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The Adult Religious Education and Faith Development project (AREFD) was launched in 2018 at the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, DCU. As part of the study, the research team consulted variety of people involved in AREFD across a range of contexts. The purpose of these consultations was to harness their 'lived wisdom', showcasing the wide variety of opportunities for engagement in and identifying possible new approaches to AREFD. When COVID-19 struck, the research team availed of the opportunity to discuss the impact of the pandemic on the religious education and faith development of this particular cohort of Irish adults. Thematically analysed, the data showed a spectrum of responses. The pandemic prompted deep reflection and a re-evaluation of the importance of religion and faith in their lives. Ranging from gaining comfort and solace from their faith to being moved to acts of compassion and altruism based on their religious beliefs, the impact of the pandemic on the faith lives of these Irish adults was diverse. This paper provides an account of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the faith lives of some Irish adults, prompting reflection on how this impact might shape the future of AREFD in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on Indonesia's case, this research discusses how booming internet use impacts students' faith, functioning as both threat and opportunity concerning students' religious inherency and sustainable religious education (RE). This qualitative study analyses six public junior high schools and 48 interviewed participants. To reveal various religions' views, the participants belong to six recognised religions in Indonesia: Islam, Christianity (Protestant), Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. According to thematic analysis, the findings show that teachers and students face challenges in the early shift to online RE, such as technical problems and learning ineffectiveness. These challenges impede student understanding, study preparation and learning motivation, resulting in decreased social skills, lack of communication, declining faith, and weak religious inherency. However, the internet fostered RE continuity during the pandemic, especially contributing to the time efficiency of RE. Therefore, this research formulates the concept of tri-centred religious education, which integrates the roles of family, school, and society to create the students' self-control. Religious values and social norms should be connected to strengthen students' religious inherency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baptism has long been a point of contention among Christians. One passage that may have more to offer than has previously been suggested, particularly with regard to the relationship between faith and baptism, is Gal. 3.27. Of special interest is the precise way that the two clauses pertaining to (i) baptism and (ii) putting on Christ are related. Usually, it has been understood that baptism is, in some sense, the means by which Christ is put on. But an exploration of ὅσος, which connects the two clauses, together with the study of Gal. 3.27 and its context, suggests that 'putting on Christ', which is best understood as the action of faith, is the appropriate response to baptism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main purpose of this research is investigation of effect of the users' religiosity on their relevance judgment. Method: This research is practical in terms of purpose and was conducted using the descriptive survey design. The statistical population of the research consisted of all fourth-level doctoral students at Al-Zahra University, whose number was 69. Mean and Standard deviation were used to describe the statistical data, and Pearson's correlation coefficient and simultaneous regression analysis were used to analyze the data. In order to collect information about the level of users' adherence to religiosity dimensions, Glock and Stark's religiosity questionnaire (1968) was used which includes 26 items arranged in 4 dimensions of beliefs, emotional, consequential, and ritual. Then, in order to determine the degree of relevance judgment, 6 simulated work tasks were defined and the most important criteria of relevance judgment were evaluated during the execution of work tasks. First, the users searched on the topic of work tasks in Persian paper databases, including Magiran, SID and Ensani Portal (Iran's Humanities Portal), and they selected 10 papers for each task. After reading each scenario and the demand related to it, users evaluated the papers related to each scenario in a related, somewhat related, unrelated format. Therefore, each user evaluated 30 papers related to 6 work tasks. Findings: The findings indicates that among the religiosity dimensions, the interactive behavior of users showed a higher average than the interactive performance and relevance judgment. Moreover, the average of practices dimension was the highest, followed by belief dimension, and emotion dimension. Finally, the works dimension showed the lowest average. The results of multiple regression test showed that users' ritual and behavioral dimension (such as worship, prayer, participation in special religious rites, fasting, etc.) and belief dimension and religious beliefs are effective in increasing relevance judgment, but the two affective and emotional dimensions have nothing to do with the judgment of users. In other words, despite the change in the emotional dimension of the users, i.e., the change in the degree of emotions, imaginations and feelings related to having a relationship with a divine entity such as God or an ultimate reality or a supreme authority, their relevance judgment would not change. Furthermore, despite the change in the 'consequences dimension' of religiosity, i.e., the change in the effects of religious beliefs, actions, experiences and knowledge on the daily life of users, the level of their relevance judgment did not show a change. Originality/value: The present research is the first research that has explored the effect of users' religiosity scales on relevance judgment. According to the findings, it is suggested that system designers and experts, in addition to considering technical issues and hardware and software equipment, should also manage the interactions of users with the system and consider the different conditions and situations of users. Librarians, while knowing the society in which the users are located and considering the religious context of the society as well as knowing the religious approaches of the users, can provide the necessary guidance to them when retrieving information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious studies in the past paid more attention to the changes of institutional religion than to the status characteristic of folk beliefs. This paper argues that religious categorization based on institutional religion is not conducive to understanding the cultural and religious life of Chinese society, but rather leads to the stigmatization of folk religion and the reduction of the life-world. From this perspective, the historical development of folk religion affects the relationship between national elites, institutionalized religion, and civil society. Folk religion can be foregrounded and exerts great impact on the rise and fall of institutional religion. The folk religion revival in contemporary China and the development of related studies also promote the renewal of religious categorization. The revival of folk religion in the new millennium can consequently facilitate social integration and provide new possibilities for overcoming institutional religion's exclusiveness and for increasing the cultural diversity of Chinese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental discourse frequently understands the values of nature as being instrumental, intrinsic, or relational and measured in biophysical, sociocultural, or monetary terms. Yet these specific values and value indicators are underpinned by worldviews, knowledge systems, and broad values that orient people towards nature in different ways and can be shared (or diverge) across spatiotemporal and social scales. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Values Assessment emphasized the need for decision-making to embrace a plural-values approach that encompasses these diverse meanings of value to catalyze outcomes based on sustainability-aligned broad values like care, unity, reciprocity, and justice. Navigating these diverse values also highlights the salience of religion and its complexity in real-world scenarios as a force that shapes how people conceive the values of nature. For example, proposed modes of plural-value deliberation to reform institutions and shift social norms toward justice and sustainability need to be able to bridge sacred-secular policy divides. This article evaluates how religion interacts with nature's values by building upon reviews conducted for the IPBES Values Assessment. We present different conceptualizations of religion and explore how these relate to various understandings of social-ecological change. Further, we delineate how religion interacts with values based on three interrelated forms of agency: personal, social, and more-than-human processes. Upon this foundation, we discuss how to better engage religion in environmental policy and research, considering four modes of mobilizing sustainability-aligned values: (1) enabling, (2) including, (3) reflecting, and (4) shifting values and two analytical axes regarding religion's (1) social scale (individual versus collective) and (2) dynamic continuum (religion as stable versus changeable). Our assessment provides conceptual and practical tools to help consider religion in the processes and practices that shape, reinforce, or impede sustainability-aligned values for more inclusive and effective conservation decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the factors that influence individual decisions to participate in social health insurance is an essential component of constructing a multi-tiered, comprehensive social health insurance system, and religious beliefs may constitute an important potential factor. Utilising data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS), this study has developed a comprehensive explanatory framework encompassing both macro- and micro-level analyses to ascertain the impact of religious beliefs on individual decisions to participate in social health insurance through quantitative methods. The findings indicate that religious beliefs significantly diminish the likelihood of individuals participating in social health insurance, and the influence varies among different types of religions; endogeneity and robustness tests offer robust support for these conclusions. With respect to heterogeneity, the influence of religious beliefs on the decision to participate in social health insurance exhibits differentiation across dimensions such as educational attainment, social trust levels, income levels, and self-rated health statuses. Furthermore, the social interaction effect and the employment opportunity effect are identified as potential mechanisms driving this influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article revisits Feuerbach's "break with speculation" in the early 1840s in light of issues raised by the original Pantheism Controversy, initiated in 1785 by the publication of Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi's Letters on the Doctrine of Spinoza. The article first describes the concerns underlying Jacobi's repudiation of Spinozism, and rationalism more generally, in favor of a personalistic theism that disclaims the possibility of philosophical knowledge of God. It goes on to reconstruct Hegel's alternative to Jacobi's famous salto mortale before considering how Feuerbach's critique of Hegel's philosophy of religion, as well as the personalism of the so-called Positive Philosophy (inspired by the late Schelling), was influenced by both Spinoza and Jacobi in ways that have not yet received sufficient attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to establish a series of links between some of the main religious formulas that arise in Judaism and Christianism and the romantic and confluent love characteristic of modern societies. To carry it out, firstly, we analyze love in historical Judaism, reflecting on the Ahavah formula, the predominant formula in this religious context. Secondly, to study the Christian drift of love, we first analyze how the emergence of this new religious faith (Christianism) provokes a change in the Jewish way of understanding it (love). Subsequently, we analyze some of the three main formulas in which love materializes in Christianism: Agape, Caritas, and Amor Sui. Regarding modern love, we first carry out a contextualization focused on the processes of secularization and individualization, and their impact on it. Afterwards, we present the main features that define both romantic and confluent love, and finally, we analyze the Judeo-Christian characters inherited for such types of love. The methodology used focused on a literature review and theoretical reflection based on this review. The research carried out allows us to establish sociological continuities between Judeo-Christian religious love and modern secular love in the terms used throughout the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the inquisitorial archive of Pedro Onofre Cortés, alias Moixina, we see fellow practitioner protesting his son's marriage to Clara Sureda because she was an Old Christian. The poor match was blamed on the breast milk that was ingested as an infant, "andaba con cristianos porque había mamado leche de una mujer cristiana" (he went with Christians because of the milk drunk milk from a Christian woman) (Picazo y Muntaner). In early modern Spain, breastmilk was seen as responsible for transmitting virtues and vices, religious expressions of faith and moral traits. Following Galenic medical understanding equating milk with blood, it was women who were responsible for the transmission of purity, impurity (Alexandre-Bidon 175), for contamination and difference (Martínez 47). This brief citation reflects the hybrid environment and the dual practices that deeply informed the lives of the converso Jews. Moreover, the understanding of the hereditary nature of these traits, and the traditions of Judaism and Christianity, so often mixed in unique combinations are clearly demonstrated in the Inquisition trials of Cortés and his Chueta brethren. As regulation over the mother and the female body became increasingly important in controlling Iberian subjects and its empire, conversos complicate the feminization of impurity. This article explores how the conversos known as the Chuetas of Mallorca understood their religiosity and difference as seen through the lens of hybridity, breast milk and maternal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of religious beliefs within the confines of Chinese prisons presents a nuanced inquiry into the intersection of faith, correctional policies, and human rights. This study delves into the underexplored domain of how religious practices and beliefs are navigated within the Chinese penal system. Despite constitutional assurances for religious freedom, practical applications within prison walls reveal a nuanced tapestry of control, accommodation, and, at times, suppression. This paper aims to shed light on these complexities through interviews with prison officers, offering a rare glimpse into the 'hidden corners' of religious observance in Chinese prisons. It critically examines the balance between state control, the rehabilitation agenda, and the individual's right to spiritual belief and practice, proposing a more inclusive approach to fostering religious diversity and freedom within the correctional environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether religion as an important feature of culture affects the formation of personal and social resilience, thus becoming a developmental factor. A questionnaire surveying a sample of 100 rural residents in the Łowicz Diocese in Poland showed that religion was still 'going strong', being an enduring element of national and local culture. The results from this Polish Catholic region undermine prevailing secularisation theories. The research shows that faith provides a significantly positive strength needed to cope with daily life, as well as during crisis situations. It enables people not only to 'survive' but also to 'live well and creatively'. It supplies needed continuity and enhances community solidarities. By consolidating resilience, religion gives people's lives meaning, and augments subjective senses of wellbeing. As a source of social capital, religion mobilises people into joint activities for the parish and local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many accounts of faith hold that faith is deference to an authority about what to believe or what to do. I show that this kind of faith fits into a more general account of faith, the risky‐commitment account. I further argue that it can be rational to defer to an authority even when the authority's pronouncement goes against one's own reasoning. Indeed, such deference is rational in typical cases in which individuals treat others as authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the prominent German theologian Adolf von Harnack in his capacity as a public intellectual during the Weimar Republic. The few works of scholarship that address Harnack's Weimar years at any length are in German, and the barely extant Anglophone literature, severely outdated, largely neglects to evaluate adequately the evolution and scope of Harnack's pedagogical and theological positions as well as of the institutional power he commanded. Drawing principally from Harnack's writings, both personal and published, before World War I until his death in 1930, this essay seeks to chart his intellectual development during the final years of his life and to survey how he translated his liberal theological principles into loyalty to the Weimar constitution. Public intellectuals such as Harnack were able to serve the public good in multifaceted, unquantifiable ways without attaching themselves to a particular party or to an explicitly partisan cause. By examining Harnack's public and theological activity, I intend to provide a more holistic look at intellectual life in the Weimar Republic and to advocate for both a less restrictive definition of "public intellectual" and a broader conception of "political activism." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there exists a robust scholarship on the cultural influences and public uses of the Bible in early American history, the historical development of biblical scholarship in America remains relatively understudied. The prevalent view suggests that biblical scholarship in America had its critical awakening with the importation of German Higher Criticism to northeastern divinity schools in the nineteenth century. This essay makes a corrective intervention by looking at Cotton Mather's unpublished Biblia Americana (1693–1728), the first comprehensive Bible commentary to be authored in British North America. More specifically, the essay examines Mather's response to critical interrogation of the canon and the Biblia's numerous revisions of King James translation in light of recent philological scholarship. What connects these two issues is that they both concern the "givenness" of the Bible, which, in Mather's day, was being fundamentally challenged. Behind the discussions about the canonicity of diverse books and over how to render the Hebrew and Greek texts into modern languages always lurked fundamental questions regarding the divine authority, integrity, and perspicuity of the Bible. Examining a broad range of examples from across the Biblia, the essay demonstrates how Mather's work defies clear-cut categorization as either precritical or critical. In response to the intellectual currents of the early Enlightenment, Mather pioneered a new type of deeply learned, historically conscious but apologetically-oriented biblical criticism in America. The Biblia clearly reflects the challenges brought on by the deepening historicization of Scripture and the destabilization of texts and meanings through a new type of criticism. More widely read in current European scholarship and in many ways more curious and daring than any other early American exegete, Mather joined the infinitely complex and open-ended quest for better translations. Moreover, he was the first in New England to seriously address hard questions about the canon of the Bible and its historical development. But he always did so with the aim of providing constructive answers to these debates that would ultimately shore up the authority of Scripture, stabilize the scriptural foundation for what Mather regarded as the core of Reformed orthodox theological beliefs, and offer improved interpretations of the biblical texts, which would lend themselves even better to devotion and illuminate for Christians, with the help of the most up-to-date scholarship, the full riches of God's Word. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to : -Introducing the supplications and their virtues . -Knowing the innovated supplications and their ruling . -Clarifying the religious implications of the supplications . -Explaining the negative effects of neglecting to recite supplications . Research method: inductive, deductive and deductive . Dhikr is one of the greatest and easiest acts of worship for a Muslim, yet people often neglect it. Remembrance has many virtues, benefits, and good effects, and this research dealt with the religious effects of remembrance (in its general meaning) and also dealt with the negative effects of neglecting them. Among the most prominent results reached by the researcher : -Allah has legislated remembrance for His servants for many interests, and because of its effects on the individual and the group . -The remembrance of Allah Almighty strengthens faith in Allah Almighty, his glorification, and his monotheism, and makes the Muslim steadfast in his religion, and through remembrance one attains association with Allah Almighty . -The remembrance of Allah Almighty strengthens the believer’s faith in the angels. Whoever looks at their deeds, this will prompt him to be keen on attending dhikr gatherings and to recite the prescribed dhikr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In what sense do Anglicans believe in baptismal regeneration? This article contends that according to historic Anglicanism, baptism effectually regenerates those who faithfully receive it. While this is a disputed claim even among Anglicans, it is consistent with the formularies of the Church of England, and it largely represents a predominant position held by Anglicans across the centuries. Article XXVII of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion will serve as the primary point of reference for assessing the above question. The following study is organized in three sections that respectively address: (1) the sacramental efficacy of baptism; (2) the regenerative nature of baptism; and (3) the need for faith to accompany baptism. Each section examines diverse historical expressions relevant to these doctrines in light of their scriptural basis. A brief reflection on infant baptism concludes the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anthracite coal mining landscape of northeastern Pennsylvania is in ruin, a by-product of two centuries of unchecked capitalism. Much of the land is stripped of its timber and surface mines lay abandoned. The industry began its decline after WWI and virtually collapsed during the post-WWII era. Waste piles of coal litter the landscape, and the streams and rivers are considered dead because of the minerals and high acid content of water draining from abandoned mines. Many scholars have written about the extreme work conditions the coal workers faced, the demise of the coal industry, and the impact of deindustrialization on the region's people. Often overlooked is how members of the mining communities had a radical hope. Radical hope helps oppressed people to see that another condition and another world is possible, although not guaranteed. Re-examining oral histories from the anthracite region recorded in the 1970s, when the industry was in its great decline, demonstrates how these mining communities anticipated a future good, understanding the struggle to attain it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Fasting is common in many religions and is associated with health benefits. This systematic review to compares the impact of different religious fasting practices, on risk of cardiometabolic diseases. The search covered five databases following PRISMA guidelines to identify papers published in English from inception to March 2023 (updated January 2024). Inclusion criteria were healthy adults in observational studies, who engaged in religious fasting practices, studies were included where data on matched non-fasting individuals was available. Outcomes were systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), and fasting plasma glucose levels. A meta-analysis was conducted, and the review was registered (CRD42022352197). Fourteen studies were met the inclusion criteria with ten studies data being suitable for meta-analysis, reporting on 755 adults participating in fasting practices and 661 non-fasting controls. Religious fasting was associated with a reduction in BMI (−0.40 kg/m2, 95% CI [-0.70, −0.10], p < 0.01). Observance of Ramadan fasting was associated with decreased systolic blood pressure (−3.83 mmHg, 95% CI [-7.44, −0.23], p = 0.04). The observance of Orthodox Christian fasting was associated with a reduction in TC (−0.52 mmoL/l, 95%CI [–0.64, −0.39], p < 0.01). No difference was found for the other outcomes. This review found religious fasting practices which were associated with a reduction in some biomarkers of cardiometabolic diseases risk. Further research on other fasting practices is needed due to limited data. Research Question: What are the cardiovascular and metabolic effects of faith-based fasting in Orthodox Christians and Muslims following Ramadan compared to non-fasting individuals in the same geographical area? Although dietary approaches to fasting are very different, they are both faith and religious practices which result in restrictive eating behaviours, therefore a comparative approach was taken to explore the potential health effects of faith-based fasting. Key Findings: • This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to explore two faith-based or religious fasting practices on cardiometabolic health outcomes, focusing on the practice of fasting, rather than separately the type. It is also the first to only compare the outcomes of fasting individuals with non-fasting individuals living in the same area. • This analysis suggested that those who followed the practice of time-restricted eating during Ramadan had lower systolic blood pressure, and those who followed Orthodox Christian fasting, which restricted animal-based foods and oils, demonstrated improvements in their lipid levels. • This analysis highlighted that individuals who wish to follow fasting practices should be supported as this can help reduce cardiometabolic risk alongside other changes to their lifestyle and dietary pattern to align their lifestyle more closely to currently accepted recommendations, e.g., Mediterranean diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender roles have become a symbol of cultural division between Western Europe and its growing immigrant population. To what extent immigrants and their children from more gender-conservative backgrounds will adopt more egalitarian attitudes has thus become a key question. However, different host countries offer distinct contexts of reception regarding the institutional support for gender equality, and the diverse compositions of immigrant populations across Europe pose challenges to simultaneously control the influences of cultural origins and settlement contexts. We overcome these challenges by comparing immigrant youth living in five different European countries, originating from countries with comparable levels of gender inequality, as assessed by three distinct global gender inequality indices. Analysing CILS4EU and CILS-NOR data, we found that the extent of gender inequality in parental countries of origin exerts a lasting impact on gender attitudes among immigrant-origin youth. Additionally, our findings showed that religion, particularly among Muslims, plays a role in preservation of conservative attitudes. Nevertheless, immigrant origin youth to a large extent adapt their perspectives to the context of reception, and even the most conservative groups of immigrant adolescents living in Scandinavia have more gender-egalitarian beliefs than immigrants – and to some extent natives – in continental Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mevlana moves away from efforts to prove the existence of God based on the ontological, teleological and cosmological evidence used by Greek and Islamic philosophers, and relies on the methodology of reaching God based on humans, like Socrates. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to try to show the main issues of this methodology of Mevlana. In Mevlana's works, these main subjects are determined as human, faith and philosophy of love. The way to God passes through people. With Mevlana, the idea and belief that God, who is always sought outside, is in the essence, mind and heart of man, began to take hold. According to Mevlana, man's struggle is with himself and his own self. Mevlana, who says that people can reach God with peace and discipline, explains this process of struggle with the metaphor of "cauldron of love". After all, according to Mevlana, what makes a person human is the ability to think and question what is happening around him, beings and life, especially himself and his own actions. In doing this, it is necessary to trust both science and wisdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El articulo analiza la obra teatral de José Ignacio Cabrujas, destacando cuatro obras que exploran la fe, la desilusión y la catarsis en situaciones y personajes venezolanos. Examina cómo sus experiencias personales influyeron en su visión artística, especialmente en la relación entre sus creencias católicas y comunistas.

This Note advocates for congressional and state action to remedy the Supreme Court's flawed 2022 decision in Ruan v. United States. This approach includes a modified return to the objective good faith defense established by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA) and United States v. Moore, the 1975 seminal case that established that physicians could be prosecuted under 21 U.S.C. § 841. Ruan requires that the government show a defendant physician subjectively knew their conduct in issuing controlled substances was unlawful. This permits the substitution of an individual physician's conception of acceptable medical practice in place of a generally agreed upon standard when a jury decides whether the physician prescribed in good faith. The Ruan decision is inconsistent with the text and intent of the CSA and the objective good faith defense standard established in Moore. Further, it is incongruous with the Supreme Court's 2006 decision in Gonzales v. Oregon, which delegated authority to the states, not individual physicians, to determine the bounds of acceptable medical practice. Additionally, Ruan had the unintended consequence of exacerbating a treatment disparity between low-level drug couriers and physicians charged under the CSA. This Note argues that a comprehensive, uniform amendment to the CSA, state prescribing statutes, and federal agency prescribing guidelines clearly defining what constitutes lawful prescribing would fulfill the Ruan Court's aims and maintain consistency with the CSA and the Supreme Court's prior holdings. Simultaneously, it would prevent the inequity between drug couriers and physicians from intensifying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious protest, such as the protest that Job expresses, reveals the manners in which believers experience the absurd while hanging on to God. The purpose of this article is to explore the "grammar" of this paradoxical faith stance by bringing Kierkegaard and Camus to bear upon it, and thereby to show the "family resemblance" between Job, Camus's "absurd man," and the Kierkegaardian believer. I begin with a discussion of experiences of the absurd that give rise to religious protest. I then turn to Kierkegaard to explore the manners in which "faith's thought" renders the "experience of the absurd" a religious one, while pushing the believer further into the absurd. I end with a discussion of Job as an absurd rebel in Camus's sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rhetorical and emotional verve of 'The Windhover' reflect not the moment of stasis of Christ's cross but the energy of Trinitarian interrelation in creation. Readings of the sonnet usually foreground the second divine person. Countering such a perspective, this essay rehearses the Scholastic theology and the Scholastically based faith that the poet took for granted in the original moment of experience and in the moment of composition, and so reads the sonnet in a more fully Trinitarian way. For Hopkins the energetic dynamic of love and relation within the Trinity is that into which he is drawn via the creation made through Christ, the Word (John 1:3, Col. 1:16), and as used here the energy of the sonnet form is his response to this. The Athanasian Creed and the 'Veni Creator Spiritus' are identified as neglected Trinitarian intertexts. Hopkins believed, in Ignatian terms, that Christ 'labours for me in all things created on the face of the earth'; and so, in the poem, Christ works dynamically through the Holy Spirit, 'the fire' (l. 10) who is Love itself, the vector of bird–poet interrelation, engaging him with the windhover and awakening his delight. The sonnet is the poet's open acknowledgement of the love of the Triune tri-personal God which greets him every moment in the humblest glories of creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the becoming-church of fake news against the background of the rise of the mediatization of faith and religious beliefs through classic media supports, such as newspapers, magazines, and journals, between 1840 and 1863 in the United States. The analysis focuses on the expression of Seventh-day Adventist Church beliefs in the Adventist press before 1863. The observation of this corpus follows the construction of the "narrative" of fake news from the story propagated by William Miller. The aim is to understand how the Seventh-day Adventist Church was created in the media from the fake news of William Miller. The article shows that the mediatization of William Miller's fake news made the Seventh-day Adventist Church appear as the embodiment of an agnostic movement, as the material trace of a cultural expression of romanticism, but also as a spiritual organization, with a social and auxiliary political vocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the importance of faith in the Victorian historical novel, with a particular focus on George Eliot's Romola (1862–1863), and rethinks past secularist approaches to the genre. Romola was arguably the most meticulously researched historical novel of the nineteenth century. Set in Florence from 1492 to 1498, the novel traces the rise and fall of the Dominican friar, Girolamo Savonarola, as he pursued the spiritual and political reform of the city, leading to his excommunication and martyrdom. Despite the religious setting of the novel, Eliot's painstaking effort to imagine a realistic historical representation of Florentine society has often been approached in secular terms as a tour de force of the author's humanist vision of a progressive march towards modernity. Building on recent work in postsecular studies, this essay rethinks the novel's historical realism in terms of Christian faith. Centering on the spiritual journey of the protagonist, Romola de' Bardi, the novel presents a faithful depiction of Renaissance Florence by imagining historical representation as an act of faith. Drawing on Jacques Derrida's essay, "Faith and Knowledge", the article analyzes how Eliot frames the significance of the novel's historical representation as an act of faith that one's life is bound meaningfully to those of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cancer diagnoses are constantly increasing in clinical practice. Therefore, more and more patients are interested in how they can actively participate in the process of treatment. Spirituality represents a hidden issue of the population, which counts as a branch of complementary and alternative treatment. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate whether there are associations between spirituality and demographic and psychosocial factors, as well as religious beliefs, in cancer patients. Methods: We conducted a survey with 451 participants in 10 oncology centers between March and July 2021. A composition of the following 9 different questionnaires was used to collect data on spirituality, demographics, resilience, self-efficiency, life satisfaction, and sense of coherence: Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp12), General Life Satisfaction Short Scale (L-1), Resilienzskala Kurzform (RS-13), Sense of Coherence Scale – Leipziger Kurzform (SOC-L9), Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeit Kurzskala (AKSU), Adolescent Food Habits Checklist, Likert-Scale of daily activities, questionnaire of the Working group Prävention und Integrative Onkologie (PRiO), and personal opinion on the cause of the disease. Calculated data and analyzed group differences using ANOVA Bonferroni were used to test associations between spirituality and the variables studied. For more detailed examination of spirituality, we took a closer look at the different components of spirituality – peace, meaning, and faith – and their relation to each other (three-factor spirituality analyses). Results: Higher spirituality scores in total as well as meaning, peace, and faith were each associated with higher levels of resilience and life satisfaction. Higher religious belief was found to be associated with higher spiritual attitudes. High personal self-efficiency was found in people with higher spiritual beliefs in general as well as higher meaning and peace. Meaning and peace emerge as essential components of spiritual well-being and show a stronger association with expressions of general spirituality than faith. Conclusion: Spirituality takes a crucial role among the resources of life-threatening diseases. As such, further research is needed to expand and integrate patient options into a modernized concept of care. Our data indicate that higher spiritual well-being is associated with a more tolerant approach to illness. Thus, addressing spiritual needs in therapy is associated with better psychological adjustment to the individual situation and reduces negative distress. To promote spiritual needs in the future, cognitive as well as affective components of spirituality should be emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research grounded in religious studies and attachment theory demonstrates links between experiencing and resolving faith crises with a perceived break and restoration of a relationship with God. Experiences of faith crises are unique, however, and little research has explored the diverse ways in which faith can be restored—particularly from a messaging perspective. The present study used Q methodology to capture the varied and nuanced messages that resonated with Christian respondents who had experienced and resolved a faith crisis. The Q-sort consisted of 37 statements that participants sorted on a nine-category continuum. Brief, semistructured qualitative interviews followed the Q-sort. The results identified four distinct factors that conveyed unique messages about an individual's return to religion and/or spirituality after experiencing a crisis of faith: (1) resilient God Seekers, (2) self-compassionates, (3) marathon runners, and (4) scripture seekers. Thus, the present study suggests that religious organizations and practitioners should refrain from using a generalized approach in their communication with members who struggle with faith as the participants gravitated toward separate, distinct, and unique messaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In the post-Christian West, characterised by 'apatheism' with its indifference towards the Christian faith, the communication of faith has a bigger problem with imagination than with reason. People do not see the relevance of faith; faith is meaningless. We therefore argue that apologetic witness in our postmodern context should not only involve 'defending' the Christian faith but should also focus on showing the relevance and meaningfulness of faith. In this article we explore the potential of narrative for this purpose. After analysing the concepts of apologetics and narrative, we situate our conception of 'narrative apologetics' in a critical realist epistemology, presupposing the hermeneutical nature of epistemic practices and the role of stories in these practices. Here we make use of C.S. Lewis' observations about the connection between imagination and meaning when it comes to considering ideas as relevant or true. The meaning of ideas of faith can be demonstrated by connecting them to the imagination through narrative. With the help of J.R.R. Tolkien's understanding of the effects of good fairy-stories, we explicate how narratives can help apologetics to show relevance, to present a friendly invitation for consideration, to offer participation and to retell the story of one's life in terms of the grand narrative of faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Gerard Manley Hopkins's profound connection to wilderness, tracing its impact on his religious, aesthetic, and natural sensibility throughout his life. Topics include Hopkins's response to the scriptural wilderness, his maritime poems reflecting on faith and salvation, and his yearning for the transformative power of the wilderness in his art and spiritual life.

This paper presents the findings of a survey exploring people's understandings and experiences of Spiritual Abuse (SA) in a Christian faith context. The online survey was completed by 1591 individuals from the UK, 1002 of whom identified as having experienced SA. Inclusion criteria were: membership of the Christian faith, being or having been, a Church attender or member of a Christian organisation and having heard of the term SA. Participants detailed features of an effective response to disclosures of SA, many of these are directly relevant to counselling and psychotherapy practice. The findings echo calls in previous research for including discussions of religion and faith in training and CPD for counsellors and psychotherapists. Finally, the paper suggests the establishment of a network of counsellors with training and knowledge about SA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]