Religious Bodies Research Articles

Domino Effect of Coronavirus in Nigeria. An Overview of the Socioeconomic, Religious and Educational Perspectives

The human history has recorded that in every 100 years a new pandemic will erupt to rocked control the human race from over population, changing the courses of history and signaling the end of entire civilization. Today the world is at halt and its economic, socio-cultural, religious, political, scientific and technological myth is degenerating amidst the advent of a novel pandemic (COVID-19). This study therefore, investigated the effect of COVID-19 in terms of economic, socio-cultural, educational and religious factors which are best described using students, private sectors, public servants, religious bodies and farmers as sectoral factors. The paper also addressed geopolitical regional zones differences in the effect of COVID-19 in Nigeria using schedules as a model for data collections. Generated data were analyzed using percentages, Two-way ANOVA and Co-Variance (ANOCOVA) to test for significant differences amidst the effects of COVID-19 among domain, sectors and geopolitical regions. Findings from the study show that 96% student’s educational process was negatively affected and about 94% economic values of privately owned business were grossly affected; 53% socio-cultural activities brought down because of the stay-at-home order; 58% religious activities (worship centre) were affected on the approval of only 20 members per 2 meters distancing in a service. More so, farmers experiences 58% economic loss underscored with an endemic increase in the price of major food items. The interactions term between COVID-19, domain and sector is not significant as it was felt equally on Domain and on sectoral factors. On the other hand, the effect of COVID-19 is felt differently among geopolitical regions in Nigeria owing to socio-cultural, economic, political and population difference. The paper therefore, recommended for the formulations and implementations of workable health care, social and educational welfare policies that respond and recover quickly to related disease; while relying more on domesticated products and byproducts.

Evaluation of Television as a Medium for Promotion of Indigenous Culture and Traditional Heritage; a Study of the Nigeria Television Authority

Television is a medium of communication and communication is a means through which culture is spread, shared, maintained, repaired and transformed. Contemporarily, the term culture covers the domains of arts, sciences, beliefs, manner or even attitude of a group of people such as tribe, religious body or society. It can be defined as the sum total of way of life of a people such as festivals, dances, religion, language, norms/traditions etc. This study examined how the Nigeria Television Authority has been or not used in promoting Nigeria cultural values and heritage. The method adopted in the study is survey. The interview technique was used involving a total of 400 respondents drawn from the staff members of the NTA, Enugu zonal station, and the Station’s audience. Findings of the study revealed that television is a powerful medium through which a people can, through programming and content, share and export their cultural values for sustainable development, as well, a medium for eroding culture and tradition. It was further found that the NTA has not been sufficiently utilized to promote the Nigerian culture. The study recommended that mass media workers, particularly television programmes designers should sit up in the area of promoting Nigeria cultural heritage through TV programme content. Secondly, it is recommended that TV producers should endeavour to down play indecent dressing and violence, while emphasizing more of educative, informative, technological and entertainment in their productions.

Evaluation of Television as a Medium for Promotion of Indigenous Culture and Traditional Heritage; a Study of the Nigeria Television Authority

Television is a medium of communication and communication is a means through which culture is spread, shared, maintained, repaired and transformed. Contemporarily, the term culture covers the domains of arts, sciences, beliefs, manner or even attitude of a group of people such as tribe, religious body or society. It can be defined as the sum total of way of life of a people such as festivals, dances, religion, language, norms/traditions etc. This study examined how the Nigeria Television Authority has been or not used in promoting Nigeria cultural values and heritage. The method adopted in the study is survey. The interview technique was used involving a total of 400 respondents drawn from the staff members of the NTA, Enugu zonal station, and the Station’s audience. Findings of the study revealed that television is a powerful medium through which a people can, through programming and content, share and export their cultural values for sustainable development, as well, a medium for eroding culture and tradition. It was further found that the NTA has not been sufficiently utilized to promote the Nigerian culture. The study recommended that mass media workers, particularly television programmes designers should sit up in the area of promoting Nigeria cultural heritage through TV programme content. Secondly, it is recommended that TV producers should endeavour to down play indecent dressing and violence, while emphasizing more of educative, informative, technological and entertainment in their productions.

Repression of Uyghur Muslims and The Freedom of Religious Beliefs in China

China has been accused by the international community for placing tight constraints on the religious freedom of Uyghurs in the northwest Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It has been widely reported that China has placed in detention over a million Uyghur Muslims in order to ‘re-educate’ them to adapt to ‘Chinese culture’. It has been alleged that China is using a system of surveillance, control, and suppression of religious activity aimed particularly at Uyghurs accusing them of actively involving in separatist activity with foreign funding in order to destabilize the region. Note that, China has also brought in polices on regulation of religious affairs that makes it difficult for a religious body or a church, mosque to exist in China without prior State approval. The policy also gives unfettered power of oversight to the government over minority religious institutions and their day to day management. In light of the above, this paper examines the issue of right to freedom of religion or belief in the backdrop of China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region. Further, this paper also comments upon China’s current domestic policy regulating religion and its commitment at the international level to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief of all its citizens.

Preconception care practices in Nigeria: a descriptive qualitative study

BackgroundPreconception care is a specialized care targeted at women of reproductive age before pregnancy to detect, treat or counsel them about pre-existing medical and social conditions that may militate against safe motherhood and positive pregnancy outcome. In spite of the known need for preconception care in Nigeria, routine preconception care services are not available in the country. This study explores existing preconception care practices in the country in order to encourage building on it and formalising it for inclusion in routine maternal and child health services in the country.MethodsForty-one in-depth interviews and 10 focus group discussions were conducted in this descriptive qualitative study to explore the existing preconception care services from the perspectives of community members (women and men in the reproductive age group), community and religious leaders, health care professionals as well as policy makers. Thematic analysis was carried out using MAXQDA 2018.ResultsParticipants stated that there are no defined preconception care services in the health care system nor are there any structures or guidelines for preconception care in the country. Preconception care services are however provided when health workers perceive a need or when clients demand for it. The services provided include health information, education and counselling, treatment modification, medical check-up and screening. Outside of the health system, there are some traditional, religious and other practices with similar bearing to preconception care which the participants believed could be included as preconception care services. These include premarital counselling services by religious bodies, family life and HIV education within the secondary school system and some screening and outreach services provided by non-governmental and some governmental agencies.ConclusionThere is a need to provide structure and guidelines for preconception care services in the country so that the services can be properly streamlined. This structure can also involve practices that are currently not within the health system.

COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTER ACT 1990-2020 AND NFPOs: A COMPARISON OF UNITED KINGDOM AND UNITED STATE OF AMERICA WITH NIGERIA

This research study analyzes the historic improvement of the Company and Allied Matter Act, its roles, purpose and relationship with non-governmental organizations in Nigeria, United Kingdom and the United State of America and how it administers the provisions of the Act. Exploratory research design was adopted with relevant literature as it relates to Not for Profit Organizations and the regulatory laws governing the countries under study. Findings from the research work showed that it is not practicable for the Nigeria State to exert control over religious bodies as obtained in developed countries because Nigeria is not a purely secular State and the existence of a perceptible suspicion between the two prominent religious bodies. More so, Government does not award grants to religious bodies neither does it give tax credits to tithes and special donations to religious bodies. Against the foregoing, this study hereby recommends that the idea of adopting the jurisprudence behind the regulation of NFPOs from other climes and reporting same on the CAMA 2020 is impractical and as such, our legislators need to be creative and bespoke in the formulation of policies. This can be achieved by focusing on the utilization of revenue collected by the government to better the lives of the people.

The religious body imagined

The religious body imagined

Arya Samaj marriages in Indian courts

ABSTRACT Contrary to what one may expect, some religious bodies such as Arya Samaj, are prominent in providing marriage services to Indian couples who marry in defiance of familial and social expectations. It is notable that with an increasing number of couples approaching courts to seek state protection after solemnizing their marriages via Arya Samaj, the latter has come under the judicial scanner. This has brought many issues related to such services to the fore. A detailed discussion of one of such cases has been undertaken and contextualized with reference to Arya Marriage Validation Act 1937 and Hindu Marriage Act 1955 to show how these services exist in a dynamic, accommodative, and conflicting relationship with the legal system. This has implications for those who use Arya Samaj services, in our case, couples in non-conformist marriages, as well as for our understanding and evaluation of the Indian variant of legal pluralism.

Gulf states and Islamist responses to COVID-19: a changing relationship

This article focuses on the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Gulf and examines how different responses to the pandemic are affecting the relationship between state institutions and Islamist actors. Several states and regimes are attempting to contain the spread of COVID-19 by imposing increasingly authoritarian measures and tightening social control, which in turn is causing a renewed wave of social unrest. The article shows how, in this increasingly unstable context, the relationships between state institutions and Islamist actors are developing along two main trends. As a response to the pandemic, states in the Gulf are increasingly relying on the mobilisation of Islamic institutions and religious bodies to support lockdown and isolation policies, enlisting Islamic authority to compensate for the decreasing levels of popular trust in the regime. The tightening of authoritarian measures is bringing pre-existing tensions between Islamists and authorities back to the fore, resulting in an increased crackdown on religious opposition actors ad movements. This article shows that, while the extent to which these trends are developing depends on the national context under analysis, different state reactions to COVID-19 are already drastically altering the relationship between political institutions and Islamic ones, affecting both domestic and regional balances of power and highlighting the mutual dependency between religion and politics in the Gulf.

Ethno-religious conflict and sustainable development in Nigeria

This article examines the extent to which ethno-religious conflicts have affected sustainable development in Nigeria. The destruction of lives and property by reckless ethnic and religious extremists has been a challenging key factor to sustainable development in Nigeria. This article aims to reflect on the ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria from an epistemological point of view, ascertain the major causes of these conflicts and seek solutions to address the root causes. The article concludes that religious intolerance among Nigerians from different religious groups is the result of the misinterpretation of religious teachings of the leaders of terrorist groups to their followers and that ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria affect sustainable development as they lead to loss of lives and destruction of property, among others. It is also indicated that the effects of ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria lead to an increase in the unemployment rate, withdrawal of foreign investments and education imbalance. The article concludes by arguing that ethnicity and religious crises are unhealthy for the nation’s sustainable development and that no price paid in the direction of resolving these conflicts can be considered to be too much. It is recommended that religious leaders form the minds of Nigerians with the teaching of love and peace, as it is proclaimed in their various religious books and beliefs. Contribution: This article brought to light the major factors instigating continuous ethno-religious conflict in Nigeria that has led to much social unrest. Theological reflection of the influence of religion in promoting peaceful coexisting environment was analysed. This work would be of immense benefit to religious bodies, government, civil society and students.

\u2018Neutrality\u2019, Muslimness and the whiteness of RE professionalism

There has been longstanding criticism of the whiteness of the professional discourses in teaching. Bariso (Race Ethn Educ 4(2):167–184, https://doi.org/10.1080/713693054, 2001) writes that where whiteness is constructed as being professional then blackness is constructed as unprofessional, in turn excluding blackness from the construction of the teacher. Similarly, Bhopal (Br J Educ Stud, 63(2):197–211, https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2015.1005045, 2015) argues that this presents a clash between embodying blackness and embodying the teacher. With the turn to research surrounding Muslim teachers, attributes of Muslimness have also been shown to be a source of marginalisation within school contexts (Shah in Education, leadership and Islam: theories, discourses and practices from an Islamic perspective, Routledge, London, 2016). Some scholarship has reflected on issues surrounding embodiment and ‘body-works’ of RE teaching’s professional discourses (Bryan and Revell in Br J Educ Stud 59(4):403–419, https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2011.602328, 2011; Everington in Br J Religious Educ 36(2):155–173, https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2013.820169, 2014; Vince in J Beliefs Values, https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2019.1686732019, 2019). Such empirical studies have shown that embodying faith is perceived to be at odds with notions of RE teacher professionalism, particularly around notions of ‘neutrality’ (Everington in Br J Relig Educ, 38(2):177–188, https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2016.1139892, 2016). Despite the concept of ‘neutrality’ being increasingly criticised (Franken and Loobuyck in Br J Relig Educ, 39(1):1–6, https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2016.1218219, 2017), embodying ‘neutrality’ remains an important commitment. This has clear implications for (hyper)visible religious bodies (Jeldtoft, in: Dessing et al. (eds) Everyday Lived Islam in Europe, Routledge, London, 2016). Accordingly, in this paper I explore how ‘Muslim RE teachers’ manage their identities in relation to ‘being neutral’. For these teachers, ‘becoming neutral’ was the formative part of becoming an RE teacher. However, this was particularly challenging due to the hypervisibility of their Muslimness, particularly for female Muslim teachers. These challenges are then framed as an issue of whiteness, disproportionally affecting those who do not fit the white teacher norm. I end on arguing that there is a pressing need to change how ‘neutrality’ is understood.

대순진리회의 ‘세계종교’ 가능성에 관한 연구

Daesoon Jinrihoe tends to be perceived as a ‘nationalistic religion’ by both internal members of the religious body and outside scholars of religious studies. However, the character of this particular nationalistic religion is rather complex. On top of emphasizing the special status of the Korean ethnic group while focusing on nationalism as a nationalistic religion, Daesoon Jinrihoe futrther asserts an implication of the universality of world religion aiming to bring relief to humankind and the world. This dynamic is one of the specificity of nationalistic religion and also the universality of world religion. However, this dual logic of specificity and universality is not characteristic of only Daesoon Jinrihoe. Many religions in the world have also exhibited duplicity as nationalistic religions and world religions. And this thesis pays attention to Sectarian Shinto as it formed in modern Japan. Kyoha Shinto formed when the modern Japanese government established the national Shinto system which had a total of 13 sects. Most of them do not only call themselves a nationalistic religion, inheriting the ethnic tradition of Japanese people, but also jump into overseas missionary work. This started during the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars. With that in mind, how did the overseas missionary work of Sectarian Shinto aspire for status as a world religion while maintaining their identities as nationalistic religions? Furthermore, how did their movements fare in their efforts to become world religions? Thus, this thesis aims to examine the possibility Daesoon Jinrihoe becoming a world religion through some cases of Sectarian Shinto that showed the duplicity as nationalistic religions and world religions. Also, this thesis makes suggestions regarding the future direction of Daesoon Jinrihoe. As such, this paper aims to review the new direction of Daesoon Jinrihoe as it stands on the borderline between being a nationalistic religion and a world religion. This is done by examining the historical flow of theory regarding ‘nationalistic religion’ or ‘minjung religion’ which have long been discussed in Korean society. Also examined is the case of Won Buddhism which likewise aims to simultaneosuly be both a nationalistic religion in Korea and a world religion abroad.

Confessionalization, Symphony, or Democratization?

Abstract This article analyzes modern religious life in Ukraine, specifically the relations between religious organizations and government bodies in state and social domains. Particular attention is given to the concrete territorial and historical evolution of state Christian doctrines and church relations in Ukrainian lands. The article also examines the main problems and conflicts regarding the registration and functioning of the largest religious organizations in the country, and relations between them. Special attention is paid to the role that religious organizations play in the democratic processes, and to their effect on the relations between state and church. These relations have unfolded against the background of the political events of the last 15 years in Ukraine and the region: internal social conflicts, the general trend toward pro-European democratization, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Exploring the influence of religious elements on performance factors in developing countries: a case of the Ghanaian construction industry

PurposeReligiousness is evident in every aspect of life, and its impact on construction project performance is undeniable. However, little has been done to fully understand the influences one's religiosity has on performance factors. This paper aims to explore the influence of religious elements on performance factors in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI).Design/methodology/approachUsing a desk survey and closed-ended questionnaire, data were obtained from the three religious' bodies (Christianity, Islamic and Traditionalist) in Ghana. The analysis of the collected data was done using mean score ranking and regression analysis.FindingsIt was revealed that most of the religious bodies were aware of the presence of the seven factors identified for measuring construction project performance. The findings suggested that there was a significant and positive relationship between the religious elements (of all the three religions) and cost as well as schedule performance. Islam recorded the highest relationship in influencing public construction project performance relative to cost performances. Specifically, 1% increase in Islamic elements accounted for an 82.7% increase in cost performance. Traditionalists and the Christian religion had minimal significance in influencing cost performance. Furthermore, a 1% progress in Islamic elements accounted for a 45.8% increase in the schedule performance of construction projects and among construction professionals.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has provided better understanding of the religious views on project performance. This research has also provided pragmatic directions to project stakeholders to encourage religious groups to take critical look at the other performance factors that were seen not to be significant.Originality/valueThis paper represents a novel attempt to measure the influence of religious elements on project performance factors in the construction industry. A key contribution to the body of knowledge is that the study has proven that religious element has tendencies to influence cost performance and schedule performance in the construction industry.

Body image among Muslim women in Israel: exploring religion and sociocultural pressures

ABSTRACT The study aimed to investigate the association of the Muslim religion, as a multidimensional factor, with social pressures related to body image concerns, among Muslim women in Israel. Four hundred and Seventy-five Israeli Muslim women ages between 18 and 30 years completed questionnaire measures of strength of religious faith, wearing a traditional head cover (the Hijab), positive and negative body image, media exposure, societal pressures to conform to Western body ideals and its internalization, from 2016 to 2018. Strength of religious faith and wearing the Hijab were positively associated with positive aspects of body image, while only strength of religious faith negatively correlated with body dissatisfaction. Further, mediation analyses revealed that the relationship between the strength of religious faith and both positive body image and body dissatisfaction was mediated by media pressures. Notably, reduced peer pressures had more influence on positive body image, while reduced family pressures were more influential for negative body image. These results are discussed with regard to promoting a more intricate and multicultural understanding of body image concepts.

The Pros and Cons of Virtual Learning in India: An Insight During 'Covid Lockdown'

An invisible entity, through naked eyes, the Virus, the pandemic (as WHO puts it), named Covid19 (or Corona Virus Disease) has created an environment of 'fear' across the world for the past few months and has spared none – the most developed economies of the 'Globalized' era as well as the struggling economies spread across continents. The impact is so big that the functioning of households, business organizations, religious and spiritual bodies, educational institutions, etc. is witnessing a sea change. Even our lifestyles have altered to a great extent. All this is actually attributed to what our minds think! The external environmental message is clear, shape up or ship out, no one wants to die nor wishes to see their near and dear ones falling to the same. It is our mind that has decides about the changes we need to bring in our activities in order to 'survive'. And hence, the mind knocks the 'Innovation' door quite often to find if there exists a solution for current and future problems. The same has been the case in our learning mechanisms, obviously both the formal and informal ones, during this period of 'lockdown'. Let us analyse this through a real-time observational study involving how our education system has changed and the impending pros and cons of the same.

COVID-19 - Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Medical and Non-Medical University Students in Jordan

Hamed Alzoubi1*, Nedal Alnawaiseh2, Asma’a Al-Mnayyis3, Mohammad Abu- Lubad1, Amin Aqel1 and Hani Al-Shagahin4Article: 6200 | Pages 17-24: Abstract|Full Text| PDF| XMLhttps://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.14.1.04

Domesticating Vigilantism in Ghana’s Fourth Republic: The Challenge Ahead

Political party vigilantism in Ghana has consistently been on the ascendency since the return to Constitutional rule in 1993. Their activities have usually been during and after elections across the country. By-elections in Atiwa, Akwatia, Chereponi, Talensi, Amenfi West and more recently Ayawaso West Wuogon, have all been marred by acts of violence. Ghana in 2017 recorded for the first time political party vigilante groups storming a courtroom in Kumasi and freeing some of their members standing trial after assaulting a regional security coordinator in the second largest region in the country – Ashanti region. The paper seeks to highlight the dangers inherent in this rather negative development which could reverse the gains Ghana has made in consolidating its democracy. The author relied on secondary data including relevant media publications and statements from civil society organizations, political parties and religious bodies on vigilantism in Ghana. Findings show that the seed of vigilantism has been sowed and allowed to be nurtured to the extent that the parties have taken uncompromising positions in ending the cancer because it borders on political power. A law has been passed but indications are that nothing much is changing. The National Peace Council has intervened yet there is no sign of lasting solution to the problem. The paper concludes that all stakeholders especially the civil society organizations and the religious bodies ought to be objective and bold to openly name and shame political parties whose members engage in negative acts of vigilantism and urge the masses to vote against such parties or else the phenomenon will persist and its ramifications will be disastrous.

Thick and Dazzling Darkness: Religious Poetry in a Secular AgeThe Art of Confession: The Performance of Self from Robert Lowell to Reality TV

Thick and Dazzling Darkness: Religious Poetry in a Secular AgeThe Art of Confession: The Performance of Self from Robert Lowell to Reality TV

Governing Religious Multiplicity

In post-colonial Tanzania, efforts to govern the relations between Christianity and Islam—the country’s largest religions—have been impacted by the growing potential for conflict between and among diverse strands of the two faiths from the mid-1990s onward. They have also been shaped by the highly unequal relations between various Christian and Muslim actors and the Tanzanian government in the context of globalization. This article describes how the governance of religious multiplicity in Tanzania has affected the domains of transnational development, the registration of new religious bodies, and the regulation of religious instruction in schools. It argues that a comprehensive understanding of ‘lived religion’ needs to focus on the way in which religious multiplicities are molded as socio-cultural realities through a wide range of governing interventions.