This paper examines the most prominent “progressive” American religious groups’ (as defined by those that liberalized early on the issue of birth control, circa 1930) views of women between the first and second waves of the feminist movement (1930-1965). We find that some groups have indeed had a long and outspoken support for women’s equality. Using their modern-day names, these groups, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and to a lesser extent, the Society of Friends, or Quakers, professed strong support for women’s issues, early, and often. However, we also find that prominent progressive groups –the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Presbyterian Church, were virtually silent on the issue of women’s rights – even as the second wave of the feminist movement was picking up steam – as late as 1965.

This paper examines the sociological impact of religion in society across three dimensions. It defines religion through Durkheim's perspective, explores the socio-psychological effects based on Mehan, Wood, Merton, and Fanoz, and delves into religious symbolism drawing from Geertz and Bellah. Emphasizing moral values in religious beliefs, the paper argues that societies rely on religion for social order. Using the Azande tribe as a case study, it illustrates the subjective nature of reality and the link between religious rituals and community harmony. This paper addresses historical suppression during colonialism, discusses Fanon's insights, explores Geertz's symbolic interactionist perspective, and analyzes Civil Religion, highlighting its potential political misuse in the American context. Ultimately, it recognizes religion's influential role in shaping societal dynamics and human interpretations while acknowledging the importance of moral values and symbols.

Political and legal debate about freedom of religion and belief (FoRB) in Australia has intensified since the Same-sex marriage postal survey in 2017. Central to this debate has been children, their parents and institutions (Schools). This paper outlines the place of children in the Australian FoRB since 2017, focusing on the Same-sex marriage postal survey debate and subsequent reviews into freedom of religion. In particular it highlights the links drawn between same-sex marriage or marriage equality and the Safe School Coalition Australia campaign, the emphasis on parental rights in relation to education about marriage in schools and the ongoing debate about potential reform to Australia’s suit of anti-discrimination laws

Religious harmony performs a key role in preserving political and worldwide stability. Internationally it's far crucial to stay in a non-violent and harmonious environment, mainly in a society composed of believers of various races and religions. Relations among religions are normal. Failure to hold religious harmony can plunge society into battle and chaos. Therefore, the cause of this newsletter is to record in element the elements that affect the sustainable harmony among multi-religious societies. The record additionally emphasized that elements including acceptance, knowledge, cooperation, fairness, and justice are crucial elements in preserving religious harmony. Therefore, this paper pursuits to shape a solid idea of multi-sectarian harmony in society. It must additionally contribute to the improvement of a multi-religious society. Try to hold and construct a sturdy dating among them. Religious harmony is vital to make sure solidarity and team spirit amongst believers of more than one religion. A multi-religious society is a network with one-of-a-kind religions, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, etc. To stay in a non-violent and harmonious society, it's far very crucial to just accept believers from different religions in a selected network. From the angle of Islam, Islam is a faith that accepts the range of religions on this international however denies that every one religion is proper. So is the case in almost all religions. Religious pluralism may be described because of the range of religions on this international; however, withinside the idea of religious pluralism, it could be described because of the perception that every religion on this international is absolute truths. Pluralists trust that every one religion withinside the international is actual and have to be respected. It could be very crucial to recognize that everyone's proper statements are legitimate and deserve the same appreciation. This handiest method that fans of one religion have to be given different reality statements, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and others. However, from the angle of Islam, Islam accepts more than one religion however does now no longer understand that every one religion is proper. Recognizing the origins of various religions in a multi-religious society is the important thing to making sure harmony and solidarity withinside the international. Recognizing that religious range in a multi-religious society is a crucial component in preserving social harmony. For example, Muslims who cost the lifestyles of different religious groups (including Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians) can enhance inter-religious members of the society and deal with them kindly. Therefore, the popularity of the lifestyles of the religious range must be visible as a resounding component for a selected network. Everyone residing in a multi-religious society has to recognize and be given religious freedom. One must accept and appreciate the beliefs of different religions. Respect for the lifestyles of the religious range additionally contributes to political and countrywide stability. Respect also can enhance interreligious members of the society via way of means of acknowledging the lifestyles of various religious groups. Mutual appreciation, cooperation, tolerance, knowledge, and kindness are crucial elements in residing in a multi-ethnic and religious society. To hold a harmonious society, all multi-religious believers must have the proper and freedom to exercise their faith. It must now no longer be abandoned (Abdullah et al., 2016). Islam has usually emphasized the idea of justice (alAdl). All divine religions are of belief of religious harmony. By studying different religions, it is very clear that all religions are of the view to respect other religions and followers of different beliefs.

Culture, gender and religion are closely linked each other’s, profoundly affect the role of each person within the Society, and also affect the ability to access to the health resources. We are now living a worldwide crisis due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In order to appropriately tackle it, an alliance between science, politics and citizens is needed. In this article, we summarize current evidences of how religions can represent, on one hand, a risk moment for spreading the virus (in relation with overcrowded events), on the other, a precious opportunity to engage people, and in particular minorities, in fighting the pandemic. To win this fight, we need a multicultural approach that takes into account every aspect of human life, and among these religion, which influences so much culture, everyday life and well-being.

Prominent among religions that claim direct or indirect lineage to Abraham are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The three religions are known as monotheistic. Although, their interpretations of monotheism are closely similar, they have salient differences. Such differences have spurred unhealthy arguments, rivalry and hatred between some Christians and Muslims. Thus, this paper highlights some of the basic differences between Islam and Christianity traceable to scriptural differences and interpretations and the causes of disagreement between Christianity and Islam with a view to offering recommendations that would foster goodwill and engender better relationship between Christians and Muslims. The paper adopted a comparative and analytical system of research with library information and experiences as the major data gathering tools. The study finds that misinformation, ignorance, deliberate distortions, media irresponsibility among others is the major causes of disharmony among Christians and Muslims. The paper recommends mutual love and respect, constant dialogue, education and other factors that would improve the attitude of Christians and Muslims towards one another.

The latest IPCC report forcefully states that immediate, decisive, and large-scale actions are needed to avert climate catastrophe. This essay presumes that democratic governments are best and most desirably positioned to take these actions. Yet in the countries most pivotal to global climate, significant voting blocs are uninterested in environmental issues. The essay urges adding bottom-up dialog between environmental and anti-environmental voters, to current and future top-down technocratic “solutions.” To make this combination result in a unified pro-environment electorate, we must understand: religious objections to environmentalism; the capital-vs.-knowledge strife that slows polluting corporations’ green transitions; and the psychological mechanisms that can make inter-group dialog fruitful.

This paper investigates how Islamic tolerance contributes to solve religious conflict today that has impacted on various aspects such as economic collapse, insecurity in life, lack of professional society, academic retrogressions, and so on. Knowledge of these issues has become an urgent to build a community that is full of peace, harmony and unity. The paper suggests that Quranic views on tolerance should be understood and practiced in order to avoid disunity in society which is due to failure to appreciate tolerance values in association. The paper concludes problems or misunderstandings always occur in different religious societies, since every religion has its own teachings and principles, as well as each of them is interpreted in different ways.

Despite great strides in the development of contraceptive technologies, the United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the world. Many investigators have aimed to examine the relationship between religion and the sexual health behaviors of college students to determine how social factors may influence the use of contraception amongst college students. Thus, we aimed to examine the differences in current contraceptive method and age of first contraceptive usage among sexually active female college students with different religious affiliations and strengths of religiosity. It was hypothesized that there would be no difference in current contraceptive methods among different religious affiliations and strengths of religions, and that there would be a difference in age of first contraceptive usage among different religious affiliations and strengths of religiosity. Two-hundred twenty-four college aged females completed a 20-question survey about sexual health and religious practices. Chi-squared tests were implemented to determine if the frequencies of responses across religious affiliations and strengths of religiosity. Significant differences in the frequency of responses for age of first contraceptive usage were observed across different strengths of religiosity (p=0.016) and for the self-perceived impact of religion on sexual health across different religious affiliations (p=0.033) and strengths of religiosity (p=0.005). All other differences were found not to be statistically significant. It was determined that increased strengths of religiosity resulted in delayed onset of contraceptive us-age and that both different religious affiliations and greater strengths of religiosity lead to different self-perceived impacts of religion on sexual health.

ABSTRACT: This paper provides an overview of the complex relationship between culture, gender, and business. It highlights the importance of understanding how these factors intersect and influence various aspects of the business world, including organizational practices, leadership styles, workplace dynamics, and economic outcomes. It also explores how cultural factors shape gender roles, expectations, and opportunities within the business context. Additionally, it discusses the implications of cultural influences on women's participation, advancement, and overall experiences in the business world. Understanding the interplay between culture, gender, and business is essential for fostering inclusive and diverse workplaces. Organizations that embrace cultural diversity and gender equality tend to exhibit greater creativity, innovation, and adaptability. They also benefit from increased employee satisfaction, improved decision-making processes, and enhanced financial performance. The work also examined how the values, beliefs, socialization, and team spirit of some distinct ethnic groups such as Japanese, Chinese, Jews, Igbo, and Indians have helped in the economic growth of not the groups alone but the countries where they reside. By examining these dynamics and cultures, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers can gain insights to develop effective strategies that promote gender equality, cultural sensitivity, and inclusive practices in the business world, ultimately leading to more equitable and prosperous societies.

Human perception of nature and God have always been inextricably linked. In order to understand nature and its inherent processes, including various natural hazards, the reasons for their origin were often attributed to God's will, suffering for sin and the similar. Fear of material and human losses prompted a man to pray and offer sacrifices/gifts and other rituals to appease the "wrath of the gods". The progress of civilization and technology has not alleviated the destruction and trauma that natural disasters inflict on all aspects of social life. A major obstacle to this is the exponential population growth in vulnerable areas. The frequency of natural disasters and the fatalistic attitudes that limit the effective fight against them have motivated religious communities and individuals to cooperate with international and international organizations and institutions to reduce the risk of local disasters. Believers thus receive the necessary psychological and financial assistance and support from religious communities during all phases of disaster management. Therefore, the subject of this paper is a comprehensive examination relationship between the degree of religiosity of the population and how this connection impacts the policy of reducing disaster risk. The aim of the research is to scientifically describe the nature of the relationship between the degree of religiosity of citizens and different segments of disaster risk reduction.

The basic ideas [In particular, God’s departure from his pure state of “ein sof” (there are many differences of opinion on this issue’s reason, but some who do not underestimate describe it as God speaking to himself), the to appear of 4 world (The world of Adam Qadmon is not included. Some sources include the world of Adam Qadmon and describe it as the 5 worlds.) with light dispersed from God (in accordance with “sefirot”), the rise of people in 4 world by worshiping and the coming of the Messiah, and the attainment of all people to the world/state of ein sof.] of Jewish Kabbalah, the first period of which started in 400 BC and the 5th period of which started in 1700 AD (5th period is still continue), and the changes that these ideas have undergone in the historical process, and the similarities of these ideas with other religions (especially Hinduism) are remarkable and worth examining.

Food waste is a real environmental challenge worldwide. It is a major sin in Islam; yet it is ubiquitous in Muslim society, a society where the majority of people say that Islam is critical in their life. Ingrained in moral aspects of overconsumption, a conundrum this paradox study tries to unravel is why plate waste is prevalent in the Arab Muslim society, despite the teaching of the Quran [Muslim’s holy book] and Sunna [teaching and acts of prophet Muhammad] against wanton waste. The influence of religiosity on environmental concern and intentions to reduce food waste in Islam and Christianity has been widely examined. However, our understanding of why religious people waste food remains limited. This serendipitous qualitative inquiry is the first to examine food waste from the nexus triad -food waste, hospitality, and religion, and comprehensively. Findings suggest that the conception of contemporary Arab hospitality, entrenched in Karam/generosity, and entangled with the interpretation of sin and God’s mercy, is a major contributing factor to plate waste perpetuation. The gravity of food waste warrants a new conceptualization of Arab generosity. Suggestions for plate waste prevention in this cultural context, grounded in the interviews and the Quran, are presented.

This essay discusses the complicated relationship between ideology and faith, focusing on the importance of faith. It endeavors to enrich the critical examination of religion by providing a platform to analyze the multifaceted nature of ideologies and their profound influence on human geography. This study is particularly distinctive for its focus on the complex interplay of Marxism, religion, and modernity, deepening our understanding of how these dynamics shape contemporary societies.

Considering the impact of religiosity on the perceptions regarding life quality, in this paper we focus on the effects of the appurtenance to a religion on the standard of living in several economically developing countries (Turkey, Ukraine, Senegal and Morocco). The data have been collected using a survey carried out in 2012 and the empirical analysis was based on non-parametric tests and multinomial logistic regression. The results indicate there are differences between religious persons and atheists regarding gender, marital status, perceptions of daily life and standards of living. Females and officially married people or single people tend to be more religious. A person claiming to belong to a religion has 2-4-fold more chances to achieve a considerable improvement in the standards of living as compared to an atheist. Moreover, religious people from the analyzed countries are more optimistic about their life overall. Taking into account the sample’s characteristics and the countries chosen, we can claim that the results obtained are truly cross-cultural in nature. Moreover, most of the conclusions reached would be to some extent relevant to other developing economies of Eastern Europe, North Africa and Middle East.

In this study, we analyse if in-utero exposure to Ramadan fasting period is negatively associated with child nutrition? The data for the analyses come from a retrospective assessment of 924,198 children from 103 demographic and health surveys (DHS) across 56 countries during the period 2003-2020. Considering the month-long Ramadan exposure as a natural experiment, we implement an intent-to-treat framework, comparing outcomes among individuals who were exposed to Ramadan at any time in-utero to those who were not exposed. Our findings do not show significant evidence to conclude that in-utero exposure to Ramadan fasting period is negatively associated with child nutrition. On the contrary, except for stunting in children who had in-utero exposure to Ramadan during the first trimester, among Muslims, we find slightly better nutritional outcomes among children exposed in-utero to Ramadan period. The better nutritional outcomes among children exposed in-utero can be attributed to high nutritious food intake and better hygienic practices during holy months of Ramadan compared to usual months. Our main results are robust to multiple robustness checks.

During the last twenty years around the world there has been a rapid increase in the number of people visiting long established religious shrines as well as the creation of new sites by those operating outside the boundaries of institutional religion. This increase is intimately associated with the revival of traditional routes, the creation of new ones and the invention of new rituals (religious, spiritual and secular). To examine this process I will focus on the European region and two contrasting destinations in particular – the Catholic shrine of Lourdes, France, and the pre-Christian shrine of Avebury, England – drawing on my personal involvement in travelling to both destinations and being involved in ritual activities along the route and at the two destinations. In the discussion section of the paper I will explore the relevance of these two case studies to the analysis of power, agency and performance and the ways in which they expose (a) the role of institutions and entrepreneurs in creating rituals and sacred places and (b) the relationship between people and the domesticated landscape.

Despite the increase of seminary training, Black clergywomen continuously undergo subjugation, degradation, and humiliation in ministry leadership due to gender and race bias (Leslie, 2013) by clergymen. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study that examined the experiences of Black clergywomen regarding obstacles in ministry leadership and how these clergywomen ascribed meaning to their experiences. The two primary research questions were, “What are the experiences of Black clergywomen regarding obstacles in ministry leadership?” and “How do Black clergywomen attribute meaning to their experiences regarding obstacles in ministry leadership?” The results of the study indicated that bias of gender and inequality exists among clergymen; however, the Black clergywomen learned to embrace the experiences and learned from them. The conclusion of this article includes a discussion regarding practical implications of the education of clergy; and the re-evaluation of the perception of Black clergywomen and their experiences. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of Black clergywomen pertaining to challenges in clergy leadership and to explore how Black clergywomen attributed meaning to their experiences regarding challenges in ministry leadership.

This paper examines the moral community thesis in the secular context of China. Using multilevel logistic regression, we test (1) whether both individual- (measured by affiliation with institutional religion) and aggregate-level religiosity (measured by the number of religious sites per 10,000 people in province) are inversely related to law and rule violations at the individual level and (2) whether the province-level religiosity enhances the inverse relationship between individual religiosity and the deviant behaviors. Results from analyzing data from the 2010 China General Social Survey and the Spatial Explorer of Religions show that both individual- and aggregate-level religiosity are inversely related to the odds of violating the law and various rules of government, transportation, workplace, and other organizations. However, the cross-level interactions are not significant across models, indicating that the contextual religiosity does not increase the effect of individual-level religiosity on deviance. Implications of findings for the moral community thesis are discussed.

Carol Winkelmann, in her book ‘The Language of Battered Women’ describes not only the fact that domestic abuse is almost a daily occurrence in the lives of many women but that the language of religion and faith is often used by women in attempts to explain, understand and cope with such abuse . While religious belief and domestic violence may seem contradictory in terms of religious values of faith, virtue and love, research demonstrates that domestic violence in religious families and amidst religious congregations is prevalent. In fact, religious beliefs and practices are often embedded in cultural contexts and thus perpetuate patriarchal notions of dominance, power and submission. Abused Christian women, for example, are more likely to seek help from (male) ministers and others in positions of authority in their local church communities and are equally more likely to remain in or return to unsafe relationships, citing their religious beliefs to support their avoidance of ‘family break-ups’ because of abuse. What, then, is the response of ministers and church authorities to domestic abuse in their congregations? Despite recent calls for the training of pastors and other religious leaders in an understanding of domestic violence and in the recognition of appropriate, helpful responses, the language of some Christian churches can be seen to foster notions of submission so that women and pastors alike can appear confused concerning the experience of abuse. Religious congregations, while acting in love to help the poor and needy, for example, often fail to recognise domestic abuse amongst their own members and, indeed, such a topic can remain taboo in some church communities. Women, in turning to their pastors or other Christian leaders for help, can be silenced by the language of the religion itself, so that the role of wives and mothers may be seen to be submissive and the ‘keeper of the home’; to leave an abusive relationship may thus ‘break-up’ a home and imply failure of the woman to understand her role and fulfil her ‘maternal vocation’. On the other hand, religious beliefs offer victims of domestic violence both hope and comfort. Religious practices, such as prayer, liturgies and corporal (physical) works of mercy, can provide solace and practical assistance for women who suffer abuse. Domestic violence in religious congregations can be addressed within the context of the faith itself, with an emphasis on love and respect, helping women to understand their dignity with avenues of help so that the women can remove themselves and their children from abusive relationships, and the religious congregation and its leaders can call the partners to accountability. This paper seeks to outline a picture of domestic violence in religious congregations, specifically Christian church communities, by drawing on current research in the Western world. It then describes the language of some religious congregations that perpetuates domestic violence, with emphasis on contemporary studies in religious belief and domestic abuse. Finally, the paper makes some suggestions on how religious belief and practice can, in contrast to perpetuating abuse through norms, serve to assist women as victims of domestic violence, and how the connections between domestic violence and religious language or belief can be severed.

Semi-arid Namibia is marginal for agricultural production. Low soil fertility combined with low and variable rainfall restrict the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who often struggle to produce enough food. Although historically communities have adopted a number of coping mechanisms, climate change threatens to further reduce agricultural production. There are many additional options available to smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change, but they are not necessarily adopting these measures despite having noticed increasing temperatures and declining rainfall. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in three villages in Onesi constituency to examine what agricultural practices smallholder crop farmers use, perception of changes in their yields, their perspective on future yields and whether they are planning on changing their agricultural practices. The results suggest that to sustain the livelihoods of rural communities in north-central Namibia support is needed from local and regional authorities, as well as traditional and religious leaders to assist with enhancing access to information, enabling information sharing on adaptation options, and increasing awareness on climate change, it’s impacts and what can be done about it. In addition to this the implementation of adaptation action also requires demonstration sites and building capacity to enable the development of self-help groups.

The societies of Western Europe, following the territorial delimitation of the corresponding State, have gone through different historical processes of internal homogenization. After the Peace of Westphalia (1648) the application of the principle cuius regio eius religio induced the religious homogenization of the population. Then, due to the ethnic diversity of its population, the State tried to homogenize it from the cultural point of view; it was the process of nationalization and democratization of the State. This process lead to the separation of religion from politics and from culture. After the two world wars, national reconstruction needed a foreign population: this need for labor was filled in the most developed countries by population of the countries that were least (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian ...) and also by population flows coming from the old colonies. The cultural and religious homogeneity of these countries began to lose force. With the oil crisis of the 1970s, a period of major economic fluctuations began in Europe. In those years, the second generation of the population of immigrant origin began to go to a job market that was not in good health. The religion and culture of their predecessors became autonomous resources for the reconstruction of their identity and to achieve a personal and social esteem. This process is necessarily leading States to rethink the relations between politics, culture and religion.

The spillover of the terrorist activities of Boko Haram, a Nigerian jihadi group, into Cameroon’s northern region has resulted in security challenges and humanitarian activity opportunities for Christian churches. The insurgents have attacked and destroyed churches, abducted Christians, worsened Muslim-Christian relations, and caused a humanitarian crisis. Aggregately, these ensuing phenomena have adversely affected Christian churches in this region, triggering an aura of responses: coping strategies, humanitarian work among refugees, and inter-faith dialogue. These responses are predicated on Christianity’s potential as a resource for peace, compassion, and love. In this study we emphasize the role of Christian churches in dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency. It opens up with a contextualization of Boko Haram in Cameroon’s north. This is followed by an examination of the brutality meted out on Christians and church property. The final section is an examination of the spiritual, humanitarian and relief services provided by Christian churches. The paper argues that although Christian churches have suffered at the hands of Boko Haram insurgents, they have engaged in various beneficial responses underpinned by the Christian values of peace and love.

How much is religion quantitatively involved in global climate politics? After assessing the role of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from a normative perspective, this descriptive, transdisciplinary and unconventional study offers the first comprehensive quantitative examination of religious nongovernmental organizations that formally participate in its annual meetings, the largest attempts to solve the climate crisis through global governance. This study finds that although their numbers are growing, only about 3 percent of registered nongovernmental organizations accredited to participate in the conference are overtly religious in nature — and that more than 80 percent of those faith-based groups are Christian. Additionally, this study finds that religious nongovernmental organizations that participate in the conference are mostly from the Global North. The results call for greater participation of religious institutions in the international climate negotiations in order for society to address the planetary emergency of climate change.

Prior research has extensively examined the relationship between religion and accrual-based earnings management. However, there is currently little research in the relationship between religion and real (non-accrual) earnings management, especially in Europe. This paper aims to fill this research gap and examines whether and how the effect of religion could be linked with firms’ real earnings management activities. Four hypotheses are developed and tested with our results providing indications that the degree of overall religiosity is negatively and significantly associated with real earnings management. Furthermore, when investigating the effects of different religions in Europe, Christianity and Islam have the opposite impact on firms’ real earnings management activities. Overall, our paper indicates that in European countries, the religious environment can mitigate firms’ manipulations on earnings.

Aim of this study was to examine the psycho-emotional and economic resilience of the widows of the Christians male victims of the suicide attacks on Roman Catholic and Christ churches in Youhanabad Lahore. A qualitative case study was conducted of the widows of to understand how they recovered from the loss. The study exuded that how the widows recovered from the loss of their husband’s with the help of their in-laws. Second, how widows met their economic needs by doing menial jobs, and with the help of aid provided by in-laws. Third, the help provided by the Churches. Living in a society with a Muslim concentration also affects the widows into Forced religion conversion. Furthermore, due to lesser check and balance on male orphans, they also get involved in various criminals’ activities to support their families. The conclusion was the factors helped the widows overcome the psycho-emotional loss and recover economically.

The recent remarkable progress in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has renewed the discussion on the possibility of human-level AI. Despite the difficulty of the problem and the presence of many large gaps and challenges, most people working in the field think that human-level AI is achievable, but they disagree on the date. In this paper, I briefly discuss the possibility of human-level AI from the perspective of two traditions in the Islamic world, namely Kalam and Sufism, and despite their different mode of investigation, they converge to the same conclusion on this topic.

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

Nowadays, more than 180 million people believe that the Holy Qur'an was sent by the Almighty Allah through Prophet Muhammad in 610-632 A.D in Mecca and Medina. However, the word Mecca (Q: 48:24) is mentioned only once in the entire Holy Qur'an, which is not related to the birth of the Prophet or any worship. Conventional Islam is mostly based on the hearsay of some Islamic narrators published in the eighth and ninth centuries. To think deeply and conduct research on the verses of the Holy Quran has been mentioned (special urge) directly and indirectly by this Holy Scripture itself many times but it would not be wrong to say that there is no scholarship on the verses of the Quran based on the research method described in the Holy Quran until the present century. Therefore, this paper has been dared to carry out by combining the methods of research followed in the Holy Quran and the academically accepted research methodology. The analysis shows that the results of almost fourteen hundred years of mythological history of conventional Islamic narrators are opposites. First of all, the proper name of the Prophet revealed by the Holy Quran is Ahmed, but Muhammad is an adjective and there are many such names. Secondly, this prophet was not born in Mecca, KSA, nor in 570/571 A.D, but in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, between the third and fourth centuries. Thirdly, the Muslim Hajj (pilgrimage) of Mecca is celebrated entirely according to the Lahwal Hadith (idle tales) (Q: 31:6) in the language of the Holy Quran. Originally the place designated for pilgrimage was in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. This article will have a double influence on the Muslim world, that is, Islamic scholars will think again deeply and research new ways of scholarship of the Holy Quran, instead of based on the hearsay of idle tales (Lahwal Hadith). On the contrary, those who are stubborn Islamic narrators, since they have already rejected the Holy Quran, will not hesitate to violently attack the researchers and they will not be positively motivated by this paper. This article specifically urges Islamic scholars to conduct in-depth studies on the most important issues of Islam using the Holy Quranic research method.

Building on recent directions in religion-related social and political science, our essay addresses a need for location-specific and religion-specific scientific research that might contribute directly to local and regional interreligious peacemaking. Over the past 11 years, our US-Pakistani research team has conducted research of this kind: a social scientific method for diagnosing the probable near-future behavior of religious stakeholder groups toward other groups. Integrating features of ethnography, linguistics, and semiotics, the method enables researchers to read a range of ethno-linguistic signals that appear uniquely in the discourses of religious groups. Examining the results, we observe, firstly, that our religion and location-specific science identifies features of religious group behavior that are inevident in broader, social scientific studies of religion and conflict; we observe, secondly, that our science integrates constative and performative elements: it seeks facts and it serves a purpose. We conclude that strictly constative, fact-driven sciences may fail to detect certain crucial features of religious stakeholder group behavior.

Women serve in diverse roles in the 21st century militaries of the world. They are no longer banned exclusively from combat. The presence of women on the battlefield has raised religious arguments and considerations. What role do religious arguments play in the discussion regarding women’s military service? The current paper examines this question in the context of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF): a conscription-based military that conscripts both men and women, religious and secular, for both combat and non-combat postings. Using the case of the pilot program in the IDF attempting to integrate women in the Israeli tank corps, the paper argues that religious considerations serve the same purpose as functional considerations and can be amplified or lessened, as needed.

This paper analyzes the theoretical and pragmatic implications, for international relations and world politics, of the new holistic approach to climate change articulated by Pope Francis in the Encyclical Laudato si’, particularly through the notion “integral ecology”. Far for being just a new chapter in the unfolding process of the “greening” of religions, the document raises in radical terms the issue of the sustainability of the present world system. I contend that the perspective of the Encyclical calls for a radical transformation of international relations, since it puts emphasis on the deep implications of environmental issues on the entire spectrum of security, development, economic and ethical challenges of contemporary world politics. Against this backdrop, I connect the main tenets of the Encyclical to the environmental turn in International Relations Theory and to the new epistemological challenges related to paradigm shift induced by the new planetary condition of the Anthropocene and the questions arising for a justice encompassing the humanity-earth system. Practicing sustainable international relations means exiting the logic of power or hegemony, operationalizing the concept of care.

In the British setting, the deployment of the phrase ‘doing god’ has become increasingly common to refer to an emerging trend whereby religion has acquired an increasingly prominent role in political spaces and discourses. This was particularly prominent while David Cameron was Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. While historically, religion has not had a prominent place in either the former Prime Minister David Cameron. Here, the findings from critical analyzing a series of Cameron’s public pronouncements about religion—and Christianity in particular—is set out to try and better understand his own adherence to Christianity (the personal) how this intersected with his politics and role as Prime Minister (the political), and more importantly how this shaped his views about Britain being a Christian country (the national). Contextualised within the embryonic scholarly literature relating to the phenomenon of ‘doing god’ in the contemporary British setting, this article concludes by considering alternative and analogous frames through which greater elucidation of the true motivations of his pronouncements might be understood.

In all forms of folk beliefs, ancestor worship is a universal traditional belief form of the Vietnamese people. As a Vietnamese people, “everyone worships their ancestors, everyone worships their parents and grandparent”. Ancestor worship is a common belief in the whole country. It is a belief that expresses the deeply humanistic spirit of the Vietnamese people and has great values in human life. So, what is the nature of ancestor worship? What is the values of ancestor worship in life? And in the context of globalization, how has this the belief changed? This study focuses on analyzing the above contents, thereby highlighting the value of this belief in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people; to point out the positive and negative changes of this belief in the current period; from that, take the right measures to bring into play the positive and limit the negative side of those changes in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people.

The current paper explores the potential interlink between names of individuals in a society and its collective social consciousness, particularly with reference to the pervasive occurrence of the ‘mathematical names’ in the current Hindu society in the Indian subcontinent and beyond. Initially, an attempt is made to put things into mathematical perspective by drawing a quick sketch of some of the stellar achievements of the Indian mathematicians. Under the six broad categories of geometry, trigonometry, numeration, arithmetic, algebra, and mathematics in the Vedic tradition, a concise simple description of these subdivisions is presented, underlining the names of the concepts and terms, sometimes by producing the textual references. Then, upon identification of such mathematical terms, an attempt is made to juxtapose these with the names current in the Indian Hindu society. By employing an extensive dataset of university student names in India and the directories of Facebook and LinkedIn, we produce both qualitative and quantitative evidence of the presence of such names in the Indian subcontinent. Evidently, these names reflect the impressions of the tremendously rich mathematical heritage left by the Hindu stalwart mathematicians. This hypothesis has also been examined by taking surveys of people bearing these mathematical names, as well as by documenting the ‘conscious procedures’ that go behind the naming of a Hindu Indian child. In trying to investigate if such a phenomenon is unique to the Indian tradition, a stark contrast with the ‘names in mathematics’ as prevalent in the European mathematical traditions is presented, as cultural roots of mathematics are explored. Further, we ascribe the presence of these names as the extant remains of the colossal impact of multifarious mathematical traditions existing in India. Interestingly, the present research also brings to the fore, certain unseen facets of the Indian Hindu society as regards the education of mathematics to women – through an indirect exploration of their names. We also show that the pervasive occurrence of these names is not merely the result of semantic chance events, but denotes the richness of the Indian mathematical legacy. Next, we also present cross-cultural comparisons to show the uniqueness of Indian mathematical and scientific traditions that led to the pervasiveness of ‘mathematical names’ in India. Finally, an attempt is made to clarify some subtle points on the associations between mathematics and religion in India and other cultures of the world. It is sincerely hoped that the present study may shed light on the cultural roots of mathematics and may furnish a new dimension in the study of mathematics, culture and civilizations across the world.

It is often said in human society that it all starts from the mind, and this is true. The answer to the question “Why is it that pets require much fewer years to fully develop than humans?” could be headed to the Theory of Relativity and the perceived time according to the levels of instinct and rationality. It is perhaps no wonder that the French language translates the word “mind” as “l’esprit”, which also means “spirit” in the English language. Given that the Theory of Relativity applies to all physical matter, the theory applies to chemistry, biology and psychology as well. The level of instinct is proportional with the perceived speed of time and implicitly, to the speed of time itself for the whole organism, given that the nervous system coordinates all bodily functions. A pet may experience a few years as humans experience over a decade, making their perceived lifetime to be approximately equal to the human’s. The same applies to the perception of space and its components. This aspect would emphasise upon the fact that all life on Earth shows the same degree of value with regards to uniqueness. Nevertheless, the values represented by the hierarchy of competences among living organisms at the same time differs based on species. Honour of uniqueness and hierarchy of competences represent two scientific concepts that never overcross. As a result, there is no evidence to suggest that scientific facts as such constitute a form of contradiction to philosophical and religious ideas, given that religion refers to animals as companions of humans. With regards to the clock of the living organism; there are three kinds of clocks in a living organism: the emotional clock, the cognitive clock and the molecular clock. These three categories actually constitute the temporal layers of our dimension, so they are in a relationship of interdependence. When one has a feeling that time is slower or quicker, they are not fully experiencing that change in the time speed, but only partially. And one can profoundly experience the change of perceived time speed when they experience profound feelings, which sweep them away from reality. Complete, deep mental focus can bring about this profound change in perception, which will make the individual feel as if they are in a different form of reality. When one is more instinctive, the person in cause perceives time as slower and sees more opportunities within the same frame of time and space. When one experiences the “Fight or flight” mode, the person in the cause finds themselves to be in danger and has two options; to try to prevail over the danger or to flee it. Whilst experiencing such a mode, people are much more alert and therefore, time passes more slowly and the physical space dilates. When people are relaxed, however, time and space become smaller, and when they are in a deep state of resting, they become very small. And where there is a smaller dimension, there is a greater speed, just as the circulating air gains speed when it crosses narrow passages.

The theories of Evolution and Big Bang have brought a major impact upon the scientific and societal perception upon the origins, abilities and roles of mankind on Earth. It is conclusively evident that Mother Nature and the physical realm is autonomous and all phenomena in the world occur without an imposition against the “free will” of such events and patterns. Nevertheless, this extent of freedom does not imply that life on Earth represents an accident and has no purpose. By careful analysis of ancient religious texts, it can be suggested even otherwise, that it is especially free will that is offered as a gift from outside of the physical dimensions of existence, with the purpose of a continuous edification and improvement of the overall life conditions and of the human perception. It may be that the multi-generational focus on improvement and progress have been misattributed as a long-term evolution of species, that humans came from animal ancestors and that there is a blurred line associating humans with animals. Furthermore, it may be that scientists based their suggestions that no outside Creator would have brought the Earth into existence on physical perspectives, when the extra-dimensional process of Creation implies that all elements of the physical existence undergo a process of Creation from the outside, where time, space and physical matter do not exist, in spite of such elements possibly reflecting unseen elements of the meta-physical world. Finally, there is the following example that deserves attention within the scientific community; just because all living cells - human, animal and plant - contain DNA chromosomes, ribosomes, mitochondria and a plasma membrane, it does not indicate that humans are animals, just as this does not indicate that plants are animals. In Science, there is a golden statement, that correlation does not imply causation. This example is in complete agreement with the verses of the Book of Genesis in the Holy Scriptures regarding the origins of life; namely, that animals could have been created by an Author of all life on Earth so that man would experience companionship. Another major accordance with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures is the fact that life emerged from the water, and not from the soil, although the soil constituted the second principal means of the commencement and extension of life. Namely, after life first emerged in the seas and the oceans from bacteria, a few bacteria were passed from the marine water into the nearby soil on islands and surrounding land through the circulatory air above the sea level. Afterward, the first life forms emerged from the soil, via the transferred bacteria. Eastern Orthodox Christianity regards water as the principal environment of both physical and spiritual birth. Overall, an improved scientific perception of the timeline of life on Earth may be reached via an approach that combines molecular biology with quantum physics, given that the three layers of Science - Biology, Chemistry and Physics - together with their foundational layer of Mathematics, are in fact situated in a relationship of complete harmony.

This is a study of Political Economy on religion and migration management in the United States of America (USA). This paper offers a review of migrants-citizens relations in the USA, with attention to the pendulum effect, moving from integration policies (open doors and melting pot agenda) to official persecution (raids and deportations), with a high social opportunity cost. There has been a split between the State and civil society, causing civil disobedience and sanctuary network across the country. Also, it is paid attention to the American post-modern paradox, as a result of culture wars and identity politics that imply a violation of American constitutional principles (i.e. religious liberty, freedom of movement, to pursuit the happiness). Special attention is paid to the development of the Sanctuary Movement, as an ongoing example of the sociocultural upheaval bringing grassroots society into confrontation with powerful elites by promoting resistance and offering help to the needy, even if this results in sanctions. This movement was revitalized after the values crisis of 2008, but it has also been polarized between those who follow the traditional approach to socio-religious action in the form of peaceful civil disobedience, and those who follow the ideological anti-system and communitarian approach, which causes greater tension for the immigrants themselves

Background: Shortly after the detection of the COVID virus in January 2020 the US Government introduced and enforced a series of restrictions to protect the elderly from a “deadly virus” and the “pandemic of the century”. Persons who disagreed were silenced and punished. Objective: In the 15^th month of COVID epidemic (April 2021), we have access to sufficient statistical data and methods to better understand the nature, origin of the COVID pandemic. It is now possible to reliably evaluate the effectiveness of the restrictions and the human factors / driving forces behind this drastic limitations of our natural freedom in this country. Methods: Publicly available epidemiological and population parameters were collected and analyzed using the ‘political score’ and ‘restriction ranking’ of 50 states and evaluated by simple and usual statistical methods, mainly correlation analyses. The Political Score of the States (D/R) is the ratio of the number of citizens who self-identified as democrats (D) or republicans (R). The political scores of the 50 states altogether defined a wide, continuous scale, the political scale, that could be used to measure (and statistically evaluate) the effect of politics of a state on the numerical parameters of that state, including population and epidemiologic parameters. The COVID Restriction Score of the States were created to rank the states from 1-50, there 1 is the lowest number of restrictions and 50 is the highest number of restrictions applied by the States. It was based on 13 different key metrics. ResultsThis study revealed, that 1) restrictions reduced the number of viral infections, but 2) they totally failed to reduce the number of supposedly COVID related deaths, expressed as mortality, 3) they increased (SIC!) the lethality of coronavirus. The grade of restrictions were/are strongly associated to the 4) left/right political ratio of the States, there States with more democrat citizens practiced more restrictions. It was found that race, religion and Medicare/healthcare spending have significant influence on politic as well as on the grade of restriction orders. Factors moving States toward the political left and harder COVID restrictions have 5) larger ‘non-white’ population, 6) larger number of ‘non-protestant’ believers, 7) larger Jewish population, and 8) more generous Medicare/healthcare spending. It was not possible to see any influence of the size of the 9) senior (65+) population [i.e. those who are allegedly the most vulnerable and are mostly in need of protective restrictions] neither on the States politic nor on the restrictions. Conclusions: The degree of restrictions enforced by different states ware not primarily determined by biological or epidemiological factors (like number of elderly, say 65+ in the state) but by social, political influences instead. Political (a), religious (b) ethnic (c) and economic (d) forces represented the decisive forces on the state’s restrictive orders and not the convincing evidence of the potentially harmful effects of the COVID infection and the well-founded adequacy of the defense against it.

Background: Short after the detection of the COVID virus in January 2020 the US Government introduced and enforced a series of restrictions to protect the elderly from a “deadly virus” and the “pandemic of the century”. Persons who disagreed were silenced and punished. Objective: In the 15^th month of COVID epidemic (April 2021), we have access to sufficient statistical data and methods to better understand the nature, origin of the COVID pandemic. It is now possible to reliably evaluate the effectiveness of the restrictions and the human factors / driving forces behind this drastic limitations of our natural freedom in this country. Methods: Publicly available epidemiological and population parameters were collected and analyzed using the ‘political score’ and ‘restriction ranking’ of 50 states and evaluated by simple and usual statistical methods, mainly correlation analyses. Results: This study revealed, that 1) restrictions reduced the number of viral infections, but 2) they totally failed to reduce the number of supposedly COVID related deaths, 3) they increased (SIC!) the mortality of coronavirus. The grade of restrictions were/are strongly associated to the 4) left/right political ratio of the States, there States with more democrat citizens practiced more restrictions. It was found that race, religion and Medicare spending have significant influence on politic as well as on the grade of restriction orders. Factors moving States toward the political left and harder COVID restrictions have 5) larger ‘non-white’ population, 6) larger number of ‘non-protestant’ believers, 7) larger Jewish population, and 8) more generous Medicare spending. It was not possible to see any influence of the size of the 9) senior (65+) population [i.e. those who are allegedly the most vulnerable and are mostly in need of protective restrictions] neither on the States politic nor on the restrictions Conclusions: The conclusion is that COVID restrictions are primarily politically motivated, they are ineffective to reduce COVID related mortality and they provide no extra health benefit for the so called “vulnerable” minority (elderly).