The aim of this speculative paper, rooted in a variety of concepts derived from social anthropology, theology, and the history of religion, is to develop the broad notion of spirituality in terms of what might be called cultural wisdom. This I do alongside a discussion of the human proclivity for meaning-making understood as a process expressed in numerous religious traditions as 'salvation'. T...

Theology is a discipline of major issues. We are interested in the fundamental questions of human existence, suffering and hope, identity and community, good and evil, history and future, salvation and damnation. We always run the risk of expanding our subject matter unto ‘the world and surroundings’. To avoid that, we have focused our joint attention in this book to the level of lived religion...

Defining religion has never been simple; it is not a one-dimensional, monolithic condition but rather a complex enterprise with multi-dimensional consequences (Saroglou, 2013). Clifford Geertz (1973) characterized religion as a cultural form which “denotes an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means ...

In the quote above, the Russian philosopher Berdyaev hints at the “personalist” idea that the Self, while utterly unique, nonetheless contains a universal content that makes the Self an end in itself. The Self is something that cannot be regarded as a means to some end no matter how praiseworthy, but rather is an end that is irreplaceable, precious, and infinitely valuable. Its dignity lies in ...

Religion engenders conflict and cooperation. Defining religion is a prerequisite for pondering this paradox. Scholars define religion in several ways (Roberts 2004). Functional definitions focus on what religion does for adherents, such as providing a perspective from which to interpret the world, helping cope with life's trials, and addressing concerns about the purpose of life and eventuality...

The modern sociology of religion is founded on the fundamental tension between Weber’s and Durkheim’s approaches to religion. In this article, I want to use the tension between Weber and Durkheim to address fundamental problems in understanding religious modernity, both in the modern West and in contemporary Africa. Weber sought to explain differences in the social effects of the world religion...

Among the topics that can play an important role in interreligious dialogue and the relationship between civilizations and cultures is the topic of human salvation. In this article, we argue that salvation and redemption are not exclusive to the followers of a particular religion; rather, the followers of various religions can gain salvation with some conditions, such as the belief in God and m...

OBJECTIVE Historical and contemporary research has posited links between eating disorders and religious asceticism. This study aimed to examine relationships between eating disorders, religion, and treatment. METHOD Qualitative study using purposeful sampling, applying audiotaped and transcribed depth interview, subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS Participants wer...

A common finding across many cultures has been that religious people behave more prosocially than less (or non-) religious people. Numerous priming studies have demonstrated that the activation of religious concepts via implicit and explicit cues (e.g., 'God,' 'salvation,' among many others) increases prosociality in religious people. However, the factors underlying such findings are less clear...

This article builds on earlier research, which concludes that societies cannot sustain themselves without cultures of optimism. These cultures are reproduced by a complex of ‘optimism promoters’, all of which can be seen to be engaged in a kind of unstated or ‘implicit’ cultural policy, with the production of optimism as one of its goals. The institution of religion is part of this complex. Its...