Search Results (13)

The legal and social perception of sexually motivated crimes has undergone profound transformations in the Czech lands from the Middle Ages to the present. Acts once considered grave moral transgressions, punishable by death, have been gradually decriminalised or even integrated into the realm of personal identity and cultural self-expression. This article examines the evolving legal frameworks and societal attitudes towards such offences, with a particular focus on their implications for family structures, inheritance rights, and genealogical continuity. By analysing historical judicial records—primarily early modern pitch books—alongside contemporary legislation, we highlight the shifting boundaries between crime, morality, and individual rights. Methodologically, this study combines a historical–legal analysis with comparative criminology to elucidate the changing regulatory mechanisms governing sexual behaviour. The findings illustrate that, while legal norms have progressively moved away from religious morality toward individual freedoms, some taboos persist, reflecting enduring social anxieties. The Czech case serves as a model for broader European trends, offering valuable insights into the interplay between law, social norms, and genealogical structures across different historical periods. Full article

Psychedelics can profoundly alter cognition and consciousness. Their use in Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, is ambiguous. We aim to investigate psychedelic awareness and use among Iraqi and Polish medical students. We surveyed 739 university students from Poland (315) and Iraq (424) using 31 adapted questions from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). We conducted multivariable analyses based on binary logistic regression to identify the factors associated with psychedelic awareness and use. Most of the respondents were females (65.6%) and senior medical students (69.6%). Notably, the Polish students displayed a higher prevalence of psychedelic use (21.6% compared to 1.2%, p < 0.001), while the Iraqi participants exhibited a lower familiarity with psychedelics (p < 0.001). The multivariable model demonstrated a commendable level of statistical accuracy and satisfactorily conformed to the Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test (statistical accuracy = 91.61%, Nagelkerke R² = 0.488, p-value = 0.848). Several factors emerged as correlates of increased psychedelic use, including lacking an intact religious belief system or commitment to its practice (OR = 7.26, 95% CI [2.33, 22.60]). Additionally, those who perceived a low risk associated with sporadic psychedelic use (3.03, [1.44, 6.36]) were likelier to engage in such behavior. Other factors included residing in Poland (2.82, [0.83, 9.55]), maintaining positive attitudes toward psychedelics (2.49, [1.20, 5.14]), frequent social nightlife activities (2.41, [1.26, 4.61]), male gender (2.05, [1.10, 3.85]), and cigarette or tobacco smoking (2.03, [1.06, 3.86]). Significant disparities exist between Poles and Iraqis, influenced by religiosity, perceptions of the usage risks, geographical location, gender, attitudes toward psychedelics, parental leniency, and social freedom, especially concerning nightlife activities. Addressing the factors influencing psychedelic usage is paramount to responsible psychedelic engagement and culturally sensitive interventions to prevent misuse. Full article

Interest in political secularism is growing, due to its proven relevant role in affecting people’s political behaviours and attitudes toward human rights. However, until now, only a few studies have analysed its influence on religious freedom and those which exist do so mostly from a governmental-policy perspective. Drawing upon the sociology of religious freedom, this article seeks to address this gap. Comparing two Catholic EU countries, Italy and Croatia, and adopting an empirical perspective, it aims to understand whether the endorsement of political secularism enhances or limits support for religious freedom. More specifically, the study draws a key distinction between two models of secularism, ‘institutional’ and ‘ideological’, whose impacts on different aspects of religious freedom are assessed. In doing so, this research presents the results of a cross-national survey on Social Perception of Religious Freedom (SPRF) that was carried out among university students in Italy (=714) and Croatia (=603). The results show the strong positive influence of moderate forms of political secularism in shaping a positive culture of religious freedom. At the same time, they validate the hypothesis that it is necessary to consider political secularism’s multiple facets to fully understand its influence on support for religious freedom in different countries. Full article

This article offers an overview of the most common misconceptions about religious freedom, with reference to the 2017 UN Report by Mr. Shaheed and the perspectives of other human rights scholars and experts. It proceeds with the operationalization of a selected list of misconceptions about this subject for empirical research of religious freedom awareness. We discuss the primary results from a survey on social perceptions of religious freedom collected from a convenience sample of university students in Northern Italy (N = 1035), offering, first, a new scale of religious freedom awareness (RFA), and second, a consideration of its association with various dimensions of religious freedom and other human rights. The findings show that awareness of religious freedom serves as a robust predictor of endorsement of a broader set of human rights by participants, including those potentially antithetical to religious freedom claims, such as gay and women’s rights. We discuss these findings against a holistic approach to human rights and empirical evidence that other variables (political engagement, passive secularism views, and spiritual identity) contribute to the endorsement of rights culture in Italian society. Full article

To study the impacts of implementing a gender-sensitive value chain development (VCD) initiative in the agri-food sector, we conducted a mixed-methods study of a woman-owned food processing business and its associated value chain in Touba, Senegal. As a result of partnering with a USAID-funded project, the business began producing instant fortified flours, an innovative, higher-value product compared to traditional porridge, using extrusion and fortification techniques. Drawing on Senegalese women’s association networks, the business connected with local women who could work as processors and retailers. Our study’s goal was to explore how the project’s support of this food processing value chain has affected the lives of women processors and retailers, farmers, and medical personnel along the value chain. Particularly relevant to our study is the general lack of opportunities for women to earn their own incomes in the study region, especially outside of the home, and provide for their families. Through surveys, interviews, observations, and novel participatory focus group activities, our study provides qualitative and quantitative evidence of the perceived impacts of value chain development on women’s empowerment, income, and nutrition by key stakeholders in the value chain. We find an often cited barrier to women’s empowerment is the husband’s lack of understanding and limitations placed on women’s mobility, yet we also find perceptions of women’s empowerment in this conservative religious context. Our findings and discussion highlight the need for more research into VCD projects on the complex and, at times, contradictory processes of women’s empowerment. The women in our study expressed a desire for freedom to work outside of the home, and they expressed a need for childcare and contraception. Notably, the women discussed positive community changes, such as infrastructure and the creation of a childcare center, that implicate women’s collective empowerment. We also highlight a promising research opportunity in Senegal to explore the subnational variation in women’s empowerment through VCD. Full article

“Religious freedom” has many different meanings, and its social perceptions vary depending on different factors, including different understandings of the role of religion in society. In this paper, we contribute to the analysis of the intersections between the institutional definitions and the social perceptions by comparatively analyzing the practices and discourses on religious freedom in the fields of healthcare and school canteens through regional and municipal case studies in Italy. Results allow exploring the role of individual actors and local and sectoral cultures in enforcing specific practices in the broad area of “religious freedom”. Full article

International Relations scholarship on religious freedom points to religious persecution as a major driver of political violence around the globe. If correct, the perceived persecution of conservative Christians in the United States (U.S.) may contribute to the radicalization of individuals who self-identify as conservative and Christian. Yet, in focusing on country-level indicators, previous empirical research on the “religious freedom peace” is generally silent on the role of individual-level perceptions in the formation and mobilization of grievances. This article represents a first attempt to fill this gap. As such, it asks if the religious freedom discourse articulated in conservative American media contributes to the radicalization of its domestic consumers through the cultivation of perceptions of persecution that are divorced from the generally high levels of religious freedom otherwise experienced in the U.S. Although the results of an original online survey experiment demonstrate that persecution discourse does indeed shape perceptions of threat to religious liberty, I find no support for the idea that it also leads to increased support for political violence, either directly or indirectly through misperceptions of persecution. Full article

The subject of the paper is the issue of restrictions on religious freedom during the COVID-19 pandemic imposed by European countries. The period under examination covers the interval from March to December 2020. The issue is analyzed from the point of view of respecting human rights in a situation of conflict between the values of public health and religious freedom. In this context, the perception of importance and urgency regarding the values that should be protected and the concept of “essential goods”, which are understood differently in secular and religious perspectives, are of particular importance. Another essential issue is not only the scope but also the “depth” of state intervention in the life of religious communities. In Europe, there was a wide variety of national approaches to restricting religious freedom in order to ensure public health. Some of them pursued a very restrictive policy in this area, others moderate, and others very soft. One also could observe the difference in decisions made by most countries during the first and the second waves of the pandemic. A significant element enabling a possible evaluation of the applied solutions is the matter of their duration. Are the introduced limitations only temporary, implemented due to the extraordinary situation, or should they be view as a part of a “radical political experiment”, as a result of which the very understanding of religious freedom and its place in the hierarchy of human rights will change. The arguments of a philosophical, theological, legal and sociological nature are analyzed issuing methods appropriate to each of these disciplines. Full article

Acknowledging the diverse perceptions about science–religion relationships among learners who come from various religious environments may increase learners’ willingness to learn about evolution. This study is based on a zoology course designed for in-service teachers, which aimed to provide basic scientific knowledge about evolution using the Religious Cultural Competence in Evolution Education framework. The study explores whether learners who were resistant to evolution modify their attitudes and willingness to learn about it, and whether they develop respect toward learners who hold contradicting views. Using qualitative methods, the findings indicate that using the Religious Cultural Competence in Evolution Education framework increased some formerly “resistant” learners’ willingness to learn about evolution and include it in their own teaching, albeit in varying degrees and with various reservations. The learners appreciated the freedom to express their challenges concerning evolution learning or teaching and became more willing to respect opposing perspectives, even though not all the religious learners accepted evolution as an explanation for the development of organisms. This study has international implications for bridging the gap between science and religion, thus reducing resistance to learning and teaching about evolution. Full article

This article proposes, tests, and introduces the New Indices of the Functions of Religion (NIFoR) and explores their relevance for explaining individual differences in attitude toward religious freedom. The theory being tested is that openness to the principles of religious freedom is related to perceptions of the functions of religion in society. A review of extant literature on the functions of religion identified eleven conceptually distinct functions. These functions were operationalised by thirty items. Drawing on data provided by 1035 students in Northern Italy, factor analysis reduced these thirty items to seven latent functions of religion. Regression analysis employing these seven latent functions demonstrated that a more positive attitude toward religious freedom was associated with conceptualising religion as primarily concerned with offering meaning and moral guidance. Full article

This paper explores the relationship between human rights and social analysis within the main historical and theoretical perspectives adopted by social sciences. In particular, religious freedom will be analysed as one of the central issues in the recent engagement of the social sciences with human rights. After examining current narratives and mainstream approaches of the social sciences towards the right to religious freedom, this article will then underline the importance of a social epistemology which goes beyond a normative and legal perspective, bridging the gap between the framework of human rights and the social roles of religion in context. Within this framework, religious freedom represents a social construct, whose perception, definition and implementation dynamically evolves according to its influence, at different levels, in the lived dimension of social relations. The second part of the article proposes a context-grounded analysis of religious freedom in the Republic of Moldova. This case study is characterised by the impressive growth of Orthodoxy after the demise of the Soviet Union and by a complex and contradictory political approach towards religious freedom, both as a legal standard and as a concept. Emerging through the analysis of local political narratives and some preliminary ethnographical observations, the social importance of religion will be investigated both as a governmental instrument and as an embodied means of dealing with widespread socio-economic insecurity, creating tensions between religious rootedness and religious freedom. The local debate on religious freedom will then be related to the influence of geopolitical borders, the topic of traditional identity and the religious form of adaptation to the ineffectiveness of the new secular local policies, with orthodox institutions and parishes having new socio-political roles at both a global and local scale. Full article

This article discusses the construction of the measuring instrument for the study of social perception of religious freedom (SPRF). We provide an overview of existing definitions of religious freedom from a social-science perspective, which ground the empirical research of religious freedom and describe the conceptualization of SPRF. We focus on the operationalization model and introduce the operational variables for the SPRF research, also emphasizing the political, religious, and human rights contexts of independent variables. Finally, the results of exploratory factor analysis that allow to construct the balanced model of SPRF based on statistically weighted factors and scales are presented. The theoretical and statistically tested instrument is discussed as a result of this analysis. Full article

The tussle between freedom of expression and religious intolerance is intensely manifested in Indian society where the State, through censoring of books, movies and other forms of critical expression, victimizes writers, film directors, and academics in order to appease Hindu religious-nationalist and Muslim fundamentalist groups. Against this background, this study explores some of the perceptions of Hindu and Muslim graduate students on the conflict between freedom of expression and religious intolerance in India. Conceptually, the author approaches the tussle between freedom of expression and religion by applying a contextual approach of secular-multiculturalism. This study applies qualitative research methods; specifically in-depth interviews, desk research, and narrative analysis. The findings of this study help demonstrate how to manage conflict between freedom of expression and religion in Indian society, while exploring concepts of Western secularism and the need to contextualize the right to freedom of expression. Full article