Religious Climate Research Articles

Urgensi Guru Dalam Konteks Moderasi Beragama

Indonesia is a country with all the diversity that exists. Ethnic, cultural and religious diversity are some of the forms of diversity that exist in Indonesia. Prolonged conflicts in the name of religion often occur in various regions in Indonesia. Mosques are burned, churches are attacked, religious leaders are subjected to cruelty by irresponsible hands, suicide bombings in the name of religion, radicalism and discrimination in the name of sara issues often occur and become national news. For this reason, an attitude or perspective is needed to be a resolution to the conflict. Religious moderation is a moderate perspective, attitude and behavior in religion, namely understanding and practicing religious teachings without extremes. Neither extreme right nor extreme left. Basically, normative Islam itself has a wasathiyah character, moderation. Religious moderation education in strengthening national insight is important especially in recent years the diversity on earth Indonesia is being tested by the existence of extreme religious attitudes expressed by a group of people in the name of religion. This happens in actions in the real world and statements in cyberspace. This exclusive and intolerant group is dangerous for the religious climate in Indonesia. This research is a type of library research. What is called library research or often also called library studies, is a series of activities using library data collection methods, reading and recording and processing research materials. The world of education is the foundation of hope for strengthening the values of religious moderation. The high participation of the Indonesian people in establishing and organizing religion-based educational institutions needs to be directed to strengthen this idea. Religious moderation education needs to be developed along with the character building of students. Religious moderation education is expected to answer the target of the mental revolution of students to continue to develop the values of peace and tolerance. Keywords : Religious Moderation, Teacher, Urgency

Religious Climate and Corporate ESG Performance

Religion, as an important part of China's history and culture, plays an important role in economic and social life. In the context of China's reality, which emphasizes high-quality development, this study aims to explore the impact of the informal institution of religious atmosphere on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of firms. Through empirical research, this paper finds that: the stronger the religious atmosphere of a firm's location, the better its ESG performance; further, this paper examines the path of the influence of religious atmosphere on firms' ESG performance. The results show that religious atmosphere promotes the ESG performance of firms through two paths: suppressing managers' self-interested and short-sighted behaviors and creating an ethical environment. Meanwhile, the weaker the degree of marketization (formal system) in the region, the more obvious the role of religion (informal system) in promoting firms' ESG performance, which suggests that there is a certain substitution relationship between religious traditions and formal system. In addition, family business can further enhance the role of religion in promoting firms' ESG performance. Finally, this paper segments different religions and finds that Taoism's emphasis on man and nature makes it better than Buddhism in promoting ESG performance, especially in environmental performance. This study not only provides empirical evidence for the use of ESG at the micro level, but also provides empirical evidence for the high-quality development of firms in the context of Eastern religions in China.

Bending the Light

The shifting structure of religious life requires new research methodologies that can attend to the dynamic nature of faith and resource ongoing scholarship and religious practice. Rather than approaching research and resourcing as separate and iterative movements, a contextually-centered approach can engage and support religious scholarship and practice in dynamic religious climates. While existing methodologies have advanced research and practice in considerable ways, these developments now make possible an integrative approach that combines research, resourcing, and collaborative inquiry into a dynamic movement. This paper advances an argument through a theological fieldnote based on a year of collaborative research and resourcing completed by the Program for the Future Church (PFFC). Established in 2021, the PFFC is a research, resource, and relational hub that pilots solutions for emerging and pressing challenges before the Church. The methodology, “Bending the Light,” pursues collaborative action research by constituting three sites of inquiry: a Celebration, a Collaboratory, and a Contextual Research Hub. Nine practices guide individual and collective investigation(s): 1) identifying present gifts; 2) creating connections; 3) identifying commonalities; 4) clarifying presenting crises; 5) developing shared language; 6) elevating individual and collective imagination; 7) complexifying anchoring concepts; 8) exploring shared practice; and 9) piloting research and resources. Combining reflections from conveners and participants, this methodological structure enhances attention to the lived theologies that ground the life of faith and the forms of practice that can resource future research and Christian practice.

Efficacy of gender-affirming therapy for transgender people in Pakistan

Dear Editor, According to the 2017 census of Pakistan, the transgender population has been estimated to be around 10,000. In contrast transgender activists speculate that the number may be closer to 300,000.1 Regardless of the number, the controversy surrounding transgenders, and their healthcare, has risen to the forefront of our society in the past several years. This was further fueled by the Transgender Rights Act of 2018 in Pakistan, which promised access to gender-affirming healthcare. The importance of providing gender-affirming healthcare to transgender individuals is underscored by the potential positive impact on their mental health, as demonstrated by studies conducted in the US. These studies have shown improved mental health outcomes, such as decreased suicidality and psychological distress, for transgender people who are undergoing, or have experienced, certain procedures.2, 3 These procedures, in the US, involve psychological help, gender-affirming hormones, surgery, and puberty blockers.4 Despite the 2018 bill’s promise to deliver trans-centred healthcare, a thorough investigation of the current literature reveals that no studies regarding the efficacy of these treatments have been conducted on the transgender population of Pakistan. While the validity of US-centred studies isn’t denied, Pakistan’s social and religious climate may demonstrate differing effects on their mental health. The quality of healthcare is further questioned after the proposed changes to the Transgender Persons Rights Act of 2018. These amendments would replace the term “transgender” with “intersex”,5 excluding transgender people with unambiguous genitalia and drastically reducing their access to healthcare. As the social climate heats up, trans people risk further discrimination. Therefore, it’s essential that researches be conducted to observe and test the impact of the current healthcare on transgender people, as it would highlight any gaps in the medical understanding of gender dysphoria, offer constructive criticism to help improve the state of healthcare, reduce healthcare discrimination, and aid the passing of more inclusive laws. We hope that studies will be undertaken on this issue to eventually create a healthier, safer space for transgender population.

Studi Historis dan Analisis Arsitektur Masjid Jamik Silalas Sei Deli, Kecamatan Medan Barat

The integration of Islamic and cultural values, as well as local values in the Medan Barat Subdistrict, is marked by the emergence of new architectural representations in mosque design within the sacred realm of religious activities. This article examines the historical trajectory and architectural development of Jamik Silalas Sei Deli Mosque in the Medan Barat Subdistrict, encompassing its historical establishment, construction, and changes in the orientation of Islamic architectural styles over time. This study falls under the purview of Islamic architectural history and is a qualitative research endeavor employing historical research methods, including source collection, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography, with a specific focus on the Islamic architectural arts. The study reveals that the evolution of Islamic architecture at Jamik Silalas Sei Deli Mosque is influenced by the changing eras and local values in determining the mosque's development model. Furthermore, from a sociological perspective, the values embodied in this architectural art serve as a representation of the social and religious climate, which tends to be integrative within the community.

Religion, Religious Climate, and Students’ Sense of Belonging in a South African University

Abstract Informed by a social constructionist approach, this study examines the relationship between religion, institutional religious climate, and students’ sense of belonging in a university in South Africa. Data were gathered and analysed from a sample of 2026 students who completed a survey that included an open-ended section. The results revealed that students’ perceptions of institutional religious climate are directly associated with their sense of belonging, supportive campus environment, and cross-cultural interaction. Also, while the religious beliefs of students are strengthened by their interaction with colleagues and staff from diverse cultures, they also develop a sense of belonging when they freely practice their religious beliefs in an institution that promotes religious diversity. The study concludes that a positive institutional religious climate could enhance students’ religious experiences, encourage religious freedom, and create students’ sense of belonging.

Trust in God: The COVID‐19 Pandemic's Impact on Religiosity in China

AbstractEmerging research shows the COVID‐19 pandemic has made substantial changes to the religious climate of several nations. Surprisingly, China, the outbreak center of the pandemic, has been scarcely researched. Our study investigates how the COVID‐19 pandemic has evoked new religious disaster responses and provided psychological coping mechanisms during the pandemic. We also explore how the pandemic explains surprising rates of religiosity in China. Scholars have long proposed that religious resurgence in China has been a result of individuals seeking stability in turbulent times. We bridge parallel Literatures in these areas and treat the pandemic as a natural experiment for evaluating religious behavior over time as conditioned by heightened risk perception. Utilizing a difference‐in‐differences estimation strategy with panel data, our study reveals that the pandemic has led to a significant increase in religiosity in China, particularly in religious areas most affected by the pandemic. We propose that even in a highly regulative religious environment, with most of its population being religiously unaffiliated, religion is a significant resource for coping in China. We take an innovative approach to demonstrate this by utilizing online search data. Our research speaks to the sociology of religion, the social psychology of risk perception, and makes application to emerging research on the unfolding COVID‐19 pandemic.

Joseph II’s 1782 Edict of Toleration for the Jews of Lower Austria and its Economic and Secular Underpinnings and Effects

Joseph II’s 1782 Edict of Toleration is an important piece of legislation within Austrian and Jewish history. The Edict was a series of statements issued regarding the inclusion of Jewish citizens into larger towns, marking what was permitted, what was to change, and what was prohibited. Created by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, son of the notoriously anti-Jewish Empress Maria Theresia, the legislation was institutionalized in order to make Jewish people more useful economically to the state by granting them access to cities and towns, Christian schools and universities, and by allowing them to set up their own factories. It created secular subjects to achieve economic gains. The Edict can be analyzed for its economic underpinnings and effects, which can be further examined through a micro- and macroscopic lens, as well as viewing the role it had in promoting the toleration and assimilation of Jews. The Edict, despite its failure to achieve its steep economic goals or to fully assimilate Austria’s Jewish community, nonetheless is key to understanding the political, economic, and religious climate of Lower Austria at this time.

Dance as Cultural Practice vs. Religious Piety: Acehnese Dance in Banda Aceh and Yogyakarta

This article examines contrasting strategies that the practitioners of Acehnese dance in two Indonesian cities, Yogyakarta and Banda Aceh, sagely create to legitimize their participation in the arts in today's increasingly conservative religious climate in Indonesia. Islam in Yogyakarta has drifted away from a historically syncretic, localized form and toward a more conservative form. This shift has impacted Yogyakarta's Muslim dancers’ views on which kind of arts they deem appropriate to take part in. In particular, as they seek to maintain their religious identity and practice religious principles in order to be connected to a modern, globalized Islam, they choose to leave a local dance tradition for Acehnese dance, a tradition that originated in a province three thousand kilometers away. In Banda Aceh, the post-tsunami period (2004–present) sees religious leaders’ contestations toward the performing arts becoming part of the province's administrative system under sharia law, posing new challenges and risks.

The Impossible Reformation: Protestant Europe and the Greek Orthodox Church

Abstract This article identifies one of the great but unstudied paradoxes in the history of early modern global Christianity: that the stronger the desire for a uniform Christian way of life burned, the deeper the fractures between different Christian denominations began to grow. It explores this issue by examining the learned exchanges between the infamous Greek Orthodox Patriarch Cyril Lucaris (1572–1638) and members of the Dutch Reformed Church. These efforts have often been seen as an expression of Christian ecumenism or as evidence that the early modern Middle East had become yet another arena for Catholic–Protestant rivalry. But once motivations on both sides are placed in the distinctly local religious climate that fostered them neither of these explanatory paradigms suffices. On the contrary: a decentred approach to this material reveals how Protestant and Eastern Christian understandings of what reform meant and how it could be attained were completely distinct and irreconcilable. It is thus imperative to resist any simple application to Middle Eastern Christianity of categories rooted in European Christian traditions and, instead, to tease out how different Christian denominations defined reform differently. Only then can we make good on our commitment to approach early modern global Christianity as a pluriform and multi-centred phenomenon.

Young people’s choice and voice concerning sex and relationships: effects of the multicomponent Get Up Speak Out! Programme in Iganga, Uganda

BackgroundYoung people in Uganda face challenges in achieving their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), such as lack of information, limited access to services, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. To address this, their empowerment – including their ability to express themselves and make decisions, is a key strategy. This study assessed how young people’s voice and choice concerning sex and relationships changed over the period of 3 years of implementation of the Get Up Speak Out! programme.MethodsData were collected through a household survey with young people (15-24 years) and through focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and key informant interviews with youth and community stakeholders in 2017 for the baseline and 2020 for the end-line. Using the difference-in-difference technique and thematic analysis, changes in key outcomes were assessed over time between intervention and control area.ResultsThere were limited changes over time in the intervention area, which did not differ from changes in the control area. Young people were able to express themselves and expand their decision-making space on sex and relationships, in particular if they were older, male and in a relationship. Young women negotiated their agency, often by engaging in transactional sex. However, youth were still restricted in their self-expression and their choices as speaking about sexuality was taboo, particularly with adults. This was influenced by the political and religious climate around SRHR in Uganda, which emphasised abstinence as the best option for young people to prevent SRHR-related problems.ConclusionsYoung people’s SRHR remains a challenge in Uganda in the context of a conservative political and religious environment that reinforces social and gender norms around youth and young women’s sexuality. The limited effect of the programme on increasing young people’s voice and choice concerning relationships in Uganda can be understood in the context of a ban on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and the COVID-19 pandemic. These structural and emerging contextual factors enforce the taboo around youth sexuality and hinder their access to SRHR information and services. Multi-component and targeted programmes are needed to influence changes at the structural, community and individual level.

Authority and Instability: Investigating Jane Austen’s View of the Church and Clergy in Pride and Prejudice

The Church of England, the greatest Anglican establishment and the symbol of Great Britain's imperialism, has been the juncture of English history and literature throughout history. Although, after industrialization, the British society went toward a religious reformation in the Victorian era, some historians consider the early nineteenth century England as the 'Golden age' of England's ecclesiastical imperialism. Jane Austen, in her six published novels, has scrutinized the true essence of the Church of England from her specific glasses of sharpness. So, with reference to Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, this paper engages in questioning whether her works, as famous literary works of the nineteenth century which satirically depict the original social context of the time, influenced the social mind toward the Victorian reformation. In Pride and Prejudice, Miss Austen doubts the power and real position of the church and shows her disdain for religion through the foolish narrow-minded characterization of the story's clergyman: Mr. William Collins. The present study aims to illuminate the true essence of The Church of England during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century according to what Jane Austen has depicted in her novel Pride and Prejudice. Hence, this paper first probes into the religious climate of the pre-Victorian era, then it investigates Jane Austen's role, as one of the greatest writers of the age, in Victorian religious reformation, and lastly, the study aims to conclude how the British society led to the decline of religion and ecclesiasticism in the modern age.

Searching for meaning: religious transitions as correlates of life meaning and purpose in emerging adulthood

ABSTRACT Achieving a sense of life meaning has been proposed as an evolutionary adaptation that promotes the human need for self-actualisation. This study explores how various dimensions of religiosity are associated with life purpose during emerging adulthood, a stage of the life course where religious decline and the search for meaning and purpose intersect. Prior studies on this topic, however, have typically not accounted for across-time fluctuations in religiosity. Therefore, using two waves of data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) (2005-2008), we consider how changes in religious attendance and perceived closeness with God are associated with changes in life meaning and purpose. Results suggest that consistent or increasing attendance and closeness with God predict greater life purpose, while declines in attendance associate with lower purpose. We discuss possible mechanism that may underlie our findings within the current religious climate of the United States.

Do the issues of religious minority and coastal climate crisis increase the burden of chronic illness in Bangladesh?

BackgroundChronic illness with disability and its out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) remains a big financial challenge in Bangladesh. The purpose of this study was to explore how religious minority problem and coastal climate crisis with other common risk factors determined chronic illness with a disability and its financial burden in Bangladesh. Existing policy responses, especially, social safety net programs and their governance were analyzed for suggesting better policy options that avoid distress financing.MethodsBinary logistic and multiple linear regression models were respectively used to identify the factors of disability, and high OOPE based on Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016 data.ResultsWe found that disable people had relatively higher OOPE than their non-disabled counterparts and this OOPE further surges when the number of disabilities increases. In addition to the common factors, the novelty of our findings indicated that the religious minority problem as well as the coastal climate crisis have bearing on the disability burden in Bangladesh. The likelihood of having a chronic illness with a disability was 13.2% higher for the religious minorities compared to the majorities (Odds ratio (OR): 1.132, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.033–1.241) and it was 21.6% higher for the people who lived in the exposed coast than those who lived in the non-exposed area (OR: 1.216, 95% CI: 1.107–1.335). With disabilities, people from the exposed coast incurred higher OOPE than those from the non-exposed areas. Although receiving assistance from social safety net programs (SSNPs) seemed to reduce their high OOPE and financial distress such as selling assets and being indebted, the distribution was not equitably and efficiently managed to confirm the process of inclusion leakage-free. On average, those who enrolled from the minority group and the exposed coast paid the relatively higher bribes.ConclusionsTo reduce burden, the government should strengthen and specify the existing SSNPs more for disable people, especially from the minority group and the exposed coast, and ensure the selection process more inclusive and leakage-free.

New Edition of the Travel Notes of Erich Lassota von Steblau

The review analyzes the new edition of the travel notes of the Silesian nobleman Erich Lassota von Steblau (1550–1616). It was prepared by an international team of authors from Scandinavia and Germany led by Thomas Riis. Lassota’s travel notes are the most important source on the history of the 16th century and a number of European countries. Lassota traveled as a mercenary commander and diplomat to Spain, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine. Until now, only historians of these countries have been interested in his testimonies. The focus of researches was mainly on ethnographic and political aspects. Meanwhile, for the first time since 1866, the new edition has united the entire corpus of Lassota’s records known to us and enables to widen the scope of the discussion. How was the religious climate of the era reflected in his texts and to which extent? Were they written by a Catholic or a Protestant? Can we talk about the national or political preferences of the author? Finally, what was Lassota’s gentry worldview, and how did he construct his own estate identity? In addition, a nobleman from Silesia was keenly interested in military affairs, in particular, in Spanish combat tactics. His notes also demonstrate the level of book culture, the author’s acquaintance with the works of prominent contemporaries. All these aspects nowadays are noteworthy to European historians on a wide interregional material.

Cultural Capital and Volunteering: A Multilevel Study From China

In this article, we extend Wilson and Musick’s concept of cultural capital, which was defined as the culture of benevolence, to a multilevel concept and build a multilevel cultural capital theory about individual (nonmandatory) volunteering based on religious beliefs, political values, belief in social justice, and belief in social trust in the context of volunteering in China. Data from the 2012 Chinese General Social Survey, China’s national and comprehensive large-scale social survey project, are used to empirically investigate the influences of individual-level cultural capital (values of benevolence) and contextual-level cultural capital (cultural climate of benevolence) on individual volunteering. In terms of individual-level cultural capital, membership in the Chinese Communist Party (China’s ruling party), belief in social justice, and belief in social trust have significant positive relationships with individual volunteering. In terms of contextual-level cultural capital, the religious climate and justice climate in a province have significant positive effects on individual volunteering.

Staging Trauma: Bodies in Shadow

Staging Trauma: Bodies in Shadow

Family Contribution in Countering Radicalism through Actualizing Religious-Based Social Capital in Parepare

This study empirically examines the family as the basis of social capital education. Furthermore, generations need social capital to grow and develop as moderate, tolerant, and caring characters towards humanist environmental issues. The main and fundamental task of the family is to conduct educational function, which is inherently social and religious in preparing generations. Therefore, it is necessary to have the right effort or approach to actualizing social capital for effectiveness. This helps develop a religious climate and form a pattern of behavior for each family member. Religion is used as an instrument that facilitates the internalization of social capital values in children and shapes their personality with a humanist character. Therefore, families significantly counteract radicalism in social life.

Upaya Masyarakat Dalam Membentuk Lingkungan Bersih Dan Implikasinya Dalam Pelaksanaan Pendidikan Islam Anak Di Desa Manyarejo Kecamatan Manyar Kabupaten Gresik.

Maintaining cleanliness is an obligation in order to realize the benefits and prevent the occurrence of disrespect. The goal is for man to carry out his duties as a servant as well as the caliph of God on the earth well. This article will discuss about the efforts of the community to create a clean environment and its implications for the implementation of Islamic Education which is the result of research that has been conducted in manyarrejo village. The research method that researchers use in this study is a descriptive type of research with qualitative approach. Community efforts in forming a clean environment in manyarejo village by holding devotional work, not littering, reforestation. In addition, greening by utilizing narrow land, changing people's lifestyles and following waste banks. The religious climate in the environment in Islamic educational institutions can be realized through: Theexistence of learning methods by using the approach of religious values in everylearning, especially environmentally based religious values to childern can be tucked into verses related to the environment. As well as theexistence of examples of educators who have noble morals, especially have concern for the environment such as providing education to students to dispose of waste in its place

Targeted and Omitted: Institutional Role of Protecting Minoritized Religious Groups Against Hate Crimes

Using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and the Department of Education Government Accountability Office (DOE GAO), this study examines the prevalence of hate crimes directed at Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish students and explores whether hate crimes increased during the 2016 presidential election and Trump presidency. In this study we aggregate these groups as minoritized religious groups (MRG) in institutions of higher education (IHE). Conceptually grounded in the minoritized religious and spiritual campus climate framework (MRSCC), the findings indicate that offenses and incidents directed at MRG peaked from 2016–2018, and there were discrepancies in the reporting processes. Further research is needed to better understand how hate crimes directed at MRG are reported and its impact on policy and professional practice so that leaders in IHE are better equipped to address hate crimes.