Potential Of Religion Research Articles

“When the Kalmyks saw me, they thought I was their black devil”: Inverting Centres and Peripheries in Colonial Travelogues Written by East Africans


 Travelogues are a rich medium through which to explore observations of everyday culture and rituals, perceptions of the world order, and narrative strategies of othering. In this paper, I turn my attention to travelogues written by East Africans (coastal Swahili Muslims, diasporic Shi’i and Parsi South Asians, and Christian Ugandans) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although the authors come from different religious groupings, cultural-linguistic backgrounds and socio-economic milieus, they travel the same routes within East Africa and, occasionally, also to Europe or even as far as Siberia. I argue that the texts (including journals, retrospectives, and ethnographies) must be read as documents of East African cosmopolitanism. Mobility enables the authors to subvert the imperial world order by re-framing it narratively according to their own religious identity. This gives rise to reflections on humanity, equality and the beauty of knowledge, but not to the exclusion of racial and religious bigotry within and between the non-European communities in East Africa. In my analysis, I tease out narrative patterns, observational styles, and literary tropes present in the texts across religious boundaries. As all the texts were either commissioned by Europeans or edited by their translators before publication they do not document naively ‘authentic’ perspectives of East Africans, but reflect the complexities of communication within strict racial hierarchies. In concluding, I discuss the potential of religion to invert colonial centres and peripheries: European metropoles become places of exotic fascination while the familiar practices of co-religionists can turn the ‘hinterland’ into centres of learning.

Realization of the potential of religion in the education of servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Realization of the potential of religion in the education of servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Sexual health education issues (challenges) for adolescent boys in Iran: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND:Sexual health education, especially in adolescents, faces excess challenges in many cultures. Iranian adolescents, especially boys, have many educational needs in the field of sexual health that have not been met due to various obstacles. The main purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the challenges of sexual health education for Iranian adolescent boys.MATERIALS AND METHODS:This qualitative content analysis study was conducted through individual semi-structured in-depth interviews from 45 participants (20 adolescents and 25 key adults). Data were analyzed using inductive conventional content analysis based on the Graneheim and Lundman's approach via MAXQDA software (version 2010) by VERBI GmbH Company, Berlin, Germany.RESULTS:In total, 2 categories and 11 subcategories emerged; including, “extrapersonal barriers to sexual health education for adolescent boys” containing seven subcategories of lack of clear policies, family inadequacy, social barriers, cultural heterogeneity, school inadequacy, cyber threats, and educational process inadequacy concerning adolescent sexual health education as well as “intrapersonal barriers to sexual health education for adolescent boys” comprised four subcategories of uncontrolled emotions of adolescence, adolescent rebellion, information and communication weaknesses, and adolescents' concerns about being judged by others.CONCLUSION:The findings clarify some barriers to sexual health education for adolescent boys. Therefore, it was recommended to develop community-based educational programs to change attitudes of families and society toward addressing the challenges of providing sexual health education to adolescent boys. Moreover, it was suggested to utilize an educational program specific to adolescent boys, tailored to the Iranian culture, using the potential of religion.

PENGUATAN NILAI KEAGAMAAN BAGI KELOMPOK PENGAJIAN REMAJA DI KELURAHAN TANAH SIRAH PIAI NAN XX

The potential of religion that has existed when humans are born if not treated properly, then that potential will experience fade or disappear altogether, so people in their lives assume that religion is not important in their lives. This study discusses the strengthening of the model of religious guidance for adolescents through wirid activities in Tanah Sirah Piai Nan XX Lubuk Begalung. This study uses a qualitative descriptive approach where researchers describe the overall model of adolescent coaching on intellectual, spiritual and social aspects as well as ideas related to strengthening the coaching model by forming an organization, increasing activities by carrying out dawn in congregation, Maghrib reciting and giving rewards.

The Potential of Religion in the Promotion and Implementation of the Concept of Sustainable Development

AbstractThis article presents religion’s potential where the promotion and implementation of the concept of sustainable development are concerned. First inspired by Lynn White in the 1960s, discussion on religion’s role in the ecological crisis now allows for an honest assessment of the ecological potential of various religious traditions and their contribution to the building of a sustainable world. This article on the one hand points to the religious inspirations behind the concept of sustainable development, and on the other highlights the joint action of representatives of religion and science in the name of sustainable development, as well as the involvement of religions in the concept’s implementation.

Вера и Знание: «исповедь» vs «проповедь» в рассказе Джордж Элиот «Приоткрытая завеса»

The article presents an interpretation of the little-known “gothic” story by George Eliot The Lifted Veil (1859). Created by the writer at the beginning of her career, and up to the present time insufficiently studied by Russian literary criticism, the story is regarded as a kind of experiment in integration of elements of religious and scientific discourse – which promotes the transformation of the relationship between the author and the reader and changes the nature of the narrative strategy of realistic text in the second half of the 19th century.The paper focuses on the following problems: The Lifted Veil and the classics of gothic prose (H. Walpole, M. Shelley); “duality” of European outlook in the middle of the 19th century (Au. Сomte) and comprehension of this phenomenon by positivist philosophy; peculiarities of perception of Nature and Memory in European confessional prose (Confession by St. Augustine, Confessions by J.-J. Rousseau); assessment of the writer’s creative work by her contemporaries (B. Shaw). The central question is the relationship between the potential of Religion and Science in early prose of George Eliot, who in this case affirms the idea of doubt and search in the realm of thought.The presented interpretation of the story The Lifted Veil in the context of European culture in the second half of the 19th century allows us to assert: the short prose by George Eliot contains opportunities for significant expansion of the narrative potential in connection with the strengthening of the psychological aspect in the Victorian literature, which in many respects anticipates the scientific research and discoveries of the subsequent period.

Pastoral care as a resource for development in the global healthcare context: Implications for Africa’s healthcare delivery system

Development is concerned with the transformation of people to foster their health, wholeness and growth. The link between health and development points to religion as potential social capital for development. There is an ongoing debate about the role of pastoral care as a religious resource in global healthcare contexts. This is unfortunately not the case in Africa, as pastoral care has not received sufficient attention for its role in healthcare and development in development discourses. The limited research on pastoral care in healthcare contexts in Africa has implications for African healthcare systems, pastoral care and the delivery of an effective, holistic and quality healthcare service. Taking as its point of departure a thesis about the potential of religion as a social capital resource for development, the article argues for pastoral care as a viable religious resource for healthcare and development. Osmer’s theological task of good practice is employed as an interdisciplinary engagement in dialogue with selective perspectives in the disciplines of development and health and social sciences for appropriate analysis.

INTEGRATION – WHAT INTEGRATION?

ABSTRACT Since the founding of the European Union, religion has become an increasingly important aspect in shaping European identity and thereby social cohesion in Europe. Social cohesion depends to a high degree on a successfully established distinction between ‘us’ and ‘them’. Religion became one important marker of such boundaries. However, religion works both as an individual-level and an EU-level property. In order to take religion into consideration on the level of individual religiousness and as an institutionalised framework, we combine an analysis of key documents of the European Commission with a quantitative analysis of individual attitudes towards Europe. This combination of methods enables us to track the ‘discovery of religion’ by the European Commission as a means for social cohesion and the potential of religion to create Europeanness among the EU-citizens. We focus on the crucial period between 1990 and 2000 in which the major system transformation from EEC to EU took place. The quantitative analysis is conducted as a multi-level analysis on the basis of the European Value Survey 1990 and 2000. The data reveal that in fact over a 10-year period, the European integration project has begun to evolve towards an identity project with religion as a key factor on both levels.

Russian Christ

Interest in the social role of religion, including religious education (RE), is on the increase in the European Union. Yet whereas Western educators focus mostly on the potential of religion for dialogue and peaceful coexistence, in Russia religion is viewed mostly as a resource for an exclusive cultural-religious identity and resistance to globalization. RE was introduced into the curriculum in Russia during the past ten to fifteen years. The author analyzes why, how, and under what particular conditions RE was introduced in Russia, what this education means, and what social consequences it can entail.

Religion and Conflict Resolution: A Paradigm Based on the German Jewish Heritage

This paper seeks to present the framework of a developing research project aimed at filling a gap in existing approaches to conflict resolution resting on theoretical and empirical elements. We propose an innovative paradigm integrating cultural and religious approaches to conflict management based on an interdisciplinary approach. It aims: (1) To address the importance of religion and culture in the Middle East conflict and the potential of religion to help bridge this gap; and (2) to offer an integrated approach based on several disciplines - political science, Jewish philosophy and social psychology as a basis for developing more integrated tools to manage conflict which are an outgrowth of the rich German-Jewish heritage.

Religion and relief: the role of religion in mobilizing civil society against global poverty

Although global poverty is one of the world's most pressing contemporary problems, there is a lack of political will to address it, and much of the work is left to non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-many of which have religious connections. However, religion's role in this area is surprisingly understudied. In attempting to fill the gap, this study explores what makes religion effective in mobilizing civil society actors to engage in transnational poverty relief and development. The paper examines the salience of religious actors in the field, before developing a theoretical framework to explain this prevalence, employing sociologically based theories of religious social capital, content, and cultural power. Finally, these issues are investigated practically through case studies of two religious NGOs, World Vision New Zealand (WVNZ) and TEAR Fund New Zealand. The findings corroborate the theoretical framework, demonstrating the considerable potential of religion to mobilize civil society in the fight against global poverty.

Religion as a Community Resource for Well‐Being: Prevention, Healing, and Empowerment Pathways

The potential of religion as a resource for well‐being is examined, with special focus on prevention, healing, and empowerment pathways of influence— pathways operative both inside congregations and in outreach to the community beyond the congregation. Concerning the prevention pathway, religion offers potentially important access to families and children, and the resources of support, lifestyle values, community access, and volunteers. For the healing pathway, religion offers unique and powerful means and vantage points for influencing cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. Concerning group empowerment, religion has the potential to facilitate groups' critical awareness of oppressive forces, to offer compelling alternative visions and cultural values, and to mobilize human and institutional resources. Psychologists are encouraged to focus more effort on learning from and working with religion and religious organizations to enhance their potential for prevention, healing, and empowerment in the community. A number of limitations and potential negative influences of religion in community contexts are also discussed.

Research and Implications for Practice: Religion, Well-Being/Morale, and Coping Behavior in Later Life

With primary emphasis on more recent research, this article seeks to promote a greater awareness among gerontology professionals of the importance of religion to older persons and the potential of religion as a resource for improving elders'quality of life. The multidimensional nature of religious behaviors and the role of religion in the morale/well-being and coping of older persons is discussed Implications for professionals involved in service provision for older persons as well as directions for future research are presented

Socio-religious change in South Africa

Abstract The first part of the article consists of a brief overview of the various factors that influence the role of religion in the South African context. These include the internal dynamics of religious communities, levels of religiosity, the diversity of public discourses and the relationship between religion and power. In the second part, the potential of religion as an agent of change is discussed, referring to the various elements in the process of social transformation, like conceptualization, articulation and action. These elements are illustrated with examples from the current South African situation. A final section deals with some aspects of the responsibility of religion in effecting social change.

Fragmented Gods: The Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada

Fragmented Gods: The Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada

Fragmented Gods: The Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada

Fragmented Gods: The Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada

Comptes rendus / Reviews of books: Fragmented Gods: The Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada Reginald W. Bibby Toronto: Irwin, 1987. xvi + 320 p

Comptes rendus / Reviews of books: Fragmented Gods: The Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada Reginald W. Bibby Toronto: Irwin, 1987. xvi + 320 p

Essays on Books and Culture the Dialectical Potential of Religion as a Solution to the Crime Problem: A Review of Quinney's Providence and Shoham's Salvation

Essays on Books and Culture the Dialectical Potential of Religion as a Solution to the Crime Problem: A Review of Quinney's Providence and Shoham's Salvation

The Irenic Potential of Religions

“Do religions that stress love as the prime condition of peace lend themselves more to supporting immediate peace, while prophetic religions (stressing justice as prerequisite for enduring peace) stand more willing to sacrifice immediate peace for the sake of a future peace they hope will be more lasting? These are interesting and important questions, but they are subsidiary. The point that is not subsidiary is that all the high religions have embedded within them a peace potential. … Are there principles that can guide us toward maximizing the peace potential in our several faiths?”