Sexual grooming processes carried out by offending rabbis toward religious men and their families.

BACKGROUND: Research regarding sexual grooming in cases of sexual abuse by religious authorities (SARA) is limited, despite the assumption that many SARA cases go unreported. To the best of our knowledge there is no research regarding sexual grooming committed by rabbis who sexually abused Israeli Jewish religious men. OBJECTIVE: The present study examined how Israeli religious SARA victims and their family members experienced sexual grooming carried out by offending rabbis. METHODS: Based on a constructivist-phenomenological paradigm, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 formerly and/or currently still religious men who had been sexually abused by rabbis in their adolescence, and 14 of their family members. RESULTS: In comparison to the Sexual Grooming Model (SGM), findings showcased that unlike other kinds of sex offenders, offending rabbis incorporated religious elements throughout the grooming process. Additionally, offending rabbis used different grooming tactics than did Catholic priests (e.g., offering joint religious studies with victims' family members; using religion to justify sexual discourse and contact). CONCLUSIONS: The findings expand the SGM, enable a more complex understanding of the grooming processes in SARA, and emphasize the importance of further research focused on increasing the ability to use the SGM for detecting and preventing grooming behaviors.

A dataset on social media users' engagement with religious misinformation.

This dataset comprises Facebook data on five cases of religious misinformation in Bangladesh. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first publicly accessible dataset on Facebook-based religious misinformation in the country, featuring 7350 comments contributed by unique users. As online religious misinformation has been implicated in causing interreligious violence and tension in Bangladesh, this dataset can offer crucial insights into how social media is being exploited to foment such events. It may also help advance policy reform and activism to protect human rights and prevent the spread of religious misinformation.

Linkages between women's empowerment, religion, marriage type, and uptake of antenatal care visits in 13 West African countries.

Characteristics which reflect a particular context and unique to individuals, households, and societies have been suggested to have an impact on the association between women's empowerment and women's well-being indicators. However, there is limited empirical evidence of this effect. We used access to antenatal care (ANC) to examine the main and interaction effects of women's empowerment, religion, marriage type, and uptake of services in 13 West African countries. Data was extracted from Phase 6 and 7 of the Demographic and Health Survey, and we measured women's empowerment using the survey-based women's empowerment (SWPER) index for women's empowerment in Africa. ANC visits as the outcome variable was analyzed as a count variable and the SWPER domains, religion, and marriage type were the key independent variables. We utilised ordinary least square (OLS) and Poisson regression models where appropriate to examine main and interaction effects and analyses were appropriately weighted and key control variables were applied. Statistical significance was established at 95% confidence interval. Findings suggest that being Muslim or in a polygynous household was consistently associated with disempowerment in social independence, attitude toward violence, and decision-making for women. Although less consistent, improved social independence and decision-making for women were associated with the probability of increased ANC visits. Polygyny and Islamic religion were negatively associated with increased number of ANC visits. Decision-making for Muslim women appear to increase the probability of increased number of ANC visits. Improving the conditions that contribute towards women's disempowerment especially for Muslim women and to a lesser extent for those who reside in polygynous households is key towards better uptake of antenatal care services. Furthermore, targeting of interventions and polices that could empower women towards better access to health services should be tailored on existing contextual factors including religion and marriage type.

"If we don't forgive, it's like holding on to them": A qualitative study of religious and spiritual coping on psychological recovery in older crime victims.

OBJECTIVE: There is growing need to strengthen support for older crime victims. We aimed to explore spiritual and/or religious (S/R) beliefs in a sample of older victims and understand how this shapes psychological responding and coping with crime. METHOD: Qualitative study with supplementary descriptive statistics nested within a clinical trial. We explored psychological responding and coping in-depth through semistructured interviews with 27 older victims of police-reported crime, purposefully sampled to achieve maximum variation. We inductively analyzed data using a reflexive thematic analysis. We assessed the breadth of S/R beliefs in a large sample (N = 402) of initially distressed older victims using an abbreviated version of The Royal Free Interview for Spiritual Beliefs. We assessed continued psychological distress using the two-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Patient Health Questionnaire 3 months postcrime. RESULTS: Over two-thirds (67%) identified as S/R, but psychological distress scores were similar, irrespective of religiosity. Our qualitative analysis suggests that crime may impact religious identity or practice in some older victims (hate crime) but influences attitudes or coping in others. Positive coping included acceptance, forgiveness, and/or turning to prayer or faith communities. Negative coping included fixation on retribution, superstition, perceived abandonment by God, or an inability to accommodate the crime within their beliefs, amplifying psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the psychological impact on older crime victims is enhanced by clarifying the role of S/R. Further research, especially on non-Christian religious victims, is needed. Cultural awareness training for trauma counselors and trauma awareness training for faith leaders is recommended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The epistemology of extremism, bias, and violence in American schools: the shift from religious and racial profiling to social belonging and an identity-agnostic perspective.

This study presents findings on the indicators of educational displacement as an early risk factor for radicalization in school settings in the U.S. We collected and analyzed data from 301 students living in 43 U.S. states to inform the creation of Reimagine Resilience, an innovative violence prevention training program for educators and educational staff developed at Teachers College, Columbia University, and to measure early indications of educational displacement as a risk factor for radicalization. The study shows that poor teacher-student relations and multiple experiences of biased speech and behavior are significant early predictors of the students' educational displacement. Educational displacement, in this study, is measured as a lack of social belonging in schools.

O cuidado em saúde promovido pelas religiões afro-brasileiras / Health care promoted by afro-brazilian religions / El cuidado en salud promovido por las religiones afrobrasileñas

No decorrer da história, sempre foram infindáveis os casos em que os sujeitos recorriam a centros espíritas ou terreiros de religiões de matrizes africanas em decorrência de problemas como doenças, desempregos ou amores mal resolvidos, com o objetivo de saná-los. Por conta disso, este artigo visa apresentar os resultados da pesquisa relacionados ao objetivo de mapear os processos de cuidado em saúde ofertados em três terreiros de umbanda de uma cidade do litoral piauiense. Para isso, utilizamos o referencial da Análise Institucional "no papel". Os participantes foram três líderes de terreiros e os respectivos praticantes/consulentes dos seus estabelecimentos religiosos. Identificamos perspectivas de cuidado que se contrapunham às racionalidades biomédicas, positivistas e cartesianas, e faziam referência ao uso de plantas medicinais, ao recebimento de rezas e passes e à consulta oracular. A partir desses resultados, podemos perceber ser cada vez mais necessário, portanto, que os povos de terreiros protagonizem a construção, implementação e avaliação das políticas públicas que lhe sejam específicas.(AU)

In history, there have always been endless cases of people turning to spiritual centers or terreiros of religions of African matrices due to problems such as illnesses, unemployment, or unresolved love affairs. Therefore, this article aims to present the research results related to the objective of mapping the health care processes offered in three Umbanda terreiros of a city on the Piauí Coast. For this, we use the Institutional Analysis reference "on Paper." The participants were three leaders of terreiros and the respective practitioners/consultants of their religious establishments. We identified perspectives of care that contrasted with biomedical, positivist, and Cartesian rationalities and referred to the use of medicinal plants, the prescript of prayers and passes, and oracular consultation. From these results, we can see that it is increasingly necessary, therefore, that the peoples of the terreiros lead the construction, implementation, and evaluation of public policies that are specific to them.(AU)

A lo largo de la historia, siempre hubo casos en los cuales las personas buscan en los centros espíritas o terreros de religiones africanas la cura para sus problemas, como enfermedades, desempleo o amoríos mal resueltos. Por este motivo, este artículo pretende presentar los resultados de la investigación con el objetivo de mapear los procesos de cuidado en salud ofrecidos en tres terreros de umbanda de una ciudad del litoral de Piauí (Brasil). Para ello, se utiliza el referencial del Análisis Institucional "en el Papel". Los participantes fueron tres líderes de terreros y los respectivos practicantes / consultivos de los establecimientos religiosos que los mismos conducían. Se identificaron perspectivas de cuidado que se contraponían a las racionalidades biomédicas, positivistas y cartesianas, y hacían referencia al uso de plantas medicinales, al recibimiento de rezos y pases y a la consulta oracular. Los resultados permiten concluir que es cada vez más necesario que los pueblos de terreros sean agentes protagónicos de la construcción, implementación y evaluación de las políticas públicas destinadas específicamente para ellos.(AU)

Ethnic and religious identities in Russian penal institutions: A case study of Uzbek Transnational Muslim prisoners.

Russia has become one of the main migration hubs worldwide following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The vast majority of migrant workers travel to Russia from three Central Asian countries. However, Russian immigration laws and policies are ambiguous and highly punitive. The result is that many migrants resort to undocumented status working in the shadow economy, which places them in a disadvantaged and precarious position. In this position they are vulnerable to becoming targets of the Russian criminal justice system as they take to crime to overcome economic uncertainty, become embroiled in interpersonal conflicts ending in violence, or fall victim to fabricated criminal charges initiated by Russian police officers under pressure to produce their monthly quota of arrests. The impact on Russian penal institutions is that they have become ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse sites as a consequence of the incarceration of growing numbers of transnational prisoners. Using person-to-person interviews conducted in Uzbekistan with men and women who served sentences in Russian penal institutions during the past two decades, we show in this article how the large-scale migratory processes have transformed Russian prisons into sites of ethnic and religious plurality, in which formal rules and informal sub-cultures - the colony regime, so-called thieves' law ( vorovskoy zakon), ethnic solidarity norms, and Sharia law - coexist and clash in new ways compared with the status quo ante. Thus, we argue there is a need to revise the prevailing understanding about the power dynamics in Russian penal institutions. Our findings undermine the prison service's insistence of the ethnic and ethno-religious neutrality and 'cosmopolitanism' of Russian penal space, which is presented as a latter-day manifestation of the Soviet-era 'friendship of nations' policy. Russian prisons today must be understood as sites of ethnic and religious pluralism.

This article addresses the question of the experiences of Muslim transnational prisoners in the Russian Federation. It is based on interviews the project GULAGECHOES conducted in Uzbekistan with men and women who previously had served sentences of varying lengths and severity in Russian penal facilities over the past two decades. Unlike in Soviet times when Uzbeks were counted as Russian nationals, today they are legally defined as 'foreigners', and their presence in large numbers in the country's prisons makes the situation in Russia more like in Europe, which has high numbers of prisoners from abroad. The focus of our investigation is on group formation among Muslim prisoners and their relationship between the different power hierarchies that already exist in Russian penitentiaries. We do this through discussing the journey of one Uzbek in-migrant to Russia, through prison and back to Uzbekistan. Our aim is to contest some of the stereotypical assumptions about the linkage between migrants, the traditional prisoner sub-culture of the thieves-in-law, Islamic belief and practices and violent radicalisation. We show that the social interactions among prisoners and the motives lying behind them are multi-faceted and complex. After the introduction and sections giving the contextual information needed to understand the Russian prison system, we discuss the experiences of Muslim transnational prisoners under headings dealing with Islam and prisoner hierarchies; surveillance by prison staff; ethnic solidarity; and contact with the outside world. We conclude that the past two decades have seen the emergence of a far more complicated and plural power geometry between the prison administration and prisoners and between Russian traditional criminal sub-culture and transnational Muslim prisoners.

Análisis comparativo cognitivo y simbólico de las obras “La Domesticación del Pensamiento Salvaje” de Jack Goody y “Las Teorías de la Religión Primitiva” de E.E. Evans-Pritchard. Aplicaciones para la Educación y para la Enfermería / Análise comparativa cognitiva e simbólica dos Ensaios “A Domesticação da Mente Selvagem” de Jack Goody e “As Teorias da Religião Primitiva” de E.E. Evans-Pritchard. Aplicações para Educação e para Enfermagem / Comparative cognitive and symbolic analysis of the books "The Domestication of Savage Mind" by Jack Goody and "Theories of Primitive Religion" by E.E. EvansPritchard. Applications for Education and Nursing

Introduction: Jack Goody and Edward Evans Evans-Pritchard have been two eminent Africanist anthropologists who have developed their works and research regarding Cognitive andSymbolic Anthropology and can contribute knowledge to Applied Anthropology. Objectives: toexpose the personal reflections on the intersections in cognitive and symbolic anthropology of theworks of Jack Goody (The Domestication of Savage Mind) and Evans-Pritchard (Theories of Primitive Religion) and to argue in a reflexive way the possible applications of both works to AppliedAnthropology in Education and in Transcultural Nursing. Methodology: in-depth reading and subsequent reflective comparative analysis of both works to then propose possible applications to theaforementioned disciplines or professions. Development and results: Jack Goody converges withEvans-Pritchard at a cognitive and symbolic level. Both authors show that human beings, regardlessof their ethnic or cultural origin, have different forms of cognitive organization of reality and different symbolic forms of expressing and to ritualize their beliefs. This does not mean that somehuman groups are inferior to others, even if they are from preliterate societies. Conclusion and finalreflection: both authors and both works can serve as semiotic elements for an education in cultural diversity, in the prevention of violent behaviour against hatred and to empathy people in their concept of health/disease to further develop Transcultural Nursing and Cultural Competence. (AU)

Introducción: Jack Goody y Edward Evans Evans-Pritchard han sido dos eminentes antropólogos africanistas que han desarrollado sus obras e investigaciones en lo concerniente a la antropología cognitiva y simbólica y pueden aportar conocimientos a la antropología aplicada. Objetivos: exponer las reflexiones las reflexiones personales sobre las intersecciones en antropología cognitiva y simbólica de las obras de Jack Goody (La Domesticación del Pensamiento Salvaje) y deEvans-Pritchard (Las Teorías de la Religión Primitiva) y argumentar de forma reflexiva las posiblesaplicaciones de ambas obras a la Antropología Aplicada en Educación y en Enfermería Transcultural. Metodología: lectura en profundidad y posterior análisis comparativo reflexivo de ambas obraspara luego proponer posibles aplicaciones a las disciplinas o profesiones mencionadas. Desarrolloy resultados: la obra de Jack Goody converge con la de Evans-Pritchard a nivel cognitivo y simbólicoporque muestran que los seres humanos independientemente de su origen étnico o cultural tienendiferentes formas de organización cognitiva de la realidad y diferentes formas simbólicas de expresar y de ritualizar sus creencias. No por ello unos grupos humanos son inferiores a otros, aunquesean de sociedades ágrafas. Conclusión y reflexión final: ambos autores, y ambas obras, puedenservir de elementos semióticos para una educación en la diversidad cultural, en la prevención deconductas violentas contra el odio y para comprender a las personas en su concepto de salud/enfermedad para seguir desarrollando la enfermería transcultural y la competencia cultural. (AU)

Introdução: Jack Goody e Edward Evans Evans-Pritchard foram dois eminentes antropólogos africanistas que desenvolveram seus trabalhos e pesquisas em Antropologia Cognitiva e Simbólica e podem contribuir com conhecimento para a Antropologia Aplicada. Objetivos: expor asreflexões pessoais sobre as intersecções na Antropologia Cognitiva e Simbólica das obras de JackGoody (A Domesticação da Mente Selvagem) e de Evans-Pritchard (As Teorias da Religião Primitiva) e discutir de forma reflexiva as possíveis aplicações de ambos trabalhos para AntropologiaAplicada na Educação e na Enfermagem Transcultural. Metodologia: leitura aprofundada e posterior análise comparativa reflexiva de ambas obras para, em seguida, propor possíveis aplicações àsreferidas disciplinas ou profissões. Desenvolvimento e resultados: a obra de Jack Goody convergecom a de Evans-Pritchard ao nível cognitivo e simbólico porque mostra que os seres humanos, independentemente da sua origem étnica ou cultural, têm diferentes formas de organização cognitivada realidade e diferentes formas simbólicas de expressar e ritualizar as suas crenças. Isso não significa que alguns grupos humanos sejam inferiores a outros, mesmo que sejam de sociedades semescritura. Conclusão e reflexão final: ambos autores e as suas obras podem servir como elementossemióticos para uma educação na diversidade cultural, na prevenção de comportamentos violentoscontra o ódio e compreender as pessoas no seu conceito de saúde/doença para desenvolver aindamais a Enfermagem Transcultural e a Competência Cultural. (AU)

Distopias criminais: desnaturalizando a lógica neoliberal-religiosa do empreendedor de si / Criminal dystopias: denaturalizing the neoliberal-religious logic of the entrepreneur in himself / Distopías criminales: desnaturalizar la lógica neoliberal-religiosa del empresario del sí mismo

Esse artigo formaliza em conceitos e linhas de arguição articuladas sobre eventos do nosso cotidiano contemporâneo. Produzimos, por meio de uma narrativa-ficção, sobre os engendramentos existentes entre as lógicas do empreendedorismo, do crime e da religiosidade em seus atravessamentos pelos dispositivos necropolíticos-coloniais. A ficção operou tal análise com uma redução ao absurdo: colapsando as lógicas que buscam cindir o mundo entre "vagabundos" e "trabalhadores" ou "criminosos" e "cidadão de bem". O racismo estrutural e o estigma da periculosidade criam a figura do "vagabundo" como par oposto ao trabalhador, por uma sobreposição de camadas discursivas e imagéticas que criminaliza, encarcera e extermina juventudes negras periféricas em nome da manutenção dos privilégios da branquitude. O sistema penal brasileiro é racista e classista, perpetuando a lógica moderno-colonial que passa a fazer parte da elaboração das políticas de segurança pública. Questionamos essa racionalidade, compreendendo que o crime organizado não funciona fora da lógica neoliberal, da moral empreendedora e conservadora vigente. A redução ao absurdo nos ajuda a olhar de outra forma para as noções de culpa, mérito e para a própria noção de trabalho, levando-as aos seus limites, transgredindo as fronteiras jurídicas, para visibilizar que ambos comungam de uma rede de valores coloniais: agressividade competitiva, disciplina, obediência à hierarquia e elevação moral. Nesse paradoxo, entre a moral do crime organizado e da moralidade conservadora, visibilizamos elementos fundamentais da máquina de subjetivação do nosso tempo.(AU)

This article formalizes in articulate concepts and lines of argument about events in our contemporary everyday life. We have produced, through a narrative-fiction, about the existing engagements between the logics of entrepreneurship, crime, and religiosity in their intersections by necropolitical-colonial mechanisms. The fiction has performed this analysis with a reduction to the absurd: collapsing the logic that seeks to split the world between " tramps" and "workers" or " thugs" and "good citizens". The structural racism and the stigma of dangerousness create the figure of the " tramp" as an opposite pair to the worker, by an overlapping of discursive and imagetic layers that criminalizes, incarcerates, and exterminates suburban black youths in the name of the preservation of the privileges of whiteness. The criminal justice system in Brazil is racist and classist, perpetuating the modern-colonial approach that becomes part of the development of public security policies. We have questioned this rationality, understanding that organized crime does not function outside the neoliberal mindset, the entrepreneurial and conservative current morals. The reduction to absurd helps us to look in another way to the notions of guilt, merit and the concept of work, taking them to its limits, transgressing legal boundaries, to make visible that both share a network of colonial moral values: competitive aggressiveness, discipline, obedience to hierarchy and moral superiority. In this paradox, between the morality of the crime organized and conservational morality, we make visible fundamental elements of the machine of subjectivation of our time.(AU)

Este artículo se formaliza en conceptos y líneas argumentales articuladas sobre acontecimientos de nuestra vida cotidiana contemporánea. Producimos, a partir de una narración-ficción, acerca de los engendros existentes entre las lógicas del emprendimiento, el crimen y la religiosidad en sus entrecruzamientos por los aparatos de la necropolítica-colonial. La ficción operó ese análisis con una reducción al absurdo: desmoronando las lógicas que pretenden dividir el mundo entre " los vagos " y " los trabajadores " o " los criminales " y " los buenos ciudadanos ". El racismo estructural y el estigma de la peligrosidad crean la figura del "vago" como par opuesto al trabajador, a partir de una superposición de estratos discursivos e iconográficos que criminaliza, aprisiona y extermina a la juventud negra de la periferia en nombre del mantenimiento de los privilegios de la blancura.El sistema de justicia penal brasileño es racista y clasista, perpetuando la lógica moderno-colonial que se integra en la elaboración de las políticas de seguridad publica. Nosotros cuestionamos esta racionalidad, comprendiendo que el crimen organizado no funciona al margen de la lógica del neoliberalismo, de la moral empresarial y conservadora vigente. La reducción al absurdo nos ayuda a mirar de otra manera las nociones de culpa, mérito y la propia noción de trabajo, llevándolas a sus límites, transgrediendo las fronteras legales, para hacer visible que ambas comparten una trama de valores coloniales: agresividad competitiva, disciplina, obediencia a la jerarquía y elevación moral. En esta paradoja, entre la moral del crimen organizado y la moral conservadora, se hacen visibles elementos fundamentales de la máquina de subjetivación de nuestro tiempo.(AU)

Religious leaders can motivate men to cede power and reduce intimate partner violence: Experimental evidence from Uganda.

Violence committed by men against women in intimate relationships is a pervasive problem around the world. Patriarchal norms that place men as the head of household are often to blame. Previous research suggests that trusted authorities can shift perceptions of norms and create behavior change. In many settings, a compelling authority on behavior in relationships is religious leaders, who are influential sources of information about proper conduct in relationships and gatekeepers of marriage, but may also uphold traditional gender roles. One way leaders exert their influence is through premarital or couples counseling courses. In this study, we test whether, if given an opportunity to offer a more progressive religious interpretation of gender roles during these courses, religious leaders could motivate men to share power and thereby reduce violence. Building on existing faith networks of Christian religious leaders in western Uganda, we conducted a large pair-matched, randomized controlled trial among 1,680 heterosexual couples in which participants were randomized to attend a 12-session group counseling course or wait-listed. We find that the program shifted power from men to women and reduced intimate partner violence by five percentage points, comparable with more intensive secular programs. These improvements were largest among couples counseled by religious leaders who held the most progressive views at baseline and who critically engaged with the material. Our findings suggest that religious leaders can be effective agents of change for reducing violence.

Desistance from Crime among Chinese Delinquents: The Integrated Effects of Family Bonding, Prosocial Models, and Religious Bonding.

Desistance from crime is a popular topic in global criminological research; however, few studies have focused on desistance among delinquent youth, particularly in non-Western societies. This study extends the current knowledge by examining pathways of youth desistance in Hong Kong. Thirty delinquent youth and six parent-child dyads were interviewed, and the study found that filial piety significantly impacts the process of youth desistance. Three main forms of social capital were closely associated with youth desistance: the revival of reciprocal family bonding, the presence of a prosocial role model, and religious bonding. An interactive model was constructed to illustrate the seven stages of desistance and highlight the key elements for successful desistance among youth delinquents in Hong Kong.

The Influence of Religious Involvement on Intimate Partner Violence Victimization via Routine Activities Theory.

Routine activities theory attempts to explain victimization by examining how one's behavior, or routine activities, increases or decreases their likelihood of victimization. It has been postulated that religious individuals are less likely to associate with motivated offenders, less likely to reduce their target suitability, and more likely to enhance their guardianship, in turn reducing victimization. How, if at all, this theoretical framework can predict protection from a specific form of victimization, such as intimate partner violence (IPV), remains unexplored. Using the American subsample of the International Dating Violence Study (n = 4,162), this article attempts to determine whether religious involvement can serve as a factor that reduces IPV victimization indirectly through the three elements of routine activities theory: motivated offenders, target suitability, and capable guardianship. To test this research question, a series of logistic regression models are conducted. Results of these models indicate that religiosity does have a negative and significant impact on victims of IPV, net of variables derived from routine activities theory. This study is among the first to suggest that perhaps this theoretical framework may not be applicable to all forms of victimization. The major practical implication of this finding is that IPV victimization could be reduced using faith-based strategies. For example, religious counseling or preventive and intervention programs that increase prosocial bonds between partners are viable options in helping to reduce IPV victimization among couples. Nevertheless, it is imperative to determine other non-religious programs or methods to protect from IPV for individuals who are not religious.

Is Religious Self-Regulation a Risk or Protective Factor for Men's Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration?

Recent research has indicated that religiosity has multiple dimensions and that religious self-regulation may be a more effective predictor of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration than other measures of religiosity, such as frequency of prayer or church attendance. Nonetheless, studies have produced inconsistent results regarding the associations between religious self-regulation and IPV perpetration. Moreover, no studies have included self-reported level of religiosity in addition to religious self-regulation in predictive models of IPV perpetration. The present study sought to address the following research question: What is the association between religious self-regulation and men's IPV perpetration, accounting for self-reported level of religiosity? A convenience sample of 289 men, who had been in their current committed heterosexual relationship for at least one year, were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk and responded to an online survey. Logistic and negative binomial regression analyses indicated that introjected religious self-regulation was significantly positively associated with physical, psychological, and sexual IPV perpetration, while identified religious self-regulation was significantly negatively associated with physical, psychological, and sexual IPV perpetration, supporting both hypotheses. These findings have implications for faith leaders and secular service providers seeking to develop effective, culturally sensitive, and empirically informed IPV intervention and prevention strategies.

Prevention of partner violence: virtual case simulation for religious leaders of Korean American immigrant communities.

The project 'Religious Leaders for Healthy Families' aims to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) and increase access to resources for immigrant victims by enhancing the capacity of religious leaders. Due to cultural and psychosocial barriers, immigrant women prefer to exhaust informal resources, including religious leaders, before seeking help from professional service providers. This study reports the development of a virtual case simulation in which Korean American (KA) religious leaders living in the USA practice how to prevent and address IPV in their congregation. Intervention mapping (IM) guided the development of the simulation. This process was informed by theory, research and expertise in prevention and virtual case simulation. We partnered with victim service organizations and received feedback from religious leaders. The simulation was pilot tested with nine KA religious leaders and three community leaders with IPV expertise in the KA community. The resulting intervention consists of 4 behavioral outcomes and 24 performance objectives. We identified the knowledge, attitudes, outcome expectations and self-efficacy needed to accomplish each objective. The most creative phase was the development of four modules, as interactive virtual case simulations, that address all performance objectives. IM and social cognitive theory provided a useful framework for developing this virtual case simulation. With culturally responsive modifications, the intervention has the potential to be adapted for religious leaders from other immigrant communities.

Religion can play a pivotal role in helping immigrant women. Religious institutions help immigrants maintain their ethnic identity and language and support their integration into the new culture. This study explains the development of an online intervention for Korean American religious leaders to prevent partner violence. Religious leaders in immigrant communities can play a significant role in perpetuating cultural norms that contribute to partner violence or, conversely, create norms that promote equity between partners and value seeking help. Partner violence is high in cultures that adhere to traditional gender roles, with male-dominated interactions, and perceive seeking help as a failure that would bring shame to the whole family. The intervention consists of four modules that depict interactions between a religious leader and female parishioners: (i) a deacon worried about a parishioner who might be a victim, (ii) an immigrant woman married to an abusive husband, (iii) a woman in the hospital because of multiple bruises and a broken arm and (iv) a graduate student concerned about her fiancé's behavior. Experts in various fields, community leaders in the prevention of partner violence, and religious leaders provided their feedback and expertise for program development.

Web-based COVID-19 risk communication by religious authorities in Uganda: a critical review.

The objectives of this study were to explore the content of web-based communication on COVID-19 by religious authorities (RAs) in Uganda and to assess the level of integration of the Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH) and World Health Organisation (WHO) COVID-19 risk communication guidelines into the statements released by these RAs. A grey literature review was conducted by searching the websites of intra- and inter-religious bodies for the terms "COVID-19" and "coronavirus". Thematic analysis was used to assess the content of RA statements which were also mapped to the items of the MoH and WHO statements. Results indicate that RA communications were centred on COVID-19 description and management; the need to adhere to established guidelines; and the adoption of health-protective behaviours, notably, social distancing and avoidance of misinformation. RAs also discussed the effects of COVID-19 and its control measures on the population and spoke against pandemic-aggravated injustices (gender-based violence and embezzlement). The RA messages incorporated the WHO statement to a greater extent than the MoH statement. In conclusion, RAs played a critical role in delivering public health messages in Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic, a position we believe should be maximized by public health authorities for effective communication during emergencies.

Death in worship places: Evaluating the roles of religious organisations and state governments in reducing the risks of religious disaster.

The numbers of accidents and disasters resulting in injury and death of the faithful in religious buildings in many parts of the world are on the increase in recent years. Interestingly, the citizens of the countries where most of the cases are reported are overtly religious and manifest their religiosity by attending religious activities in religious buildings. This, therefore, heightens the impact of a disaster, such as where there is a religious building collapse or a stampede. The attendant social, legal and economic effects of such disasters on religious organisations, religious faithful and society thus necessitate the study. This article critically examines the roles of religious organisations and state governments in reducing the risks of avoidable disasters in religious buildings. It evaluates the reports of two instances of church building collapses in Nigeria as case studies. This article observes that many religious organisations do not have effective risk and safety policies to reduce their exposure to religious disasters. It also observes that the state is ineffective in enforcing building standards. It argues that religious organisations and the state owe a legal duty to protect the lives and guarantee the safety of the faithful against the tragedy that may occur in worship places, and where this duty is breached, and a victim suffers harm, a right to damages will accrue. It concludes that although a religious organisation may not be able to stop all such disasters, having an effective disaster risk policy can assist in reducing the occurrence of avoidable mishaps in religious buildings.

The "Real" Chechen Man: Conceptions of Religion, Nature, and Gender and the Persecution of Sexual Minorities in Postwar Chechnya.

In March of 2017, the Russian LGBT Network received their first reports of police violence against individuals in Chechnya because of their perceived sexual orientation. In the following months, news spread of a campaign of forced disappearances and torture specifically targeting suspected homosexual men. Between December, 2018 and February, 2019, police carried out another wave of unlawful detentions of men on the basis of their sexual orientation. The reports of unlawful detentions and extrajudicial killings of queer men may seem surreal in a world that has slowly grown more progressive with regard to LGBT rights issues. And yet, this violence is the reality faced by gay and bisexual men in Chechnya under Ramzan Kadyrov, the hypermasculine Chechen leader. This paper explores the ways in which religious practice, imaginations of nature, and conceptions of gender have influenced Chechnya's current anti-LGBT climate.

The Public Health Significance of Religious Imposition: The Experience of Oromo People in Ethiopia.

Knowledge and power are intertwined. To validate their illegitimate colonial occupation, the colonizers have imposed their knowledge-as expressed in such things as religion-upon the colonized people. Religions are instrumental in setting values, moralities and influencing the types of sciences, laws and arts developed. They govern human behavior, inform researchers on the questions they ask and foster certain types of knowledge. Religion also guides policymakers where and on what they need to focus. In this paper using a logic model I investigate (a) the theoretical reasons for imposing religion; (b) whether imposing religion widens people choices in life and produces a healthy body and community or limits people's choices and impacts the development of public health in Oromia. Religious impositions are driven by epistemic racism; they twist the paradigm of the thinking of a society. This constitutes a kind of epistemic violence. Epistemic violence discredits the experience and interests of the Oromo people. It denounces Oromo accumulated wisdom, its institutions, and it constitutes the textbook definition of disempowerment. In many ways, it hinders development of critical thinking and limits people's choices in life. Christianity and Islamic religions have been forcefully and methodically imposed upon the Oromo people. Religious impositions are the seeds that colonizers plant to make the colonized people intellectually dependent on the imposers. The imposition is meant to occupy the mental universe of the people. It twists how people perceive their past and present. Occupying and controlling the mind disguises the exploitation of the human and natural world. The imposition of those religions is responsible for many social problems such as an unjust social hierarchy, intolerance and environmental degradation. To promote health, prevent diseases and reduce health disparities, we need to promote the empowerment of people, validate their knowledge and experiences and widen their choices in life. In the efforts we make in preventing diseases and promoting health, we need to take into account the issue of religious imposition as one of the social forces. We cannot transform the world unless we understand what makes it work.

The Impact of Sexual Abuse, Family Violence/Conflict, Spirituality, and Religion on Anger and Depressed Mood Among Adolescents.

Stressful life experiences, such as sexual abuse and family violence/conflict, relate to an increased risk of mental health problems. Religion and spirituality may prevent this negative impact, but religion and spirituality are lower among survivors of stressful life experiences. To explore this effect, we examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and family violence/conflict on anger and depressed mood. Survey data were collected from a large population-based sample of Icelandic adolescents (N = 7,365) on their stressful life experiences, religion, spirituality, and mental health. Survivors of stressful life experiences (sexual abuse or family violence/conflict) were significantly lower on religion and spirituality than others. A hierarchical linear regression showed that stressful life experiences contributed uniquely to higher levels of anger and depressed mood. Spirituality was associated with decreased anger and depressed mood. The religion of parents and peers was also associated with decreased anger. Religious participation, on the contrary, did not have a relationship with mental health outcomes. In addition, the negative association between spirituality and anger was stronger among survivors of sexual abuse than nonabused individuals. These results confirm previous research, indicating that survivors of stressful life experiences may experience less religion and spirituality. The results also extend existing knowledge by showing that spirituality may be even more beneficial among sexual abuse survivors, as a protective factor against anger. These findings can help in the minimization of the negative mental health impact of stressful life experiences.

Religion, Religious Heterogeneity, and Intimate Partner Violence Among Korean Immigrant Women.

This study examined the role of religious affiliations and frequency of religious service attendance-such as church, Bible studies, and temples-as well as religious heterogeneity between couples on intimate partner violence (IPV) among Korean immigrant women in the United States. Through a case-control design, this study compared 64 Korean immigrant IPV victims with 63 Korean immigrant non-IPV victims. This study's findings reveal that for Korean immigrant women, a high frequency of religious service attendance was associated with higher IPV victimization, while their partners' high religious service attendance was associated with lower IPV victimization. When women's partners were religious compared with when they were not religious, they were less likely to perpetrate IPV even when the partners' alcohol consumption frequency increased. Also, when there was a gap between couples regarding frequency of religious attendance, IPV victimization increased. This discussion concludes by suggesting some policy implications based on these findings.