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This study firstly investigated the species, concentration variation, and emission factors of mercury emitted from the burning of incenses and joss papers in an Asian temple. Both indoor and outdoor speciated mercury (GEM, GOM, and PHg) were sampled by manual samplers, while ambient GEM at an indoor site was in-situ monitored by a continuous GEM monitor. Field measurement results showed that the total atmospheric mercury (TAM) concentrations in indoor and outdoor environments were in the range of 8.03-35.72 and 6.03-31.35 ng/m3, respectively. The indoor and outdoor ratios (I/O) of TAM in the daytime and at nighttime were in the range of 0.64-0.90 and 1.50-2.04, respectively. The concentrations of GEM, GOM, and PHg during the holiday periods were approximately 1-4 times higher than those during the non-holiday periods. GEM was the dominant mercury species in the indoor and outdoor environments and accounted for 63-81% of TAM, while the oxidized mercury accounted for 19-37% of TAM. Burning incenses and joss papers in a combustion chamber showed that the concentration of GEM from joss paper burning ranged from 4.07 to 11.62 μg/m3, or about 13.97 times higher than that of incense burning, while the concentration of PHg from incense burning ranged from 95.91 to 135.07 ng/m3, or about 3.29 times higher than that of joss paper burning. The emission factors of incense burning were 10.39 ng/g of GEM and 1.40 ng/g of PHg, while those of joss paper burning were 12.65 ng/g of GEM and 1.27 ng/g of PHg, respectively. This study revealed that speciated mercury emitted from worship activities had significant influence on the indoor and outdoor mercury concentrations in an Asian temple. Higher intensity of worship activities during holidays resulted in a higher concentration of speciated mercury in indoor and outdoor air, which might cause health threats to worshipers, staffs, and surrounding inhabitants through long-term exposure.

BACKGROUND: The partograph has been endorsed by World Health Organization (WHO) since 1994 which presents an algorithm for assessing maternal and foetal conditions and labor progression. Monitoring labour with a partograph can reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes such as prolonged labor, emergency C-sections, birth asphyxia and stillbirths. However, partograph use is still very low, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs). In Bangladesh the reported partograph user rate varies from 1.4% to 33.0%. Recently, an electronic version of the partograph, with the provision of online data entry and user aid for emergency clinical support, has been tested successfully in different settings. With this proven evidence, we conducted and operations research to test the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing an e-partograph, for the first time, in 2 public hospitals in Bangladesh.METHODS: We followed a prospective crossover design. Two secondary level referral hospitals, Jessore and Kushtia District Hospital (DH) were the study sites. All pregnant women who delivered in the study hospitals were the study participants. All nurse-midwives working in the labor ward of study hospitals were trained on appropriate use of both types of partograph along with standard labour management guidelines. Collected quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS 23 statistical software. Discrete variables were expressed as percentages and presented as frequency distribution and cross tabulations. Chi square tests were employed to test the association between exposure and outcome variables. Potential confounding factors were adjusted using multivariate binary logistic regression methods. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).FINDINGS: In total 2918 deliveries were conducted at Jessore DH and 2312 at Kushtia DH during one-year study period. Of them, 1012 (506 in each facility) deliveries were monitored using partograph (paper or electronic). The trends of facility based C-section rates was downwards in both the hospitals; 43% to 37% in Jessore and from 36% to 25% in Kushtia Hospital. There was a significant reduction of prolonged labour with e-partograph use. In Kushtia DH, the prolonged labour rate was 42% during phase 1 with the paper version which came down to 29% during phase-2 with the e-partograph use. The similar result was observed in Jessore DH where the prolonged labour rate reduced to 7% with paper partograph from the reported 30% prolonged labour with e-partograph. The e-partograph user rate was higher than the paper partograph during both phases (phase 1: 3.31, CI: 2.04-5.38, p < .001 and in phase 2: 15.20 CI: 6.36-36.33, p < .001) after adjusting for maternal age, parity, gestational age, religion, mother's education, husband's education, and fetal sex.CONCLUSION: The partograph user rate has significantly improved with the e- partograph and was associated with an overall reduction in cesarean births. Use of the e-partograph was also associated with reduced rates of prolonged labour. This study has added to the growing body of evidence on the positive impact of e-partograph use. We recommend implementing e-partograph intervention at scale in both public and private hospitals in Bangladesh.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03509103.

This is a working paper published in Working Papers in African Studies.

This is a founders’ narrative and research paper content analysis of the first 15 years of the Management Spirituality and Religion Interest Group (MSR) of the Academy of Management. Based on archival data and founder interviews, our inquiry recounts how the early collaborators established the Interest Group. The founders interviewed were identified through preliminary inquiry and from archival sources. As complement and extension, we concurrently conducted a content analysis of the 15 years of MSR Best Papers and Carolyn Dexter Award MSR nominated papers for Academy internationalization: a corpus epitomizing MSR research and practice. The combined study is a benchmark of founding and institutionalization for current and potential MSR members. By tracing the research trends MSR has taken in light of the founding aspirations, we illuminate the distinctive values, tensions, and meanings of spirituality in management practices that infuse MSR with its enduring organizational vitality.

I review evidence from published and unpublished sources on Ricardo's theological ideas. The main focuses of interest are the existence of a natural morality independent of religious confessions, morality as the essence of religion, uselessness of theological speculation, justification of toleration for everybody, including atheists, and the miscarriage of any attempt at a philosophical theodicy. The paper explores also the connection between Ricardo's interest for theodicy and his views on the scope and method of political economy and suggests that his opinion that political economy should be a secular and value-free science close to mathematics depends precisely on theological reasons.

This paper studies how discriminatory fake news arises and spatially diffuses. We focus on India at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: on March 30, a Muslim convention (the Tablighi Jamaat) in New Delhi became publicly recognized as a COVID hotspot, and the next day, fake news on Muslims intentionally spreading the virus spiked. Using Twitter data, we build a comprehensive novel dataset of georeferenced tweets to identify anti-Muslim fake news. We find, in cross-sectional and difference-in-difference settings, that discriminatory fake news became much more widespread after March 30 (1) in New Delhi, (2) in districts closer to New Delhi, and (3) in districts with higher social media interactions with New Delhi. Further, we investigate whether deeply rooted historical factors may have also played a role in the diffusion of anti-Muslim fake news: we show that, after March 30, discriminatory fake news was more common in districts historically exposed to attacks by Muslim groups.

This paper studies whether and how religious leaders affect politics. Focusing on Italian dioceses in the period from 1948 to 1992, we find that the identity of the bishop in office explains a significant amount of the variation in the vote share for the Christian Democracy party (DC). This result is robust to several exercises that use different samples and time windows. Zooming into the mechanism, we find that two characteristics of bishops matter: (i) his political culture, and (ii) his interaction with the population—the latter being measured using state-of-the-art text-analysis techniques.

Introduction to the papers from the June 2017 conference “The Sick Action”

This paper concerns a problem, the global pandemic COVID-19, which has influenced religious practices with respect to health protection across the Muslim world. Rapid transmission of the virus between people has become a serious challenge and a threat to the health protection of many countries. The increase in the incidence of COVID-19 in the Muslim community took place during and after the pilgrimages to Iran's Qom and as a result of the Jamaat Tabligh movement meetings. However, restrictions on religious practices have become a platform for political discussions, especially among Muslim clergy. This paper is an analysis of the religious and political situation in Muslim countries, showing the use of Islam to achieve specific goals by the authorities, even at the price of the health and life of citizens.

The paper is based on a lecture held on 29th November 1922.

Com en altres regions asiàtiques, la societat coreana i les seves tradicions i cultura tenen com a característica principal el sincretisme, es formen a partir de diversos inputs que es desenvolupen i s'adapten amb el temps. L'àmbit religiós no és una excepció. Aquesta tesis es centra en fer un estudi d'allò que dóna forma la religiositat i espiritualitat coreana, s'introdueixen les creences autòctones, les filosofies orientals més influents i es fa una especial menció al Cristianisme i la influència que exerceix en el panorama modern i actual de la religió a Corea del Sud. Como en otras regiones asiáticas, la sociedad coreana, sus tradiciones y cultura tienen como principal característica el sincretismo, se forman a partir de inputs que se desarrollan y adaptan con el tiempo. El ámbito religioso no es una excepción. Esta tesis se centra en hacer un estudio de lo que forma la religiosidad y espiritualidad coreana, se introduce la creencia autóctona, las filosofías orientales más influyentes y se hace una especial mención al cristianismo y la influencia que ejerce en el panorama moderno y actual de la religión en Corea del Sur. As in many other Asian regions, the main characteristic of Korean society, traditions and culture is syncretism, they are made of inputs that develop and adapt to the environment through time. The religious sphere is not an exception. This paper focuses on studying what are the components of religiosity and spirituality in Korea; native beliefs will be introduced, along with most important eastern philosophies, and special attention will be paid to Christianity and the influence it exercises over modern and nowadays religious situation in South Korea.

The paper is based on a lecture read on 25th October 1922.

This is a working paper published by the African Studies Center at Boston University.

Systems thinking approaches can benefit the occupational vocal health of vocally reliant workers. This paper explores community faith leaders as an example of a highly vocally reliant occupation, who may benefit from systems thinking being used to support their vocal occupational health and safety. A scoping review of the current literature regarding faith leaders' occupational voice use and vocal health is detailed, including recognised occupational hazards. This article then discusses the unique and potential use of systems thinking for facilitating faith leaders' vocal occupational health and safety. Rather than using a solely clinical perspective, the sociotechnical systems approach and the biopsychosocial-spiritual approach are noted as particularly pertinent for this occupational group.

This study aims to examine the relationship between the levels of hopelessness, loneliness, and spiritual well-being of patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes during the process of COVID-19 outbreak. The study was carried out with diabetic patients living in three different cities that are in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey between the dates of 15 of November and 30 of November 2020. The sample of the study consisted of 500 (Type 1, n = 218, Type 2, n = 282) diabetes patients. Data were collected using a demographic information form, Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS), and Spiritual Well-being Scale (FACIT–Sp). While the mean scores of hopelessness and loneliness of type 1 patients were below the moderate level, the mean scores of their spiritual well-being were found to be above the moderate level. Moreover, while the mean scores of hopelessness and loneliness in type 2 patients were below the moderate level, the mean scores of their spiritual well-being were found above the moderate level. A significant relationship was found between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients' levels of hopelessness, loneliness, and spiritual well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak. It was found that as the spiritual well-being levels of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients increased, the levels of their loneliness and hopelessness decreased. It is recommended that mass communication that includes spiritual care practices can be used effectively to reduce diabetes patients’ levels of loneliness and hopelessness during the pandemic. In addition, while providing care to diabetes patients, it can be suggested that health professionals offer a holistic approach with initiatives that will increase diabetes patients’ spiritual well-being. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. The authors thank the patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who participated in this study.

Contrairement à ce que l’historiographie a coutume de rapporter, le célèbre récit de la « Relation de la mort de MM. les duc et cardinal de Guise… » n’a jamais été écrit par Marc Miron, premier médecin d’Henri III. Cette enquête se propose de remonter l’histoire de ce texte à travers ses sources imprimées, puis manuscrites, afin d’identifier l’origine de l’erreur colportée. La comparaison des différentes copies conservées met en exergue la plus ancienne de toutes, réalisée au tournant du xviie siècle. Celle-ci apporte des informations exceptionnelles sur l’auteur de ce récit et son destinataire. Nous en évaluerons l’intérêt au regard de sa vraisemblance, en contextualisant autant que possible son écriture, mais également la manière dont ses enjeux politiques se réactualisent d’une décennie à l’autre. Ce texte longtemps resté ignoré fut finalement diffusé dans les cercles érudits au cours des années 1630. Mais la notoriété acquise n’ira pas sans manipulation. Contrary to what historiography usually reports, the famous account of the "Relation de la mort de MM. les duc et cardinal de Guise..." was never written by Marc Miron, the 1st physician of Henry 3rd. Our investigation aims at tracing the history of this text through its printed and then manuscript sources, in order to identify the origin of the error that was later peddled. Comparing the various copies preserved highlights the oldest of all, produced at the turn of the 17th century. It provides exceptional information on the author of this story and its recipient. We will evaluate its interest in terms of its likelihood, contextualising as much as possible its writing, but also the way in which its political issues had been updated from one decade to the next. This long-ignored text was finally disseminated in scholarly circles during the 1630s, but the fame it acquired was not without manipulation.

Research has shown that stress impacts on people’s religious beliefs. However, several aspects of this effect remain poorly understood, for example regarding the role of prior religiosity and stress-induced anxiety. This paper explores these aspects in the context of the recent coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The latter has impacted dramatically on many people’s well-being; hence it can be considered a highly stressful event. Through online questionnaires administered to UK (n = 140) and USA (n = 140) citizens professing either Christian faith or no religion, this paper examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon common people’s religious beliefs. Anxiety about the coronavirus and prior religiosity showed an interaction effect upon change in religious beliefs (t(276) = 2.27,p = .024): for strong believers higher anxiety about coronavirus was associated with increased strengthening of religious beliefs (r = .249), while for non-believers higher anxiety about coronavirus was associated with increased scepticism towards religious beliefs (r = − .157). These observations are consistent with the notion that stress-induced anxiety enhances support for an individual’s existing ideology already embraced before a stressful event occurs. This study sheds light on the psychological and cultural implications of the coronavirus crisis, which represents one of the most serious health emergencies in recent times.

Expressions of religious piety have been practiced in the Catholic Church as a response to plagues and pandemics. The faithful seek comfort in prayer and appeal to God and the saints for mercy and protection from illness and loss of life. In the Philippines, the veneration of sacred images and placing them outside the window of a house or a church is a religious expression known as "dungaw” (to look out). This paper discusses “dungaw” as a faith-response of Filipino Catholics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is an empirical phenomenology that consists of a literary review and interviews. This paper analyzed the significance of the religious expression “dungaw.” Four areas of inquiry were identified: (1) Views on the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) “Dungaw” and prayer life during the pandemic, (3) “Dungaw” as a religious expression, and (4) “Dungaw” and communal life. Results showed that Filipino Catholics utilized religion as a coping resource during turbulent times. Filipino Catholics also embodied traditional values to help repair the frayed social fabric during COVID-19.

Background: Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is one of the major health emergencies for global society. Little is known about the ABR of environmental bacteria and therefore it is important to understand ABR reservoirs in the environment and their potential impact on health. Method/Design: Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected during a 3-year follow-up study of a river associated with religious mass-bathing in Central India. Surface-water and sediment samples will be collected from seven locations at regular intervals for 3 years during religious mass-bathing and in absence of it to monitor water-quality, antibiotic residues, resistant bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes and metals. Approval has been obtained from the Ethics Committee of R.D. Gardi Medical College, Ujjain, India (No. 2013/07/17-311). Results: The results will address the issue of antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance with a focus on a river environment in India within a typical socio-behavioural context of religious mass-bathing. It will enhance our understanding about the relationship between antibiotic residue levels, water-quality, heavy metals and antibiotic resistance patterns in Escherichia coli isolated from river-water and sediment, and seasonal differences that are associated with religious mass-bathing. We will also document, identify and clarify the genetic differences/similarities relating to phenotypic antibiotic resistance in bacteria in rivers during religious mass-bathing or during periods when there is no mass-bathing.

Individual and herd immunity against communicable diseases requires high rates of timely and complete vaccination, particularly in closely knit communities, densely populated areas, and places with high influx of potentially infected individuals. Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 and, previously, measles in religious Jewish communities of New York, as well as the rise of vaccine hesitancy in faith communities, call for the examination of Jewish attitudes toward vaccination. In this article, we examine religious doctrine and guidance on vaccination in Orthodox (including Modern Orthodox, Chabad-Lubavich, and Ultra-Orthodox), Conservative, and Reform denominations of Judaism and apply these principles to vaccinations against measles, human papillomavirus (HPV), and COVID-19. We found that the leaders and scholars in these three major denominations of Judaism are uniform in their strong support, often to the point of mandate, for the principles of vaccination. Support for vaccination is deeply rooted in the Torah, Jewish law, and contemporary rulings of poskim (Jewish legal scholars). These principles are applied by each denomination in strong support of measles and COVID-19 vaccination, though there is less certainty in their support of vaccination against HPV.

Achieving high vaccination rates is important for overcoming an epidemic. This study investigates the association between religious faith and intentions to become vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel and Japan. Most of Israel’s population is monotheistic, whereas most Japanese are unaffiliated with any religion. Therefore, our findings might be applicable to various countries that differ in their religions and levels of religiosity. We conducted almost identical large-scale surveys four times in Israel and five times in Japan from March to June 2020 to obtain panel data. We found that intentions of getting vaccinated depend on people’s level of religiosity in a non-linear way. Those who have strong religious beliefs are less likely to become vaccinated than those who say they are less religious. Two other factors that play a role in this relationship are religious denomination in Israel and identifying with a religion in Japan. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10198-021-01389-8.

Emerging and re-emerging diseases are responsible for recurrently affecting the health of human populations. Although people are aware of these diseases, they do not seem to adopt prophylactic methods to prevent them. Here, we propose to investigate the influence of religiosity/spirituality (R/S) on the frequency of the adoption of prophylactic behaviors and the perception of risk of vulnerability to the disease. We used dengue, which is a seasonal arboviral disease in Brazil, as a model. To measure the dimensions of religiosity/spirituality, we used the Portuguese version of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiosity/Spirituality questionnaire. All data were obtained through a structured questionnaire that was answered online by 204 volunteers living throughout Brazil. Our results indicate that R/S is predictive of the frequency of prophylactic behaviors (p = 0.0222, R2 = 0.025) and the perception of risk of vulnerability (p

In the United States, Black communities face a complex mental health burden, with growing attention on addressing these disparities through the lens of holistic wellbeing. Given the dearth of research on faith-based interventions focused on mental health through the lens of holistic wellbeing, this study evaluates the impact of a spirituality-based, peer-led one-group pre-test post-test pilot intervention in a sample of Black individuals in the Bronx, New York City. The eight-session creating healthy culture curriculum, focused on improving mental health and spiritual wellbeing, was collaboratively developed through community partnerships. Post-intervention results indicated significantly reduced odds of moderate to severe depression (AOR:0.20), and increased sense of community, social support, role of religion in health, flourishing, and reduced trouble sleeping. In-depth interviews with participants further highlighted the interconnected role between psychosocial and mental health indicators. Findings support importance of holistically developing, implementing, and evaluating spirituality-based mental health interventions in Black communities.

This is a narrative study of the founding and a research content analysis of the first 15 years of the Management Spirituality and Religion Interest Group (MSR) of the Academy of Management. Our inquiry assessed the ways in which the early collaborators established the Interest Group from archival data and founder interviews. The individuals interviewed were identified through preliminary inquiry and from archival data. As a complement of and extension to this inclusive founding narrative, we conducted a content and discourse analysis of the 15 years of MSR Best Papers and Carolyn Dexter Best International Award nominated papers. Taken together, our study is an important benchmark of founding and institutionalization for MSR members and potential members, while serving as an indicator of emerging trends in the research domain. By tracing the particular research paths that MSR has taken in light of its founding aspirations, we illuminate the distinctive values, tensions, management practices, and skills that give MSR its organizational vitality.

UTS alumnus 1938-1941, faculty member, ethicist, author, and public intellectual in the Protestant ecumenical movement of the 1950’s and 60’s. Collection contains correspondence, textual materials reflecting Shinn’s academic and military experience, family life and activities in retirement; materials relating to Shinn’s leadership in religious and civic organizations, sermons and lectures, working papers and final drafts of publications in books and journals, as well as a small amount of realia including military regalia, certificates and licenses, photographs, and graphic materials.

Religious coping is one potential strategy to manage stressors. Positive religious coping has been linked to better physical and mental health outcomes, while negative religious coping has been associated with increased stress and anxiety. The primary objective of this study was to examine individuals’ use of religious coping during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and religious coping in a national sample of 970 individuals located within the USA recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) between September 12, 2020, and September 25, 2020. Findings indicate negative religious coping is most strongly associated with COVID-19 anxiety, as higher levels of negative religious coping were positively related to COVID-19 anxiety. In a moderated multiple regression wherein positive religious coping and negative religious coping were included in an interaction term, only negative religious coping was significantly associated with COVID-19 anxiety. This may have been due, in part, because individual’s typical religious engagement was disrupted by social distancing and isolation measures. When accounting for participant age, sex, religious beliefs and behaviors, and negative religious coping, positive religious coping was negatively, although weakly, associated with COVID-19 anxiety. These findings suggest that negative religious coping has a stronger association with COVID-19 anxiety than positive religious coping.

The objective of this systematic review was to summarize the roles that religious communities played during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic. Seven databases were searched and a total of 58 articles in English published between February 2020 and July 2020 were included in evidence synthesis. The findings of the literature showed diverse influences of religion as a double-edged sword in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Religious communities have played detrimental and/or beneficial roles as a response to COVID-19 pandemic. A collaborative approach among religious communities, health science, and government is critical to combat COVID-19 crisis and future pandemics/epidemics.

Approximately 80% of Americans identify as religious. As physicians caring for patients with COVID-19, we have seen both positive and negative effects of religious activity during the pandemic. Religious worship generally supports close social interaction, which provides many benefits, especially in mental health, but it can also contradict infection control measures. These forces do not necessarily have to be in opposition to each other. Herein, we present three case vignettes of religious patients who were infected with and recovered from COVID-19. We review the potential benefits and risks of religious activity in the current pandemic, as supported by the medical literature. Finally, we offer some thoughts on how to engage with patients so that the benefits of both religious activity and public health measures are optimized.

Moving in together is an important transition in a relationship. For many, it is often a shift to the next phase of the relationship indicating higher levels of commitment. Whether the partners are married, plans to get married, or marriage is not part of their future, there are important conversations to be had prior to this transition. As such, this article presents recommended pre-cohabitation conversations with question prompts for partners to explore prior to moving in together. To best understand the dynamics of cohabiting that informed the questions, a review of the literature on cohabitation is presented. Additionally, race and culture, religion, and sexual and gender identity will be highlighted as essential conversation considerations especially as the majority of the literature is centered around white, hetero, and monogamous relationships. Created by a group of couple and family therapy graduate trainees based on the literature and their own personal and professional experiences, the pre-cohabitation conversations are organized into three categories– relationship negotiations, household rules, and communication. These conversations are recommended to be used both by therapists with their clients as well as for direct use by partners following the questions presented within. The topics represent a comprehensive range of relationship issues including consideration of unique issues as presented in the literature with the goal of aiding partners in successful management of their transition to a shared living space.

The Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) originated in China at the end of 2019, the virus festered there for four months before spreading globally. Impacting the developed and developing world including Indonesia. It has transformed social, economic and political practices social life, everyday habits and government policies, with multi-dimensional consequences on human life. The present study endeavours to explore the relationship between religiosity, social capital, and psychological well-being of the general public, particularly in terms of coping with the pandemic. In addition to this, the study aims to highlight the importance of public awareness regarding social distancing, use of religion as a coping mechanism, and living a healthy lifestyle during pandemic. For knowing the perception of the masses, an online survey by using a self-administered questionnaire was carried out among coronavirus patients, the general public, social media activists, students, and professionals across Indonesia. The findings indicate that the pandemic has altered the lifestyle of the masses in different ways and that people have varied perceptions towards this virus regarding its spread and preventive measures. The study also reveals that, social capital (β = .418, p

The purpose of this research study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on church engagement for Black families affected by dementia in the USA. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with current caregivers, church leaders, and persons with dementia (n = 16). The following themes emerged: (a) Ability to continue religious practices, (b) Increased church engagement, (c) Importance of fellowship, (d) Role of technology, and (e) New normal. As the Internet becomes the new church building, online worship services enabled more families affected by dementia to engage. Many church leaders expressed the intent of continuing to provide online worship services post-pandemic. Families highlighted their need to fellowship with other congregants. Technology was perceived as a double-edged sword serving as both a motivator and a barrier to religious engagement. These findings will support faith leaders in understanding the needs of their congregants during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as allowing families living with dementia to continue engaging in religious practices and living in meaningful ways.

"Excess deaths" is a means to estimate the lethality of COVID-19 (directly and indirectly). Assessing "excess death" in closed religious communities provides information on how COVID-19 impacted these communities. We use obituary information published in an Amish/Mennonite newspaper to examine excess death among the Amish/Mennonites in 2020. Our results indicate the Amish/Mennonite excess death rates are similar to the national trends in the USA. The excess death rate for Amish/Mennonites spiked with a 125% increase in November 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on this closed religious community highlights the need to consider religion to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The aim of this study is to explore experiences and perceived effects of the Rosary on issues around health and well-being, as well as on spirituality and religiosity. A qualitative study was conducted interviewing ten Roman Catholic German adults who regularly practiced the Rosary prayer. As a result of using a tangible prayer cord and from the rhythmic repetition of prayers, the participants described experiencing stability, peace and a contemplative connection with the Divine, with Mary as a guide and mediator before God. Praying the Rosary was described as helpful in coping with critical life events and in fostering an attitude of acceptance, humbleness and devotion.

We Irish Protestants have always had a reputation for appreciating the minutiae of social distinction. Often invisible to the outsider, this extended to such as our dogs, our yachts and, of course, our newspapers. My paternal grandmother was no exception. Her take on the relative pecking order of the Irish dailies was that one got one’s news and views from the Irish Times, one lit the fire with the Irish Independent, and as for the Irish Press – ah! Delicacy forbids me to go into details, but suffice it to say that it involved cutting it into appropriate squares, and hanging these in the smallest room of the house!

UTS alumnus 1877-1880, Union librarian, Dean of Students, Secretary of the Faculty, instructor and librarian emeritus at Union between 1908 and 1948. Textual materials including writings, manuscripts, research files, correspondence, a notebook and scrapbook.

An article bringing together a range of scholars from a variety of disciplines – including history, archaeology, religious studies, sociology and anthropology – currently part of the Humanities Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities "Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations", based at the Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt. The article summarises and recapitulates some of the research results from the years 2018 until 2022. The "Religion and Urbanity" group argues that it is possible to draw broader conclusions about the reciprocal formation of religion and urbanity by taking a historical approach. The dynamics of this reciprocal formation are context-specific; however, only by taking a long-term perspective on a wide range of cities can we fully grasp the significance of urbanity for religion and the importance of religion in shaping urbanity. The ‘reciprocal formation of religion and urbanity’ is not just some further approach but has been developed into a method: an organised and interrelated set of questions that can be addressed in a cross-cultural and cross-epochal manner towards a wide range of historical subjects. The research group "Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations" (FOR 2779) has been funded by the German Research Foundation/Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) since 2018 and in 2022 was successfully evalutated for a second funding period (until 2026). Research results are published continuously via the open access platform and journal "Religion and Urbanity Online" (de Gruyter): https://doi.org/10.1515/urbrel

This study was designed to determine the relation between religion and the motivations of future healthcare professionals to volunteer during the COVID-19 outbreak in Poland. Data were collected from 417 healthcare students via an online questionnaire. The results indicated that although students’ religiosity was not a significant predictor of volunteering during the pandemic, it played a key role in determining their motivations to join the fight against COVID-19. There was a significant positive relationship between students’ religiosity and their eagerness to commit for the sake of the community rather than for personal or egoistic motives.

This study evaluates the nature and intensity of anxiety, interpretations of the COVID-19 pandemic and coping modalities of hospitalized patients with mental illness compared with their caregivers. One hundred and fifty-one subjects were evaluated with a specially designed questionnaire. Psychiatric inpatients reported more anxiety and more negative feelings than staff members and healthy subjects, but inpatients felt protected by the hospital and Ministry of Health (MoH) measures. Despite this anxiety, inpatients reported a lower compliance with MoH instructions than staff and healthy subjects and gave more fatalistic interpretations to the pandemic. Haredi study participants reported less anxiety, more optimism and had a higher sense of control regarding the pandemic compared to non-religious participants.

Investigating the role of religiosity in coping with health anxiety during the outbreak of COVID-19 assumes significance given the continued onslaught of the pandemic and the importance of religion in many societies of the world. The aim of this study is to test the relationship between religious coping and health anxiety in Pakistani Muslims. The online survey method was used to collect data from 408 respondents. Structural equational modeling was performed, with results indicating that people who are suffering with health anxiety opt for religious coping (β = .54, R2 = .29, p

This paper examines the association between state religiosity and population mobility during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We use first-party geo-behavioral data collected through mobile phone operating systems, global positioning systems, and Wi-Fi signals to assess changes in the average median distance traveled by approximately 15,000,000 devices over eight weeks (February 24-April 13) in the contiguous United States. Robust regression results show that more religious states tend to exhibit higher average mobility scores and slower average declines in mobility. Findings also suggest that state stay-at-home orders have a weaker impact on mobility in more religious states.

This study addresses the gap in the literature regarding the impact of nurses' personal religious and spiritual beliefs on their mental well-being and burnout. A model of the association between these factors was tested based on surveys of 207 nurses located in southeastern USA and analyzed to determine the association between religion/spirituality, mental well-being, and burnout. A path analysis supported a model in which, through its positive impact on mental well-being, religion/spirituality was negatively associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and positively associated with personal accomplishment.

Given links between stress and obesity, it is likely that individuals gained weight during the COVID-19 lockdown. Research suggests that religiosity facilitates coping, which may have lessened the relationship between stress and weight gain during the COVID-19 lockdown. We examined this relationship among Orthodox Jews (n = 731). Results indicated that stress was marginally associated with weight gain, and that this was moderated by intrinsic religiosity (IR). For those with low IR, stress correlated with weight gain, while for those with mean or higher IR, stress and weight change were unrelated. Results suggest that for some, religiosity may moderate links between stress and weight gain during times of crisis.

This study sought to examine the relationship between the sexual compulsivity, emotional and spiritual distress of religious and non-religious adults who sought assessment for pornography addiction on the Internet. Religious (n = 350) and non-religious (n = 114) data were analyzed separately with a one-way between-subjects multivariate analysis of variance. The Kalichman Sexual Compulsivity Scale was used to divide the religious and non-religious into three groups: non-sexually compulsive (NCs); moderately sexually compulsive and sexually compulsive (SCs). All of the dependent variables, except age, were significantly higher for SCs than NCs for the religious. For the non-religious, all of the dependent variables, except age and time spent viewing Internet pornography (IP), were significantly higher for SCs than NCs. The non-religious spent significantly more time viewing IP than the religious. Yet, the religious were significantly more sexually compulsive. Emotional distress and spiritual distress were found to be significantly higher for SCs than the NCs regardless of religiosity. The non-religious were significantly more anxious and stressed than the religious. Specific religious affiliations did not have any significant bearing on the degree of sexual compulsivity. Religious practice, being associated with less viewing of IP, suggests the likelihood that moral reasons may provide some rationale for not viewing IP. At the same time, religious practice might reinforce shame in the addiction cycle thus religious individuals may be more at-risk to developing a compulsive pattern of viewing IP. The implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are presented.

This study explored views of Catholic priests about schizophrenia and depression in Italy. Participants completed a questionnaire on their views about either schizophrenia (N = 282) or depression (N = 277). The depression group was surer than the schizophrenia group that: the disorder was due to psychosocial causes; curable; non-requiring long-term pharmacotherapy; the persons with depression could participate in religious activities. The older priests were more convinced than the younger priests that: the prayer and long-term pharmacotherapy are useful; the persons with mental disorders had affective difficulties, are recognizable and kept at distance. Priests should receive education on stigma in mental disorders, particularly schizophrenia.

School for Oriental and African Studies, University of London