Religion,state, and terrorism: A global analysis

ABSTRACT

This article investigates two ways in which state involvement in religion—minority and majority restriction—generates terrorism. Using a time-series, cross-national negative binomial analysis of 174 countries from 1991–2009, this study finds that when religiously devout people find themselves marginalized through either form of religious restriction, they are more likely to pursue their aims through violence. The article concludes with recommendations for policymakers.     

The best beloved of all things

The Baha’i Faith presents a concept of justice closely linked to its core belief in the oneness and interconnectedness of all humanity. Baha’is are urged to think about all people as members of one human family. In the same way that the cells of a body work together to keep the body healthy and functioning, our responsibility is to work together to establish a just society. Oppression and violence against any one part causes damage to the whole. Justice, therefore, requires striving to safeguard the right of all to develop their capacities and contributions toward the advancement of civilization. The role of education is vital to this process. Through reflection on my personal history – from fleeing religious persecution in the land of my birth to becoming a social psychologist researching discrimination – I explore Baha’i perspectives on justice, unity, and the concept of collective trusteeship, with a particular emphasis on education.     

Anticommunautarisme and the government of religious difference

Abstract

The 1901 Law on Associations and the 1905 Law on the Separation of Churches and the State constitute enduring landmarks in the government of religion in France. With these statutes, a religiously neutralized public space came into being, for the purpose of governing a religiously (and ideologically) divided population. A consideration of the legislative history throws light on the related concepts of laïcité and anticommunautarisme, without caricaturing the ‘secularist’ institutions of a French state where – as in other European liberal regimes – religious associations now play a definite but limited role in areas of governmental concern.     

The muslim slavs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (with reference to the Sandzak of Novi Pazar): Islam as national identity

Using results from a 2010 survey conducted in the Republic of Buryatia, this paper compares the responses of Russians and Buryats on questions of religious practice and belief, as well as the role of religion and religious organizations in the political sphere of contemporary Russia. Buryats more commonly identify with a religion and more frequently attend religious services in comparison to Russians living in the republic. There is greater consonance between the two groups on the public role of religion, with both Russians and Buryats generally supportive of the recent extension of religious education into schools and the creation of national holidays for all traditional religions, among other issues.     

Can charity and rights-based movements be allies in the fight against HIV/AIDS? Bridging mobilisations in the United States and sub-Saharan Africa

The activist-fuelled responses to HIV/AIDS around the world have resulted in unprecedented changes to the way infectious disease is defined and treated and in the mobilisation of resources for treatment in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the communities that have been critical sources of response are widely divergent. In the United States, where the epidemic was first identified, the strongest response was within the gay community, with its attendant rights-based orientation. In sub-Saharan Africa, faith-based communities have been critical actors, and have generally taken a charity-based approach to their work. As globalisation and the successes of the global AIDS movement draw these groups into closer contact, the question of whether these divergent approaches can work in alliance becomes ever more important. In this paper I use the concepts of collective identity and framing to examine the development of both approaches and to suggest that the activity of frame extension may be a helpful tool in bridging divergent approaches.     

清初一个开封犹太人宗教文化身份的认同--开封著名犹太人赵映乘考述

开封犹太人从儒业举的士子在清初犹太人中已形成相对数量的群体,他们循儒之途中所尊奉铑的汉俗和儒家主流文化对犹太族汉化的影响至关重要.在这些犹太人儒家士子中尤其以赵氏家族中的赵映乘最具代表性,其影响也最大,所以对其生平的考述亦可作为分析开封儒家士子在犹太人族群中的作用.用方志记载材料可以分析儒家主流文化以及汉俗文化对开封犹太人族群的影响.     

溺死尸体124例形态学分析

通过对124具溺死尸体的尸体征象出现率的统计分析,以明确哪些尸体征象可以在实际案件中用于确诊生前入水溺死。尤其对水中腐败尸体因腐败导致一些尸体征象消失,常难以确诊溺死。溺死腐败尸体左右心肌及心内膜颜色存在差异,对确诊溺死具有重要价值。     

回族教育的当代抉择

由于回族本身所具有的特点,回族教育呈现出宗教教育与世俗教育双重性的特点。回族教育在长期的发展过程中,面临着“两难选择”。如何正确认识二者的关系,是回族教育得以发展的关键所在。在现实生活中,回族穆斯林必须首选世俗教育即普通教育作为回族教育的重心,伊斯兰宗教教育应成为推动回族普通教育发展的促动器。     

Regulatory intermediaries and value conflicts in policy implementation: Religious organizations and life-and-death policies in Belgium

This article makes important contributions to governance research by studying the implementation of policies with high potential for goal incongruence between intermediaries and regulators. Building on a regulatory intermediation framework and prevailing theories from organizational institutionalism, we propose an original typology that classifies intermediaries' strategies for coping with challenging regulations. Furthermore, we explain the choice of these strategies based on intermediaries' value systems, the degree of interdependency with the regulator, and policy ambiguity. The empirical strategy is based on the case of Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim religious organizations engaged in the implementation of abortion and euthanasia policies in Belgium. These latter constitute a typical case of policy implementation that prompts value conflicts between permissive official regulations and intermediaries' conservative values on life-and-death issues.