Experiences of Persons Living Schizophrenia in Ghana

Living with a chronic condition such as schizophrenia comes with significant challenges. Yet, there is little data on the experiences of people living with schizophrenia in Ghana. This study explored the experiences of persons living with schizophrenia in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The study adopted a descriptive phenomenological approach using purposive sampling technique to select nine (9) persons living with schizophrenia for the study. Data was collected using face-to-face in-depth interviews. Interviews were taped, transcribed verbatim, and analysed following Colaizzi’s (1978) descriptive phenomenological data analysis approach. The study revealed that people with schizophrenia maintained their Activities of Daily Living such as washing, sweeping, maintenance of personal and environmental hygiene, so long as they were in their lucid interval. Study participants valued supportive relationship with family members, mental health practitioners, religious institutions and the social networks. Participants reported stigma and lack of job opportunities as some of the major challenges they faced. Non adherence to medication and stigmatization were perceived as common cause of relapse by participants.

The Barelvī School of Thought

The Barelvī movement or school is a theological interpretation within South Asian Sunnī Islam with roots in developments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries spanning colonial India and into the post-independence history of the subcontinent. Most of its adherents are found today in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, but also in educational and religious institutions in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and other parts of Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. The Sunnī Ḥanafī scholar Aḥmad Raẓā Khān of Bareilly (d. 1921) was born in Uttar Pradesh during British colonial rule. Typically, his interpretations of certain doctrines of Sunnī Islam are seen as a response to the Deoband school and its theological ancestry that was formed in 1866-7, found in the northern Indian town of Deoband. The Barelvī school of thought is defined by a set of theological positions that revolve around the persona of the Prophet Muhammad and his special, if not exceptional, relationship and status with God. The Barelvī movement defines itself as the most authentic representative of what is known as Sunnī Islam and thus adopts the generic moniker, Ahl-i-Sunnat wa-al-Jamāʿat (The people who adhere to the Prophetic Tradition and preserve the unity of the community). Some describe the movement as first spreading among rural Muslims immersed in a selection of Sufi and shared Indian cultural practices. Today, it has its own franchise of seminaries (madrasas), scholars, and a robust industry of publications that engage in polemics with other theological sects prevalent in South Asia. It keeps its sights trained on the Deobandi movement and the global Muslim evangelical group known as the Tablīghī Jamāʿat and continuously exposes what it believes to be its doctrinal errors. Other adversaries are the anti-canonical school tradition, known as the Ahl-i-Ḥadīs, the variant doctrines of the Aḥmadis and Qādianis, as well as the Shīʿa. Aḥmad Raẓā Khān declared aspects or, all of these sects to be worthy of anathematization (takfīr) because they doctrinally depart from the true tradition and its interpretation of Islam. It would be a mistake to think of the Barelvī theological positions as paradigmatically Sufi. Indeed, the Deobandis, the Shīʿa, and even the Aḥmadis also accept variant teachings of Sufism, though they might diverge from the Barelvīs on precisely what the detailed doctrines of Sufism entails (Tareen 2020 [cited under General Overviews]).

Esorcizzare lo spettro

This paper enquires into the political and juridical themes underlying Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca (1900). Through the comparison of Puccini’s score, the libretto by Giacosa and Illica, and the original play by Sardou, I will present a twofold reading of the intertwinement between politics, religion, and law in this musical work. On the one hand, I will show that the police power represented by the character of Scarpia can be interpreted, from a Benjaminian standpoint, as a violent power that shapes the legal and religious order. On the other hand, I will argue that the artistic couple made by Cavaradossi and Tosca is politically significant in so far as their art represents an attempt to deactivate Scarpia’s pervading and oppressive force. The conclusion will contend that the aesthetics in this opera subtends the aspiration for an “inoperative”-wise revolution in religious institutions as well as in legal and political relations.

Differences in attitudes toward terrorists: Type of terrorist act, terrorist ethnicity, and observer gender and cultural background

To explore the interrelationship between terrorist acts, terrorist ethnicity, and observer gender and cultural background in Israel, we recruited 211 participants aged 19–75 years. The majority were male (63%). As for the ethnic and religious cultural background, 40% were Jewish, 40% Druze, and 20% Muslim. The participants answered questions about their demographic characteristics, read three scenarios of terrorist acts, addressed attitudes toward terrorists, and suggested the length of imprisonment. We manipulated the type of act (shooting and killing/burning religious institutions/throwing stones at cars) and terrorist ethnicity (Arab/ Jewish). The results indicate significant main effects of the manipulated variables regarding attitudes toward terrorists. Also, Muslim Arab participants expressed more negative attitudes in cases of Jewish terrorists than Arab terrorists, whereas Jewish participants expressed more negative attitudes toward Arab terrorists than Jewish terrorists. Druze participants did not differentiate between Arab and Jewish terrorists. Furthermore, in cases of Arab perpetrators, Jewish participants suggested imprisonment terms 2.4 times longer than in cases of Jewish perpetrators. The discussion addresses the findings in the context of social identity theory and dual social identification. Regarding practical implications, the findings imply the need for education and training on ethnic bias among policymakers and practitioners.

Religious Institutions and Poverty Reduction: Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

In spite of the numerous poverty reduction policies and programs of successive administrations in Nigeria, the generality of the populace are still in a web of deprivation and hunger. It is apparent that government is unable to stem the tide of poverty and thus the need for surrogate stakeholders to lift the poor out of poverty. Therefore, an empirical study was conducted to estimate the factors influencing the willingness of religious institutions to undertake poverty reduction programs for it members and the constraints limiting their ability to initiate programs that will ameliorate the suffering of poor members in the congregation. A total of 60 churches were sampled through the multistage sampling procedure and information were elicited using questionnaire. Data were analyzed using probit model and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. Result revealed that the most critical factors influencing the willingness of churches to undertake programs that will lift poor members of the congregation out of poverty were age and educational level of the church leaders, size of congregation, church income and age of the church. Result of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance indicated that there was 54 percent (moderate agreement) between the ranking of constraints associated with the willingness of churches to undertake programs that will lessen the pains of poverty among its members. Findings further showed that the top five most limiting constraints were lack of finance, lack of trained personnel, inadequate knowledge about the programs, unfavorable government policies and low membership strength.

Key Models of Religious Institutions’ Interaction in the Context of the State-Church Relations in Russia and Egypt

The article reveals and comparatively analyses the peculiarities of the state-church relations in Russia and Egypt. Currently, the role of religion and religious institutions in world politics is actively increasing, as well as the process of secularization of public life is being redefined. Religion still often becomes the cause of discrimination, persecution of certain groups of society; the level of Islamophobia in Western countries and Religiophobia in the whole world is not decreasing. In these conditions, the importance of state-church relations within key international actors is also growing. The purpose of the study is to provide comparative analysis of the specifics of the state religion policy of Russia and Egypt in order to develop recommendations for the use of Russian religious institutions to strengthen Russias position in the Middle East. Russia and Egypt were chosen as research objects, since these countries have a rich history of interaction in the religious sphere, which could become a basis for the future cooperation between religious institutions of the two countries. In addition, Egypt is one of the key states in the Middle East, where Russian influence has never been dominant, but where exactly religious organizations such as the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) most actively and successfully pursued Russias interests. Methodologically, the article is based on historical and empirical institutionalism, as well as comparative analysis and historical-genetic method. The study is quite novel, as it identifies four models of interaction between religious communities, which are based on two criteria: a) presence of religious institutions representing the interests of a particular community; b) status of religion in the state (dominant / minority religion). The practical significance of the study lies in its attempt to make recommendations for improving the use of religious organizations in Russia to promote state interests in Egypt on the basis of the highlighted features of state-church relations in Egypt.

MISSIONARY AND CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES OF ST. VOLODYMYR’S BROTHERHOOD OF KYIV PROVINCE (THE SECOND HALF OF THE XIX - EARLY XX CENTURIES)

This article analyzes the charitable and missionary activities of St. Volodymyr’s Brotherhood. These areas were of primary importance in the Brotherhood’s activities and reflected the intentions of the Russian authorities to consolidate the Orthodox religion on the territory of Right-Bank Ukraine and Galicia during World War I. The methodology of the paper is based on the principles of historicism alongside the general scientific and special-historical methods: critical, analytical, synthesis, and generalization. Scientific novelty. On the basis of the little-known archival documents, the missionary activity of the Brotherhood among the Jews was analyzed, the quantitative indicators of the so-called “christenings” were introduced into scientific circulation. The main aspects of philanthropic activities of the Brotherhood during World War I were revealed. Conclusions. The new economic conditions associated with the results of the reform in the Russian Empire and the rapid pace of modernization demanded additional investments and the presence of the most loyal population in rather troublesome “neighborhoods”, which included Kyiv as part of Right-Bank Ukraine, from the authorities. The revival of religious institutions, perceived as “foreign” in the first half of the century, was part of the imperial plan to build a new model of loyalty and identity in the “Russian world” in which Orthodoxy had a prominent place. The desire of some Jews to go beyond the traditional constraints associating with Judaism and turning them into “foreigners” proved to be in tune with the tasks assigned to the brotherhoods in the context of their missionary activities. The charity of the brotherhoods during World War I had a completely pragmatic basis. In this way, the Russian authorities relied on the loyalty of Galician Greek Catholics (with far-reaching prospects for their conversion to the Orthodox faith).

Training Spiritual Caregivers

This chapter explores graduate theological education as a field that produces both discourses of spirituality and the professionals who provide what is increasingly called “spiritual care.” As taught in chaplaincy programs, the case of spiritual care illustrates how “spirituality” is produced by religious institutions in a pragmatic effort to train chaplains for work in the secular institutions that employ them. The chapter shows how, based on the history of chaplaincy graduate education programs and their students’ religious backgrounds, programs adapt the content of their curricula and their approaches to religious diversity to prepare their students for work with a wide range of religious and nonreligious people across secular institutions. It concludes by outlining what this case contributes to broader scholarly conversations about the institutional production of “spirituality” in the current American context and the role of theological education in that production.

Religious and Spiritual Identities

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an in-depth examination of the first construct in the core theoretical model—religious and/or spiritual identities. People typically identify themselves as religious only, spiritual only, religious and spiritual, or neither religious nor spiritual. The identity they choose has profound implications for the way they relate to religious institutions and the health-related benefits they may enjoy from doing so. Four issues are examined in detail: (1) an overview of social identity theory is provided; (2) previous research on religious identities and health is reviewed; (3) a detailed overview of recent research by the author on religious and spiritual identities is discussed; and (4) next steps that are needed to take research on religious and/or spiritual identities to the next level are identified.

MOSQUES IN POST-SOVIET KAZAKHSTAN: DISCOURSE INTERPRETATION AND REGULATORY PRACTICES

The authors have analyzed the dynamics of the growth of number of mosques built by religious associations in post-Soviet Kazakhstan and noted a transition from their unregulated and chaotic construction (proliferation) to their precise association with specific maddhabs, and their construction norms conceptualized by religious institutions represented by the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kazakhstan (DUMK). The types of cultic facilities and the actors are discussed and ranked according to the type of their involvement and partnership. We should note that the participation of various actors adds weight to the status of mosques as important public facilities. The authors have paid particular attention to the religious communities’ revised registration realized under the Law of the RK on Religious Activities and Religious Associations of 2011, which optimized the religious space, consolidated the positions of traditional Islam and, hence, standardized the rules related to mosque construction. Keywords: mosque, public space, post-Soviet realities, re-Islamization, re-appropriation, “mosque diplomacy,” religious communities, traditional Islam, DUMK.