Journal articles on the topic 'Social sciences -> religion -> special topics'

This study aims to describe and analyse the main topics and trends in the study of religion in contemporary Balkan countries. It pays special attention to the contemporary sociology of religion in the former Yugoslavian countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various theoretical approaches are presented that are used in order to understand the dynamic processes that have developed in the contemporary religious situation. The topics and discussions at various seminar sessions, conferences, and workshops are analyzed as theoretical reflection on religion and as an ethical attitude towards intellectual and cultural developments and processes accompanying social change, the war in former Yugoslavia, and the post-communist transformations in the end of 20th and the beginning of 21st century. The relevant publications and organizational forms are outlined. The mutual collaboration among Balkan scholars and the forms of international relations developed in the Balkans within the framework of religious studies are described.

Thi conference, which consisted of many sessions, was very wellattended. Since giving a review of each session is impractical, I will discussthose points that relate to academic trategies and intellectual trendsand that are relevant to Muslim academia.Organization: Social disciplines have become very diverse.Sociology, if not at the top, is no exception. Thus it seems that organizinga conference aroW1d a theme is rather limiting. This meeting, entitled "TheChallenge of Democratic Participation," consisted of nine categories: plenary,thematic, regular/section session, special session, didactic seminar,open topic refereed roundtables/informal discussion roundtables, bookpanel/poster sessions, and professional and teaching workshops. Plenarysessions discussed subjects of national or statewide policy concerns, suchas "Reconstructing the Political," or "Reflection of the 1992 Los AngelesRebellion: Views of Community Leaders." The thematk sessions analyzeddemocratic participation on many levels: labor's role in democratization,trade unions, religion and institutions, governance in highereducation, mass media strategies, and gender. The thirty-three special sessionsfocused on timely topics: pan-ethnicity in the United States; the relevanceof the Black church; the politics of educational texts, health care,and the family values debate; xenophobia in Europe; fundamentalism inthe Middle East; NAFTA; and federal support to social sciences ...

The article examines the sociology of religion as one of the spheres of sociological cognition, as well as those approaches to the definition of religion that predetermined the specifics of the development and self-identification of the sociology of religion in the system of scientific knowledge. The author compares various ideas about religion that exist in everyday consciousness, definitions of religion in the system of theology and its scientific interpretations. At the same time, it is emphasized that recently the efforts of scientists have begun to focus on finding a new, more balanced and universal approach to the definition of religion, although any attempt to give a final definition of religion is doomed to be limited and debatable.The heterogeneity of the tools and approaches used by the sociology of religion has created a serious problem of its place in the structure of sociological knowledge. The sociology of religion is most often identified either with religious sociology or with an autonomous branch in the horizontal structure of sociology. These two scientific identities of the sociology of religion appear both blurred and limited. Without denying the value of generally accepted directions for the sociological analysis of religion, the author reveals a lot of diverse and heterogeneous directions, within which both classics of sociological science who studied religion and modern sociologists worked. As a result, the sociology of religion is simply an arbitrary set of topics, including the analysis of fundamental works of a predominantly socio-philosophical nature, replete with religious terms that are incomprehensible to a reader unfamiliar with at least the basics of religious studies, especially to a student, seriously complicates the understanding of the essence and methodology of the sociological analysis of religion. For this purpose, the article differentiates and structures the subject Jeld of sociological analysis of religion, highlights its most promising fields of research.The author argues that it is appropriate to talk about the sociological analysis of religion, which has developed and continues to develop within the framework of two major, but equivalent directions. The first focuses on the sociological knowledge of religion in line with the general modern sociological theory, in a broad social context, as one of the subsystems of the general, societal system, organically interconnected with its other subsystems — cultural, social, political, etc. A special place within this direction is occupied by the analysis of religion as a social phenomenon and social institution, social functions and dysfunctions of the latter, including the intensive process of politicization of religion. The second is based on an internal analysis of religion and various religious doctrines, primarily from the point of view of those social relations that are formed within their framework. The perspective focus of the second direction is the social functions of various religions, their influence on the moral values and worldview of individuals and social groups, the peculiarities of manifestation in people’s daily lives, the peculiarities of the formation and functioning of new religious movements, including totalitarian religious cults and sects.

Background and Study Aim. The relationship between sport and religion is one of the most important research topics of sport psychology recently. In the relevant literature, this relationship mostly focused on sports and Christianity. The present study examines the psychological well-being levels of athletes of the Islamic religion. This study aims to examine the relationship between the religious perception of university football players and their psychological well-being levels. Material and Methods. For this purpose, 288 university students attending different universities in Turkey, completed the Religious Orientation Scale and Psychological Well-Being Scale. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between variables. Path analysis was applied to test the hypotheses developed in the study. The hypotheses created were tested by the path analysis method using Amos software. Moderator regression analysis was performed. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 23 program (SPSS Inc. Chicago. II. USA). P-value was set at p<0.05. Results. According to the findings obtained from the study data, positive and significant relationships were determined between the religious perceptions of the university football players and their psychological well-being (p<0,01). Conclusions. In conclusion, it was concluded that the religious perception of the university football players was a significant predictor of their psychological well-being (p<0.01). It can be stated that in Turkish-Islamic culture, similar results to the relationship between Sports and Christianity have been achieved. Since religion is a universal phenomenon, it can be stated that the institution of religion has a special meaning for football players.

During the past two decades or so, the emergence and ever-accelerating development of digital media have sparked scholarly interest, debates, and complex challenges across many disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities. Within this diverse scholarship, the research on digitality, gender, sexuality, and embodiment has contributed substantially to many academic fields, such as media studies, sociology, religion, philosophy, and education studies. As a part of the special issue “Gender, Sexuality, and Embodiment in Digital Spheres: Connecting Intersectionality and Digitality,” this roundtable consists of a conversation between five researchers from different (inter)disciplinary locations, all addressing matters of methodology, intersectionality, positionality, and theory in relation to the topics of gender, sexuality, and embodiment in digital spheres. Said roundtable begins with a critical self-positioning of the participants’ (inter)disciplinary and embodied locations using examples from their own research. The conversation then progresses to how these researchers have employed contemporary theories, conceptual vocabularies, methods, and analyses of gender, sexuality, and embodiment in digital spheres to then conclude with some ethico-political notes about collaborations between scholars and (digital) activists.

Objective. To present the classical points of view on the problem of the origin of religion and give an overview of modern views. Acquaintance with the described approaches will make it possible to better represent the current state of this problem and develop the own position on the basis of the directions developed in domestic psychology. Background. The problem of the origin of religion — the important socio-psychological phenomenon — was not in the focus of attention of domestic psychologists, therefore, with rare exceptions, the approaches to its solution proposed abroad were not highlighted in the scientific literature. In the spring of 2020, the international journal “Archive of Psychology of Religion” prepared a special issue dealing with the stated problem. It was another proof of the interest of foreign scientists in this topic and demonstrated the main approaches that have been formed to date on this issue. Methodology. Descriptive and comparative analysis methods. Conclusions. It is shown that at the present stage the main opposition on the problem of the origin of religion is observed between the supporters of the cognitive direction, who consider the emergence of religion exclusively as a result of the work of cognitive processes, as an accidental by-product of evolution, and supporters of cultural evolutionists, who consider religion a useful adaptation in the process of evolution. The examples of the works of the leading representatives of these areas demonstrate the most characteristic features of these approaches and the main discussion points. In this article we also discussed the work of researches who were trying to build a bridge between these opposing points of view and bring them closer together.

In these difficult, pressing and uncertain times, migration and mobility in Asia have been incorporated into the projects of state institutions, media and a range of civil society actors. These agendas engender and shape debates that include belonging and exclusion; social mobility and inequality; conflict, violence and persecution; economic growth and labor market outcomes; state regulation, governance and governmentality; as well as diversity and innovation. Where migratory flows and mobility are advancing significant economic, social, political, environmental and ethical concerns, it becomes imperative for us to rethink and unpack these core concepts in creative and multidisciplinary ways. To do so, we assemble a group of scholars from disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and geography who work on a variety of topics related to migration studies, sensory scholarship, anthropology of documents, religion, knowledge mobilities, citizenship, and education. Various case studies to be featured in this special issue include Timor Leste, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, and Taiwan. Collectively the authors critically consider the centrality of both human and non-human actors in constituting the different types, degree, and scales of migration and mobility. The articles in this collection engage with how people, objects, things, deities, discourses, and knowledge move across the different and multiple pathways that constitute everyday life in Asia, the shared regional focus of our various research projects. The collection further elicits the connectivities (or entanglements) and comparisons evinced in our individual research, and collectively, with the goal of critically revisiting and reworking our conceptual toolkits and methodologies.

Purpose: Corruption has brought down countless civilizations, empires, governments, and regimes in human history. This phenomenon's duration is unknown. Corruption and saboteurs are everywhere. They impede the administration from doing its job. Theoretical Framework: It has allowed these corrupt categories to expand in the public sector after Iraq's recent events, especially after the 2003 salary shift. In their view, high living costs and currency volatility justified the spoilers. Without administrative and auditing controls, managing and curing corruption is difficult. Methodology: The methods used to combat corruption are almost insufficient or have become obsolete. If there are any, no steps are taken to impress others and encourage the corrupt person to repeat his actions and habits to make money. Conclusions: Iraq is one of the least corrupt nations, according to Transparency Organization. Iraq ranks 168-170 on the list of corrupt nations, therefore growth is gradual. We suggested that rewards and penalties should be activated reasonably. Gifts of praise or other symbols can boost employee loyalty. Results : Administrative and financial corruption are discussed. Increased political, economic, social, and administrative factors. Infectious. This issue must be fixed to boost economic growth. Trying to make money or moral gains through illegal or unethical means undermines all countries and cultures, rich or poor, educated or not, strong or weak. Embezzlement, bribery, and nepotism are hidden. People and governments are corrupt, says Transparency International. Harmful secrecy. Socialization, religion, and poverty cause corruption. Corruption, especially in Iraq, and unstable, rapidly changing regimes with selfish goals cause it. Originality: The research is on a novel topic and no such research has been undertaken in the past. Moreover, the study has deeply deconstructed the overall phenomenon of Iraq.

The object of the study is the social relations that arise during the interaction of the prosecutor's office, law enforcement and other state bodies with religious organizations, and the impact of this interaction on the prevention of offenses. The author examines such aspects of the topic as the impact of the activities of religious organizations on the legal situation, the impact of cooperation with them of the prosecutor's office, law enforcement and other state bodies on the prevention of offenses, the specifics of the implementation of the directions of interaction of the prosecutor's office with religious organizations. The subject of the study is the materials of law enforcement practice, the norms of legislation on the prosecutor's office, the legislation of foreign countries regulating these public relations, the positions of scientists formed on the issue of interaction with religious organizations of state and, in particular, law enforcement agencies. Despite the separation of religion from the state proclaimed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, there is obviously an increasing influence on the legal situation of religious organizations, as well as the presence of significant potential for preventing crimes, especially in the field of terrorism and extremism, which is especially relevant in the modern situation. In this regard, there is no doubt that the Prosecutor's office and other law enforcement agencies need to cooperate with them in the field of crime prevention. At the same time, the current legislation does not contain the necessary regulation of such cooperation; scientific study of the issue is also insufficient. Filling this gap, the author of the article, exploring the legal aspects of the implementation of the interaction of the prosecutor's office and other law enforcement agencies with religious organizations in the legal sphere, identifies the directions and forms of their interaction, which is the novelty of the study. The conclusion is formulated about the need to consolidate the duty of interaction of the Prosecutor's office with public and religious organizations in the Law on the Prosecutor's Office, its directions and to consolidate in the order of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation the forms of interaction of the Prosecutor's Office with religious organizations, which is a special contribution of the author to the study of this topic.

Theology & Religion Online (TARO) is a digital repository consisting of four library collections that focus on Protestant and Catholic doctrine, studies into the historical Jesus, and religion in North America (see Figure 1). It includes newly digitized primary texts by major theologians, multi-volume works, references, e-books, chapters, articles, an image library, peer-reviewed secondary readings on core topics, and commentary on lectionaries. This Christ-focused resource is rounded out with a library covering the diverse religious traditions of North America and the hot topics spawned at the intersection of ethics, social movements, and religion. This database is curated and presented in a way that high school students, college students, and scholars will find easy to navigate with authoritative resources that are comprehensive and regularly added to.

Aim. The purpose of this study was to analyze religious issues in gender and feminist electronic mass media in Ukraine, taking into account the specifics of their policy, audience, and communication strategy Methodology. The empirical methods were gathered by a grouping of sites and electronic media: the official sites, the convergent scanned print media, and the social network Facebook. Overall, the 21 electronic mass media were analyzed. The main method of this research is a discourse analysis of religious topics. The main identified topics are representation of religions, political issues, gender history of religion, female priesthood, dogma of religion, pedagogical and scientific topics, critique of religion/church, anti-gender and religion, LGBT issues, sexuality, body, and religion. Only a small amount of material and topics are dedicated to religion, which is marginalized in the Ukrainian media. Conclusions. Our main conclusion is that the more analytical analysis in the material, the more tolerant the authors are to religion, but not to religious organizations. The sensitive topics of sexual orientation, sexual violence, pedophilia, and abortion rights related to church activities, are raised in the feminist/gender mass media. Originality. The coverage of religious issues depends on the type of media that presents a particular gender discourse: the more radical Ukrainian media in their visions, the less critical and stereotypical the representation of religion. Most Ukrainian gender media reflect general trends in the representation of religion.

The Family Journal publishes special issues that address topics held to be of great importance by the members of the editorial board. This special issue on adoption and foster care explores the experiences of children and adults who have been affected by adoption or foster care. The authors discuss counseling implications and interventions.

Few topics are currently as polarizing as the appropriate limits, and perceived dangers, of free speech on university campuses. A side effect of this polarized environment is that students themselves may be reluctant to speak publicly on politically sensitive topics. Indeed, recent surveys by the Heterodox Academy (HxA) revealed that a majority of American university students thought their campus was not conducive to the free expression of ideas, and a substantial minority were personally reluctant to discuss “hot topics” like politics or sexual orientation in class. To see whether these results are uniquely American phenomena, we reran the HxA’s survey on 791 students, recruited via advertisements, enrolled in New Zealand universities. As in the original survey, participants answered questions, administered online, about their comfort sharing their opinions on issues related to gender, politics, religion, and sexual orientation, as well as their estimates of other groups’ discomfort. Despite significant sociopolitical differences between the two countries, our results, generally speaking, bear out those in the United States. In both countries, politics elicited the most reluctance to speak, followed by religion, and then gender and sexual orientation (which were equivalent), and New Zealanders were more reluctant than Americans to speak on the latter two topics. Other similarities and differences between the two data sets are discussed, but it is clear that chilled campus speech is not confined to the United States.

The introduction to this special issue of the Victorian Popular Fictions Journal, “Religion and Victorian Popular Literature,” opens by using Mary Ward’s best-seller Robert Elsmere (1888) as a case study for considering how recent critical strategies for engaging with popular texts enable us to paint a different and more complex picture of the Victorian religious landscape. We then explain the different ways in which our international network of contributors reconceptualises the relationship of religion to popular literary genres including the transatlantic social gospel, science writing for children, and popular yoga texts. We identify how topics as diverse as astronomy, copyright, and disaster fiction, which have often been examined through a primarily secular lens, can be better understood by considering the role religion played in their formation and articulation within and through popular literature. Drawing together threads shared between the seven articles in the special issue, we outline its key thematic contributions in exploring the role of religion to the formation of new literary markets and genres, revising the “conflict thesis” between religion and science, and the importance of popular literary forms in constructing and communicating theological ideas, as well as responding to recent calls to decolonise Victorian Studies.

The review reveals the main topics described in the monograph "Religion in modern Russia: contexts and discussions", published in 2019. The review examines the role of religion in the modern social and political life of Russia, the development of relations between the religious organizations and Russian state and society, the special features of the inter-religious dialogue in Russia, as well as the theoretical framework for studying the relationship between religion and the public sphere in the modern world. Modern political science pays mounting attention to the socio-cultural dimension and cultural and civilizational aspects of politics, overcoming the paradigm of modernity and the idea of linearity of political processes. Religion begins to act as one of the most important factors influencing the sphere of politics. In the current situation, when political processes are inherently post-secular, while the methods of describing them are still secular, it becomes necessary to develop new theoretical and methodological tools for studying the relationship between religion and politics. The review touches upon a possible theoretical framework for describing the role of religion in contemporary politics. The authors also pay attention to the role of religion in the formation of group identity, the socially significant functions of religious organizations, the role of religion in transmitting the most important values to wide sections of society. The review pays special attention to the problems of interreligious relations, as well as the relationship between religion and politics in Russia, emphasizes the important role of religion in resolving a number of problems in Russian society, where, in the context of the historically established coexistence of various religions and confessions, building interreligious and interconfessional dialogue is particularly important.

The aims of this review article are two-fold: (1) to set out the key theoretical trends in the study of religion, populism and social policy as antithetical concepts that also share common concerns; (2) to re-assert the relevance of social policy to the social and political sciences by making the case for studying outlier or indeed rival topics together – in this case populism and religion. Social policy scholars do not necessarily associate these two topics with modern social policy, yet they have a long history of influence on societies all over the world; populism is also especially timely in our current era. The article contributes to the literature by: (a) helping social policy better understand its diverse and at times contradictory constituencies; (b) contributing to a more complex and inclusive understanding of social policy and, therefore, social welfare. In setting out the state-of-the-art, the article also draws upon research on social policy which spans various continents (North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and Latin America) and a preceding paper collaboration by the authors on religion and social policy (Pavolini et al., 2017).

Introduction to the work of Peter Sloterdijk, with special attention to his ideas on religion. The article first gives an overview of the main subjects of some of the most important books: Critique of Cynical Reason, the three volumes in the Spheres-trilogy: Bubbles, Globes, and Foams and In the World Interior of Capital. Subsequently, it explains the main topics in the work such as post-enlightenment, immunity systems, anthropology, and theories of social life. Finally, it discusses the main issues in Sloterdijk’s thoughts on religion, based on books such as Rage and Time, and God’s Zeal. Religionsvidenskabelig orienteret indføring i Peter Sloterdijks værk, med særlig opmærksomhed på hans religionsteori. Artiklen giver først et overblik over hovedværker: Kritik af den kyniske fornuft, trebindsværket om Sfærer: ‘Bobler’, ‘Glober’ og ‘Skumdannelser’ samt ‘I den kapitalistiske verdens indre rum’. Derefter følger en redegørelse for de vigtigste emner i værket: post-oplysning, immunsystemer, antropologi og teorier om menneskers liv sammen. Til sidst diskute-res Sloterdijks religionsteori som den er fremlagt i bøgerne Vrede og tid og Guds iver.

It is proposed that explaining religion in evolutionary terms is a misleading enterprise because religion is an indissoluble part of a unique aspect of human social organization. Theoretical and empirical research should focus on what differentiates human sociality from that of other primates, i.e. the fact that members of society often act towards each other in terms of essentialized roles and groups. These have a phenomenological existence that is not based on everyday empirical monitoring but on imagined statuses and communities, such as clans or nations. The neurological basis for this type of social, which includes religion, will therefore depend on the development of imagination. It is suggested that such a development of imagination occurred at about the time of the Upper Palaeolithic ‘revolution’.

The 46th NERA Congress was held on March 8th to 10th 2018 at the University of Oslo. NERA is the Nordic Educational Research Association that brings together researchers in the field of educational sciences in the Nordic countries. An essential part of the association and of the congress are NERA’s 24 networks that are organised around different subject areas in educational sciences like early childhood research, youth research etc.. There is a network also for social pedagogy. Its aim is to develop and strengthen the cooperation between researchers and professional groups, engaged or interested in the field of social pedagogy, in the Nordic countries and even wider in Northern Europe like in Poland and Germany. It is currently coordinated by six researchers from five different countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Poland and Sweden. The theme for NERA2018 congress was Educational Research: Boundaries, Breaches and Bridges. The Social pedagogy network had organized altogether four sessions during the congress dealing with topical issues in the field of social pedagogical research. These sessions included two roundtable discussions, the first one dealing with sensitive research and the second one on social pedagogy at schools. In addition to the roundtables there was one symposium considering research in the area of asylum seekers and refugees, and one session was for traditional paper presentations. The countries that were represented in network sessions were Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, and Poland. The sessions awakened animated conversations between participants. One common topic of the discussed issues related to the role and transformation of social pedagogy in changing societies. The sessions of the social pedagogy network were opened up by the roundtable discussion on sensitive research. The leading question for the short presentations of the roundtable participants was: how to research in cooperation with extremely vulnerable people. We heard two interesting presentations by Irena Dychawy Rosner from Malmö University and by Aneta Ostaszewska from the University of Warsaw that giuded us to a discussion about how to support the participation in social pedagogical research of e.g. women working in prostitution so that not just their anonymity and well-being during the research process are secured but also their autonomy and agency could be supported. The research examples shown in the presentations were so fascinating that the discussion around them filled up all the time of the roundtable although we had planned to have four presentations instead of two but there had been two cancellations. The second session following the roundtable was a traditional paper presentation session. Even this session had one last minute cancellation – we assumed it was because of the flue season – so we had two presentations by Jan Arvid Haugan from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Vilborg Jóhannsdóttir from the University of Iceland. Jan Arvid’s presentation was on ’Coping strategies and resilience in upper secondary school’. He shared with us some social pedagogically interesting findings about the background factors behind school drop-out. He himself told us that he was not familiar with the social pedagogical discussion but he had thought that his research findings could be of use in our field when we are trying to find out ways how to support the integration of young people. And he certainly had right. Vilborg’s presentation on the other hand was very interesting for another reason: it was about Icelandic social pedagogy, which differs quite a lot from the understandings of social pedagogy in other Nordic countries. In Iceland, the social pedagogical practice concerns almost only work with people with disabilities. The professional education, role and perspectives of social pedagogy have developed in line with the paradigm change rooted in the CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), which has replaced the medical understanding of disability by the social relational understanding of disability. For example in Finland, the social pedagogical discussion and practice have focused very little on people with disabilities. The second roundtable was on social pedagogy at schools. There were four short presentations leading to a common discussion about the role that social pedagogy and social pedagogues have and could have at schools in different Nordic countries. Vilborg Jóhannsdóttir shared us more thoughts on social pedagogy in Iceland concentrating now on the work that the social pedagogues are doing in inclusive schools. Their role seems to be very essential in supporting the education of disabled children and young people in ’normal’ schools but it is at the same time quite controversal. Amela Pacuka from the Oslo Metropolitan University asked us in her presentation: What social pedagogy is for? She had a very critical perspective towards social pedagogy as it is practiced in Norway at schools: trying to find a balance between measurement, quality assurance, testing and relations work. Margareta Fehland and Mikael Boregren from Malmö University presented a project that they have been working on developing a new way of listening to kids in school. Their presentation roused a lively discussion about empathy and about the possiblity to teach empathy in social pedagogical studies. Interestingy, discussion about empathy and about teaching empathy has just recently awaken in the Finnish social pedagogical discussion. Eija Raatikainen, Leigh Anne Rauhala and Seija Mäenpää from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences have published an article about professional empathy called ’Qualified Empathy: A key element for an empowerment professional’ in the Finnish journal of social pedagogy. It is available online in English (Raatikainen, Rauhala, Mäenpää 2017). The last peresentation in the roundtable was about social pedagogical thinking at schools in Finland, presented by Elina Nivala from the University of Eastern Finland. It described social pedagogy as an approach rather than a profession meaning that different professionals at school can have a social pedagogical orientation in their work: A teacher, a special education teacher, a school social worker and even a school nurse can have a social pedagogical mindset in their work e.g. when building pedagogical relations and working holistically with the pupils, supporting their participation and finding ways to strengthen the school community and well-being of everybody at schools. All of them can be considered social pedagogues at schools if they want to develop their work based on social pedagogical thinking. The last session organised by the Social pedagogy network was the symposium called ’How to research in the area of asylum seekers and refugees’. It included originally six presentations: two from Finland and four from Denmark but two of those from Denmark were cancelled. The two presentations from Finland were ’Acts of citizenship in reception centre’ by Päivikki Rapo, and ’Life on hold? – A research project on agency and belonging of asylum seekers’ by Elina Nivala, both of them from the University of Eastern Finland. The Danish presentations were ’How do asylum-seekers experience a sense of meaningfulness in their everyday life in asylum-centres’ Anna Ørnemose, Lene Løkkegård and Lis Leleur, and ’Creating a sense of meaning in connection to school attendance of unaccompanied asylum seeking children’ by Nadia Klarsgaard & Kasper Drevsholt, all of them from the University College of Northern Denmark (UCN). The symposium had a wonderful opportunity to provide an arena for comparative discussion about social pedagogigal asylum research, which is a relatively new field in both countries. Discussions were animated but there could have been more time for comparative perspectives. This shows the need for more research and discussions on this field between different countries. One of the discussed topics concerned asylum seeker women and their possibilities to participation. According to observations of Danish researchers in an asylum center in Denmark, asylum seeker women were denied to get their own spaces. This was argumented with ideas of gender equality in Danish society. In Finland, the challenges on physical spaces of reception centres have also been discussed. Rapo (2018) made an ethnographic research in a Finnish reception centre for her master's thesis. In the observed reception centre, women's fragile position was understood and it was taken into account but even then some restrictions of spaces were noticed only later. It will be interesting to follow how practicies related to gender will transform in reception centres, as questions concerning gender, religion, culture and participation in Western societies are challenging. It is obvious that knowledge on participation and agency of asylum seeker and refugee women is much needed, and social pedagogical research could provide valuable perspectives and tools to produce it. All in all, the presentations and discussions during the sessions showed us very clearly that there is a lot of interesting research and work done in the field of social pedagogy in the Nordic countries. They also illustrated explicitly that the traditions in social pedagogical discussion and practice do differ quite a lot between different Nordic countries. Due to this, there should be more discussion about how social pedagogical practicies have developed historically in different societies and how they are defined theoretically. It is important to discuss critically how social pedagogical work is in practice but it would be of utmost importance to discuss as well how the practices are understood and represented in theory: what is it that makes something social pedagogical, how can it be conceptualised and what makes it different from other fields of practice. And the same goes to research: are there some elements that make research social pedagogical. We hope that the next NERA congress in Uppsala, Sweden on March 6th to 8th will provide an as lively arena for discussions than the previous one did and even more opportunities for critical reflection and shared moments of new understanding. We welcome all new researchers interested in social pedagogy to join us there.

Most professionals in health and long-term care know the importance of spirituality for well-being among older people; however, they are challenged to know how to approach the topic or what to do to enable the power of spirituality in their setting. This paper is based on an extensive search and content analysis of literature in the health and social sciences, and offers a step-wise approach to engaging with older adults on spiritual issues. The content analysis identified five levels of intervention. The first two levels require no special training (listening and acknowledging, referring). The next three levels—asking about spirituality, indirect, and direct interventions—each depend on a greater degree of preparation and expertise. All the levels offer the possibility of spiritual expression for clients/residents, and the opportunity for health and social service professionals to respond to these important issues.

Abstract This article assesses the “mission” of the journal Social Sciences and Missions as it approaches its twentieth anniversary, starting from its origins as a forum for interdisciplinary study of colonial-era Christian missions, especially in Africa. It surveys major debates that the journal has followed regarding gender, migration, and more. It reflects on its revised manifesto of 2021, committing to the study of missions as neither a “theological category” nor exclusively Christian phenomenon “but rather [as] a type of social action” and mode of “religious intervention in social space.” Building on this history, this article argues, the journal should critically question the nature of religion and the “religious;” cover non-Christian topics more fully; and encompass organizations that may not be recognizably “faith based.” Broader comparative focus will sharpen the journal’s focus on missions as movements that have aimed to channel and promote social change, often with far-reaching and ambiguous consequences.

This special issue looks at wealth in relation to social policy from a variety of perspectives. The articles all shed an innovative light on wealth in relation to a range of topics relevant for social policy researchers. This introduction provides an overview of the papers in this special issue and then highlights some of the gaps and shortcomings that remain. We conclude with some reflections on what this means for the future of social policy and research on it.

This article is devoted to analyzing the anti-cult discourse in the Republic of Belarus in 1996–2000. The print media and the anti-cult movement are selected as objects of research because of their significant role in this discourse. The main features when it comes to covering the topic of new religious movements by both actors are investigated by method of standardized survey of texts on a sample of 521 anti-cult articles from 57 Belarusian newspapers. The range of variability of religious organizations identified as new religious movements is revealed, and their distribution by type of structure is analyzed. The results are compared to the estimated population universe of new religions of the Republic of Belarus. The frequency of their mentions is established, as well as a group of organizations that are criticized by actors, but have never operated in the country. The range of variability and frequency of use of special terminology is disclosed. The influence of the anti-cult discourse on changes in the evaluative connotations of special terms is analyzed. Different facts from the history and modern practice of the anti-cult movement are examined, all of which are particularly important in terms of understanding the specifics of its representatives’ attitudes towards non-specialized print media. The ambivalent nature of the coverage of the topic of new religions in the press and its influence on the anti-cult movement is noted. Special care is taken defining the place and role of print media and the anti-cult movement in the complex system of society’s anti-cult discourse. Based on the data obtained, the dominant theory of the unilateral influence of the anti-cult movement on print media is criticized. An alternative hypothesis on the complex genesis of anti-cult discourse is proposed, in which the specifics of its main features as perceived by each subject are influenced by many different factors. Two methodological problems related to searching for and recording materials relevant for analyzing this discourse and verifying this theory are identified.

Migration is the most significant characteristics of Europe after World War II. In many European countries, in particular in Western Europe, it has led to multiethnic societies with special integration problems but only in more recent times its impact for multireligious pluralism was discovered in social sciences studies. It is therefore necessary to have a closer look at both: multiethnicity and religious pluralism and its respective consequences for the social peaceful living together in society, especially as concerns present-day Germany.

The infrastructural turn in the social sciences comes from a tendency to change the anthropocentric epistemology in social research. This new approach corresponds to the classic program of social anthropology as it makes the known unknown and provides one more perspective which helps reveal the invisible politics, inequalities, and social tensions. Yet, when it comes to the social research in the field of religion, the interest to how infrastructures work has not resulted in new academic discourses and research practices so far. This article outlines some directions and topics in the anthropology of religion which stem from the infrastructural turn. First, it highlights the work of the social imagination of believers when they deal with thick or thin (poor) infrastructural systems. Secondly, it discusses the moments of infrastructural breakdown which provoke believers to generate semiotic ideologies in order to represent their experience of communication with non-human agents, both mundane and divine. The infrastructural approach to understanding religious life does not pretend to become a new research methodology or social theory. Rather, it suggests that thinking infrastructurally on typical topics for anthropology of religion, such as pilgrimage, charity, memory or historical imagination, helps us to better understand the logic which shapes the everyday life of a religious person and community. Furthermore, it helps us remember that religious and secular domains of life are usually not separated in ethnographic reality.

In an age of fear, insecurity, and multiple and overlapping crises, the fortunes of ESG—the idea that companies should include environmental, social, and governance standards of good performance—are now steadily growing. This is all the truer in the West, where corporate financial misconduct and, more worryingly, corporate political activities impacting democratic processes, have become a matter of evident concern. Business scholars and policymakers are, however, still uncertain about which corporate activities merit an ESG label, with pressure groups pushing for their own ESG definitions and standards according to their agendas and beliefs. Against this background, this paper contributes to this Special Issues’ guiding question of how religions can act as agents of civic mobilisation by critically examining their role in addressing sustainability topics due to religious concerns from a legal perspective. This current paper hopes to create a preliminary intellectual bridge between two apparently unrelated fields of research (law and religion; corporate governance) that could help scholars in both areas to develop expertise and sophistication in applying their respective specialities to an otherwise unfamiliar area.

Incivility in online discussions is an ongoing concern in academic and popular circles alike. Although social media offers the possibility for meaningful discussion, research has identified many barriers to this potential including disrespectful interactions, echo chambers, misinformation, and participation gaps. Most such scholarship focuses on just one topic of discussion, however. By comparing two domains of exchange, the authors are able to examine whether and how the subject of conversation may influence online experiences. The authors analyze interviews with 45 adults from across the United States about their experiences discussing science and religion on social media. People approached the two topics differently, which influenced whether they contributed to related conversations. The intrusion of politics into conversations across both topics broadly limited participation. Curiosity, knowledge, and interacting in private groups or with strangers encouraged joining discussions. Understanding participation dynamics across topic domains is fruitful for future research on the social media public sphere.

This research aims to explore and describe the types of educational policies and programs made by the government, especially regarding multicultural education policies and inclusive education. Multicultural education is implemented to develop all students' potential regardless of their religion. Multicultural education emphasizes the philosophy of cultural pluralism in the education system, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, acceptance, understanding and moral commitment to social justice. Meanwhile, inclusive education accommodates all children with special needs who have a normal IQ, intended for those who have disabilities, special talents, special intelligence and/or who require special educational services. The foundation of inclusive education is the Law on the National Education System chapter IV article V concerning the rights and obligations of citizens. The method used in this research is a type or library approach (Library Research). The data collection technique used in this research is a document technique, namely searching for information about the topics discussed in the form of notes, books, publications or articles, magazines, etc.

The thematic issue of the magazine is devoted to the problems of politicization of socially significant topics in the media space and ultimately touched on a very wide and diverse range of issues, which, nevertheless, revolve around the role of the media and social media in modern politics. In this context, politicization is interpreted as the process of involving non-political issues in political communication. That is why the choice of political problems discussed in the media can reveal the essence of the political regime in a particular country, reveal the adequacy of political institutions to the needs of society and assess the effectiveness of political governance. Most of the articles are in the nature of empirical research, which investigate important problems of modern political communications in Russia and abroad. The range of research methods is also very extensive and includes polls, questionnaires, focus groups, content analysis, discourse analysis, case studies, etc. Following the problem of "politicization", among the most important concepts are the ideas of "media literacy", “network leadership”, “political mobilization”, “personification of politics”, “corporate citizenship”, etc. Research shows that social media has become an important factor in the politicization of socially significant topics. This thematic issue is aimed at specialists in the field of applied political science and political communication.

Abstract This essay responds to the essays comprising the theme issue, Do Religions Die? Theorising Death and Demise of Greek and Roman Religions. Reviewing various case studies and theoretical introductory essays of the volume, The Demise of Religion, and the special issue of Numen 68, no. 2&3 (2021), I argue that at stake are two desiderata: the first relates to defining religion (what counts as religion?), and the second relates to the historiography of the history of religions (who narrates the story of religion deaths, from which perspective, and with what rhetorical purpose?). It is shown how definition of religion and critical historiography in tandem enable an approach from the perspective of discourse theory. From this perspective it is possible to describe, explain, and theorise ‘religion deaths’ as shifts in culture, migration patterns and social formations, concomitant changes in religious formations, yet with continuity in functionalities.

Among the problems of religious studies and theological discourses in the historical and temporal aspect, theoretical and practical issues related to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are constant in their relevance. Actualization of the attention of domestic and foreign scientists and theologians in recent years is largely due to globalization processes, social transformations, the desire to establish a free, full justice of people's lives, as well as a significant exacerbation of the problems of the formation of the ideological and semantic (including religious) base of modern being personality, self-determination and self-realization of which in the sphere of worldview, morals and rights today appear to be necessary and extraordinary. Without exaggeration these problems are some of the most important topics of modern philosophy of law, religious studies and jurisprudence. Essential, conceptual peculiarities of freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, their paradigmatic fundamentals are devoted to a large array of scientific, theological literature, special studies.

Hollywood horror films, which belong to a special genre of cinema, have been extremely sensitive to the topic of scientific and technological progress and the role of research scientists in shaping and promoting the technological picture of the world since their inception. The steadily increasing popularity of visual images of science and scientists in popular culture sets the tone for the development of themes and storylines of this genre. They became the immediate fabric of horror films, but unlike politics, art, and religion, Hollywood cinema first looked at the situation from the point of view of its existential dimension. And if the leading social institutions were interested in science only from the point of view of its social utility and pragmatism, then Hollywood horror cinema managed to reveal the existential emptiness and tragedy of the researcher, whom the government plunges into a continuous and mad race for scientific discoveries. It is in this genre that the destinies of human and the nature represented by human mind, enclosed in the narrows of technological civilization, are most clearly drawn. The image of a scientist in an American horror film is outlined in two main trends, negative and positive. Negative visualization is associated with the image of a mad researcher who uses the potential of his intelligence for sophisticated revenge on the social environment. The positive model, due to the demonstration of outstanding achievements of scientists, involves a nightmarish visualization of all possible deviations of power and defects of the social system that are not able to adequately operate with the achievements of science.

Religion has been in general neglected or even seen as a taboo subject in organizational research and management practice. This is a glaring omission in the business and society and business ethics literatures. As a source of moral norms and beliefs, religion has historically played a significant role in the vast majority of societies and continues to remain relevant in almost every society. More broadly, expectations for responsible business behavior are informed by regional, national, or indigenous cultures, which in many parts of the world are heavily influenced by religious belief systems and religious institutions. In this essay, we discuss examples of how religion has functioned as a macro social force affecting business and society, discuss some of the key questions and issues related to research in this domain, offer some observations about why religion may be problematic with regard to its effects on business, and conclude by summarizing the articles contained in the special issue.

Political science is In same time old and young science. Old, if we have in mind politics as subject of research, and young if we think about institutions in which politics is only subject of research or education. Having in mind religion as subject of political science,s research, we can easily conclude that all books in early history of mankind, which were dedicated to political topics, had for the first subject religion. That is clear if we remember that firsts form of politicals organisations in old Babylon, Egypt and Israel... were inseparable connected with gods. Gods gave legitimacy to those states. But so political sciences institutions in generally so Politology of religion, or politologie des religions in French, was born late. The firsts subjects of research in politicals sciences institutions were: state, political regimes, political parties, theory of politics, political systems, etc. Religion was studied very rarely. Modern political science was born under influence of french intellectuals: Dederot, Rousseau, Voltaire etc. They considered that religion will disappear with education and development. Their compatriot Alexis de Tocqueville thought contrary to their prognosis. The time gave right to Tocqueville. In the second part of XX century when the world develompent was highest, religion maintained its position in big part of globe and became stronger in a lot of states. That created big challenge for political science. Many of politicals scientis started with research concerning influence of religion into politics. That create, as the first step, centers for research of relations among religion and politics as is “labaratoire RELIGION ET POLITIQUE at “Institute d'etudes politiques” in Paris or “L'Observatoire du Religieux” at “Institut d'etudes politique” in Aix en provence en France, and finally that created special scientific discipline among political sciencies which name is “Politology of religion” or “Politologie des religions” in french.

Under ancient Indian art, man's desires and imaginations also include his religious and spiritual beliefs. The artist's art is influenced by nature, inner impulse, social traditions and cultural heritage. The religious social system here is completely reflected in Indian art. Religion and art have been a strong part of human life and they complement each other. Art has been the medium of religion since ancient times, often art has been used for the purpose of clarifying religion and religious beliefs. The devotee attains self-satisfaction by worshiping his deity only through architecture and sculpture. Most of the ancient Indian works of art are the product of the devotional spirit of the devotee towards his deity. The proximity of art and religion is the main reason for the establishment of artistic traditions and development. In the ancient art only the transformation of the spiritual imagination of man is found. Abstract in Hindi Language: प्राचीन भारतीय कला के अन्तर्गत मनुष्य की इच्छाओं तथा कल्पनाओं में उसकी धार्मिक तथा आध्यात्मिक मान्यताएँ भी सम्मिलित हैं। कलाकार की कला पर प्रकृति, आन्तरिक आवेग, सामाजिक परम्पराओं तथा सांस्कृतिक विरासत का प्रभाव पड़ता है। भारतीय कला में यहाँ की धर्मप्रधान सामाजिक व्यवस्था पूर्णतया प्रतिबिम्बित है। धर्म तथा कला मानव जीवन के प्रबल अंग रहे हैं तथा वे एक दूसरे के पूरक हैं। प्राचीन काल से ही कला धर्म का माध्यम रही हैं प्रायः कला का उपयोग धर्म तथा धार्मिक मान्यताओं के स्पष्टीकरण के निमित्त किया जाता रहा है। स्थापत्य एवं मूर्ति कला के माध्यम से ही भक्त अपने आराध्य देव की अर्चना करके आत्मसन्तुष्टि प्राप्त करता है। अधिकांश प्राचीन भारतीय कलाकृतियाँ अपने आराध्यदेव के प्रति भक्त की समर्पित भावना की उपज हैं। कला तथा धर्म का समीप्य ही कलात्मक परम्पराओं तथा विकास की स्थापना का मूल कारण है। प्राचीन कला में मानव की आध्यात्मिक कल्पना का ही रूपान्तर मिलता है। Keywords: कर्म, ज्ञान, भक्ति, शिव, मोक्ष, कल्याण

This paper reports the results of a study of the citations accompanying research published over ten years in the fields of theology, religious studies, and biblical studies. The purpose of the citation analysis project was to determine patterns of material usage by scholars in the discipline of Religion. The project proposed to seek answers to questions that frequently cross the minds of theological librarians, including, among others, the types of sources used by researchers in our fields, the prominence of primary sources, the currency of sources cited, dominant languages of publication and research, and most frequently used journals. A sample of peer-reviewed articles from these fields, chosen from journals indexed by the ATLA Religion Database, was examined from a variety of angles. 4107 cited references from 96 articles were analyzed for source type, publication language, dating, and authorship; articles were further examined for the peer review status of the publishing journal and the subject area covered. The cited references of the 96 articles analyzed were primarily monographs, published in English, published and created within the decades before the publication of the citing articles, and most had a single author. The 14 most frequently cited journals covered topics in religion and the social sciences. The results reported here are expected to be informative to theological librarians in making collection development decisions and building subject liaison relationships. Librarians may choose monograph acquisitions over other types, or consider promoting other types of resources differently to encourage use. Theological librarians might consider subscribing to journal titles which overlap in subject coverage with the social sciences. Librarians and discipline faculty will likely find many conversation points among the data presented here.

Culture is one of the basic dimensions of social existence and human life, and influences functioning and development of any civilization. The mass media as social institute tend to focus their attention on the most significant aspects of a society's life. Items of culture often become topics of media texts. Therefore, the issue of the composition of these media texts is of currently relevance. The present-day media space is oversaturated with information and mass culture, which may result in the audience's low perceptivity of information and poorer aesthetic sense. In this relation, there is a necessity of studying features of culture coverage in the mass media in order to get an insight into the content of the culture topics. Since Russian regional mass media are an important link in the information distribution chain that provides public awareness of the culture, they require special attention. The target of the study is the range of culture topics covered in Crimean mass media. The article presents the results of a content-analytical study of media texts created by eleven Crimean mass in the period of 2015-2017. The culture topics of the texts included ethnic culture, religion, language, cultural heritage and art. Geographical location of culture topics was also taken into account. Basing on the results of the empirical study, the author infers that Crimean mass media provide non-uniform coverage of culture aspects: the media texts primarily focus on Russian and Crimean Tatar cultures, as well as on the culture of large Crimean cities, leaving behind cultural life in rural areas.

The call for this special issue was prompted by the International Conference on Women Empowerment deliberations. The conference, held on 10th December 2022 at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), was inaugurated by Dr. Maulana Akbar Shah @ U Tun Aung, Head of Research in the department of Fundamental and Inter-Disciplinary Studies, AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (AHAS KIRKHS), who delivered a welcoming speech, followed by opening remarks by Prof. Shukran Bin Abd Rahman, Dean of AHAS KIRKHS. The event also featured speeches by distinguished guests, including the Honourable Rector of IIUM, Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli bin Abdul Razak and Mr. Thomas Albrecht, Representative of UNHCR, Malaysia, Prof. Abdul Aziz Berghout, the Dean of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC), IIUM, and Prof. Dawood Al-Hidabi, Director of International Institute for Muslim Unity (IIMU), IIUM. The conference aimed to explore the social conditions of women refugees living in Malaysia with a focus on their social status, living conditions, domestic violence, the impact of criminal activities in their environment, and lack of access to education for their children. It also aimed to promote academic excellence, cultivate future leaders in various disciplines within the realm of Islamic revealed knowledge and human sciences, and encourage high-quality research, scholarship, and academic work in specific areas. The conference brought together experts and professionals from different fields to share their perspectives on the social status of refugee women. It was attended by over 200 participants and its success was attributed to the efforts of the organizers and the dedication of the speakers and participants. Participants presented innovative ideas, findings, and insights that contributed to advancing knowledge in their fields. The call for this special issue, released in the first quota of the year 2023, triggered a number of conversations with a broad number of people about the topic and ultimately resulted in many submissions. Submissions covered a diverse range of topics and came from contributors mainly from AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences. The contributions that make up this special issue are as follows. First, Family empowerment and role transformation: Observations on the importance of religion. This paper is an examination of the concept of family empowerment and role transformation from an Islamic perspective, emphasising the need for integrated value-driven frameworks to address issues of family roles and empowerment. The authors, Abdelaziz Berghout and Ouahiba Saoud, believe that studies and research on family empowerment have increased in recent years, enshrining the discourse, and providing insights and solutions to the questions associated with family empowerment. They argue among other things that there are numerous efforts in the Islamic world to strengthen family empowerment. The article explains the main elements that comprise the Islamic perspective of family empowerment and the need for role transformation. The articles contends that Islam emphasises the importance of understanding the goals and roles of family as a social entity and agent entrusted with the mission of Istikhalf (vicegerency) and I‘mar (civilisation) on earth. Second, Crucial requirements for children’s empowerment: In this paper Kabuye Uthman Sulaiman sheds light on the important and mostly neglected role that parents play in raising their children, namely empowerment through character development, impartment of knowledge and skills. The key objective of this article is to enhance the understanding of the concept of empowerment of children from the Islamic perspective and the importance of character and values education in today’s society. The article is structured around six core sections describing the role of parents in children’s (1) virtues and character formation and development, (2) physical development, (3) emotional development, (4) mental development, (5) intellectual development, and lastly their role in preparing children for the realities of life and death. The focus of this paper is character formation and development. Character development and impartment of knowledge and skills are the three crucial and mandatory requirements for children’s empowerment. The paper outlines the ideas underlying character refinement or character education focusing on its meaning, aims, importance, and the role of parents, teachers, and community as character educators. It outlines some of the moral qualities of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as the universal model of all virtues and goodness. This is qualitative research employing descriptive methods with literature review analysis. The primary sources of this paper comprise selected verses from the Qur’an and their exegesis (tafsir) and Hadith, both of which constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims. Its secondary sources consist of books, journals, and other materials. The main contention in this paper is that: first, knowledge, skills, and values or personality traits need to be combined for a thriving life; second, moral values are of paramount significance to peaceful coexistence and harmony in society. They are critical for sustainable living. Without them, there is no cohesion and solidarity among people. Hence, there is no civilization; third, learning is of little value and with no soul unless core ethical values are added to it. Hence, one of the aims of education is to graduate ethical individuals; fourth, the development of character in children is not just the responsibility of parents and schools, it is also the responsibility of those who come into contact with them; last but not least, character education should be included as a core component of schools’ curriculum. Third, A Critical Analysis of Bent-Rib Metaphor Ḥadīth: Embracing Women's Uniqueness and Empowerment. The authors, Nurul Jannah Zainan Nazri, Nurul Mukminah and Mohd Arif assert that the Bent-Rib Metaphor ḥadīth can be interpreted as a symbol of diversity, complexity, and complementarity between genders, rather than justifying women's subordination. By promoting a more nuanced understanding of the ḥadīth, this study advocates for a broader role for women in religious, social, economic, and political spheres. Fourth, A critical need for breastmilk collection centres for high-risk premature babies: In this paper Zainol Abidin and Wan Mazwati write that premature babies are very vulnerable and exposed to various life-threatening diseases. According to the report of World Health Organization, they quote, many premature babies are saved from morbidity and mortality when they are fed with breastmilk starting from within the first hour after their birth. They believe that: firstly, the rate of premature birth in Malaysia has increased exponentially since 2018. Therefore, hospitals should have enough supplies of breastmilk to save the lives of the precious premature babies. Secondly, only one hospital in Malaysia provides supplies of breastmilk on demand. Hence, the study argues for the establishment of breastmilk collection centre. It examines the concept of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah to justify the proposal for the establishment of breastmilk collection centres in hospitals throughout Malaysia to save the lives, intellects, and progenies of the at-risk premature babies. Fifth, Empowering Mothers Against a Malaysian Societal Convention: An Islamic Perspective: In this paper Nur Jannah Hassan believes thar: firstly, having greater women participations in the workforce potentially enhances the country’s prospects for growth; secondly, various agencies work towards increasing women’s participations in the labour force; thirdly, women’s contribution to the family’s and the nation’s income is significant. However, it is observed that the race to get women to ‘roll-up their sleeves’ economically is not without worrying downside trends, even at the current rate of only 55.5% of Malaysian women in the labour force. The paper deliberates on how this affects individuals’ and families’ well-beings, thus putting constrains on the family, society and the Nation at large. The paper draws guidance from the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions to propose a more realistic and well-balanced approach to empowerment of mothers. According to Nur Jannah, the demand to get women’s economic participation towards National growth is real. However, this should not endanger and threaten personal, familial, and societal holistic well beings. She adds, the role of motherhood, especially early motherhood must be included in the equation. Thus, the necessity to empower women. Sixth, Women Empowerment from Quranic perspective. The authors, Radwan Jamal, Rahmawati, and Ziyad Alhaq highlight present-day scenario of problems faced by women in education, social status, in job market, domestic violence, sexual assault etc. and presented a balanced Qur’anic approach to empower women. Seventh, Empowering Thinking and Moral Formation in Muslim Women Through the Philosophical Inquiry (PI) Approach: The authors of this paper, namely Norillah Abdullah and Mohamed Abdelmagid believe that much of what has been said about the social problems involving Muslim women in Malaysia is due to the lack of thinking skills and religious understanding. For this reason, this study is an attempt to highlight the PI method which integrates the Socratic questioning approach to help address the issue and lead to moral formation. This, according to them, would allow women to explore their thoughts and generate rational ideas and choices to achieve understanding and sound judgments (hikmah) and finally empower them in executing their roles and tasks. Eighth, The Role of Faith (Iman) in Women Empowerment: While the role of women in any development is undeniably very essential, the author of this paper Abdul Latif believes that there are women who are being side-lined; their role is being marginalized and consequently, they are being denied their rights. The purpose of his paper is to elaborate on the role of Iman in women empowerment. Abdul Latif describes a good believer as the one who upholds all the three integrated conditions that make the person strong and tranquil, namely profession by the tongue, conviction by heart and practice by limbs. He contends that true belief in Allah is the solution to many of the problems faced by women today. Ninth, The Role of Women in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Islam. Rownok Jahan and co-authors analyzed the role of women in achieving sustainable development goals according to Islam. The Islamic approach emphasizes a balanced realization of human rights, consumer welfare, social justice, ecological balance, and economic progress. Achieving these aims is not possible without the active involvement of women. Tenth, The Moral-sexual Empowerment of Women and Children in Hadith Literature: In this paper, Bachar Bakour describes sex as a human innate disposition and a basic need for the survival of the human race, and marriage as the primary appropriate avenue for satisfying sexual desire and living a moral and peaceful life. This article aims to briefly delineate the salient features of women and child sexual empowerment within the specific epistemic and cultural soil of Islamic tradition. Eleventh, A Close Study on Domestic Violence Against Women: Islamic Perspectives and Remedies: The authors of this paper, Maulana Akbar Shah @ U Tun Aung and Phoo Pwint Thu Aung, define women empowerment as: firstly, the process of giving women the power to take control of their lives, rights, and decision-making; secondly, the creation of a society where women are treated equally, with respect, and have access to the same opportunities as men. This, in their view, involves promoting women’s education, encouraging their participation in politics and breaking down gender stereotypes. Twelfth, Women’s Empowerment and Participation in Islamic Financial Planning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Evidence from Maqasid al-Shariah. Its authors Mohammad Habibullah, Rusni Hassan, and Nor Razinah Mohd Zain assert that it is imperative to consider the role played by women in the financial sector and their contribution to economic progress. Using an experiment, this study examined the relationship between confidence, gender, and race in relation to dealing with a financial planner among various groups and races with color and creed. The study demonstrates how women plan financially for retirement based on psychological concepts and sociodemographic variables, highlighting the importance of financial management and planning for women. Thirteenth, Muslim Women in Politics: Does it Align With Shari‘ah Parameters? In this paper Ahmad Akram Mahmad Robbi, Saidatolakma Mohd Yunus and Mohamad Faiq Mohamad Sharin examine the views of Muslim scholars regarding women's political participation. They opine that political participation is essential for women empowerment. Fourteenth, Empowerment and Faith: Unraveling the HUI Women’s Mosques in China: In this paper Mai Jianjun describes the Hui Muslims as the largest Muslim minority group in China and their mosques as a very unique phenomenon within the broader Muslim world. They (mosques) stand as a testament of the remarkable resilience of the Hui Muslims in preserving their Islamic faith and Muslim identity in a predominantly non-Muslim society heavily influenced by Confucian culture. Mai Jianjun argues that the previous studies on Hui women’s mosques left two crucial questions unanswered, i.e., why did Hui women’s mosque emerge exclusively in the eastern and central regions of China and not in northwestern region where the concentration of Hui Muslims’ population is higher? Why was this phenomenon limited to the Hui Muslim community and not observed among other Muslim ethnic groups in China? This study employs historical, analytical and contexture analysis approaches to accomplish three research objectives. Firstly, it aims to re-examine the historical background of the Hui Muslims and the emergence of Hui women's mosques during the Ming and Qing dynasties within this particular ethnic group. Secondly, the study seeks to address the aforementioned questions and reidentify the possible causes for the emergence of the Hui women’s mosques in specific regions in China. Thirdly, the study intends to provide an Islamic perspective to illuminate the unique phenomenon of Hui women's mosques in China. Fifteenth, Qadaya al-Mar’ah wa Anwa`uha fi daw’ al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah. Its author, Saad Eldin, sheds lights on various topics related to women's issues and their types, such as women's rights, sermons, the hadith concerning the deficiency of intellect and religion, and other issues related to women's rights in general. It also addresses the issue of the mahram (forbidden relationships) for women. Sixteenth, Dawr al-Mar’ah fi al-Marwiyyat al-Hadithiyyah: Mafahimuha wa Masaqatuha. Ahmed Elmogtaba in this article deals with the efforts of women in the narration of Hadiths, with a focus on the six major Hadith collections and the topics related to their narrations. It was found that the narrations of female scholars contributed to various areas of jurisprudence in general, and family laws in particular. The above observations and discussions are intended to prompt critical reflection on the current state of women and children and prompt researchers to consider areas where future research is needed. Editorial Team Associate Professor Dr. Kabuye Uthman Sulaiman, HOD, FIDS, AHAS KIRKHS, IIUM Associate Professor Dr. Maulana Akbar Shah @ U Tun Aung December 5, 2023

AbstractThis article surveys the literature on China and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and provides background information on China and the WTO. It also identifies some future research directions for those studying China and the WTO. Other important purposes are to summarise the articles in this special issue and to highlight some of the answers they offer to a variety of question. As useful as it is, the extant literature has various deficiencies. First, it is narrowly focused, emphasising topics such as China’s WTO accession, rather than China’s compliance and participation record. Second, a large proportion is becoming dated. Third, it is largely descriptive. The contributions to this special issue address some of these problems by supplying us with contemporary information about a number of WTO topics, such as China’s fulfilment of its WTO obligations in regards to trading and distribution rights, and the evolution of its intellectual property rights protection regime. They make a significant conceptual contribution by showing that a cost/benefit framework can illuminate a wide variety of China-WTO-related phenomenon ranging from China’s acceptance of highly demanding WTO accession terms to China’s interactions with Taiwan prior to and after the two party’s respective entry into the WTO.

AbstractThis introduction presents the main topics and analytical concerns of the contributions to this Special Issue about ethnicity and migration in coalfield history in a global perspective. From the nineteenth century the development of industrial and transport technologies required the supply of coal-based energy in every part of the world. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century globalization, including colonialism, would not have been possible without coal. Coalmining operations were launched in all world regions, and to enable exploitation mine operators had to find, mobilize, and direct workers to the mining sites. This quest for labour triggered a series of migration processes (both from nearby and far away) and resulted in a broad array of labour relations (both free and unfree). This introduction points to the variety of constellations analysed in the different contributions to this Special Issue. These cover cases from Africa (Nigeria, Zimbabwe), Asia (China, Japan), the Americas (USA, Brazil), Turkey, the Soviet Union, and western Europe (France, Germany), and a broad range of topics, from segregation, forced labour, and subcontracting to labour struggles, discrimination, ethnic paternalism, and sport.

Abstract This article examines two categories in which claims of special knowledge are central: Gnosticism and conspiracy theories. In both cases, notions of what counts as ‘religion’ come into play in setting their boundaries, with only certain kinds of religious belief deemed as legitimate. Moreover, the category is privileged over the data. While these cases may be extreme, I contend that they point to a major failure of contemporary social sciences—a commitment to categories about data that leave us upholding the episteme that we should be critiquing.

Abstract The modernity of the West has generally tended to construct the relation between magic and religion according to a developmentalist schema, chiefly as a movement from the primitive to the modern, from superstition to enlightenment. However, recent developments in the study of religion, intellectual history, critical theory, as well as theology demonstrate that such a dualism might be unsustainable. The persistence of the magical into the discourses of modernity (e.g., science, philosophy, and theology) undermines any framing narrative of this sort. In this essay, which serves as an introduction to a special section in Religion & Theology on magic, science, philosophy, and theology, I put forward both a descriptive and constructive account as to why the construct of “magic,” in the words of Randall Styers, may be considered “the unthought of modernity.”

Public confidence and trust in higher education has declined (Johnson and Peifer 2017) and the future of the higher education sector has been questioned (AGB 2020). More specifically, the discipline of sociology is considered to be in “crisis” and applied sociological approaches are offered as a solution (Graizbord 2019; Weinstein 1997). The purpose of this introduction article as well as the broader special issue is to explore the nature and state of applied sociology in Canada. With a collection of seven articles authored by Canadian sociologists on topics including application research, reflections on process, and teaching practice, this special issue provides a platform to discuss and showcase the distinct nature and contributions of applied sociology in Canada as well as highlight the work of Canadian applied sociologists.

The introduction to the special issue on ‘charisma’ offers a very brief overview of the development of the concept in the social sciences and various critiques and intersecting debates. It casts a close look at Max Weber’s sometimes contradictory use of the concept and the different ways he conceptualized it in his sociology of religion and his sociology of domination. It then examines alternative theoretical approaches to ‘charisma’ that emerge in the course of the twentieth century before outlining this special issue’s contribution to the conceptual debate and the individual articles’ operationalization of the term by viewing charisma as relational, communicative, procedural, as well as related to ideas, practices, and objects.

The paper gives an overview of the monograph Sociological Marginalia on Contemporary Topics (Reviews on Contemporary Sociology) by Ljubiša Mitrović, PhD. The first part of the paper presents the structure of the monograph. The units of the monograph are analyzed and presented. The author starts from the crisis of social and humanistic sciences, with special reference to the sociology crisis and the importance of intellectuals in the contemporary society. Then the position of the contemporary left is examined. In the end, the most important and current contributions, in our opinion, are shown on contemporary topics. The conclusion is that the monograph represents a contribution to contemporary sociology of social change.

The advancement of the internet and social media, people has access to various platforms to freely share their thoughts and opinions on various topics. However, this freedom of expression is abused to incite hatred against individuals or groups of people based on race, religion, gender, etc. question. Therefore, to address this emerging problem on social media sites, recent studies have used various feature engineering techniques and machine learning algorithms to automatically detect hate speech posts on different datasets. Advances in machine learning have intrigued researchers seeking and implementing solutions to the problem of hate speech. Currently, we are using decision tree algorithm technique to detect hate speech using text data.

Austrian British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein is one of the greatest philosophers in the 20th century. He mostly works in analytic philosophical thought in topics as diverse as logic and language, perception and intention, ethic and religion, aesthetic and culture. Philosophers often create their own vocabularies by giving special meanings to ordinary terms and phrases. Wittgenstein coinages the term of “language games” and the ‘private language argument”. His argument on the language is the rules of the use of ordinary language is neither right nor wrong, neither true nor false, the language is merely useful for the particular applications in which they are applied . Language is defined not as a system of representation but as a system of devices for engaging in various sorts of social activity, hence ‘the meaning of the word is its use in the language.

Online public opinion reflects social conditions and public attitudes regarding special social events. Therefore, analyzing the temporal and spatial distributions of online public opinion topics can contribute to understanding issues of public concern, grasping and guiding the developing trend of public opinion. However, how to evaluate the validity of classification of online public opinion remains a challenging task in the topic mining field. By combining a Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) pre-training model with the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model, we propose an evaluation method to determine the optimal classification number of topics from the perspective of semantic similarity. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified based on the standard Chinese corpus THUCNews. Taking Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related geotagged posts on Weibo in Wuhan city as an example, we used the proposed method to generate five categories of public opinion topics. Combining spatial and temporal information with the classification results, we analyze the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of the five optimal public opinion topics, which are found to be consistent with the epidemic development, demonstrating the feasibility of our method when applied to practical cases.

Abstract In 2012 social scientists, philosophers and religious scientists celebrated the centennial of the publication of one of the most seminal books in the modern study of religion, Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse, by the then leading French sociologist Emile Durkheim’s (1858–1917); in 2017, we commemorated that author’s untimely death at age 59, broken by World War I in which he lost his only son and many of his beloved students. Educated, first as a Rabinnical student then as a modern philosopher, Durkheim earned his place among French thinkers primarily as a “founding father” of the social sciences. Having recently (on the basis of a life-long preoccupation) devoted a book-length study to Durkheim’s religion theory, I intend in this essay to highlight major aspects of Durkheim as an exponent of French thought. I shall first briefly situate Durkheim in his time and age, with special emphasis on his political views and his ethnic identity as a secularised Jew. Then I turn to Durkheim’s relation with the discipline in which he was originally trained, philosophy. I shall pay attention to the complex relationship between Durkheim and Kant and further highlight his dualism, epistemology, and views on primitive classification, as well as his puzzling realism, the place of emergence in his thought, and his moralist tendencies. I shall finally articulate Durkheim’s transition to sociology and how he gave over the torch of emerging sociology to his main students, having thus created an adequate context in which to discuss Durkheim’s final masterpiece (Les formes) and the still dominant theory of religion it expounds.