'Islamic fatalism': life and suffering among Bangladeshi psychiatric patients and their families in London--an interview study 2

An interview study of 44 Bangladeshi patients and relatives in eastern London demonstrated frequent appeals to God and deprecation of personal agency. This paper offers an interpretation of this apparent 'fatalism', which argues for the logical downplaying of human agency and ambition in archaic Arabia, contemporary rural Sylhet and among first generation Sylheti migrants in London

Letters to the Rebbe: Religion and healing among the Lubavitch of Stamford Hill

This thesis examines sickness and healing among Lubavitchers, a group of Chassidic Jews living in North London. It attempts to answer a number of questions: To what extent do their ideas about the body, sickness and the cosmos derive from their religious texts? How do they conceptualise the relation between words and objects, between religious texts and the body? Under what circumstances do they resort to symbolic healing? How do they understand healing? Are rituals intended to effect change in the world or their own dispositions or both? Lubavitchers response to sickness must be understood within the context of Chassidic ideas relating to suffering and misfortune. At times of severe sickness or that not responding to biomedical treatments, appeal is made to their spiritual leader, the Rebbe. He mediates between the material and spiritual worlds and effects physical healing through the manipulation of religious artefacts. Deriving from Tanya, Lubavitchers emphasise the unity of everything in the universe and the close interrelation between the physical and spiritual, words and objects and religious texts and the body. Healing "works" on account of the fact that there is a close correspondence between Hebrew words and parts of the body. These esoteric expertises are only applied in times of sickness not in other areas of daily life. Much of the time Lubavitchers live in an enchanted world where the divine intrudes into mundane events and miracles are commonplace. However at other times they live in a pragmatic world of cause and effect The thesis confirms the Malinowskian hypothesis that symbolic measures come into play when pragmatic actions fail. In the accounts presented the petitioners argue that they expect, through the Rebbe, to effect some definite change in the natural world: ie their petitions are strong illocutionary acts. From the analyst's point of view, a "magical view" of the world may be imputed to Lubavitchers. In practice their explanations of their actions are often not well systematised and actions we might call "magical" they themselves call religious. The various Lubavitcher campaigns reinforce the power of the Rebbe and legitimate his authority. This is especially the case with the Messiah Campaign. Following his death, messianic expectations intensified as did proselytisation

Covid-19 and the Apocalypse: Religious and Secular Perspectives

The current Covid-19 pandemic has led to existential crises. One way of finding meaning in this is through apocalyptic narratives. We differentiate between religious (based upon eschatology) and secular apocalypticism (based upon radical political and economic change) and argue that both are to be found in the wake of Covid-19 infection. For religious believers, the apocalypse signifies the rapture of the faithful into heaven while those on earth will undergo the tribulations. For secular believers, the apocalypse signifies sociopolitical change. The paper ends by speculating upon the socio-political and economic changes during and after the pandemic- the New Jerusalem

Did Christianity lead to schizophrenia? Psychosis, psychology and self reference.

Both geographically and historically, schizophrenia may have emerged from a psychosis that was more florid, affective, labile, shorter lived and with a better prognosis. It is conjectured that this has occurred with a reflexive self-consciousness in Western and globalising societies, a development whose roots lie in Christianity. Every theology also presents a psychology. Six novel aspects of Christianity may be significant for the emergence of schizophrenia-an omniscient deity, a decontexualised self, ambiguous agency, a downplaying of immediate sensory data, and a scrutiny of the self and its reconstitution in conversion

The Origins of Jewish Guilt: Psychological, Theological, and Cultural Perspectives

The idea that guilt and Judaism are closely interlinked has a long historical legacy. After discussing recent work on anthropology and emotion focusing on shame and guilt, we examine three theories purporting to account for this link: psychoanalytic, theological, and guilt as a cultural stereotype particularly the notion of the Jewish mother

Analisis Faktor-Faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Kepatuhan Wajib Pajak Membayar Pajak Hotel, Pajak Restoran Dan Pajak Hiburan Di Kota Jayapura

This study aims to analyze the factors that affect the compliance of taxpayers paying hotel tax, restaurant tax, and entertainment tax in Jayapura City. This study uses primary data obtained by disseminating questionnaires online due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia and globally to 100 respondents. The data analysis method used is by structure equation model (SEM) approach with Partial Least Square (PLS) method. The sampling method used is Convenience Sampling which is a sample technique based on the availability of elements and the ease of obtaining them. Samples are taken or selected because they are in the right place and time. The result of this study is awareness of paying taxes, knowledge and understanding of taxation, tax perception affects taxpayer compliance

At the crossroads of anthropology and epidemiology: Current research in cultural psychiatry in the UK

Cultural psychiatry research in the UK comprises a broad range of diverse methodologies, academic disciplines, and subject areas. Methodologies range from epidemiological to anthropological/ethnographic to health services research; mixed methods research is becoming increasingly popular, as are public health and health promotional topics. After briefly outlining the history of cultural psychiatry in the UK we will discuss contemporary research. Prominent themes include: the epidemiology of schizophrenia among Africans/Afro-Caribbeans, migration and mental health, racism and mental health, cultural identity, pathways to care, explanatory models of mental illness, cultural competence, and the subjective experiences of healthcare provision among specific ethnic groups such as Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. Another strand of research that is attracting increasing academic attention focuses upon the relationship between religion, spirituality, and mental health, in particular, the phenomenology of religious experience and its mental health ramifications, as well as recent work examining the complex links between theology and psychiatry. The paper ends by appraising the contributions of British cultural psychiatrists to the discipline of cultural psychiatry and suggesting promising areas for future research

Alpha and evangelical conversion

A semi-structured interview study was conducted among 11 ‘Born Again’ Christians eliciting their conversion narratives. Informants emphasised the importance of embodying the Holy Spirit and developing a personal relationship with Christ in the process of conversion. The Alpha Course played an important role in this process

The doctor's medicine and the ambiguity of amulets: life and suffering among Bangladeshi psychiatric patients and their families in London - an interview study - 1

An interview study of 44 Bangladeshi patients and relatives in London demonstrated simultaneous trust in psychiatrists as well as in the widespread use of healing amulets. At the same time, local Islamic clerics and traditional healers were seen by many with some degree of suspicion. The authors offer an interpretation in which local healers and their methods are regarded ambivalently: the more distant biomedical framework fits with the newer modernising 'High' Islam (literate, scripturalist, puritanical, unitarian, urban, clerical, perhaps masculinist), as opposed to Hindu-inflected traditional Sufi Islam in Bangladesh (peasant, popular, syncretic, saintly, magical, ecstatic and possibly more sympathetic to women's experience)