scholarly journals The Counterintuitiveness of Supernatural Dreams and Religiosity

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 309-330
Author(s):  
Andreas Nordin ◽  
Pär Bjälkebring
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Explanatory Models ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Traditional Societies ◽  
Beliefs And Practice

Abstract One challenge for cognitive, evolutionary and anthropological studies of religion is to offer descriptions and explanatory models of the morphology and functions of supernatural dreaming, and of the religiosity, use of experience, and cultural transmission that are associated with these representations. The anthropological and religious studies literature demonstrates that dreaming, dream experience and narrative are connected with religious ideas and practices in traditional societies. Scholars have even proposed that dreaming is a primary source of religious beliefs and practice (here labelled DPSR theory). Using Barrett’s coding system, we measured a high frequency of minimally counterintuitive dream content among Hindu Nepalese, and we aim to quantify (1) the relation between counterintuitive imagery and reported likelihood to communicate dreams in general and to religious experts, (2) the relation between counterintuitive imagery and reported religiosity, and (3) the proclivity to communicate SA dreams among those who are more or less religious. These aims will then be related to the broader topic of (4) possible explanatory value of DPSR theory, or versions thereof, by framing the issue at the level of cultural transmission, religiosity and credibility of religious dream representations in relation to MCI theory. The article mainly draws upon data from ethnographic research among Hindu Nepalese.

Religious Remediations

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 155-181
Author(s):  
Birgit Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Film Studies ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Visual Technologies ◽  
Charismatic Christianity ◽  
The Invisible ◽  
Video Films

This article addresses the interface of video-films and Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in Ghana. This interface, it is argued, needs to be examined from a position that transcends the confines of film studies and religious studies and leaves behind a secularist perspective on the relationship between religion and film. On the basis of detailed ethnographic research, it is shown that, far from standing apart from the realm of religious beliefs, video-films call upon audio-visual technologies so as to remediate Pentecostal views of the invisible world around which Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity evolves. Video-films invoke a “techno-religious realism” that addresses spectators in such a way that they authorize video representations as authentic. Transcending facile oppositions of technology and belief, media and authenticity, and entertainment and religion, video-films are shown to achieve immediacy and authenticity not at the expense of, but thanks to, media technologies and practices of remediation.

Psychology of Religion

1997 ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
O. Karagodina
Keyword(s):  
Religious Experience ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Psychology Of Religion ◽  
Sociology Of Religion ◽  
Religious Studies

Psychology of religion as a branch of religious studies, in contrast to the philosophy and sociology of religion, focuses attention mainly on the problems of individual religiosity - the phenomena of religious experience, religious beliefs, mechanisms of the emergence and development of religious experience. The psychology of religion studies the experience of the supernatural person, the psychological roots of this experience and its significance for the subjective. Since a person is formed and operates in a society, the study of religious experience must include its social sources.

scholarly journals Prolegomena to the Problem of Determination and Classification of Original Religious Beliefs

2007 ◽  
pp. 18-26
Author(s):  
Dmytro V. Bazyk
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Present Stage ◽  
History Of ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Theoretical Developments

At the present stage of scientific research, one of the undefined problems in religious studies is, first of all, the problem of the expediency and relevance of the use of the term "primitive religions" or "primitive religious beliefs" in relation to both representatives of Aboriginal peoples of the present and the analysis of the development of religions in the history of forms of religion. discovered in general. The problem of determining the original religion and its forms of expression is somewhat compounded by the fact that the use of special terminology in theoretical developments depends not only on the various features of research methodological approaches, but also on the language in which studies are commonly published. Therefore, the use of one or the other terminology requires the isolation of a possible synonym for relatively adequate nomination (naming) of these religious manifestations.

scholarly journals Emerging Christianity: what do we know and how?

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1301-1321
Author(s):  
Andrey S. Desnitsky
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
German Scholar

This article, the second in a series, briefly describes the main problems connected with the reconstruction of emerging Christianity. First of all, it is the scarcity of historical sources. They speak almost exclusively about religious beliefs and leave aside all other aspects of life. Then, it is the clearly expressed interest of both ancient authors and modern researchers to present a “rightful” and ideal picture. As a result, emerges an idealized image of such a Christian community that a modern scholar would like to belong to. A possible methodological solution to this problem can be found in the model of religious studies suggested by the modern German scholar Gerd Theissen. Concerning the practical method, one can suggest an analysis of the polemics as reflected in the early Christian texts, mainly epistles.

The Development of Thanatology in Japan and its Position in East Asia, with a Focus on Thanatology’s Relationship to Religion

Numen ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 114-138
Author(s):  
Masaru Ikezawa
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Religious Orientation ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Japanese Case ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Private Beliefs

AbstractThis article deals with the religiosity of thanatology in Japan, which was introduced under the name shiseigaku (death and life studies) in the 1980s. Although many religious believers and scholars of religious studies have been connected with this field in Japan, religions are not necessarily highlighted by studies of Japanese thanatology. The Japanese pioneers of thanatology did not have clear ideas on the positioning of religion in this field, but they unconsciously merged their own faith into their discipline. Later, other scholars tried to re-construct this field by weakening its religious orientation. The Japanese case is in contrast to Taiwanese thanatology, in which the pioneers tried to position religious beliefs as the essential element of the field. Indeed, this difference was partially influenced by the religious traditions of both societies, but other factors such as the historical processes of this academic field and the private beliefs of researchers were important causes of that difference.

scholarly journals Heterogeneous and anisotropic integrative model of pulmonary veins: computational study of arrhythmogenic substrate for atrial fibrillation

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 20120069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleg V. Aslanidi ◽  
Michael A. Colman ◽  
Marta Varela ◽  
Jichao Zhao ◽  
Bruce H. Smaill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Pulmonary Veins ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Micro Computed Tomography ◽  
Three Dimensional Model ◽  
Arrhythmogenic Substrate

Mechanisms underlying the genesis of re-entrant substrate for the most common cardiac arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation (AF), are not well understood. In this study, we develop a multi-scale three-dimensional computational model that integrates cellular electrophysiology of the left atrium (LA) and pulmonary veins (PVs) with the respective tissue geometry and fibre orientation. The latter is reconstructed in unique detail from high-resolution (approx. 70 μm) contrast micro-computed tomography data. The model is used to explore the mechanisms of re-entry initiation and sustenance in the PV region, regarded as the primary source of high-frequency electrical activity in AF. Simulations of the three-dimensional model demonstrate that an initial break-down of normal electrical excitation wave-fronts can be caused by the electrical heterogeneity between the PVs and LA. High tissue anisotropy is then responsible for the slow conduction and generation of a re-entrant circuit near the PVs. Evidence of such circuits has been seen clinically in AF patients. Our computational study suggests that primarily the combination of electrical heterogeneity and conduction anisotropy between the PVs and LA tissues leads to the generation of a high-frequency (approx. 10 Hz) re-entrant source near the PV sleeves, thus providing new insights into the arrhythmogenic mechanisms of excitation waves underlying AF.

scholarly journals Development of a Job-Exposure Matrix for Assessment of Occupational Exposure to High-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (3 kHz–300 GHz)

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 1013-1028
Author(s):  
Lucile Migault ◽  
Joseph D Bowman ◽  
Hans Kromhout ◽  
Jordi Figuerola ◽  
Isabelle Baldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Electromagnetic Fields ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Intermediate Frequency ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Job Exposure Matrix ◽  
Field Exposure

Abstract Objectives The aim of this work was to build a job-exposure matrix (JEM) using an international coding system and covering the non-thermal intermediate frequency (IF) (3–100 kHz, named IFELF), thermal IF (100 kHz–10 MHz, named IFRF), and radiofrequency (RF) (>10 MHz) bands. Methods Detailed occupational data were collected in a large population-based case–control study, INTEROCC, with occupations coded into the International Standard Classification of Occupations system 1988 (ISCO88). The subjects’ occupational source-based ancillary information was combined with an existing source-exposure matrix and the reference levels of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) for occupational exposure to calculate estimates of level (L) of exposure to electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields by ISCO88 code and frequency band as ICNIRP ratios (IFELF) or squared ratios (IFRF and RF). Estimates of exposure probability (P) were obtained by dividing the number of exposed subjects by the total number of subjects available per job title. Results With 36 011 job histories collected, 468 ISCO88 (four-digit) codes were included in the JEM, of which 62.4% are exposed to RF, IFRF, and/or IFELF. As a reference, P values for RF E-fields ranged from 0.3 to 65.0% with a median of 5.1%. L values for RF E-fields (ICNIRP squared ratio) ranged from 6.94 × 10−11 to 33.97 with a median of 0.61. Conclusions The methodology used allowed the development of a JEM for high-frequency electromagnetic fields containing exposure estimates for the largest number of occupations to date. Although the validity of this JEM is limited by the small number of available observations for some codes, this JEM may be useful for epidemiological studies and occupational health management programs assessing high-frequency electromagnetic field exposure in occupational settings.

Dumping Sites, Witches and Soul-Pollution

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-103
Author(s):  
Abamfo Ofori Atiemo
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Theological Ethics ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
The World ◽  
African Context

Abstract The generation of waste and how to manage it pose challenges to municipal and district authorities in many parts of the world. In the African context, poverty, bad management practices, and increasing consumerist culture have conspired to render the situation even more complex. Complicating the situation further is the addition of synthetic and electronic waste, non-biodegradable and, in several cases, hazardous. Drawing on personal first hand experiences in Ghana from the perspective of a pastor and a scholar of religious studies, the author reflects on contemporary waste and its (mis)management in Africa and how these affect the dignity and security of present and future generations. He draws on relevant theological motifs from Christianity and indigenous African religious beliefs and practices as well as insights from sociology and eco-theological ethics to analyse the challenge and explore ways in which African Christian public opinion may be mobilized to help address the challenge.

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