http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Latest open access articles published in Religions at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/441 Building on his long career as a distinguished historian of early modern Europe, John Miles Headley has recently turned his gaze to the influence of Europe in the larger world. In The Europeanization of the World, Headley makes an insistent case for the uniqueness of European values—particularly human rights and democracy—and argues that these values are Europe’s most precious gifts to the larger world. Without seeking to diminish the remarkable intellectual and cultural achievements of European peoples, this presentation will suggest a more nuanced view of relations between Europe and the larger world. Human rights and democracy mean different things to different peoples in different contexts at different times, and there have in fact been numerous expressions of both in societies beyond Europe. Furthermore, European theorists of human rights and democracy drew influence from societies beyond Europe. To the extent that the Europeanization of the world is a persuasive idea, it is possible only because of a prior globalization of Europe. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/441 Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-05-14 3 2 Article 441 454 2077-1444 Europeanization of the World or Globalization of Europe? 2012-05-14 doi: 10.3390/rel3020441 Jerry Bentley http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/424 In an essay titled ‘The Exiled Tongue’ (2002), Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertész develops a genealogy of Holocaust and émigré writing, in which the German language plays an important, albeit contradictory, role. While the German language signified intellectual independence and freedom of self-definition (against one’s roots) for Kertész before the Holocaust, he notes (based on his engagement with fellow writer Jean Améry) that writing in German created severe difficulties in the post-war era. Using the examples of Hilde Spiel and Friedrich Torberg, this article explores this notion and asks how the loss of language experienced by Holocaust survivors impacted on these two Austrian-Jewish writers. The article argues that, while the works of Spiel and Torberg are haunted by the Shoah, the two writers do not write in the post-Auschwitz language that Kertész delineates in his essays, but are instead shaped by the exile experience of both writers. At the same time though, Kertész’ concept seems to be haunted by exile, as his reception of Jean Améry’s works, which form the basis of his linguistic genealogies, shows an inability to integrate the experience of exile. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/424 Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-05-14 3 2 Article 424 440 2077-1444 Haunted Encounters: Exile and Holocaust Literature in German and Austrian Post-war Culture 2012-05-14 doi: 10.3390/rel3020424 Birgit Lang http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/407 This article suggests a framework for moving toward a global history of voting and democracy that focuses less on the diffusion of European ideas (however important those ideas were) than on embedding the history of voting within a worldwide history of ideas on sovereignty. The article posits a general framework for such a history focusing on a “conundrum of sovereignty” grounding legitimate rule in a space imagined as simultaneously within and outside worldly society. Rooted in a “secular theology” such ideas shaped in the 19th and 20th centuries the establishment of systems of mass voting (including the secret ballot), and the sovereignty of the “people” both in Europe and other parts of the world alike, in the process producing an image of the individual voter as an “enchanted individual.” The article looks at developments within Europe and in India in these terms.1 http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/407 Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-05-08 3 2 Article 407 423 2077-1444 Towards a Global History of Voting: Sovereignty, the Diffusion of Ideas, and the Enchanted Individual 2012-05-08 doi: 10.3390/rel3020407 David Gilmartin http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/389 Hitler had a noble purpose (to save the world) and a strong faith in the laws of Nature as he understood Nature. He was, then, a spiritual person, though his spirituality was pathological and destructive. Here, the example of Hitler, his faith, and his spiritual pathology is given to both understand spiritual pathology in general and, through contrast, to understand positive spiritual development. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/389 Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-26 3 2 Article 389 406 2077-1444 Spiritual Pathology: The Case of Adolf Hitler 2012-04-26 doi: 10.3390/rel3020389 W. George Scarlett http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/369 Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to fighting for the freedom of his South African kin of all colors against the institution of apartheid. He spent twenty-seven years fighting from within prison, only gaining his freedom when his fellow South Africans could claim it as well. This article demonstrates how his faith, his spiritual development and his noble purpose can be conceptualized through the lens of Ubuntu: the African ethic of community, unity, humanity and harmony. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/369 Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-26 3 2 Article 369 388 2077-1444 Nelson Mandela and the Power of Ubuntu 2012-04-26 doi: 10.3390/rel3020369 Claire E. Oppenheim http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/357 The American tragedy of slavery and the Civil War provides the backdrop for the exemplary spirituality of Atticus Haygood (1839–1896). The son of a Georgia slaveholder, Haygood served as a chaplain in the Confederate army. At the War’s end, he returned to Atlanta to suffer poverty and humiliation under the martial law of conquerors. His spirituality developed as a positive response to the chaos of Reconstruction. Following a mid-life transformation, he earned a national reputation as a progressive Southerner and crusader for the rights and education of former slaves. As a Southern Methodist clergyman, Haygood blended the ideals of evangelism and the social gospel, envisioning an America in which Northerners and Southerners, blacks and whites joined together to build the Kingdom of God. His spirituality evolved to the “universalizing” pinnacle of James Fowler’s stages of faith, a perspective from which all persons—regardless of race, status, and place of birth—participate as equals in fellowship with a just and loving deity. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/357 Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-26 3 2 Article 357 368 2077-1444 New Light on a Lost Cause: Atticus G. Haygood’s Universalizing Spirituality 2012-04-26 doi: 10.3390/rel3020357 Susan Kwilecki http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/344 Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel is one of the world’s most famous paintings, completed in 1542. Greatly admired, it was also criticized for the frontal nudity of some of the figures. Twenty-two years later, 1564, the nudity was painted over, an action attributed to the Council of Trent, 1545–1563. To what extent is that attribution correct? http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/344 Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-25 3 2 Article 344 356 2077-1444 Art, Trent, and Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” 2012-04-25 doi: 10.3390/rel3020344 John O'Malley http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/339 This paper explains how the spiritual teaching known as Metapsychiatry, developed by psychiatrist Thomas Hora, employs two questions as its focal educational method. Those questions facilitate phenomenological discernment of the source (i.e. the meaning) of our problems in living and help students and patients to understand the real nature of God. Perceiving our existentially invalid attachments and the inevitable suffering they produce encourages us to seek inspiration from God. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/339 Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-24 3 2 Article 339 343 2077-1444 False Gods and the Two Intelligent Questions of Metapsychiatry 2012-04-24 doi: 10.3390/rel3020339 Bruce S. Kerievsky http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/320 Auerbach’s goal in writing “Figura” and Mimesis was the rejection of Aryan philology and Nazi barbarism, based on racism, chauvinism and the mythologies of Blood, Volk and Soil, which eliminated the Old Testament from the Christian canon and hence from European culture and civilization. Following the Nazi Revolution of 1933 and the triumph of Aryan philology, Auerbach began writing “Figura,” published in 1938, where he provided an apology for the Old Testament’s validity and credibility, striving to prove that the Jewish Bible was inseparable from the New Testament contrary to the claims of Aryan philology and Nazi historiography. Auerbach’s “Figura” should be considered not merely as a philological study but also, and more importantly, as a crucial stage in his response to the crisis of German philology with Mimesis, in turn, seen as his affirmation, against Aryan philology’s Nazi racist and völkish views, of the humanist, Judeo-Christian foundation of European civilization. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/320 Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-13 3 2 Article 320 338 2077-1444 Erich Auerbach and His "Figura": An Apology for the Old Testament in an Age of Aryan Philology 2012-04-13 doi: 10.3390/rel3020320 Avihu Zakai David Weinstein http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/289 This paper has two central aims: First, to reappraise Isaiah Berlin’s political thought in a historically contextualized way, and in particular: to pay attention to a central conceptual tensions which animates it between, on the one hand, his famous definition of liberalism as resting on a negative concept of liberty and, on the other, his defense of cultural nationalism in general and Zionism in particular. Second, to see what do we gain and what do we lose by dubbing his philosophy Jewish. The discussion will proceed as follows: after describing the conceptual tension (Section 1), I will examine Berlin’s discussion of nationalism and explain why comparisons between him and Hans Kohn as well as communitarian interpretations of him are incomplete and have limited merit. I will continue with a brief discussion of Berlin’s Jewishness and Zionism (Section 3) and explain why I define this position “Diaspora Zionism”. The two concluding sections will discuss Berlin’s place within a larger Cold War liberal discourse (Section 5) and why I find it problematic to see his political writings as part of a Jewish political tradition (Section 6). http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/289 Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-13 3 2 Article 289 319 2077-1444 What is Jewish (If Anything) about Isaiah Berlin’s Philosophy? 2012-04-13 doi: 10.3390/rel3020289 Arie M. Dubnov http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/266 John Muir, America’s most influential conservationist, held a special view of Nature, one that treated Nature as “Godful” and “unredeemed” because, unlike humankind, Nature has not “fallen”. It is a view that asks us to adopt a gaiacentric, not anthropocentric, perspective on our place in the universe. This article explores the meaning and development of that view and how it came to define Muir’s faith and serve his noble purpose of preserving the Wilderness. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/266 Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-13 3 2 Article 266 288 2077-1444 John Muir and “Godful” Nature 2012-04-13 doi: 10.3390/rel3020266 Raymond Barnett http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/251 In this article we outline a theoretical and methodological framework for spiritual identity as meaning in folk psychology. Identity is associated with psychological elements of personality that help people manage a time-bound existence. This discussion is extended on anthropological grounds, noting that spiritual goals are reinforced when they become symbolically self-important, often through religious ritual. This makes religious tradition and culture of monotheist exemplars centrally important to understanding idiosyncratic folk narratives like spiritual success. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/251 Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-13 3 2 Article 251 265 2077-1444 Spiritual Identity: Personal Narratives for Faith and Spiritual Living 2012-04-13 doi: 10.3390/rel3020251 Kevin S. Reimer Alvin C. Dueck http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/228 In this paper, we explore Karl Mannheim’s puzzling failure (or refusal) to address himself in any way to questions arising out of the position of Jews in Germany, either before or after the advent of Nazi rule—and this, notwithstanding the fact, first, that his own ethnic identification as a Jew was never in question and that he shared vivid experiences of anti-Semitism, and consequent exile from both Hungary and Germany, and, second, that his entire sociological method rested upon using one’s own most problematic social location—as woman, say, or youth, or intellectual—as the starting point for a reflexive investigation. It was precisely Mannheim’s convictions about the integral bond between thought grounded in reflexivity and a mission to engage in a transformative work of Bildung that made it effectively impossible for him to formulate his inquiries in terms of his way of being Jewish. It is through his explorations of the rise and fall of the intellectual as socio-cultural formation that Mannheim investigates his relations to his Jewish origins and confronts the disaster of 1933. The key to our puzzle is to be found in the theory of assimilation put forward in the dissertation of his student, Jacob Katz. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/228 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-11 3 2 Article 228 250 2077-1444 Karl Mannheim’s Jewish Question 2012-04-11 doi: 10.3390/rel3020228 David Kettler Volker Meja http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/210 This paper examines a key tension in Renaissance culture as reflected in the origin and provenance of manuscript books. Were Renaissance manuscripts the private property of individual owners or the common wealth of a lettered public? Even an officially public library could not escape that tension, whether through abuse of borrowing privileges or plundering of vulnerable holdings. Market forces encouraged theft, while impoverished scholars used their knowledge to supplement meager incomes. Alternatively, a sense of common wealth is reflected in an ex-libris indicating that a codex belonged to an individual “and his friends.” Book collecting, finally, becomes a helpful clue in discerning to what a scholar is committed. Some Renaissance clergymen used culture as a way to promote their ecclesiastical careers, while others collected and shared manuscripts as a way to promote tolerance. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/210 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-11 3 2 Article 210 227 2077-1444 Res aut res publica: The Evidence from Italian Renaissance Manuscripts and Their Owners 2012-04-11 doi: 10.3390/rel3020210 John M. McManamon http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/191 This paper examines one example of a spiritual hero, Abraham Lincoln, to reflect on issues about spiritual development, to connect spiritual development to character, and to indicate in what ways moral and religious development define and promote spiritual development. It uses Lincoln to show why spiritual maturity takes so long to develop and to show how spiritual development grows out of, rather than in parallel to, the many developments in our public and private lives. Finally, it shows the significance of being spiritual and why we should support spiritual development. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/191 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-11 3 2 Article 191 209 2077-1444 Abraham Lincoln: God’s “Instrument” 2012-04-11 doi: 10.3390/rel3020191 W. George Scarlett http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/183 This essay introduces the special issue, provides criteria for evaluating spiritual exemplars, presents a case study to illustrate how spiritual exemplars can extend our knowledge of spiritual development, and makes important distinctions between types of exemplars and between positive and pathological spirituality. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/183 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2012-04-10 3 2 Article 183 190 2077-1444 Spiritual Exemplars: An Introduction 2012-04-10 doi: 10.3390/rel3020183 W. George Scarlett http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/163 In July 2011 the International Dzogchen Community celebrated its 30th Anniversary. In 1981, near Arcidosso in Tuscany (Italy), Master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche founded the first community or Gar of the International Dzogchen Community. He named it “Meri-gar”, the “Community of the Mountain-of-Fire”. In the 70s Chögyal Namkhai Norbu began to teach Dzogchen to his first students. Interest soon became widespread and having received invitations from all continents, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche began to travel and teach throughout the world. These last thirty years the Dzogchen Community has grown and now has thousands of members in over 40 countries and all continents. The main objective of the Community is to preserve and develop understanding of Dzogchen, as well as preserving Tibet's extraordinary cultural patrimony. The International Shang Shung Institute for Tibetan Studies was founded by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche with this aim and it was inaugurated by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in 1990. It has a rich collections of Tibetan books and manuscripts and publishes the teachings of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu. This article draws on Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’s work and legacy to describe the Dzogchen Lineage and Tibetan Tradition from the very origin of the Shang Shung Culture. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/163 Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-03-23 3 2 Article 163 182 2077-1444 Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche: Dzogchen and Tibetan Tradition. From Shang Shung to the West 2012-03-23 doi: 10.3390/rel3020163 Paolo Roberti di Sarsina http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/151 Karl Löwith (1897–1973) and Erich Auerbach (1892–1957) were assimilated German Jewish scholars who came to America during and after World War II. In the early 1940s both émigrés wrotetheir masterpieces From Hegel to Nietzsche and Mimesis in Japan and Turkey. In these books, the philosopher as well as the philologist, provide a certain philosophy of history forced by the historical crisis of Europe. The differences in their viewpoints can clearly be seen in their decisive judgments on Goethe and the French Revolution. The comparison first looks at the question what impact the reality of being expelled from the German University of Marburg had on the development of their thoughts. The expanding war and the persecution of the European Jews is taken into account as well. The second focus is directed on the experience both made at the American East Coast and how this might have influenced their later writings namely Meaning in History and Philology of World-Literature. And at last the question is raised which significance the Jewish-Christian background had for Löwith and Auerbach especially for their attitude towards the religious sphere. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/2/151 Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-03-23 3 2 Article 151 162 2077-1444 Meaning in History—A Comparison Between the Works of Karl Löwith and Erich Auerbach 2012-03-23 doi: 10.3390/rel3020151 Matthias Bormuth http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/130 Konrad Wolf was one of the most enigmatic intellectuals of East Germany. The son of the Jewish Communist playwright Friedrich Wolf and the brother of Markus Wolf—the head of the GDR’s Foreign Intelligence Agency—Konrad Wolf was exiled in Moscow during the Nazi era and returned to Germany as a Red Army soldier by the end of World War Two. This article examines Wolf’s 1968 autobiographical film I was Nineteen (Ich war Neunzehn), which narrates the final days of World War II—and the initial formation of postwar reality—from the point of view of an exiled German volunteer in the Soviet Army. In analyzing Wolf’s portrayals of the German landscape, I argue that he used the audio-visual clichés of Heimat-symbolism in order to undermine the sense of a homogenous and apolitical community commonly associated with this concept. Thrown out of their original contexts, his displaced Heimat images negotiate a sense of a heterogeneous community, which assumes multi-layered identities and highlights the shared ideology rather than the shared origins of the members of the national community. Reading Wolf from this perspective places him within a tradition of innovative Jewish intellectuals who turned Jewish sensibilities into a major part of modern German mainstream culture. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/130 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-03-22 3 1 Article 130 150 2077-1444 Homecoming as a National Founding Myth: Jewish Identity and German Landscapes in Konrad Wolf’s I was Nineteen 2012-03-22 doi: 10.3390/rel3010130 Ofer Ashkenazi http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/99 The New School for Social Research’s University in Exile accepted more German and European exiled intellectuals than any other American institution of higher education. This paper argues that transnational, cosmopolitan ideological and interest-based affinities shared by left-leaning American progressives and German-Jewish intellectuals enabled the predominantly Jewish University in Exile to become a vibrant intellectual space accepted by the community of largely anti-Semitic American academics. These affinities also illuminate why, despite the fact that the émigrés’ exile was in large part the result of National Socialist hatred of Jews, Alvin Johnson (the founder of the University in Exile) and the faculty members that comprised it seldom discussed the University’s Jewish demographics. The Jewish faculty members ignored the relationship between their ethnicity and exile because to focus on it would have been to admit that the cosmopolitan project they had embraced in Central Europe had failed. Johnson ignored the faculty’s Jewish heritage for two reasons. First, he endorsed a cosmopolitan American nationalism. Second, he understood that the generally anti-Semitic community of American academics would have rejected the University in Exile if he stressed the faculty’s Jewishness. In ignoring the University in Exile’s Jewish demographics, Johnson and the University’s faculty successfully adhered to a strategy designed to foster the exiles’ entrance into the American intellectual community. Thus, while cosmopolitanism failed in Germany and Central Europe, the exiles’ later influence on the American academy indicates that it partially succeeded in the United States. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/99 Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-03-16 3 1 Article 99 129 2077-1444 “Rather More than One-Third Had No Jewish Blood”: American Progressivism and German-Jewish Cosmopolitanism at the New School for Social Research, 1933–1939 2012-03-16 doi: 10.3390/rel3010099 Daniel Bessner http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/82 The topics of spirituality and psychotherapy have often been controversial in the literature on schizophrenia treatment. However, current research indicates many potential benefits of integrating issues of religion and spirituality into psychotherapy for individuals with schizophrenia. In this paper, implications are presented for incorporating spiritual and religious issues in psychotherapy for individuals with schizophrenia. A background on the integration of spirituality into the practice of psychotherapy is discussed. The literature on spiritually-oriented psychotherapy for schizophrenia is provided. Clinical implications are offered with specific attention to issues of religious delusions and cultural considerations. Lastly, steps for implementing spiritually-oriented psychotherapy for individuals with schizophrenia are delineated to assist providers in carrying out spiritually sensitive care. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/82 Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-03-12 3 1 Review 82 98 2077-1444 Spiritual and Religious Issues in Psychotherapy with Schizophrenia: Cultural Implications and Implementation 2012-03-12 doi: 10.3390/rel3010082 Lauren Mizock Uma Chandrika Millner Zlatka Russinova http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/50 Mind-Body practices have become increasingly popular as components of psychotherapeutic and behavior medicine interventions. They comprise an array of different methods and techniques that use some sort of mental-behavioral training and involve the modulation of states of consciousness in order to influence bodily processes towards greater health, well-being and better functioning. Mind-body practices may thus be interpreted as the salutogenetic mirror image of psychosomatic medicine, where psychophysiological and health consequences of specific psychological states are studied, such as stress arousal, psychological trauma or depression. This contribution examines the empirical evidence of the most common mind-body techniques with regard to their salutogenetic potential. We concisely discuss some aspects of the mind-body problem, before we consider some historical aspects and achievements of psychosomatic medicine. We then turn to some prominent mind-body practices and their application, as well as the empirical database for them. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/50 Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-02-23 3 1 Article 50 81 2077-1444 Mind-Body Practices in Integrative Medicine 2012-02-23 doi: 10.3390/rel3010050 Harald Walach Marie-Louise Gander Ferrari Sebastian Sauer Niko Kohls http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/37 This paper investigates representations of gender in the material culture of the ancient synagogue. The pertinent data are numerous dedicatory and funerary inscriptions linking individual Jews, men and women, with titles seemingly associated with leadership in Late Antique synagogues (ca. 200–600 CE). Bernadette Brooten’s influential 1982 monograph argued against the prevailing tendency to characterize these titles as indications of power, authority, and responsibility when associated with men but as meaningless flattery when applied to women. She suggests that synagogue titles denote power, authority and responsibility on all title bearers equally, both men and women. I question the continued utility of proffering female title-holders as enumerable examples of powerful women rescued from their forgotten place in history. Using theoretical insights developed by historians Elizabeth Clark and Gabrielle Spiegel, this paper will engage a comparative analysis with the work of Riet van Bremen and Saba Mahmood to develop new methods of conceptualizing women’s authority in early Jewish communities. I propose that viewing women’s synagogue titles as culturally constructed representations allows for a fruitful inquiry into how women’s titles were used by male-dominated synagogue communities in their self-articulation and public presentation of Judaism. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/37 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-02-08 3 1 Article 37 49 2077-1444 Inscribing Authority: Female Title Bearers in Jewish Inscriptions 2012-02-08 doi: 10.3390/rel3010037 Carrie Duncan http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/19 A growing body of research focusing on African Americans’ mental health is showing that this group relies heavily on their religious/spiritual beliefs and practices to cope with mental health issues including depression. Unfortunately, the psychotherapy literature provides little guidance on how to incorporate religion/spirituality into psychotherapy with African American women. With the growing cultural diversity of the U.S. population, there has been more emphasis on providing patient-centered culturally sensitive care, which involves providing care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs, and values. This paper provides a synthesis of literature that psychotherapists could use to become more culturally sensitive and patient-centered in their clinical practices; that is, to recognize and integrate religion/spirituality into their work with African American women experiencing depression, and possibly other groups with similar needs. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/19 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-01-18 3 1 Article 19 36 2077-1444 Psychotherapy with African American Women with Depression: Is it okay to Talk about Their Religious/Spiritual Beliefs? 2012-01-18 doi: 10.3390/rel3010019 Maigenete Mengesha Earlise C. Ward http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/1 This article systematically reviews the evidence for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and analyses the conditions around their rising popularity. MBSR, MBCT and Mindfulness Meditation were used as key words. The inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials using the standard MBSR/MBCT program with a minimum of 33 participants. Twenty four studies were included. MBSR improved mental health in ten studies compared to waitlist control or treatment as usual. Moreover, MBSR was as efficacious as active control group in four studies, and showed a tendency over active control in one study. MBCT reduced the risk of depressive relapse in all five included studies. Evidence supports that MBSR improves mental health and MBCT prevents depressive relapse. It is interesting to observe that meditation based therapy programs are rapidly enjoying popularity. We discuss the cultural and theoretical implications. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/3/1/1 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 CET Religions 2012-01-04 3 1 Review 1 18 2077-1444 Meditation Based Therapies—A Systematic Review and Some Critical Observations 2012-01-04 doi: 10.3390/rel3010001 Lone Overby Fjorback Harald Walach http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/729 This paper tackles the issue of women and religion through a particular looking glass: religious utterances such as curses, supplication, and prayer, as reflected in some passages from ancient Greek epic and tragedy—pivotal literary genres in the ideological discourse of the Greek polis. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/729 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-12-20 2 4 Article 729 743 2077-1444 Women’s Voice and Religious Utterances in Ancient Greece 2011-12-20 doi: 10.3390/rel2040729 Manuela Giordano http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/707 Inter-religious cooperation has been recommended to address various issues for the common good. Muslims and Christians in Uganda are working together on HIV prevention in this spirit. A study was done to compare HIV prevalence and HIV-risk behaviors between Muslims and Christians. A total of 2,933 Christian and 1,224 Muslim youth between 15–24 years were interviewed and tested for HIV. The HIV prevalence was significantly lower among Muslims (2%) compared to Christians (4%). Muslims were more likely to be circumcised, avoid drinking alcohol and avoid having first sex before 18 years. These behaviors which may have led to lower HIV infections among Muslims are derived from Islamic teachings. Muslim religious leaders need to continue to emphasize these teachings. Christian religious leaders may need to consider strengthening similar teachings from their faith tradition to reduce new HIV infections among their communities. Muslims and Christians working together as good neighbors, in the spirit of inter-religious cooperation, can generate evidence-based data that may assist them to improve their HIV prevention interventions. By sharing these data each community is likely to benefit from their cooperation by strengthening within each religious tradition those behaviors and practices that appear helpful in reducing new HIV infections. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/707 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-12-20 2 4 Article 707 728 2077-1444 Inter-religious Cooperation for HIV Prevention in Uganda: A Study among Muslim and Christian Youth in Wakiso District 2011-12-20 doi: 10.3390/rel2040707 Magid Kagimu David Guwatudde Charles Rwabukwali Sarah Kaye Yusuf Walakira Dick Ainomugisha http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/693 The objective of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI-14) using a Rasch model approach in a cross-sectional design. The scale was administered to N = 130 British patients with different psychosomatic conditions. The scale failed to show clear one-factoriality and item 13 did not fit the Rasch model. A two-factorial solution without item 13, however, appeared to fit well. The scale seemed to work equally well in different subgroups such as patients with or without mindfulness practice. However, some limitations of the validity of both the one-factorial and the two-factorial version of the scale were observed. Sizeable floor and ceiling effects limit the diagnostical use of the instrument. In summary, the study demonstrates that the two-factorial version of the FMI-13 shows acceptable approximation to Rasch requirements, but is in need of further improvement. The one-factorial solution did not fit well, and cannot be recommended for further use. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/693 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-12-08 2 4 Article 693 706 2077-1444 Measuring Mindfulness: A Rasch Analysis of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory 2011-12-08 doi: 10.3390/rel2040693 Sebastian Sauer Harald Walach Martin Offenbächer Siobhan Lynch Niko Kohls http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/676 In light of increased scholarly interest in the scientific study of non-Christian religions and societies, I review sociological research on Hinduism. Specifically, I focus on Hindu congregational forms, a phenomenon noted in social scientific literature. Drawing on existing theories from the sociology of religion, this article illuminates possible social sources of Hindu congregational forms. Two preliminary sources are proposed and possible mechanisms elaborated: (1) modernization and (2) social networks. I conclude by proposing several new directions for research on Hindu congregational forms. These arguments and proposals offer directions for expanding understanding of how theories in the sociology of religion might operate beyond Christianity and the West. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/676 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-12-08 2 4 Article 676 692 2077-1444 Hinduism in India and Congregational Forms: Influences of Modernization and Social Networks 2011-12-08 doi: 10.3390/rel2040676 Samuel Stroope http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/659 Since Freud’s “Mourning and Melancholia”, bereavement encompasses the dilemma between continuing versus relinquishing bonds to deceased persons. Mourning is the process of symbolizing the loss, of making sense by facing the conflict between the absence of the lost object and the continuing presence of an emotional relationship to that which is lost. Furthermore, mourning is not limited to bereaved persons but also concerns dying persons and, in a broader sense, our whole symbolic life which is playful coping with a rhythm of absence and presence. True consolation connects the individual and the archetypical mourning. Spiritually integrated psychotherapy may accompany this process by amplification. Christian mysticism takes its starting point from the experience of Jesus Christ’s lost body, and this may be understood as a model of spiritual transformation. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/659 Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-11-25 2 4 Article 659 675 2077-1444 Transforming Losses―A Major Task of Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy 2011-11-25 doi: 10.3390/rel2040659 Eckhard Frick http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/649 The first Journal of Transpersonal Psychology was published in 1969. Since this signal event, transpersonal psychology has emerged as a field of theory and application. A way has been made in Western psychology for the appreciation and study of interior subjective awareness, the domain of spiritual experience. One of the most recent contributions, the Wilber-Combs Lattice, offers a typology to account for both developmental processes throughout the human life span, as well as different qualities of spiritual experience. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/649 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-11-22 2 4 Article 649 658 2077-1444 Transpersonal Psychology: Mapping Spiritual Experience 2011-11-22 doi: 10.3390/rel2040649 Dwight Judy http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/628 A sociological study of religious authority and gender in the context of a rural, impoverished community was conducted in African American churches in one county of the Arkansas Lower Mississippi Delta region to understand relationships between religious leadership, gender, race, and social justice. Three female and three male African American pastors were interviewed as key-informants of their churches to investigate views of female religious authority, and to compare and contrast the congregational culture of female-headed vs. male-headed churches. Among male-headed congregations, views of gender and leadership were complex, with beliefs ranging from no support to full support for female-headed congregations. Two congregational cultures emerged from the data: Congregations with a Social Activist orientation focused on meeting the social needs of the community through Christ, whereas congregations with a Teach the Word orientation stressed the importance of meeting the spiritual needs of the community through knowing the Word of God. Although aspects of both congregational cultures were present to some extentin all six congregations studied, the Social Activist culture played a more dominant narrative in female-headed congregations, whereas the Teach the Word culture was more evident in male-headed congregations. This study reports preliminary information about gender and religious authority in rural African American churches by revealing the different clergy training requirements and church placements of female and male clergy, a myriad of views about female religious authority in the African American faith community, and through uncovering two distinct congregational cultures. This study also enhances understanding on the role of gender in Black churches’ perceptions and interactions with rural, socioeconomically challenged communities. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/628 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-11-22 2 4 Article 628 648 2077-1444 Religious Authority in African American Churches: A Study of Six Churches 2011-11-22 doi: 10.3390/rel2040628 Karen Hye-cheon Kim Yeary http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/611 Integrating spirituality into mental health care, psychiatry and psychotherapy is still controversial, albeit a growing body of evidence is showing beneficial effects and a real need for such integration. In this review, past and recent research as well as evidence from the integrative concept of a Swiss clinic is summarized. Religious coping is highly prevalent among patients with psychiatric disorders. Surveys indicate that 70–80% use religious or spiritual beliefs and activities to cope with daily difficulties and frustrations. Religion may help patients to enhance emotional adjustment and to maintain hope, purpose and meaning. Patients emphasize that serving a purpose beyond one’s self can make it possible to live with what might otherwise be unbearable. Programs successfully incorporating spirituality into clinical practice are described and discussed. Studies indicate that the outcome of psychotherapy in religious patients can be enhanced by integrating religious elements into the therapy protocol and that this can be successfully done by religious and non-religious therapists alike. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/611 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-11-02 2 4 Review 611 627 2077-1444 Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Mental Health Care, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy 2011-11-02 doi: 10.3390/rel2040611 René Hefti http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/590 This paper presents evidence for why Corrections should take the humanist, spiritual, and religious self-identities of people in prison seriously, and do all it can to foster and support those self-identities, or ways of establishing meaning in life. Humanist, spiritual, and religious (H/S/R) pathways to meaning can be an essential part of the evidence-based responsivity principle of effective correctional programming, and the desistance process for men and women involved in crime. This paper describes the sociology of the H/S/R involvement of 349 women and 3,009 men during the first year of their incarceration in the Oregon prison system. Ninety-five percent of the women and 71% of the men voluntarily attended at least one H/S/R event during their first year of prison. H/S/R events were mostly led by diverse religious and spiritual traditions, such as Native American, Protestant, Islamic, Wiccan, Jewish, Jehovah Witness, Latter-day Saints/Mormon, Seventh Day Adventist, Buddhist, and Catholic, but, increasingly, events are secular or humanist in context, such as education, yoga, life-skills development, non-violent communication, and transcendental meditation groups. The men and women in prison had much higher rates of H/S/R involvement than the general population in Oregon. Mirroring gender-specific patterns of H/S/R involvement found in the community, women in prison were much more likely to attend H/S/R events than men. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/590 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-11-02 2 4 Article 590 610 2077-1444 The Sociology of Humanist, Spiritual, and Religious Practice in Prison: Supporting Responsivity and Desistance from Crime 2011-11-02 doi: 10.3390/rel2040590 Tom P. O’Connor Jeff B. Duncan http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/566 Like other European countries, contemporary Finland has witnessed an explosion of healing modalities designatable as “New Age” (though not without profound controversy, [1]). This paper focuses on Finnish courses in lament (wept song, tuneful weeping with words) that combine healing conceived along psychotherapeutic lines and lessons from the lament tradition of rural Karelia, a region some Finns regard as their cultural heartland. A primary goal of the paper is to explicate a concept of “authenticity” emerging in lament courses, in which disclosing the depths of one’s feelings is supported not only by invoking “psy-“ discourses of self-help, but also by construing the genuine emotional self-disclosure that characterizes neolamentation as a sacred activity and a vital contribution to the welfare of the Finnish people. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/566 Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-10-11 2 4 Article 566 589 2077-1444 Sacred Psychotherapy in the “Age of Authenticity”: Healing and Cultural Revivalism in Contemporary Finland 2011-10-11 doi: 10.3390/rel2040566 James M. Wilce http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/549 Spirituality and religiousness (S/R) are resources for finding meaning and hope in suffering and have been identified as key components in the process of psychological recovery. However, religion may also be associated with psycho-pathology, suffering and non-adherence with psychiatric treatment. Based on a literature review, this paper examines how S/R can be integrated in the treatment of patients with serious mental illness. We implemented a pilot “Spirituality and Recovery Group” designed to (1) help patients to resort to S/R as a means of recovery; (2) work on resolving conflicts between S/R and life issues and treatment; and (3) provide information on S/R in the context of psychosis. Preliminary results are presented. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/549 Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-10-11 2 4 Review 549 565 2077-1444 Integration of Spirituality and Religion in the Care of Patients with Severe Mental Disorders 2011-10-11 doi: 10.3390/rel2040549 Sylvia Mohr http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/536 In this paper, we offer some preliminary insights into a comparison of Islam and Roman Catholicism as transnational or “transcivilizational” political phenomena. We note that both traditions are monotheistic, offer universalist theologies, and have played important political roles both historically and in contemporary national and international politics. The comparison provides some additional insights into the role of ‘the sacred’ in politics at various levels, and presents the possibility of an intermediate level of analysis in comparative politics. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/536 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-09-30 2 4 Article 536 548 2077-1444 Islam and Roman Catholicism as Transnational Political Phenomena: Notes for a Comparative Research Agenda 2011-09-30 doi: 10.3390/rel2040536 Ted G. Jelen Mehran Tamadonfar http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/525 This study examined: (1) the spirituality of staff; (2) its relationship with staff’s attitudes towards religiosity/spirituality of patients; and (3) with staff’s integration of religious and spiritual contents in the patient’s therapy. Method: An anonymous survey distributed to the staff in the department of psychiatry and psychotherapy at the Freiburg University Hospital. The main predictor variable was the spirituality of staff using DRI (Duke Religion Index). The main criterion variables were the relevance of religiosity/spirituality of patients and staff’s attitude towards religious/spiritual contents during their therapy using the questionnaire of Curlin et al. Results: The spirituality of staff was 6.91 on a scale of 12.0. There was no significant relationship between variables. Staff regarded the influence of religious/spiritual contents generally positive to patients. However, the staff did not use religious/spiritual elements in their therapy methods. Frequent reasons were insufficient time/occasion and insufficient knowledge. Conclusions: Religious/spiritual contents have not been integrated yet in therapy methods, although they are regarded as important for patients. Further studies and discussion about religious/spiritual matters are essential for their integration into psychiatric therapies in order to overcome these inconsistencies. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/525 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-09-28 2 4 Article 525 535 2077-1444 “Religion in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy?” A Pilot Study: The Meaning of Religiosity/Spirituality from Staff’s Perspective in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy 2011-09-28 doi: 10.3390/rel2040525 Eunmi Lee Anne Zahn Klaus Baumann http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/504 Religious institutions and places of worship have played a pivotal role in American Politics. What about the role of the mosque? Does the mosque, as an institution, in any sense play a different role than that of churches or synagogues in political participation? Some scholars have argued that Islam as a religion and a culture is incompatible with liberal, democratic American values; not only is Islam inconsistent with the West, but it poses a direct conflict.  This viewpoint has likewise been popularized in American and European media and by some government officials who have labeled Muslims as enemies of freedom and democracy. Through the examination of the Muslim American Public Opinion Survey (MAPOS), which has a large sample size of American Muslim respondents (N = 1410), we argue that the mosque emerges as an important indicator for Muslim social and political integration into American society. We demonstrate that not only are those Muslims who attend the mosque regularly more likely to identify as American Muslims rather than by national origin, they are also more likely to believe mosques encourage Muslims to integrate into U.S. society. Our analysis further exemplifies that mosque attendance and involvement, beyond creating a common identity among American Muslims, leads to more political participation in the U.S. In contrast to prevailing wisdom, we also find that more religiously devout Muslims are significantly more likely to support political participation. Based on our findings, we conclude that there is nothing inconsistent with the mosque and American democracy, and in fact, religiosity fosters support for American democratic values. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/504 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-09-27 2 4 Article 504 524 2077-1444 Mosques as American Institutions: Mosque Attendance, Religiosity and Integration into the Political System among American Muslims 2011-09-27 doi: 10.3390/rel2040504 Karam Dana Matt A. Barreto Kassra A.R. Oskooii http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/485 In victimology, fear of crime is understood as an emotional response to the perceived threat of crime. Fear of crime has been found to be affected by several variables besides local crime rates and personal experiences with victimization. This study examines the relationship between religion and fear of crime, an underexplored topic in the criminological literature. This gap is rather surprising given the central role religion has been found to play in shaping the attitudes and perceptions of congregants. In particular, religion has been found to foster generalized trust, which should engender lower levels of distrust or misanthropy, including that which is directed towards a general fear of crime. OLS regression was performed using data from the West Georgia Area Survey (n = 380). Controlling for demographic, community involvement, and political ideology variables, frequency of religious attendance was significantly and negatively associated with fear of property crime. This relationship remained even after a perceived neighborhood safety variable was introduced to the model. However, religious attendance was not significantly related to fear of violent crime, and religious orientation was unrelated to fear of property and violent crime. These results suggest that religious involvement conditionally reduces fear of crime, and the authors recommend that future research explore relationships between religion and fear of crime. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/485 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-09-27 2 4 Article 485 503 2077-1444 Does Religious Involvement Generate or Inhibit Fear of Crime? 2011-09-27 doi: 10.3390/rel2040485 Todd Matthews Lee Michael Johnson Catherine Jenks http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/469 Many studies on the fertility differential by religion have considered both Catholics and Protestants to be equally homogenous groups. Contrary to these studies, we contend that Protestant fertility must be studied in the context of heterogeneous groups. Specifically, conservative Protestantism, with its beliefs about artificial birth control mirroring Catholic teaching, should be examined separately from other Protestant traditions. Using data from the General Social Survey we find that conservative Protestants and Catholics had about the same level of fertility, while mainline Protestants have a fertility rate that is significantly lower than that of Catholics. We also examine the changes in these differences over time. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/4/469 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-09-27 2 4 Article 469 484 2077-1444 Go Forth and Multiply: Revisiting Religion and Fertility in the United States, 1984-2008 2011-09-27 doi: 10.3390/rel2040469 Casey Borch Matthew West Gordon Gauchat http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/449 The dominant Shi’i gender discourse has undergone major shifts in recent years, resulting in revisions of various jurisprudential rulings on women’s rights and status. Among such shifts, there have been rulings on female authority, particularly women’s right to access political decision-making positions. Despite being a controversial topic that has historically faced much clerical debate and disagreement, in recent years a number of reformist clerics have argued in favor of women’s leadership, which is considered a radical departure from the conventional stance. While there are a number of reasons that have contributed to these modernist clerical views in recent years, I argue that the most significant is women’s demands and mobilization for reform of misogynist Shari‘a-based laws. Through reference to clerical gender discourses unfolding in Iran, a Shi’i state, this work will shed light onto the modernist clerical discourses that resulted from women’s strategic and organized pressuring for enhanced women’s political representation. In this regard, this work will examine the interactions between women’s groups and religious elites, in particular pious women’s efforts to publicize and politicize the issue of female authority and women’s access to leadership positions within the Iranian society, as well as the various types of justifications offered by Shi’i clerics for enhancing women’s political rights. By analyzing the recent clerical reformist discourses, this article identifies two dominant types of justifications used by such clerics in explaining the shift from the conventional stand on the subject of female authority, which are categorized as a contextual rereading and a feminist rereading. This analysis will conclude by evaluating the impact of these different types of clerical responses on the future prospects of reform in the society, especially democratization of religious interpretation. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/449 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-09-22 2 3 Article 449 468 2077-1444 Notions of Female Authority in Modern Shi’i Thought 2011-09-22 doi: 10.3390/rel2030449 Mona Tajali http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/427 Pastoral challenges prompted pietists among Elizabethan Catholics and Calvinists to commend what historians now call an inward turn whereby the faithful, in a sense, become their own confessors. This article suggests that spiritual exercises or soliloquies Shakespeare scripted for his Hamlet (and, less so, for Angelo in Measure for Measure) compare favorably with the devotional literature that underscored the importance of self-analysis, intra-psychic conflict, and contrition. The argument here is not that the playwright’s piety resembled his Hamlet’s but that the latter reflected efforts to structure desire in the religions of the time struggling for survival and recognition. References to passages in Shakespeare plays (act, scene) appear parenthetically in the text. Unless otherwise indicated in the bibliography appended to this article, all early printed material is accessible at the Early English Books database, http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home, verified June 1, 2011. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/427 Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-09-06 2 3 Article 427 448 2077-1444 Hamlet’s Religions 2011-09-06 doi: 10.3390/rel2030427 Peter Iver Kaufman http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/410 The issue of religious authority is one of the main reasons why women have been allowed to participate in Pentecostal churches, and why they have been limited. Women are granted access to ministering authority, but not governing authority. Charles Barfoot and Gerald Sheppard have noted the presence of these two types of authority to be operative within Pentecostalism and have associated them with Max Weber’s typology of prophet and priest. However, in their attempt to describe the history of Pentecostal women in ministry with these categories, Barfoot and Sheppard present the paradigm as one of displacement rather than coexistence. The result is a problematic and misleading account of Pentecostal women in ministry. However, the issue is not Weber’s categories, but how they employ them. The purpose of this article is to utilize the distinction between prophet and priest to differentiate between two types of ecclesial functions and their concomitant religious authority, rather than to differentiate between two periods of Pentecostalism. A brief history of Pentecostal women in ministry is presented, wherein examples are offered of how women in the Church of God, the Church of God in Christ, the Assemblies of God, and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel operated in the prophetic realms with a ministering authority, but were largely prohibited from the priestly realms and its ruling authority. As these examples demonstrate, the history of Pentecostal women in ministry is told best when the simultaneous existence of the prophetic and priestly functions are recognized, and ministering authority and ruling authority are connected to these two functions. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/410 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-08-29 2 3 Article 410 426 2077-1444 Prophesying Women and Ruling Men: Women’s Religious Authority in North American Pentecostalism 2011-08-29 doi: 10.3390/rel2030410 Lisa P. Stephenson http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/398 How can the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS result in a positive spiritual transformation (ST)? The purpose of this sub-study is to identify special features of the experiences of individuals in whom HIV/AIDS diagnosis triggered a positive ST. We found ST triggered by HIV/AIDS to develop gradually, with a key adaptation phase after diagnosis in which the patient develops an individualized spirituality. Most participants (92%) expressed having an individual connection to a higher presence/entity. Most (92%) also described themselves as feeling more spiritual than religious (p < 0.001). Religious professionals did not play a key role in fostering ST. Despite experiencing stigma by virtue of certain religious views, participants accepted themselves, which supported the process that we called “the triad of care taking”. This triad started with self-destructive behavior (92%), such as substance use and risky sex, then transformed to developing self-care after diagnosis (adaptation) and gradually expanded in some (62%) to compassionate care for others during ST. Spirituality did not trigger the adaption phase immediately after diagnosis, but contributed to long-lasting lifestyle changes. Overcoming self-reported depression, (92% before diagnosis and in 8% after ST) was a common feature. After the adaption phase, none of the participants blamed themselves, others or God for their HIV+ status. The prevailing view, rather, was that “God made them aware”. Our results suggest that it may be important to find ways to support people with HIV in feeling connected to a higher presence/entity, since this leads not only to a deeper connection with a higher presence/entity, but also to a deeper connection with oneself and to more responsible and caring behavior. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/398 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-08-25 2 3 Article 398 409 2077-1444 Being Diagnosed with HIV as a Trigger for Spiritual Transformation 2011-08-25 doi: 10.3390/rel2030398 Franz Lutz Heidemarie Kremer Gail Ironson http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/389 This study employed psychological type theory and measurement to explore the psychological profile of women priests ordained in the Church of England. A sample of 83 Anglican clergywomen in England completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The data demonstrated clear preferences for introversion (63%) over extraversion (37%), for intuition (60%) over sensing (40%), for feeling (76%) over thinking (24%), and for judging (55%) over perceiving (45%). In terms of dominant types, 37% were dominant feelers, 31% dominant intuitives, 23% dominant sensers, and 8% dominant thinkers. These findings are discussed to illuminate the preferred ministry styles of Anglican clergywomen in England and to highlight the significant differences between the psychological type profile of clergywomen and the UK female population norms. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/389 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-08-25 2 3 Article 389 397 2077-1444 Women Priests in the Church of England: Psychological Type Profile 2011-08-25 doi: 10.3390/rel2030389 Leslie J. Francis Mandy Robbins Michael Whinney http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/372 The relationship between religiosity and educational attainment is an important question in the sociology of religion literature. It is widely contested whether the natural outgrowth of the spreading rational worldview and the increase of educated people can account for the decline of religious adherence. Is there any other explanation for the different opportunities of religious and non-religious societal groups to obtaining the highest educational level? After the political transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, one of the most important challenges of restructuring the educational system was how different cultural groups would be able to infuse their own spirituality into their children's education after the domination of the totalitarian ideology. The Hungarian case is unique because of the mixed confessional landscape, the populous Hungarian minority outside the border, the alternating hard and soft periods of religious harassment. Recently, more than half of the Hungarian population can be described as religious in their own way, one sixth strongly affiliated with churches, and another sixth are atheists. However, several studies showed that basic indicators of social status were very strongly and negatively interrelated with religiosity. It turned out that preferred educational views, values, approaches and priorities regarding the norms at schools differ very sharply according to the religious views, and belonging to a religious network significantly supports educational careers. This paper is a comprehensive review of research on the educational functions of denominational schools and religious communities in contemporary Hungary. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/372 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-08-22 2 3 Article 372 388 2077-1444 Schools and Communities of Norm-awareness 2011-08-22 doi: 10.3390/rel2030372 Gabriella Pusztai http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/358 This article focuses on female clergy as potential agents of change in the Church. I argue that the adoption of female clergy is one of the main factors that cause the Church to change its practices, policies and theological orientation. The first female ministers were ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in 1988. This is fairly late compared to other Nordic countries. However, the number of female ministers and female students has been growing fast and nowadays about 70 percent of theology students are female.The paper is based on quantitative surveys conducted among the members of the Clergy Union in 2002, 2006 and 2010 (N = about 1,000 each) and among the applicants for university studies in theology in 2010. The research shows that clergywomen are changing the Church in a clearly more liberal direction. They do it in various areas of church life: they change the perception of faith and dogma, the policies of the Church as well as daily practices in parishes. Clergymen are notably more traditional in their orientation, even young clergymen. Therefore it is especially the female clergy who serve as agents of religious change in the Church. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/358 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-08-17 2 3 Article 358 371 2077-1444 Female Clergy as Agents of Religious Change? 2011-08-17 doi: 10.3390/rel2030358 Kati Niemelä http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/345 There is a multitude of instruments for measuring religiosity/spirituality. Many of these questionnaires are used or even were developed in the context of studies about the connection between religiosity/spirituality and health. Thus, it seems crucial to note that measures can focus on quite different components along a hypothetical path between stressors and health. We present an instructive model which helps to identify these different components and allows the categorization of instruments of religiosity/spirituality according to their primary measurement intention: intensity/centrality, resources, needs, coping, and quality of life/well-being. Furthermore, we point out possibilities as to how religiosity and spirituality can be differentiated. We argue that the distinction between religiosity and spirituality is important in countries with a more secular background where a growing number of people identify themselves as “spiritual, but not religious”. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/345 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-08-11 2 3 Article 345 357 2077-1444 Measuring Religiosity/Spirituality: Theoretical Differentiations and Categorization of Instruments 2011-08-11 doi: 10.3390/rel2030345 Christian Zwingmann Constantin Klein Arndt Büssing http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/330 Psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may have an intensive negative impact on a patient’s spiritual beliefs or his/her belief in God; this effect may diminish the social and professional skills of many survivors. In the same time researches showed that religion plays a coping role among patients with medical and mental health illnesses. During the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-1995) the whole population, regardless of age, gender, nationality or profession, suffered severely. During the pre-war period in communistic Yugoslavia religious believes altered with atheistic public life styles. Additionally, war traumatization had a negative impact on spirituality and religious beliefs. In the series of case reports we intended to describe and assess the impact of a session of group psychotherapy, with spiritual topics and content, which was offered to patients who needed to reestablish religious beliefs. The patients who come to the Psychiatry Clinic because of trauma-induced mental health problems and who we are interested in strengthening their spirituality met each other in the group regardless of their religious or spiritual conviction. We described the conceptualization and development of such a group and present some self-reported views of clients who took part in these groups. The supportive and empathetic presence of such group in the community helps to prevent withdrawal and isolation, alienation and deviation of traumatized persons. The presence of such group facilitates the rehabilitation process of the victims, allowing them to understand that people are available to them in certain critical moments, to help, to offer protection or to console. Groups like this one, offer long term social and spiritual support to extremely severely traumatized victims. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/330 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-07-28 2 3 Article 330 344 2077-1444 The Spiritual Approach to Group Psychotherapy Treatment of Psychotraumatized Persons in Post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina 2011-07-28 doi: 10.3390/rel2030330 Mevludin Hasanović Osman Sinanović Izet Pajević Mark Agius http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/312 The religion literature in Sociology remains largely disconnected from the ethnicity and immigration literature despite enduring connections between religion and ethnicity. This review helps to close this gap. It shows how the dominant theories in each discipline follow a similar trajectory and examines how exploring the theoretical connections between religion and ethnicity can advance our understanding of each social phenomenon. In particular, it can illuminate why America remains so religious as well as why America’s religious congregations continue to be so divided along ethnic and racial lines. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/312 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-07-26 2 3 Review 312 329 2077-1444 Religion and Ethnicity: Theoretical Connections 2011-07-26 doi: 10.3390/rel2030312 Rebecca Y. Kim http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/297 The Park 51 controversy swept like wildfire through the media in late August of 2010, fueled by Islamophobes who oppose all advance of Islam in America. Yet the controversy also resonated with many who were clearly not caught up in the fear of Islam. This article attempts to understand the broader concern that the Park 51 project would somehow violate the Ground Zero site, and, thus, as a sign of "respect" should be moved to a different location, an argument that was invariably articulated in “spatial language” as groups debated the physical and spatial presence of the buildings in question, their relative proximity, and even the shadows they cast. This article focuses on three sets of spatial meanings that undergirded these arguments: the site as sacred ground created through trauma, rebuilding as retaliation for the attack, and the assertion of American civil religion. The article locates these meanings within a broader civic discussion of liberty and concludes that the spatialization of the controversy opened up discursive space for repressive, anti-democratic views to sway even those who believe in religious liberty, thus evidencing a deep ambivalence regarding the legitimate civic membership of Muslim Americans. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/297 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-07-25 2 3 Article 297 311 2077-1444 The Park 51/Ground Zero Controversy and Sacred Sites as Contested Space 2011-07-25 doi: 10.3390/rel2030297 Jeanne Halgren Kilde http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/277 The present study finds that, for Whites, worship attendance is associated with heightened support for racial segregation. This has much to do with the fact that the individuals that attend worship service the least, secular and young adults, tend to be more racially progressive. That is, the extent to which secular and Generation X and Y individuals attend worship services as often as others, worship attendance is associated with weakened opposition to racial segregation. Conversely, worship attendance, religious affiliation, and age cohort are largely unrelated to Black racial segregation attitudes. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/277 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-07-12 2 3 Article 277 296 2077-1444 The Connection between Worship Attendance and Racial Segregation Attitudes among White and Black Americans 2011-07-12 doi: 10.3390/rel2030277 R. Khari Brown http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/264 Prior research has identified a number of antecedents to infant mortality, but has been focused on either structural (demographic) forces or medical (public health) factors, both of which ignore potential cultural influences. Our study introduces a cultural model for explaining variations in infant mortality, one focused on the role of community-level religious factors. A key impetus for our study is well-established religious variations in adult mortality at the community level. Seeking to extend the growing body of research on contextual-level effects of religion, this study examines the impact of religious ecology (i.e., the institutional market share of particular denominational traditions) on county-level infant mortality in the U.S. Analyses of congregational census and Kids Count data reveal that a high prevalence of Catholic and most types of conservative Protestant churches are associated with lower rates of infant mortality when compared with counties that feature fewer Catholic and conservative Protestant congregations. However, communities with a large proportion of Pentecostal churches exhibit significantly higher infant mortality rates. After discussing the implications of these findings, we specify various directions for future research. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/264 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-07-12 2 3 Article 264 276 2077-1444 Religion and Infant Mortality in the U.S.: A Preliminary Study of Denominational Variations 2011-07-12 doi: 10.3390/rel2030264 John P. Bartkowski Xiaohe Xu Ginny E. Garcia http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/247 Although forgotten in both Religionswissenschaft (the Science of Religion) and psychology, Marianne Beth (1880-1984), initially trained as a lawyer and already in 1928 called a “leading European woman”, must be considered as one of the female pioneers of these fields. She has been active especially in the psychology of religion, a field in which she, together with her husband Karl Beth, founded a research institute, an international organization and a journal. In 1932, the Beths organized in Vienna (where Karl was a professor) the largest conference ever in the history of the psychology of religion. Because of her Jewish descent, Marianne Beth fled to the USA when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. This brought an abrupt end to her career as researcher and writer. The article reconstructs Marianne Beth’s path into psychology, analyzes some of her work and puts her achievements in an international perspective. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/247 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-07-06 2 3 Article 247 263 2077-1444 A Political End to a Pioneering Career: Marianne Beth and the Psychology of Religion 2011-07-06 doi: 10.3390/rel2030247 Jacob A. Belzen http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/216 Religion is generally recognized as a major resource for dealing with stressful events, but its relationship with secular coping strategies continues to be debated. The present article provides a systematic review of the way in which analyses of the sub-scale turning to religion of the widely used Brief COPE [1] instrument are presented in peer-reviewed research articles, in order to investigate how the wealth of data published using this instrument can inform how religious coping relates to other coping strategies. Of the 212 identified articles that included turning to religion in their analyses, 80 combined sub-scale scores to form higher-order coping factors, 38 of which based on exploratory factor analyses of their own datasets. When factor analyses had used individual items as indicators, religious coping was more likely to load together with maladaptive coping strategies, and more likely with adaptive coping strategies when analyses were conducted at sub-scale level. To a large extent, the variation in the results from exploratory factor analyses appears to be due to the diverse and often inappropriate factor analytic techniques used to determine the factor structure of the Brief COPE instrument. Reports from factor analyses of the Brief COPE therefore have very little value when trying to make general conclusions about the role of religious coping in relation to secular coping methods. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/3/216 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-07-04 2 3 Article 216 246 2077-1444 A Systematic Review of Studies Using the Brief COPE: Religious Coping in Factor Analyses 2011-07-04 doi: 10.3390/rel2030216 Christian U. Krägeloh http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/198 It is quite likely that the origins of prayer are to be found in ancient mourning and bereavement rites. Primeval ritual prayer was codified and handed down socially to become a deep-rooted feature of people’s cultural behavior, so much so, that it may surface again several years later, in the face of death, danger, need, even in the case of relapse from faith and religious practice. Modes of prayer depend on religious experience, on relations between personal prayer and political action, between prayer and forgiveness, and between prayer and approaches to religions. Various forms of prayer exist, from the covert-hidden to the overt-manifest kind. How can they be investigated? How can one, for instance, explore mental prayer? These issues regard the canon of diffused religion and, therefore, of diffused prayer. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/198 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-06-23 2 2 Article 198 215 2077-1444 Diffused Religion and Prayer 2011-06-23 doi: 10.3390/rel2020198 Roberto Cipriani http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/184 An impressive research literature has emerged that identifies linkages between religion and a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. We contribute to this literature by exploring how women undergoing difficult life circumstances—such as incarceration, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, unemployment, and homelessness—use faith to cope with and change these circumstances. To address this issue we analyze semi-structured interviews with 40 residents of a faith-based transitional center for women in the Southern United States. The residents outline a narrative of change in which they distinguish between the “old self” and “new self.” The narratives also specify the role of religiosity in facilitating change, the creation of a faith-based identity, and the strategies used for maintaining change. We conclude with implications for faith-based treatment programs, local pastors and religious congregants involved in social outreach ministry, sociology of religion scholars, and policy makers. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/184 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-06-22 2 2 Article 184 197 2077-1444 Understanding Personal Change in a Women’s Faith-Based Transitional Center 2011-06-22 doi: 10.3390/rel2020184 Kent R. Kerley Heith Copes Alana J. Linn Lauren Eason Minh H. Nguyen Ariana Mishay Stone http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/165 Research on racial residential segregation has paid little attention to the role that social institutions play in either isolating or integrating racial and ethnic groups in American communities. Scholars have argued that racial segregation within American religion may contribute to and consolidate racial division elsewhere in social life. However, no previous study has employed national survey data to examine the relationship between religious affiliation and the preferences people have about the racial and ethnic composition of their neighborhoods. Using data from the “Multi-Ethnic United States” module on the 2000 General Social Survey, this study finds that white evangelical Protestants have a significantly stronger preference for same-race neighbors than do Catholics, Jews, adherents of “other” faiths, and the unaffiliated. Group differences in preferences are largely accounted for by socio-demographic characteristics. Negative racial stereotyping and social isolation from minorities, both topics of interest in recent research on evangelical Protestants and race, fail to explain group differences in preferences. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/165 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-06-15 2 2 Article 165 183 2077-1444 Neighbors Like Me? Religious Affiliation and Neighborhood Racial Preferences among Non-Hispanic Whites 2011-06-15 doi: 10.3390/rel2020165 Stephen M. Merino http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/145 Both grieving the loss of a loved one and using spirituality or religion as an aid in doing so are common behaviors in the wake of death. This longitudinal examination of 46 African American homicide survivors follows up on our earlier study that established the relation between positive and negative religious coping on the one hand and complicated grief (CG) on the other. In the current report, we broadened this focus to determine the relation between religious coping and other bereavement outcomes, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, to establish whether religious coping more strongly predicted bereavement distress or vice versa. We also sought to determine if the predictive power of CG in terms of religious coping over time exceeded that of PTSD and depression. Our results suggested a link between negative religious coping (NRC) and all forms of bereavement distress, whereas no such link was found between positive religious coping (PRC) and bereavement outcomes in our final analyses. Significantly, only CG prospectively predicted high levels of spiritual struggle six months later. Clinical implications regarding spiritually sensitive interventions are noted. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/145 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-06-14 2 2 Article 145 164 2077-1444 Complicated Grief in the Aftermath of Homicide: Spiritual Crisis and Distress in an African American Sample 2011-06-14 doi: 10.3390/rel2020145 Robert A. Neimeyer Laurie A. Burke http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/132 The controversy surrounding the “ground zero mosque” is part of a larger debate about the place of Islam in U.S. public space. The controversy also reveals the ways in which the boundaries of American identity continue to be debated, often through struggles over who counts as a “real” American. It further demonstrates the extent to which Islam is figured as un-American and militant, and also the extent to which all Muslims are required to account for the actions of those who commit violence under the rubric of Islam. This paper will discuss how, due to the events of September 11, 2001, Muslims have engaged in a process of indigenizing American Islam. It will argue that the Park51 Islamic Community Center (or Ground Zero mosque) is a reflection of this indigenization process. It will go on to argue that projects such as the Ground Zero mosque which try to establish Islam as an important part of the American religious landscape and insist on the freedom of worship as stated in the U.S. constitution, illustrate the ideological battlefield over the place of Islam in the U.S. The paper will also examine the possible ramifications of building the Park51 Islamic Community Center including how this will shape the role that Islam plays in the socio-political lives America Muslims. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/132 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-06-07 2 2 Article 132 144 2077-1444 The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy: Implications for American Islam 2011-06-07 doi: 10.3390/rel2020132 Liyakat Takim http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/114 This article summarizes a version of the “mourning religion” thesis—derived from the work of Peter Homans and further developed and advanced by William Parsons, Diane Jonte-Pace, and Susan Henking—and then demonstrates how this thesis can shed light on the Park51 controversy. We argue that the Park51 controversy represents a case of incomplete cultural mourning of an aspect of American civil religion that manifests itself in melancholic rage by means of protests, threats to burn the Qur’an (as well as actual burnings of the Qur’an), and vandalism of mosques around the United States. We explore various losses—military, economic, and symbolic—and note that these losses remain ambiguous, therefore preventing closure and productive mourning. The fact that a permanent memorial still has not been built at Ground Zero reflects, and perhaps exacerbates, this incomplete cultural mourning. Also, the fact that Freedom Tower, the building to replace the Twin Towers, is to be 1776 feet tall reflects that the losses related to 9/11 are connected to American civil religion, as 1776 is a sacred year in American history. Setting aside the ethics and the politics related to this controversy, we attempt here to understand this controversy from a psychoanalytic perspective. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/114 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-06-01 2 2 Article 114 131 2077-1444 Mourning, Memorials, and Religion: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on the Park51 Controversy 2011-06-01 doi: 10.3390/rel2020114 Nathan Carlin Heba Khan http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/95 The article examines the use of Orthodox Christianity in the debates over the cultural heritage of contemporary Greece. Since the birth of modern Greece, Orthodox Christianity has been used as one of the foundational cultural markers for the construction of Modern Greek national identity. This employment of religion is particularly evident in the case of history in its popularized format. In contemporary cultural politics, debates over the building of a mosque in Athens or the role of Orthodoxy in history textbooks offer particular illustrations of the public significance of Orthodox Christianity. This high profile role was particularly pronounced during the reign of the late Archbishop Christodoulos (1998–2008). The article suggests that the engagement and influence of the Church on public debates depends upon the nature of the affair: The Church enjoys more authority in ecclesiastical issues and is far less influential on issues of broader interest, such as geopolitical disputes. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/2/95 Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2011-05-11 2 2 Article 95 113 2077-1444 Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the Uses of the Past in Contemporary Greece 2011-05-11 doi: 10.3390/rel2020095 Victor Roudometof http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/77 The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp-12) is a 12-item questionnaire that measures spiritual well-being in people with cancer and other chronic illnesses. Cancer patients, psychotherapists, and religious/spiritual experts provided input on the development of the items. It was validated with a large, ethnically diverse sample. It has been successfully used to assess spiritual well-being across a wide range of religious traditions, including those who identify themselves as “spiritual yet not religious.” Part of the larger FACIT measurement system that assesses multidimensional health related quality of life (HRQOL), the FACIT-Sp-12 has been translated and linguistically validated in 15 languages and has been used in dozens of studies examining the relationships among spiritual well-being, health, and adjustment to illness. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/77 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-03-15 2 1 Article 77 94 2077-1444 Spiritual Well-Being as a Component of Health-Related Quality of Life: The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp) 2011-03-15 doi: 10.3390/rel2010077 Jason M. Bredle John M. Salsman Scott M. Debb Benjamin J. Arnold David Cella http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/51 The Brief RCOPE is a 14-item measure of religious coping with major life stressors. As the most commonly used measure of religious coping in the literature, it has helped contribute to the growth of knowledge about the roles religion serves in the process of dealing with crisis, trauma, and transition. This paper reports on the development of the Brief RCOPE and its psychometric status. The scale developed out of Pargament’s (1997) program of theory and research on religious coping. The items themselves were generated through interviews with people experiencing major life stressors. Two overarching forms of religious coping, positive and negative, were articulated through factor analysis of the full RCOPE. Positive religious coping methods reflect a secure relationship with a transcendent force, a sense of spiritual connectedness with others, and a benevolent world view. Negative religious coping methods reflect underlying spiritual tensions and struggles within oneself, with others, and with the divine. Empirical studies document the internal consistency of the positive and negative subscales of the Brief RCOPE. Moreover, empirical studies provide support for the construct validity, predictive validity, and incremental validity of the subscales. The Negative Religious Coping subscale, in particular, has emerged as a robust predictor of health-related outcomes. Initial evidence suggests that the Brief RCOPE may be useful as an evaluative tool that is sensitive to the effects of psychological interventions. In short, the Brief RCOPE has demonstrated its utility as an instrument for research and practice in the psychology of religion and spirituality. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/51 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-02-22 2 1 Article 51 76 2077-1444 The Brief RCOPE: Current Psychometric Status of a Short Measure of Religious Coping 2011-02-22 doi: 10.3390/rel2010051 Kenneth Pargament Margaret Feuille Donna Burdzy http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/29 The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) is a 16-item self-report measure designed to assess ordinary experiences of connection with the transcendent in daily life. It includes constructs such as awe, gratitude, mercy, sense of connection with the transcendent and compassionate love. It also includes measures of awareness of discernment/inspiration and a sense of deep inner peace. Originally developed for use in health studies, it has been increasingly used more widely in the social sciences, for program evaluation, and for examining changes in spiritual experiences over time. Also it has been used in counseling, addiction treatment settings, and religious organizations. It has been included in longitudinal health studies and in the U.S. General Social Survey which established random-sample population norms. It has publications on its psychometric validity in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Mandarin Chinese. Translations have been made into twenty languages including Hindi, Hebrew and Arabic and the scale has been effectively used in a variety of cultures. The 16-item scale does not have a psychometrically representative shorter form although a 6-item adaptation has been used. The DSES was developed using extensive qualitative testing in a variety of groups, which has helped its capacity to be useful in a variety of settings. It was constructed to reflect an overlapping circle model of spirituality/religiousness and contains items that are more specifically theistic in nature, as well as items to tap the spiritual experience of those who are not comfortable with theistic language. The scale has been used in over 70 published studies. This paper will provide an overview of the scale itself, describe why it has proved useful, and discuss some studies using the scale. See http://www.dsescale.org/ for more information on the scale. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/29 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-01-12 2 1 Article 29 50 2077-1444 The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale: Overview and Results 2011-01-12 doi: 10.3390/rel2010029 Lynn G. Underwood http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/17 At our core, or coeur, we humans are spiritual beings. Spirituality can be viewed in a variety of ways from a traditional understanding of spirituality as an expression of religiosity, in search of the sacred, through to a humanistic view of spirituality devoid of religion. Health is also multi-faceted, with increasing evidence reporting the relationship of spirituality with physical, mental, emotional, social and vocational well-being. This paper presents spiritual health as a, if not THE, fundamental dimension of people’s overall health and well-being, permeating and integrating all the other dimensions of health. Spiritual health is a dynamic state of being, reflected in the quality of relationships that people have in up to four domains of spiritual well-being: Personal domain where a person intra-relates with self; Communal domain, with in-depth inter-personal relationships; Environmental domain, connecting with nature; Transcendental domain, relating to some-thing or some‑One beyond the human level. The Four Domains Model of Spiritual Health and Well‑Being embraces all extant world-views from the ardently religious to the atheistic rationalist. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/17 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 CET Religions 2011-01-11 2 1 Article 17 28 2077-1444 The Four Domains Model: Connecting Spirituality, Health and Well-Being 2011-01-11 doi: 10.3390/rel2010017 John Fisher http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/1 Religion and spirituality are two methods of meaning making that impact a person’s ability to cope, tolerate, and accept disease and pain. The biopsychosocial-spiritual model includes the human spirit’s drive toward meaning-making along with personality, mental health, age, sex, social relationships, and reactions to stress. In this review, studies focusing on religion’s and spirituality’s effect upon pain in relationship to physical and mental health, spiritual practices, and the placebo response are examined. The findings suggest that people who are self efficacious and more religiously and spiritually open to seeking a connection to a meaningful spiritual practice and/or the transcendent are more able to tolerate pain. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/2/1/1 Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:00:00 CET Religions 2010-12-31 2 1 Review 1 16 2077-1444 Pain, Spirituality, and Meaning Making: What Can We Learn from the Literature? 2010-12-31 doi: 10.3390/rel2010001 Carol J. Lysne Amy B. Wachholtz http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/105 The Four Domains Model of Spiritual Health and Well-Being was used as the theoretical base for the development of several spiritual well-being questionnaires, with progressive fine-tuning leading to the Spiritual Health And Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM). SHALOM comprises 20 items with five items reflecting the quality of relationships of each person with themselves, other people, the environment and/or God, in the Personal, Communal, Environmental and Transcendental domains of spiritual well-being. SHALOM has undergone rigorous statistical testing in several languages. SHALOM has been used with school and university students, teachers, nurses, medical doctors, church-attenders, in industry and business settings, with abused women, troubled youth and alcoholics. SHALOM provides a unique way of assessing spiritual well-being as it compares each person’s ideals with their lived experiences, providing a measure of spiritual harmony or dissonance in each of the four domains. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/105 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 CET Religions 2010-12-09 1 1 Article 105 121 2077-1444 Development and Application of a Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire Called SHALOM 2010-12-09 doi: 10.3390/rel1010105 John Fisher http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/86 Background: Research has examined the connection between religiosity, spirituality (SpR) and health, and the potential of these variables to prevent, heal and cope with disease. Research indicated that participation in religious meetings or services was associated with a lower risk of developing oral disease. We intended to test a Hebrew version of the SpREUK 1.1 questionnaire, which is reported to be a reliable and valid measure of distinctive issues of SpR, and to test its relevance in the context of oral illness among a Jewish population. Methods: In order to validate the SpREUK-Hebrew instrument, minor translational and cultural/religious adaptations were applied. Reliability and factor analyses were performed, using standard procedures, among 134 Jewish Israeli subjects (mean age 38.4 years). Results: Analysis of reliability for internal consistency demonstrated an intra-class correlation of Cronbach's alpha = 0.90 for the intrinsic religiosity/spiritual and the appraisal scales, and of 0.90 for the support through spirituality/religiosity scales. Inter reliability agreement by kappa ranged between 0.7 and 0.9. We were able to approve the previously described factorial structure, albeit with some unique characteristics in the Jewish population. Individuals´ time spent on spiritual activity correlated with the SpREUK scales. The instrument discriminated well between religious subgroups (i.e., ultra Orthodox, conventional religious and less-religious). Preliminary results indicate an association between measures of spirituality and oral health. Conclusions: The traditional and cultural adaptation of the tool was found to be appropriate. SpREUK-Hebrew was reliable and valid among a Jewish population. This method could therefore be employed in comparative studies among different cultural and religious backgrounds. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/86 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:00:00 CET Religions 2010-12-08 1 1 Article 86 104 2077-1444 Validity and Reliability of the Hebrew Version of the SpREUK Questionnaire for Religiosity, Spirituality and Health: An Application for Oral Diseases 2010-12-08 doi: 10.3390/rel1010086 Avraham Zini Arndt Büssing Harold D. Sgan-Cohen http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/78 There is need for a brief measure of religiosity that can be included in epidemiological surveys to examine relationships between religion and health outcomes. The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) is a five-item measure of religious involvement, and was developed for use in large cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies. The instrument assesses the three major dimensions of religiosity that were identified during a consensus meeting sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. Those three dimensions are organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, and intrinsic religiosity (or subjective religiosity). The DUREL measures each of these dimensions by a separate “subscale”, and correlations with health outcomes should be analyzed by subscale in separate models. The overall scale has high test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation = 0.91), high internal consistence (Cronbach’s alpha’s = 0.78–0.91), high convergent validity with other measures of religiosity (r’s = 0.71–0.86), and the factor structure of the DUREL has now been demonstrated and confirmed in separate samples by other independent investigative teams. The DUREL has been used in over 100 published studies conducted throughout the world and is available in 10 languages. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/78 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 CET Religions 2010-12-01 1 1 Review 78 85 2077-1444 The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL): A Five-Item Measure for Use in Epidemological Studies 2010-12-01 doi: 10.3390/rel1010078 Harold G. Koenig Arndt Büssing http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/54 The article presents a comprehensive overview of the various economic activities performed by the Kykkos Monastery in Cyprus in its long history (11th–20th centuries). The article begins with a brief review of the early centuries of Cypriot monasticism and the foundation of the monastery in the 11th century. Then, the analysis focuses on the economic activities performed during the period of the Ottoman rule (1571–1878). Using primary sources from the monastery’s archives, this section offers an overview of the various types of monastic land holdings in the Ottoman era and the strategies used to purchase them. Using 19th century primary sources, it further presents a detailed account of the multifaceted involvement and illustrates the prominent role of the monastery in the island’s economic life (land ownership, stockbreeding activities, lending of money, etc.). Next, it examines the changes in monastic possessions caused by the legislation enacted by the post-1878 British colonial administration. The legislation caused the loss of extensive land holdings and was the subject of extensive controversy. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/54 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 CET Religions 2010-12-01 1 1 Article 54 77 2077-1444 Economic Functions of Monasticism in Cyprus: The Case of the Kykkos Monastery 2010-12-01 doi: 10.3390/rel1010054 Victor Roudometof Michalis N. Michael http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/28 Religious coping now represents a key variable of interest in research on health outcomes, not only because many individuals turn to their faith in times of illness, but also because studies have frequently found that religious coping is associated with desirable health outcomes. The purpose of this article is to familiarize readers with recent investigations of religious coping in samples with medical conditions. The present article will begin by describing a conceptual model of religious coping. The article will then provide data on the prevalence of religious coping in a range of samples. After presenting findings that illustrate the general relationship between religious coping and health outcomes, the article will review more specific pathways through which religious coping is thought to impact health. These pathways include shaping individuals’ active coping with health problems, influencing patients’ emotional responses to illness, fostering social support, and facilitating meaning making. This article will also address the darker side of religious coping, describing forms of coping that are linked to negative outcomes. Examples of religious coping interventions will also be reviewed. Finally, we will close with suggestions for future work in this important field of research. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/28 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 CET Religions 2010-11-12 1 1 Article 28 53 2077-1444 Medicine for the Spirit: Religious Coping in Individuals with Medical Conditions 2010-11-12 doi: 10.3390/rel1010028 Jeremy P. Cummings Kenneth I. Pargament http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/18 For many patients confronted with chronic diseases, spirituality/religiosity is an important resource for coping. Patients often report unmet spiritual and existential needs, and spiritual support is also associated with better quality of life. Caring for spiritual, existential and psychosocial needs is not only relevant to patients at the end of their life but also to those suffering from long-term chronic illnesses. Spiritual needs may not always be associated with life satisfaction, but sometimes with anxiety, and can be interpreted as the patients’ longing for spiritual well-being. The needs for peace, health and social support are universal human needs and are of special importance to patients with long lasting courses of disease. The factor, Actively Giving, may be of particular importance because it can be interpreted as patients’ intention to leave the role of a `passive sufferer´ to become an active, self-actualizing, giving individual. One can identify four core dimensions of spiritual needs, i.e., Connection, Peace, Meaning/Purpose, and Transcendence, which can be attributed to underlying psychosocial, emotional, existential, and religious needs. The proposed model can provide a conceptual framework for further research and clinical practice. In fact, health care that addresses patients’ physical, emotional, social, existential and spiritual needs (referring to a bio-psychosocial-spiritual model of health care) will contribute to patients’ improvement and recovery. Nevertheless, there are several barriers in the health care system that makes it difficult to adequately address these needs. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/18 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 CET Religions 2010-11-12 1 1 Article 18 27 2077-1444 Spiritual Needs of Patients with Chronic Diseases 2010-11-12 doi: 10.3390/rel1010018 Arndt Büssing Harold G. Koenig http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/9 The SpREUK questionnaire (SpREUK is an acronym of the German translation of "Spiritual and Religious Attitudes in Dealing with Illness") was developed to investigate how patients with chronic diseases living in secular societies view the impact of spirituality in their dealing with illness (in terms of reactive coping). The aim was to operationalize and quantify patients’ search for a transcendent source of support; their reliance on such a source of help; and whether they regard their illness as a chance for reflection and subsequent change of life and behavior. The contextual 15-item SpREUK has very good internal consistency estimates (ranging from 0.86 to 0.91), and differentiates three factors, i.e., Search (for Support/Access), Trust (in Higher Guidance/Source), and Reflection (Positive Interpretation of Disease). It avoids exclusive religious terminology and appears to be a good choice for assessing patients’ interest in spiritual/religious concerns, which is not biased for or against a particular religious commitment. This reliable and valid instrument is suited for patients in secular and also in religious societies. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/9 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2010-10-29 1 1 Article 9 17 2077-1444 Spirituality as a Resource to Rely on in Chronic Illness: The SpREUK Questionnaire 2010-10-29 doi: 10.3390/rel1010009 Arndt Büssing http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/3 The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire is a brief (10-item, or five-item short form version), reliable and valid self report measure assessing strength of religious faith and engagement suitable for use with multiple religious traditions, denominations, and perspectives. It has been used in medical, student, psychiatric, substance abuse, and among general populations nationally and internationally and among multiple cultures and languages. Brief non denominational self report measures of religious and faith engagement that have demonstrated reliability and validity are not common but can have potential for general utility in both clinical and research settings. This article provides an overview of the scale and current research findings regarding its use in both research and clinical practice. http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/3 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2010-10-29 1 1 Review 3 8 2077-1444 The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire: Assessing Faith Engagement in a Brief and Nondenominational Manner 2010-10-29 doi: 10.3390/rel1010003 Thomas G. Plante http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/1 We always seem to be in the wake of some current event or controversy that reminds us just how important scholarly interest in religions has been, is, and will be. Fortunately, new sources for religious movements—even sources that illumine those movements’ origins—keep turning up, and many sources, long considered critical, are now accessible online. Furthermore, fresh developments in the disciplines that consistently make significant contributions to our understanding of religious personality, authority, devotion, and community—disciplines ranging from psychology, sociology, and anthropology to history, art history, philosophy, literary criticism, and political science—fuel general, as well as scholarly, interest in the world’s religions. Without exaggeration, one can claim we have an embarrassment of riches. Consequently, the study of religious crises, commitments, and critics of the latter has never been livelier. [...] http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/1/1/1 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 CEST Religions 2010-06-10 1 1 Editorial 1 2 2077-1444 Welcome to Religions, a New Open Access, Multidisciplinary and Comprehensive Online Journal 2010-06-10 doi: 10.3390/rel1010001 Kaufman