Theodicy and End-of-Life Care

Acknowledgments The section on Islamic perspective is contributed by information provided by Imranali Panjwani, Tutor in Theology & Religious Studies, King's College London.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Defining forgiveness: Christian clergy and general population perspectives.

The lack of any consensual definition of forgiveness is a serious weakness in the research literature (McCullough, Pargament &amp; Thoresen, 2000). As forgiveness is at the core of Christianity, this study returns to the Christian source of the concept to explore the meaning of forgiveness for practicing Christian clergy. Comparisons are made with a general population sample and social science definitions of forgiveness to ensure that a shared meaning of forgiveness is articulated. Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy (N = 209) and a general population sample (N = 159) completed a postal questionnaire about forgiveness. There is agreement on the existence of individual differences in forgiveness. Clergy and the general population perceive reconciliation as necessary for forgiveness while there is no consensus within psychology. The clergy suggests that forgiveness is limitless and that repentance is unnecessary while the general population suggests that there are limits and that repentance is necessary. Psychological definitions do not conceptualize repentance as necessary for forgiveness and the question of limits has not been addressed although within therapy the implicit assumption is that forgiveness is limitless.</p

"Arabic is the language of the Muslims–that's how it was supposed to be": exploring language and religious identity through reflective accounts from young British-born South Asians

This study explores how a group of young British-born South Asians understood and defined their religious and linguistic identities, focusing upon the role played by heritage languages and liturgical languages and by religious socialisation. Twelve British-born South Asians were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interview transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four superordinate themes are reported. These addressed participants' meaning-making regarding "the sanctification of language" and the consequential suitability of "the liturgical language as a symbol of religious community"; the themes of "ethnic pride versus religious identity" and "linguistic Otherness and religious alienation" concerned potential ethno-linguistic barriers to a positive religious identity. Findings are interpreted in terms of concepts drawn from relevant identity theories and tentative recommendations are offered concerning the facilitation of positive religious and ethnic identities

The Role of the Qur'an and Sunnah in Oral Health.

The aim of this study was to explore the ways in which the main texts in Islam, Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), contribute to understandings of oral health. The AHadith provide guidance for oral health-related behaviour but were written at a time when their symbolic meanings were perhaps vastly different to those of today. In gaining more insight into the ways Islamic HRB shape oral health-related practices and outcomes, if at all, we may be better placed to develop a more culturally sensitive and diverse dental public health and oral health promotion which takes into account religious dimensions, mediating factors, HRB and salutogenic mechanisms

Religious socialisation and fertility: transition to third birth in the Netherlands

Although previous studies have demonstrated that religious people in Europe have larger families, the role played by religious socialisation in the context of contemporary fertility behaviour has not yet been analysed in detail. This contribution specifically looks at the interrelation between religious socialisation and current religiosity and their impact on the transition to the third child for Dutch women. It is based on data of the first wave of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (2002–2004) and uses event history analysis. The transitions to first, second and third birth are modelled jointly with a control for unobserved heterogeneity. The findings provide evidence for an impact of women’s current church attendance as well as religious socialisation measured by their fathers’ religious affiliation, when they were teenagers. A religious family background remains influential even when a woman has stopped attending church. The effects of religious indicators strengthen over cohorts. Moreover, the combined religious make-up of the respondent’s parents also significantly determines the progression to the third child.S’il est bien établi que les croyants en Europe ont plus d’enfants que les autres, le rôle de la socialisation religieuse dans le contexte de la fécondité contemporaine n’a pas encore été analysé à ce jour. Cette étude s’intéresse au lien entre la socialisation religieuse et la religiosité actuelle, et à leur impact sur la probabilité d’agrandissement de deux à trois enfants de la descendance des femmes néerlandaises. Les données exploitées sont celles de la première vague du Panel Néerlandais d’Etude de la Parenté (the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, 2002–2004). A l’aide des techniques de l’analyse des biographies, les probabilités d’agrandissement de rang 1, rang 2 et rang 3 ont été modélisées de façon conjointe, en contrôlant l’hétérogénéité non observée. Les résultats mettent en évidence l’impact de la fréquentation actuelle de l’église par les femmes et de leur socialisation religieuse, mesurée par l’appartenance religieuse de leur père quand elles étaient adolescentes. Il apparaît que la religiosité du contexte familial exerce une influence, même quand la femme ne fréquente plus l’église, et que les effets des indicateurs de pratique religieuse se renforcent d’une génération à l’autre. Enfin, l’appartenance religieuse conjointe des parents de la femme détermine significativement la probabilité d’avoir un troisième enfant

Coping strategies of women with postpartum depression symptoms in rural Ethiopia: a cross-sectional community study

Background: Most women with postpartum depression (PPD) in low- and middle-income countries remain undiagnosed and untreated, despite evidence for adverse effects on the woman and her child. The aim of this study was to identify the coping strategies used by women with PPD symptoms in rural Ethiopia to inform the development of socio-culturally appropriate interventions. Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in a predominantly rural district in southern Ethiopia. All women with live infants between one and 12 months post-partum (n = 3147) were screened for depression symptoms using the validated Patient Health Questionnaire, 9 item version (PHQ-9). Those scoring five or more, ‘high PPD symptoms’, (n = 385) were included in this study. The Brief Coping with Problems Experienced (COPE-28) scale was used to assess coping strategies. Construct validity of the brief COPE was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis of the brief COPE scale supported the previously hypothesized three dimensions of coping (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and dysfunctional). Emotion-focused coping was the most commonly employed coping strategy by women with PPD symptoms. Urban residence was associated positively with all three dimensions of coping. Women who had attended formal education and who attributed their symptoms to a physical cause were more likely to use both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. Women with better subjective wealth and those who perceived that their husband drank too much alcohol were more likely to use emotion-focused coping. Dysfunctional coping strategies were reported by women who had a poor relationship with their husbands. Conclusions: As in high-income countries, women with PPD symptoms were most likely to use emotion-focused and dysfunctional coping strategies. Poverty and the low level of awareness of depression as an illness may additionally impede problem-solving attempts to cope. Prospective studies are needed to understand the prognostic significance of coping styles in this setting and to inform psychosocial intervention development

The perception of disability by community groups: Stories of local understanding, beliefs and challenges in a rural part of Kenya

Cultural narratives on disability have received much attention over the past few decades. In contexts of poverty, limited information and everyday challenges associated with having, or caring for someone with a disability, different understandings have emerged. A project was set up to promote disability awareness in neighborhood communities in a rural part of Kenya, using a process of reflection and education. This paper reports on the first aspect–reflection. The aim was to investigate local understanding of disability as a co-constructed concept. The research questions were: 1. What cultural beliefs shape local understanding of disability? 2. What challenges are perceived to be associated with disability? A phenomenological approach was adopted. Focus group discussions were conducted with twenty-one community groups involving 263 participants and audio-recorded. The data were transcribed and thematic analysis was carried out. Visual maps were created to illustrate any interconnections, before establishing the final conclusions. Local beliefs attributed disability to: human transgression of social conventions, particularly concerning inappropriate family relations, which invoked a curse; supernatural forces affecting the child; the will of God; unexplained events; and biomedical factors. Challenges associated with disability related to the burden of caregiving and perceived barriers to inclusion, with stress as a shared bi-product. Local understanding of disability in this rural part of Kenya demonstrated overlapping explanations and plurality of beliefs. Two possible interpretations are offered. Firstly, oscillation between explanatory lines demonstrated instability, affecting broader acceptance of disability. Secondly, and more positively, in the face of challenges, the desire to make sense of the existing situation, reflected a healthy pluralism

Religious Factors and Hippocampal Atrophy in Late Life

Despite a growing interest in the ways spiritual beliefs and practices are reflected in brain activity, there have been relatively few studies using neuroimaging data to assess potential relationships between religious factors and structural neuroanatomy. This study examined prospective relationships between religious factors and hippocampal volume change using high-resolution MRI data of a sample of 268 older adults. Religious factors assessed included life-changing religious experiences, spiritual practices, and religious group membership. Hippocampal volumes were analyzed using the GRID program, which is based on a manual point-counting method and allows for semi-automated determination of region of interest volumes. Significantly greater hippocampal atrophy was observed for participants reporting a life-changing religious experience. Significantly greater hippocampal atrophy was also observed from baseline to final assessment among born-again Protestants, Catholics, and those with no religious affiliation, compared with Protestants not identifying as born-again. These associations were not explained by psychosocial or demographic factors, or baseline cerebral volume. Hippocampal volume has been linked to clinical outcomes, such as depression, dementia, and Alzheimer's Disease. The findings of this study indicate that hippocampal atrophy in late life may be uniquely influenced by certain types of religious factors