In the late 19th century, anthropology emerged as an academic discipline against a background of intellectual foment and rapid advances in the sciences. During this formative time, religion was the subject of many travelogues, popular books, and scholarly studies. Nineteenth-century European colonial expansion, and the scholarship it engendered, exposed the Western world to a large
Spiritual ecology may be defined as a complex and diverse arena of religious, spiritual, intellectual, and practical activities at the interface of religions and spiritualities on the one hand, and on the other of ecologies, environments, and environmentalisms. The term is applied as a parallel to other primary components of contemporary ecological anthropology like primate
Liberal religion is distinct from the liberal wings of particular religions such as liberal Catholics, liberal Baptists, liberal Hindus, and the like who seek a liberal way through their own particular religious traditions. Depending on the relative strength of the anti-liberal wing of those same religions, liberal wings of the various religions will come and
Hardly any term of the intellectual life seems to have such multifarious meanings as religion. Religion is of great importance for the development of mankind and its history, as it represents the human reaction to an extrahuman holy, transcendent, and divine object. The term religion has its etymologic and historical roots in the Roman world
The relationship between rhetoric and religion is fourfold: (1) rhetoric is a tool used by religious groups; (2) political rhetoric draws upon religious language; (3) religious systems contribute to the discursive constructions of their adherents’ worldviews; and (4) religious traditions contribute to rhetorical theory and practice. Religious systems use rhetoric as a tool for interfacing
Sports and religion have a conflicted relationship. At times, sport has served the objectives of religious authorities and has been imbued with a morality and philosophy derived from religious doctrine. At others, it has been rejected for its secular, corporeal emphasis and its capacity to divert attention from godly activities. Sport has been utilized as
Women and religion, women’s religious commitments, ideals, and involvement are increasingly of interest to sociologists within both the sociology of religion and other fields. While early research on religion focused on the origins, functions, meaning, and measurement of religion, the past few decades have witnessed a burgeoning interest in women s spirituality, the involvement of
The task of building a scientific understanding of religion is a central part of the sociological enterprise. Indeed, in one sense the origins of the sociology can be attributed to the efforts of nineteenth-century Europeans to come to grips with the crisis of faith that shook Western society during the revolutionary upheavals of its industrial
Religion and spirituality are enduring aspects of the human condition. Some of the earliest human records were accounts of the spirituality and religious culture of the day. Religion and spirituality have also fueled human conflict for thousands of years. Our concern here is how religion and spirituality interact with aging: how aging affects religion and
The evolutionary character of theories of primitive religion is present in the sociological literature from the beginning. It is evident, for example, in the writings of the so called founding father of sociology, Auguste Comte (1798-1857), who believed that religion originated in fetishism or the worship of inanimate things, then developed into polytheism which in
Civil religion refers to the cultural beliefs, practices, and symbols that relate a nation to the ultimate conditions of its existence. The idea of civil religion can be traced to the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau’s On the Social Contract (1762). Writing in the wake of the Protestant–Catholic religious wars, Rousseau maintained the need for
The connection between consumption and religion has been investigated by a wide range of scholars. Topics examining this relationship include: the rise of capitalism and the nature of modern capitalism, competition among religious organizations for religious consumers, the consumption of religious goods and services, as well as consumption as a secular religion. In The Protestant
The modern study of religion and economics begins with Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). Smith applied his economic analysis to several aspects of religion that researchers since developed with quantitative research. Smith’s fundamental contribution to the study of religion was that religious beliefs and activities
Concepts of health and illness in human society originated from traditional religious views about life and death. One of the first sociologists to study religion was Emile Durkheim, who found that distinctions between ideas about the sacred and profane were connected to notions of health and illness. Religious views of the sacred body, for example
It is commonly held that the declining power and popularity of religion that we see in almost all modern industrial societies owes much to the rise of science; science and religion are competitors in a zero sum game, with the former being vastly more persuasive. As US sociologist Robert Merton pointed out, many of the
“Communication” derives from the Latin term communicare meaning to share or impart and to make common. “Popular communication” refers to those efforts of, by, and for the people that establish and maintain this sharing and commonality. In this sense, communication is the basic requirement for sustaining any social group. “The people” are generally understood as
This article traces the history of the anthropology of religion from the nineteenth century to the present. It argues that a focus on such questions as rationality and ritual was central to the emergence of the discipline. These themes, along with topics such as witchcraft, belief, language, and the body, have remained of perennial interest.
The term religion comes from the Latin religare, which means “to bind together or to express concern.” In modern times, religion has become a visible institution that provides an organizational structure for faith in the divine, sacred, or supernatural. In addition, there frequently are moral codes, ritual practices, worship, and celebrations associated with each religion
Traditionally, the word spirituality has been used for concepts and experiences that either are religious or are analogous to it. More recently, there has been controversy concerning the meaning and application of the term spirituality as it is differentiated from religion and religiosity. Inasmuch as the largest body of research relevant to issues in counseling
Religion has the ability to affect death penalty trials in numerous ways. The most studied include the effects of jurors’ religiosity and religious appeals used by lawyers during trial. Religion also affects judges’ decisions. Although the study of how religion affects legal decision making is still in its infancy, religion has the potential to affect
This article explores the complex relationship between religion and end-of-life decisions within the realm of health psychology. Offering a comprehensive exploration, the introduction sets the stage by emphasizing the profound impact of these decisions and the intersection with religious beliefs. The first section navigates through the diverse perspectives of major world religions, elucidating historical contexts
This article explores the complex relationship between religion, mental health, and well-being within the framework of health psychology. Beginning with a historical overview and theoretical exploration, the study navigates through the psychosocial and coping mechanisms associated with religious beliefs and practices. Drawing on a synthesis of quantitative and qualitative research findings, the empirical section evaluates