Search Results (204)

This study aims to understand how religious affective content in the digital realm influences epistemic authority, social imaginaries, and religious beliefs among young adults (individuals between 18 and 35) with a university education and who identify as Christian, Hindu, or Muslim in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Data indicate the growing role of digital platforms as epistemic sources for religious maintenance, while families, private sacred-text teachings, religious leaders, and the community continue to serve as primary sources. Cultural capital, such as higher education and social skills, does not necessarily make respondents psychologically or emotionally resilient to be able and effectively deal with moral distrust and hate speech on social media. In daily life individuals feel cross-pressured between their religious attitudes, and secular educational institutions and government agencies who promote liberal values while perceiving religion as a threat, despite not consistently adhering to those liberal values themselves. Hence, this experienced injustice in the city, enhanced by the negative framing of religion in digital media, may influence the social judgement of individuals and the processes of alienation, polarization and radicalization. Full article

Religion can provide comfort, a sense of purpose and community support, but when it comes to mental health, it may also have a negative impact by triggering feelings of guilt, fear and social stigma. The aim of this study is to explore the medical students’ beliefs about possible impact of religion on mental health. A 16-item questionnaire was distributed online to 100 medical students with different religious backgrounds. It assessed beliefs, the frequency of religious activities and the perceived influence on mental health. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test (via GraphPad Prism 10.5.0 (774) software). The participants were young adults (61% aged 20–25), predominately female (59%) and Islam was the most represented religion (51%). 64% reported mental struggles and 76% had faced hardships that affected their mental state. Among these, 66% said hardships brought them closer to faith and 85% found religious refuge helpful. Also, 83% valued religious community support. On the other hand, 56% have reported frequent feeling of guilt related to religious practices and 41% believe that being too religious can affect mental health. Significant associations were found between level of religious practice and several beliefs, indicating differences in how more and less practicing individuals perceived guilt, religious coping, and the impact of hardships. Religion may provide psychological support, offering effective coping tools and emotional help. However, it may also contribute to mental distress through guilt and social stigma. These findings highlight the need for culturally and spiritually sensitive mental health care that respects each individual’s beliefs. Full article

William James’s two psychological classics—The Principles of Psychology (1890) and The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature (1902)—are widely read but rarely connected. How are James’s psychological theories in The Principles applied in The Varieties? Most scholars say they are not. Our thesis is that, throughout The Varieties, James uses The Principles as the foundation for his psychology of religion. His chapters in The Principles on the brain, habit, the stream of consciousness, the subconscious, the self, attention, association, and emotions all contain passages that anticipate the main themes of The Varieties. These include the psychological roots of a sense of unseen reality, conversion experiences, mystical experiences, saintliness as a character type, and other religious topics. This article highlights ten conceptual connections between the two classic texts. We show that James’s original and core psychological principles guided his approach to studying personal religious experience in The Varieties. In addition, some of James’s psychological principles were broadened and enriched through their interaction with religious data. By placing the two texts in conversation, a more precise and deeper understanding of James’s psychology of religion emerges. Full article

This article explores the emergence of a new philosophical religion arising from the intersection of psychedelic ministry, transpersonal psychology, and participatory metaphysics. Framed within the evolution of Western consciousness and drawing from Friedrich Schelling’s participatory metaphysics, Stanislav Grof’s findings, and Jorge Ferrer’s participatory turn, this article joins the metaphysical and spiritual conversation rising within the psychedelic ecosystem. These needs include spiritual and metaphysical integration of some psychedelic phenomena as well as metaphysical foundations for a sacramental understanding of psychedelics. Arguing that psychedelics can function sacramentally and grant participatory access to the creative ground of reality, this article proposes transpersonal ministry as a framework that can meet the spiritual and metaphysical demands of psychedelics. In dialogue with Schelling’s vision of a philosophical religion and Ferrer’s participatory pluralism, transpersonal ministry offers churches, ministers, and congregants a shared language that unites experiential participation with metaphysical inquiry to provide a non-dogmatic framework for integrating transformative states. Full article

Background/Objectives: The dual burden of cancer and pain during chemotherapy can negatively impact individuals’ personal integrity, or the “self”. Yet, coping strategies addressing these dual challenges are rarely employed in cancer-related pain management. Recent findings from evidence-based behavioral models, such as psychological flexibility in pain, highlight the potential role of self-as-context (SAC) as a central coping strategy for adjustment. The aim of this study was to examine the network structure of “conventional” coping strategies, such as active coping, behavioral disengagement, substance use, seeking support, religion, humor, and avoidance (Brief-COPE-8 coping strategies), in relation to “self-based” coping strategies. Methods: Individuals diagnosed with cancer, mostly in advanced stages (i.e., II and III), experiencing cancer-related pain (n = 135), completed a cross-sectional online study. Participants filled out self-reported questionnaires, including the Brief-COPE, the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale—Greek Version (G-PIPS-II), and the Self-as-Context Scale (SACS) scale, which included two subfactors: centering and transcending. The study employed a stepwise analysis plan. We first conducted a series of traditional correlations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and hierarchical multiple linear regressions, to examine the predictive role of demographics/clinical characteristics, psychological inflexibility, and SAC (independent variables) on the eight coping strategies (dependent variables). We then selected the highest predictors of coping in cancer-related pain and included them in a network analysis model. In the network analysis, we estimated the LASSO network regularization and examined network stability. We also assessed the centrality and stability of the network model, focusing on the associations between SAC items, the most predictive coping strategies (Brief-COPE), and psychological inflexibility (G-PIPS-II). Results: SAC correlated positively with effective coping (active coping and humor) and negatively with substance use. There were no correlations between demographics, type, stage of cancer, and coping strategies for pain. Multiple linear regressions identified psychological inflexibility and SAC as the main contributors to pain adjustment, with SAC explaining substantially more variance in active coping. The partial correlation network included 12 nodes. Active coping, centering, and three of the six transcending items were the most influential in the network. Active coping demonstrated the highest centrality, exerting positive links with SAC items that reflected calm reactions and invariant perspective-taking in response to the pain experience. Conclusions: SAC might be considered as a tailored, self-based coping strategy for managing cancer-related pain. Future analog studies should explore the role of integrating self-based perspective-taking strategies to momentarily address cancer-related pain. Full article

Across the world, war and armed conflict continue to disrupt lives and have a profound impact on individuals. This is particularly evident in Arab countries, many of which have experienced repeated conflicts in recent decades. In these contexts, resilience and psychological adaptation are essential for maintaining well-being, yet social and cultural factors significantly shape how resilience manifests. Despite growing recognition of resilience’s importance, limited synthesis exists regarding the cultural and psychosocial factors that promote adaptation in Arab populations during wartime. This systematic integrative review provides a comprehensive overview of empirical findings on resilience, adaptation, and their associated factors during times of war in Arab countries. A screening was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Content and thematic analysis of 52 selected studies revealed five key themes: demographic factors, community resilience, personal resilience and growth, coping strategies, and religion and spirituality. The review highlights the effect of factors like religiosity, social support, and active coping strategies, among others, in promoting resilience and adaptation among Arab people exposed to war. The findings also suggest the value of leveraging existing cultural strengths, including strong social networks, communal practices, and religious beliefs, in interventions designed to promote resilience and adaptation during times of conflict. Full article

What happens when the church no longer speaks to the soul, yet the soul keeps searching? Across post-religious Europe, a new kind of spirituality is rising: fluid, fragmented, and deeply personal. It offers comfort where doctrine no longer resonates, and healing where institutions feel distant. As mental health struggles grow, these alternative spiritualities flourish, reflecting the emotional landscape of late modernity, while institutional religion struggles to respond in meaningful, preventive ways. This article first explores the philosophical and cultural shifts that have led from church pews to yoga mats and mindfulness apps. Then it presents new data from some of Europe’s most secular countries, examining the relationship between faith, spirituality, and psychological well-being. Finally, it proposes a renewed form of Christian spirituality—one that is emotionally attuned, Spirit-led, and culturally rooted in the liquid realities of our time. Full article

Background/Objectives: Depression is common in young doctors. Religion/spirituality, vocation, and family might protect against it. The objective of this study was to evaluate mental health, spirituality, and flourishing (a multi-dimensional assessment of well-being) in new medical residents. We also evaluated the associations of baseline characteristics with flourishing. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 743 new medical residents who responded to (1) a questionnaire addressing mental health, vocation, spirituality, family, and religion and (2) the “Secure Flourish Index”, which assesses happiness/life satisfaction, physical/mental health, meaning/purpose, character/virtue, social relationships, and financial/material stability. Results: The mean age was 25.7 ± 4.0, and 526 (70.8%) were females, 157 (21.1%) had felt depressed, and 22 (3.0%) had suicidal ideation. The mean values for assessments of vocation and family were very high (>9.2), while religion and spirituality had intermediate values (5.2–6.5). Participants with depression or suicidal ideation had lower assessments in all four of the aforementioned domains, although differences were only significant for depression–religion (p = 0.03). The average “Secure Flourish Index” was 8.2 ± 0.9. There were lower levels of flourishing in males and in those with depression or suicidal ideation, with p-values < 0.001. Flourishing had a correlation with vocation and family (with r-values of 0.3–0.4) and with spirituality and religion (with r-values of 0.25–0.27), with p-values ≤ 0.001. Conclusions: Resident well-being is critical for physicians and healthcare quality. Spirituality and religion may serve as a protective resource, enhancing flourishing. Our study shows that new medical residents seem to have high value assessments for vocation and family importance and intermediate values for religion and spirituality. The mean flourishing scores were high, but were lower in males and in those with depression. Flourishing seems to be correlated with vocation, family, spirituality, and religion, but these associations need to be confirmed with validated screening tools. Full article

In this article, we explain how Kant upends the terms of the debate concerning the relationship between God’s existence and an objective morality by looking at his moral-teleological argument for God’s existence in the third Critique. We explain Kant’s rejection of external sources of moral normativity and his method of grounding moral authority in the normativity of practical reason. We then turn to Kant’s argument justifying a practical belief in God as the moral author of nature. Kant’s claims about how we must conceptualize organisms teleologically and, as a result, how reason seeks an unconditioned end of nature, brings together our moral purpose with a conception of nature as an organized whole. Since our teleological concepts of organisms seem to require that human beings serve as the final, unconditioned end of nature, but morality and nature might be incompatible and divergent, we must also believe in a moral author of nature. This belief guards against demoralization and creates a unified view of the human moral agent and the world she inhabits, which Kant thinks of as indispensable for our practical lives. Kant notoriously blurs the lines between theology and ethics in nonstandard ways. Although he rejects many traditional approaches to grounding ethics in a conception of divine commands or eternal law, he still devotes a considerable amount of time to discussing the role of religion as a bulwark of the moral life. The goal of this paper is to defend Kant’s relevance to a discussion of the relationship between an objective ethics and the existence of God; his contribution deserves our notice precisely for the ways in which it promises to shift the terms of the contemporary debate and complicate possible answers to the question of whether there can be an objective morality without God. In contemporary philosophical literature, Kant’s argument contending that we must hope in God from a practical point of view on pain of irrationality of acting from duty has enjoyed substantial discussion. Here, however, we focus on a lesser-known suite of arguments that in order to so much as cognize ourselves and other species as the sorts of natural beings they are, we must believe in a supersensible moral author of these natures. This set of arguments ultimately dovetail with the more well-known argument for theistic hope and operate in much the same way. But they touch on facets of Kant’s whole philosophical system, such as his account of teleological judgment and the unity and final end of all of nature. Our goal is to explicate these arguments and illuminate their relevance of these Kantian arguments to the debate about the relevance of God to objective morality. We will argue that while an objective ethics is possible without God due to the active role of practical reason in rational agents, belief in God’s existence strengthens the claims of morality, both for psychological reasons but also by providing a more unified conception of moral and natural reality. Full article

Internet addiction has become a significant concern due to its detrimental effects on individual well-being, leading to emotional, psychological, and social challenges. Scholars have long explored various strategies to mitigate the risk of internet addiction. Recently, scholars have argued that religion is a protective factor against internet addiction. However, empirical research has reported a mix of negative and nonsignificant main effects. In this study, we used an instrumental variable quantile analysis to re-estimate the impact of religion (religious belief and religiosity) on internet addiction (generalized internet addiction and short video addiction) based on data from a nationally representative survey and (N = 2337; M_age = 42.03, SD = 14.15, range = 18 to 86) an online survey (N = 441, M_age = 28.98, SD = 7.59, range = 18 to 59). The results indicated that religious belief could suppress generalized internet addiction and short video addiction when endogeneity was not considered. However, when endogeneity was taken into account, the impacts of religious belief on generalized internet addiction and short video addiction were not significant. In addition, the impact of religiosity on short video addiction changed from significant to nonsignificant when endogeneity was considered. Our findings revealed that the protective effect of religion on internet addiction was very limited. Our study also provides a possible explanation for the existing mixed conclusions about religion and internet addiction. Full article

In Religion, Kant posits an innate and natural propensity to evil, which he implicitly designates as “radical evil”. However, this notion has been criticized for its apparent incompatibility with freedom and its problematic atemporality, leading scholars to dismiss it as an obscure metaphysical speculation or an uncritical residue of Christian doctrine rather than a morally necessary element. Drawing on student notes from Kant’s lectures, I firstly contend that the apparent conflict between an innate–natural propensity to evil and human freedom can be resolved through Kant’s imputation theory and empirical psychology. While evil originates from this innate ground in human nature, it can ultimately be overcome through the exercise of free will. Secondly, my argument proceeds to show that radical evil first emerges in Religion, not as a concept of agnostic metaphysical abstraction, but as a necessary postulate for Kant’s idealized conscience-based imputation. This imputation transcends the constraints of temporality, thereby idealizing the propensity to evil into radical evil. Atemporality is merely an analogy representing this imputation’s independence from temporal constraints. Thirdly, although this idealized imputation and radical evil are absent from Kant’s pre- and post-Religion works, my analysis suggests that the idealized imputation is necessary for his project of advancing the individual and collective moral progress through the mediation of religion. Full article

Protection of the environment and its life forms has become a significant concern among philosophers and theologians alike in recent years. There is disagreement, however, over the best way to formulate the grounds of this concern. Some philosophers and theologians favor an instrumental or anthropocentric approach, claiming that adequate preservation of wildlife is warranted solely on the basis of benefits provided to humans, whether couched in terms of the satisfaction of material, medicinal, recreational, or psychological needs. Others claim that wild nature should be preserved for its own sake, due to its life forms possessing intrinsic value. How best to articulate and defend the intrinsic value of wildlife, however, has been much disputed. This paper first compares the adequacy of anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches to environmental ethics. It concludes that a non-anthropocentric theory of the intrinsic value of living creatures is best suited to motivate care for and action on behalf of the environment, and, in addition, most accurately reflects the basis of human concern for the environment. This paper next goes on to examine the philosophical underpinnings required for a theory of the intrinsic value of nature. It argues that an objective account of the intrinsic value of nature, founded on some form of non-naturalist ethics or minimal theism, seems necessary to account for the intrinsic value of nature (in contrast with a purely subjective or naturalist approach). In particular, a sacramental view of nature wherein creation issues from a creator who is goodness itself seems ideal for grounding the intrinsic value of wildlife, along with motivating humans to contribute energy and resources to their conservation and even to sacrifice some of their interests in order to do so. This being the case, rather than being a hindrance to environmental ethics, religion, if properly formulated, can be a most helpful ally. Full article

This study investigates the gendered effects of political violence on women (and children) from a church leader perspective. This paper critically examines the role of church leadership in protecting vulnerable groups in society (particularly women and children) and interrogates how church leadership has incorporated women and children into peacebuilding programmes. Using qualitative methods, in-depth interviews were conducted with church leaders affected by political violence in Zimbabwe. The results of this study show that women and children are disproportionately affected by political violence. The women and children are affected socially, economically, and psychologically as a result of political violence, which results in severe trauma, disruption, and loss of livelihoods, and, in severe cases, loss of lives. The results further indicate that the Church plays a crucial role in providing safe havens for the victims, offering spiritual guidance and counselling for the victims. However, the findings show that the Church continues to lack gender sensitivity and inclusivity in peacebuilding programmes. Women and children continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles in churches, as well as in driving the peacebuilding agenda. This paper argues for a transformative and gender-sensitive framework in church-led peace interventions, which prioritises the needs of women and children and incorporates them in the process. This paper argues that by adopting this approach, the Church harnesses its transformative capacity as a change agent for building sustainable peace and addressing political violence in a holistic manner. This interdisciplinary study contributes to the evolving scholarly debates on the intersections of gender, religion, and peacebuilding. Full article

The body–soul relationship serves as a crucial entry point for exploring the intersection of Plato’s dialogues with ancient Greek religious thought, particular Orphic doctrines. In critically inheriting and reconstructing core elements of Orphism, Plato initiates a paradigm shift from mythos to logos—transitioning from mythic narrative to philosophical reasoning. In the context of Greek religious history, Orphism was the first to articulate a dualism between soul and body, depicting the body as a “prison” that confines the divine soul. While Plato frequently references this framework in his dialogues, he simultaneously exposes its inherent contradictions. By distinguishing between the soul’s pure and embodied states, Plato rejects the Orphic notion of bodily impurity. Instead, he reinterprets the body’s negativity not as religious “original sin,” but as the interference of sensory experience and desire in rational life. He affirms that the soul maintains its rational autonomy even in embodiment, with desire and thymos (spirit) emerging naturally from this process, thereby disclosing the soul’s intrinsic structure. In place of a strict dualism, Plato introduces a tripartite model of the soul, positioning thymos as the mediating force between reason and desire. The ambiguity of thymos functions as a self-regulating mechanism that enables the soul to maintain dynamic balance. In this moral psychology, virtue is no longer defined as the soul’s rejection of the body, but as the soul’s harmonious order and natural growth within it. Plato thus adopts a complex and cautious stance toward Orphism, ultimately transcending its passive ethical outlook and transforming a mythical doctrine into a rational philosophical system. Full article

Background: Flood disasters, alongside prolonged conflict and socioeconomic hardship in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, have heightened the psychological vulnerability of children. This study examined the prevalence of psychological distress and explored the coping mechanisms employed by children affected by flooding in the region. Method: Children aged 7–17 years from flood-affected areas in Maiduguri were included in the study. Psychological distress was measured using the parent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-13), and coping mechanisms were assessed using the KidCOPE parent version. Multivariate and ordinal logistic regression examined factors associated with psychological distress and coping mechanisms. Results: A total of 374 children participated in the study. A total of 63.6% experienced abnormal psychological distress. Moderate and high levels of maladaptive coping were significantly associated with greater odds of psychological distress (odds ratio [OR] = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.25–2.36; OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.46–4.04). Similarly, moderate adaptive coping was associated with higher odds of distress compared to poor coping (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.38–2.61). In unadjusted models, age, female gender, higher education, Christian religion, and higher household income were associated with increased psychological distress. However, these were not significant in the adjusted model. Ordinal logistic regression showed no significant predictors of either maladaptive or adaptive coping levels. Conclusions: A high proportion of flood-affected children in Maiduguri experience psychological distress, with maladaptive coping playing a key role. The findings indicate the need for targeted psychosocial interventions to improve adaptive coping skills in flood-affected children. Full article