湘西少数民族原始宗教伦理的现代审视

湘西少数民族原始宗教作为文化原型,已化为民风民俗,进入当代民族民间文化生活。对湘西少数民族原始宗教伦理的文化特性、道德选择及其精神内核的现代审视,必须坚持中国化马克思主义宗教观,批判地发掘其当代价值。     

A Whisper Toward Peace: A Theoretical Analysis of the Council for a Parliament of the World Religions

The Council for a Parliament of the World Religions has been meeting since 1993 to foster a global religious ethic toward world peace, based on the premise that major world religions share this ethic in common. Roland Robertson's multidimensional model of globalization is utilized to analyze the Parliament's foundational Declaration, and explore why the Parliament's message is not receiving wider attention. Excerpts from anti-Parliament sources are included. Based on this analysis, the Parliament appears to have a limited conception of globalization, and so offers but a partial knowledge claim on how religion can resolve global problems. Seen in this light, it is not surprising that some oppose the Parliament's agenda, feel alienated by it, or—given its limitations—are not aware of it.     

Development of an australian work ethic scale

A scale designed to tap adherence to the Protestant work ethic ideology in Australia has been developed. The development of the Australian Work Ethic scale (AWE) was based on items selected on the basis of factor analysis and item-total correlations. Validation of the scale found that it has convergent and concurrent validity. Specifically, it correlated highly with both the Mirels and Garrett (1971) Protestant work ethic scale and Blood's (1969) pro-Protestant ethic scale. It was also found that people who strongly endorsed the work ethic ideology as measured on the AWE scale, tended to stress internal causal explanations for unemployment, and were less willing to provide assistance to the unemployed, findings which are in line with the work ethic ideology. The findings were discussed in terms of the continued efficacy of the work ethic ideology in Australia. Possible uses of this new measure in future research are suggested.     

On Measuring Work Ethic: A Neglected Work Commitment Facet

Work ethic has been underrepresented in work commitment studies, compared to other work commitment facets such as job involvement, career commitment, and organizational commitment. Using exploratory factor analysis on an overall sample of 543 participants, this study identified a four-dimension work ethic concept. The four dimensions found were hard work, nonleisure, independence, and asceticism. Various subsample analyses further supported this four-factor structure. Results and limitations of the study, including the potential incorporation of a shortened 12-item work ethic scale into a more general work commitment measure, are discussed.     

《格萨尔》史诗中的生态文化及其现代转换

《格萨尔》史诗蕴藏的丰富的生态文化起源于原始崇拜与宗教信仰,其哲理基础是二元的,藏传佛教“众生平等”的宗教理念是史诗中生态文化的主要哲理基础。古代藏族人民以宗教信仰与宗教惩罚、部落法规及习俗禁忌等社会机制为手段对藏区的自然生态进行了有效的保护,在藏区建立了和谐的生态环境。在生态问题叠出的今天,探讨史诗中的传统生态文化向现代生态文化的转换则具有极为重要的现实意义。建立正确的生态伦理观与自然观,转变生态理念,完善生态保护的制度化、规范化则是进行现代转换的三条主要途径。唯此,《格萨尔》史诗才能在生态的21世纪更加凸显其传统生态文化的现代意义。     

企业员工工作伦理的结构

采用自行研制的工作伦理问卷, 通过对全国8个城市955名员工、6所高校508名在校大学生以及两大军区461名现役军人进行问卷调查, 对企业员工工作伦理的因素结构进行了探讨。探索性因素分析(n=478)表明, 企业员工工作伦理由职业操守、工作意义、勤奋奉献、积极进取和人际和谐5个维度构成。验证性因素分析(n=477)结果表明五因素模型是比较理想的模型。复核效化检验结果表明, 基于企业员工样本得到的工作伦理五因素结构在大学生样本(n=508)和军人样本(n=461)中具有一定程度的稳定性与预测力。文章最后对企业员工工作伦理维度的构成和内容进行了分析讨论。     

宗教伦理学与当代社会--兼答万俊人教授《普世伦理如何可能》

这是一篇回应性的文章。作者在简要介绍了文章的由来以后,首先借用万俊人教授《现代西方伦理学史》一书中的材料阐述了西方宗教伦理思潮与西方社会的关系;然后指出在中国学界展开宗教伦理学研究的必要性,并论述了作者对建构中国宗教伦理学的一些想法;在文章的最后一部分,作者对万俊人教授《普世伦理如何可能》中的三个问题作出了回应：第一,关于“强伦理模式”;第二,有关世界宗教信仰现状的问题;第三,关于普世伦理以什么为基础的问题。     

A Delicate Knowledge: Epistemology, Homosexuality, and St. John of the Cross

In light of the intractable disagreements, both theological and theoretical, which emerge at every turn in contemporary discussions of homosexuality and religion, this essay advances an epistemological approach to the discussion. The advantage of an epistemological approach is that it sidesteps many of the narrow denominational discussions, making almost no reference to Romans, to natural law, or to a sexual ethic based on love and mutuality. By drawing upon analytic philosophy of religion (Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne specifically), I hope to show how a failure explicitly to face epistemological challenges has undermined pro-gay claims and arguments and contributed to religious confusion. Constructively, the work of St. John the Cross helpfully offers a powerful epistemological vision that importantly supplements the analytic projects of Plantinga and Swinburne, thereby helping us comprehend more fully what is implied and required in justified pro-gay religious conviction.     

What a drag it is being relational: Developing planetary identities

Feminists scholars, among others, have long argued for a relational understanding of identity and the self. More recently queer theory and the new materialisms have taken that understanding and placed it within an evolutionary and planetary perspective. As most modern, western understandings of law, politics, and ethics take the individual as the base unit for reflection, what might this relational, planetary identity mean in terms of ethics? This brief essay explores some of the religious and theoretical supports for a relational, planetary self, and then develops a type of ethic that is based upon a critical romanticism for the planet.     

Examining regional variability in work ethic within Mexico: Individual difference or shared value

Despite the acceptance of work ethic as an important individual difference, little research has examined the extent to which work ethic may reflect shared environmental or socio‐economic factors. This research addresses this concern by examining the influence of geographic proximity on the work ethic experienced by 254 employees from Mexico, working in 11 different cities in the Northern, Central and Southern regions of the country. Using a sequence of complementary analyses to assess the main source of variance on seven dimensions of work ethic, our results indicate that work ethic is most appropriately considered at the individual level.     

The effect of Method Variance on Relationships Between the Work Ethic and Individual Difference Variables

A great deal of research relating the work ethic to other individual difference variables has been conducted using questionnaires to measure all the variables. Many researchers believe that using a single method of measurement for multiple constructs results in artificially inflated correlations. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the work ethic, locus of control, and conscientiousness reveals that approximately 16% of the variance in measures of these constructs is a function of the method of measurement. This suggests that correlations in work ethic research based on only one method of measurement may be overstated.     

Thinking Sociologically About Religion: Implications for Faith Communities

This article is the published version of the 2011 H. Paul Douglass Lecture given at the Religious Research Association meeting in Milwaukee, WI. It argues that there has been a step change in activity with regard to the social scientific work on religion in Europe in the last half decade. It sets out the evidence for this claim and the (not always positive) reasons why this had happened. It then examines the implications of this work for the faith communities of modern Europe, arguing that effective cooperation between the religious sector and the researchers who study this is the best antidote for the misconceptions about religion that currently abound in many European societies.     

ETHICS CONCERNING LEISURE

In the United States, non-work, or non-productive activity can produce ego anxiety within a person who considers work as the primary index of self-worth. This anxiety can become extreme when a person retires or is forced into unemployment. One cause of this anxiety is society's standards concerning acceptable activity; particularly the work-oriented attiude formulated in the “Protestant Ethic.” However, the “Protestant Ethic” is neither Protestant nor religious. Rather, it is a set of national mores, which justify our work-oriented economy in religious terms. Situational ethics, which reflect both sound counseling practice and contemporary theology, can be formulated concerning the problem of leisure. And, we propose a guideline for such an ethic.     

Bioethics and natural law: the relationship in Catholic teaching.

In the discipline of Catholic moral theology, bioethics (traditionally described as medical ethics) has held a major place. The systematic development of bioethics has drawn principally upon a natural law ethic, supported by broader religious arguments. The purpose of this essay is to examine the status and role of natural law in Catholic teaching as it bears upon bioethics.     

Psychiatry, religious conversion, and medical ethics.

The interface between religion, psychiatry, and ethics is often a locus for considerable controversy. This article focuses on the response of American psychiatry to religious nonconformism, and to religious conversion generally. At issue is the societal pressure against unpopular religious movements. The author argues for an ethic that conserves the freedom of religious conscience, and that guards against inquisitions in the guise of medical expertise and nosology.     

Gods and REMS: The implications of recent dream research for the psychology of religion

Throughout history dreams have been primarily the province of religion. People in many cultures have looked to dreams as sources of spiritual insight and divine revelation. The relationship between traditional religious views of dreams and modern psychological views of dreams has long interested psychologists of religion—for dreams are a uniquely fertile subject for comparing religious and psychological understandings of human experience. In recent years there have been many revolutionary discoveries in dream research, discoveries that have taken us far beyond the seminal works of Freud, Jung, and the early sleep laboratory researchers. This essay describes the work of three leading contemporary dream researchers (neurophysiologist J. Allan Hobson, psychologist Stephen LaBerge, and anthropologist Barbara Tedlock) and evaluates the implications of their findings for our understanding of the religious dimensions of dreams. The essay concludes with some reflections on the valuable role of dream study in the psychology of religion. The primary claim is that recent dream research can make important contributions to current psychology of religion discussions about such issues as interdisciplinary inquiry, hermeneutics, the cross-cultural study of religious experience, the cultural and religious context of modern psychology, and the practical concerns of pastoral counselors.This essay is based on a paper presented on November 25 at the 1991 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Kansas City, Missouri.     

略论近代中国家庭伦理的嬗变及其启示

近代社会中国家庭伦理的嬗变是中国传统家庭伦理现代转向的一个重要阶段。其嬗变的历史背景、具体内容均给后人以启示。     

代际伦理：一个新的伦理维度

代际关系问题已经成为现代社会的一个突出问题,它使社会关系的纵横结构更加复杂。蕴藏于代际关系之中并作为代际关系之重要方面的代际伦理也就成为了现代社会的一个新的伦理维度。代际伦理的各种问题已成为现代伦理学所面临的崭新课题。     

Ethics, theism and metaphysics: An analysis of the theocentric ethics of James Gustafson

Modern ethics has been shaped by two dominant philosophical assumptions: (1) that there can be no theoretical knowledge of God, i.e., denial of metaphysics, and (2) that moral claims can be redeemed independently of theistic affirmations, i.e., morality does not require theism. These assumptions have influenced much of modern theological ethics. Yet, insofar as theological ethics accepts that morality does not require any explicit or implicit religious beliefs, it affirms that a secularistic morality is possible. But this affirmation is directly at odds with the essence of theism, namely, that God is the source and end of all things, including the moral life. By accepting the dominant consensus, therefore, theological ethics undermines its fundamental theistic claim. Focusing on James Gustafson's theocentric ethics, I seek to show the price that theological ethics pays for subscribing to the dominant consensus. I argue that: (1) Gustafson embraces an inconsistent self-understanding, which undermines his theocentric claim, (2) this is due to his dismissal of metaphysics, and (3) his theocentric ethic would be more compelling if formulated in terms of Whitehead's process metaphysics.     

Different Religions,Different Politics? Religion and Political Attitudes in Argentina and Chile

Various theories attempt to explain political outcomes. One of the most bitterly contested schools of explanation deals with culture, attitudes, and values. In the broadest sense, this tradition argues that political and social outcomes are determined in large part by the shared beliefs and values of the populace or a subgroup thereof. Thus, Stephen White (1984) has defined political culture as “historically formed beliefs and behavior,” recognizing that one's political attitudes and behavior are usually formed by inherited values as well as life experience. Moreover, scholars of political culture expect continuity of values over time and therefore are intrigued by cases of changing beliefs and attitudes. Thus, the explosive growth of evangelical and Pentecostal Protestantism in Latin America, where Protestants have grown from a handful to 20–30 percent of the population in a single generation, provides a unique opportunity for study. This rapid shift to Protestantism and its consequences for democracy have been fiercely debated in recent years. Max Weber's Protestant ethic thesis suggests that Protestantism may provide a catalyst for the establishment of democratic norms. However, many contemporary scholars argue that evangelical Protestantism is conservative, authoritarian, and politically passive. Do different religions result in different political attitudes? Does religious devotion, as distinguished from denomination, affect one's politics? This article evaluates political attitudes among Protestants and Catholics in Argentina and Chile to examine the claims of recent political culture arguments that modern Latin American Protestantism is resistant to democratic values. Survey data indicate that religious intensity (“devout‐ness”), rather than religious affiliation, does influence political attitudes, and that demographic and political engagement variables also influence democratic values.