Secular humanitarians and the postsecular: reflections on Habermas and the Typhoon Haiyan disaster response

The international humanitarian system aims to save lives and alleviate suffering following disasters worldwide. Secular and faith-based actors make up the system, but the system can operate to a secular standard that may, some have argued, marginalise religious experience and well-being post-disaster. This article assesses what can be learned from examining secular humanitarianism from a postsecular perspective. Debate on secularity in the humanitarian system is reviewed, before Jürgen Habermas’s conception of the postsecular is proposed as a theoretical lens. Habermasian postsecularism invites the secular to take part in a process of ‘complementary learning’ with the religious. Results from interviews and focus groups in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan are used. Results show the reflexivity of secular individuals within the humanitarian system, with cases demonstrating co-operation and consideration of other views at the interpersonal level. Yet, at a system-wide level, instances of marginalisation of religion were noted, such as responses to requests for chapel reconstruction and psycho-social assistance. While some organisations made a contextualised decision that either maintained their strict secularity or negotiated a compromise, in other cases, these decisions were based on preconceptions rather than deliberation. Overall, a level of reflexivity required in Habermasian postsecularism was found, but there were also further opportunities for complementary learning.     

It is time for a general comment on children’s spiritual development

Reviewing the general comments by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the state reports to the CRC reveal a mixed picture. How could a general comment by CRC on the right to spiritual development assist states in their policies and programmes? First, current understandings of spiritual well-being – one’s relationship to oneself, others, nature and the transcendent – encompass all relevant dimensions of meaning-making, enhanced awareness and connectedness. Second, the CRC has elaborated on spiritual development in 16 of its 21 general comments, providing sources from which a comprehensive elaboration can be done. Third, the understanding of the term spiritual is diverse among states. Fourth, a general comment will clarify the term spiritual development and inspire and guide relevant policies and programmes.     

Site visits in interfaith and religious studies pedagogy: Reflections on visiting a Hindu temple in central Pennsylvania

Site visits provide an irreplaceable learning experience to students in both religious studies and the emerging field of interfaith studies. The conceptual core of this thesis is the claim, drawn from feminist epistemology, that an embodied pedagogy – a pedagogy which engages students not only intellectually, but as embodied beings who inhabit a space, engage in physical activities, and undergo various sensory experiences – is ultimately more enriching than a pedagogy centered exclusively in the classroom. Factors that make a site visit a successful instance of embodied pedagogy include the provision of sufficient context to students in advance for them to understand and appreciate the experience, an opportunity afterward to reflect on this experience in an intentional way, ensuring the site and the community whose space it is are treated with proper respect, and ensuring that the religious sensibilities of one's students are also similarly respected.     

Metaphors can give life meaning

Conceptual metaphor theory offers a perspective on how and when people find meaning in life. Whereas life’s meaning can be difficult to grasp, metaphor compares life to a relatively more concrete and structured concept. Supporting this account, American adults (Study 1) and German undergraduates (Study 2) who framed life as a journey reported more meaning in life. The journey metaphor was particularly beneficial for individuals with low levels of perceived coherence in life (Study 2). Study 3 further explored this pattern of moderation: An accessible metaphor, compared to other life framings, benefited participants who lack a strong meaning framework. Study 4 focused on the mechanism behind metaphor’s influence. Participants who imagined events from their life journey perceived stronger interrelatedness among those events as measured with an analog spatial organization task. Perceived interrelatedness in turn predicted meaning in life, particularly for individuals with a strong preference for well-structured knowledge. Finally, participants who applied their own metaphor to life expressed greater meaning (Study 5), especially those high in personal need for structure (Study 6). An internal meta-analysis of these findings provides cumulative evidence for metaphor’s influence on perceived meaning in life and reveals moderating features of the individual.     

Couples' Disease: The Experience of Living with a Partner with Chronic Depression

This study is concerned with the impact of chronic depression on partners. Thirteen male and female participants who lived with a partner with chronic depression were interviewed. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings highlighted a need for caregivers to be more centrally involved in their partner's care, given that they face stigma, shifts in role identity, and uncertainty, which all potentially threaten the level of support they can give their partner. In this sense, depression might be described as a “couples disease,” suggesting that couples therapy and group support for partners should be more widely available to help reduce the burden on partners and potentially prevent relationship breakdown.     

非工作时间使用通信技术处理工作的“双刃剑”效应及心理机制

在当前的互联网时代下,个体“在非工作时间使用通信技术处理工作”的现象已经非常普遍,并因其对个体日常工作生活适应可能产生的深远影响而受到研究者的广泛关注。基于对该领域已有研究文献的全面回顾,本文着重探讨了非工作时间使用通信工具处理对个体工作生活适应的“双刃剑”效应及效应发生的心理机制,并对该领域未来的研究方向进行了针对性的展望。     

糖尿病与睡眠的相互关系

人一生中有1／3的时间在睡眠中度过,睡眠质量直接关系到一个人的身体健康。睡眠时间过少或过多的人糖尿病患病率大大增加。糖尿病本身的病理、生理特点,严重影响患者的睡眠质量,睡眠质量又可以反过来影响糖尿病患者的血糖水平。有研究显示,糖尿病患者最佳睡眠时间为8小时。同时糖尿病患者中睡眠呼吸暂停综合征（OSAS）患病率高,0SA...     

上善若水为而不争：老子处世哲学的生命启慧

老子是道家自然美学的开创者,并以《道德经》印证了高远深邃的人生智慧。可以说,＂上善若水＂、＂为而不争＂、＂自然皈依＂作为一种理想化的君子人格模式,体认着老子＂以水喻道＂的敏锐睿智的思辨特质,召唤了历代仁人志士在人格实现上日趋走向完善、达求和升华,从而使得老子哲学始终蕴含着悠长隽永的生命意趣。     

韩康伯易学对"象数"的融通及其意义

韩康伯提出了独特的"大虚"理论与"机理"学说,以玄学的本体论哲学成功解释了《易传》所涉及的象数问题,消除了义理易学与数术占卜之间的理论矛盾,将神异现象纳入玄学的"自然"哲学体系内予以理性融通.这一变化不仅适合了东晋时期思想文化环境的变化,而且弥补了王弼易学的局限,扩大了义理易学的解释空间,奠定了尔后王、韩易注在中国易学中的主流地位.