Christian Religion Research Articles

Dispositional Optimism in Christian Populations Compared to other Religious Groups: a Scoping Review

IntroductionThere are various ways people cope with life events. One can expect generalized positive or negative outcomes across various life domains, called dispositional optimism. This can be explained by attribution theory: how people explain past events, their causations, and outcomes. Understanding attribution styles is important to help people reframe current circumstances and improve mental wellbeing. Our hypothesis is that people of different religious groups may exhibit various levels of optimism and pessimism based on their values, teachings, and practices. Previous research has found that people of Christian faith, or those with a religious faith in general, look to their religion as a way of coping during life adversities. Certain religious practices such as prayers and Church gatherings have been found to improve mental health through increasing dispositional optimism. While the relationship between religiosity and mental health has been previously examined in different religious populations, there are few studies that focused on comparing this relationship across religions.ObjectivesThe objective of this scoping review is to understand the link between religiosity and mental health, focusing primarily on how people of the Christian religion demonstrate dispositional optimism or pessimism when coping with adverse life events, compared to other religious groups or atheists.MethodsThis scoping review included original peer reviewed study articles that studied mental health in terms of dispositional optimism or pessimism in people of Christian religion compared to other religious groups. This review used online databases, Ovid MEDLINE and PsycInfo, and used extraction tables to analyze the results of past research.ResultsThe results of this scoping review revealed that people of Christian religion, especially those high in religiosity, use their religion as a method of coping. This population also showed higher dispositional optimism compared to atheists or those that believe in other religions. However, when compared to other religions such as Buddhism and Muslim, Christian populations showed lower dispositional optimism.ConclusionsIt is evident that religious involvement is linked to aspects of mental health, but comparing the effects of different religions is still a topic of exploration that can be investigated further to allow deeper understanding of their similarities and differences, as well as the mechanisms by which religion can affect mental health. In this review, a gap in the body of knowledge regarding the relationship between religion and pessimism was revealed. Future research directions could include examining whether dispositional pessimism varies across religious groups, as it does not necessarily have a perfectly inverse relationship with optimism.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

DAVID LIVINGSTONE 'S JOURNEY TO AFRICA ( 1813 - 1873)

The fifteenth century for Europe represents the beginning of the modern era, and it is at the same time for Africa the era in which the continent lost its independence, and became plundered by the European powers, especially Britain، which contributed to the movement of geographical discoveries، which is one of the most important stations in the history of Africa during this era, as a precursor to European colonialism in general and the British in particular. The topic has a special importance because the European countries during this period showed the factors of the colonial movement represented by the industrial revolution، the imbalance between the West and the East, the growth of nationalism, demographic pressures and internal conditions in Europe، economic greed, strategic motives, the weakness of non-European powers, the call to embrace Christian religion, geographical discoveries and their role in exploiting the continent and then occupying it As for the research problem, it is represented by the following question: Did the scouting movement provide a great service to Britain for the colonization of Africa? Did the information sent by the explorers, including David Livingstone, help Britain extend its political influence and economic exploitation of the continent? Did the geographical discoveries open Africa to the missionaries? In order to answer these questions, the research was divided into an introduction, two sections, and a conclusion that included the most prominent findings of the study. The first topic entitled (David Livingston... birth and upbringing 1813-1840) was devoted. It contained the second topic entitled (David Livingstone's scout trips in Africa 1841-1873). The research required relying on the inductive historical scientific method to clarify past historical events and facts dating back to the nineteenth century, based on several sources that will be mentioned among the folds of the research

Religious identity in the Christian religion in the sources of religious teachings and sanctities, worship, feasts and holy days

This research deals with the Christian religion, what are its most important features, and the places where the Christian identity is defined. It has three topics: I explained in the first topic: the definition of the Christian religion, and its most prominent prophets, and there are two requirements: the first requirement: the definition of the Christian religion in language and terminology: and the second requirement: the most prominent prophets of religion The Christian: Then, in the second topic, I showed: the characteristics of the Christian religion, doctrinal, legal, and ethical, and it contains four demands: The first requirement: religious identity in the sources of teachings of the Christian religion: The second requirement: religious identity in Christian sanctities, and the third requirement: the religious gap in worship and practical rulings Christianity and the fourth requirement: Christian religious identity in holidays and holy days.

Stigma, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts and Coping of Sexual Minority Youth Raised in Conservative Versus Mainstream Denominations of Christianity: A Mixed Method Study

We quantitatively examined whether Dutch sexual minority youth raised with conservative Protestantism reported more family- and self-stigmatization, suicidal ideation, and depression than those socialized by Catholicism or Mainline Protestantism. Subsequently, we qualitatively examined how youth raised with conservative Protestantism coped with sexuality identity and mental health challenges. Survey data came from sexual minority youth (N = 584, age 16–25) raised with conservative Protestantism (Evangelical/Pentecostal n = 44 and Dutch Orthodox Reformed n = 88, Mainline Protestantism n = 117, and Catholicism n = 335). Group differences in associations were studied through univariate analysis of variance. Next, thematic and interpretative analyses of six interviews of survey respondents raised with conservative Protestantism were performed. Sexual minority youth raised with Evangelicalism/Pentecostalism reported significant higher levels of family stigmatization and suicidal ideation than youth raised with other Christian religions. They addressed these challenges by religious coping, formulating critiques of stigma, and support from Christian self-help groups.

Alarming Trends of Cesarean Section—Time to Rethink: Evidence From a Large-Scale Cross-sectional Sample Survey in India

Cesarean section (CS) delivery rate has increased significantly both globally and in India, thereby posing a burden on overstretched health systems. This study plans to understand the factors associated with CS rate with an objective to (1) analyze the trends of CS delivery from 1998-99 to 2019-21 and (2) understand the proximate determinants of CS deliveries in India. Analysis of secondary data (National Family Health Survey) of a nationally representative sample of 230,870 women (year 2019-21) was undertaken to explore the trends, distribution, and determinants of CS deliveries in India and within states. Multivariable analyses were performed to determine the proximate variables associated with CS and elective CS. The relative interaction effect of confounding factors, such as number of antenatal care (ANC) visits, place of residence, and wealth status, on cesarean delivery was assessed. A composite index was generated using trust, support, and intimate partner violence variables (termed the partner human capital index [PHI]) to study its influence on CS deliveries, with a low PHI indicating abusive partner and a high PHI indicating supportive partner. Statewise spatial distribution of the most significantly associated factors, namely, wealth quintile and ANC checkups, were also analyzed. The overall prevalence of CS was 21.50% (49,634/230,870) which had risen from 16.72% (2312/13,829) in 1998-99. The adjusted odds of CS deliveries were significantly higher among women who were highly educated (odds ratio [OR] 7.30, 95% CI 7.02-7.60; P<.001), had 4 or more ANC visits (OR 2.28, 95% CI 2.15-2.42; P<.001), belonging to the high-wealth quintile (OR 7.87, 95% CI 7.57-8.18; P<.001), and from urban regions. Increasing educational level of the head of the household (OR 3.05, 95% CI 2.94-3.16; P<.001) was also found to be a significant determinant of CS deliveries. The odds of selection of elective and emergency CS were also significantly higher among women from richer families (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.25-2.21; P<.001) and those belonging to Christian religion (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.14-2.43; P=.008). Adjusting the cesarean delivery by PHI, the odds of outcome were significantly higher among women with moderate and high PHI compared with those with low PHI (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.36-1.56 and OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.49-1.74, respectively; P<.001 for both). The interaction effect result reiterates that women with more than 4 ANC checkups, high PHI, and belonging to the richer wealth quintile were more likely to undergo cesarean delivery (OR 22.22, 95% CI 14.99-32.93; P<.001) compared with those with no ANC visit, low PHI, and poorest women. The increasing trend of CS deliveries across India is raising concerns. Better education, wealth, and good support from the partner have been incriminated as the contributory factors. There is a need to institute proper monitoring mechanisms to assess the need for CS, especially when performed electively.

Vaccine or catalyst? Christian religion and populism in Europe: A rejoinder to Inglehart's “Religion's sudden decline”

The strength and direction of the association between Christian religion and support for radical right-wing parties is strongly debated. On the one hand, there is work that shows that in Western European countries with a strong Christian democratic party, the relationship between church attendance and voting for populist radical right (PRR) parties is negative (Marcinkiewicz and Dassonneville 2022). Such findings contradict with the conclusions reached by Inglehart (2021), who reported that adherence to religious norms correlates positively with support for PRR parties. In this research note we shed light on the reasons for these contrasting conclusions, by systematically assessing the role of empirical choices in terms of the operationalizations of the dependent and the key independent variables, and how heterogeneity is dealt with.

Melayu Islam dan Batak Kristen: Labelisasi Keagamaan Terhadap Identitas Kesukuan di Sumatera Timur pada Awal Abad Ke-20

This article discusses the religious labelling of ethnicity on Malay and Batak identities in East Sumatra in the early 20th century. The labelling refers to the mention of Malay as Islam and Batak as Christian. The labelling of religious identity strengthened along with the start of Dutch East Indies colonization of East Sumatra. The colonization of the Dutch East Indies changed various religious social lives between the inland people who were often called the Bataks with the coastal people called the Malays. Significant changes to the labelling have occurred since the arrival of European zending to the North Tapanuli region and influenced the social life of the Batak people in the inland at the end of the 19th century. Meanwhile, the Malay identity as Islam has become an inseparable unit, even before the colonization of East Sumatra. This article uses the historical method. Heuristics or collection of sources for this article are primary and secondary sources that discuss social situations in the contemporaries. Furthermore, source criticism and interpretation of historical facts will be carried out using theories or concept from the social sciences. the results of the study show that the religious labelling of Malay and Batak identities has two different poles. Malay as an Islamic identity that occurs because of labelling carried out internally. The Malay community identifies itself as Islam which means that Malay is the same as Islam. Meanwhile, Batak identity as a Christian is more likely to emerge due to external consequences. The attitude of the Dutch East Indies colonial politics that wanted to orbit Batak culture has formed various institutions that are mostly filled by zending parties. Therefore, the Batak identity as a Christian is more likely to be carried out by people outside the Christian religion, even though the person who does it is a Batak ethnic but having Islam as his/her religion.

Speech Genre “Interpretation on Gospel”: Ideological Content and Linguo-Stylistic Features (Work of B. I. Gladkov)

On the material of the texts of the spiritual writer B. I. Gladkov, the features of the implementation of the speech genre “interpretation of the Gospel” are considered. The specificity of the embodiment of the ideas of Orthodoxy is indicated. Significant features of the functioning of religions and tropes in the presented speech genre are revealed. Conclusions are drawn about its distinctive features. Particular attention is paid to the typology and functioning of Christian religions, the use of which is considered as one of the features of the church-religious functional style. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time it examines in detail the types of religions that exist in the genre of “interpretation of the Gospel”, provides illustrations of their use, indicates the functions they perform (characterological, emotive, evaluative, prescriptive, etc.). It has been established that in the analyzed texts the most common types of religion names are theonyms; biblonyms; hagioanthroponyms; names of biblical events; names of gospel heroes, etc. It is shown that the author’s use of a combination of such intra-genres as “opinion”, “comment-explanation”, “advice” belongs to the main features of the “interpretation of the Gospel” genre. The results of the study are of interest for theolinguistics, stylistics, and rhetoric.

The Concept of God in Igbo Traditional Religious Thought

This paper examines the concept of God in traditional Igbo-African religious thought, prior to the advent of Western religion, with a view to showing that the idea of a God/Deity who is supreme in every area of life and sphere of influence and who “creates out of nothing,” like the God of the Christian or Western missionaries, is unrecognized in the Igbo-African traditional religious thought. Even though the Igbo conceive of strong and powerful deities that can only reign supreme within their respective sphere of influence where they are in charge, none of these deities is identical to the supreme God promoted by the Christian missionaries. The Igbo traditional religious worldview maintains a polytheistic religious view, unlike the monotheistic outlook of the Christian religion. To achieve its goal, the paper adopts the method of historical hermeneutics and textual analysis.

Professionalism of Christian Religion Education Teachers at Public Elementary Schools in Southeast Minahasa Regency

Professionalism of Christian Religion Education Teachers at Public Elementary Schools in Southeast Minahasa Regency

Community development as an embodiment of pastoral care in Africa

The pursuit of a fulfilling existence is a common goal among all human beings. As a result, promoting and sustaining quality humanhood or personhood (quality life) is the ultimate goal that international institutions, continental and regional bodies, and nations strive for. From a religious standpoint, theology and Christian religion need to contribute to helping people achieve the quality of life that humanhood aspires to. Consequently, pastoral care as a frontline ministry is positioned to play a leading role in fulfilling this function within church settings. Due to the public nature of this responsibility, the pastoral ministry should acquire a public pastoral care dimension in which community development is enhanced. Therefore, this article argues for public pastoral care as a solution to meeting the challenges faced by communities in Africa.

The Role of Education, Culture and Religion on Domestic Violence on Women in Nigeria

Background: Domestic violence on women is a public health concern of every country. The degree of violence varies from country to country. The consequences of domestic violence are enormous, and sometimes lead to death. Objective: This study aims at understanding the role of education, religion, and culture in domestic violence in marital setting. Method: Using qualitative data obtained December, 2014 to March, 2015, a semi-structured interview was used to conduct thirty-four in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions with educated, semi-educated, and uneducated Ikwerre omen in monogamous or polygynous marriages. Findings: From participants’ responses, we observed that the Ikwerres have a patriarchal family culture that encourages domestic violence. It was also observed that the Christian religion advocates absolute submission of the woman to the man. Education was not seen to have much ef ect in curbing domestic violence. Conclusion: Women’s autonomy and personhood is eroded by culture and religion. Educating women alone will not help reduce domestic violence. Men also need to be educated. Culture that encourages domestic violence should be abolished. Religious leaders need to understand the negative ef ect of their teachings. Society needs to implement laws on domestic violence.

Strategi Guru Pendidikan Agama Kristen Dalam Membangun Lingkungan Belajar Yang Kondusif

The basic problem of this article is the idea that the learning strategies of Christian religious education teachers must be improved. The problem that often arises is the lack of motivation for PAK teachers to learn to increase professionalism in implementing Christian religion learning strategies according to the needs and conditions of students in class. The purpose of this research is that PAK teachers can carry out learning with strategies that have a positive effect on the development of a fun learning environment and have a good impact on students' personalities in navigating the values of Christian religious education for life. In this study, the authors used a qualitative method with a literature study approach. The research results obtained several principles of building a conducive learning environment, namely: structuring study rooms, teaching and learning atmosphere, communication and social relations, being a fun PAK teacher, letting students be creative, agreeing on rules together to create a conducive learning atmosphere so that students succeed in learning.

Theologia Cambrensis: Protestant Religion and Theology in Wales, Volume 2: The Long Nineteenth Century, 1760–1900

Theologia Cambrensis: Protestant Religion and Theology in Wales, Volume 2: The Long Nineteenth Century, 1760–1900

The God of Cosmologists and Philosophers: Christian Theology and the Multiverse Hypothesis

ABSTRACT Cosmologists and philosophers have not limited themselves to discussing the multiverse hypothesis within the confines of their own fields; they have, instead, extended their reflections to the realm of Christian religion and theology. This move equates to a belief in the superiority of the secular knowledge even in religious matters. I redesign the spheres of competence between secular knowledge and theology, giving priority to true theology not only in proper religious realms but also in the religious margins of scientific realms, when these realms, as in the case of multiverse hypothesis, are not subjected to empirical verification.

Traditional Pre-Christmas Holidays of Western Podillya

"The article analyzes folk winter holidays celebrated in December before Christmas as the greatest holiday of all Christians. There is a combination of folk (pre-Christian) traditions with Christian traditions, which co-exist to this day. The holidays analyzed in the research are dedicated to the most common names of saints in Western Podillya (as well as in Ukraine as a whole), which are most often given to the local residents. Dmytro’s/St. Demetrios Day celebration, in addition to its Christian custom, characterized by church services in memory of martyrs and honoring birthday people, is also known by the traditions related to celebrating the land in winter period, protecting cattle, as well as the cult of deceased ancestors. Celebrations of Dmytro’s/St. Demetrios holiday are proceeded by the celebration of Michael’s Day, which symbolizes the arrival of winter. In Western Podillya St. Michael is known as a protector against evil forces. He is also perceived by the locals as the patron saint of wild forest animals and hunters. Until the middle of the 20th century St. Catherine’s Day celebration in Western Podillya followed the rituals reflecting pre-Christian beliefs. Among them are rites of “destiny calling”, fortune telling and divination (considering the destiny of a future marriage couple), as well as honoring the cult of ancestors. During Varvara/St. Barbara celebration the most evident are magical actions associated with fire and water as the main elements in the world creation and symbols of the Nativity of Jesus Christ in the Christian tradition. Such lunar symbols as dumplings and pies are important for the understanding of celebration rituals. Most ritual actions convey love courtships related to the choice of a future marriage partner. St. Anna’s holiday completes the cycle of holidays related to Christmas celebrations. It marks the beginning of Christmas preparations: women clean houses, men arrange farm buildings and property, provide food for festive meals, girls organize groups for singing carols and other traditional customs of Christmas holidays celebration. Keywords: Western Podillya, Christian religion, ceremonial action, divination, folk holiday. "

Abstract A032: Dignity therapy effects by race: Chaplain and nurse implementation in pragmatic, multisite stepped-wedge randomized control trial

Abstract Aim: As a brief psychotherapy for individuals facing mortal threat, Dignity Therapy (DT) effects on spiritual outcomes are unknown, especially as an intervention to support cancer health equity for racial minority patients. Our study aim was to compare usual outpatient palliative care and such care along with nurse-led or chaplain-led DT groups for main effects on dignity impact and the interaction of DT with race. Methods: We conducted the 4-step, stepped-wedge randomized control trial at 4 NCI designated cancer centers and 2 academic cancer centers across the United States. Half of the sites were randomized to chaplain-led DT and half to nurse-led DT. Of the 645 recruited cancer patients (age ≥ 55 years) receiving outpatient palliative care, 579 (59% female, mean age 66.4±7.4 years, 78% White, 77% Christian religion, 62% stage 4 cancer) provided data for intent-to-treat analysis. Over 6 weeks, patients completed pretest/posttest measures including the Dignity Impact Scale (DIS, primary outcome) ranging from low impact of 7 to highest impact of 35. In step 1-3, study procedures were completed in person. In step 4 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), when all sites were providing the intervention, study procedures were completed via Zoom. We used multiple imputation and regression analysis adjusting for pretest DIS, study site, and study step. Results: Of the 579 patients, 317 were in the DT group and 262 in the usual care group. The vast majority of the sample was White (n=448) along with 103 Blacks, 5 Asians, 2 Pacific Islanders, 1 Native American, 13 other races (all minorities were combined as Other Race), and 7 were missing race data. At pretest, the mean DIS score was 24.3±4.3 in the DT group and 25.9±4.3 in the usual care group. Adjusting for pretest DIS scores, study site, and study step, the chaplain-led (β=1.7, p=.02) and nurse-led (β=2.1, p=.005) groups reported significantly higher posttest DIS scores than the usual care groups. Adjusting for age, gender, race, education, and income, the effect on DIS scores remained significant for both DT groups. We then examined the interaction between race and DT with the entire sample and observed that the interaction was not significant (p=.73) and the sizes of DT effects were similar for White (β=1.9, p=.005) and the Other Race (β=1.6, p=.055) patients. Conclusions: Whether led by chaplains or nurses, DT was effective in improving dignity impact for older adult outpatient palliative care patients with cancer. DT, a patient-centered approach, has promise as an intervention to improve health equity in support of dignity for racial minorities. This rigorous trial of DT is a landmark step in gero-oncology palliative care and spiritual health services research focused on cancer health equity. Citation Format: Diana J. Wilkie, George Fitchett, Tasha M. Schoppee, Marvin O. Degado Guay, Joshua Hauser, Sheri M. Kittelson, Sean O-Mahony, Michael W. Rabow, Tammie E. Quest, Sheldon Solomon, Yingwei Yao, George Hadzo, Harvey Max Chochinov, Linda L. Emanuel. Dignity therapy effects by race: Chaplain and nurse implementation in pragmatic, multisite stepped-wedge randomized control trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A032.

Arguments for the existence of God: The discourse of Russian religious philosophy

The article presents the topic of arguments of the existence of God in the works of Russian religious philosophers of the second half of the 19th — the first half of the 20th century. This topic is found in the discourse of Russian religious philosophy in three variants: putting forward arguments for the existence of God, analysis of Kant’s criticism of the proofs for the existence of God, statements about the meaninglessness of the proofs for religious consciousness. In all variants, there is an inextricable connection between Russian philosophers’ argumentation and their metaphysical propositions. The discourse of Russian religious philosophy itself should be considered a way of contextual demonstration of the significance of metaphysical propositions for religious consciousness. The topic was not only a moment of strengthening the epistemological status of religious knowledge in relation to scientific knowledge, but it had also the importance of philosophizing to form religious worldview. Using the examples of the analysis of both the proofs of the existence of God and their criticism, which is found in the works by S.N.Bulgakov, V.I.Nesmelov, V. S. Solovyov, E.N.Trubetskoy, B.N.Chicherin, and S.L.Frank, the pragmatics of their discourse is revealed — it was aimed not at finding some new ways to substantiate the existence of God with rational means, but at substantiating the necessity of religious faith for the human reason — the faith is not only the main element of religious consciousness, but also a metaphysical principle of cognition of God. The study of the contexts of the appeal of Frank and other Russian philosophers to the topic of the ontological argument leads to the conclusion that such an appeal was associated with the demonstration of the relevance of their metaphysical constructions with the Christian religion.

Роль экфрасиса в создании иеротопии «Мирожских стихов» Всеволода Рожнятовского

The article is devoted to the analysis of Vsevolod Rozhnyatovsky’s “Mirozhsky poems” (2013), which demonstrates the sacralization of the place described therein. The author shows how the title toponym exists in the cultural consciousness of the Pskovites (the name of the river is absorbed by the name of the temple, which has been turned into a museum). Its composition outlines a peculiar lyrical plot: the subtitles of the book indicate the author’s path from museum work through contact with the Christian religion and art to his own poetic creativity in line with the Christian idea of the Logos. The motif of leaving the temple allows the poet to spread the received in it “knowledge” about the creatureliness of the world to the entire city, which is perceived as a city-temple; the acquired poetic gift turns his book of poems into a kind of prayer for a person of the 20th century, shocked by the meeting with the Christian artistic tradition. The article pays particular attention to the specifics of the poetic ekphrasis, which represents the descriptions of the frescoes of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Pskov Mirozhsky Monastery. There is the analysis of the position of the subject of the speech (inside the temple but at the same time inside the frescoes plot) based on the contributions of three poems containing the ekphrastic descriptions. This is seen as a kind of illustration to the Pavel Florensky’s ideas of about the icon and church art. The article also indicates to the connections of the 20th century author’s perception of frescoes with the 12th century icon-painting program, which reflects the theological controversy about the union of divine and human God the Son’s nature. The poet’s fascination with this topic attested to the relevance of hierotopy even for the end of the 20th century.

Dialogue with Ancientry: V.Rozanov on the Ancient Egyptian Civilization

In this paper, the author aims to analyze the cultural and historical view of religious, philosophical, and mystical searches of Ancient Egyptian in the works by V.Rozanov. The interest in the Egyptian civilization, as an important feature of the turn of the-century era, shows V.Rozanov’s desire to carry out a dialogue with ancientry, from which all religious and philosophical concepts originate. The purpose of the research is to represent the views of V.Rozanov concerning the themes of immortality and deities in Ancient Egypt, the principles of astrology and cosmogony in the culture of ancientry, as well as the relationship of the Ancient Egyptian and Christian religions. According to V.Rozanov, Ancient Egypt was a land, where the principle of silence hided life force and vitality, which has found expression in the longevity of civilization. V.Rozanov focuses on the idea that the Ancient Egyptians were the most religious people that presented the developed doctrine of immortality, which became the fundamental thought of their religion. Rozanov shows the role of stellar astrology, physical and natural phenomena, and also underlines varieties of the religious cult that existed in Egypt, in which he highlights the images of Osiris and Isis. Rozanov particularly notes that, despite the belief in spells and wizardry, the Ancient Egyptian overcame the fear of the mysterious and unknown at a certain stage of development, and then made efforts to build a connection with It.