Traditional Religious Beliefs Research Articles

Tapping into the Political Assets of Basotho Traditional Religion: In Search of Political Stability in Lesotho

In this article, I employ a critical literature review to address three key points. Firstly, I argue that ongoing political and constitutional reforms in Lesotho are unlikely to establish long-term political stability, supported by historical evidence. I reinforce this argument by highlighting past political reforms that failed to achieve lasting stability in Lesotho. Additionally, I show how political stability rooted in Basotho religious beliefs existed before the influence of Western Christianity and colonialism. I demonstrate how colonialism, specifically coloniality, contributes to the persistent political volatility in Lesotho. Lastly, I present reasons for reviving Basotho political traditions embedded in traditional religious beliefs. My argument draws from the perspectives of the Lekhotla la Bafo decolonisation movement, representing subalterns who endured oppression under colonial rule and educated elites aligned with colonialism. I propose the retrieval of Lekhotla la Bafo's views through the school system, aligning with Durkheim's theory of education's function and decoloniality border thinking.

The Norwegian Memory Tasks: Using Pensioner Auto-Biographies to Study Religion in a Secularizing Country

Declining traditional religious practice and beliefs have been observed in Norwegian survey data since the mid-twentieth century. Individual-level data before that time, when higher religiosity may have been more normative, is lacking. We introduce a unique autobiographic database consisting of 1270 digitized entries written by Norwegian pensioners in 1964 and 1981, called “Memory Tasks,” and assess its potential to study religion in the daily lives of Norwegians. We sample from the Memory Tasks ( n = 45), and code religion mentions falling into six categories: identity, public participation, private practice, personal importance of religion, supernatural worldview, and miscellaneous mentions. We report the frequency of each category and present excerpts to highlight the depth of available information on religion. Nearly all Memory Tasks from our sample included at least one mention of religion. The most common categories are identity, public participation, and miscellaneous religious activities such as Christmas celebrations. Selected excerpts describe confirmation requirements, religious activities and social life, revivals, and folk beliefs. The Memory Task data can extend our understanding of individual-level perspectives on religion in Norway for a time period when survey data is unavailable. We invite other researchers to design studies using this data source.

The Influence of African Traditional Religion on Biodiversity Conservation in Anambra East LGA of Anambra State, Southeastern, Nigeria: A Geospatial Information System Study

This study applies geospatial information techniques in the study of the influence of African traditional religion on biodiversity conservation in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Satellite images of the sacred forests captured along with their surrounding environment constitute spatial data sets which were analyzed for land use/land cover changes (LULCC). Results showed that vegetal covers around Udude Onogu and Olio-olio forest shrines decreased by 10.66% and 30.73%, respectively, while built-up areas of the same environment grew by 15.93% and 7.45% between 1980 and 2020. Findings show that the African traditional religious belief system influences biodiversity conservation.

Moral locus of control in hastened death when faced with irremediable health conditions

ABSTRACT Following APA’s call to present research in reader-friendly styles, the objective of this study is to identify characteristics of a unique set of 101 people who chose to hasten their death when faced with irremediable health conditions without support from any state/medical-aid-in-dying programs. The methodology used was to collect information regarding education, spiritual orientation, beliefs in regard to their personal locus of control, their basis for moral decision-making, and belief in an afterlife from a group of people who had decided to hasten their deaths and compare those beliefs and personal traits to the general population and, where available, to people who chose to hasten their death using state supported medical aid in dying programs in the United States. The results showed statistically significant very high levels of education, less traditional religious beliefs, lack of belief in a conscious afterlife, a high feeling of internal locus of control, and a high sense of internal moral authority. This led to the conclusion that these personal and belief factors combine to create the concept of a high internal moral locus of control in this group of people who choose to hasten their death when faced with irremediable health conditions.

Mapping Spirituality in the Art of Sook Jin Jo

Abstract Korean-born artist Sook Jin Jo has produced a multidisciplinary array of sculptural installations for over three decades. Her primary materials consist of discarded wooden furniture, abandoned industrial materials, and trees from the natural environment. The assemblages, installations, and public art projects from these materials offer a renewed perspective on art. Sook Jin Jo broadens her philosophical interpretation of art by transforming crude objects into significant art. Her materials are taken from various resources not only to create original visual forms, but also to convey profound meaning in our everyday lives. In the context of “Being is born of Non-Being,” the artist’s spiritual and philosophical views are deeply connected to Taoism, which is coherent with Zen Buddhism. Meditation Space (2000) invites people to contemplate nature in a manner that resonates as a sacred space. Jo’s recent distinguished works have comprehensively synthesized the pieces she has done so far. In Art House (Art + Architecture) and Art House Chapel II (Art + Architecture), two nondenominational chapels extend beyond institutional religions. Her work profoundly touches the meaning of spirituality and harmony that embraces the history of the sites she utilizes within the art context. Jo’s site-specific works correspond to the healing of human beings and society rather than being aligned with traditional religious beliefs.

Factors Influencing Consumer Preference for Beef or Chevon in the Northern Region of Ghana

The study examined the influence of husbandry practices and socio-cultural factors on consumers' preference for beef or chevon in the Northern Region of Ghana. A descriptive crosssectional survey with 410 participants was used in this research. The participants were chosen using the convenience sampling method. The significance of associations was determined by chisquare analysis, and binary logistic regressions were used to asses influence of factors on meat preferences. Out of the 410 respondents, 65.6% were males, and the mean age was 33.5 years. Most of the respondents (59.0%) indicated that their type of meat preference is beef as compared to 41.0% who preferred chevon. The meat type consumers usually purchased was beef as indicated by 62.0% of the respondents. Both age and marital status had a significant association with meat type purchased. Among the husbandry practices, quality and hygiene of animal feeds or watering were significantly associated with meat preference. Age of the respondent predicted meat preference with those within the age group of 35 – 44 years more likely (5.8 times) to prefer chevon than beef as compared to those within the age group of 24 years and below. The results further shows that single respondents were more likely to prefer chevon than beef, when compared with those married. The religion of the respondents predicted meat preference with traditional religious belief more likely to prefer chevon over beef as compared to those from Islamic religious belief. Generally beef was the most preferred meat type with husbandry practices and some socio-cultural factors such as age, marital status and religious practice influencing choice of meat type. It is recommended that farmers on the basis of this study consider animal husbandry practices such as feeding with quality housing very serious in order to attract meat consumers.

A History of Management of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Resources within the Sukuma: A Case of Magu District from 1860s to 2020s

This paper discusses on a history of management of the intangible cultural heritage resources within the Sukuma people in Magu district, Mwanza region, from 1860s to 2020s. In particular, the paper traced on the management of the intangible cultural heritage practices among the Sukuma people in Magu district during the pre-colonial period from 1860s-1880s. The qualitative and quantitative methods were used where data both primary and secondary sources were collected through oral interviews and Archive documents from the Tanzania National Archives (TNA) and the Sukuma Research Committee Archives, libraries, digital and internet sources. The paper applied the theory of Historical materialism that underscores historical changes corresponding with the change in material value. The findings indicate that Sukuma people still practice their traditional cultural heritages. Dances and songs, traditional religious beliefs, norms and values and oral narratives are among the intangible cultural heritages which are practiced by Sukuma people in Magu district from pre-colonial era. The presence of traditional chiefs, museum centre, ritual practice areas, traditional norms and values and dances and songs cultural heritage practices are the methods used by Sukuma people to manage their intangible cultural heritages resources. The process of management of the cultural heritage resources should not neglect the intangible cultural heritage resources, thus it is through the intangible cultural aspects one can reveal the facts on the tangible cultural aspects.

Критика религии в философии софистов

The article deals with the socio-historical conditions of the formation of criticism of religion in the philosophy of sophists. It is shown that there were two directions in the religious criticism of the sophists. The first direction was associated with religious agnosticism. Protagoras defended the idea of the incomprehensibility of the gods. The statements of Gorgias and Xeniades contributed to the strengthening of religious skepticism. The second direction was connected with the development of theories of the origin of religion. Prodicus and his idea of the deification of useful things by ancient people is one of the first attempts at a rational explanation of the origin of religion. Critias’ idea that the gods were invented in order to maintain public order challenged the entire religious consciousness of the Greeks. The theories of Prodicus and Critias contributed to the development of ancient atheism. It is established that the sophists adhered to an ambivalent position on the question of attitude to religion. On the one hand, the sophists did not seek to destroy religious institutions. They recognized the value of religion because they considered it one of the benefits of civilization. According to sophists, religion plays an important role in the life of society. It supports moral norms, laws and order. On the other hand, the views of the sophists posed a great danger to traditional religious beliefs. The views of the sophists contributed to the doubt of the existence of gods and the weakening of religious beliefs. It is established that the Peloponnesian War played an important role in the formation of the religious criticism of the sophists. The destructive nature of the Peloponnesian War led to the decline of moral and religious norms. The plague in Athens, the cases of genocide, the triumph of brute force and lawlessness contributed to the growth of distrust of public institutions and disillusionment with religion. All this created favorable conditions for the development of moral and ethical relativism and religious skepticism in the philosophy of sophists.

Collection of Manuscripts in Oirat in Ulan-Khol khurul of Kalmykia

This article presents a brief overview of the collection of manuscripts in the Oirat language stored in the fund of the Ulan-Khol Temple of the Republic of Kalmykia. The collection under consideration is relatively small (50 manuscripts), but it contains very interesting materials. The manuscripts of the Ulan-Khol Temple were a part of a significant collection of Buddhist writings in Tibetan, Old Mongolian and Oirat in the library of the Shars-Bagut (Northern) Temple, which was located from 1889 to 1939 in the area of Bora, Shars-Bagut aimak located in Erketenevsky ulus. The manuscripts were transferred to the Ulan-Khol Temple by relatives of the clergymen Bodgur Ochirov (1892-1955) and Tsagan Atkhaev (1900-1981). The collection seems to be extremely heterogeneous: it includes fiction literature works, orders, prophecies, ritual texts, prayers, astrological works, texts of divination, weather signs and traditional folk medicine texts. Some collections contain texts in Oirat with Tibetan inclusions as well as ones in Tibetan with Oirat interlinear. The fact proves Kalmyk monks were equally fluent in Tibetan and Oirat. The heterogeneity of the composition of the manuscript collection of the Ulan-Khol khurul indicates that the monks of the Shars-Bagut Temple in their main practice were not only clergymen, but also astrologers, soothsayers, healers. The presented texts are a valuable source for studying traditional religious beliefs, philosophy, ethics, old written Kalmyk literature, astrology and Kalmyk cult rituals.

Barriers to HIV testing among transgender women and men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract Background Accessing HIV testing services is a challenge for transgender women and men who have sex with men (MSM) in sub-Saharan Africa. Only a little about this issue has been understood and discussed. No systematic review exists that discusses barriers to HIV testing among transgender women and MSM on the regional level. Methods We systematically searched databases namely MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Google Scholar to identify qualitative studies that reported decision-making and/or experiences with HIV testing uptake among transgender women or MSM and that were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa between January 2005 and March 2020. Two independent authors performed the selection, extraction, and thematic analysis of data. Results Twelve out of 794 studies were found eligible and included for synthesis. The synthesis led to the development of a framework illustrating multi-level, inter-related barriers to HIV testing. Couple-based HIV testing policies, criminalizing same-sex behaviors, and (health) governance being influenced by traditional religious (Islamic or Christianity) belief systems were the barriers at the regional level. Discriminatory practices in the communities and health institutions were the community-specific barriers. Interpersonal barriers included interactions with healthcare providers leading to forced disclosure and/or discrimination, and individual level barriers included fears and depressive thoughts, and poor healthcare access. Conclusions We identified policies and practices at the regional and country levels that hindered HIV testing practices among transgender women and MSM, which should be reconsidered while providing HIV prevention services to people of gender-minority backgrounds. We also think that countries from the global west do have a responsibility to question the sovereignty of some African countries for their inability to provide optimal health care to gender minority populations. Key messages

Échelle de croyances non admises scientifiquement : validation française du Survey of Scientifically Unaccepted Beliefs

The lack of consensus on their definition is an issue to measure paranormal beliefs, particularly in French where few scales are validated. This research focused on the validation of the French version of the Survey of Scientifically Unaccepted Beliefs (SSUB; Irwin & Marks, 2013) using Modern Test Theories. We examined its predictive validity through its relationships with the need for cognition, the need for evaluation and the need for closure. Two complementary studies ( N 1 = 361, N 2 = 248) confirmed the present of the two sub-scales (New-Age Beliefs and Traditional Religious Beliefs) which present satisfactory psychometric characteristics. We showed that a high need for cognition is associated with a low level of paranormal beliefs. Neither of the other two needs predicted paranormal beliefs. In conclusion, the French version of the SSUB is as a relevant tool to explore individual differences in paranormal beliefs.

ОПИУМ ДЛЯ НАРОДА: АТЕИСТИЧЕСКОЕ ВОСПИТАНИЕ КАЗАХСТАНЦЕВ ПЕРИОДА «РАЗВИТОГО СОЦИАЛИЗМА»

This study examines the state policy in the field of religion and how it was reflected in the life of Kazakhstani children during the period of “developed socialism”. During the period under study, the country’s leadership proclaimed an improvement in the material and spiritual quality of life of people, the implementation of the idea of raising a “new person” and “ensuring a happy childhood for every child.” The Soviet government promoted Marxist-Leninist scientific atheism, which rejected traditional religious beliefs and practices. The new communist worldview had to be formed from childhood, the ideological and informational campaign at school and in the family is aimed at this.This was facilitated by new Soviet holidays and ceremonies, which should replace religious ones. Religious practices and rituals are harshly criticized, declared enemies of progress, believers were recognized as representatives of a hostile ideology. It was necessary to protect the younger generation from “opium”, to form an atheistic worldview based on scientific knowledge. Proceeding from this, the party and state bodies made the school, the Komsomol, pioneer and public organizations the vanguard of this campaign. But archival sources and oral history data testify to the preservation of religious rituals in the family and everyday life of schoolchildren.

Exploring the Origins and Expansion of the Nyaminyami (Water Spirit) Belief Systems among the BaTonga People of Northwestern Zimbabwe

Abstract Water spirits are an integral part of African traditional religious beliefs and ritual practices. Like many other African traditional religious practices and beliefs, water spirit beliefs are characterized by complex ‘myths’ surrounding their origins. In that regard, this paper explores the origins and expansion of the Nyaminyami (water spirit,) beliefs prevalent among some BaTonga people of northwestern Zimbabwe. It argues that these beliefs were exotic to the BaTonga people. In so doing, it substantiates the assumption by Elizabeth Colson and Thayer Scudder that Nyaminyami was a foreign idea to the BaTonga people. This study brings in new contemporary evidence to substantiate and extend this diffusionist perspective. It provides evidence from ethnographic research conducted among the BaTonga and Shangwe-speaking peoples living in the immediate vicinity of the Kariba Gorge area from April to November 2017. This study also rests on the wider scholarship on water divinities in Africa that explains the emergence of water divinities in different societies through diffusion of ideas. The study further examines the ways by which the cultural borrowing may have occurred, as well as the period and the extent to which the diffusion of ideas occurred, based on the ethnographic evidence.

Revisiting the Discourse on Human-Nature Relationship in African Traditional Religion and the Responses to the Environmental Change

The pantheistic view of nature enshrined in African traditional religious beliefs and thought systems has propelled a myriad of African scholars to assume that the environmental ethical position of ATR on human-nature relations is environment-centered. This is a result of the ineptitude of some scholars to critically analyze the complexity involved in the discourse on human-nature relations in traditional African religious beliefs, borne out of an ethnocentric mindset to eulogize ATR. An in-depth understanding of African traditional religious environmental ethics requires a full grasp of African ontology. On this note, to clear this age-old misconception about Traditional African notions on human-nature relations, this research aims at simplifying the complexity or ambiguity surrounding the discourse and brings to the fore the anthropocentric view of African Traditional Religion and environmental ethics on human-nature relations. The paper argues vehemently that African religious belief in human-nature relations is absolutely anthropocentric.

The Relationship Between Paranormal Beliefs, Social Efficacy and Social Outcome Expectations in Muslim Society: The Case of Turkey.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of religious and classical paranormal beliefs on social efficacy and social outcome expectations. The study was conducted with 340 individuals between March 1, 2021, and April 2, 2021. The data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the Paranormal Belief Scale and the Social Efficacy and Social Outcome Expectations Scale. Statistically significant positive correlations were found among traditional religious beliefs, classical paranormal beliefs, spiritualism, witchcraft, social efficacy expectations and social outcome expectations. It was concluded that traditional religious beliefs may be effective in improving the social acceptance of individuals, and believing in a common religious/cultural supreme entity unites individuals.

Трансформация религиозных и философских принципов буддизма в цивилизационном пространстве Китая

The article examines the process of transformation of the philosophical and sote­riological teachings of Buddhism in China as a result of the interaction of the Chinese and Indo-Buddhist civilizations. The substantiation is given that the transformation of Buddhism was a natural process of adaptation of Buddhism in China, which did not distort the original principles of maternal Buddhism. It rep­resented a logical process for the further development of Buddhism in the Far East. It is shown that Buddhism, which brought new soteriological and philo­sophical principles to this country, collided with traditional religious beliefs and a rich philosophical tradition, which necessitated its adaptation to the local men­tality and adaptation to the Chinese sociocultural bedrock. A comparative analy­sis of the religious beliefs of the Chinese and Indo-Buddhist religious principles, as well as the philosophical argumentation of Buddhism and traditional Chinese philosophy is given. The article notes the difficulties that Buddhism faced on its way, when entering the Chinese socio-cultural environment, as well as the objec­tive and subjective conditions that contributed to the spread of soteriological and philosophical attitudes in China. The canonical texts of Mahayana Buddhism are indicated, the content of which became accordant with the Chinese worldview and served for Tao Sheng to put forward his famous thesis about the instant at­tainment of Buddhahood, which served as the starting point for the development of a new soteriological trend in the Far East. The analysis of the process of adap­tation of soteriological principles to the Chinese mentality is given, the ontolo­gization of the philosophical attitudes of Buddhism as a result of its collision with the natural-philosophical teaching of Chinese philosophy is shown. It is substantiated that the formation of a new soteriological direction of Buddhism in China influenced the philosophical content of Buddhism, which determined the formation of a qualitatively new stage in the development of Buddhism in the Far East.

Stereotyping, Exploitation, and Appropriation of African Traditional Religious Beliefs: The Case of Nyaminyami, Water Spirit, among the Batonga People of Northwestern Zimbabwe, 1860s–1960s

Abstract This article examines the forms of knowledge that existed between Africans and Europeans regarding local indigenous religious beliefs, focusing particularly on the case of Nyaminyami, a water spirit that is part of the belief systems prevalent among some BaTonga people of northwestern Zimbabwe. The article briefly outlines the “traditional” BaTonga beliefs and practices relating to Nyaminyami, which were diametrically opposed to those of the Europeans. It then scrutinizes the ways the beliefs have been exploited and appropriated by different interest groups and races from the 1860s to the 1960s. The BaTonga people, who held strong beliefs in Nyaminyami, and European colonists used the idea of Nyaminyami for different social, political, and environmental agendas prior to, during, and after resettlement. Nyaminyami played changing sociocultural and economic functions for the BaTonga people over time. They revered Nyaminyami as their river god in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; they also appropriated the beliefs by rallying behind the river god for protection from their displacement in 1958 following the construction of the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River. Nyaminyami was also appropriated by European interest groups who used the idea of Nyaminyami to cast Africa as the “dark continent” and to stereotype the BaTonga people as primitive. This article relies on data obtained through a reading of European explorers' texts and by gathering oral traditions among the BaTonga and Shangwe.

Youth in the anti-religious propaganda discourse of the 1920s (based on materials from the Samara province)

The cultural transformation of Russian society in the first decades after the October Revolution made significant changes in the spiritual sphere. Traditional religious beliefs had to be replaced by a new ideology. The citizens of the new state had to accept a new cultural code and everyday practices, discarding the previous pre-revolutionary traditions, including religious ones. The efforts of the authorities on this cultural transition were primarily directed at the younger generation of Soviet citizens. This research aims to study the participation and activities of young people in the framework of anti-religious propaganda of the 1920s, using the materials of the provincial center Samara province. This paper analyzes and compares anti-religious work carried out by Komsomol organizations and other associations among the younger generation, as well as identifies the general level of religiosity. The study of materials on the Samara province will allow us to consider this problem at the micro level, which will allow us to more fully reveal the history of the development of religion in the USSR. The findings of the research illustrate the contamination of processes. On the one hand, the direct participation of young people in the new anti-religious reality was observed, on the other hand, the young people themselves were experimental subjects in this cultural experiment. The combination of these roles gave rise to special forms of behavior among Soviet youth and pushed them to commit certain actions.

Exploring Chinese folk religion: Popularity, diffuseness, and diversities

Folk religion, as the basis of the religious landscape in traditional China, is a highly syncretic system which includes elements from Buddhism, Daoism, and other traditional religious beliefs. Due to the shortcomings of denomination-based measurement, most previous social surveys have documented a very low percentage of folk religion adherents in China, and found almost no overlapping among religious beliefs. This study offers a quantitative portrait of the popularity, the diffuseness, and the diversity of Chinese folk religion. With the improved instruments in the 2018 China Family Panel Studies, we first observe that nearly 50% of respondents claim to have multiple (two or even more than three) religious beliefs and the believers of folk religion account for about 70% of the population. By using latent class analysis, this article explores the pattern of inter-belief mixing and identifies four typical classes of religious believers: “non-believers and single-belief believers”, “believers of geomancy”, “believers of diffused Buddhism and Daoism”, and “believers embracing all beliefs”. Finally, we find that the degree of commitment varies across these religious classes. Believers of folk religion are found to be less committed than believers of Western institutional religions, but as committed as believers of Eastern institutional religions.

Re-membering body and spirit through spiritual practices of sexual wholeness

Studies show that people from traditional religious belief systems may experience relational, emotional, and psychological dysfunction related to sexual identity and behaviors. Shame that is rooted in one’s understanding of oneself as a sexual being may result in dis-integration (lack of internal integrity) and feelings of disconnection from sense of self, one’s body, and others. Yet research also shows that personal and communal spirituality can be a therapeutic resource for fostering mental health and relational wholeness. The theological reflections of women, BIPOC, and queer scholars provide sex-positive spiritual resources for a holistic view of the human person as embodied and enspirited, including sexuality as a foundational and integrated dimension of spirituality. This paper offers constructive recommendations for spiritual practices that may aid clients in reintegrating sexuality and spirituality, and provides therapists with a framework for helping clients identify and embrace healing practices that are informed by traditional religious categories and by contemporary spiritualities emerging outside religious institutions. We highlight spiritual connections to nonreligious practices of body and community, and conclude with guidance for clinicians to offer appropriate support and reflection for clients on this sexual-spiritual journey. LAY SUMMARY:This article offers therapists a framework for helping clients identify and embrace healing practices that are informed by both traditional religious categories and by contemporary spiritualities outside religious institutions. We also highlight spiritual dimensions of non-religious practices that contribute to a sense of sexual-spiritual wholeness.