Journal Description
Religions
Religions
is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open access journal on religions and theology, published monthly online by MDPI.
- Open Access— free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.
- High Visibility: indexed within Scopus, AHCI (Web of Science), ATLA Religion Database, Religious and Theological Abstracts, and other databases.
- Journal Rank: CiteScore - Q1 (Religious Studies)
- Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 22.8 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 4.6 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the second half of 2023).
- Recognition of Reviewers: reviewers who provide timely, thorough peer-review reports receive vouchers entitling them to a discount on the APC of their next publication in any MDPI journal, in appreciation of the work done.
Impact Factor:
0.8 (2022)
Latest Articles
Dead Men Talking: Ibn ‘Arabī’s Interactions with Messengers and Saints
Religions 2024, 15(4), 504; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040504 (registering DOI) - 19 Apr 2024
Abstract
The mystical thinker Muhyi al-Din ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) had many audiences with the dead. This article explores who Ibn ‘Arabī interacted with, and how. Usually as dreams and visions, the meetings Ibn ‘Arabī had with messengers were generally at key milestones in
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The mystical thinker Muhyi al-Din ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) had many audiences with the dead. This article explores who Ibn ‘Arabī interacted with, and how. Usually as dreams and visions, the meetings Ibn ‘Arabī had with messengers were generally at key milestones in his life, or to confer particular distinctions upon him. A special subset of these visions was of Prophet Muḥammad specifically, and these were to derive a legal ruling from him, or because he was under the special care of the Prophet. Conversely, the audiences he had with departed saints were largely to do with more quotidian issues, either regarding his relationship with spiritual masters, or to correct a misapprehension about someone. Finally, but more seldom, he had physical interactions with corporealised spirits from beyond. As these betrayed a higher rank than mere visions, they were reminiscent of his audiences with messengers in that they confirmed his exalted spiritual rank.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Communication with the Dead)
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Two Types of Philosophy of Religion: Neutral Cognition versus Lived Experience
by
Joseph Rivera
Religions 2024, 15(4), 503; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040503 (registering DOI) - 19 Apr 2024
Abstract
As a discipline taught and debated in universities and seminaries, philosophy of religion has traditionally been understood as a form of apologetics: that is, it pursues with concentrated effort what proof for the existence of God the human mind can mobilize with recourse
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As a discipline taught and debated in universities and seminaries, philosophy of religion has traditionally been understood as a form of apologetics: that is, it pursues with concentrated effort what proof for the existence of God the human mind can mobilize with recourse strictly to reason and logic [...]
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue What Is Philosophy of Religion? Definitions, Motifs, New Directions)
Open AccessArticle
Nature’s Apostle: The Dove as Communicator in the Hebrew Bible, from Ararat to Nineveh
by
Menahem Blondheim and Hananel Rosenberg
Religions 2024, 15(4), 502; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040502 (registering DOI) - 19 Apr 2024
Abstract
The dove, the most frequently mentioned bird in the Hebrew Bible, appears in diverse contexts, spanning its appearance as an element in the narrative (as in the case of Noah’s ark), and as an allegory and metaphor (as in the cryptic “sword of
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The dove, the most frequently mentioned bird in the Hebrew Bible, appears in diverse contexts, spanning its appearance as an element in the narrative (as in the case of Noah’s ark), and as an allegory and metaphor (as in the cryptic “sword of the dove”—twice in Jeremiah—and “the city of the dove”—Zephaniah). The dove even appears as the proper name of a prophet (or possibly of two, both named Jonah, son of Amittai). This article applies a communication perspective to better interpret some of these texts. We argue that the dove’s communicative attributes, to include unique acoustics, remarkable power of flight, but primarily the trait of returning home—the basis for the use of doves as carrier pigeons—may either explain or deepen the interpretation of many of the references to the pigeon in the Bible. In this vein, a major focus of the article is on using the dove’s homing ability as a key for reinterpreting the Book of Jonah. We conclude by suggesting that the dove’s trait of returning and, hence, its use as envoy made it a useful symbol of the deity’s presence in the world. In the Jewish reading, it became an emblem of one of the main political and eschatological themes of the Bible: the return home from exile, beginning with the exodus and return of Jacob’s sons to Canaan and ending with the Eschaton.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flora and Fauna in the Hebrew Bible)
Open AccessArticle
Studying Rome While It Burns
by
Richard M. Carp
Religions 2024, 15(4), 501; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040501 (registering DOI) - 19 Apr 2024
Abstract
The call for papers for this Special Issue Iidentifies contemporary humanity as experiencing a global “biogeochemical … political, economic, technological, ethical, and therefore, biocultural” crisis and asks scholars to consider how “religion may function as an adaptive or maladaptive presence” in response. Unasked
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The call for papers for this Special Issue Iidentifies contemporary humanity as experiencing a global “biogeochemical … political, economic, technological, ethical, and therefore, biocultural” crisis and asks scholars to consider how “religion may function as an adaptive or maladaptive presence” in response. Unasked is the adaptive capacity of scholarship as a crisis response. When buildings fall in earthquakes, or cities burn in wildfires, or second stories flood, few people just keep on doing what they were doing, “with a change of focus”. This is “studying Rome while it burns”. It’s time to put out the fire if we can and survive it if we cannot. We scholar/teachers can’t go on doing the same things and expecting different results. Unprecedented circumstances call for unprecedented actions in response. What would actual crisis responses on our part look like? What steps do we need to take as human beings in response to this crisis? How will that affect us as professionals? Seeking an ecology, rather than unanimity, of action and thought, and guided by Brian Walker’s resilience theory and a number of Indigenous scholars, I suggest a process of reintegration, analogous to regenerative agriculture, which is at once both socio-cultural and ecological. This process, necessarily rooted in place, progressively situates us experientially in a dynamic, creative, and relational world characterized by connection, collaboration, and relation. As scholars, we will find forms of discovery, discussion, and dissemination that share these qualities. As teachers, we will model this world to our students and embody it in our classrooms and curricula.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Planetary Climate Crisis)
Open AccessArticle
The Impact of Online Theological Studies during the COVID-19 Period on Students’ Religiosity/Spirituality: A Qualitative Analysis
by
Viktória Šoltésová and Marek Harastej
Religions 2024, 15(4), 500; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040500 - 18 Apr 2024
Abstract
Our study wants to clarify the structure of spirituality by applying existing multidimensional theories of religiosity and spirituality to in-depth interviews conducted among a sample of students. The current research analyzes 15 qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted among a sample of students at the
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Our study wants to clarify the structure of spirituality by applying existing multidimensional theories of religiosity and spirituality to in-depth interviews conducted among a sample of students. The current research analyzes 15 qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted among a sample of students at the Adventist Theological Institute in the Czech Republic and was conducted in May 2022. Since religiosity is a multidimensional phenomenon and we wished to investigate development in each dimension, we based our analyses on Glock and Stark’s model with four of their dimensions of religiosity: “belief”, “practice”, “experience”, and “knowledge”. Our study reflects on existing multidimensional religiosity/spirituality; six dimensions by Huber overlap with the religiosity/spirituality model we chose as the applied multidimensional model. As a result, based on the interviewees’ statements, we distinguished these dimensions in the context of specific conditions in the respondents’ individual personal experiences in the absence of personal group interaction. In our research, we ask the question: “What impact has the move of the entire formal and informal environment of an educational institution to an online environment had on the spirituality of each student?” An important finding is that the COVID-19 pandemic period brought about an exciting stimulus for spiritual support in theological education. The emergence of individual and independent religiosity/spirituality is a significant religious change.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child and Adolescent Spirituality/Religiosity and Religious Education)
Open AccessArticle
“Touch” the Sun and “Touch” the Cosmic Space to Learn How to Touch the Earth: Space Sustainability as an Ethical Guide for Relations: Mystery and Humility
by
Alessandro Mantini
Religions 2024, 15(4), 499; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040499 - 18 Apr 2024
Abstract
On 14 December 2021, the extraordinary event called “touching the Sun” has been heralded as a “monumental moment for solar science”, in which the Parker Solar Probe opened up a new frontier of research for Space exploration, proposing the challenge of reaching, studying,
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On 14 December 2021, the extraordinary event called “touching the Sun” has been heralded as a “monumental moment for solar science”, in which the Parker Solar Probe opened up a new frontier of research for Space exploration, proposing the challenge of reaching, studying, and even “touching” our Sun at close range. The consequences of this event are scientific but also metaphysical and transcendental, offering the opportunity to reflect on the complex reality and meaning of the “boundaries” as opportunities for relationships and then for ethics. In this paper, I would like to propose an attempt to develop a possible discussion for an extension of Space Sustainability as an ethical guide for humanity which, as it goes out into outer Space, is helped to rediscover new, expanded dimensions of perception along the path of mystery and humility, in order to return back to Earth enriched for new relationships in pursuit of the common good.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Intelligibility of Reality: Theology and Science between Mystery That Calls and Research Humility)
Open AccessArticle
Brexit’s Illusion: Decoding Islamophobia and Othering in Turkey’s EU Accession Discourse among British Turks
by
Özge Onay
Religions 2024, 15(4), 498; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040498 - 18 Apr 2024
Abstract
The warnings about Turkey’s not-so-near accession to the EU are explored as a strategic tool in the Brexit campaign, linking concerns about sovereignty and immigration compounded with the anxieties surrounding Islam and the threat of terrorism. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Edward
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The warnings about Turkey’s not-so-near accession to the EU are explored as a strategic tool in the Brexit campaign, linking concerns about sovereignty and immigration compounded with the anxieties surrounding Islam and the threat of terrorism. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Edward Said’s Orientalism and the unique perspectives gathered from British Turks, this paper sheds light on their nuanced responses. It uncovers strategies of disbelief and denial in the face of the constructed narrative that portrayed Turkey as an undesirable ‘Other’ with its predominantly Muslim population. A closer analysis of some British Turks’ narratives is premised not only on the sacralised defence of the principles of Turkish westernisation but also on the socio-political reputation of the Islamic Ottoman past as almighty. The article equally contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between British national identity and discourses surrounding immigration, sovereignty, and Islamophobia within the context of Brexit, as well as the principles by which the privileges of modern, secular Turkey, as well as the demise of the mighty Ottoman image, are maintained. In a paradoxical manner, the act of denial only serves to affirm the Brexit campaign’s narrative depicting Turkey as an undesirable ‘Other’ with a predominantly Muslim demographic.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructing the ‘European Muslim Crisis’: Discourse, Policy, and Everyday Realities)
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Open AccessArticle
Questioning the Pope: US Conservative Catholics and the Online Polarization of the Debate about the “Church of Bergoglio”
by
Alessandra Vitullo and Fabrizio Mastrofini
Religions 2024, 15(4), 497; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040497 - 18 Apr 2024
Abstract
The pontificate of Pope Francis is proving to be one of the most controversial within the Catholic world, particularly because of the several objections and protests it has raised in the most traditional currents of Catholicism. This theological and political opposition to Bergoglio’s
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The pontificate of Pope Francis is proving to be one of the most controversial within the Catholic world, particularly because of the several objections and protests it has raised in the most traditional currents of Catholicism. This theological and political opposition to Bergoglio’s pontificate has been the subject of many studies, which have focused, in particular, on the growing harshness of this debate in North American Catholic circles. Following these studies, the present contribution aims to study how this polarization spreads and is amplified through the online communication of these groups by providing an analysis of a specific case study: a tweet published by the account of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL). The PAL is a Vatican institution founded by John Paul II and renewed by Pope Francis in its membership and purpose (Global Bioethics). The Academy is perceived as the cutting edge of Pope Francis’ “progressivism”, especially regarding sensitive issues such as marriage, family, and euthanasia. For this reason, the Twitter account of PAL is considered the ideal platform to observe the languages, expressions, and content that characterize the opposition to Bergoglio’s pontificate today.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Valorization of Religion by Media)
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Open AccessArticle
Translation and Validation of the Dutch Version of the Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire (SCCQ-NL)
by
Merel Schoot, Agna Bartels-Velthuis, Daniela Rodrigues Recchia, Eckhard Frick, Arndt Büssing and Rogier Hoenders
Religions 2024, 15(4), 496; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040496 - 18 Apr 2024
Abstract
The importance of spirituality in the treatment of mental illness is increasingly acknowledged, but mental healthcare professionals often feel they lack specific competence. An instrument is missing to quantify the spiritual care competence of mental healthcare professionals in the Netherlands. The aim of
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The importance of spirituality in the treatment of mental illness is increasingly acknowledged, but mental healthcare professionals often feel they lack specific competence. An instrument is missing to quantify the spiritual care competence of mental healthcare professionals in the Netherlands. The aim of this study was thus to translate the Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire (SCCQ) into Dutch and validate it for use in mental healthcare. After translation, the SCCQ-NL was distributed in a cross-sectional design among 3497 healthcare professionals in two mental healthcare institutions (MHIs) in the Netherlands. In the sample of 730 completed questionnaires, exploratory factor analysis revealed seven factors: perception of spiritual needs competencies, team spirit, spiritual self-awareness, documentation competencies, empowerment and proactive opening competencies, knowledge about other religions, and conversation competencies. One item was deleted during the process. Internal consistency for the 25-item SCCQ-NL subscales is sufficient with Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.64 to 0.81. Conversation competencies and perception of spiritual needs scored highest in the sample, next to knowledge about other religions and empowerment competencies, while spiritual self-awareness, team spirit and documentation competencies scored the lowest. Small but significant differences in several subscale scores were found for profession, identifying oneself as a believer, practicing prayer and/or meditation, age and working years. The SCCQ-NL can be used for the assessment of spiritual care competencies and for the planning and evaluation of training and improvement strategies.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spirituality in Psychiatry)
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Open AccessArticle
An Arab Jew Reads the Quran: On Isaac Yahuda’s Hebrew Commentary on the Islamic Scripture
by
Mostafa Hussein
Religions 2024, 15(4), 495; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040495 - 17 Apr 2024
Abstract
How did an Arab Jew read the Quran against the backdrop of contradictory ideologies and the rise of key movements, including nationalism, colonialism, and Zionism, in Mandate Palestine? Approaching Isaac Yahuda as an Arab Jew challenges the binary opposition between Arabs and Jews
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How did an Arab Jew read the Quran against the backdrop of contradictory ideologies and the rise of key movements, including nationalism, colonialism, and Zionism, in Mandate Palestine? Approaching Isaac Yahuda as an Arab Jew challenges the binary opposition between Arabs and Jews in Zionist discourse, a linkage perceived as inconceivable, and on the other hand, that linkage is asserted, contested, and tested in the context of nationalism. This article also challenges the advancement of Jewish singularity and superiority by exploring how Jewish writers interacted with the Islamic scripture in Mandatory Palestine rather than dismissing it. This article examines Hebrew interpretation of various passages from the Quran that produced an understanding of the Quran that advanced Zionist ideals, including the nationalization of contested religious sites and the consolidation of the indigeneity of Jews in the East. Isaac Yahuda’s Hebrew commentary on the Quran challenged his Arab Jewishness in such a divisive nationalist atmosphere in Mandate Palestine. His hybrid background and dynamic connections with both Jews and Arabs enabled him to navigate these turbulent times by invoking the Quran, demonstrating respect for it, and at the same time challenging the understanding of his contemporary Muslims while utilizing German Jewish scholarship on the origins of Islam.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Islam and the West)
Open AccessArticle
The Struggle for Apostolic Authority: The Easter Controversy in the Late Second Century
by
Shushun Gao
Religions 2024, 15(4), 494; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040494 - 17 Apr 2024
Abstract
The Easter controversy of the late second century unveiled a profound theological and cultural debate within early Christianity. Originating from differing practices regarding the calculation of Easter dates, the dispute pitted the churches of Asia Minor against the Roman Church. This paper primarily
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The Easter controversy of the late second century unveiled a profound theological and cultural debate within early Christianity. Originating from differing practices regarding the calculation of Easter dates, the dispute pitted the churches of Asia Minor against the Roman Church. This paper primarily employs a method of documentary analysis. It analyzes the accounts provided by the fourth-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea in his work The History of the Church. It is also cross-referenced with the works of second-century Christian writers. Through this process, this paper seeks to reconstruct the situation of this Easter controversy. Furthermore, it aims to uncover the struggle for apostolic authority concealed beneath the surface of this debate over dates. Central figures like Victor I and Polycrates engaged in this struggle for Apostolic authority, responding to challenges posed by heresies. Victor I leveraged his position to convene religious conferences and issue excommunication decrees against dissenting churches, laying claim to the papal primacy. However, Polycrates invoked the apostolic succession and heritage from John the Apostle to assert the legitimacy of the churches in Asia Minor, challenging Victor I’s attempts at centralizing power within the Roman see. The controversy reflected broader debates over apostolic succession and ecclesiastical power structures. The Easter controversy serves as a case study of the Early Church’s engagement with practical theology and the integration of religious festival culture with social backgrounds, highlighting the significance of Easter as a symbol of Christian unity and collective memory. This debate highlighted theological nuances and underscored broader issues of communal identity and the power struggle within early Christian communities.
Full article
Open AccessArticle
The Reception of Bantu Divination in Modern South Africa: African Traditional Worldview in Interaction with European Thought
by
Ullrich Relebogilwe Kleinhempel
Religions 2024, 15(4), 493; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040493 - 17 Apr 2024
Abstract
Bantu African divination is firmly established in South Africa in the context of modernity and is protected, endorsed and regulated by law. It is received in the therapeutic field. Important explorations were performed in the early 20th century by psychiatrists and psychoanalysts of
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Bantu African divination is firmly established in South Africa in the context of modernity and is protected, endorsed and regulated by law. It is received in the therapeutic field. Important explorations were performed in the early 20th century by psychiatrists and psychoanalysts of Jungian orientation. Their cultural, philosophical, spiritual, and academic backgrounds are relevant to this reception. Jungian thought, Spiritual Spiritism, and traditions of European philosophy of divination resonated with the experience, observation, and understanding of Bantu divination. (‘Bantu’ designates the cultural and linguistic realm from Cameroon and Kenya southwards). Religious-philosophical traditions, as well as the conceptualisations of ‘divination’ by Plutarch and Iamblichus, are preserved. The reception and appreciation of Bantu divination in South Africa emerged from it, and resonated with these European traditions of religious-philosophical thought. Out of this development a distinct ‘South African modernity’ emerges. A parallel reception process developed in Brazil, in the belief systems of Umbanda and Kardecism. These developments are illustrated at present in the literatures of South Africa and Brazil, specifically in Afrikaans literature, black South African poetry and its poetics, and Magic Realism in Brazilian literature. Lastly, a perspective is offered of modernity’s reception by black scholars and diviners, continually interacting with Jungian psychoanalysis.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Religions in Multiple Modern Societies: The Global South)
Open AccessArticle
Adventism and Mediatization of Fake News Becoming a Church
by
Stefan Bratosin
Religions 2024, 15(4), 492; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040492 - 17 Apr 2024
Abstract
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
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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.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Religion, Media and Popular Culture)
Open AccessArticle
Synodality and Its Implications for Catholic Schools: An Exploratory Study of System Leaders in Western Canadian Catholic Schools
by
Matt Hoven, Eugenia Pagnotta-Kowalczyk and Dean Sarnecki
Religions 2024, 15(4), 491; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040491 - 16 Apr 2024
Abstract
Pope Francis’s dream for a synodal Church has implications for Catholic schools globally, but what exactly are these consequences? This paper explores Francis’s vision in the context of Canadian Catholic schools in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories (NWT), where these schools are
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Pope Francis’s dream for a synodal Church has implications for Catholic schools globally, but what exactly are these consequences? This paper explores Francis’s vision in the context of Canadian Catholic schools in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories (NWT), where these schools are fully-funded by the government and enroll nearly a quarter million students. Ten exploratory interviews with chief superintendents from these schools—which formed the basis of a larger study—were analyzed to understand potential connections to Francis’s vision and his four commitments to synodality: focusing on relationships, a culture of encounter, the essentials of the Christian faith, and local decision-making. The pope differentiates synodality from democratic forms of leadership and demands a communal form of listening and discerning God’s Spirit. While the superintendents’ style of leadership appeared to mirror synodality in many ways, predominant issues remain to be explored: an emphasis on relationships upends the status quo and gives new directions for the schools; encountering others will inevitably demand prophetic leadership by the system leaders; leading with the essentials of faith will not please everyone in Catholic schooling; and shared authority among the superintendents, bishops, and trustees requires further dialogue.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catholic Education and Pope Francis’ Dream for a Synodal Church)
Open AccessArticle
“She Is the Seminary”: The Life and Ministry of Dr. Olive L. Clark (1894–1989), Canadian Fundamentalist Educator
by
Taylor Murray
Religions 2024, 15(4), 490; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040490 - 16 Apr 2024
Abstract
This article explores the life and contributions of Dr. Olive L. Clark (1894–1989), a long-time faculty member at the fundamentalist Toronto Baptist Seminary (TBS). In the 1920s, Clark sided with the fundamentalists and became a vocal critic of the Baptist Convention of Ontario
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This article explores the life and contributions of Dr. Olive L. Clark (1894–1989), a long-time faculty member at the fundamentalist Toronto Baptist Seminary (TBS). In the 1920s, Clark sided with the fundamentalists and became a vocal critic of the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. As the first person to receive a PhD in Classics from the University of Toronto, she was a gifted scholar. In 1928, she became one of the first faculty members at the newly-minted Toronto Baptist Seminary—operated by the prominent fundamentalist leader T. T. Shields—and remained there until her retirement thirty-eight years later. Through those years and even into retirement, she took an active role in the fundamentalist community by training pastors, publishing lesson plans and articles, speaking in various churches, and serving as co-editor of The Gospel Witness newspaper. In the process, she helped guide and shape the movement, both behind the scenes and in visible ways.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reclaiming Voices: Women's Contributions to Baptist History)
Open AccessReview
Spirituality as a Therapeutic Approach for Severe Mental Illness: Insights from Neural Networks
by
Henderikus Knegtering, Richard Bruggeman and Symen Kornelis Spoelstra
Religions 2024, 15(4), 489; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040489 - 16 Apr 2024
Abstract
This article explores the link between spirituality/religiosity and mental health from a clinical and neuroscience perspective, taking into account the advancements in neuroimaging. Specifically, it examines how spirituality influences the treatment of mental illness, emphasizing the importance of neuronal networks in cognitive and
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This article explores the link between spirituality/religiosity and mental health from a clinical and neuroscience perspective, taking into account the advancements in neuroimaging. Specifically, it examines how spirituality influences the treatment of mental illness, emphasizing the importance of neuronal networks in cognitive and emotional processes, with a focus on the default mode network (DMN) of the brain. The discussion explores the role of spirituality/religiosity in managing mental disorders and how alterations in the DMN may provide insight into the impact of spirituality/religiosity on mental health. By also discussing spiritual and non-spiritual meditation, as well as spiritual experiences facilitated by the use of psychedelics in psychiatry and the associated brain networks, we aim to elaborate on the importance and limitations of spirituality within psychiatry.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spirituality in Psychiatry)
Open AccessArticle
Religion and Loneliness: Investigating Different Aspects of Religion and Dimensions of Loneliness
by
Adam Gemar
Religions 2024, 15(4), 488; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040488 - 15 Apr 2024
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and loneliness in the United States, using the 2018 General Social Survey to assess their interactions against a backdrop of declining traditional religious affiliation and a rise in “spiritual but not religious” identification. It examines
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This study explores the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and loneliness in the United States, using the 2018 General Social Survey to assess their interactions against a backdrop of declining traditional religious affiliation and a rise in “spiritual but not religious” identification. It examines religion and spirituality’s capacity to counteract loneliness, a condition with significant health implications. The analysis uncovers complex relationships between aspects of religious life and loneliness, showing no mitigating role of spirituality when controlling for other factors, with complex and varied negative relationships of religious service attendance and self-rate religiosity to different aspects of loneliness. Yet, any potentially protective effect of religion varies, with minority religious groups reporting feelings of increased loneliness. These findings underscore religion and spirituality’s nuanced roles in emotional well-being, indicating that their benefits (or not) against loneliness are complex, varied, and depend on the aspect of religion or loneliness observed, along with non-religious factors. The paper contributes to the literature on societal loneliness, changing religious and spiritual engagements, and highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to explore the role of religion and spirituality in understanding loneliness specifically, and personal and social well-being more generally.
Full article
Open AccessEssay
How to Worship in the Metaverse: Religious Experience and the Affordances of a New Medium
by
Marco Adria
Religions 2024, 15(4), 487; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040487 - 15 Apr 2024
Abstract
The extent to which the metaverse will become a site for religious and spiritual experience depends on how the aims of users align with the new medium’s potentialities for action, or “affordances”. Affordances are formed as the social, technological, and contextual capacities of
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The extent to which the metaverse will become a site for religious and spiritual experience depends on how the aims of users align with the new medium’s potentialities for action, or “affordances”. Affordances are formed as the social, technological, and contextual capacities of a medium are recognized and then enacted by users. This exploratory essay argues that the metaverse’s affordances, which overlap with those of already existing virtual reality (VR) environments, can deepen a sense of belonging for users of online religious spaces and mediate new ways of being present in those spaces. The following affordances of the metaverse (and of VR) are discussed analytically in the essay: immersion, presence, embodiment, usability, empathy, and contemplation. The phases of the continuing “buildout” of the metaverse are also assessed to uncover their likely effects on the metaverse’s affordances. These phases are massive scale, system interoperability, robust rendering, and persistent continuity.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Valorization of Religion by Media)
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The Spiritual Prodigy, the Reluctant Guru, and the Saint: Mirabai and Collaborative Leadership at Hari Krishna Mandir
by
Nancy M. Martin
Religions 2024, 15(4), 486; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040486 - 15 Apr 2024
Abstract
This article explores the life and influence of Indira Devi Niloy (1920–1997) who in 1949 began to encounter the sixteenth-century saint–poet Mirabai during her meditative trance states. She would recount songs, stories, and teachings that the saint gave to her as well as
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This article explores the life and influence of Indira Devi Niloy (1920–1997) who in 1949 began to encounter the sixteenth-century saint–poet Mirabai during her meditative trance states. She would recount songs, stories, and teachings that the saint gave to her as well as scenes from Mirabai’s life that she witnessed as an observer and at other times experienced directly as a participant. Their ongoing relationship would have a tremendous influence on Indira Devi as well as her guru Dilip Kumar Roy (1897–1980) and the increasingly international community that grew up around them. Their interactions and Indira Devi’s reports in turn would also significantly influence the reception and perceived continuing relevance of Mirabai as both inspiration and authorization for women’s self-realization. Additionally, Indira Devi’s own story reveals a mode of female guruhood, with a distinct absence of identification with shakti or divine incarnation, a more egalitarian model for the guru–disciple relationship, and an alternate bhakti mode of male–female collaborative leadership with Roy. Further their experiences with Mirabai offer insight into the ongoing engagement of women and men with such influential women of the past, the intersubjective nature of the traditions that surround them, and what Mirabai’s message might be for women (and men) today.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gurus, Priestesses, Saints, Mediums and Yoginis: Holy Women as Influencers in Hindu Culture)
Open AccessArticle
“Beyond the Window That Can Never Be Opened”—Roger Scruton on “Moments of Revelation” in Human Life
by
Ferenc Hörcher
Religions 2024, 15(4), 485; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel15040485 - 15 Apr 2024
Abstract
This study addresses Roger Scruton’s understanding of what he called “moments of revelation”. In two short essays, both entitled “Effing the ineffable”, Scruton framed his discussion of moments of revelation with reference to the medieval Christian mystical discourse. Introducing the medieval discussion of
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This study addresses Roger Scruton’s understanding of what he called “moments of revelation”. In two short essays, both entitled “Effing the ineffable”, Scruton framed his discussion of moments of revelation with reference to the medieval Christian mystical discourse. Introducing the medieval discussion of this topic, this study provides an analysis of Scruton’s approach to the theme. In tune with the traditional discourse on revelation, his general aim was to demonstrate that there are ways of revealing important truths about the supernatural, of the world “beyond the window”, that do not require words to be pronounced. He calls our experiences of such phenomena moments of revelation and identifies four different transitory sources of revelation. This study deals with them one by one, after considering whether it is right to label such a revelation transcendental. The four sources of Scruton’s moments of revelation are natural beauty, the beauty of painting, the beauty of music, and personal encounters. The first three examples are connected to his thoughts on art and beauty as a substitute of divine revelation. Perhaps the most surprising of these is the last ones, moments of intersubjective human relationships, “our knowledge of each other”. Relying on both Buber and Levinas, Scruton makes the strong claim that it is in the other that we can experience that world “beyond the window”. His phenomenological exploration of human encounters sheds light on concepts like grace, shekhinah, or real presence and gift. He explains the Christian understanding of the human–divine relationship as well along the lines of the nature of interpersonal human relationship, both of them being in a certain sense, he claims, transcendental. From grace, his account moves forward to self-sacrifice and finally arrives at his idiosyncratic understanding of gratefulness for life. His moments of revelation in art and interpersonal exchange turn out to be, indeed, late and secular versions of the Christian understanding of revelation. In its summary, this study claims that revelation, understood by Scruton as a form of general human experience, allows to catch a glimpse of that which is beyond the window, by the direct, sensually based experience of either the existence of another person or of the beauty of nature and art.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Varieties of Revelation: Scripture, Theology, and Philosophy in the Perspective of Divine Disclosure)
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