Fundamentalism and Political Violence: The Case of Paisley and Ulster Evangelicals

One of the dangers of using the term ‘fundamentalism’ for a wide variety of religiously inspired political movements is that it disguises vital differences. This article examines in great detail the involvement of the evangelical Protestant religious and political leader Reverend Ian Paisley in the political violence of Northern Ireland. It concludes that, despite the context apparently encouraging a Protestant jihad, or holy war, Ulster evangelicals are peaceful and law-abiding. Parallels with American fundamentalism are used to raise the question of contrasts to Islamic fundamentalism. It is argued that fundamentalisms differ in their attitudes towards political violence and that the differences are unlikely to be just a matter of circumstance.     

Learning from experience: The value of analysing Avalon

In this article some of the experiences and insights gained from roughly fifteen years of conducting a long term study of Glastonbury are examined. Glastonbury, a small town in the south west of England, has become a multivalent pilgrimage site for a variety of spiritual seekers, and an icon of integrative spirituality (my preferred term for ‘alternative’ or ‘New Age’ spirituality).The concept of vernacular religion is explained, and its appropriateness in relation to both place-centred study and research into integrative spirituality is demonstrated. The rationale and some of the methodological complexities underlying this type of study are explored, and some of the trends and phenomena that the long term observation of one location has revealed are considered. The contextual detail and depth of knowledge gained from such long term study feed into an appreciation of both the internal dynamics of Christianity in Glastonbury, for example, and the growing institutionalisation of the Glastonbury Goddess movement and the spread of its influence through a variety of conduits. The role of the internet in framing expectations and presentations of Glastonbury is examined, and research relating to its unique spiritual service industry is briefly summarised.While Glastonbury is by no means ‘typical’, it is indicative of a number of trends in relation to ‘integrative’ spirituality and therefore lessons learned from there can have wider implications for the study of phenomena increasingly common in the contemporary milieu.     

Fundamentalism

We should never assume that moral outrage provoked by the violation of traditional religious values is a mere reflection of secular grievances of some kind, but we should recognize that such outrage is often meshed with nationalistic and social grievances. If we take the religious Zionist militancy of some Israeli settlers (who do not see themselves as settlers), their political activities have focussed primarily on settling, and opposing the withdrawal from, the territories that Israel occupied in 1967 rather than on moral issues like abortion, homosexuality and pornography. Militant Islamic movements often stress their opposition to Western domination as much moral issues concerning personal conduct. The Shas movement in Israel is fueled in part by the resentment of Israeli Jews of Middle Eastern origin (the Mizrahim or Sephardim) towards Jews of European origin. All these movements can be said to have a ‘fundamentalist’ dimension insofar as they insist on strict conformity to sacred texts and on a moral code based on them, but focus exclusively or even primarily on this dimension of these movements is to ignore some of the crucial sources of their political appeal. With respect to the much discussed issue of bias in the comparative study of ‘fundamentalism’, it is important to avoid idealization as well as demonization. While it is important to correct popular stereotypes about religious conservatives, it is also important not to gloss over the very real problems associated with movements that demand that civil law be based on sacred law.     

Intelligence, reaction time (RT) and a new ‘odd-man-out’ RT paradigm

A sample of adult Ss of reasonably normal intelligence were given an ‘IQ’ test, a series of RT tests using 0, 1, 2, 3 bits of information in a Hick paradigm and an RT task requiring choice of 1 of 3 lights as an ‘odd-man-out’ on the basis of its relative position. Negative correlations were found between both RT and measures of variation in RT and ‘IQ’ for both of the two tasks. Recent results showing no correlation between Hick slope and ‘IQ’ and no increase in correlation between ‘IQ’ and RT with increasing number of bits, are confirmed. An explanation for findings of Ss whose RT data do not conform to Hick's law is tested and found inadequate. The ‘odd-man-out’ task is found to show an effect of ‘learning’ across the period of the task, the size of the learning effect was found also to correlate with ‘IQ’, but no evidence for learning was found with the choice RT task.     

William James and Buddhism: American Pragmatism and the Orient

William James pursued far-ranging enquiries in America across the fields of psychology, philosophy and religious studies between 1890 and 1910. Historical and comparative overlaps emerge between James and Buddhism from these pursuits. This article first sets out James' own nineteenth-century American context. There follows James' own more explicit references to Buddhism, which particularly focused on the meaning of the term ‘religion’ and on specific elements of Buddhist teachings. In turn comes a substantive comparative look at certain themes in both James and Buddhism, namely, ‘consciousness’, ‘integration’ and ‘criteria of truth claims’. The common functionalist tendencies in James and Buddhism are highlighted. Finally, the article attempts a wider look at the interaction between American thought and Buddhism during the twentieth century. This interaction is exemplified by John Dewey, Charles Hartshorne, Daisetz Suzuki, Kitaro Nishida and David Kalupahana, and also across the fields of psychology, pragmatism and process philosophy. In all of these areas James emerges as a significant figure for studying American thought and Buddhism.     

Schizotypy and hemisphere function—I : Theoretical considerations and the measurement of schizotypy

This paper brings together, in the context of individual-differences theory, two developing themes in schizophrenia research. One concerns the manifestation, in normal people, of ‘psychotic’ characteristics and their measurement using scales which, unlike the Eysenck P scale, draw their items from the clinical symptomatology of psychosis. Recent work on the so-called ‘borderline states’ is considered especially relevant and a new two-scale questionnaire (STQ) is described which was modelled on the current distinction, in DSM-III, between ‘schizotypal personality disorder’ and ‘borderline personality disorder’. The second theme addressed concerns the possible biological basis of individual differences in ‘schizotypy’. It is argued, in the light of some emerging views about the nature of schizophrenia, that this may lie in the functional and structural properties of hemisphere organization. A suggested strategy for evaluating this theory is an examination of the performance of schizotypal normal Ss on tests of hemisphere function.     

Myth, identity and belonging: The Rishi of Bengal/Bangladesh

This essay discusses the politics and relevance of myth and myth making in relation to the subordination of Untouchables in South Asia. Through the case study of one particular group – the Muchi-Rishi of Bengal/Bangladesh, traditionally skinners, leather-workers and musicians – it is argued that ex-Untouchables do not share the ideology of caste which places them on the lowest echelon of society. This is in contrast with the case of ‘Untouchable myths of origin’ offered by anthropological research (Michael Moffatt, Robert Deliège) in South India, Tamil Nadu. However, another set of counter-myths recounted by the Rishi, centred around the figure of Ruidas, offers an alternative which allows them to gain a self-ascribed identity. Far from engaging in a ‘theological’ struggle, the idiom of religion and myth becomes for these ‘ex-Untouchables’ and subaltern groups a ‘place of resistance’ from which they can hope to better themselves also in the economic, social and political spheres, as part of their overall endeavour to achieve full human dignity. For some Rishi, this process has taken the form of a long journey from being defined an ‘Untouchable’ to becoming a Dalit.     

Teachers’ implicit view of intelligence predict pupils’ self-perception as learners

Teachers regularly make judgements about their pupils’ intelligence while interacting with them in the classroom. The main aims of this paper are to analyse the structure of teachers’ judgements of their pupils’ intelligence, and to evaluate the influence that teachers have on pupils’ judgements of their own and their peers’ intelligence. Cross-cultural comparisons between English and Portuguese pupils are considered. In total 58 children 10- to 11-year-old and two teachers from London, UK and 47 children 5- to 6-year-old and two teachers from Lisbon, Portugal participated. The children completed aptitude tests and self-perception measures for general ability, reading and mathematical ability. The teachers ranked their pupils’ academic abilities from ‘best in the class’ to ‘weakest in the class’. Results show that teachers’ implicit conceptions of intelligence reflect a view of intelligence that is similar to what IQ tests measure. In addition the results support the notion that children’s verbal ability is more highly valued than mathematical ability. Moreover, the results also suggest that teachers have a considerable impact on their pupils’ self-perception as learners. Cultural differences are also discussed.     

Needs met through computer game play among adolescents

Despite much research on video/computer game play, especially the relationship between such play and aggression, little attention has been directed at needs met through play. The aim of the present study was to extend Selnow’s (1984) needs’ scale, and to identify individual differences in needs among adolescents. Focus groups were conducted, followed by a content analysis, and items corresponding to emerging themes were added to reasons identified in previous research for use in a quantitative survey. Four factors emerged from a factor analysis of the results; ‘companionship’, ‘prefer to friends’, ‘fun challenge’, and ‘stress relief’, and these, with the exception of ‘companionship’, were found to be significant predictors of play.     

Fundamentalism and Political Violence: The Case of Paisley and Ulster Evangelicals

One of the dangers of using the term ‘fundamentalism’ for a wide variety of religiously inspired political movements is that it disguises vital differences. This article examines in great detail the involvement of the evangelical Protestant religious and political leader Reverend Ian Paisley in the political violence of Northern Ireland. It concludes that, despite the context apparently encouraging a Protestant jihad, or holy war, Ulster evangelicals are peaceful and law-abiding. Parallels with American fundamentalism are used to raise the question of contrasts to Islamic fundamentalism. It is argued that fundamentalisms differ in their attitudes towards political violence and that the differences are unlikely to be just a matter of circumstance.     

Studying religion today : Controversiality and ‘objectivity’ in the sociology of religion

The salience of issues of ‘objectivity’ in the study of religion is presently increasing in the context of enhanced religious conflict, controversy and overt politicization. These issues arise and ramify on various levels: epistemological, ethical, existential and interpersonal. As students of religion are increasingly impelled to ‘become part of their data’, they need to consider whether a value-neutral ‘scientific’ study of religion can remain viable in a period of religious tumult? Feminism, Liberation Theology and concern over the perceived persecution of stigmatized religious minorities (‘cults’) represent three orientations which are currently shaping the sociology of religion in the United States.     

Dimensions of interpersonal orientation: Cross-cultural studies regarding the structure of the ‘DOI Kit’

The DOI Kit is a four-version instrument (Junior Self and Other-Report, and Adult Self-and Other-Report) developed in Spain to measure ‘Dimensions of Interpersonal Orientation’ (Spanish: ‘Dimensiones de Orientación Interpersonal’ or DOI), which are defined as prevalent postures in interpersonal behaviour. The DOI Kit has six first-level scales that collapse into two broad oblique dimensions: Prosocial versus Antisocial Behaviour, and Sociability versus Unsociability.The aim of this article is to find out whether the first- and second-level structure of the Spanish DOI Kit can also be applied to data gathered in Chile and in Germany. A total of eight groups of data were studied. In order to find the best common structure for Spanish, Chilean, and German samples, Simultaneous Component Analysis (SCA) was applied. SCA shows an excellent replication of the original DOI Kit structure. This is also found when separate factor analyses (varimax and oblimin rotations) are performed.     

Religion and Mestrovic's postemotional society: the manufacturing of religious emotion

Work on the social theory of emotion has been growing in the last decade, but few have considered how these studies relate to the field of religion. This article is a detailed critical examination of the work of the Croatian–American sociologist Stjepan Mestrovic and his idea of ‘postemotionalism’. It is an exploration of the implications of his work for understanding contemporary manifestations of religion. It first unfolds the context of Mestrovic's work on postemotionalism and then explores the development and meaning of the term. It follows a series of tensions in the concept between spontaneous and produced emotion and seeks to show how postemotionalism fails to consider adequately religious history, which has continually involved the process of repackaging ‘past emotions’. Despite these difficulties, Mestrovic's idea of postemotionalism is seen to provide not only a way to rethink emotion and rationality in religion, but a way of re-conceptualising so-called ‘individual’ religious emotion as part of wider political constructions developed through late capitalistic markets and the technology of mass media. Mestrovic's lack of concern with religion is considered, and the work of the French sociologist of religion Danièle Hervieu-Léger on ‘chain memory’ is introduced as a way of illuminating questions of religious tradition, memory and emotion in Mestrovic's work. The final section of the paper considers the ‘revivalist’ developments of Celtic Spirituality as an example of the micro-politics of postemotional religion.     

Determining the Place of Religion: Native American Traditions and the WWW

Examples of Native American websites reveal great differences in those created by Native and non-Native people. Most often of central concern for non-Indian people is Native American ‘spirituality’. In contrast, Native people rarely discuss religion as a topic distinct from political, economic or material concerns. This disparity highlights the contentious nature of ‘religion’ between Indigenous and Immigrant cultural contexts. It also reveals some features of the relationships between the cultural phenomenon of ‘whiteness’ and religion.     

Religion in the service of an elite: A sociologicallydefined imposture. the case of ancient Sparta

The following article is based upon the socio-theological framework elaborated in mybook, Heilsgeschidllicht verfasste Theologie and Männerbiinde, (Theology based on the History of Salvation versus ‘Märmerbünde‘). It attempts to correlate the recurring appearance of a gnostic worldview with the socio-psychological structures of ‘Männerbünde’ or ‘male-groups’. In doing so, it traces the gnostic method of interpreting the human condition from efforts to build an ideological superstructure in order to secure the interests of solely secular groupings; the so-called “Männerbünde’. By developing pseudo-theological constructions with their hint of true ‘theo’-logy, these secular groupings attempt to seduce people into following these newly-developed pseudotheological systems which in fact deliver them helplessly into the grip of the ‘Männerbünde’. It is through means such as these pseudo-theologies that the ‘Männerbünde’ endeavour to win almost unlimited power over the common people; hence the article's title, ‘Religion in the service of an elite’.The second element of the title, ‘A sociologically defined imposture’, refers to myunderstanding that the creation of the pseudo-theology by the ‘Minnerbünde’ does not follow the demands of theological truth but is instead ‘defined’ by the sociological rules which are to be observed if one wants to subject others to one's own private aims.Whereas the book exemplifies the proposed ideas on a larger scale by centring on historical situations taken principally from ancient and modern indo-european contexts, the present article focuses on one of the best known ‘Männerbünde’, namely, the Spartan commonwealth. Sparta's special structures, which are highly relevant in illustrating this thesis, were not considered in the book.Finally, the analysis of the Spartan material has been effected through an abstractgeneral approach, and through a socio-psychological exposition of the structures which underly and interpret the ‘Männerbünde’ text, which mainly consists of historical arguments. It is this general approach which I shall consider first.     

Characteristics of schizophrenics' and neurotics' relatives

A group of adult first-degree relatives of schizophrenics were compared with a control sample of neurotics' relatives on the EPQ, an earlier version of the Eysenck P scale, and on three specially-constructed scales of ‘psychoticism’ (STA, STB and S), derived from a consideration of the clinical symptomatology of schizophrenia and of the ‘borderline syndromes’. Overall differences, in a predictable direction, were confined to the EPQ P scale where schizophrenics' relatives had significantly higher scores, though further analysis suggested that this was due partly to the raised scores of males and partly to very low P-scores seen in male neurotics' relatives. Scores on the STA, measuring schizophrenic ‘symptoms’, were very low in schizophrenics' relatives, due, it was argued, to extremely defensive responding in that group. Results are also reported for two psychophysiological measures, forearm EMG and skin conductance. Here marked group differences were observed, schizophrenics' relatives having significantly higher mean EMG and significantly lower mean skin conductance. This unusual pattern of response was especially evident in a small subgroup of schizophrenics' relatives whose personality profiles tended to differ in the predictable direction, towards greater ‘psychoticism’. The psychophysiological data were highly consistent with other results from our laboratory demonstrating a ‘dissociation’ between different measures of ‘arousal’ in high-P normal subjects and in psychotic patients and it was concluded that measures based on such a conception of the biological basis of schizophrenia offer considerable promise as high-risk indicators of psychopathology.