Search Results (128)

Acoustic quality is one of the aspects that contribute to the heritage of cultural and religious spaces. It is increasingly common to find scientific literature detailing the sound characteristics of places of worship, especially those with cultural and historical significance. This article presents a comprehensive acoustic characterization of three colonial heritage churches in Quito. It examines the relationship between objective and subjective parameters that influence the valuation of a space or sound environment. To analyze this relationship, we employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate three latent variables using perceptual acoustic indicators. The SEM results highlighted significant associations between physical acoustic parameters, emotional responses, and evaluative judgments, underscoring that traditional intelligibility metrics alone may not fully capture acoustic quality in these contexts. These findings provide a robust interdisciplinary framework that spans objective measures and human perception, offering valuable guidance for future heritage conservation efforts. Full article

The One Health approach is rapidly gaining the attention of the scientific community worldwide and is expected to be a major model of scientific reasoning in the 21st century, concerning medical, veterinary and environmental issues. The basic concept of One Health, that humans, animals and their environments are parts of the same natural world affecting each other, is rooted in most ethnic as well as in many religious traditions. Despite this unity and for historical reasons, medical, veterinary and environmental sciences developed independently. The One Health concept tries to reunite these and many other relevant sciences, aiming at a deeper understanding of the interconnection between the natural world, humans and animal health. The dynamic interplay between a host’s microbiome, the microbiomes of other hosts, and environmental microbial communities profoundly influences the host health, given the essential physiological functions the microbiome performs within the organism. The biodiversity of microbiomes is broad and complex. The different areas of the skin, the upper and lower respiratory systems, the ocular cavity, the oral cavity, the gastrointestinal tract and finally the urogenital system of pets and humans alike are niches where a multitude of microorganisms indigenous and transient—commensals and pathogens, thrive in a dynamic antagonistic balance of populations of different phyla, orders, genera and species. The description of these microbiomes attempted in this article is not meant to be exhaustive but rather demonstrative of their complexity. The study of microbiomes is a necessary step towards the One Health approach to pets and humans. Yet, despite the progress made on that subject, the scientific community faces challenges, such as the limitations of studies performed, the scarcity of studies concerning the microbiomes of cats, the multitude of environmental factors affecting the results and others. The two new terms proposed in this article, the “familiome” and the “oikiome”, will aid in the One Health theoretical analysis as well as in its practical approach. The authors strongly believe that new technological breakthroughs, like Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), will significantly help to overcome these hazards. Full article

This article aims to provide an account of the political thought of Archbishop John Carroll on the topic of religious liberty as a core principle of the American founding. It examines the relationship of Church and State through the lens of a developing self-understanding in the American and Roman Catholic identities. American Catholic colonists were accused of having a divided allegiance that made them dangerous to the social compact, divided between papal authority and the authority of the republic. Further, the place of the Catholic Church in a more pluralistic religious landscape following the Reformation demanded a reexamination of the traditional Catholic teaching on religious liberty. One man in particular stands out as a seminal figure in the development of a rapprochement between the American liberal understanding of religious liberty and that of the Catholic tradition. This man was Archbishop John Carroll, the first Roman Catholic Bishop in America. Carroll’s theoretical and practical approach to the highly contentious issue of religious liberty is a noteworthy example of simultaneous commitment to the Catholic faith and responsiveness to the exigencies of the moment and the perennial demands of political life. Carroll’s example is useful for Catholics and all others, as a model for Church–State separation. Full article

Domestic violence is a public health problem that has important consequences for the physical, mental and social well-being of individuals and their families, leading to negative effects on future generations, which are exacerbated or inhibited by individual, social and cultural factors. This qualitative study aimed to explore the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence in Peruvian families. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with an adolescent, a mother and a grandfather from nine families. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis revealed the importance of traditional gender norms, machismo and marianismo, in intergenerational transmission. Other important subthemes in maintenance were irritability, social learning, alcohol consumption and economic dependence. On the other hand, support networks, overcoming trauma, knowing how to choose a partner, education and separation were subthemes identified as protective factors and, finally, religious beliefs were associated with contradictory effects, since they can perpetuate violence or serve as a protective factor against violence. The implications of these findings are discussed and a proposal based on the socioecological model of domestic violence is elaborated, covering the four levels: individual, relationship, community and societal. Full article

This article addresses a gap in the literature by offering the first structured reconstruction of the origins, motivations, and development of Ignatian Leadership, connecting its spiritual roots, conceptual foundations, and institutional applications within a coherent and transferable framework. The study explores the genesis, evolution, and contemporary relevance of Ignatian Leadership as a transformative model that combines organisational management principles with the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuit tradition. Through a qualitative methodology, we conducted an exhaustive review of 54 documents and interviews with key experts, incorporating diverse phenomenological perspectives. The findings show that this leadership model emerged to renew the apostolic mission of the Society of Jesus, modernise its educational management, and empower both laypeople and Jesuits in leadership roles. Grounded in Ignatian spirituality—particularly in the practice of discernment aimed at promoting actions inspired by the Magis, in ever deeper and greater service to the most universal good—it seeks to serve others and promote the common good. Over time, the model has expanded beyond religious contexts, offering a counter-cultural and ethically grounded leadership style applicable in educational, managerial and civic settings. This shift of focus not only paves the way for institutional change but also guides individuals towards a more authentic and meaningful life. Full article

This paper re-examines the story of Lu Xiujing’s 陆修静 (406–477) abandonment of his ailing daughter, as recorded in Daoxue zhuan 道學傳 (Biographies of the Adepts of the Dao, hereafter DXZ), to challenge prevailing scholarly interpretations of this story that emphasize Daoist familial renunciation as a Buddhist-influenced complete rejection of Confucian ethics. Through close analysis of biographies in DXZ, Lu’s own writings, and the compiler Ma Shu’s 馬樞 (522–581) life, the study criticizes the habitual thinking of scholars that overemphasizes the tendency of early medieval Chinese Daoism to leave home, and argues that DXZ takes the protagonists in the biographies as models to convey the ethical concept of striving to reconcile the Daoist concept of leaving home to pursue religion aim with the family harmony advocated by traditional Confucianism, and it offers some feasible ideas for resolving the Confucian–Daoist ethical tensions. Ma Shu’s biographical strategy, reflecting his own Confucian-educated background engaged with Daoist belief, positions Lu as an exemplar of this balance. By contextualizing these accounts within social realities and compiler intentionality, the study advances a revised understanding of early medieval Daoist ethics, that is, an effort to pursue the harmonious coexistence of religious pursuits and family care. Full article

This paper analyzes the Hindu concept of sevā—selfless service—as a theo-ethical practice that reconfigures the relationship between religion and economy, offering a snapshot of an Indian perspective on the convergence between postsecularism and postcapitalist discourses. Rather than being reducible to acts of charity, sevā integrates spiritual, ethical, and social dimensions that challenge the neoliberal emphasis on individual self-interest and material accumulation. Rooted in the pursuit of liberation and relational well-being, sevā frames economic and moral agency in terms of embeddedness, reciprocity, and care. To illustrate sevā’s unique attributes, the paper engages with two case studies. The first explores Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy, where sevā is articulated through a non-anthropocentric ethic of nonviolence (ahiṃsā), obliging the reconstruction of eco-economic mechanisms and environmental responsibility. The second examines contemporary guru-bhakti communities in Delhi’s urban peripheries, where sevā functions as spiritual discipline (sādhana), a means for communal uplifting, and the expression of kalyāṇ—holistic well-being that transcends individual boundaries. In both contexts, sevā emerges as a practice that intervenes in and reshapes socio-economic life. By foregrounding sevā as a lived practice, the paper situates Indian religious traditions as a distinctive contribution to broader postcapitalist and postsecular debates. It argues that sevā offers an alternative model of personhood and ethical intentionality—one that contests dominant binaries of spiritual/material, secular/religious, and human/nature, and reimagines human flourishing through the lens of relational ontology and collective responsibility. Full article

The article seeks to read the contribution of religious practices in prison education within the broader framework of spirituality as a search for meaning in life. It argues that religious engagement can foster cognitive and emotional development, providing inmates with a sense of purpose, community, and resilience that supports their reintegration into society. In light of an exceptional and extremely significant experience with APAC in Brazil’s police-free prison model, the authors aim to highlight the nexus between spirituality and re-education in contexts of deprivation and restriction of personal liberty. Indeed, the APAC (Association for the Protection and Assistance of the Convicted) model, central to this study, emphasizes nonviolent coexistence, responsibility, and spiritual care as part of its rehabilitative framework, with a significant reduction in recidivism rates and costs compared to traditional prisons. The model’s approach, grounded in a collective sense of responsibility and spirituality, aligns with Viktor Frankl’s and Paulo Freire’s theories on meaning and liberation, illustrating how spirituality can transform prison environments and promote social justice. The study concludes that spirituality in prisons not only aids individual redemption but also calls for structural changes to support reintegration, marking a shift towards a more human-centered penitentiary system. Full article

A conundrum in the cognitive, evolutionary, and anthropological study of religion is how to propose descriptions and explanatory models of the structure and functions of supernatural dreaming and its relationship to action imagery, the use of experience, and, importantly, cultural transmission (factors) associated with these representations. Research has long emphasized the important function and significance of dreams and dreaming in beliefs and practices related to religious phenomena. The literature of anthropology and religious studies shows that dreams, dream experiences, and narratives are often associated with religious ideas and practices, both in traditional societies and in the world religions. Indeed, at the very beginning of the anthropological study of human beings, scholars proposed that dreaming is a primary source of religious beliefs and practices. Another facet of this is the recurrent manifestations of divinities, spirits, ancestors, and demons—in short, imagery of various supernatural agents—together with the occasional ritualization of dreams in the waking state. However, we know less about the associated phenomenon of dreams about ritual imagery. The aim of this paper is to elucidate and map dream imagery about rituals, drawing on simulation theories from dream research and prominent models of ritual behavior in the cognitive and evolutionary science of religion (CESR). This theoretical and methodological endeavor is illustrated by examples from dream narratives collected in Nepal before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article

Background: Vitamin D plays a key role in bone metabolism and immune regulation. Populations with restricted sun exposure or limited dietary intake are particularly vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency. Orthodox Christian nuns represent a unique group in this regard, due to traditional clothing, limited outdoor activity, and prolonged religious fasting. However, few studies have compared them with lay individuals following similar dietary practices. Objective: This study aimed to investigate predictors of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations in two female populations: Orthodox Christian nuns and women from the general population practicing intermittent (religious or non-religious) fasting. We also aimed to develop predictive models of vitamin D status for each group based on lifestyle and biochemical parameters. Methods: A total of 85 women (40 Orthodox nuns and 45 laywomen), aged 30–50 years, were enrolled. Serum 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium levels, and anthropometric indices, including body mass index (BMI), total body fat, and visceral fat, were measured. Dietary calcium and vitamin D intake, as well as sun exposure, were assessed using validated questionnaires. Separate stepwise multiple regression models were constructed for each group to identify independent predictors of 25(OH)D concentrations. An additional combined model, including all participants, was also explored. Results: PTH was the most significant predictor, negatively correlating with 25(OH)D concentrations in both groups (p = 0.038), highlighting its regulatory role in vitamin D metabolism. When analyzed separately, the model for Orthodox nuns showed stronger explanatory power (adjusted R² = 0.718; p = 0.013) compared with the control group (adjusted R² = 0.362; p = 0.038), with PTH emerging as a key predictor in both. Conclusions: Distinct predictors of vitamin D status were identified in each group, reflecting the complex interplay between lifestyle and physiological factors. These findings suggest that targeted interventions, such as addressing PTH regulation in fasting populations or enhancing sun exposure in the general population, may be more effective in preventing vitamin D deficiency depending on the context. Full article

This article examines the emotional and intellectual dimensions of Torah study in contemporary Lithuanian Haredi Judaism in Israel by analyzing the cultural construction of ahavat ha-Torah (love of Torah). While scholarly discussions of religious love have traditionally focused on interpersonal love or love of God, this study highlights a unique form of love directed toward a textual object—the Torah. Drawing on discourse-analytic approaches and engaging both high and popular cultural sources within the Lithuanian Haredi world, the article explores how the ethos of this tradition constructs the Torah as an object of emotional attachment. To understand the nature of this distinctive form of love, the article develops three interrelated conceptual lenses: (1) love of Torah as love of wisdom, (2) the perception of Torah as an entity capable of emotional relationship, and (3) the ethos of toil (amal ha-Torah) as a practice of devotional attachment. These categories serve to unpack how Lithuanian Haredi discourse constructs a model of love that fuses intellectual rigor with emotional intensity. The article concludes by suggesting that within Lithuanian Haredi Judaism, while God is often depicted as transcendent and distant, the Torah takes on an emotionally immanent role—serving as a locus of sacred attachment, identity, and even revelation. Full article

Buddhist women in traditional China used embroidery—considered the most feminine art form—to produce images of deities, allowing them to visualize their religious aspirations while adhering to the decorum expected in Confucian society. This paper examines three Buddhist embroidery designs: one visualized in Avalokiteśvara (1619) and two from a catalog of embroidery designs titled A Collection of Scattered Red Clouds (mid-seventeenth century). By analyzing their similarity to the images found in popular illustrated publications of the seventeenth century, this study explores how Buddhist iconography circulated across different media. Through a comparative analysis of the embroidered works and woodblock prints featuring Buddhist deities such as Avalokitesvara and Bodhidharma, I demonstrate that seventeenth-century Chinese women embroiderers often utilized contemporary woodblock prints as models for their devotional embroidered works. The publications that supplied the models for the embroiderers vary from one for a pronounced ritual value—Dharani Sutra of White-robed One—to one that is fundamentally non-religious and educational—a painting manual titled Canon of Painting. This variety highlights the breadth of reading materials that reached the inner chambers of Chinese women, enabling them to engage with religious visual culture beyond their domestic confines and express their spiritual devotion through artistic means. Full article

Gelatin, a water-soluble protein, shows unique gellification properties, which determine the active commercial availability of gelatin hydrogels in modern alimentary, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical applications. The traditional sources of gelatin for industrial technologies are pork and bovine skin and bones, which sometimes produce religious and some other restrictions. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the production of gelatin from alternative sources, such as raw fish materials. Unfortunately, fish gelatin is characterized by weak gelling ability and a decrease in gelation and melting temperature, which are a consequence of the amino acid composition and structural features of fish gelatin. One of the ways to strengthen the natural gelling properties of fish gelatin is the structural modification of gelatin hydrogels by the introduction of polysaccharides of various natural origins. We have studied the association of our laboratory-made fish gelatin with three polysaccharides, namely, κ-carrageenan, alginate, and chitosan, which have distinct chemical structures and gelling capabilities. Structural features of the studied systems were analyzed by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We applied computer modeling of molecular interactions between fish gelatin and polysaccharides by means of molecular docking and molecular dynamics approaches. The existence of a correlation between the structure of gelatin-polysaccharide systems and their physicochemical properties was demonstrated by wetting angles (flow angles) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies of hydrodynamic sizes and surface ζ-potential. Full article

As an exemplary and quintessential representation of China’s late-stage religious stone-carving art, previous research on the Dazu Rock Carvings has primarily concentrated on the typical cave remains in core areas like Baoding and Beishan. These investigations have been highly adept at archeological typology and iconographic analysis. This study, based on 134 extant inscriptions, reassesses the Beishan and Nanshan stone-carving complexes from the perspective of cultural heritage integrity. Through long-term landscape analysis, we uncovered their distinctive value in the construction of religious spaces during the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. During the Song Dynasty (Zhao Song Dynasty), Buddhism held sway in Beishan, while Nanshan developed a comprehensive Taoist pantheon system encompassing the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the Six Imperial Divinities (Liuyu). Together, they formed a religious spatial pattern of “Sakyamuni in Beishan and Taoist deities in Nanshan”. Furthermore, since the Shaoxing era (1131–1162), inscriptions left by Confucian scholars and officials during their visits to these two mountains have been frequently encountered. This spatial overlap phenomenon mirrors the profound integration of religious practices and secular power in the Bashu region during the Song Dynasty. This research breaks through the traditional case-study paradigm. By systematically examining the spatio-temporal evolution of the stone-carving complexes and the network of inscriptions, it reveals that the religious landscape of Dazu is, in essence, the outcome of the cumulative layering of political power, economic resources, and cultural aspirations across diverse historical periods. In particular, the transformation of Beishan and Nanshan from the merit caves of military generals in the late Tang Dynasty to the cultural spaces of the gentry class in the Song Dynasty vividly demonstrates the local practice model in the secularization process of Chinese religious art from the 10th to the 13th century. Full article

This study clarifies the religious traditions underlying the façade-type clay architectural models unearthed from ancient Western Asia by analyzing their iconography apropos each period. The façade-type models considered in this study are one-storied, with a distinct façade, one large opening, and the cella crafted in the niche, three-dimensional, or jar style. The analysis reveals (a) the distribution areas of the most common niche style shifted from the third millennium BC Mesopotamia, through the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the early Iron Age Levant area, to the Iron Age IIB–C Phoenician areas; (b) the jar style is known only from the second millennium BC Levant and eventually merged with the niche style; and (c) the three-dimensional style is found sporadically. The earlier examples have either a male or a female figure inside the gate, although some have neither. The Levantine examples are without figural representations or with a bird, lions, and female figurines. It may be concluded that two competing religious traditions continued for three millennia, wherein the models with a male figure or without figures represent the tradition of the sovereign god originated in Sumer, whereas those with female figures and decorative motifs reflect the Inana-Ištar cult. Full article