Religious Society Research Articles

Sociological Analysis of Love Styles and Its Relation with Religiosity among Tehran’s Citizens

Background and Aim: romantic relationships have a long history of human life because benefiting from a healthy life combined with love and intimacy is one of the basic needs of every social person. In the context of a religious society, this need takes on forms that are appropriate to religious and Shariah laws. On the other hand, having a religious approach and complying with its requirements can determine the love style of people. This research aimed to explain sociologically love styles and their relationship with religiosity among Tehrani citizens. Methods: The method of this research is descriptive-correlation, the sample size includes 300 people who were selected from the north, center, east, west and south parts of Tehran by multi-stage cluster method. The data collection tool included a questionnaire made by the researcher. Data analysis using descriptive and inferential tests was done. The analysis of mediating variables relationships between independent and main dependent variables is done using Spss software. In addition, structural equation analysis with the help of Amos software has been used to analyse the structural equations governing the relationships between variables. Results: The research findings showed that the research model has a good fit and the degree of religiosity of people is effective on their love making style. Conclusion: The results related to the fit indices of the model of the relationship between the level of religiosity and the love style of people show that this model has a good fit with the data.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE UNION OF THE CHURCHES OF THE EVANGELICAL AUGSBURG AND HELVETIC CONFESSIONS IN INTER-WAR GALICIA

The article covers the activities of the Union of the Churches of the Evangelical Augsburg and Helvetic Confessions in Inter-war Galicia in the 20s–30s of the 20th century, aimed at satisfying the cultural and educational needs of German parishioners. It shows, that in the interwar years, the Polish state pursued such a national-educational and religious policy towards the German minority of the region, the result of which was supposed to be the denationalization and assimilation of the German population, given that Protestant pastors made significant efforts both to preserve the national separateness of the Germans of the region and to support continuous spiritual connection with the German culture. It confirms that education and culture specifically served as the unifying factors that protected the German colonists of Galicia from assimilation processes and strengthened their connection with the population of Germany. Likewise, it has been established that the Protestant clergy focused their activities on the religious upbringing of children and youth of German nationality, the development of private German-language primary and secondary schools, youth religious societies, and charitable organizations, which became the stronghold of German identity in interwar Galicia. The article reveals that primary private German-language educational institutions, which were attended by about 59.1 % of all German students in the region, operated with the help of the union. Those included two gymnasiums in Lviv and Stanislaviv, as well as the German National University. The author of the article asserts that the pastors’ active participation in the development of private national schooling was partly a response to the obstacles that the Polish authorities placed on the way to the development of German-language educational institutions. It was observed that through the organization of private German-language schools, the pastors tried to raise the level of national and religious consciousness of the devotees to some extent. The author suggests that through active pastoral and educational activities of the union’s clergy, the parishioners were closely connected with the German national culture, which contributed to the preservation of their ethnic identity. Keywords Protestantism, religious communities, German population, Galicia, the Polish state, educational institutions.

ISMAIL MUNDU TO-PANRITA AS A SCHOLAR AND MUFTI OF THE KUBU KINGDOM IN WEST KALIMANTAN

This research aimed to reveal the role of the local scholars in the spread of Islam in Borneo. The only famous cleric in Borneo is Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari from South Kalimantan. Each region in Kalimantan has its scholars, the local cleric of West Kalimantan who will be discussed in this paper is Ismail Mundu to-panrita (a scholar, religious leader, and knowledgeable person, who has worked for the benefit of the community), as a cleric and mufti of the Kubu Kingdom. The research method used in this study was the historical method by taking the following steps, namely: heuristics, criticism, auffassung, and desterliung. The results of the study found that Ismail Mundu as a scholar had practiced his knowledge in educating the community and creating a religious and peaceful society. He was appointed to be the Mufti of the Kubu Kingdom due to his success in eradicating ignorance in the community. After the Kubu Kingdom ended and merged with the Republic of Indonesia, Ismail Mundu was elected to be a judge of the Kubu Court. Ismail Mundu as mufti gave fatwas and explanations to the public regarding religious issues, which can be seen in his various works, including interpretations of the holy book Al-Quran in Bugis translation, collections of Isra' mi'raj stories, collections of sermons, collections of wirid, Remembrance of Tauhidiyah, Mukhtasar al-Mannan 'ala al-'Aqidat al-Rahman, Book of Mukhtasar Aqaid, Faidah Istighfar Rajab, Schedule of Al-Nikah, Majmu' al-Mirats fi hukmi al-Faraid. The classification of Ismail Mundu's works includes interpretation, monotheism, tasawuf, fiqh, and history.

Zakir Naik’s Techniques in Comparative Theological Discourse: Some Reflections

Zakir Naik is one of the scholars in Comparative Religion. Providing quotations with exact references from his instant memory, Naik makes his audience astonished and spellbound. In adopting a descriptive methodology, this research has attempted to explore the secrets behind Zakir Naik’s effort in daʿwah and his techniques for preparing daʿwah materials, memorizing and delivering them to his audience. An interview has been taken to examine them accordingly. Some of the contents of this research have been collected from the interview, and the rest of the materials were studied from unpublished research done by Zakir Naik, especially daʿwah materials related to International Daʿwah Training Program in 2016. Finally, the study has attempted to offer a set of guidelines that would help create successors of Zakir Naik that may contribute to constructing a tolerant religious pluralist society.

Dialogue and Self-Confrontation: A Study of Ahn Byung-Mu’s Minjung Theology of Religions

In the 1970s and 80s, Korean Minjung theology and theology of religions(Inculturation theology) were in a tense relationship due to differences in their theological priorities. However, there was also a complementary relationship between the two theological movements in the Korean situation where the theological domination of the Western church and the political oppression of the military dictatorship were inseparably combined. Especially, Minjung theology, which included the minjung religious traditions of Korea as a theological paradigm, attempted a comparison and dialogue between religions from the beginning. Ahn Byung-mu, one of the founders of Minjung theology, was born and raised in a Confucian culture, and while studying abroad in Germany, he received a doctorate degree with a dissertation that compared the ren of Confucius with agape of Jesus. Also, he was interested in Buddhism and often wrote articles comparing Buddhism with Christianity. Throughout his theological journey, Ahn tried to overcome the subject-object dualism and personified understanding of God in Western theology through theological dialogue with Easter thought. More importantly, in his later years, Ahn applied the Eastern qi philosophy to understand the Holy Spirit. Though Ahn did not systematically theorize a theology of religions, he freely utilized the ideas of other faiths in constructing his theology in general and Minjung theology in particular. In addition, Ahn’s interreligious dialogue was conducted not only externally in his relationship with the religious other but also internally within his faith and theology. Therefore, in this article, I would like to explore the possibility of a Minjung theology of religions which is necessary for today’s religious pluralistic society by examining Ahn’s open, existential, and liberative understandings of other faiths.

STRATEGIES FOR RELIGIOUS CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN INDONESIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE JA’FARIYAH SHI’A MINORITY IN TERNATE

This study aims to describe and analyse the relationship between religious groups, societies, and governments, as well as strategies for managing religious conflict, with a case study of the Ja'fariyah Shi'a minority group in Moya, Ternate. The Shi'a community led by Nawawi Husni, according to the Jema'ah Ahlul Bait Indonesia (IJABI), is considered to have different religious teachings and practices and is judged to be inconsistent with the teachings of the Shi'a in general. In addition to having a layered complexity, the existence of this community is also considered misguided, so it is often the target of the intolerance of other religious groups, even by the local government. Through a qualitative approach using a sociological perspective, the results of this study revealed that the silent (non-reactive) attitude of the Ja'fariyah Shi'a group in responding to various rejections and misconceptions about its group is not passive. Instead, they choose to do "resistance" creatively by using the media to counter negative opinions against them. The choice of this "resistance" model is not separate from the role and position of Husni Nawawi in attracting the government's interests. Consider that the pattern of hard-power conflict approaches must change to the smart-power transformation model.

Expansion of Hindutva: Violation of Minorities Rights under Modi Government

The study will explore the influence of Hindutva ideology on Muslims of India about the perspective of human rights, that how the political system of India is impacted through this ideology.Violation of minority rights is usual thing currently, Human Rights which are granted under the constitution of India and they are actually fundamental rights those are inalienable and indivisible. Being a secular state discrimination of rights on religious bases and inaccessibility of fundamental rights in a largest democratic state is discussed. This research explained the history of various communal riots done by Hindu extremist and contemporary incidents of violence supported by current ruling party BJP. Basic purpose of promotion of this ideology is to make hegemony of Hindus in am religious pluralistic society where many religions other them Hinduism exists.

Ethical dilemmas facing female teachers in the Arab education system in Israel

Arab society in Israel is a minority in the process of change. Teachers are at the heart of these processes as agents of progress, education, and integration, while belonging at the same time to a traditional, religious, and patriarchal society that seeks to preserve its identity. The purpose of this study was to examine the ethical dilemmas that Arab teachers in Israel face in teaching students in Arab schools and to understand what considerations and values guide them in making ethical decisions and how they act on them. We interviewed 15 teachers who teach in Arab schools. The findings of the study show that four categories related to ethical dilemmas characterize the work of teachers: an ethics of fairness versus an ethics of care, the neoliberal concept of ethics versus a professional ethics, a cultural ethics versus a professional ethics, and a professional ethics versus an ethics of care. Teachers adopted five key strategies to address these dilemmas: equal treatment, customized teaching, compromise and appeasement, extra effort on the part of the teacher, and collaboration. This research contributes to the growing literature on ethics and education and adds a unique perspective that addresses the ethical dilemmas of teachers in traditional and conservative societies. The findings of the study suggest that the professional ethics of Arab teachers, who in Israel belong to an ethnic minority, should be strengthened.

MOBILISING MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS AMID THE PANDEMIC IN INDONESIA

Collective action to protect individuals from all forms of threatening causes, including the Covid-19 pandemic, is urgently needed. The Covid-19 pandemic urged religious practices and traditions to adapt to a situation where a series of health protocols must be observed. In order to prevent the spread, World Health Organisation (WHO) issued strict health protocol rules. Some of these rules seem to be contradicted to traditions and religious practices. This article tries to investigate the ways religious societies react and respond to the health crisis caused by Covid-19. In this respect, this paper strives to answer the questions of how Indonesian Muslims respond to the pandemic of Covid-19, how religion contributes to the prevention of transmission and infection, and overcomes the social problems impacted by the pandemic, and to analyze obstacles faced by Indonesian Muslims to enhance collective awareness to the danger of the Covid-19 pandemic. This article argues that civil or non-governmental religious leaders and groups, in general, play an important role to prevent and overcome the pandemic and after because of their independency to make decisions and awareness to the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic. The involvement of religious leaders who have authority at the grassroots level strengthens the legitimacy of the obligation to comply with health protocols and has succeeded in reducing the rate of transmission and death and increasing healing. Religious authority owned by clergy at lower levels has also encouraged increased participation in social solidarity which is demanded instead to depart from diversity and not similarities, among others due to Covid-19.

Kozadan kelebeğe: Bir bildungsroman olarak Wyndham'ın teokratik distopyası

The Chrysalids (1955), previously titled Re-Birth in the U.S. edition, is set in a post-apocalyptic fictional country called Labrador and narrates the story of a small agricultural community striving to live for thousands of years after the world was devastated by a massive nuclear disaster. It is regarded as one of Wyndham’s science fiction masterpieces together with other novels written after 1940s. However, The Chrysalids has generally been regarded as a post-apocalyptic novel focusing on a speculative future where a new generation with telepathic abilities emerge. The severe criticism of a theocratic dystopia in the book has been neglected by most of the critics. The current paper aims to present the way religious dystopia is established in The Chrysalids by elaborating on how Wyndham uses narratives of Christian theology as a context in constructing the dystopian religious society in the novel. It further discusses how individuality is oppressed by religious authority in the hands of religious devices and presents the bildungsroman perspective of the story by depicting the spiritual metamorphosis David, the protagonist, undergoes in parallel with what the title of the novel allegorically signifies. In this regard, the study tries to figure out how Wyndham’s dystopian narrative include the characteristics of bildungsroman tradition.

How has Globalisation Contributed to the Development of the Arab Countries Concept of Human Rights?

"Human rights emanate from a European, Judeo-Christian, and/or Enlightenment heritage (typically labelled Western) and cannot be enjoyed by other cultures that don’t emulate the conditions and values of "Western" societies." (Shaheed and Richter, 201). According to this perception, the term "human rights" is seen to be fundamentally a set of Western values. This study seeks to question this assertion by investigating the origins of rights in both secular and religious societies. It is proposed to examine if human rights are truly a product of the Judeo-Christian Enlightenment that should be enforced onto those countries who do not, on the face, appear to share such human values. While universality and globalisation may be justified and beneficial to international trade and economic growth, their suitability for what can be seen as a colonialism of ideas and values is at the very least questionable (Mikander, 2016). This paper does not propose a judgement on the value of source, be it human or divine, but simply suggests that entry to the global political, economic and trading markets imposes an obligation on Islamic states to adopt United Nations standards. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how globalisation has affected the spread of Western values and to what extent it can be argued that this is a new form of neo-Western colonialism carried out through trade, wealth, and the promise of a brighter economic future for developing countries.

Религиозно-философские общества Москвы и Санкт-Петербурга: сравнительная характеристика и история взаимоотношений

Статья посвящена сравнительной характеристике и истории взаимоотношений двух религиозно-философских обществ, действовавших в России начала ХХ в. Своим возникновением Московское и Санкт-Петербургское религиозно-философские общества обязаны популярности Религиозно-философских собраний, прекративших свою работу в 1903 г. Оформившееся организационно первым Московское общество стало образцом для формирования объединения мыслителей в столице Российской империи. Первоначально среди членов-учредителей обоих обществ встречались одни и те же люди. Однако со временем развитие мысли начинает способствовать обособлению обществ друг от друга. Если Московское общество развивалось в контексте идей «христианской политики», то Петербургское — оказалось под влиянием системы Мережковских. Тем не менее, лидеры обоих объединений чувствовали необходимость в объединении или, по крайней мере, во взаимообщении, поэтому на протяжении предреволюционного десятилетия между представителями московского и петербургского объединений шли переговоры о возможности совместной работы. Революционные события прервали деятельность религиозно-философских обществ. The article is devoted to the comparative characteristics and history of the relationship between two religious and philosophical societies that operated in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Moscow and St. Petersburg religious and Philosophical societies owe their origin to the popularity of Religious and Philosophical meetings, which ceased their work in 1903. The Moscow Society, which was formed organizationally first, became a model for the formation of an association of thinkers in the capital of the Russian Empire. Initially, the same people met among the founding members of both societies. However, over time, the development of thought begins to contribute to the separation of societies from each other. If Moscow society developed in the context of the ideas of «Christian politics», then St. Petersburg society was influenced by the Merezhkovsky system. Nevertheless, the leaders of both associations felt the need for unification or, at least, mutual communication, therefore, during the pre-revolutionary decade, negotiations were held between representatives of the Moscow and St. Petersburg associations on the possibility of joint work. Revolutionary events interrupted the activities of religious and philosophical societies.

The Mental Health Benefits of Religion and Spirituality in People Living With Bipolar Disorder in Malaysia

Introduction: The taxonomy of spirituality is fraught with complexities concerning mental health studies, due to contextual variables such as religion. While many studies on spirituality have reported positive mental health outcomes, little is known concerning spirituality’s effects on bipolar disorder. This study aims to provide a contextual understanding of spirituality from the religious worldview of people with bipolar disorder. Method: This is a qualitative study involving semi-structured and one-to-one in-depth interviews. 25 participants diagnosed with bipolar disorder were recruited from two psychiatric outpatient clinics. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim by the researcher. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the data and Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is used to explore the findings in relation to participants’ subjective account of their religious form of spirituality. Results: The theme ‘Maintaining a positive sense of self’ mainly comprises the religious element in the participants’ everyday life: faith in God, religious practices and a sense of spiritual harmony (i.e. peacefulness and connectedness). The role of religion and social agency was inclusive in promoting spirituality among the study sample Conclusion: Through Bourdieu’s lens of religious habitus, this study provides the understanding of religious-spirituality and a healthy mental state in such a way that it implies a relationship with God through religious beliefs and practices. This study invites others to pay attention to the dynamic roles of religious agency and society in promoting religious faith and practices among individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Resolusi Konflik Agama Berdasarkan Budaya Penginyongan Di Kabupaten Banyumas

Conflict resolution is a process of analysis and problem solving that considers individual and group needs such as identity and recognition of the institutional changes needed to meet the needs of the world. The application of local wisdom values ​​as a cultural approach in resolving conflicts is the best and most effective approach without resorting to repressive measures. Researchers argue that religious harmony is an obligation for regions with heterogeneous populations with various backgrounds. One form of settlement in dealing with and resolving religious conflicts is through a cultural approach that grows and develops in society as part of local wisdom. 
 The research used in this research is field research, in the process of this research the researcher interviewed the management of the Religious Communication Forum and interfaith leaders with Banyumas culture and the Banyumas Ministry of Religion office. Banyumas people with a Penginyongan cultural background can be directed to become a means of resolving religious conflicts. Harmonization of the culture of the Banyumas people which is interpreted through the life of the Banyumas indigenous people. The uniqueness of Banyumas culture which is built with the concept of the culture of penginyongan and the character of cablaka has a good impact on solving a problem. Cablaka is a way for the people of Banyumas to convey something without being direct, which means conveying what is. Cablaka culture plays a role in building a communication network in the Banyumas community. Potential conflicts that arise both in religious life and society in general can be anticipated with cultural communication.
 Keywords: Conflict Resolution, Religious Conflict, Penginyongan Culture

The Invention of Professional Quakerism: Academia, Gender, and Social Class in the Shaping of Quaker Leadership in the Twentieth-Century United States

This article describes the emergence of ‘professional Quakers’, or Friends who emerged as leaders of Quaker institutions based on secular credentials. In the early twentieth century, many American Quaker institutions, especially Quaker colleges, large yearly meetings, and Quaker organisations like the American Friends Service Committee, began hiring full-time staff and assembling boards that resembled the structures of corporations and other secular institutions. Furthermore, the leaders of these bodies became de facto leaders within the Religious Society of Friends, a process accelerated by the comparative decentralisation of the Quaker denominational infrastructure relative to other Protestant groups. Over time, the Quaker leadership apparatus came to reflect the values and prejudices of the larger American society in which it operated, privileging those to whom secular credentials were widely available, namely wealthy male Friends, and excluding those also excluded from most secular institutions of learning, especially women.This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0.

Families in Transition: Four Prominent Irish Families Abandon the ‘Inward Light’

This article follows the association and membership of four families of similar socio-economic status, through seven generations, with Irish Friends over a period of slightly more than 200 years, to around 1900. Using historical data, a model has been presented to explain the key elements of their respective journeys through recruitment, engagement, and eventual abandonment of the Religious Society of Friends. The model had been supplemented with the results of a quantitative analysis of data related to membership and with generation as the principal cohort. Aspects considered included male and female longevity of membership, rates of membership attrition, child mortality and children’s contribution to membership, and an attempt to determine whether social mobility and occupational status contributed, in some measure, to declining rates of membership.The results of the quantitative analysis were much in accord with the model; each family, while journeying towards the same destination, progressed slightly differently but with some common characteristics. Child mortality was high in all four families as were rates of membership attrition, and females tended, on average, to have longer longevity of membership than men. And while social mobility was limited, all the families managed to consolidate their positions in middle-class society, many members comfortable with respectable titles in what became known as the Irish ‘Squirearchy’. By that time Friends had become a distant memory. It remains to be seen whether the model proposed here is applicable to Quaker families that belonged to other socio-economic denominations.This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0.

‘Tears flowed from his eyes unceasingly’: weeping and total devotion in Egypt in late antiquity

ABSTRACT The article discusses the practice of weeping in Pachomian monasticism as a performance of absolute devotion. Theories about radical religion and approaches to emotions are used as a theoretical lens. Pachomian sources show a religious society in the making. Its emotional practices, including weeping, reflect a form of total devotion toward the divine, the monastic father, and the religious group. The article looks into how weeping was performed, what its scales were, in which ways it reflected religious excellence, and what sort of emotional regime it supported. Weeping interacted with a hierarchical organization and an authoritarian leadership intent on control. Leadership issues were set in a context of intense weeping, founded on the submission of the monastic son to the monastic father and on the son's total devotion to the monastic father and the divine. In the monastic story world, weeping and tears are strong textual signals and a pull factor in radical religion.

Kompetensi Penyuluh Agama di Kabupaten Solok Sumatera Barat

Basically, the ultimate goal of religious education is to create a religious society. The community is expected to have an adequate understanding of religion and is shown through the practice of their religious teachings. In order for all of this to be realized, of course, extension workers must be supported with adequate competence. This study aims to describe the substantive and methodological competencies of religious instructors in Solok district, West Sumatra province. The data of this study were sourced from the results of observational interviews and literature related to the theme or research topic. The findings in this study indicate that the substantive competence of religious instructors in Solok Regency on average is still lacking in the aspect of Arabic language skills. In addition, the ability to utilize technology as a medium of da'wah is still not optimal because some extension workers are still not proficient in compressing technological media. While the methodological competence of religious instructors in Solok Regency, the majority is still conventional, not yet towards multi-dialogue da'wah. religious instructor, substantive competence, methodological competence

Consumer Religiosity and Its Influence on Their Uptake and Consumption of Edible Insects Among Selected Communities in Western Kenya

Global food demand is expected to rise due to the population increase estimated to reach 9.5 billion by the year 2050. As a result, the available natural resources such as water sources and land will become scarce and overused. Indisputably, other sustainable food resources need to be identified and practised to solve the problem of food inadequacy. The world population will be encouraged to eat less consumed food resources. Edible insects have been identified as sustainable food resource that is rich in protein and other nutrients. Even though it is still facing rejection among certain consumers due to unknown reasons, factors influencing entomophagy have now been studied from different angles of the world communities. A descriptive research design with both qualitative and quantitative methodology was employed, using a semi-structured questionnaire loaded in an Open Data Kit (ODK) Collect software. Additionally, a simple random sampling technique was used to measure the following constructs. Demographics, religiosity on the consumption of insects, contrasting beliefs among the selected religious societies on edible insects’ consumption. There was an association between religious restriction and the consumption of edible insects at a P-value less than 0.05. However, it is unclear why individuals from religious groupings would choose not to consume insects while others condone the practice. The eating of insects is cited in religious doctrines. Nonetheless, there is still low consumption of edible insects among different religious believers. Religiosity has deterred individuals from indulging in certain food items. How comes they do not indulge in what their doctrines recommend? We, therefore, wish to find out why religion has not encouraged persons to adopt entomophagy. This study, therefore, seeks to examine the influence of religiosity on the consumption and uptake of edible insects among the selected communities in Western Kenya. The data for this study will be collected through the administration of a well-formulated electronic questionnaire and multivariate qualitative models

Identity Politics In The Campaign Tagline At The 2020 Sumenep Elections

This study wants to find out how the form of identity politics in the campaign tagline in the 2020 Sumenep Pilkada. This research is important to do, considering the messages in the campaign tagline as identity politics in the 2020 Sumenep Pilkada are interesting to study. This study uses a qualitative method. The object of this research is the text and narrative of political campaigns in the taglines "Bismillah Melayani" and "Sumenep Barokah". The results showed that the Sumenep regional election which took place democratically was followed by two pairs of candidates with religious leaders backgrounds, of course, it was a reflection that each of the political parties that carried it really understood the constituent culture, the selection of the taglines "Sumenep Barokah" and "Bismillah Melayani". There are five points in the Sumenep Barokah tagline, namely: First, accelerating, repairing and increasing the infrastructure to support social and economic activities of the community. Second, improving the regional economy, Third, realizing superior human resources. Fourth, create a religious society, and fifth, create good governance. Meanwhile Bismillah Serves on the basis of efforts to facilitate basic needs. Through Bismillah Melayani, religious and service aspects are integrated into the frame of Fauzi-Eva's strength. Keywords: Identity Politics, Tagline, Pilkada