Conspiracy theories (CTs) can take many forms and vary widely in popularity, the intensity with which they are believed and their effects on individual and collective behavior. An integrated account of CTs thus needs to explain how they come to appeal to potential believers, how they spread from one person to the next via communication, and how they motivate collective action. We summarize thes...

We develop a cultural evolutionary theory of the origins of prosocial religions and apply it to resolve two puzzles in human psychology and cultural history: (1) the rise of large-scale cooperation among strangers and, simultaneously, (2) the spread of prosocial religions in the last 10-12 millennia. We argue that these two developments were importantly linked and mutually energizing. We explai...

BACKGROUND Patients' religious commitments and religious communities are known to influence their experiences of illness and their medical decisions. Physicians are also dynamic partners in the doctor-patient relationship, yet little is known about the religious characteristics of physicians or how physicians' religious commitments shape the clinical encounter. OBJECTIVE To provide a baseline...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking causes serious health, economic, and social problems throughout the world. Religious involvement is known to be an important predictor of health behaviors and substance use. The present study examines the correlation between religious involvements and tobacco use, and explores connections between religiosity and tobacco use in Muslims and non-Muslims in Western Chin...

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the relationship between religious differences (i.e. religious diversity and tolerance diversity), on the one hand, and dysfunctional intergroup conflicts, on the other. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design is used, through which the paper examines 47 public schools in India. Findings Religious diversity, that is, the distribution of hete...

PURPOSE The present study aims to examine the association between religious involvement and mental disorder (anxiety disorder, mood disorder, alcohol use disorder) in a general Chinese population, and explore connections between religious belief and mental disorders in the Hui and Han ethnic groups. METHOD Data were examined from a representative sample of 2,770 community-dwelling adults in t...

The empirical literature from epidemiological and clinical studies regarding the relationship between religious factors (eg, frequency of religious attendance, private religious involvement, and relying on one's religious beliefs as a source of strength and coping) and physical and mental health status in the areas of prevention, coping, and recovery was reviewed. Empirical studies from the pub...

BACKGROUND HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are significant determinants of HIV transmission in the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), where the adult HIV/AIDS prevalence is 2.5%. T&T is a spiritually-aware society and over 104 religious groups are represented. This religious diversity creates a complex social environment for the transmission of a sexually transmitt...

Pre-existing questionnaire data, from Oregon Research Institute’s (ORI) SMOFAM project, from 274 participants for the 1996-1997-assessment year (T-10), were examined for relationships between relationship discord, depression, and religiosity. Religiosity was defined as religious belief and religious activity. For the purpose of this study, altruism and social support were also associated with r...

Within disciplines of religious studies, discussions of religious experience tend to revolve around the most rare and extraordinary cases, while neglecting much more common varieties of “ordinary religious experience”—that is, experiences of regular practitioners in the midst of normal religious activities such as worship or prayer. This comment will, first, call attention to this essential asp...