Terms Of Religion Research Articles

The God of the Ostracised: The use of Lived Religion Theory in advancing Queer Spirituality

The South African Constitution and the law have ensured noticeable progress in acknowledging the LGBTQI community’s rights. Consequently, there is now a legal framework that protects LGBTQI people, and any discriminatory behaviour and utterances can be prosecuted by law. The struggle now lies within the religious sector, where limited progress has been made. This paper focuses on the progress made within the Christian religion in terms of creating policies and regulations to protect LGBTQI community members’ safety. We focus on same-sex relationships by arguing that even today, such relationships are not openly accepted by the Church. Using lived religion theory, we revisit Ntombana et al.’s (2020) findings and argue that queer people are closer to God and more spiritual than the homophobic Christians who attend daily Christian fellowship meetings. As queer people are in the minority and oppressed by the church system, we use Tutu and Boesak’s theology to argue that they are closer to God than homophobic Christians. We highlight that during the COVID-19 lockdown, the Christian community suffered, while the queer community flourished because their spirituality is not based on the Church’s orthodox tradition but on their relationship with God.

Moral Foundations of Spirituality and Religion Through Natural Language Processing

To explore the similarities/differences between the moral contexts in which scholars use the terms religion and spirituality, we use Moral Foundations Dictionary for Linguistic Analyses 2.0 (MFD), a dictionary developed to assess the moral content of text, and a Natural Language Processing algorithm (Word2Vec) that learns the semantic relationships in a corpus. The findings suggest that, except in the virtue words category of the Care foundation dictionary, religion semantically overlaps with a greater percentage of MFD words than does spirituality. Both religion and spirituality have greater semantic overlaps with virtue words than vice words; compared to religion, spirituality's semantic overlaps with vice words are smaller. Spirituality has greater overlaps only with the MFD words for Care and Sanctity; religion has greater semantic overlaps with words for all foundations, particularly the "binding" foundations: Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity. Similarities notwithstanding, the moral contexts of religion and spirituality feature different aspects of morality.

Food practices as informing religious identity and connections in Oguta, Southeastern Nigeria

ABSTRACT There is an increasing awareness of African Traditional Religion and cultures in terms of identification, preservation, documentation and celebration mostly in the areas of festivals, masquerades, cultic groups, spirituality and architecture. However, one area that has not been explored is food practice. This daily human experience, which has aura of sacredness and moral values, is a significant part of African traditional religion. This study explores food practices in Oguta, Southeastern Nigeria with aid of ethnographic methods of observation and interview. The study finds that food practices in Oguta encapsulates the people’s identity, religion, morality, and social connections and that if conscientiously done could add value to the recent consciousness. The findings provide new insights on food practices that can improve on human ecology in our 21st century world.

Moderasi Beragama dalam Perspektif Al-Qur’an dan Hadis

Moderation is a way of looking at a person's view of an event they are facing or currently experiencing. In the midst of modernization today, as pluralistic creatures, we must always have a wise attitude in viewing differences, whether in terms of religion, culture, economics, and so on. Meanwhile, the current democratic system considers that everything must be seen from various perspectives and views that are based on "freedom" in opinion, thinking and acting in all matters, however our nation is a religious nation, a cultural and different nation. different tribes, so that what becomes a "conflict" in a certain area will be quickly resolved again, with the uniqueness and diversity that exists.The current phenomenon of democracy, which is increasingly chaotic, especially in cyberspace, makes it easy for anyone to access and express their opinions clearly, even though it seems to ignore existing ethics and culture. However, from the perspective of any religion, this is not recommended because it violates applicable religious values ​​and norms. So that we as human beings who think logically and are educated should not always follow desires and wishes based on passion and conscience which leads us to things that bring us down.

The Creation of “Sacred Place” through the “Sense of Place” of the Daci’en Wooden Buddhist Temple, Xi’an, China

After the Industrial Revolution, new technologies and architectural forms gradually replaced China’s wooden construction system, which had lasted for thousands of years. The architectural narrative also turned a new page. As pieces of architectural and cultural heritage and as the residence of “gods”, wooden Buddhist temples carry the indelible imprints of history and religion and have become a healing place or spiritual home for people living in urban areas. In order to preserve the local cultural context and explore the creation of a spiritual “sacred place”, this study traces the spiritual and cultural value of Xi’an’s wooden Buddhist temple through ethnographic qualitative methods of text analysis, observation and interviews. The case study examines the metaphorical symbolism of the architecture’s “sense of place” and religion in terms of architectural structure and components, and the advantages of creating a “sacred place” are examined based on the characteristics of wooden materials. The results show that the design elements of wooden Buddhist temples connect cultural identity and collective memory, which are inseparable from religion, and because of the material properties of wood, they sublimate the sacred atmosphere of religion. Moreover, identifying the “sense of place” and the atmosphere of sacred spaces through the structure, components, and material characteristics of wooden temple architecture offers a new perspective that focuses on architectural emotions and creates a new topic of “sacred places”. Such temples have the potential to enhance human spiritual health and well-being.

Understanding the Interplay of Religion, Social Relationships, and Depressive Symptoms in Later Life: An Analysis of Dynamics in Individual and Dyadic Contexts.

This study examined how religious participation at the individual level and the dyadic religious similarity at the couple level influenced depressive symptoms via social relationships among older Korean couples aged 65 and above. The sample included 1,191 couples from the seventh assessment of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The findings indicated that older adults who participated in religious activities more frequently showed lower levels of depressive symptoms through increased social interactions and marital satisfaction. Additionally, older couples with similar religious backgrounds showed higher levels of marital satisfaction than those without similar religious backgrounds, subsequently leading to lower levels of depressive symptoms. Overall, the associations between religion and depressive symptoms were similar for both genders. The findings provided insights into potential mechanisms leading to later-life depressive symptoms at both the individual and couple levels in terms of religion and social relationships and informed practical implications for older couples' marital relationships.

Upaya Gereja Mewujudkan Dialog Antar Umat Beragama dalam Konteks Kemajemukan Agama

On the one hand, religious pluralism is something that can enrich the life of the Indonesian nation, but on the other hand it can become fertile ground for disputes, divisions, even bloodshed between one religion and another as well as acts of conflict and terrorism in the name of religion. Therefore, to avoid the outbreak of conflict between religious communities which could lead to violence, every religious follower needs to make efforts for dialogue between religious communities. The aim of the research is to describe and analyze the form and process of dialogue between religious communities carried out by the church, namely the Kalimantan Evangelical Church (GKE) Sion Basarang, Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan Province (hereinafter referred to as GKE Sion Basarang) which is one of the churches that lives in a pluralistic society both in terms of religion and ethnicity. The method used is qualitative with a descriptive-analytic research approach. The research results show that the form of dialogue between religious communities at GKE Sion Basarang is work dialogue and theological dialogue, meanwhile there are two stages in the dialogue process between religious communities, namely the first stage takes place spontaneously because church members live side by side in a pluralistic society and the The second is systematic because it is carried out through meetings between religious leaders, namely priests and other religious leaders.

A LEARNING MODEL OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR INSTILLING RELIGIOUS MODERATION VALUES IN A VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

This article discusses a learning model of Islamic religious education for instilling religious moderation values at a vocational school. The research used a qualitative method with data collection techniques such as direct observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis. The results show that the Islamic religious education learning models used by Islamic teachers in instilling the value of religious moderation at the vocational high school Palu are the Contextual Learning Model, Project Learning Model, and Group Learning Model. In the contextual learning model, the activities carried out by students are that the teacher gives assignments to students to read the topic of discussion that day, in this case, the values ​​of religious moderation, namely tolerance in terms of religion, ethnicity, race, and the prohibition of committing acts of violence, after that students connect it with real-life experienced by students. Implementation of the Islamic religious education learning model in instilling the value of religious moderation at the vocational high school in Palu as an effort to maintain diversity in the school within a frame of peace, tolerance, maintaining each other's feelings so as not to offend each other, especially regarding religion, giving freedom to each religion to celebrate their respective religious holidays both within the school environment and outside the school, providing good role models and advice and accustoming students to empathize with humanity by holding social service activities and other extra-curricular activities.

Religion in Terms of Perception and LivReligion in Terms of Perception and Way of Living in Neşet Ertaş’s Folk Songsing in Neşet Ertaş Folk Songs

Bu araştırma, Anadolu topraklarında büyük bir hayran kitlesine sahip olan halk ozanı Neşet Ertaş’ın hayatından ve eserlerinden hareketle onun din algısının ortaya konulmasını amaçlamıştır. Nitel bir yaklaşımla ele alınan araştırmada dokümantasyon tekniği ile elde edilen veriler içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Araştırmanın en önemli bulgularından biri Ertaş’ın genel olarak din ile pozitif, derin ve çok yönlü bir ilişki içerisinde olduğunun tespit edilmiş olmasıdır. Ozanın inanç konularına ilişkin söylemlerinden ve eserlerinden yola çıkılarak onun bu konulardaki görüşlerinin kitabî bilgiden ziyade kendi dünya görüşü ve tecrübesine dayandığı söylenebilir. Bu nedenle zaman zaman heterodoksi bir içerik dikkat çekmektedir. Neşet Ertaş’ın eserlerinde ve söylemlerinde, dinî ögelere yoğun vurgu yapıldığı görülmektedir. Bu bulgudan hareketle Ertaş’ın dinî duygu aktarımı konusunda çok önemli bir misyonu yerine getirdiği söylenebilir. Sonuç olarak Neşet Ertaş’ın, inancının temeline Allah’ı, ibadetinin temeline kendinde olanı infak etmeyi ve inancının üzerine inşa ettiği ahlakının temeline ise sevgi, saygı, vefa, adalet gibi değerleri yerleştirdiğini söylemek mümkündür.

Understanding the Religions of India

In India, in all communities, individuals have the right to practice the religion of his or her own choice. The religions have an important influence in the lives of the individuals. The individuals generate information in terms of norms and values through practicing their religion. In the lives of the individuals, in both personal and professional spheres, the practicing of religion is regarded as vital. In this manner, the individuals are able to benefit in number of ways, i.e. putting into operation all types of job duties successfully; inculcating the traits of morality and ethics; implementing the traits of diligence, resourcefulness and conscientiousness; developing mutual understanding with others and promoting good health, physically and psychologically. As a consequence, individuals are able to render an important contribution in promoting enrichment of their overall personality traits and standards of living. The individuals, belonging to all communities, neighbourhoods and professional settings need to accept the religions of other individuals. In other words, individuals need to form positive viewpoints in terms of all religions and accept these. One of the important aspects that needs to be taken into account is, one should not possess negative feelings in terms of any other religion. Therefore, it is understood on a comprehensive basis that religions are vital in promoting enrichment of overall quality of lives of individuals. The main concepts that are taken into account in this research paper are, religions of India, understanding the objectives of practicing religions and factors highlighting the importance of religion in India.

The Application Of The Role Of Islamic Religious Education Teachers In Shaping The Character Of Students Based On Islamic Teachings At Smp Negeri 3 Colomadu

This research aims to: 1) Find out the character of students at SMP Negeri 3 Colomadu; 2) Knowing and analyzing the role of PAI teachers in shaping student character at SMP Negeri 3 Colomadu; 3) Find out what factors support and hinder the formation of student character at SMP Negeri 3 Colomadu. This research was carried out in August-September 2023 at SMP Negeri 3 Colomadu. The research method used is a qualitative method. The results found in this research are as follows: 1) The character of students at SMP Negeri 3 Colomadu in terms of religion and responsibility is said to be good. Various efforts have been made by the school to overcome problems in the formation of students' religious character and responsibility, including by getting into the habit of Dhuha, Muhadarah and Friday prayers regularly held every Friday; 2) The role of PAI teachers in improving the character of students at SMP Negeri 3 Colomadu, including: educator, tutor, leader, mentor, advisor or motivator, evaluator, coordinator, and role model; 3) Supporting factors in forming the religious character and responsibility of students at SMP Negeri 3 Colomadu are influenced by: the curriculum content standards used, the leadership of the school principal, the role of the teacher, the commitment of the entire school community, and the role of parents in the school program. Meanwhile, the inhibiting factors are: lack of concern from some parents and teachers, lack of parental knowledge about character education, school environment that is less supportive, and lack of awareness among students.

Az egyes felekezetekhez tartozók demográfi ai jellemzői a Magyar Korona országaiban (Magyarország és Horvátország) a 20. század elején/ az első világháború előtt

Th e aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the level of modernization and the most important demographic indicators of religions. Correlation analyses, which helped us to draw the conclusion, were produced by Statistica for Windows. Our study is based on statistical publications on national level. Hungary was one of the most diversified countries in terms of religions before World War I. Croatia was different from Hungary in terms of religious diversity, as the majority of its population was Roman Catholic and 25% Orthodox. First, we examine the relationship between religion and mother tongue. Then we analyse the demographic indicators of each religion. What immediately attracts our attention is the great diff erence in all indicators, like crude birth, death, natural increase and marriage rates. But more sophisticated indicators behave in similar manner. There was considerable diff erence in fertility, in rate of infant and child mortality. In addition, seasonality of marriages, marital age and the rates of religiously mixed marriages vary greatly from denomination to denomination. Moreover, there was considerable difference in the demographic indicators of the same religions between Hungary and Croatia.

The Epistemology of Religion

Entertaining a proposition normally exposes our mind to a range of psychic states, ranging from involuntary to voluntary states, depending on the irresistibility of the proposition in question. There are some propositions which are too certain to entertain without believing them, and some too vague, too suspicious to hold without some degree of doubt. Normally, we relate to any matter we consider in one of these three different propositional attitudes: (dis)belief, acceptance (or rejection) or suspension of judgment. Though religion cannot be confined solely to acceptance of or a belief in the theistic God, as religions like Buddhism and Hinduism demonstrate, it is commonplace in ordinary language to think of religion in terms of having a belief in a transcendent being, a deity, at least in the Christian, Jewish or Muslim cultures. Most religions assert themselves as an account of the universe, human condition or their nature. Some people believe its explanations, some merely accept them. That is, religion can be a belief-system about the universe. But it may lack such belief-system, and could be a matter of mere acceptance. There are people who do not believe religious explanations about the origin of life or the universe, but they still accept them as a way of life. In this article, I aim to analyze the psychological bridge, in the way of belief and mere acceptance, between us and the idea there is a God in light of the existing evidence for and against the existence of God, assuming that we are dealing with rational agency.

RELIGION AND POLITICAL ECONOMY

This article seeks to investigate the integration between political economy and religion offered in the forum Religion of Twenty (R20). The idea of R20 forum by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is one of the ideas to unite perceptions between countries and religions. It is based on the phenomenon of the global economy which has begun to be disrupted by conflicts and wars in several countries. Various wars by the superpowers have had implications for disrupting economic stability. Thus, the role of religion in terms of world peace also contributes to the success of global economic stability. In further analysis, this article refers to Ibn Khaldun, Al-Ghazali, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill’s political economy to answer how is the relationship between religion and world peace in economic development? And what role does the R20 forum play in integrating political economy and religion for global economic development? The findings in this article indicate that the sources of political economy in R20 are a means of integrating its patterns in line with the values and essence of religious teachings.

Menyoal Framework Agama: Upaya Rekonsiliasi HAM Berat 1965

The author's focus in this article is to question the religious framework in viewing the 1965 gross human rights case as one of the reconciliation efforts. Reconciliation of 1965 Gross Human Rights is an important effort to build peace and unity in Indonesia, especially in facing the political year. It is also important for the creation of peaceful politics. However, this effort faces challenges, one of which is the religious framework in viewing the 1965 Gross Human Rights case. The method used in this analysis is a historical study of the 1965 gross human rights violations case, especially regarding the role and involvement of religions in responding to this case. This article offers a religious framework that is more inclusive and emphasizes the characteristics of a religion of peace and love. This framework is based on the principles of humanity, justice and equality. The findings of this research are a new framework of religion that is broader and more open in viewing the 1965 Gross Human Rights Case that emphasizes love. This new framework is the basis for reconciliation for the Indonesian people. It is hoped that from this new framework, all elements of the nation can accept it so that the 1965 Gross Human Rights case has the same perspective in terms of religion. This is expected to bring political stability in Indonesia and free the Indonesian people from the 1965 Serious Human Rights issue.

Religious School Education in Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Voting

Abstract This article examines the arguments made by the eleven Justices of the Supreme Federal Court who, in 2017, decided on the constitutionality of offering confessional education in public schools. We will explore how long-term disputed ethical and legal values are rearticulated in these votes concerning the notion of belief, almost 40 years after defining Religious Education as a fundamental human right by the Constitution. It is not a matter of harking back to the topic of secularism, as a social process or as a legal norm or political doctrine. The discursive analysis of the ministers’ votes formulations aims, on the contrary, to unveil the different religious constructions implied in their uses of the terms religion and rights and to understand how they operate when putting forward an idea of citizenship and/or the nation. The aim is to clarify, from this systematic examination of the votes, the configuration of common legal sense when issuing value judgments about religion and its protection. Therefore, our primary focus will be to circumscribe what counts as religion in these legal narratives.

Language Differences by Race on Letters of Recommendation for the Pediatric Surgery Match

This study aims to evaluate if there is any significant linguistic difference in LoR based on applicant's race/ethnicity. Retrospective review of applications to pediatric surgery fellowship at a single institution (2016-2020). Race was self-reported by applicants. LoR were analyzed via the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software program. Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg, Florida USA. A free-standing tertiary pediatric hospital. Pediatric surgery fellowship applicants from 2016 to 2020. A total of 1086 LoR from 280 applicants (52% female) were analyzed. Racial distribution was Caucasians 62.1%, Asian 12.1%, Hispanics 7.1%, multiracial 6.4% African Americans 5%, and other/unknown 7.1%. Letter writers were largely male (84%), pediatric surgeons (63%) and professors (57%). There was no difference in LoR word count across races. LoR for female multiracial candidates contained higher use of affiliation and negative emotion terms compared to Hispanic females (p = 0.002 and 0.048, respectively), and past focus terms when compared to Caucasian and Asian female applicants (p < 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively). Religion terms were more common in LoR for Asian females when compared to Caucasian females (p < 0.001). This study demonstrates linguistic differences in LoR for pediatric surgery training programs based on applicant race/ethnicity. While differences are present, these do not suggest overt bias based on applicants race or ethnicity.

The Impact of Culture Clashes on Employee Satisfaction in Multinational Companies in China

With the globalisation of the economy, more and more companies are operating abroad and developing into multinational companies. Due to the differences in political systems, cultural backgrounds and language environments in different countries and regions, cross-cultural conflicts in companies are inevitable and are becoming more pronounced over time. This paper examines whether cross-cultural conflict has an impact on employee satisfaction through a review of previous literature. The paper first examines the four dimensions of culture, uncertainty avoidance, religion and language, and then examines employee satisfaction in terms of religion, language, management style and cross-cultural competencies, and finally combines the two to identify the links. It was found that language, religion and culture conflict are the main reasons for the decline in employee satisfaction, while for managers, their own intercultural competencies also have an impact on their satisfaction. The research in this paper helps to make companies pay more attention to cross-cultural conflicts within the company as a way to maintain employee satisfaction.

A Bridge Over Troubled Water: How Worldview Helps Overcome the Religious-Secular Divide in Development Cooperation and Beyond

As research has shown, collaboration between religious and non-religious actors in the context of international development is often difficult and limited. Though various barriers exist, mutual misunderstanding and prejudices appear to be the main reason for the religious-secular divide. This essay argues that this divide—both within the development sector and beyond—can be bridged more effectively by understanding religion in terms of “worldview.” As everyone holds a certain worldview, this concept challenges the current dichotomy and creates a more level playing field as starting point for dialogue. Problematic for the development sector, however, is the widespread equation of secularity with neutrality, and of neutrality with professionalism. The “professional identity” concept can help uncouple this connection.

PENGUATAN PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM BAGI SISWA MINORITAS MUSLIM

Muslim minority students often face challenges in getting adequate Islamic religious education in a non-Muslim majority school environment. Sometimes, the majority does not recognise or respect the existence of minorities, which is not in line with the spirit of the nation that values diversity, especially in terms of religion and belief. This can lead to conflict. This research aims to examine how Islamic religious education is strengthened in minority areas through a qualitative approach. Data were collected through structured interviews, field observations and documentation collection. The results showed that the strengthening of Islamic religious education for Muslim minority students at SMP Negeri 1 Biru-Biru is done through religious activities such as worship practices, flash pesantren, Ramadhan Centre, and Halal Bi Halal events. Islamic Religious Education (PAI) teachers choose these activities to strengthen brotherhood and relationships between Muslim students, so that they can support each other in goodness despite being a minority. Tolerance is one of the main pillars in creating a peaceful environment between minority and majority