Imagistic Ritual, Fusion, and Self-Sacrifice

2021 ◽  
pp. 82-105
Author(s):  
Harvey Whitehouse

Efforts to investigate the imagistic mode of religiosity initially focused on the effects of emotionally intense rituals on meaning making. But the discovery of a new psychological construct—identity fusion—made it possible to extend the study of imagistic processes to include increasingly precise measures of the pathways to group bonding. Fusion theory has helped clarify the role of feelings of shared essence, both biological and experiential, in fusing together personal and group identities. And it has allowed researchers to test a host of predictions about the causes and consequences of this for ingroup cooperation and intergroup conflict. This chapter considers how the evolution of the imagistic mode may have benefited ancestral groups, and the individuals belonging to them, but in modern times, it has helped to fuel some of the deadliest forms of violence the world has ever seen.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Michael Kavanagh ◽  
Susilo Wibisono ◽  
Rohan Kapitány ◽  
Whinda Yustisia ◽  
Idhamsyah Eka Putra ◽  
...  

Indonesia is the most populous Islamic country and as such is host to a diverse range of Islamic beliefs and practices. Here we examine how the diversity of beliefs and practices among Indonesian Muslims relates to group bonding and parochialism. In particular, we examine the predictive power of two distinct types of group alignment, group identification and identity fusion, among individuals from three Sunni politico-religious groups - a fundamentalist group (PKS), a moderate group (NU), and a control sample of politically unaffiliated citizens. Fundamentalists were more fused to targets than moderates or citizens, but contrary to fusion theory, we found across all groups, that group identification (not fusion) better predicted parochialism, including willingness to carry out extreme pro-group actions. We discuss how religious beliefs and practice impact parochial attitudes, as well as the implications for theoretical models linking fusion to extreme behaviour.


Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
Dobri Ivanov ◽  
Galina Yaneva ◽  
Irina Potoroko ◽  
Diana G. Ivanova

The fascinating world of lichens draws the attention of the researchers because of the numerous properties of lichens used traditionally and, in modern times, as a raw material for medicines and in the perfumery industry, for food and spices, for fodder, as dyes, and for other various purposes all over the world. However, lichens being widespread symbiotic entities between fungi and photosynthetic partners may acquire toxic features due to either the fungi, algae, or cyano-procaryotes producing toxins. By this way, several common lichens acquire toxic features. In this survey, recent data about the ecology, phytogenetics, and biology of some lichens with respect to the associated toxin-producing cyanoprokaryotes in different habitats around the world are discussed. Special attention is paid to the common toxins, called microcystin and nodularin, produced mainly by the Nostoc species. The effective application of a series of modern research methods to approach the issue of lichen toxicity as contributed by the cyanophotobiont partner is emphasized.


Author(s):  
Terje Tvedt

To understand the role of the modern Nile in African history, it is first necessary to have familiarity with the premodern “natural” Nile, including both its hydrology and societal importance. It is well known that no river basin in the world has a longer, more complex, and more eventful history. The Nile water issue in modern times is a history of how economic and political developments in East and North Africa have been fundamentally shaped by the interconnectedness of the Nile’s particular physical and hydrological character; the efforts of adapting to, controlling, using, and sharing the waters of the river; and the different ideas and ambitions that political leaders have had for the Nile.


Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-276
Author(s):  
Dr. Oinam Ranjit Singh ◽  
Eliah Islary

Throughout in the history, women have been made significant contribution towards the growth, development and sustainability of human society as a whole. Women constitute almost half of the population in the world. However, their enjoyment of rights equally with that of men is far from satisfactory. In every society from ancient to modern times, women are considered as the property of men to serve their interest in both society and domestic front. The position of women always plays a significant role in the growth and development of any society in the world. Assam is a land of numerous tribes having different ethnic and linguistic background since the time immemorial. Among them, the Bodo/Boro are numerically and sociologically one of the most important aboriginal tribes in Assam. Role of Bodo women were confined to her being a wife and a mother as has been depicted in the inscriptions. Yet the historiography on that period confined the study the Status of Bodo women in her society in a various concern areas. The paper is made a humble attempt to highlight the importance of the status of Bodo women or their normal position in the field of socio-cultural, economic, and religious perceptions in the society in the colonial period.


1994 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Pfenninger ◽  
Reid E. Klion
Keyword(s):  

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Jongmyung Kim

The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical and ideological positions of the Chikchi, a Korean Zen text. Originally composed of two fascicles, the book was published with metal type in 1377 and in woodblock print in 1378. The metal type print only remains. in its second fascicle, which is currently preserved in the La Bibliotheque nationale de France, registered in the Memory of the World by the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Memory of the World list. However, the woodblock print remains in two fascicles, including the teachings of Buddhas, recorded sayings, enlightened verses, and transmission records of more than one hundred patriarchs and masters of India, China, and Korea. The role of the Chikchi shines more in modern times. As a rare book in Korea and as the oldest extant book printed with metal type in the world, it has a great significance in the world history of printing culture. The Chikchi also has originality in terms of soteriology, ideological flexibility, an open interpretation of Buddhist teachings, and an integration with Confucianism, thus suggesting its possible contribution to a better understanding of the characteristics of Korean Buddhism in particular and, by extension, East Asian Buddhism in general.


Author(s):  
Андрей Андреевич Бадмаев

В современности духовное наследие народов России, включая их традиционную картину мира, является объектом общественного и научного интереса. В этом ключе представляется важным реконструкция народных воззрений о животном мире. Целью работы является выявление значений волка в мифологических суждениях бурят и включенности этого дикого животного в их обрядность. Источниками для исследования послужили различные этнографические, фольклорные и лингвистические материалы. В работе использован в качестве основного структурно-семиотический метод. Анализ показывает, что у бурят сформировался неоднозначный образ волка, характеризующийся амбивалентностью коннотации. Выявлена в представлениях об этом звере особая роль символики цвета. Волк имел небесную (белый волк) и мужскую символику. Положительная коннотация выражалась также в признании апотропейной функции его шкуры. О сакральности его образа указывает соблюдавшийся охотниками обычай снятия с убитого хищника шкуры с головой и некоторыми внутренними органами. Отрицательная характеристика волка связывалась с тем, что этот зверь воспринимался как медиатор между мирами. Он отождествлялся с бедой. Полагали, что он имеет демоническую природу, служит транспортом для нечистой силы. На хтоническое происхождение хищника указывала его взаимосвязь с вороном. Волк также нес символику агрессии и увязывался с воинским культом. В этом контексте следует рассматривать его ассоциацию с оружием и идею оборотничества. Выяснено, что в шаманской обрядности бурят волк имел священный статус, что проявилось в поэзии и атрибутике шамана (в ритуальной одежде, в использовании волчьего фетиша). Определено, что народные воззрения бурят о волке находят параллели в традиционном мировоззрении других народов, что указывает на универсальные и типологические феномены в бурятской мифологической фауне. In modern times, the spiritual heritage of the peoples of Russia, including their traditional picture of the world, is an object of public and scientific interest. In this context, it is important to reconstruct popular views about the animal world. The purpose of the work is to identify the meaning of the wolf in the mythological judgments of the Buryats and the inclusion of this wild animal in their rituals. Various ethnographic, folklore, and linguistic materials were used as sources for the research. The paper uses the structural-semiotic method as the main one. The analysis shows that the Buryats have formed an ambiguous image of the wolf, characterized by ambivalent connotations. The special role of color symbolism is revealed in the ideas about this animal. The wolf had a heavenly (white wolf) and male symbolism. A positive connotation was also expressed in the recognition of the apotropaic function of his skin. The sacredness of his image is indicated by the custom observed by hunters of removing the skin from the killed predator with the head and some internal organs. The negative characteristic of the wolf was associated with the fact that this beast was perceived as a mediator between worlds. He was identified with trouble. It was believed that it has a demonic nature, serves as a transport for evil spirits. The chthonic origin of the predator was indicated by its relationship with the raven. The wolf also carried the symbolism of aggression and was associated with a military cult. In this context, we should consider its association with weapons and the idea of werewolves. It was found out that in the shamanic rites of the Buryats, the wolf had a sacred status, which was manifested in the poetry and attributes of the shaman (in ritual clothing, in the use of a wolf fetish). It is determined that the Buryat folk beliefs about the wolf find parallels in the traditional worldview of other peoples, which indicates universal and typological phenomena in the Buryat mythological fauna.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Atari ◽  
Aida Mostafazadeh Davani ◽  
Drew Kogon ◽  
Brendan Kennedy ◽  
Nripsuta Ani Saxena ◽  
...  

Online radicalization is among the most vexing challenges the world faces today. Here, we demonstrate that homogeneity in moral concerns results in increased levels of radical intentions. In Study 1, we find that in Gab – a right-wing extremist network – the degree of moral convergence within a cluster, predicts the number of hate-speech messages members post. In Study 2, we replicate this effect in another extremist network; Incels. In Study 3 (N = 333), we demonstrate that experimentally leading people to believe that others in their group share their moral views increases their radical intentions. Study 4 (N = 510) replicates this effect in a stratified representative sample, and finds that this causal link may be explained by the degree to which individuals’ identities are fused with their ingroup. Our findings highlight the role of moral convergence and identity fusion in radicalization, emphasizing the need for diversity of moral worldviews within social networks.


Author(s):  
Richi Simon

Every living being longs for happiness, a life at peace with little of negative emotions and disturbances. This chapter tries to establish constructive living, meaning making and client systems as constructs of happiness. Everybody visualizes the world differently. Thoughts, experiences, feelings and actions define and design lives. They describe the version one holds for the world around them. In times of distress, it is natural that one finds it hard to understand truth. The meaning making process then differs from the way one derives meaning in normal life. Intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental factors all determine the client's system. An understanding of the client system and using constructive living, a method involving Morita and Naikan,the two most notable psychotherapies of Japan, can help in constructing happiness. This chapter will explore the role of meaning making, constructive living and client systems in being happy. The study will also put forward suggestions for attaining a happy and contented life.


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