Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: the cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity

Throughout the world people differ in the magnitude with which they value strong family ties or heightened religiosity. We propose that this cross-cultural variation is a result of a contingent psychological adaptation that facilitates in-group assortative sociality in the face of high levels of parasite-stress while devaluing in-group assortative sociality in areas with low levels of parasite-stress. This is because in-group assortative sociality is more important for the avoidance of infection from novel parasites and for the management of infection in regions with high levels of parasite-stress compared with regions of low infectious disease stress. We examined this hypothesis by testing the predictions that there would be a positive association between parasite-stress and strength of family ties or religiosity. We conducted this study by comparing among nations and among states in the United States of America. We found for both the international and the interstate analyses that in-group assortative sociality was positively associated with parasite-stress. This was true when controlling for potentially confounding factors such as human freedom and economic development. The findings support the parasite-stress theory of sociality, that is, the proposal that parasite-stress is central to the evolution of social life in humans and other animals.     

基督宗教与悲剧性解释的逻辑

T·蒂里希认为,悲剧的成因在于人将其所认同的相对价值绝对化;黑格尔将之归结为各具实体性又各具片面性的伦理力量间的冲突;一种准黑格尔式的看法则将之同所谓历史的方向与目标相关联;雅斯贝斯突出强调了悲剧性的必然性.上述解释既各有合理性,又各有悖背理谬处,其远思的逻辑则分别源于基督宗教独一神信仰、上帝以言创世的教义、上帝的创世目的及救赎计划等思想.从人类生存的实情来看,悲剧性应在于人生存的悖论性,即人既必须由对神圣者的认同而获得自身的同一性,但这种同一却又必然经由世俗要求的否定才能最后完成.人这种生存的悖论也恰是与基督宗教信仰中辩证性的悖论不谋而合的.     

宗教政策与宗教工作的回顾与展望

文章从改革开放以来宗教政策与宗教工作经历的几个发展阶段 ,中央第三代领导集体对宗教政策和宗教工作实践的创新和发展两个方面 ,对二十多年来宗教政策和宗教工作作了回顾和总结。在此基础上 ,又对世纪初宗教工作作了思考与展望     

Minority religions,litigation, and the prevention of harm

Religious anti-discrimination legislation institutionalises non-violent ways of living with radical difference associated with religious diversity. The need to govern the growing number of conflicts generated by increasingly pluralistic societies is a major reason governments have introduced a range of new laws relating to religion. These laws are important not only because they protect human rights, which they do, but also because they shape social processes that generate extreme harms such as mass murder and the sexual abuse of minors. A detailed examination of three case studies of minority religions illustrates this argument. The histories of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints and The Family demonstrate that the socio-cultural processes that result in sexual abuse in minority religions are similar to the processes that result in extreme violence and that litigation plays a key role in preventing the escalation of these processes, although it is of a post hoc nature. The case of the Ordo Templi Orientis demonstrates that religious anti-discrimination legislation proactively disrupts the socio-cultural processes that lead to the escalation of tension that results in serious forms of harm.     

论宋元时期的外来宗教

本文对基督教、伊斯兰教、犹太教、袄教及摩尼教在宋元时期的传播情况作了较为细致的论述。     

台湾地区宗教的历史与现状及其对策研究

论文简要分析了台湾主要宗教的历史和现状及其四大特点,从中华文化的统一性角度,着力探讨台湾宗教与社会、政治、经济、文化之间的复杂关系,结合作者本职工作实践,研究高校台湾工作和两岸学术交流中的宗教问题和有关法规,并提出了三条具体的对策建议.     

福建早期宗教信仰的地域形态

福建宗教信仰的研究倍受关注,相关的研究成果已取得长足的进展,但对于福建早期宗教信仰的研究却相当薄弱,而早期的状况对此后福建宗教信仰的发展具有不可忽视的奠基意义.本文在相关史料勾稽的基础上,试图尽可能地揭示唐宋以前福建佛教与道教分布、播迁与传衍的地域形态.     

武汉市宗教的现状与世俗化特点--当前城市宗教工作田野调查之一

本文对武汉市目前的宗教现状进行了深入的调查 ,并对其特点进行了探讨和评价。     

网络宗教兴起的社会机制探索

本文对于网络宗教兴起的社会机制进行探索。认为在网络技术范式的结构性动力和宗教本身的保守性力量的相互作用下,传统宗教经过一个改造和传播的过程,适应了网络化逻辑的要求,为人们所认知和接受后,人们会积极地参与到网络宗教事务的建构过程中来,最终会在网络空间中生成一种新的宗教范式,即网络宗教。     

试论彝族民间宗教与彝区发展

本文主要论述了在体制转轨时期 ,彝族民间宗教在彝区社会发展中的积极因素 ,以及其存在的问题认为要提高彝族民间宗教的素质 ,发挥其在体制转轨中的积极作用 ,就应借鉴传统宗教的精华 ,把人们从迷信的桎梏中解放出来 ,逐步实现彝族民间宗教向现代人为宗教的转化 ,提高宗教品位 ,使人们得到高层次的宗教信仰和追求     

Minority religions in the census: the case of British Muslims

Abstract

This article considers the impact of census data on British Muslims, as well as the potential consequences of changes to the UK census beyond 2011 for minority religions. Focusing on the Muslim case, it reflects on data generated in previous censuses and the ways in which they have been used. The discussion explores the perceived need for social statistics on religion, particularly in relation to the increased identification of ‘Muslim’ as a religious rather than ethnic classification. It gives an overview of insights gained as a result of having data on religion in addition to ethnicity, notably: the high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage experienced by British Muslims and the ability to access information on Muslims that was hitherto hidden. Finally, the article provides a brief summary of proposed changes to the new census format and considers the likely outcomes for British Muslims if the scope of data collected on religion is reduced.     

The impact of meaning and dimensionality on the accuracy of children's copying

Studies of intellectual realism have shown that children aged 7 to 9 copy a line drawing of a cube less accurately than a non‐object pattern composed of the same lines ( Phillips, Hobbs, & Pratt, 1978 ). However, it remains unclear whether performance is worse on the cube because it is a three‐dimensional representation, or because it is a meaningful object, or both. The accuracy with which twenty 7‐year‐old and twenty 9‐year‐old children reproduced 16 line drawings of two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional objects and non‐objects was assessed. Older children copied all types of drawing more accurately than younger participants, and children of all ages copied two‐dimensional drawings more accurately than three‐dimensional. Meaningfulness interacted with dimensionality for ratings of drawing accuracy, assisting the copying of two‐dimensional drawings, but having no impact on the copying of three‐dimensional drawings. For an objective measure based on position, length, and orientation of line, meaningfulness interacted with age group, being beneficial for 7‐ but not 9‐year‐olds. Overall, the results imply that, contrary to previous suggestions, meaningfulness can actually be beneficial to copying.     

New religions and the internet: Recruiting in a new public space

The mass suicide of 39 members of Heaven's Gate in March of 1997 led to public fears about the presence of ‘spiritual predators’ on the world wide web. This paper describes and examines the nature of these fears, as reported in the media. It then sets these fears against what we know about the use of the Internet by new religions, about who joins new religious movements and why, and the social profile of Internet users. It is argued that the emergence of the Internet has yet to significantly change the nature of religious recruitment in contemporary society. The Internet as a medium of communication, however, may be having other largely unanticipated effects on the form and functioning of religion, both old and new, in the future. Some of the potential perils of the Internet are discussed with reference to the impact of this new medium on questions of religious freedom, community, social pluralism, and social control.