Department Website: http://nelc.uchicago.edu Program of Study Majors in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) at the University of Chicago pursue rigorous knowledge about a region of the world that is known as “the cradle of civilization” and the home of several important religious and cultural traditions, as well as one of the most important geopolitical areas of our contemporary wor...

Empirical research on fundamentalist biographies—presented are three case studies and a summary of research results—demonstrate the complex biographical-motivational factors for fundamentalist turns, but also a transformational potential. Explaining fundamentalist conversion and deconversion within a theoretical framework of fundamentalism as “modern anti-modernism” and as “dislocation of relig...

BACKGROUND It is believed that religious leaders' positive attitude towards organ donation can be an effective factor in Muslims' inclination to donate organs. OBJECTIVE To assess the knowledge of freshmen students in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences about religious leaders' fatwa on organ donation and its effect on their willingness to donate organs. METHODS This cross-sectional stud...

One of the stated aims of the state-funded school system in Scotland is to help develop global citizens for the future. This paper argues that Global Citizenship must recognize the continued widespread adherence to religion, acknowledge religious diversity and the challenges faced by religious minorities to ensure a more comprehensive education in cultural identity, human rights, diversity and ...

CONTEXT Globally, the demand for donated organs outstrips supply, meaning that there are both practical and theoretical reasons for examining factors that are predictive of individuals' willingness to donate their organs upon their death. OBJECTIVES To determine whether individuals of different religious denominations living in Australia have different views on organ donation, whether donatio...

In many western societies health professionals play a powerful role in people's experiences of dying. Religious professionals, such as pastors, are also confronted with the issues surrounding death and dying in their work. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the ways in which death-related topics, such as euthanasia, are constructed in a given culture are affected by the views of these pr...

This article reports on research undertaken in 2011–2012 into the role of religion and belief in one British university. In this indicative qualitative case study, we observed six important features in relation to religion and belief: a clear divide in attitudes to the place of religion and belief between operations and curriculum; a lack of knowledge and understanding of the religious landscap...