Religious Orthodox Research Articles

A Religious Orthodox Women's Revolution: The Case of Kolech (1998-2005)

At the turn of the twenty-first century, educated feminist religious Jewish women who regard themselves as obligated to observe Halacha and to adhere to the framework of patriarchal institutions feel torn and frustrated. They want to continue to maintain uncompromising loyalty to their families, congregations, and communities, and at the same time make exhaustive efforts to modify the Jewish religious system from within and invest it with new, egalitarian content. This article describes the emergence of KolechReligious Women's Forum, an organization founded by Israeli religious feminist women in 1998. Kolech aims at producing new answers to these pressing dilemmas. The article discusses the possibility of combining feminist concepts with patriarchal traditions, analyzes Kolechs strategy and newly adopted proposals, and examines Israeli attitudes toward this organization.

The Prevalence of Common Cardiovascular Diseases among 17-Year-Old Israeli Conscripts

Background: There are only few reports on the prevalence of common cardiovascular disorders among adolescents. The previous studies focused on specific diseases, and screened relatively small samples. Objective: The aim of this study was to define the prevalence of different common cardiovascular disorders among 17-year-old Israeli conscripts. A comparison between the morbidity patterns of female and male adolescents was also performed. Design:All 17-years-old Israeli nationals are obliged by law to appear at the Israel Defense Forces Recruiting Office for medical examination except for orthodox religious and Arabic adolescents. Cardiology specialists evaluated and classified nominees with suspected cardiovascular disorders. Results: The most prevalent diagnoses were valvular heart disease (590/ 100,000), syncope (440/100,000), and mitral valve prolapse (340/100,000). The most prominent differences between female and male adolescents were noted in the prevalence of: congenital valvular heart disease, syncope, history of hypertension, supraventricular tachycardia with pre-excitation, myocarditis and pericarditis, and bradycardia and conduction disorders. Conclusions: The most prevalent cardiac disorders among 17-year-old Israelis were congenital valvular heart disease, syncope and mitral valve prolapse. Some significant differences were noted between the morbidity patterns among male and female adolescents. The higher prevalence of congenital valvular heart disease compared to non-valvular heart disease is surprising. The prevalence of hypertension among Israeli adolescents in the last 15 years remained stable.

The prevalence of obesity and associated morbidity among 17-year-old Israeli conscripts

There has been a significant increase in the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents over the last few decades. Obesity is associated with significant psychosocial and physical morbidity. The aim of this study was to define the prevalence of obesity and associated morbidity, including type 2 diabetes and hypertension, among 17-year-old adolescents. A comparison between the morbidity patterns of females and males was also performed. All 17-year-old Israeli nationals are obliged by law to present at the Israel Defence Forces recruiting office for a medical examination, with the exception of orthodox religious and Arabic adolescents. Height and weight are measured and classified, and a trained specialist evaluates those with suspected associated diseases. The level of education is also recorded. Our survey included 76,732 adolescents, 32,402(42.2%) females and 44,330(57.8%) males. The prevalence of obesity and morbid obesity among 17-year-old Israeli conscripts was 4.1% in males and 3.3% in females. The prevalence of borderline overweight was 12.4% in males and 11.4% in females. The prevalence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes was significantly higher among conscripts with BMI>30 kg/m2 in both genders. There was also a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes in males compared with females(P<0.001, 0.015). A significantly higher prevalence of conscripts without high-school education(<10 years of education) was found among females with BMI>30 kg/m2. There was no significant difference among the male conscripts. This study found a relatively low prevalence of obesity among 17-year-old Israeli conscripts, but an alarmingly high prevalence of borderline overweight. Obesity was correlated with a higher prevalence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and a lower level of education. There was a significant difference between genders in the prevalence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and this should be further investigated. These data call for the creation of new education programmes on the prevention of overweight among children and adolescents.

“Otiosorum holmium receptacle”: Orthodox Religious Houses in Ingra, 1615–521

“Otiosorum holmium receptacle”: Orthodox Religious Houses in Ingra, 1615–521

Greek Orthodox Religious Knowledge

Greek Orthodox Religious Knowledge

Proceduralism and the Orthodox Backlash against Students' Rights

Liberal proceduralism and religious orthodoxy have long battled across a range of controversies in U. S. education policy. An important setting for these controversies has been the promulgation by courts in recent decades of a robust notion of students' rights. A victory for liberal proceduralism, students' rights has in turn contributed greatly to a religious orthodox backlash against public schooling manifest along a number of fronts, such as support for vouchers, home schooling, and other withdrawal initiatives. This article examines the ideological sources of this dynamic and whether liberalism in general is able to meet the resulting challenge to its core ideals.

Orthodox Religious Beliefs and Anti-Semitism: A Replication of Glock and Stark in the Netherlands

The Glock and Stark theoretical framework on Christian beliefs and anti-Semitism implies that orthodox religious beliefs perpetuate secular anti-Semitism via particularism and religious anti-Semitism. Several critics have argued that the major weakness of this study is its failure to examine explanatory variables other than religious beliefs. This paper addresses these issues using data from a 1990-91 national Dutch survey. Although the results tend to support the assumption that nonreligious variables are far more important to the explanation of anti-Semitism and, too, that they attenuate the impact of Christian orthodoxy, the effects of the latter are by no means spurious. The most important conclusion of this paper is therefore that there still is, in Holland at least, a religious factor at work, albeit a modest one, generating anti-Semitic beliefs. Numerous studies have documented that people who consider themselves to be Christians are more likely to be anti-Semitic than those who are not religious. Despite the large amount of data that has been collected on this issue, however, the problem of whether and, if so, how and to what extent Christian religion per se engenders less compassion for Jews has never really been solved. Ambiguity remains because most studies have not been theory-guided, and consequently their findings were purely ad hoc. Further, in studying religion and its role in supporting anti-Semitism, one must always consider the possibility that nonreligious variables may create spurious patterns of relationships. Relatively little research has yet been done, however, to determine their confounding influences in order to support or challenge the assumption - held by many but made explicit by a few - that the Christian churches are conducive to anti-Jewish sentiments in their members. This paper examines the role orthodox Christian beliefs play in religious and secular anti-Semitism in the Netherlands, using data from a 1990-91 national Dutch survey. The study was triggered by the recent revival of hostility towards Jews across much of western Europe. Many of those who try to understand this upsurge emphasize anti-Semitic prejudice deeply entrenched within European Christian culture and history as the core of the problem. We therefore decided to examine whether vestiges of this legacy remain in Holland to

Organ transplantation and tissue donation: a theological look.

The author's position is that the work of organ donation and transplantation and tissue donation over the past forty-five years is in need of theological reflection. Some profound events and processes are involved in transplantation as the human family engages in a quest for wholeness. Different religious traditions-Jewish, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant-view the use of organs for transplantation differently. General attribution theory is adapted as a perspective on organ transplantation.

Men, Women, and Boys: Love and Sex in the Works of SA ‘DI

Comprising some 900 pages in the Furughi edition, the works of Sa'di include a variety of genres. The Kulliyyat (Complete Works) opens with six “Risalahs” (Homilies), containing orthodox religious and moral teachings. The homilies precede the worldly and anecdotal “Gulistan” (Rose Garden) and the more profound and spiritual “Bustan” (Orchard)--Sa'di's best known works. Next are the “Qasa'id” (Elegies, or Odes) in Persian and Arabic, the “Marasi” (Thronodies), and the “Mulamma'at” (Bilingual poems in Persian and Arabic). The “Tarji'at” (Strophe Poems), the “Tayyibat” (Sweet Poems), the “Badayi’” (Cunning Odes), the “Khavatim” (Gems), and “Ghazaliyyat-i qadim” (Old Sonnets)--altogether 300 pages in the Kulliyyat--consist mostly of love poems, covering the whole gamut of this emotion from the secular love of women and boys to the mystical love whose object is union with the divine. Miscellaneous shorter pieces appear at the end of the Kulliyyat under the headings “Sahibiyyah,” “Masnaviyyat” (Couplets), “Qata'at” (Short Poems), “Ruba'iyyat” (Quatrains), and “Mufradat” (One-liners).