A religious ritual is a prescribed, routinized, and ceremonial action or set of actions, the function of which is symbolic and has specific significance to the performer and the performer’s community. On a very basic level, rituals are an inherent part of living. They can be seen in many forms of animal life, from ants
Religious Discrimination Religious discrimination and diversity are realities of the modern workplace. In a recent survey of people in the United States, over 90 percent professed a religion, representing more than 1,500 religious denominations. Indeed, during the past decennia, the religious makeup of the workforce in Western countries has changed considerably due to increasing globalization
Within the discipline of anthropology, the subfield of humanism focuses on reason, logic, and scientific explanations for human existence, being skeptical of purely religious interpretation. Proponents of this approach, such as T. Willliam Hall, in the text Religion, state, “This interpretation of human existence dispenses with belief in the supernatural, considers the good of humanity
Religious Ministries Careers Background The largest religions in the United States are Christianity (including both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) and Judaism. Among Americans professing a religious faith, about 52 percent are Protestant, 24 percent are Roman Catholic, 1 percent are Jewish, 1 percent are Muslim, and 22 percent practice other religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and
It is interesting to note, especially for the consequences within the fields of the social sciences in general and of sociology in particular, that the term cult shares the same Latin root as the term culture: the recognition of man’s dependence upon the divine, which he expresses in acts of adoration, supplication, and thanksgiving, forms
The term new religious movements has been employed to refer to a number of distinguish able but overlapping phenomena, not all of which are unambiguously new and not all of which are, by at least some criteria, religious. There have, of course, always been new religions – Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam all started off
Corporal punishment, defined as discipline that intentionally causes physical pain, has been meted out to children throughout recorded history in most cultures, but its frequency is declining, and seventeen countries, beginning with Sweden in 1979, have banned it completely. In the nineteenth century the founder of the Baha’i faith prohibited corporal punishment of children in
This article explores the complex relationship between religious beliefs and health behaviors within the realm of health psychology. The introduction sets the stage by elucidating the background and significance of investigating this connection. Section 1 explores the influence of religious beliefs on lifestyle choices, offering a thorough literature review, analysis of psychological mechanisms, and illustrative
This article explores the multifaceted role of religious coping in mental health recovery within the framework of health psychology. Beginning with a comprehensive introduction defining religious coping and highlighting its significance in mental health recovery, the article explores the theoretical underpinnings, examining models such as Pargament’s and Exline’s to elucidate the intricacies of religious coping
This article explores the complex relationship between religious practices and physical health within the framework of health psychology. The introduction provides a concise overview of the subject’s significance, highlighting the theoretical foundations guiding the investigation and emphasizing the relevance for health professionals and researchers. The first section explores the impact of religious practices on stress