Search Results (3,228)

Practical training and recruitment strategies are critical for the sustainable implementation of psychosocial interventions. However, few studies have examined how to prepare community partners and doctoral students to support culturally adapted psycho-oncology interventions. This pre-pilot study aims first to evaluate two distinct training programs and recruitment procedures, and second to explore preliminary pre-post outcomes of the Caregiver-Patients Support to Cope with Advanced Cancer (CASA) intervention, using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Three clinical psychology graduate students received CASA training, and two community partners completed Recruitment training. We present descriptive pre- and post-assessments, along with qualitative feedback, for both training and institutional (Puerto Rico Biobank) and community-based recruitment outcomes. A related-samples nonparametric analysis examined pre- and post-CASA intervention signals. Results indicated knowledge gains among doctoral students (pre-test M = 3.3; post-test M = 9.3) and community partners (pre-test M = 4.5; post-test M = 9.5). Preliminary outcomes revealed significant improvements in spiritual well-being (Z = −2.618, p = 0.009) and quality of life (Z = −2.957, p = 0.003) and a reduction in depressive (Z = −2.764, p = 0.006), anxiety (Z = −2.667, p = 0.008), and distress (Z = −2.195, p = 0.028) symptoms following CASA. Of 26 recruited dyads, institutional referrals enrolled 16 dyads (61.5%), while community partners referred 10 dyads with a 90.9% success rate. Findings support the feasibility of both training and CASA exploratory outcomes suggest meaningful psychosocial benefits for Latino dyads coping with advanced cancer. Combining institutional infrastructure with community engagement may enhance sustainability and equitable access to psycho-oncology care. Full article

This study focuses on the site-specific improvisatory dance performance Deconstruction and Reconstruction of the Path of Life, a self-directed and self-performed work in Lhasa’ s sacred space dominated by a huge Buddha statue. It aims to explore how site-specific context and altitude sickness shape performance, and how freedom and meaning are created within limitations. Using auto-ethnography including video documentation, creative journals and reflective observation, this research examines interactions with spatial elements (Xuan paper, Buddha feet, stairs, flowers) and physiological responses to low oxygen. Main findings include that altitude-induced breath difficulty, chest oppression, and movement imbalance became generative forces: breathing rhythm changes (steady-rapid-steady) symbolized life’s struggles, while a “pain-movement-meaning” chain fostered new bodily senses, framing pain as a gateway to spirituality. Rather than treating the space as a static backdrop, this study explores how the material and cultural characteristics of the location actively lead to dance movement choices and choreographic logic under extreme physiological condition. Full article

Since the 19th century, Protestant missionaries in Guangdong have extensively engaged in the translation and publication of religious texts, employing localized strategies in the illustration of Christian novels. Within the local cultural context of late Qing Guangdong, missionaries collaborated with local scholars, used Cantonese for writing, and designed novel illustrations to overcome barriers in doctrinal dissemination, thereby facilitating the spread of Christianity. The illustrations in missionary-published novels, such as The Pilgrim’s Progress in Vernacular and The Spiritual Warfare in Vernacular, adopted the stylistic features of Ming and Qing novel woodcuts in terms of lines, composition, character attire, and settings. Furthermore, they skillfully incorporated the Confucian moral framework of loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness, as represented in the Sacred Edict, into their narrative ethics, while integrating elements such as Buddhist causality and Daoist imagery into a “didactic” system. This localization strategy, combined with a “trinity” reading guidance model comprising images, text, and biblical annotations, visually elucidated the tenets of the Bible and encouraged the public to embrace Christianity. The localized practice of missionary novel illustrations served as a conscious and effective visual strategy aimed at bridging cultural divides and promoting the dissemination of the Gospel. It profoundly reflects the visual agency in modern Sino–Western cultural exchanges and significantly advanced the propagation of Christianity. Full article

Background: Palliative care addresses not only physical symptoms but also the social, psychological, and spiritual needs of patients. Nurses play a key role in identifying and responding to these needs, yet their perceptions and preparedness may vary. Objectives: This study aimed to explore nurses’ perspectives on the psychological, social, and spiritual needs of palliative patients, assess how well these needs are being met, and examine the influence of nurses’ self-assessed education levels on their evaluations. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 237 registered nurses with palliative care experience in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. Two validated questionnaires were used to assess the perceived importance of 53 patient needs and the extent to which these needs were satisfied. Results: Findings revealed significant discrepancies between the perceived importance and satisfaction of nearly all psychological, social, and spiritual needs (p < 0.001), particularly regarding fear of death, suffering, and future uncertainty. Only 38.4% of nurses considered themselves adequately trained in palliative care, though most had some educational exposure to it. No statistical differences were found in need assessment based on nurses’ self-rated education. Most nurses reported emotional exhaustion (72.6%) and supported interdisciplinary care (95.8%), while 90.3% noted that responsibility for care often falls on families. Conclusions: Nurses recognize critical unmet needs in palliative patients and feel insufficiently prepared to address them. These findings underscore the need to improve palliative care education, provide emotional support for nurses, and implement systemic healthcare reforms to ensure comprehensive, dignified care. Full article

The scholastic tradition is often criticized for starting from abstract principles or philosophical definitions. In this way, scholastic theology is frequently contrasted with post-conciliar theology, which is developed on the basis of the Paschal event, understood as the hermeneutical criterion for the whole of theology. Karl Rahner accuses Thomas Aquinas of “isolating” the Trinity from other areas of theology, such as soteriology, anthropology, moral theology, and spirituality. He also criticizes Aquinas for separating Christology from the Trinity, arguing that in the Thomistic account of the Incarnation it is not essential that the Son becomes incarnate, since any divine Person could, in principle, have done so. Rahner contends that this doctrine weakens the connection between God’s inner Trinitarian life and the missions. Consequently, our adoption as children of God would no longer be grounded in the Son’s own sonship, and what God reveals of himself in history would not truly express who he is as the Triune God. The purpose of this article is to show that such criticisms do not accurately represent Thomistic teaching and to present the doctrine of our divine filiation within a Trinitarian Christological framework. It will first examine the relationship between the immanent Trinity and the economic Trinity, then present the Thomistic doctrine of the divine missions and processions. Finally, it will address the role of the Holy Spirit and our adoptive divine filiation, all considered from a Thomistic perspective. Alongside the Summa theologiae, particular attention will be paid to Aquinas’s biblical commentaries, where he focuses on the Trinitarian economy and its implications for salvation, drawn directly from his reading of Scripture. Full article

This study proposes a theo-phenomenological reading of asceticism in Eastern Orthodox spirituality, with particular attention to the Philokalic tradition, analyzing the relationship between the body, emotions, and spiritual freedom. Drawing on the phenomenological distinction between the physical body (Körper) and the lived body (Leib), the article describes asceticism as a limit-experience that de-limits: an exercise of bodily and affective finitude oriented toward the transfiguration of life within the horizon of divine grace. Methodologically, the research combines textual analysis of representative Philokalic authors with insights from modern Orthodox thinkers and phenomenological concepts such as intentionality, affectivity, reduction, and apatheia, in order to describe from within the lived body, the synergy between ascetic will and the working of grace as it manifests itself in lived ascetic experience. Asceticism is presented as a dynamic process unfolding in stages: inauguration through the discovery of finitude; confrontation, in which the limits of the body and emotions are tested; and liberation as apatheia, in which the body becomes co-praying and co-serving with the soul. Emotions are interpreted as an intermediate space between body and soul—as affects of awareness, struggle, and ultimately transfiguration—through which human existence before God is manifested. The contribution of the article lies in articulating a theo-phenomenological model of Philokalic asceticism in which freedom is not the absence of emotions nor the negation of the body, but an affective and bodily reconfiguration through grace, making possible the communion of love with God and with others. Full article

Intergenerational trauma significantly affects the health and mental health of African American families, particularly women whose lives are shaped by systemic inequities and historical oppression. This scoping review examines how trauma and resilience are transmitted across generations in African American communities, with a focus on dyads such as mother–child and mother–daughter relationships and a conceptual grandmother–mother–daughter triad. The review aims to identify mechanisms of trauma transmission and resilience and to inform culturally responsive, multigenerational interventions. Peer-reviewed studies published between 2012 and 2025 were identified that included African American caregivers and children and addressed biological, psychological, social, cultural, and resilience dimensions of intergenerational processes. Data were synthesized using a dimensional conceptual analysis approach. Findings indicate that intergenerational trauma is perpetuated through chronic stress and discrimination, maternal mental health challenges, family structure and caregiving strain, and cultural narratives about strength and self-reliance. At the same time, resilience is transmitted through sensitive caregiving, spirituality and faith, social and kin support, racial socialization, and economic survival strategies that draw on cultural and historical knowledge. These results underscore the importance of addressing intergenerational trauma holistically by integrating dyadic evidence within a broader conceptual triadic framework. Culturally responsive, multigenerational interventions that leverage family and community strengths and make space for emotional vulnerability are essential for interrupting cycles of trauma and fostering healing within African American families. Full article

In post-Soviet Georgia, the renewed visibility of religion in the public sphere has generated ambivalent effects, fostering both social cohesion and identity-based exclusion. This article focuses on the work I Am the Way by Georgian Orthodox thinker Zurab Kiknadze to explore how a non-instrumental, ethics-based conception of public religion can be sociologically conceptualized. Drawing on a qualitative, hermeneutic-narrative method, the analysis identifies two core motifs in Kiknadze’s thought—“spiritual journey” and “silent witness”—and interprets them through the lenses of public religion theory (Casanova), lived religion paradigms (McGuire, Ammerman), and post-secular debates (Habermas). The findings indicate that Kiknadze understands faith not as a marker of dogmatic or ethno-political belonging but as a practice contributing to ethical continuity and the reconstruction of social trust. Within this framework, “silent witness” is defined as a form of faith grounded in consistency, humility, and action-oriented conviction; it is proposed as a transferable sociological mechanism that supports trust, reconciliation, and inclusive citizenship in transitional societies. Centering on the Georgian case, this article offers a conceptual contribution to rethinking the public role of religion in post-authoritarian contexts within an ethical framework. Full article

Amid escalating ecological degradation, social fragmentation, and rising mental health challenges—especially in rural and agricultural communities—there is an urgent need to reimagine systems that support both planetary and human flourishing. This viewpoint examines an emerging paradigm in agriculture that emphasizes the role of farmers’ inner development in fostering practices that enhance ecological health, community well-being, and a resilient food system. A key goal is to draw more academic attention to growing community calls for more holistic, relational, and spiritually grounded approaches to food systems as an important focus for ongoing research. Drawing on diverse case studies from Japan, India, and Europe, we examine how small-scale and natural farming initiatives are integrating inner development, universal human values, and ecological consciousness. These case studies were developed and/or refined through a program led by the Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA), an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that seeks to integrate inner transformation with sustainable food systems change. The initiatives are intended as illustrative examples of how agriculture can transcend its conventional, anthropocentric role as a food production system to become a site for cultivating deeper self-awareness, spiritual connection, and regenerative relationships with nature. Participants in these cases reported significant shifts in mindset—from materialistic and extractive worldviews to more relational and value-driven orientations rooted in care, cooperation, and sustainability. Core practices such as mindfulness, experiential learning, and spiritual ecology helped reframe farming as a holistic process that nurtures both land and life. These exploratory case studies suggest that when farmers are supported in aligning with inner values and natural systems, they become empowered as agents of systemic change. By linking personal growth with planetary stewardship, these models offer pathways toward more integrated, life-affirming approaches to agriculture and future academic research. Full article

During the transatlantic diaspora, enslaved Africans brought cultural and religious elements to Brazil, such as Candomblé, that deeply influenced local society. In Candomblé communities of Bantu origin, the death of an initiate requires specific rites, such as the Azerin. In this ritual practice, sacred plants are selected according to their associations with deities and their capacity to provide spiritual protection. Each plant used holds particular meanings and is deliberately chosen to create an atmosphere of respect and reverence for the deceased. This study analyzes the symbolism and ritual functions of plants in the Azerin funeral rite of Candomblé Nação Angola, with emphasis on their role in spiritual protection. Participant observation and review of specialized literature were employed to describe the rite and its vegetal repertoire. Five sacred plant species were identified (Elaeis guineensis Jacq, Raphia vinifera P.Beauv., Dracaena fragrans (L.) Ker Gawl., Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. and, Morus nigra L.), whose functions range from protection against Eguns to the material representation of the initiate’s body. The results indicate that, in the Azerin, plants do not merely express protection but operate as mediating elements in communication with ancestors, structuring the greeting and continuity of ancestor worship in Candomblé Nação Angola. The study thus expands the understanding of ritual plants in Afro-Brazilian religiosity and the biocultural heritage of these communities. Full article

How are Pentecostal theologies, doctrines, and practices deployed in navigating urban spaces? This paper examines how covering—a concept and practice deployed in some Pentecostal and charismatic churches—is deployed and negotiated in navigating life in the city. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork initiated in Johannesburg’s vibrant yet complex urban landscape, this research investigates how covering extends beyond church walls to influence broader urban experiences through power-laden interactions. Within my case study church, Speak in Tongues International (SITI), covering refers to multilayered spiritual authority, protection, and accountability structures that create relationships between the divine and human, and between leaders and followers. This paper contributes to the affect-sensitive urban studies literature by theorising how, in contrast to the city riddled by fear, anxiety and insecurity, religious conceptions mediate how some congregants understand themselves as moving through city spaces under a protective divine canopy that shields them from moral contamination whilst simultaneously imposing behavioural and social constraints. Full article

This article reexamines one of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s central tales, “The Clever Man and the Simple Man,” through three intertwined foundations that shaped its composition: the Hasidic valorization of the sincere simple person, the story of the Sockmaker in Shivhei ha-Besht, and the myth of Enoch the Shoemaker who became the angel Metatron. While previous scholarship has interpreted the tale primarily as an internal spiritual struggle between intellect and faith, this study argues that the deeper architecture of the story is rooted in these narrative and mythic traditions, which Rabbi Nachman reshapes in order to formulate a new ideal of simplicity. The article demonstrates that the Simple Man—far from the naïve or ignorant figure of folkloric tradition—embodies conscious simplicity, characterized by integrity, inner contentment, and an unmediated orientation toward reality. The analysis further shows how Rabbi Nachman develops the Hasidic tradition that transforms the Enoch myth from a model of mystical theurgy into a paradigm of sanctifying ordinary life through wholehearted presence and trust. In its final section, the article situates the tale within Rabbi Nachman’s broader struggle against the emerging modern spirit. It argues that the story offers a unique understanding of the dangers inherent in Enlightenment and modernity: the root of heresy lies not in intellectual inquiry or philosophical doubt, but in a modern way of life defined by restlessness, dissatisfaction, and a destabilized existential orientation. From this perspective, Rabbi Nachman presents the figure of the Simple Man as the path by which a person “walks with God,” and as a profound response to the spiritual challenges posed by modernity and secularization. Full article

This study examines the phenomenon of “foolishness for Christ” as reflected in the contemporary Orthodox figure of Elder Gerontius of Tismana. Starting with a general review of the diverse phenomena of divine madness present in various world religions, we then move onto the Orthodox Christian tradition, where such apparent eccentric behavior is interpreted as an expression of deep asceticism and spiritual insight. Based primarily on memorial and testimonial sources (oral accounts, written recollections, and biographical notes), the research employs a hermeneutical and phenomenological approach to interpret how such figures are perceived within ecclesial life. Using Christos Yannaras’ theological criteria for discerning authentic “holy folly”, our paper argues that Elder Gerontius convincingly fits this ascetic paradigm. The study further suggests that the presence of such charismatic and unconventional figures may signal a form of spiritual renewal within contemporary Orthodoxy, revealing the dynamic interplay between prophetic charisma and institutional order in the life of the Church. Full article

Traditions relating to the book of nature have long held that nature can be approached as something legible, as a text with spiritual meaning. Modern epistemological, cultural, and philosophical shifts called much of that approach into question. But, in this essay, I argue that Romanticism, especially as exemplified in figures such as Novalis, Wordsworth, and especially Coleridge, provides a powerful response to such disenchantment and points the way towards a non-reactionary, non-anachronistic retrieval of the legibility of nature. Full article