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Taoism and Confucianism both exited simultaneously as philosophies of living in dynastic China. Although there has been an increasing popularity in scientometric studies, religion and health (R&H) literature lacks a holistic evaluation investigating articles relevant to Taoism and Confucianism. All publications produced in Taoism and Confucianism literature and indexed in Web of Science (WoS) databases between 1975 and 2018 were included in this study. Database search on health and Taoism literature retrieved 199 documents from WoS databases. Main research areas were Psychology, Religion and Behavioral Sciences (24.121, 21.608 and 20.603, respectively). The USA ranked first with 38 papers followed China, Taiwan and the UK (n = 35, 20 and 6 documents, respectively). Hong Kong Polytechnic University from China was the most contributor institution in health and Taoism literature. A total of 448 documents were published in health and Confucianism literature between 1975 and 2018, and original articles covered 93.08% of all literature. China was leading country with 126 articles followed by the USA, South Korea and Taiwan (n = 97, 35 and 35 items, respectively). The most productive institutions were City University of Hong Kong (China), Karolinska Institute (Sweden) and University of Hong Kong (China). Researchers from developing and least developed countries should be encouraged to carry out novel scientometric studies in R&H literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends investigation of religiosity and longevity to Taiwan using a 1989 survey: N = 3849, aged 60+, with 18 years of follow-up. Religious activity is measured as worship and performance of rituals. A Gompertz regression, adjusted and non-adjusted for covariates and mediating factors, shows the hazard of dying is lower for the religiously active versus the non-active. Transformed into life table functions, a 60-year-old religiously active Taiwanese female lives more than 1 year longer than her non-religious counterpart, ceteris paribus. Mainland Chinese migrants are examined carefully because of unique religious and health characteristics. They live longer, but the religiosity gap is similar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientometrics is a popular statistical application providing data revealing publication trends and patterns in a certain academic field. A quite limited number of studies investigating scientometric features of health and religion literature have been reported in academic literature. The present study aims to present a holistic analysis of health literature related to Shamanism, Paganism and Spirituality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in this field. All data of this analysis were yielded from Web of Science databases. All documents produced between 1975 and 2017 were included. In Shamanism and health field, a total of 157 documents were found, and the USA covering 35.67% of all the literature was the leading country. University of California System (USA) was the most contributor institution. Our search on Paganism and health literature retrieved 51 published documents, and the most productive institution was National Dong Hwa University from Taiwan. A total of 7862 documents were detected in Spirituality and health literature, and the most prolific author in this field was Koenig HG with 82 papers. Journal of Religion and Health was noted to be the predominant academic source in health literature related to ancient beliefs. The number of the publications produced in Spirituality and health literature was greater than total number of all documents published in health literature related to Abrahamic religions, Dharmic religions, Shamanism and Paganism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will explore how the practice of ritual healing ( sazuke) has played a prominent part in the propagation of a Japanese new religious movement (Tenrikyo) in Taiwan. The author firstly unravels the mystery of Tenrikyo's healing ritual ( sazuke) and its role in enabling Taiwanese followers' potential to re-establish their relationship with the world. The author points out that sazuke is similar to Taiwanese folk therapy and fits into Taiwan's multi-medical systems. The author also examines the features of Tenrikyo's healing practice in Taiwan and discusses the evolution of sazuke from a non-institutionalised practice to a bureaucratised one. The author then advances to a more widely theoretical consideration by discussing how sazuke became a force that enabled Taiwanese people to respond to the changing world and how it facilitated peoples' transformation when they were confronted by daily troubles and difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]