The coordination of plural logics of action and its consequences: Evidence from plural medical systems.

Drawing on the theory of social action in organizational and institutional sociology, this paper examines the behavioral consequences of plural logics of action. It addresses the question based on the empirical case of plural medical systems that are composed of both biomedicine and alternative medicine. Applying mixed methods of a cross-national panel data analysis and a content analysis of medical journal articles, it finds that plural systems affect health outcomes negatively when tensions between biomedicine and alternative medicine are unaddressed. In contrast, plural systems produce tangible health benefits when biomedicine and alternative medicine are coordinated through government policies or by health care organizations/professionals. This paper proposes plurality coordination as an important mechanism that modifies the behavioral consequences of plural logics. This proposition contributes to providing theoretical answers to the sociological puzzle that plural logics of action produce inconsistent behavioral consequences

Religiosity and Individual Agency: Denominational Affiliation, Religious Action, and Sense of Control (SOC) in Life

By reporting findings from Wave 6 of the World Values Survey, this paper presents a renewed understanding of the relationship between religiosity and individual agency that is defined as sense of control (SOC) in life. In doing so, it proposes two conceptual articulations of religiosity. First, it articulates religiosity to be composed of categorical (i.e., denominational affiliation) and substantive (i.e., religious action) aspects. Second, it articulates substantive religious action to be multivocal, involving individual–affective, individual–practical, and collective–practical action. The paper finds that categorical denominational affiliation has varying effects on SOC, whereas substantive religious action mediates these effects in such a way that it consistently boosts SOC. A positive association between denominational affiliation (vs. non-affiliation) and SOC becomes smaller when religious action is accounted for. A negative association becomes greater when religious action is accounted for. In sum, the paper argues for the positive mediating effect of religious action on the varying relationship between denominational affiliation and SOC

Unstandardized coefficients from the fixed effects models of life expectancy regressed on medical plurality index and control variables.

<p>Unstandardized coefficients from the fixed effects models of life expectancy regressed on medical plurality index and control variables.</p

Unstandardized coefficients from the fixed effects models of life expectancy regressed on interaction variables with medical plurality index and control variables.

<p>Unstandardized coefficients from the fixed effects models of life expectancy regressed on interaction variables with medical plurality index and control variables.</p

Historical scatterplot of life expectancy at birth over medical plurality index across years with lines connecting observations of a country: 246 observations for 97 countries across 1990, 1995, and 2000 (dotted lines for 18 OECD countries; solid lines for the others).

<p>Historical scatterplot of life expectancy at birth over medical plurality index across years with lines connecting observations of a country: 246 observations for 97 countries across 1990, 1995, and 2000 (dotted lines for 18 OECD countries; solid lines for the others).</p

Log odds ratios from the Logit models of the effectiveness of alternative medicine^a⁾ regressed on the deficiency of plurality coordination and control variables.

<p>Log odds ratios from the Logit models of the effectiveness of alternative medicine<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0189841#t003fn005" target="_blank">^a</a>⁾ regressed on the deficiency of plurality coordination and control variables.</p

Sample selection process for the content analysis of medical journal papers.

<p>Sample selection process for the content analysis of medical journal papers.</p

Confucian Identification, Ancestral Beliefs, and Ancestral Rituals in Korea

Since Koreans do not consider Confucianism to be part of religion, conventional religious identification questions cannot accurately capture the number of Confucians in Korea. Using the Korean General Social Survey and other data sources, we aim to describe the identification, beliefs, and practices related to Confucianism, especially ancestral rituals, and to examine whether these beliefs and practices differ across religious groups. Contrasted with 0.2% of the adult population identifying their religion as Confucianism in the 2015 Korean Census, 51% considered themselves as Confucians when asked, &ldquo;(Regardless of your religious affiliation) do you consider yourself a Confucian?&rdquo; If we consider those who think that rites for deceased family members are Confucian, the proportion was 44%. Considering those who conduct ancestral rites at a gravesite as Confucians, the proportion was 86%, but was only 70% when we count those who perform ancestral rites at home as Confucians. We also found substantial differences among religious groups. In general, Buddhists were most likely and Protestants were least likely to identify with Confucianism, believe in the power of ancestors, and perform ancestral rites. Perhaps most telling is the result of religious none falling in the middle between Buddhists and Protestants in terms of identification, beliefs, and rituals of Confucianism. The differences of religious groups appear to reflect religious syncretism and the exclusivity of religion. It is overstating to declare a revival of Confucianism, but it is reasonable to say that Confucianism is not a dying tradition in Korean society

Confucian Identification, Ancestral Beliefs, and Ancestral Rituals in Korea

Since Koreans do not consider Confucianism to be part of religion, conventional religious identification questions cannot accurately capture the number of Confucians in Korea. Using the Korean General Social Survey and other data sources, we aim to describe the identification, beliefs, and practices related to Confucianism, especially ancestral rituals, and to examine whether these beliefs and practices differ across religious groups. Contrasted with 0.2% of the adult population identifying their religion as Confucianism in the 2015 Korean Census, 51% considered themselves as Confucians when asked, “(Regardless of your religious affiliation) do you consider yourself a Confucian?” If we consider those who think that rites for deceased family members are Confucian, the proportion was 44%. Considering those who conduct ancestral rites at a gravesite as Confucians, the proportion was 86%, but was only 70% when we count those who perform ancestral rites at home as Confucians. We also found substantial differences among religious groups. In general, Buddhists were most likely and Protestants were least likely to identify with Confucianism, believe in the power of ancestors, and perform ancestral rites. Perhaps most telling is the result of religious none falling in the middle between Buddhists and Protestants in terms of identification, beliefs, and rituals of Confucianism. The differences of religious groups appear to reflect religious syncretism and the exclusivity of religion. It is overstating to declare a revival of Confucianism, but it is reasonable to say that Confucianism is not a dying tradition in Korean society