ABSTRACT
Resumo Diferentes análises sobre a participação política de evangélicas(os) pentecostais no Brasil nos últimos anos têm chamado a atenção para transformações causadas pelos usos de mídias digitais por estes grupos. Em busca de ampliar este debate a partir de elementos que compõem usos cotidianos de grupos de oração no WhatsApp, o objetivo deste artigo é compreender como as disputas engajadas por mulheres pentecostais têm ressignificado suas carreiras pastorais e formado novas coletividades evangélicas. Com a emergência de outros modos de viver as intimidades propiciadas por dispositivos móveis, reflito sobre relações religiosas estabelecidas através de imagens e sons em grupos de WhatsApp, além dos impactos digitais nas dinâmicas de autoridade religiosa feminina e sua expansão transnacional.
Resumen Diferentes análisis sobre la participación política de los evangélicos pentecostales en Brasil en los últimos años han llamado la atención sobre las transformaciones provocadas por el uso de medios digitales por parte de estos grupos. Buscando ampliar este debate a partir de elementos que componen el uso cotidiano de los grupos de oración en WhatsApp, busqué comprender cómo las disputas libradas por las mujeres pentecostales han resignificado sus carreras pastorales y conformado nuevas colectividades evangélicas. Con el surgimiento de otras formas de experimentar las intimidades que brindan los dispositivos móviles, reflexiono sobre las relaciones religiosas que se establecen a través de imágenes y sonidos en los grupos de WhatsApp, además del impacto digital en la dinámica de la autoridad religiosa femenina y su expansión transnacional.
Abstract Recent literature on the political participation of Pentecostal evangelicals in Brazil has drawn attention to the transformations caused by their use of digital media. To broaden this debate, in this article I describe the everyday use of the WhatsApp instant messaging program by prayer groups, shedding light on how disputes engaged by Pentecostal women have re-signified their pastoral careers and formed new evangelical collectivities. With the emergence of other ways of experiencing the intimacy provided by mobile devices, I reflect on religious connections established across images and sounds in WhatsApp groups, in addition to the digital impact on the dynamics of female religious authority and its transnational expansion.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Women/education , Social Media/trends , Religious Personnel , Lobbying , Politics , Religion , Religion/history , Brazil , Social Networking , Gender RoleABSTRACT
Resumen Hace algunas décadas se observa la masificación en Latinoamérica de las así llamadas "espiritualidades alternativas", como la Nueva Era (New Age). Esta investigación tuvo por propósito explorar el self de los participantes de la Nueva Era en un contexto neoliberal de transformación subjetiva. Para esto, se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas de historia de vida a seis practicantes de la Nueva Era del sur de Chile. El análisis de contenido de los relatos de los entrevistados reveló dimensiones en el self de los participantes, tales como: empoderamiento, búsqueda de plenitud, renuencia de las instituciones formales, redención, un terapeuta en las relaciones, las cuales pueden ser conceptuadas desde elementos del neoliberalismo, resultados compatibles con la idea de un emprendedor y consumidor espirituales presentes en esta espiritualidad de culto al self.
Resumo Há algumas décadas, observou-se a massificação na América Latina das chamadas espiritualidades alternativas, como a Era Nueva (Nova Era). O objetivo desta pesquisa foi explorar o Self dos participantes da Nova Era dentro de um contexto neoliberal de transformação subjetiva. Para isso, entrevistas semiestruturadas de história de vida foram conduzidas com seis praticantes da Nova Era no Sul do Chile. A análise de conteúdo das histórias dos entrevistados revelou dimensões no Self dos participantes como: empoderamento, busca de realização, relutância de instituições formais, redenção, terapeuta nas relações, que podem ser conceituadas a partir de elementos do neoliberalismo, resultando compatíveis com a ideia de empreendedor e consumidor espiritual presente nessa espiritualidade de culto a si mesmo.
Abstract In recent decades, Latin America has observed the massification of so-called alternative spiritualities, such as the Nueva Era (New Age). This research sought to explore the Self of New Age participants within a neoliberal context of subjective transformation. Data was collected by semi-structured life history interviews carried out with six New Age practitioners from southern Chile. Content analysis of the interviewees' stories revealed dimensions in the participants' Self, such as: empowerment, search for fulfillment, reluctance of formal institutions, redemption, a therapist in relationships, which can be conceptualized based on neoliberal elements, resulting compatible with the idea of a spiritual entrepreneur and consumer present in this spirituality of self-worship.
Resumé Au cours des dernières décennies, l'Amérique latine a observé la massification des spiritualités dites alternatives, telles que le New Age (Nouvel-Âge). Cette recherche visait à explorer le Soi des participants du New Age dans un contexte néolibéral de transformation subjective. Les données ont été collectées par le biais d'entretiens semi-directifs sur l'histoire de vie de six praticiens du New Age du sud du Chili. L'analyse de contenu des récits des interviewés a révélé des dimensions dans le Soi des participants, telles que : l'autonomisation, la recherche de l'accomplissement, la réticence des institutions formelles, la rédemption, un thérapeute dans les relations, qui peuvent être conceptualisées à partir d'éléments néolibéraux, résultant compatibles avec l'idée d'un entrepreneur et d'un consommateur spirituel présent dans cette spiritualité du culte de soi.
Subject(s)
Spirituality , Ego , Religion/history , Chile , Spiritual Therapies , EmpowermentABSTRACT
This paper examines the berserker, a frenzied warrior attested to in both the written and material sources of medieval Scandinavia, and elucidates the characteristics that define him. It critiques explanations for the phenomenon offered in the existing historiography and whether this can be explained as a psychiatric diagnosis. It concludes that the berserker cannot be simply defined as a culturally bound or other psychiatric syndrome, or accounted for by psychogenic drugs alone. Instead, it proposes that berserk frenzy constituted a transitory dissociative state shared among a small warband steeped in religious/spiritual ideology. In entering this state, the psyche of the berserker was reconstituted in an almost archetypal pattern. Further research is required into this phenomenon in other contexts, including modern conflicts.
Subject(s)
Dissociative Identity Disorder/history , Military Personnel/history , Religion/history , Animals , History, Medieval , Humans , Male , Military Personnel/psychology , Mythology/history , Psychiatry/history , Religion and Psychology , Scandinavian and Nordic CountriesABSTRACT
This paper critically supports the modern evolutionary explanation of religion popularised by David Sloan Wilson, by comparing it with those of his predecessors, namely Emile Durkheim and Thomas Hobbes, and to some biological examples which seem analogous to religions as kinds of superorganisms in their own right. The aim of the paper is to draw out a theoretical pedigree in philosophy and sociology that is reflected down the lines of various other evolutionarily minded contributors on the subject of religion. The general theme is of evolved large-scale cooperative structures. A scholarly concern is as follows: Wilson (Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, And The Nature Of Society, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2002) draws on Durkheim, (The elementary forms of religious life. Free Press, New york, 1912) using Calvinism as an example without mentioning Hobbes (Leviathan, Edited by E. Curley, Cambridge, Hackett, 1651), but it was Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) who used Calvinism as an example of a leviathanesque religious structure-which is not acknowledged by either Wilson or Durkheim. If there are even any similarities between these authors, there appears to be an omission somewhere which should rightly be accounted for by giving credit to Hobbes where it is due. I issue on conclusion, what it is that makes Wilson's approach radically different to that it skates on. I also issue it with a cautionary word.
Subject(s)
Philosophy/history , Religion/history , Sociology/history , History, 20th Century , History, 21st CenturySubject(s)
Evidence-Based Medicine , Religion/history , Terminology as Topic , Africa, Central , Africa, Western , Culturally Competent Care , Dominican Republic , Enslavement/history , Haiti , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Humans , Magic , Pediatrics , Racism , Religious Philosophies , United StatesABSTRACT
Given changing demographics of religiosity and spirituality, this article aims to help clinicians understand contemporary trends in patient religious and spiritual orientation. It first identifies and describes the evolving varieties of religio-spiritual orientation and affiliation, as identified in survey studies. Particular attention is given to the examination of those who identify as spiritual but not religious (SBNR) and None (i.e., no religious affiliation), which is important to mental health practice because many patients now identify as SBNR or None. Next, empirical data are considered, including what the literature reveals regarding mental health outcomes and SBNRs and Nones. We conclude with a summary of the main points and five recommendations that mental health practitioners and researchers need to consider regarding this increasingly large portion of the population.
Subject(s)
Demography , Religion and Psychology , Religion/history , Spirituality , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Mental Health , United StatesABSTRACT
This article surveys the evolution of Rwandan family planning practices from the nation's mythico-historical origins to the present. Rwanda is typically regarded as a patriarchal society in which Rwandan women have, throughout history, endured limited rights and opportunities. However, oral traditions narrated by twentieth-century Rwandan historians, storytellers and related experts, and interpreted by the scholars and missionaries who lived in Rwanda during the nation's colonial period, suggest that gender norms in Rwanda were more complicated. Shifting practices related to family planning - particularly access to contraception, abortion, vasectomies and related strategies - are but one arena in which this becomes evident, suggesting that women's roles within their families and communities could be more diverse than the historiography's narrow focus on women as wives and mothers currently allows. Drawing upon a range of colonial-era oral traditions and interviews conducted with Rwandans since 2007, I argue that Rwandan women - while under significant social pressure to become wives and mothers throughout the nation's past - did find ways to exert agency within and beyond these roles. I further maintain that understanding historical approaches to family planning in Rwanda is essential for informing present-day policy debates in Rwanda aimed at promoting gender equality, and in particular for ensuring women's rights and access to adequate healthcare are being upheld.
Subject(s)
Catholicism/history , Colonialism/history , Contraception/history , Family Planning Services/history , Religion and Medicine , Belgium , Female , Gender Identity , Government Regulation/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , Male , Missionaries/history , Religion/history , RwandaABSTRACT
A figura de Òsàlá ou Oxalá é muito presente na cultura religiosa brasileira,principalmente por conta do sincretismo religioso. A forma orgânica como se desenvolveram as religiões de matriz africana no Brasil estabeleceu hoje um quadro complexo, mas infelizmente folclorizado e muitas vezes reduzido a uma simplicidade, fruto de estigmas e de uma trajetória racista em essência. O Candomblé e a Umbanda estão presentes na vida do brasileiro, tal como seus cultos. Mesmo para aqueles não iniciados, Òsàlá está no imaginário social justamente por essa popularidade. É no intuito de sintetizar essas muitas ideias que esse artigo se dedicou a organizar as percepções existentes sobre Òsàlá e Oxalá,traçando-as sob as perspectivas do Candomblé de nação Ketu e da Umbanda.Perpassando por problemáticas históricas, ritos de culto, questões raciais e reflexões epistemológicas e etimológicas, apresenta-se um material reflexivo e crítico sobre a presença de Òsàlá em solo brasileiro.
The figure of Òsàlá or Oxalá is very present in Brazilian religious culture, mainly because of religious syncretism. The organic way in which African religions developed in Brazil has established today a complex but unfortunately folklorized picture, often reduced to simplicity, the result of stigmas and a racist trajectory inessence. Candomblé and Umbanda are present in the life of Brazilians, as well as intheir cults. Even for those uninitiated, Òsàlá is in the social imagination of society precisely because of its popularity. It is in order to synthesize these many ideas that this essay is devoted to organizing the existing perceptions of Òsàlá and Oxalá,tracing them from the perspective of the Ketu Nation Candomblé and Umbanda. Going through historical problems, rites of worship, racial issues and pistemological and etymological reflections, we present a reflexive and critical material about the presence of Òsàlá in Brazilian ground.
Subject(s)
Psychology , Religion/historySubject(s)
Medicine in the Arts , Paintings , Saints , Thyroid Nodule/pathology , Female , History, 17th Century , Humans , Iodine/deficiency , Italy , Male , Medicine in the Arts/history , Paintings/history , Portraits as Topic/history , Religion/history , Religion and Medicine , Saints/history , Thyroid Nodule/historyABSTRACT
The ancient catacombs of Egypt harbor millions of well-preserved mummified Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) dating from ~600BC. Although it is known that a very large number of these 'votive' mummies were sacrificed to the Egyptian God Thoth, how the ancient Egyptians obtained millions of these birds for mummification remains unresolved. Ancient Egyptian textual evidences suggest they may have been raised in dedicated large-scale farms. To investigate the most likely method used by the priests to secure birds for mummification, we report the first study of complete mitochondrial genomes of 14 Sacred Ibis mummies interred ~2500 years ago. We analysed and compared the mitogenomic diversity among Sacred Ibis mummies to that found in modern Sacred Ibis populations from throughout Africa. The ancient birds show a high level of genetic variation comparable to that identified in modern African populations, contrary to the suggestion in ancient hieroglyphics (or ancient writings) of centralized industrial scale farming of sacrificial birds. This suggests a sustained short-term taming of the wild migratory Sacred Ibis for the ritual yearly demand.
Subject(s)
Birds/genetics , Genome, Mitochondrial , Mummies , Africa , Animal Husbandry/history , Animals , Birds/classification , DNA, Ancient , DNA, Mitochondrial/blood , DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics , DNA, Mitochondrial/history , Egypt, Ancient , Genetic Variation , History, Ancient , Phylogeny , Religion/historyABSTRACT
The 9th-15th century Angkorian state was Southeast Asia's greatest premodern empire and Angkor Wat in the World Heritage site of Angkor is one of its largest religious monuments. Here we use excavation and chronometric data from three field seasons at Angkor Wat to understand the decline and reorganization of the Angkorian Empire, which was a more protracted and complex process than historians imagined. Excavation data and Bayesian modeling on a corpus of 16 radiocarbon dates in particular demand a revised chronology for the Angkor Wat landscape. It was initially in use from the 11th century CE with subsequent habitation until the 13th century CE. Following this period, there is a gap in our dates, which we hypothesize signifies a change in the use of the occupation mounds during this period. However, Angkor Wat was never completely abandoned, as the dates suggest that the mounds were in use again in the late 14th-early 15th centuries until the 17th or 18th centuries CE. This break in dates points toward a reorganization of Angkor Wat's enclosure space, but not during the historically recorded 15th century collapse. Our excavation data are consistent with multiple lines of evidence demonstrating the region's continued ideological importance and residential use, even after the collapse and shift southward of the polity's capital. We argue that fine-grained chronological analysis is critical to building local historical sequences and illustrate how such granularity adds nuance to how we interpret the tempo of organizational change before, during, and after the decline of Angkor.
Subject(s)
Archaeology , Religion/history , Architecture/history , Cambodia , Culture , History, 15th Century , History, 16th Century , History, 17th Century , History, 18th Century , History, Medieval , HumansSubject(s)
Leadership , Politics , Religion/history , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , HumansABSTRACT
Considerable debate surrounds the economic, political, and ideological systems that constitute primary state formation. Theoretical and empirical research emphasize the role of religion as a significant institution for promoting the consolidation and reproduction of archaic states. The Tiwanaku state developed in the Lake Titicaca Basin between the 5th and 12th centuries CE and extended its influence over much of the south-central Andes of South America. We report on recent discoveries from the first systematic underwater archaeological excavations in the Khoa Reef near the Island of the Sun, Bolivia. The depositional context and compositional properties of offerings consisting of ceramic feline incense burners, killed juvenile llamas, and sumptuary metal, shell, and lapidary ornaments allow us to reconstruct the structure and significance of cyclically repeated state rituals. Using new theoretical tools, we explain the role of these rituals in promoting the consolidation of the Tiwanaku polity.
Subject(s)
Ceremonial Behavior , Indians, South American/history , Religion/history , Archaeology , Bolivia/ethnology , History, Medieval , Humans , Islands , Lakes , PoliticsABSTRACT
The origins of religion and of complex societies represent evolutionary puzzles1-8. The 'moralizing gods' hypothesis offers a solution to both puzzles by proposing that belief in morally concerned supernatural agents culturally evolved to facilitate cooperation among strangers in large-scale societies9-13. Although previous research has suggested an association between the presence of moralizing gods and social complexity3,6,7,9-18, the relationship between the two is disputed9-13,19-24, and attempts to establish causality have been hampered by limitations in the availability of detailed global longitudinal data. To overcome these limitations, here we systematically coded records from 414 societies that span the past 10,000 years from 30 regions around the world, using 51 measures of social complexity and 4 measures of supernatural enforcement of morality. Our analyses not only confirm the association between moralizing gods and social complexity, but also reveal that moralizing gods follow-rather than precede-large increases in social complexity. Contrary to previous predictions9,12,16,18, powerful moralizing 'big gods' and prosocial supernatural punishment tend to appear only after the emergence of 'megasocieties' with populations of more than around one million people. Moralizing gods are not a prerequisite for the evolution of social complexity, but they may help to sustain and expand complex multi-ethnic empires after they have become established. By contrast, rituals that facilitate the standardization of religious traditions across large populations25,26 generally precede the appearance of moralizing gods. This suggests that ritual practices were more important than the particular content of religious belief to the initial rise of social complexity.
Subject(s)
Geographic Mapping , Morals , Religion/history , Databases, Factual , History, Ancient , Humans , Social SciencesABSTRACT
The fresco The Creation of Adam (1511), painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by the great genius of human anatomy Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), represents one of the most emblematic and best-known scenes in the world. This fresco illustrates a key passage from the Book of Genesis: the moment when God creates the first man, Adam. Since its completion, this work has been intensively studied by many scholars of art, and by several anatomists, who have pointed out signs of anatomical representations contained in the scene. However, there is still some uncertainty regarding this famous scene, especially in relation to its complete iconography. In an attempt to understand Michelangelo's purpose better regarding this emblematic scene, this article presents unpublished evidence that the artist could have concealed within the figure of Adam the anatomical image of a rib which, according to traditional Biblical accounts, is iconographically associated with the origin of Eve, Adam's companion. Curiously, this hidden rib in Adam's body figure could be related to the traditional view of the origin of the first humans expounded in the Jewish Kabbalah. Clin. Anat. 32:648-653, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Subject(s)
Paintings/history , Ribs/anatomy & histology , Famous Persons , History, 16th Century , Humans , Male , Medicine in the Arts/history , Religion/historySubject(s)
Alopecia/history , Cultural Characteristics/history , Hair Removal/history , Hair , Religion/history , Alopecia/psychology , Female , Hair Removal/psychology , History, 17th Century , History, 18th Century , History, 19th Century , History, Ancient , Humans , Internationality/history , Male , Paintings/historySubject(s)
Archaeology , Bone and Bones , Culture , Female , Germany/ethnology , History, 15th Century , History, 16th Century , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , History, Ancient , History, Medieval , Humans , Infant , Mexico , Mothers/psychology , Politics , Religion/history , Research Personnel/psychology , SkullABSTRACT
This article discusses alcohol use throughout history. The discovery and cultivation of wine and beer and distillation of spirits are explored. The article spans prehistory, Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Europe, and the Americas; and the religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Also explored are the history and distillation of rum, gin, and champagne. Effects of alcohol use on society are discussed.