was sponsored by some Jewish business men. ... This call has deep theological issues that need to be handled with ..... P. Moreland and William L., Craig, Philosophical foundations of a Christian ...

Religious and Communicative Encumbrances in HIV and AIDS ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It has however being discovered that the language being used in discussing and communicating the spread of HIV and AIDS is derogatory. It must however, be stated that the analysis of the religious language here is from a Christian perspective This paper is an empirical investigation of what speakers actually say during ...

A Constructive Task in Religious Education: Making Christian Selves.

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Anderson, E. Byron

1998-01-01

Discusses the self as socially constructed by comparing George Herbert Mead and Robert Kegan and then addresses the construction of the religious self by focusing on Mead, Kegan, and George Lindbeck. Considers the "theonomous self" (identity related to God). Concludes by discussing ecclesial practices that correspond to the theonomous…

Religious Activities and their Tourism Potential in Sukur Kingdom, Nigeria

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Emeka Okonkwo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Religious tourism is a form of tourism whereby people of the same faith travel individually or in groups for religious purposes. This form of tourism comprises many facets of the travel industry ranging from pilgrimages, missionary travel, leisure (fellowship, vacations, faith-based cruising, crusades, conventions and rallies, retreats, monastery visits and guest-stays, Christian and faith-based camps, to religious tourist attractions. In Sukur Kingdom, most tourists embark on religious travel for the primary purpose of sharing faith and fellowship together as they explore the various religious sites within Sukur and Adamawa State at large. Others still seek inspiration and desire to witness significant religious events while assisting others with humanitarian and spiritual needs. This paper examines the tourism potentials of religion/religious sites and belief systems in Sukur Kingdom with a view to harnessing them for sustainable tourism development. The study uses ethnographic methods to elicit information and analyze the data collected from respondents.

Beyond denial and exclusion: The history of relations between Christians and Muslims in the Cape Colony during the 17th–18th centuries with lessons for a post-colonial theology of religions

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Jaco Beyers

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Learning from the past prepares one for being able to cope with the future. History is made up of strings of relationships. This article follows a historical line from colonialism, through apartheid to post-colonialism in order to illustrate inter-religious relations in South-Africa and how each context determines these relations. Social cohesion is enhanced by a post-colonial theology of religions based on the current context. By describing the relationship between Christians and Muslims during the 17th–18th centuries in the Cape Colony, lessons can be deduced to guide inter-religious relations in a post-colonial era in South Africa. One of the most prominent Muslim leaders during the 17th century in the Cape Colony was Sheik Yusuf al-Makassari. His influence determined the future face of Islam in the Cape Colony and here, during the 18th century, ethics started playing a crucial role in determining the relationship between Christians and Muslims. The ethical guidance of the Imams formed the Muslim communities whilst ethical decline was apparent amongst the Christian colonists during the same period. The place of ethics as determinative of future inter-religious dialogue is emphasised. Denial and exclusion characterised relationships between Christians and Muslims. According to a post-colonial understanding of inter-religious contact the equality and dignity of non-Christian religions are to be acknowledged. In the postcolonial and postapartheid struggle for equality, also of religions, prof Graham Duncan, to whom this article is dedicated, contributed to the process of acknowledging the plurality of the religious reality in South Africa.

RELIGIOUS ANOMIE AS THE DEVIATION CATALYST IN THE MODERN SOCIETY

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Alexander Vladislavovich Pletnev

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In the article features of influence of religion on the individual in the modern society are considered. In the XXI century the religion shows weak ability to execute functions of social control. At the same time the religion remains the major psychological factor which in many respects defines the maintenance of the vital world of individuals. Strengthening of influence of religion as psychological factor allows to study social consequences of this influence. If the classical sociological theory considers religion as a factor certainly constraining an anomy, in modern conditions the religion has rather opposite effect. The Christian religion shows the highest, unrealizable requirements to the individual.As a result of it the individuals strongly subject to influence of Christian values feel ina-bility to correspond to Christian model of ideal human behavior. The variety of religions in the modern society of the western type and conducting interreligious dialogue is other reason of development of religious anomy. The mutual erosion of the valuable and standard bases of each religion turns out to be consequence of this dialogue. In addition, modern society is characterized by essential distinction in understanding individuals of norms and principles of that religion which supporters they are.As for change of functioning of religion as social institute, in this aspect the increasing reorientation of religious institutes of the western society to the market purposes and values is observed. The specified processes in general will lead to increase of deviant behavior due to development of religious anomy.

Cognitive dissonance between religious and secular social attitudes

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Marković Jelena

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The initial finding of the study, which served as the basis for the exploration of cognitive dissonance between religious and secular behavioral norms, was revealed in a tendency of the majority of religious students to accept behavioral norms, attitudes and believes (concerning interpersonal relationships and reproduction-related ethical issues which are not supported by Orthodox Christian Church viewpoint and teachings. However, certain cognitive and value system consistency appeared to exist: the intensity of religiousness was related to lower degrees of secular norms approval. It has been found that religious and nonreligious subjects differ significantly in their preference of the strategy used to maintain balance between dissonant religious and secular attitudes- in 3 out of 4 issues considered in the study. Religious subjects most frequently chose relativism strategy, claiming that some specific exceptions from a general rule or standpoint do not necessarily depreciate it, while nonreligious subjects most frequently chose dualistic viewpoint that principally separated and restricted domains of reasoning on spiritual and worldly issues, making them psychologically irrelevant to one another.

Sex reassignment technology: the dilemma of transsexuals in Islam and Christianity.

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Ishak, Mohd Shuhaimi Bin Haji; Haneef, Sayed Sikandar Shah

2014-04-01

The birth of people with confused or ambiguous sex makeup as a biological fact since the annals of history has posed the challenge of accommodating them within the binary gender of sociocultural systems. In this process, the role of religion as a defining factor in social engineering has been paramount. Major religions, such as Islam and Christianity, have addressed this issue within the frame of their God-ordained laws by devising a set of moral and legal imperatives specific to the "third gender." Modern developments in medicine and biology, however, have made sex reassignment possible for this category of people, today called transsexuals. The question is: How do Islam and Christianity respond to it. After presenting an analytical view of both Muslim scholars and Christian religious authorities on the legitimacy of sex reassignment for transsexuals, this paper attempts to explore if such a dilemma can be resolved.

Divine Emotions: On the Link Between Emotional Intelligence and Religious Belief.

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Łowicki, Paweł; Zajenkowski, Marcin

2017-12-01

There have been only few attempts to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and religiosity. However, none of them included measures of ability EI. In two studies, we investigated the potential associations between various aspects of religious belief and ability and trait EI. In Study 1 (N = 240), we found that ability EI was positively associated with general level of religious belief. Study 2, conducted among Polish Christians (N = 159), replicated the previous result on the connection between ability EI and religion. Moreover, both trait and ability EI were negatively correlated with extrinsic religious orientation and negative religious coping. Additional analysis showed that extrinsic orientation mediated the relationship between ability EI and religiosity.

Religious Coping in a Religious Minority Group

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Viftrup, Dorte Toudal; Hvidt, Niels Christian; Buus, Niels

2017-01-01

Religious coping in Denmark has primarily been studied among the Danish majority with whom religious practice is limited. The aim of this study is to explore a small sample of Danish Pentecostals’ experiences of religious coping. The study includes semi-structured interviews with eighteen Danish...... Pentecostals facing a psychological crisis. Qualitative methods are applied for generating and analyzing the data material. The theme of religious individualism ran through the participants’ talk of religious coping in relation to fellow believers, reading the Bible, and personal experiences of God. Religious...... individualism was characterized by: A lived expectation of having one’s specific individual needs met through one’s religiosity. The findings from this study show that having specific individual needs met was central for the religious faith of the participants. They used both individualistic and institutional...

Highly religious participants recruit areas of social cognition in personal prayer

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Stødkilde-Jørgensen, Hans; Geertz, Armin W.; Roepstorff, Andreas

2009-01-01

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how performing formalized and improvised forms of praying changed the evoked BOLD response in a group of Danish Christians. Distinct from formalized praying and secular controls, improvised praying activated a strong response in the temporopolar region, the medial prefrontal cortex, the temporo-parietal junction and precuneus. This finding supports our hypothesis that religious subjects, who consider their God to be ‘real’ and capable of reciprocating requests, recruit areas of social cognition when they pray. We argue that praying to God is an intersubjective experience comparable to ‘normal’ interpersonal interaction. PMID:19246473

Religious Education in Public Schools in Western Europe

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Llorent-Vaquero, Mercedes

2018-01-01

Christianity is one of the cultural and ethical cornerstones of Europe. In the European Union (EU) there is no overarching policy on religious education (RE) in the school system. The authors use a comparative methodology to analyze the constitutions of Western European countries in relation to different aspects of RE. Specifically, it is focused…

Religious Education and the Communal Shaping of a Christian Social Consciousness: The Testimony of César Chávez

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Ospino, Hosffman

2013-01-01

At the heart of the Christian experience lies the conviction that justice and freedom are essential to build communities where God's love is authentically experienced by all. Such conviction emerges as part of an intentional process of faith formation that begins at home and must be constantly nurtured throughout the life cycle. This article…

Patterns of national identity development among the Balkan orthodox Christians during the nineteenth century

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Markovich Slobodan G.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyses the development of national identities among Balkan Orthodox Christians from the 1780s to 1914. It points to pre-modern political subsystems in which many Balkan Orthodox peasants lived in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Serbian and Greek uprisings/revolutions are analyzed in the context of the intellectual climate of the Enlightenment. Various modes of penetration of the ideas of the Age of Revolution are analyzed as well as the ways in which new concepts influenced proto-national identities of Serbs and Romans/Greeks. The author accepts Hobsbawm’s concept of proto-national identities and identifies their ethno-religious identity as the main element of Balkan Christian Orthodox proto-nations. The role of the Orthodox Church in the formation of ethno-religious proto-national identity and in its development into national identity during the nineteenth century is analyzed in the cases of Serbs, Romans/ Greeks, Vlachs/Romanians and Bulgarians. Three of the four Balkan national movements fully developed their respective national identities through their own ethnic states, and the fourth (Bulgarian developed partially through its ethnic state. All four analyzed identities reached the stage of mass nationalism by the time of the Balkan Wars. By the beginning of the twentieth century, only Macedonian Slavs kept their proto-national ethno-religious identity to a substantial degree. Various analyzed patterns indicate that nascent national identities coexisted with fluid and shifting protonational identities within the same religious background. Occasional supremacy of social over ethnic identities has also been identified. Ethnification of the Orthodox Church, in the period 1831-1872, is viewed as very important for the development of national movements of Balkan Orthodox Christians. A new three-stage model of national identity development among Balkan Orthodox Christians has been proposed. It is

The regulation of Christian churches: Ecclesiology, law and polity

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Mark Hill QC

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This article examines the internal regulation of religious organisations in terms of their law, order or polity. It offers a systematic comparative analysis of how different Christian traditions structure and regulate themselves. The resultant legal frameworks are expressive of the institutional self-understanding of particular churches and, as such, are a form of applied ecclesiology. The paper draws upon two ongoing research studies: the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers and the Christian Law Panel of Experts, the latter having submitted a detailed submission to the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission giving a legal critique of its recent document ‘Towards a Common Vision’. Through a detailed methodical and comparative analysis of the various structural and regulatory formulae adopted by the different branches of the Christian family, profound similarities are discernible that are redolent with deeper theological significance. This research represents an emergent platform capable of being utilised within the ecumenical endeavour to give traction in the movement towards greater visible unity in the 21st century.

Health-related religious rituals of the Greek Orthodox Church: their uptake and meanings.

Science.gov (United States)

Fouka, Georgia; Plakas, Sotirios; Taket, Ann; Boudioni, Markella; Dandoulakis, Michael

2012-12-01

To examine the uptake of religious rituals of the Greek Orthodox Church by relatives of patients in critical condition in Greece and to explore their symbolic representations and spiritual meanings. Patients and their relatives want to be treated with respect and be supported for their beliefs, practices, customs and rituals. However nurses may not be ready to meet the spiritual needs of relatives of patients, while the health-related religious beliefs, practices and rituals of the Greek Orthodox Christian denomination have not been explored. This study was part of a large study encompassing 19 interviews with 25 informants, relatives of patients in intensive care units of three large hospitals in Athens, Greece, between 2000 and 2005. In this paper data were derived from personal accounts of religious rituals given by six participants. Relatives used a series of religious rituals, namely blessed oil and holy water, use of relics of saints, holy icons, offering names for pleas and pilgrimage. Through the rituals, relatives experience a sense of connectedness with the divine and use the sacred powers to promote healing of their patients. Nurse managers should recognize, respect and facilitate the expression of spirituality through the practice of religious rituals by patients and their relatives. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Thinking about Science and Christian Orthodox Beliefs: A Survey Study of Teacher Beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Cobern, William W.; Loving, Cathleen C.; Davis, Edward B.; Terpstra, Jeff

2011-01-01

Since its origination in the late 19th Century, the warfare metaphor has been used to characterize the relationship between science and religion, especially orthodox Christianity. Though thoroughly discredited by historians of science, the ideological descendants of Thomas Huxley, who spoke of science in quasi-religious terms, have kept the…

Global Health after Pentecost: Toward Theological Reflection as a Religious Health Asset

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Matthew T Bersagel Braley

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This article examines the recent turn on the part of global health leaders to Christian communities as allies in the response to the HIV pandemic. A cursory survey of this turn highlights how global health leaders have used the language of religious health assets to revalue the activities of faith-based organizations, including Christian churches. In this way, religious health assets — tangible and intangible — become valuable if they can be rendered intelligible and appreciated using the existing lexicon and logic of global health. As a result, the primary activity of religious entities in partnerships with global health institutions is limited to conforming their practices to the best practices of HIV programs. But a closer examination of this revaluation reveals how it obscures a distinctive dimension of Christian participation, namely, critical theological reflection. The current turn to religion as a global health ally presents an opportunity to reimagine the spaces in which complex social phenomena are described, interpreted, and responded to. Christians live into the role of co-participants in these spaces when they seek to develop a greater competence for engaging the complex arena of global health policy and programming. This competence emerges from demonstrating understanding of the empirical context in which global health is carried out as well as showing in an imaginative and compelling manner how the theological resources from their own tradition illumine the patterns and processes of human suffering. We have a unique presence and reach within communities. We have unique structures and programmes that are already in place. We are available. We are reliable. And we are sustainable. We were there long before AIDS came and we will still be there when AIDS goes away. Rev. Canon Gideon Byamugisha1

Evangelization and Causes of Religion Conversion from Hindu to Christian at Badung District Bali

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Ni Kadek Surpi

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This research focuses on the effort of evangelization and religious conversion factors from Hinduism to Christianity in Badung, Bali. Bali as a unique island and famous all over the world has long been used as a target of missionary. In the early stages, the process of spreading Christianity is very slow. Even, Dutch East Indies government closed the door to evangelization and prohibited its activities in Bali. This study uses a cross field of knowledge and find that there are many causes behind the religion conversion in the area of study. Findings of this research shows that the reason for religious conversion is the social upheavals because of dissatisfaction on system and religion, individual crises, eco- nomic and socio-cultural factors, the influence of mysticism, spiritual thirst and the promise of salvation, family breakdown and urbanization, wedding and birth order in the family, education and professional evangelistic activity and lack understand- ing of Hinduism.

[Christian responsibility and experimental medicine. Experiments with and on humans, experiments on animals].

Science.gov (United States)

Grosse, Heinrich W

2002-01-01

The Jewish-Christian convictions that man was created as the image of God founded the "ethics of unavailability" which contrast with the utilitarian "ethics of interests." As man s nature is imperfect according to biblical understanding, those responsible in the field of experimental medicine should counteract all tendencies in society which promote an utopian definition of health and an eugenic mentality (idea of the "perfection of mankind"). Consequently, scientists must reflect their own image of man and the effects of their actions on this image. The goals of experimental medicine must also be examined under the aspect of fairness: do they only benefit a minority in the rich industrial nations? As in research on humans, the ethical evaluation of animal experiments must consider the question of the underlying image of humanity and the responsibility of mankind connected to it. Because of changes in society's values, the validity of traditional anthropocentrism is increasingly questioned. However, this does not affect the view of the special position of man as the bearer of responsibility. Even though there are different biblical statements on the relationship between man and animal, the Christian maxim to minimise violence towards animals can be derived from them. In the case of animal experiments this means: experiments which cause the animals severe suffering must be avoided by waiving the potential gain of knowledge from them. In general: in an ethical discussion on medical experiments using humans or animals, the public must be informed completely and involved effectively. A moratorium must be possible before plans become facts. Thinking about ethical problems in the area of experimental medicine should not be separated from the far-reaching questions about changes in our lifestyle and consumer behaviour.

The case of the religious network group.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, R

1999-01-01

GenCorp, a Connecticut-based paper-goods manufacturer, has long supported employee-organized network groups. Its social support group for African-Americans, in fact, has been a particular success, having provided black employees with opportunities to further enhance their careers and helped the company retain top talent, meet its EEO goals, and gain favorable publicity. So when Alice Lawrence, a top accountant at GenCorp, called general manager Bill Thompson about the Christian network group being organized in one of the company's southern plants, Bill hardly flinched. After all, the Christian group was being organized by Russell Kramer, one of the company's most effective plant managers. What could be the problem there? But a couple of years ago, Alice noted, Russell had sent around a companywide letter that talked about the sinful nature of homosexuality. And that letter has made her and other gay and lesbian employees terribly uneasy. To complicate matters, the issue of "Christian rights" in the workplace was being widely discussed on radio talk shows, and several books on the topic had recently been published. An employee had even called the new region's head of human resources to get clarification on the topic. Up until now, GenCorp hadn't placed a lot of restrictions on network groups. But the emergence of a religious group was raising new questions for GenCorp's managers. Should the company accept religious groups or try to stop them? What policy, if any, should GenCorp adopt toward these network groups? Five experts comment on this fictional case study.

Religiousness and Rape Myth Acceptance: Risk and Protective Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ensz, Samantha; Jankowski, Peter J

2017-03-01

This study addressed the lack of research simultaneously examining multiple dimensions of religiousness when predicting rape myth acceptance, and extended prior findings of a mediating role for right-wing authoritarianism (i.e., uncritical submission to authority and aggressive attitude toward those who do not conform to social norms) in the association between religiousness and prejudice. The sample consisted of 99 undergraduate and graduate students ( M age = 31.87 years, 66.7% female, 80.82% White, and 93% Christian affiliated) from a religiously affiliated university in the Midwest United States. As hypothesized, dimensions of religiousness exhibited differential associations with rape myth acceptance. Religious motivation characterized by openness and exploration (i.e., quest religiousness) was a significant negative predictor of rape myth acceptance, directly, and indirectly through right-wing authoritarianism. In contrast, rigid adherence to religious beliefs, assumed to be "right" and absolutely true (i.e., religious fundamentalism), and extrinsically motivated religiousness each exhibited a positive association with rape myth acceptance through right-wing authoritarianism. In addition, internally motivated religiousness and religious fundamentalism each moderated the nonlinear effect for quest predicting rape myth acceptance. Findings suggest that uncritical religious and secular submission to external authorities or uncommitted and nonexploring religiousness may have increased the extent to which persons adhered to rape myths, whereas religious exploration was protective. Practical implications center on the need for socioculturally relevant prevention and intervention efforts with religious identifying college students.

The motivation of European governments for sending Christian missionaries to Iran during Safavid era

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انسیه Hoseyni Sharif

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Religious changes and reforms which occurred in most European countries in the fifteenth century, Ottoman danger which was an important issue in the Christian world and Europe, and some other factors made European countries seek to disseminate Christianity and promote Catholicism by collaboration and advice from Pope. Therefore, any European country selected missionaries among Catholic sects and sent them to other areas including Iran. What was governments` main motivation to send missionaries to other areas? Were religious factors influenced by political and economic issues? The present article attempts to have an analytical view and to utilize the reports related to the presence and activities of missionaries in Iran, Travelogues, and all historic documents and books to answer the two questions. According to political, economic and religious situation of Europe, it seems that the missionaries were sent by the support from European governments. However, because of the especial importance of the religious issues in Europe, the factor of religion was the most important matter in sending missionaries. On the other hand, due to a feud with Ottomans, commercial competitions in Europe, and development of capitalism, political and commercial issues had attracted the attention of European governments and the Pope. Priests and missionaries were very influential in development and success of political and commercial relations among European governments. But, the claim that the missionaries were sent just for political and commercial purposes is not acceptable.

Christian nursing in a non-Christian country.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Zenobia C Y

2010-01-01

Reflecting on Christian nursing in a non-Christian country, a Chinese nurse shares about encouraging a mother of a sick child using the Bible. Christianity offers distinct contributions in nursing that non-Christian religions in China do not offer: an internalized and externalized God, opportunity for prayer, and Bible verses for any patient need. Insights are offered on how to use Scripture in nursing practice.

Diabetes: Christian Worldview, Medical Distrust & Self-Management

Science.gov (United States)

Newlin Lew, Kelley; Arbuah, Nancy; Banach, Paul; Melkus, Gail

2015-01-01

To inform development of a combined diabetes prevention and self-management intervention in partnership with church communities, this study sampled African American church leaders and members (N=44) to qualitatively study religious beliefs and practices, diabetes prevention and self-management behaviors, and related community actions. Prior to commencing the study, internal review board approval was obtained. Although not required, community consent was officially provided by the church pastors. Individual consent was subsequently obtained from eligible community members who expressed an interest in participating in the study. Following a participatory action research approach, the inquiry group method was used. Qualitative data were analyzed with content analysis. Findings revealed Christian worldview, medical mistrust, and self-management as prominent themes. Findings suggest diabetes providers address religious orientation in the provision of care with attention to rebuilding trust with the African American community to improve health outcomes. PMID:25735754

"Essentially Christian, eminently philanthropic": the Mission to Lepers in British India.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, D George

2003-01-01

The early history of the Mission to Lepers in India is an interplay between politics, religion, and medicine in the context of British imperialism. The Mission pursued the dual but inseparable goals of evangelization and civilization, advancing not only a religious program but also a political and cultural one. These activities and their consequences were multi-faceted because while the missionaries pursued their religious calling, they also provided medical care to people and in places that the colonial government was unable or unwilling. Within the context of the British imperial program, the work imparted Western social and cultural ideals on the colonial populations they served, inculcated patients with Christian beliefs, and provided medical care to individuals who had been expelled from their own communities. Physical healing was intimately tied to religious salvation, spiritual healing, and the civilizing process.

Hick’s Religious Pluralism and Plantinga’s Exclusivism in a Comparative Encounter

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Abbas Yazdani

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The issue of religious diversity is one of the significant issues in philosophy of religion. The existence of different religions in the world is an inevitable fact. Nowadays, due to the unprecedented development of information technology and public awareness of different beliefs across the nations have made the acknowledgement of religious diversity more widespread than the past. Being this the case, the questions as to religious diversity have been taken to the fore and contemporary man finds himself exposed to the question that how should a believer approach the other beliefs? Could all religions despite the differences they have in their dogmas, beliefs and doctrines be legitimate? Will the followers of all beliefs touch salvation?       Accordingly, among the key issues of philosophy of religion are the issue of legitimacy of different religions and the issue of salvation of followers of different creeds. This essay is an epistemological assessment of Hick and Plantinga on the legitimacy of religions in a comparative context. The following questions represent the guidelines of the present essay: How much is pluralism rationally and epistemologically feasible in its claim as to the legitimacy of all beliefs and the equal access of followers of all creeds to salvation? Does Plantinga's exclusivist taking as to religious truth and salvation and narrowing them down to Christianity and Christians have rational and epistemological justification? Hick has propounded his pluralism as a cure to difficulties caused by Christian religious exclusivism and inclusivism. Having insisted on the salvation promoting evolution from egotism to theism as the basic substance of religion, Hick traces the differences of religions back to the inattention to the symbolic language of religion. On the other hand, Plantinga takes the existing differences between religions as an evidence indicating the contradictoriness of pluralism and legitimacy of religious

Concepts of space the history of theories of space in physics

CERN Document Server

Jammer, Max

1993-01-01

Historical surveys consider Judeo-Christian notions of space, Newtonian absolute space, perceptions from 18th century to the present, more. Numerous quotations and references. "Admirably compact and swiftly paced style." - Philosophy of Science.

Lynn White Jr. and the greening-of-religion hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Bron; Van Wieren, Gretel; Zaleha, Bernard Daley

2016-10-01

Lynn White Jr.'s "The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis," which was published in Science in 1967, has played a critical role in precipitating interdisciplinary environmental studies. Although White advances a multifaceted argument, most respondents focus on his claim that the Judeo-Christian tradition, especially Christianity, has promoted anthropocentric attitudes and environmentally destructive behaviors. Decades later, some scholars argue contrarily that Christianity in particular and the world's predominant religions in general are becoming more environmentally friendly, known as the greening-of-religion hypothesis. To test these claims, we conducted a comprehensive review of over 700 articles-historical, qualitative, and quantitative-that are pertinent to them. Although definitive conclusions are difficult, we identified many themes and dynamics that hinder environmental understanding and mobilization, including conservative theological orientations and beliefs about the role of divine agency in preventing or promoting natural events, whether the religion is an Abrahamic tradition or originated in Asia. On balance, we found the thrust of White's thesis is supported, whereas the greening-of-religion hypothesis is not. We also found that indigenous traditions often foster proenvironmental perceptions. This finding suggests that indigenous traditions may be more likely to be proenvironmental than other religious systems and that some nature-based cosmologies and value systems function similarly. Although we conclude White's thesis and subsequent claims are largely born out, additional research is needed to better understand under what circumstances and communication strategies religious or other individuals and groups may be more effectively mobilized to respond to contemporary environmental challenges. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

The Sound of a Small Whisper: Ordinary Religious Experience

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Kugelmann Robert

2017-01-01

Full Text Available An ordinary religious experience does not entail an overwhelming sense of the Divine; it is not a “numinous” experience. It is instead easily ignored. In a phenomenological psychological inquiry into such a religious experience, both the noema, the “what” experienced, and the noesis, the mode of givenness of the experience, manifested themselves in distinctive ways. The paper examines a simple experience of having been guided in making a decision. The guidance was recognized only at the moment of realization. The realization revealed the decision to have been part of a larger drama that transcended the immediate experience. The “world” of this moment of realization included sensing that the sky above-as an “elemental”-was a dome, with allusions to the Noah story. Even at the time, this perception was not experienced as literal, but as symbolic. The social, historical, and theological contexts for the possibility of this experience receive attention. Theological as well as psychological reflection indicate such an experience continues to happen, in memory and thought, and even in action, long after the initial moment. Essential to the meaning of the experience is an admonition to transcend egocentricity.

An antiseptic religion: discovering a hybridity on the flux of hygiene and Christianity.

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Kim, Shin K

2008-06-01

An antiseptic religion is a form of Protestant Christianity that was shaped in the context of colonization in Korea. This term was coined to explain a religious hybrid that was produced by the intermingling of American Evangelical Protestant Christianity, the concept of hygiene (germ theory) and indigenous Korean religiosity. This research deals with a historical process of making 'a medicalized religion' in Asia from a perspective of postcolonialism. Most of the early American Protestant missionaries in Korea were medical doctors who were influenced by the Germ theory of illness and considered Western medicine as an efficient tool to evangelize the country. As a result of their mission, a religious culture which emphasized washing away sins from the soul as analogous to washing away germs from the body was born. In addition, the Korean people developed a very unique form of public bathing ritual centered in the development of public baths to alleviate anxiety and to destabilize the solid strategies of the Japanese and the Americans, the two major colonial powers in Korea's history in the late 19th century.

Gyges Effect: An Ethical Critique of Lethal Remotely Piloted Aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-09

sacra doctrina) to preserve written and oral traditions, and infused Judeo-Christian theology with Greek philosophy to generate a mature moral ...Greek philosophy and Christian moral theology point to the same intrinsic moral quality of non-materially derived transcendent virtues and morality ...to cover area ranging from Administrative policy, Just War theory, moral philosophy , U.S. Army regulation and doctrine, and customary international

Religious ritual contested: anti-religious activities and women’s ritual practice in rural Soviet Karelia

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Marja-Liisa Keinänen

2003-01-01

Full Text Available After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks sought to establish a new atheistic order which would eradicate from the public consciousness all vestiges of "religious prejudices", which were regarded as a residue from the imperial era and an instrument used to exploit the masses. Even though it was generally held that religion would automatically disappear from socialist society when its material precondition, the class society, was abolished, the regime made concentrated efforts to speed up the process by means of virulent anti-religious propaganda. The ultimate goal was to wipe out the persistent remains of the bourgeois system of values. No force was to be used since it was feared this would merely offend the religious sentiments of the people and strengthen their adherence to religion. Theoretically, the ultimate goal was to be achieved through education and information, but in practice, anti-religious activities were at times quite brutal. These attacks were successful in curtailing the activities of religious institutions in Karelia, but did not bring to an end the religious practices of lay people, which were continued, in one form or another, throughout the entire Soviet period. One fundamental reason for the survival of religious rituals, both Christian and indigenous, was the fact that they were so deeply embedded in people's consciousness and intimately integrated with their everyday lives. Every important phase and turn in human life was sanctified by rituals. The goal of the present paper is to examine what forms anti-religious attacks took in Soviet Karelia and how people reacted to them. The focus is on the attacks against the very fundaments of the ritual complex of the church and, by extension, on the effects of these attacks on the indigenous ritual complex, which co-existed in parallel with that of the "official" religious institutions.

Religious pluralism into Lusophony: a question of freedom

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Lisete S. Mendes Mónico

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This article aims to contribute with a reflection about religious pluralism and religious freedom into Lusophony. Reviving pieces of history since the 15th century to the current post-colonial Portuguese society, Lusophony is analyzed in two complementary perspectives: That of the colonizing people and that of the colonized nations. Evangelization, colonization and Lusophony are, and always will be, inseparable. In addition to linguistic uniformity, Lusophony gave its distinctiveness in acculturation, miscegenation, plasticity, and Christianization policy. Using the census data in the 90’s, 2000’s, and 2010’s, with a documentary approach, it is established a general overview of religious affiliation in Lusophony. Moving from a faith of obligation to a faith of conviction, Lusophony is nowadays characterized by a pluralist position in religious matters. The current situation of religious freedom is analyzed from the AIS report and the GRI (Government restriction index and SHI (social hostilities involving religion indexes. From multiculturalism to acculturation, the plasticity, eclecticism, and religious syncretism acted as moderators towards the imposition of a new belief. The article ends by appealing to the inclusion of religious freedom in the political agenda, in order to defend human rights and peace in the world.

A cultural take on the links between religiosity, identity, and meaning in life in religious emerging adults.

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Negru-Subtirica, Oana; Tiganasu, Alexandra; Dezutter, Jessie; Luyckx, Koen

2017-03-01

Identity and meaning in life are core developmental assets in emerging adulthood. We analysed how religiosity is related to these intentional strivings in emerging adults enrolled in theological education, by depicting (1) identity strivings and meaning in life accounts in faith narratives (Study 1) and (2) links between personal identity and meaning in life profiles and religious beliefs, behaviours, and subjective experiences (Study 2). Both studies highlighted that a Foreclosed status, with high personal commitment and reduced exploration, was dominant in faith narratives and personal identity profiles. Also, in narratives meaning in life was reflected by a strong focus on presence of meaning through religious insights. Nonetheless, global meaning in life profiles indicated that many emerging adults were searching for a meaning in their lives, while reporting lower levels of presence of meaning. Identity Achievement and High Presence-High Search profiles were linked to the highest levels of subjective, behavioural, and cognitive religiosity. We highlighted the multidimensionality of identity and meaning in life strivings in emerging adults attending theological schools. We pointed out that even in a somewhat foreclosed cultural context (e.g., Romanian Christian Orthodox theological schools), religion represents a dynamic social and ideological context for self-development. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Religious beliefs increase in emerging adults, doubled by decreases in religious behaviours, linked to an adherence to a more personal approach to religion. Religious youth are more committed to their faith and also explore identity and life meaning in relation to their religious strivings. Youth religious exemplars report close links between their religious faith and strivings for meaningful life goals. What does this study add? We investigated Christian Orthodox theology students, for whom religion is a normative dimension of

Journal of Religion and Human Relations

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Journal of Religion and Human Relations (JORAHR) is an academic journal with focus ... The impact of philosophy in the interpretation of African values with particular ... Judeo - Igbo traditional religious conception of sin: socio – religious ...

Reading the Terrain: Environmental Factors Influencing Religious Literacy Initiatives in Educator Preparation.

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Waggoner, Michael D.

2003-01-01

Environmental conditions that influence the development of religious literacy initiatives in preservice teacher education include parochialism and Christian privilege, the challenge of foreign traditions, the legacy of church-state separation, shifting bases of authority, the ethos of individualism, and the complexity of public education.…

Segni e carismi nella tradizione dei Magi. Religione e filosofia tra olismo e dualismo - Signs and Charisms in Magi’s Tradition. Religion and Philosophy between Holism and Dualism

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Teodoro Brescia

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Holism and dualism can be considered the two top models of thought (paradigms. By applying either the former or the latter to the study of philosophic, religious and also scientific cultures, two different categories of questions and method seem to arise. In the light of the latest results reached by applying the holistic paradigm to the study of the enigma of the Magi’s Star, we redefine here a few methodological lines and suggest a different reading of the origins of philosophy, with reference to religion and science. The ancient philosophy would be born as wisdom, understood as sacred science linked to the Magi’s tradition. Came from the East, this tradition would then rooted in many cultures, also in the GreekRoman and the Judeo-Christian. Within the methodology proposed here is the introduction of instruments such as the reading of these paradigms (which also reopens the debate on the relationship between philosophy of religion and theology, archaeoastronomy (combining archeology, religious art and astronomy, cryptology (essential in the study of sacred and esoteric traditions, etc.

IMPACT OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS SYMBOL IN PRODUCING FAVORABLE ATTITUDE TOWARD ADVERTISEMENT

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Abbas NASERI

2012-06-01

Full Text Available A review of the literature on religion and advertisement led to the identification of three lines of studies examining the influence of religion on advertising. These three lines of studies focused on attitude toward advertising of controversial products, presence of religious values in advertisements executions, and the consumers’ reactions to advertisement containing religious cues or symbols. The latter line has been followed modestly in Christian context but not in Islamic context of advertising. Hijab as a significant religious cue might peripherally generates a favorable attitude toward advertisement among Muslims. It is suggested that information processing theories like Elaboration Likelihood Model provides a pertinent theoretical framework to examine this effect empirically.

The Birth of Hospital, Asclepius cult and Early Christianity.

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Yeo, In-Sok

2017-04-01

History of hospital is one of main fields of researches in medical history. Besides writing a history of an individual hospital, considerable efforts have been made to trace the origin of hospital. Those who quest for the origin of hospital are faced with an inevitable problem of defining hospital. As the different definition can lead to a different outcome, it is important to make a clear definition. In this article, the hospital was defined as an institution in which patients are housed and given medical treatments. According to the definition, the Great Basilius is regarded to have created the first hospital in 369 CE. The creation of hospital is considered to be closely related with Christian philantrophy. However, the question is raised against this explanation. As the religious philantrophy does not exclusively belong to the Christianity alone, more comprehensive and persuasive theory should be proposed to explain why the first hospital was created in the Christian World, not in the Buddhistic or other religious world. Furthermore, in spite of sharing the same Christian background, why the first hospital appeared in Byzantine Empire, not in Western Roman Empire, also should be explained. My argument is that Asclepius cult and the favorable attitude toward medicine in Greek world are responsible to the appearance of the first hospital in Byzantine Empire. The evangelic work of Jesus was heavily depended on healing activities. The healing activities of Jesus and his disciples were rivalled by Asclepius cult which had been widely spread and practiced in the Hellenistic world. The temples of Asclepius served as a model for hospital, for the temples were the institution exclusively reserved for the patients. The exclusive housing of patients alone in the temples of Asclepius is clearly contrasted with the other early forms of hospitals in which not only patients but also the poor, foreigners and pilgrims were housed altogether. Toward the healing god Asclepius

What Does it Mean to be a Christian? Exploring the Religious Identity of Intrinsically and Extrinsically Religious Black Seventh-Day Adventist University Students

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Ramirez, Octavio; Ashley, George; Cort, Malcolm

2014-01-01

This study explored the religious identity of Black Seventh-day Adventist University students and the elements that helped form their religious identity. The unidirectional, bidirectional and channeling models of socialization was used to describe the formation of religious identity. The data were collected in two stages. At the first stage, a…

The influence of religious factors on drinking behavior among young indigenous Sami and non-Sami peers in northern Norway.

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Spein, Anna Rita; Melhus, Marita; Kristiansen, Roald E; Kvernmo, Siv E

2011-12-01

It has been hypothesized that Laestadianism has contributed to the less drinking observed among indigenous Sami. This paper further investigates the bivariate protective influence of Sami ethnicity on youth drinking behavior using logistic regressions. We simultaneously controlled for the influence of religious revival movements (Laestadianism or evangelic) and religious importance (being personally Christian), in addition to socio-demographics and parental factors. Cross-sectional data from the 1994/95 North Norwegian Youth Study including 2,950 (675 Sami) 15-19 year-old high school students (RR: 85%) was used. Sami ethnicity was statistically significant for two out of six alcohol outcome measures, after adjustment for religiosity and other covariates, indicating less current drinking and party drinking. Religiousness was associated with higher youth and parental abstinence across ethnicities. Generally, stronger protective influences on drinking behavior were found for religious importance (being personally Christian) than religious affiliation (Laestadianism). The non-significance between Sami and non-Sami drinking may partly be explained by ethnic differences in religiosity, but also socio-demographics (e.g., residing in the Sami Highland) and parental factors (e.g., abstinence) contributed to such a result. Laestadianism`s profound impact on Sami culture, and its strong anti-alcohol norms may have contributed to a religious-socio-cultural context of abstinence.

Managing Diversity as A Foundation of Religious Tolerance: A Study in Sidoasri Village, The Regency of Malang

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Dhanny Septimawan Sutopo

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Amongst other things, Indonesian history was rife with religious conflicts. Religious differences had thus far been factored in the causes of intolerance amongst believers of different religions. This study examined how religious tolerance that was established in Sidoasri village where Christians and Muslims were living together. This research used a qualitative descriptive method, where it would describe and explain data from the subject research on the form of religious tolerance in Sidoasri village. The results of this research show that religious tolerance is always built through the long process by way of mediating various past conflicts. Religious dogma has never been a cause of intolerance. Social, cultural, political, and economic factors are decisive in founding religious tolerance. 

Multiculturalism of Tatar-Christians in Western Siberia as a result of confessional policy in the Russian Empire

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Olga N. Naumenko

2016-09-01

Full Text Available One of the main tasks of the Russian state and the European countries is a formation of the uniform multinational people which are capable to resist to internal and external threats. Multiculturalism solves this problem, but migratory crisis in Europe has forced politicians to recognize impossibility of his realization in conditions when Christian and Arab-Muslim cultures are forced to coexist nearby. The article considers opposite experience – combination of orthodox and Islamic components in culture of the Siberian Christian Tatars in XVIII – the beginning of the 20th centuries is considered. Interpenetration of cultures has happened without loss of national identity of the Siberian Tatars; their culture has gained new unique lines. Authors consider that this combination has created a certain ethnic and national psychology of the Siberian baptized Tatars which allows them to coexist harmoniously with other people – Christian and Muslim. In article is considered multiculturalism of the Siberian Tatars in life, legal customs and religious art. Authors analyze the reasons of this phenomenon and emphasize that his major prerequisite – readiness of the Siberian people for interaction. It was based on uniform system of moral values, was formed throughout long evolution of ethnic and confessional development under the influence of a state policy. Authors come to the conclusion that the idea of multiculturalism is real and feasible in a combination "Christianity/Islam", but other conditions, than those developed in Western Europe now.

The Tourism Experience Offered by Religious Theme Parks: Taman Tamadun Islam (TTI) in Malaysia

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Moal - Ulvoas, Gaëlle M

2016-01-01

Theme parks are major drivers of tourism development and experience is a central concept in tourism research. This study investigates the experience potential associated with religious theme parks which offer a combination of religious and secular activities. The experiences of visitors to Taman Tamadun Islam (TTI), a Muslim theme park based in Malaysia, are identified through the analysis of visitors’ feedback on Tripadvisor.

Religion and Social Hidden Curriculum--The Educative Influences of Christianity and Islam in Women

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Llorent-Bedmar, Vincente; Llorent, Vicente J.

2014-01-01

In this paper we highlight the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam, on the social functions of women based on the sacred texts of both, references to a hidden social curriculum in the history. Faced with the growing religious pluralism in contemporary societies, we believe that the debate on how the two main religions in…

Curbing insecurity with religious tolerance: A case study of Zinbe's ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Religious intolerance seems to have had its root in the creation of the Crusaders by Christians in reaction to the destruction of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem by a Fatimid Caliph named Al-Hakim. In its early days when Islam was growing like wild fire the Crusaders killed and maimed Muslims in Europe. History indicates ...

Christianity and the African traditional religion(s: The postcolonial round of engagement

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David T. Adamo

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR in Africa. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential characteristics is: God and humanity, sacrifices, afterlife and ancestors. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious dialogue an urgent necessity. Unlike the colonial encounter with AIR, which was characterised by hostility and the condemnation of AIR, the postcolonial encounter should be characterised by mutual respect, understanding, tolerance, and some level of freedom, liberation and genuineness. In this way, suspicion will be reduced, because despite the adherents� confession of Christianity, AIR is not about to be extinct.

De religione: How Christianity Became a Religion

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Denisa Červenková

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Following the findings of contemporary theological and religious studies research, the present interdisciplinary study attempts to trace the process of adopting the originally Roman category of “religion” for referring to Christianity. The text notes, in particular, the socio-political role of religio in classical culture and the transformations that the relationship of the society of classical antiquity and the Christian community went through in the first centuries AD, especially the first Christian attempts at communication with the late classical Latin culture and the administrative structures of the Roman Empire. The adaptation of the category is traced back to Tertullian, whose conception appears to have fundamentally influenced later generations of Christians; the second part of the study therefore devotes considerable attention to his works. It is here that justified use of the category of “religion” in connection with the Christian tradition is first encountered, as an expression encompassing the doctrinal and philosophical, as well as ethical and liturgical aspects of Christianity. Analysis of the text of Tertullian’s Apologeticum shows how the apologetic literature of the second century AD conveys the Christian message in an exemplary and highly elaborate form, which serves the dual purpose of providing an adequate definition of the Christian religious identity and preserving it, as well as making it available to recipients of diverse contemporary cultural environments. De religione: Jak se křesťanství stalo náboženstvím Předkládaná interdisciplinární studie se v návaznosti na poznatky současného teologického a religionistického bádání snaží vystopovat proces převzetí původně římské kategorie „náboženství“ pro označení křesťanství. V textu se připomíná zejm. sociopolitická role religio v antické kultuře a proměny, jimiž procházel vztah antické společnosti a k

SAINT APOLLONIA: BETWEEN PAGANISM AND CHRISTIANITY IN MEDICINE

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Gheorghe Gh. BĂLAN

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The history of medicine and dentistry shows that dental medicine is entitled to take upon itself, as representative elements of the field, symbols or spiritual protectors, religious (either Christian or pagan archetypes from different historical periods. These paved the way for the elaboration of a long-lasting set of professional and ethical criteria that ennoble today the dental profession. The present study analyzes some of the symbols of historical-religious nature, stressing their cultural impact and the manner in which such symbols are interpreted in various scientific, medical, theological, artistic contexts and, last but not least, in the general social perception. The professional ethical domain of dentistry makes use of numerous symbols with religious connotation, the more so that this branch of medicine and the various religions have numerous elements in common. Either stylistically, or appearing as products of folk culture, the main symbolistic or legendary references specific to dental culture are the legend of Cadmus and the canonization of Saint Apollonia, the champion of dentists and of those suffering from toothache. Such symbols give to the representatives of this profession a feeling of belonging to a noble medical domain; they also decode and facilitate communication with patients, therefore being outflanked by the idea that awareness on the existence of such religious symbols and on their practical cohesion is especially helpful.

Can Religious Expression and Sexual Orientation Affirmation Coexist in Social Work? A Critique of Hodge's Theoretical, Theological, and Conceptual Frameworks

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Dessel, Adrienne; Bolen, Rebecca; Shepardson, Christine

2011-01-01

Social work strives to be inclusive of all cultural groups and religious identities. However, a tension exists in the profession between freedom of religious expression and full acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. David Hodge and others claim social work is oppressive to evangelical Christians. This article critiques primarily Hodge's…

Experiences in sport, physical activity, and physical education among Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu Asian adolescent girls.

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Araki, Kaori; Kodani, Iku; Gupta, Nidhi; Gill, Diane L

2013-01-01

Multicultural scholarship in sport and exercise psychology should help us understand and apply cultural competencies for all to be physically active. In the present study, two Asian countries, Japan and Singapore, were chosen. The participation rate for physical activities among adolescent girls tends to be lower than that of boys in both countries. Thus, the purpose of the project was to gain knowledge and understanding about sociocultural factors that may explain adolescent girls' perceptions and behaviors toward sport, physical activity, and physical education (PE). A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with focus groups was used to understand meanings of physical activity among Buddhist Japanese, and Hindu Indians and Christian Chinese from Singapore. Each focus group consisted of four or five girls and female researchers. Based on the analysis, we created four themes which were "cultural identities," "Asian girls and sport/physical activities," "PE experiences," "motivation for future involvement." The Buddhist Japanese, Hindu Indian, and Christian Chinese participants each reported unique physical activity experiences, and all the participants were aware of how Asian culture may affect being physically active. Experiences of PE classes were similar but perceptions of their PE attire were different for Christian Chinese and Hindu Indian adolescent girls. Based on the results, the importance of nurturing cultural competencies and ways to encourage girls to be physically active throughout life were discussed.

The Saami drums and the religious encounter in the 17th and 18th centuries

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Håkan Rydving

1991-01-01

Full Text Available From the end of the 17th to the middle of the 18th century much of the confrontation between indigenous Saami religion and Christianity was focused on the drums. The Saamis of both Denmark—Norway and Sweden—Finland had been christianized for decade. The main problem for the Church authorities turned out to be that of making the Saamis abandon their indigenous religious customs. From the end of the 17th century, an intense period of propaganda and coercion began to make the Saamis abandon these non Christian elements in their religion. For the Saamis, the drums represented their threatened culture, the resistance against the Christian claim to exclusiveness, and a striving to preserve traditional values. The drums had a twofold role to play in the religious encounter. They were both foci of the confrontation and sources documenting and structuring it. The fight between old and new beliefs is to some extent possible to follow in the records from the district and county courts. These records give us access to Saami arguments and views of the importance of the drums in Saami society. The function of the drums as instruments for a Saami description of the encounter is, however, difficult to make out. The drum figures are difficult to interpret and there are a number of alternative ways of understanding their meaning.

Traditional Christian Belief and Belief in the Supernatural : Diverging Trends in the Netherlands Between 1979 and 2005?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Graaf, Nan Dirk de; Grotenhuis, Manfred te

2008-01-01

Is there an ongoing decline in religious beliefs in the Netherlands? Using cross-sectional data from 1979 up to 2005, we focus on traditional Christian faith and belief in the supernatural; the literature suggests that they undergo diverging trends. We first describe these trends using the Social

Traditional Christian belief and belief in the supernatural: Diverging trends in the Netherlands between 1979 and 2005?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Graaf, N.D. de; Grotenhuis, H.F. te

2008-01-01

Is there an ongoing decline in religious beliefs in the Netherlands? Using cross-sectional data from 1979 up to 2005, we focus on traditional Christian faith and belief in the supernatural; the literature suggests that they undergo diverging trends. We first describe these trends using the Social

Understanding Bereavement in a Christian University: A Qualitative Exploration

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Walker, Andrea C.; Gewecke, Rachelle; Cupit, Illene N.; Fox, Jeffrey T.

2014-01-01

This phenomenological study, based on ecological systems theory, examined the college student bereavement experience in a Christian university. Undergraduate students (N = 127) from a small Christian university provided answers to open-ended questions about their experiences regarding college following a death loss. Results indicate that students…

Eve or Evolution? The Question of the Creation of Adam and Eve as the First Humans versus the Theory That Humankind Evolved Over The Course of Millions of Years

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Eloise T. Choice

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Inherent in the Creation (“Intelligent Design” versus the Theory of Evolution (“natural selection” War, is the scientific belief in the millennia-long “evolution” of humankind, versus the Christian belief in the creation of the Biblical Adam and Eve circa 7,700 B.C. This article shows that there is no such thing as an “evolution” of Earth’s life forms. Over the course of millions of years, God created then, re-designed all Earth’s life forms in successive stages, which accounts for the non-linear progression of said forms and particularly of humanoids. Integrating Mitochondria DNA and archaeological evidence with Judeo-Christian and extra-Biblical texts, shows that after God created then re-designed pre-Adamic humans, He created the Biblical Adam and Eve circa 9,700 years ago during the Mesolithic Period as prototypes for present-day man. Moreover, archaeological evidence, plus Judeo-Christian and extra-Biblical texts suggest that Eve and Adam co-existed with Homo sapiens during the Mesolithic/Neolithic Periods.

Exploring the Sacred-Secular Dialect in Everyday Social Work Practice: An Analysis of Religious Responses to Managerialism among Outreach Social Workers in Hong Kong.

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Groves, Julian M; Ho, Wai-Yip; Siu, Kaxton

2016-07-01

We examine the recent proliferation of religious discourses among front line social workers in the former British Colony of Hong Kong in order to explore the nature of 're-enchantment' in modern social work practice. In-depth qualitative interviews with twenty social workers who identify as 'Christian social workers' in a variety of social work organisations (both religious and secular) reveal the adoption of religious identities and discourses to navigate the encroachment of managerialism. A systematic analysis of these narratives suggests that Christian social workers evoke religion to reclaim feelings of authenticity in their work, to facilitate more personalised relationships with their clients, and to empower themselves following the introduction of managerialist policies. We illuminate the dialectical relationship between religious discourses and managerialism to critique claims in the literature about a 're-enchantment' in social work, and to understand the essence of religion in modern social work practice.

A Comparison between the concepts of redemption in Christianity and intercessionin Shia Islam

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Mohsen Rabbani

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Faith and practice are most important factors for salvation in Islam and Christianity. More over the concepts of redemption in Christianity and the intercession in Shia have also been counted as elements of salvation. There are some similarities between them, which may be led to the misunderstanding that redemption and intercession are the same whereas the definition and function of these two doctrines are different in the religious traditions of both religions. The doctrine of redemption is the essential part of Christian theology, especially in soteriology. If this doctrine is put under question, the whole structure of Christian theology will be disintegrated. But doctrine of intercession is complementary part in Shia. In this article at first, the doctrine of redemption is explained. Considering that the understanding of the concept of redemption is based on other doctrines, including anthropology, soteriology and Christology in Christian theology, at first the relationship between redemption and these concepts will be discussed. It will be declared that Christians believe that Adam's sin had grave consequences for humanity, in a way that it becomes the source of human sinfulness. In Christian point of view God was incarnated in Jesus and was crucified in order to be redemptive of Adam's sin and in order to save men. Everyone who believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus will be delivered. In the second part of the article, the question of intercession according to Shia will be discussed. It will be suggested that the nature of man is pure in Islam and man himself can reach salvation by faith and good practice. In addition, mercy of God and the intercession of Imams will help sinful persons. But in the third part of the article, some similarities and differences between these doctrines will be pointed out. I will insist mostly on their conceptual and functional differences. Their similarities include: Both doctrines need an intermediate

A Comparison between the concepts of redemption in Christianity and intercessionin Shia Islam

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Ahmad Reza Meftah

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Faith and practice are most important factors for salvation in Islam and Christianity. More over the concepts of redemption in Christianity and the intercession in Shia have also been counted as elements of salvation. There are some similarities between them, which may be led to the misunderstanding that redemption and intercession are the same whereas the definition and function of these two doctrines are different in the religious traditions of both religions. The doctrine of redemption is the essential part of Christian theology, especially in soteriology. If this doctrine is put under question, the whole structure of Christian theology will be disintegrated. But doctrine of intercession is complementary part in Shia. In this article at first, the doctrine of redemption is explained. Considering that the understanding of the concept of redemption is based on other doctrines, including anthropology, soteriology and Christology in Christian theology, at first the relationship between redemption and these concepts will be discussed. It will be declared that Christians believe that Adam's sin had grave consequences for humanity, in a way that it becomes the source of human sinfulness. In Christian point of view God was incarnated in Jesus and was crucified in order to be redemptive of Adam's sin and in order to save men. Everyone who believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus will be delivered. In the second part of the article, the question of intercession according to Shia will be discussed. It will be suggested that the nature of man is pure in Islam and man himself can reach salvation by faith and good practice. In addition, mercy of God and the intercession of Imams will help sinful persons. But in the third part of the article, some similarities and differences between these doctrines will be pointed out. I will insist mostly on their conceptual and functional differences. Their similarities include: Both doctrines need an intermediate

Missed Opportunities for Religious Organizations to Support People Living with HIV/AIDS: Findings from Tanzania

OpenAIRE

Watt, Melissa H.; Maman, Suzanne; Jacobson, Mark; Laiser, John; John, Muze

2009-01-01

Religious beliefs play an important role in the lives of Tanzanians, but little is known about the influence of religion for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study shares perspectives of PLWHA and identifies opportunities for religious organizations to support the psychological well-being of this group. Data were collected in 2006 and 2007 through semistructured interviews with 36 clients (8 Muslims and 28 Christians) receiving free antiretrovirals (ARVs) in Arusha, Tanzania. Swahili...

The impact of acculturation and religious identification on perceived discrimination for Arab/Middle Eastern Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Awad, Germine H

2010-01-01

The aim of the current study was to determine the impact of acculturation, ethnic identity, and religious affiliation on perceived discrimination for persons of Arab and Middle Eastern descent. Two aspects of acculturation (ethnic society immersion and dominant society immersion), religious affiliation, and ethnic identity were measured using a final sample of 177 individuals of Arab or Middle Eastern descent. Results indicated that Arab/Middle Eastern Americans who reported lower levels of dominant society immersion tended to report higher levels of discrimination. Furthermore, Muslims reported a higher level of discrimination than Christians but this finding was moderated by level of acculturation. Specifically, Muslims who reported a high level of dominant society immersion experienced the most discrimination, whereas Christians who reported a high level of dominant society immersion reported less discrimination. Study implications are discussed. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

The relation between religion and state in Islam and Christianity in the rise of ISIS

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Timothy A. van Aarde

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The recent development of the Islamic State (ISIS 2010–2014 and IS 2014 is a radicalisation of the relation between religion and state in Islam. The relation of religion and state to Christianity has been shaped by the philosophy of dualism and Greek thought in the West. The relation of religion and state in Islam, however, has been shaped by a completely different tradition and conflicting view than Western thought and is based on the codified system of Shari’a law in Arabic thought. One of the most debated topics in Islamic studies is the inseparable nature of religion and state in Islam and the role of Shari’a law to the state. In the West the historical debate concerns the indiscriminate blending of church and state and the separation of church and state as indispensable to democracy and the modern question of the relation of Christian morality and public law. Islamic fundamentalism is a political and religious reform movement that indiscriminately blends the political and religious.

A polêmica sobre supostos “empréstimos” do Budismo ao Cristianismo e sua relevância para a fase inicial da Ciência da Religião institucionalizada (The polemics on alleged “borrowings” of Christianity from Buddhism. DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2013v11n31p914

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Frank Usarski

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Na segunda década do século XX iniciou-se um debate polêmico sobre a possibilidade de que fontes budistas tenham influenciado escrituras cristãs. Nas décadas seguintes, o assunto tornou-se um tópico intensamente debatido em círculos acadêmicos da época, mas a controversa se acalmou ainda antes da Primeira Guerra Mundial. O presente artigo oferece um resumo sistemático do debate em questão e possibilita a hipótese de que em dois sentidos a discussão era sintomática para os Estudos da Religião da época. Primeiro, o debate era expressão de um interesse comparativo nas religiões que começou a se articular ainda antes da institucionalização da Ciência da Religião em universidades europeias. Segundo, após a incorporação oficial da Ciência da Religião nos currículos acadêmicos, as conquistas teóricas e instrumentais no âmbito da disciplina sensibilizaram para o caráter especulativo dos argumentos a favor da chamada “hipótese da dependência” e contribuíram para o declínio da discussão sobre supostos “empréstimos” do Budismo ao Cristianismo. Palavras-chave: Fontes budistas. Textos cristãos. Estudos Comparados da Religião. História da Ciência da Religião.   Abstract The second half of the 20th century witnessed the upswing of a polemic debate about the possibility that Buddhist sources may have influenced Christian scriptures. For the next decades, the issue became an intensely debated topic within certain academic circles, until the controversy lost its momentum before World War I. The present article offers an overview of the debate and argues that the controversy was in a twofold sense symptomatic for Religious Studies in the time under investigation. Firstly, the debate was an expression of the comparative impetus, which became prominent even before its institutionalization in European universities. Secondly, after the official incorporation of Religious Studies into the academic curriculum, the

Can Christians really make a difference? A response to the call for change to make the world a better place

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Erna Oliver

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Christianity changed the world for the better through the development of education, charity organisations, art, music, law and medical care among others. However, not all changes initiated by Christianity were positive. The Christian religion was also responsible for division, death, destruction and war. Focusing on the positive changes, nearly 500 years after the reformation though, it seems as if Christianity has lost its renewing and transformative powers. It seems as if society, politics and the economy are pressurising Christianity to conform to the world and not the other way round. Therefore, the research focuses on the question whether Christians can bring about positive change and transformation to the current problems in society. What can Christians do to provide a religious response to current persistent societal problems? Change agents – people who drive positive change – are capable and competent, make use of networks, are visible and contactable and are often also outsiders in the communities they serve. Examples of the work done by change agents – Christians within their local communities – through small-scale community projects are showcased here to suggest possible ways forward for dealing with persistent problems from a Christian point of view.

The effects of name and religious priming on ratings of a well-known political figure, President Barack Obama.

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Williams, Gary A; Guichard, AnaMarie C; An, JungHa

2017-01-01

Priming with race-typed names and religious concepts have been shown to activate stereotypes and increase prejudice towards out-groups. We examined the effects of name and religious word priming on views of a specific and well-known person, President Barack Obama. We predicted that politically conservative participants primed with President Obama's middle name (Hussein) would rate him more negatively and be more likely to view him as a Muslim than those not shown his middle name. We also examined whether conservatives primed with concrete religious words would rate President Obama more negatively and be more likely to view him as Muslim than those primed with other word types. Furthermore, we predicted that those who mis-identify President Obama as Muslim would rate him more negatively than would those who view him as Christian. The results provided mixed support for these hypotheses. Conservatives primed with President Obama's middle name rated him significantly more negatively than did those in the control condition. This effect was not found for politically liberal or moderate participants. Name priming did not significantly affect views of President Obama's religious affiliation. Although not statistically significant, conservatives primed with abstract religious words tended to rate President Obama more negatively than did those primed with other word types. Religious word priming significantly influenced views of President Obama's religious affiliation; interestingly, participants primed with abstract religious words were more likely to think President Obama is Muslim than were those primed with religious agent or non-religious words. As predicted, participants who thought president Obama was Muslim rated him significantly more negatively than did those who thought he was Christian. Overall, our results provide some evidence that ethnic name and religious word priming can significantly influence opinions, even with a well-known and specific person.

The Need to Re-Conceptualize African 'Traditional' Religion

African Journals Online (AJOL)

First Lady

definitions of religion, point out the areas of misconception about African religion ... concrete deity or not‖ by William James (1902) opens up the idea of religion .... a belief which is also very central in the Judeo-Christian faith, especially in.

Male and Female Ministers: Comparing Roman Catholic and Methodist Deacons on Personality Structure, Religious Beliefs, and Leadership Styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Joseph R

2017-03-01

Christian deacons (50 Roman Catholic; 50 Methodist) self-reported their personality, religiosity, and leadership attributes, plus social desirability tendencies. There were no significant correlates between social desirability and any of these self-reported variables. Results also found no significant differences across Christian denominations on personality dimensions, religious and spirituality beliefs, or leadership styles. Also, there were no significant differences in self-reported personality, religiosity, or leadership among Catholic male deacons with Methodist female deacons only ( n = 43). Taken together, in the present exploratory study across denomination and gender, Christian deacons view themselves similarly in personality, religiosity, and overall leadership characteristics.

Preliminary study of religious, spiritual and mystical experiences. Thematic analysis of Poles adult’s narratives

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Marta Magdalena Boczkowska

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine narratives of the personal religious, spiritual and mystical experiences of adult Poles (N = 74 and their impact on narrative identity. The method for collecting qualitative data about individual understandings and spiritual, religious and mystical experiences was the narrative interview, developed on the basis of the Life Story Interview. During the analysis, the following key topics were identified: awareness of the presence/protection of God, a peak experience, the awareness of oneness with nature and the world, and a sense of closeness/contact with a person who has died. This study provides specific information on the spiritual, religious and mystical experiences of the investigated group of Poles.

Teaching journalism prior to and after the demise of Christian higher education at Potchefstroom

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J.D. Froneman

2009-07-01

Full Text Available This article explores how the step-by-step changes to the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (resulting in the merger with the University of the North-West to form the North-West University [NWU] impacted on the teaching of journalism at the Potchefstroom Campus. It was particularly relevant in 2009, as 50 years of teaching journalism and other communication subjects were celebrated by the School of Communication Studies on the Potchefstroom Cam-pus of the NWU. The article thus also has a definite historio-graphical intention – more specifically as an attempt at writing micro-historiography. It aims to illustrate how a definite Christian perspective on journalism was substituted for a slimmer “value-driven” approach sans an explisit religious dimension. Although it has been suggested by the vice-chancellor that lecturers had the right to express their views in class (including views based on Christian principles, it is argued here that the termination of the formal Christian approach made it very difficult, if not impossible, for lecturers to continue as in the past. As a result of the value-driven approach professional and institutional ethical codes are now used as a basic point of departure. This, however, does not satisfy those who prefer a more fundamental Christian approach to journalism. It is suggested that if this reading of the situation was erroneous, perhaps those Christians with a more positive view of the “name change” could give clearer leadership on how Christian perspectives on science (and journalism can realistically be accommodated in the curriculum.

The religious lives of students at a South African university

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Werner Nell

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Whilst significant research has been conducted on religious affiliation and on general levels of religiosity in the South African context, few studies specifically investigated the religious lives of South African university students in a comprehensive way. This is unfortunate as such research could significantly inform and support the effectiveness of youth and student ministries. As such, this article explored the religious lives of students at a university in the Gauteng province of South Africa, focusing specifically on students’ self-assessed religiosity, the maturity of their religious attitudes, their spiritual well-being, the religious practices in which they engage and the relationship between such practices and their spiritual well-being. Gender, racial and religious differences concerning these variables were also investigated. Data were collected from 356 undergraduate students by means of a structured survey consisting of the Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire, the Religious Fundamentalism Scale and two other scales aimed at assessing religiosity and religious practices. Results indicated that 98.9% of participants were religious with the majority (86.9% being Christian. Generally, students espoused highly fundamentalist religious attitudes but had high levels of spiritual well-being. Prayer and virtual or in-person attendance of religious gatherings such as church services were the most prevalent religious practices whereas fasting and meditation were practiced least. All practices were positively correlated with students’ spiritual well-being. Based on these findings, the article concludes with several specific, practical recommendations relevant to student ministries and those working with university students in religious contexts.

Profiles of adolescent religiousness using latent profile analysis: Implications for psychopathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Longo, Gregory S; Bray, Bethany C; Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen

2017-03-01

Prior research has documented robust associations between adolescent religiousness/spirituality (R/S) and psychopathology outcomes including externalizing and internalizing symptomatology, yet no previous studies have examined these associations with adolescent R/S profiles using a person-centred approach. We examined whether there are identifiable subgroups characterized by unique multidimensional patterns of R/S experiences and how these experiences may be related to externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. The sample consisted of 220 Appalachian adolescents between 12 and 18 years old who were primarily White and primarily Christian. Latent profile analysis revealed three profiles of adolescent R/S: high religiousness (28.4%), introjectors (47.6%), and low religiousness (24.0%). These profiles were differentially related to internalizing and externalizing symptomatology such that the high religiousness group was significantly lower than the introjectors with respect to internalizing and externalizing symptomatology and lower than the low religiousness group in externalizing symptomatology. Implications and suggestions for future research using person-centred approaches to better understand differential developmental trajectories of religious development are provided. Statement of contribution What is already known Prior research has demonstrated a negative relationship between adolescent religiousness and spirituality (R/S) and psychopathology. Numerous studies document the differential relationships between aspects of R/S and psychopathology; however, few have done so from a person-centred perspective. There are several theories that outline how R/S to study R/S when paying specific attention to culture. Saroglou's Big Four dimensions of religion (believing, bonding, behaving, and belonging) posits that these four dimensions (1) are able to delimit religion from proximal constructs; (2) translate major distinct dimensions of religiousness; (3) can be

The Idea of Religious Experience of W. James in Russian Religious Studies: Religious Thought of the First Third of XX Century

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K. Antonov

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The article examines the role which a discussion around the book of the American philosopher and psychologist W. James «The Varieties of Religious Experience» played in the development of the Russian philosophy and psychology of religion. The author carries out an analytical review of the Russian reception of James’s philosophy and psychology of religion inasmuch as they are connected with the concept of religious experience. The main attention is paid to the reception of the ideas of the American philosopher in the beginning of the 20th century and to its continuation among Russian emigrants. The author presents short summaries of debates concerning James’s ideas in the principal Russian philosophical and theological periodicals: «Questions of Philosophy and Psychology», «Logos», «The Russian Thought», «Theological Review», «Faith and Reason» — and then points out those authors who presented their understanding of the ideas of the American philosopher outside these periodicals. Despite the fact that the reception as a whole had philosophical character (it was mostly representatives of theological academies who were ready to develop the psychology of religion «in James’s spirit», one can say that in its framework the growth of the psychology of religion as a special field of research was outlined. And what is even more important — there emerged psychologism as a special form of cognitive interest in the field of religious studies. Not only philosophers and psychologists, but theologians as well learned to look on religion as a psychological phenomenon, «experience». And this concept step by step moved forward into the centre of the psychological study of religion as its own specifi c subject.

Toward an African-Christian Demonology: The Demonologies of African Traditional Religion, African Christianity, and Early Christianity in Dialogue

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Moscicke, Hans

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Christian interactions with the spirit-world of African traditional religion (ATR have remained problematic due, in part, to the failure of Christian missionaries to understand in detail the cosmology of ATR and the angelologies and demonologies of early Christianity. In this article I suggest a way beyond this impasse. I first survey the shape of cosmology and demonology in ATR, and then examine African Christianitys variegated responses to these traditional beliefs. Finally, I submit that a retrieval of the early Christian mythological narrative about demons and its associated cosmology could help theologians accommodate the spirit-world of ATR within a truly African-Christian theology.

CONFLICT, JIHAD, AND RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN MALUKU, EASTERN INDONESIA

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Badrus Sholeh

2008-02-01

Full Text Available The collapse of Suharto’s New Order is a starting point of the quest of religious identity for Indonesian Muslims. A lot of radical groups are founded under the umbrella of liberty and democracy. However, many of them have destroyed the structure of democracy and multicultural society. Conflicts of Maluku (and Poso (1999-2003 are the best local context of how religious groups (Muslims and Christians fighted severely in the name of God. The conflict is also a good case to understand the weakening of state and the involvements of military (para-military forces in instigating the conflicts, which impacted to thousands people killed, and destroyed the ethnic and religious harmony in the region. This paper will analyse the conflicts of Maluku and compare it to other religious conflicts in Poso, Central Sulawesi and ethnic conflicts in West Kalimantan, Southern Thailand and Southern Philippines. I argue the growth of local nationalism and unstability of States in Southeast Asian regions brings the rise of civil society and paramilitary forces, which challenges the entities of harmony, peace and multiculturalism in the region.

Carl Gustav Jung and Granville Stanley Hall on Religious Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Chae Young

2016-08-01

Granville Stanley Hall (1844-1924) with William James (1842-1910) is the key founder of psychology of religion movement and the first American experimental or genetic psychologist, and Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) is the founder of the analytical psychology concerned sympathetically about the religious dimension rooted in the human subject. Their fundamental works are mutually connected. Among other things, both Hall and Jung were deeply interested in how the study of religious experience is indispensable for the depth understanding of human subject. Nevertheless, except for the slight indication, this common interest between them has not yet been examined in academic research paper. So this paper aims to articulate preliminary evidence of affinities focusing on the locus and its function of the inner deep psychic dimension as the religious in the work of Hall and Jung.

Contemplation: If It Makes for Peace, Why Not for Christian Witness Too?

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Pawel Tarasiewicz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The author attempts to answer the following question: Why does Christian witness need contemplation? He claims that Christian witness needs contemplation, because contemplation reveals the truth about the nature of reality; it is this truth which is one of the factors that constitute the foundation of Christian faith. In a sense, contemplation is analogical to mysticism: as mystical visions make Christian belief grounded on the immediate experience of (meeting with the Truth, so the contemplation of the creatures makes Christian belief based on the indirect experience of the Truth (i.e., the meeting with the traces left by the Creator in the world.

Religious affiliation at time of death - Global estimates and projections.

Science.gov (United States)

Skirbekk, Vegard; Todd, Megan; Stonawski, Marcin

2018-03-01

Religious affiliation influences societal practices regarding death and dying, including palliative care, religiously acceptable health service procedures, funeral rites and beliefs about an afterlife. We aimed to estimate and project religious affiliation at the time of death globally, as this information has been lacking. We compiled data on demographic information and religious affiliation from more than 2500 surveys, registers and censuses covering 198 nations/territories. We present estimates of religious affiliation at the time of death as of 2010, projections up to and including 2060, taking into account trends in mortality, religious conversion, intergenerational transmission of religion, differential fertility, and gross migration flows, by age and sex. We find that Christianity continues to be the most common religion at death, although its share will fall from 37% to 31% of global deaths between 2010 and 2060. The share of individuals identifying as Muslim at the time of death increases from 21% to 24%. The share of religiously unaffiliated will peak at 17% in 2035 followed by a slight decline thereafter. In specific regions, such as Europe, the unaffiliated share will continue to rises from 14% to 21% throughout the period. Religious affiliation at the time of death is changing globally, with distinct regional patterns. This could affect spatial variation in healthcare and social customs relating to death and dying.

The Professionalisation of Non-Denominational Religious Education in England: Politics, Organisation and Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Stephen G.; Freathy, Rob; Doney, Jonathan

2016-01-01

In response to contemporary concerns, and using neglected primary sources, this article explores the professionalisation of teachers of Religious Education (RI/RE) in non-denominational, state-maintained schools in England. It does so from the launch of "Religion in Education" (1934) and the Institute for Christian Education at Home and…

MANAGING THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE ON ROMANIAN RELIGIOUS SITES: MONASTERIES ABBOTS’ PERCEPTIONS

OpenAIRE

Mihai Florin BĂCILĂ; Alexandru CHIŞ; Gabriela Cecilia STĂNCIULESCU; Alexandra-Maria ŢÎRCA

2010-01-01

For thousands of years, people have been travelling to places considered sacred to meet or to worship Divinity. Religion-motivated tourism is extremely important in many parts of the world. The aim of this paper is to investigate the issue of the religious tourism experience for a religion considered to be conservative and traditionalist in relation to other denominations. In order to achieve this end we distinguish the behavioural characteristics and motivations of the religious sites’ visit...

Religious coping moderates the relation between racism and psychological well-being among Christian Asian American college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Paul Youngbin; Kendall, Dana L; Webb, Marcia

2015-01-01

The authors examined the moderating role of positive and negative religious coping in the relation between racism and psychological well-being in a sample of Catholic and Protestant Asian American college students (N = 107). On the basis of prior theorizing on the 2 types of religious coping, combined with some limited empirical evidence, they predicted that positive religious coping would have a buffering effect (Hypothesis 1) on the racism-mental health relation and that negative religious coping would have an exacerbating effect (Hypothesis 2). Participants completed an online survey containing measures corresponding to the study variables. Results indicated that the interaction between positive religious coping and racism was nonsignificant, so Hypothesis 1 was not supported. For Hypothesis 2, the negative religious coping and racism interaction term was statistically significant, but the moderating effect was in an unexpected direction, such that negative religious coping actually protected against the deleterious impact of racism on mental health. The findings suggest that the theorized deleterious influence of negative religious coping may need to be reconsidered in an Asian American setting. The findings have the potential to inform practitioners who work with Asian American college students to better cope with the detrimental consequences of racism. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

What Would Jesus Do? Negotiating Hegemonic Masculinity in Religious Organizations

OpenAIRE

Molina, Carolina

2015-01-01

This study investigates how men’s only church programs rearticulate notions of hegemonic masculinity. Specifically, this study examines two male-only programs, one English-speaking and one Spanish-speaking, within a non-denominational Christian organization in California’s Central Valley. Using qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews and participant observation, this study shows that masculinities are constructed by aligning notions of hegemonic masculinity with religious be...

End-of-life decisions: Christian perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Stempsey, William E

1997-12-01

While legal rights to make medical treatment decisions at the end of one's life have been recognized by the courts, particular religious traditions put axiological and metaphysical meat on the bare bones of legal rights. Mere legal rights do not capture the full reality, meaning and importance of death. End-of-life decisions reflect not only the meaning we find in dying, but also the meaning we have found in living. The Christian religions bring particular understandings of the vision of life as a gift from God, human responsibility for stewardship of that life, the wholeness of the person, and the importance of the dying process in preparing spiritually for life beyond earthly life, to bear on end-of-life decisions.

Science Outreach and the Religious Public: The Source Makes All the Difference

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, G. R.; Hill, C.; Wolgemuth, K.

2017-12-01

Public resistance to well established scientific understanding has been a persistent problem in the US. Decades of improved educational materials, upgraded K-12 standards, and several successful court battles to curb anti-science influences did little to change the percentage of Americans resistant to even considering the evidence for subjects such as evolution or ancient Earth history. Research in the social sciences suggests that one reason has been a failure to recognize the importance of the source of information. Studies have documented that people are more receptive to challenging viewpoints when the advocate (the source) is recognized as a member of their own group or "tribe." The personal worldview or group-identity of an expert can determine how willing an audience is to consider the argument, much more so than the expert's scientific credentials. For a religious audience, this means that the quality of educational materials and the strength of an argument may be irrelevant if delivered by someone known to be dismissive of fundamental religious beliefs. In contrast, significant inroads have been realized with the religious public when scientists of faith have taken a pro-science message to members of their own religious affiliations. Encouraging stories are coming from outreach efforts of organizations and programs such as BioLogos, American Scientific Affiliation, Solid Rock Lectures, and AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion. Secular scientists interested in outreach can benefit greatly by keeping a short list of resources (blogs, books, speakers) by religious scientists advocating for the legitimacy of modern science, or by directly teaming with scientists of faith. A recent example from our own efforts includes an 11 author book, The Grand Canyon, Monument to an Ancient Earth, aimed primarily at the Christian public to explain why Noah's flood does not explain the planet's complex geology. Eight authors are Christians and three are not.

HISTORICAL DYNAMICS OF INTER-RELIGIOUS RELATIONS IN SOUTH KALIMANTAN

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Mujiburrahman Mujiburrahman

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a historical overview of the dynamics of inter-religious relations in South Kalimantan. Early conversion to Islam in the 16th century, and more intensive Islamization by the 18th century, can be seen as the formative period of Islam in this region. The encounter and clash between the new religion and the existing beliefs and practices were unavoidable. By the late 19th century, the clash seems to move to another target, namely the colonial power associated with Christianity. By this period, Islam was transformed from the court into a people movement against the colonial power. By the first half of the 20th century, the problem of the 18th century apparently reappeared but in another form, namely the clash between puritan and traditional Islam. The making of the Indonesian nation state by the second half of the 20th century pushed the Banjarese Muslims to be involved in the ideological debates, and even in a rebellion against the state. During the Soeharto period, Muslim-Christian tensions at the national politics also influenced this region. Finally, in the Reformation Era, the Muslims in the province face serious challenges of intra- and inter-religious plurality.

MANAGING THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE ON ROMANIAN RELIGIOUS SITES: MONASTERIES ABBOTS’ PERCEPTIONS

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Mihai Florin BĂCILĂ

2010-01-01

Full Text Available For thousands of years, people have been travelling to places considered sacred to meet or to worship Divinity. Religion-motivated tourism is extremely important in many parts of the world. The aim of this paper is to investigate the issue of the religious tourism experience for a religion considered to be conservative and traditionalist in relation to other denominations. In order to achieve this end we distinguish the behavioural characteristics and motivations of the religious sites’ visitors through the abbots’ gaze. The research method of this study is a questionnaire based survey among more than one hundred monasteries’ superiors from different regions of Romania, places known as “holy or sacred” destinations for the Romanian religious people.

Death, cadavers and post-mortem biomedical research: a point of view from a Christian community.

Science.gov (United States)

Charlier, Philippe; Joly, Alain; Champagnat, Julie; Brun, Luc; de la Grandmaison, Geoffroy Lorin; Hervé, Christian

2013-12-01

Facing modern developments of medicine and biomedical researches, religious communities are a strong source of ethics principles and orientations. Human dignity does not disappear after life, in a context of biomedical research on cadavers. Moral, political, social and scientific aspects of research on human cadavers (mainly autopsies) have been widely discussed in biomedical publications, whereas the religious ones (which could be predominant for some) have rarely been analyzed and presented. This article will present the results of a survey carried out a French Benedictine Abbey (relative to death, cadaver's status and biomedical research) and subsequent Christian background according to canonic texts and practical cases from anthropological, historical, archeological and biomedical origin.

Might Astrobiological Findings Evoke a Religious Crisis?

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, T.; Froehlig, J. L.

2009-12-01

What might be the likely impact of confirmed discovery of extraterrestrial life—microbial or intelligent life—on terrestrial religion? Many have speculated that the anthropo-centrism and earth-centrism which allegedly have characterized our religious traditions would be confronted with a crisis. Would new knowledge that we are not alone in the universe lead to a collapse of traditional religious belief? This presentation will summarize the results of the Peters Religious Crisis Survey of 1325 respondents. This survey shows that the majority of adherents to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism demonstrate little or no anxiety regarding the prospect of contact with extraterrestrial life, even if they express some doubts regarding their respective religious tradition and the traditions of others. This presentation will also show that theological speculation regarding other worlds has sparked lively debate beginning as far back as the middle ages and continuing into our present era. Ted Peters is a research and teaching scholar with the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He is co-editor of the journal, Theology and Science, and author of the books, The Evolution of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Life (Pandora 2008) and Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom (Routledge, rev. ed., 2003).

Subversion of Religious Canon in Pullman’s His Dark Materials

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Ana Kedveš

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In 2000 the final volume of the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials was published in London. Although it was only after New Line Cinema announced the film adaptation that it attracted world wide attention, it is undeniable that Pullman’s work made an immense contribution not only to children’s literature, but to British literature in general. The fact that Pullman was the first children’s author to receive The Whitbread Award, as well as the sales of more than 15 million, speak in favour of the significance his work. However, because of his public outbursts against the boycotters of his works, Pullman came under strident criticism. Unconventional usage of traditional religious and Church-related concepts as literary devices brought into question his integrity as an author and designated him as a fervent atheist. The central aim of this paper is to show how Pullman uses various religious concepts, which are mainly related to Christian tradition and doctrines. The resonant imagery of His Dark Materials carries numerous canonical references, primarily from the Bible, but also from Milton’s Paradise Lost and the works of William Blake. Pullman employs different strategies throughout the volumes to introduce these, somewhat dogmatic, precepts; they are either rewritten in a way that casts new light upon the matters they relate to or are presented unaltered per se, but in a completely new context that enables a different, allegorical reading of the canonical item. This paper opens with a short explication of the religious canon, followed by examples of its subversion in His Dark Materials. Special emphasis is placed on the transfer and modification of the traditional Christian religious concepts into fantasy fiction context and a relatively critical replica of the Catholic Church in His Dark Materials.

The Religious and Spiritual Experiences of Undergraduate Gay Males Attending a Religiously Affiliated Institution of Higher Education

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Adams, Melvin D., III

2013-01-01

This doctoral thesis studied the religious and spiritual experiences of undergraduate gay males at a Protestant affiliated higher education institution and how undergraduate gay males made sense of their personal journeys. Data was collected from four participants and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five themes emerged…

Conflict Theory and the Analysis of Religious Experience | Obiefuna ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Both the experience and the way it is interpreted can, and most of the times, lead to conflict and violence. One of the appropriate theoretical approaches to explaining, understanding, and resolving religious related conflicts and violence is the conflict theory with micro (psycho-spiritual) and macro (socio-cultural) features ...

The Historical and religious conditions of the split of Sudan ... in the context of Christian-Muslim relationships

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Waldemar Cisło

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The split into the predominantly Muslim Northern Sudan, and Southern Sudan with a Christian and animist majority, had been emerging in the course of many centuries. Without any doubt, one is bound to mention the natural and geographical boundaries, the ethnical diversity of the regions, the influence exercised during the centuries by the Egyptians, Arabs and later on by the British. According to the opinions of some experts on the subject, there can be two distinct matters that have contributed to the split of the North and the South. These were education and religion. Apart from education, also the issue of religion was dividing the Sudan. After the declaration of independence on January 1, 1954 all the Christian private schools in the South were closed down. There remained only state schools with Arabic as the language of instruction and with the upbringing model based on the Koran teaching. Having obtained political independence, the fears of the British administration and Christian missionaries became a reality: Islam was made the state religion. The only way to attain an occupational and social status was to convert to Islam. Frequently, this took place according to the rule of an already accomplished fact or by pressure. In the context of Sudan, one of the biggest country in Africa, with its population of over 37 million, made up of 70 per cent Muslim believers , 14 per cent of Christians, and 12 per cent of animists, it is of great importance for the perception of fundamentalism to be familiar with the history of this country.

Secularities, Diversities and Pluralities: Understanding the Challenges of Religious Diversity in Latin America

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Edgar Zavala-Pelayo

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Latin America is experiencing today the greatest religious diversity in its entire history. However, it must also be noted that a large number of the growing religious minorities may be classified into types of Christianity with conservative overtones. In this paper we will suggest that the literature streams on multiple secularities in contemporary (Western societies and religious diversity in Latin America do offer insightful perspectives yet fail to adequately convey the challenges raised by the religious across contemporary Latin America. Addressing Latin America’s historical background, we will distinguish conceptually and empirically among different degrees of secularities, diversities and pluralities and will construct with these distinctions a descriptive-normative model that can guide future analyses of secular and religious phenomena in Latin America. It is only through a comprehensive understanding of diversities, pluralities and secularities that the debates on those human rights crucial for social inclusion—from sexual and reproductive rights to gender and religious equality—can be fruitfully conducted in and beyond Latin America.

Religious conversion and Dalit assertion amongst a Punjabi Dalit diaspora

OpenAIRE

Taylor, Steve

2014-01-01

Drawing upon original ethnographic research amongst Punjabi Dalit communities within the UK and India, this paper examines post-transnational migration religious conversion from Sikhism to neo-Buddhism and Christianity, assessing the extent to which this process is simultaneously one of Dalit assertion and resistance to caste-based oppression, thereby facilitating social change within the contemporary Punjabi transnational community. While it is generally accepted that, despite the Ambedkar m...

Textbook Religion and Lived Religion: A Comparison of the Christian Faith as Expressed in Textbooks and by Young Church Members

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Vestøl, Jon Magne

2016-01-01

Drawing on perspectives from sociocultural theory, this article investigates how Christian denominations are represented in Norwegian textbooks of religious education and by young believers. The main finding is that textbooks and young adherents present religion in substantially different ways. While textbooks relate religion to global and…

One Life/Many Lives: An Internal Hindu-Christian Dialogue

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Jeffery D. Long

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This essay consists of philosophical and comparative theological reflections on the topic of rebirth, or reincarnation. Informed by the work of William James, John Hick, and Francis X. Clooney, the essay first establishes the author’s stance that reincarnation is a plausible option for belief, at least as attractive as its two main rivals. These rival options are the belief in an everlasting life in either heaven or hell, characteristic of religions such as Christianity and Islam, and the materialist or physicalist belief that there is no afterlife, except in a highly attenuated sense. The essay then moves into a dialogical, comparative theological mode. It raises the question of whether traditional Christian rejection of rebirth, even if it is not something to which the author ultimately assents, might nevertheless carry with it an important insight that is worthy of serious consideration by those who accept the idea of rebirth. This is seen as an instance of the ‘deep learning across religious borders’ that is the main goal of comparative theology, as defined by Clooney.

Interreligious contact, perceived group threat, and perceived discrimination: Predicting negative attitudes among religious minorities and majorities in Indonesia

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Kanas, A.M.; Sterkens, C.J.A.; Scheepers, P.L.H.

2015-01-01

This study examines the relationship between interreligious contact and negative attitudes toward the religious outgroup among minority Christians and majority Muslims in Indonesia. It answers two research questions: Does interreligious contact reduce negative outgroup attitudes equally for minority

Toward an African-Christian Demonology: The Demonologies of African Traditional Religion, African Christianity, and Early Christianity in Dialogue

OpenAIRE

Moscicke, Hans

2017-01-01

Christian interactions with the spirit-world of African traditional religion (ATR) have remained problematic due, in part, to the failure of Christian missionaries to understand in detail the cosmology of ATR and the angelologies and demonologies of early Christianity. In this article I suggest a way beyond this impasse. I first survey the shape of cosmology and demonology in ATR, and then examine African Christianitys variegated responses to these traditional beliefs. Finally, I submit that ...

S(eoul Search: The Changing Religious Landscape in Seoul and Its Implications for Defining “Asia”

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Nami Kim

2010-10-01

Full Text Available There is a saying that if one looks at Seoul at night from afar, one will see a large city covered with neon-lit red crosses. It is also said that a Christian church can be found on every other block in the streets of Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (also known as South Korea. To be sure, this is not the case. Yet this embellished illustration of Seoul as a Christian symbol of a cross-covered city conveys the message that Christianity is no longer a foreign or a Western religion, but has, rather, become a major religious tradition in South Korea as represented in its capital. Christianity may not be the majority religion in terms of demographics, but it has certainly become a dominant religion in terms of social and political influence as well as economic power in South Korea.

A qualitative investigation of Muslim and Christian women's views of religion and feminism in their lives.

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Ali, Saba Rasheed; Mahmood, Amina; Moel, Joy; Hudson, Carolyn; Leathers, Leslie

2008-01-01

This qualitative investigation explored a relatively understudied aspect of cultural diversity: feminism and religion in the lives of religiously diverse women. More specifically, structured interviews were used to investigate views of religion, women's issues, gender roles, culture, and feminism for a small group of Muslim and Christian women living in the United States. The data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Findings indicated a complex relationship between feminism, gender roles, culture, and religion for these women with the majority of the Muslim women reporting that their religion supports feminist principles and identifying themselves as feminist. Christian women were less willing to endorse the feminist label. Implications for multicultural feminist practice are discussed. 2008 APA

The Theology of Priesthood and the Priest Office in the First Century Christianity

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Dariusz Kasprzak

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P. Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry. In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13. Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.

`... for more and better religious education'

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Poole, Michael

1996-04-01

Mahner and Bunge argue that (1) ‘science and religion are incompatible’, in order to develop their thesis, that (2) ‘a religious education ... is an obstacle to the development of a scientific mentality’, and that therefore we should only teach our children (3) ‘how science explains the existence of religion in historical, biological, psychological and sociological terms’, and that (4) ‘religious education should be kept away from public schools ...’ I offer brief comments on each of these strands of their argument. ‘Religionists’, to use Mahner and Bunge's term, generally come from a specific stance so I shall make it clear, from the outset, that these remarks come from a Christian standpoint, even though many of them are much more widely applicable. Although I agree with some of the observations which Mahner and Bunge make, my conclusions are generally opposite to theirs on each of the four points.

Religious Diversity and Islam in America

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Jalal Uddin Khan

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Diversity is the essence and spirit of America or the West both as a place and a people. Islam also allows for diversity within its concept of unity and oneness of God. Muslims, therefore, have no problem co-existing in peace with the Jews, Christians and the followers of other religions. Problems arise (a when secular values or principles disturb the working balance of the otherwise mutually exclusive religious diversity and harmony in America; (b when one follows opportunist policies, practices double standards, and is moved by mere worldly or political interests; and (c when war against the Zionist-and-neoconservative-manufactured terrorism turns into war against Islam. Such misleading and mischievous tendencies or policies prevent peace from prevailing, which ultimately tarnish the image of religions in the eyes of their followers and those of the rest making a mockery of the idea of religious diversity even in the so-called most democratic country called the United States of America!

Empirically supported religious and spiritual therapies.

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Hook, Joshua N; Worthington, Everett L; Davis, Don E; Jennings, David J; Gartner, Aubrey L; Hook, Jan P

2010-01-01

This article evaluated the efficacy status of religious and spiritual (R/S) therapies for mental health problems, including treatments for depression, anxiety, unforgiveness, eating disorders, schizophrenia, alcoholism, anger, and marital issues. Religions represented included Christianity, Islam, Taoism, and Buddhism. Some studies incorporated a generic spirituality. Several R/S therapies were found to be helpful for clients, supporting the further use and research on these therapies. There was limited evidence that R/S therapies outperformed established secular therapies, thus the decision to use an R/S therapy may be an issue of client preference and therapist comfort.

The Concept of Sacrifice in Christianity and in Hinduism: A Comparative Study

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Kolamkuzhyyil, Thomas Mathew

2016-01-01

Every religion is something good. In this dissertation the author tries to discover some similarities in both the Christianity and Hinduism. Both the religions are good in themselves. India is a country with multi religious cultures and differences. They exist side by side. They have something unique to offer to the society. The goal of the research and study of the author is to bring out some converging points in both the religions where we can meet together and dialogue with each other. ...

Sunshine Unfolding.

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Holdrege, Craig; And Others

Hinduism, yoga, transcendental meditation, traditional American Indian philosophies, far-Eastern philosophies (Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and Zen concepts), macrobiotics, and Judeo-Christian teachings are the topics discussed in this student developed book. Designed for use by both elementary and high school students, it was written with two major…

Christian Faith, Free Will and Neuroscience

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Sarot, M.; Jonkers, P.H.A.I.; Sarot, M.

2013-01-01

In this contribution I explain what the libertarian conception of free will is, and why it is of moral and religious importance. Consequently, I defend this conception of free will against secular and religious charges. After that, I present and evaluate neuroscientific experi-ments on free will,

The Relationship between Psychological Health and Attitude toward Christianity among Pupils Aged 11 to 15 Years in England

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Francis, Leslie J.; Burton, Linda

2007-01-01

Advocates of the secularization thesis describe radical decline in the significance of the Christian tradition among young people in England. In this context, a sample of 5,808 pupils age 11 to 15 years provided data about their religious identity and practice and completed the short-form Revised Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (as a…

Body Covering and Body Image: A Comparison of Veiled and Unveiled Muslim Women, Christian Women, and Atheist Women Regarding Body Checking, Body Dissatisfaction, and Eating Disorder Symptoms.

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Wilhelm, Leonie; Hartmann, Andrea S; Becker, Julia C; Kişi, Melahat; Waldorf, Manuel; Vocks, Silja

2018-02-21

Although Islam is the fastest growing religion worldwide, only few studies have investigated body image in Muslim women, and no study has investigated body checking. Therefore, the present study examined whether body image, body checking, and disordered eating differ between veiled and unveiled Muslim women, Christian women, and atheist women. While the groups did not differ regarding body dissatisfaction, unveiled Muslim women reported more checking than veiled Muslim and Christian women, and higher bulimia scores than Christian. Thus, prevention against eating disorders should integrate all women, irrespective of religious affiliation or veiling, with a particular focus on unveiled Muslim women.

[Religiousness of patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia. Wide-ranging studies].

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Tomczak, Piotr

2006-01-01

(1) The correlations between: (1.1) various aspects of religiousness and (1.2) age, anxiety-state, anxiety-trait, locus of control, and, in the group of patients with shizophrenia: span of treatment, rate of therapy, ego psychopathology, paranoid and depression dimensions, self-rating of state of self-feeling, state of feeling of illness, and quality of life and (2) the comparison of various aspects of religiousness of patients with schizophrenia and healthy people were studied. The Scale of Christian Religiousness, Individual Religiousness Scale, Intrinsic, Extrinsic and Quest Religious Orientation Scales, Scale of Fundamentalism, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Rotter's questionnaire of locus of control, Scharfetter's questionnaire of ego psychopathology, Paranoid-Depresivity Scale-abridgment, Frankfurt Self-feeling Scale-abridgment, visual analogy of self-feeling, visual analogy of feeling of illness, and questionnaire of quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) were used in the study. 91 adults both of sexes, 60 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia according to ICD-10 and DCR-10 in the diagnostic group and 31 healthy persons were studied. It was noticed that: (1) various correlations are manifested between religiousness and psychopathology of patients with schizophrenia; (2) patients diagnosed as having schizophrenia have a significantly higher level of extrinsic religiousness and fundamentalism than healthy individuals; (3) many results pointed out in the bibliography had no verification in these studies. Intrinsic, extrinsic, quest, and orthodox religiousness and fundamentalism realize significant functions in psychopathology of schizophrenia disorder. The knowledge about religiousness of schizophrenia patients can be important for diagnostic and therapeutic processes of the disorder.

How Private Is the Relation with God? Religiosity and Family Religious Socialization in Romanian Emerging Adults

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Negru, Oana; Haragâs, Cosmina; Mustea, Anca

2014-01-01

This qualitative study explores the dynamics of religious cognitions, behaviors, and emotions in emerging adult discourse in a sample of Romanian youth of heterogeneous socioeconomic, denominational (Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic, Neo-protestant), and educational background. Also, from a parent-child dyad perspective, we investigate the role…

Strange bedfellows: the Bundestag’s free vote on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD reveals how Germany’s restrictive bioethics legislation is shaped by a Christian Democratic/New Left issue-coalition

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Kai Arzheimer

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Germany’s bioethical legislation presents a puzzle: given structural factors, the country should be at the forefront of reproductive medicine, but its embryology regime remains one of the strictest in Western Europe. Past research has linked this fact to an unusual coalition of Christian and New Left groups, which both draw a connection from modern embryology to eugenics under the Nazis. In this article, the workings of this alleged alliance are demonstrated at the micro-level for the first time. The behaviour of individual MPs in a crucial free vote on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD is modelled using data on their political, sectoral and religious affiliations. Identifying as a Catholic and membership in Christian organisations are strong predictors of resistance to PGD. Even more importantly, net of religious and professional ties, affiliation with either the Christian Democrats or the left-libertarian Green party is closely linked to restrictive bioethical preferences. The modest liberalisation in 2011 was contingent on external factors and the overwhelming support of the historically unusually large FDP delegation. With the FDP no longer represented in parliament and the Christian Democratic/New Left issue coalition even stronger than before, further liberalisation is unlikely.

Hick’s Religious Pluralism and Plantinga’s Exclusivism in a Comparative Encounter

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Mahdi Jahanmehr

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The issue of religious diversity is one of the significant issues in philosophy of religion. The existence of different religions in the world is an inevitable fact. Nowadays, due to the unprecedented development of information technology and public awareness of different beliefs across the nations have made the acknowledgement of religious diversity more widespread than the past. Being this the case, the questions as to religious diversity have been taken to the fore and contemporary man finds himself exposed to the question that how should a believer approach the other beliefs? Could all religions despite the differences they have in their dogmas, beliefs and doctrines be legitimate? Will the followers of all beliefs touch salvation?       Accordingly, among the key issues of philosophy of religion are the issue of legitimacy of different religions and the issue of salvation of followers of different creeds. This essay is an epistemological assessment of Hick and Plantinga on the legitimacy of religions in a comparative context. The following questions represent the guidelines of the present essay: How much is pluralism rationally and epistemologically feasible in its claim as to the legitimacy of all beliefs and the equal access of followers of all creeds to salvation? Does Plantinga's exclusivist taking as to religious truth and salvation and narrowing them down to Christianity and Christians have rational and epistemological justification? Hick has propounded his pluralism as a cure to difficulties caused by Christian religious exclusivism and inclusivism. Having insisted on the salvation promoting evolution from egotism to theism as the basic substance of religion, Hick traces the differences of religions back to the inattention to the symbolic language of religion. On the other hand, Plantinga takes the existing differences between religions as an evidence indicating the contradictoriness of pluralism and legitimacy of religious

O Papa precisa do marxismo? Bento XVI e a incompatibilidade entre a fé cristã e a fé marxista (Does Pope need of Marxism? Benedict XVI and the incompatibility between the Christian faith and the Marxist faith

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Rudy Albino Assunção

2012-10-01

Full Text Available O marxismo aparece insistentemente na teologia e no magistério de Joseph Ratzinger-Bento XVI como um inimigo permanente ao qual o cristianismo deve se contrapor, sem possibilidades de conciliação entre ambos. Mas qual concepção subjaz essa rejeição tão peremptória, tão decidida? Para alcançarmos a resposta a tal questão, aprofundamos a visão de Joseph Ratzinger a partir de alguns de seus escritos teológicos (anteriores ao pontificado e, em seguida, nas suas três encíclicas, o ponto alto de seu magistério papal (Deus caritas est, Spe salvi e Caritas in veritate. Defendemos que a crítica de Bento XVI, antes de ser exclusivamente teológica (ou doutrinária, é filosófica, baseada na racionalidade e não na fé professada pela Igreja, que lhe permite tratar o marxismo não simplesmente como um programa político que vai contra alguns valores cristãos, mas como uma escatologia judaico-cristã secularizada, um messianismo político, portanto, como uma religião, como uma fé, que nega e esvazia o núcleo essencial da fé cristã. E aqui está a raiz da sua oposição. Palavras-chave: Marxismo. Bento XVI. Messianismo. Escatologia política.   Abstract: Marxism appears repeatedly in Pope Benedict’s theology and teaching as a permanent enemy that Christianity must oppose without any possibilities of conciliation between them. However, what underlies this decisive rejection? To answer this question we look further into Joseph Ratzinger’s perspective starting with some of his theological writings (before the pontificate followed by three of his encyclicals, the high point of his papal teaching (Deus caritas est, Spe salvi e Caritas in veritate. We argue that Benedict XVI's criticism, prior to being purely theological (or doctrinal, is philosophical, based on rationality and not in the faith professed by the Church, allowing him to treat marxism not simply as a political program that goes against some Christian values

Christian bioethics as non-ecumenical.

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Engelhardt, H Tristram

1995-09-01

A community's morality depends on the moral premises, rules of evidence, and rules of inference it acknowledges, as well as on the social structure of those in authority to rule knowledge claims in or out of a community's set of commitments. For Christians, who is an authority and who is in authority are determined by Holy Tradition, through which in the Mysteries one experiences the Holy Spirit. Because of the requirement of repentance and conversion to the message of Christ preserved in the Tradition, the authority of the community must not only exclude heretical teaching but heretical communities from communion. Understanding Christian bioethics requires a focus on the content of that bioethics in terms of its social context within a right-believing, right-worshipping community. Christian bioethics should be non-ecumenical by recognizing that true moral knowledge has particular moral content, is communal, and is not fully available outside of the community of right worship. The difficulty with Roman Catholicism's understandings of bioethics lies not just in its continued inordinate accent on the role of reason apart from repentance (as well as in its defining novel doctrines), but in Roman Catholicism's not recognizing that the contemporary, post-Christian age is in good measure the consequence of its post-Vatican II failure to call for a return to the traditional pieties and asceticisms of the Fathers so that all might know rightly concerning the requirements of Christian bioethics.

Performing piety in sexual health research: gender, health and evangelical Christianities in a Mexican human papillomavirus (HPV) study.

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Wentzell, Emily

2017-12-01

Recent research suggests that health surveillance experiences like clinical trial participation might have unanticipated social consequences. I investigate how evangelical Christians participating in longitudinal, observational sexual health research incorporate that long-term medical surveillance into their religious practice. This exploratory research focuses on Mexican Cristianos' participation in the Cuernavaca arm of the multinational 'Human Papillomavirus in Men' ('HIM') study, which tested men for the common and usually asymptomatic sexually transmitted infection human papillomavirus (HPV) over time. I draw on interviews with heterosexual male research participants and their female partners throughout their medical research involvement, and data from church-based participant observation, to understand how couples framed the HIM study as an arena for performing piety. I argue that evangelical understandings of piety as moral practice encouraged participants to view long-term sexual health surveillance as assistance for living out the health, gender, and marital behaviors promoted by their congregations. This finding suggests that health research designers and ethics committees should consider the health and social outcomes of research participants' agentive incorporation of religious observance into study protocols.

Forbidden fruit? A longitudinal study of Christianity, sex, and marriage.

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Pedersen, Willy

2014-01-01

Does religion still play a role in explorations of romance and sexuality among adolescents and young adults in a secular society such as Norway? Does it influence the type of living arrangements chosen? A population-based sample (n = 2,454) was followed longitudinally from their midteens to their late 20s using survey and register data. Christian involvement in teenage years was associated with subsequent less "precoital" exploration, less masturbation, delayed sexual intercourse, and a smaller number of sex partners. However, there were no associations with prevalence of same-sex experiences. Christians also postponed initiating romantic relationships and chose marriage over cohabitation. Associations were reduced after controlling for confounding factors but remained significant. Some associations (for example, the form of residential union chosen) were present only in the most "active" Christians. In other areas, such as "precoital explorations" and the age at which intercourse is initiated, Christian norms seem to play a role in much broader segments of the population. The findings indicate that Christianity may continue to influence young Norwegians' experiences of sexuality and cohabitation more than has been expected.

Factors and features of the religious modernization in Taiwan: socio–historical retrospective (part 1

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Y. Y. Medviedieva

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the study of the religious modernization in Taiwan. It has been concluded by the author that the modernization in traditional societies, as it comes from the analysis of key religious communities of Taiwan, to a limited extent can be implemented by means of traditional religions – Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. The modernisation is possible only on the basis of syncretic religious cults, which allow putting rationalist values on the first place together with values of the enrichment and self–promotion. For the social morality of Thai society, this means crisis situation and the emergence of numerous conflicts on the grounds of the incompatibility of goal-orientation with the principles of legitimation of traditional social action, suggested by Weber. At the same time, there is reason to pre–approve the highly probable poor compatibility of traditional Thai religions with the modernization vector. However, a small percentage of the Thai population (5% are representatives of Christianity and Islam, through which it becomes possible to broadcast the modified project of modernity. However, this idea requires further proof, as there are quite ambiguous concepts on strengthening of the authority of science, secular world-view, the capitalist–type accumulation among scientists and experts in the sphere of the religious sociology. However, the common denominator in the assessment of the discourse of Thai society’s modernization prospects is the optimistic point of view, which supposes significant changes in the social structure and culture of Taiwan by means of the latent secularisation, which is implemented through Christian missionary work.

Winifred Rushforth and the Davidson Clinic for Medical Psychotherapy: a case study in the overlap of psychotherapy, Christianity and New Age spirituality.

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Miller, Gavin

2015-09-01

The activities of both Winifred Rushforth (1885-1983), and the Edinburgh-based Davidson Clinic for Medical Psychotherapy (1941-73) which she directed, exemplify and elaborate the overlap in Scotland of religious discourses and practices with psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Even as post-war secularization began to affect Scottish culture and society, Rushforth and the Davidson Clinic attempted to renew the biographical discourses of Christianity using the idioms and practices of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Furthermore, alongside these Christian-inflected activities, Rushforth promoted a psychoanalytically-informed New Age spirituality. This parallel mode of belief and practice drew on Christian life-narrative patterns, preserving them within psychoanalytic forms grafted onto a vitalist worldview informed by the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. © The Author(s) 2015.

This Little Planet.

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Hamilton, Michael, Ed.

In six essays considering overpopulation, pollution, and food supply from the framework of the Judeo-Christian tradition and of world ecology, three theologians (Pollard, Shinn, and Bonifazi), an ecologist (Sears), a geographer (Glacken), and a medical scientist and administrator (Bennett), conclude that the control and preservation of the natural…

Hospitality in College Composition Courses

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Haswell, Janis; Haswell, Richard; Blalock, Glenn

2009-01-01

There has been little discussion of hospitality as a practice in college writing courses. Possible misuses of hospitality as an educational and ethical practice are explored, and three traditional and still tenable modes of hospitality are described and historicized: Homeric, Judeo-Christian, and nomadic. Application of these modes to…

HIV/AIDS through the lens of Christianity: perspectives from a South African urban support group.

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Hlongwana, K; Mkhize, S

2007-05-01

HIV is one of the most obscure viruses that humankind has had to face in recent times. Compounding this obscurity are often contesting perspectives on what it means to be HIV infected, and these perspectives are largely constituted by people's rationalisation of complex situations or experiences. Using qualitative research methods and ethnography in particular, this paper reflects on a broad understanding of what it means to live with HIV in the context of Christianity, using research participants' perspectives in an urban support group setting. Two fundamental patterns are evident in this paper: (1) as support group members rationalise their HIV infection, they continuously construct and reconstruct their identities; and (2) support group members rationalise their HIV infection to enhance their coping abilities, using Christianity and the Bible in particular, as a reference. Whilst rationalising HIV infection, three viewpoints emerge. The first viewpoint perceives HIV infection as an affliction by Satan; the second viewpoint sees it as originating from God; while the last viewpoint interprets HIV infection as a negotiated settlement between God and Satan. The paper is intended to trigger debate, and hopefully also to seek and provide answers from various sectors of society, and religious communities in particular, in order to help other HIV positive people in similar situations better manage their HIV condition.

A Spectrum Pedagogy for Christian Ethics: Respecting Difference without Resorting to Relativism

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Heim, Joel J.; Scovill, Nelia Beth

2010-01-01

This paper presents an overview of a newly developed spectrum pedagogy of Christian ethics that emerged from the authors' experience of teaching a contemporary Christian ethics course for seven years. A spectrum pedagogy is a comprehensive approach to teaching Christian ethics that combines the modeling of key dispositions using specific tools…

Religious Life-Styles and Mental Health: An Exploratory Study.

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Bergin, Allen E.; And Others

1988-01-01

Assessed lifestyles of religious college students. Subjects with continuous religious development and mild religious experiences were healthier than those with discontinuous development and intense religious experiences; however, intense religious experiences enhanced adjustment. Religiousness and mental health did not correlate significantly, but…

Religion, popular culture and social media: the construction of a religious leader image on Facebook

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Ioana A. COMAN

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Despite the emergence of religions on Internet and the importance of social media, research dedicated to religious leaders’ construction of symbolic image on social media, is hard to find. Starting from the 2013 Applebee’s social media crisis, which was triggered by a pastor, the present study investigates the frames and themes Facebook users employed in order to give meaning to the crisis, attribute responsibility, and more importantly, define the role of a religious leader in daily life. This study shows the existence on social media of an active religious literate public, a public clearly troubled in their religious faith and convictions by the non-Christian behavior of the pastor. This shows that in a post-secular society the religious imaginary is not only a “canopy” inherited and kept because of convenience, but a cultural frame of signification the real and a vector of dialogue in a (online micro and macro public sphere.

CONTESTATION OF RELIGIOUS PUBLIC SPACE: CHRISTIANS VS MUSLIMS CASES IN PAPUA

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Zuly  Qadir

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The land of Papua has often been associated with the Papua Independence Movement (GPM, in addition to the Independent Papua Organization (OPM which has been known since the 1990s. The battle between the civil society of Papua against the military seems to keep happening. Killing and shooting each other has always been a public discussion and media coverage. However, the thing that escapes people’s attention is a contestation that occured between the adherents of the religion of the indigenous Papuans who claim to adhere to Christianity, known as the ‘mountain people’, and the Muslims, known as the coastal and inland people who are regarded as non-natives of Papua. The contestation took place observably in public spaces like the streets, mountains, fields and various religious activities that involved mobs such as Kebaktian Kebangkitan Rohani (Spiritual Awakening Mass among the Christians, as well as talbligh akbar (huge gathering among the Muslims where they bring in speakers from outside Papua as an attraction. Such contestation has been going on since 1998 that sometimes triggered massive demonstrations and bans on religious activities as well as the establishment of a Muslim school. In the Papuan society, a lot of trouble is religious matters, coming both from the internal and external followers. To data were obtained through direct observations, in-depth interviews with a number of key informants, literature study and written documents related to the issue. The data were processed using interpretative approach as commonly used by Clifford and Geertz in the socio-anthropological tradition or social sciences in general.

Science and Faith: Discussing Astronomy Research with Religious Audiences

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Koekemoer, Anton M.

2006-12-01

An important component of our outreach as research astronomers involves interaction with the religious community. From my personal perspective, being an active research astronomer who is also a practicing Christian, I am sometimes invited to present the latest astronomical research to church audiences and other religious groups; belonging to both communities thereby provides a valuable means of contributing to the dialogue between science and religion. These opportunities can be used to explain that science and religion are not necessarily in conflict but can be considered to be quite complementary. For instance, an important aspect of religion deals with the purpose of our existence, while science is more focussed on providing physical explanations for what we observe in the world, using a well-defined scientific process. Hence, religious believers need not necessarily abandon their faith in order to accept mainstream scientific research; these address very different and complementary aspects of our existence. Recent ideas such as Intelligent Design attempt to address the scientific method, but do not address the ultimate religious question of purpose and do not contribute towards reconciling science and religion in this sense. Ultimately, every individual arrives at their own understanding of this rather complex interplay; I will present some personal reflections on general approaches for discussing mainstream astronomical research with religious audiences, aimed at helping to advance the dialogue between religion and science in general.

JUDEO - IGBO TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS CONCEPTION OF SIN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

the whole life of men, both individual and social, became a struggle, and dramatic, between .... The Gentiles, on the other hand, are sinners by definition simply because they are not .... he must live a life of balance with the spiritual beings” (p.

Humility, Relational Spirituality, and Well-being among Religious Leaders: A Moderated Mediation Model.

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Jankowski, Peter J; Sandage, Steven J; Bell, Chance A; Ruffing, Elizabeth G; Adams, Chris

2018-02-06

Prior research has demonstrated positive associations between general humility and well-being, and posited a protective effect for intellectual humility against maladjustment among religious leaders. We tested a model that extended findings on general humility to include intellectual humility among religious leaders (N = 258; M age = 42.31; 43% female; 63.7% White; 91.9% Christian affiliation). We observed a positive general humility-well-being association. Contrary to expectations, we observed risk effects for religion-specific intellectual humility. Our findings also point to the possibility that these risk effects might be attenuated by the integration of high levels of general and intellectual humility.

152 Religion and Marriage in the Book of Ruth: The Implications for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ike Odimegwu

The work considered the positive impact of this marriage for the Judeo-Christian world ... women of marriage age negatively especially the women counterparts, because many of them remain unmarried consequent upon they are waiting .... man's name and lineage in Israel as well as the retention of his property within the ...

The Role of the Artes Liberales within a Technical Education.

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O'Brien, Joan

1990-01-01

Classics provide an understanding that may allow escape from social conditioning and the discovery of an individual's or society's potential; therefore, they should be included in the technical curriculum. Their common roots in Greco-Roman and in Judeo-Christian thought contain the seeds of cultural renewal in the world. (JOW)

A Scalar Comparison of Motivations and Expectations of Experience within the Religious Tourism Market

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Daniel H. Olsen

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Academic studies on tourism market segmentation have decreased in scale over time, with the focus on tourist segmentation changing from segmenting the market as a whole to segmenting specific tourism niche markets. This change in scale can also be seen in how academics have attempted to segment the religious tourism market moving from discussions related to the pilgrim-tourist dichotomy to segmenting visitors based on religious affiliation to world regions and countries to specific religious activities such as religious festivals and infrastructural amenities such as hotels. In this paper the author, following Wall’s (1997 discussion of the spatial characteristics of tourist attractions (i.e., points, lines, and areas, raises the question as to whether there is a scalar difference in the motivations and the ‘expectation of experience’ of: people who travel to specific religious sites (points; those who travel along religiously - themed routes (lines and; those who travel to the Holy Land (area. To answer this question the author looks at and compares three case studies - Cathedrals in the United Kingdom (point, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (line, and the Holy Land (area - and summarizes the academic literature pertaining to the characteristics, motivations and expectations of experience of visitors to these locations. Cursory findings show that there are differences regarding the motivations and the ‘expectation of experience’ of people who travel to religious points versus religious lines and religious areas.

Both Islam and Christianity Invite to Tolerance: A Commentary on Dirk Baier.

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Salamati, Payman; Naji, Zohrehsadat; Koutlaki, Sofia A; Rahimi-Movaghar, Vafa

2015-12-01

Baier recently published an interesting original article in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. He compared violent behavior (VB) between Christians and Muslims and concluded that religiosity was not a protecting factor against violence and that Muslim religiosity associated positively with increased VB. We appreciate the author's enormous efforts on researching such an issue of relevance to today's world. However, in our view, the article has methodological weaknesses in terms of participants, instruments, and statistical analyses, which we examine in detail. Therefore, Baier's results should be interpreted more cautiously. Although interpersonal violence may sometimes be observable among Muslims, we do not attribute these to Islam's teachings. In our opinion, both Islam and Christianity invite to tolerance, peace, and friendship. So, the comparison of such differences and the drawing of conclusions that may reflect negatively on specific religious groups need better defined research, taking into consideration other basic variables in different communities. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Rothko Chapel Paintings and the Urgency of the Transcendent Experience

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Stoker, W.

2008-01-01

Since the Romantic period, painters have no longer made use of traditional Christian iconography to express religious transcendence. Taking their cue from Schleiermacher's Reden Über die Religion, painters have sought for new, personal ways to express religious transcendence. One example is Caspar

On sociological criteria of religiousness: How many (Orthodox believers are there today?

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Blagojević Mirko

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In this text the author first tries to provide an answer on the number of religious people today in two post-communist and Orthodox countries, and then on the number of Orthodox believers in them. Therefore he analyzes numerous data from empirical evidence using a large number of indicators discussed in the text. The author first analyzes them as indicators of representative dimension of religiousness, then as indicators of beliefs in dogmatic core of Christianity, indicators of current church ritual practice and finally, as indicators of a traditional attitude towards religion and church. With these analyses the author tries to find the criterion or criteria which best express the religiousness of people in a particular area. The analysis identifies three approaches in Russian sociological and religious literature. The first one is defined as a classic, positivistic approach, the second one as post-classic or phenomenological, and the third one as synthetic. Then the author discusses the term attachment to religion and church and its indicators, as well as the indices which are sociologically more suitable for the research of the religious and church complex. In the end the author gives a few methodological instructions for a sociological and empirical research of religiousness.

Factors and features of religious modernization in Taiwan: socio-historical retrospective (part 2

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Y. Y. Medviedieva

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the study of religious modernization in Taiwan. It has been concluded by the author that the modernization in traditional societies, according to the analysis of key religious communities of Taiwan, can be implemented to a limited extent by means of traditional religions - Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. It is possible only on the basis of syncretic religious cults, which allow placing rationalist values at the first place next to the enrichment of values and self-promotion. For the social morality of Thai society this means crisis situation and the emergence of numerous conflicts on the grounds of incompatibility with the principles of legitimation of traditional social action by Weber. Therefore, there is reason to predict highly probable poor compatibility of modernization vector with traditional Thai religions. However, a small percentage of the Thai population (5% has the congregation of Christianity and Islam, through which it becomes possible to promote the modified project of modernity. However, this idea requires further proof, as there are some quite ambiguous concepts of strengthening the authority of science, secular world, the capitalist-type accumulation among scientists and experts in the field of sociology of religion. However, the common denominator in the assessment of the discourse of modernization prospects of Thai society has optimistic point of view, allowing significant changes in the social structure and culture of Taiwan by the latent secularization, which is implemented through Christian missionary work.

A Harvest of Humility: Agrarian Practice and Christian Higher Education

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Groppe, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

Humility, the keystone of the virtues in the Christian spiritual tradition, has been dismissed by modern philosophers, critiqued by feminist theologians, and overpowered by our industrial and technological culture. The incorporation of agricultural experience in Christian higher education presents the opportunity to cultivate anew the virtue of…

Nietzche's echo--a dialogue with Thomas Altizer.

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Moss, David M

2010-03-01

Prophets provoke psychological unrest, especially when exposing accepted beliefs as profound deceptions. The biblical prophets exemplify such confrontation as do certain atheists ardently opposed to the images of God created by those seers. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche dramatically illustrates this type of counterforce to the Judeo-Christian tradition. His prophet Zarathustra is intended to be a model for the modern mind, one free of superstitions inflicted by antiquated religious dogma. Nietzsche's credo "God is dead" served as a declaration for the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, it became a theological diagnosis. As a "movement," or "tenor," the death of God or radical theology was spearheaded by Thomas Altizer, a well-published young professor center-staged during the turbulent 1960s. His work foreshadows a new strain of atheism currently represented by biologist Richard Dawkins (2006, The God delusion. New York: Houghton Mifflin), philosopher Daniel Dennett (2006, Breaking the spell. New York: Penquin), neuroscientist Sam Harris (2004, The end of faith. New York: W.W. Norton; 2008, Letter to a Christian nation. New York: Vintage), journalist Christopher Hitchens (2007, God is not great. New York: Twelve), and mathematician John Allen Paulos (Paulos 2008, Irreligion. New York: Hill & Wang). This twenty-first century crusade against belief in God is best understood as a psychodynamic ignited by Altizer's Christian atheism. The present dialogue reflects that dynamic while the prologue and epilogue reveal evidence of Providence amidst claims of God's demise in contemporary history.

The Essence of Hindu Doctrine and its Influence on Christianity in America and Europe

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Alexandru-Corneliu Arion

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the topic of the identity of Hindu religion and its impact on Christianity in the West (i.e. in Europe and USA, which is to be seen, especially through Neo-Hindu movements (that occurred mainly during 1950s–1980s. Thus, features and key terms such as: authority of the Veda, Dharma, moksha, samsāra and karma, the paths to liberation, concept of God, Brahman-ātman, avidyā and māyā and AUM are sketchily presented in the first part of the paper. There are obvious differences between both Hindu schools and Christian faith which regards 1. Ultimate concern: For the Hindu, it is escape from the human condition, whereas for the Christian it is freedom from guilt, sin, and the devil; 2. Human nature: For the Christian it is creaturely and sinful; for the Hindu it is divine; 3. Human problem: It is moral sin for the Christian and intellectual ignorance for the Hindu; 4. Resolution: For the Christian it is a divine act at infinite cost to God; for the Hindu it is human effort, sometimes mixed with grace, without cost to the god. In the second part it is presented the debated problem of Gurus and their movements and Neo-Hindu movements sprung at the second half of 20th century, such as Satya Sai Baba, International Society for Krishna Consciousness and meditation for “transcendental consciousness” (TM. In any case, the Indian offspring demonstrate that we have come to an important moment in the history of religions, one in which new religious landscapes continually emerge like the images of a kaleidoscope and where people will have to learn whether it is possible to share the same planet.

Religious Foundations of Culture (The Controversy Between Simon Frank and Simon Lurie on “Vekhi”

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Gennadii Aliaiev

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The author analyses discussion that took place between S. Frank and S. Lurje concerning “Vekhi” (“Landmarks”. In this context, the author’s objective is to show the evolution of S. Frank’s outlook on culture and religion, which developed in three stages: the humanistic individualism, the religious humanism, and the Christian realism.

The neural correlates of religious and nonreligious belief.

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Sam Harris

2009-10-01

Full Text Available While religious faith remains one of the most significant features of human life, little is known about its relationship to ordinary belief at the level of the brain. Nor is it known whether religious believers and nonbelievers differ in how they evaluate statements of fact. Our lab previously has used functional neuroimaging to study belief as a general mode of cognition [1], and others have looked specifically at religious belief [2]. However, no research has compared these two states of mind directly.We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to measure signal changes in the brains of thirty subjects-fifteen committed Christians and fifteen nonbelievers-as they evaluated the truth and falsity of religious and nonreligious propositions. For both groups, and in both categories of stimuli, belief (judgments of "true" vs judgments of "false" was associated with greater signal in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area important for self-representation [3], [4], [5], [6], emotional associations [7], reward [8], [9], [10], and goal-driven behavior [11]. This region showed greater signal whether subjects believed statements about God, the Virgin Birth, etc. or statements about ordinary facts. A comparison of both stimulus categories suggests that religious thinking is more associated with brain regions that govern emotion, self-representation, and cognitive conflict, while thinking about ordinary facts is more reliant upon memory retrieval networks.While religious and nonreligious thinking differentially engage broad regions of the frontal, parietal, and medial temporal lobes, the difference between belief and disbelief appears to be content-independent. Our study compares religious thinking with ordinary cognition and, as such, constitutes a step toward developing a neuropsychology of religion. However, these findings may also further our understanding of how the brain accepts statements of all kinds to be valid descriptions of the

Effect of Serbian Orthodox Religious Teaching on the Morality of Youth--Eschatological Aspect

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Kacaric, Ninoslav

2015-01-01

This paper presents the findings on the system of values and moral functioning of the youth-- students of religious education, Orthodox Christians, in Serbia (sample of 446 respondents representing the 7th and 8th grades of primary school, and 3rd and 4th grade of secondary schools in the territory of the Diocese of Banat), and it is a part of the…

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES IN EDUCATION

OpenAIRE

Dr. A. C. Lal Kumar

2017-01-01

The practice of Christian higher education has respected these different forms. Three types of Christian higher education exist on the continent: church-controlled higher learning of theological institutions: church- funded colleges and universities of higher learning: and finally Christian-perspective liberal Arts colleges. The importance of the Christian based education of previous generations needs to be underlined and brought to the attention of the church because the utmost importance of...

Religiousness, religious coping methods and distress level among psychiatric patients in Malaysia.

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Nurasikin, M S; Khatijah, L A; Aini, A; Ramli, M; Aida, S A; Zainal, N Z; Ng, C G

2013-06-01

Patients having psychiatric diagnoses often experience high level of distress. Religiousness is often used by them as part of their coping mechanism and problem-solving strategies. To determine the level of religious commitment and coping methods in psychiatric patients and its relationship with distress level. Religious commitment and coping patterns were measured with the Duke University Religious Index (DUREL) and Brief RCOPE, respectively. Psychopathology was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and distress level was assessed with the Depressive, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). Social support and experiences of recent threatening events were measured with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and Life Threatening Events (LTE). A total of 228 patients were included in this study with a mean age of 40.2 years. The majority were male, Malay, Muslim, single and with psychotic disorder. The subjects had a high level of religious commitment and had used more positive coping methods. Negative religious coping, psychiatric symptoms and diagnosis of anxiety disorder or major depression were significantly associated with high distress level. Higher religious commitment was significantly associated with lower distress (p depression were associated with higher distress.

Theology links Christian ministry with God's call.

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O'Connell, L J

1984-03-01

Catholic health care ministry originates in and is shaped by the theme of call in the Old and New Testaments. To be specifically Catholic, health professionals and facilities must define their ministries according to the values expressed in this theological tradition. Sponsorship. The opportunity to provide health care enables religious communities to contribute to God's ongoing creation process and to reiterate Christ's call to minister to others. Although health care facility sponsorship thrusts religious communities into the arena of big business, the abandonment of the health care mission could be considered a betrayal of evangelical values. Quality of life. The implicit concern for human dignity that distinguishes Catholic health care facilities should be evident in personalized patient care, just working conditions, and a commitment to healing in the civic community. Stewardship in ethics. The development of business policies and procedures and institutional responses to social change should be carefully considered in light of the Catholic understanding of loving covenant and the Christian way of life. Shared ministry. Health care facilities have played a leading role in implementing the Second Vatican Council's vision of ministry. Sponsoring communities' continued willingness to share responsibilities with laity will be imperative in meeting the health care demands of the future.

"I Am Not a Fairy Tale": Contextualizing Sioux Spirituality and Story Traditions in Susan Power's "The Grass Dancer"

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Diana, Vanessa Holford

2009-01-01

Standing Rock Sioux writer Susan Power's best-selling novel "The Grass Dancer" (1994) includes depictions of the supernatural and spiritual that do not conform to the Judeo-Christian or, in some cases, the atheist or rationalist worldviews of many readers. Power writes of ghost characters and haunted places, communication between the living and…

The Divisive Threat of Immigration in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-01

Wilders established the Party for Freedom (PVV), in 2005 with a strong anti-immigration agenda. The party believes Judeo-Christian and humanist ...Allied administration of post-WWI Europe. Right-wing movements of the 60’s and 80’s were a response to an existential threat during the Cold War rather

Divine revelation or religious experience: Analysis of different models of understanding of revelation

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Halilović Muamer

2015-01-01

Full Text Available There are numerous models of understanding of what religious traditions refer to as divine revelation. In this paper, the author pays attention to the following four main models: the psychoanalytical model, sociological model, a model according to which revelation is considered a sophisticated form of religious experience and propositional model. Having explained the basic features of each model and indicating scientific and logical groundlessness of the first two models - i.e. psychoanalytical and sociological - the author extensively describes three types of incoherence (epistemological, ontological and social created by the third model of understanding of revelation, that is, the belief that divine revelation is religious experience. In this way, this paper finally concludes that the only logically grounded and rationally accepted model of understanding the revelation is the propositional model according to which supra-material being is not only the subject of revelation, but also the source of revelation. In this model, the Prophet is not the creator of revelation. On the contrary, due to his spiritual preparedness he receives the message that comes from God.

Is the self always better than a friend? Self-face recognition in Christians and atheists.

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Ma, Yina; Han, Shihui

2012-01-01

Early behavioral studies found that human adults responded faster to their own faces than faces of familiar others or strangers, a finding referred to as self-face advantage. Recent research suggests that the self-face advantage is mediated by implicit positive association with the self and is influenced by sociocultural experience. The current study investigated whether and how Christian belief and practice affect the processing of self-face in a Chinese population. Christian and Atheist participants were recruited for an implicit association test (IAT) in Experiment 1 and a face-owner identification task in Experiment 2. Experiment 1 found that atheists responded faster to self-face when it shared the same response key with positive compared to negative trait adjectives. This IAT effect, however, was significantly reduced in Christians. Experiment 2 found that atheists responded faster to self-face compared to a friend's face, but this self-face advantage was significantly reduced in Christians. Hierarchical regression analyses further showed that the IAT effect positively predicted self-face advantage in atheists but not in Christians. Our findings suggest that Christian belief and practice may weaken implicit positive association with the self and thus decrease the advantage of the self over a friend during face recognition in the believers.

Is the Self Always Better than a Friend? Self-Face Recognition in Christians and Atheists

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yina; Han, Shihui

2012-01-01

Early behavioral studies found that human adults responded faster to their own faces than faces of familiar others or strangers, a finding referred to as self-face advantage. Recent research suggests that the self-face advantage is mediated by implicit positive association with the self and is influenced by sociocultural experience. The current study investigated whether and how Christian belief and practice affect the processing of self-face in a Chinese population. Christian and Atheist participants were recruited for an implicit association test (IAT) in Experiment 1 and a face-owner identification task in Experiment 2. Experiment 1 found that atheists responded faster to self-face when it shared the same response key with positive compared to negative trait adjectives. This IAT effect, however, was significantly reduced in Christians. Experiment 2 found that atheists responded faster to self-face compared to a friend’s face, but this self-face advantage was significantly reduced in Christians. Hierarchical regression analyses further showed that the IAT effect positively predicted self-face advantage in atheists but not in Christians. Our findings suggest that Christian belief and practice may weaken implicit positive association with the self and thus decrease the advantage of the self over a friend during face recognition in the believers. PMID:22662231

When Introverts Ceased to Be More Religious: A Study among 12- to 16-Year-Old Pupils

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Emyr; Robbins, Mandy; Francis, Leslie J.

2005-01-01

A sample of 279 12- to 16-year-old pupils completed the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity and the short-form Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. Contrary to the findings of research using earlier junior versions of the Eysenck scales, the data demonstrate that introverts have ceased to be more religious. (Contains 1…

"What Do These Stones Mean?" Inscriptions on Stone from an Ancient Monastery in Ireland that Address Jewish-Christian Relations

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Shillington, V. George

2013-01-01

Etched on a stone from a monastery from the Middle Ages at a small village in County Roscommon in Ireland is a combination of Jewish and Christian symbols. The Menorah sits atop a cross. At the base of the cross and at both ends of the crossbar are three small extensions. The image is one of religious integration. Augustine, whose argument for the…

Individual- and County-Level Religious Participation, Corporal Punishment, and Physical Abuse of Children: An Exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Jennifer Price; Kepple, Nancy Jo

2016-10-01

Parental religiosity has been associated with corporal punishment. However, most of this research has focused exclusively on Christians and has not examined physical abuse. In addition, little is known about how the larger religious environment might be associated with discipline behaviors. In this exploratory study, we examine how individual- and county-level religious attendance are related to corporal punishment and physical abuse. We sampled and surveyed 3,023 parents of children aged 12 and younger from 50 mid-sized California cities. We used weighted Poisson models to calculate the frequency of corporal punishment and physical abuse in the past year. Parents who attend religious groups used corporal punishment more frequently than parents who did not attend religious groups. However, those who lived in counties with greater rates of religious participation used corporal punishment less frequently than those living in counties with lower rates of religious participation. There were no effects for religious participation on physical abuse at the individual or county level. This exploratory study suggests that parents who attend religious groups may be more likely to use some types of physical discipline with children. Religious groups could be imparting parenting norms supporting corporal punishment at the individual level. More research examining specific doctrines and faiths is needed to validate the study findings.

MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN DEBATES IN THEEARLY ‘ABBASID PERIOD: The Cases of Timothy I and Theodore Abu Qurra

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Hans Abdiel Harmakaputra

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The era of the early ‘Abbasid caliphate made an important mark on the history of the world by the event of the Greek translation movement, i.e. the translation of Greek thoughts into the Arabic language. In addition to this development, the era also saw the flourishing of interreligious discourse, in both polemical literatures and religious debates, especially between Christians and Muslims. This article tries to describe how those two historical remarks are correlated under the light of other factors such as politics and religious identity. The earliest debate was happened between caliph al-Mahdi (r. 755-785 CE and a Nestorian Catholicos, Timothy I (728- 823 CE, as the first sample of religious discourses. The second one is the debate between the caliph al-Ma’mun (r. 813-833CE, who arranged many religious debates in his court, with Theodore Abu Qurra (755 – 830 CE, Bishop of Harran. By knowing the motives of the two caliphs who sponsored those events, readers would catch a better picture of the historical contexts of that time.

Christianity and Resilience as Experienced by Caregivers of Dementia Patients

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Lackey, Steven L.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the role and relationship of the practice of Christian beliefs and resilience in the context of dementia patient caregivers' lives. The guiding question was "What is the relational nature of the practice of Christian beliefs and resilience in the lived experiences of caregivers of dementia…

RELIGIOUS SEARCH AND SECTARIAN UTOPIA IN ANDREY BELY'S NOVEL "THE SILVER DOVE"

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Kolikhalova N. G.

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The article analyses Andrey Bely's novel "The Silver Dove" in the context of his religious, spiritual and artistic search during 1905–1907. Analysis of the novel's architectonics reveals both Christian and occult motifs and images. The main character's denial of sectarian utopia based on the "spiritualization of flesh" concept, as well as his inner self-crucifixion (confession of guilt brings positive outlook to the ending of the novel.

A não-aposta do ateu: Diderot e a aposta pascaliana

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Paulo Jonas de Lima Piva

2009-12-01

Full Text Available To the delight of the religious, the official history of philosophy − which is, apparently, infected with the theological spirit − devoted to “Pascal's Wager” as an exemplary solutions to ethical problems raised by the classic question of whether or not God. In thinking of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662, who bet on the existence of the judeo-christian god will gain eternal happiness if it actually exists, however, since this God is a reality, investing in their absence will result in damage of the bettor wrong. It turns out that the history of philosophy seems to ignore the officially atheistic alternative to Denis Diderot (1713-1784 proposes the question of the consequences of the presence of God in the life and death of human beings. Drawing on a fable that allows an analogy to the topic of atheism, in which an atheist after his death, notes that the soul is indeed immortal, that God really exists, and therefore did not have faith in life not was a smart bet, Diderot, in his Dialogue of a philosopher with the Marshall ... (1774 discusses the consequences for the atheist that unexpected experience. It is about this non-wager of the atheist in this article.

Modern Literature and Christianity: The Religious Issue in Lucien Rebatet's Les Deux étendards

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Pascal A. Ifri

2001-06-01

Full Text Available Although Lucien Rebatet's Les Deux étendards (The Two Standards has been hailed by a number of critics as one of the best novels written in France since World War II, it is surrounded by a wall of silence because its author actively supported the Nazi movement before and during the war. Yet the novel does not deal with politics but with love, art, and religion. Based on real events, it is the story of a love triangle involving Michel, who has lost his Catholic faith, Régis, who studies to become a Jesuit priest, and Anne-Marie, a young student who shares a mystical love with Régis and also intends to join a religious order. When Michel meets Anne-Marie, he falls desperately in love with her, but hopelessly since she belongs to God and to Régis. Yet, fascinated by his friends' adventure, he tries to recover the faith he has lost in order to join them on their mystical plane, but eventually fails. The theme of religion and more specifically Catholicism dominates Les Deux étendards which treats the most complex religious issues with passion and intensity and tackles the history of the Church and religious exegesis with a thoroughness and a minuteness worthy of Proust. Over one thousand pages, Les Deux étendards , mainly through Régis and Michel's animated discussions, reenacts the quarrel that has been raging for two thousand years between believers and nonbelievers. If, in the end, Les Deux étendards condemns religion, it is in order to better affirm what can be called the sacred or the spiritual which stands in opposition to the religious. In any case, this passionate handling of religion, its place at the heart of the story and its intimate association with the other main themes, love and art, largely account for the originality of the novel.

Muslim Students' Cultural and Religious Experiences in City, Suburban and Regional University Campuses in NSW, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Possamai, Adam; Dunn, Kevin; Hopkins, Peter; Worthington, Lisa; Amin, Faroque

2016-01-01

Although there has been much research about the growing ethnic and religious diversity on university campuses across the world, relatively little is known about the religious and cultural experiences of Muslim students on university campuses in Australia. We draw upon an analysis of a questionnaire that was completed by 323 Muslim students who…

Religiously Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A New Method of Treatment for Major Depression in Patients With Chronic Medical Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Michelle J.; Koenig, Harold G.; Robins, Clive J.; Nelson, Bruce; Shaw, Sally F.; Cohen, Harvey J.; King, Michael B.

2015-01-01

Intervention studies have found that psychotherapeutic interventions that explicitly integrate clients’ spiritual and religious beliefs in therapy are as effective, if not more so, in reducing depression than those that do not for religious clients. However, few empirical studies have examined the effectiveness of religiously (vs. spiritually) integrated psychotherapy, and no manualized mental health intervention had been developed for the medically ill with religious beliefs. To address this gap, we developed and implemented a novel religiously integrated adaptation of cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression in individuals with chronic medical illness. This article describes the development and implementation of the intervention. First, we provide a brief overview of CBT. Next, we describe how religious beliefs and behaviors can be integrated into a CBT framework. Finally, we describe Religiously Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (RCBT), a manualized therapeutic approach designed to assist depressed individuals to develop depression-reducing thoughts and behaviors informed by their own religious beliefs, practices, and resources. This treatment approach has been developed for 5 major world religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism), increasing its potential to aid the depressed medically ill from a variety of religious backgrounds. PMID:25365155

THE FATWA OF THE COUNCIL OF INDONESIAN ULAMA ON INTER-RELIGIOUS MARRIAGE

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R. Cecep Lukman Yasin

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The Qur’anic text states that it is lawful to marry women from among the People of the Book, while in the prophetic tradition it is reported that the Prophet himself had a non-Muslim wife. However, the campaign to propagate Christianization which had been tirelessly carried out by well-organized missionary organizations was reported to have successfully christianized segments of the Indonesian population especially in the heathen hinterland and among outer island tribes. Given the circumstances, the Muslim leaders and ulama perceived inter-religious marriage as a hidden Christianization. The increasing incidence of inter-religious marriage raised the concern of the Indonesian Council of Ulama. Responding to this problem, in June 1, 1980 the Council issued a fatwa which explicitly prohibits a Muslim to marry a non-Muslim. Even though the position adopted by the fatwa was quite a radical departure from the prevalent opinion in classical fiqh text, this legal opinion is still within the permissible frame of Islamic legal theory of maslahah (beneficial theory. This legal theory is encapsulated in the Syafi’i school’s legal maxim stating that “Dar’u al-mafâsid muqaddam ‘alâ jalb al-masâlih” (Preference is given to the prevention of harm than to attainment of benefit Al-Quran menegaskan kehalalan menikahi wanita Ahl al-Kitab, sementara hadis menyebutkan bahwa Nabi sendiri beristeri seorang non-Muslim. Namun, gerakan kristenisasi yang dijalankan oleh lembaga missionaris terorganisir telah berhasil memurtadkan sejumlah penduduk Muslim Indonesia, terutama di daerah pinggiran dan pedalaman. Karena itu, para ulama dan pemimpin Islam memandang pernikahan beda agama sebagai bagian dari gerakan kristenisasi terselubung. Tingginya kasus pernikahan beda agama memunculkan keprihatinan Majlis Ulama Indonesia (MUI. Menanggapi masalah ini, pada 1 Juni 1980, MUI mengeluarkan fatwa yang secara tegas melarang seorang pria Muslim menikahi wanita non

Religious Fragmentation, Social Identity and Conflict: Evidence from an Artefactual Field Experiment in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarty, Surajeet; Fonseca, Miguel A; Ghosh, Sudeep; Marjit, Sugata

2016-01-01

We examine the impact of religious identity and village-level religious fragmentation on behavior in Tullock contests. We report on a series of two-player Tullock contest experiments conducted on a sample of 516 Hindu and Muslim participants in rural West Bengal, India. Our treatments are the identity of the two players and the degree of religious fragmentation in the village where subjects reside. Our main finding is that the effect of social identity is small and inconsistent across the two religious groups in our study. While we find small but statistically significant results in line with our hypotheses in the Hindu sample, we find no statistically significant effects in the Muslim sample. This is in contrast to evidence from Chakravarty et al. (2016), who report significant differences in cooperation levels in prisoners' dilemma and stag hunt games, both in terms of village composition and identity. We attribute this to the fact that social identity may have a more powerful effect on cooperation than on conflict.

The Role of Social Workers in Spiritual Care to Facilitate Coping With Chronic Illness and Self-Determination in Advance Care Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Francoeur, Richard B; Burke, Nancy; Wilson, Alicia M

2016-01-01

Spiritual values and beliefs of patients and families influence resilience during chronic illness and shape patient choices during advance care planning. The spiritual needs of Baby Boomers will be more diverse than previous generations, in connection with the questioning, experimental mind-set of this group and the fact that it includes a higher proportion of immigrant populations outside the Judeo-Christian tradition. Social workers are trained explicitly to intervene with diverse populations and are well positioned to offer spiritual support in ways that do not necessarily conform to traditional religions. To the extent of their individual expertise and competence, social workers should assess and provide spiritual care to clients, including those who either are underserved or prefer not to seek assistance from clergy or chaplains because they feel alienated from religious institutions and representatives. They should also be aware of ethical dilemmas in consulting with spiritual care professionals in developing spiritual interventions. Social work education should address clients' humanistic and existential concerns, beliefs and behaviors of the major religions, and forms of nontraditional religious and spiritual experiences; it should also provide experiential opportunities for engaging with grief and earlier advance care planning. There should be attention to different theodical perspectives of the major religions regarding the problem of good and evil, which may preoccupy even clients who no longer participate in organized religion, because these unresolved existential issues may weaken client coping with chronic conditions and may diminish clarity and self-awareness for engaging authentically and effectively in advance care planning.

320 Christian Ethics in a Corrupt Society: A Challenge to Christians ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

worrisome that despite Christian ethics, corruption is perpetrated freely in Nigeria ... factors that militate against Christian ethics in Nigeria which has made it ..... media limited. Anyacho, E.O. .... Lagos: Foclem Communications. Uka, E. M. ...

Individual and county-level religious participation, corporal punishment, and physical abuse of children: An exploratory study

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Jennifer Price; Kepple, Nancy J.

2016-01-01

Background Parental religiosity has been associated with corporal punishment. However, most of this research has focused exclusively on Christians and has not examined physical abuse. Additionally, little is known about how the larger religious environment might be associated with discipline behaviors. In this exploratory study, we examine how individual and county-level religious attendance are related to corporal punishment and physical abuse. Method We sampled and surveyed 3,023 parents of children aged 12 and younger from 50 mid-sized California cities. We used weighted Poisson models to calculate the frequency of corporal punishment and physical abuse in the past year. Results Parents who attend religious groups used corporal punishment more frequently than parents who did not attend religious groups. However, those who lived in counties with greater rates of religious participation used corporal punishment less frequently than those living in counties with lower rates of religious participation. There were no effects for religious participation on physical abuse at the individual or county level. Discussion This exploratory study suggests that parents who attend religious groups may be more likely to use some types of physical discipline with children. Religious groups could be imparting parenting norms supporting corporal punishment at the individual level. More research examining specific doctrines and faiths is needed to validate the study findings. PMID:29294609

Revelation, delusion or disillusion: subjective interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences in bipolar disorder

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Ouwehand, E.; Wong, K.; Boeije, H.R.; Braam, A.W.

2014-01-01

The objective of this study is to explore the interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences during mania, depression and recovery, from the perspective of bipolar clients and to inquire into their expectations of treatment in relation to these experiences. For this purpose, a qualitative

Revelation, delusion or disillusion : subjective interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences in bipolar disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ouwehand, Eva; Wong, Kwok; Boeije, Hennie; Braam, Arjan

2014-01-01

The objective of this study is to explore the interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences during mania, depression and recovery, from the perspective of bipolar clients and to inquire into their expectations of treatment in relation to these experiences. For this purpose, a qualitative

Revelation, delusion or disillusion: subjective interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences in bipolar disorder.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ouwehand, E.; Wong, K.; Boeije, H.; Braam, A.

2014-01-01

The objective of this study is to explore the interpretation of religious and spiritual experiences during mania, depression and recovery, from the perspective of bipolar clients and to inquire into their expectations of treatment in relation to these experiences. For this purpose, a qualitative

Popular culture and the ’darker side’ of alternative spirituality: the case of metal music

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Marcus Moberg

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Metal is perhaps the most extreme and aggressive form of contemporary Western popular music. Even though it continues to spark controversy and debate, it has also enjoyed enduring popularity for decades and has spread on a global scale. Metal music and culture has always been characterized by its fascination for dark and austere themes and imagery. Commonly dealing with topics such as evil, death, war, alienation and suffering, metal groups have traditionally found much inspiration in the world of religion, particularly Judeo-Christian eschatology and apocalypticism, different forms of paganism, occultism, esotericism and, last but not least, Satanism. These kinds of religious/spiritual themes have arguably developed into an integral part of metal culture on the whole. They contribute significantly to investing metal music and culture with an apparent aura of sincerity and mystique as well as to raising its shock and entertainment value. At the same time, metal culture is also marked by its high degree of humour and self-irony, its fondness for exaggeration, spectacle and over-the-top theatrics. Even so, metal stands out as a global popular music culture replete with various kinds of often dark and austere religious and spiritual themes, many of which stand in stark contrast to Christianity. Seen in the wider context of the changing face of religion in the West and the increasingly important role played by popular culture in the transformation of religious and spiritual identities, metal has come to play an important role in the dissemination of a wide variety of ‘dark’ alternative religious/spiritual beliefs and ideas. This article sheds further light on this issue through focusing on some contemporary and successful metal groups from the Nordic countries. In relation to this, attention is also drawn to some of the ways in which dark alternative religious/spiritual ideas may be viewed as having become an inseparable part of some sections of

Identidades Religiosas Brasileiras e seus Exclusivismos (Brazilian Religious Identities and their exclusiveness - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2011v9n23p782

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Wilhelm Wachholz

2012-02-01

Full Text Available O cristianismo introduzido no Brasil no século XVI, afirmando-se em oposição a religiões anteriores, evidenciou marcas de exclusivismo, intolerância, estigmatização. Com estas marcas o cristianismo buscou reduzir a si indígenas, cristãos novos e negros, negando-lhes em sua alteridade. No século XIX, com a introdução do protestantismo, e no século XX, com o aparecimento do pentecostalismo e neopentecostalismo podem-se verificar marcas semelhantes de exclusivismo e negação mútua no âmbito intra-cristão Uma análise da história das religiões no Brasil evidencia que as identidades religiosas formam construídas na tensão dinâmica da negação mútua. Disso se poderá concluir que as religiões não construíram suas identidades no isolamento, mas nas relações, por vezes marcadas pela dinâmica de contrastes, diferenciações e estigmatizações mútuas. Isso se evidencia pelo estabelecimento de fronteiras, caracterizadas não raramente por discursos bipolares e maniqueístas, no intuito de produzir exclusões ao nominar o outro de infiel, ateu, herético. O resultado pode ser verificado no caráter anti-ecumênico destas religiões. Palavras-chave: Religiões. Identidades. Exclusivismo. Estigmatização Abstract The Christianity which was introduced in the 16th century in Brazil affirmed itself in opposition to prior religions, showing traits of exclusiveness and intolerance. With these traits Christianity sought to denigrate the indigenous peoples, the new Christians and the Blacks by do not accepting them in their otherness. In the 19th century, with the introduction of Protestantism, and, in the 20th century, with the appearance of Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism, similar traits of mutual exclusiveness and negation can be verified in the intra-Christian realm. An analysis of the history of religions in Brazil shows that the religious identities were constructed through the dynamic of mutual negation. From this one

Finding Common Ground Between Earth Scientists and Evangelical Christians

Science.gov (United States)

Grant Ludwig, L.

2015-12-01

In recent decades there has been some tension between earth scientists and evangelical Christians in the U.S., and this tension has spilled over into the political arena and policymaking on important issues such as climate change. From my personal and professional experience engaging with both groups, I find there is much common ground for increasing understanding and communicating the societal relevance of earth science. Fruitful discussions can arise from shared values and principles, and common approaches to understanding the world. For example, scientists and Christians are engaged in the pursuit of truth, and they value moral/ethical decision-making based on established principles. Scientists emphasize the benefits of research "for the common good" while Christians emphasize the value of doing "good works". Both groups maintain a longterm perspective: Christians talk about "the eternal" and geologists discuss "deep time". Both groups understand the importance of placing new observations in context of prior understanding: scientists diligently reference "the literature" while Christians quote "chapter and verse". And members of each group engage with each other in "fellowship" or "meetings" to create a sense of community and reinforce shared values. From my perspective, earth scientists can learn to communicate the importance and relevance of science more effectively by engaging with Christians in areas of common ground, rather than by trying to win arguments or debates.

Civic/Sanctuary orientation and HIV involvement among Chinese immigrant religious institutions in New York City

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Chin, John J.; Li, Min Ying; Kang, Ezer; Behar, Elana; Chen, Po Chun

2011-01-01

Using data from a study of Chinese immigrant religious institutions in New York City (primarily Christian and Buddhist), this paper explores why some religious institutions are more inclined than others to be involved in HIV-related work. Although numerous factors are likely to play a role, we focus on organisations’ differing views on social engagement as an explanatory factor. We hypothesise that religious institutions that value social engagement (‘civic’) will be more inclined towards HIV/AIDS involvement than those that are more inward focused (‘sanctuary’). Given that many religious institutions are fundamentally defined by their stance on the appropriateness of social engagement, better understanding of this key characteristic may help to inform community and government organisations aiming to increase religious institutions’ involvement in HIV/AIDS-related work. Our analysis suggests that some organisations may be less interested in taking on the challenges of working in HIV/AIDS because of their general view that churches or temples should not be socially engaged. On the other hand, religious institutions that have concerns about social acceptability, fear of infection or lack of capacity – but generally embrace social engagement – may be more open to partnering on HIV/AIDS-related work because of their overriding community service orientation. PMID:21838652

Religious Fragmentation, Social Identity and Conflict: Evidence from an Artefactual Field Experiment in India.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Surajeet Chakravarty

Full Text Available We examine the impact of religious identity and village-level religious fragmentation on behavior in Tullock contests. We report on a series of two-player Tullock contest experiments conducted on a sample of 516 Hindu and Muslim participants in rural West Bengal, India. Our treatments are the identity of the two players and the degree of religious fragmentation in the village where subjects reside. Our main finding is that the effect of social identity is small and inconsistent across the two religious groups in our study. While we find small but statistically significant results in line with our hypotheses in the Hindu sample, we find no statistically significant effects in the Muslim sample. This is in contrast to evidence from Chakravarty et al. (2016, who report significant differences in cooperation levels in prisoners' dilemma and stag hunt games, both in terms of village composition and identity. We attribute this to the fact that social identity may have a more powerful effect on cooperation than on conflict.

Issues On Religious Coexistence Tolerance In Albania 1912-1945

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Ahmed Kalaja

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The religious tolerance is one of the rarest values of the tradition of the Albanian people. It is widely accepted that Albanian people are well known about these values about an excellent coexistence among the believers of different religious communities that are in Albania mainly Muslims and Christians. In this study we bring the essentials of this phenomenon promotional roots of these values while viewed from a previously untreated point of view and in an attempt to answer the questions Where does it stem from the religious coexistence in Albania What are the main promoters of this phenomenon What has been the attitude of the religious clergy in Albania Have they been and are the imams and priests the promotion of tolerance and religious coexistence in Albania These are some of the questions answered in this modest study focusing on how nice and with how much delicacy the lectures of the Clergy have addressed this issue to the faithful or to the world in general. Since they enjoyed undisputable reputation and influence in the majority of the population in the most critical moments of national history the leaders of Muslims believers not only have promoted tolerance and religious coexistence but they have considered the believers of other faiths as brothers preaching this conviction in front of their Muslim believers. These preachings were firstly begun by VehbiDibra who was the first Chairman of the Muslims and all clerics without exception to this day. Also unforgettable are the sermons of priests like Fr. GjergjFishta Fr. ShtjefnGjeovi or Metropolitan VisarionXhuvani to conclude with pearls of Orthodox priest Fan S. Noli who amazed the world with his three speeches in front of world leaders the League of Nations being representative of all Albanians although Orthodox believers were only 20 of the population.

Accounting and Theology::An Introduction. Initiating a Dialogue Between Immediacy and Eternity

OpenAIRE

McPhail, Ken; Gorringe, T; Gray, R

2004-01-01

Presents an introduction to the articles in “Theological perspectives in accounting”, a special issue with the objectives of exploring whether a theological take on accounting is possible and if so, beginning an investigation into the insights that might be gained from a Judeo-Christian reading of accounting in particular. Briefly outlines the initial motivations in undertaking the editorship of this special issue.

A Brief Prehistory of Philosophical Paraconsistency

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William H. F. Altman

2010-04-01

Full Text Available In celebration of Newton da Costa’s place in the history of paraconsistency, this paper considers the use and abuse of deliberate self-contradiction. Beginning with Parmenides, developed by Plato, and continued by Cicero, an ancient philosophical tradition used deliberately paraconsistent discourses to reveal the truth. In modern times, decisionism has used deliberate self-contradiction against Judeo-Christian revelation.

Dark Ages Religious Conflicts and their Literary Representations: The Winter King, by Bernard Cornwell

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Carlos A. Sanz Mingo

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the religious situation in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries as reflected in Arthurian literature. This reflection usually depicts religious strife which brought a political division between the British kingdoms. This, in turn, provoked the final defeat against the Anglo-Saxons. Four religious creeds will be dealt with: the native Celtic religion and the cults that the Romans brought with them from the Eastern Mediterranean, including Christianity and the mysteries of Isis and Mithras. All of them are represented in Bernard Cornwell’s trilogy The WarlordChronicles. We will concentrate on how these creeds influenced the lives of Britons in the agerepresented and exemplified in the first book of Conrnwell’s trilogy, The Winter King. Despite thefact that religion has always been one of the most common topics in Arthuriana, modern literaturedeals with it in a different way to previous texts, linking it with history and politics.

Screening Belief: The Life of Pi, Computer Generated Imagery, and Religious Imagination

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Rachel Wagner

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Ang Lee’s The Life of Pi is based on Yann Martel’s novel of the same name. The film expands upon the novel’s fantastic story through the integration of new visual metaphors that invite religious reflection, and is reinforced by religious rituals within and beyond the film itself. Martel’s novel invites readers to believe Pi’s story without seeing it. Viewers of the film, by contrast, are invited to believe Pi’s story precisely because they are seeing it so vividly. Ang Lee constructs a filmic world using such elaborately developed CGI (computer-generated imagery that the film exhibits only a vestigial relationship to the real-life animals and locations used in its creation. Indeed, it is impossible to make sense of the film’s extensive use of religious themes and rituals without understanding its use of immersive visual effects. For Ang Lee, the manufacture of a seamless, aesthetically appealing CGI world was a means of visually affirming the broadly conceived notions of interconnectedness and purpose that he borrowed from Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Jewish mysticism.

A Christian faith-based recovery theory: understanding God as sponsor.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmons, Shirley M

2012-12-01

This article reports the development of a substantive theory to explain an evangelical Christian-based process of recovery from addiction. Faith-based, 12-step, mutual aid programs can improve drug abstinence by offering: (a) an intervention option alone and/or in conjunction with secular programs and (b) an opportunity for religious involvement. Although literature on religion, spirituality, and addiction is voluminous, traditional 12-step programs fail to explain the mechanism that underpins the process of Christian-based recovery (CR). This pilot study used grounded theory to explore and describe the essence of recovery of 10 former crack cocaine-addicted persons voluntarily enrolled in a CR program. Data were collected from in-depth interviews during 4 months of 2008. Audiotapes were transcribed verbatim, and the constant comparative method was used to analyze data resulting in the basic social process theory, understanding God as sponsor. The theory was determined through writing theoretical memos that generated key elements that allow persons to recover: acknowledging God-centered crises, communicating with God, and planning for the future. Findings from this preliminary study identifies important factors that can help persons in recovery to sustain sobriety and program administrators to benefit from theory that guides the development of evidence-based addiction interventions.

The Development of Winged Angels in Early Christian Art

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Therese Martin

2001-01-01

Full Text Available The first representations of angels in Early Christian art showed a being visually indistinguishable from man. This study undertakes to explain the sudden apperarance of winged angels in the late fourth century within its religious and historical contexts The model for winged angels was Nike, an unusual choice given that Victory was conceived of as a female, while angels were decidedly male.Las primeras representaciones de angeles en el art paleocristianno fueron de un ser visualmente indiferenciado del hombre. Este estudio pretende explicar la aparicion subita de angeles con alas, a fines del siglo IV, dentro de ese particular contexto historicoreligioso. El modelo de angel con alas fue Nike, una eleccion inusual si se tiene en cuenta que la Victoria fue concebida como mujer, mientras que los angeles eran indudablemente masculinos.

Animal derived products may conflict with religious patients' beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, Axelina; Burcharth, Jakob; Rosenberg, Jacob

2013-12-01

Implants and drugs with animal and human derived content are widely used in medicine and surgery, but information regarding ingredients is rarely obtainable by health practitioners. A religious perspective concerning the use of animal and human derived drug ingredients has not thoroughly been investigated. The purpose of this study was to clarify which parts of the medical and surgical treatments offered in western world-hospitals that conflicts with believers of major religions. Religious and spiritual leaders of the six largest religions worldwide (18 branches) were contacted. A standardised questionnaire was sent out regarding their position on the use of human and animal derived products in medical and surgical treatments. Of the 18 contacted religious branches, 10 replied representing the 6 largest religions worldwide. Hindus and Sikhs did not approve of the use of bovine or porcine derived products, and Muslims did not accept the use of porcine derived drugs, dressings or implants. Christians (including Jehovah's Witnesses), Jews and Buddhists accepted the use of all animal and human derived products. However, all religions accepted the use of all these products in case of an emergency and only if alternatives were not available. The views here suggest that religious codes conflict with some treatment regimens. It is crucial to obtain informed consent from patients for the use of drugs and implants with animal or human derived content. However, information on the origin of ingredients in drugs is not always available to health practitioners.

Montessori and Jerome W. Berryman: Work, Play, Religious Education and the Art of Using the Christian Language System

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Hyde, Brendan

2011-01-01

For more than 30 years, the thinking and writing of Jerome W. Berryman has made a significant and unique contribution to the religious education of children and adults in faith-based contexts. Claiming to be influenced primarily by the work of Maria Montessori, his writings reveal the purpose of religious education to be teaching children the art…

China’s “Christianity Fever” Revisited: Towards a Community-Oriented Reading of Christian Conversions in China

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Katrin Fiedler

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Chinese Protestant Christianity has been continually growing over the past three decades, with an estimated one million converts per year. A number of studies have sought to explain this phenomenon. This paper critically reviews existing studies of China’s “Christianity Fever” and then outlines the role of the community as one crucial factor in the conversion process. With its emphasis on communality, as a central element of both Christian theology and the fellowship activities that are part of Christian practice, Protestant Christianity fills a gap opened up by the change in traditional familial and social structures. By discussing specific aspects relating to the communal nature of Christianity, such as familism, elitism, and dynamics at work in face-to-face evangelism, this paper offers an alternative reading of existing studies.

Missão Midiática Afrikania: Representando a "Religião Tradicional Afrikana" na esfera pública cristã em Gana

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de Witte, M.

2014-01-01

In the study field of religion and media, the importance of mass media is well recognized for globalizing religions, such as Christianity and Islam, but much less for indigenous African religions. This article aims to fill that lacuna by exploring the media activities of a neo-traditional religious

A social identification approach to the effects of religious disclosures in business communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Caleb T

2017-01-01

This research expands on prior research into the effects of religious disclosures on interpersonal attraction by drawing from social identification theory to explain attributions stemming from religious disclosures in professionals' e-mail signature blocks. Participants (N = 268) were randomly exposed to one of three experimental conditions (a Christian, Islamic, or secular quotation in a signature block) and completed measures of social identification and perceptions of professionalism. Results indicate that, contrary to prior research, merely disclosing one's religion does not increase attributions; rather, attributions of a sender's professionalism are positively derived from the receiver's social identification with the sender's religion. Implications of these findings are discussed with regard to social identity theory, as well as for professional practice in developing signature blocks as a means of self-presentation.

The Intersection of Gay and Christian Identities on Christian College Campuses

Science.gov (United States)

Wentz, Joel M.; Wessel, Roger D.

2011-01-01

Because some Christian colleges prohibit same-sex sexual behaviors, the development of authentic sexual identities on these campuses may be difficult for gay and lesbian students. This article introduces the idea of an identity conflict that may occur between sexual and spiritual identities for gay and lesbian students at Christian colleges and…

The diffident naturalist Robert Boyle and the philosophy of experiment

CERN Document Server

Sargent, Rose-Mary

2009-01-01

In a provocative reassessment of one of the quintessential figures of early modern science, Rose-Mary Sargent explores Robert Boyle's philosophy of experiment, a central aspect of his life and work that became a model for mid- to late seventeenth-century natural philosophers and for many who followed them. Sargent examines the philosophical, legal, experimental, and religious traditions-among them English common law, alchemy, medicine, and Christianity-that played a part in shaping Boyle's experimental thought and practice. The roots of his philosophy in his early life and education, in his religious ideals, and in the work of his predecessors-particularly Bacon, Descartes, and Galileo-are fully explored, as are the possible influences of his social and intellectual circle. Drawing on the full range of Boyle's published works, as well as on his unpublished notebooks and manuscripts, Sargent shows how these diverse influences were transformed and incorporated into Boyle's views on and practice of experiment.

Pluralism and Religious Harmony in Religious Elites Perspectives in Malang City

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Umi Sumbulah

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study aims to understand the religious elite view of pluralism and religious harmony in  Malang. The study was focused on the meaning of pluralism and religious harmony, efforts  and things that support and hinder the realization of religious harmony. Empirical research  data with qualitative-phenomenological approach was collected through interviews and documentation. The results show: first, the meaning of religious pluralism for the religious elites is very varied, which is the same as tolerance, mutual respect, the goal of all religions are the same, and recognize the fact that there are many religions in this world. Second, religiousharmony have meaning as a condition where there is no oppression and domination of one religion over other religions, awakening a deep awareness of diversity, respect for human rights, and the willingness to spread kindness and love for fellow human beings. Third, religious harmony can be achieved through internal efforts to strengthen the faith of each and build awareness to develop a positive attitude towards other religions. In external efforts to create harmony done through emancipatory dialogue and cooperation to resolve humanitarian issues. Fourth, positive attitude that supports the creation of harmony of religions is the willingness and awareness to understand each other and share experiences. Egoism, truth claims, fanaticism, and exclusivism is a negative attitude and expression recognized by the religious elite can interfere with the establishment of inter-religious harmony.

The role of movies in Norwegiantextbooks. : A study of film as artefact in religious education.

OpenAIRE

Vestøl, Jon Magne

2012-01-01

Drawing on perspectives on educational design, this article investigates the role of movies in Norwegian secondary school textbooks on religious education, including teachers’ handbooks and textbook websites. All passages containing references to films or movies have been included in the analysis. The distribution of references indicates that a film is an optional artefact and that movies are drawn mainly from a Western cinematic tradition and are related to topics such as Christianity and et...

Religious versus Conventional Psychotherapy for Major Depression in Patients with Chronic Medical Illness: Rationale, Methods, and Preliminary Results

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Harold G. Koenig

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper (1 reviews the physical and religious barriers to CBT that disabled medically ill-depressed patients face, (2 discusses research on the relationship between religion and depression-induced physiological changes, (3 describes an ongoing randomized clinical trial of religious versus secular CBT in chronically ill patients with mild-to-moderate major depression designed to (a overcome physical and religious barriers to CBT and (b compare the efficacy of religious versus secular CBT in relieving depression and improving immune and endocrine functions, and (4 presents preliminary results that illustrate the technical difficulties that have been encountered in implementing this trial. CBT is being delivered remotely via instant messaging, telephone, or Skype, and Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu versions of religious CBT are being developed. The preliminary results described here are particular to the technologies employed in this study and are not results from the CBT clinical trial whose findings will be published in the future after the study ends and data are analyzed. The ultimate goal is to determine if a psychotherapy delivered remotely that integrates patients’ religious resources improves depression more quickly than a therapy that ignores them, and whether religious CBT is more effective than conventional CBT in reversing depression-induced physiological changes.

Tolerating the "doubting Thomas": how centrality of religious beliefs vs. practices influences prejudice against atheists.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Jeffrey; Grossmann, Igor; Cohen, Adam B

2015-01-01

Past research has found a robust effect of prejudice against atheists in largely Christian-dominated (belief-oriented) samples. We propose that religious centrality of beliefs vs. practices influences attitudes toward atheists, such that religious groups emphasizing beliefs perceive non-believers more negatively than believers, while groups emphasizing practices perceive non-practicing individuals more negatively than practicing individuals. Studies 1-2, in surveys of 41 countries, found that Muslims and Protestants (belief-oriented) had more negative attitudes toward atheists than did Jews and Hindus (practice-oriented). Study 3 experimentally manipulated a target individual's beliefs and practices. Protestants had more negative attitudes toward a non-believer (vs. a believer), whereas Jews had more negative attitudes toward a non-practicing individual (vs. a practicing individual, particularly when they had a Jewish background). This research has implications for the psychology of religion, anti-atheist prejudice, and cross-cultural attitudes regarding where dissent in beliefs or practices may be tolerated or censured within religious groups.

Tolerating the doubting Thomas: How centrality of religious beliefs versus practices influences prejudice against atheists

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Jeffrey eHughes

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Past research has found a robust effect of prejudice against atheists in largely Christian-dominated (belief-oriented samples. We propose that religious centrality of beliefs vs. practices influences attitudes toward atheists, such that religious groups emphasizing beliefs perceive non-believers more negatively than believers, while groups emphasizing practices perceive non-practicing individuals more negatively than practicing individuals. Studies 1-2, in surveys of 41 countries, found that Muslims and Protestants (belief-oriented had more negative attitudes toward atheists than did Jews and Hindus (practice-oriented. Study 3 experimentally manipulated a target individual’s beliefs and practices. Protestants had more negative attitudes toward a non-believer (vs. a believer, whereas Jews had more negative attitudes toward a non-practicing individual (vs. a practicing individual, particularly when they had a Jewish background. This research has implications for the psychology of religion, anti-atheist prejudice, and cross-cultural attitudes regarding where dissent in beliefs or practices may be tolerated or censured within religious groups.

Religious identification and interreligious contact in Indonesia and the Philippines: Testing the mediating roles of perceived group threat and social dominance orientation and the moderating role of context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kanas, A.M.; Scheepers, P.L.H.; Sterkens, C.J.A.

2016-01-01

This study integrates three theoretical perspectives provided by social identity theory, realistic group conflict theory and social dominance theory to examine the relationship between religious identification and interreligious contact. It relies on a unique dataset collected among Christian and

Values as Predictors of Religious Experience in the Lives of Seminary Students of Philosophy and Students of Physics.

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Głaz, Stanisław

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to show the preferences of terminal values of personal and social character and the level of religious experience: God's presence and God's absence, as well as to examine the relationship between the two variables in the groups of seminary students of philosophy and students of physics. The following methods were applied in the study: Rokeach Value Survey and Głaz's Scale of Religious Experience. The study was conducted amongst university students in Kraków (Poland). The results of 100 correctly completed sets of questionnaires were analysed. The results analysis proves that seminary students of philosophy have a higher level of religious experience: God's presence and God's absence than students of physics. Seminary students of philosophy most preferred terminal values in personal and in social character. In the group of seminary students of philosophy, from amongst the four most preferred terminal values, two have a significant relation with the experience of God's presence and God's absence, whereas in the group of students of physics only one of them has a significant relation with the experience of God's absence.

[Spiritual care of a terminal liver cancer patient: a nursing experience].

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, Hui-Chi

2010-04-01

Death, an unavoidable event in the human experience, causes physical as well as mental and spiritual suffering. This paper reports on a nursing experience giving spiritual care to a terminal liver cancer patient between January 17 and February 9, 2009. Eleven nursing logs were used as the source of data for daily information. During the care period, patient religious needs featured prominently, including his desire to become a Christian and his eagerness to know about and help in the arrangement of his funeral. Taking the initiative, the nurse helped link him with religious resources, arranged a minister for his baptism ceremony, had the priest explain funeral proceedings, and assisted with the completion of his entrusted plans. The function of this nursing care intervention was to provide a personal touch to a patient who was in desperate need of warm spiritual care. It is hoped that this report can help caregivers increase their sensitivity toward patient spiritual needs and enhance routine nursing care quality.

Thyroid cancer: experiences at Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oomen, R.

1999-01-01

Since about last three decades, the management strategy for carcinoma of the thyroid at Christian Medical College (CMC) hospital includes surgery, radiotherapy and radioiodine therapy ( 131 I). The strategies of management of carcinoma of the thyroid at the institution evolved from surgery alone, surgery followed by external radiation, and surgery, post-operative 131 I with or without external radiation. 131 I ablation has emerged as an important modality in the routine management of carcinoma of the thyroid

Religious culture and health promotion: care, practice, object

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Viola Timm

2015-06-01

Full Text Available At the margins of modern medical practice, pushing the very limits of science, and indefatigably rendering the precincts of public discourse, still functional remnants of Christian civilization continue to provide care for the hopeless, perform healing sacraments for the incurable, and curate objects of votive devotion for the suffering and needy. These public services go largely unaccounted for, though they secure an ordered world, structure perception, and serve as ontological anchors. Lost in the vague, scientifically unrarified notions of spirituality that brace a general, undifferentiated worldwide metaphysical experience and disregard immense cultural, functional, geographic and performative distinctness, Catholic sacramental practices aimed at alleviating suffering and promoting healthy lifestyles are receiving only marginal mention in scientific literature(1, despite the fact that they make up daily reality in large parts of contemporary Europe and Latin America. Writing this editorial from the Northeast of Brazil, where traditional religious practice has sustained generations through the calamities of severe droughts, slavery, extreme poverty, high child mortality, failed political orders, and a harsh global economic reality, it is difficult to underestimate the power of sacramental experience to sustain a cultural identity. It was defined the concept of care of the sick in the context of the religious experience of the Northeast of Brazil which is historically relevant to health promotion. Until the emergence of national health care in the late nineteenth century, it was largely the order of the Franciscan friars that was charged with promoting healthy lives in the region. The Catholic concept of care that guided their efforts structures three procedural reality principles: the psychological reality of the transference to the person in one’s charge (care/caritas, the performative practice of religious sacrament such as the anointment

Back from the Crocodile’s Belly: Christian formation meets indigenous resurrection

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S. Lily Mendoza

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Undoing all forms of domination – including, in particular, religious domination – remains a crucial imperative of our time, given that domination constitutes a spirit-killing dynamic that distorts, oppresses and throws living beings (both human and non-human alike out of synch with themselves. One form of domination in colonial contexts is the totalising claim to a monopoly of ‘the’ truth that effectively delegitimises and demonises all other ways of seeing the world. This essay grapples with the question: What happens when the ‘One True Story’ encounters other faith stories? Riffing off my (coedited anthology, Back from the Crocodile’s Belly: Philippine Babaylan Studies and the Struggle for Indigenous Memory (dedicated to the memory of the Filipino indigenous women and men healers impaled on stakes by early Spanish missionaries and left on river banks for crocodiles to feast on, I narrate my personal journey growing up as a Filipina Methodist pastor’s kid, becoming a born-again believer and an aspiring Christian missionary trained by Philippine Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and the Navigators, and belatedly coming to grips with my relationship to my country’s colonial history and its consequences for me and my people’s struggle for wholeness and authenticity. What happens when my wholly formed Christian subjectivity becomes challenged by the resurrecting call of spirit to indigenous and earth well-being? Informed by a multilayered cultural memory, I trace my faith learnings from an encounter with deep ancestry in the ‘belly of the beast’ and its larger significance for today’s social movement struggles for sustainability and global coexistence.

Reincarnation belief and the Christian churches

OpenAIRE

Waterhouse, Helen; Walter, Tony

2003-01-01

Reincarnation has never been part of mainstream Christian theology. This is true in spite of periodic speculations by Christian theologians, and in spite of the fact that reincarnation believers sometimes wrongly impute belief in reincarnation to prominent Christian thinkers. Even so, in 1984 Paul Badham was able to point to statistics which indicated that as many Anglicans believed in reincarnation as believed in heaven and hell. This paper is based on the responses of the many Christians wh...

Christianity in Africa: a historical appraisal

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Samson A Fatokun

2005-10-01

Full Text Available In this article, the author challenges the popular public conception that Christianity in Africa is a latecomer introduced only with the advent of colonialism. By tracing the origins of the Christian faith in both North and sub-Saharan Africa (including, North-Central and West Africa, this paper seeks to show that Christianity has been in Africa virtually since its inception and that the continent� s own adherents to this faith played an important role in the formation and advance of Christianity elsewhere. Moreover, Christianity in Africa can be found almost everywhere on the continent and indigenous varieties of the tradition developed which allowed it to become as part of Africa as African traditional religions.

Place Attachment in the Bible: The Role of Attachment to Sacred Places in Religious Life

OpenAIRE

Counted, Victor; Watts, Fraser

2017-01-01

This paper examines the role of place attachment in religious life by analyzing various significant place events in the Bible, using analysis of biblical discourse. The paper looks at various biblical places, and explores the implications of approaching these sacred settings in terms of place attachment theory. In the Old Testament we focus on Mount Sinai, Canaan, and Jerusalem, and in the New Testament on Galilee, Jerusalem, and on view that Christianity, to some extent, transcends place att...

Tolerating the “doubting Thomas”: how centrality of religious beliefs vs. practices influences prejudice against atheists

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Jeffrey; Grossmann, Igor; Cohen, Adam B.

2015-01-01

Past research has found a robust effect of prejudice against atheists in largely Christian-dominated (belief-oriented) samples. We propose that religious centrality of beliefs vs. practices influences attitudes toward atheists, such that religious groups emphasizing beliefs perceive non-believers more negatively than believers, while groups emphasizing practices perceive non-practicing individuals more negatively than practicing individuals. Studies 1–2, in surveys of 41 countries, found that Muslims and Protestants (belief-oriented) had more negative attitudes toward atheists than did Jews and Hindus (practice-oriented). Study 3 experimentally manipulated a target individual's beliefs and practices. Protestants had more negative attitudes toward a non-believer (vs. a believer), whereas Jews had more negative attitudes toward a non-practicing individual (vs. a practicing individual, particularly when they had a Jewish background). This research has implications for the psychology of religion, anti-atheist prejudice, and cross-cultural attitudes regarding where dissent in beliefs or practices may be tolerated or censured within religious groups. PMID:26441728

The role of movies in Norwegian textbooks. A study of film as artefact in religious education

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Jon Magne Vestøl

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Drawing on perspectives on educational design, this article investigates the role of movies in Norwegian secondary school textbooks on religious education, including teachers’ handbooks and textbook websites. All passages containing references to films or movies have been included in the analysis. The distribution of references indicates that a film is an optional artefact and that movies are drawn mainly from a Western cinematic tradition and are related to topics such as Christianity and ethics. When textbook assignments introduce movies as artefacts mediating the understanding of religious issues, information about the message and the artistic role of the film seems to be downplayed. This indicates a need for reflection on how artefacts such as films are introduced into educational activity.

Interactions of Christians and Evangelists of Yazd with Muslims in the Qajar Era

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Hamidreza Shams Esfandabadi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The history of Yazd in Qajar era shows several political-social incidents in different periods which have greatly affected the social, cultural, economic and even physical historical-ancient life of the city. Investigating the interaction between Iranians and the residents from different religions during the aforementioned era is interest of the study. This interaction has experienced some fluctuations including peaceful friendships as well as brutal conflicts. The present research is a scientific-investigative effort to perform a historical, periodical, and at the same time documentary and analytical study on the extent, type and method of interactions of the majority of Yazd residents such as Shia Muslims, with the religious minority living in Yazd or non-local Christians temporary living in Yazd for the purpose of performing preaching and advertising programs in Yazd during the Qajar era. The researchers’ hypothesis is as follow: in the Qajar era there was a mutual communication, conflicts and correspondence between Christian minorities (evangelists and Shia Muslims in Yazd most of which proves a relationship and peaceful co-existence between them. This study applies a comparative-historical methodology as well as examines the academic literature and field studies.

Dopamine D4 receptor gene and religious affiliation correlate with dictator game altruism in males and not females: evidence for gender-sensitive gene × culture interaction.

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Jiang, Yushi; Bachner-Melman, Rachel; Chew, Soo Hong; Ebstein, Richard P

2015-01-01

On a large sample of 2288 Han Chinese undergraduates, we investigated how religion and DRD4 are related to human altruistic giving behavior as measured with the Andreoni-Miller Dictator Game. This game enables us to clearly specify (non-)selfishness, efficiency, and fairness motives for sharing. Participants were further classified into religious categories (Christian, Buddhist-Tao, and No Religion) based on self-reports, and genotyped for the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene exon III VNTR. Our analysis revealed a significant interaction between religion and DRD4 correlated with giving behavior solely among males: Whereas no significant association between religion and sharing decisions was observed in the majority 4R/4R genotype group, a significant difference in giving behavior between Christian and non-Christian males was seen in the non-4R/4R group, with Christian men being overall more altruistic (less selfish and fairer) than non-Christian men. These results support the vantage sensitivity hypothesis regarding DRD4 that the non-4R/4R "susceptibility" genotype is more responsive to a positive environment provided by some religions.

The disconnected values (intervention) model for promoting healthy habits in religious institutions.

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Anshel, Mark H

2010-03-01

The purpose of this article is to provide an intervention model that can be used by religious leaders for changing health behavior among practicing members of religious communities. The intervention does not require extensive training or licensure in counseling psychology. At the heart of this model is the acknowledgement that a person's negative habits (e.g., lack of exercise, poor nutrition) and his or her deepest values and beliefs (e.g., faith, health, family) are often misaligned, or disconnected. In addition, the unhealthy outcomes from these habits are contrary to the scriptural traditions of the world religions and thus are especially relevant to individuals who practice their religious beliefs. The Sacred Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity, for example, are replete with teachings that extol the virtues of practicing habits that promote good health and energy. In addition, evidence is mounting in the existing health intervention literature that adopting permanent and desirable changes in health behavior have not been successful, and that adherence to desirable habits such as exercise and proper nutrition is short-lived. The Disconnected Values Model (DVM) provides a novel approach for enhancing health behavior change within the context of the mission of most religious institutions. The model is compatible with skills presented by religious leaders, who possess more credibility and influence in changing the behavior of members and service attendees of their respective religious institutions. The religious leader's role is to provide the client with faith-based incentives to initiate and maintain changes in their health behaviors, and perhaps to provide resources for the individual to pursue an action plan. A case study is described in which the DVM intervention was used successfully with an individual of strong faith.

Ukrainian thinkers on philosophical and religious ideas of revelation and transfiguration: metodological prinsiples

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Z. I. Timenyk

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The article has been based on legacy of Ukrainian thinkers of 1840s-1960s. The author has highlighted how the discussed ideas function in close proximity to analogous ideas. For instance, the idea of God has been reviewed from the viewpoint of human and world structure, with the idea of interaction between good-evil, light-darkness. While interpreting the topic of the article, the reasonable interdependence of principles, ratios and other constructs has been justified by researcher. A complex of such processes creates a so-called “cascade” in which elements of (interreligious communications and multidisciplinary space become a reality through harmonized temporhythmics from various dimensions. At the same time, essential features of the revelation of nature and God on the borderline of paganism and Christianity have been distinguished in a systemic manner. Under the above-mentioned circumstances, “religious logics” demonstrates its possibilities. It is indispensable during the analysis of given ideas. When we think about the regularity of stage-by-stage transformation of the very concepts “revelation”, “transfiguration” comes to the said borderline. Big attention has been paid by the researcher to manifestations of partiality or wholeness of these notions from the standpoint of their harmony. Real functioning of “religious logics” gave ground to the introduction of such new notions as “inter-religious consciousness”, “revelation studies”. Not only their expediency have been justified. They are also used directly to elicit philosophical and religious ideas. One of the arguments in favor of these ideas is the necessity to expand terminological lexis, which is insufficient in modern studies. The introduction of new terms with the terms which were had not been used for a long time, has been combined by the author. This is, namely, the aforementioned “religious logics” as well as “divine dialectics”. Due to this

Aesthetics of religious authority. Introduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sunier, J.T.; de Witte, M.; de Koning, M.J.M.

2015-01-01

This special issue brings together anthropologists in the field of religion with the aim of exploring the aesthetic dimensions of authority in religious leadership.Taking aesthetics to refer to the range of sensory forms and experiences that shape the relation between religious practitioners and

Christianity, the Free Market, and Libertarianism

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Light Christian

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In recent centuries Christians of various denominations have endorsed many different political philosophies that they see as being truly biblical in their approach. Over this time there has been an increasing hostility, by some Christians, towards free markets and political philosophies that hold human liberty as the highest goal such as libertarianism and classical liberalism. This criticism is unwarranted and misplaced as libertarianism and free markets are not only compatible with Christianity, they are also the most biblically sound of all economics systems and political philosophies endorsed by Christians today. Therefore, this paper will argue that Christians of all denominations should endorse free markets and libertarianism if they wish to create a world that follows biblical principles and the teachings of Jesus.

Towards a Theory of Spiritual and Religious Experiences. A building block approach of the unexpected possible.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hermans, C.A.M.

2015-01-01

How do we define religious experiences? And what would be the relationship with spiritual experiences? The author claims that the cognitive turn in science gives us new opportunities to map the territory of religion and spirituality. In line with other authors (Taves, Wildman), he proposes a

Koers and the ideal of Christian scholarship

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Daniël F.M. Strauss

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Commemorating the 75-year existence of the journal Koers is connected to the Reformational tradition, from Calvin to Kuyper, Stoker, Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven – all thinkers who realised that the biblical starting point of life indeed touches the heart, the religious root, of humankind and therefore cannot remain restricted to church life and religion in its narrow sense, but must come to expression in all walks of life. This awareness was a fruit of the Christian worldview and lifeview which currently is confronted by the Big Bang claims and by neo-Darwinism – both movements taking on cultic dimensions with an intolerance towards everyone who does not accept their perspective. Their attitude generated serious reactions on two websites, the impact of which was discussed in this article. Some problems entailed in Darwinism and physicalistic materialism were highlighted, before attention was given to the status of natural laws and normative principles. Particular attention was given to the elimination of God’s law and the way in which modern Humanism explored the two cornerstones of modern nominalism, up to the point where human understanding was elevated to become the a priori formal law-giver of nature. This legacy was continued both by the later developments within the Baden school of neo-Kantian thought and Postmodernism,which is placed within the context of the three succeeding epistemic ideals of the past three centuries. Rationality can only fulfil its true calling when it accounts for the cohering diversity within reality without becoming a victim of any form of reductionism – and by following this guiding star, Koers will continue to strengthen its invaluable contribution to the advancement of Christian scholarship.

Urban marginality, religious liminality, and the black poor

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R. Drew Smith

2015-11-01

Full Text Available While many persons within westernised or westernising nations such as the United States of America and South Africa continue to place importance on matters of faith, a growing number of those persons approach matters of faith informally rather than formally and individually rather than institutionally. The implications of this are that among 21st century populations informal religious formation may be as important as or more important than the formation taking place via formal religious channels. A central emphasis of this article is that this is especially true among more socially marginalised populations, not simply because they may not enjoy the same level of access to formal institutions, but also because they may regard those institutions as spiritually and culturally restrictive and exclusionary. The contributions of the article are, firstly, its use of original and unique survey data generated from neighbourhood studies the author directed in low-income contexts within several U.S. cities and within Pretoria, South Africa, and, secondly, its analysis of informal ways the urban poor engage Christian ideas and practices − an aspect of urban religion that has not received adequate scholarly attention.

Is Nuclear Deterrence Morally Defensible? Religious Perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maitre, Emmanuelle

2016-07-01

or less intensity, in the determination of dominant values in a given society, such as justice, liberty, proselytism, universalism or on the contrary the singularity of a religious community, tolerance, pacifism, or non-violence, values that can shape the image that a country projects on the international stage but also its behavior on the world stage. Religious beliefs and declarations made by clergymen are obviously only one of many other factors leading to the formation of national identities, and national identities play only a part in the decisions made by States regarding nuclear weapons (security conditions are clearly a major determinant.) But this role is not insignificant. As the Catholic Church in particular is experiencing new momentum on the debate of the morality of nuclear weapons, which leads it to reconsider the conclusions drawn at the beginning of the 1980's, during a major brainstorming on this issue among Christian denominations (and especially Catholics), it is useful to analyze the views expressed by other major religions on the compatibility of nuclear deterrence as well as their teachings. With a short overview of the religious traditions most influenced by the nuclear questions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism), this paper tries to show that as often happens with the issue of nuclear deterrent, realities are more complex than preconceived ideas could make believe. It shows that on this matter as on many others, religions are impacted by geostrategic dynamics which explains some evolutions in their positioning, and even different views expressed by similar communities facing different realities. This study also aims at giving basics and background information to anticipate the stands of various religious authorities, as well as the impact that they could have on policies made in nuclear-weapon States. (author)

THE RELIGIOUS STRUCTURE OF THE ROMANIAN POPULATION IN 2011 BY COUNTIES AND GEOGRAPHICAL-HISTORICAL PROVINCES

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GR. P. POP

2014-11-01

emphasized that the Romanian population recorded at the census in 2011 was of 20,121,641 inhabitants, of which 81.04 % Christian Orthodox, 4.33% Roman-Catholic, 2.99% Protestant, 1.80% Greek-Catholic, and 0.75% Pentecostal. The other 16 denominations (Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventists, Muslim, Unitarian, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Evangelical, Christian of Old Rite, Lutheran Evangelical, Serbian Orthodox, Evangelical, Evangelical of Augustan Confession, Mosaic, Armenian, another religion, free of religion and atheists hold only 2.83% of the population of our country. Approximately 6.26% of the population did not provide information on their religion (see tables 1, 2 and 3. Regarding the degree of representativeness of religious denominations in Romania, we conclude that the share of Orthodox religion population (81.04% of the 20,121,641 inhabitants of the country expresses normality, given that on the one hand 6.26% of the registered population (1,259,739 persons was included in the category of Unavailable Information, and on the other hand the difference of 12.7% (2,554,898 people belongs to other 20 recorded religions, emphasizing that only the Roman-Catholic, Reformed and Pentecostal denominations registered a little over 1% (see table 1.

Modest Reflections on the Term ‘Religious Experience’

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Torre Michael Durham

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper urges a reconsideration of the term “religious experience,” as it is presently used in textbooks in the Philosophy of Religion (to which it first refers. The term needs to include not only what might be termed “extraordinary” religious experience (as used in those texts, but the “ordinary” experience of most who practice a religion, and it needs to assess such experience not so much as a “proof” of God (or a “Transcendent Reality”, but rather as a credible witness to what it affirms. The central portion of the paper then investigates how “experience” was used and understood-as a conscious term of analysis-by Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas. It then argues that this understanding of “experience” can be applied successfully to refer to “religious experience,” whether “ordinary” or “extraordinary”: it argues that such an understanding would fit well any phenomenological description of what most people mean by their “religious experience.” It concludes that there is work to be done both to develop adequate criteria to discern how credible religious experience is, as a witness to its object, and to apply such criteria to major religions.

Experiences and Practices of Evolution Instructors at Christian Universities That Can Inform Culturally Competent Evolution Education

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, M. Elizabeth; Brownell, Sara E.

2018-01-01

Students' religious beliefs and religious cultures have been shown to be the main factors predicting whether they will accept evolution, yet college biology instructors teaching evolution at public institutions often have religious beliefs and cultures that are different from their religious students. This difference in religious beliefs and…

Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Convention of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies. Theme: Christian Self-Esteem.

Science.gov (United States)

Christian Association for Psychological Studies, Grand Rapids, MI.

This volume represents the collection of all papers presented at the convention (April, 1971) of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, whose theme was "Christian Self-Esteem." Some of the titles include "A Demonstration of an Affective Counseling Technique,""Self-Image and Self-Esteem--A Christian Psychiatric Appraisal,""Concepts of…

The Christian voice in philosophy

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Stuart Fowler

1982-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper the Rev. Stuart Fowler outlines a Christian voice in Philosophy and urges the Christian philosopher to investigate his position and his stance with integrity and honesty.

Ecstasy – a way to religious knowledge: some remarks to Paul Tillich as theologian and philosopher

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Tage Kurtén

1982-05-01

Full Text Available Much of the research examines ecstasy from the point of view of psychology, history or sociology, but a philosophical reflection on ecstasy is missing. Here, some points in the philosophical and theological thinking of Paul Tillich are presented. He can be looked upon as a religious thinker. In this case he is of interest for religiology mainly as historical material. Then he can be seen as a Christian who in modern time has tried theoretically to reflect upon his own religious faith and the place of ecstasy in that faith. He can also be regarded as a philosopher of religion, who tries to reflect universally and critically upon the phenomena of religion and ecstasy. In that case his main contribution to religiology is to help religiology to reflect upon the question of what possible meaning the concept of "religious ecstasy" can have in a modern scientific context. When looking at Tillich's ideas, it is very important to remember that he strives to be both a philosopher of religion and a Christian theologian, and that these two roles are different, according to Tillich. In any analysis of his thinking it is therefore necessary to discriminate between Tillich's philosophical and his theological statement. For Tillich's treatment of revelation and knowledge of revelation there are three central concepts: mystery, ecstasy and miracle. Every revelation has a subjective and an objective side, and they are both necessary for the revelation. Someone must be seized by the manifestation of the mystery and something must occur through which the mystery of revelation seizes someone, says Tillich. The subjective side is called ecstasy, the objective miracle.

Pain and Coping in The Religious Mind

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jegindø, Else-Marie Elmholdt; Geertz, Armin W.; Roepstorff, Andreas

institutions, i.e. the Religion, Cognition and Culture (RCC) research area at The Faculty of Theology, Centre of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN) and The Danish Pain Research Centre (DPRC) at the University of Aarhus and Aarhus University Hospital. The team will design fMRI (functional magnetic...... hypothesize that the target group will have a higher pain threshold and pain tolerance during religious practice compared to a non-religious control group, and the fMRI experiments are expected to show reduced neural activity (BOLD) in areas of the brain correlating with pain experience during personal prayer...... and religious stimuli (target) and increased neural activity in reward systems during personal prayer and religious stimuli (target). To complement the clinical experiments, field work in Mauritius during the Hindu Thaipusam Festival 2010 will explore how pain in an online ritual setting is experienced...

On analyzing the results of empirical research into the life-purpose orientations of adults of various ethnic identities and religious affiliati.

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Abakumova I. V.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The research in question investigates life-purpose orientations and values of various groups of a population living in a multicultural area with a variety of ethnic and religious communities. Members may have different attitudes to one and the same set of values due to their specific cultural traditions and religious guidelines. A common set of life-purpose orientations and values as well as distinctly different ones were identified in the research. It employed an ethno-psychological questionnaire designed specifically to that end and psychometric instruments aimed at identifying the values of the adults of various ethnic identities and religious affiliations. Residents of a multi-cultural area in the south of Russia who belong to different denominations were surveyed. It is stated that there is a substantial difference between the sets of values held by Baptists and Buddhists and representatives of other ethnic and religious groups (Muslims and Christians participating in this investigation. The survey found that all of the Baptist and Buddhist respondents were described by a high-to-medium level of civil identity. Indifference to ethnic standards and a failure to accept the culture of their own people were found among all of the respondents; it was displayed by a small proportion of Orthodox Christians, whereas all of the Buddhists under investigation had a positive ethnic identity, and a certain proportion of Muslims and Catholics as well as a tiny proportion of Orthodox believers reported that they placed a priority for ethnic rights over human rights. Among all of the denominations surveyed, the majority of respondents surveyed have a positive attitude towards both their own nation and other nations.

Religious tolerance in the Edict of Milan and in the Constitution of Medina

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Đurić Drago

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we will try to offer a blueprint for a more general discussion of the relation of how the question of religious tolerance appears in two documents that the Christian and Islamic traditions recognize and celebrate: namely, the Edict of Milan and the Constitution of Medina. These documents were revolutionary for their time. However, these documents alone, as well as religious teachings, on which they are based, cannot be the measure of relations in our time. They are presented in the conceptual framework and value system that prevailed at the time when these teachings and documents were created. Many relations the documents refer to no longer exist. For example, while the Edict of Milan affirms the general right to religion, and the Constitution of Medina affirms the mutual tolerance for Abrahamic, monotheistic religions - people who now declare themselves as atheists or agnostics are not even mentioned.

Christian attitude in business

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J M Vorster

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The beginning of the twenty-first century faces new challenges in the field of business ethics.� Totally new macro-ethical challenges have arisen and they have already inspired constant ethical reflection. Two major developments in the field of economics paved the way for this new interest in business ethics: the total dominance of the market driven economy and economic globalization. This article investigates the ethical challenges posed by this new environment from a Christian ethical perspective. Firstly norms are formulated flowing from the paradigm of Christian attitude as a manifestation of the attitude of Christ. These are love, stewardship, self-denial and obedience to God. These norms are then applied to the following modern-day issues in the field of business ethics: the challenge of globalization, respect for basic human rights, remuneration, the corporation as a moral model, the need for self-evaluation, political responsibility and environmental concern. In conclusion I attempt to define the role of Christians and Christian churches in transforming corporations into moral agents.

Age, Sex, and Religious Beliefs Impact the Attitude towards Cord Blood Banking.

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Sundell, Inger Birgitta; Setzer, Teddi J

2015-01-01

In this study, a self-administered questionnaire was used to assess opinions about stem cell research and cord blood banking. Three attitudes were examined: willingness to accept cord blood banking, willingness to accept embryonic stem cell research, and religious belief system. A total of 90 Wayne State University students enrolled in the study in response to an invitation posted on a web page for the university. Sex distribution among study participants was 79 females and eight males; three declined to state their sex. Support for cord blood banking was high (> 70%) among students. Students over the age of 25 years of age were more (85%) positive than students 18 to 24 years old (57%). They prefered a public cord blood bank over a private cord blood bank. Atheist/agnostic or spiritual/not religious students (> 90%), Catholic students (78%) and Christian students (58%) support cord blood banking. Age, sex and religion seems influence the student's attitude towards stem cell research and cord blood banking.

Maternal Silences: Motherhood and Voluntary Childlessness in Contemporary Christianity

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Dawn Llewellyn

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In Christianity, there is an ideology of motherhood that pervades scripture, ritual, and doctrine, yet there is an academic silence that means relatively little space has been given to motherhood and mothering, and even less to voluntary childlessness, from a faith perspective. By drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews with Christian women living in Britain, narrating their experiences of motherhood and voluntary childlessness, I suggest there are also lived maternal silences encountered by women in contemporary Christianity. There is a maternal expectation produced through church teaching, liturgy and culture that constructs women as ‘maternal bodies’ (Gatrell 2008; this silences and marginalises women from articulating their complex relationship with religion, motherhood, and childlessness in ways that challenge their spiritual development. However, this article also introduces the everyday and intentional tactics women employ to disrupt the maternal expectation, and hereby interrupt the maternal silence.

Some contemporary aspects of Hindu-Christian dialogue

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Alexandru-Corneliu Arion

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The present paper deals with an important aspect of today’s interreligious dialogue, that between Christianity and the second largest religion of Asia, namely Hinduism. The concern is centering around not the ancient or traditional links between these two expressions of the Sacred, but rather of the contemporary ones. But that requires certain knowledge of what has already happened. The dialogue comes from the heart of the people, and is situated in the middle of life. Unfortunately, many present-day dialogues set the stage according to the terms of one of the parties alone. But in spite of misunderstandings and difficulties of the Hindu-Christian dialogue, it has an unavoidable effect: it changes our vision and interpretation of our own religion. The main tenets would be: the future of Hindu-Christian dialogue will largely depend on future mutual interest; Hindu-Christian dialogue may be linked to the future development of Hinduism and Christianity; the future of Hindu-Christian dialogue may be endangered by an institutional misunderstanding of its nature; Hindu-Christian dialogue may have to be placed into a larger “secular” context; Hindu-Christian dialogue is inevitable. It is an imperative and it must exhibit more continuity.

Leo Tolstoy’s Anticlericalism in Its Context and Beyond: A Case against Churches and Clerics, Religious and Secular

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Alexandre Christoyannopoulos

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In the last thirty years of his life, Leo Tolstoy wrote numerous books, essays and pamphlets expounding his newly-articulated views on violence, the state, the church, and on how to improve the human condition. Since then, these “Christian anarchist” views have often been dismissed as utopian or naive, and, despite inspiring many activists and intellectuals, often forgotten or ignored. Some of those views and arguments, however, arguably remain apposite today—and can in some cases be applied to broader phenomena than those he identified. This article focuses on one of the aspects of his Christian anarchist thought: his anticlericalism. The first Section recounts the evolution of Tolstoy’s views on religion and the church, and briefly describes Tolstoy’s peculiar metaphysics. The second outlines his main charges against the church, discusses some common objections to it, and considers the continuing relevance of his anticlericalism. The third seeks to secularise his anticlerical arguments by applying them beyond the church, against secular preachers and institutions, and does so by reflecting on the quality of debate in the contemporary public sphere, on the hypocritical distance between the morality preached by secular “clerics” and their practice, and on the steady process of ossification and betrayal which befalls secular political ideals. The article thus contributes to the literature firstly by summarising, discussing and reflecting upon the anticlericalism of a famous writer who also espoused controversial religious and political views; secondly by succinctly outlining his idiosyncratic metaphysics, including his peculiar reinterpretation of traditional Christian referents; and thirdly by applying the arguments that informed his criticisms of the church to a broader variety of religious and secular secular institutions.

Old Scandinavian and Christian eschatology

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Anders Hultgård

1990-01-01

Full Text Available The eschatological beliefs current in Scandinavia during the Viking and early Medieval periods can be grouped into two main traditions, denoted by the concepts of Ragnarok and Doomsday. The former has its roots in the pre-Christian religion of Scandinavia, the latter was brought to the north in the process of christianization. Although different in origin the two traditions did not, in the age with which we are concerned, necessarily reflect a strict division between adherents of the old faith and Christians. Syncretic versions of the Ragnarok concept were in circulation, one of which was presented by Snorri in his Edda. The common people, although officially christianized, apparently continued to transmit beliefs connected with the Ragnarok tradition. Scholarly research has tended to treat the two traditions separately. In fact they coexisted for centuries, leaving room for confrontation and mutual influences.

Christianity and Eugenics: The Place of Religion in the British Eugenics Education Society and the American Eugenics Society, c.1907-1940.

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Baker, Graham J

2014-05-01

Historians have regularly acknowledged the significance of religious faith to the eugenics movement in Britain and the USA. However, much of this scholarship suggests a polarised relationship of either conflict or consensus. Where Christian believers participated in the eugenics movement this has been represented as an abandonment of 'orthodox' theology, and the impression has been created that eugenics was a secularising force. In contrast, this article explores the impact of religious values on two eugenics organisations: the British Eugenics Education Society, and the American Eugenics Society. It is demonstrated that concerns over religion resulted in both these organisations modifying and tempering the public work that they undertook. This act of concealing and minimising the visibly controversial aspects of eugenics is offered as an addition to the debate over 'mainline' versus 'reform' eugenics.

Explanations for religious influence on adolescent sexual behavior in Brazil: direct and indirect effects

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Ana Paula de Andrade Verona

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Religion is becoming an important and highly present factor in the lives of many adolescents and young adults in Brazil. In addition to creating more space for them to maintain close relationships and participate actively in a religious environment, some religions have promoted the dissemination of clearer standards and objectives, as well as punitive sanctions, with respect to many aspects of their younger followers' lives, including their sexual behavior. This article examines how religion can affect, direct and indirectly, the sexual behavior of Brazilian adolescents. The main objective of this study is to look for a connection between Christian Smith's theoretical framework, which suggests several mechanisms through which religion can influence the lives of American adolescents, and ethnographic studies conducted in Brazil, as well as quantitative works that have brought attention to social and demographic consequences of recent religious transformations. Even though there is limited empirical evidence as to how the mechanisms of religious involvement work in Brazil, this study concludes that each of Smith's pathways can also be used to explain potential effects of religion on sexual behavior of Brazilian adolescents. This research should encourage empirical studies on such effects in Brazil. Besides the importance of examining the impact of the recent transformations in Brazil religious landscape on demographic phenomena, this topic deserves further consideration from Brazilian demographers because religion is a primary socialization agent of adolescents, and sexual activity is a sphere of human behavior of high importance in its religious applicability.

Conflict and compliance: Christianity and the occult in horticultural exporting.

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Dolan, C S

1999-03-01

The introduction of export horticulture in Meru District, Kenya, brought about disadvantageous effects on female farmers. Their workload increased while their earnings did not. Women reacted by turning to Christianity for support, and resorted to traditional witchcraft to regain control. In this article, Christianity and witchcraft are presented as ways of expressing discontent with the prevailing social norms, and as means to reclaim autonomy and security within their households. Since Kenyan women are entailed to meet the standards of being a good Christian wife, in which women are submissive to their husbands, the church became a means of escaping the confinements of their marriage. In Meru, Christian conversion offers a means of coping with life and an opportunity to interact with other women who share the same experience. Another strategy adopted by women is witchcraft, a traditional relic wherein women give "potions" to their husbands to induce psychosis and eventually death, which would then leave control of the household to the woman. In conclusion, the case presented here demonstrates how failure to recognize cultural dynamics leads to gender inequity and worsens women's well being, as well as men's security.

Afrikaner Christianity and the concept of empire

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Erna Oliver

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Not many Protestant countries in the world have been as influenced by faith as South Africa. Although South Africa was never officially a Christian country, politics, economic development, social life and the culture of the �rainbow nation� was either moulded on, or influenced by, the Calvinistic Christianity that came to the country along with the European merchants. The privileged position of Christianity ended in 1994 when South Africa became a neutral state with guaranteed religious freedom for all. Although more than 80 per cent of the population claim that they are Christians, it seems as if the word is not meant any more as a religion with a value system and moral obligations, but only as a convenient label. The reason behind the contrast between theory and practice must be investigated. One possible reason could be found in the traditional Afrikaans-speaking churches� participation of, and contribution to, the �empire� concept. The responsibility of the individual to practise his or her faith was taken over by the power of the state and church.Bokriste bja Maafrikanere le kgopolo ya mmu�o wo maatlaGa se dinaga t�e nt�i t�a Protestante mo lefaseng t�e di huedit�wego ke tumelo go swana le ka fao naga ya Afrika-Borwa e huedit�wego ke tumelo ka gona. Le ge Afrika-Borwa e sa ka ya ba naga ya Sekriste semmu�o, dipolitiki, tlhabollo ya t�a ekonomi, bophelo bja leago le set�o sa �set�haba sa molalatladi�, se ka ba se bopegile godimo ga, goba se huedit�we ke Bokriste bja Secalvine bjo bo tlilego le bagwebi ba Yuropa. Maemo a go phagama ao a bego a filwe tumelo ya Sekriste a fedile ka ngwaga wa 1994 ge Afrika-Borwa e eba naga ya kemelathoko ya go fa bohle tokologo ya bodumedi. Le ge diphesente t�a go feta 80 t�a set�haba di ipit�a Bakriste, go bonala nke lent�u leo ga le sa �omi�wa go hlalo�a tumelo ye e nago le meetlo le maitshwaro a it�eng a setho, eup�a le no �omi�wa e le seka sa go

Buddhist concepts as implicitly reducing prejudice and increasing prosociality.

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Clobert, Magali; Saroglou, Vassilis; Hwang, Kwang-Kuo

2015-04-01

Does Buddhism really promote tolerance? Based on cross-cultural and cross-religious evidence, we hypothesized that Buddhist concepts, possibly differing from Christian concepts, activate not only prosociality but also tolerance. Subliminally priming Buddhist concepts, compared with neutral or Christian concepts, decreased explicit prejudice against ethnic, ideological, and moral outgroups among Western Buddhists who valued universalism (Experiment 1, N = 116). It also increased spontaneous prosociality, and decreased, among low authoritarians or high universalists, implicit religious and ethnic prejudice among Westerners of Christian background (Experiment 2, N = 128) and Taiwanese of Buddhist/Taoist background (Experiment 3, N = 122). Increased compassion and tolerance of contradiction occasionally mediated some of the effects. The general idea that religion promotes (ingroup) prosociality and outgroup prejudice, based on research in monotheistic contexts, lacks cross-cultural sensitivity; Buddhist concepts activate extended prosociality and tolerance of outgroups, at least among those with socio-cognitive and moral openness. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish as Determinants of Identity: As Illustrated in the Jewish Press of the First Half of the Twentieth Century

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Izabela Olszewska

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish as Determinants of Identity: As Illustrated in the Jewish Press of the First Half of the Twentieth Century The paper shows an image and functions of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish languages among Jewish Diaspora groups – the Balkan Sephardim and the Ashkenazim (the Ostjuden group – in the period from the beginning of the twentieth century until the outbreak of World War II. The study is based on the articles from Jewish weeklies, magazines and newspapers from pre-war Bosnia and Hercegovina and from Germany/Poland. It demonstrates a double-sided attitude towards the languages. On the one hand – an image of the languages as determinants of Jewish identity. Touching on this theme, the authors of the paper also try to highlight the images of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish and as determinants in a narrower sense – of the Sephardi/Ashkenazi identity in that period. On the other hand, the paper shows a tendency to treat the languages as “corrupted” and “dying” languages, and as factors slowing down the assimilation of Jewish groups and also as an obstacle for Zionist ideologies.   Języki jidysz i żydowsko-hiszpański jako wskaźniki tożsamości – na przykładzie żydowskich tekstów prasowych pierwszej połowy XX wieku Artykuł ukazuje obraz i funkcje języków jidysz i żydowsko-hiszpańskiego wśród żydowskich grup diasporowych – bałkańskich Sefardyjczyków oraz Aszkenazyjczyków (Ostjuden – w okresie od początków wieku XX do wybuchu II wojny światowej. Opis oparty jest na artykułach z żydowskich magazynów, tygodników, prasy codziennej z przedwojennej Bośni i Hercegowiny oraz Niemiec/Polski. Ukazany jest ambiwalentny stosunek wobec języków. Z jednej strony – obraz języków jako wskaźników żydowskiej tożsamości, jak również obraz jidysz i żydowsko-hiszpańskiego jako wskaźników tożsamości w węższym ujęciu: tożsamości sefardyjskiej/aszkenazyjskiej w omawianym okresie. Z drugiej

Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene and Religious Affiliation Correlate with Dictator Game Altruism in Males and not Females: Evidence for Gender-sensitive Gene x Culture Interaction

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Yushi eJiang

2015-09-01

Full Text Available On a large sample of 2288 Han Chinese undergraduates, we investigated how religion and DRD4 are related to human altruistic giving behavior as measured with the Andreoni-Miller Dictator Game. This game enables us to clearly specify (non-selfishness, efficiency, and fairness motives for sharing. Participants were further classified into religious categories (Christian, Buddhist-Tao, and No Religion based on self-reports, and genotyped for the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4 gene exon III VNTR. Our analysis revealed a significant interaction between religion and DRD4 correlated with giving behavior solely among males: Whereas no significant association between religion and sharing decisions was observed in the majority 4R/4R genotype group, a significant difference in giving behavior between Christian and non-Christian males was seen in the non-4R/4R group, with Christian men being overall more altruistic (less selfish and fairer than non-Christian men. These results support the vantage sensitivity hypothesis regarding DRD4 that the non-4R/4R ‘susceptibility’ genotype is more responsive to a positive environment provided by some religions.

The Place of Identity Dissonance and Emotional Motivations in Bio-Cultural Models of Religious Experience: A Report from the 19th Century.

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Powell, Adam

2017-01-01

Durham University's 'Hearing the Voice' project involves a multi-disciplinary exploration of hallucinatory-type phenomena in an attempt to revaluate and reframe discussions of these experiences. As part of this project, contemporaneous religious experiences (supernatural voices and visions) in the United States from the first half of the nineteenth century have been analysed, shedding light on the value and applicability of contemporary bio-cultural models of religious experience for such historical cases. In particular, this essay outlines four historical cases, seeking to utilise and to refine four theoretical models, including anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann's 'absorption hypothesis', by returning to something like William James' concern with 'discordant personalities'. Ultimately, the paper argues that emphasis on the role of identity dissonance must not be omitted from the analytical tools applied to these nineteenth-century examples, and perhaps should be retained for any study of religious experience generally.

Alcohol use, daily hassles, and religious coping among students at a religiously affiliated college.

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Stoltzfus, Kenneth M; Farkas, Kathleen J

2012-08-01

This article presents empirical findings which suggest that religious coping moderates the relationship between daily hassles stress and alcohol use among female college students. This study utilized a cross-sectional data collection strategy and convenience sampling to examine the relationship between alcohol use, daily hassles stress, and religious coping among 423 undergraduate students (269 females and 154 males) at a religiously affiliated college in the Midwestern USA. Data were collected in 2008. Instruments utilized for data collection included the Inventory of College Student Recent Life Experiences, the Brief RCOPE, and quantity/frequency measures of alcohol use. Involvement in positive religious coping was significantly related to lower rates of alcohol use. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that among women, positive religious coping moderated the relationship between two types of daily hassles stress (academic alienation and romantic problems) and alcohol use. This study found that among female college students, the relationship between daily hassles stress and alcohol use weakened with increased participation in religious coping. This finding suggests that religious coping may protect against alcohol use among female college students. The results of this study also suggest that it may be important for university-based treatment and prevention practitioners to assess involvement in religious coping practices and to include such practices in the treatment planning process, when culturally appropriate and desired by consumers. Study limitations and areas for further research are also discussed.