Permitting dishonour: culture,gender and freedom of expression

While the right to freedom of expression is of great importance in liberal societies, liberal governments should be wary of speech that disparages minority groups. This issue is particularly problematic when minority women publicly criticise gender oppression within their communities. By focusing on the controversy over the play Behzti in 2004, this article explores the difficulties involved in protecting individual women’s rights to criticise injustice, when doing so risks perpetuating negative stereotypes in society at large. If liberal polities wish to preserve an ethos in society that enables minority women to speak out about their experience of oppression, then there is sometimes a case for restricting the right to free speech in these cases. By comparing Behzti with two other works, the article proposes a three-part test to indicate when liberals should seriously consider informal restrictions on free speech when this problem arises. Versions of this chapter were presented at Keele, Strathclyde and York Universities in 2005. I would like to thank the audiences for their valuable feedback. Thanks are also due to Paul Bou-Habib for written comments.     

Religious Beliefs,Diet, and Physical Activity Among Jewish Adolescents

Despite a well‐documented connection between religion and mortality, the link between religion and obesity‐related outcomes and behaviors has not been adequately studied, particularly among adolescents. This study examines whether self‐reported religious beliefs influence decisions about physical activity and diet in a sample of Jewish adolescents (n = 351). The results show that reporting a stronger influence of religious beliefs on health behaviors is associated with behaviors related to physical activity, but not diet. In adjusted regression models, individuals who report that their religious beliefs influence decisions about being physically active “a lot” have significantly more active days per week than those who say their religious beliefs do not influence such decisions. Similar effects are seen with regard to the students’ overall amount of sedentary time. The results shed light on previously documented relationships between religion and health, provide practical implications for religious organizations and leaders, and suggest areas for future research.     

Relativism, Absolutism, and Tolerance

Abstract: A common view is that relativism requires tolerance. We argue that there is no deductive relation between relativism and tolerance, but also that relativism is not incompatible with tolerance. Next we note that there is no standard inductive relation between relativism and tolerance—no inductive enumeration, argument to the best explanation, or causal argument links the two. Two inductive arguments of a different sort that link them are then exposed and criticized at length. The first considers relativism from the objective point of view ‘of the universe’, the second from the subjective point of view of the relativist herself. Both arguments fail. There is similarly no deductive relation between absolutism and tolerance—neither entails the other—and no inductive connection of any sort links the two. We conclude that tolerance, whether unlimited or restricted, is independent of both relativism and absolutism. A metaethical theory that says only that there is one true or valid ethical code, or that there is a plurality of equally true or valid ethical codes, tells us nothing about whether we should be tolerant, much less how tolerant we should be.     

Religion and Religions in Prisons: Observations from the United States and Europe

Despite manifest differences and internal variety, this article attempts to integrate the histories and present landscapes of religious practice in prison in the United States and in Western Europe. We identify, among incarcerated people in the United States, Italy, and Germany, discernible drifts toward religious pluralization, privatization, and individualization. Over the past half‐century, the administration of religion in prison has been loosened to allow for a wider variety of religious beliefs and practices. Meanwhile, as subsidized by outside volunteers, religion, especially of a socially “useful,” capitalism‐friendly sort, remains a cost‐effective means for prison administrators to efficiently subcontract their mandate to rehabilitate. Due to the decentralization and diversification of religion in contemporary prisons on both sides of the northern Atlantic, this article concludes by encouraging would‐be ethnographers of the prison interested in religion to venture beyond the expressly delineated religious space and into what we call “religious gray zones.”     

Beyond Empathy: Vulnerability,Relationality and Dementia

ABSTRACT

This paper brings together a phenomenological and vulnerability-theoretic approach to dementia. The paper challenges the view that subjects with dementia can simply be understood in terms of diminished cognitive capacities or that they have lost all vestiges of personhood or the capacity for meaningful interaction. Instead, drawing on vulnerability theory and the phenomenological work of Kristin Zeiler and Lisa Käll, an alternative view of persons with dementia is offered that is based on intersubjective and intercorporeal relations and accomplishments. A vulnerability approach to dementia is developed that not only provides the basis for empathetic responses to illnesses such as dementia but also points to the intersubjective constitution of subjects more generally. The argument developed is that the notion of vulnerability designates a form of openness to others and that such openness is a precondition for empathy.     

Gender and narrative in the Mahabharata

The public recognition of collectivities has been a difficult concept to embed in Western liberal states. Recognition is a complex and contested process, with minority rights proving particularly problematic. A commitment to recognising diversity within society that goes beyond the tokenistic ‘food and dance’ events must somehow be incorporated into the identity of a multicultural state. Yet, should this automatically mean the conferment of minority rights? If so, which rights? which groups? who decides and where does it end? Drawing on examples from Europe and Canada, this paper shall consider the issue of minority rights and integration, seeking to highlight some of the more important debates surrounding this issue including the importance of minority rights and recognition, their contested nature and the ability of such right to promote integration, or otherwise.     

Interoception,Pain Tolerance,and Self-Injurious Behaviors: A Multidimensional Assessment

Impairments in interoception have been linked to self-injurious behaviors, and capability for suicide may account for this relationship. However, past studies have relied primarily on self-report and unidimensional measures. The present study aimed to replicate and extend previous findings by examining the relationship between interoceptive dysfunction, pain tolerance, and self-injurious behaviors using a multidimensional and multi-method approach. A sample of 245 undergraduate students (M_age = 19.27 years, SD = 2.81; 73.7% female, 72.% White/European American), who reported lifetime suicidal ideation on a screening survey completed a battery of self-report measures, four counterbalanced pain tolerance tasks, and a clinical interview assessing their self-injurious behaviors. A tendency to stay attuned to bodily sensations was significantly related to decreased pain tolerance. Only trust in one’s body was significantly related to decreased presence of lifetime suicide attempts. No other facets of interoception or pain tolerance were significantly associated with self-injurious behaviors. Overall, these findings contrast with previous findings that capability for suicide may account for relations between interoceptive dysfunction and self-injurious behaviors. Nonetheless, the results of this study provide important information on the factor structure of interoceptive dysfunction and pain tolerance, and highlight the importance of careful selection of measures and operationalization of key constructs, particularly interoceptive dysfunction and pain tolerance.     

Fichte,Hegel, and the Life and Death Struggle

Several commentators have argued that Hegel's account of ‘self-consciousness’ in Chapter IV of the Phenomenology of Spirit can be read as an ‘immanent critique’ of Fichte's idealism. If this is correct, it raises the question of whether Hegel's account of ‘recognition’ in Chapter IV can be interpreted as a critique of Fichte's conception of recognition as expounded in the Foundations of Natural Right. A satisfactory answer to this question will have to provide a plausible interpretation of the ‘life and death struggle’ as an immanent critique of Fichte's account of recognition. This paper aims to provide such an interpretation. The first part of the paper provides a discussion of Fichte's account of recognition that emphasizes its ‘epistemic’ concerns. The second part argues that Hegel's account of the ‘life and death struggle’ can be read plausibly as an immanent critique of Fichte's account of recognition.     

Looking Beyond the Church Tax: Families and the Disaffiliation of Austrian Roman Catholics

This study aims to understand the reasons why Roman Catholics leave the church based on the example of Austria, a country with high rates of disaffiliation since the 1980s. Although previous research focused mainly on the church tax, this study provides a more comprehensive analysis based on a mixed‐methods approach that reveals the central relevance of the family in the process. We began by conducting and analyzing 19 qualitative interviews with former Catholics. Next we used the Generations and Gender Survey (two‐wave representative panel data) to study the characteristics of Catholics who disaffiliated in the intersurvey period (2008–2012). Two types could be distinguished in the qualitative and the quantitative sample: attached and distant leavers. Both rarely attended religious services and were critical of the church, but attached leavers held a private form of religiosity and engaged in religious practices whereas distant leavers self‐identified as agnostics or atheists. The church tax was the main reason for disaffiliation among attached leavers while distant leavers disaffiliated on ideological grounds. One identical factor, however, was of major importance for explaining church‐leaving behavior among both types: family‐related matters and experiences. We conclude that family members and family transitions play a major role in the process of religious disaffiliation.     

What Lies Beyond: Theory and Measurement of Afterdeath Beliefs

Previous attempts to assess postmortem continuation beliefs have been hampered by unidimensional approaches and a lack of theory. We argue that core variations in postmortem beliefs can be described in terms of the fate of consciousness (awareness), identity (memory, personality), and physicality (the body) beyond the death event. Based on this theoretical framework, we constructed the Afterdeath Belief Scale, which measures five variations in belief: Annihilation, Disembodied Spirit, Spiritual Embodiment, Reincarnation, and Bodily Resurrection. We also assessed the extent to which people regard their beliefs and behaviors as efficacious in determining their fate beyond death. These new measures proved to be meaningfully related to self-reported religious affiliation, religiosity, spirituality, death concerns, mystical experience, and attitudes toward embodied existence. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Kant and the Problem of Recognition: Freedom,Transcendental Idealism,and the Third-Person

Kant wants to show that freedom is possible in the face of natural necessity. Transcendental idealism is his solution, which locates freedom outside of nature. I accept that this makes freedom possible, but object that it precludes the recognition of other rational agents. In making this case, I trace some of the history of Kant’s thoughts on freedom. In several of his earlier works, he argues that we are aware of our own activity. He later abandons this approach, as he worries that any awareness of our activity involves access to the noumenal, and thereby conflicts with the epistemic limits of transcendental idealism. In its place, from the second Critique onwards, Kant argues that we are conscious of the moral law, which tells me that I ought to do something, thus revealing that I can. This is the only proof of freedom consistent with transcendental idealism, but I argue that such an exclusively first-personal approach precludes the (third-personal) recognition of other rational agents. I conclude that transcendental idealism thus fails to provide an adequate account of freedom. In its place, I sketch an alternative picture of how freedom is possible, one that locates freedom within, rather than outside of nature.     

Countries Mimicking Neighbors: The Spatial Diffusion of Governmental Restrictions on Religion

Conceptualized as efforts to deny religious freedoms, previous research explains the presence of governmental restrictions on religion by isolating national governments, asserting that the primary determinant is a country's internal structural characteristics. These approaches overlook why the levels of governmental restriction on religion are spatially clustered and increasing in distinct patterns. Utilizing spatial analysis and data from the Religion and State Project, this article demonstrates that governmental restrictions on religion are spatially clustered, not independent from neighboring countries, and that increases in a country's level of restrictions reflect similar changes in bordering countries. Spatial clustering emerges through the diffusion of policies, where national governments mimic their neighbor's policies and practices even when accounting for internal structural characteristics. The article concludes that while a country's internal structure is clearly a predictor of policies, national governments are not isolated from neighbors where the level of restrictions are susceptible to external influence.     

Ensuring Liberties: Understanding State Restrictions on Religious Freedoms

Promises of religious freedoms have become the standard in national constitutions. Yet, despite these assurances, religious freedoms are routinely denied. Combining new data collections with expanded theoretical explanations, this research explores how dimensions of governance and measures of the religious economy contribute to government restrictions on religion. Consistent with recent work on the judicialization of politics, we find that the absence of an independent judiciary is an important predictor of government restrictions on religious freedoms, whereas free elections and government effectiveness are insignificant in our full models. Consistent with the religious economy theory, we find that social restrictions and government favoritism toward a religion(s) are persistent predictors of the government's restrictions. Although the proportion of the population Muslim holds a strong bivariate association with government restrictions (r = .57), the relationship is reduced to insignificance in our full models. We briefly discuss the implications of these findings.     

Government interference in religious institutions and terrorism

ABSTRACT

Many states have adopted policies that monitor or attempt to control religious institutions in various ways. This ranges from limiting foreign-born clerics to approving the sermons presented in these institutions. These policies are often justified as measures to limit religious strife or terrorism by minimising extremism in the country. Are they effective? Or are they counterproductive, and promote resentment and violence? Using data from the Religion and State dataset and the Global Terrorism Database, I find that intensified government interference in religious institutions can lead to an increase in terrorism in a country.     

Prosperity Beliefs and Value Orientations: Fueling or Suppressing Entrepreneurial Activity

Entrepreneurs tend to think differently than nonentrepreneurs. Among the differences are values prizing achievement and self‐direction, while downplaying tradition and conformity. Religion is an important correlate to human values. Nevertheless, previous research has failed to explore adequately the connections among religious beliefs, human values, and entrepreneurial outcomes. The purpose of this study is to test these relationships with a focus on beliefs that God rewards the faithful with material prosperity. We test eight hypotheses using a national survey of working adults. Results of a multigroup path model reveal that value orientations of self‐enhancement, openness to change, and conservation are associated with entrepreneurial attitudes of opportunity recognition and risk willingness. These attitudes likewise correlate with new business creation. Prosperity beliefs moderate the impact of values and entrepreneurial attitudes on the likelihood of starting a new business, but prosperity beliefs by themselves show little direct impact on entrepreneurial attitudes or action.     

Democracy,Tolerance, Aquinas

Democracy is more than a collection of institutions, laws, and freely contested sources of authority. It is also an ideal. If we think of this ideal in republican terms, in terms of resistance to domination through the practices of mutual accountability, and if we recall that democratic life invariably comes with loss, then those of us who inhabit a democratic political society will need to locate, and then cultivate, responses to loss that do not undermine our commitment to this ideal. Tolerance, one such response, is widely recognized and yet poorly theorized. Thomas Aquinas did not recognize it, but he did praise and endorse its act, toleration, and he does offer resources for bringing the virtue into focus and identifying some of the distinguishing features of its democratic variant.     

Generation to Generation: Passing on Religious and Spiritual Beliefs and Practices

Many families face difficulties in maintaining healthy relationships. Past research has identified that religious and/or spiritual beliefs and practices can enhance family well-being. Research has also shown that religious and/or beliefs and practices can shape the aging process. Yet there exists little information on the methods through which religious and/or spiritual beliefs are passed on to future generations. This study utilized Eriksonian conceptual ideas, and grounded theory methods to conduct interviews with 13 older adults on the process through which religious and/or spiritual beliefs are passed on to children and grandchildren. Ideas are discussed for practitioners based on study findings.     

From Pussy Riot’s ‘punk prayer’ to Matilda: Orthodox believers,critique, and religious freedom in Russia

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the configurations of belief, critique, and religious freedom in Russia since the performance of the Russian group Pussy Riot in 2012. The ‘punk prayer’ and its legal and political aftermath are interpreted as an incidence of the contestation of the boundary between the secular and the religious in the Russian legal and social sphere. The authors show that the outcome of this contestation has had a decisive impact on the way in which religion, critique, and the human right of religious freedom have been defined in the present Russian context. In response to Pussy Riot, the Russian legislator turned offending religious feelings into a crime. The article investigates two more recent cases where offended feelings of believers were involved, the opera “Tannhäuser” in Ekaterinburg in 2015 and the movie Matilda in 2017, and analyses how the initial power-conforming configuration that emerged as a reply to the ‘punk prayer’ has revealed a ‘power-disturbing’ potential as conservative Orthodox groups have started to challenge the authority of the State and the Church leadership. The article is based on primary sources from Russian debates surrounding Pussy Riot, Matilda, and “Tannhäuser” and on theoretical literature on the religious–secular boundary and human rights.     

Spirituality and Its Discontents: Practices in Jonathan Edwards's Charity and Its Fruits

The contemporary interest in spiritual experience has some theological and ethical ambiguity. To what extent does it reflect genuine engagement with the sacred, to what extent is it dabbling in experience without adequate interpretation or moral commitment? Jonathan Edwards faced similar challenges in his sermons on 1 Cor 13, Charity and Its Fruits. Alasdair MacIntyre and Pierre Hadot have explored the constitutive role of practices in forming of virtues and transmitting a way of life. Their writings help show the continuing relevance of the spiritual practices that  Edwards advocated, particularly self‐examination, healing by contraries, and solidarity.