宗教与生态学的对话与互动

1972 年《联合国人类环境宣言》指出:“在现代,人类改造其环境的能力,如果明智地加以使用的话,就可以给各国人民带来开发的利益和提高生活质量的机会。如果使用不当,或轻率地使用,这种能力就会给人类和人类环境造成无法估量的损害。在地球上许多地区,我们可以看到周围有越来越多的说明人为损害的迹象。”①对人在环境中的重要作用的认识,使生态学的研究对象逐渐从生物与生物、生物与环境之间的相互关系,转向了人与非生物环境、生物环境与社会环境之间的相互关系,这极大地扩大了生态学的研究范围,并产生了人类生态学这一大跨度的综合性学科。…     

South Asian women: identities and conflicts

This study investigated the effects of education, level of religiosity, ethnic identity (internal and external), and racial identity statuses (conformity, dissonance, resistance, and awareness) on cultural value conflict for first and second generation South Asian women (N = 193). Cultural value conflict was examined in two areas, intimate relations and sex-role expectations. Results revealed that level of religiosity was more predictive of intimate relations conflict for second generation than first generation women. Furthermore, higher ratings in internal ethnic identity predicted greater intimate relations conflict in first generation women, while both internal and external ethnic identity predicted intimate relations conflict in second generation women. Finally, higher dissonance scores in racial identity predicted greater conflicts in sex-role expectations for second generation women alone.     

Depression in South Asian women: Asian women's beliefs on causes and cures

A qualitative, grounded theory approach within a constructivist paradigm is employed to explore perceptions of causes and cures of depression in South Asian women. Ten Asian women suffering from depression and three of their carers were interviewed about their beliefs around the cause of their own and their relative's depression, and the implications of these beliefs for treatment. Findings suggested that understanding their experience of conflicting cultural expectations, distinctions between psychosocial, spiritual, physical health problems and communication problems (general and culture specific) were central to these women's experiences of depression The implications of results for services are discussed and limitations of the study considered in line with criteria developed for constructivist research.     

Religions and Conflicts

Many believe that a peaceful, tolerant and respectful coexistence among religions is not compatible with the conviction that only one of them is true. I argue that this ‘incompatibility problem’ (IP) is grounded in a ‘naturalistic assumption’ (NA), that is, the assumption that every subject, including religion, should be treated without taking into account that a super-natural being may exist and reveal to us an unexpected way to deal with our experience. I then argue that in matters of religion, NA is untenable and that its very opposite, which I call ‘super-naturalistic assumption’ (SA), should be adopted. My thesis is that, once SA is adopted, IP can be dismissed and that it is plausible to maintain that a peaceful, tolerant and respectful coexistence among religions is compatible with the conviction that only one of them is true.     

Grading Religions

This essay develops standards for grading religions including various forms of spiritualism. First, I examine the standards proposed by William James, John Hick, Paul Knitter, Dan Cohn-Sherbok, and Harold Netland. Most of them are useful in grading religions with or without conditions. However, those standards are not enough for refined and piercing evaluation. Thus, I introduce standards used in spiritualism. Although those standards are for grading spirits and their teachings, they are useful in refined and piercing evaluation of religious phenomena. The spiritual standards complement James’s, Hick’s, Knitter’s, and Netland’s standards. Although most of the spiritual standards are rationally unjustifiable, they have practical value.     

辞世教育与宗教

辞世教育在于提升临终者生命的意义与品质.通过辞世教育使人们坦然面对死亡这个不可避免的人生课题,而死亡又是各类宗教最关注的内容,各宗教都有对死亡奥秘的深入诠释,对死后世界的详尽描述.宗教在辞世教育方面具有其独特性,辞世教育可以借鉴宗教智慧.     

Mental illness and suicide in British South Asian adults

South Asians make up about 5% of the UK population. Their rates for mental illness and suicide have been shown by some researchers to be rather lower than that of the total UK population, using a variety of measures, and considering many psychiatric conditions. This paper reviews the literature on the extent of mental illness among British South Asian adults, and explores aspects of their service use, and their attitudes to mental illness. Some distinguishing features of British South Asian mental health are identified, including areas justifying further research. Variations in the South Asian population including generation, country of origin, religion, class, wealth and geography, emphasise the growing need to disaggregate this population when presenting data about them.     

全球化与当代宗教

本文从“全球化”的时代氛围中分析了世界宗教的现状及其特征,指出了在全球化进程中我国宗教的发展和未来走向,由此提示“全球化”所具有的广泛的而深远的社会、文化意义,强调我国的宗教工作和宗教研究在这一形势下必须要有“全球”眼光,从国际化社会、世界化信息这一实际来有效展开。     

Asian Values,Ethnic Identity,and Acculturation Among Ethnic Asian Wives in South Korea

In Korea as of 2009, the immigrant population comprised less than 2.5 % of the total population, whereas almost one in ten marriages taking place during the same year was international, of which more than 75 % were ethnic Asian women married to Korean men. On that ground, this study addresses the importance of Asian values and ethnic identity in ethnic Asian wives’ acculturation to Korean society. The subjects of this study have been selected from three ethnic Asian groups—Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese women. Acculturation in this study has been measured in three aspects: Korean cultural attitudes and identity, linguistic assimilation, and the level of satisfaction with Korean culture. First, our findings have revealed that their recognition of Asian values plays an important role in improving their acculturation to Korean society, especially in the realms of cultural attitudes and identity, and satisfaction with Korean culture. Then, there has been no evidence that their sense of ethnic identity is a critical factor of their acculturation to Korean society.     

中国的民间宗教与儒释道三教

马伯乐在本文重点讨论了20世纪的中国人的信仰特点,中国的民间宗教和儒释道三教在传统社会中的地位和相互关系,以及各自的神职人员、信奉的神灵、仪式及传统等。作者认为中国神鬼世界的特点是与人间世界相仿佛,是帝王政治的影像和模拟。     

Asian American Identity Development: A Culture Specific Model for South Asian Americans

Ethnic identity development of South Asian Americans, primarily Indian and Pakistan Americans is explored. Cultural identity is placed in the context of the social, psychological, political, and historical context of the Indian subcontinent and the United States. A framework for understanding South Asian American identity development is proposed for both the immigrant, and the native born. Cultural and gender identity, and the worldview of South Asian Americans is also addressed.     

Between Two Worlds: Counseling South Asian Americans

This article examines some of the mental health issues associated with counseling South Asian immigrants in the United States. A profile of the South Asian family is developed. Its structure and values are examined in relation to those of the American counseling community.     

The South Asian Presence in the Ecumenical Movement

This article surveys the distinct role South Asian Christianity played in the modern ecumenical movement. It explores how the longevity, vitality, and diversity of Christianity in South Asia, coupled with the pluralistic ethos and inter‐religious context of the region, provided a conducive atmosphere for the ecumenical movement to take root in the early decades of the 20th century. The article argues that while there were outstanding ecumenical thinkers and path‐breaking church unity efforts in the region, what was most important was the emergence of new theological trends that reverberated across the ecumenical world, such as Dalit theology, tribal theology, and Urban and Rural Mission. While discussing these developments from a historical perspective, this article also tries to identify contemporary issues and challenges in these areas. Today, as the forces of religious nationalism, sectarianism, and fundamentalism are gaining ground in South Asia, the task before us is to realize anew the meaning of ecumenism.     

Religions in Europe

The breakdown of European society is changing rapidly, particularly in the field of religion. Culture is of vital importance to the presence of religion in all nations. Religions also have exerted a certain degree of political power, thus influencing the economy and other related spheres of life.The different religions in Europe exhibit a variety of attitudes towards religious pluralism. The religious differences between Western and Eastern Europe depend mainly on issues of national identity related to religious adherence.This essay provides an overview of religion and politics, or Church and state, in Europe. It will conclude with some reflections about possible future developments within religious traditions in Europe. New religious communities and religious organisations are reaching different parts of Europe, sometimes very far from their place of origin. Christianity (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism) is the most widespread religion in contemporary Europe. Catholic religion is well diffused in Europe, but there are substantial differences in belief, behaviour and practice within different Catholic communities. There are various branches of Orthodoxy in Europe, such as the distinct autocephalous churches. In general Orthodox religion is closely aligned with national culture. Islam is also present in Western countries, and its impact is evident.     

South Asian and East Asian International Students' Perceived Prejudice,Acculturation, and Frequency of Help Resource Utilization

Relationships of perceived prejudice and acculturation with frequency of help resource utilization were examined for South Asian and East Asian international students (N = 110). All predictors, including interactions, were significant but showed different relationships for the 2 groups. The mean frequency of help resource utilization was significantly higher for South Asians. Las relaciones del prejuicio y la aculturación percibidas con la frecuencia de la utilización del recurso de ayuda se examinaron para el Sur Asiático y el Este estudiantes internacionales asiáticos (N = 110). Los pronosticadores, incluyendo interacciones, eran significativas pero mostro diferentes relaciones para los 2 grupos. La frecuencia media de la utilización del recurso de ayuda fue apreciablemente más alta para Asiáticos del Sur.