Search Results (336)

The transformation of religious authority in the digital age is shaped by the interactions between human actors, digital media and algorithmic systems. This study uses digital ethnography to examine how religious authority is constructed and negotiated on digital platforms used by Muslims in Indonesia and globally. This study focuses on seven authoritative figures in the digital Islamic landscape, representing different spectra of authority, from traditional pesantren in Indonesia to transnational apologetics and urban liberalism. The findings reveal patterns of authority delegation in which digital platforms replace human roles in da’wah and Islamic institutions. Religious authority is formed through articulative work that connects the Sunnah, intermediaries (religious scholars), and congregations. Public search data show that digital spaces function as a medium of distribution, where religious authority is shaped by audience responses, message repetition, symbolic affiliation, and the dynamics of debate. This study highlights the role of algorithmic culture and authority representation aesthetics in mediating religious authority in the digital age. Algorithms shape exposure and reach audiences, and representational aesthetics are crucial for disseminating religious content. The study concludes that clerical authority in the digital era results from technocultural mediation, in which the cleric becomes both a figure and representation calculated by machines and validated by the audience’s participation. Full article

This article examines the assumed dichotomy between the Black church and the juke joint within African American cultural discourse. Often portrayed as moral opposites—one sacred and the other secular—this study argues that such a binary reflects a Eurocentric interpretive framework rather than the actual historical realities of Black communal life. Through cultural and historical analysis, the article asserts that both institutions originated from similar conditions of racial exclusion and served as complementary spaces that nurtured African American identity, resilience, and community connections. Using the film Sinners as a key cultural text, the study explores how contemporary media narratives complicate rigid distinctions between sacred and secular Black spaces, identities, music, and spirituality. The character Sammie illustrates the permeability between these spaces, embodying a cultural logic where spiritual refuge and expressive release coexist. The analysis places this view within the African philosophical concept of Ubuntu, which emphasizes relational identity and the inseparability and oneness of the Black community. Drawing on the scholarship of James H. Cone, the article also shows that spirituals and blues share roots in African diasporic musical traditions. These traditions demonstrate the deep interconnection between religious and secular forms of Black expression. Ultimately, the study concludes that the Black church and the juke joint should be understood not as opposing institutions but as interconnected cultural spaces that collectively sustain African American spiritual, social, and artistic life. Full article

Cultured meat holds the potential to reduce environmental impacts and offer ethical advantages while replicating the nutritional, taste, and texture attributes of conventional meat. To date, most research on consumer acceptance of meat has focused on European and North American markets. In contrast, Muslim-majority countries remain underexplored, particularly regarding the compatibility of cultured meat with Islamic dietary laws. These societies are experiencing rising meat consumption, and countries such as Saudi Arabia and Malaysia rely heavily on meat imports. This narrative perspective article aims to systematically examine how specific stages of cultured meat production align with, or challenge, Islamic dietary (halal) principles. To this end, we adopt a stage-based analytical approach, mapping key technological steps in cultured meat production onto core requirements of Islamic jurisprudence. To this end, we critically and comprehensively examine the intersection between cultured meat production methods and the Islamic concept of halal, which extends beyond ingredient permissibility to encompass ethical, spiritual, and hygienic dimensions of food production. Key challenges to halal certification include the origin and status of starter cells, whether donor animals were slaughtered according to Islamic law, the permissibility of biopsied tissue, and the use of fetal bovine serum in growth media. The analysis indicates that while halal-compliant cultured meat is scientifically feasible, its adoption remains constrained by unresolved religious interpretations, regulatory fragmentation, and limited availability of halal-certified inputs. We emphasize the need for interdisciplinary collaboration among Islamic scholars, food scientists, certification bodies, and policymakers. From a policy perspective, harmonized halal standards, targeted investment in serum-free and animal-free culture media, and early regulatory engagement with Islamic authorities are essential to facilitate responsible market entry. Therefore, we suggest a multi-level governance and stage-gated halal decision framework for cultured meat. Proactive regulation and open dialogue with religious leaders are vital to ethically introduce cultured meat into Muslim markets, aligning innovation with Islamic values while supporting national sustainability and food security goals. Full article

Social media platforms have become central infrastructures for disaster communication, yet their role in shaping ethnic cohesion in post-conflict societies remains insufficiently examined. Sri Lanka, marked by a legacy of ethnic conflict, provides a critical context for exploring how moments of crisis are narratively and symbolically negotiated online. This study employs a qualitative digital ethnographic approach to analyze publicly accessible social media content circulated during a recent national disaster. Data were collected from Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok between 1 and 10 December, yielding an initial corpus of 344 posts, of which 200 were purposively selected for in-depth analysis following the removal of duplicated and near-identical content. Reflexive thematic analysis identified three dominant and interrelated narrative patterns: expressions of solidarity, resource sharing and mutual aid, and visual–symbolic representations of unity. These narratives were articulated through inclusive language, unity-oriented hashtags, depictions of material assistance, and imagery emphasizing co-presence across religious and institutional lines. Engagement metrics were examined as indicators of narrative resonance within platform visibility structures. The findings suggest that social media temporarily foregrounded discursive cohesion and symbolic unity during the disaster period. However, these representations should be interpreted as context-specific and performative rather than as evidence of durable inter-ethnic integration. This study contributes by demonstrating how social media platforms operate as spaces for the performative articulation of ethnic unity during disasters in post-conflict contexts, using a digital ethnographic approach to methodologically and empirically research digital ethnography, disaster communication, and social cohesion in post-conflict settings. Full article

In contemporary Muslim societies, digital platforms, algorithmic infrastructures, and networked religious content have fundamentally reshaped not only the circulation of fatwas but also the conditions under which religious authority is constituted, recognized, and contested. This article develops an integrated analytical framework that brings Islamic legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh) into sustained dialogue with mediatization theory and digital religion scholarship in order to examine how digital mediation reconfigures fatwa authority. Grounded in a qualitative analytical–comparative methodology, the study reconstructs the classical architecture of fatwa authority—rooted in scholarly qualification, isnād-based transmission, contextual discernment, and institutional oversight—and systematically compares it with contemporary digitally mediated environments structured by visibility metrics, platform logics, audience engagement, and algorithmic amplification. It identifies a series of interrelated transformations affecting the epistemic foundations, institutional gatekeeping mechanisms, communicative forms, and normative accountability of fatwa practice. The analysis demonstrates that digital mediation does not merely expand access to religious guidance; it alters the balance between evidentiary reasoning and infrastructural prominence, reshapes the relationship between muftī and mustaftī, and introduces new ambiguities concerning authority, legitimacy, and moral agency—particularly in the context of AI-assisted religious tools. While digital fatwas may enhance accessibility and transnational connectivity, they also risk epistemic fragmentation, erosion of institutional credibility, and the diffusion of accountability. By articulating a Critical Islamic Legal and Media-Theoretical Framework structured around epistemic, institutional, and communicative axes and evaluated through maqāṣid al-sharīʿah, this article offers a systematic model for analyzing digitally mediated Islamic authority. It concludes by outlining jurisprudential and ethical guidelines for integrating digital technologies into the fatwa domain in ways that preserve methodological rigor, moral responsibility, and the integrity of religious guidance. Full article

This study examined whether strong ethnic community participation facilitates social integration or reinforces social separation among Filipina marriage migrants in the Daegu–Gyeongbuk region of South Korea. A mixed-methods design combined survey data collected between 2018 and 2019 with a media discourse analysis covering 2020 to 2025. Survey results indicate extensive ethnic network participation, with 94.5% of respondents involved in religious or Filipino community organizations, yet persistent integration challenges. Language barriers were reported by 54.8% of respondents and cultural misunderstandings by 40%, suggesting strong bonding social capital alongside limited bridging social capital even after prolonged residence. Drawing on Putnam’s social capital theory, 328 news articles on Filipino–Korean relations were screened, of which only 10 directly addressed marriage migrants. None examined the routine experiences identified in the survey, reflecting discursive erasure shaped by polarized narratives of victimization or exceptional success. The temporal separation between the datasets enables an assessment of whether documented integration patterns are acknowledged in public discourse. The findings raise concerns about policy approaches that prioritize ethnic community centers without providing sustained opportunities for intercultural interaction, particularly given that many respondents entered marriage through religious matching programs that embedded them within ethnic networks, with potential health implications. Full article

Background/Objectives: Sleep plays a crucial role in children’s cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Although sleep practices and perceptions are shaped significantly by cultural and familial contexts, most sleep recommendations are developed by Western countries. This qualitative study explores primary school children’s perceptions of sleep, examining how cultural contexts, family environments, and technology influence sleep practices. Methods: Two cross studies were conducted: Study 1, in India, involved 15 children aged 8–12 years, and Study 2, in the UK, involved 12 children aged 8–10 years. Semi-structured group interviews and thematic analysis were used. Results: Both studies revealed common themes, including perceived sleep benefits, consequences of poor sleep, factors affecting sleep quality, and the role of technology. Study 1 showed that Indian children identified clear benefits of sleep, such as physical and emotional well-being, while highlighting significant barriers, including late bedtime routines, stress related to academic performance, and extensive use of social media and digital media devices. Cultural and religious practices were commonly mentioned as sleep aids. Study 2’s results from the UK revealed similar recognition of sleep benefits, notably recovery and growth. UK children emphasised environmental barriers such as noise pollution, sibling disturbances, and uncomfortable sleeping conditions. Technology usage was acknowledged as both a barrier and an occasional aid, with stricter parental controls on bedtime and device usage. Conclusions: This research highlights the importance of culturally sensitive sleep education programmes and recommendations to enhance children’s sleep health globally. Full article

While new religious movements are increasingly widespread worldwide, a recent case emerged in Türkiye. Based on the allegations about the rise of Tengrism—the religion of ancient Turks—among the Turkish society and the increasing visibility of Turkish Tengrist accounts on various social media platforms, the question of whether there is a new challenge to the dominance of Islam in Türkiye or not arose. While there is little information about the presence of a Tengrist movement in Türkiye, social media, as the only ground of their public visibility, stands as the sole source of information about this phenomenon. In this sense, with the aim of analyzing the Tengrist movement in Türkiye, 21 social media accounts that frequently post about Tengrism have been studied with respect to the discourses used in their posts. To this aim, the critical discourse analysis technique has been applied, and the discourses of these Tengrist accounts have been categorized and analyzed under three main discursive themes. Reading the findings in these discursive themes in accordance with the political developments in Türkiye, it has been concluded that the Tengrist movement in Türkiye is an outcome of political and cultural responses by certain segments of Turkish society and that it yet lacks the necessary grounds to turn into a new religious movement while possessing potential in this sense. Full article

Focusing on China, Japan, and the Philippines, this article examines how Marian–Guanyin cross-reading takes shape in images, stories, and ritual practice within different legal and political regimes. Rather than presuming doctrinal equivalence, the analysis treats cross-reading as a practice-driven process structured by five variables: dominant–subaltern relations, legal regime, media, theological thresholds, and intergenerational transmission. Three findings follow. First, analogy and transfer occur mainly in images and devotional practice, rather than doctrine. Second, social context determines both direction and limit: in China, plural traditions allow for devotional coexistence without doctrinal merger; in Tokugawa Japan, Marian–Guanyin likenesses serve as protective cover within underground devotion and take the form of small, portable image types; in the Philippines, Buddhist and folk religions join Catholic social rhythms through functional equivalence in imagery and rite. Third, these patterns lead to three outcome types: intericonic coexistence, type-formation under repression, and inculturation driven by practice and emotion. By distinguishing functional and perceptual equivalence from doctrinal change, and by separating official theology from community narration, the article narrows the scope of “syncretism” and proposes a transferable framework for explaining how images and ritual procedures simultaneously mark boundaries and enable boundary-crossing in unequal religious fields. Full article

Background/Objectives: Vaccine hesitancy arises from multiple determinants, including individual beliefs, cognitive style, social norms, political identity and the information environment. In this context, health literacy, e-health literacy, susceptibility to health misinformation, conspiracy beliefs and trust in science may be relevant in mediatized societies. Aim: The aim of the study was to examine how susceptibility to health misinformation relates to vaccine hesitancy in Poland and how this association is influenced by health literacy, e-health literacy, trust in scientists and sociodemographic factors. Methods: Data came from a web-based survey conducted in December 2024 among 2200 adults aged 18–75 years. The questionnaire included validated scales of vaccine hesitancy, health literacy, e-health literacy, vaccine conspiracy beliefs and trust in scientists. The susceptibility to health misinformation was measured with ad hoc instrument based on the statement from fact-checking services. Items assessing digital media use, political sympathies, religious practices and sociodemographics were also applied. Multivariable linear regression was applied with continuous vaccine hesitancy as the dependent variable. Results: The model explained 57.8% of the variance in vaccine hesitancy. Susceptibility to misinformation (B = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.08–0.15) and vaccine conspiracy beliefs (B = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.41–0.46) were positive predictors, whereas trust in scientists (B = −0.20, 95% CI: −0.23–−0.17) and e-health literacy (B = −0.07, 95% CI: −0.11–−0.02) were protective. Older age was associated with lower hesitancy (B = −0.02, 95% CI: −0.03–0.00). Secondary education (B = −0.58) and a master’s degree (B = −0.77) predicted lower hesitancy. Health literacy categories were not significantly related to vaccine hesitancy. Conclusions: Susceptibility to health misinformation and vaccine conspiracy beliefs were key predictors of vaccine hesitancy, outweighing the effects of health literacy and the protective impact of trust in scientists and e-health literacy, and indicating a need for interventions that combine prebunking and literacy-focused strategies with efforts to strengthen confidence in health institutions. Full article

This article analyzes the long-term relationship between Islam and media in Indonesia through the lens of mediatization. While most research on the mediatization of religion is grounded in Western secular contexts, this study examines how the process unfolds in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, whose religious life and cultural dynamics differ significantly from the Arab world. Using a historical approach, this study traces the evolution of Islamic media from the early twentieth century to the digital era, encompassing prints, broadcast programming, and social media platforms. The findings show that the interaction between Islam and media in Indonesia is a gradual, negotiated transformation shaped by political shifts, technological change, and evolving religious authority. Instead of producing secularization, successive media formats have enabled the continual rearticulation and popularization of Islamic values. New actors such as televangelists and digital preachers have emerged, challenging traditional authorities and prompting adaptations in religious practice to fit media formats and audience expectations. Although commercialization and algorithms sometimes result in a banalized expressions of religion, media developments also create new participatory spaces for religious engagement and personal piety. The study offers a non-Western model of mediatization grounded in Indonesia’s unique media and religious landscape. Full article

Background/Objectives: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social, communication, and behavioral challenges. complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used by parents worldwide, yet research exploring parents’ experiences, particularly in Arab countries, is limited. This study explored mothers’ perceptions and experiences of CAM use for children with ASD, information-seeking behaviors and challenges encountered. Methods: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted among twenty mothers at Autism Academy of Jordan in 2024. Inclusion criteria were mothers with children diagnosed with ASD for at least six months and those who had used at least one CAM therapy. Interviews were conducted via Skype, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo 12 with inductive thematic analysis. Results: Three major themes emerged in this qualitative study: (1) mothers’ experiences with CAM and perceptions of benefit; (2) sources of information and decision-making processes; and (3) main challenges in selecting and implementing CAM. Mothers reported using therapies such as honey, black seed, camel milk, Hujama, olive oil, supplements, and region-specific programs like Andalosiah. Faith, cultural beliefs, and the desire for natural, safe interventions strongly influenced CAM selection. Internet searches and social media groups were primary information sources. Challenges included financial, logistical, emotional burdens, and lack of trustworthy, Arabic-language information sources. Conclusions: Mothers in Arab countries navigate CAM use for their children with ASD through culturally and religiously informed practices. Interventions should focus on developing evidence-based guidance, culturally sensitive counseling, and accessible information to support families in safe, informed CAM use. Full article

In the digital age, social media platforms homogenize beauty standards and intricately link clothing choices to social norms and class identities. Grounded in Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural and social capital, supplemented by Erving Goffman’s theory of stigma, this study examines how social media amplifies pre-existing socio-cultural pressures that influence Turkish women’s decisions to abandon the hijab. The research has practical implications for understanding and addressing hijab abandonment. It employs a qualitative design based on semi-structured interviews with 13 participants, analyzed through a phenomenological approach. The findings reveal that the pursuit of social acceptance and resistance to social exclusion are more decisive factors in hijab abandonment than direct social media influence. While social media serves as a crucial amplifier of aesthetic ideals and a gateway to digital legitimacy, the primary drivers are deeply rooted in the pursuit of social acceptance and resistance to long-standing mechanisms of socio-cultural exclusion, stigmatization, and symbolic violence—processes intensified and mediated through digital platforms. The analysis uncovers the operation of a dual-sided neighborhood pressure, whereby women face scrutiny from both religious communities enforcing idealized piety norms and secular circles perpetuating stigmatizing labels such as backwardness or ignorance. Crucially, participants reported that unveiling was strategically employed as a means of overcoming barriers to professional advancement, gaining access to elite social spheres, and escaping the constant burden of representation. The study concludes that hijab abandonment emerges as a complex strategy of social navigation, where digital platforms act as powerful accelerants of pre-existing class- and identity-based conflicts. Full article

Digitalization has transformed how young believers in East Asia encounter, interpret, and negotiate Christian teachings. Drawing on four years of ethnographic and digital fieldwork at a large Pentecostal megachurch in Singapore (2019–2022), this article develops the concept of theological tinkering to describe how youth engage diverse Christian ideas through algorithmic exposure, relational discernment, and institutional boundary-work. In an environment where spiritual content circulates through smartphones, social media, livestreams, and peer networks, theological meaning is increasingly assembled through movement rather than inherited through stable structures. The article situates the Singaporean case within broader scholarship on mediatization, hybridity, digital authority, and liquid modernity, showing how theological reasoning is shaped by digital infrastructures, affective-spiritual evaluation, and communal negotiation. Rather than signalling doctrinal instability, theological tinkering reflects a resilient mode of liquid faith: a capacity to remain rooted while navigating plurality. The findings invite a rethinking of theological formation, pastoral leadership, and digital discipleship in East Asia’s rapidly evolving religious landscape. Full article

This study examines the determinants of tolerance among higher education students in Montenegro and their implications for educational and societal sustainability. Guided by the framework of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), it investigates how socio-demographic factors, economic insecurity, political orientations, and digital media use shape attitudes toward ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 469 students in 2021 and analysed using binary logistic regression. Results show that education is the strongest predictor of tolerant attitudes (p < 0.01), highlighting the transformative role of higher education in fostering inclusive and sustainability-relevant competencies. Economic insecurity, particularly unemployment, was associated with more exclusionary views, linking social equity to sustainability outcomes. Gender (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.07), and engagement with human-rights content online (p < 0.01) also emerged as significant predictors. Religiosity showed a modest negative association with tolerance (p = 0.01). The final model explained 37% of the variance in tolerant attitudes (Nagelkerke R² = 0.37). Digital media played an ambivalent role: while it increased exposure to diverse perspectives, it also contributed to polarization, underscoring the need for critical digital literacy within ESD-aligned curricula. Overall, the findings demonstrate that inclusive education, digital competence, and participatory learning environments are central to building tolerant, cohesive, and sustainability-oriented societies. The study contributes to ESD scholarship by linking social inclusion, sustainability competencies, and the role of higher education in post-transition contexts. Full article