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Sample records for understanding religious perspectives

  1. Religious architecture: anthropological perspectives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verkaaik, O.

    2013-01-01

    Religious Architecture: Anthropological Perspectives develops an anthropological perspective on modern religious architecture, including mosques, churches and synagogues. Borrowing from a range of theoretical perspectives on space-making and material religion, this volume looks at how religious

  2. Religious Architecture : Anthropological Perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    2013-01-01

    Religious Architecture: Anthropological Perspectives develops an anthropological perspective on modern religious architecture, including mosques, churches and synagogues. Borrowing from a range of theoretical perspectives on space-making and material religion, this volume looks at how religious buildings take their place in opposition to the secular surroundings, how they, as evocations of the sublime, help believers to move beyond the boundaries of modern subjectivity, and how they, in their...

  3. Religious perspectives on umbilical cord blood banking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordens, Christopher F C; O'Connor, Michelle A C; Kerridge, Ian H; Stewart, Cameron; Cameron, Andrew; Keown, Damien; Lawrence, Rabbi Jeremy; McGarrity, Andrew; Sachedina, Abdulaziz; Tobin, Bernadette

    2012-03-01

    Umbilical cord blood is a valuable source of haematopoietic stem cells. There is little information about whether religious affiliations have any bearing on attitudes to and decisions about its collection, donation and storage. The authors provided information about umbilical cord blood banking to expert commentators from six major world religions (Catholicism, Anglicanism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism) and asked them to address a specific set of questions in a commentary. The commentaries suggest there is considerable support for umbilical cord blood banking in these religions. Four commentaries provide moral grounds for favouring public donation over private storage. None attach any particular religious significance to the umbilical cord or to the blood within it, nor place restrictions on the ethnicity or religion of donors and recipients. Views on ownership of umbilical cord blood vary. The authors offer a series of general points for those who seek a better understanding of religious perspectives on umbilical cord blood banking.

  4. 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...

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. The Religious Quest As Transformative Journey: Interspiritual Religious Belonging And The Problem Of Religious Depth

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    McEntee Rory

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available As scholars and the public grope towards understanding emergent forms of religiosity (multiple-religious belonging, spiritual but not religious, interspirituality, notions of discernment, religious depth, and spiritual practice figure prominently in defining and assessing these forms. Some form of commitment to a particular religious tradition is often considered the most important factor in the discernment of religious depth, while “spiritual but not religious” is often seen as the amorphous searching or the drifting whims of an immature ego. I will argue, however, that failing to take into account the most mature forms of emerging religiosity is bound to miss important developments, just as similar methodologies would for traditional religions. Further, I point out problems with correlating religious depth with belonging to a particular religious tradition, and offer an alternate way to conceive of religious depth. In doing so I develop the concept of the religious quest as transformative journey, allowing for a more capacious understanding of religious consciousness. I then introduce interspiritual religious belonging, contrasting it with certain understandings of “multiple-religious” belonging, and providing mature examples of its embodiment. Finally, utilizing new surveys from Pew and PPRI showing accelerating growth among the “spiritual but not religious” and “religiously unaffiliated”-as well as expanding religious and racial diversity within the United States-I briefly reference potential political ramifications the interspiritual movement might have, and address the importance of developing mature theological perspectives from within it. It is my hope that the Theology Without Walls project can provide academic space for the latter.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. Exposure to science, perspectives on science and religion, and religious commitment in young adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uecker, Jeremy E; Longest, Kyle C

    2017-07-01

    Social scientists know very little about the consequences of exposure to scientific knowledge and holding different perspectives on science and religion for individuals' religious lives. Drawing on secularization and post-secular theories, we develop and test several hypotheses about the relationships among exposure to scientific knowledge, perspectives on religion and science, and religious commitment using panel data from the National Study of Youth and Religion. Our findings indicate that religious faith is strongest among young adults who: (1) accommodate scientific knowledge into their religious perspective, or (2) reject scientific knowledge that directly contradicts their religious beliefs about the origins of the world. Young adults are also more likely to have lower religious commitment when they view science and religion as independent institutions, lending support to secularization ideas about how social differentiation secularizes individuals. We further find that mere exposure to scientific knowledge, in terms of majoring in biology or acknowledging conflict between the teachings of religion and science, is usually not sufficient to undermine religious commitment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Inter-Religious Dialogue: The Perspective of Malaysian Contemporary Muslim Thinkers

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    AEMY ELYANI MAT ZAIN

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Malaysia is a country that is rich for the diversity of its people. This diversity can be seen from the aspect of faith, ethnicity, language, culture, and so on. In facing a society that is pluralistic in nature, several initiatives have been taken by the government and non-government bodies in ensuring understanding and unity among Malaysians. Among the initiatives taken are interreligious dialogues. In this regard, many among Malaysian thinkers have proposed some approaches and concepts of inter-faith dialogue that should and may be implemented in the context of Malaysia. For that purpose, this paper examined the forms of inter-religious dialogues in Malaysia from the perspective of Malaysian contemporary Muslim thinkers. The methodology utilized in this study is textual analysis, particularly the writings of these thinkers on this issue. This article concludes that there are several forms of inter-religious dialogues that are easily implemented, as well as the difficult ones in the context of Malaysia due to certain obstacles.

  12. A Global Perspective on Religious Participation and Suicide.

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    Hsieh, Ning

    2017-09-01

    Although sociological research in the Durkheimian tradition has generally accepted that religious involvement protects against suicide, few studies have examined this theoretical proposition outside Western industrialized settings. Using multilevel models to analyze data from the World Health Organization Mortality Database and the World Values Survey (1981-2007) across 42 countries in seven geographical-cultural regions, this study explores whether religious participation is more protective against suicide in some regions than others and, if so, why. Results indicate that while religious participation is protective in Latin America, eastern Europe, northern Europe, and English-speaking countries, it may aggravate the risk of suicide in East Asia, western Europe, and southern Europe. This regional variation is the result of differences in both the degree of integration/regulation of religious communities and suicide underreporting. Overall, the findings support the network perspective of Durkheim's classical theory and suggest that researchers should be more cautious about suicide underreporting in less industrialized settings.

  13. Sustainability in Multi-Religious Societies: An Islamic Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grine, Fadila; Bensaid, Benaouda; Nor, Mohd Roslan Mohd; Ladjal, Tarek

    2013-01-01

    The question of sustainability in multi-religious societies underscores interrelating theological, moral and cultural issues affecting the very process of social co-existence, cohesion and development. This article discusses Islam's understanding of the question of sustainability in multi-religious contexts while highlighting the contribution of…

  14. Knowledge and perspectives of female genital cutting among the local religious leaders in Erbil governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Hamdia M; Kareem, Mosleh S; Shabila, Nazar P; Mzori, Barzhang Q

    2018-03-07

    Religious leaders are one of the key actors in the issue of female genital cutting (FGC) due to the influential position they have in the community and the frequent association of FGC with the religion. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and perspectives of the local religious leaders in Erbil governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan Region about different aspects of FGC. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 29 local religious leaders. A semi-structured questionnaire was used that included questions about their knowledge, understanding, and perspectives on different aspects of FGC such as the reasons for practicing it, their contact and communication with the community regarding the practice and perspectives about banning the practice by law. Participants believed that FGC is useful for reducing or regulating the sexual desire of women to prevent adultery and engagement in pre and extramarital sexual relations and to enhance hygiene of women. They indicated that there is no any risk in doing FGC if there is no excessive cut. Most participants indicated that FGC is attributed to the religion and some considered it a tradition mixed with the religion. People rarely ask the advice of the religious leaders regarding FGC, but they frequently complain about the effects of the practice. Participants did not support having a law to ban FGC either because they thought it would be against the religion's advice on FGC or it will not work. The local religious leaders lack adequate knowledge about different aspects of FGC particularly the health consequences. There are different and disputing viewpoints about the reasons for practicing FGC, and there is poor support for having a law banning the practice. There is an essential need for enhancing the knowledge of the local religious leaders regarding FGC and its adverse effects on the women's health.

  15. Towards understanding (religious (intolerance in education

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    Ferdinand J. Potgieter

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, schools and education authorities world wide have been paying increasing attention to issues surrounding diversity and religious (intolerance. The term ‘tolerance’ is, however, clouded by considerable confusion and vagueness. This article seeks to contribute to recent scholarly attempts at understanding (religious tolerance and the term that denotes it. After a brief semantic analysis of the term ‘tolerance’, arguments concerning the onticity of tolerance as phenomenon or entity are discussed. By examining its onticity we explore and explain some of the essential features of tolerance. The article ends with a brief discussion of some of the implications of our examination that we foresee for (religion education.

  16. School religious education in a liberating perspective

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    José Luis Meza Rueda

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Religious education in Colombia, according to Law 115 of 1994, is an area of fundamental training. However, its purpose of promoting the religious dimension of human beings and understanding the role of religion in culture is far from being achieved, because, in practice, it is considered as an area of second order, is disjointed from the curriculum and is still working as the “religion lesson” of the past. What to do against this? Could it be another way of thinking about religious education? We estimate that, as presuppositions and motivations of both liberation theology and liberating pedagogy are still valid today, they may provide clues in this respect. Consequently, this paper not only makes a detailed reading of this reality in some official educational institutions in Colombia, but also sheds light for the school religious education (ERE to be liberating.

  17. Religious Education and Socialization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeer, Paul

    2010-01-01

    This article considers Religious Education (RE) from the perspective of socialization theory. After clarifying the concept of socialization, an understanding of socialization processes, requiring the simultaneous development of both a personal and a social identity, is linked with RE. The development of both a personal and a social identity calls…

  18. Religiousness and religious coping in a secular society: the gender perspective.

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    Hvidtjørn, Dorte; Hjelmborg, Jacob; Skytthe, Axel; Christensen, Kaare; Hvidt, Niels Christian

    2014-10-01

    Women are found to be more religious than men and more likely to use religious coping. Only few studies have explored religious gender differences in more secular societies. This population-based study comprised 3,000 Danish men and women (response rate 45 %) between 20 and 40 years of age. Information about demographics, religiousness and religious coping was obtained through a web-based questionnaire. We organized religiousness in the three dimensions: Cognition, Practice and Importance, and we assessed religious coping using the brief RCOPE questionnaire. We found substantial gender differences in both religiousness and religious coping. Nearly, 60 % of the women believed in some sort of spirit or in God compared to 40 % of the men. Generally, both men and women scored low on the RCOPE scale. However, for respondents reporting high levels of religiousness, the proportion of men who scored high in the RCOPE exceeded the proportion of women in using positive and especially negative coping strategies. Also, in a secular society, women are found to be more religious than men, but in a subset of the most religious respondents, men were more inclined to use religious coping. Further studies on religious coping in secular societies are required.

  19. Analysis of Indonesia Confucians Understanding Towards Religious Doctrines and Ordinances in Confucianism

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    Sugiato Lim

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available To a great extent, daily life of Indonesia Chinese community is filled with religious overtones. This paper basically analyzes the understanding of Indonesia Confucians towards their religion. The first part of this paper will be discussing about the general definition of religion and its religious elements. The second part will analyze the understanding of Indonesia Confucians towards their religious doctrines and ordinances respectively. In conclusion, overview regarding Indonesia Confucians and a special historical background of Indonesia Confucianism, which consists of its formation and development as a legal religion in line with Indonesia national conditions, social conditions and characteristic, will be presented.   

  20. PAUL TILLICH UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE BIBLE FROM A INTERRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE

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    Thiago Pinheiro

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Paul Tillich is more alluded as systematic theologian than as a thinker who moves within hermeneutical and exegetical fields. Similarly, his work is recognized as a Christological and ontological development than as writings that promote inter-religious dialogue. However, his works can be one of both Bible interpretation and opening to other religions. Thus, this proposal aims to understand the place of the Bible in the thought of Tillich, both in theological perspective and in inter-religious perspective. He believes that the Bible is the source of systematic theology for the fact of being the original document in which the Christian church is grounded. The revelation of Jesus as the Christ in the Bible is opened for inter-religious reflection. So the question that guides this proposal asks how the Bible as a source of theological work, allows to Christian theology dialogue with other religions. An answer to this question lies in the proposed of Tillich through deliteralization project. There are two aspects of deliteralization: the first is the preservation of myth/symbol, the second is the no-literal treatment, which allows the use of the Bible as a source of systematic theology. These two aspects allow talk about the universality of Christ event. The deliteralization may cause a greater range of the Christian message, as the opening so that its message points beyond itself, since it allows the preservation of the myth and the valuation of symbols.

  1. The quest for the understanding of Religious Studies: Seeing dragons

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    Jaco Beyers

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Religious Studies is concerned with studying religion or the absence thereof. The concept of religion has been discussed, disliked and dissected over centuries. Some have predicted the disappearance of religion, others have predicted the changing of location from the public to the private sphere and some even the re-emergence of religion. In trying to determine the place and relations of Religious Studies an understanding of what religion entails is necessary. It is clear that Religious Studies consists of a multiform subject field and a variety of disciplines with a multiplicity of issues, interests and topics together with a wide variety of approaches and methods. Some scholars have described religion as a �saturated phenomenon� trying to indicate how the diversity of elements described as religious came to shroud the true subject matter. All these hindrances on the road to comprehending religion are like dragons preventing one from completing a (holy! quest. This article does not want to provide new answers to an old debate. In this sense this article is not an attempt at slaying the dragons but identifying them. Three issues (dragons are discussed. How religion, the object of Religious Studies, should be viewed? What methods are employed by Religious Studies and the relatedness of Religious Studies to Theology? In the end the article wants to provide direction on how Religious Studies, as academic discipline, can collaborate with research in Theology.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article discusses the development of the subject of Religious Studies by providing a historic overview of sociological influences on the development. In this sense this article is not an attempt at slaying the dragons but identifying them. Three issues (dragons are discussed: how religion, the object of Religious Studies, should be viewed; what methods are employed by Religious Studies and the relatedness of Religious Studies to

  2. What Makes You So Sure? Dogmatism, Fundamentalism, Analytic Thinking, Perspective Taking and Moral Concern in the Religious and Nonreligious.

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    Friedman, Jared Parker; Jack, Anthony Ian

    2018-02-01

    Better understanding the psychological factors related to certainty in one's beliefs (i.e., dogmatism) has important consequences for both individuals and social groups. Generally, beliefs can find support from at least two different routes of information processing: social/moral considerations or analytic/empirical reasoning. Here, we investigate how these two psychological constructs relate to dogmatism in two groups of individuals who preferentially draw on the former or latter sort of information when forming beliefs about the world-religious and nonreligious individuals. Across two studies and their pooled analysis, we provide evidence that although dogmatism is negatively related to analytic reasoning in both groups of individuals, it shares a divergent relationship with measures of moral concern depending on whether one identifies as religious or not. Study 1 showed that increasing levels of dogmatism were positively related to prosocial intentions among the religious and negatively related to empathic concern among the nonreligious. Study 2 replicated and extended these results by showing that perspective taking is negatively related to dogmatism in both groups, an effect which is particularly robust among the nonreligious. Study 2 also showed that religious fundamentalism was positively related to measures of moral concern among the religious. Because the current studies used a content-neutral measure to assess dogmatic certainty in one's beliefs, they have the potential to inform practices for most effectively communicating with and persuading religious and nonreligious individuals to change maladaptive behavior, even when the mode of discourse is unrelated to religious belief.

  3. Students' perception of marriage, family and parenthood in the light of religious identity and religious tolerance: A comparative perspective

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    Petrović Jasmina S.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In a comparative perspective, the paper shows students' attitudes towards family, marriage and parenthood obtained in an empirical study entitled 'Cultural orientation of actors/students, interethnic relations, national identity and the culture of peace in the Balkans' on the samples from the University of Bitola, Veliko Tarnovo and Niš. It analyzes findings from the three subsamples, and tests the hypothesis that students' religiousness and the firmness of their religious beliefs predicate their attitudes towards fami­ly, marriage and parenthood, irrespective of the country where they study. It is expected that the student youth in all subsamples shows preference for the individualistic model of partnership, symmetrical parenting, egalitarian partner and family relationships, but also that the choice of some attitudes clearly indicates the presence of traditional value patterns. At the same time, it is assumed that respondents who identify themselves as firm believ­ers, and those who express a lower level of religious tolerance towards other religions, largely follow traditional patterns in the notion of marriage, fami­ly and parenthood.

  4. Reason, Rhythm, and Rituality. Reinterpreting Religious Cult from a Postmodern, Phenomenological Perspective

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    Martina Roesner

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary philosophy of religion is often focused, at a theoretical level, on the epistemic value of religious doctrines, and at a practical level, on the possible impact of organized religion on secular society and politics. However, the cultic dimension of religion, such as prayer, religious service, ascetic practices, and other rituals, is considered as completely “irrational” and incomprehensible from a secular perspective and therefore often neglected by postmodern philosophy. The paper intends to call into question this rather simplistic interpretation by retracing the historical origins of the devaluation of religious symbolism in occidental thought, which culminates in Kant’s philosophy of religion. We then shall analyze to what extent certain paradoxical aspects of Habermas’ view on religion can be interpreted as consequences of the dilemma brought about by the Kantian dichotomy between man as moral subject and man as natural, sensible being. In a third step, we shall develop an alternative, phenomenological interpretation, which does not consider religious practice as a primitive, irrational phenomenon but as a proto-ethical schematism that aims at integrating the sphere of pure practical reason into the rhythmic structure of living, embodied consciousness.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 'Mixed blessings': parental religiousness, parenting, and child adjustment in global perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bornstein, Marc H; Putnick, Diane L; Lansford, Jennifer E; Al-Hassan, Suha M; Bacchini, Dario; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Chang, Lei; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Di Giunta, Laura; Dodge, Kenneth A; Malone, Patrick S; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta; Skinner, Ann T; Sorbring, Emma; Steinberg, Laurence; Tapanya, Sombat; Tirado, Liliana Maria Uribe; Zelli, Arnaldo; Alampay, Liane Peña

    2017-08-01

    associations with child functioning. Studying both parent and child views of religiousness and parenting are important to understand the effects of parental religiousness on parents and children. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  8. A psychological perspective on the source and function of religion

    OpenAIRE

    Van der Merwe, Karene

    2010-01-01

    This article explored psychological perspectives on the following: the reasons for humans' religiousness, the influence of religion on people's perspective on life and the importance of understanding the impact of religion on the lives of people. Theories, including psychoanalytical and evolutionary answers regarding the origin of human's penchant to be religious were discussed. Subsequently, the focus was on the dominant influence of religious notions in people's worldview, providing meaning...

  9. Religious Perspectives on Human Suffering: Implications for Medicine and Bioethics.

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    Fitzpatrick, Scott J; Kerridge, Ian H; Jordens, Christopher F C; Zoloth, Laurie; Tollefsen, Christopher; Tsomo, Karma Lekshe; Jensen, Michael P; Sachedina, Abdulaziz; Sarma, Deepak

    2016-02-01

    The prevention and relief of suffering has long been a core medical concern. But while this is a laudable goal, some question whether medicine can, or should, aim for a world without pain, sadness, anxiety, despair or uncertainty. To explore these issues, we invited experts from six of the world's major faith traditions to address the following question. Is there value in suffering? And is something lost in the prevention and/or relief of suffering? While each of the perspectives provided maintains that suffering should be alleviated and that medicine's proper role is to prevent and relieve suffering by ethical means, it is also apparent that questions regarding the meaning and value of suffering are beyond the realm of medicine. These perspectives suggest that medicine and bioethics have much to gain from respectful consideration of religious discourse surrounding suffering.

  10. The Religious in Responses to Mass Atrocity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    A peculiar and fascinating aspect of many responses to mass atrocities is the creative and eclectic use of religious language and frameworks. Some crimes are so extreme that they “cry out to heaven,” drawing people to employ religious vocabulary to make meaning of and to judge what happened...... of the possibilities and problems pertaining to attempts to bring religious – or semi-religious – allegiances and perspectives to bear in responses to the mass atrocities of our time: When and how can religious language or religious beliefs and practices be either necessary or helpful? And what are the problems...... and reasons for caution or critique? In this book, a group of distinguished scholars explore these questions and offer a range of original explanatory and normative perspectives....

  11. Why Study A Level Religious Studies? Qualitative Perspectives from Two English Midlands Sixth Forms

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    Jones, Ian

    2017-01-01

    Religious Studies (RS) is expected to impact students' personal development as well as enabling acquisition of knowledge and understanding of religious and philosophical traditions. But to what extent does this actually occur? As part of a larger quantitative investigation of the effects of A Level RS in students' beliefs, values and worldviews…

  12. Predictors of family strength: the integrated spiritual-religious/resilient perspective for understanding the healthy/strong family.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghaffari, Majid; Fatehizade, Maryam; Ahmadi, Ahmad; Ghasemi, Vahid; Baghban, Iran

    2013-01-01

    The present study aimed to investigate the effects of spiritual well-being and family protective factors on the family strength in a propositional structural model. The research population consisted of all the married people of the Isfahan, Iran, in 2012 with preschool-aged children and in the first decade of marriage with at least eight grades of educational level. Three hundred and ninety five voluntary and unpaid participants were selected randomly through multi-stage sampling from seven regions of the city. The instruments used were the Spiritual Well-being Scale, Inventory of Family Protective Factors, and Family Strength Scale. Descriptive statistics and a structural equation modeling analytic approach were used. The analytic model predicted 82% of the variance of the family strength. The total effect of the spiritual well-being on the family strength was higher compared to the family protective factors. Furthermore, spiritual well-being predicted 43% of the distribution of the family protective factors and had indirect effect on the family strength through the family protective factors (p spiritual well-being and family protective factors, and their simultaneous effects on family strength. Family counselors may employ an integrated spiritual-religious/resilient perspective to inform their strength-based work with individuals and their families. None.

  13. Religious perspectives on organ donation.

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    Gillman, J

    1999-11-01

    A donor's or family's religious beliefs are to be ascertained in discussions about organ donation. The positions of the major faith groups about donation are reviewed, leading to the conclusion that the large majority of faiths take a positive stance toward donation. Other factors such as the emotional response, the cultural values, and the spiritual issues may be even more compelling for family members than religious beliefs. Conflicts between one's personal beliefs and the position of one's faith group about donation are to be assessed and processed.

  14. AHP 21: Review: Religious Revival in The Tibetan Borderland

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    Bo Wang

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Identity and legitimation are arguably the two most significant analytical tools required to understand religion in contemporary China. Particularly in Southwest China, the uncertainty and ambiguity in the ongoing processes of legitimizing and making ethnic identities attracts scholarship. In studying Chinese folk religion in general, Dean (2003 asserts that "local Chinese religion resists definition" (338. Pondering how to define 'religion' in the Chinese context often proves fruitless, especially in Southwest China where religious revival may involve villagers, ritual experts, monks, and government elites ranging from village heads in the margin to representatives of the Chinese state at the center. Each group holds a distinct perspective on how to legitimize ethnic and religious identities. Religious Revival is one attempt to do difficult research through an ethnographic lens. ...

  15. [The religious convictions in the argumentation bioethics. Two different secularists perspectives: Sádaba and Habermas-Rawls].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgos Velasco, Juan Manuel

    2008-01-01

    This article analyses the position of two secularized theories on the role of religious beliefs in bioethical reasoning. The excluding laicism of Sádaba rejects the rationality of religious fact and extend a general suspicion about the bioethical reasoning of believer. Contrary, the open position of Habermas-Rawls considers reasonable religions as one of the typical comprehensive views of liberal State, encourage secularized citizens to value his contributions and urge to secular and, then, neutral, State not to impose to all citizens a secularized cosmo-vision. Only the second perspective put the bases for a fruitful and calm dialogue in the bioethical area.

  16. Kenyan Religious Leaders' Views on Same-Sex Sexuality and Gender Nonconformity: Religious Freedom versus Constitutional Rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mbote, David Kuria; Sandfort, Theo G M; Waweru, Esther; Zapfel, Andrew

    Religion plays an important role in framing the public discourse on sexuality, especially in countries where religion fully permeates social life. We explored the perspectives of Kenyan religious leaders on sexual and gender diversity in their country's specific context. A total of 212 Catholic, Islamic, and Protestant leaders from urban centers and rural townships completed a self-administered questionnaire specifically developed for this study. The leaders' perspectives were predominantly negative. Limited acceptance was conditional on sexual minorities not engaging in same-sex practices or seeing such practices as sinful. A substantial minority (37%) endorsed the use of violence for maintaining social values, especially regarding homosexuality and gender nonconformity. The majority of religious leaders agreed on the difference between civil law and religious doctrine. Human rights principles enshrined in Kenya's Constitution were considered to be applicable to sexual and gender minorities. Decriminalization of same-sex sexuality was seen as against one's religion. Perspectives were less negative if leaders were familiar with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. Interventions that promote intergroup contact could be effective in changing religious leaders' mind-sets and advancing human rights and health for sexual and gender minorities.

  17. Kenyan Religious Leaders’ Views on Same-Sex Sexuality and Gender Nonconformity: Religious Freedom versus Constitutional Rights

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mbote, David Kuria; Sandfort, Theo G. M.; Waweru, Esther; Zapfel, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    Religion plays an important role in framing the public discourse on sexuality, especially in countries where religion fully permeates social life. We explored the perspectives of Kenyan religious leaders on sexual and gender diversity in their country’s specific context. Two hundred and twelve Catholic, Islam and Protestant leaders from urban centers and rural townships completed a self-administered questionnaire, specifically developed for this study. The leaders’ perspectives were predominantly negative. Limited acceptance was conditional on sexual minorities not engaging in same-sex practices or seeing such practices as sinful. A substantial minority (37%) endorsed the use of violence for maintaining social values, especially regarding homosexuality and gender nonconformity. The majority of religious leaders agreed on the difference between civil law and religious doctrine. Human rights principles enshrined in the Kenya Constitution were seen as also applicable to sexual and gender minorities. Decriminalization of same-sex sexuality was seen as against one’s religion. Perspectives were less negative if leaders were familiar with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. Interventions that promote intergroup contact could be effective in changing religious leaders’ mindsets and advancing human rights and health for sexual and gender minorities. PMID:27982708

  18. A psychological perspective on the source and function of religion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen van der Merwe

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available This article explored psychological perspectives on the following: the reasons for humans’ religiousness, the influence of religion on people’s perspective on life and the importance of understanding the impact of religion on the lives of people. Theories, including psychoanalytical and evolutionary answers regarding the origin of human’s penchant to be religious were discussed. Subsequently, the focus was on the dominant influence of religious notions in people’s worldview, providing meaning and powerfully influencing their cognitions, emotions and behaviour. Finally, the importance of nurturing spiritual (faith development was discussed.

  19. The role of cognition in religious development : the contribution of relational and contextual reasoning (RCR)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reich, Karl Helmut

    2004-01-01

    In this work, The Role of Cognition in Religious Development is researched and discussed from various perspectives. Cognition here is defined as the activity of the mind, more specifically the act or process of knowing. This includes perceiving, appraising, understanding, reasoning, judging,

  20. The Historical Foundations of Religious Restrictions in Contemporary China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Tao

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP abolished its total ban on religious activities in 1982. However, the distrust that the CCP feels for religions remains obvious today, and the religious restrictions in contemporary China remain tight. Conventional wisdom tells us that the official atheist ideology of Marxism-Leninism is the main reason behind the CCP’s distrust for, and restriction of, religion. However, taking a historical institutionalist perspective, this paper argues that the religious restrictions in contemporary China are in fact rooted in the fierce political struggles of the country’s two major revolutions in the first half of the twentieth century. Without the support of religious groups, the Nationalist Republicans would have found it difficult to survive and succeed in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty during the Chinese Republican Revolution in the first decade of the twentieth century. Likewise, without cooperating with a wide range of religious groups, the CCP would have struggled to defeat the Nationalist regime and the Japanese invaders in the Chinese Communist Revolution between 1920s and 1940s. Thanks to the collaborations and struggles with various religious groups during the two revolutions which lead to its eventual ascent to power, the CCP thoroughly understands the organisational strength and mobilising capability embedded within religious groups. The tight restrictions on religious affairs in contemporary China is therefore likely to stem from the CCP’s worry that prospective competitors could mobilise religious groups to challenge its rule through launching, supporting, or sponsoring collective actions.

  1. The Many Face of Religious Truth : Developing Hilary Putnam's Pragmatic Pluralism into an Alternative for Religious Realism and Antirealism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brunsveld, N.

    2012-01-01

    The question this study addresses is whether, on a conceptual level, religious propositions can have truth-value. It reflects on this question from a philosophy of religion perspective that stands in philosophy of language and mind. It analyzes paradigmatic religious realist and antirealist

  2. Religious attitudes toward nuclear energy: an analysis of statements by religious groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, J.A. III.

    1983-01-01

    This dissertation analyzes selected responses of religious groups to the question, Should society increase or decrease its reliance on energy produced by nuclear fission and for what reasons. The primary sources, dating from 1974 until mid-1980, are 82 official or semi-official statements and study documents of religious groups and 17 shareholder resolutions filed by religious groups. The groups are primarily from the United States, Canada, and Great Britain or related to the World Council of Churches. The thesis of the study is that a fully adequate religious statement about nuclear energy would show awareness of and deal with the questions raised in the analytical framework. Using that framework, there are few, if any, adequate religious statements about nuclear energy. A typology of ethical modes in Chapter V describes five positions: polemical anti-nuclear, dialogical anti-nuclear, dialogical middle, dialogical pro-nuclear, and polemical pro-nuclear. The bias of the study is to maintain open and rational discourse with all perspectives rather than to take a position for or against nuclear energy. The study primarily analyzes how religious groups deal with one complex social issue, nuclear energy, but the analytical framework has broad application to a variety of social issues as treated by religious groups

  3. RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVITY AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gegelashvili, M; Meca, A; Schwartz, S J

    2015-01-01

    In the present study we sought to clarify links between religious exclusivity, as form of intergroup favoritism, and indices of psychosocial functioning. The study of in group favoritism has generally been invoked within Social Identity Theory and related perspectives. However, there is a lack of literature regarding religious exclusivity from the standpoint of social identity. In particular, the ways in which religious exclusivity is linked with other dimensions of religious belief and practice, and with psychosocial functioning, among individuals from different religious backgrounds are not well understood. A sample of 8545 emerging-adult students from 30 U.S. universities completed special measures. Measure of religious exclusivity was developed and validated for this group. The results suggest that exclusivity appears as predictor for impaired psychosocial functioning, low self-esteem and low psychosocial well-being for individuals from organized faiths, as well as for those identifying as agnostic, atheist, or spiritual/nonreligious. These findings are discussed in terms of Social Identity Theory and Terror Management Theory (TMT).

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  5. UNDERSTANDING RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN INDONESIA: Theological, Structural and Cultural Analyses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Salehudin

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Lately Indonesia is facing a lot of tremendous experience about religious violence. Indonesian Islam which is previously assumed as peaceful religion is suddenly changing to be frightening religion. The destruction in some places such as Bali Bombing, JW Marriot Bombing, and Sampang riot in some places Islam is the trigger of religious violence. This paper discusses the repetition of religious violence in Indonesia especially after New Order era. The writer argues that religious violence in Indonesia is as natural disaster, historical process in human evolution and as close experience that presenting and relating to human history. It may be caused by political condition and the response to economic injustice. In doing so, it is kind of social acceleration toward the process of change and also being a factor of the emergence of new agenda. This is because every disaster, including religious violence, requires an adjustment and a new formulation of the functions that have been damaged.

  6. Understanding Islam: Perspectives of a Turkish Educator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunel, Elvan

    2008-01-01

    Students come from many different family, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Learning about Islam can help U.S. teachers to understand their students and their own society, as well as to more deeply comprehend history and better interpret current events. In this article, the author recommends some websites (and occasionally books) that can…

  7. Religiousness, spirituality, and coping with stress among late adolescents: A meaning-making perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krok, Dariusz

    2015-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between religiousness, spirituality (R/S), and coping among late adolescents within a meaning-making perspective. Specifically, global meaning and situational meaning were examined as potential mediators. Two hundred and twenty one Polish participants (115 women and 106 men) completed the Religious Meaning System Questionnaire, the Self-description Questionnaire of Spirituality, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Situational Meaning Scale. Results of SEM analysis showed that R/S had both direct and indirect effects on coping, suggesting that global meaning and situational meaning served as partial mediators among late adolescents. The mediating role of global meaning and situational meaning may be more fully understood within the framework of the meaning-making model. Consistent with the model, individuals with higher levels of R/S had a propensity to experience stronger global meaning in life and situational meaning, which in turn contributed to more frequent using coping styles. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. An Islamic Perspective in Managing Religious Diversity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hilal Wani

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the concept of “diversity” as mentioned in the Qur’an and how commonalities in diverse religions may be used as a model for civilizational dialogue towards achieving harmony. This study reveals that religious and cultural diversity are laws of nature which cannot be changed while the concept of “identity” is a contested issue in modern discourse. Results also show that peace may be established among diverse religions through their commonalities and the best way to exploit these commonalities and to reduce the religious divide is through civilizational dialogue. The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR and other methods for changing the nature of religious differences and reaching a consensus—thus arriving at a peaceful co-existence—are also discussed. It was found that people are often misguided or divided in the name of religion and culture, despite the fact that the philosophy of every religion is based on peace and harmony.

  9. It's Not "All in Your Head": Understanding Religion From an Embodied Cognition Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soliman, Tamer M; Johnson, Kathryn A; Song, Hyunjin

    2015-11-01

    Theorists and researchers in the psychology of religion have often focused on the mind as the locus of religion. In this article, we suggest an embodied cognition perspective as a new dimension in studies of religion as a complement to previous research and theorizing. In contrast to the Cartesian view of the mind operating distinctly from the body, an embodied cognition framework posits religion as being grounded in an integrated and dynamic sensorimotor complex (which includes the brain). We review relevant but disparate literature in cognitive and social psychology to demonstrate that embodied cognition shapes the way that people represent the divine and other spiritual beings, guides people's moral intuitions, and facilitates bonding within religious groups. Moreover, commitments to a religious worldview are sometimes manifested in the body. We suggest several promising future directions in the study of religion from an embodied cognition perspective. © The Author(s) 2015.

  10. Renegotiating religious imaginations through transformations of "banal religion" in Supernatural

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Line Nybro

    2010-01-01

    implies long-term processes in which media play a role in cultural and social change. The theory of cognitive anthropology of religion allows us to understand how the series activates shared implicit knowledge of supernatural agents and events to evoke recognition and emotion; but by transforming...... applies these narrative devices, which heighten plausibility and familiarity, while simultaneously offering viewers a change in perspective, thus creating opportunities for viewers to renegotiate existing religious imaginations....

  11. Renegotiating religious imaginations through transformations of "banal religion" in Supernatural

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Line Nybro

    implies long-term processes in which media play a role in cultural and social change. The theory of cognitive anthropology of religion allows us to understand how the series activates shared implicit knowledge of supernatural agents and events to evoke recognition and emotion; but by transforming...... applies these narrative devices, which heighten plausibility and familiarity, while simultaneously offering viewers a change in perspective, thus creating opportunities for viewers to renegotiate existing religious imaginations....

  12. A psychology of religious plurality: from intra-religious dialogue to intra-psychic reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramp, Joseph M

    2012-09-01

    Panikkar's (The intra-religious dialogue, 1978) classic, re-issued by Paulist Press in 1999, grapples with the theological challenges in the disciplines of comparative theology and the theology of religions through what he terms, "intra-religious dialogue." In this psychology of religious plurality, I use works from a variety of disciplines to highlight the achievements of Panikkar's intra-religious dialogue, as well as to critique his work in the hope of finding categories of understanding that can be profitably used to face the inter-personal crises of the contemporary world, namely religious terrorism.

  13. Belief, Knowledge and Understanding. How to Deal with the Relations Between Different Cultural Perspectives in Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreira-dos-Santos, Frederik; El-Hani, Charbel N.

    2017-05-01

    This article discusses how to deal with the relations between different cultural perspectives in classrooms, based on a proposal for considering understanding and knowledge as goals of science education, inspired by Dewey's naturalistic humanism. It thus combines educational and philosophical interests. In educational terms, our concerns relate to how science teachers position themselves in multicultural classrooms. In philosophical terms, we are interested in discussing the relations between belief, understanding, and knowledge under the light of Dewey's philosophy. We present a synthesis of Dewey's theory of inquiry through his naturalistic humanism and discuss its implications for the concepts of belief, understanding, and knowledge, as well as for the goals of science teaching. In particular, we highlight problems arising in the context of possible conflicts between scientific and religious claims in the school environment that result from totalitarian positions. We characterize an individual's position as totalitarian if he or she takes some way of thinking as the only one capable of expressing the truth about all that exists in the world, lacks open-mindedness to understand different interpretative perspectives, and attempts to impose her or his interpretation about the facts to others by violent means or not. From this stance, any other perspective is taken to be false a priori and, accordingly, as a putative target to be suppressed or adapted to the privileged way of thinking. We argue, instead, for a more fallibilist evaluation of our own beliefs and a more respectful appraisal of the diversity of students' beliefs by both students and teachers.

  14. Religious education in public schools and religious identity in post-communist Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avramović Sima

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The author analyses types of religious education in European and Serbian state-run schools searching for an innovative approach to existing classifications. He suggests four criteria to differ and categorize types of religious education in public schools, claiming that the actual taxonomy is often insufficient, inconsistent or perplexed (having usually been based upon one or two elements. He proposes categorization which encompasses point of view and interests of tax payers, of the politics, of the pupils and of the religious teachers. More criteria could lead to a better assessment of particular system of religious education. He also suggests that, apart from usual categorization in confessional and non-confessional religious education, it would be useful to introduce categories like 'mostly confessional' and 'mostly non-confessional', as clear-cut models are very rare. In addition to this he offers arguments why 'cognitive' type of religious education would be more proper label instead of 'non-confessional'. Further on the author examines controversies, disputes and manner of reintroduction of religious instruction in Serbian legislation after the fall of the communist regime in 2000 and presents the current situation, including very recent changes considering curricula. He points to some very distinctive features of religious education model in Serbia which could be of interest in comparative perspective, particularly in the time when many states in Europe tend to improve their religious education system. Finally, he points to importance of religious education in building religious identity of young generations in post-communist countries, and differs two types of religious identity - perceptive (intuitive and cognitive (rational. He concludes that 'educating into religion' has to exist for some time in post-communist countries due to historical circumstances (within more or less confessional model. Additionally, he finds that it should be

  15. Science and Faith: Discussing Astronomy Research with Religious Audiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  16. Religious pluralism and identity: the conceptions of science, truth and religious tolerance/intolerance and the relationships established by Pernambuco's kardecists with the followers of other religions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurenéa Maria de Oliveira

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available This article seeks to analyze, briefly, how the conception of the religious truth of Pernambuco’s kardecists, based in the modern science canons, justifies between them the development of difficult relationships with the followers of the other religions, in a time that the Catholic religion hegemony is being broken, making a plural religious situation. That way, methodologically, we tried to accomplish the exposition in a way that it was possible to intersect a discussion about the construction of the modern identity’s concept that didn’t take in consideration the difference of the Other, to a discussion on the understanding that the tolerance also had in the modernity, starting from an Eurocentric perspective. In the end, we articulate identity concepts of truth and tolerance, elaborated in the modernity time, to the spiritualistic practice, observing that this practice, when being influenced by those definitions, revealed itself very difficult on the part of the kardecists to know how to treat with respect other religious difference.

  17. Religion as culture: religious individualism and collectivism among american catholics, jews, and protestants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Adam B; Hill, Peter C

    2007-08-01

    We propose the theory that religious cultures vary in individualistic and collectivistic aspects of religiousness and spirituality. Study 1 showed that religion for Jews is about community and biological descent but about personal beliefs for Protestants. Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity were intercorrelated and endorsed differently by Jews, Catholics, and Protestants in a pattern that supports the theory that intrinsic religiosity relates to personal religion, whereas extrinsic religiosity stresses community and ritual (Studies 2 and 3). Important life experiences were likely to be social for Jews but focused on God for Protestants, with Catholics in between (Study 4). We conclude with three perspectives in understanding the complex relationships between religion and culture.

  18. Understanding emotional problems: the REBT perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Dryden, Windy

    2008-01-01

    Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) is an approach to counselling and psychotherapy rooted in the CBT tradition and one that has a distinctive perspective on emotional problems.\\ud \\ud Understanding Emotional Problems provides an accurate understanding of the REBT perspective on eight major emotional problems for which help is sought: anxiety, depression, shame, guilt, unhealthy anger, hurt, unhealthy jealousy and unhealthy envy.\\ud \\ud Rather than discussing treatment methods, Windy Dr...

  19. Homegrown religious radicalization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khawaja, Iram

    It has been reported that a growing number of youngsters from Western Europe are engaging in conflicts motivated by religious and political conflicts in the Middle East. This paper explores the reasons behind this seemingly religious radicalization from the point of view of the youngsters...... youngsters and parents of youngsters who have chosen a radicalized path in life. The paper will shed light on how the sense of and yearning for belonging and recognition have to be taken into account in our understanding of homegrown religious radicalization...

  20. Using Cooperative Teams-Game-Tournament in 11 Religious School to Improve Mathematics Understanding and Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veloo, Arsaythamby; Md-Ali, Ruzlan; Chairany, Sitie

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This paper was part of a larger study which looked into the effect of implementing Cooperative Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT) on understanding of and communication in mathematics. The study had identified the main and interaction effect of using Cooperative TGT for learning mathematics in religious secondary school classrooms. A…

  1. Religious Orthodoxy and Minority Prejudice: Casual Relationship of Reflection of Localistic World View?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roof, Wade Clark

    1974-01-01

    This study examines the relationship of religious orthodoxy to prejudice against minorities using a world-view perspective. It is argued that both religious belief and intolerance toward minorities are reflections of a localistic world view. An implication that can be drawn is the importance of education in developing a "breadth of perspective."…

  2. Leaving my religion: Understanding the relationship between religious disaffiliation, health, and well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenelon, Andrew; Danielsen, Sabrina

    2016-05-01

    Religious disaffiliation-leaving the religious tradition in which one was raised for no religious affiliation in adulthood-has become more common in recent years, though few studies have examined its consequences for the health and well-being of individuals. We use an innovative approach, comparing the health and subjective well-being of religious disaffiliates to those who remain affiliated using pooled General Social Survey samples from 1973 through 2012. We find that religious disaffiliates experience poorer health and lower well-being than those consistently affiliated and those who are consistently unaffiliated. We also demonstrate that the disadvantage for those who leave religious traditions is completely mediated by the frequency of church attendance, as disaffiliates attend church less often. Our results point to the importance of the social processes surrounding religious disaffiliation and emphasize the role of dynamics in the relationship between religious affiliation and health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Sacred practices in highly religious families: Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and Muslim perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marks, Loren

    2004-06-01

    Quantitative research examining linkages between family relationships and religious experience has increased substantially in recent years. However, related qualitative research, including research that examines the processes and meanings behind recurring religion-family correlations, remains scant. To address this paucity, a racially diverse sample (N = 24) of married, highly religious Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and Muslim parents of school-aged children were interviewed regarding the importance of religious family interactions, rituals, and practices in their families. Mothers and fathers discussed several religious practices that were meaningful to them and explained why these practices were meaningful. Parents also identified costs and challenges associated with these practices. Interview data are presented in connection with three themes: (1) "practicing [and parenting] what you preach," (2) religious practices, family connection, and family communion, and (3) costs of family religious practices. The importance of family clinicians and researchers attending to the influence of religious practice in the lives of highly religious individuals and families is discussed.

  4. "Mixed Blessings": Parental Religiousness, Parenting, and Child Adjustment in Global Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bornstein, Marc H.; Putnick, Diane L.; Lansford, Jennifer E.; Al-Hassan, Suha M.; Bacchini, Dario; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Chang, Lei; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Di Giunta, Laura; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Malone, Patrick S.; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta; Skinner, Ann T.; Sorbring, Emma; Steinberg, Laurence; Tapanya, Sombat; Tirado, Liliana Maria Uribe; Zelli, Arnaldo; Alampay, Liane Peña

    2017-01-01

    Background: Most studies of the effects of parental religiousness on parenting and child development focus on a particular religion or cultural group, which limits generalizations that can be made about the effects of parental religiousness on family life. Methods: We assessed the associations among parental religiousness, parenting, and…

  5. Religious Transformation Among Danish Pentecostals Following Personal Crisis and Group Psychotherapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Viftrup, Dorte Toudal; la Cour, Peter; Buus, Niels

    2016-01-01

    The aim was to explore transformations of religiosity experienced by Danish Pentecostals following a crisis and religiously integrated group psychotherapy. The study included semistructured interviews with 18 participants. The qualitative method of interpretative phenomenological analysis...... was applied for generating and analyzing the data-material. The findings suggested that all participants encountered a secondary religious transformation following the personal crisis or religiously integrated group psychotherapy. From a religious development perspective, however, the transformations...

  6. Development of Religiousness in Young Adults

    OpenAIRE

    Rydz, Elżbieta

    2014-01-01

    In the chapter forming of religiousness in young adults in the view of current concepts, both normative (stadial concepts of religiousness) and non-normative, will be presented. The majority of research on religiousness of youth is carried out in the normative understanding of development, which refers to general trends of human psychological development, especially cognitive development (cognitive developmental concepts of religiousness), personality development (humanistic concepts of the d...

  7. Chancen und Herausforderungen der religiösen Bildung im Lebensraum Schule aus muslimischer Perspektive

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sule Dursun

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Dieser Beitrag basiert – mit dem Hinweis auf die zunehmende Präsenz der herkunftsorientierten religiösen Einrichtungen in Europa – auf dem Argument, dass die islamisch-religiöse Bildung in den Schulen Europas überdacht werden muss und ihr eine entscheidende Rolle zukommt. Neben den herkunftsorientierten religiösen Einrichtungen in Europa wird in diesem Beitrag die Bedeutung des islamischen Religionsunterrichts aus dem Blickwinkel des kontextualisierten Islams beleuchtet. Mittels Fallbeispielen zur religiösen Bildung am religiösen Markt (= religiöse Institutionen außerhalb des Schulraums wird in diesem Beitrag aufgezeigt, dass der islamische Religionsunterricht im Gegensatz zu den religiösen Institutionen keine Monopolkirche sein darf, in der vorwiegend eine Art Volksfrömmigkeit vermittelt wird. Opportunities and Challenges of Religious Education in Schools – A Muslim Perspective This contribution is based on the argument that the role of Islamic religious education at schools should be reconceived in relation to the growing presence of origin-oriented religious institutions in Europe. In addition to the origin-oriented religious institutions in Europe, this paper aims to present the importance of Islamic religious education from the perspective of contextualized Islam. Based on case studies for religious education in the religious market (outside the education area this paper shows that the Islamic religious education cannot offer Church`s monopoly and act like origin-oriented religious institutions to mediate popular piety.

  8. Is Nuclear Deterrence Morally Defensible? Religious Perspectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maitre, Emmanuelle

    2016-07-01

    For a few years, the Holy See critics against nuclear weapons and the Vatican's calls in favor of disarmament have been very visible and have led to a new round of analysis and reflection in circles working on strategic issues. This renewed interest, which was in all probability increased by the media coverage generally conferred to Pope Francis, is also linked to the Church's declarations in themselves, which show a slight evolution of its position and a clearer moral condemnation of nuclear deterrence. This focus is also the proof that far from being a purely anecdotal issue reserved to theology experts, the compatibility between nuclear deterrence and religious ethics can have a very concrete impact on strategic realities. In a more direct way, the Pope's message to the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons tends to reinforce the credibility and exposure of groups calling for immediate disarmament measures and believing that nuclear-weapon states do not fulfill the commitments taken under Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). More deeply, it seems that the religious factor still plays (or something plays again) an important role in the 21. century in terms of geopolitics. In many places in the world, religious speeches are linked to nationalism and used to explain part of the geostrategic interests of nations, but also in a way define their behavior on the world stage. This influence does not spare the seemingly very cold and rational positioning towards nuclear weapons, as seen by the decision in 1998 of the nationalist and Hinduist party BJP to make official the nuclear-weapon status of India or the fatwa of Ayatollah Khamenei forbidding Iran to build a nuclear weapon. Even if in many states, religion plays a less and less important role and is considered a private and personal matter, in others, it remains an essential key to define individual as well as national identity. In that regard, it still participates, with more

  9. «FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE» AND «RELIGIOUS FREEDOM» IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF PRE-REVOLUTIONARY SCIENTISTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadezhda Yuryevna Zagaynova

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The article considers approaches to the understanding of the concepts of «freedom of conscience» and «religious freedom» on the basis of the analysis of works of pre-revolutionary scientists. Allocated General and special traits defining these phenomena.The aim of this article is (based on the works of pre-revolutionary scientists to analyze ideas about the concept of freedom of conscience and religious liberty. Previously, scientists no attempt has been made to summarize the theoretical aspects of these categories, this is the novelty of the article.The research methodology consists dialectical view on the process of cognition of objective reality. They are implemented on the basis of a systematic approach. The article relies on the basic provisions of philosophy, theology and law.The research methods are universal, scientific and astronaute methods of cognition.In the study we can conclude that the pre-revolutionary scientists have not developed a unified approach with respect to such legal categories as «freedom of conscience and religious liberty».The results can be used in research work and in the educational process.

  10. Religiosity as identity: toward an understanding of religion from a social identity perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ysseldyk, Renate; Matheson, Kimberly; Anisman, Hymie

    2010-02-01

    As a social identity anchored in a system of guiding beliefs and symbols, religion ought to serve a uniquely powerful function in shaping psychological and social processes. Religious identification offers a distinctive "sacred" worldview and "eternal" group membership, unmatched by identification with other social groups. Thus, religiosity might be explained, at least partially, by the marked cognitive and emotional value that religious group membership provides. The uniqueness of a positive social group, grounded in a belief system that offers epistemological and ontological certainty, lends religious identity a twofold advantage for the promotion of well-being. However, that uniqueness may have equally negative impacts when religious identity itself is threatened through intergroup conflict. Such consequences are illustrated by an examination of identities ranging from religious fundamentalism to atheism. Consideration of religion's dual function as a social identity and a belief system may facilitate greater understanding of the variability in its importance across individuals and groups.

  11. Stability and Change in Religiousness during Emerging Adulthood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koenig, Laura B.; McGue, Matt; Iacono, William G.

    2008-01-01

    Understanding the development of religiousness is an important endeavor because religiousness has been shown to be related to positive outcomes. The current study examined mean-level, rank-order, and individual-level change in females' religiousness during emerging adulthood. Genetic and environmental influences on religiousness and its change and…

  12. RELIGIOUS DRESS AT SCHOOL: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    rajm

    or (b) purely violations of the rights learners have, such as their right to freedom ... interest in choosing their clothing against the local authorities' interest in ..... dress code sent the message to learners that religious beliefs and cultural practices.

  13. Fostering Critical Religious Thinking in Multicultural Education for Teacher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chien-hsing

    2013-01-01

    Religious diversity as a consequence of global immigration has become a cultural phenomenon of pluralism in society. The fear of indoctrination and the desire for religious freedom fuel the debate on whether to remove religion from school education. Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" offers a positive perspective on the debate by…

  14. Perspectives on Change in Catholic Religious Education since the Second Vatican Council.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossiter, Graham M.

    1988-01-01

    Discusses changes in Catholic religious education since the second Vatican Council. Addresses the contribution of classroom instruction to young people's religious education and identifies some aspects of shared praxis and appropriation of the faith tradition. States that improvement of religious education requires an upgrading of its role in the…

  15. Learning and Unlearning: Some Reflections on Feminist Praxis and Pedagogic Practice in Religious Studies and Religious Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Robinson

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This article evaluates the actual impact and potential implications of feminist pedagogy for Religious Studies in universities and Religious Education in schools. It is based on the authors’ experience in the UK, including some international comparisons, with a focus on teaching and learning from a feminist perspective. Applying Grimmitt’s threefold model of pedagogy as encompassing aims and content as well as method, this article examines the evidence and extent of change in curricula both in universities and in schools in order to identify where change is required and what that change might be. It demonstrates how feminist pedagogy challenges Religious Studies and Religious Education to rethink their content, methods and aims in a variety of ways, pointing to significant advances and areas yet to be addressed. In so doing, it takes account of diverse feminist voices, other pedagogical priorities and other issues surrounding sex, gender and sexuality that challenge the category of the feminine and the appropriateness of a gendered analysis.

  16. Assessment of Religious Beliefs Form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faiver, Christopher M.; O'Brien, Eugene M.

    1993-01-01

    Notes that religion may be source of spiritual strength or source of conflict and guilt. Outlines importance of assessing religious beliefs of clients for treatment purposes and provides format for counselor to use. Says that, because counselors may be unaware of clients' individual perspectives, it is important to evaluate client's belief system…

  17. The improving efficiency frontier of religious not-for-profit hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Jeffrey P; Sexton, Christopher

    2006-01-01

    By using data-envelopment analysis (DEA), this study evaluates the efficiency of religious not-for-profit hospitals. Hospital executives, healthcare policy makers, taxpayers, and other stakeholders benefit from studies that improve hospital efficiency. Results indicate that overall efficiency in religious hospitals improved from 72% in 1998 to 74% in 2001. What is more important is that the number of religious hospitals operating on the efficiency frontier increased from 40 in 1998 to 47 in 2001. This clearly documents that religious hospitals are becoming more efficient in the management of resources. From a policy perspective, this study highlights the economic importance of encouraging increased efficiency throughout the healthcare industry.

  18. Religious and Cultural Dress at School: A Comparative Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E de Waal,

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This article investigates and compares the different approaches towards the dress code of learners1 in South Africa and the United States of America (US, as the US mainly base litigation concerning school dress code on their freedom of speech/expression clause, while similar South African court cases focus more on religious and cultural freedom. In South Africa, school principals and School Governing Bodies are in dire need of clear guidelines on how to respect and honour the constitutionally entrenched right to all of the different religions and cultures. The crisis of values in education arises from the disparity between the value system espoused by the school and the community, and that expressed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which guarantees learners' fundamental rights, including those of freedom of religion, culture, expression and human dignity. On the one hand, the South African Schools Act requires of School Governing Bodies to develop and implement a Code of Conduct for learners, and on the other, that they strictly adhere to the Constitution of the country when drawing up their dress codes. The right of a religious group to practise its religion or of a cultural group to respect and sustain its culture must be consistent with the provisions of the Bill of Rights (which is entrenched in the Constitution and this implies that other rights may not infringe on the right to freedom of religion and culture. In the US, although there is no legislation that protects learners' freedom of religion and culture at schools, their First Amendment guides the way. Their Supreme Court respects the religious values of all citizens provided that they are manifested off public school premises. While we acknowledge the existence of religious and cultural diversity at South African schools, this paper focuses on the tension among and on the existence of different approaches towards the human rights of learners from different

  19. Awakening the Erotic in Religious Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siejk, Cate

    2001-01-01

    Focuses on exploring and understanding the epistemological significance of eros and the place of the erotic in contemporary religious education. Shows, through concrete examples, how a fully human epistemology makes possible an authentic religious education that promotes both personal and communal transformation. (CAJ)

  20. RELIGIOUS DEMOCRATIZATION IN INDONESIA: STRENGTHENING THE PRO-CEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIAL RELIGIOUS DEMOCRACY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eka Hendry AR.

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Inspired by the book of Michael Mann about the dark side of democracy that discusses the paradox between the ideality of democratic values and empirical realities of violence in the name of freedom (democracy, this paper begins with the exposure of the paradox, such as the rise of the violent conflict between groups of people (both ethnic and religious-based and the high prevalence of violence between religious groups in Indonesia. Even worse, a very wrenching violence involves state actors (rulers. This paper tries to understand the roots of the paradox, with a look at how the relationship between state and religion and the religious community trend of Indonesia (especially Muslims. The author argues that the democratization of religion is a solution to the issues. To answer what kind of religious democracy lives in Indonesia, the author analyzes through a religious procedural (or constitutional democratic dimension and religious substantial democratic dimension. The phenomenon of disobedience of law and system and the euphoria of law-making that reflects “intolerance” in several places in Indonesia display the fundamental issue in the religious procedural democracy. Whereas in the context of religious substantial democracy, the prevailing trend of religion that serves as a political and economic vehicle and ignores religion as a substantial aspect of the behavior of the Indonesian society has resulted in the marginalization of religious position and function. Then, the infiltration of the model of political Islam has also led to alienation of the character of the Islamic society of Indonesia, from a democratic pattern to a revival (radical one. In this light, the author needs to present a strategy to encourage religious democracy in Indonesia, structurally through formulating the ideal relation model between state and religion and culturally through a substantial pattern of religion embedded with the character of Indonesian religious

  1. 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...

  2. Religions Constructed as Similar or Different by Teachers of Religious Education from a Citizenship Education Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liljestrand, Johan

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore and theoretically discuss Swedish religious studies (RE) teachers' understanding of religions as similar and different. In Sweden, RE is a mandatory subject and presents all the world's major religions to students. Teachers of RE therefore need to relate to the various relations between the…

  3. Comparative Theology and Religious Studies in a Non-religious Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacques Scheuer

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The intellectual landscape of Europe bears the marks of a long history of cultural perceptions of, and scientific approaches to, religions. The sciences of religions had to establish their autonomy from churches and theologies. However, the cultural context and the institutional set-up of ‘laïcité’ did not foster the development of comparative religion, much less comparative theology. However, this situation may have an advantage: it should discourage the exercise of comparative theology as a sectarian endeavour apart from broader anthropological perspectives and concerns. Comparative theology should not become the last refuge for religious nostalgia. In Europe, interreligious relationships (and hence comparative theologies should not be isolated from simple or more sophisticated forms of indifference, agnosticism, or atheism. The active presence of a non-religious environment as well as the growing interest in Buddhism, are challenges to comparative theology: its contents, its approach, its intended audience.

  4. Cultural tourism or religious tourism: an analysis through the land of Ignatious

    OpenAIRE

    Guereño-Omiln, Basagaitz; Abad-Galzacorta, Marina

    2017-01-01

    Mobilities to religious places and sights have been present along history, but the link between tourism motivated to visit cultural and religious heritage is blurring. A deep debate regarding their respective natures and interests becomes increasingly necessary, and it is a recurrent perspective in this discipline. This study analyses the links between sacred and religious mobilities, focusing in the tourism mobilities in the Urola valey of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain), where the land of ...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  6. Religious Approaches on Business Ethics: Current Situation and Future Perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Melé, Domènec

    2015-01-01

    The Business Ethics Movement began in the mid-1970s. For the first two decades philosophical theories were dominant, but in recent years an increasing presence of religious approaches, in both empirical and conceptual research, can be noted, in spite of some objections to the presence of religions in the business ethics field. Empirical research, generally based on psychological and sociological studies, shows the influence of religious faith on several business issues. Conceptual research in...

  7. Catholic Education in France in the Interwar Period: Religious Life, Religious Orders, Adaptations. Research perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Teinturier

    Full Text Available Abstract The history of French teaching congregations during the twentieth century is quite unknown. Nevertheless, their experiences are of very high interest for historians who want to focus on social and religious transformations in contemporary societies. This research outlines two important events through some congregational archives: first, from World War I onwards, the return of the people who were forced into exile due to the Republican laws (1880s-1905; second, the way a Catholic group of women teachers, who decided to stay in France in spite of the Republican laws, adapted to this new context. Eventually, this article shows both internal and external adaptations of religious actors and institutions in modern societies, and its consequences on their legal, canonical and sociological situation.

  8. Care of the spirit that transcends religious, ideological and philosophical boundaries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hegarty Meg

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Spirit and spirituality are human universals, which are understood, expressed and lived out in different ways. Care of the spirit is an integral component of holistic palliative care, respecting the individual spirituality and experience of the person for whom we care. Whatever be the religious, ideological or philosophical background of the patient and the clinician/carer, certain skills, knowledge and attitudes are essential in providing effective care of the spirit. Rather than using a single perspective, such as either a secular or a religious approach, to meet the needs of all in a pluralistic setting, effective, patient-centered spiritual care draws on the (often shared wisdoms of the great spiritual and philosophical traditions and of the evolving understandings of these, science and art. Carers need both an awareness of their own spirituality and spiritual practice and an ability to ′bracket′ this in focusing on the needs and care of the patient′s spirit.

  9. Religious perspectives on withdrawal of treatment from patients with multiple organ failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ankeny, Rachel A; Clifford, Ross; Jordens, Christopher F C; Kerridge, Ian H; Benson, Rod

    Religious or spiritual values often influence health care decision-making by patients and their families, particularly in times of crisis. Though religious values might seem to be irrelevant where continuing treatment is judged to be "futile", such clinical assessments should instead serve to open a dialogue about values and beliefs. The six major religious traditions in Australia have some similar values and principles about death and provision of care for the dying, but differ in their processes of ethical reasoning, cosmologies, and key moral concepts. Engaging with religious traditions on the common ground of basic values (such as human dignity, care, the sacredness of human life, non-violence, compassion, and selflessness) promotes negotiation of the manner in which care is provided, even where conflicts exist.

  10. Towards a Theory and Practice of Religious Literacy: A Case Study of Religion and Belief Engagement in a UK University

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam Dinham

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This article reports on research undertaken in 2011–2012 into the role of religion and belief in one British university. In this indicative qualitative case study, we observed six important features in relation to religion and belief: a clear divide in attitudes to the place of religion and belief between operations and curriculum; a lack of knowledge and understanding of the religious landscape within the institution; differing and localized responses to religion and belief within and between departments; variation in the approaches of different academic disciplines; very strong desire to promote a good student experience, which included a recognition that some students identify as religious; and that religious and non-religious perspectives are widely conceived of as binary, meaning either ‘secular’ or religious. We conclude that these findings demonstrate, at this institution, a struggle to think and act strategically and consistently on religion and belief, and suggest that, because of their influential educational positions, this reflects and reproduces muddled thinking and acting about religion and belief in wider society.

  11. 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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  13. Komodifikasi Upacara Religi Dalam Pemasaran Pariwisata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dhyah Ayu Retno Widyastuti

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Development of tourism program is basically done as an effort to support income sources. Policy of tourism is a key factor in its. Facts showed that the policy has not been fully align ed to the local societies. Commodification of religious ceremony is a form of marketing process undertaken to attract tourists. Critical theory approach is used which the implications can be explored through the political economy perspective in the case studies. The results showed that policies of tourism lead to economic political activities in the form of commodification of religious ceremony. Hindu’s communities as an “object” of tourism policy implementation.

  14. Ethical And Religious Analysis On Euthanasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdi Omar Shuriye

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is an analysis on euthanasia from ethical and religious perspectives. Historically, the classical Greek thinkers including Aristotle had categorically accepted euthanasia with the main reason of minimizing pain. However, as science develops ethical and religious isuues related to the subject have increasingly created fervent debates on euthanesia. ABSTRAK: Kertas ini mengkaji euthanasia dari perspektif agama dan etika. Sejarah telah melihat para pemikir Greek termasuk Aristotle secara kategorinya menerima Euthanasia dengan sebab utama untuk mengurangkan kesakitan. Bagaimanapun, apabila sains berkembang, perbahasan mengenai isu-isu agama dan etika tentang Euthanasia telah meningkat dengan nyata.KEYWORDS: mercy killing; religion; ethics; morality; euthanasia

  15. Religions and Ethno-Religious Differences in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From Laboratories of Hate to Peaceful Reconciliation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Alicino

    2016-11-01

    ABSTRACT: It would be wrong to understand the Bosnian war (the main source of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s current problems only in terms of a religious war. Yet, it would also be wrong to adopt the explanation that religion had no role in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s catastrophe. The misfortunes that occurred in the region during the first half of 1990s was in many respects the result of the abuse of the people’s religious identity, relieved through myth and tradition that even today remain important inspirations for the future. In this article the Author analyses the genesis of this situation and, in particular, the radical nationalism of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which since the collapse of socialist Yugoslavia has been strictly related to the processes of politicization of religion. Under this perspective, the main aim of the article is to understand the place and the role of religion and confessions in the Country’s current legal system.

  16. Educational needs of women in relation to postpartum religious orders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marjan Beigi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Religious orders are one of the educational needs of the postpartum period. This study was conducted to determine the educational needs of postpartum religious orders.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 421 postpartum women and 15 specialists. Quota random sampling was conducted from January to March 2014 in Isfahan, Iran. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software and statistical methods.Results: From the perspective of women and specialists, the results showed that the educational needs of women in postpartum religious orders is high.Conclusion: Considering the high educational need in the field of postpartum religious orders, it is necessary to integrate education in prenatal and postnatal health education programs.

  17. Relationship of Religiousness and Religious Coping with Quality of Life among War Trauma Survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadilpašić, Senadin; Maleč, Daniel; Džubur-Kulenović, Alma

    2017-09-01

    Long-term posttraumatic outcomes such as quality of life are dependent on a series of factors from the very exposure to traumatic events and stress appraisals, personality traits, posttraumatic growth, symptoms of Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and different coping strategies to religiousness and religious coping styles. Except of exposure to traumatic events and related stress, all other variables may have indirect mediating effects on long-term posttraumatic outcomes. The main aim of this cross-sectional study is to explore relative independent contribution of these variables in the explanation of quality of life among war trauma survivors, with a special emphasis on the variables of religiousness and religious coping. The research was conducted on 353 subjects who experienced war related traumatic events during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). The data was collected through several self-report measuring instruments: Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life, Stressors Check List (SCL); Religiousness Scale, Social Support Resources Scale; Religious Problem-Solving Scale, Brief RCOPE, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and Mississippi Scale for PTSD. According to the results of the study, experience of loss and frequent exposure to war trauma and high levels on the primary stress appraisals, self-directing coping style and PTSD-symptoms were associated with lower perceived quality of life among the subjects. High levels of extrinsic religious orientation, effect of religiousness on social behavior, positive religious coping and posttraumatic growth were associated with higher perceived quality of life among subjects. These variables showed significant independent contribution to the prediction of the values on quality of life. Results of the study have a scientific significance in understanding the importance and mediating role of religiousness and religious coping for quality of life perception as one of long-term posttraumatic outcomes. Effects of

  18. Inter-Religious Dialogue Models in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wan Sabri Wan Yusof

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Over the years, many organizations have involved in the implementation of inter-religious dialogue in Malaysia. However, there are stillthose who doubt the role and purpose of interreligious dialogue. This might be due to lack of information and understanding regardingthe methodology of dialogue and also about different types that it may take. The present study is aimed at exploring a few models ofinter-religious dialogue that have been practised by some organizations that actively involved in dialogue. The study focuses on a review of selected organizational or institutional dialoguemodels such as Center for Civilizational Dialogue (CCD, Students Representative Council of Malaysia Science University (HealthCampus and Inter-faith Spiritual Fellowship (INSaF. This study provides information concerning the various designs of inter-religiousdialogue model in Malaysia and proposes that different designs of inter-religious dialogue rely on its different types and goals. It is found that, the commonly practiced type of dialogue in Malaysia is educational type which focuses on exploring inter-religious commonalities as well as differences which consequently willincrease understanding and foster meaningful engagement between people of different ethnic and religious background in Malaysia. Thistype of dialogue is distinguished from conflict resolution types of dialogue which aims at identifying issues and generating action plansto conflicts or disputes.

  19. Understanding the relationship between religiousness, spirituality, and underage drinking: the role of positive alcohol expectancies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Burris, Jessica L; Carlson, Charles R

    2014-02-01

    Research has consistently found that religiousness and spirituality are negatively associated with underage drinking. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the mechanisms by which these variables influence this important outcome. With 344 underage young adults (ages 18-20; 61 % women), we investigated positive alcohol expectancies as a mediator between religiousness and spirituality (measured separately) and underage alcohol use. Participants completed the Religious Commitment Inventory-10, Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, Alcohol Expectancies Questionnaire, and Drinking Styles Questionnaire. Results indicate less positive alcohol expectancies partially mediate the relationship between both religiousness and spirituality and underage alcohol use. This suggests religiousness and spirituality's protective influence on underage drinking is partly due to their influence on expectations about alcohol's positive effects. Since underage drinking predicts problem drinking later in life and places one at risk for serious physical and mental health problems, it is important to identify specific points of intervention, including expectations about alcohol that rise from religious and spiritual factors.

  20. Religiousness, religious doubt, and death anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henrie, James; Patrick, Julie Hicks

    2014-01-01

    Terror Management Theory (TMT) (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) suggests that culturally-provided worldviews (e.g., religion) may protect individuals from experiencing death anxiety, and several studies have supported this position. However, if one's worldview can offer protection, doubts concerning one's worldview could undermine this protection. The current study investigated whether age, gender, religiousness, and religious doubt were associated with death anxiety. Using data from 635 younger, middle-aged, and older adults, a structural equation model with age, gender, religiousness, and religious doubt predicting death anxiety was tested. The model had a good fit (chi2 (76) = 193.467, p religiousness was inversely associated with death anxiety, while religious doubt was positively associated with death anxiety.

  1. 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

  2. Brief Report: Bifactor Modeling of General vs. Specific Factors of Religiousness Differentially Predicting Substance Use Risk in Adolescence

    OpenAIRE

    Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen; Longo, Gregory S.; Holmes, Christopher J.

    2015-01-01

    Religiousness is important to adolescents in the U.S., and the significant link between high religiousness and low substance use is well known. There is a debate between multidimensional and unidimensional perspectives of religiousness (Gorsuch, 1984); yet, no empirical study has tested this hierarchical model of religiousness related to adolescent health outcomes. The current study presents the first attempt to test a bifactor model of religiousness related to substance use among adolescents...

  3. Religiousness and religious coping in a secular society

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvidtjørn, Dorte; Hjelmborg, Jacob; Skytthe, Axel

    2014-01-01

    Women are found to be more religious than men and more likely to use religious coping. Only few studies have explored religious gender differences in more secular societies. This population-based study comprised 3,000 Danish men and women (response rate 45 %) between 20 and 40 years of age....... Information about demographics, religiousness and religious coping was obtained through a web-based questionnaire. We organized religiousness in the three dimensions: Cognition, Practice and Importance, and we assessed religious coping using the brief RCOPE questionnaire. We found substantial gender...... differences in both religiousness and religious coping. Nearly, 60 % of the women believed in some sort of spirit or in God compared to 40 % of the men. Generally, both men and women scored low on the RCOPE scale. However, for respondents reporting high levels of religiousness, the proportion of men who...

  4. Context, Complexity and Contestation: Birmingham's Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education since the 1970s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Stephen G.; Freathy, Rob J. K.

    2011-01-01

    The present article offers an historical perspective on the 1975, 1995 and 2007 Birmingham Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education. It draws upon historical evidence uncovered as part of "The hidden history of curriculum change in religious education in English schools, 1969-1979" project, and curriculum history theories, especially…

  5. Religious processes as intercultural interaction: Contours of a sociological discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lebedev Sergej

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available During 'cyclic' historical periods it would be correct to interpret religious processes in terms of interaction of two essentially different, but substantially, structurally and functionally comparative types of integrating cultural complexes that, in historical perspective, compete with each other on the effect on individuals and society in general. Such complexes represent secular and religious culture. Contemporary socio-cultural situation can be defined as an asymmetric representativeness of both secular and religious cultures. In a modern secular society, dominance of a secular culture over a religious one can be manifested in three basic dimensions: substantial, regulative and subjective ones. Secular culture is adopted during the primary socialization process. However, religious culture is still adopted through conscious, voluntary selection in younger or more mature age. It may be possible to determine two basic attitudes of the contemporary ('secularized' man towards religion. The first attitude may be called 'reversive' and the other one 'conversive'.

  6. 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

  7. Knowing Self and Others: A Worldview Model for Religious Education in Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selcuk, Mualla; Valk, John

    2012-01-01

    Turkish religious education's focus on religion from a social science and prescriptive Islamic perspective faces challenges today. This article presents a new model and approach that assists students in exploring their beliefs and values, those of others, and their Islamic heritage from an interdisciplinary worldview perspective. (Contains 2…

  8. 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...

  9. Psychodynamic psychotherapy, religious beliefs, and self-disclosure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tillman, J G

    1998-01-01

    The intersection of psychodynamic psychotherapy and religious beliefs may present technical challenges for the psychotherapists; particularly if patients request to know more about the therapist's religious beliefs. Contrary to a recent technical recommendation for therapists to self-disclose personal religious beliefs when asked to do so, I suggest that such a request is complex and requires a thoughtful grounding in psychotherapeutic theory. Disclosing personal beliefs to patients runs the risk of being off-task as well as holding oneself out as an exemplar for the patient. Rather than adopt a formulaic response to requests for information, to deepen the understanding of the patient and the work of therapy, the therapist needs a complex understanding based on a careful diagnostic assessment of the patient, as well as an assessment of the current status of the psychotherapeutic venture. The workings of patients' particular transferences are often evident in requests for personal information and require careful evaluation and consideration. Likewise, countertransference elements may influence the type of response offered by the therapist. Using ethical principles as a guide is different from using them as a rule. The nexus of religious belief, psychosocial context, psychotherapy, and self-disclosure provides a potentially rich source of understanding when explored in the psychotherapeutic situation.

  10. Religiousness Attitude During Adulthood Elderly (Psychology Of Religion Perspectives

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    Muhamad Rifa'i Subhi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Islam teaches the difference in someone's level of religiosity. The level of human religiosity can change from one moment to another. Humans have evolved a religious life. Including human experience in adulthood elderly in life and face the problems of life. This study focused on the real description of the attitude of religiosity which is owned by the elderly. The study was taken from the students at the boarding school Elderly Islamic boarding school (Pesantren of Roudlotul Muta'allimin Dracik Kramat Batang. The research method used descriptive qualitative approach to straight dialogue (interview of the respondents, namely the students of Elderly Islamic Boarding School (Pesantren. The study results showed that each of the students have the different religious involvement in filling elderly period (retirement. The involvement includes Ritual Involvement, Ideological Involvement, Intellectual involvement, experimental involvement, and consequential involvement.

  11. Influence of religious leaders in the health-disease process

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    Elton Lima Macêdo

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Religion has helped the lower classes to raise the perspective of "divine justice" in the struggle for survival by allowing their believers to seek, in their practices, under the influence of religious leaders, the main guidelines to alleviate the suffering from the health-disease process. Objective: Unveil the limits and potentialities of religious leaders' influence on the health-disease process. Materials and Methods: Exploratory-type research, with a qualitative approach, based methodologically on the Historical Dialectical Materialism. For the data analysis, one used the discourse analysis technique proposed by Fiorin. Results: From the empirical universe, two analytical categories emerged: (1. Limits and possibilities of religious influence in relation to the health-disease process; 2. Vulnerabilities of the Unified Health System and the complementarity of religion: Interfaces of the health-disease process in postmodernity, in which religious practices, institutions and leaders express positively health care in the face of the disease process. However, the religious leader's power relations over the community and religious fanaticism make the search for religion to have a negative influence on people's health-disease process. Conclusion: Religious leaders encourage the complementarity between religion and medicine only at times when their believers need medium and high-complexity assistance, showing little attention to the preventive aspects of self-care, which reinforces the need to invest in new studies in the area.

  12. Increasing Diversity in Emerging Non-religious Communities

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    Christopher Hassall

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary growth in non-religious populations has given rise to novel communities with unique perspectives on social issues. We describe a study of diversity within speakers at conferences organised by and attended by the atheist community. We analyse trends in diversity of 630 speakers, corresponding to 1223 speaking slots at 48 conferences conducted for the purpose of discussing or espousing non-religious views over the period 2003–2014. Diversity among speakers (defined using multivariate statistics in terms of the representation of women and non-white people increased significantly over time during the period studied. This broadening participation may have arisen from interventions to address issues of representation or may simply reflect a generational shift in the demographics of the community. However, on-going problems with data collection and the imbalance in the social cost of identifying as non-religious between different social groups continue to impede efforts to reduce barriers to equality within this growing movement.

  13. A Religious Tolerance and Harmony the Qur'anic Perspective

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    Choirul Fuad Yusuf

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The religious tolerance and harmony is something necessary to develop due to the need of global security and peace today. For this purpose, all religions have to be fairly “tolerant” to others. Islam as a revealed religion, whatever its motive, is often perceived and accused as the religion of intolerance and violence. Some political and ideological questions, for example raised to this context: "Can Islamic faith tolerate other faiths, religions or groups?”, What’s actually the Islamic teachings on tolerance and peace or harmony?” and the likes. This article attempts to unpack and elaborate of how far at Qur’an –as the first and primary source of Islam– has a teaching on tolerance and peace. Using a hermeneutical approach the writer understands and analyses what is actually taught by al Qur'an on the concepts and practices of the tolerance. Based on the analysis, he highlights any conclusions of which al-Qur’an (Islam teaches the followers to respect and implement the doctrine of tolerance and peace. The Muslim world is imperatively to tolerate others, or respect the differences for strengthening the world security and peaceful life amongst nationwide.

  14. The religious transition - A long-run perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paldam, Martin; Gundlach, Erich

    We use factor analysis to derive a robust measure of religiosity from items reported in five waves of the World Value Survey. Our measure of religiosity is negatively correlated with per capita income. Development apparently causes religiosity to fall to about half its pre-modern level. Most...... components of the demand for religion are reduced by development. The supply of religion declines once churches lose control over the institutions providing collective goods like education, health, and social security. These goods used to be supplied by churches jointly with religious services but tend...

  15. 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...

  16. Religious Fundamentalism/Religious Modernism: Conceptual Adversaries or Ambivalent Phenomena?

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    D. GOLOVUSHKIN

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Both religious modernism and religious fundamentalism appeared as problems in academic and theological literature at the beginning of the 20th century. They came about as the result of the dynamic development of modernistic ideology in Russia, the United States, Western Europe and the Islamic world. Today, the concepts of religious modernism and religious fundamentalism are widely used to describe religious processes and phenomena which are the result of interaction between religion (as a dynamic spiritual and social subsystem and society - as a social system experiencing evolution. The concept of religious modernism is traditionally associated with religious renewal, the contemporary world, and innovation. Fundamentalism, on the contrary, is an ideological commitment to the “roots and origins” of religion. Under the aegis of fundamentalism, any religious idea, value or concept has a right to exist. Religious Studies, during the course of time and the production of ever new material, encountered a serious theoretic-methodological problem: How can various religious movements and religious traditions be organized into groups since some of them combine elements of religious modernism and of religious fundamentalism? Already at the end of the nineteen-eighties, the well-established view defining “fundamentalism-modernism” as contrary positions had to be rethought. Studies dating from the nineteen-nineties and the beginning of the new millennium concentrated on noting the social origins and the political character of these phenomena. They demonstrated that neither fundamentalism nor modernism present the whole picture. The lines dividing them are so blurred, that they become confl uent. Consequently, the author concludes that religious fundamentalism and religious modernism are ambivalent phenomena, which can, on occasion, interact with each other.

  17. 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 ...

  18. Religious Charter Schools: Gaining Ground yet Still Undefined

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinberg, Lawrence D.

    2009-01-01

    This article examines charter schools from the perspective of religious institutions and parents that may want to open such schools. Religion-based charter schools also pose unique policy and legal questions because charter schools are a singular reform method. It examines the relevant, recent and historical, legal cases, and relevant examples of…

  19. 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.

  20. Children's Religious Knowledge: Implications for Understanding Satanic Ritual Abuse Allegations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Gail S.; Quas, Jodi A.; Bottoms, Bette L.; Qin, Jianjian; Shaver, Phillip R.

    1997-01-01

    Using a structured interview, 48 3- to 16-year-old children were questioned about their knowledge of religious and satanic concepts. Although few children evinced direct knowledge of ritual abuse, many revealed general knowledge of satanism and satanic worship. Results suggest that most children probably do not generally possess sufficient…

  1. Key-Phenomenon and Religious Meaning

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    Lomuscio Vincenzo

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper I develop a phenomenology of religious experience through the notion of keyphenomenon. My analysis moves from a general phenomenology of situation, in which we have to relate different phenomena according to a sense. What does “according to a sense” mean? My suggestion is that we should look for a relationship among these data when we find a key-phenomenon (among a series of phenomena that would enlighten all the others. This key-phenomenon would show a non-phenomenal meaning which would make all the others understandable. Each other datum, therefore, becomes the witness of invisible meaning through a key-witness. The key-phenomenon we choose determines the role (i.e., the truth of each datum within its situation. This phenomenological relationship belongs to both the sense of day-life situations, and that one of possible religious situations. If the religious interpretation of a situation depends on our choice of key-phenomenon, or key-witness, we have to define what kind of keyphenomenon constitutes a religious intuition.

  2. Parental Divorce, Parental Religious Characteristics, and Religious Outcomes in Adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uecker, Jeremy E; Ellison, Christopher G

    2012-12-01

    Parental divorce has been linked to religious outcomes in adulthood. Previous research has not adequately accounted for parental religious characteristics or subsequent family context, namely whether one's custodial parent remarries. Using pooled data from three waves of the General Social Survey, we examine the relationships among parental divorce, subsequent family structure, and religiosity in adulthood. Growing up in a single-parent family-but not a stepparent family-is positively associated with religious disaffiliation and religious switching and negatively associated with regular religious attendance. Accounting for parental religious characteristics, however, explains sizable proportions of these relationships. Accounting for parental religious affiliation and attendance, growing up with a single parent does not significantly affect religious attendance. Parental religiosity also moderates the relationship between growing up with a single parent and religious attendance: being raised in a single-parent home has a negative effect on religious attendance among adults who had two religiously involved parents.

  3. Beyond Coexistence: Toward a More Reflective Religious Pluralism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenblith, Suzanne

    2008-01-01

    If a pluralistic democratic state such as the United States wishes to move beyond coexistence and toward a more reflective religious pluralism, then public schools must take epistemic issues seriously. Taking a cue from multicultural education, many have called for including the study of religion from a cultural perspective. I argue instead that,…

  4. Documentary Media and Religious Communities

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    Marie-Therese Mäder

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The article considers four spaces where media processes involve religious communities and agents: the spaces of production, of representation, of media communication, and of distribution network and institutional framework for circulation. These three spaces systematise the research question posed to the specific source. Furthermore the concept documentary media as viewed from a semio-pragmatic perspective is introduced. Discussion of the commercial series I’m a Mormon shows how different modes define documentary media according to the three spaces.

  5. Philosophical perspectives on computer-mediated communication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ess, Charles

    The first anthology of analysis and reflection on CMC and the then-young Internet from perspectives rooted in both philosophy and religious studies. Several of the chapters remain watershed publications in the genre of Internet Studies.......The first anthology of analysis and reflection on CMC and the then-young Internet from perspectives rooted in both philosophy and religious studies. Several of the chapters remain watershed publications in the genre of Internet Studies....

  6. 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.

  7. Disaster Management Based on The Perspective of Inter-Religious Connection and Local Wisdom ANTAR AGAMA DAN PENGHARGAAN TERHADAP KEBUDAYAAN LOKAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Alie Humaedi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In each disaster response done by volunteers, sometimes there are emerging issuesof religious dissemination and the volunteers are expulsed because of breaching thelocal values. The use of mosque and local leaders are also supposed to have such issues. Inmanycases, the framework of interfaith and local culture sperspectiveis often forgotten. The issue is how to implement of humanitarian activity based on theinterfaith and local cultures perspective? This is a qualitative research using in-depthinterviews, observation, focus group discussions, and documentation insix locations.Those locations that found the basis of humanitarian activity, particularly in the roleof mosques and the development of the effectiveness of local leaders, as well as havereliedon interfaith and the local culture perspective. This theoretical constructioncan be apart of  the strategic formulation and code of conduct for humanitarianorganizations when dealing with communities from different religions  and  cultures..

  8. Exploring the Intersectionality of Bisexual, Religious/Spiritual, and Political Identities from a Feminist Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Eric M; Lytle, Megan C; Vaughan, Michelle D

    2013-07-01

    While there is a small but growing body of work that examines the religious and spiritual lives of bisexuals, there is a strong need for additional research that further explores the intersectionality of these distinct identities. Motivated by the feminist notions that the personal is political and that individuals are the experts of their own experiences (Unger, 2001), the specific aim of this study is to better understand the intersection of multiple identities experienced by bisexual individuals. Relying upon data collected by Herek, Glunt, and colleagues during their Northern California Health Study, in this exploratory study we examine the intersection of bisexual, religious/spiritual, and political identities by conducting an archival secondary analysis of 120 self-identified bisexual individuals. Among the significant findings, results suggest that higher LGB self-esteem scores and openness about sexual orientation correlated with higher levels of spirituality. Further, attraction to same sex partners was associated with perceiving sexual orientation as a choice, identifying as bisexual at a younger age, more likely to disclose one's sexual orientation, less likely to view religion as being socially important, and a higher score on the belief statement. We discuss the implications of these results and make suggestions for future research on the role of religion and spirituality in bisexual lives.

  9. Comparative Theology: An Alternative to Religious Studies or Theology of Religions?

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    Betül AVCI

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the relationship between Comparative Theology, Religious Studies and Theology of Religions and questions whether Comparative Theology is an alternative to the last two. Comparative Theology, a faith seeking understanding practice, may be viewed as an alternative to the Enlightenment ideal of Religious Studies, which seeks “impartiality” and “scientific objectivity” in contrast to Comparative Theology’s enquiry into “truth” and “meaning.” I suggest, however, that the comparative method employed by both Religious Studies and Comparative Theology is not a neutral space. Hence, the new comparativism in Religious Studies reinstates its search for understanding and its political stand, which blurs the boundaries between Comparative Theology and Religious Studies. Likewise, while Comparative Theology is distinct from the Theology of Religions, it does not pose an alternative to it because Comparative Theology, too, often embodies either a pluralist or an inclusivist approach.

  10. Awe and Artifacts: Religious and Scientific Endeavor

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    Ionut Untea

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The article takes as its point of departure the reflections of Henry Adams and Jacques Ellul on the possible gradual replacement of objects used in religious worship with objects used in technological worship, and advances the hypothesis that such a substitution is unlikely. Using information from psychology, history of religions, and history of science, the perspective proposed is that of a parallel historical analogous development of both religious and scientific attitudes of awe by the use of artifacts carrying two functions: firstly, to coagulate social participation around questions dealing with humanity’s destiny and interpersonal relationships across communities, and secondly to offer cultural coherence through a communal sense of social stability, comfort, and security. I argue that, though animated by attitudes of awe (“awefull”, both leading scientists and religious founders have encountered the difficulty in representing and introducing this awe to the large public via “awesome” artifacts. The failure to represent coherently the initial awe via artifacts may give rise to “anomalous awefullness”: intolerance, persecutions, global conflicts.

  11. Who founded Buddhism? Notes on the psychological effectiveness of religious objects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, David M

    2017-04-01

    Starting with an outline of Buddhist history from a psychoanalytic perspective, this paper uses ideas from philosophy and psychoanalysis to consider the nature of the psychological effectiveness of religious objects. It suggests that the development of the devotional cult of Buddhas 'without form' such as Amitābha, at-first-glance surprising when juxtaposed with the founding vision of Gautama Siddhartha, tells us a great deal about the psychological needs that impel the evolution of religious thinking. Distinguishing religious objects from mythological ones, it argues that 'religious objects' are, more specifically, allegorical objects that can be encountered in the second person; that these may not always be well described as 'illusion'; and that they may in some cases be better understood as providing opportunities for experience that, like the transference in psychoanalysis, may have far-reaching psychological impacts. Copyright © 2016 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

  12. A Religious Worldview: Protecting One's Meaning System Through Religious Prejudice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goplen, Joanna; Plant, E Ashby

    2015-11-01

    For some people, religion strongly influences their worldviews. We propose that religious outgroups threaten the foundational beliefs of people with strong religious worldviews (RWVs) by endorsing alternative belief systems and that this threat contributes to religious prejudice. To examine these ideas, we developed a measure of RWV strength and assessed the role of RWV threat in religious prejudice. Across five studies, strength of RWV was related to religious prejudice, including derogation and denial of alternative religious viewpoints, as well as support for suppressing, avoiding, and even aggressing against religious outgroups. These responses were strongest toward religious outgroups whose worldviews were the most different, and therefore most threatening. Mediational analyses revealed that strong RWV people expressed heightened prejudice because of the worldview threat posed by religious outgroup members. These findings indicate that the avoidance and subjugation of religious outgroups can serve as a worldview protection strategy for some people. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  13. The evolutionary saga of circumcision from a religious perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raveenthiran, Venkatachalam

    2018-03-08

    Circumcision is the oldest surgical operation known to mankind. It probably originated as a less radical form of genital mutilation inflicted on prisoners of war. Over time it was adopted by the Egyptian priesthood and nobility, perhaps inspired by the mythology of Osiris. In turn, circumcision became part of the Jewish and Muslim religious cultures. In contrast, ancient Greeks valued an intact prepuce, as evident from the nude figures of Renaissance art. In the 19th century, circumcision was touted as a treatment for excessive masturbation, seizures, epilepsy, and paraplegia. Adoption of the procedure by medical science was almost akin to a religious belief. By the mid-20th century, it was widely performed on male infants on the pretext of phimosis when the prepuce was not retractable. In 1949, Gairdner documented that the tight prepuce of infants gradually becomes retractile as childhood progresses. Thus, childhood circumcision solely for non-retractile prepuce is unnecessary, which is the foundation for modern anti-circumcision movements. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Religious Discrimination Discourse in the Mono-Cultural School: The Case of Poland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anczyk, Adam; Grzymala-Moszczynska, Joanna

    2018-01-01

    The article forms an analysis of the religious discrimination discourse in Polish public schools, with special attention paid to the culturally specific, Polish understanding of the notion of religious discrimination. The introductory part presents the concept of religious discrimination as present in anti-discriminatory policies. The following…

  15. Religious People Are Trusted Because They Are Viewed as Slow Life-History Strategists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Jordan W; Krems, Jaimie Arona; Cohen, Adam B

    2018-03-01

    Religious people are more trusted than nonreligious people. Although most theorists attribute these perceptions to the beliefs of religious targets, religious individuals also differ in behavioral ways that might cue trust. We examined whether perceivers might trust religious targets more because they heuristically associate religion with slow life-history strategies. In three experiments, we found that religious targets are viewed as slow life-history strategists and that these findings are not the result of a universally positive halo effect; that the effect of target religion on trust is significantly mediated by the target's life-history traits (i.e., perceived reproductive strategy); and that when perceivers have direct information about a target's reproductive strategy, their ratings of trust are driven primarily by his or her reproductive strategy, rather than religion. These effects operate over and above targets' belief in moralizing gods and offer a novel theoretical perspective on religion and trust.

  16. Conflict resolution and inter-religious philosophy in light of Tao Te Ching

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garsdal, Jesper

    This article presents a reflecsion on how Taoism can contribute to an inter-religious and philosophical dialogue about conflict resolution. I will first present some central points from Key Sun's article How to Overcome without Fighting: An Introduction to the Taoist Approach to Conflict Resolution....... In this article Sun presents some fundamental themes, in what could be a Taoist inspired theory of conflict resolution in relation to the field of psychology. I then try to extend this perspective by asking the question what role Taoism can play in conflict resolution, for people, who has explicit non......-Taoist philosophical and/or religious worldviews? I here briefly discuss the possibility of transforming Taoist inspired ideas of conflict resolution into other religious or philosophical worldviews. After this, I discuss how Taoism can shed some new light over inter-religious philosophical dialogue, through...

  17. Religious care required for Japanese terminally ill patients with cancer from the perspective of bereaved family members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okamoto, Takuya; Ando, Michiyo; Morita, Tatsuya; Hirai, Kei; Kawamura, Ryo; Mitsunori, Miyashita; Sato, Kazuki; Shima, Yasuo

    2010-02-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the most suitable religious care for Japanese terminally ill patients with cancer based on the opinions of bereaved family members. A multicenter questionnaire survey on palliative care service was sent to 592 bereaved family members of patients with cancer who were admitted to palliative care units in Japan, and 430 responded by mail. In the section of the questionnaire about religious care, 382 responses were used for quantitative analysis, and 71 responses about religious care for qualitative analysis. In the current study, the 71 responses were grouped into families with and without a religion and were analyzed qualitatively. Families with a religion (N = 28) chose answers such as ''Instrumental care'' such as music or a religious event, ''Freedom of choice of kinds for religious care,'' ''Staff involvement of religious care,'' ''Meeting with a pastoral care workers,'' and ''Burden of offering a different kind of personal religion.'' In contrast, families without a religion (N = 44) chose answers such as ''Instrumental care,'' ''Freedom of choice whether patients receive religious care or not,'' ''Spiritual care,'' ''Not being able to accept religious care,'' and ''Burden of thinking about a religion and nuisance.'' These findings suggest that Japanese bereaved families with a religion generally regard religious care positively and prefer care through their own religion, whereas some families without a religion require religious care but some do not prefer it.

  18. 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.

  19. Origins and Consequences of Religious Restrictions: A Global Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finke, Roger

    2014-01-01

    Despite the international controversies surrounding religious restrictions and freedoms, the topic has only recently received substantial research attention. Drawing on this new body of research, and multiple research projects in progress, this address explores both the origins and consequences of religious restrictions in the global arena. To understand the motives for restrictions, I propose hypotheses in three areas: the relationship or lack of relationship between institutional religion and the state, the willingness and capacity of the state to ensure freedoms, and the larger social and cultural pressures restricting freedoms, including social and political movements targeting minority religions. Turning to the consequences of religious restrictions, I explore how and why restrictions alter the religious economy (i.e., formation, supply and operation of religions) and are associated with higher levels of religious persecution, religious violence and intrastate conflict in general. Finally, I review additional areas where research is needed. PMID:25364225

  20. The Oshun Festival: An African Traditional Religious Healing Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Idowu, Adeyemi I.

    1992-01-01

    Examines the Oshun Festival, an African traditional religious festival, from a healing perspective. Highlights the value of religion in the African culture and discusses various myths. Explores the role of myths in and the place of beliefs in the healing process. Explains rituals and the healing environment, healers, and healing methods. Offers…

  1. Qualitative in-depth interviews: Studying religious meaning-making in MMOs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.D. Aupers (Stef); J.C.F. Schaap (Julian); L. de Wildt (Lars)

    2018-01-01

    markdownabstractIn this chapter, Stef Aupers, Julian Schaap, and Lars de Wildt argue that a “game-centered” orientation in the study of religion and video games (studying in-game religious narratives, discourses, and game rules) should be complemented with a “player-centered” perspective. They call

  2. The Role of Religious Institutions, Electronic Games, Books, and Educational Stories in the Development of the Child's Culture from the Perspective of Jordanian Mothers According to Some Variables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Harbat, Rima; Al Saqarat, Khalaf

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of religious institutions, electronic games, books and educational stories in the development of the child's culture from the perspective of some of Jordanian mothers in Al Karak Governorate, and to achieve the objective of the study a questionnaire was build, it consisted of (33) items divided…

  3. Character Education Based on Religious Values: an Islamic Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismail Sukardi

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Character education in Indonesia has become a necessity that can not be negotiable. Various cases of crime and moral deviations become evident that the character of most citizens already at alarming stage. Therefore, since the beginning, national education is not only aimed at generating human intelligent and skilled, but also of noble character. This is realized through the introduction of 18 characters excel in school (religious, honest, disciplined, tolerance, and so on. In the Islamic perspective character education paired with akhlak (Islamic ethics education. Among the important characteristics are: it sourced from the Quran Hadith; Prophet Muhammad as a role model; priority-based methods of mental-spiritual (soul management, habituation, exemplary, and healthy environment; are simultaneous in which three education centers, namely schools, families, and communities should play a role in synergy. The government and the mass media also play a role in supporting the education of character.   Pendidikan karakter di Indonesia telah menjadi kebutuhan yang tidak dapat ditawar. Berbagai kasus kejahatan moral dan penyimpangan menjadi jelas bahwa karakter sebagian besar warga sudah pada tahap mengkhawatirkan. Oleh karena itu, sejak awal, pendidikan nasional tidak hanya bertujuan menghasilkan manusia cerdas dan terampil, tetapi juga karakter yang mulia. Hal ini diwujudkan melalui pengenalan 18 karakter berprestasi di sekolah (agama, jujur, disiplin, tolerann, dan sebagainya. Dalam pendidikan karakter perspektif Islam dipasangkan dengan pendidikan akhlak (etika Islam. Di antara karakteristik penting adalah: itu bersumber dari al-Quran Hadis; Nabi Muhammad sebagai panutan; metode berbasis prioritas mental-spiritual (manajemen jiwa, pembiasaan, keteladanan, dan lingkungan yang sehat; yang simultan di mana tiga pusat pendidikan, yaitu sekolah, keluarga, dan masyarakat harus berperan dalam sinergi. Pemerintah dan media massa juga berperan dalam mendukung

  4. Brief report: Bifactor modeling of general vs. specific factors of religiousness differentially predicting substance use risk in adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen; Longo, Gregory S; Holmes, Christopher J

    2015-08-01

    Religiousness is important to adolescents in the U.S., and the significant link between high religiousness and low substance use is well known. There is a debate between multidimensional and unidimensional perspectives of religiousness (Gorsuch, 1984); yet, no empirical study has tested this hierarchical model of religiousness related to adolescent health outcomes. The current study presents the first attempt to test a bifactor model of religiousness related to substance use among adolescents (N = 220, 45% female). Our bifactor model using structural equation modeling suggested the multidimensional nature of religiousness as well as the presence of a superordinate general religiousness factor directly explaining the covariation among the specific factors including organizational and personal religiousness and religious social support. The general religiousness factor was inversely related to substance use. After accounting for the contribution of the general religiousness factor, high organizational religiousness related to low substance use, whereas personal religiousness and religious support were positively related to substance use. The findings present the first evidence that supports hierarchical structures of adolescent religiousness that contribute differentially to adolescent substance use. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Female religious agents in Morocco: Old practices and new perspectives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ouguir, A.

    2013-01-01

    This doctoral thesis deals with female religious agents in Morocco’s past and present. More specifically, it investigates historical women saints and their reception today by Moroccan women in general and by Moroccan feminist activists in particular. Despite the fact that women saints impacted their

  6. Faith in the Word: Examining Religious Right Attitudes about Texts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinkley, Ellen H.

    1995-01-01

    Describes theological views about written texts, related attitudes exhibited by current protestors, and problems such views and attitudes create for English language arts teachers. Suggests that such an awareness of the religious perspective might help to lead to more constructive outcomes to conflicts between teachers and individual students and…

  7. 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.

  8. 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…

  9. IRIB’s Religious and Non-religious Programs and their Impacts on Religiosity Levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azam Ravadrad

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper attempts to study the correlation between IRIB’s Religious and Non-religious programs, and the levels of religiosity in Iran. Accordingly, I would firstly explain the key concepts as religious program, non-religious program, religious broadcasting, and Ideological broadcasting; then, analyzing some instant programs, from non-religious to religious, I would attempt to formulize their impacts on one’s definition of religion –either as a private or simultaneously private and public matter. It is shown that in the trilogy of purely religious, purely entertaining, and mediated religious programs, it is the third which satisfy a religious television’s ideal.

  10. Religious Authority in African American Churches: A Study of Six Churches

    OpenAIRE

    Yeary, Karen Hye-cheon Kim

    2011-01-01

    A sociological study of religious authority and gender in the context of a rural, impoverished community was conducted in African American churches in one county of the Arkansas Lower Mississippi Delta region to understand relationships between religious leadership, gender, race, and social justice. Three female and three male African American pastors were interviewed as key-informants of their churches to investigate views of female religious authority, and to compare and contrast the congre...

  11. Pluralismo e religiões: a questão cristológica em foco (Pluralism and religions: Christology in focus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cláudio de Oliveira Ribeiro

    2013-03-01

    through mutual approach and dialogue. Such perspective does not negate nor diminishes the value of religious identities – in the case of the Christian faith, the importance of Christ – but leads them to deepen and mature themselves, being moved by dialogue and fair confrontation, one that is loving and co-responsible. Thus, the Christian faith, for instance, would be reinterpreted by means of creative dialogical confrontation vis-a-vis other faiths. The same should take place with each and every religious tradition. We consider that this understanding, in a certain way, supersedes other models such as that which considers Jesus Christ and the Church as the only and exclusive means of salvation; the one that considers Jesus Christ as the way of salvation for everyone, even if implicitly stated, what has been termed as inclusivism; and the relativistic perspective, in which Jesus is the way for Christians, while for others the way is their own tradition, without greater efforts on self-criticism, self-revision and mutual interpellation. In the pluralist perspective, the key elements of religious life and human life in general are alterity, respect for differences, dialogue and mutual practical and ethical cooperation for justice and common well-being. The mutual approach and dialogue between groups belonging to distinct religious expressions cooperate in order for them to construct or reconstruct their identities and founding principles. Keywords: Theology of religions. Pluralist Christology. Inter-religious dialogue.

  12. Inter-religious dialogue in schools: A pedagogical and civic unavoidability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Abdool

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Social and civic conflict inspired by the fundamental convictions of different religious groups seems to be rife all over the world, also in schools. One way of addressing this problem is to promote inter-religious dialogue. To establish the viability of this solution, the authors take several steps. They analyze the phenomenon “religion” and discover that it is constituted of several layers or levels that have to be accounted for in the proposed inter-religious dialogue in schools. After discussing the term “dialogue” they consider several approaches to religious diversity or plurality to find a suitable basis for the proposed inter-religious dialogue in schools. Based on these analyses, the authors argue that schools (teacher-educators and learners should be allowed to engage in inter-religious dialogue as part of their pedagogical and civic duty. This will ensure a better understanding of others and their religions, also at the deepest spiritual level. Such comprehension can contribute to the more peaceful co-existence of people in religiously pluralist societies.

  13. The religious message in action - a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    René Gothóni

    1975-01-01

    Full Text Available We understand a religious message to be the product of a religious movement. In studying such a message, it is very much to the purpose to place it in the context in which it operates. The cultural and social context of a religious message is some religious movement. Hence, the message should be examined against that framework. Each message has a certain structure, and its detection is of prime importance. Messages are not only part of the tradition, but themselves unique in their respective communicative situations. Thus, in our view, structural analysis does not have analytical use-value unless the message's symbols are set into their communicative context. The aim of this paper is dual: On the one hand, we intend to analyze and clarify the structure of a religious message of the Laestadian movement, how the message operates, also how the members of that movement respond to the codes of the message, and what kind of functions it fulfills; on the other, to develop and test an analytical model which would combine structural and interactional analysis.

  14. STATE POLICIES ON RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Mujiburrahman

    2008-02-01

    taken into consideration to understand state policies making concerning religious diversity. Hence, all debates and compromises achieved afterwards usually do not go beyond the neither secular nor Islamic compromise.

  15. Religious Experience from a Neuro-Psychological View

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  16. Religious culture as a barrier?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agergaard, Sine

    2016-01-01

    with their religious and cultural frames of reference? The study uses a case study approach with interviews of ten 13–17-year-old Danish Muslim girls, as well as explorative observations in two football clubs and interviews with five coaches and club leaders. In further developing an analytical model for interpreting...... religion as hegemonic, embodied and dynamic cultural phenomena, the analysis points to the diversity through which Muslim girls and women participate and engage in sports. Finally, the article discusses the extent to which counter-narratives may contribute to changing perspectives on so-called hard...

  17. Plural religious beliefs: A Comparison between the Dutch and white ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The concept of religious beliefs is distilled from the perspective of one's belief in God. With regard to this belief in God we propose to distinguish between two dimensions: The personal versus the a-personal character of God and his transcendent versus his immanent nature. This leaves us with a plurality of beliefs in God.

  18. 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...

  19. Nursing ethics in the seventh-day adventist religious tradition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Elizabeth Johnston; Carr, Mark F

    2009-11-01

    Nurses' religious beliefs influence their motivations and perspectives, including their practice of ethics in nursing care. When the impact of these beliefs is not recognized, great potential for unethical nursing care exists. Thus, this article examines how the theology of one religious tradition, Seventh-day Adventism (SDA), could affect nurses. An overview of SDA history and beliefs is presented, which explains why 'medical missionary' work is central to SDAs. Theological foundations that would permeate an SDA nurse's view of the nursing metaparadigm concepts of person, health, environment (i.e. community), and nursing (i.e. service) are presented. The ethical principles guiding SDA nurses (i.e. principled, case-based, and care ethics) and the implications of these theological foundations for nurses are noted in a case study.

  20. Religious diversity and patrimonialization A case study of the Nianli Festival in Leizhou Peninsula, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shanshan Zheng

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available With the emergence of the neologism ‘intangible cultural heritage’ in 2003 and the adoption of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Law of the People’sRepublic of China in 2011 various popular religious practices in China which used to be considered as feudal superstitions started to be recognized as examples of cultural heritage worthy of protection. If we examine the concept of religious diversity at a local level in contemporary China, the process of a ‘patrimonialization’ of popular religious practices that reflect the dynamic relationships which can be detected across diverse discourses, multiple stakeholders and cultural policies in different arenas could offer us a new perspective on religious practices to explore. In this article I offer an analysis, based on fieldwork conducted between 2013 and 2016 on the Leizhou Peninsula in southern China’s Guangdong Province, of the varying degrees of acceptance, accommodation and resistance prompted by the actualization of popular religious practices in this era of patrimonialization.

  1. Faith-based perspectives on the use of chimeric organisms for medical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Degeling, Chris; Irvine, Rob; Kerridge, Ian

    2014-04-01

    Efforts to advance our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases involve the creation chimeric organisms from human neural stem cells and primate embryos--known as prenatal chimeras. The existence of potential mentally complex beings with human and non-human neural apparatus raises fundamental questions as to the ethical permissibility of chimeric research and the moral status of the creatures it creates. Even as bioethicists find fewer reasons to be troubled by most types of chimeric organisms, social attitudes towards the non-human world are often influenced by religious beliefs. In this paper scholars representing eight major religious traditions provide a brief commentary on a hypothetical case concerning the development and use of prenatal human-animal chimeric primates in medical research. These commentaries reflect the plurality and complexity within and between religious discourses of our relationships with other species. Views on the moral status and permissibility of research on neural human animal chimeras vary. The authors provide an introduction to those who seek a better understanding of how faith-based perspectives might enter into biomedical ethics and public discourse towards forms of biomedical research that involves chimeric organisms.

  2. An interpersonal approach to religiousness and spirituality: implications for health and well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Kevin D; Masters, Kevin S; Hooker, Stephanie A; Ruiz, John M; Smith, Timothy W

    2014-10-01

    The interpersonal tradition (Horowitz & Strack, 2011) provides a rich conceptual and methodological framework for theory-driven research on mechanisms linking religiousness and spirituality (R/S) with health and well-being. In three studies, we illustrate this approach to R/S. In Studies 1 and 2, undergraduates completed various self-report measures of R/S, interpersonal style, and other aspects of interpersonal functioning. In Study 3, a community sample completed a wide variety of R/S measures and a measure of interpersonal style. Many, but not all, aspects of religiousness (e.g., overall religiousness, intrinsic religiousness) were associated with a warm interpersonal style, and most aspects and measures of spirituality were associated with a warm and somewhat dominant style. Spirituality and related constructs (i.e., gratitude, compassion) were associated with interpersonal goals that emphasize positive relationships with others, and with beneficial interpersonal outcomes (i.e., higher social support, less loneliness, and less conflict). However, some aspects of R/S (e.g., extrinsic religiousness, belief in a punishing God) were associated with a hostile interpersonal style. R/S have interpersonal correlates that may enhance or undermine health and emotional adjustment. This interpersonal perspective could help clarify why some aspects of religiousness and spirituality are beneficial and others are not. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2015-05-29

    May 29, 2015 ... pay special attention to this challenge by putting in place innovative structures ... mediation strategy in terms of religious conflict management, prevention ..... Peace Moves towards Resolving Religious Conflicts in Nigeria.

  4. Viewing India from Religious Angle

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Qiu Yonghui

    2004-01-01

    @@ It would be impossible to understand India without any knowledge about the religions of this country. India is a developing country with many religions, nationalities and languages. This nation has long been noted for its democratic politics and multiculture. India was founded on the principle of secularism, but at the same time it has suffered from religions. Therefore, to have a clear idea about the basic conditions of India's multiple religious beliefs is the foundation for studies of its religions of the country, and is also one key to grasping Indian social politics. In early September 2004, the Indian government published religious data from the 2001 census. Accordingly, we can make some basic judgments about the religions in today's India.

  5. An Overview of Governance and Accountability of Tahfiz Institutions in Malaysian: Religious Councils Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bani Hamidah

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Tahfiz education is one of the popular streams of education in Malaysia and well accepted by Muslim community. Originally the education is being offered in “pondok”, a traditional religious school. Developing through times, it is now also being offered in tahfiz centers as well as in modern tahfiz institutions. These entities specialize in producing tahfiz graduates who can memorize and recite the whole Al-Quran and more than 91% of them are privately owned. The applicability of good governance and accountability measures is indeed highly desirable in these Islamic entities as it deals with the responsibility in fulfilling sacred religious obligation. Though the number of tahfiz education providers (TEP has grown up tremendously from only 58 in 1999 to 278 in 2011, literatures on governance and accountability of TEP are still lacking as the areas are rarely examined directly. The lacking may lead to unfavorable inferences that TEP are behaving in the manners contrary to the interest of the stakeholders. An ideally accountable governance of tahfiz centers will gain trust from parents and various stakeholders and will indicate the achievement in fulfilling one of the objective of Maqasid Shariah to preserve and promote the religious faith through preserving the memorization and knowledge of Al Quran (the primary source of Islamic Law by the huffaz. The objective of this research is to investigate external governance mechanism and the accountability of Tahfiz centers as viewed by religious regulatory bodies. A qualitative research approach is undertaken by interviewing representatives from selected State Islamic Religious Councils, State Islamic Foundation and National Religious Departments in Malaysia. Using thematic analysis, findings of this study revealed that there are two-tier governance infrastructures of tahfiz institutions in Malaysia. However, the enforcement of the governance structure is still at infancy level. The accountability

  6. Scientific Consensus, Public Perception and Religious Beliefs – A Case Study on Nutrition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihai A. GÎRŢU

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Starting from the recent public debate over global warming we discuss the scientific consensus and public perception on climate issues. We then turn to the ongoing debate on diets and nutrition, comparing scientific perspectives, public views and religious standpoints.

  7. ABDURRAHMAN WAHID, DEPTH ISLAM, AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM

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    Media Zainul Bahri

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This essay elucidates the idea of religious pluralism of Abdurrahman Wahid (1940-2009, a very important figure in the tradition of Indonesian Islam. Wahis’s ideas  of religious pluralism is based on what the so-called “Depth Islam” (DI. DI is different from the usual theological dogmas that only contains concepts and structures. DI  is  not a literal and superficial forms of religion. It is an understanding  that goes beyond the literal texts to look for the principles and spirit of religion in appreciating humanity, diversity and peace.  DI may have arisen because of the long process of religious internalization within Wahid experiences, but it is also a hybrid form, i.e., it is a result of the process of encountering or learning Wahid’s traditions inter-mingling with cultures of the wider world. 

  8. Some Life History Narratives of Religious Education Coordinators in Catholic Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rymarz, Richard; Belmonte, Angelo

    2014-01-01

    This paper seeks to gain a better understanding of religious education coordinators (RECs) in contemporary Catholic schools. This is done by using life history narratives to explore how participants came to be RECs. This study takes place in a wider cultural context that sees strong religious commitment, manifested by taking leadership positions…

  9. Il processo di laicizzazione delle religious offences in Inghilterrae Galles: tra prospettiva storica e comparazione

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Gianfreda

    2012-10-01

    Abstract The path of secularization of religious Offences in England and Wales: between historical and comparative perspective In recent years in Italy and England some important reforms concerning the traditional criminal offences against religion have been introduced: in Italy, Law 85/2006 regarding crimes against religious denominations that has changed the offence of vilifying, without changing the blasphemy offence; in England and Wales, the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006, the repeal of the common law of blasphemy and blasphemous libel in 2008 and the offences of defamatory, seditious and obscene libel in 2009. The historical perspective allows us to contextualize the hallmarks by which the two nations deal with the problem of offences against religion. The historical path that led to the current British reforms, in fact, was characterized by the transition from the institutionalized model of protection under criminal law of the Church of England, as established Church, to the formal and substantive secularization of religious Offences, which finally led to their abolition, without questioning - at least formally - the general system of the Established Church of England. The differences between the two models of criminal protection of religion are rooted in that path and are reflected in the more general legal treatment of religion and in the state/churches/religions relations in the two countries

  10. Biblical antecedents of modern Agenda-Setting: religious platforms in lieu of mass media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsuriel RASHI

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Can a primitive society set a public agenda? Are there some advantages for a religious society in setting an agenda? From a critical study of the communicative perspective of the Bible and hermeneutic reading of its texts, it can be said that certain elements in primitive societies succeeded in influencing the political and social agendas. They did so by exploiting specific public assemblies or appearing in crowded places in attempts to impact local and national agendas. This notion is significant because it suggests that in countries that do not have developed communication infrastructures or established religious institutions (e.g., churches, mosques, and synagogues that serve as public arenas, indeed even in seemingly closed religious communities, there may well be attempts to use venues other than mass media to influence the public agenda.

  11. 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.

  12. Secular Ethics Education as an Alternative to Religious Education--Finnish Teachers' Views

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zilliacus, Harriet; Kallioniemi, Arto

    2016-01-01

    This study provides a Finnish perspective to international discussions on religious and worldviews education through the subject of secular ethics. This subject has been offered in Finland since 1985 throughout comprehensive schools and is primarily directed at students who are non-affiliated. Secular ethics education has scarcely been researched…

  13. Dimensions of religiousness and cancer screening behaviors among church-going Latinas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Jennifer D; Pérez, John E; Pischke, Claudia R; Tom, Laura S; Juarez, Alan; Ospino, Hosffman; Gonzalez-Suarez, Elizabeth

    2014-02-01

    Churches are a promising setting through which to reach Latinas with cancer control efforts. A better understanding of the dimensions of religiousness that impact health behaviors could inform efforts to tailor cancer control programs for this setting. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between dimensions of religiousness with adherence to cancer screening recommendations among church-going Latinas. Female Spanish-speaking members, aged 18 and older from a Baptist church in Boston, Massachusetts (N = 78), were interviewed about cancer screening behaviors and dimensions of religiousness. We examined adherence to individual cancer screening tests (mammography, Pap test, and colonoscopy), as well as adherence to all screening tests for which participants were age-eligible. Dimensions of religiousness assessed included church participation, religious support, active and passive spiritual health locus of control, and positive and negative religious coping. Results showed that roughly half (46 %) of the sample had not received all of the cancer screening tests for which they were age-eligible. In multivariate analyses, positive religious coping was significantly associated with adherence to all age-appropriate screening (OR = 5.30, p religious coping could increase the impact of cancer control interventions for Latinas.

  14. Religious, Secular, and Spiritual Identities Convergence: Introduction to the Special Issue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Small, Jenny L.; Bowman, Nicholas A.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this special issue is to share the best research, theory, practice, and perspectives from presenters at the 2017 Religious, Secular, and Spiritual Identities Convergence conference, alongside the new writing of scholars and practitioners who were inspired by the themes of the conference. Readers will have access both to the best of…

  15. Religiousness and mental health: a review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moreira-Almeida Alexander

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The relationship between religiosity and mental health has been a perennial source of controversy. This paper reviews the scientific evidence available for the relationship between religion and mental health. METHOD: The authors present the main studies and conclusions of a larger systematic review of 850 studies on the religion-mental health relationship published during the 20th Century identified through several databases. The present paper also includes an update on the papers published since 2000, including researches performed in Brazil and a brief historical and methodological background. DISCUSSION: The majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/alcohol use/abuse. Usually the positive impact of religious involvement on mental health is more robust among people under stressful circumstances (the elderly, and those with disability and medical illness. Theoretical pathways of the religiousness-mental health connection and clinical implications of these findings are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that religious involvement is usually associated with better mental health. We need to improve our understanding of the mediating factors of this association and its use in clinical practice.

  16. Religiousness and mental health: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreira-Almeida, Alexander; Neto, Francisco Lotufo; Koenig, Harold G

    2006-09-01

    The relationship between religiosity and mental health has been a perennial source of controversy. This paper reviews the scientific evidence available for the relationship between religion and mental health. The authors present the main studies and conclusions of a larger systematic review of 850 studies on the religion-mental health relationship published during the 20th Century identified through several databases. The present paper also includes an update on the papers published since 2000, including researches performed in Brazil and a brief historical and methodological background. The majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale) and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/alcohol use/abuse. Usually the positive impact of religious involvement on mental health is more robust among people under stressful circumstances (the elderly, and those with disability and medical illness). Theoretical pathways of the religiousness-mental health connection and clinical implications of these findings are also discussed. There is evidence that religious involvement is usually associated with better mental health. We need to improve our understanding of the mediating factors of this association and its use in clinical practice.

  17. Religious Affiliation and Attendance Among Immigrants in EightWestern Countries : Individual and Contextual Effects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tubergen, Frank van

    2006-01-01

    This study examines the religious affiliation and participation of immigrants from a large-scale, comparative perspective. I propose a “specific migration” framework, in which immigrants’ religiosity is an outcome of both individual characteristics and contextual properties related to immigrants’

  18. Illness cognitions as a pathway between religiousness and subjective health in chronic cardiac patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karademas, Evangelos C

    2010-03-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the role of illness cognitions as a possible pathway between religiousness and subjective health in chronic illness. A sample of 135 chronic cardiac patients completed questionnaires about intrinsic religiousness, frequency of church service attendance, basic illness cognitions (i.e., helplessness, illness acceptance, perceived benefits), and physical and emotional well-being. According to the results, religiousness was significantly associated with subjective health. However, this relationship was indirect, with helplessness and illness acceptance serving as mediators between intrinsic religiousness and health. This finding is significant for understanding the complex relation of religiousness to chronic patients' well-being.

  19. The Influence of Divine Rewards and Punishments on Religious Prosociality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saleam, James; Moustafa, Ahmed A.

    2016-01-01

    A common finding across many cultures has been that religious people behave more prosocially than less (or non-) religious people. Numerous priming studies have demonstrated that the activation of religious concepts via implicit and explicit cues (e.g., ‘God,’ ‘salvation,’ among many others) increases prosociality in religious people. However, the factors underlying such findings are less clear. In this review we discuss hypotheses (e.g., the supernatural punishment hypothesis) that explain the religion-prosociality link, and also how recent findings in the empirical literature converge to suggest that the divine rewards (e.g., heaven) and punishments (e.g., hell) promised by various religious traditions may play a significant role. In addition, we further discuss inconsistencies in the religion-prosociality literature, as well as existing and future psychological studies which could improve our understanding of whether, and how, concepts of divine rewards and punishments may influence prosociality. PMID:27536262

  20. Religious beliefs and alcohol control policies: a Brazilian nationwide study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giancarlo Lucchetti

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The connection between lower alcohol use and religiousness has been extensively examined. Nevertheless, few studies have assessed how religion and religiousness influence public policies. The present study seeks to understand the influence of religious beliefs on attitudes toward alcohol use. Methods: A door-to-door, nationwide, multistage population-based survey was carried out. Self-reported religiousness, religious attendance, and attitudes toward use of alcohol policies (such as approval of public health interventions, attitudes about drinking and driving, and attitudes toward other alcohol problems and their harmful effects were examined. Multiple logistic regression was used to control for confounders and to assess explanatory variables. Results: The sample was composed of 3,007 participants; 57.3% were female and mean age was 35.7 years. Religiousness was generally associated with more negative attitudes toward alcohol, such as limiting hours of sale (p < 0.01, not having alcohol available in corner shops (p < 0.01, prohibiting alcohol advertisements on TV (p < 0.01, raising the legal drinking age (p < 0.01, and raising taxes on alcohol (p < 0.05. Higher religious attendance was associated with less alcohol problems (OR: 0.61, 95%CI 0.40-0.91, p = 0.017, and self-reported religiousness was associated with less harmful effects of drinking (OR: 0.61, 95%CI 0.43-0.88, p = 0.009. Conclusions: Those with high levels of religiousness support more restrictive alcohol policies. These findings corroborate previous studies showing that religious people consume less alcohol and have fewer alcohol-related problems.

  1. Religious diversity and pluralism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahlin, Lars; Borup, Jørn; Fibiger, Marianne Qvortrup

    2012-01-01

    . Religious diversity has grown in Denmark with the arrival of new immigrant groups and with new forms and interpretations of traditional religious and spiritual traditions. More importantly, the relations and interactions between religious groups -- the hallmarks of religious pluralism -- are still incipient...

  2. Brain-Based Learning, Neuroscience, and Their Impact on One Religious Educator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winings, Kathy

    2011-01-01

    The constellation of religious education courses that are offered in the author's school seek to equip students with the tools and knowledge they need to not only provide a solid understanding of faith for those they will teach but also a passion to seek out profound spiritual growth. Since she teaches most of the religious education courses, the…

  3. Religious Education research in welfare state Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buchardt, Mette

    2017-01-01

    The article deals with forms of knowledge and types of research interests in scholarly work on Religious Education at the primary and lower secondary levels in Denmark throughout the heyday of the welfare state from the 1960s and up until the 2000s, when the welfare state model not least...... and thus in a changed institutional field. Drawing on the conceptual understanding of the field of educational sciences deriving from Hofstetter and Schneuwly (2002), the article analyzes ways of doing research in and related to Religious Education and the scholarly disciplines involved. Focus...... with regard to education was in transition. The point of departure is the work and oeuvre of K.E. Bugge, for many years – and remaining until now – the last professor of Religious Education in Denmark, namely at the Royal Danish School of Education (Danmarks Lærerhøjskole) which reorganized as Danish...

  4. Music As a Sacred Cue? Effects of Religious Music on Moral Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Martin; Mitkidis, Panagiotis; Kundt, Radek; Nichols, Aaron; Krajčíková, Lenka; Xygalatas, Dimitris

    2016-01-01

    Religion can have an important influence in moral decision-making, and religious reminders may deter people from unethical behavior. Previous research indicated that religious contexts may increase prosocial behavior and reduce cheating. However, the perceptual-behavioral link between religious contexts and decision-making lacks thorough scientific understanding. This study adds to the current literature by testing the effects of purely audial religious symbols (instrumental music) on moral behavior across three different sites: Mauritius, the Czech Republic, and the USA. Participants were exposed to one of three kinds of auditory stimuli (religious, secular, or white noise), and subsequently were given a chance to dishonestly report on solved mathematical equations in order to increase their monetary reward. The results showed cross-cultural differences in the effects of religious music on moral behavior, as well as a significant interaction between condition and religiosity across all sites, suggesting that religious participants were more influenced by the auditory religious stimuli than non-religious participants. We propose that religious music can function as a subtle cue associated with moral standards via cultural socialization and ritual participation. Such associative learning can charge music with specific meanings and create sacred cues that influence normative behavior. Our findings provide preliminary support for this view, which we hope further research will investigate more closely.

  5. Phenomenology and the Possibility of Religious Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  6. Calculating the Philosophical Significance of the Concept of Religious Freedom in Islam

    OpenAIRE

    Roswantoro, Alim

    2014-01-01

    The writing attemps to explore the philosophical meaning of the theological messages of Islam on religious freedom. The article do not study the empirical facts of religious freedom practiced by muslims today, but it scrutinizes the theological messages as written in the Qur'an and as showed by the real examples of the God's Messenger. Through understanding some Qur'anic verses, we will find that Islam strongly encourages the life of different religious people based on the value of freedom. F...

  7. 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.

  8. Chaplain Contact with Local Religious Leaders: A Strategic Support

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Lloyd, Scottie

    2005-01-01

    .... In their role as advisor to commanders chaplains are contacting local religious leaders to build bridges of mutual understanding that foster a more secure environment for mission accomplishment...

  9. Religious bias among religiously conscious black christians in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Camp, Debbie; Sloan, Lloyd Ren; Elbassiouny, Amanda

    2014-01-01

    Research with White participants has demonstrated religious intergroup bias; however, religious identity may be different for Black Americans. Only religiously conscious Black Christians demonstrated a preference for Christian targets over Muslim and Atheist targets. Future research should consider what factors result in a person becoming conscious of other's religion.

  10. Contemporary Religious Conflicts and Religious Education in the Republic of Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Chongsuh

    2007-01-01

    The Republic of (South) Korea is a multi-religious society. Naturally, large- or small-scale conflicts arise between religious groups. Moreover, inter-religious troubles related to the educational system, such as educational ideologies, textbook content and forced chapel attendance, have often caused social conflicts. Most of the problems derive…

  11. Changes in the Perceptions of the Nature of Science and Religious Belief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aflalo, Ester

    2018-01-01

    Understanding the nature of science (NOS) is one of the challenging objectives in science education due, in part, to the complex relationship between religion and science. This study examines how NOS teaching affects the perception of the NOS amongst religious, as compared to secular, students. The participants included 205 religious and secular…

  12. Responding to Bullying: Language Socialization and Religious Identification in Classes for Sikh Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, Wendy

    2015-01-01

    Drawing from ethnography of communication and language socialization approaches, this paper examines classes on bullying held for Sikh middle school students at a Sikh religious institution in California. Sikh educational programs play an important role in socializing youth into Sikh teachings, practices, and community perspectives. Due to one…

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

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    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

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. Bifactor Models of Religious and Spiritual Struggles: Distinct from Religiousness and Distress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nick Stauner

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale (RSS measures important psychological constructs in an underemphasized section of the overlap between religion and well-being. Are religious/spiritual struggles distinct from religiousness, distress, and each other? To test the RSS’ internal discriminant validity, we replicated the original six-factor measurement model across five large samples (N = 5705 and tested the fit of a restricted bifactor model, which supported the mutual viability of multidimensional and unidimensional scoring systems for the RSS. Additionally, we explored a bifactor model with correlated group factors that exhibited optimal fit statistics. This model maintained the correlations among the original factors while extracting a general factor from the RSS. This general factor’s strong correlations with religious participation and belief salience suggested that this factor resembles religiousness itself. Estimating this general factor seemed to improve Demonic and Moral struggles’ independence from religiousness, but did not change any factor’s correlations with neuroticism, depression, anxiety, and stress. These distress factors correlated with most of the independent group factors corresponding to the original dimensions of the RSS, especially Ultimate Meaning and Divine struggles. These analyses demonstrate the discriminant validity of religious/spiritual struggles and the complexity of their relationships with religiousness and distress.

  17. Spiritual perspectives and practices at the end-of-life: A review of the major world religions and application to palliative care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bauer-Wu S

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Palliative care professionals promote well-being and ease suffering at the end-of-life through holistic care that addresses physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The ways that individuals cope with serious illness and prepare for death are often done so within a religious context. Therefore, it is essential that palliative care practitioners are sensitive to and have an appreciation of different religious perspectives and rituals to meet the unique needs of their patients and families. This paper provides a brief overview of the five major world religions - Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism - with particular emphasis of the respective perspectives on suffering, death and afterlife. Despite wide variation in these traditions, an understanding of common rituals surrounding death, funerals and bereavement can improve care for patients, families and communities facing the end-of-life.

  18. 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.

  19. 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 ...

  20. Religious and Spiritual Struggles as Concerns for Health and Well-Being

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nick Stauner

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available People struggle with religion and spirituality in several ways, including challenges in trusting God, confronting supernatural evil, tolerating other perspectives on religion, maintaining moral propriety, finding existential meaning, and managing religious doubt. These religious and spiritual (R/S struggles relate to both physical and mental health independently of other religious and distress factors. Causality in this connection needs further study, but evidence supports many potential causes and moderators of the link between R/S struggle and health. These include personality, social, and environmental influences, including traumatic experiences and subcultural differences. Many theoretical questions remain unresolved, including how change in R/S struggle can predict or be predicted by change in health and other connected constructs, and how one might intervene to aid those who struggle with religious or spiritual challenges. Nonetheless, research momentum has grown, having already produced a wealth of information that underscores the need for greater attention to this domain. R/S struggle poses an important exception to generally positive overall associations between religion and well-being, though even R/S struggle may promote growth. This review offers a brief introduction to emerging psychological theory and research on R/S struggle with an emphasis on its relevance to wellness and illness.

  1. Not just a time-out: change dynamics of prayer for religious couples in conflict situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, M H; Gardner, B C; Bird, M H

    1998-01-01

    For religious couples, the spiritual domain stands alongside biological, psychological, and systemic domains as an influence upon interaction and mechanism for change. A qualitative methodology consisting of structured interviews of religious spouses was used to investigate effects of prayer on couple interaction during conflict. A reliable description of the dynamics of prayer across spouse interviews was extracted by four analysts using a group interpretive procedure. Findings suggest that prayer invokes a couple-God system, which significantly influences couple interaction during conflict. Overall, prayer appears to be a significant "softening" event for religious couples, facilitating reconciliation and problem solving. Prayer 1) invokes an experience of relationship with Deity; 2) deescalates hostile emotions and reduces emotional reactivity; 3) enhances relationship and partner orientation and behavior; 4) facilitates empathy and unbiased perspective; 5) increases self-change focus; and 6) encourages couple responsibility for reconciliation and problem solving. Therapists' support of religious couples' use of prayer as a change mechanism is considered.

  2. Religiousness/Spirituality, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer: Cultural Integration for Health Research and Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masters, Kevin S.; Hooker, Stephanie A.

    2013-01-01

    Objective: Recently, behavioral scientists have developed greater interest in understanding the relations between religiousness and spirituality (R/S) and health. Our objectives were to (a) provide an overview of the R/S and health literature specific to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer, (b) discuss the importance of religious culture…

  3. Varieties of Religious Pluralism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olusegun Noah Olawoyin

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Religious Pluralism is one of many forms of pluralism in contemporary globalised world.  Some others include ethnic pluralism, value pluralism, doctrinal pluralism, ethical pluralism, political pluralism.  Religious pluralism is, however, one of the most important in contemporary society, considering globalization and the role of religions in many conflicts.  It has its root in poltitical liberalism. Religious pluralism is a hot debate in social sciences and in Theology and Religious Studies. This paper argues that religious pluralism, which is an acceptance of plurality as normative, is not a monolithic theory. The different religious context in which it is being discussed, the different disciplinary and philosophical influences resulted in various and even contradictory types.  However, this paper is a ‘mapping’ of the contour of contemporary discussions.  Critically reviewing relevant literature, two major theories of religious pluralism were identified: identist and differential/complementary.  Each of these also has subdivision.

  4. Using a Design Science Perspective to Understand a Complex Design-Based Research Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bækgaard, Lars

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how a design science perspective can be used to describe and understand a set of related design-based research processes. We describe and analyze a case study in a manner that is inspired by design science. The case study involves the design of modeling......-based research processes. And we argue that a design science perspective may be useful for both researchers and practitioners....... tools and the redesign of an information service in a library. We use a set of guidelines from a design science perspective to organize the description and analysis of the case study. By doing this we demonstrate the usefulness of design science as an analytical tool for understanding related design...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  7. Ways of understanding of religious delusions associated with a change of identity on the example of identification with Jesus Christ.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyga, Krzysztof; Stupak, Radosław

    2018-02-28

    Identification with Christ among psychiatric patients is an example of a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. As a delusion it includes a misidentification (change of identity) in the layer of content and, usually, grandiosity and/or paranoid traits in the formal aspect. What is more, it fits in the category of religious delusions, which are perhaps the most controversial type of delusions and as such require special sensitivity as well as knowledge beyond psychology or psychiatry. The aim of the articleis to show the phenomenon of identification with Christ among psychiatric patients, taking into account different ways of its explaining and understanding. Papers relating to the topic, both theoretical considerations and case studies, found in the EBSCO database were analyzed. Searching for the articles the following key words were used: identity, identification, delusion, Jesus/Christ/Messiah, psychosis, schizophrenia. The analysis included all (actually not numerous) articles except for the one linked to cognitive approach which did not significantly contribute to the issue. Given the multiplicity of ways of explaining and understanding the experience of identification with the figure of the Messiah, it seems to be a mistake to hold both objectivist and one-sided, based on one theory, attitude towards it. Such an experience should be recognized in the context of the history of patient's life and the all possible mechanisms leading to its occurrence, as well as the meanings hidden beneath the symptom, should be take into account. It is also important to be well-oriented in the system of religious beliefs and spiritual needs of the patient.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  9. The neural correlates of religious and nonreligious belief.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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

  10. Religious narrative

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geertz, Armin W.

    2013-01-01

    Denne artikel er en introduktion til et temanummer i religionslærernes tidsskrift i USA. Den er et udtræk af mit kapitel "Religious Narrative, Cognition and Culture: Approaches and Definitions" udgivet i Religious Narrative, Cognition and Culture: Image and Word in the mind of Narrative, redigeret...

  11. Race, Class, and Religious Differences in the Social Networks of Children and Their Parents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Andrea G.; Friend, Christian A.; Williams-Wheeler, Meeshay; Fletcher, Anne C.

    2012-01-01

    The study is a qualitative investigation of mothers' perspectives about and their role in negotiating and developing intergenerational closure across race, class, and religious differences and their management of children's diverse friendships. Black and White mothers (n = 25) of third graders were interviewed about social networks, children's…

  12. Religiøsitet i livsformen

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brock, Steen

    2006-01-01

    Artiklen argumenterer for at mange opfattelser af religiøsitet reducerer fænomenet til en slags moralitet. Med Wittgensteins filosofi som modeksempel, og i lyset af en modstilling mellem Hegel og Kierkegaards opfattelse af religiøsitet, betones religiøsitetens radikale karakter.......Artiklen argumenterer for at mange opfattelser af religiøsitet reducerer fænomenet til en slags moralitet. Med Wittgensteins filosofi som modeksempel, og i lyset af en modstilling mellem Hegel og Kierkegaards opfattelse af religiøsitet, betones religiøsitetens radikale karakter....

  13. The Relationship between Religious Commitment, Religious Involvement and Empathy with Aggression Among High School Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Farhanfar

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The present study has been done to determine the effect of religious commitment and religious involvement with aggression and as a mediator variable empathy was considered. This is a descriptive - correlational study and the population was all high school students of Isfahan. The sample consisted of 321 high school students that were selected by cluster random multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected using Aggression Questionnaire (Rhine, 2006, Worthington Religious Commitment (2003, Hill and Hood Religious Involvement (1999, David Empathy (1983 and Demographic ascertained Questionnaire. For Statistical Analysis, Correlation Pierson, regression analysis and structural equation method was applied. Achieved results showed that the direct effect of religious commitment on the empathy of 0/07 and the direct effect of religious involvement on empathy: /025, (P≥0/0/1, while the indirect effect of religious commitment on -/0 0231 aggression and indirect effects of religious devotion is an aggression- 54/21 representing the inverse relationship between commitment an inverse relationship between religious commitment and religious involvement by the aggression and Results of structural equation modeling show that the model has appropriate fitting based on fitting indicators (P≥0/0/1. Although, the effect of religious commitment on empathy was not confirmed.

  14. Religious extremism: The case of Sudan's Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noah K. Tenai

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The recent case of the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag of Sudan has drawn attention to the place of Islamic sharia law in contemporary, diverse and multireligious communities and nation states. Islamic sharia law was used to charge Mariam of apostasy; she was subsequently sentenced to 100 lashes followed by hanging. Religious extremism and one of its resultant effects, namely persecution, particularly of women and other minorities, is a persistent hindrance to ongoing efforts against poverty responses. Religious extremism goes against the spirit of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, of which many nation states are signatories. The Catholic vows of consecration � poverty, chastity and obedience � are very helpful perspectives that can assist in pursuing responses to religious extremism and the resultant intolerance, persecution and dispossession.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Drawing from the Roman Catholic Church�s vows of consecration, the article argues for a stance that communities can take in situations that call for solidarity with people in vulnerable situations.

  15. Understanding the value of emergency care: a framework incorporating stakeholder perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharp, Adam L; Cobb, Enesha M; Dresden, Scott M; Richardson, Derek K; Sabbatini, Amber K; Sauser, Kori; Kocher, Keith E

    2014-09-01

    In the face of escalating spending, measuring and maximizing the value of health services has become an important focus of health reform. Recent initiatives aim to incentivize high-value care through provider and hospital payment reform, but the role of the emergency department (ED) remains poorly defined. To achieve an improved understanding of the value of emergency care, we have developed a framework that incorporates the perspectives of stakeholders in the delivery of health services. A pragmatic review of the literature informed the design of this framework to standardize the definition of value in emergency care and discuss outcomes and costs from different stakeholder perspectives. The viewpoint of patient, provider, payer, health system, and society is each used to assess value for emergency medical conditions. We found that the value attributed to emergency care differs substantially by stakeholder perspective. Potential targets to improve ED value may be aimed at improving outcomes or controlling costs, depending on the acuity of the clinical condition. The value of emergency care varies by perspective, and a better understanding is achieved when specific outcomes and costs can be identified, quantified, and measured. Using this framework can help stakeholders find common ground to prioritize which costs and outcomes to target for research, quality improvement efforts, and future health policy impacting emergency care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Development of a measure of college students' adherence to religious doctrine concerning sexual behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Victor, Elizabeth C; Bowman, Hilary; Thompson, Robert J

    2015-01-01

    The authors developed a 14-item measure of adherence to religious doctrine concerning sexual behavior (ARDSB). The ARDSB psychometric properties were investigated to better understand religious motivations associated with changes in sexual behavior that may provide support for sexual health promotion and prevention programs. Four hundred eighty-three undergraduates aged 18 to 26. Data were collected from an online survey during the 2012-2013 academic school year. Principle components factor analysis identified 2 factors: reasons to break religious doctrine and reasons to adhere to religious doctrine concerning sexual behavior. The subscales had good internal consistency. Correlations, t tests, and analyses of variance of the subscales with measures of intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and self-reported sexual behavior and risk provide support for concurrent validity. The ARDSB could be employed as a measure to better understand sexual behavior; it is inexpensive and relatively easy to employ in both research and campus ministry settings.

  17. Recollections of Childhood Religious Identity and Behavior as a Function of Adult Religiousness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayward, R. David; Maselko, Joanna; Meador, Keith G.

    2012-01-01

    People have a strong motivation to maintain a self-concept that is coherent and consistent over time. Religion is an central source of social identity for many people, but its importance is prone to dramatic change across the life course. To maintain a consistent perception of self, recollections of one’s own past religiousness may shift to better fit with the present. This study examined changes between early and middle adulthood in retrospective perceptions of religious behavior and identity in childhood. Data from a population-based birth cohort sample were matched with data from individuals who participated in at least two of three adult follow-up studies, at intervals of approximately 10 years. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association of final recollections of childhood behavior and identity with previous recollections and current religious characteristics. Consistent with the predictions of temporal self-appraisal theory, participants’ perception of their religious identity as children tended to change over time to match their adult religious identity. Recollections of childhood religious behavior were more stable than recollections of religious identity, and change was unrelated to adult behavior. These results have implications for studying religious characteristics using retrospective measures, regarding their accuracy and their independence from contemporary measures. PMID:22844186

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  19. A complementary marriage of perspectives: understanding organizational social context using mixed methods

    OpenAIRE

    Beidas, Rinad S; Wolk, Courtney L Benjamin; Walsh, Lucia M; Evans, Arthur C; Hurford, Matthew O; Barg, Frances K

    2014-01-01

    Background Organizational factors impact the delivery of mental health services in community settings. Mixed-methods analytic approaches have been recommended, though little research within implementation science has explicitly compared inductive and deductive perspectives to understand their relative value in understanding the same constructs. The purpose of our study is to use two different paradigmatic approaches to deepen our understanding of organizational social context. We accomplish t...

  20. Children\\\\\\'s Mental Health from the Perspective of Traditions and Religious Texts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Rasti Broojeni

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Today, discussions on health have considered the spiritual – mental health on a par with physical health. A close relationship can be seen between two points, mental health and ethical, training issues, so that individuals who do not have spiritual virtues and religious training are not healthy individuals. Due to the considerable importance of moral and mental health about children, this study was aimed to investigate training issues and moral and mental health about children. The main source used in this research was Comprehensive Al-ahadith software Version 3.5 provided in Islamic research computer center, which included more than 180 books of hadith in Arabic and Persian language. At the first, keywords about mental, health, child, and training were searched and all related data were collected. Then, data were categorized based on specific subjects and described. In a total classification, the training, moral and mental health education of children can be divided into two categories from the perspective of narratives, before and after the birth. A prenatal period includes before marriage, before the formation of the embryo, during the formation of embryo, during pregnancy and after birth period includes searching a fair name, promoting learning capacity, interplaying infant, and the main role of mothers in childhood and lactation period. Childhood constitutes the substructure of individual’s growth and the provision of mental health for each person depends on the way of child training. Islam has been based on the growth and completeness and has presented useful educations about child training and to carry out these instructions necessitates taking- effective steps for promoting mental health.

  1. Free to become martyrs? The right to refuse medical treatment on religious grounds in a comparative perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincenzo Pacillo

    2016-09-01

     ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the right of patients to refuse medical treatments on religious grounds and on the (supposed right to the parents to refuse medical treatments on behalf of their children, emphasizing the links and connections between the freedom of religion, the right to self-determination and the right to refuse medical treatment based on religious motivations. After a comparison between the norms devoted to rule the exercise of these rights in the English (and Welsh and Italian legal systems, the article suggests that the approach of medical staff towards a Refusal of Medical Treatment on Religious Grounds ought to start an intercultural process. This process ought to be a cross-cultural dialogue devoted not only to translate medical language in a language which can be fully understood by the patient, but also to create a reciprocal comprehension between the (mainstream ethnocultural communication codes and instances of the staff and the (nondominant ethnocultural (and religious communication codes and instances of the patient (or of his/her parents.

  2. Personality Influences the Relationship Between Primary Emotions and Religious/Spiritual Well-Being

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiebler-Ragger, Michaela; Fuchshuber, Jürgen; Dröscher, Heidrun; Vajda, Christian; Fink, Andreas; Unterrainer, Human F.

    2018-01-01

    The study of human emotions and personality provides valuable insights into the parameters of mental health and well-being. Affective neuroscience proposes that several levels of emotions – ranging from primary ones such as LUST or FEAR up to higher emotions such as spirituality – interact on a neural level. The present study aimed to further explore this theory. Furthermore, we hypothesized that personality – formed by bottom-up primary emotions and cortical top-down regulation – might act as a link between primary emotions and religious/spiritual well-being. A total sample of 167 (78% female) student participants completed the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale (primary emotions), the Big Five Personality Inventory and the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (higher emotions). Correlation analyses confirmed the link between primary and higher emotions as well as their relation to personality. Further regression analyses indicated that personality dimensions mediate the relationship between primary and higher emotions. A substantial interaction between primary emotions, personality dimensions, and religious/spiritual well-being could be confirmed. From a developmental perspective, cortical top-down regulation might influence religious/spiritual well-being by forming relevant personality dimensions. Hence, CARE as well as Agreeableness seem of special importance. Future studies might focus on implications for clinical groups. PMID:29615950

  3. Personality Influences the Relationship Between Primary Emotions and Religious/Spiritual Well-Being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiebler-Ragger, Michaela; Fuchshuber, Jürgen; Dröscher, Heidrun; Vajda, Christian; Fink, Andreas; Unterrainer, Human F

    2018-01-01

    The study of human emotions and personality provides valuable insights into the parameters of mental health and well-being. Affective neuroscience proposes that several levels of emotions - ranging from primary ones such as LUST or FEAR up to higher emotions such as spirituality - interact on a neural level. The present study aimed to further explore this theory. Furthermore, we hypothesized that personality - formed by bottom-up primary emotions and cortical top-down regulation - might act as a link between primary emotions and religious/spiritual well-being. A total sample of 167 (78% female) student participants completed the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale (primary emotions), the Big Five Personality Inventory and the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (higher emotions). Correlation analyses confirmed the link between primary and higher emotions as well as their relation to personality. Further regression analyses indicated that personality dimensions mediate the relationship between primary and higher emotions. A substantial interaction between primary emotions, personality dimensions, and religious/spiritual well-being could be confirmed. From a developmental perspective, cortical top-down regulation might influence religious/spiritual well-being by forming relevant personality dimensions. Hence, CARE as well as Agreeableness seem of special importance. Future studies might focus on implications for clinical groups.

  4. Personality Influences the Relationship Between Primary Emotions and Religious/Spiritual Well-Being

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michaela Hiebler-Ragger

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The study of human emotions and personality provides valuable insights into the parameters of mental health and well-being. Affective neuroscience proposes that several levels of emotions – ranging from primary ones such as LUST or FEAR up to higher emotions such as spirituality – interact on a neural level. The present study aimed to further explore this theory. Furthermore, we hypothesized that personality – formed by bottom-up primary emotions and cortical top-down regulation – might act as a link between primary emotions and religious/spiritual well-being. A total sample of 167 (78% female student participants completed the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale (primary emotions, the Big Five Personality Inventory and the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (higher emotions. Correlation analyses confirmed the link between primary and higher emotions as well as their relation to personality. Further regression analyses indicated that personality dimensions mediate the relationship between primary and higher emotions. A substantial interaction between primary emotions, personality dimensions, and religious/spiritual well-being could be confirmed. From a developmental perspective, cortical top-down regulation might influence religious/spiritual well-being by forming relevant personality dimensions. Hence, CARE as well as Agreeableness seem of special importance. Future studies might focus on implications for clinical groups.

  5. Micro credit and women's agency: a comparative perspective across socio-religious communities in West Bengal, India

    OpenAIRE

    Kundu, AMIT

    2011-01-01

    The paper explores the impact of a government sponsored microcredit program in India on women's decision-making agency across different socio-religious communities. The paper shows that women's participation in the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojona (SGSY) has resulted in varied patterns of decision-making across socio-religious communities (SRC) in four areas chosen for inquiry: (a) Money Management, (b) Food item (c) Use of borrowed money and (d) Kinship and family matters. The likelihood ...

  6. Genetic and environmental sources of individual religiousness: the roles of individual personality traits and perceived environmental religiousness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandler, Christian; Riemann, Rainer

    2013-07-01

    In the current study, we examined the genetic and environmental sources of the links between individual religiousness and individual personality traits, perceived parental religiousness, and perceived peer religiousness. Data from 870 individuals (incl. 394 twin pairs) were analyzed. Variance in individual religiousness was significantly influenced by genetic effects, environmental influences shared by twins reared together, and individual-specific environmental influences. Individual religiousness showed significant associations with age, sex, specific personality traits (e.g., agreeableness, openness to values), and perceived religiousness of important social interaction partners, such as parents, best friends, and spouses. The links to personality traits were relatively small and primarily genetically mediated. The associations between individual religiousness and parental religiousness were substantial and mediated by shared environmental effects. These links significantly decreased across age accompanying a significant decrease of shared environmental influences on individual religiousness. The correlations between individual religiousness and perceived religiousness of spouses and best friends were relatively moderate but increased with age. These associations were mediated by genetic as well as nonshared environmental sources accompanying an increase of nonshared environmental influences on individual religiousness with age. The results suggest that inter-individual differences in religiousness are due to multiple sources.

  7. Comparative Theology: An Alternative to Religious Studies or Theology of Religions?

    OpenAIRE

    Betül AVCI

    2018-01-01

    This paper examines the relationship between Comparative Theology, Religious Studies and Theology of Religions and questions whether Comparative Theology is an alternative to the last two. Comparative Theology, a faith seeking understanding practice, may be viewed as an alternative to the Enlightenment ideal of Religious Studies, which seeks “impartiality” and “scientific objectivity” in contrast to Comparative Theology’s enquiry into “truth” and “meaning.” I suggest, however, that the compar...

  8. Relationship between spirituality/religiousness and coping in patients with residual schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Ruchita; Kulhara, Parmanand; Grover, Sandeep; Kumar, Suresh; Malhotra, Rama; Tyagi, Shikha

    2011-09-01

    To measure spirituality/religiousness and its relation to coping skills in patients with residual schizophrenia. Using a cross-sectional design, 103 persons with residual schizophrenia were assessed on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS] and Ways of Coping Checklist [WCC] to assess the repertoire of coping skills and WHO Quality of Life-Spirituality, Religiousness and Personal Belief scale [WHOQOL-SRPB] to assess religiousness and spirituality. Positive reappraisal as a coping strategy had significant positive correlation with all the facets of WHOQOL-SRPB and SRPB total domain scores. The coping subscales of accepting responsibility, planful problem solving, distancing, confrontive coping, and self-controlling also had significant positive correlations with different facets of WHOQOL-SRPB and total SRPB domain score. Seeking social support and escape-avoidance as coping mechanisms had no correlations with any of the WHOQOL-SRPB facets. A sound spiritual, religious, or personal belief system is associated with active and adaptive coping skills in subjects with residual schizophrenia. Understanding and assessing the spirituality and religiousness of subjects with schizophrenia can help in better management of the disorder.

  9. Religious Tourism

    OpenAIRE

    Alina Badulescu; Olimpia Ban

    2005-01-01

    The first part of the paper presents the past and present of the religious tourism in the world and in Romania and its implications on traveling. The second part describes the regions with religious tourism potential in Romania and the activities that could enhance and help the development of this kind of tourism in our country.

  10. Religious education in holistic concept of education as a possible answer to global challenges of humanity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anđelković Petar M.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Figure of humanity, at the beginning of the new millennium, under the influence of globalist monstrous machinery, all prefer negative utopias of Franz Kafka and George Orwell facing with the darkest perspectives of these authors. The crisis dissipates and cancels a series of conceptual and ideological constructs and values: tradition, morality, humanism. The doom of dehumanisation and the loss of the human figure threaten us. In these bad times, in 'Time of Snake' educational profession, especially religious education belongs to one of the most important roles in society. What educational and human characteristics should a good teacher of religious education have today? Can we allow ourselves to be weak people and bad teachers in these difficult times? All of this suggests that the call of religious education teacher is determined by the narrow methodological principles of gnoseology, ethical, axiological and deontological principles, which (like Kant's moral imperative religious educationalist must be guided in their research and human society and its educational mission of prophethood. Transfer of religious knowledge does not go and does not need to go first to achieve simple mechanical formula of memorising religious or uncritical adherence to a social norm (without consideration of the content, but seeks to help children and young people discover the fullness and sense of social life. When we understand the 'why' we can boldly deal with any 'how.' Religious education teacher with his whole being, in appearance, is to testify about what they speak. Education is a lively learning that is not only taught from books, but also from the source of life, and in this case, it is the society in which we live. Question of education, what is well known, is a very important question for every human community. If one should easily accept alternative educational solutions which are so generously offered, with financial help, that would mean that we give up

  11. The Regulation of Religious Freedom in Indonesia And International Law Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    BAKHTIAR, HANDAR SUBHANDI

    2017-01-01

    International Journal Of Law In reality, there are still violations of the rights-violations of religious freedom. The system of democratic societies allow for any differences, including religion, culture and ideology to be communicated and consolidated well. Here in lies the importance of setting and restrictions se in a human rights instruments both internationally and nationally. Through its legal instrument, the mission to ensure security for everyone with neutral behavior or nonpartis...

  12. 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.

  13. Buying an Afterlife: Mapping the Social Impact of Religious Beliefs through Consumer Death Goods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Candi K. Cann

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Choosing to have a body embalmed, the choice of interment locations and type, including the selection of a particular casket, are all deeply intertwined with various understandings of the afterlife, and views of the body after death. Consumer choices in these cases are often determined by imagined embodiment, and are determined in part by non-rational consumer choices based on religious upbringing and belief. In turn, diasporic and religious identity can be reinforced and solidified through consumer choices that then fulfill religious imaginations of post-death embodiment. This article traces the relationship of two consumer death goods—embalming and caskets—in the contemporary United States, examining both the implicit and explicit relationships these products have with religious worldviews, mapping the social impact of religious beliefs on consumer death choices.

  14. The origins of religious disbelief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norenzayan, Ara; Gervais, Will M

    2013-01-01

    Although most people are religious, there are hundreds of millions of religious disbelievers in the world. What is religious disbelief and how does it arise? Recent developments in the scientific study of religious beliefs and behaviors point to the conclusion that religious disbelief arises from multiple interacting pathways, traceable to cognitive, motivational, and cultural learning mechanisms. We identify four such pathways, leading to four distinct forms of atheism, which we term mindblind atheism, apatheism, inCREDulous atheism, and analytic atheism. Religious belief and disbelief share the same underlying pathways and can be explained within a single evolutionary framework that is grounded in both genetic and cultural evolution. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Examining the conflation of multiculturalism, sexism, and religious fundamentalism through Taylor and Bakhtin: expanding post-colonial feminist epistemology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Racine, Louise

    2009-01-01

    In this post-9/11 era marked by religious and ethnic conflicts and the rise of cultural intolerance, ambiguities arising from the conflation of multiculturalism, sexism, and religious fundamentalism jeopardize the delivery of culturally safe nursing care to non-Western populations. This new social reality requires nurses to develop a heightened awareness of health issues pertaining to racism and ethnocentrism to provide culturally safe care to non-Western immigrants or refugees. Through the lens of post-colonial feminism, this paper explores the challenge of providing culturally safe nursing care in the context of the post-9/11 in Canadian healthcare settings. A critical appraisal of the literature demonstrates that post-colonial feminism, despite some limitations, remains a valuable theoretical perspective to apply in cultural nursing research and develop culturally safe nursing practice. Post-colonial feminism offers the analytical lens to understand how health, social and cultural context, race and gender intersect to impact on non-Western populations' health. However, an uncritical application of post-colonial feminism may not serve racialized men's and women's interests because of its essentialist risk. Post-colonial feminism must expand its epistemological assumptions to integrate Taylor's concept of identity and recognition and Bakhtin's concepts of dialogism and unfinalizability to explore non-Western populations' health issues and the context of nursing practice. This would strengthen the theoretical adequacy of post-colonial feminist approaches in unveiling the process of racialization that arises from the conflation of multiculturalism, sexism, and religious fundamentalism in Western healthcare settings.

  16. Differential diagnosis of "Religious or Spiritual Problem" - possibilities and limitations implied by the V-code 62.89 in DSM-5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prusak, Jacek

    2016-01-01

    Introduction : Work over preparation of DSM-5 has been a stimulus for research and reflection over the impact of religious/spiritual factors on phenomenology, differential diagnosis, course, outcome and prognosis of mental disorders. The aim of this paper is to present the attitude of DSM towards religion and spirituality in the clinical context. Even though DSM is not in use in Poland, in contrast to ICD, it gives a different, not only psychopathological, look at religious or spiritual problems. The paper is based on in-depth analysis of V-code 62.89 ("Religious or spiritual problem") from historical, theoretical and clinical perspective. The introduction of non-reductive approach to religious and spiritual problems to DSM can be considered as a manifestation of the development of this psychiatric classification with regard to the differential diagnosis between religion and spirituality and psychopathology. By placing religion and spirituality mainly in the category of culture, the authors of DSM-5 have established their solution to the age-old debate concerning the significance of religion/spirituality in clinical practice. Even though, DSM-5 offers an expanded understanding of culture and its impact on diagnosis, the V-code 62.89 needs to be improved taking into account some limitations of DSM classification. The development of DSM, from its fourth edition, brought a change into the approach towards religion and spirituality in the context of clinical diagnosis. Introducing V-code 62.89 has increased the possibility of differential diagnosis between religion/spirituality and health/psychopathology. The emphasis on manifestation of cultural diversity has enabled non-reductive and non-pathologising insight into the problems of religious and spirituality. On the other hand, medicalisation and psychiatrisation of various existential problems, which can be seen in subsequent editions of the DSM, encourages pathologising approach towards religious or spiritual

  17. Religiousness, religious coping with illness, and psychological function among Polish elderly patients with osteoarthritis undergoing arthroplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stecz, Patryk; Kocur, Józef

    2015-04-01

    To determine the influence of religious coping and religiousness on the psychological functioning of Polish patients before and after arthroplasty, a prospective study was performed. Out of a pool of 102 potential participants, a total of 61 (34 females, 27 males) completed a purposely created survey, Brief-COPE followed by preoperative and postoperative Perceived Stress Scale, State Trait Anxiety Inventory and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Religious coping was not associated with: (1) perceived stress before or after surgery; (2) preoperative or postoperative anxiety; (3) life satisfaction. A two-factor ANOVA has shown that religious coping controlled by religiousness was related to better psychological functioning. Between- and within-subjects effects were observed for improvement in life satisfaction measured by split-plot ANOVA, which suggests (p religious orientation. We concluded that religious strategies in dealing with stress measured by Brief-COPE were least likely to benefit patients of low-religious orientation. The study demonstrated the importance of core religious beliefs in predicting benefits derived from religiousness in the face of a crisis. This study showed that regardless of its effectiveness, turning to religion is common among Polish patients about to undergo surgery for osteoarthritis of the hip.

  18. Religious Nonconformity and cultural Dynamics: The Case of the Dutch Collegiants

    OpenAIRE

    Ricci, Rosa

    2015-01-01

    Rosa Ricci Summary of the PHD Dissertation: Religious Nonconformity and cultural Dynamics: The Case of the Dutch Collegiants There is ample reason to engage in research around the Collegiants, a minority religious movement in the Netherlands of the 17th century. An exploration of this topic can be interesting not only for a contribution to the history of Religion but also to understand the development of some central concept in the early modernity. Prominent, in this research, is the ...

  19. Comparative theology: an alternative to religious studies or theology of religions?

    OpenAIRE

    Avcı, Betül

    2018-01-01

    Avcı, Betül (IHU Author) This paper examines the relationship between Comparative Theology, Religious Studies and Theology of Religions and questions whether Comparative Theology is an alternative to the last two. Comparative Theology, a faith seeking understanding practice, may be viewed as an alternative to the Enlightenment ideal of Religious Studies, which seeks “impartiality” and “scientific objectivity” in contrast to Comparative Theology’s enquiry into “truth” and “meaning.” I sugge...

  20. Religious leaders' opinions and guidance towards oral health maintenance and promotion: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zini, Avraham; Sgan-Cohen, Harold D; Feder-Bubis, Paula

    2015-04-01

    Religions emphasize the supreme value of life. However, potential or concrete conflicts of perception between dictates of faith and science often present an inescapable dilemma. The aim of this qualitative research was to examine the views of spiritual and religious leaders towards general and oral health issues. A total of 11 eminent Jewish spiritual and religious community leaders were purposively chosen. They were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The verbatim transcriptions of the interviews were analysed in the spirit of grounded theory, using qualitative data analysis software. Open, axial, and thematic coding served to build categories and themes. Analysis of participants' perspectives reflected that they, based upon Jewish theology, attributed high importance to primary prevention at both personal and community levels. Religious and orthodox people were depicted as being motivated towards maintaining oral health behaviours due to a sense of obligation to follow religious edicts, strong social support, and elevated perceived spiritual levels. We offer a theoretical model that can explain the potential high motivation among these communities towards implementing positive general and oral health behaviours. Religiosity may be regarded as an example of a psycho-social health determinant, encompassing spiritual belief ("psycho") and social support ("social") components.

  1. Delay discounting as a function of intrinsic/extrinsic religiousness, religious fundamentalism, and regular church attendance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weatherly, Jeffrey N; Plumm, Karyn M

    2012-01-01

    Delay discounting occurs when the subjective value of an outcome decreases because its delivery is delayed. Previous research has suggested that the rate at which some, but not all, outcomes are discounted varies as a function of regular church attendance. In the present study, 509 participants completed measures of intrinsic religiousness, extrinsic religiousness, religious fundamentalism, and whether they regularly attended church services. They then completed a delay-discounting task involving five outcomes. Although religiousness was not a significant predictor of discounting for all outcomes, participants scoring high in intrinsic religiousness tended to display less delay discounting than participants scoring low. Likewise, participants scoring high in religious fundamentalism tended to display more delay discounting than participants scoring low. These results partially replicate previous ones in showing that the process of discounting may vary as a function of religiousness. The results also provide some direction for those interested in altering how individuals discount.

  2. Religious culture as a barrier?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agergaard, Sine

    2016-01-01

    Political interventions, media coverage and research often refer to the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities, particularly girls and women, participating in physical activity and organised sports. In both public and academic debates, reference is made to the religious culture as a particular...... barrier to participation in sports among Muslim girls and women. This article aims to provide a counter-narrative by focusing on young Muslim girls who simultaneously practice their religion and sports. The main research question was: How do young Danish Muslim girls align participation in sports...... religion as hegemonic, embodied and dynamic cultural phenomena, the analysis points to the diversity through which Muslim girls and women participate and engage in sports. Finally, the article discusses the extent to which counter-narratives may contribute to changing perspectives on so-called hard...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  4. Peningkatan Spiritualitas melalui Wisata Religi di Makam Keramat Kwitang Jakarta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nur Indah Sari

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to describe and analyze religious tourism as an effort to increase the spirituality of visitors or pilgrims in the Tomb of Kwitang Jakarta. Increased spirituality is a process of change from bad to better by constantly carrying out God's command and away from God’s prohibition consistently with the guidance of the values of faith to recognize and understand feelings Self, others, self-motivated, and able to manage emotions in relation to others. Meanwhile, the Sacred Tomb of the Mosque Ar-Riyadh Kwitang is one of the famous religious tourism sites in Jakarta, which is visited by many individuals and groups. This research uses descriptive qualitative approach with the respondent of the sacred grave of Masjid Ar-Riyadh Kwitang Jakarta. This research produces some important points about the process of improving spiritual intelligence through religious tourism. Keywords: Spirituality, Religious Tourism, Sacred Grave Kwitang. Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan dan menganalisis wisata religi sebagai upaya untuk peningkatan spiritualitas pada pengunjung atau peziarah di Makam Keramat Kwitang Jakarta. Peningkatan spiritualitas merupakan suatu proses perubahan dari yang tidak baik menjadi lebih baik dengan senantiasa melaksanakan perintah dan menjauhi larangan Allah secara konsisten dengan bimbingan nilai-nilai rukun iman untuk mengenali dan memahami perasaan sendiri, orang lain, memotivasi diri, serta mampu mengelola emosi dalam berhubungan dengan orang lain. Sedangkan, Makam Keramat Masjid Ar-Riyadh Kwitang merupakan salah satu tempat wisata religi terkenal di DKI Jakarta, yang banyak dikunjungi oleh masyarakat secara perseorangan maupun kelompok. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif deskriptif dengan responden pengunjung makam keramat Masjid Ar-Riyadh Kwitang Jakarta. Penelitian ini menghasilkan beberapa poin penting mengenai proses peningkatan kecerdasan spiritualitas melalui wisata religi. Kata Kunci

  5. Religiousness and health in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahrenfeldt, Linda Juel; Möller, Sören; Andersen-Ranberg, Karen; Vitved, Astrid Roll; Lindahl-Jacobsen, Rune; Hvidt, Niels Christian

    2017-10-01

    Recent research suggests that epidemiological forces in religion and health can have opposed effects. Using longitudinal data of people aged 50+ included in wave 1 (2004-2005) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and followed up through waves 2 (2006-2007), 4 (2011) and 5 (2013), we examined two forms of religious internalization and their association with health. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine all associations. Taking part in a religious organization was associated with lower odds of GALI (global activity limitation index) (OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.75, 0.98) and depressive symptoms 0.80 (95% CI 0.69, 0.93), whereas being religiously educated lowered odds of poor self-rated health (SRH) 0.81 (95% CI 0.70, 0.93) and long-term health problems 0.84 (95% CI 0.74, 0.95). The more religious had lower odds of limitations with activities of daily living 0.76 (95% CI 0.58, 0.99) and depressive symptoms 0.77 (95% CI 0.64, 0.92) than other respondents, and compared to people who only prayed and did not have organizational involvement, they had lower odds of poor SRH 0.71 (95% CI 0.52, 0.97) and depressive symptoms 0.66 (95% CI 0.50, 0.87). Conversely, people who only prayed had higher odds of depressive symptoms than non-religious people 1.46 (95% CI 1.15, 1.86). Our findings suggest two types of religiousness: 1. Restful religiousness (praying, taking part in a religious organization and being religiously educated), which is associated with good health, and 2. Crisis religiousness (praying without other religious activities), which is associated with poor health.

  6. Why do you hate me so much? An exploration of religious freedom from the perspective of African religion(s

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    Sibusiso T. Masondo

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The advent of the 1996 constitution and the promotion of freedom of religion gave space to previously discriminated religious traditions to flourish. There have been a number of revivals of aspects of African Traditional Religion. The Bill of Rights guarantees Religious Freedom but tends to limit it to Freedom of belief. People have every right to believe and practice as long as their practice is in line with the law. This paper is a reflection on the difficulties posed by the notion of Religious Freedom as contained in the 1996 South African constitution for practitioners of African Indigenous Religions and other minority religions. In a case that captured the imagination of the legal fraternity, Gareth Prince, a practicing Rastafarian, was prevented from joining the Bar of the Western Cape because of a prior conviction of being caught in possession of dagga, an illegal substance. He argued that he used cannabis as part of his religious observance. Justice Ngcobo, in his judgement dismissing the case, made it very clear that ‘the right to freedom of religion is not absolute’. In other words, religious practices need to fall within the provisions of the law of the land. At the core of our argument is that the intellectual and cultural resources that were mobilised in writing the South African constitution failed to reflect on the religious practices of indigenous people and other minority religions.

  7. Human Rights and Religious Education in the Contentious Context of Conflict-Troubled Societies: Perspectives from Human Rights Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zembylas, Michalinos

    2014-01-01

    This article explores some of the tensions that are created from the entanglement of religion and human rights and offers a possible response to these tensions in the context of religious education in conflict-troubled societies. It is suggested that a historicised and politicised approach in religious education in conjunction with human rights…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  9. The Trend of Body Donation for Education Based on Korean Social and Religious Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jong-Tae; Jang, Yoonsun; Park, Min Sun; Pae, Calvin; Park, Jinyi; Hu, Kyung-Seok; Park, Jin-Seo; Han, Seung-Ho; Koh, Ki-Seok; Kim, Hee-Jin

    2011-01-01

    Until a century ago, Korean medicine was based mainly on Oriental philosophies and ideas. From a religious perspective, Chinese Confucianism was prevalent in Korea at that time. Since Confucianists believe that it is against one's filial duty to harm his or her body, given to them by their parents, most Koreans did not donate their bodies or…

  10. Religion and Religious Education: Comparing and Contrasting Pupils' and Teachers' Views in an English School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Joyce; McKenna, Ursula

    2011-01-01

    This paper builds on and develops the English findings of the qualitative study of European teenagers' perspectives on religion and religious education (RE), part of "Religion in Education: a Contribution to Dialogue or a Factor of Conflict in Transforming Societies of European Countries?" (REDCo) project. It uses data gathered from 27…

  11. Religious Authority in African American Churches: A Study of Six Churches

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    Karen Hye-cheon Kim Yeary

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available A sociological study of religious authority and gender in the context of a rural, impoverished community was conducted in African American churches in one county of the Arkansas Lower Mississippi Delta region to understand relationships between religious leadership, gender, race, and social justice. Three female and three male African American pastors were interviewed as key-informants of their churches to investigate views of female religious authority, and to compare and contrast the congregational culture of female-headed vs. male-headed churches. Among male-headed congregations, views of gender and leadership were complex, with beliefs ranging from no support to full support for female-headed congregations. Two congregational cultures emerged from the data: Congregations with a Social Activist orientation focused on meeting the social needs of the community through Christ, whereas congregations with a Teach the Word orientation stressed the importance of meeting the spiritual needs of the community through knowing the Word of God. Although aspects of both congregational cultures were present to some extentin all six congregations studied, the Social Activist culture played a more dominant narrative in female-headed congregations, whereas the Teach the Word culture was more evident in male-headed congregations. This study reports preliminary information about gender and religious authority in rural African American churches by revealing the different clergy training requirements and church placements of female and male clergy, a myriad of views about female religious authority in the African American faith community, and through uncovering two distinct congregational cultures. This study also enhances understanding on the role of gender in Black churches’ perceptions and interactions with rural, socioeconomically challenged communities.

  12. 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.

  13. Understanding the IT/business partnership - a business process perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Siurdyban, Artur

    2014-01-01

    From a business process perspective, the business value of information technologies (IT) stems from how they improve or enable business processes. At the same time, in the field of strategic IT/business alignment, the locus of discussion has been how IT/business partnerships enhance the value of IT....... Despite this apparent relationship, the business process perspective has been absent from the IT/business alignment discussion. In this paper, we use the case of an industrial company to develop a model for understanding IT/business partnerships in business process terms. Based on our findings, we define...... these partnerships by allocating responsibilities between central IT and the local business during two stages of a process lifecycle: formation and standardization. The significance of the findings lies in how the model’s configuration leads to different types of IT units’ process centricity. This in turn affects...

  14. 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.

  15. Religious diversity, intolerance and civil conflict

    OpenAIRE

    Gomes, Joseph Flavian

    2013-01-01

    We compute new measures of religious diversity and intolerance and study their effects on civil conflict. Using a religion tree that describes the relationship between different religions, we compute measures of religious diversity at three different levels of aggregation. We find that religious diversity is a significant and robust correlate of civil conflict. While religious fractionalization significantly reduces conflict, religious polarization increases it. This is most robust at the sec...

  16. The role of religious leaders in promoting healthy habits in religious institutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anshel, Mark H; Smith, Mitchell

    2014-08-01

    The growing obesity epidemic in the West, in general, and the U.S.A., in particular, is resulting in deteriorating health, premature and avoidable onset of disease, and excessive health care costs. The religious community is not immune to these societal conditions. Changing health behavior in the community requires both input from individuals who possess knowledge and credibility and a receptive audience. One group of individuals who may be uniquely positioned to promote community change but have been virtually ignored in the applied health and consulting psychology literature is religious leaders. These individuals possess extraordinary credibility and influence in promoting healthy behaviors by virtue of their association with time-honored religious traditions and the status which this affords them-as well as their communication skills, powers of persuasion, a weekly (captive) audience, mastery over religious texts that espouse the virtues of healthy living, and the ability to anchor health-related actions and rituals in a person's values and spirituality. This article focuses on ways in which religious leaders might promote healthy habits among their congregants. By addressing matters of health, nutrition, and fitness from the pulpit and in congregational programs, as well as by visibly adopting the tenets of a healthier lifestyle, clergy can deliver an important message regarding the need for healthy living. Through such actions, religious leaders can be effective agents in promoting critical change in these areas.

  17. Understanding the motivational perspectives of sustainability: A case of biogas production

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    Marco Pereira Querol

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite the importance of the expectations and visions of the actors involved in sustainable innovations, only the societal, motivational perspective is usually considered. The fact that local actors may have different multi-motivations is typically overlooked. The aim of this study is to examine and understand the multi-motivational perspectives in a sustainable production project. First, we introduce the concept of the object and analyze the case of a biogas production project as a mediating activity for making swine production more sustainable. We argue that the object of the activity, as manifested in motivational perspectives, shapes the way in which biogas production (BP systems are implemented. The article concludes by discussing how the concept of object can be used to explore the actual and future possibilities of using artifacts for increasing the sustainability of production.

  18. Building Harmony through Religious Reception in Culture: Lesson Learned from Radin Jambat Folktale of Lampung

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    Agus Iswanto

    2018-12-01

    Full Text Available Understanding of the existence of various religious receptions in culture gives a great opportunity for the building and nurturance of harmony among religious followers and for the creating of solidarities in the society. This article uncovers receptions of religious aspects (ultimate truth aspect/god, cosmological aspect and religious ritual aspect in the cultural products of Radin Lambat, a folktale from Lampung. The article is based on the texts of Radin Lambat folktale, interviews, and other literary sources about Lampung cultures. Religious receptions as shown in Radin Lambat folktale indicate the preservation of past beliefs, coupled with the gentle addition and inclusion of Islamic teachings, to create harmonization between religion and tradition through folktale. This shows that Islam in the societies of Lampung is Islam that values cultures through the processes of gradual and varied receptions. This article is expected to add evidence to related sources about the concepts and practices of harmony among religious followers in Indonesia in local tradition, and the addition to the range of the rare religious-cultural reception studies of Lampung society

  19. Seeking Critical Hope in a Global Age: Religious Education in a Global Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyun-Sook

    2015-01-01

    During the last two decades, globalization has come to occupy an important position in popular and academic discourses. Globalization has provided opportunities to produce possibilities of global awareness and at the same time crises to perpetuate a culture of fear. This article asks how church and religious education can provide a global…

  20. Origins of Religiousness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding

    Across 800 regions of the World, this research shows that people are more religious when living in regions that are more frequently razed by natural disasters. This is in line with psychological theory stressing that religious people tend to cope with adverse life events by seeking comfort in the...

  1. Thinking from God's perspective decreases biased valuation of the life of a nonbeliever.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginges, Jeremy; Sheikh, Hammad; Atran, Scott; Argo, Nichole

    2016-01-12

    Religious belief is often thought to motivate violence because it is said to promote norms that encourage tribalism and the devaluing of the lives of nonbelievers. If true, this should be visible in the multigenerational violent conflict between Palestinians and Israelis which is marked by a religious divide. We conducted experiments with a representative sample of Muslim Palestinian youth (n = 555), examining whether thinking from the perspective of Allah (God), who is the ultimate arbitrator of religious belief, changes the relative value of Jewish Israelis' lives (compared with Palestinian lives). Participants were presented with variants of the classic "trolley dilemma," in the form of stories where a man can be killed to save the lives of five children who were either Jewish Israeli or Palestinian. They responded from their own perspective and from the perspective of Allah. We find that whereas a large proportion of participants were more likely to endorse saving Palestinian children than saving Jewish Israeli children, this proportion decreased when thinking from the perspective of Allah. This finding raises the possibility that beliefs about God can mitigate bias against other groups and reduce barriers to peace.

  2. Iranian Historical – Religious TV Series’ Decoding by Sunnis’: A Case Study of Davoud Mirbagheri Works

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    Sayyed Bashir Hosseini

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to address the communication discourse of Iranian historical – religious TV series based on the decoding of Sunnis and it is determined to analyze the discourse of the most important historical – religious TV series of IRIB directed by Davoud Mirbagheri from the perspective of Sunnis. Through realizing rights of religious minorities of religious TV programs it addresses the two fundamental principles of "unity" and "export of revolution discourse" consistent with "national interest" and adherence to the Constitution. This article aims to answer the question: what are the consequences of non-compliance with these two principles in the production and distribution of historical – religious TV series contents? The methodology of this study is text and hypertext discourse analysis that in the conclusion using inductive scenario building models, it summarizes and provides solution. Case studies of the present study include three works directed by Davoud Mirbagheri i.e. Imam Ali, Ray passenger and Mokhtarnameh historical – religious TV series. The applied theories in the research include use and gratification approach and encoding-decoding model by Stuart Hall. Results of this study support the notion that these series are produced by textual and hyper textual decoding, unhappiness, the absence of media and audience’s self-censorship and thus isolation, negotiation and conflict. Therefore, with emphasis on national identity, development of the series of characters and historical periods agreed by Shiite and Sunnis and developing religious series regardless of denomination and adherence to ethical principles, it is possible take steps to avoid problems.

  3. Age differences in the understanding of wealth and power: the mediating role of future time perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tianyuan; Tsang, Vivian Hiu-Ling

    2016-12-01

    Individuals' understanding of wealth and power largely determines their use of resources. Moreover, the age range of wealth and power holders is increasing in modern societies. Thus, the current study examines how people of different ages understand wealth and power. As varying future time perspective is related to changes in prioritised life goals, it was tested as a potential mediator of the age differences. A total of 133 participants aged 18-78 years were asked 8 open-ended questions regarding their understanding of the possible use and desired use of wealth and power, after which they reported their future time perspective. Compared with possible use, the participants mentioned relatively more prosocial elements when they talked about their desired use of the resources, especially power. The older adults expressed more prosocial understanding in regard to the desired use of wealth and the possible use of power compared to their younger counterparts. The age differences were fully mediated by future time perspective. The results suggest that age is a critical factor that influences individuals' conceptualisation of wealth and power. Life-span developmental stage and future time perspective are important factors to consider for explaining individual differences in the exercise of wealth and power and for promoting their prosocial usage.

  4. Counselor Responsiveness to Client Religiousness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Eugene W., Jr.

    1990-01-01

    Presents eight categories of client attitudes toward religion and suggests opportunities for religiously oriented counselor responses. Uses four categories to describes how religion may be associated with specific client issues. Contends that an informed appreciation of clients' religiousness and the religious dimensions of many client issues can…

  5. Practices and Perspectives of College Instructors on Addressing Religious Beliefs When Teaching Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, M. Elizabeth; Brownell, Sara E.

    2016-01-01

    Evolution is a core concept of biology, and yet many college biology students do not accept evolution because of their religious beliefs. However, we do not currently know how instructors perceive their role in helping students accept evolution or how they address the perceived conflict between religion and evolution when they teach evolution.…

  6. Political liberalism and religious claims

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    This article gives an overview of 4 important lacunae in political liberalism and identifies, in a preliminary fashion, some trends in the literature that can come in for support in filling these blind spots, which prevent political liberalism from a correct assessment of the diverse nature of religious claims. Political liberalism operates with implicit assumptions about religious actors being either ‘liberal’ or ‘fundamentalist’ and ignores a third, in-between group, namely traditionalist religious actors and their claims. After having explained what makes traditionalist religious actors different from liberal and fundamentalist religious actors, the author develops 4 areas in which political liberalism should be pushed further theoretically in order to correctly theorize the challenge which traditional religious actors pose to liberal democracy. These 4 areas (blind spots) are: (1) the context of translation; (2) the politics of exemptions; (3) the multivocality of theology; and (4) the transnational nature of norm-contestation. PMID:28344375

  7. Individual characteristics and religiousness among adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joksimović Snežana D.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses the research data on religiousness collected at different periods in Serbia and former Yugoslavia. The aim of the paper is to point to the tendencies in religious practice and the expansion of religiousness among young people in different periods, as well as individual psychological factors of religiousness. The data shows that the number of young people who declare themselves religious has increased significantly in the last 15 years, compared to the period of a quarter of century ago. In addition to the revival of tradition as an answer to social crisis and uncertainty which affects young people most, the increase in religiousness is connected to certain forms of social democratization as well as it being socially desirable. The data on social-demographic correlates of religiousness shows that the degree of religiousness varies depending on the age, gender, social background and education level. However, the more recent research data shows that these differences have become smaller which indicates a certain homogenization among young people. Religiousness is consistently and positively connected to authoritarianism, conformism and intolerance, while certain changes have occurred in regard to its connection with desirable social values. Similar to the tendency observed in other research on values the data on factors and correlates of religiousness, especially among young people, point to a specific value relativism and confused values.

  8. Understanding access to healthcare among Indigenous peoples: A comparative analysis of biomedical and postcolonial perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horrill, Tara; McMillan, Diana E; Schultz, Annette S H; Thompson, Genevieve

    2018-03-25

    As nursing professionals, we believe access to healthcare is fundamental to health and that it is a determinant of health. Therefore, evidence suggesting access to healthcare is problematic for many Indigenous peoples is concerning. While biomedical perspectives underlie our current understanding of access, considering alternate perspectives could expand our awareness of and ability to address this issue. In this paper, we critique how access to healthcare is understood through a biomedical lens, how a postcolonial theoretical lens can extend that understanding, and the subsequent implications this alternative view raises for the nursing profession. Drawing on peer-reviewed published and gray literature concerning healthcare access and Indigenous peoples to inform this critique, we focus on the underlying theoretical lens shaping our current understanding of access. A postcolonial analysis provides a way of understanding healthcare as a social space and social relationship, presenting a unique perspective on access to healthcare. The novelty of this finding is of particular importance for the profession of nursing, as we are well situated to influence these social aspects, improving access to healthcare services broadly, and among Indigenous peoples specifically. © 2018 The Authors Nursing Inquiry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Is it still possible to study religion religiously today? Mircea Eliade's religious apologetic account

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    Eric T. Ngcobo

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This article reflects on the question whether it is still possible to study religion religiously today or not? This is due to the variety of disciplines� interest in religion and its phenomena. Such interest influenced the study to adopt a new approach that is different from that of religious studies. Both religion and its phenomena, especially myths according to the reductionists, should be treated lesser than they are professed to be. Mircea Eliade on the other hand argues differently, as he stresses on the point that religious phenomena can only be studied under religious spheres alone.

  10. Is it still possible to study religion religiously today? Mircea Eliade's religious apologetic account

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric T. Ngcobo

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This article reflects on the question whether it is still possible to study religion religiously today or not? This is due to the variety of disciplines’ interest in religion and its phenomena. Such interest influenced the study to adopt a new approach that is different from that of religious studies. Both religion and its phenomena, especially myths according to the reductionists, should be treated lesser than they are professed to be. Mircea Eliade on the other hand argues differently, as he stresses on the point that religious phenomena can only be studied under religious spheres alone.

  11. The Perspectives to Understand Social Marketing as an Approach in Influencing Consumer Behavior for Good

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iin Mayasari

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available This study is a conceptual paper and highlights perspectives to understand social marketing as an approach to bring about voluntary and socially desirable consumer behavior. The perspective is considered as an alternative way to comprehend consumer behavior change for good as a multi-factor driven action. Hence, social marketing is also considered as a discipline that can be analyzed from multiple perspectives including a behavioral change perspective and a relationship perspective. Each perspective is elaborated by doing a review of existing literature and research. This study shows that social marketing is not only the application of marketing programs to shape consumer behavior, but also a process involving individual, society, and government to make a better life of society.

  12. Defining and Distinguishing Secular and Religious Terrorism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heather S. Gregg

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Religious terrorism is typically characterised as acts of unrestrained, irrational and indiscriminant violence, thus offering few if any policy options for counterterrorism measures. This assumption about religious terrorism stems from two challenges in the literature: disproportionate attention to apocalyptic terrorism, and a lack of distinction between religious terrorism and its secular counterpart. This article, therefore, aims to do four things: define and differentiate religiously motivated terrorism from traditional terrorism; investigate three goals of religious terrorism (fomenting the apocalypse, creating a religious government, and establishing a religiously pure state; consider the role of leadership and target selection of religious terrorists; and, finally, suggest a range of counterterrorism strategies based on these observations.

  13. 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.

  14. Zambia: Multi-Faith Religious Education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  15. Thinking from God’s perspective decreases biased valuation of the life of a nonbeliever

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginges, Jeremy; Sheikh, Hammad; Atran, Scott; Argo, Nichole

    2016-01-01

    Religious belief is often thought to motivate violence because it is said to promote norms that encourage tribalism and the devaluing of the lives of nonbelievers. If true, this should be visible in the multigenerational violent conflict between Palestinians and Israelis which is marked by a religious divide. We conducted experiments with a representative sample of Muslim Palestinian youth (n = 555), examining whether thinking from the perspective of Allah (God), who is the ultimate arbitrator of religious belief, changes the relative value of Jewish Israelis’ lives (compared with Palestinian lives). Participants were presented with variants of the classic “trolley dilemma,” in the form of stories where a man can be killed to save the lives of five children who were either Jewish Israeli or Palestinian. They responded from their own perspective and from the perspective of Allah. We find that whereas a large proportion of participants were more likely to endorse saving Palestinian children than saving Jewish Israeli children, this proportion decreased when thinking from the perspective of Allah. This finding raises the possibility that beliefs about God can mitigate bias against other groups and reduce barriers to peace. PMID:26711991

  16. Whose Science and Whose Religion? Reflections on the Relations between Scientific and Religious Worldviews

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glennan, Stuart

    2009-06-01

    Arguments about the relationship between science and religion often proceed by identifying a set of essential characteristics of scientific and religious worldviews and arguing on the basis of these characteristics for claims about a relationship of conflict or compatibility between them. Such a strategy is doomed to failure because science, to some extent, and religion, to a much larger extent, are cultural phenomena that are too diverse in their expressions to be characterized in terms of a unified worldview. In this paper I follow a different strategy. Having offered a loose characterization of the nature of science, I pose five questions about specific areas where religious and scientific worldviews may conflict—questions about the nature of faith, the belief in a God or Gods, the authority of sacred texts, the relationship between scientific and religious conceptions of the mind/soul, and the relationship between scientific and religious understandings of moral behavior. My review of these questions will show that they cannot be answered unequivocally because there is no agreement amongst religious believers as to the meaning of important religious concepts. Thus, whether scientific and religious worldviews conflict depends essentially upon whose science and whose religion one is considering. In closing, I consider the implications of this conundrum for science education.

  17. Children\\\\\\'s Mental Health from the Perspective of Traditions and Religious Texts

    OpenAIRE

    Maryam Rasti Broojeni; Shayesteh Bannaeian Broojeni

    2015-01-01

    Today, discussions on health have considered the spiritual – mental health on a par with physical health. A close relationship can be seen between two points, mental health and ethical, training issues, so that individuals who do not have spiritual virtues and religious training are not healthy individuals. Due to the considerable importance of moral and mental health about children, this study was aimed to investigate training issues and moral and mental health about children. The ...

  18. 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...

  19. Parental Divorce, Parental Religious Characteristics, and Religious Outcomes in Adulthood

    OpenAIRE

    Uecker, Jeremy E.; Ellison, Christopher G.

    2012-01-01

    Parental divorce has been linked to religious outcomes in adulthood. Previous research has not adequately accounted for parental religious characteristics or subsequent family context, namely whether one’s custodial parent remarries. Using pooled data from three waves of the General Social Survey, we examine the relationships among parental divorce, subsequent family structure, and religiosity in adulthood. Growing up in a single-parent family—but not a stepparent family—is positively associa...

  20. 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 ...

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  3. Residential Location Preferences. The Significance of Socio-Cultural and Religious Attributes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gobi Krishna Sinniah

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to explore residential location preferences and how they are related to travel behavior. The literature focuses on the preferences in relation to physical and demographic aspects, such as land uses, facilities, transportation facilities, transportation services, car ownership, income, household size and travel accessibility. However, this study suggests social and cultural issue such as racial diversity which is literally to be a significance context. The case study reported here is based on Iskandar Malaysia’s development region. Reliability Analysis and Factor Analysis are applied to determine that religious and culture are influential in terms of residential location preferences. These findings add a different perspective on travel behavior studies, which are heavily dominated by researches from Western Europe, North America and Australasia. It is suggested that transport researchers need to reject universal conclusions and be clearer about the contexts in which their findings most applied and in multi-cultural scenarios to consider cultural and religious factors more extensively.

  4. Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening among Muslim Women in New York City: Perspectives from Key Informants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, Nadia; Patel, Shilpa; Brooks-Griffin, Quanza; Kemp, Patrice; Raveis, Victoria; Riley, Lindsey; Gummi, Sindhura; Nur, Potrirankamanis Queano; Ravenell, Joseph; Cole, Helen; Kwon, Simona

    2017-01-01

    Muslims are one of the fastest growing religious groups in the US. However, little is known about their health disparities, and how their unique cultural, religious, and social beliefs and practices affect health behaviors and outcomes. Studies demonstrate Muslim women may have lower rates of breast and cervical cancer screening compared to the overall population. The purpose of this study was to: 1) conduct key-informant interviews with Muslim community leaders in New York City (NYC), to understand contextual factors that impact Muslim women's beliefs and practices regarding breast and cervical cancer screening; and 2) inform the development and implementation of a research study on breast and cervical cancer screening among Muslims. Twelve key-informant interviews were conducted. The sample included imams, female religious leaders, physicians, community-based organization leaders, and social service representatives. The interview guide assessed: 1) unique healthcare barriers faced by Muslim women; 2) cultural and social considerations in conducting research; 3) potential strategies for increasing screening in this population; and 4) content and venues for culturally tailored programming and messaging. Key informants noted structure and culture as barriers and religion as a facilitator to breast and cervical cancer screening. Themes regarding the development of targeted health campaigns to increase screening included the importance of educational and in-language materials and messaging, and engaging mosques and religious leaders for dissemination. Although Muslim women face a number of barriers to screening, religious beliefs and support structures can be leveraged to facilitate screening and enhance the dissemination and promotion of screening.

  5. Eco-Dimensionality as a Religious Foundation for Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  6. Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality as a Moderator for the Influences of Parents’ Religiousness on Adolescents’ Religiousness and Adjustment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen; Longo, Gregory S.; McCullough, Michael E.

    2012-01-01

    Prior investigations have demonstrated that parents’ religiousness is related inversely to adolescent maladjustment. However, research remains unclear about whether the link between parents’ religiousness and adolescent adjustment outcomes—either directly or indirectly via adolescents’ own religiousness—varies depending on relationship context (e.g., parent-adolescent attachment). This study examined the moderating roles of parent-adolescent attachment on the apparent effects of the intergenerational transmission of religiousness on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms using data from 322 adolescents (mean age = 12.63 years, 45% girls, and 84% White) and their parents. Structural equation models indicated significant indirect effects suggesting that parents’ organizational religiousness was positively to boys’ organizational religiousness—the latter of which appeared to mediate the negative association of parents’ organizational religiousness with boys’ internalizing symptoms. Significant interaction effects suggested also that, for both boys and girls, parents’ personal religiousness was associated positively with adolescent internalizing symptoms for parent-adolescent dyads with low attachment, whereas parents’ personal religiousness was not associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms for parent-adolescent dyads with high attachment. The findings help to identify the family dynamics by which the interaction of parents’ religiousness and adolescents’ religiousness might differentially influence adolescent adjustment. PMID:22836938

  7. Spirituality amid Dogma? Some Approaches to Educating for Religious Belief within in a State Religious School in Israel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sztokman, Elana Maryles

    2009-01-01

    The religious school, where young people are brought into religious life and practice, the development of a religious belief system is often neglected. Religiousness is often instilled as a linear end product, a monolithic corpus of ideas to be singularly transmitted and subsequently owned by youth. However, educational research by Gareth…

  8. Religious intolerance and Euroscepticism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hobolt, S.B.; van der Brug, W.; de Vreese, C.H.; Boomgaarden, H.G.; Hinrichsen, M.C.

    2011-01-01

    Research on Euroscepticism focuses increasingly on the role of group identities: national identities and attitudes towards multiculturalism. Yet hardly any attention has been paid to the way in which religious intolerance shapes Euroscepticism. We argue that religious intolerance influences not only

  9. The Educative Value of Dewey's Religious Attitude for Spirituality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, R. Scott

    2009-01-01

    John Dewey's "religious attitude" has great potential for the educative development of children's spirituality. This is because it enables their spiritual understandings to become more intelligently composed--not just in a cognitive or hyper-rational sense, but as a way of being. This paper provides an outline of Dewey's approach, which is…

  10. Unpacking religious affiliation: Exploring associations between Christian children's religious cultural context, God image, and self-esteem across development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Erin I; Crosby, Robert G

    2017-03-01

    In developmental research, religiousness is typically measured with omnibus affiliation or attendance variables that underspecify how the religious cultural contexts and experiences that affiliation represents influence developmental outcomes. This study explores associations between five aspects of a religious cultural context (family religiosity, religious schooling, church-based relationships with peers and adults, and view of God) in 844 seven- to 12-year-old Christian children to examine how they differentially predict self-esteem. Results of a structural equation model (SEM) analysis indicated that God image and peer church relationships directly predicted self-esteem, whereas God image mediated the influence of adult church relationships and family religious practices on self-esteem. A multiple group SEM analysis met the criterion for weak, but not strong, evidence that self-esteem is more related to younger children's adult church relationships but older children's peer church relationships. God image tended to be more related to younger children's family religious practices but older children's adult church relationships. Implications for developmental researchers and practitioners are discussed. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Religious affiliation is an omnibus variable representing multiple contexts of development. Self-esteem is an important outcome variable with different influences across development. Religious affiliation is associated with increased self-esteem. What does this study add? Children's experience in the contexts of religious affiliation influences development differently. It is not just affiliation, but specific religious contexts that influence children's self-esteem. The role of religious contexts in shaping children's self-esteem shifts across development. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

  11. Satisfaction with life and character strengths of non-religious and religious people: it's practicing one's religion that makes the difference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berthold, Anne; Ruch, Willibald

    2014-01-01

    According to systematic reviews, religious beliefs and practices are related to higher life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect (Koenig and Larson, 2001). The present research extends previous findings by comparing satisfaction with life and character strengths of non-religious people, religious people, who practice their religion and people that have a religious affiliation but do not practice their religion. We assessed life satisfaction (SWLS), character strengths (VIA-IS) and the orientations to happiness (OTH) in a sample of N = 20538 participants. People with a religious affiliation that also practice their religion were found to be more satisfied with their life and scored higher on life of meaning than those who do not practice their religion and than non-religious people. Also religious people who practice their religion differed significantly from those who do not practice their religion and non-religious people regarding several character strengths; they scored higher on kindness, love, gratitude, hope, forgiveness, and on spirituality. There were no substantial differences between people who had no religious affiliation and those with a religious affiliation that do not practice their religion (all [Formula: see text]s religious affiliation if they also actively practice their religion.

  12. Understanding perspectives on sex-selection in India: an intersectional study

    OpenAIRE

    Sonya Davey, BA; Manisha Sharma, PhD MFA

    2014-01-01

    Background: Sex-selective abortion results in fewer girls than boys in India (914 girls:1000 boys). To understand perspectives about who is responsible for sex-selective abortion, our aim was to focus on narratives of vastly diverse stakeholders in Indian society. Methods: The qualitative study was undertaken in urban sectors of six northwestern Indian states. Ethnographic unstructured, conversation-style interviews with randomly selected participants were held for an unbiased study. To ca...

  13. Structural Correlates of School Children's Religious Intolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrnes, Deborah; Kiger, Gary

    1987-01-01

    Determinants of religious prejudice were studied using 101 first, third, and fifth graders from rural and non-rural areas. Awareness of religious differences and living in religiously homogeneous rural areas were directly related to the expression of religious prejudice. Implications for curriculum development are discussed. (SLD)

  14. Meta-concepts, thinking skills and religious education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeer, P.

    2012-01-01

    This paper proposes that the acquisition of meta-concepts and thinking skills in order to facilitate scholarly religious thought should be the principal aim of religious education in schools. As a result, the aim of religious education is primarily stated in cognitive terms and religious education

  15. Perceived religious discrimination as predictor of work engagement, with specific reference to the Rastafari religion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Freda van der Walt

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Although perceived religious discrimination has been studied in the past, much remains unknown about the topic. The focus of this study was the Rastafari religion, because this religious group has up to now been excluded from research studies. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with a sample of 80 employees belonging to the Rastafari religion, chosen from organisations in two provinces in South Africa. The findings emanating from the quantitative research study indicated that, on average, the respondents perceived to be discriminated against. Furthermore, a positive relationship was established between perceived religious discrimination and work engagement. These findings advanced the understanding of perceived religious discrimination, and the impact that it may have on work engagement, particularly with reference to the Rastafari religion.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse regarding perceived religious discrimination, with specific reference to the Rastafari religion which is a minority religious group in South Africa. Perceived religious discrimination is discussed and investigated in the context of the workplace, and the aim was to establish whether perceived religious discrimination influences work-related attitudes, such as work engagement. Because previous studies have associated perceived discrimination with less job involvement and career satisfaction, fewer career prospects, greater work conflict, lower feelings of power, decreased job prestige, and less organisational citizenship behaviour (Thomas 2008:80, it was expected that perceived religious discrimination would have a negative influence on work engagement. The findings show that religion possibly provides individuals with the necessary personal resources to persevere when faced with religious discrimination, and sustain performance as well as attain success within the context of the

  16. Greek-Cypriot Teachers' Perceptions of Religious Education and Its Contribution to Peace: Perspectives of (In)compatibility in a Divided Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loukaidis, Loizos; Zembylas, Michalinos

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores the ways in which a group of primary school teachers in Cyprus interprets religious education and its contribution to peace. In particular, this phenomenological exploratory study: first, examines how teachers perceive religious education and whether this conceptualization is considered to be (in)compatible with peace in the…

  17. The Role of Religiousness and Gender in Sexuality Among Mexican Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa-Hernández, Graciela; Bissell-Havran, Joanna; Nunn, Anna

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the role of religiousness and gender in age at first intercourse, and sexual expectations and values in Mexico, a macrocontext where the majority is Mexican and Catholic (83%). Participants were Catholic and nonreligious adolescents (54% girls) attending middle (71%) or high school. Findings indicated that Catholic adolescents engaged in sexual intercourse at later ages than nonreligious adolescents. Both religious attendance and importance of religion and values in sexual decision making were associated with more conservative sexual values. Boys who were raised Catholic were more likely to endorse female virginity values and were less likely to expect to wait to have sex until married than nonreligious boys. These associations were not significant among girls. Catholic boys may be more likely to internalize sexual double standard beliefs regarding premarital sex than nonreligious boys. This study expands our understanding of the role of religiousness in Mexican adolescents' sexuality.

  18. The Role of Religiousness/Spirituality in Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adolescents with HIV: A Latent Profile Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyon, Maureen E; Kimmel, Allison L; Cheng, Yao Iris; Wang, Jichuan

    2016-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether distinct latent profiles of religiousness/spirituality exist for ALWH, and if so, are latent profile memberships associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Latent profile analysis of religiosity identified four profiles/groups. Compared to the other three groups, higher levels of emotional well-being were found among young perinatally infected adolescents who attended religious services, but who did not pray privately, feel God's presence or identify as religious or spiritual. Social HRQoL was significantly higher among the highest overall religious/spiritual group. Understanding adolescent profiles of religiousness/spirituality on HRQoL could inform faith-based interventions. Trial registration NCT01289444.

  19. The Development and Dissemination of Council of Europe Policy on Education about Religions and Non-Religious Convictions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Robert

    2014-01-01

    This article, written from an insider perspective, and in a personal capacity (the author has been involved with the Council of Europe's work on religion and education since its inception in 2002), gives an account of the developing interest in the study of religions (and latterly non-religious convictions) in publicly funded schools by the…

  20. Religious well-being in noninstitutionalized elderly women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zorn, C R; Johnson, M T

    1997-01-01

    Spirituality is recognized as an important component of health care practice with elderly people. Yet, discussion of the role it plays in elderly women on a day-to-day basis is minimal, and it is frequently not addressed in quality-of-life studies in this population. The purposes of this study were to describe the level of religious well-being and selected characteristics of religiosity in a sample of 114 non-institutionalized, largely rural elderly women (Mdn age = 75), as well as to identify the relationship between selected factors and the level of religious well-being. Descriptive research revealed a high level of religious well-being among the participants and significant positive correlation between religious well-being and the variables of social support and hope (p hope emerged as the single significant predictor of religious well-being (p religious activities, highly rated the value or influence of religious beliefs in their lives, and identified that religious beliefs become increasingly important with age. Conducting a comprehensive assessment and implementing focused interventions associated with religious well-being will strengthen the scope of health care practice for elderly women.

  1. Living in the shadow of terrorism: psychological distress and alcohol use among religious and non-religious adolescents in Jerusalem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiff, Miriam

    2006-05-01

    This study examines the effects of prolonged exposure to terrorism in 600 religious and non-religious Jewish adolescents living in Jerusalem, particularly post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, depressive symptoms, alcohol use, coping strategies and social support. The youth in Jerusalem reported high exposure to terrorist acts. This exposure was associated with high PTS, depressive symptoms and alcohol use. Despite an apparently greater exposure to terrorism, religious adolescents reported lower levels of PTS and alcohol consumption, but similar levels of depressive symptoms to non-religious adolescents. Problem-solving coping predicted higher depressive symptoms for religious adolescents exposed to terrorism but not for similarly exposed non-religious adolescents. In contrast, emotion-focused coping predicted more alcohol consumption among highly exposed non-religious adolescents, while emotion-focused coping predicted more alcohol consumption among religious adolescents with low exposure. The overall findings suggest that religiosity may buffer the negative consequences of exposure in other ways than through coping or support.

  2. A Religious Media Revolution?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skovgaard-Petersen, Jakob

    2016-01-01

    This article is a preliminary survey of the media usage of Sunni religious actors during the Syrian conflict. It traces the adoption of new media by religious actors, and analyses the kind of authority these actors have sought to embody, whether regime supporting, oppositional or jihadist...

  3. Understanding energy technology developments from an innovation system perspective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borup, M.; Nygaard Madsen, A. [Risoe National Lab., DTU, Systems Analysis Dept., Roskilde (Denmark); Gregersen, Birgitte [Aalborg Univ., Department of Business Studies (Denmark)

    2007-05-15

    With the increased market-orientation and privatisation of the energy area, the perspective of innovation is becoming more and more relevant for understanding the dynamics of change and technology development in the area. A better understanding of the systemic and complex processes of innovation is needed. This paper presents an innovation systems analysis of new and emerging energy technologies in Denmark. The study focuses on five technology areas: bio fuels, hydrogen technology, wind energy, solar cells and energy-efficient end-use technologies. The main result of the analysis is that the technology areas are quite diverse in a number of innovation-relevant issues like actor set-up, institutional structure, maturity, and connections between market and non-market aspects. The paper constitutes background for discussing the framework conditions for transition to sustainable energy technologies and strengths and weaknesses of the innovation systems. (au)

  4. Girls' and Boys' Reasoning on Cultural and Religious Practices: A Human Rights Education Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Wet, Annamagriet; Roux, Cornelia; Simmonds, Shan; ter Avest, Ina

    2012-01-01

    Human rights play a vital role in citizens' political, religious and cultural life (Wang 2002, 171). Due to the prominence of human rights in the everyday life of citizens, including those of South Africa, human rights education has been included in many school curricula. Human rights education aims to develop responsible citizens who "inter…

  5. Understanding Quality in Process Modelling: Towards a Holistic Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Recker

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Quality is one of the main topics in current conceptual modelling research, as is the field of business process modelling. Yet, widely acknowledged academic contributions towards an understanding or measurement of business process model quality are limited at best. In this paper I argue that the development of methodical theories concerning the measurement or establishment of process model quality must be preceded by methodological elaborations on business process modelling. I further argue that existing epistemological foundations of process modelling are insufficient for describing all extrinsic and intrinsic traits of model quality. This in turn has led to a lack of holistic understanding of process modelling. Taking into account the inherent social and purpose-oriented character of process modelling in contemporary organizations I present a socio-pragmatic constructionist methodology of business process modelling and sketch out implications of this perspective towards an understanding of process model quality. I anticipate that, based on this research, theories can be developed that facilitate the evaluation of the ’goodness’ of a business process model.

  6. Religious dietary rules and the protection of religious freedom: some evidence from practice in Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miriam Abu Salem

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In the Italian system freedom of worship provided by the Constitution is safeguarded by unilateral and contractual norms, sanctioned for minority confessions by an agreement, named intesa, that also concerns dietary issues. Muslim communities, however, as they have no intesa with the Italian state, are always compelled to negotiate in respect of their religious norms. Religious freedom concerns- not only ritual acts, but also behaviours including dietary ones, which are based on religious beliefs. The aim of this paper is to critically reconstruct how Italy takes charge of religiously-motivated needs concerning food and beverages, both for those confessions holding an intesa (such as Hebraism and for those not (Islam, in order to trace the real degree to which freedom of worship is guaranteed in Italy. The analysis will be focused on the bargaining for religious dietary rules in schools and in constraining institutes, as they are main social spaces of confrontation between believers and the state.

  7. The Myth of Religious Experience Revisited

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  8. Secular and religious: the intrinsic doubleness of analytical psychology and the hegemony of naturalism in the social sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Main, Roderick

    2013-06-01

    In recent years a number of prominent social theorists, including Jürgen Habermas and Charles Taylor, have voiced concern about the hegemony of naturalistic, secular assumptions in the social sciences, and in their different ways have sought to address this by establishing greater parity between secular and religious perspectives. This paper suggests that C.G. Jung's analytical psychology, which hitherto has been largely ignored by social theory, may have something to contribute on this issue as it can be understood coherently both empirically, without reference to transcendent reality, and metaphysically, with reference to transcendent reality. It is argued that, despite his denials of any metaphysical intent, Jung does in fact engage in metaphysics and that together the empirical and metaphysical vectors of his thought result in a rich and distinctive double perspective. This dual secular and religious perspective can be seen as part of Jung's own critique of the hegemony of naturalism and secularism, which for Jung has profound social as well as clinical relevance. The concern and approach that Habermas and Taylor share with Jung on this issue may provide some grounds for increased dialogue between analytical psychology and the social sciences. © 2013, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

  9. Religion and suicide acceptability: a cross-national analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stack, Steven; Kposowa, Augustine J

    2011-01-01

    Four perspectives (moral community thesis, religious integration, religious commitment, and social networks) guide the selection of variables in this study. Data are from the combined World Values/European Values Surveys for 2000 (50,547 individuals nested in 56 nations). The results of a multivariate hierarchical linear model support all four perspectives. Persons residing in nations with relatively high levels of religiosity, who are affiliated with one of four major faiths, are religiously committed, and are engaged with a religious network are found to be lower in suicide acceptability. The religious integration perspective, in particular, is empirically supported; affiliation with Islam is associated with low suicide acceptability. The findings provide strong support for an integrated model and demonstrate the usefulness of the moral community thesis in understanding suicide acceptability.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  11. Religious communication and hegemony of mass media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petrushkevych Maria Stefanivna

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Religious communication is the complex object of scientific research that involves existential component and the inextricable link with relevant historical trends. Mass culture and the information society put pressure on modern religious communication. Media is actively integrating into the system of religious communication. Hegemony of mass communication is realized through the media and religious communicative system becomes the part of this hegemony. Peculiarities of religious communication processes are conditioned by consciousness of itself impact and the need to integrate into the media system.

  12. Homeschooling and religious fundamentalism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  13. Evaluation of Religious Animations in the IRIB

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nematoallah Moussa Pour

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Religious education has an elevated status and a great value in Iranian religious society. Using different methods and instruments to realize this goal has been always considered by those involved in education. At the present time, television is an effective means for communicating with social groups. One of those groups is children who can be exposed to messages by animations. The effectiveness of animation is a function of the manner in which it has been produced. Therefore, we can ask whether psychological principles have been observed in the production of religious animations for children. This article, written for evaluating religious animations used in the television, aims at identifying sixteen principles governing the production of animations for children. To do this, the authors referred to authentic sources in psychology and media studies after gathering data and composing them, managed to identify the principles governing the production of animation. The numbers of these principles have been applied to the production of animations, a checklist was prepared and the data were extracted from analyzing two religious animations, two domestic non-religious animations and two foreign non-religious animations. Non-religious animations were analyzed to make possible the suggested that the producers of religious animations pay special attention to do this point.

  14. Developing Intercultural Understanding for Study Abroad: Students' and Teachers' Perspectives on Pre-Departure Intercultural Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, P.; Bavieri, L.; Ganassin, S.

    2015-01-01

    This study reports on students' and teachers' perspectives on a programme designed to develop Erasmus students' intercultural understanding prior to going abroad. We aimed to understand how students and their teachers perceived pre-departure materials in promoting their awareness of key concepts related to interculturality (e.g., essentialism,…

  15. Spiritually and religiously integrated group psychotherapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2013-01-01

    WE SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWED THE RESEARCH LITERATURE ON SPIRITUALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY INTEGRATED GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING THREE QUESTIONS: first, how are spirituality and religiosity defined; second, how are spiritual and religious factors characterized and integrated into group......, 8 articles were considered eligible for the review. Findings from the evaluation suggested that the concepts of spirituality and religiosity were poorly conceptualized and the way in which spiritual and religious factors were integrated into such group psychotherapies, which distinguished it from...... for spiritually or religiously integrated group psychotherapy and conducting research in this field are propounded....

  16. TRUTH AS DETERMINANT OF RELIGIOUS FAITH

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Admin

    of values like any other institution”. Our concern here is how religious truth that ought to be absolute has become relative thus producing many different religions in the world. Relativity of Religious Truths As Determinant. Of Religious Faith. Truth has been defined as that which conforms to essential reality, but is it absolute?

  17. Religious Participation is Associated with Increases in Religious Social Support in a National Longitudinal Study of African Americans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Daisy; Holt, Cheryl L; Hosack, Dominic P; Huang, Jin; Clark, Eddie M

    2016-08-01

    This study reports on the association between religious beliefs and behaviors and the change in both general and religious social support using two waves of data from a national sample of African Americans. The Religion and Health in African Americans (RHIAA) study is a longitudinal telephone survey designed to examine relationships between various aspects of religious involvement and psychosocial factors over time. RHIAA participants were 3173 African American men (1281) and women (1892). A total of 1251 men (456) and women (795) participated in wave 2 of data collection. Baseline religious behaviors were associated with increased overall religious social support from baseline to wave 2 (p social support from baseline to wave 2 in each of the following religious social support subscales: emotional support received (p social support. African Americans who are active in faith communities showed increases in all types of religious social support, even the negative aspects, over a relatively modest longitudinal study period. This illustrates the strength of the church as a social network and the role that it plays in people's lives.

  18. International perspectives on the legal environment for selection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Myors, B.; Lievens, F.; Schollaert, E.; van Hoye, G.; Cronshaw, S.F.; Mladinic, A.; Rodríguez, V.; Aguinis, H.; Steiner, D.D.; Rolland, F.; Schuler, H.; Frintrup, A.; Nikolaou, I.; Tomprou, M.; Subramony, S.; Raj, S.B.; Tzafrir, S.; Bamberger, P.; Bertolino, M.; Mariani, M.; Fraccaroli, F.; Sekiguchi, T.; Onyura, B.; Yang, H.; Anderson, N.; Evers, A.; Chernyshenko, O.; Englert, P.; Kriek, H.J.; Joubert, T.; Salgado, J.F.; König, C.J.; Thommen, L.A.; Chuang, A.; Sinangil, H.K.; Bayazit, M.; Cook, M.; Shen, W.; Sackett, P.R.

    2008-01-01

    Perspectives from 22 countries on aspects of the legal environment for selection are presented in this article. Issues addressed include (a) whether there are racial/ethnic/religious subgroups viewed as "disadvantaged," (b) whether research documents mean differences between groups on individual

  19. 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...

  20. Religiousness and Non-Hopeless Suicide Ideation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonson, Randy H.

    2008-01-01

    Individuals who think about suicide but do not feel suicidally hopeless tend to be less religious and can therefore entertain thoughts of suicide unabated by religiousness. Religiousness, suicide ideation, and hopelessness were surveyed among 279 Idaho college students, 37 (13%) of whom were non-hopeless suicide ideators. A total of only 21 (7%)…

  1. Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality as a Moderator for the Influences of Parents' Religiousness on Adolescents' Religiousness and Adjustment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen; Longo, Gregory S.; McCullough, Michael E.

    2012-01-01

    Prior investigations have demonstrated that parents' religiousness is related inversely to adolescent maladjustment. However, research remains unclear about whether the link between parents' religiousness and adolescent adjustment outcomes--either directly or indirectly via adolescents' own religiousness--varies depending on relationship context…

  2. Religious characteristics of US women physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  3. Religiøs omvendelse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gerdes, Ida Marie; Geertz, Armin W

    2007-01-01

    Selvom religiøs omvendelse har været gennemanalyseret inden for psykologien og socio­logien er det vor opfattelse at den seneste neurovidenskabelige forskning kan kaste nyt lys på emnet. Det er vor påstand at omvendelse drejer sig om religiøse identitetsdannelsesprocesser, hvor der er tale om gru...

  4. Understanding conservationists' perspectives on the new-conservation debate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, George; Sandbrook, Chris; Fisher, Janet A

    2017-04-01

    A vibrant debate about the future direction of biodiversity conservation centers on the merits of the so-called new conservation. Proponents of the new conservation advocate a series of positions on key conservation ideas, such as the importance of human-dominated landscapes and conservation's engagement with capitalism. These have been fiercely contested in a debate dominated by a few high-profile individuals, and so far there has been no empirical exploration of existing perspectives on these issues among a wider community of conservationists. We used Q methodology to examine empirically perspectives on the new conservation held by attendees at the 2015 International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB). Although we identified a consensus on several key issues, 3 distinct positions emerged: in favor of conservation to benefit people but opposed to links with capitalism and corporations, in favor of biocentric approaches but with less emphasis on wilderness protection than prominent opponents of new conservation, and in favor of the published new conservation perspective but with less emphasis on increasing human well-being as a goal of conservation. Our results revealed differences between the debate on the new conservation in the literature and views held within a wider, but still limited, conservation community and demonstrated the existence of at least one viewpoint (in favor of conservation to benefit people but opposed to links with capitalism and corporations) that is almost absent from the published debate. We hope the fuller understanding we present of the variety of views that exist but have not yet been heard, will improve the quality and tone of debates on the subject. © 2016 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

  5. On European Religious Literature

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张丽娟

    2016-01-01

    Since ancient time,literature has being a hot topic that scholars concern.Latin religious literature is the mainstream of medieval literature.This paper analyzes medieval literature from three aspects which are the religious cultural background,main characteristics and achievements.What’s more,the thesis summarizes its influence to literature afterwards,and provides suggestion to the contemporary literature in China.

  6. 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.

  7. Biblical antecedents of modern agenda-setting: religious platforms in lieu of mass media

    OpenAIRE

    Rashi, Tsuriel; McCombs, Maxwell

    2017-01-01

    Can a primitive society set a public agenda? Are there some advantages for a religious society in setting an agenda? From a critical study of the communicative perspective of the Bible and hermeneutic reading of its texts, it can be said that certain elements in primitive societies succeeded in influencing the political and social agendas. They did so by exploiting specific public assemblies or appearing in crowded places in attempts to impact local and national agendas. This notion is signif...

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  9. Family Perspectives: Using a Cultural Prism to Understand Families from Asian Cultural Backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Suk-Hyang; Turnbull, Ann P.; Zan, Fei

    2009-01-01

    Educators can better serve students who come from diverse cultural backgrounds by understanding the differing cultural values of these students and their families. This article explores different cultural perspectives using a cultural prism approach, focused most specifically on the Korean and Chinese cultures. (Contains 2 tables.)

  10. RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE OF BUSINESS ETHICS PRINCIPLES IN TURKEY AND ROMANIA: A CROSS COUNTRY COMPARISON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Filiz AGAOGLU

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to contribute to research in business ethics application, by studying one of the contemporary instruments of applying business ethics. The research focuses on Islamic business ethics in comparison to Christian business ethics and discusses its application using a comparative perspective. First, this chapter aims to address the Islamic understanding of what ethics means? What is the relationship between ethics, human nature and religion in Islam? While providing an introductory analysis on Islamic ethical standards, the chapter highlights first (1 the business ethical values and principles of Islamic ethics, second (2 the business ethical values and principles of Turkish Islamic ethics, third (3, the business ethical values and principles of Christian Romanian ethics.

  11. Understanding the Work-Life Interaction from a Working Time Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Vivi Bach

    time not only defines the temporal structure of work, but also determines the individual’s social time. The theoretical framework is based on theories concerning influence, in particular Organizational Participation (e.g. Heller, Pusic, Strauss & Wilpert, 1998) and Self-Determination Theory (e.g. Deci...... & Ryan, 2002). Through theoretical analyses it is shown that a participatory influence approach reveals new perspectives in understanding the complexity of the work-life phenomenon and help counteracting the undesirable split-up between the existing conflict versus balance approaches. Participants from...

  12. Effect of Religious Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Religious Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (3 and 6 months Follow-up

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahla Aouchekian

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD is a chronic disorder that strongly affects one's life and social, emotional, and occupational functioning. Due to the effect of religious beliefs on phenomenology of OCD, in this paper, we assess the effectiveness of religious cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT within 3 and 6 months follow-up. Materials and Methods: This study is a clinical trial with follow-ups which last 2 months consisting eight sessions of 1.5 h of religious CBT. The research is conducted in a group of 40, with pre- and post-test after 3 and 6 months. Used Yale-Brown OCD symptom scale, before, the end, after 3 months and after 6 months of intervention. Treatment is carried out by a psychiatrist and a clergyman through religious CBT. The trial is held in OCD clinic affiliated with Noor Hospital. Results are analyzed by ANOVA repeated measure with SPSS18. Results: The results showed a considerable decrease in OCD symptoms which remained almost persistent after 3 and 6 months (F = 3/54. P = 0/024. It also shows that religious CBT can leave substantial effect on OCD symptoms; permanency of this intervention after 3 and 6 months is noticeable (P < 0/001. In Conclusion this therapy could be helpful for OCD patients with religious content. Conclusion: RCBT have a positive effect on people with religious obsessive -compulsive.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  14. Religiousness and prostate cancer screening in African American men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abernethy, Alexis D; Houston, Tina R; Bjorck, Jeffrey P; Gorsuch, Richard L; Arnold, Harold L

    2009-01-01

    This study was designed to examine the relationship between religiousness (organized, nonorganized, and intrinsic) and religious problem solving (collaborative, deferring, and self-directing) in prostate cancer screening (PCS) attitudes and behavior. Men (N = 481) of African descent between the ages of 40 and 70 participated. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that religiousness and self-directed problem solving were associated with PCS attitudes. Intrinsic religiousness was associated with PCS attitudes after controlling for health and organized religiousness. Religiousness was not associated with PCS behavior. Intrinsic religiousness may be an important dimension of religiousness to be considered in tailoring cancer interventions for individuals from faith-based communities.

  15. Religion as problem, religion as solution: religious buffers of the links between religious/spiritual struggles and well-being/mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Raiya, Hisham; Pargament, Kenneth I; Krause, Neal

    2016-05-01

    Previous studies have established robust links between religious/spiritual struggles (r/s struggles) and poorer well-being and psychological distress. A critical issue involves identifying the religious factors that buffer this relationship. This is the first study to empirically address this question. Specifically, it examines four religious factors (i.e., religious commitment, life sanctification, religious support, religious hope) as potential buffers of the links between r/s struggle and one indicator of subjective well-being (i.e., happiness) and one indicator of psychological distress (i.e., depressive symptoms). We utilized a cross-sectional design and a nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 2140) dealing with a wide range of major life stressors. We found that the interactions between r/s struggle and all potential moderators were significant in predicting happiness and/or depression. The linkage between r/s struggle and lower levels of happiness was moderated by higher levels of each of the four proposed religious buffers. Religious commitment and life sanctification moderated the ties between r/s struggles and depressive symptoms. The findings underscore the multifaceted character of religion: Paradoxically, religion may be a source of solutions to problems that may be an inherent part of religious life.

  16. The Boundaries of Woman's Spirituality in the Beliefs-Spirituality-Religiousness (B-S-R) Model: A Third Perspective-Beliefs as a Cognitive Basis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skrzypińska, Katarzyna

    2017-10-01

    The real nature of the phenomenon of woman's Spirituality is the main contemporary challenge for empirical research. The literature needs many more examples of the cognitive genesis of worldviews, Spirituality and Religiousness. The first aim of this article is to present the central tenet of the Threefold Nature of Spirituality model which theoretically explains the nature of Spirituality and the theoretical relationship between beliefs (worldviews), Spirituality and Religiousness (B-S-R model). The second aim is the empirical verification of this relationship through the application of an analysis of mediation. The 308 participants were women aged 18-50 years (M = 25.25, SD = 9.42). The results obtained indicate that is a good mediator between an individual's worldview and Religiousness. Presented analysis of mediation allows us to describe the basic functioning mechanism of the spiritual sphere and the relationship between the three elements: worldview, Spirituality and Religiousness.

  17. The Comparison and Relationship between Religious Orientation and Practical Commitment to Religious Beliefs with Marital Adjustment in Seminary Scholars and University Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    رویا رسولی

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Spirituality and faith are powerful aspects of human experience. So, it is important to consider the relation between faith, beliefs, and marriage. The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship between religious orientation and practical commitment to religious beliefs with marital adjustment among seminary scholars and Yazd university students. Research sample consists 200 subjects including 50 student couples and 50 couples of seminary scholars collected via available sampling method from Yazd University and seminary scholars. Research instruments included: 1 Religious Orientation Scale 2 Test of Practical Commitment to Religious Beliefs, and 3 Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Correlation analyses showed that a relationship between religious orientation and marital adjustment. Marital adjustment has positive correlation with religiosity and negatively associated with unconstructed religiosity. Also there was a relationship between practical commitments to religious beliefs with marital adjustment in the groups. Relationship between practical commitments to religious beliefs with marital adjustment was higher than relationship between religious orientation and marital adjustment. the results of independent t-test analysis, showed signifycant differences between university students and seminary scholars in terms of religious orientation, practical commitent to religious beliefs and marital adjustment. Also, practical commitment to religious beliefs, marital adjustment and religious orientation in seminary schoolars were higher than students. Marital adjustment in seminary scholars was higher than students due to marital satisfaction because religious persons have faith beliefs. We conclude that faith beliefs impact marital satisfaction, marital adjustment conflict solving, and forgiveness. Negative beliefs about divorce and the believe that god supports marriage, may explain the relationship between commitment to religious beliefs and

  18. Alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality among adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, John R; Sherritt, Lon; Harris, Sion Kim; Holder, David W; Kulig, John; Shrier, Lydia A; Gabrielli, Joy; Chang, Grace

    2007-04-01

    Previous studies indicate that religiousness is associated with lower levels of substance use among adolescents, but less is known about the relationship between spirituality and substance use. The objective of this study was to determine the association between adolescents' use of alcohol and specific aspects of religiousness and spirituality. Twelve- to 18-year-old patients coming for routine medical care at three primary care sites completed a modified Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality; the Spiritual Connectedness Scale; and a past-90-days alcohol use Timeline Followback calendar. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the association between each religiousness/spirituality measure and odds of any past-90-days alcohol use, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and clinic site. Timeline Followback data were dichotomized to indicate any past-90-days alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality scale scores were z-transformed for analysis. Participants (n = 305) were 67% female, 74% Hispanic or black, and 45% from two-parent families. Mean +/- SD age was 16.0 +/- 1.8 years. Approximately 1/3 (34%) reported past-90-day alcohol use. After controlling for demographics and clinic site, Religiousness/Spirituality scales that were not significantly associated with alcohol use included: Commitment (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.36, 1.79), Organizational Religiousness (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.64, 1.07), Private Religious Practices (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.80, 1.10), and Religious and Spiritual Coping--Negative (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.91, 1.23). All of these are measures of religiousness, except for Religious and Spiritual Coping--Negative. Scales that were significantly and negatively associated with alcohol use included: Forgiveness (OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.73), Religious and Spiritual Coping--Positive (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.51-0.84), Daily Spiritual Experiences (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.54-0.84), and Belief (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.68-0.83), which are

  19. Religious Affiliation, Religiosity, Gender, and Rape Myth Acceptance: Feminist Theory and Rape Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnett, Michael D; Sligar, Kylie B; Wang, Chiachih D C

    2018-04-01

    Rape myths are false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists, often prejudicial and stereotypical. Guided by feminist theory and available empirical research, this study aimed to examine the influences of gender, religious affiliation, and religiosity on rape myth acceptance of U.S. emerging adults. A sample of 653 university students aged 18 to 30 years were recruited from a large public university in the southern United States to complete the research questionnaires. Results indicated that individuals who identified as Roman Catholic or Protestant endorsed higher levels of rape myth acceptance than their atheist or agnostic counterparts. Men were found more likely to ascribe to rape myths than their female counterparts. Religiosity was positively associated with rape myth acceptance, even after controlling the effect of conservative political ideology. No significant interaction was found between gender and religious affiliation or gender and religiosity. Limitations, future research directions, and implications of the findings are discussed from the perspective of feminist theory.

  20. Ludic role of religious rituals. The use of play for religious ceremony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciocan Tudor Cosmin

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper was made as part of a wider research I made about rituals and their meaning and roles they are playing in the religious system of thinking. The way they are thought, displayed, precisely followed as instructed and believed, makes them a powerful social act that has been always provided by any religion, and also a tool for religion to make the human society what it is today. After I speak about what is a ritual and its religious content in general, I am enumerating roles and functions of play and theatre in particular have, both for profane and religious purpose. Do we still use play/games as adults because they are rewarding, they give us pleasure? They are used as means of relaxation, or for continuing the age of childhood; or it is in our nature to play games in everything we do? In this paper I have emphasized play as adaptive potentiation or adaptive variability useful both in therapy, as in religious ceremony. The relation and comparison of rituals with play is due to the fact that playing is the most engaging behavior performed by man and animals, and it can be found as foundation of almost any ritualist activity.

  1. Religious voices in biotechnology: the case of gene patenting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, M J

    1999-01-01

    On 18 May 1995, nearly 200 religious leaders joined with leading biotechnology critic Jeremy Rifkin in a press conference named the "Joint Appeal against Human and Animal Patenting," a move that many within the biotechnology industry could only interpret as seeking to inhibit biotechnological advance. What moral and religious concerns motivated this challenge to patenting? How could the biotechnology industry understand and respectfully attend to these concerns? What values were at play in the debates that followed the joint appeal? What lessons for future dialogue can be learned from attempts at conversation between the opposing positions? This essay is a report from a Hastings Center research project that accepted the task of addressing these questions. Specifically, the project focused on the patenting of human genetic material, a subset of the issues raised by the joint appeal.

  2. Green Fire and Religious Spirit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haluza-Delay, Randolph

    2000-01-01

    Spirituality, even within traditional religious practices, can inspire environmentally aware lifestyles. To help this "green fire" burn well, experiential educators should acknowledge religious beliefs and practices and avoid perpetuating the modern spiritual-secular rift. A "critical experientialism" is needed when it comes to…

  3. Stakeholder perspectives on workplace-based performance assessment: towards a better understanding of assessor behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Jonge, Laury P J W M; Timmerman, Angelique A; Govaerts, Marjan J B; Muris, Jean W M; Muijtjens, Arno M M; Kramer, Anneke W M; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2017-12-01

    Workplace-Based Assessment (WBA) plays a pivotal role in present-day competency-based medical curricula. Validity in WBA mainly depends on how stakeholders (e.g. clinical supervisors and learners) use the assessments-rather than on the intrinsic qualities of instruments and methods. Current research on assessment in clinical contexts seems to imply that variable behaviours during performance assessment of both assessors and learners may well reflect their respective beliefs and perspectives towards WBA. We therefore performed a Q methodological study to explore perspectives underlying stakeholders' behaviours in WBA in a postgraduate medical training program. Five different perspectives on performance assessment were extracted: Agency, Mutuality, Objectivity, Adaptivity and Accountability. These perspectives reflect both differences and similarities in stakeholder perceptions and preferences regarding the utility of WBA. In comparing and contrasting the various perspectives, we identified two key areas of disagreement, specifically 'the locus of regulation of learning' (i.e., self-regulated versus externally regulated learning) and 'the extent to which assessment should be standardised' (i.e., tailored versus standardised assessment). Differing perspectives may variously affect stakeholders' acceptance, use-and, consequently, the effectiveness-of assessment programmes. Continuous interaction between all stakeholders is essential to monitor, adapt and improve assessment practices and to stimulate the development of a shared mental model. Better understanding of underlying stakeholder perspectives could be an important step in bridging the gap between psychometric and socio-constructivist approaches in WBA.

  4. Understanding antigay bias from a cognitive-affective-behavioral perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callender, Kevin A

    2015-01-01

    In general, United States citizens have become increasingly more accepting of lesbians and gay men over the past few decades. Despite this shift in public attitudes, antigay bias remains openly tolerated, accepted, practiced, and even defended by a substantial portion of the population. This article reviews why and how antigay bias persists using a cognitive-affective-behavioral perspective that touches on sociocognitive factors such as prejudice and stereotyping, as well as features unique to antigay bias, such as its concealable nature. The article concludes with a discussion of how understanding modern antigay bias through a cognitive-affective-behavioral lens can be applied to reduce discrimination against gays and lesbians.

  5. Religious factors associated with alcohol involvement: results from the Mauritian Joint Child Health Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luczak, Susan E; Prescott, Carol A; Dalais, Cyril; Raine, Adrian; Venables, Peter H; Mednick, Sarnoff A

    2014-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine religious factors associated with alcohol involvement in Mauritius. The three main religions on the island, Hinduism, Catholicism, and Islam, promote different views of the appropriate use of alcohol. Based on reference group theory, we hypothesized that both the content of a religion's alcohol norms and an individual's religious commitment would relate to alcohol use behavior. Participants were from the Joint Child Health Project, a longitudinal study that has followed a birth cohort of 1.795 individuals since 1972 when they were 3 years old. All available participants (67%; 55% male) were assessed in mid-adulthood on religious variables, lifetime drinking, and lifetime alcohol use disorders. Across religions, individuals who viewed their religion as promoting abstinence were less likely to be drinkers. Religious commitment was associated with reduced probability of drinking only in those who viewed their religion as promoting abstinence. Among drinkers, abstention norms and religious commitment were not associated with lower likelihood of alcohol use disorders. In Catholics who viewed their religion as promoting abstinence and still were drinkers, high religious commitment was associated with increased risk for alcohol use disorders. Predictions based on reference group theory were largely supported, with religious norms and commitment differentially related to alcohol use and problems both across religions and among individuals within religions. Findings highlight the importance of examining multiple aspects of religion to better understand the relationship of religion with alcohol behaviors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. A Retrospective Introduction to Religious Education: An Interpretive Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jackson Robert

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The author takes a retrospective look at his book Religious Education: An Interpretive Approach, first published in 1997, and now available to readers, open access, via the European Wergeland Centre website (http://www.theewc.org/Content/Library/Research-Development/Literature/Introducing-Religious-Education-an-Interpretive-Approach. He tells a personal story of teaching, broadcasting and research, moving from the design of a methodology for studying the religions of minority groups in Britain to identifying the main concepts used for teaching about religions to children and young people in an engaging way, which relates to their own personal and social experience. The article, explains the key concept of representation – looking, for example, at how religions are often represented in ways that play down their internal diversity. Next the concept of interpretation is considered, emphasising the activity through which learners can compare and contrast the use of language by religious believers with their own nearest equivalent language uses, in trying, with sensitivity, to get as close as possible to their meanings. Finally, the process of reflexivity is explained; this gives learners an opportunity for three activities – to re-assess their understanding of their own world view (called edification in the interpretive approach, to make a distanced critique of beliefs and ideas they have studied, and to evaluate the methods that they have been using to learn about the religious meanings of others. Finally the author illustrates how the key concepts from the interpretive approach have been adapted for use in field research studies on teaching and learning about religions.

  7. Spiritual and Sexual Identity: Exploring Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients' Perspectives of Counseling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodrich, Kristopher M; Buser, Juleen K; Luke, Melissa; Buser, Trevor J

    2016-06-01

    Although religious and spiritual issues have emerged as areas of focus in counseling, very few scholars have explored the meaning and experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients who addressed their sexual and religious/spiritual identities in counseling. Using consensual qualitative research (CQR; Hill, 2012), the current study explores the perspectives of 12 LGB persons who sought counseling that involved religious/spiritual concerns. Four themes in participant interviews are identified, including (a) self-acceptance, (b) goals of counseling, (c) identification with counselor, and (d) counseling environment and relationship. Implications of findings for the counseling field are discussed.

  8. The Future of Religious Education on the Flemish School Curriculum: A Plea for Integrative Religious Education for All

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franken, Leni; Loobuyck, Patrick

    2013-01-01

    After an elaboration of the paradigm shift concerning religious education in Europe, we will give a critical presentation of the Belgian and Flemish system of religious education. The article continues with a discussion of diverse proposals to change the religious education system in Flanders, and concludes that the introduction of an independent,…

  9. 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...

  10. Teaching in Catholic Schools from the Perspectives of Lay Teachers, 1940-1980

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cloud, Natalie

    2017-01-01

    This paper seeks to address a gap in the literature regarding lay teachers and their role and status within Catholic schools, studies have been carried out investigating this from the perspective of teaching religious and the Catholic Church but have yet to fully investigate this from the lay teachers' perspectives themselves. The period 1940-1980…

  11. Religious Freedom Ethic’s Dimensions: Individual vs. Communitarian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben-Oni Ardelean

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Vivid debates were encountered in recent years on the subject of religious freedom ethics. The politic correctness attitude became many times a coercion instrument for suppressing the communitarian interests by promoting individual interests, instituting the minority tyranny that reduced to silence the communitarian interests. This might also create a disproportional representation in society for communitarian religious interests. The question is: whose religious interests should prevail? Should there be more guarantees given by the governments for the long existing, larger, and traditional religious groups, compare with the guarantees provided for the newer and smaller religious groups? Those questions provide a glimpse of the existing tension in the society on the subject of religious freedom. The present paper should answer these types of questions, explaining the tension and giving possible answers from a religious freedom normative approach.

  12. Analytic cognitive style predicts religious and paranormal belief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pennycook, Gordon; Cheyne, James Allan; Seli, Paul; Koehler, Derek J; Fugelsang, Jonathan A

    2012-06-01

    An analytic cognitive style denotes a propensity to set aside highly salient intuitions when engaging in problem solving. We assess the hypothesis that an analytic cognitive style is associated with a history of questioning, altering, and rejecting (i.e., unbelieving) supernatural claims, both religious and paranormal. In two studies, we examined associations of God beliefs, religious engagement (attendance at religious services, praying, etc.), conventional religious beliefs (heaven, miracles, etc.) and paranormal beliefs (extrasensory perception, levitation, etc.) with performance measures of cognitive ability and analytic cognitive style. An analytic cognitive style negatively predicted both religious and paranormal beliefs when controlling for cognitive ability as well as religious engagement, sex, age, political ideology, and education. Participants more willing to engage in analytic reasoning were less likely to endorse supernatural beliefs. Further, an association between analytic cognitive style and religious engagement was mediated by religious beliefs, suggesting that an analytic cognitive style negatively affects religious engagement via lower acceptance of conventional religious beliefs. Results for types of God belief indicate that the association between an analytic cognitive style and God beliefs is more nuanced than mere acceptance and rejection, but also includes adopting less conventional God beliefs, such as Pantheism or Deism. Our data are consistent with the idea that two people who share the same cognitive ability, education, political ideology, sex, age and level of religious engagement can acquire very different sets of beliefs about the world if they differ in their propensity to think analytically. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. 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

  14. The ‘Friendship Dynamics of Religion,’ or the ‘Religious Dynamics of Friendship’? A Social Network Analysis of Adolescents Who Attend Small Schools*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheadle, Jacob E.; Schwadel, Philip

    2012-01-01

    Longitudinal social network data on adolescents in seven schools are analyzed to reach a new understanding about how the personal and interpersonal social dimensions of adolescent religion intertwine together in small school settings. We primarily address two issues relevant to the sociology of religion and sociology in general: (1) social selection as a source of religious homophily and (2) friend socialization of religion. Analysis results are consistent with Collins’ interaction ritual chain theory, which stresses the social dimensions of religion, since network-religion autocorrelations are relatively substantial in magnitude and both selection and socialization mechanisms play key roles in generating them. Results suggest that socialization plays a stronger role than social selection in four of six religious outcomes, and that more religious youth are more cliquish. Implications for our understanding of the social context of religion, religious homophily, and the ways we model religious influence, as well as limitations and considerations for future research, are discussed. PMID:23017927

  15. RELIGIOUS COMMUNICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF CULTURE MEDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria S. Petrushkevych

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The aim of the work is to determine the features of media culture that bind it with mass culture and mass communications and have the most significant effect on the general principles of the religious mass communication. In addition, the objective is to identify the skills system and traits of mass human that are necessary for using media culture. Methodology. The methodological basis is related to structuring, analytical analysis and synthesis of media features; highlighting phenomena that illustrate modern communicative situation; characteristics of media trends influence for the specific functioning of religious communication. Scientific novelty. Main part of the work is devoted to the analysis of the progressive media culture, mass-media and their main features, design of religious communication in this culture. Media gradually form the appearance of religious communication quietly, especially the mass one, they adapt the modern religious discourse to rates of transfer and perception of information. Modern believer gets a lot of different kinds of religious information, on any subject, any explanation of the religious question, with respect to any religion. Such volume of religious information and the speed with which a person receives it, does not usually make it religious or spiritually advanced, but only informed. Spiritual perfection and religious development, religious communication is possible only when the customer is aware of media culture and way of seeing the ultimate goal of such communications using the Mass Media. So far these mechanisms are perfectly designed in traditional religious communication. Phenomena, that reflects the dramatic changes in the communicative environment are: mediatization of body and mind, the new practice of processing / reading information, the phenomenon of simultaneous perception of a large number of information channels – similar or different. Features of media culture that connect it with

  16. Educating American Protestant Religious Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Charles R.

    2015-01-01

    The voluntarism in Protestant theologies and practices has significantly shaped the education of lay and professional Protestant religious educators in networks of voluntary and academic training programs that through the years have emphasized the interdependence of pedagogical, religious/theological, and social science theories and practices.…

  17. Religiousness and health in Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahrenfeldt, Linda Juel; Möller, Sören; Andersen-Ranberg, Karen

    2017-01-01

    % CI 0.75, 0.98) and depressive symptoms 0.80 (95% CI 0.69, 0.93), whereas being religiously educated lowered odds of poor self-rated health (SRH) 0.81 (95% CI 0.70, 0.93) and long-term health problems 0.84 (95% CI 0.74, 0.95). The more religious had lower odds of limitations with activities of daily......Recent research suggests that epidemiological forces in religion and health can have opposed effects. Using longitudinal data of people aged 50+ included in wave 1 (2004-2005) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and followed up through waves 2 (2006-2007), 4 (2011......) and 5 (2013), we examined two forms of religious internalization and their association with health. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine all associations. Taking part in a religious organization was associated with lower odds of GALI (global activity limitation index) (OR = 0.86, 95...

  18. Religious fundamentalism and conflict

    OpenAIRE

    Muzaffer Ercan Yılmaz

    2006-01-01

    This study provides an analytical discussion for the issue of religious fundamentalism and itsrelevance to conflict, in its broader sense. It is stressed that religious fundamentalism manifests itself in twoways: nonviolent intolerance and violent intolerance. The sources of both types of intolerance and theirconnection to conflict are addressed and discussed in detail. Further research is also suggested on conditionsconnecting religion to nonviolent intolerance so as to cope with the problem...

  19. Alcohol Use and Religiousness/Spirituality Among Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, John R.; Sherritt, Lon; Harris, Sion Kim; Holder, David W.; Kulig, John; Shrier, Lydia A.; Gabrielli, Joy; Chang, Grace

    2014-01-01

    Background Previous studies indicate that religiousness is associated with lower levels of substance use among adolescents, but less is known about the relationship between spirituality and substance use. The objective of this study was to determine the association between adolescents’ use of alcohol and specific aspects of religiousness and spirituality. Methods Twelve- to 18-year-old patients coming for routine medical care at three primary care sites completed a modified Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality; the Spiritual Connectedness Scale; and a past-90-days alcohol use Timeline Followback calendar. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the association between each religiousness/spirituality measure and odds of any past-90-days alcohol use, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and clinic site. Timeline Followback data were dichotomized to indicate any past-90-days alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality scale scores were z-transformed for analysis. Results Participants (n = 305) were 67% female, 74% Hispanic or black, and 45% from two-parent families. Mean ± SD age was 16.0 ± 1.8 years. Approximately 1/3 (34%) reported past-90-day alcohol use. After controlling for demographics and clinic site, Religiousness/Spirituality scales that were not significantly associated with alcohol use included: Commitment (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.36, 1.79), Organizational Religiousness (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.64, 1.07), Private Religious Practices (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.80, 1.10), and Religious and Spiritual Coping – Negative (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.91, 1.23). All of these are measures of religiousness, except for Religious and Spiritual Coping – Negative. Scales that were significantly and negatively associated with alcohol use included: Forgiveness (OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.42–0.73), Religious and Spiritual Coping –Positive (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.51–0.84), Daily Spiritual Experiences (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.54–0.84), and Belief

  20. Understanding the virtual team challenge – a discourse perspective on sensemaking in a global organisation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Nils Braad; Kampf, Constance Elizabeth

    2014-01-01

    and projects simultaneously; some virtual, some co-located. This multi-team membership complicates relationship-building within each individual team. To understand how employees make sense of this complex, or equivocal (Weick, 2001) environment, this paper adopts a discourse perspective combining Austin......The literature on virtual teams describes knowledge sharing and trust-building challenges. However, few studies take into account the complexity of the work context in these virtual teams. Key factors affecting complexity include situations in which employees are involved in several teams......’s speech act theory (1975) and Gee’s discourse analysis (2011). This perspective is used to analyze 21 interviews to understand how employees construct meaning in semi-virtual multi-team environments. The analysis shows how a few autonomous employees are able to use their extended networks in a global...

  1. Review paper: Organ transplants: ethical, social, and religious issues in a multicultural society.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robson, Noor Zurani Md Haris; Razack, Azad Hassan; Dublin, Norman

    2010-07-01

    Recent advances in the fields of organ donation and organ transplant have introduced new hope for the treatment of serious diseases. However, this promise has been accompanied by several issues. The most common issue raised is ethical implications, but in a multicultural society like Malaysia, additional concerns arise pertaining to social and religious issues. These concerns needs to be addressed as attitudes toward and acceptability of organ donation varies according to social, culture, and religion. The diverse cultural, religious, and traditional concepts pertaining to organ donation may hamper its acceptability and cause a lack of willingness to donate organs. The purpose of this article is to briefly explore the ethical issues involved in organ transplant and the various religious opinions on organ donation. It is hoped that this knowledge and understanding may benefit both health care providers and patients in a multicultural society like Malaysia.

  2. GENDER COGNITION IN RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE: A STUDY OF FRAMING IN THEMATIC HOLY KORAN INTERPRETATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dadang S. Anshori

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The study is aimed at describing gender cognition phenomenon in religious discourse in thematic interpretation (tafsir of the Holy Koran published by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Each interpretation book as a written discourse is different from each other due to author’s cognition frame. This study employs a constructive qualitative approach with technical framing analysis. The data are language data (religious text that are obtainable from thematic interpretation of the Koran of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Data analysis was performed on the following topics: the origins of the creation of men and women, women's leadership, women and inheritance rights, women and ownership, and women's testimony. The research findings show: (1 The lingual and religious discourse containing gender cognition are present in the forms of words, phrases, and sentences. The lingual form of religious discourse is related to the meaning of technical vocabulary that contains appropriate understanding of the discourse topic. (2 Discourse representing gender cognition is found on three topics: women leadership (nation leadership, waris (inheritance, and women’s testimony. In terms of inheritance and women’s testimony, this interpretation refers to conditions that are explicitly stated in the Holy Koran. Meanwhile, this interpretation views leadership of the nation as more worthy to be given to men than women. book looks is more worthy of leadership in the countries was given to men than women.

  3. Religious Values In Song Lyrics Tingkilan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Sadli Mustafa

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This globalization era brought people of East Kalimantan tend to prefer modern music and western music. This cause the local or traditional music art is marginalized. On the other hand, they have a local music art containing a lot of local wisdom. One of them is tingkilan music. Lyrics of tingkilan contain religious values. Therefore, this study intends to find and to describe the religious values in the song lyrics of the tingkilan musical arts. This study uses a qualitative research method. The research shows that in fact some tingkilan song lyrics have a deep religious value. Some of those religious values are thanksgiving favors, learning of the holly Qur’an, the way of eating and drinking in accordance with the Islamic teaching.

  4. The Prevalence and Antecedents of Religious Beliefs About Health Control in the US Population: Variations by Race and Religious Background.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayward, R David; Krause, Neal; Pargament, Kenneth

    2017-12-01

    The ways in which religious beliefs influence beliefs about health have important implications for motivation to engage in positive health behaviors and comply with medical treatment. This study examines the prevalence of two health-related religious beliefs: belief in healing miracles and deferral of responsibility for health outcomes to God. Data came from a representative nationwide US survey of religion and health (N = 3010). Full-factorial ANOVA indicated that there were significant differences in both dimensions of belief by race, by religious background, and by the interaction between the two. Black people believed religion played the largest role in health regardless of religious background. Among White and Hispanic groups, Evangelical Protestants placed more responsibility for their health on God in comparison with other religious groups. ANCOVA controlling for background factors socioeconomic status, health, and religious involvement partially explained these group differences.

  5. Politics of faith: Transforming religious communities and spiritual subjectivities in post-apartheid South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haley McEwen

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The enforcement of racial segregation during apartheid was aimed not only at regulating public spaces, residential areas and the workforce, but also at shaping the subjectivities of individuals who were socialised to see themselves through the lens of a white racial hierarchy. The ideology of white supremacy and superiority that informed apartheid policy was largely justified using Christonormative epistemologies that sought to legitimate the racial hierarchy as having basis in Holy Scripture and as an extension of God’s will. At the same time, apartheid policy fragmented religious communities, entrenching race as a central component of spiritual subjectivities. Twenty years after the end of apartheid, the legacy of apartheid continues to shape the lives and opportunities of all people living in South Africa, despite many gains made in working towards a non-racial, non-sexist democracy. While much scholarly attention has been paid to postapartheid contexts of work, residency and recreation, relatively little attention has been paid to spaces of worship. This is surprising, given that religious belief and practice are widespread in South Africa in the first instance, and that Christian belief, in particular, was so central to the social imaginary of apartheid, in the second. Thus, in efforts to transform society and advance social justice, it is imperative to consider diversity, difference and otherness from the perspective of, and in relation to, contemporary religious communities and contexts. This article will consider some of the factors shaping dynamics of diversity and difference within the context of religious communities in South Africa, over 20 years into democracy.

  6. Entrepreneurship development in destinations of religious tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanović Slobodan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available After the introduction which summarizes the basic guidelines for the development of entrepreneurship in special interest tourism, the author explores the development and application as well as the management of entrepreneurship in religious tourism as a type of special interest tourism. Religious components and motives for visiting shrines as an integral part of human culture and tradition have a strenuous impact on the tourism industry, both on the offering and demanding side. The most visited shrines such as Fatima or Lourdes attract four to eight million visitors per year. Considering the fact that this type of tourism is economically very useful in a particular local environment, many shrines as sites have become centres of religious, commercial and cultural events in certain regions throughout history. Their development was followed by investment in infrastructure, culture, catering and other facilities. The implementation of entrepreneurship is based on various segments that enable the development of religious tourism in a particular area, such as catering industry, hospitality industry, tourist mediation, transportation companies and other complementary activities (agriculture, fishing, wine production, commerce and other services. The author explores the indicators of entrepreneurship development in the field of religious tourism as a type of special interest tourism indicating the possibilities it has on the destination development. The development of special interest tourism should be based on effective investment in tourism offer through entrepreneurial projects (catering and other tourist facilities in accordance with market trends. The investment in tourism offer in the context of religious tourism would result in the growth of religious passengers' consumption as well as the increase in income from religious tourism, and thus the economic development of the sites with religious content. Examples of such shrines in the world are

  7. Religious and Spiritual Factors in Depression: Review and Integration of the Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonelli, Raphael; Dew, Rachel E.; Koenig, Harold G.; Rosmarin, David H.; Vasegh, Sasan

    2012-01-01

    Depressive symptoms and religious/spiritual (R/S) practices are widespread around the world, but their intersection has received relatively little attention from mainstream mental health professionals. This paper reviews and synthesizes quantitative research examining relationships between R/S involvement and depressive symptoms or disorders during the last 50 years (1962 to 2011). At least 444 studies have now quantitatively examined these relationships. Of those, over 60% report less depression and faster remission from depression in those more R/S or a reduction in depression severity in response to an R/S intervention. In contrast, only 6% report greater depression. Of the 178 most methodologically rigorous studies, 119 (67%) find inverse relationships between R/S and depression. Religious beliefs and practices may help people to cope better with stressful life circumstances, give meaning and hope, and surround depressed persons with a supportive community. In some populations or individuals, however, religious beliefs may increase guilt and lead to discouragement as people fail to live up to the high standards of their religious tradition. Understanding the role that R/S factors play in preventing depression, facilitating its resolution, or leading to greater depression will help clinicians determine whether this is a resource or a liability for individual patients. PMID:22928096

  8. Religious and Spiritual Factors in Depression: Review and Integration of the Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raphael Bonelli

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Depressive symptoms and religious/spiritual (R/S practices are widespread around the world, but their intersection has received relatively little attention from mainstream mental health professionals. This paper reviews and synthesizes quantitative research examining relationships between R/S involvement and depressive symptoms or disorders during the last 50 years (1962 to 2011. At least 444 studies have now quantitatively examined these relationships. Of those, over 60% report less depression and faster remission from depression in those more R/S or a reduction in depression severity in response to an R/S intervention. In contrast, only 6% report greater depression. Of the 178 most methodologically rigorous studies, 119 (67% find inverse relationships between R/S and depression. Religious beliefs and practices may help people to cope better with stressful life circumstances, give meaning and hope, and surround depressed persons with a supportive community. In some populations or individuals, however, religious beliefs may increase guilt and lead to discouragement as people fail to live up to the high standards of their religious tradition. Understanding the role that R/S factors play in preventing depression, facilitating its resolution, or leading to greater depression will help clinicians determine whether this is a resource or a liability for individual patients.

  9. Influence of religious organisations' statements on compliance with a smoke-free law in Bogor, Indonesia: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byron, M Justin; Cohen, Joanna E; Gittelsohn, Joel; Frattaroli, Shannon; Nuryunawati, Ramadhani; Jernigan, David H

    2015-12-14

    To explore the Bogor public's perspective on Muslim organisations' pronouncements against smoking and the effect of these pronouncements on compliance with a new smoke-free law in the context of a prosmoking social norm. Semistructured focus group discussions were conducted, transcribed, coded using ATLAS.ti software, and analysed using thematic content analysis. Photo elicitation was also used during the focus groups. Bogor, Indonesia. 11 focus groups (n=89), stratified by age, gender and smoking status, with members of the public (46 male, 43 female, ages 18-50). There was limited knowledge of and compliance with both the smoke-free law and the religious pronouncements. In most of the focus groups, smoking was described as a discouraged, but not forbidden, behaviour for Muslims. Participants described the decision of whether to follow the religious pronouncements in the context of individual choice. Some participants felt religious organisations lacked credibility to speak against smoking because many religious leaders themselves smoke. However, some non-smokers said their religion reinforced their non-smoking behaviour and some participants stated it would be useful for religious leaders to speak more about the smoke-free law. Religious organisations' pronouncements appear to have had a small effect, primarily in supporting the position of non-smokers not to smoke. Participants, including smokers, said their religious leaders should be involved in supporting the smoke-free law. These findings suggest there is potential for the tobacco control community to partner with sympathetic local Muslim leaders to promote common goals of reducing smoking and public smoke exposure. Muslim leaders' views on smoking would be perceived as more credible if they themselves followed the smoke-free law. Additionally, public health messaging that includes religious themes could be piloted and tested for effectiveness. These findings may also inform similar efforts in other Muslim

  10. Religious teaching in the school context

    OpenAIRE

    Garutti, Selson; CESUMAR

    2007-01-01

    On 22nd July 1997, the then president of the Brazilian Republic Fernando Henrique Cardoso signed the law no. 9.475/97, concerning religious teaching in schools. That law caused generalized confusion all round Brazil by making facultative religious teaching in schools, and disorganizing even further the already troubled subject “Religious Teaching”. We cannot lose sight of the disorganization installed in the year of 1996 by the confusion introduced by the new National Education Basis Guidelin...

  11. Religious tourism: devotion or business opportunity?

    OpenAIRE

    Carvalho, Aida

    2012-01-01

    Religious tourism can be understood as an activity in which people travel either for worshipping purposes or to participate in events of religious significance. It can be seen as an alternative to mass tourism activities, aiming for specific targets. Portugal has a significant and rich religious heritage which can help to revitalize traditionally neglected rural areas. The active participation of the Church is of utmost importance as far as the visitors are concerned. On one hand it sh...

  12. Understanding Special Olympics Experiences from the Athlete Perspectives Using Photo-Elicitation: A Qualitative Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Jonathan A.; Burnham Riosa, Priscilla; Robinson, Suzanne; Ryan, Stephanie; Tint, Ami; Viecili, Michelle; MacMullin, Jennifer A.; Shine, Rebecca

    2017-01-01

    Background: Many individuals with intellectual disabilities experience challenges to participating in organized sport, despite its known benefits. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the experiences of participating in sport (Special Olympics) from the perspectives of athletes with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Five…

  13. Religión y moral

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martín Velasco, Juan

    1994-10-01

    Full Text Available Not available.

    Religión y moralidad son hechos estrechamente relacionados a lo largo de la historia. Esta relación da lugar a contenidos éticos convergentes en la mayor parte de las tradiciones religiosas. Existen sin embargo tensiones entre la moral y la religión que culminan en la ruptura operada por los movimientos «ilustrados». Operada esta ruptura, religión y moralidad aparecen como distintas formas de relación con el absoluto, llamadas a dialogar, desde la base de la ética civil de lassociedades pluralístas, para buscar soluciones a los problemas de la humanidad actual

  14. War, religion, and white supremacy in comparative perspective: South Africa and the American South

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R M�ller

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available The southern states of the United States of America and South Africa share a number of analogous historical realities. One of these, which is the main subject of� this article,� is� the way in which the memory of a lost war had fused cultural mythology and religious symbolism to provide a foundation for the formation and maintenance of attitudes of white supremacy in both contexts.� This article seeks to achieve a historical� understanding of the complex interrelationship between the development of cultural identity and Protestant Christianity by� focusing on these issues in the histories of the Afrikaner and the white American Southerner in comparative perspective.�

  15. 38 CFR 61.64 - Religious organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... over its internal governance, and it may retain religious terms in its organization's name, select its..., practice and expression of its religious beliefs, provided that it does not use direct financial assistance...

  16. ‘Soldiers of God or Allah’: Religious Politicization and the Boko Haram Crisis in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin Maiangwa

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available 'Several works on Boko Haram have underscored the issues of state weakness and bad governance in Nigeria as the major problematic fuelling the group’s violent activities. While the state fragility argument is indispensable, this paper argues that the religious dimension is also critical to any attempt to understand the Boko Haram crisis. To this end, the paper will examine how the historical and contemporary processes of religious politicization in Nigeria have contributed to the rise and radicalization of Boko Haram.' ' '

  17. Religious and Non-religious Activity Engagement as Assets in Promoting Social Ties Throughout University: The Role of Emotion Regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semplonius, Thalia; Good, Marie; Willoughby, Teena

    2015-08-01

    Emerging adulthood is a time of many changes. For example, one change that occurs for a subset of emerging adults is leaving home and starting university. Importantly, the creation of social ties can aid in promoting positive adjustment during university. This study investigated whether involvement in religious activities promotes social ties among university students directly and/or indirectly through emotion regulation. Importantly, involvement in religious activities may promote self-regulatory skills, and the ability to effectively regulate emotions can aid in navigating social interactions. To rule out potentially important confounding variables, spirituality and involvement in non-religious clubs were statistically controlled in all analyses. The participants included 1,132 university students (70.5 % female) from a university in Ontario, Canada who were surveyed each year over a period of 3 years. The results indicated that involvement in religious activities indirectly predicted more social ties over time through emotion regulation. Spirituality did not predict social ties or emotion regulation. Furthermore, non-religious clubs directly predicted more social ties over time. Thus, although involvement in religious and non-religious activities both predicted more social ties in a university setting over time, the mechanism by which these activities promote social ties differed.

  18. A Framework for Understanding International Perspectives on Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiseman, Alexander W.

    2012-01-01

    International perspectives on education have existed since the first world travelers brought stories back from their travels abroad, but the ways these perspectives are presented and understood varies as much as the cultures and communities themselves. This introduction to international perspectives on education provides a framework, which relies…

  19. Leaving the Faith: How Religious Switching Changes Pathways to Adulthood among Conservative Protestant Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glass, Jennifer L; Sutton, April; Fitzgerald, Scott T

    2015-06-01

    Research revealing associations between conservative Protestantism and lower socioeconomic status is bedeviled by questions of causal inference. Religious switching offers another way to understand the causal ordering of religious participation and demographic markers of class position. In this paper, we look at adolescents who change their religious affiliation across four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and then observe their transition to adulthood using four crucial markers - completed educational attainment, age at first marriage, age at first birth, and income at the final wave. Results show that switching out of a conservative Protestant denomination in adolescence can alter some, but not all, of the negative consequences associated with growing up in a conservative Protestant household. Specifically, family formation is delayed among switchers, but early cessation of education is not.

  20. Teologia, Ciência da Religião e Filosofia da Religião: definindo suas relações

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dierken, Jörg

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Trata-se de revisitar o complexo fenômeno da religião, à luz das articulações e diferenciações entre teologia, filosofia da religião e ciência da religião, particularmente no contexto sociocultural da modernidade e suas categorias iluministas de racionalidade, liberdade e ciência, em grandes pensadores tais como Max Weber e Ernst Troeltsch

  1. Midichlorians--the biomeme hypothesis: is there a microbial component to religious rituals?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panchin, Alexander Y; Tuzhikov, Alexander I; Panchin, Yuri V

    2014-07-02

    understanding of neurobiology and neurochemistry, while the diversity of such organisms may be of interest to evolutionary biologists and religious scholars. This article was reviewed by Prof. Dan Graur, Dr. Rob Knight and Dr. Eugene Koonin.

  2. Midichlorians - the biomeme hypothesis: is there a microbial component to religious rituals?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    religiosity. The discovery of novel microorganisms that affect host behavior may improve our understanding of neurobiology and neurochemistry, while the diversity of such organisms may be of interest to evolutionary biologists and religious scholars. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Prof. Dan Graur, Dr. Rob Knight and Dr. Eugene Koonin PMID:24990702

  3. Race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and education are associated with gay and bisexual men's religious and spiritual participation and beliefs: Results from the One Thousand Strong cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lassiter, Jonathan M; Saleh, Lena; Starks, Tyrel; Grov, Christian; Ventuneac, Ana; Parsons, Jeffrey T

    2017-10-01

    This study examined the rates of spirituality, religiosity, religious coping, and religious service attendance in addition to the sociodemographic correlates of those factors in a U.S. national cohort of 1,071 racially and ethnically diverse HIV-negative gay and bisexual men. Descriptive statistics were used to assess levels of spirituality, religiosity, religious coping, and religious service attendance. Multivariable regressions were used to determine the associations between sociodemographic characteristics, religious affiliation, and race/ethnicity with four outcome variables: (1) spirituality, (2) religiosity, (3) religious coping, and (4) current religious service attendance. Overall, participants endorsed low levels of spirituality, religiosity, and religious coping, as well as current religious service attendance. Education, religious affiliation, and race/ethnicity were associated with differences in endorsement of spirituality and religious beliefs and behaviors among gay and bisexual men. Men without a 4-year college education had significantly higher levels of religiosity and religious coping as well as higher odds of attending religious services than those with a 4-year college education. Gay and bisexual men who endorsed being religiously affiliated had higher levels of spirituality, religiosity, and religious coping as well as higher odds of religious service attendance than those who endorsed being atheist/agnostic. White men had significantly lower levels of spirituality, religiosity, and religious coping compared to Black men. Latino men also endorsed using religious coping significantly less than Black men. The implications of these findings for future research and psychological interventions with gay and bisexual men are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Measuring Religiousness in Health Research: Review and Critique

    OpenAIRE

    Hall, Daniel E.; Meador, Keith G.; Koenig, Harold G.

    2008-01-01

    Although existing measures of religiousness are sophisticated, no single approach has yet emerged as a standard. We review the measures of religiousness most commonly used in the religion and health literature with particular attention to their limitations, suggesting that vigilance is required to avoid over-generalization. After placing the development of these scales in historical context, we discuss measures of religious attendance, private religious practice, and intrinsic/extrinsic relig...

  5. Analytic cognitive style predicts religious and paranormal belief

    OpenAIRE

    Pennycook, Gordon; Cheyne, James Allan; Seli, Paul; Koehler, Derek J.; Fugelsang, Jonathan A.

    2012-01-01

    An analytic cognitive style denotes a propensity to set aside highly salient intuitions when engaging in problem solving. We assess the hypothesis that an analytic cognitive style is associated with a history of questioning, altering, and rejecting (i.e., unbelieving) supernatural claims, both religious and paranormal. In two studies, we examined associations of God beliefs, religious engagement (attendance at religious services, praying, etc.), conventional religious beliefs (heaven, miracle...

  6. Religious commitment, attitudes toward suicide, and suicidal behaviors among college students of different ethnic and religious groups in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foo, Xiang Yi; Alwi, Muhd Najib Mohd; Ismail, Siti Irma Fadhillah; Ibrahim, Normala; Osman, Zubaidah Jamil

    2014-06-01

    The variation in suicide patterns across ethnic groups with different religious background is a puzzling social phenomenon. This study sought to examine the impact of religious commitment and attitudes toward suicide on suicidal behaviors of college students across major ethnic and religious groups in a multicultural society of Malaysia. A total of 139 college students completed Religious Commitment Inventory-10, Attitudes Toward Suicide Scale, and Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised. Findings showed significant discrepancies in attitudes toward suicide, but not suicidal behaviors across ethnic and religious groups. Suicide acceptance significantly affected suicidal behaviors as well. Although religious commitment is not associated with suicidal behaviors, its deviation is reflected in students' acceptance of suicide. Additionally, college students' suicide risk, lifetime, and recent suicide ideation, as well as their likelihood of future suicide attempt can be associated with their acceptance of suicide. The influence of attitudes toward suicide and religion, therefore, should be taken into consideration while implementing suicide prevention programs as it helps shape the norms about suicide among youths.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  8. THE ASSESSEMENT OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE TOLEDO GUIDE IN ROMANIA

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    Teodora M. FULGA

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The main actors on the global scene, the State, the Church and society, together with their values, their identity, their faith, and democracy, are involved in a new dilemma of the individual’s relationship to community, with crucial impacts on the position of universality and transcendence in society. The acute crisis in the recent history triggered a new step in the religious, intercultural or confessional education, which must generate an articulated answer in a field cleared of secularism. This is the key for the interpretation of the new State-cults partnerships in education. Thus the interest manifested by students in the non-confessional public schools reveal the need to present in a balanced way the intercultural and interreligious elements, supported in the OSCE vision by the Toledo Guide. The assessment of the religious education class from an intercultural perspective showed that the Orthodox format is quite close to the recommended principles and intercultural values. Nevertheless, in spite of the lack of intercultural education in the structure of these classes the students have a certain level of knowledge from other sources also deserving investigation.

  9. Getting angry matters: Going beyond perspective taking and empathic concern to understand bystanders' behavior in bullying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pozzoli, Tiziana; Gini, Gianluca; Thornberg, Robert

    2017-12-01

    The present study examined the relations between different empathic dimensions and bystanders' behavior in bullying. Specifically, the indirect effects of empathic concern and perspective taking via empathic anger on defending and passive bystanding were tested in a sample of Italian young adolescents (N = 398; M age  = 12 years, 3 months, 47.2% girls). Path analysis confirmed the direct and indirect effects, via empathic anger, of empathic concern and perspective taking on bystanders' behavior, with the exception of the direct association between perspective taking and passive bystanding that was not significant. Our findings suggest that considering empathic anger together with empathic concern and perspective taking could help researchers to better understand the links between empathic dispositions and bystanders' behavior in bullying. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Intrinsic religiousness and well-being among cancer patients: the mediating role of control-related religious coping and self-efficacy for coping with cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez, John E; Rex Smith, Amy

    2015-04-01

    We examined the relationship between intrinsic religiousness and well-being, with control-related religious coping and self-efficacy for coping with cancer as potential mediators of this relationship among cancer patients. In a cross-sectional design, 179 ambulatory cancer patients completed measures of intrinsic religiousness, religious coping, self-efficacy for coping with cancer, well-being, and demographic variables. Type of cancer, stage of cancer, and time since diagnosis were collected from electronic medical charts. In a path model, the positive association between intrinsic religiousness and three types of well-being--physical, functional, and social-was fully mediated by active religious surrender and self-efficacy for coping with cancer. In addition, the negative association between passive religious deferral and all four types of well-being--physical, functional, social, and emotional--was fully mediated by self-efficacy for coping with cancer. Finally, there was a negative direct association between pleading for God's direct intercession and emotional well-being. These findings suggest pathways by which intrinsic religiousness and control-related religious coping are linked to various dimensions of well-being among cancer patients.

  11. Mediation of Family Alcoholism Risk by Religious Affiliation Types*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haber, Jon Randolph; Jacob, Theodore

    2009-01-01

    Objective: Religious affiliation is inversely associated with alcohol dependence (AD). Our previous findings indicated that when a religious affiliation differentiated itself from cultural norms, then high-risk adolescents (those having parents with alcoholism history) raised with these affiliations exhibited fewer AD symptoms compared with adolescents of other religious affiliations and nonreligious adolescents. The first of two studies reported here provides a needed replication of our previous findings for childhood religious affiliation using a different sample, and the second study extends examination to current religious affiliation. Method: A national sample of male and female adolescents/young adults (N = 1,329; mean age = 19.6 years) was selected who were the offspring of members of the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. Parental alcoholism, religious affiliation types, and their interactions were examined as predictors of offspring AD symptoms. Results: (1) Offspring reared with a differentiating religious affiliation during childhood exhibited significantly fewer AD symptoms as young adults; (2) offspring with current differentiating religious affiliation also exhibited fewer AD symptoms; this main effect was not weakened by adding other measures of religiousness to the model; (3) differentiating religious affiliation was correlated with both family alcoholism risk and offspring outcome, and removed the association between family alcoholism risk and offspring outcome, thus indicating that differentiating religious affiliation was at least a partial mediator of the association between family AD history risk and offspring AD outcome. Conclusions: Current results indicate that religious differentiation is an inverse mediator of alcoholism risk for offspring with or without parental AD history and regardless of the influence of other religion variables. Results replicated our previous report on religious upbringing between ages 6 and 13 years and indicated an even

  12. Religious Identity and Cultural Diversity: Exploring the Relationships between Religious Identity, Sexism, Homophobia, and Multicultural Competence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balkin, Richard S.; Schlosser, Lewis Z.; Levitt, Dana Heller

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the authors present the results from a national study investigating the relationships between religious identity, sexism, homophobia, and multicultural competence. Participants were 111 randomly sampled counseling professionals and graduate students. The results indicated a relationship between religious identity and various…

  13. Declines in American Adults’ Religious Participation and Beliefs, 1972-2014

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    Jean M. Twenge

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Previous research found declines in Americans’ religious affiliation but few changes in religious beliefs and practices. By 2014, however, markedly fewer Americans participated in religious activities or embraced religious beliefs, with especially striking declines between 2006 and 2014 and among 18- to 29-year-olds in data from the nationally representative General Social Survey (N = 58,893, 1972-2014. In recent years, fewer Americans prayed, believed in God, took the Bible literally, attended religious services, identified as religious, affiliated with a religion, or had confidence in religious institutions. Only slightly more identified as spiritual since 1998, and then only those above age 30. Nearly a third of Millennials were secular not merely in religious affiliation but also in belief in God, religiosity, and religious service attendance, many more than Boomers and Generation X’ers at the same age. Eight times more 18- to 29-year-olds never prayed in 2014 versus the early 1980s. However, Americans have become slightly more likely to believe in an afterlife. In hierarchical linear modeling analyses, the decline in religious commitment was primarily due to time period rather than generation/birth cohort, with the decline in public religious practice larger (d = −.50 and beginning sooner (early 1990s than the smaller (d = −.18 decline in private religious practice and belief (primarily after 2006. Differences in religious commitment due to gender, race, education, and region grew larger, suggesting a more religiously polarized nation.

  14. Albania: a nation of unique inter-religious tolerance and steadfast aspirations for EU integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Patrick Melady

    2013-01-01

    A historic, politic and social analysis of the Albanian case of religious tolerance and co-existence, necessary to understand the real western inspiration of the country and its democracy’s future, is the biggest contribution of this paper.

  15. Understanding advance care planning within the South Asian community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biondo, Patricia D; Kalia, Rashika; Khan, Rooh-Afza; Asghar, Nadia; Banerjee, Cyrene; Boulton, Debbie; Marlett, Nancy; Shklarov, Svetlana; Simon, Jessica E

    2017-10-01

    Advance care planning (ACP) is a process of reflection on and communication of a person's future health-care preferences. Evidence suggests visible minorities engage less in ACP. The South Asian ethnic group is the largest visible minority group in Canada, and information is needed to understand how ACP is perceived and how best to approach ACP within this diverse community. To explore perspectives of South Asian community members towards ACP. Peer-to-peer inquiry. South Asian community members who graduated from the Patient and Community Engagement Research programme (PaCER) at the University of Calgary utilized the PaCER method (SET, COLLECT and REFLECT) to conduct a focus group, family interviews and a community forum. Fifty-seven community-dwelling men and women (22-86 years) who self-identified with the South Asian community in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The concept of ACP was mostly foreign to this community and was often associated with other end-of-life issues such as organ donation and estate planning. Cultural aspects (e.g. trust in shared family decision making and taboos related to discussing death), religious beliefs (e.g. fatalism) and immigration challenges (e.g. essential priorities) emerged as barriers to participation in ACP. However, participants were eager to learn about ACP and recommended several engagement strategies (e.g. disseminate information through religious institutions and community centres, include families in ACP discussions, encourage family physicians to initiate discussions and translate materials). Use of a patient engagement research model proved highly successful in understanding South Asian community members' participation in ACP. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Toward a Greater Discourse: Issues in Religious Archives

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    Robert Presutti

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The topic of religious archives, a catalyst of much discussion in archival literature, has traditionally been overlooked within the discourse of the American Theological Library Association (ATLA. This essay provides a survey analysis of three pertinent issues in religious archives with the intention of generating a wider discussion on religious archives within ATLA. These issues include the role of graduate archival education, the effects of religious faith on both the archival record and the individual archivist, and the idea of a theology of archives. An extended review of the contributions of James O’Toole to the discussion of religious archives is utilized.

  17. Religiosity and agency and communion: their relationship to religious judgmentalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, R; Miller, C D

    2000-05-01

    The present study is an introduction to the construct of religious judgmentalism, defined as a willingness to make religious or moral judgments of others based on a limited period of observation; the study offers a prediction about which individuals will engage in such judgmental behavior. It was predicted that agency motives would significantly predict religious judgmentalism in a religious population but that communion motives and intrinsic religiosity would moderate this effect. Overall, the findings supported these predictions. Agency motives were positively correlated with religious judgmentalism. Intrinsic religiosity predicted a general unwillingness to make religious evaluations of others. Both intrinsic religiosity and communion motives did moderate the effects of high agency motives. Specifically, increases in communion motive and intrinsic religiosity, at high levels of agency motives, significantly predicted lower scores for religious judgmentalism. These findings were conceptualized as preliminary evidence for the position that interpersonal motives, rather than religiousness or religious motivation, predict social intolerance and criticism in religious individuals.

  18. The Holy Versus the Sacred: Offering a Little Trouble for a Multiple Religious Belonging

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    Weidenbaum Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this essay is to illustrate a difficulty which may arise in the attempt to simultaneously identify with more than one religious tradition. Drawing upon the philosophical insights of Martin Buber and Emmanuel Levinas, I demonstrate how some of the most cardinal themes in one faith or theological perspective may set itself against the central notions of another. Along the way, Kierkegaard, the perennial philosophy, process theology, and even Frank Herbert’s science fiction classic Dune are woven into the discussion.

  19. Religión y capital social en La democracia en América

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    de Salas, Jaime

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available In this article two ways of understanding religión in Democracy in America are exposed. The second of these is related to Putnam’s idea of social capital. Finally the idea of custom in Tocqueville is related to Ortega’s theory of belief.La intención del artículo consiste en mostrar las dos formas de desarrollar la religión en La democracia de América. La segunda se relaciona con la noción de capital social de Robert Putnam. Asimismo se asocia la doctrina de las costumbres con la noción de creencia en Ortega.

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

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    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

  1. Caste, Class, and Urbanization: The Shaping of Religious Community in Contemporary India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stroope, Samuel

    2012-01-01

    Building on the implications of qualitative work from India and urbanism theories, I aim to understand whether religious bonding social capital in contemporary India increases with greater urbanization and whether such increases are moderated by caste or social class position. Results from multinomial logistic regression on 1,417 Hindu respondents…

  2. Religious affiliations and consumer behavior: an examination of hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andeleeb, S S

    1993-01-01

    The author re-examines the conclusions of an earlier study which contends that religious affiliation of a hospital is important in influencing hospital selection and contributes to overall patient satisfaction. In this new survey, patients ranked religious affiliation low in importance when choosing among hospitals. However, hospitals of a particular religious affiliation were more likely to be recalled, preferred, and selected by people of the same religious affiliation. Furthermore, on quality-of-care measures, religious affiliation influenced hospital evaluations.

  3. Migration and religious (intolerance: Contribution to the studies regarding the impact of international migration and the perception of religious diversity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Odgers Ortiz

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Mexicans migrating to the United Status confront a very different social space which forces them to re-elaborate multiple identity references, among which religious beliefs and practices stand out. A number of studies have shown that among those who migrate, some on occasion turn to practices of popular religiosity in order to create bridges and maintain links with their communities of origin, in other cases, the migratory experience favors the processes of religious conversion. The subject is reopened in this article in order to bring up a third expression of the impact of migration on religious conversion: the transformation of the idea of religious diversity among those who migrate and consequently, the modification of some attitudes of religious tolerance and intolerance.

  4. LIFE EVENTS AND NEGATIVE RELIGIOUS COPING

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    sema eryücel

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Recently, insufficiency of secular coping methods has drawn the attention of researchers towards religious coping methods. While the parts about theory and model cover an important place in the literature, experimental studies are rapidly going on. Although religious coping was initially interpreted as positive, experimental studies reveal that it also has negative forms. The purpose of this study, in which qualitative research methods were used, is to define the components of religious coping. Semi structured interview was used among 42 participants, 9 war veterans from Association of Turkish Disabled War Veterans, Martyrs, their Widows and Orphans Ankara Branch, and 9 relatives of martyrs from the Association of Martyrs’ Families Ankara Branch, totaling 60 volunteer participants between the ages 25 and 65 with snowball sampling method. It was discovered that 29 of the participants used negative religious coping and the participants who only used negative religious coping were studied in this research. Upon recording the interviews with the aid of a recorder, the researched typed the script of the interviews. The qualitative analysis of the collected data was done in MAXODA 11 computer program.

  5. LIFE EVENTS AND NEGATIVE RELIGIOUS COPING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    sema eryücel

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Recently, insufficiency of secular coping methods has drawn the attention of researchers towards religious coping methods. While the parts about theory and model cover an important place in the literature, experimental studies are rapidly going on. Although religious coping was initially interpreted as positive, experimental studies reveal that it also has negative forms. The purpose of this study, in which qualitative research methods were used, is to define the components of religious coping. Semi structured interview was used among 42 participants, 9 war veterans from Association of Turkish Disabled War Veterans, Martyrs, their Widows and Orphans Ankara Branch, and 9 relatives of martyrs from the Association of Martyrs’ Families Ankara Branch, totaling 60 volunteer participants between the ages 25 and 65 with snowball sampling method. It was discovered that 29 of the participants used negative religious coping and the participants who only used negative religious coping were studied in this research. Upon recording the interviews with the aid of a recorder, the researched typed the script of the interviews. The qualitative analysis of the collected data was done in MAXODA 11 computer program.

  6. Wrath of God: religious primes and punishment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKay, Ryan; Efferson, Charles; Whitehouse, Harvey; Fehr, Ernst

    2011-06-22

    Recent evidence indicates that priming participants with religious concepts promotes prosocial sharing behaviour. In the present study, we investigated whether religious priming also promotes the costly punishment of unfair behaviour. A total of 304 participants played a punishment game. Before the punishment stage began, participants were subliminally primed with religion primes, secular punishment primes or control primes. We found that religious primes strongly increased the costly punishment of unfair behaviours for a subset of our participants--those who had previously donated to a religious organization. We discuss two proximate mechanisms potentially underpinning this effect. The first is a 'supernatural watcher' mechanism, whereby religious participants punish unfair behaviours when primed because they sense that not doing so will enrage or disappoint an observing supernatural agent. The second is a 'behavioural priming' mechanism, whereby religious primes activate cultural norms pertaining to fairness and its enforcement and occasion behaviour consistent with those norms. We conclude that our results are consistent with dual inheritance proposals about religion and cooperation, whereby religions harness the byproducts of genetically inherited cognitive mechanisms in ways that enhance the survival prospects of their adherents.

  7. Pastoral care and religious support as a part of treatment of religious patient with the severe form of osteoarthritis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đurović Aleksandar

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Religious needs of patients are consistently being neglected in the clinical medicine. Pastoral care is a religious support which a religious patient receives from priests, chaplains, imams, rabbis or other religious authorities. Religious support, in terms of clinical medicine, is a spiritual support which religious patients obtain from religious and trained medical workers. The aim of this report was to present the effects of pastoral care and religious support in hospital treatment of a 73-year-old patient with the severe form of osteoarthritis. Case report. The 73- year-old, highly religious patient with severe form of osteoarthritis was admitted at the Clinic for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Military Medical Academy in Belgrade, due to heterogeneous problems in the activities of daily living. The patient walked with difficulty using a stick, suffered pain, and was anxious and depressive. In order to objectively demonstrate effects of both pastoral care and religious support in this patient we performed multiple treatment with reversal design, in which the basic treatment consisting of hospital care, pharmacotherapy and physical therapy (the treatment A was alternatively changed with the treatment that included combination of the basic treatment and religious support provided by religious physiatrist and physiotherapist (the treatment B or combination of the basic treatment and pastoral care provided by military priest (the treatment C. The treatment A was applied three times and lasted two weeks, every time. Treatments B and C were applied once and lasted three weeks, each. The order of the treatments was: A→B→A→C→A. During the whole treatment period the patient’s condition was assessed by several measuring scale: the level of depression by The Hamilton Rang Scale for Depression and The Zung Self Rating Depression Scale; the level of anxiety by The Zung Self Rating Anxiety Scale; the functional capability of

  8. A complementary marriage of perspectives: understanding organizational social context using mixed methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beidas, Rinad S; Wolk, Courtney L Benjamin; Walsh, Lucia M; Evans, Arthur C; Hurford, Matthew O; Barg, Frances K

    2014-11-23

    Organizational factors impact the delivery of mental health services in community settings. Mixed-methods analytic approaches have been recommended, though little research within implementation science has explicitly compared inductive and deductive perspectives to understand their relative value in understanding the same constructs. The purpose of our study is to use two different paradigmatic approaches to deepen our understanding of organizational social context. We accomplish this by using a mixed-methods approach in an investigation of organizational social context in community mental health clinics. Nineteen agencies, representing 23 sites, participated. Enrolled participants included 130 therapists, 36 supervisors, and 22 executive administrators. Quantitative data was obtained via the Organizational Social Context (OSC) measure. Qualitative data, comprised of direct observation with spot sampling generated from agency visits, was coded using content analysis and grounded theory. The present study examined elements of organizational social context that would have been missed if only quantitative data had been obtained and utilized mixed methods to investigate if stratifying observations based on quantitative ratings from the OSC resulted in the emergence of differential themes. Four of the six OSC constructs were commonly observed in field observations (i.e., proficiency, rigidity, functionality, stress), while the remaining two constructs were not frequently observed (i.e., resistance, engagement). Constructs emerged related to organizational social context that may have been missed if only quantitative measurement was employed, including those around the physical environment, commentary about evidence-based practice initiatives, leadership, cultural diversity, distrust, and affect. Stratifying agencies by "best," "average," and "worst" organizational social context impacted interpretation for three constructs (affect, stress, and leadership). Results

  9. Political liberalism and religious claims: Four blind spots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoeckl, Kristina

    2017-01-01

    This article gives an overview of 4 important lacunae in political liberalism and identifies, in a preliminary fashion, some trends in the literature that can come in for support in filling these blind spots, which prevent political liberalism from a correct assessment of the diverse nature of religious claims. Political liberalism operates with implicit assumptions about religious actors being either 'liberal' or 'fundamentalist' and ignores a third, in-between group, namely traditionalist religious actors and their claims. After having explained what makes traditionalist religious actors different from liberal and fundamentalist religious actors, the author develops 4 areas in which political liberalism should be pushed further theoretically in order to correctly theorize the challenge which traditional religious actors pose to liberal democracy. These 4 areas (blind spots) are: (1) the context of translation; (2) the politics of exemptions; (3) the multivocality of theology; and (4) the transnational nature of norm-contestation.

  10. An Overview of Governance and Accountability of Tahfiz Institutions in Malaysian: Religious Councils Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Bani Hamidah; Jaaffar Mohd Yassir; Katan Maheran; Mohd Noor Abd Halim

    2017-01-01

    Tahfiz education is one of the popular streams of education in Malaysia and well accepted by Muslim community. Originally the education is being offered in “pondok”, a traditional religious school. Developing through times, it is now also being offered in tahfiz centers as well as in modern tahfiz institutions. These entities specialize in producing tahfiz graduates who can memorize and recite the whole Al-Quran and more than 91% of them are privately owned. The applicability of good governan...

  11. New Perspectives on Teacher Education in Kuwait

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Sharaf, Adel

    2006-01-01

    This brief paper is part of a larger research project which examined the historical background of teaching in the Kuwaiti educational system before and after the Gulf War in 1990 in order to propose a new perspective on teacher education in Kuwait, particularly with regard to religious education. The author is interested in whether others have a…

  12. Confessional and catechetical nature of religious education in Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paweł Mąkosa

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at bringing to light a presentation of the nature of religious education in Poland. This study will therefore present a brief historical outline of religious upbringing in Poland, its current organisational regulations and the principles of religious education in schools. In our summary, we will present the level of effectiveness of religious education in Poland, and we will also explore the discussion on the reformation of religious education in Poland which is being worked upon.

  13. Training Problems of Religious Studies in Independent Kazakhstan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    İlyas Erpay

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In the Republic of Kazakhstan training questions about religious studies still didn't receive enough attention since after statehood formation and before independence the Kazakhs endured a set of various historical events. Some of these events negatively affected people's consciousness. Seventy years of atheistic education changed people’s spiritual and cultural basis, as a result religious concepts partially lost the importance. After independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan started raise questions about teaching religious studies. However, heterogeneity in religious beliefs of the population to some extent negatively influences training in religious studies. Therefore study of the reasons for emergence of this problem turned into an actual problem. Within this article the genesis analysis of modern training problems in religious studies was carried out and ways of their decision were considered. Currently some religious studies teaching centers and preparation of the corresponding experts are formed. However, despite of the training standards are identical for all centers, ways of their implementation differ from each other. The reason for that – features of the outlook created under the influence of historical factors. These features cause necessity of teaching religious studies in high school. In article the questions on this problem was considered and necessary answers were given. The main method used in research work is the c omparative historical method. In summary it is necessary to specify that authors within article do the full analysis of questions of teaching of the subject "Religious studies" and offer solutions of these questions.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  15. Understanding Personal Learning Environment Perspectives of Thai International Tourism and Hospitality Higher Education Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanyong, Siriwan; Sharafuddin, Mohamed Ali

    2016-01-01

    This paper is part of a periodic research conducted in developing a personal learning environment for Thailand's higher education students with English as medium of instruction. The objective of the first phase in this research was to understand the personal learning environment perspectives of Thai International tourism and hospitality higher…

  16. Does Religious Belief Promote Prosociality? A Critical Examination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galen, Luke W.

    2012-01-01

    Numerous authors have suggested that religious belief has a positive association, possibly causal, with prosocial behavior. This article critiques evidence regarding this "religious prosociality" hypothesis from several areas of the literature. The extant literature on religious prosociality is reviewed including domains of charity,…

  17. WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY FOR IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY:A GENDERED PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shikha Vyas-Doorgapersad

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available There are a very few studies available to gain insight into the impact ofyoga andalternative therapies1on stress management, conflict resolution and workproductivity. In previous studies the focus fell on the gendered perspective,exploring the impact of spiritual modalities on the physical and mental wellness ofmale and female employees.Spiritual practices such as yogaandother alternativetherapies have been found to be significant to enhance work productivity, hence bepart of organisational wellness programmes. However, this aspect is not fullyimplemented due to various reasons including a lack of spiritual understanding,religious preferences and organisational cultures.The aim of this article is to expandupon and enhance this analysis by aligning spiritual practices to workplaceproductivity.Books, journal articles, dissertations, and conference proceedingsdealing with spirituality at the workplacewere reviewed. Based on the literatureavailable, two hypotheses are explored, namely(a that workplace spiritualityenhances employee wellness and has a positive impact on improved productivity;and(b that workplace spirituality impacts differently on male and femaleemployees (gendered perspective and leads to improved productivity. The articleformulates a model called Workplace Spirituality for Gender-based Productivity(WSG-bP for consideration under the umbrella of existing Employee WorkWellness programmes

  18. Network Theory and Religious Innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Collar, Anna

    Collar, A. C. F. ‘Network Theory and Religious Innovation’. In Greek and Roman Networks in the Mediterranean, edited by I. Malkin, C. Constantakopoulou, K. Panagopoulou, 144-157. Abingdon: Routledge......Collar, A. C. F. ‘Network Theory and Religious Innovation’. In Greek and Roman Networks in the Mediterranean, edited by I. Malkin, C. Constantakopoulou, K. Panagopoulou, 144-157. Abingdon: Routledge...

  19. A systematic review of religious beliefs about major end-of-life issues in the five major world religions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Rajshekhar; El-Jawahri, Areej R; Litzow, Mark R; Syrjala, Karen L; Parnes, Aric D; Hashmi, Shahrukh K

    2017-10-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the religious/spiritual beliefs of followers of the five major world religions about frequently encountered medical situations at the end of life (EoL). This was a systematic review of observational studies on the religious aspects of commonly encountered EoL situations. The databases used for retrieving studies were: Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid PsycINFO, Ovid Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus. Observational studies, including surveys from healthcare providers or the general population, and case studies were included for review. Articles written from a purely theoretical or philosophical perspective were excluded. Our search strategy generated 968 references, 40 of which were included for review, while 5 studies were added from reference lists. Whenever possible, we organized the results into five categories that would be clinically meaningful for palliative care practices at the EoL: advanced directives, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, physical requirements (artificial nutrition, hydration, and pain management), autopsy practices, and other EoL religious considerations. A wide degree of heterogeneity was observed within religions, depending on the country of origin, level of education, and degree of intrinsic religiosity. Our review describes the religious practices pertaining to major EoL issues and explains the variations in EoL decision making by clinicians and patients based on their religious teachings and beliefs. Prospective studies with validated tools for religiosity should be performed in the future to assess the impact of religion on EoL care.

  20. Influence of Religious Beliefs on the Health of Cancer Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  1. Organ Transplantation: Legal, Ethical and Islamic Perspective in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2012-08-11

    Aug 11, 2012 ... KEYWORDS: Ethical, Islamic perspective, legal, Nigeria, .... preservation solution and then placed in two plastic bags and stored at 0-4°C. Samples of donor spleen and ..... transplants: Ethical, social and religious issues in a multi cultural society. Asia Pac J .... Submit good quality color images. Each image ...

  2. Beyond the Classroom: Religious Stressors and Adjustment among Indonesian Muslim Graduate Students in an American Graduate School

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amirul Mukminin

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper was to report some of findings from a larger phenomenological study on the lived experience of Indonesian graduate students in a US higher education. Particularly, this paper was to discuss the Indonesian Muslim graduate students’ religious life experiences attending an American graduate school. The primary data sources were a demographic survey and in-depth interviews. The demographic data were analyzed descriptively. The interviews were analyzed by using within-case and cross-case displays and analyses. The theoretical framework of acculturation stress model was used to guide this study. Utilizing the acculturation stress model to describe Indonesian Muslim graduate students’ cross-culture experiences, we organized our analysis and discussion around their perspectives and the contexts in which challenges they encountered emerge. An analysis of the text revealed that major themes related to religious beliefs and life experiences were unanticipated praying difficulties, longer fasting days, no holiday for Ramadan (the holy month of Muslims celebration, no taraweeh (Muslim prayer peculiar to the holy month of Ramadan prayers in mosque during Ramadan, and rare halal food, and decreasing religious stressors. Future higher education research and policy implications are also discussed

  3. Psychosis or Faith? Clinicians' Assessment of Religious Beliefs

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Shawn; Vandenberg, Brian

    2005-01-01

    This study investigated mental health professionals' assessment of the pathognomonic significance of religious beliefs. A total of 110 participants reviewed 3 vignettes depicting individuals possessing the religious beliefs associated with Catholicism, Mormonism, and Nation of Islam. The religious beliefs of the individuals in the vignettes were…

  4. 42 CFR 54.3 - Nondiscrimination against religious organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Nondiscrimination against religious organizations... against religious organizations. (a) Religious organizations are eligible, on the same basis as any other organization, to participate in applicable programs, as long as their services are provided consistent with the...

  5. Reflection on Religiousness and Mental Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oakes, K. Elizabeth

    2000-01-01

    Discusses a short clinical vignette in terms of the theoretical concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations, faith development, and transcendence. Also discusses the therapeutic view of a client's religious orientation, faith development, and transcendence in helping to promote constructive change. (Author/MKA)

  6. Religious Texts as Models of Exclusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kastfelt, Niels

    2010-01-01

    The chapter analyses the connection between Biblical interpretation and the making of political communities in northern Nigeria in the 20th century. Generally, it studies the use of religious scriptures in developing models of society which can both include and exclude particular religious...

  7. Religiousness, spiritual seeking, and personality: findings from a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wink, Paul; Ciciolla, Lucia; Dillon, Michele; Tracy, Allison

    2007-10-01

    The hypothesis that personality characteristics in adolescence can be used to predict religiousness and spiritual seeking in late adulthood was tested using a structural equation modeling framework to estimate cross-lagged and autoregressive effects in a two-wave panel design. The sample consisted of 209 men and women participants in the Berkeley Guidance and Oakland Growth studies. In late adulthood, religiousness was positively related to Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, and spiritual seeking was related to Openness to Experience. Longitudinal models indicated that Conscientiousness in adolescence significantly predicted religiousness in late adulthood above and beyond adolescent religiousness. Similarly, Openness in adolescence predicted spiritual seeking in late adulthood. The converse effect, adolescent religiousness to personality in late adulthood, was not significant in either model. Among women, adolescent Agreeableness predicted late-life religiousness and adolescent religiousness predicted late-life Agreeableness; both these effects were absent among men. Adolescent personality appears to shape late-life religiousness and spiritual seeking independent of early religious socialization.

  8. The religious lives of students at a South African university

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  9. The Repercussion of Grammatical and Cultural Culpability of the Holy Qur'an Translation to Religious Harmony in Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Muta'ali, Abdul

    2014-01-01

    Arguably, among the sources of Islamic radicalization in Indonesia is the interpretation of certain terminology in the holy Qur’an. In a relatively long period, religious understanding of Indonesian society is shaped by the official Translation of the Holy Qur’an by Ministry of Religious Affairs. However, this translation contains several mistakes, including mistakes in translating key terms relating to the issue of warfare, non-Muslims and killing. This eventually contributes to radicalizati...

  10. Physician Religion and End-of-Life Pediatric Care: A Qualitative Examination of Physicians' Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bateman, Lori Brand; Clair, Jeffrey Michael

    2015-01-01

    Physician religion/spirituality has the potential to influence the communication between physicians and parents of children at the end of life. In order to explore this relationship, the authors conducted two rounds of narrative interviews to examine pediatric physicians' perspectives (N=17) of how their religious/spiritual beliefs affect end-of-life communication and care. Grounded theory informed the design and analysis of the study. As a proxy for religiosity/spirituality, physicians were classified into the following groups based on the extent to which religious/spiritual language was infused into their responses: Religiously Rich Responders (RRR), Moderately Religious Responders (MRR), and Low Religious Responders (LRR). Twelve of the 17 participants (71%) were classified into the RRR or MRR groups. The majority of participants suggested that religion/spirituality played a role in their practice of medicine and communication with parents in a myriad of ways and to varying degrees. Participants used their religious/spiritual beliefs to support families' spirituality, uphold hope, participate in prayer, and alleviate their own emotional distress emerging from their patients' deaths.

  11. Religious Tourism in Batangas, Philippines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonna Marrien U. Asi

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This study assessed religious tourism in Batangas, Philippines on the following aspects: historical significance, holiness and spirituality, and customs and traditions. The assessments made were also subjected to tests of differences when the respondents are grouped as to either residents or tourists and according to their age, sex, educational attainment and employment. Results show that both tourists and residents generally concurred on all religious tourism indicators presented to them for assessment, although there were also few indicators that had lower mean assessments than the others. While the differences on the assessments made by the different groups of respondents were not statistically significant, the slight differences are still noticeable. In particular, residents had somewhat more favourable assessment than the tourists, older respondents more than the younger, males more than the females, those with higher education more than those with lower education, and government employees more than those who are not in government service. These slight but still noticeable differences, together with religious tourism indicators having lower mean assessments than the others, can serve as bases for making proposals on how to further enrich the religious tourism in Batangas.

  12. Role of Islamic religious and cultural beliefs regarding intellectual impairment and service use: a South Asian parental perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur-Bola, Kulwinder; Randhawa, Gurch

    2012-01-01

    Empirical research has shown that some South Asian families from Muslim backgrounds may use fewer additional support services for their severely impaired children compared to other non-Muslim families. Often this has been attributed to socioeconomic factors and stereotypical views such as "the family's faith prohibits the use of specific services". This paper focuses on clarifying what Islam purports to say about impairment and considers how cultural influences may inadvertently influence some South Asian parents' decisions to use services for their severely impaired children. This work aims to improve professional-parent/patient communication by enhancing better understanding of Islam on impairment, and supporting non-Muslim professionals to appreciate the differences between Islamic religion and general South Asian cultural beliefs regarding disability. Fourteen parents from ten Pakistani and Bangladeshi families took part in semi-structured open-ended interviews. Grounded theory was used to analyse the data. The emerging theory suggested most first generation Muslim families from rural villages were unable to distinguish between Islamic religious and cultural beliefs on impairment, and risked missing out on essential services due to poor professional-parent/patient communication.

  13. Politics: An Islamic Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Rashid Moten

    1993-11-01

    Full Text Available Muslim societies in all of their social and cultural variety are, as Donald E. Smith points out, ‘organic’ societies characterized by organic religious systems. In these societies, religion tends to permeate all institutions rather than to be differentiated and/or autonomous. The vast body of literature produced since the departure of the colonialists from the Muslim lands suggests, however, either the implicit existence of the dichotomy or at least the feasibility and advisability of radical separation between the spiritual and temporal realms. The seriousness of the issue, evidenced by an outpouring of studies, calls for an examination of the linkage between the two realms through textual (Qur’an and Hadith, intellectual (ideas of Muslim thinkers and historical evidence. Only in such a manner can the dynamics of the relationship between Islam and politics be understood and a determination made of what has changed and what has remained unchanged. This entails, first, an understanding of the meaning and nature of politics from the Western perspective to facilitate a comparison...

  14. Satisfaction with life and character strengths of non-religious and religious people: it’s practicing one’s religion that makes the difference

    OpenAIRE

    Berthold, Anne; Ruch, Willibald

    2014-01-01

    According to systematic reviews, religious beliefs and practices are related to higher life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect (Koenig and Larson, 2001). The present research extends previous findings by comparing satisfaction with life and character strengths of non-religious people, religious people, who practice their religion and people that have a religious affiliation but do not practice their religion. We assessed life satisfaction (SWLS), character strengths (VIA-IS) and the...

  15. The screens of the sacred or the religious imaginary of Television

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Jacques WUNENBURGER

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The success of technical and communicational system of television, for more than fifty years, is probably due to the fact that it succeeded in replacing the religious. We will show that it renews liturgies, rites of possession, shamanism, and even black magic. These analogies are able to make us understand human comportment facing television, so often banalized.

  16. Assessing Students' Spiritual and Religious Qualities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Astin, Alexander W.; Astin, Helen S.; Lindholm, Jennifer A.

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes a comprehensive set of 12 new measures for studying undergraduate students' spiritual and religious development. The three measures of spirituality, four measures of "spiritually related" qualities, and five measures of religiousness demonstrate satisfactory reliability, robustness, and both concurrent and predictive validity.…

  17. Change and Stability in Religiousness and Spirituality in Emerging Adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koenig, Laura B

    2015-01-01

    The author investigated the change and stability of different aspects of religiousness and spirituality, as well as whether personality traits may help explain why individuals increase or decrease in religiousness and spirituality during emerging adulthood. Self-report measures of childhood and current religiousness were completed by 224 college-aged participants. A subset of participants also completed a measure of personality and measures of religious and spiritual belief trajectories by rating the importance of each belief at successive age brackets across their lifespan. Analyses of mean-level, rank-order, and individual-level stability and change in religiousness indicated that while average religiousness scores decreased, there was still moderate to high rank-order stability in scores. Additionally, service attendance was less stable and decreased more than importance of religion in daily life. Examination of the trajectories of religiousness and spirituality over time showed similar differences: religiousness decreased, on average, whereas spirituality increased slightly, but significantly, across successive age brackets. Personality traits did not significantly predict change in religiousness over time, although openness predicted change in spirituality. Conclusions include the idea that religiousness in emerging adulthood is comprised on different components that change at different rates.

  18. Defining and Distinguishing Traditional and Religious Terrorism

    OpenAIRE

    Gregg, Heather S.

    2014-01-01

    The article of record may be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23296151.2016.1239978 thus offering few if any policy options for counterterrorism measures. This assumption about religious terrorism stems from two challenges in the literature: disproportionate attention to apocalyptic terrorism, and a lack of distinction between religious terrorism and its secular counterpart. This article, therefore, aims to do four things: define and differentiate religiously motivated terrorism from tr...

  19. Czesław Miłosz’s Migrant Perspective in Rodzinna Europa [Native Realm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kołodziejczyk Ewa

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The article traces the impact of Czesław Miłosz’s first American stay on his image of Central Europe in Rodzinna Europa [Native Realm]. In the United States, the post-war immigrant from Vilnius learned to perceive, understand and evaluate American culture; he also gained a new perspective on his region of Europe and Slavic immigrants. This experience enabled him to adopt an American point of view in his autobiographical essay. Following William Faulkner, Miłosz carries on an analysis of Eastern and Central Europe’s history and identities. The uses Western historical and sociological glossary to describe processes that formed his “native realm.” Analogically, the poet from pre-war Vilnius reflects on American multi-ethnicity and religious diversity from a Central European perspective. In Rodzinna Europa, Miłosz takes the position of a migrant translator and a two-way mediator between East and West.

  20. Familial resemblance in religiousness in a secular society

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvidtjørn, Dorte; Petersen, Inge; Hjelmborg, Jacob

    2013-01-01

    generally considered more religious than the very secular northern European countries. Comparisons of the results are complicated by diverse definitions of religiousness, but several studies indicate that the influence of the family environment is most predominant in early life, whereas genetic influences...... increase with age. We performed a population-based twin study of religiousness in a secular society using data from a Web-based survey sent to 6,707 Danish twins born 1970-1989, who were identified in the Danish Twin Registry. We applied Fishman's three conceptual dimensions of religiousness: cognition...

  1. Religious Education as a Tool for Enhancing Diversity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Peter Birkelund; Laudrup, Carin

    2010-01-01

    Over the past 30 years or so scholars in the social sciences and politicians alike have increasingly focused their attention on the effect of migration in European societies. This has resulted in theories of multiculturalism and more recently theories of cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity....... This paper raises the question of how such theories are reflected in religious education in the Danish school system. Based on analyses of a survey among pupils in their final year in upper secondary schools, it is argued that non-confessional religious education is one way of enhancing religious tolerance....

  2. Effects of Personality Traits, Religiousness/ Spirituality on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Religiousness Index (IWSRI), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) were administered to 412 randomly selected senior secondary school students to evaluate personality traits, spirituality/religiousness, and psychopathology respectively.

  3. The Influences of Gender and Religiousness on Alzheimer Disease Caregivers’ Use of Informal Support and Formal Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Fei; Roff, Lucinda Lee; Klemmack, David; Burgio, Louis D.

    2010-01-01

    Objective This study explored how male and female family caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients differ in their use of formal services and informal support and how religiousness may affect such differences. Methods Data were from a sample of 720 family caregivers of AD patients who participated in the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Heath (REACH I) study sites in Birmingham, Boston, Memphis, and Philadelphia. Results Female caregivers were less likely to use in-home services than males (M = 0.83 vs. M = 1.06, p religiousness helped explain the relationship between gender and use of formal services and informal support. Discussion These findings highlight the necessity to assess AD caregivers’ religiousness to better understand their circumstances. PMID:18936242

  4. The effect of income on religiousness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buser, T.

    2015-01-01

    How does income affect religiousness? Using self-collected survey data, we estimate the effects of income on religious behavior. As a source of exogenous income variation we use a change in the eligibility criteria for a government cash transfer in Ecuador and apply a regression discontinuity

  5. The need of a multi-actor perspective to understand expectations from virtual presence: managing elderly homecare informatics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mettler, Tobias; Vimarlund, Vivian

    2011-12-01

    Different studies have analysed a wide range of use cases and scenarios for using IT-based services in homecare settings for elderly people. In most instances, the impact of such services has been studied using a one-dimensional approach, either focusing on the benefits for the patient or health service provider. The objective of this contribution is to explore a model for identifying and understanding outcomes of IT-based homecare services from a multi-actor perspective. In order to better understand the state of the art in homecare informatics, we conducted a literature review. We use experiences from previous research in the area of informatics to develop the proposed model. The proposed model consists of four core activities 'identify involved actors', 'understand consequences', 'clarify contingencies', 'take corrective actions', and one additional activity 'brainstorming IT use'. The primary goal of innovating organisations, processes and services in homecare informatics today, is to offer continued care, better decision support both to practitioners and patients, as well as effective distribution of resources. A multi-actor analysis perspective is needed to understand utility determination for the involved stakeholders.

  6. 28 CFR 548.18 - Observance of religious holy days.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... RELIGIOUS PROGRAMS Religious Beliefs and Practices of Committed Offenders § 548.18 Observance of religious... take earned vacation days, or to make up for missed work, or to change work assignments in order to...

  7. Perspectives on contemporary mysticism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thayer, N S

    1979-07-01

    Contemporary mysticism is in continuity with religious mysticism of all ages. Mysticism, like all religion, has an ideological and an experiential dimension. Traditional Freudian theory is inadequate for understanding either the ideological or the cognitive aspect, because it does not adequately account for either the cognitive process or the self-conscious "I." Categories of both ego psychology and the social scientific approach to religion illuminate contemporary mysticism in ways unavailable to the traditional Freudian psychoanalytic approach. The epistemological implications of the mystical attitude are considered, in both the religious and the scientific enterprises.

  8. Acceptability of the Fetzer/NIA Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality in a sample of community-dwelling Black adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokel, Melissa J; Shellman, Juliette M

    2014-01-01

    To examine the acceptability of the National Institute on Aging/Fetzer Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality in a sample of Black, community-dwelling, older adults using focus group inquiry (N =15). Focus group methodology was used for data collection and analysis. Three focus groups (N = 15) were conducted in two different urban settings in the northeastern part of the United States. Key findings were that (a) self-rating on religiousness was uncomfortable for many participants, (b) selfless was a word many participants confused with selfish, and (c) spirituality was an important concept. Overall, the Measure was found to be culturally acceptable and required little modification. Religious health beliefs such as "rebuking" or "not claiming" medical diagnoses are important considerations to bear in mind in seeking to understand the impact of religiousness on health in this population.

  9. (What) do you believe?: Therapist spiritual/religious/non-religious self-disclosure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magaldi, Danielle; Trub, Leora

    2018-05-01

    Spiritual/religious/non-religious (S/R/N) identity development is often neglected in psychotherapy training and represents an area where psychotherapists feel they lack competence. Such feelings can become even more pronounced when it comes to S/R/N self-disclosure. This study explores the decisions therapists make regarding self-disclosure, which impacts the psychotherapy process. This grounded theory study explores psychotherapists' S/R/N self-disclosure based on qualitative interviews with 21 psychotherapists representing varied theoretical orientations and spiritual, religious, atheist, and agnostic backgrounds. Findings reveal that while some self-disclosure happens on an explicit level, more often psychotherapists find implicit ways to share S/R/N aspects of the self for purposes of enhancing the therapeutic alliance and to convey openness. Psychotherapists also attempt to avoid the topic altogether, either to protect the therapeutic relationship or because of unresolved S/R/N identity in the therapist. Developing skills related to S/R/N self-disclosure represents an important aspect of multicultural competence, which can impact clients' feelings of safety and comfort discussing their own S/R/N identity. This capacity is strongly influenced by the therapist's self-awareness regarding S/R/N identity. Suggestions for engaging S/R/N identity and disclosure in supervisory experiences and academic preparation are discussed.

  10. What Has Morality to Do with Religious Education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, L. Philip

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to provide a positive case for increasing the role and importance of religious morality within the subject of religious education in British schools. The argument is structured in the following way. First, attention is given to the diminished role accorded to moral education within religious education that followed the…

  11. Cognitive dissonance between religious and secular social attitudes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  12. 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

  13. Understanding the experiences of racialized older people through an intersectional life course perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrer, Ilyan; Grenier, Amanda; Brotman, Shari; Koehn, Sharon

    2017-04-01

    This article proposes the development of an intersectional life course perspective that is capable of exploring the links between structural inequalities and the lived experience of aging among racialized older people. Merging key concepts from intersectionality and life course perspectives, the authors suggest an analytic approach to better account for the connections between individual narratives and systems of domination that impinge upon the everyday lives of racialized older people. Our proposed intersectional life course perspective includes four dimensions: 1) identifying key events and their timing, 2) examining locally and globally linked lives, 3) exploring categories of difference and how they shape identities, 4) and assessing how processes of differentiation, and systems of domination shape the lives, agency and resistance among older people. Although applicable to various forms of marginalization, we examine the interplay of racialization, immigration, labour and care in later life to highlight relationships between systems, events, trajectories, and linked lives. The illustrative case example used in this paper emerged from a larger critical ethnographic study of aging in the Filipino community in Montreal, Canada. We suggest that an intersectional life course perspective has the potential to facilitate a deeper understanding of the nexus of structural, personal and relational processes that are experienced by diverse groups of older people across the life course and into late life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Secularismo, religión y democracia. El giro democrático en el debate secularismo-religión

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Bermejo

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available La presencia revitalizada de la religión en el contexto globalizado de una sociedad-mundo, tan moderna como religiosa, no acontece únicamente como resultado sociológico del desmantelamiento del mundo postcolonial —que desmiente de hecho el pronóstico secularista del ocaso de la religión y que dota al fénomeno del pluralismo de una complejidad y virtualidad ética/política impensadas—, sino también como resultado de la crisis de la razón moderna y sus postulados, que se revela incapaz de justificar desde el monismo ético racionalista la convivencia política. La crisis de fundamentación racional última afecta tanto a las pretensiones fundamentalistas de la religión —impidiendo una lectura precipitadamente triunfalista del llamado «retorno de la religión» en la «sociedad postsecular»— como a las pretensiones secularistas de negación de toda virtualidad ética y política de la religión en la esfera pública. El giro democrático, antiautoritario y antidogmático, postulado coherentemente en la crisis de la modernidad por tres representantes de la filosofía postmetafísica, hermenéutica y pragmatista, tales como Vattimo, Habermas y Rorty, sitúa el debate entre secularismo y religión en claves no de verdad, sino de solidaridad.

  15. Religious Serpent Handling and Community Relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, W Paul; Hood, Ralph W

    2015-01-01

    Christian serpent handling sects of Appalachia comprise a community that has long been mischaracterized and marginalized by the larger communities surrounding them. To explore this dynamic, this article traces the emergence of serpent handling in Appalachia and the emergence of anti-serpent-handling state laws, which eventually failed to curb the practice, as local communities gave serpent handling groups support. We present two studies to consider for improving community relations with serpent handling sects. In study 1, we present data relating the incidence of reported serpent-bite deaths with the rise of anti-serpent-handling laws and their eventual abatement, based on increasing acceptance of serpent handlers by the larger community. Study 2 presents interview data on serpent bites and death that provide explanations for these events from the cultural and religious perspective. We conclude that first-hand knowledge about serpent handlers, and other marginalized groups, helps to lessen suspicion and allows them to be seen as not much different, which are tendencies that are important for promoting inter-community harmony.

  16. Development of Wagle Health-Specific Religiousness scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagle, Ann M; Champion, Victoria L; Russell, Kathleen M; Rawl, Susan M

    2009-01-01

    African American women have a lower rate of regular mammography screening, resulting in higher incidence of advanced-stage breast cancer at diagnosis and a lower 5-year survival rate as compared with white women. Researchers have demonstrated that several health beliefs relate to mammography screening in African American women, but little attention has been paid to the importance of religiousness. Although some authors have attempted to determine a link between religiousness and health, we lack a valid and reliable instrument to measure religiousness that can be found in the context of health behaviors. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and psychometric testing of the Wagle Health-Specific Religiousness (WHSR) scale, an instrument used to measure religious beliefs and the influence of those beliefs on mammography screening for African American women. A sample of 344 low-income African American women who were nonadherent to mammography at accrual participating in a randomized trial completed the WHSR. Data from this trial were used to determine the validity and reliability of the WHSR. The 19-item WHSR scale had a Cronbach alpha of. 94. Construct validity was supported via factor analysis and analysis of theoretical relationships. Although further testing is warranted, this analysis indicates that the concept of religiousness is an important component of mammography behavior in African American women.

  17. 76 FR 3815 - Religious Freedom Day, 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-20

    ... Statute for Religious Freedom, in which Thomas Jefferson wrote that ``all men shall be free to profess... country that is tolerant, just, and strong. My Administration continues to defend the cause of religious...

  18. Understanding barriers to glycaemic control from the patient's perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janes R

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: To better understand barriers to glycaemic control from the patient's perspective. METHODS: An interpretative phenomenological approach was used to study the experiences of 15 adults with Type 2 diabetes. Participants each gave a semi-structured interview of their experiences of living with diabetes. Interviews were transcribed, and themes extracted and organised using a patientcentred framework. FINDINGS: Participants' stories confirmed many of the barriers in the literature, particularly those related to context, such as family, finances, work. Barriers also related to negative emotional reactions to diabetes: fear of new events (diagnosis, starting pills/insulin; guilt about getting diabetes and not controlling it; and shame about having diabetes. Barriers also related to unscientific beliefs and personal beliefs. There were additional barriers related to poor clinician-patient relationships. Overall, participants had a poor understanding of diabetes, and complained that their clinician simply 'told them what to do'. CONCLUSION: Using a patient-centred approach, this study identified many barriers to glycaemic control. We suggest that a key barrier is clinician ignorance of their patients' fears, beliefs, expectations, context; of what constitutes a positive therapeutic relationship; and of the limitations of a biomedical approach to patient non-adherence. Faced with both a worsening diabetes epidemic and increasing health care workforce shortages, clinicians urgently need to understand that it is they, not their patients, who must change their approach if diabetes care is to be improved.

  19. Uterine Transplantation: Ethical Considerations within Middle Eastern Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altawil, Zaid; Arawi, Thalia

    2016-08-01

    The field of reproductive medicine witnessed a breakthrough in September 2014 with the first successful live birth post uterine transplantation. This success represents the culmination of decades' worth of research on infertility and reproductive medicine. This subject of infertility gathers special attention in the Middle East, as childbearing is given paramount importance in the family unit. And as with any new medical advancement, Middle Eastern people look to their religious authorities for guidance. This paper describes the various ethical quandaries related to uterine transplantation, from a perspective of the religious and societal factors that are unique to the Middle East, and embeds them within the conversation of its alternative solutions. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Religious Identity, Religious Participation, and Psychological Well-Being in Asian American Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Richard F; Kiang, Lisa

    2016-03-01

    Religiosity plays a prominent spiritual and social role in adolescents' lives. Yet, despite its developmental salience, few studies have examined normative changes in religiosity or the implications of these changes for psychological well-being. We explored longitudinal variation in and associations between religiosity, as defined by private regard, centrality, and participation in religious activities, and diverse indicators of well-being including self-esteem, depressive symptoms, positive and negative affect, and both the presence of and search for meaning in life. The participants were two cohorts of Asian American high school students (N = 180; 60 % female) followed for 4 years and living in the southeastern US. Using hierarchical linear modelling and controlling for gender and generational status, results revealed that religious identity (i.e., regard, centrality) did not normatively increase or decrease over time, but participation increased. Religious identity was significantly associated with higher self-esteem, greater positive affect, the presence of meaning in life, and reduced depressive symptoms (for females), and participation was positively associated with positive affect and the presence of meaning. Our results and discussion emphasize the utility of further examining how religion plays a role in health and well-being, particularly among immigrant youth.

  1. Cognitive mechanisms for the evolution of religious thought.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fondevila, Sabela; Martín-Loeches, Manuel

    2013-09-01

    The reasons behind the cultural persistence of religious beliefs throughout human history and prehistory still generate unanswered questions requiring scientific explanations. Within the framework of the cognitive science of religion, this article reviews experimental evidence supporting human predisposition for religious thinking and focuses on the hypothesis that a reason why religious beliefs are successful is their minimal counterintuitiveness. According to this hypothesis, religious concepts or stories would be characterized by containing only a small number of world-knowledge violations, which attracts attention while improving memorizability. We conclude this review by summarizing recent findings from our group using brain electrical activity and delving further into these questions. Our research suggests parallels between the natural tendency of the human cognitive system to use metaphors and the minimal counterintuitiveness of religious beliefs. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

  2. Critical appraisal of dialogue as a strategy for religious conflict ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nigeria has passed through incessant religious conflicts and its attendant consequences of loss of human lives and property. It is unfortunate that despite all the efforts made to resolve religious conflicts in Nigeria through religious dialogue yet peaceful resolution of religious conflicts have remained a mirage. This paper ...

  3. Ratings of Essentialism for Eight Religious Identities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toosi, Negin R; Ambady, Nalini

    2011-01-01

    As a social identity, religion is unique because it contains a spectrum of choice. In some religious communities, individuals are considered members by virtue of having parents of that background, and religion, culture, and ethnicity are closely intertwined. Other faith communities actively invite people of other backgrounds to join, expecting individuals to choose the religion that best fits their personal beliefs. These various methods of identification influence beliefs about the essentialist nature of religious identity. Essentialism is when social groups are considered to have deep, immutable, and inherent defining properties. In this study, college students (N=55) provided ratings of essentialism for eight religious identities: Atheist, Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, and Spiritual-but-not-religious. Significant differences in essentialism were found between the target groups. Results and implications for intergroup relations are discussed.

  4. Epistemologies of Religious Education Research in the Nordic Welfare states

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buchardt, Mette; Osbeck, Christina

    2017-01-01

    The theme of this special issue is the epistemological conditions and significant features for doing research in religious education in the Nordic region. Historical and institutional conditions make up an important part of the background for understanding. The articles in this issue which...... are introduced here try to grasp and explore the conditions for scholarly knowledge production concerning the teaching of religion in the states in question: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark....

  5. Religious Choices and Preferences: North Carolina's Baskin Robbins Effect?

    OpenAIRE

    Robert Wortham

    2004-01-01

    The marketing of religion has become a big business. Wortham examines the current religious scene and shows that Americans want religious plurality, rather than religious homogamy. Just like shopping for ice cream, Americans want 57 choices when shopping for religion

  6. Religiousness is positively associated with quality of life of ALS caregivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calvo, Andrea; Moglia, Cristina; Ilardi, Antonio; Cammarosano, Stefania; Gallo, Sara; Canosa, Antonio; Mastro, Enza; Montuschi, Anna; Chiò, Adriano

    2011-05-01

    It has been repeatedly shown that religiousness and spirituality have positive effects on quality of life (QoL) and outcome in ALS patients. here are, however, very few data on the impact of religiousness/spirituality on ALS caregivers. We determined the impact of religiousness on caregivers and its correlation with quality of life, depression and anxiety. A total of 75 consecutive ALS patients and their informal caregivers were interviewed using tests evaluating religiousness, depression, anxiety, quality of life and satisfaction with life. Results showed that there was a significant correlation between patients and caregivers' public and total religiousness. Caregivers' private religiousness was related to their age and education level, while their public religiousness was related only to their education level. Caregivers' quality of life was related to their private religiousness and satisfaction with life with their total religiousness. We conclude that religiousness is positively associated with ALS caregivers' quality of life and satisfaction with life, in a measure similar to that observed in ALS patients. Health care professionals caring for ALS patients should consider that the needs of the caregivers include religious/spiritual concerns.

  7. Religious Belief and the Queer Classroom: Measuring the Impact of Religious Affiliation on LGBTQ-Inclusive Education Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peter, Tracey

    2018-01-01

    This study examines the influence of religious affiliation on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two spirit, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ)-inclusive practices. Using data from a national survey of educators from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, multivariate analyses of variance models were employed in order to test the effects of religious affiliation…

  8. Hverdagens religiøsitet i og udenfor skolen

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khawaja, Iram

    2014-01-01

    , situationer eller mennesker, som de tænker, er udtryk for religiøs praksis. Et interessant mønster opstår når man ser på billederne samlet set; tradition, ritual, etnicitet og religiøs praksis sammensmeltes og det visuelle udtryk for religiøsitet samler sig ofte om bestemte ikoner, emblemer og steder som...

  9. 42 CFR 54a.3 - Nondiscrimination against religious organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Nondiscrimination against religious organizations... GRANTS CHARITABLE CHOICE REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS... organizations. (a) Religious organizations are eligible, on the same basis as any other organization, to...

  10. 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)

  11. Religious Choices and Preferences: North Carolina's Baskin Robbins Effect?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Wortham

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available The marketing of religion has become a big business. Wortham examines the current religious scene and shows that Americans want religious plurality, rather than religious homogamy. Just like shopping for ice cream, Americans want 57 choices when shopping for religion

  12. Religious Freedoms In Republic Of Macedonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Metaj-Stojanova Albana

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available With the independence of Republic of Macedonia and the adoption of the Constitution of Macedonia, the country went through a substantial socio-political transition. The concept of human rights and freedoms, such as religious freedoms in the Macedonian Constitution is based on liberal democratic values. The Macedonian Constitution connects the fundamental human rights and freedoms with the concept of the individual and citizen, but also with the collective rights of ethnic minorities, respecting the international standards and responsibilities taken under numerous international human rights conventions and treaties, of which the country is a party. Republic of Macedonia has ratified all the so called “core human right treaties” and now the real challenge lies in the implementation of the international standards. Some of these international conventions and treaties of the United Nations and of the Council of Europe are inherited by succession from the former Yugoslavian federation. Religious freedoms are guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of human rights (1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966, the European Convention on Human Rights (1953, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981 (all documents ratified by the Republic of Macedonia. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia “The freedom of religious confession is guaranteed. The right to express one's faith freely and publicly, individually or with others, is guaranteed„. After the conflict of 2001 the Ohrid Framework Agreement secured group rights for ethnicities that are not in majority in the Republic of Macedonia. The present Law on the legal status of the church, religious communities and religious groups of 2007, repealed the Law on religion and religious groups of 1997.

  13. "Spiritual but not religious": Cognition, schizotypy, and conversion in alternative beliefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willard, Aiyana K; Norenzayan, Ara

    2017-08-01

    The spiritual but not religious (SBNR) are a growing population in secularizing societies. Yet, we know little about the underlying psychology of this group or their belief profile. Based on an individual difference approach, we address this knowledge gap by comparing SBNR with religious and non-religious participants. In a sample of Americans (n=1013), we find that the SBNR differ from non-religious and religious participants in a number of ways. SBNR participants are more likely to hold paranormal beliefs and to have an experiential relationship to the supernatural (e.g. have mystical experiences and feelings of universal connectedness), but are similar to religious participants in their profile of cognitive biases. SBNR participants score higher on measures of schizotypy than the religious or non-religious. Reported conversions from one group (religious, SBNR, or non-religious) to another since childhood corresponds with predictable differences in cognitive biases, with dualism predicting conversion to religion and schizotypy predicting conversion to SBNR. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Would the Discovery of ETI Provoke a Religious Crisis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  15. Religiousness and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in adolescence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleś Maria

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Human religiousness is a complex and multidimensional reality embedded in basic human needs and connected with people’s desires, anxieties, and hopes. The aim of the paper is to assess religiousness, considered in terms of meaning and cognitive emotion regulation strategies, in adolescents. The religious meaning system is a multidimensional construct encompassing convictions, beliefs, emotional connotations, and the rules of worship. In situations of negative events or unpleasant experiences, young people resort to various coping strategies. Cognitive emotion regulation strategies concern relatively stable conscious ways of regulating emotions, which consist in mentally handling the incoming information that evoke emotions. The study concerned young people aged 13 to 16 years (N = 130. Religiousness was assessed using D. Krok’s Religious Meaning System Questionnaire (RMSQ and cognitive coping strategies were measured using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ by N. Garnefski and V. Kraaij. The results show that there are relations between religiousness, understood in terms of the young participants’ meaning system, and adaptive as well as maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. The results of the study are discussed in the light of theory and research.

  16. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION BASED MULTICULTURALISME IN VIEW OF MUHAMMAD FETHULLAH GULEN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Khoirul Hadi al-Asya'ari

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Research is a research-based Library Research, which is based on the reading of the literature on Fethullah Gulen, this research wants to reveal about the importance of education based on the multicultural, multicultural education in this paper pick-tentak Fethullah Gulen figure that gives an integral view of religion and public education, in this paper will show some results of the first study, that multicultural education is important in the effort menghalu radicalism, Fethullah Gulen's second try to give a new reading of Islamic religious education toward a more Humanist and egalitarian, the third understanding of multicultural education is taken from the understanding of the Qur'an.

  17. Sex, secularism and religious influence in US politics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  18. From Religious Education to Secular Education in the Official Curriculum of Primary Education in Mexico (1821-1917

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adelina Arredondo

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The history of the curriculum is a window to observe the changes and permanences of the school and of the educational system as a whole and for understanding social transformations. The aim of this article is to explain how the curriculum of the primary school (Mexico of the nineteenth century was changed from one centred on Catholic formation towards a secular curriculum. The school curriculum was one of the spearheads to build the state and society projects imagined by the different groups fighting for the control of power. I described how religious education was officially promoted, notwithstanding the political ups and downs that led to differentiate educational policies in federal systems and centralist regimes. Later, I explain how religious education was omitted from the official curriculum, replacing the space with courses of laic morals, with the consequent difficulty of introducing a new subject. Then I analyse how political circumstances led to a radicalization of liberal positions and to the prohibition not only of religious content, but also of symbols, rites and persons linked with religious vows. Finally, secular education, understood in a complex way, began to be demanded not only in public schools but also in private schools. Due to the nature of this article and the spatial limitations I have privileged the follow-up of the legislative history of education, based on primary sources and secondary sources for the understanding of the different contexts that determine this long journey.

  19. 'demoted'?: Symbols as religious phenomena

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2013-03-06

    Mar 6, 2013 ... process by which symbols grow and develop, the particular context of a symbol is important. In this article a particular theory as to what symbols are, is presented. ... of communication and reference between these two worlds are symbols. .... from a psychological perspective, understands symbols as a.

  20. Workshop on Friction: Understanding and Addressing Students' Difficulties in Learning Science through a Hermeneutical Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Sangwoo; Lee, Gyoungho; Kalman, Calvin S.

    2013-01-01

    Hermeneutics is useful in science and science education by emphasizing the process of understanding. The purpose of this study was to construct a workshop based upon hermeneutical principles and to interpret students' learning in the workshop through a hermeneutical perspective. When considering the history of Newtonian mechanics, it could be…

  1. Religious Involvement and the Use of Mental Health Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Katherine M; Edlund, Mark J; Larson, Sharon L

    2006-01-01

    Objectives To examine the association between religious involvement and mental health care use by adults age 18 or older with mental health problems. Methods We used data from the 2001–2003 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. We defined two subgroups with moderate (n=49,902) and serious mental or emotional distress (n=14,548). For each subgroup, we estimated a series of bivariate probit models of past year use of outpatient care and prescription medications using indicators of the frequency of religious service attendance and two measures of the strength and influence of religious beliefs as independent variables. Covariates included common Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, disorders symptoms, substance use and related disorders, self-rated health status, and sociodemographic characteristics. Results Among those with moderate distress, we found some evidence of a positive relationship between religious service attendance and outpatient mental health care use and of a negative relationship between the importance of religious beliefs and outpatient use. Among those with serious distress, use of outpatient care and medication was more strongly associated with service attendance and with the importance of religious beliefs. By contrast, we found a negative association between outpatient use and the influence of religious beliefs on decisions. Conclusion The positive relationship between religious service participation and service use for those with serious distress suggests that policy initiatives aimed at increasing the timely and appropriate use of mental health care may be able to build upon structures and referral processes that currently exist in many religious organizations. PMID:16584455

  2. Religiousness and Levels of Hazardous Alcohol Use: A Latent Profile Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jankowski, Peter J; Hardy, Sam A; Zamboanga, Byron L; Ham, Lindsay S; Schwartz, Seth J; Kim, Su Yeong; Forthun, Larry F; Bersamin, Melina M; Donovan, Roxanne A; Whitbourne, Susan Krauss; Hurley, Eric A; Cano, Miguel Ángel

    2015-10-01

    Prior person-centered research has consistently identified a subgroup of highly religious participants that uses significantly less alcohol when compared to the other subgroups. The construct of religious motivation is absent from existing examinations of the nuanced combinations of religiousness dimensions within persons, and alcohol expectancy valuations have yet to be included as outcome variables. Variable-centered approaches have found religious motivation and alcohol expectancy valuations to play a protective role against individuals' hazardous alcohol use. The current study examined latent religiousness profiles and hazardous alcohol use in a large, multisite sample of ethnically diverse college students. The sample consisted of 7412 college students aged 18-25 (M age = 19.77, SD age = 1.61; 75% female; 61% European American). Three latent profiles were derived from measures of religious involvement, salience, and religious motivations: Quest-Intrinsic Religiousness (highest levels of salience, involvement, and quest and intrinsic motivations; lowest level of extrinsic motivation), Moderate Religiousness (intermediate levels of salience, involvement, and motivations) and Extrinsic Religiousness (lowest levels of salience, involvement, and quest and intrinsic motivations; highest level of extrinsic motivation). The Quest-Intrinsic Religiousness profile scored significantly lower on hazardous alcohol use, positive expectancy outcomes, positive expectancy valuations, and negative expectancy valuations, and significantly higher on negative expectancy outcomes, compared to the other two profiles. The Extrinsic and Moderate Religiousness profiles did not differ significantly on positive expectancy outcomes, negative expectancy outcomes, negative expectancy valuations, or hazardous alcohol use. The results advance existing research by demonstrating that the protective influence of religiousness on college students' hazardous alcohol use may involve high levels on

  3. 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.

  4. SOUTHEAST ASIA: HISTORY, MODERNITY, AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumanto Al Qurtuby

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia, with more than six hundred million populations, is home to millions of Buddhists, Muslims, Confucians, Protestants, Catholics, and now Pentecostals, as well as many followers of local religions and spiritual beliefs. Notwithstanding its great historical, political, cultural legacies, however, the region has long been neglected as a site for religious studies in the Western academia. Aiming at filling the gap in Asian and religious studies as well as exploring the richness of Southeast Asian cultures, this article discusses the dynamics, diversity, and complexity of Southeast Asian societies in their response to the region’s richly political, cultural, and religious traditions spanning from pre-modern era to modern one. The article also examines the “integrative revolutions” that shaped and reshaped warfare, state organization and economics of Southeast Asia, particularly in the pre-European colonial era. In addition, the work discusses the wave of Islamization, particularly since the nineteenth century, as well as the upsurge of religious resurgence that shift the nature of religiosity and the formation of religious groupings in the area. The advent of Islam, with some interventions of political regimes, had been an important cause for the decline of Hindu-Buddhist traditions in some areas of Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, the coming of Pentecostalism has challenged the well-established mainstream Protestantism and Catholicism, especially in Indonesia and the Philippines. Keywords: history, modernity, religious change, Southeast Asia

  5. The relationship between change and religious movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsti Suolinna

    1976-01-01

    Full Text Available Change constitutes different things for the groups, as the position of one group may improve, but that of another deteriorate. Social change is a consequence of how the different groups act, and their actions again depend on their social and economic interests. In other words, there are groups in society (social classes, professional groups, the agrarian population, industrial workers, which come more or less openly in conflict with each other when looking after their interests. Thus this way of thinking is based on a conflict model. One sees social change as a consequence of people trying to protect their social and economic interests. Viewed this way even religious organizations and movements are involved in protecting the interests of social groups. However, the interesting point in this connection is that religious movements differ from political movements and groups, as the religious movements express the social interests of a group more indirectly than the political movements. The religious movements gather people from similar living conditions, and so to speak, prepare them for political work. They defend and justify the way of living of a group, and thus give ideological material for political groupings. They may also form coalitions with political groups and parties. The author analyzes Laestadianism from this point of view. Before going into the connection between religious dynamics and social change it is necessary to present a few general features of Laestadianism as a religious movement of the peasant population.

  6. Hölderlin: sobre la religión

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    Andrés Alfredo Castrillón Castrillón

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available El artículo se propone dilucidar la noción de religión que tiene Friedrich Hölderlin en el ensayo “Sobre la religión”, el cual traza un pensamiento tan o más complejo de la relación hombre - dios, y hombre - comunidad, que los de filósofos como Kant o Hegel en sus reflexiones sobre Dios y la religión. Destacar por medio del análisis del ensayo cómo comprende Hölderlin la religión y cómo la vincula con la vida de los hombres en su contexto es la tarea fundamental del escrito, para concluir con las propuestas poéticas de la fundación de religiones o sus manifestaciones a través del mito.

  7. 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...

  8. Challenges of Pluralistic Societies with Dissimilar Cultural Identities and Religious Legal Traditions: ADR and the Role of Religious Mediation and Arbitration

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    Gloria M. Morán García

    2017-10-01

    Abstract: Most of juridical systems are historically developed from the interaction of two main legal principles: the principle of personality and the principle of territoriality. Roman Law is one of the best examples of it; its legacy channeled the growth and coexistence of religious and secular jurisdictions in the Germanic kingdoms of Western Europe. Under the principle of personality of laws, bonding individuals to their cultural or religious communities, legal pluralism was the common grounds from the Antiquity to the pre-Modern era. However, as a result of the religious wars in the Holy Roman Empire between Catholics and Protestants in the 16th and the 17th centuries, the Westphalian state model reinforced a territorial religious jurisdiction under the principle cuius regio eius religio, allowing the ruler to impose his religion on his subjects. The Muslim legal tradition developed, as well, plural juridical systems from the Dhimma System. One of them was the Ottoman Millet system that was adapted from the colonial era to the most of Middle East nation-states as a bonding personal religious law applied to non-Muslim communities. The secular paradigm of the Rule of Law, centralizing and reinforcing state and federal legislative powers, is implemented in Europe and her former colonies in the 19th century under the nation-state constitutional model, expanding worldwide the principles of territoriality and citizenship. As a result, religious legal systems are progressively confined to the private sphere. However, the secular paradigm is confronted gradually by a new development of legal pluralism, mainly as an effect of an extensive increment of global migrations; Halakha or Jewish Law, Canon Law or Catholic Law, Sharia or Islamic Law, are gaining strength as formal or informal religious ADR under the principle of Religious Freedom. Religious legal systems are becoming an innovative tool of mediation, conciliation, and arbitration accepted by some secular

  9. The effect of misapplied religious practices in some alternative religious groups

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    Stephan P. Pretorius

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The positive impact that religion generally has on human beings has been suggested by different studies. However, it cannot be assumed that religion always contributes to the well-being of believers. Religious systems can be misused, resulting in people being spiritually and even physically hurt and harmed. This study investigates certain aspects of some alternative religious group in order to determine the impact it has on the well-being of the members of these groups. It was found that people are drawn to these groups because of the challenges they present, the display of true love amongst members and the ‘message’ of an authoritative charismatic leader that resonates with them and convinces them to become part. As time pass, members were challenged with questionable aspects that appear in the activities and teaching of these groups. Obtaining clarity on these concerns was strongly discouraged by the culture and other members of the group, resulting in members suppressing doubts and emotions. Adherence to the tenets of the group then occurred as a result of peer pressure and out of fear instead of true conviction. The study concludes that most of the respondents in the study reported that their experience in these groups did not contribute to their well-being, and emotionally, they struggled to adapt to society and other religious groups after leaving the group.

  10. Cognitive aspects of religious ontologies: how brain processes constrain religious concepts

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    Pascal Boyer

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available A cognitive study of religion shares some of its concerns with traditional approaches in cultural anthropology or the history of religion: It aims to explain why and how humans in most cultural groups develop religious ideas and practices, and why these have recurrentand enduring features. By contrast with other approaches, however, a cognitive approach centres on one particular set of factors that influence the emergence and development of religion. The human mind is a complex set of functional capacities that were shaped by natural selection and evolved, not necessarily to build a coherent or true picture of the world and certainly not to answer metaphysical questions, but to solve a series of specific problems to do with survival and reproduction. A crucial aspect of this natural mental make-up is that humans, more than any other species, can acquire vast amounts of information through communication with other members of the species. A cognitive study takes religion as a set of cultural representations, which are acquired by individual minds, stored and communicated to others. In this paper the author presents some general features of the cognitive study of religious concepts, and then presents in detail a framework that emphasizes the role of universal cognitive constraints on the acquisition and representation of religious ontologies, and presents anthropological and cognitive data that supports the model.

  11. Understanding Marital Disputes Management in Religious Office and Syariah Court in Malaysia

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    Zakiyah Zakiyah

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available This article reviews a monograph entitled Managing Marital Dispute in Malaysia, Islamic Mediators and Conflict Resolution in the Syariah Court written by Syarifah Zaleha Syed Hassan  and Sven Cederrot. This book contributed in the discourse of anthropology of Islamic law. This book discussed about three institutions that dealt with Islamic family law; kadi, women counselor and judge. This monograph was published in 1997 when Islamic family law became one of the heated topics in many part of the world. This book was a result of extensive research conducted at the religious office and syariah court in Kedah and Johor Malaysia. This study shows that mediator used different ways in dealing with the family disputes including formal, semi formal and informal. The first method was used to deal with adjudication, the second was utilized to manage arbitration, and the last was used in consultation, conciliation and mediation. In addition, ‘kadi’, women counselor  and the judge not only use legal formal approach but also local norm when giving advice and managing cases.

  12. Ciências da Religião numa sociedade multicultural

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    Wolfgang Gruen

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Texto originalmente apresentado como aula inaugural do Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Religião da PUC Minas. Trata da epistemologia e dos desafios da investigação em Ciências da Religião. Partindo do problema de base da religiosidade na Educação, do fenômeno religioso e sua dimensão profunda, o artigo segue uma densa investigação sobre os limites e horizontes das Ciências da Religião.Palavras-chave: Ciências da Religião; Religião; Religiosidade; Educação; Ensino religioso.ABSTRACTThis text was originally presented as the opening class of the Postgraduate Programme in Sciences of Religion of PUC Minas. It concerns the epistemology and challenges of investigation in Sciences of Religion. Starting from the fundamental question of religiosity in Education, of the religious phenomenon and its deep dimension, the article embarks on a close investigation into the limits and horizons of the Sciences of Religion.Key words: Sciences of religions; Religion; Religiosity; Education; Religious teaching.

  13. Religiousness, health, and depression in older adults from a brazilian military setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucchetti, Giancarlo; Lucchetti, Alessandra L G; Peres, Mario F P; Moreira-Almeida, Alexander; Koenig, Harold G

    2012-01-01

    This study aims to analyze the association between religious attendance, self-reported religiousness, depression, and several health factors in 170 older adults from a Brazilian outpatient setting. A comprehensive assessment was conducted including sociodemographic characteristics, religious attendance, self-reported religiousness, functional status, depression, pain, hospitalization, and mental status. After adjusting for sociodemographics, (a) higher self-reported religiousness was associated with lower prevalence of smoking, less depressive symptoms, and less hospitalization and (b) higher religious attendance was only associated with less depressive symptoms. Religiousness seems to play a role in depression, smoking, and hospitalization in older adults from a Brazilian outpatient setting. Self-reported religiousness was associated with more health characteristics than religious attendance.

  14. The philosophy and method of integrative humanism and religious ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper titled “Philosophy and Method of Integrative Humanism and Religious Crises in Nigeria: Picking the Essentials”, acknowledges the damaging effects of religious bigotry, fanaticism and creed differences on the social, political and economic development of the country. The need for the cessation of religious ...

  15. Religious and Spiritual Beliefs of Physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Kristin A; Cheng, Meng-Ru; Hansen, Patrick D; Gray, Richard J

    2017-02-01

    The aim of this study is to describe religious and spiritual beliefs of physicians and examine their influence on the decision to pursue medicine and daily medical practice. An anonymous survey was e-mailed to physicians at a large, multidisciplinary tertiary referral center with satellite clinics. Data were collected from January 2014 through February 2014. There were 2097 respondents (69.1 % men), and number of practicing years ranged from ≤1 to ≥30. Primary care physicians or medical specialists represented 74.1 %, 23.6 % were in surgical specialties, and 2.3 % were psychiatrists. The majority of physicians believe in God (65.2 %), and 51.2 % reported themselves as religious, 24.8 % spiritual, 12.4 % agnostic, and 11.6 % atheist. This self-designation was largely independent of specialty except for psychiatrists, who were more likely report agnosticism (P = 0.003). In total, 29.0 % reported that religious or spiritual beliefs influenced their decision to become a physician. Frequent prayer was reported by 44.7 % of physicians, but only 20.7 % reported having prayed with patients. Most physicians consider themselves religious or spiritual, but the rates of agnosticism and atheism are higher than the general population. Psychiatrists are the least religious group. Despite the influence of religion on physicians' lives and medical practice, the majority have not incorporated prayer into patient encounters.

  16. Legal Aspects of the Financing of Religious Groups in Spain

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    ÓSCAR CELADOR ANGÓN

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Spanish public polices in the financing of churches and religious organizations. According to this approach, and taking in account that the Spanish legal frame lack of a common regulation for all religious groups, this paper aims to provide analysis of the following issues: the constitutional principles of the Spanish political system relevant to the religious freedom, the cooperation agreements between the State and the religious groups, and the economic and fiscal regime of the Catholic Church and the religious minorities.

  17. Religiousness and Longitudinal Trajectories in Elders' Functional Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Nan Sook; Klemmack, David L.; Roff, Lucinda L.; Parker, Michael W.; Koenig, Harold G.; Sawyer, Patricia; Allman, Richard M.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of religiousness on the trajectories of difficulties with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs (IADLs) in community-dwelling older adults over a three-year period. Seven waves of data from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging were analyzed using a hierarchical linear modeling method. The study was based on the 784 participants who completed interviews every six months between December 1999 and February 2004. Frequent religious service attendance was associated with fewer ADL difficulties and IADL difficulties at baseline. Furthermore, religious service attendance predicted slower increases for frequent churchgoers and steeper increases for less frequent churchgoers in IADL difficulties, controlling for variables related to demographics and resources. Religious service attendance was independently associated with ADL and IADL difficulties cross-sectionally. However, significant protective effects of religious service attendance were identified longitudinally only for the IADL trajectory. PMID:20485460

  18. Adolescent Religiousness as a Protective Factor against Pornography Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, Sam A.; Steelman, Michael A.; Coyne, Sarah M.; Ridge, Robert D.

    2013-01-01

    This study examined mediators of relations between adolescent religiousness and pornography use. The sample consisted of 419 adolescents (ages 15-18 years; M age = 15.68, SD = 0.98; 56% male). It was hypothesized that religiousness (religious internalization and involvement) would protect adolescents from pornography use (accidental and…

  19. Conveying a Stance of Religious Pluralism in Children's Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Jennifer; Foyil, Kris; Graff, Jennifer M.

    2010-01-01

    Religious discrimination is a global concern, as social dissonance and devastating violence result from religious intolerance. In order to develop socially competent, global citizens and create a peaceful society, religious diversity must be explored in public school classrooms; yet it remains a controversial and seldom addressed topic. Children's…

  20. Theoretical Views in Inter-religious Dialog in Iran

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    Mohammad Masjed Jamei

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available It has almost passed one century from the emergence of the idea of the inter-religious dialog. The idea, being based on the assumption that no religion has the absolute truth, believes that there is the possibility of the dialog between all the existent religions in the social world. The dialog could make the coexistence and peace between the religions possible. The importance of this issue is increasingly growing and different ideas have been presented in the different religion departments worldwide. After the Iranian Islamic Revolution, a new image of Islam was offered to the world. An image whose true exposure made the use of the inter-religious dialog unavoidable. This also caused appearance of different views between the Muslim scholars. This article seeks to provide a presentation of three different approaches to the inter-religious dialog by exploring the works of three eminent scholars in the field; Mohaghegh Damad, Abolhassan Navab and Mohammad Masjed Jamei. These three approaches are:   · Inter-religious dialog as an interaction-oriented action    · Inter-religious dialog as a necessity-oriented action    · Inter-religious dialog as a backgroubd-oriented action    The necessity-oriented action is the approach taken by Mohaghegh Damad. He emphasizes on the acceptance of other religions. The active action referring to this acceptance is the foundation of this approach. This approach, accepting the developmental discourse in the meaning of inter-religious dialog, believes that this kind of dialog has been evolved from defensive and opposing to a new meaning. Hence, the inter-religious dialog in its new meaning possesses three conditions; the existence of common rights, emphasis on mutual respect and the effort for the two sides for religious exchange. This approach­ assumes that we must first establish a pattern from the current experiences of inter-religious dialogs in order to have an ideal cooperation and to fortify it. Then