Religious Engagement Research Articles

Sharing and Caring


 Muslim women dedicate themselves to Islamic educational activities as an important aspect of their religious engagement, and pious Muslim Danish women are no exception. One important element of this engagement appears to be the sharing of the knowledge gained with younger generations. In this paper, I scrutinize this aspect of contemporary Danish Muslim piety, asking how and why Danish Muslim women ‘pass on’ knowledge to children. I show that this transmission should be seen as a way of caring for the children as part of the Muslim community, and that this way of caring appears especially important in a setting where Islam is practiced as a minority religion. At the same time, the sharing of knowledge should be perceived as a virtuous practice, given that it is an aspect of the women’s own efforts to live virtuous lives.

From Lords of Corruption to Leeches of Theo-mafia: The Suffering of the People in Somalia

This paper presents comprehensive strategies for combating corruption and countering terrorism in the context of Somalia's aspiration for peace, democracy, and prosperity. Acknowledging the interconnectedness of these challenges, the strategies offer a multi-dimensional approach tailored to Somalia's unique circumstances. 
 The anti-corruption strategy focuses on strengthening institutions, promoting transparency, and instigating a cultural shift away from corrupt practices. It also underscores responsible lending and the pursuit of total debt relief to enable economically productive projects.
 The counter-terrorism strategy adopts a holistic approach, combining military actions with economic incentives, ideological reorientation, and rehabilitation. It emphasizes community-centered collaborations, religious engagement, and reintegration programs for former combatants. These strategies are designed to guide policymakers, academia, and stakeholders in shaping Somalia's trajectory towards a more just, secure, and prosperous future.

Interfaith dialogue in India: Its need and challenges

India has been the land of diverse cultures and religions over a long period of time. The adherents to different religions have been coexisting peacefully and sharing both the glories and the downfalls together. Though there is a long and well-established tradition of religious engagement and debate in India, the process of religious dialogue, particularly Hindu-Muslim dialogue, has yet to find a cohesive expression and a stable foundation on which to stand. Who isn’t aware about the riots, violence and killings on the name of religion in the history of India? The hatred and the disbelief against Muslims have dealt a huge blow for the unity and diversity of India. However, there is still hope for religious dialogue in India, as the country has been a pluralist culture for centuries and the people have lived through religious tolerance and coexistence. The only solution to this would be interfaith dialogue which is mandatory if not dynamic for everyone to have the understanding of different religions or belief systems. In this article, I would start with a brief introduction about interfaith dialogue, its history in India and then discuss in detail the need, importance and contemporary challenges of interfaith dialogue in India. This would help in understanding the dialogue between Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs, as well as to eliminate prejudices and misunderstandings regarding each other's faiths. It would also assist in the achievement of common goals such as the establishment of justice and world peace, the protection of human rights, and the promotion of moral values.

Parental Influence and Intergenerational Transmission of Religious Belief, Attitudes, and Practices: Recent Evidence from the United States

A traditionally salient topic of empirical investigation in the sociology of religion, this paper seeks to offer a recent investigation into the intergenerational transmission of religion and the parental forms of religious engagement that predict adult engagement with religion. The study of this paper explores the intergenerational transmission of religion, focusing on the parental forms of religious identity and engagement that influence religious identity, beliefs, and practices in adulthood. By analyzing the 2018 GSS dataset in the United States with multiple regression analyses, I found strong parental and childhood influences on adult religiosity, religious service attendance, and belief in God. Indeed, this engagement often mirrors parental engagement for these variables. However, while paternal religious identity often predicts these religious variables, I found that the religious identity and engagement of parents generally do not predict religious identity in adulthood. Ultimately, while these results generally show strong predictive mechanisms of intergenerational transmission, they also illustrate that these relationships are variably dependent on the form of parental and adult religious engagement, and which parent participates or is associated with that engagement.

Securing Moral Authority: A Cross-National Analysis of Protestant Engagement in the Implementation of Morality Policies in Western Europe

Churches have a hard time defending their moral values in the political sphere of an ever more secular and liberal Western Europe. A largely neglected means of navigating this crisis is through the Church’s role as a charitable provider during the implementation of morality policies. This paper examines this type of church involvement from a cross-national and cross-sectoral perspective. We describe the activities of Protestant churches in four morality policy areas in three European countries: Germany, England, and Denmark. The variation in religious engagement observed in these areas and countries appear to be driven by the churches’ room to maneuver and their policy congruence with state goals, whereas governance capacities are secondary. Thus, the provision of social services can still serve as a means by which Protestant churches can exert moral authority, especially if these social services are related to moral issues.

Religiosity and educational attainment among the Roma: Shedding an oppositional identity?

The Roma have faced poverty, discrimination and persecution since emigrating from India centuries ago. Persistent disparities between Roma and non-Roma throughout Europe have prompted many integration efforts. Using data from 12 Eastern European countries, we construct religiosity measures for the Roma and their non-Roma neighbors and use LASSO to explore predictors of religiosity in Muslim and Christian communities. We then estimate the effect of religiosity on educational attainment and expectations using lifetime parental exposure to communist-era religious restrictions as an instrument. Parental religiosity tends to increase educational attainment and expectations, but with differences by historical Ottoman Empire influence. A placebo test among non-Roma households reveals no similar religiosity effects on educational outcomes. These results are consistent with a model of religious engagement softening oppositional identities in favor of mainstream education norms and expectations. The role religious institutions may play in stagnant Roma integration efforts merits further attention.

Does God Comfort You When You Are Sad? Religious Diversity in Children’s Attribution of Positive and Negative Traits to God

Children actively construct their understanding of God in early childhood, an understanding that incorporates affect-laden mental representations often referred to as God images. To explore religious variations in children’s association of positive and negative traits to God, 254 preschool-aged children from Protestant Christian, Catholic, Muslim, and Non-Affiliated religious backgrounds indicated their certainty that God scares them, punishes them, is angry at them, loves them, comforts them, and helps people. Parents indicated the frequency of children’s religious engagement. Older children were more certain than younger children that God did not scare or punish them and that God loved and comforted them, and helped people. Moreover, religious affiliation differences emerged in children’s attribution of both positively and negatively valenced properties to God, and more frequent religious engagement was related to a higher degree of certainty that God loves, comforts, helps, and becomes angry, but was unrelated to the certainty that God scares or punishes. The findings suggest that religious engagement plays an important role in children’s developing God image.

Stress Coping in Adolescents Who Have Disharmonious Families in Sidoarjo

This qualitative phenomenological study investigates stress coping mechanisms among adolescents from disharmonious families, addressing their responses to challenging and unforeseen family situations. Through semi-structured interviews with two subjects in Sidoarjo, the study identifies distinct coping aspects: problem-focused strategies encompassing planning, competitive activity suppression, behavioral release, coping restrictions, instrumental support utilization, and emotional-focused strategies involving emotional support utilization, emotional release focus, mental liberation, positive reinterpretation and growth, self-blame, acceptance, rejection, humor, substance use, and religious turn. The research reveals that emotional intelligence, stress levels, and religious maturity serve as influential factors shaping stress coping behaviors. These findings offer valuable insights into the complex dynamics of adolescents navigating difficulties within dysfunctional family environments, emphasizing the role of psychological factors and religious engagement in their coping mechanisms. Highlights: Diverse Coping Strategies: This study unveils a range of coping strategies employed by adolescents in dysfunctional families, including problem-focused and emotional-focused approaches. Influential Factors: The research highlights the significant impact of emotional intelligence, stress levels, and religious maturity on adolescents' ability to cope with stress within disharmonious family settings. Qualitative Insight: Using a phenomenological approach, the study offers qualitative insights into the nuanced experiences and coping mechanisms of adolescents facing challenging situations in dysfunctional family environments. Keywords: Adolescent stress coping, Dysfunctional families, Emotional intelligence, Phenomenological approach, Religious maturity

Women Empowerment Reinvented: Recognizing the Role of Religiosity in Gender Equality

Religious practices world-over play a significant role in shaping societies, cultures, and people’s beliefs and attitudes towards life. In Nepal, religion has been an integral part of the social fabric with women playing an active role in various religious practices. This paper mainly reflects the self-experience of ‘situated reality’ of Far-West Nepal by the author with the supportive literature from relevant sources. The discussion shows that women’s assertive presence at ‘religious space’ of their family and community has a positive impact on their social empowerment, enabling them to access resources, participate in decision making, and challenge gender-stereotypes. It has improved their self-confidence, enhanced their social status, and given them a sense of identity. Moreover, it has provided them a platform to activate their agency, build social capital, challenge patriarchal norms, and promote their rights. This paper concludes suggesting that women’s religious engagements can be a powerful means of achieving gender equality and their social empowerment.

RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG STUDENTS OF HAWASSA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCE, ETHIOPIA 2022

BACKGROUND: Any sexual activity that increases the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and unwanted pregnancies is considered risky sexual behavior (RSB). Although it is assumed that university students are fully aware of HIV risks and preventive measures, evidence suggests that they are more likely to engage in RSB. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of risky sexual behavior and associated factors among students of Hawassa University, college of medicine and health science, Ethiopia METHOD: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July 18 to August 30, 2022. A total of 334 students were selected first by stratified based on their academic year and then selected using a simple random sampling method. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Epi-Data version 3.1 was used for data entry and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used for data analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with RSB. RESULT: The prevalence of RSB among students at Hawassa University College of medicine and health science was 109(34.4%). Drinking alcohol [AOR: 8.15; 95% CI (2.68, 11.61)], watching pornography videos [AOR: 3.32; 95% CI (1.53, 6.96)], history of childhood sexual abuse [AOR: 2.34; 95% CI (1.78, 6.37)] were found to be the independent predictors of RSB. While religious engagement [AOR: 0.62; 95% CI (0.29, 0.83)] was a protective factor for RSB. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: More than one-third of students were engaged in RSB. Alcohol consumption, watching pornography videos, history of childhood sexual abuse, and religious engagement were predicting factors for RSB. Comprehensive behavioral intervention programs are needed on the identified factors; to reduce alcohol consumption, and to improve the habit of media consumption among university students. In addition, sex education programs should rethink their approach to preventing RSB, because so far the pornography influence is rarely considered.

Kultum Pemuda Tersesat: Mengonter Radikalisme di Indonesia Lewat Pelibatan Pemuda Kekinian

Indonesia’s socio-religious context hindered by youth radicalism issue, which later formulated as the use of illegitimate actions as a mean to express their restlessness. Contra-Radicalism then existed as a preventive discourse with Positive Youth Engagement as one of its’ concrete actions. This research elaborates Kultum Pemuda Tersesat (KPT), an alternative religious youth engagement with popular comedy formats as an approach. By using qualitative content analysis method, this research had three key findings which are [1] KPT based its’ engagement with “Islam Cinta” which has a liberal-progressive tendency to counter radicalism discourse with its’ Islamic-conservative tendency. [2] KPT adjusted itself with the trend by utilizing social media to create an emancipate engagement spaces for youth. [3] KPT offered comedy as an alternative approach in religious engagement for youth. Though potential, KPT’s effectiveness for countering radicalism in Indonesia require a further study.

The association between loneliness and life satisfaction: examining spirituality, religiosity, and religious participation as moderators

BackgroundFuture cohort of older adults may have to rely on non-family sources and forms of support, religion being one of them. This may be especially so, considering the recent longitudinal evidence that individuals are inclined to become more religious with increasing age. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to assess the association between loneliness and life satisfaction among older adults in India, and the extent to which the association between loneliness and life satisfaction is moderated by spirituality, religiosity, and religious participation.MethodsData come from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, with a sample of 31,464 individuals aged 60 years and above. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to examine the independent association of loneliness and life satisfaction. Further, an interaction analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which the association between perceived loneliness and life satisfaction is moderated by spirituality, religiosity and religious participation among older Indians.ResultsThe prevalence of low life satisfaction (LLS) was 30.84%; a total of 37.25% of participants reported feeling lonely, 12.54% reported a lack of spiritual experience, 21.24% reported not being religious, and 19.31% reported not participating in religious activities. Older adults who felt lonely had higher odds of LLS relative to peers who were not lonely. Further, the adverse impact of loneliness on LLS among older Indians is moderated by their spirituality, religiosity, and religious participation. Specifically, the adverse impact of loneliness on LLS was less negatively pronounced among older adults who were spiritual, religious, and engaged in religious activities.ConclusionsThe study found an independent association between loneliness and lower life satisfaction among older adults in India. It also revealed that religiosity, spirituality and religious participation moderate the association between loneliness and lower life satisfaction. These findings, which underscore the health promoting benefits of religiosity and religious engagement, may be used to build on the interaction between religious and faith-based groups and public health professionals.

Religious Engagements and Balancing Africa Politics

Politics and religion—as love of humans; as politics take care of human actions and religion take care of human spirit—so the direct result of politics is found on human body whereas religion is on human spirit, is a necessitated thing to put much attention on in the society so we have needable humanity. Man, the custodian of religion and politics should only be an unfortunate to the society and not the agents of his structures. Activists, Journalists and Columnists are synonymous to religious leaders due to their nature of activism—this has equally disclosed their close ranks of political relevance to the religious leaders. Additionally, ways to evaluate, and possible suggestions into African political terrain to enable them enjoy political climate is given a touch.

Barriers and Motivations for the Metabolic Control of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Assisted in a Tertiary Service in a City in Brazil

AIMS: To evaluate the main barriers and motivations for metabolic control in patients with Diabetes Mellitus.
 
 METHODS: 101 patients assisted at the Endocrinology and Metabology service with clinical and laboratory diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes were invited to participate in the research and answer a questionnaire developed by the authors, consisting of 65 questions, to assess barriers and treatment motivations.
 
 RESULTS: There was a predominance of females (75.2%), low education level (57.4%), income between 1.5-3.0 minimum wages (60.4%), Catholic affiliation (65.3%) and use of oral antidiabetic associated with insulin (43.6%). Patients demonstrated knowledge about the disease and the importance of maintaining good metabolic control. Most reported family support and acceptance in respect to the fact of suffering from diabetes, as well as stress related to eventual symptoms. The main motivating factors found were family relationships and personal religiosity.
 
 CONCLUSION: Ignorance and misunderstanding of some aspects of the disease, lack of support from the health system and non-acceptance of the disease are factors that interfere in the control. On the other hand, family relationships and religious engagement were considered highly motivating factors, encouranging patients to search for metabolic control and quality of life.

Accounting for the High Enrollment of African Americans on Winship Cancer Institute's Myeloma Clinical Trials.

Thirty-four percent of Multiple Myeloma (MM) clinical trial participants at Winship Cancer Institute (Winship) are African American (AA); however, AAs make up only 4.5 percent of myeloma clinical trial participants in the United States. Given our high enrollment, we aimed to measure AAs' trust in providers and identify if clinical trial enrollment barriers exist. A member of the ethics research team surveyed AA patients who had consented to a MM clinical trial at Winship. Three validated surveys were used: Trust in Medical Research (TMR); Human Connection (THC) which measures how much patients feel they are heard and valued by their physicians; and the Duke Intrinsic Religiosity Scale (DUREL) which measures strength of religious engagement and belief. The survey also included questions about the impact of side effects, distance to the trial center and trial related costs on the decision to participate in clinical trial. Ninety-two percent (61/67) of patients approached consented. The mean TMR score and the mean THC score were significantly higher (P-value < 0.001) than the results obtained in key national surveys (TMR 14.9 compared to 11.65; THC 57.7 compared to 54.6). These two surveys were significantly correlated, meaning trust and human connection increase or decrease in tandem. The 3 religiosity subscale results showed high religiosity (3.84, 4.36, and 4.35 with 5 being the highest score). The mean scores of the importance of the investigational agent's side effects, trial costs, and distance to trial center on the decision to enroll in a clinical trial were also high (8.5, 7.8, and 6.5, respectively, with 10 being the most important). In our study population, high trust and human connection overcame other trial participation barriers: strong religious beliefs and concerns about side effects, costs, and travel distance. We present a roadmap to guide investigators to increase human connection, and hopefully trust.

Digital Feminism in Indonesia: The Counter-Narratives to Gender Inequality on Instagram

In the last few years, many people have used cyber religion to identify new forms of religious communities and rituals. It acts as the source of religious engagement that is different, new, creative, and alienated from 'conventional' religions. This article aims to reveal how Mubadalah.id as an Instagram account plays a role in providing beautification of da'wa (Islamic preaching conveyed by Islamic scholars) in countering unjust interpretations of Islamic texts toward women. In particular, it is a representation of Islamic media and women’s rights that strengthens the capacity and authority of women ulama. They are carrying on perspectives that affirm the values ​​of reciprocity, equality, cooperation, and justice in marital, familial, and social relations. Mubadalah.id is a social media campaign affiliated with the Fahmina Foundation, a notable Muslim organization that promotes gender equality in Indonesia. This article is qualitative research. Using a virtual ethnography method, this article aims to understand the strategy used by this account to counter gender inequality narratives. This article argues that Instagram can be optimized to build a moderate gender construction in countering the mainstreaming of patriarchal ideas on social media by supplying alternative interpretations served in beautified content. In addition, this account shows the representation of women's ulama in Indonesian public spaces to negotiate their identity in a Muslim-majority country.

On the Threshold of Mystery: Tomáš Halík on Cultural Witness in an Age of Uncertainty and Change

Tomáš Halík (born 1 June 1948) has established himself as one of the most thoughtful commentators on public cultural witness in a time of change and uncertainty, especially in central Europe. As an academic at Charles University (founded 1348) and a Catholic priest in the “Academic Parish of Prague”, Halík played an important role during and following the collapse of Marxism in Czechoslovakia in the “Velvet Revolution” of November—December 1989, even being mentioned as a possible successor to Czech President Václav Havel, while at the same time offering reflections on religious engagement with a complex and changing secular culture. This article engages some leading themes of Halík’s approach to cultural witness, focusing especially on cultural quests for false certainties, the need for churches to create liminal spaces enabling seekers to grasp what lies at the heart of the Christian faith, the dangers of romanticizing a lost past of faith which encourages disengagement with the present, and the need to understand faith in terms of a constant movement of thought rather than a fixed system of ideas. The article considers how these ideas can find wider application in engaging the challenges of cultural witness, particularly in a European context, and what can be learned from them.

Patungo sa pagiging maka-Diyos [Towards godliness]: how Filipino men use cultural forms of epistemology in the search for truth

ABSTRACT This paper highlights the lived religion of Filipino males and examines what constitutes authority for them and how they acquire and shape knowledge about masculinity and religiosity. With more than ten million Filipinos living in diaspora, their voice is at the forefront of dialogues around the world, particularly in religious revitalisation in the Global North. Twenty-three male counterparts from a community in Metro Manila, with an average age of 55 and coming from a variety of religious backgrounds, were consulted to form an ethnography of the particular. My role as a non-Filipino pastor who lives in the community gives me unique access to the lives of these men. Together, we discover that Filipino men have a complex epistemology including consulting the Bible, negotiating with family, asking advice from experts, following the teachings of various religious congregations, and reflecting on matters and drawing their conclusions. These findings help in shaping religious engagement with men around the world because they look at religion not from within the rigidity of a single theological system but from a complex blending of religious beliefs and experiences.

Climate Politics and the Power of Religion, edited by EVAN BERRY

Is religion an overlooked resource in the quest to overcome international gridlock on climate change? Or is its power exaggerated, doomed to fizzle once lofty ideals meet real life? These two questions once served as the intellectual centers of gravity in discussions of religions and climate change. Evan Berry’s edited volume Climate Politics and the Power of Religion marks a welcome new phase of scholarship, one that shifts our attention from questions about the potential of religion writ large to questions about specific religions, at specific times, scales, and places. A companion volume to Understanding Climate Change Through Religious Lifeworlds (edited by David Haberman, 2021), Climate Politics and the Power of Religion aims to address three gaps in the existing literature: the paucity of literature on religions outside the richer countries of the global north (especially Christianity); a secular bias in the social scientific literature on climate change; and inadequate attention to politics in the religion and environment literature (3). To accomplish this, the volume assembles scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, with a heavy emphasis on anthropology—a natural outcome of the project’s stated aim of emphasizing ethnographic scholarship (vii). The chapters of Part I analyze the role of religious actors and ideas in national-level climate policy discussions, via case studies in the Philippines, Trinidad, and India. The chapters in Part II articulate theoretical concerns about the treatment of religion in climate research. Part III investigates “novel and emerging modes of religious engagement with climate politics” (7) in India, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Crosscutting these divisions are three broad questions, the answers to which are assessed in the final chapter: how are religious actors shaping national and transnational climate disputes, how are religious norms shaping the understanding and experience of climate change on the ground, and finally, how is climate change changing religions.

Religious Engagement and Successful Aging among Korean Older Adults

The rate of aging is growing faster than ever. The global society must prepare adequate measures to support this imminent change. Following this social trend, research has been conducted on the quality of life of the aging population in a different fields, including gerontology. Since the idea of successful aging was conceptualised, research on the quality of life of older adults has been actively conducted. The current study aims to contribute to the aging research field by adding a factor (religious engagement) to Rowe and Kahn’s model. We utilized the longitudinal design to examine the longstanding effect of demographic, physical, social, psychological, and religious factors on life satisfaction among older Korean adults (N = 4013). Hierarchical regression analyses were employed to understand how these factors influence older adults’ life satisfaction in a nationally representative sample. Study findings indicated (a) after controlling for demographic background, all subdimensions of physical, social, psychological, and religious factors exerted a significant effect on later life satisfaction; (b) the final model showed that highly educated, regular exercise, frequent meeting with friends and family, less depressed, feeling less lonely, and higher religious engagement ultimately affected the subsequent life satisfaction of Korean older adults; (c) among different variables, psychological health and religious engagement were found to be crucial factors. The findings confirm the explanatory power of successful aging theory while providing empirical evidence that religious engagement may be an additional factor contributing to enhancing the life satisfaction of older adults.