“The Spiritual Energy of the Trees”: Nature, Place, and Religion in Silas House’s Crow County Trilogy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Hamilton Suter
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Native Land ◽  
Appalachian Culture ◽  
Spiritual Energy

This chapter discusses Silas House's Crow County trilogy, which demonstrates binding connections to both family and place: Clay's Quilt (2001), A Parchment of Leaves (2002), and The Coal Tattoo (2004). All three novels trace four generations of several families in fictional Crow County, Kentucky, portraying their struggles and triumphs in one of the northwesternmost extremities of the mountain South. Raised in the Pentecostal Church, House places important metaphysical emphasis on spiritual relationships with nature and one's native land. A closer examination of his Crow County trilogy reveals the ties and disparities between Pentecostal Christianity and meaningful spiritual links to land. Emphasizing the spiritual and religious beliefs of his characters, House demonstrates the significant role the natural environment plays in Appalachian culture. While he explores the importance of traditional religion, he juxtaposes those customary expressions with the spiritual significance of the natural surroundings.

The Secularization Debate

2020 ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Ronald F. Inglehart
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Church Attendance ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Religious Competition ◽  
The World

Well into the 20th century, leading social thinkers argued that religious beliefs reflected a prescientific worldview that would disappear as scientific rationality spread throughout the world. Though the creationism of traditional religion did give way to evolutionary worldviews, this failed to discredit religion among the general public. Religious markets theory argues that the key to flourishing religiosity is strong religious competition, but recent research found no relationship between religious pluralism and religious attendance. The individualization thesis claims that declining church attendance does not reflect declining religiosity; subjective forms of religion are simply replacing institutionalized ones. But empirical evidence indicates that individual religious belief is declining even more rapidly than church attendance. Secularization’s opponents hold that humans will always need religion. This claim seems true if it is broadened to hold that humans will always need a belief system. Norris and Inglehart argue that as survival becomes more secure, it reduces the demand for religion.

scholarly journals Christianity and Indigenisation in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 18-30
Author(s):  
M. A. Masoga ◽  
A. Nicolaides
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Spiritual Consciousness ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So

In a quest for greater coherence between parochial identities, culture and Christianity, there exists an African consciousness which seeks to indigenise and decolonise Christianity. Africans are profoundly religious people who view their faith as part of their way of life, as strengthening their cultures and providing a moral compass for daily living. In efforts to transform society, the Christian religion has played a significant role in the path to African development. Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. Africans consequently played a crucial role in establishing the doctrines and theology of the early church. While African Traditional religion (ATR) is paramount, it is the purpose of this article to suggest that the Christian faith has and continuous to play a significant role on the African continent in its development. While there are many indigenous African beliefs, these have been to a large extent supported by Christianity in a quest to systematize novel knowledge and promote peace and tolerance across the continent. Many Africans have sought facets of Christianity that are similar to their religious and personal practices and continue to do so. Thus, while there exist numerous similarities and also differences between Christianity and ATR, it is imperative to preserve old-style regional distinctiveness and Christianity as the unifying rudiments in nation building endeavours and in efforts to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Africans can and should come to comprehend the Triune Godhead as being consistent with their own spiritual consciousness and existential veracities. Indigenization of Christianity requires enculturation and essentially an understanding that it is indeed ecumenical and also embraces diversity and fundamentally requires viewing Holy Scriptures and the truths they propound as being applicable to any context and cultural milieu across the ages. Christians after all espouse a faith in the Ekklesia or body of Christ for all its people who are the Laos of God.

scholarly journals Portrayal of Religious Syncretism in Akiki Nyabongo’s Novel: Africa Answers Back

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Mary Naula
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
African Religions ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Religious Syncretism ◽  
Religious Thoughts ◽  
African Traditional Religions

Akiki Nyabongo’s novel, “Africa answers back”, reveals that religious syncretism in Africa is a reality that has persistently painted Christianity as an offshoot of traditional African religions. Using qualitative content analysis that looks at the text for themes, meaning and underlying values, the study critically analyses the two major religious thoughts of African Traditional Religions and Christianity in the context of the rite of passage – pregnancy, naming, baptism, marriage, death and burial. The study found out that religious syncretism as portrayed in Africa Answers Back is evident in all the major rites of passage. The conflict portrayed between the two religious beliefs shows that syncretism is a major issue today among African Christians and it is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. I conclude that most African Christians will take long to detach themselves from traditional African religious beliefs, because their way of life and practices are rooted in African traditional religion. I recommend continuous negotiations between African traditional religions and Christianity as each has something to offer to enrich their respective faiths.

The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharika D. Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
Ecological Sustainability ◽  
The People ◽  
Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
National Governments

Illuminating the entangled histories of the people and commodities that circulated across the Atlantic, Sharika D. Crawford assesses the Caribbean as a waterscape where imperial and national governments vied to control the profitability of the sea. Crawford places the green and hawksbill sea turtles and the Caymanian turtlemen who hunted them at the center of this waterscape. The story of the humble turtle and its hunter, she argues, came to play a significant role in shaping the maritime boundaries of the modern Caribbean. Crawford describes the colonial Caribbean as an Atlantic commons where all could compete to control the region’s diverse peoples, lands, and waters and exploit the region’s raw materials. Focusing on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Crawford traces and connects the expansion and decline of turtle hunting to matters of race, labor, political, and economic change, and the natural environment. Like the turtles they chased, the boundary-flouting laborers exposed the limits of states’ sovereignty for a time but ultimately they lost their livelihoods, having played a significant role in the legislation delimiting maritime boundaries. Still, former turtlemen have found their deep knowledge valued today in efforts to protect sea turtles and recover the region’s ecological sustainability.

scholarly journals A ‘fownde patrone and second father’ of the Marian Church: Antonio Buonvisi, religious exile and mid-Tudor Catholicism

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-246
Author(s):  
Frederick E. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
The State ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Vatican City ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Archives

AbstractDespite receiving particular praise from a range of early modern commentators, from Nicholas Sander to Pedro de Ribadeneyra, most historians have seen the Italian merchant Antonio Buonvisi playing a fairly negligible role in the history of mid-Tudor Catholicism. This article challenges this interpretation. After reassessing some rather simplistic assessments of Buonvisi’s religious beliefs, this article explores his actions and activities following his self-imposed exile from England in 1549. Using research conducted in both the State Archives of Lucca and the Vatican City, it suggests that Buonvisi played a far more significant role in ensuring the survival of English Catholicism over the first decades of the Reformation than is usually acknowledged. Indeed, it argues that Buonvisi may have helped lay core foundations for the Catholic restoration of Mary I’s reign, the success of which has recently been highlighted by historians such as Eamon Duffy.

PREHISPANIC MAYA BURNT LIME INDUSTRIES: PREVIOUS STUDIES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth E. Seligson ◽  
Soledad Ortiz Ruiz ◽  
Luis Barba Pingarrón
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Burnt Lime ◽  
The Past ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Lime Consumption ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Lime Production

AbstractBurnt lime has played a significant role in daily Maya life since at least as far back as 1100 b.c., and yet its ephemeral nature has limited archaeological studies of its production. The application of new surveying and remote sensing technologies in recent decades is now allowing for a more in-depth investigation of the burnt lime industries that existed in different subregions of the Maya area. This article provides an overview of the current understanding of pre-Hispanic Maya burnt lime production. It then presents an analysis of the factors influencing the development and identification of distinct subregional lime production industries, including: lime consumption requirements and inter-site spacing; natural environment; local social and economic trajectories; and the objectives and survey universes of archaeological investigations. In reporting the tremendous advances made over the past few decades, this paper encourages archaeologists to include a focus on identifying lime production features in their research agendas.

scholarly journals Religion and Conservation: A Review of Use and Protection of Sacred Plants and Animals in Nepal

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghanashyam Niroula ◽  
N.B. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Spiritual Values ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Religious Importance ◽  
The Way

The objective of this paper is to examine the socio-cultural and spiritual values of plants and animals. It focuses on how religious beliefs and practices affect the way these species are understood, utilized and managed. Large number of plant and animal species with religious importance has been found to be conserved and protected in Nepal. Religious prospect has played a significant role in conservation of plants and animals.Journal of Institute of Science and Technology, 2015, 20(2): 61-66

The Role of Values and Religious Beliefs in Positive Parenting

2017 ◽  
pp. 344-354
Author(s):  
Aala El-Khani ◽  
Rachel Calam
Keyword(s):  
Family Functioning ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Parenting Practices ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Positive Parenting ◽  
Parenting Programs ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Potential Resource ◽  
Parenting Approaches

Religion may often play a significant role in the parenting goals, style, and practices of parents and can be fundamental to shaping family functioning. Religion is a potential resource for parents and can help parents cope better when facing challenging circumstances, such as times of war, and in contexts of adverse circumstances, including displacement and poverty, and also in caring for a disabled child. Taking steps to understand a family’s religious inclinations and how these interact with their parenting practices is a crucial first step in bridging religious motivations and positive parenting approaches. This chapter explores practical ways that families’ religious beliefs can be encompassed into the delivery of evidence-based parenting programs to increase engagement and acceptability and better inform development and delivery.

Factors influencing voting intentions for Egyptian parliament elections 2011

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalia Abdel Rahman Farrag ◽  
Hamed Shamma
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Political Marketing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The Media

Purpose – This study measures to what extent different factors including Islamic religious beliefs influenced Egyptian's voting behavior intentions in the last parliament elections, given the moderating effect of the media and its role in shaping the existence of the Islamic political brand in Egypt. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research was initially conducted to modify the Newman and Sheth model to fit the Egyptian culture. A final total of 401 Muslim citizens that participated in the last parliament elections were then surveyed via face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Findings – Most factors related to voting for a specific candidate or party seemed to be important for voters' in their decision making, specifically personal events related to the candidate, candidate's image, current events surrounding the elections process, interest in issues and policies and religious beliefs that was added by the authors to the model. The media also had a high level of importance and influence over the relationship between some of the factors affecting voter's decision and voter's behavioral intentions. Overall, citizens demonstrated approach voting behavioral intentions towards the elections process and indicated that they would actively participate in the upcoming elections. Pearson correlations and further analysis were also run to investigate the nature of relationships between the factors understudy and voting behavioral intentions; most of which had significant relationships, as well as the significant role of the media. Some factors were excluded after running stepwise regression for testing the fitness of the model proposed. Research limitations/implications – Study covering the capital city of Egypt; Cairo only. Practical implications – It has become important for politicians and governments to understand what are the genuine needs of their societies and what are citizens looking for in political candidates and parties. Political marketing and particularly understanding voting behavior is a booming area that has become an important tool for building political brands as witnessed by this research and how it was used by Islamists to reach voter's and affect their decision making. Originality/value – This research paper sheds the light on a very contemporary area related to political marketing which is political campaigning and factors affecting voters' intentions given the significant role of candidate's religious beliefs. Furthermore, focusing on the rise of Islamic political parties that are actively becoming important members of the political landscape in the Arab region after a long time of undercover practice and struggle with previous governments before the Arab spring events.

scholarly journals MEMAHAMI PUISI-PUISI HERBAL DALAM ANTOLOGI NAMAKU BUNGA KARYA L.K. ARA [Understanding Poetry with Herbal Theme in L.K. Ara’s Namaku Bunga Anthology]

TOTOBUANG ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-299
Author(s):  
Amir Mahmud
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Herbal Remedies ◽  
Traditional Medicines ◽  
Herbal Plants ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

This study aims to describe L.K. Ara’s poetries about the benefits of herbs in traditional medicines (jamu). For centuries, it is a cultural fact that traditional medicines had been used to maintain health in Indonesian (Nusantara) society. The research problem is to describe L.K. Ara’s poetries that mention beneficial herbs to maintain health and that it has become a cultural fact in Nusantara. The method used in this research was descriptive-qualitative. This method was used to solve problems by describing findings of the research. The results showed that literature works apparently play a significant role in maintaining and preserving the natural environment, especially when it deals with herbal plants. The use of herbs in traditional medicine (jamu) for healing the sick is a part of our life so literature ia also also used to represent the used of herbal plants for human health. Herbal remedies such as juice of spices and herbs, remedies for women, herbal remedies in the form of powder, betel chewing, traditional massage with herbal concoctions, and going to traditional healers are cultural facts in Nusantara society. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan puisi-puisi karya L.K. Ara tentang manfaat herbal untuk kesehatan telah menjadi fakta budaya dalam masyarakat Nusantara sudah berabad-abad. Masalah penelitian ini adalah bagaimana gambaran puisi-puisi karya L.K. Ara yang menyajikan herbal bermanfaat untuk kesehatan telah menjadi fakta budaya. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah deskriptif kualitatif. Metode ini digunakan untuk kebutuhan memecahkan masalah dengan cara memaparkan objek penelitian. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa karya sastra berperan dalam pemeliharaan dan pelestarian alam lingkungan terutama pada tanaman jenis herbal. Pemanfaatan herbal untuk pengobatan guna penyembuhan orang sakit merupakan bagian yang tidak terpisahkan dengan kehidupan sehingga sastra ikut berperan mempresentasikan fungsi tanaman untuk kesehatan manusia. Pengobatan secara herbal seperti cekok, uyup uyup, tapel, menginang, pijat dengan ramuan herbal, dan peyembuhan melalui dukun dengan herbal tertentu merupakan fakta budaya dalam masyarakat Nusantara.

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