Institutionalized Norms,Practical Organizational Activity,and Loose Coupling: Inclusive Congregations’ Responses to Homosexuality

Congregations vary widely in their responses to homosexuality. Among those inclusive congregations that integrate gays and lesbians into congregational life, why do some adopt a formal organizational statement of welcoming while others do not? Drawing on the new institutionalism and inhabited institutions literatures, this study is the first quantitative examination of the concept of “loose coupling” within religious organizations regarding homosexuality. Analyses using nationally representative congregational data (National Congregations Study) indicate that particular types of inclusive congregations are more likely to loosely couple their practical activity from their formal organizational stance. These findings suggest that inclusive religious organizations respond to myths and norms from various organizational fields and that agentic actors inhabiting the organization influence it by responding, interpreting, and making sense of those institutional norms. The analyses also indicate that loose coupling is one avenue through which particular types of religious organizations respond to the transformation of societal norms with innovation.     

THE VARIETY OF PANENTHEISMS

Abstract. In this article I review the efforts of eighteen scientists and theologians, recorded in this book, to describe the relation of God to the universe during a conference sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation at Windsor Castle in 2001. Theologians from several branches of Christian faith articulate their understanding of panentheism, revealing a considerable diversity. I deal with each author in relation to six issues: the way God acts, how God's intimate relation to the world is to be described, the relation of God to spacetime, whether God is dependent upon the world, what type of language is used, and the problem of dipolar panentheism. I identify significant differences between these authors, suggest where fruitful dialogue is possible, and distinguish between intelligibility and plausibility in comparing dipolar panentheism with other types.     

肝移植技术应用及其伦理学思考

探讨我国肝移植技术广泛应用的途径,阐述肝移植现状及其面临的伦理道德问题,认为:人们的传统思想文化背景及伦理道德观严重影响了肝移植技术的应用,要加大宣传,改变观念,尽早立法实行科学的脑死亡法。     

制约我国“新型农村合作医疗”可持续发展的因素及对策

论文分析了我国“新型农村合作医疗”在实行过程中存在的制度推行难、基金筹集难、有效管理难等问题,讨论了制约其可持续发展的因素:观念因素、体制因素、道德因素、管理因素,并提出相应了更新观念,政府主导,创新体制,加强立法等对策。     

新型农村合作医疗的受益公平性研究

2003年,我国开展了新型农村合作医疗制度(以下简称“新农合”)试点工作。利用新农合试点县卫生服务调查资料,从卫生服务需要量、利用率、医疗费用以及从新农合得到的费用补偿等方面分析不同收入水平的参合农民的受益情况。结果显示,贫困农民卫生服务需要量大,卫生服务需求的未满足程度较高,从合作医疗中受益相对较少。认为不同经济状况的参合农民在卫生服务利用中存在不公平现象。     

《世说新语》:一部记录古代中国人人格特质的著作——兼与中国人人格"大七"因素对应比较

研究认为中国古代著名笔记《世说新语》是一部用“生活资料”记录中国人人格特质的首创著作,书中的篇目不少属于人格特质,并与王登峰教授研究所得出的中国人“大七”因素中的小因素有诸多吻合。《世说新语》是一部研究中国人人格特质的有价值的书,值得人们去做深入的研究。     

An exposition of Zhou Yi studies in modern Neo-Confucianism

The representatives of modern Neo-Confucianism all greatly value Yi Zhuan and regard it as one of their spiritual resources, and give their own creative interpretations and transformations. Xiong Shili’s ontological-cosmological theory takes “qian yuan” as its center; Ma Yifu has a theory of ontology-cultivation centered on “nature-principle”; Fang Dongmei has a metaphysics of production and reproduction; Mou Zongsan takes the view of “completely knowing the fathomless and understanding transformation” as a moral metaphysics; and in Tang Junyi there is a theory of the harmony of doctrines on Heaven and man in which “the knowledge of divine understanding” is its key concept. They employ modern philosophical concepts and thinking to illustrate the cosmology, ontology, theory of life, theory of human nature, theory of spiritual worlds, axiology and their connections in Zhou Yi. They affirm that the characteristics of Chinese philosophy that are different from Western philosophy consist in a naturalist view of vital life, a harmonious view of totality, an axiological view that values exist in natural universe and the world of fact, the pursuit of Good and Beauty, and intuitive experience of inner world. __________ Translated from Zhou Yi Yanjiu 周易研究 (Zhou Yi Studies), 2004 (4) by Hao Changchi     

WONDER SUSTAINED: A REPLY TO CRITICS

A set of science‐inspired cosmic narratives referred to as the Epic of Evolution and the Universe Story or, collectively, the new cosmology, proposes to bring humans closer to nature by placing us into the broader narrative of the cosmos. This article responds to commentary and critique on my book Consecrating Science: Wonder, Knowledge, and the Natural World, which critically examines these science‐based cosmic narratives and their particular and problematic modes and objects of wonder. Themes include the relationship of wonder to science and ethical engagement; the question of whether wonder, grounded in everyday sensory experience, can scale up to the level of global environmental problems; the relevance of wonder to nonideal environments and negative affects like fear or grief; and the importance of humanistic and religious studies scholarship for critiquing grand narratives of science, among other themes. I also respond to claims that my book misdiagnoses and distorts the work of the new cosmology and its claims to wonder.     

农民合作组织介入下的新型农村合作医疗发展机制探索

农民合作组织是一种自治性的民间社团组织。在新型农村合作医疗体系中,农民处于弱势地位,可以借助农民卫生合作组织来提升农民在新型合作医疗中自我服务、筹资和监督的能力。政府要加强调研,引导农民成立科学的农民卫生合作组织,保障农民健康权益和社会利益实现,促进新型农村合作医疗的可持续发展。