Ritual Dimensions Research Articles

Methods to quit smoking-a quantitative online survey on facilitators and barriers (RauS-study)

Smoking is still the largest preventable health risk in Germany, which is why ahigher success rate in smoking cessation would benefit both public and individual health. In order to achieve this, abetter understanding of the smoking cessation methods used and the factors that facilitate and prevent smoking cessation is required. The RauS study therefore aimed to investigate which methods have been used in attempts to stop smoking, how successful these methods have been, and which factors have been perceived as helping or hindering smoking cessation. From March to December 2022 aquantitative online survey was conducted among current or former smokers over 14years of age (N = 6192). Of the sample, 93% have tried to quit smoking at least once. In general, for the respondents who did or did not use e‑cigarettes/tobacco heaters, "personal willpower" was the most frequently used and perceived as the most helpful method. Among people who have used e‑cigarettes/tobacco heaters to quit smoking, e‑cigarettes with nicotine were used most frequently and were rated as the most helpful. Potential or concrete health consequences were most likely to be perceived as motivating. Rituals associated with smoking were the main barrier to quit smoking, while withdrawal symptoms played amuch smaller role. Overall, the results show that the focus on "nicotine addiction" in smoking cessation should be reconsidered, and social and ritual dimensions should be addressed more strongly. For at least some of those affected, e‑cigarettes may be ahelpful method of reducing harm and/or quitting smoking.

Some of the Understudied Dimensions of Ritual

Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living by Dimitris Xygalatas offers a popularized accounting of an adaptationist view of ritual. By highlighting the author’s own work on the topic, the text itself primarily addresses questions of public rituals’ often extreme costs and its relationship to cooperation. This emphasis, though, comes at the expense of other interesting and/or downstream aspects of ritual that, in my view, deserve more attention. In this commentary, I address a handful of the most relevant to the target text, namely: 1) religious vs. secular rituals; 2) the spatio-temporal distribution of ritual; 3) ritual frequency and timing; 4) the demographic structuring of ritual; 5) ritual’s complicated relationship to control and chance; and 6) ritual as a significant generator of meaningful models about the world.

The Qur’an Burnings of SIAN

Denmark, Sweden, and Norway have in recent years seen a wave of Qur’an burnings, a subset of Qur’an desecration, involving largely non-religious fringe actors. Desecrations of the Qur’an are nothing new, but their mode of articulation in the present requires attention to both context and the actors involved. In this article we examine the Qur’an-burning events of the Norwegian organization Stop the Islamisation of Norway (SIAN). The article draws on media events theory, paying attention to how the symbolic and ritual dimensions of such spectacular mediated events generate both cohesion and conflict among globalized audiences. Informed by both on- and offline ethnographic fieldwork, we explore the mediated ritualization of smaller-scale urban events involving staged Qur’an burnings by this far-right fringe group in Norway in recent years. We demonstrate how a relatively small and marginal far-right political actor succeeds in being foregrounded by the media, creating polarization, capturing free speech, and racializing Muslims by desecrating the Qur’an.

Unveiling the Dynamics of Religion and Social Cohesion in Kabul: Perspectives from Kabul University Academics

This study delves into the complex relationship between religion and social solidarity among professors at Kabul University, aiming to uncover the factors influencing community cohesion within the academic environment. Employing a mixed-methods approach, documentary research and field surveys were conducted to gather data. The primary instrument, a structured questionnaire, captured personal demographics and assessed respondents' perspectives on various dimensions of religion. Through expert consultations and pilot testing, questionnaire validity and reliability were ensured. Descriptive analysis revealed significant correlations between social cohesion and dimensions of religious beliefs, norms, rituals, and individual religiosity. Furthermore, regression analysis unveiled noteworthy findings: religiosity positively influenced social cohesion, with a significant coefficient (B = 0.422, p < 0.05), while norms derived from religious teachings exhibited a non-significant effect (B = 0.072, p > 0.05) on social behavior. Additionally, ethnic diversity within the university community had varying impacts on social solidarity, with significant coefficients for Tajik and Hazara ethnic groups. These findings shed light on the intricate interplay between religion, ethnicity, and social cohesion within academic settings, offering valuable insights for policymakers, community leaders, and scholars seeking to foster inclusivity and collective well-being in diverse urban contexts.

Smelting Metals, Enacting Rituals. The Interplay of Religious Symbolisms and Metallurgical Practices in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean

The archaeological discourse on the development of metallurgy in Anatolia, the Levant and, more generally, the Eastern Mediterranean region has extensively focused on crucial aspects such as procurement routes, technological developments, manufacturing strategies, and socio-economic connotations of metal consumption. On the other hand, potential symbolic and ritualistic aspects permeating mining and metal-making activities have rarely been taken into consideration, largely due to the ephemerality of such traditions and practices in the material record. Extensive studies have analyzed the ritual dimensions of iron and copper metalworking across different belief systems and social structures, from pre-industrial sub-Saharan Africa to pre-classical Andean cultures, from Bronze Age Central Europe to China. Drawing on the contemporary anthropological and archaeological debate on the subject, this contribution identifies and analyzes recurrent semantics of ritualization in metalworking processes, looking at different lines of epigraphic and material evidence from the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean. The aim is to discuss patterns of correlation between belief systems, ritual behavior, and socioeconomic organizations and to prompt more comprehensive analyses on the complementary technological and symbolic aspects of ancient metallurgical practices.

Introduction to Special Collection: Plant-Anthropo-Genesis: The Co-Production of Plant–People Lifeworlds

Ethnobiology has long recognized that human and plant relationships produce particular ways of living. The discipline is increasingly asking how these lifeworlds reflect and create sociopolitical formations—from low-impact hunting–gathering or slash-and-burn agriculture, to colonial plantations and runaway settlements, to contemporary agribusiness and alternative biodynamic agriculture. In this special issue, we propose the concept plant-anthropo-genesis to highlight the ways in which plants and people are co-produced. We explore entanglements between plants and people over time, drawing on wide-ranging ethnographic and historical research to offer new and critical insights into the ways that plant–human lifeworlds co-produce one another—from the processes of racialization in plantation societies to the aspirational interventions of gardeners, farmers, and scientists aiming for redemption from chemical industrial agriculture. The collection centers on acts of reciprocal human and botanical labor through a variety of contexts and perspectives in crop fields, including: how monocrops and plantations reshape socioecological life; ritual dimensions of plant–human interactions; and the regenerative alternatives that re-imagine plant–human relations and agro-ecological possibilities amid the historical weight of extractivist agriculture in plant-anthropo-worlds.

Nilai-Nllai Pendidikan Dalam Pelaksanaan Zakat

Zakat isdesigned by Allah SWT for the purpose of human benefit as an individual, social welfare and welfare of the wider environment. In the zakat other than a ritual dimensions there are also positive values that will be internalized to individuals who do, people who accept and wider social environment. Muzakki will obtain these educational values if they meet several conditions. First, he performs zakat based on faith and sincerity. Second, carry out zakat according to the guidance, that is to fulfiiI the requirement, to get along and to do the things that are desirable. Third, to live the meaning behind the worship performed. Fourth, dig maqashid al shari'ah from worship to be executed.

VALUES ORIENTATION CHANGING IN SOCIAL BEHAVIOR OF THE ADHERENTS TAREKAT NAQSYABANDIYAH MUDZAHARIYAH

Research on social change in a tarekat has been conducted by many researchers. However, the results of the research are still descriptive narrative. Therefore, this study focuses on changes in the value orientation of the behavior of Naqsyabandiyah Mudzhariyah adherents, a congregation that is widely adhered to by Madurese people, especially residents of Gersempal Omben Sampang village. As part of religious teachings, tarekat not only functions as a doctrine and dzikr ritual, but also as a social control that can shape people’s behavior. This research aims to obtain data about the Naqsyabandiyah Mudzhariyah tarekat which is influenced by the doctrine of the tarekat ‘s teachings. This research method is qualitative. Data collection techniques in this study used interviews, documentation, and observation. While for data analysis, researchers dialogued the data with the theory of Sufism and social behavior. The results of this study obtained aspects of religiosity of tarekat adherents grouped into four groups, namely the ideological dimension, the ritual dimension, the experience dimension, and the religious knowledge dimension. In addition, this study also produced findings of four social behaviors reflected in the behavior of Gersempal villagers as adherents of the Naqsyabandiyah Mudzhariyah order. 1). Ascetic orientation reflected in work ethic behavior. 2) Al-Ta’awun value orientation which is manifested in helping behavior. 3) Futuwwah value orientation, which is reflected in giving behavior, and 4). Transcendental communication which is reflected in silaturrahmi behavior. These four behaviors are the result of the accumulation of the Tarekat doctrine.

Deliver Us from Error: The Perils of Algorithmic Salvation in Medicine

This essay responds to and reflects on the arguments made by Charles Bosk in the introduction to The Price of Perfection: The Cost of Error, written from the perspective of a former sociology doctoral student of his who now works in academic medicine. The author highlights two innovative and persuasive threads running through Bosk's work critiquing the patient safety social movement: (1) the consequence of the social constructedness of medical error and safety solutions, and (2) the importance of the personal, relational, and social dimensions of occupational rituals in clinical practice. The legacy of Bosk's work and impact beyond sociology is considered. The author demonstrates the enduring value of his insights and the impact they can have on current debates about how to transform clinical practice to reduce patient harm.

ΚΑΤΕΣΚΑΨΑΝ ΙΕΡΑΠΥΤΝΙΟΙ: THE DESTRUCTION OF POLITICAL COMMUNITIES IN THE SECOND CENTURY BC AND THE RESILIENCE OF THE CRETAN POLIS

Recently there has been a revival of interest in both the historical and archaeological dimensions of the destruction of cities. The destruction of the principal settlement of a polis is one thing, the effective eradication of the political community quite another. What did it take to destroy a political community? The historical record is full of references to destructions of one polis by another in late Classical to Hellenistic times in Crete. And though not all of these destructions led to the end of the political community in question, some did, and between the Classical period (where we know of 49 poleis) and the Roman conquest of Metellus (where we know of only 24) the numbers of Cretan poleis were drastically reduced. The destruction of Praisos by Hierapytna between 145 and 140 BC (Strabo 10.4.12) was one such case. This seems to form part of a horizon of destructions (of Dreros, Apollonia and Phaistos) that took place between 200 and 140 BC. Florence Gaignerot-Driessen has demonstrated that there is a clear ritual dimension to this in the case of Dreros, a dimension indicated elsewhere by the use of the verb κατέσκαψαν. Excavations at Praisos have shed light on this question. This paper argues that, while there is no evidence for a widespread destruction by fire, there is clear evidence for the ending of Praisian sanctuaries and the forced abandonment of houses and (most intriguingly) the abandonment of large storage vessels. A particular archaeological ‘signature’ of these abandonments, evident at Dreros, Phaistos and Praisos, is the abandonment of the ‘household pithos’, which in many cases seem to be older than the houses in which they have been found. The paper also argues that these archaeological signatures of what had to be destroyed in order to eradicate a political community in turn shed light on what made this particular form of ‘citizen state’ so resilient.

Religiosity in Tere Liye’s Janji novel (an Approach to the Sociology of Literature)

Novel Janji is one the novels that tell the story of the journey of a religious school child who is looking for a former religious school student decades ago. The author describes religious school children being able to search for someone who disappeared decades ago according to their teacher’s instructions. This study uses a literary sociological analysis approach. The results of the study show that the story in the novel Janji contains five dimensions of religiosity, namely the dimension of belief, the dimension of ritual, the dimension of experience, the dimension of knowledge, and the consequential dimension. In the dimension of belief, it can be seen in the character's belief in doing good, not committing acts of corruption, and the belief in using money to worship. In the ritual dimension, religiosity is seen in the implementation of the five daily prayers, ablution before prayer, Friday prayers, daily expressions, and Idul Fitri prayers. In addition, in the dimension of experience, religiosity is seen in the character's experience of doing bad things, the experience of the character studying at a religious school, and the experience of the character eating inappropriate food for five years. In the knowledge dimension, the value of religiosity can be seen in the concept of sin, the concept of halal and haram, the obligation to pray five times a day, treasures as entrusted in the world, and stories of prophets in the past. At the end, the consequential dimension appears in the actions of the characters in the present which are based on the experiences of the characters in the past.

The Kāffah of Islamic Scale: Development and Validation

Prudent study and analysis of the religiosity instruments that have been circulating it are found that there are many variations of instruments measuring the religiosity of Muslims. This is due to differences in the conceptual constructs used by the researchers as the basis for developing such instruments. The use of concepts and instruments that are not based on Islamic religiosity has the potential to distance the measuring instrument from what psychological behavior to be measured, while the measuring instrument based on Islamic religiosity is also not yet fully solid, in line, and be close to each other with Islam. Dissatisfaction with the instruments based on the constructs and instruments of Islamic religiosity that have been compiled has encouraged researchers to develop religious instruments based on Islamic teachings in a precise and solid manner. This instrument is called the Kāffah of Islamic Scale (KIS). The results of the psychometric test and empirical data show that the Kāffah of Islamic Scale (KIS) has a good factor structure through the testing phase of the unidimensional fit model. The Kāffah of Islamic Scale (KIS) measuring instrument consists of five dimensions, namely belief, formal ritual, interpersonal, personal, and morality. There are 33 valid items to measure the Islamic construct of the kāffah composed of five items representing the belief dimension, six items representing the formal dimension of ritual, thirteen items representing interpersonal relationships, twelve items representing the personal dimension, and three items representing the morality dimension. Overall, the results of this research provide preliminary evidence to support the use of the Kāffah of Islamic of Scale (KIS) as a measurement tool that has conceptual and psychometric strengths.

Legally Binding

Copper-plate grants were issued in large numbers by pre-modern South Asian royal courts as legally binding documents recording ownership over land revenue. The textual layout of an inscription, and the positioning and size of certain elements, was linked to ritual dimensions inherent in the transaction and to ancient techniques of legal validation. Using the grant now known as IO-19 as an example, the author shows how textual layout can also reveal the complex and multi-stage processes involved in the production of such grants.

Religious representation and performative citizenship: The civic dimensions of Shia lamentation rituals in Barcelona

In diasporic contexts, religious representatives play a key role as cultural ambassadors for their respective communities and religions. This article examines religious representation as a form of civic engagement among Shia Muslims who have assumed representational responsibilities in Barcelona. Our study focuses on their interactions with municipal authorities and the wider public amid the planning, organization, and enactment of public lamentation processions. We show how public rituals provide representatives of Barcelona’s main Shia community with a platform for ‘performative citizenship’ practices like claiming rights and demonstrating their deservingness of inclusion in the neighborhood, city, and nation. Yet, different representatives have engaged in distinct styles of representation and performative citizenship. In explaining these differences, we draw attention to how their respective migration trajectories, historical experiences, and sociostructural location have contributed to certain pressures, forms of positional awareness, and practical dispositions that account for their inclinations toward different approaches to civic engagement.

The Role of Religiosity Values in Alysa's Family Hijrah Process in Mellyana Dhian's Novels

The aims of the research were to find out the story elements that describe the main character's religiosity, religious values, and the role of religious values ​​in the hijrah process in the modern era in Mellyana Dhian's novels. This research is qualitative descriptive research with a structural approach. The primary data sources are novels by Mellyana Dhian: Dear Imamku, Diaku Imamku, Prince of Hearts, and Ribs Towards Heaven. Research instruments consist of; researchers as research instruments; and instruments in the form of data cards. The data collection technique used in this study is the heuristic method. The data analysis technique used is the hermeneutic (retroactive) reading technique. The results of the analysis showed that the story elements that describe the religiosity of the main characters in Melyana Dhian's novels are plot, character, setting, theme, title, point of view, style and tone, symbolism, and irony. There are religiosity values ​​found in the main characters in Mellyana Dhian's novels, namely the dimension of belief, the dimension of ritual, the dimension of appreciation, the dimension of knowledge, and the dimension of consequences. There is a role of religiosity values ​​in the migration process in the main characters in Mellyana Dhian's novels, namely the educational role, the rescue role, the social rescue role, the fostering brotherhood role, and the transformative role.

Verska nastava u Srbiji dve decenije posle uvođenja u školski sistem - mišljenja studenta i njihovi stavovi po srodnim pitanjima

In the course of more than two decades since the introduction of Religious Education into the Serbian school system, there has been a scientific and social need to check the attitudes of current students regarding its status, the applied model and the impact of attending Religious Education on the formation of attitudes on certain social issues, about which churches and religious communities have their own doctrinal positions. The research, carried out by the online survey technique, on a snowball sample, was carried out during May and June 2022, among students of all faculties of education in Serbia. The choice of faculty of education students as a statistical group is related to the fact that teachers are the ones who first meet students as part of school socialization and significantly influence the formation of their social attitudes in the early period of institutional socialization. Therefore, it was important to check their views on this matter. The most important findings show that the absolute majority of students believe that Religious Education should become a compulsory subject through primary schooling, but that the applied model should be modified in terms of content. The students are of the opinion that at the age when the key socialization of the personality is carried out (the first four grades of primary school, pupils aged 7-11), religious teaching should be organized according to the confessional model, in the students' faith, as is the case now, while in the other four grades (from the fifth to the eighth, pupils aged 11-15) primary school, it should be organized on non-confessional principles, which would enable the knowledge of scientific views on religion, as well as knowledge of the views of the world of other religions, as well as consideration of religion in the key of an important social phenomenon (historical, philosophical, moral, sociological, etc.). An important finding is confirmation of the position that the choice between these two subjects (Religious Education and Civic Education) influences the formation of students' social attitudes regarding certain social issues, on which churches and religious communities have their own clear viewpoints, which can also explain their unity, independent of religion and confession, regarding the existence of religious teaching in the educational system of Serbia. It should be noted that, through the introduction of Religious Education into the school system, especially through the confessional model, the functions of the church (that is, religious communities) and the school as "state ideological apparatuses" (Althusser) actually came into symbiosis. The school "assists" the church in the performance of one of the functions that should be exclusively church - religious instruction according to a certain catechism, and this need can be understood through the ritual dimension of religiosity widespread among the most numerous Orthodox believers in Serbia, while the other dimensions of religiosity are more or less neglected or certainly less present. The research confirmed the impact of attending religious classes on the formation of certain social attitudes among respondents, so from that aspect, the perseverance of churches and religious communities to maintain it in the school system should be observed, according to the confessional model.

Management of traumatic grief in adolescents in a psychotrauma group

The sudden loss of a parent during adolescence causes great psychological suffering in the young person as well as multiple reorganizations within the family unit. This traumatic mourning requires appropriate care that takes into consideration both the multiple and complex effects of this loss and the collective and ritual dimensions of mourning. Through two clinical cases, we will discuss the interest of a group care device to address these dimensions.

Social Culture Analysis to Compare the Performance of Islamic Bank in Muslim-Majority Countries

Introduction/Main Objectives: The implementation of Islamic teachings in economic activities cannot be separated from the socio-cultural influence of the local community. Thus, there are possible differences in the expression of Islamic teachings in the economic field, especially the practice of Islamic banks in the Countries of the Middle East region with Islamic banks in countries in the Southeast Asian region. Background Problems: This difference in practice can be caused by differences in the religious behavior of bankers and customers in terms of dimensions of knowledge, passion, practice and religious rituals that are influenced by the socio-cultural of each region so that it has an impact on the performance of each Islamic bank. Novelty: No comparative research on the performance of Islamic banks based on socio-cultural analysis has been found. Research Methods: this study was analyzed the performance of Islamic banks in the Middle East and Southeast Asia regions in 2015-2020 and analyze the relevance between banking performance and socio-culture in both regional groups. The research method used is a mixed quantitative and qualitative research method (Mix Method). Sampling techniques use purposive sampling. The sample in this study was the first Islamic banks established in those countries with the criterion that these banks present annual financial statements that have been audited by independent auditors. The analysis method uses quantitative methods: descriptive statistics, normality test, and Mann-Whitney U test as well as qualitative methods, namely analysis content. Finding/Results: Between Islamic banks in the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries in 2015-2020 there are differences in profitability performance, capital ratios, and liquidity, there is no difference in credit efficiency and effectiveness performance, there is relevance between socio-cultural differences and profitability performance, capital ratios, and liquidity between Islamic banks in the Countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia regions, and there is no relevance between socio-cultural differences and the performance of credit efficiency and effectiveness between Islamic banks in the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia regions.

Ритуалното измерение на материалите, използвани от Йозеф Бойс в „акциите“ му

The current report takes into consideration the relationship between art and spirituality, as reflected in Joseph Beuys’s Aktionen (actions), focusing on the use of materials as vehicles of transport of energy and means of sculpting the social body, while transforming the human being into a creative one. Our attempt is to demonstrate, by analyzing the artist’s performative work, the iconography related to his actions; his declarations and talks; that the actionist artist surpasses the artistic and social dimensions of his work and, particularly, of the materials he uses towards a spiritual and ritual dimension, as mirrored in his actions, doubled by a deep understanding of spirituality as the foundation of his work.

Performa Komunikasi dalam Pengembangan Kapasitas Kewirausahaan Sosial pada Badan Usaha Milik Desa (BUMDes) Panggung Lestari Desa Panggungharjo Kabupaten Bantul

Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) is an institution that focuses on the economy that was formed in rural Indonesia through the use of local resources. The study aims to (1) to analyze the communication performance of members in constructing organizational culture on the dimensions ritual, desire, social, political and enculturation in the Panggungharjo BUMDes Village. (2) Analyzing communication performance developing social entrepreneurship capacity on the dimension of social value in Panggungharjo BUMDes business units. The study using the qualitative approach through interviews with 20 informants consisting of advisors, supervisors, BUMDes managers and community groups in collaboration with Panggungharjo BUMDes, Bantul Regency. The results showed that performance communication of members business units in constructing the organizational culture of BUMDes Panggungharjo Village through the dimensions of task rituals, personal rituals and social rituals. All potential rituals run well in the flexibility of tasks between sections, divisions, units and forge togetherness and intimacy among members and managers. Communication performance in BUMDes includes political performance, enculturation, social performance and desire performance. Communication performance functions well in instilling the values ​​of social entrepreneurship through exemplary and togetherness. Communication performance developing social entrepreneurial capacity in the dimension social value is togetherness in the growth of local economic activity.