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The article presents revised versions of papers presented at the International Milton Symposium that convened in Toronto, Ontario in July 2023 with the panel entitled "Is Paradise Lost a Christian Poem," organized by Richard Strier. Topics discussed include Milton's supposed championship of orthodox Christianity in "Paradise Lost" and how Milton's last poems correlate with Christianity and religion more broadly.

To date, older adults have received little attention in the newly emerging technological narratives of transnational religion. This is surprising, given the strong association of later life with spiritual and religious engagement, but it likely reflects the ongoing assumption that older adults are technophobic or technologically incompetent. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with older Sinhalese Buddhist migrants from Sri Lanka, living in Melbourne, this paper explores the digital articulations of transnational religion that arise from older migrants' uses of digital media. We focus on how engagements with digital media enable older Sinhalese to respond to an urgent need to accumulate merit in later life, facilitating their temporal strategies for ageing as migrants. We argue that these digital articulations transform both the religious imaginary and the religious practices that validate and legitimize a life well‐lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poetic and hagiographical works of early modern north Indian saints constitute a rich case study for understanding the relationship among changes in language, material practices of writing, and ideologies of writing. Beginning in the fourteenth century, the commitment of the vernacular language of bhāṣā to writing had the effect of reconfiguring practices and ideologies of writing, posing a serious challenge to the epistemic and cultural privilege formerly accorded to writing in the literary, intellectual, and religious traditions contained in Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic. Although unable to completely escape the conceptual structures of a postliterate society, these supposedly illiterate, subaltern poet‐saints were able to undermine systems of religious and intellectual authority by questioning the ontological status and epistemic utility of written language and by divesting writing of its aura. They did so by emphasizing the materiality and banality of writing and by characterizing inscription as just another form of worldly labor. Such readings of the saints' poetic works are made possible precisely by their authorial personas as subaltern, illiterate figures, and these personas are in turn established not in the poetry itself but in the hagiographical works that narrativize these saints' lives. Importantly, these hagiographies reflect a concern with historicizing both the saints' utterances and the material processes through which those utterances came to be written down. Perhaps paradoxically, it is this concern with historicity that enables the tradition to establish the transcendent nature of the saints' speech and thought, and to enable those in the present to recreate the transformative speech acts that the hagiographies describe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper starts from the thought that we cannot take for granted that a society's highest values will survive in the long term as effective motivators within that society. By 'highest values' I mean values such as justice, concern for members of weak and minority groups, and respect for promises and for the attempt to speak truthfully - values that apply at the highest level of generality. If they are to survive and to be effective, two things may be necessary: firstly, unpredictable 'epiphanic' moments in which the power of these values is emotionally experienced by individuals, and secondly, institutions and a vocabulary in which these values can be remembered, discussed and affirmed in emotionally and imaginatively impactful ways. I shall suggest, with reference in particular to the thought of Emmanuel Levinas and Ronald Dworkin, that the second of these factors, the remembering and affirmation of values, marks out the crucial, perhaps even the irreplaceable, contribution of a 'religion' to a society. The failure, within psychoanalysis and also more widely, to appreciate the working of this function in a society over generations may mean that the consequences of 'growing out of religion' (Winnicott) have not yet been adequately recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To map the current evidence about the health concerns and the potential solutions related to the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. Design: A scoping review was applied. Papers published in English between 2012 and 2023 were included but non‐human research and sources without any related data were excluded. Data charting and extraction were used to map the current evidence. Results: The total of 36 papers were included with the total number of pilgrims of 17,075,887. The majority of studies were published in the Asia Pacific region (36.11%) as original articles (88.89%). The health concerns were grouped into five main aspects. There were 7603 deaths recorded or about 44 incidences of deaths per 100,000 pilgrims during the pilgrimage. There were recorded 11,018; 6178; 3393; and 17,810 cases for communicable diseases; non‐communicable diseases; injuries and trauma; and health services (i.e., cardiac catheterization) and vaccination, respectively. Conclusion: Relating to the five health concerns, this study identified the top seven issues in each category (i.e., hypertension, influenza vaccination), except for the death record. Moreover, there were three solutions (for general health, non‐ and communicable‐diseases) presented. Stakeholders could use this evidence to improve healthcare quality particularly related to the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this paper, we walk out some central ideas about posthumanisms and the ways in which nursing is already deeply entangled with them. At the same time, we point to ways in which nursing might benefit from further entanglement with other ideas emerging from posthumanisms. We first offer up a brief history of posthumanisms, following multiple roots to several points of formation. We then turn to key flavors of posthuman thought to differentiate between them and clarify our collective understanding and use of the terms. This includes considerations of the threads of transhumanism, critical posthumanism, feminist new materialism, and the speculative, affirmative ethics that arise from critical posthumanism and feminist new materialism. These ideas are fruitful for nursing, and already in action in many cases, which is the matter we occupy ourselves with in the final third of the paper. We consider the ways nursing is already posthuman—sometimes even critically so—and the speculative worldbuilding of nursing as praxis. We conclude with visions for a critical posthumanist nursing that attends to humans and other/more/nonhumans, situated and material and embodied and connected, in relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debates about Islamophobia have been blighted by the question of whether the prejudice can be defined as a form of racism or as hostility to religion (or a combination of the two). This paper sheds light on this debate by presenting the findings of a new nationally representative survey, focused on the UK, that contrasts perceptions of Muslims not only with perceptions of other ethnic and religious minorities but also with perceptions of Islam as a religious tradition. We find that prejudice against Muslims is higher than for any other group examined other than Travellers. We also find contrasting demographic drivers of prejudice towards Muslims and towards Islam. Across most prejudice measures we analyse, intolerant views are generally significantly associated with being male, voting Conservative and being older, although not with Anglican identity. We find, however, that class effects vary depending on the question's focus. Anti‐immigration sentiment – including support for a 'Muslim ban' – is significantly correlated with being working‐class. However, prejudice towards Islam as a body of teachings (tested using a question measuring perceptions of religious literalism) is significantly correlated with being middle‐class, as is negative sentiment towards Travellers. Using these findings, the paper makes an argument for supplementing recent scholarship on the associations between racism and Islamophobia with analyses focusing on misperceptions of belief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threats to the health of our environment are numerous. Much research in science and engineering is devoted to documenting, understanding, and attempting to mitigate the harm itself. The root challenge for sustainability, however, is human behavior. As such, changes to human behaviors and the internal processes that drive them are also essential. Critical to understanding sustainability‐related behaviors is the individual's conceptualization of the natural world and its components and processes. The papers in this topiCS issue address these conceptualizations by drawing from anthropological, linguistic, educational, philosophical, and social cognitive perspectives as well as traditional psychological approaches to the study of concepts and their development in children. They engage with many domains bearing on environmental sustainability including climate change, biodiversity, land and water conservation, resource use, and design of the built environment. They coalesce around four broad themes: (a) What people know (or believe) about nature broadly and about specific aspects of nature, and how they acquire and use this knowledge; (b) how knowledge is expressed and shared via language; (c) how knowledge and beliefs interact with affective, social, and motivational influences to yield attitudes and behaviors; and (d) how members of different cultures and speakers of different languages differ in these ways. The papers also point to lessons for advancing sustainability via public policy and public messaging, education, conservation and nature management, and design of the built environment. The root challenge for environmental sustainability is human behavior. Critical to understanding sustainability‐related behaviors is the individual's conceptualization of the natural world and its components and processes. The papers in this issue address these conceptualizations by drawing from anthropological, linguistic, educational, philosophical, and social cognitive perspectives as well as traditional psychological approaches to the study of concepts and their development in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although spiritual practices such as prayer are engaged by many to support well‐being and coping, little research has addressed nurses and prayer, whether for themselves or facilitating patients' use of prayer. We conducted a qualitative study to explore how prayer (as a proxy for spirituality and religion) is manifest—whether embraced, tolerated, or resisted—in healthcare, and how institutional and social contexts shape how prayer is understood and enacted. This paper analyzes interviews with 21 nurses in Vancouver and London as a subset of the larger study. Findings show that nurses' kindness can buffer the loneliness and exclusion of ill health and in this way support the "spirit" of those in their care. Spiritual support for patients rarely incorporated prayer, in part because of ambiguities about permission and professional boundaries. Nurses' engagement with prayer and spiritual support could become a politicized site of religious accommodation, where imposition, religious illiteracy, and racism could derail person‐centered care and consequently enact social exclusion. Spiritual support (including prayer) sustained nurses themselves. We propose that nursing's equity‐oriented knowledge encompass spirituality and religion as sites of exclusion and inclusion. Nurses must be supported to move past religious illiteracy to provide culturally and spiritually sensitive care with clarity about professional boundaries and collaborative models of spiritual care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the debates around the "miracle of Maglavit", a shepherd's vision of God that took place in 1935 in Romania and attracted much contemporary popular and intellectual interest. The debates drew in arguments from doctors and theologians, who discussed the psychology of divine revelation and tried to elaborate the implications that such an event could have for the life of the Romanian nation. The paper places these debates in the context of wider contemporary discussions about psychology and religion. I argue that what Maglavit shows is that, in Romania at least, public debates about visionary experience in the 1930s were not only debates about its psychology, but of a psychology thoroughly imbricated with political concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a general approach to ethics before considering its implications for the question of how to respond to religious preferences in healthcare, especially those of patients and healthcare workers. The first section outlines the two main components of the approach: (1) demoralizing, that is, seeking to avoid moral terminology in the discussion of reasons for action; (2) welfarism, the view that our ultimate reasons are grounded solely in the well‐being of individuals. Section 2 elucidates the notion of religious preferences and describes the history and importance of their protection by human rights legislation. The following section defends the 'Preference Principle', according to which there is a reason to satisfy any preference (in so far as that satisfaction advances well‐being). Section 4 discusses the implications of this principle for religious preferences in healthcare, again seeking to bring out the special social and political importance of respect, and respect for such preferences in particular. The paper ends with a brief description of how to approach such problems from the perspective of a demoralized welfarism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to set out the contours for a pedagogy of dissent, i.e., a pedagogical approach to religion that recognizes the role of dissent in bridging the conventional antagonism between religious and LGBTQ concerns for education. Seán Henry begins it with the view that a pedagogy conducive to this kind of work can be engaged with if the relation between education and religion is framed in radically conservative terms. From here, Henry inquires into the pedagogical commitments necessary for dissent as a mode of bridge‐building to occur. These commitments are (1) an orientation toward remembrance, understood less in terms of a commonality of religious identity and more in terms of a "structural condition of the present"; and (2) an embodied attention to the proximity of the other. The paper concludes with some thoughts on the nature of the pedagogical content that could be helpful in enacting these commitments. Henry suggests that pedagogies of dissent require theological content that (1) reworks past traditions, without justifying or downplaying their shortcomings; and (2) is explicit in its rejection of heteronormativity through a sensitivity to the lived experiences of LGBTQ people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a global knowledge and socioeconomic system dominated by the Western worldview, this paper introduces, from a practical point of view, the Zen Business Model. This is an emerging systems approach grounded on ancient Eastern wisdom that explores the symbiotic relationship between Taoism and Buddhism applied to organizational sustainable development and transformation. The model brings a universal and natural understanding of the organization as a living system whose value generating behaviour biomimics the natural cycles of transformation explained in Taoist systems theories. By doing so, the paper argues, on one hand, that business organizations can learn from nature‐based Eastern systems approaches as a way to increase their positive contribution to society, the environment and the economy. And, on the other hand, it explains the five corporate stars and its value dynamics as a principles‐based pathway to sustainable transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secularization, expansion of higher education, and urbanization have led to disenchantment with politics and the erosion of political trust in many societies. Religion may continue to be salient, however, how these forces interact with enduring religious influences to shape political trust is unclear. This paper examines the issue using Asian Barometer Survey (2001–2016) data with hierarchical age–period–cohort (HAPC) models. Our results show supportive evidence for the following findings: in East and Southeast Asia, urbanization is associated with less political trust for most religions except Islam; education is associated with less political trust; education's effect is the most salient for the atheists and Buddhists, but it disappears among the Muslims. The findings suggest the power of modernization and secularization significantly differs across cultures and religions. We should not simply perceive religion as a universally conservative force; instead, we need to understand religions through an integrated macro‐micro perspective by situating it in the social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late 20th century, public discourse in Muslim‐minority countries has centered around the question of how to classify Muslims. In this paper, we compare the state, academic, and self‐classification of Muslims in two countries: the United Kingdom and Germany. We propose that the historical experience of anti‐Semitism makes religion a more salient master category to understand Muslims in Germany, while the history of both anti‐Semitism and anti‐Black racism largely resulting from colonial domination means that religion together with race are master categories used to understand Muslims in the United Kingdom. Through this multilayered ethnographic and historical analysis, we challenge taken‐for‐granted assumptions in both the political and academic milieu about what it means to be Muslim, emphasizing the importance of the interplay between sociopolitical categories and self‐identifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past three decades a small number of influential writers have bravely attempted to develop theoretical models for understanding and comparing the complex development of child protection systems across different countries. The foremost frameworks have compared the dynamics of child protection arrangements in high‐income countries, with little attention being given to middle‐ and low‐income countries and, more specifically, the MENA region. This paper presents Lebanon's child protection model and highlights factors that have led to its unique development in the last 20 years. It contends that Lebanon's child protection system is pluralistic in nature, with responsibilities for the ultimate safety and wellbeing of children diffused among a variety of stakeholders. As a relatively new domain of practice for the state, the protection of children in Lebanon has become implicated in the ever‐present national debates regarding the correct balance of authority between state, religion and citizen. A parallel system of decision‐making exists with a state‐run system struggling to find its place alongside customary religious courts unlikely to relinquish their power over family affairs. Through an examination of Lebanon, the paper aims to further road test the most recent typology and address its applicability to one Middle East country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A limited number of studies have explored religion's role in the intimate lives of adults with intellectual disabilities. This paper illustrates how religion, both of disabled people and those around them (e.g., family members, support workers), can shape the attitudes and experiences of disabled people toward sexuality. Method: This paper draws on in‐depth interviews with adults with intellectual disabilities and support workers from two exploratory projects in Canada. Results: Participants with intellectual disabilities talked about how religion provided a network that served to counter their social isolation and a pool of potential intimate partners, as well as some guidance for maintaining relationships. Support workers discussed the influence of organisational values in their practices related to sexuality. Conclusions: Religion shapes disabled sexualities in various ways, sometimes supporting or constraining sexual expression. This paper invites disability scholars to consider religion when researching the intimate lives of disabled people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religion is permitted in China, but its practice is tightly regulated by the state. This paper uses individual‐level longitudinal data to investigate the association between religious regulation and religious outcomes in China. Measures of regulation are constructed from instances of state action against Christians as well as Christian perceptions of unfair treatment by the government. In summary, as regulation increases, an individual is less likely to identify with a religion and less likely to say that religion is important. For those individuals without religious identification in either wave, regulation is negatively associated with religious importance. Yet, for those individuals with identification in one or two waves, regulation is either unassociated or even positively associated with importance. These findings contribute to research on regulation of religion and religion in China. More broadly, they demonstrate the state can wield considerable power over people's private lives but also that this power has limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is positioned within broader scholarly debates about ritual‐religious and psychological elements underlying the phenomenon of altered states of mind in Egyptian Muslim contexts. This research examines the intricate relationships between ritual, consciousness, and the unseen/unknowable world reflected in the imagination and practices of urban and rural communities belonging administratively to the city of Tanta in Egypt. This comparative study proposes that the image of the embodied invisible Other, in both benevolent and malevolent forms, impacts the state of consciousness of persons participating in two different rituals, the zikr (remembrance of God) and the zār (the exorcism of spirits). This inquiry concentrates on the transformation of the states of people's consciousness, namely the majzūb (those mystically attracted to God) and the malbūs (those possessed by spirits), through embodied engagement with the invisible Other that is made visible through participation in the ritual performances of the zikr and/or the zār. Rituals performed by Egyptians, particularly those who experience altered states of consciousness, display both a psychic (emotional) experience and an encounter with the invisible Other that may be depicted as divine or otherwise non‐divine. Each case of the zikr ritual and zār cult relates to its participants' perception of reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Rights‐based approaches' (RBAs) have become a well‐established concept over the past two decades, informing the work of diverse actors involved in development and humanitarian aid. Faith‐based organisations have increasingly embraced the RBA, although not without contestation. Drawing on new qualitative data from Pakistan, this paper examines how 'global' RBA norms are operationalised in 'local' contexts characterised by great normative diversity and identifies three dominant normative frameworks used by non‐governmental organisations in the translation of RBAs: humanitarian standards; citizens' rights; and Islamic principles. It utilises a case study of RBAs in Pakistan and reveals the significance of religion and religious entities in the translation of rights. From this example, the paper makes a conceptual distinction between 'instrumental' and 'substantial' modes of engagement, a framing that allows for a more detailed analysis of how humanitarian actors deal with religion and rights than what is often found in studies of humanitarian action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positionality has long been a preoccupation for qualitative researchers within and beyond geography. Reflexive assessments of positionality typically examine the ways in which a researcher's sociodemographic identifiers such as gender, age, ethnicity, dis/ability, sexuality, and/or the intersections between these affect research encounters, processes, and outcomes. Religion rarely features in such interrogations, and then usually only in relation to participants' ethnic or racial affiliations. Drawing on experiences conducting a study exploring the role of faith‐based organisations in welfare provision for homeless people in the UK, this paper focuses on the related (but not synonymous) issue of metaphysical stance, that is, belief or non‐belief in the existence of God(s). It argues that metaphysical stance should be regarded as a sui generis aspect of positionality, which fits into none of the identity categories typically considered but is deserving of separate analysis with respect to its ethical and practical implications. Further to this, it contends that extreme diplomacy and discretion are required when exploring issues as inherently value‐laden as the moral frameworks underpinning welfare approaches. This is especially true when participants' views divide in part along theist/atheist lines, such that religious and policy "literacy" are valuable attributes for researchers negotiating these sensitive terrains in the field. Building on and critiquing existing scholarship on researcher reflexivity within and beyond geography, this paper argues that metaphysical stance should be regarded as a sui generis aspect of positionality that fits into none of the sociodemographic identity categories typically considered but is deserving of separate analysis with respect to its ethical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper discusses how religious, theistic stewardship—the belief that humans have a responsibility to take care of the world that God created and has entrusted to humankind—promotes pro‐environmental support among religious individuals. Reviewing the existing literature, we describe how religious stewardship belief may shape cognitions and emotions regarding various environmentally relevant objects (i.e., natural environment, environmental problems, and pro‐environmental behaviors) and how these cognitions and emotions lead to motivation to engage in pro‐environmental action. We also discuss religious beliefs that may suppress the positive effects of stewardship belief as well as key factors that may moderate the effects of stewardship belief. Last, we discuss potential ways of leveraging religious stewardship in messaging and communications for behavioral change toward sustainability. Although the existing evidence on whether religion helps or hinders environmental protection is mixed, our review suggests that stewardship belief clearly provides great potential for environmental support among religious communities. In this review, we discuss how stewardship belief may influence religious individuals' perceptions and emotions regarding the natural world and environmental issues, uncovering steps in the path toward sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transnationalization of Chinese temples is producing new spatial imaginaries and adding cosmopolitan dimensions to Chinese Indonesian identities in the post‐Suharto era. In 1999, the Indonesian state legally‐sanctioned Chinese Popular Religion after decades of prohibition, ushering in a period of Chinese religious revival nationally backed by constitutional legitimacy. The recent emergence of transnational temple networks is providing a further form of cultural legitimacy based on symbols and statuses that circulate in a broader cosmopolitan transnational social sphere. Using case studies of three temples in Singkawang, Indonesia, each with a different form of international network, this paper shows how the transnational circulation of religious teachings, people, ideas, donations and deities can provide the raw materials for expressions of cultural identity which are locally rooted and embedded in specific ethnic politics of belonging. Forging transnational religious connections has the potential to develop into long lasting and formal institutional platforms of exchange, however, it often begins with informal, spontaneous and idiosyncratic encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential segregation is pervasive in many societies. People making residential moves in these divided contexts may increase or decrease segregation levels. In this paper, the divided society of Northern Ireland is used as an example to explore how residential mobility relates to residential segregation by religion. Survey evidence for this country consistently shows a preference for mixed neighbourhoods, yet actual patterns of geographical mobility suggest people move to same‐religion areas. The paper uses the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS) to explore the individual and contextual factors that influence the destinations of internal migrants by religion between 2001 and 2011. How they move up or down the contextual 'religion ladder' of localities is modelled with reference to both their individual socio‐demographic and neighbourhood characteristics in 2001. It is found that there are still individual religious differentials in people's destinations. Catholics, for instance, are more likely than Protestants to move to more Catholic areas, suggesting that individual religion remains important despite the Peace Process. Some possible reasons for this are considered with a partial explanation being found in the geographical patterning of the population. Existing patterns of residential segregation constrain moves in religious space for the majority of people. It is concluded, nevertheless, that an individual's religion remains a considerable factor contrary to expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review assesses (anglophone) cross‐disciplinary research that has used geographical methodologies to study religion in the past. It identifies three prominent themes within the existing literature: the spatalisation of religion, the intersections between religion and built environments, and the relationships between religion and physical landscapes. It argues that the application of geographical approaches to the study of religion in the past has made important contributions to feminist and postcolonial attempts to de‐centre religious leaders and social elites. However, it also demonstrates that the existing literature has been fundamentally informed by inherently modern and western definitions of religion. Primarily, it identifies how the existing literature has prioritised the study of institutionalised Abrahamic religions, emphasised the analysis of sacred‐secular dichotomies, and assumed that religious affiliation involves personal belief and spiritual encounter. In response, this paper calls for geographical approaches to religion in the past to engage with a more diverse range of subjects and use network or assemblage approaches to challenge modern and western assumptions about religious practices and experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although armed conflicts and crises affect people of all ages, children are particularly susceptible to the effects of war. One significant consequence of armed conflict that is especially critical for children's well‐being, is when the belligerents use tactics specifically focused on harming children, including child soldier recruitment. Despite the increased attention of policy‐makers, we still lack systematic knowledge of how many children are directly and indirectly at risk of being recruited by state and non‐state actors. In overcoming this gap, we have collected data on the use of children by state and non‐state actors from 2010 onwards. Moreover, we estimate the number of children at risk of recruitment. The results of our mapping and estimation sketch a dark picture. According to our estimates, in 2020, approximately 337 million children (or 14%, or more than one in eight of all children globally) were living in a conflict zone with reported child soldier recruitment—that is less than 50 km from ongoing conflict, which involved at least one actor who has been reported to recruit children. We close the paper by taking stock of the current knowledge on the root causes of child soldiering, and we discuss some policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of megachurches in America is often traced back to their strategic ability of mobilizing new members in a competitive, religious marketplace. This paper shifts the attention to the push factors of megachurch success. It develops a causes of effects approach, in which local place‐based conditions in 22 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are compared and related to megachurches. First, correspondence analysis (CA) is used to take into account a large set of explanatory conditions such as religious and ethnic group affiliations, social structural conditions as well as value orientations. CA reveals that megachurches are typically successful in MSAs characterized by an evangelical hegemony. Second, qualitative comparative analysis shows that population growth and suburbanization are necessary conditions for a high share of megachurches. An analysis of sufficient conditions leads to three propositions: Megachurches grow in cities (1) where a large closed evangelical community exists; (2) where a large upward oriented Christian immigrant community exists; (3) and in tolerant (and educated) areas—in conjuncture with the presence of a larger community of Protestants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of megachurches in America is often traced back to their strategic ability of mobilizing new members in a competitive, religious marketplace. This paper shifts the attention to the push factors of megachurch success. It develops a causes of effects approach, in which local place‐based conditions in 22 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are compared and related to megachurches. First, correspondence analysis (CA) is used to take into account a large set of explanatory conditions such as religious and ethnic group affiliations, social structural conditions as well as value orientations. CA reveals that megachurches are typically successful in MSAs characterized by an evangelical hegemony. Second, qualitative comparative analysis shows that population growth and suburbanization are necessary conditions for a high share of megachurches. An analysis of sufficient conditions leads to three propositions: Megachurches grow in cities (1) where a large closed evangelical community exists; (2) where a large upward oriented Christian immigrant community exists; (3) and in tolerant (and educated) areas—in conjuncture with the presence of a larger community of Protestants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faith‐based and non‐faith‐based non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) are significant service providers in the developing world, yet limited research has compared these organisations, especially in the context of Southeast Asia. This paper explores a theoretical concept related to why religious faith may distinguish Christian faith‐based organisations (FBOs) from non‐faith‐based NGOs. Qualitative data were analysed from 41 interviews across 13 Christian FBOs and 12 non‐faith‐based NGOs working with women and children in Cambodia who have been (or were at risk of being) sexually exploited, trafficked or involved in sex work. Faith was found to distinguish FBOs from non‐faith‐based NGOs in all four of the dimensions comparatively examined in the study: (1) goals and missions, (2) motivations, (3) approaches to care and (4) conceptions of success. It is argued that the contrasts between these two types of organisations, in terms of faith, are related to the combination of both the infusion of faith in FBOs and factors related to the development context in which these organisations worked, a theoretical concept posited as Context‐Infusion Convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the census data published by the government in 2016, 92% of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region population is ethnic Chinese, while the number of ethnic minorities increased significantly by around 70% over the past decade. Enhancing the youth's intercultural sensitivity is becoming critical. Although many of the schools start to provide intercultural sensitivity training as extra‐curriculum activities, students often find them unattractive while teachers question their effectiveness. In this paper, we present a virtual reality enabled approach for enhancing the youth's intercultural sensitivity. The objective is to design and develop an approach that can benefit from using virtual reality to deliver the instructional materials, making the learning more effective. A total number of three different virtual reality learning scenarios have been created, covering topics such as views of marriage and family, religious beliefs, and language barrier. The empirical study found significantly increase of intercultural sensitivity among the 67 qualified participants after joining the session. The calculated linear regression model also suggested that the participants' perceived motivation from the virtual reality learning content positively contributed to the intercultural sensitivity increase, while interestingly the perceived enjoyment during the virtual reality exposure may negatively affected the learning outcomes. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic: Although enhancing youth's intercultural sensitivity is necessary, the available learning materials are very limited in Hong Kong.Previous studies suggest learners are better motivated and perceive more enjoyment during virtual reality enabled learning when being compared to traditional ways of learning, but this might not always result better learning outcomes.Virtual reality has been used in cultural education in settings such as museums and galleries, but not in the classroom setting due to the accessibility to virtual reality devices. What the paper adds to this: Virtual reality learning contents can be designed and produced for effectively enhancing youth's intercultural sensitivity.The relation among instructional material motivation to learners, learners' perceived enjoyment during learning and the learning outcomes, in this case, the enhancement of learners' intercultural sensitivity, can be analyzed using a linear regression model.The latest generation of virtual reality headsets can be used in classroom settings for delivery virtual reality enabled learning experience. Implications of the study findings: Significantly increase of intercultural sensitivity among the 67 qualified participants demonstrated the effectiveness of using virtual reality for enhancing youth's intercultural sensitivity in the classroom setting.The virtual reality learning contents can be designed to better motivate learners, resulting better learning outcomes.Distractions resulted from over enjoyment during the virtual reality enabled learning activities should be reduced to minimize the negative effects to learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand the range of possibilities and opportunities for (co)existence available to displacement‐affected people, attention must be given to the thick webs of sociality shaping interactions in situations of mass displacement. This paper makes the case that refugee squats in Athens are distinct spaces wherein different understandings of (co)existence converge – spaces whose production is contingent on support from neighbourly relations and networks that are mediated in moments through conceptions of conviviality informed by religion. Based on ethnographic work carried out in 2016 and a spatial analysis of refugee squats in Athens, this paper emphasises neighbourliness and conviviality as they relate to sacred understandings of coexistence. This helps highlight the limits built in to thinking about the movement of refugees from the global South through Euro‐centric ontologies of the social. More than this, following postcolonial debates on the decentring of knowledge production, the research makes manifest how Islamic socio‐cultural memories of jiwār or a right of neighbourliness complicate geographies of humanitarianism that make stark binary assumptions between religious and secular space. In turn, the evidence from Athens indicates that refugee perspectives on neighbourliness are imperfectly translated by migrant rights activists as solidarity, obscuring the different ways Muslim structures of feeling contribute to the production of refugee squats. Based on ethnographic work carried out in 2016 and a spatial analysis of refugee squats in Athens, this paper emphasises neighbourliness and conviviality as they relate to sacred understandings of coexistence. Following postcolonial debates on the decentring of knowledge production, the research makes manifest how Islamic socio‐cultural memories of jiwār or a right of neighbourliness complicate geographies of humanitarianism that make stark binary assumptions between religious and secular space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks whether there is a moral virtue of hope, and if so, what it is. The enterprise is motivated by a historical asymmetry, namely, that while Christian thinkers have long classed hope as a theological virtue, it has not traditionally been classed as a moral one. But this is puzzling, for hoping well is not confined to the sphere of religion; and consequently, we might expect that if the theological virtue is structurally sound, there will be a secular, moral analogue. This paper proposes that there is such an analogue and that it is closely linked to the everyday notion of "having your priorities straight," a phenomenon which is naturally understood in terms of the attitude of hope. It turns out that the priorities model provides an abstract way of characterizing a central but underexplored virtue, one which can be developed in secular or theological ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on instances where the patient's religion is influencing their medical decision/s. Topics include examines substantive religious discussion is defined in the paper as religious discussion that goes beyond merely inquiring about patients religious values or merely referring patients to a religious figure.

This paper considers what concept of accommodation is necessary to identify and address discrimination, disadvantages and disparities in such a way that the plurality of religious people with their beliefs, values and practices may be justly accommodated in healthcare. It evaluates threats to the possibility of such accommodation pertaining by considering what beliefs and practices might increase the risk of unjust discrimination against and disadvantage for religious people, whether as individuals or as groups; and the risk of disparities between the care provided to religious people. The claim is that there is an important cluster of risks that are political in kind and emergent within philosophical bioethics. While not amounting (yet) to a trend, they are sufficiently threatening to a just civic life for patients and healthcare staff as to warrant scrutiny. After an Introductory Section 1, Section 2 evaluates a criticism of 'accommodation' and the apparently additional health‐related requirements that those of religious faith demand, when compared with other people. It does so by comparing Lori Beaman's idea of agonism with that of a distinct and somewhat complementary approach in Jonathan Chaplin's political philosophy, before examining the role of established religion in setting the conditions for the accommodation of religion and belief in healthcare. Section 3 examines risks to such accommodation by engaging critically with three health‐related instantiations of political philosophy that differ radically from both Beaman and Chaplin. A concluding Section 4 focusses on appropriate modes of communicating about religious and other beliefs in healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is ongoing debate within the bioethics literature regarding to what extent (if any) it is ethically justifiable for doctors to engage in religious discussion with their patients, in cases where patients cite religious considerations as influencing their medical decision‐making. In this paper, we concede that certain forms of religious discussion between doctors and patients are morally permissible (though not necessarily morally obligatory), insofar as patients' religious beliefs may comprise an important part of their overall wellbeing and can influence their medical decisions. However, we argue that it is not morally permissible for doctors to engage in substantive religious discussion with their patients, beyond simply inquiring about the patient's values (which may include their religious values) or referring patients to a chaplain or religious figure for further discussion. In support of this claim, we put forward two key arguments which have remained relatively unaddressed in the current debate. First, we argue that it is not practical for doctors to engage in substantive religious discussion with patients, and hence it cannot be morally obligatory for them to do so. Second, we argue that, while doctors might have a professional duty to ensure that their patient's religious interests (if any) are addressed, this does not entail that doctors themselves are the ones who should directly address these interests. Along the way, we anticipate and respond to some possible objections to these two key arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I will share findings from a qualitative study that offers a thematic analysis of 76 interviews with Muslim patients and families as well as doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, chaplains and community faith leaders across the United Kingdom. The data show that for many Muslims, Islam—its texts and lived practice—is of central importance when they are deliberating about death and dying. Central to these deliberations are virtues rooted within Islamic theology and ethics, the traditions of adab (virtue) and aqhlaq (proper conduct). Themes analysed include theological and moral understandings around the virtues of hope and acceptance. The study provides an analysis of these themes in relation to the experiences of Muslim patients and families arriving at meaning making around death and dying and how this interfaces with their interaction with biomedicine and healthcare. The study shows that the juxtaposition of different values and moral frameworks require careful negotiation when Muslim patients and families encounter the healthcare system. The study also describes how healthcare professionals and staff of other faiths and no faith encounter Muslim beliefs and practices, and the challenges they face in interpreting virtues and values rooted in faith, especially when these are perceived to be mutually opposed or inconsistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the Confessions, Augustine repeatedly complains about heresy with a special focus on the heresy he once belonged to, Manicheanism. To those of us who live in a culture in which respectable people rarely, if ever, care about religious orthodoxy to such a degree, these complaints seem rather bizarre. Despite this initial appearance, Augustine presents in the Confessions several plausible reasons for thinking heresy is sinful and, therefore, detrimental to a person's sanctity and ultimate salvation. In this paper, I argue that Augustine considers heresy sinful because it involves as many as three kinds of idolatry: loving a lie/false conception of God instead of the true God, loving one's own beliefs more than the Truth, which is God, and loving the worldly praise one receives from developing novel opinions more than God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to 'visiting friends and relatives' (VFR) discussions within migration and diaspora literatures by proposing a closer theorization of religious mobilities through the conceptual framework of 'diasporic pilgrimage'. It advances VFR thinking by considering religion as a productive analytical category to interrogate relationships between people and place which sustain and constitute diasporic connection and attachment. This will be explored through the experiences and encounters of Palestinian–Jordanian Christians undertaking visits to places of religious and relational significance across Israel and/or Palestine from Jordan. Through an exploration of ethnographic data collected amongst diasporic Palestinian Christians living in Jordan, diasporic pilgrimage will be theorized as a localized process critically engaging with everyday facets of familiarity and regularity. This will revolve around three main elements of diasporic pilgrimage: translocal connections, temporalities and power geometries which constitute visits from Jordan and the so‐called 'Holy Land' a diasporic form of religious mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage is an important life goal and is highly valued among Orthodox Jews. Shidduch dating refers to the arranged dating system that is typically used within the community. Previous research and anecdotal evidence suggest that the shidduch system has become difficult and challenging for many individuals, yet there is a dearth of evidence on the subject. This study set out to explore issues related to dating and marriage within the Orthodox Jewish community using a large sample size. Participants included 889 Orthodox individuals across diverse demographic groups who responded to an optional question within a larger survey inquiring about their thoughts and experiences on the subject. An inductive qualitative analysis was conducted, and this paper focuses on the seven most prevalent themes that emerged. These themes include issues related to superficial criteria in mate selection, gender segregation, perceived surplus of females, pressure to marry before feeling ready, the formal structure of shidduch dating, the exclusion of specific groups from the process and lack of education in areas of intimacy and sexuality. This study is important in promoting clinical awareness regarding the struggles that many Orthodox Jewish daters face and underscores the need for communal change addressing these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on a paper given on August 16 at the seminar "Losing my Religion" held in connection with the 14th International Congress for Luther Research: Word and World. It offers a heuristic analysis of different attacks on the reformer Martin Luther and Lutheran theology, both internally and externally, with a focus on the generalizing critique of what is at times labeled "the traditional (Protestant) confrontation perspective" by the so‐called new—or even radical—Paul New Testament scholars. It is demonstrated that the Paul readings, foremost Paul's letter to the Romans, by the new Paul perspective scholars can be aligned with the Paul readings made by radical feminist New Testament scholars, as both groups read the bible as history from an essentialist angle. By contrast, the attacked "traditional (Protestant) perspective" can be aligned with revisionist feminist New Testament scholars, as these latter groups read the bible as theology from a constructivist angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Migrant and ethnic inequalities in maternal and perinatal mortality persist across high‐income countries. Addressing social adversity and inequities across the childbirth trajectory cannot be left to chance and the good intentions of practitioners. Robust, evidence‐based tools designed to address inequity by enhancing both the quality of provision and the experience of care are needed. Methods: An inductive modelling approach was used to develop a new evidence‐based conceptual model of woman–midwife relationships, drawing on data from an ethnographic study of relationships between migrant Pakistani women and midwives, conducted between 2013 and 2016 in South Wales, UK. Key analytic themes from early data were translated into social–ecological concepts, and a model was developed to represent how these key themes interacted to influence the woman–midwife relationship. Results: Three key concepts influencing the woman–midwife relationship were developed from the three major themes of the underpinning research: (1) Healthcare System; (2) Culture and Religion; and (3) Family Relationships. Two additional weaving concepts appeared to act as a link between these three key concepts: (1) Authoritative Knowledge and (2) Communication of Information. Social and political factors were also considered as contextual factors within the model. A visual representation of this model was developed and presented. Conclusions: The model presented in this paper, along with future work to further test and refine it in other contexts, has the potential to impact on inequalities by facilitating future discussion on cultural issues, encouraging collaborative learning and knowledge production and providing a framework for future global midwifery practice, education and research. Patient or Public Contribution: At the outset of the underpinning research, a project involvement group was created to contribute to study design and conduct. This group consisted of the three authors, an Advocacy Officer at Race Equality First and an NHS Consultant Midwife. This group met regularly throughout the research process, and members were involved in discussions regarding ethical/cultural/social issues, recruitment methods, the creation of participant information materials, interpretation of data and the dissemination strategy. Ideas for the underpinning research were also discussed with members of the Pakistani community during community events and at meetings with staff from minority ethnic and migrant support charities (BAWSO, Race Equality First, The Mentor Ring). Local midwives contributed to study design through conversations during informal observations of antenatal appointments for asylum seekers and refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philosophy as a way of life has been undergoing a revival in recent years. This essay explores how the central idea of the spiritual exercises can be used to develop an account of philosophy of religion as a way of life. It details some of the contemporary uses and trajectories of philosophy as a way of life. Through engaging the religiously inflected philosophies of Karl Jaspers and Simone Weil, this paper argues that their thought can present an account of philosophy of religion as a way of life that is both ethically and transcendentally oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite prayer's central role in religious life, quantitative research on prayer typically focuses on its frequency without regard to the total amount, to why, to whom, or for what a person might be praying, nor how people feel when they pray. In this paper, we broaden our understanding of the prayer practices of American adults by focusing on their (1) quantity of prayer, (2) style of prayer, (3) purpose of prayer, (4) prayer target, and (5) emotional state during prayer. Using the Baylor Religion Survey (N = 1248), collected January–March 2021, we present frequencies and findings from factor analyses of key conceptual dimensions of prayer and then indicate how prayer dimensions correlate with each other and vary by basic religion and demographic variables. Our findings provide a detailed picture of these relationships and also provide researchers with best practices in how to measure the various dimensions of prayer in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative relationship between religiosity and cognitive ability is well documented though most research on the connection between religion and cognitive factors has largely ignored how social positions like race and gender may inform the association. This paper explores how race and gender intersect with the association between religious factors and verbal ability. Using data from the General Social Surveys, I examine racial differences in the impact of religious identification, religious participation, and beliefs about the Bible on verbal ability. The analyses show that the association between religious factors and verbal ability varies significantly across racial groups, and points to some gender differences in the association between religious factors and verbal ability by race. The findings highlight the importance of an intersectional approach and suggest that psychological theorizing about the relationships between religion and cognitive ability is underdeveloped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In 2019 the United States experienced the largest outbreak of measles in 27 years, 19 years after the United States declared measles eliminated. The purpose of this paper was to present a population study of a measles outbreak within Orthodox Jewish communities in New York that led to the elimination of religious exemption for school mandated vaccines. Methods: Peer reviewed articles, news media, health department, and government resources were used to investigate environmental factors that led to this outbreak. State, county, and city immunization records were accessed to explore measles compliance rates before and after policy change. Results: Rockland County had low compliance rates compared to the rest of the state, and the elimination of religious exemptions raised compliance rate almost to state level. In all but one affected New York City zip codes, compliance following policy change rose to 97.95%–99.15%. Conclusions: Overall, changes in measles compliance rates reflect policy goals, but localized differences imply a need for more customized interventions for each unique community. Public health planning to promote vaccination should be sensitive to the concerns and perceptions of each community in order for health interventions to have a positive effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of studies have investigated the neural networks and brain regions activated by different aspects of religious faith or spiritual practice. The extent to which religiousness and spirituality are dependent on the integrity of neural circuits is a question unique to neurological illnesses. Several studies have reported that neural networks and brain areas represent the various components of religious faith or spiritual activity in recent decades. In addition to research in healthy people, another strategy is to observe if neurological abnormalities caused by stroke, tumour, brain damage, or degenerative sickness are accompanied by an alteration in religiosity or spirituality. Similarly, Parkinson's disease (PD), an ailment characterized by dopaminergic neuron malfunction, has been utilized to explore the role of dopaminergic networks in the practice, experience, and maintenance of religious or spiritual beliefs. Case–control and priming studies have demonstrated a decline in spirituality and religion in people with PD due to dopaminergic degeneration. These studies could not adequately control for confounding variables and lacked methodological rigour. Using qualitative and quantitative assessments, a mixed‐method approach might shed additional light on putative religious beliefs alterations in PD. In the current review paper, we discussed the recent research on the impact of PD on spiritual beliefs and spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living together in culturally plural societies poses numerous challenges for members of ethnocultural groups and for the larger society. An important goal of these societies is to achieve positive intercultural relations among all their peoples. Successful management of these relations depends on many factors including a research‐based understanding of the historical, political, economic, religious and psychological features of the groups that are in contact. The core question is 'how we shall we all live together?' In the project reported in this paper (Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies; MIRIPS), we seek to provide such research by reviewing three core psychological hypotheses of intercultural relations (multiculturalism, contact and integration) in 21 culturally plural societies. The main goal of the project is to evaluate these hypotheses across societies within the MIRIPS project in order to identify if there are some basic psychological principles that underlie intercultural relations panculturally. If there are, the eventual goal is to employ the findings to propose some policies and programmes that may improve the quality of intercultural relationship globally. An internal meta‐analysis using the MIRIPS project data showed that the empirical findings from these societies generally support the validity of the three hypotheses. Implications for the development of policies and programmes to enhance the quality of intercultural relations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines religious change of immigrants from Poland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Spain in the first years after their arrival in the Netherlands––one of the least religious countries in the world. Religiosity is measured by attendance, praying, and subjective religiosity. Multiple‐group latent growth models are estimated based on four waves spanning a total of 4 years (n = 3354 at Wave 1) to identify religious trajectories. Results show an initial increase in attendance that levels off and ultimately reverses and a steady decrease in subjective religiosity across all immigrant groups. A group‐specific pattern is visible on the praying dimension: Turks show an initial increase that levels off over time and then reverses, whereas the other groups show no substantial change. The analysis suggests that differences in opportunities to attend and exclusion experiences are unlikely to be the main drivers of the immigrants' religious trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovery, a model of care aimed at patient‐led nursing practice emphasizing autonomy, hope and self‐determination, has in recent years been adapted for the secure forensic psychiatric setting. Often referred to as 'secure recovery', this model suggests the aims of recovery are achievable even in highly restrictive settings. This paper will adopt a Foucauldian perspective to offer a critical analysis of recovery in forensic settings. In providing recovery‐oriented care, nurses utilize pastoral power in guiding patients to institutionally preferred outcomes. Akin to Christian religious conversion, nurses engage in a neo‐religious conversion of patients to a neoliberal subjectivity of homo‐economicus. This path of recovery is grounded in an ethos of personal responsibility and self‐government, inseparable from the greater context of neoliberal governmentality. Despite attempts at transforming forensic nursing practice into more egalitarian directions, recovery remains a coercive practice, and fails to meet the overall goals of this paradigm in secure settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore how an intersectional frame offers new insights into the issue of social inequalities in relation to family migration. We bring research about family migration and intersectionality into conversation with one another by empirically examining the experiences of rural Christian family migrants in Shenzhen, China. We consider how neoliberal labour regimes and the Chinese state's project of building a secular and modernised state operates through an intersectional process of de‐familiarisation that turns rural migrants into gendered, class‐based, atomised labouring subjects. We argue that a more nuanced analysis of social inequalities in family migration could usefully focus on the intersectional processes within and among migrant families. We bring research about family, migration, and intersectionality into conversation with one another by empirically examining the experiences of rural Christian family migrants in Shenzhen, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]