Age-related changes in materialism in adults – A self-uncertainty perspective

Materialism is the focus of much research due to its negative consequences for individuals and societies. While recent research indicates that the strength of materialistic value orientations changes with age during adulthood, little is known about the processes that cause these age-related changes. We propose that changes in materialism, as people grow older, are rooted in changes in self-uncertainty. We find evidence for this idea in two studies and across different measures of self-uncertainty. In addition, we show that the changes in materialism cannot be explained by (age-related) differences in socio-demographic variables. Finally, our results indicate that changes in self-uncertainty provide a better account for changes in materialism than age-related changes in self-esteem.     

“Get Off My Property”: A Personal Narrative Addressing Violence Against African Americans by Law Enforcement Post–Hurricane Katrina

Thousands of African American New Orleanians were displaced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It appeared that every African American suddenly became a suspect, “fair game” to be hunted, especially by the police. This autoethnography chronicles the author's personal background, experiences, and resulting emotions of her father's encounter with law enforcement post–Hurricane Katrina. Law enforcement–initiated interventions are explored. The article concludes with recommendations for members of the counseling profession and law enforcement. Miles de personas afroamericanas de Nueva Orleans perdieron sus hogares como consecuencia del huracán Katrina. Y de repente, cada persona afroamericana pareció convertirse en sospechosa, “presa legítima” para la caza, especialmente por parte de la policía. Esta autoetnografía documenta los orígenes personales y experiencias de la autora, así como las emociones resultantes de la interacción de su padre con las fuerzas policiales tras el huracán Katrina. Se exploran las intervenciones iniciadas por las fuerzas policiales. El artículo concluye con una serie de recomendaciones para los profesionales de la consejería y las fuerzas policiales.     

Still People of the Book A History of the Church in 100 Objects,Mike Aquilina and Grace Aquilina,Ave Maria, 2017 (ISBN 978‐1‐59471‐750‐5), 448 pp., pb $24.95

The recent turn to ‘material religion’ in the academic study of religion offers a new opportunity for scholars and practitioners to take the embodied, devotional lives of adherents seriously. In their new book, A History of the Church in 100 Objects, Mike and Grace Aquilina might be productively read as responding to this new openness on the part of scholars by presenting Roman Catholic history as told through those objects that have guided the practices of the faithful. Despite their protestations to the contrary, however, the story that they tell is still mostly determined by the authoritative interpretation of sacred texts instead of ordinary interactions with sacred objects.     

‘Resacralising’ secular space: new churches in a northern city, 1980–2012

This article explores the way new church congregations in a city in northern England, the city of York, are using religious and non-religious spaces in which to meet. These new congregations show a diverse approach to the material realm and especially to sacred space. Some use existing church buildings, some build their own structures. But many use a range of buildings: schools, community centres, a pub or the garage of a private house. An examination of these structures offers insights into ways in which faith engages with wider social realities and into contemporary religious history. This article will focus primarily on Britain, but casts an eye to developments elsewhere.     

The New Age paradox: spiritual consumerism and traditional authority at the Child of Nature festival in Russia

This article addresses the paradox of contemporary New Age spirituality, which combines the individualist ideology of the capitalist market with traditional truth claims. The underlying assumption of the New Age—that there is one universal Truth in many guises—supports this type of legitimation. I argue that this paradox can be illuminated from a transcultural ethnographic perspective with the help of the concept of vernacular belief. The emphasis on lived experience reveals the New Age as a mutable and diverse set of practices from which we cannot expect ideological coherence. Analysing the plural ideological landscape of the Child of Nature festival in St Petersburg, this article investigates how its participants deal with competing narratives of universal truth, all of which pivot on one term: ‘Vedic wisdom’.     

Humility,Virtue Epistemology,and the New Atheism

Most criticisms of the New Atheism are attempts at traditional apologetics. However, Christians who wish to defend the faith against the onslaughts of these critics might appeal to virtue epistemology by showing that the New Atheists do not possess the necessary habits of thought that a person would need to make a careful and thoughtful consideration of the evidence. In fact, the New Atheists fail to practice intellectual humility and this prevents them from genuine engagement with the strengths religion offers.     

Religious studies as a modern academic discipline in Korea

This article offers a historical and institutional overview of the discipline of religious studies in Korea. It first reviews four early sources of comparative studies: work by Christian missionaries; by Japanese scholars during the period of colonization by that nation; by nationalist Korean scholars who reacted against colonization; and by Korean Christian theologians. The founding of the Korean Association for the History of Religions (KAHR) in 1969 was a key point in the professionalization of the discipline. The field became more firmly established in the late 1980s and early 1990s and has diversified in recent years with a new generation of often foreign-trained scholars. The article ends with a brief discussion of potential contributions that the discipline could make to current debates of national significance.     

五四新文化运动与孔子观念的根本转折

五四新文化运动中的孔子观念需作系统的梳理与分析。五四新文化运动的健将们主要是基于对尊孔派的反感和伦理、文化上的彻底觉悟而发起了对孔子与孔家店集中而猛烈的批评与攻击。他们所批判的主要是孔子的偶像 ,而并不反对孔子本人 ,破除孔子偶像的束缚而使人们的思想从权威和偏见中彻底解放出来 ,这是新文化运动最重要的历史功绩 ;他们虽不反对孔子本人 ,但对孔子与孔子之道采取的是一种社会语境决定论的或历史化的诠释与读解的态度 ,故带来了孔子观念的根本转折。     

明清时期儒学东渐日本简论

明清时期是中国儒学东传日本的高潮时期 ,日本思想家全面接受和吸取了儒学思想 ,并结合日本国情加以阐释和创新 ,将传统的儒学思想融入日本社会各个层面 ,对日本文化发展及其社会进步起了重要作用。同时 ,也产生了某些消极因素。     

"The End of all our Exploring" in Science and Theology

Abstract. The present malaise of religion—and of theology, its intellectual formulation—in Western society is analyzed, with some personal references, especially with respect to its history in the United Kingdom and the United States. The need for a more open theology that takes account of scientific perspectives is urged. An indication of the understandings of God and of God's relation to the world which result from an exploration starting from scientific perspectives is expounded together with their fruitful relation to some traditional themes. The implications of this for the future of theology are suggested, not least in relation to the new phase, beginning in 2003, of the development of the Zygon Center for Religion and Science. In a concluding reflection the hope is expressed that the shared global experience and perspectives generated by the sciences might form a more common and acceptable starting point than hitherto for the exploration towards God of the seekers of many religious traditions and of none.