Religious Grounds Research Articles

Endocervical metastasis of pancreatic cancer: A rare case report of long-term survival

Most uterine cervix adenocarcinomas are primary tumors. Here, we report a case of pancreatic cancer that metastasized to the uterine cervix. The patient was a 77-year-old Jehovah's Witness whose pancreatic cancer had been diagnosed 10years previously. As she had refused blood transfusion on religious grounds, the tumor only underwent segmental excision, followed by radiofrequency wave therapy and chemotherapy. During a routine health examination 6years after her pancreatic tumor resection, a tumor in the left lower lobe of her lung was found, and then removed. Three years after the lung surgery, her serum CA19-9 increased. A detailed examination found tumors in the ascending colon and uterine cervix. She underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy after a right hemicolectomy, endocervical biopsy, and endocervical cytology. At present, about 10years after her initial diagnosis, she is alive with no recurrence or metastatic findings. Morphologically, well-differentiated pancreatic adenocarcinoma is similar to endocervical type adenocarcinoma and adenocarcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix. Therefore, careful immunohistochemical examination and clear understanding of the patient's clinical information are needed in diagnosing adenocarcinoma in the uterine cervix.

Hospitality and religious diversity, or, when is home not a home?

Recent debates about hospitality and religious diversity frequently hinge on unspoken notions of home. This is especially true in the Canadian province of Quebec, where citizens have worked to establish a secular state after a history of domination by the Catholic Church. In the last two decades, as religious minorities have grown, controversy has arisen about requests for accommodations made on religious grounds. Here I examine responses to those requests and ask what notions of home underpin them. One is grounded in history: its adherents contend that immigrants are guests and should conform to the norms of their new home. It expands the geography of home by linking secularism to collective identity. A second is grounded in political-legal thought: its adherents contend citizens are at home even if their views differ from the majority’s. It recognizes that long-time residents and newcomers mutually influence each other and, over time, people’s identities change.

Long-Term Protection against Diphtheria in the Netherlands after 50 Years of Vaccination: Results from a Seroepidemiological Study.

Background and AimsTo evaluate the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) a population-based cross-sectional seroepidemiological study was performed in the Netherlands. We assessed diphtheria antitoxin levels in the general Dutch population and in low vaccination coverage (LVC) areas where a relatively high proportion of orthodox Protestants live who decline vaccination based on religious grounds. Results were compared with a nationwide seroepidemiological study performed 11 years earlier.MethodsIn 2006/2007 a national serum bank was established. Blood samples were tested for diphtheria antitoxin IgG concentrations using a multiplex immunoassay for 6383 participants from the national sample (NS) and 1518 participants from LVC municipalities. A cut-off above 0.01 international units per ml (IU/ml) was used as minimum protective level.ResultsIn the NS 91% of the population had antibody levels above 0.01 IU/ml compared to 88% in the 1995/1996 serosurvey (p<0.05). On average, 82% (vs. 78% in the 1995/1996 serosurvey, p<0.05) of individuals from the NS born before introduction of diphtheria vaccination in the NIP and 46% (vs. 37% in the 1995/1996 serosurvey, p = 0.11) of orthodox Protestants living in LVC areas had antibody levels above 0.01 IU/ml. Linear regression analysis among fully immunized individuals (six vaccinations) without evidence of revaccination indicated a continuous decline in antibodies in both serosurveys, but geometric mean antibodies remained well above 0.01 IU/ml in all age groups.ConclusionsThe NIP provides long-term protection against diphtheria, although antibody levels decline after vaccination. As a result of natural waning immunity, a substantial proportion of individuals born before introduction of diphtheria vaccination in the NIP lack adequate levels of diphtheria antibodies. Susceptibility due to lack of vaccination is highest among strictly orthodox Protestants. The potential risk of spread of diphtheria within the geographically clustered orthodox Protestant community after introduction in the Netherlands has not disappeared, despite national long-term high vaccination coverage.

Judging Religious Sincerity

Religion in law is notoriously hard to define. And yet because religion is legally protected and enshrined in national constitutions and international law as part of the liberal commitment to freedom of religion, courts in various jurisdictions are left with the essential task of determining what religion is, for the purpose of protecting it. One way courts have addressed the uneasy relationship between religion and secular law is to abstain from any involvement in the resolution of religious questions. Thus, when confronted with accommodation claims from otherwise generally applicable laws or regulations on religious grounds, courts have largely focused instead on the sincerity of the believer as the primary factor of whether to grant the claim. In this article, I look at three judicial settings: the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the European Court of Human Rights and consider their respective approaches to sincerity in accommodation claims. I argue that we must go beyond this uncritical embrace of the sincerity requirement, and consider the problems and costs associated with it.

Failure and Nerve in the Academic Study of Religion: Essays in Honor of Donald Wiebe. Edited by William Arnal, Willi Braun, and Russell T. McCutcheon. Sheffield: Equinox, 2012. Pp. ix+243.

Book Reviews One has to admire the industry, enthusiasm, and creativity with which Chen tackles the antediluvian puzzle. The author exhaustively compiles the sources, which are treated with philological acumen; he puts forward many interesting literary interpretations; and his main point about the rise of the Flood in the OB period is well established. As for some of the other developmental conclusions, the numerous methodological diffi- culties that Chen lists in his introduction and the fact that many pieces of the traditions are likely missing place question marks over several of his suggestions. Still, those looking to work with Mesopotamian Flood traditions would be wise to consult this monograph and the author’s dissertation. A LAN L ENZI University of the Pacific Failure and Nerve in the Academic Study of Religion: Essays in Honor of Donald Wiebe. Edited by W ILLIAM A RNAL , W ILLI B RAUN , and R USSEL T. M C C UTCHEON . Shef- field: Equinox, 2012. Pp. ixþ243. Failure and Nerve in the Academic Study of Religion honors the influence of Uni- versity of Toronto’s Donald Wiebe and his 1978 essay of the same name. The result is a collection of fifteen essays, subdivided into sections, “General Failures” and “Spe- cial Failures.” Some of the authors, Luther Martin, Russell McCutcheon, Darlene Juschka, or Johannes Wolfart, will be known to most readers, but the balance may not be. This review focuses on the implications of the curious inaptness of the core notion of “failure of nerve” but first attends to some salient aspects of this collection. Of the five essays classified as “General Failures,” fans of Russell McCutcheon will find his critique of cognitive and evolutionary psychological approaches to religion an intriguing development of his continuing battle for a historicized conception of reli- gion and “religion.” But, now, instead of attacking “tender-minded” neotheologians, like Mircea Eliade, for hiding a neotheological agenda behind the methodological assertion of a sui generis “religion,” McCutcheon wields his critical ax against “tough- minded” cognitivist science of religion (CogSci). CogSci, like Eliade, deploys a dis- credited sui generis (and thus theological) notion of religion (91). Although these new- est pretenders to the throne of “Prince Charming of Theories” promise nothing less than a “tough” regime of “scientific” studies of religion, McCutcheon thinks they are not nearly tough enough. CogSci, in effect, picks right up where E. B. Tylor’s essen- tialist, animist theory of religion left off in the mid-nineteenth century: religion is the worship of superhuman beings. But the CogSci neo-Tyloreans “fail” to historicize reli- gion or “religion,” much less even adequately conceptualize it, as E´mile Durkheim argued almost exactly a century ago (The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, bk. 1, trans. J. W. Swain [New York, 1915]). Honors for the best essay in the “General” section go to Johannes C. Wolfart’s spar- kling historical engagement with the all-important early modern theological trend “confessionalism.” One of the targets of Wiebe’s (and my) attack on theologizing is what we call “confessional” theologizing. By this we mean sectarian attempts to place particular religious grounding under arguments about religion in the university. The

Psychedelics and cognitive liberty: Reimagining drug policy through the prism of human rights

This paper reimagines drug policy – specifically psychedelic drug policy – through the prism of human rights. Challenges to the incumbent prohibitionist paradigm that have been brought from this perspective to date – namely by calling for exemptions from criminalisation on therapeutic or religious grounds – are considered, before the assertion is made that there is a need to go beyond such reified constructs, calling for an end to psychedelic drug prohibitions on the basis of the more fundamental right to cognitive liberty. This central concept is explicated, asserted as being a crucial component of freedom of thought, as enshrined within Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It is argued that the right to cognitive liberty is routinely breached by the existence of the system of drug prohibition in the United Kingdom (UK), as encoded within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA). On this basis, it is proposed that Article 9 could be wielded to challenge the prohibitive system in the courts. This legal argument is supported by a parallel and entwined argument grounded in the political philosophy of classical liberalism: namely, that the state should only deploy the criminal law where an individual's actions demonstrably run a high risk of causing harm to others.Beyond the courts, it is recommended that this liberal, rights-based approach also inform psychedelic drug policy activism, moving past the current predominant focus on harm reduction, towards a prioritization of benefit maximization. How this might translate in to a different regulatory model for psychedelic drugs, a third way, distinct from the traditional criminal and medical systems of control, is tentatively considered. However, given the dominant political climate in the UK – with its move away from rights and towards a more authoritarian drug policy – the possibility that it is only through underground movements that cognitive liberty will be assured in the foreseeable future is contemplated.

How empowered are women to choose contraception?

Background: Current contraception rate is approximately 40% (2011) in India. This leaves more than 60% of the eligible couple not using any contraception. It might be owing to socioeconomic and cultural background. Targeting this group to find the reasons behind the refusal of contraception would help us to tailor further delivery of family planning services to work toward achieving the target replacement fertility rate of 2.1. Objective: To assess the uptake of contraception and the influence of social, economic, and cultural factors on the contraceptive practices of our patients. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective survey done at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Cama & Albless Hospital, Mumbai, during the months of July/August 2015. Women (those with perinatal mortality or morbidity and maternal morbidity were excluded) who delivered at our hospital were asked about their preference of contraception. The social and economic background of these women was then recorded, as were their responses to contraceptive counseling. The reasons for those women not willing to undergo/undertake any form of contraception were also recorded and analyzed in our study. Result: The contraceptive uptake rate was 77%, while 23% women refused any form of contraception. Among those who accepted, tubal ligation was the most popular permanent method, and combined contraceptive pills and barrier methods ranked next in the temporary methods. Although 95% of women in both groups were unemployed, decision-making regarding contraception use was significantly different in the two groups. Although only 20% of women were allowed to solely decide on the choice of contraception in both groups, the accepted group showed a higher chance of joint decision-making with the husband and less interference from any other member in the family. Two common reasons for refusal were religious grounds and did not feel the necessity of contraception. Of 11 cases of refusal based on religious grounds, 10 were Muslims. Conclusion: Women in our study sample who refused contraception did not seem to be empowered with education, employment, awareness, or cultural independence. Identifying these factors should help us achieve the tailor further delivery of family planning services to work toward achieving the target replacement fertility rate of 2.1.

Anti-cult legislation in the United States of America

The United States of America are one of the rare states (and according to available data, the first one), which introduced specialised anti-cult regulations. This article is dedicated to the analysis of the general perspective of the origins and reasons for the introduction of such regulations in the USA, to their presentation and the analysis of their content, as well as identification of their key specific and general characteristics. First, the author analyses the influences and reasons which led to the introduction of mentioned legislation. The author points to the direct link between the phenomenon of Satanist moral panic and the anti-cult movement, on one side, and anti-cult legislation, on the other. Through an observation of legislation passed in federal states of Idaho, California and Illinois, he identifies their specific features, as well as general, common characteristics. It was ascertained that Idaho's legislation, which was passed first, served as a model for other adopted legal acts. Further on, it was concluded that the main negative characteristics of USAs anti-cult legislation are: the absence or lack of foundation for their adoption; the controversies in their practical application; the absence of expected social results; their arguable compatibility with legally guaranteed religious rights and freedoms; the creation of a perspective for legalisation of discrimination on religious grounds; and the possibility and justifiability of application of general legislation which does not have a specialised, i.e. anti-cult orientation.

Behind the Mask of the Secular

Jürgen Habermas, who popularized the concept of the “post-secular,” advocates that all citizens should be free to decide whether they want to use religious language in the public sphere. However, he adds the proviso that citizens who do so must accept that religious utterances ought to be translated into generally accessible language. Habermas presents this concept of “translation”—or the institutional translation proviso—as a way of bringing religious citizens into the public sphere. In his opinion, the public sphere and/or public institutions should not be open to any movement that tries to legitimize the nation on religious grounds. This paper shows that we can find logic and rhetoric that correspond to Habermas’s proviso in courtroom arguments over religion in Japan after World War II. By surveying these disputes, this paper examines whether or not the intended aims of the institutional translation proviso are achieved.

Facility-based constraints to exchange transfusions for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in resource-limited settings.

Several clinical guidelines for the management of infants with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia recommend immediate exchange transfusion (ET) when the risk or presence of acute bilirubin encephalopathy is established in order to prevent chronic bilirubin encephalopathy or kernicterus. However, the literature is sparse concerning the interval between the time the decision for ET is made and the actual initiation of ET, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with significant resource constraints but high rates of ET. This paper explores the various stages and potential delays during this interval in complying with the requirement for immediate ET for the affected infants, based on the available evidence from LMICs. The vital role of intensive phototherapy, efficient laboratory and logistical support, and clinical expertise for ET are highlighted. The challenges in securing informed parental consent, especially on religious grounds, and meeting the financial burden of this emergency procedure to facilitate timely ET are examined. Secondary delays arising from post-treatment bilirubin rebound with intensive phototherapy or ET are also discussed. These potential delays can compromise the effectiveness of ET and should provide additional impetus to curtail avoidable ET in LMICs.

Cultura política y economía moral en la rebelión de Huánuco, Panataguas y Huamalíes (1812)

After two hundred years of the uprising in Huanuco territories there are still recurrent historiographical versions that include the rebellion in an alleged cycle of pre-emancipatory movements. Faced with these opinions, this article analyzes the political culture of those rebels to verify that in their culture still remained beliefs and attitudes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which explain their attempt to update the social pact with the monarchy. In that sense, applying the model of E.P. Thompson, this work proposes that the movement of 1812 was an expression of moral economy, that is, when a state attempts a modernizing change, some sectors of the society seek to defend traditional customs and rights often based on paternalistic, religious and moral grounds.

ЮДЕЙСЬКА ПРОЗОПОПЕЯ В ОПОЗИЦІЙНІЙ ІДЕОЛОГІЇ 1970-Х РОКІВ (А. САХАРОВ, О. СОЛЖЕНІЦИН)

In the article the religious and metaphysical ground of A.Solzhenitsyn`s and A.Sakharov`s ideological of 1970s is considered. Judaic form of verbal creation has conditioned progressivist nature of these main ideologies. Judaic prosopopeia is considered as ultimate sentence which creates visible due to the only fact of its utterance, brings into complete confluence of cogitable, vocable and desired. For Solzhenitsyn the pragmatic human transformation is possible through the literature as the stimulating verbal action imputed to every reactive consciousness. Sakharov expresses this stimulation in the stage-by-stage convergence and technological progress conception. The article emphasizes that the model of enlightenment mind at the beginning of 21st century as in 18th century has become a model of argumentative dialogue. This dialogue gives opportunity for everyone to dispute any statement about outward and inward nature, to make an assumption about true premises of thought, perception and behavior and check it in order to reproduce the cancellation of the conditions of individual and collective existence.

Заманауи әлем және жаһандық қауіпсіздік

One of the main ways of resolving conflicts on religious and ethnic grounds in the world today – the cultivation and promotion of human spiritual and moral values and ideals. Modern problems and conflicts of migrants and refugees in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the result of geopolitical and geo-economic interests of certain countries. In connection with the situation one of the best ways to solve modern problems can be real equality and parity cooperation all sides.

Judging Religious Sincerity

Religion in law is notoriously hard to define. And yet because religion is legally protected and enshrined in national constitutions and international law as part of the liberal commitment to freedom of religion, courts in various jurisdictions are left with the essential task of determining what religion is for the purpose of protecting it. One way courts have addressed the uneasy relationship between religion and secular law is to abstain from any involvement in the resolution of religious questions. Thus when confronted with accommodation claims from otherwise generally applicable laws or regulations on religious grounds, courts have largely focused instead on the sincerity of the believer as the primary factor of whether to grant the claim. In this paper, I look at three judicial settings: the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Canada and the European Court of Human Rights and consider their respective approaches to sincerity in accommodation claims. I argue that we must go beyond this uncritical embrace of the sincerity requirement, and consider the problems and costs associated with it.

British Proslavery Arguments and the Bible, 1823–1833

When Britain's Anti-Slavery Society inaugurated its campaign for colonial slave emancipation in 1823, the British West Indian interest orchestrated a counter-campaign in defence of colonial slavery. Prevailing scholarly opinion holds that British proslavery agents did not use religious or scriptural arguments in their fight against emancipation. This article overturns that assumption by demonstrating that the Bible and Christianity were in fact central to British proslavery discourse: the West Indians and their agents mined both Old and New Testaments, reassembling exegeses on divine punishment, Hebrew servitude, Pauline teaching and social hierarchies into a proslavery iteration of Christianity which, they argued, removed the imperative to emancipate slaves on religious grounds.

The Role of Public Reason in Obergefell v. Hodges

Public reason, as developed by John Rawls, is the idea that the “moral or political rules that regulate our common life be, in some sense, justifiable or acceptable to all those persons over whom the rules purport to have authority.” This Essay explores the role that the idea of public reason plays in the opinions of Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court's 2015 landmark decision recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage (SSM). Most notably: Roberts accuses Kennedy of violating public reason by grounding the right to SSM on a sectarian creed, namely, the comprehensive liberalism espoused by John Stuart Mill. Kennedy implicitly reproves citizens who support SSM bans on religious grounds, perhaps gesturing towards a civic duty or etiquette to refrain from supporting laws based solely on one’s creed. Roberts in turn criticizes Kennedy for unfairly applying the demands of public reason to ordinary citizens. In these ways, Roberts and Kennedy act less like exemplars of public reason, the role that Rawls envisions for a supreme court, and more like whistleblowers of others’ violations and misapplications of the idea.

Brahmanic Codes and Sanskrit Vocabulary in the Political Language of Islamic Preaching in Contemporary India

This article addresses the permeation of Brahmanic codes and Sanskrit vocabulary into popular Islamic preaching (da’wah), addressing the affinity of Indian Muslims to the contemporary Indian nation-state. Although the discourse of nationalism is customarily associated with secularization, and modern India is constitutionally defined as a secular democracy, the ideology of Hindutva (Hindu Nationhood) formed a unique discourse of nationalism that became dominant with the powerful rise of the Hindu Right as of the 1980s. Stated succinctly, Hindutva ideology establishes Indian nationalism on religious Hindu grounds, from which non-Hindus are structurally excluded. Nevertheless, Indian Muslim communities are actively seeking doctrinal paths to politically participate in the Indian polity and social space. This article addresses the contemporary field of popular Islamic preaching as a powerful arena for the rewriting of Islamic narratives and providing a re-signification of the Islamic presence in India via the presumably inaccessible Brahmanic route.

Sexuality, Third-Party Harms, and the “Live-and-Let-Live” Approach to Religious Exemptions

For several years now, a group of prominent religious liberty scholars in the United States have been defending what they call a “live-and-let-live” approach to accommodating religious dissent in the era of marriage equality. The proposed approach calls on the state to avoid taking sides on contested moral issues when individuals of faith claim that their religious beliefs require them to refrain from facilitating marriages by same-sex couples. The objective, it is argued, is to adopt policies that allow both sides to live according to their values. This article critiques the “live-and-let-live” solution to religious exemptions from LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) equality measures by focusing on questions of harms. It argues that the proposed approach calls for a weighing of harms that is largely unprecedented in the history of American antidiscrimination law and problematic in its own right. The article also explains that the approach is premised on questionable assumptions and predictions about the absence of any meaningful harm to LGBT individuals when business owners provide goods and services to the general public, but refuse to do so for same-sex couples on religious grounds.

Patients' refusal of recommended treatment.

When patients require information to decide whether to accept recommended treatments, a question in both law and ethics is whether the same information is adequate whether they consent or refuse, or whether refusal requires more or repeated information. Refusals of recommended treatment can carry increased risks for patients' well-being and so require more emphatic disclosure without imposing pressure. A related question is whether guardians of dependents who would decline recommended treatment for themselves--for instance on religious grounds--can similarly decline it for their dependents. When pregnant women, children, and adolescents are able to give consent for recommended treatment, the question arises whether they are equally competent to refuse it and prevent their decisions being overridden by guardians or courts. Consenting to and refusing medical treatments recommended in one's own or dependents' best interests might not be the same sorts of decisions and could require different levels of disclosure and capacity.

Synowie Hagar. Wiedza bizantyńczyków o armii arabskiej w świetle traktatów wojskowych z IX i X wieku

Arab military expansion was a real challenge to the Byzantine Empire. The defeats sustained in wars with the Arabs, whom the Byzantines called sometimes Hagarenes to refer to Biblical Hagar, forced new method of war waging. That knowledge was taken predominantly directly from battlefield. The Arab menace increased during the reign of Leo VI the Wise (886-912). Albeit not a soldier himself, he took an attempt to reorganize the Byzantine army and navy. Although it did not bring an immediate effect, the Empire gradually be­gan to initiative. The situation changed for better during the reign of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (911-959) and Romanos I Lekapenos (919-959). A peace with the Bulgarians allowed to collect substantial forces on the eastern border of the empire. The weakening of the Abbasids gave way to the Hamdanid dynasty from northern Iraq and Syria to grow to the most serious Byzantine adversary in mid- 10th century, particularly during the reign of Sayf al-Dawla (945-967), who re­corded some remarkable victories over the Byzantine forces. In 955 Nikephoros II Phokas took over the post of domesticos of the East. Along with his brother Leo, Strategos of Cappadocia and John Tzimiskes, they were able to change the course of war, winning some battles in northern Syria. The struggle with the Muslims resulted in a number of military treatises, the most known of which were attributed to emperors Leo VI and Nikephoros II Pho­kas. Although it is not certain if they were written by them themselves, they were certainly created on their behalf. Among several treatises of Leo VI, the Tactica seems to be the most interest­ing. The work divided in 20 chapters was meant as a handbook for military com­manders. It discussed the organization of infantry, cavalry and navy, and their use in war, as well as that of sieges, ambushes etc. Much attention was paid to Arab logistics. Remarkably little, if any attention was paid to religious grounds as a rea­son for expansion. Not too surprisingly, much of the work was dedicated to the methods of efficient struggle against Muslims; the author correctly identified both strong and week sides of the Byzantine army. Some points clearly suggest a desire to take over certain elements of organization and war art from the adversary. Also the treatise by Nikephoros Phokas represents equally good value as Tactica. In this work we find a number of details regarding both military and non-military customs of the Arabs, which is not surprising, as the author was a military commander, experienced in battles against the Muslims. For this reason we should respect even more the military knowledge of Leo’s Tactica, if we remember that the author was not a professional soldier. Interestingly enough, with the notable exception of Nikephoros Phokas, the authors of other treatises added little to the information contained in Leo’s work. The reason for that was explicitly laid out by an anonymous author of still another treatise, Βιβλίον τακτικόν, who wrote that the chiefs knew so much about the raids on the lands of the Hagarenes that there was no use to discuss them in detail.