Kneel, stand, prostrate: The psychology of prayer postures in three world religions.

Most people practice a religion, often multiple times daily. Among the most visible aspects of these practices are body postures, which according to embodiment theories, likely shape the psychological experience of religion. In a preregistered study, we test this idea among Christians, Muslims, and Hindus in the United States, Turkey, and India (N = 2,458). In a repeated-measures experimental design, participants imagined praying in various typical postures, then reported their affective experiences, perceived relationship with deity, and prayer content for each posture. Compared to downward and constrictive postures, expansive and upward postures led to more positive emotions, dominance, and praise-focused prayers, yet fewer introspective or intercessory prayers. Interestingly, these effects varied based on religious context (e.g., many Hindus found upward and expansive postures offensive, causing no positive affect). We further explored whether these effects varied based on posture familiarity, religiosity, interoceptive sensibility, and personality traits. This research provides unique data on embodied processes shaping affect and cognition in religious practices.

A Glossary of Distress Expressions Among Kannada-Speaking Urban Hindu Women.

People's lived experiences of distress are complex, personal, and vary widely across cultures. So, too, do the terms and expressions people use to describe distress. This variation presents an engaging challenge for those doing intercultural work in transcultural psychiatry, global mental health, and psychological anthropology. This article details the findings of a study of common distress terminology among 63 Kannada-speaking Hindu women living in Mysuru, the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, South India. Very little existing scholarship focuses on cultural adaptation for speakers of Dravidian languages like Kannada; this study aims to fill this gap and support greater representation of this linguistic family in research on mental health, idioms of distress, and distress terminology. Between 2018 and 2019, we conducted a 3-phase study consisting of interviews, data reduction, and focus group discussions. The goal was to produce a non-exhaustive list of common Kannada distress terms that could be used in future research and practice to translate and culturally adapt mental health symptom scales or other global mental health tools.

Integration as the goal of indigenization: The cross-cultural psychology of Durganand Sinha.

Durganand Sinha (1922-1998) was an important Indian cross-cultural psychologist whose research spanned half a century. In commemoration of Sinha's passing 25 years ago, I explore in this essay his vision of the integration of Hindu religious psychology and Western scientific psychology. In the first part of the discussion, I consider a brief history of the interaction between Indian cultures and Western scientific psychology. In the second part, I next consider the proposal of Sinha that outlines various approaches that researchers might take with respect to the indigenization of scientific psychology. In the third part, I consider Sinha's discussion of integration as the expected outcome of the process of indigenization. Sinha indicates that when a researcher establishes a successful integrated cultural research paradigm in this way, it can serve as a framework for future researchers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Religious Afterlife Beliefs Decrease Behavioral Avoidance of Symbols of Mortality.

An astonishing cultural phenomenon is where, far away from or close to a city center, people in different societies localize cemeteries that function as both sites of memory of lost ones and symbols of mortality. Yet a psychological account of such differences in behavioral responses to symbols of mortality is lacking. Across five studies (N = 1,590), we tested a psychological model that religious afterlife beliefs decrease behavioral avoidance of symbols of mortality (BASM) by developing and validating a word-position task for quantifying BASM. We showed evidence that religious believers, including Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists, exhibited decreased BASM relative to nonbelievers. We also provide evidence for a causal relationship between religious afterlife beliefs and reduced BASM. Our findings provide new insight into the functional role of religious afterlife beliefs in modulating human avoidance behavior in response to symbols of mortality.

The Urologist's Guide to Religion and Male Factor Fertility Treatment.

OBJECTIVES: To create a reference guide for six of the major U.S. religions for use by reproductive health specialists to provide patient-centered care for a culturally diverse patient population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We utilized primary source reviews of various religious texts and verified electronic databases to examine perspectives on use of, in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), sterilization procedures such as vasectomy and tubal ligation, and surrogacy for six major U.S. religions: Catholicism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam. Each statement of religious belief was either taken directly from primary source documents or cross-referenced across several secondary sources to ensure accuracy. Perspectives were compiled into a reference document and table for clinical use. RESULTS: Most religions have focused statements concerning assisted reproduction and vasectomy. While there are caveats for most religions, IVF and IUI are largely opposed only by the Catholic church, surrogacy is not permissible in the LDS Church, Catholic Church, and Islam, and vasectomy is not permissible for the Catholic Church, LDS Church, Judaism, and Islam. Similarly, tubal ligation is also not permitted for these religions with the exception of Judaism of which while vasectomy is considered a violation of the Torah, sterilization of a woman is not explicitly discussed in the old testament. Instead, a rabbinic decree states permanent female sterilization as against the views of the faith. The religions with the most lenient rules concerning reproduction and permanent contraception explored include Buddhism and Hinduism each of which have no reservations pertaining to IVF, IUI, surrogacy, or permanent sterilization. CONCLUSION: Religion often plays a significant role in patients' attitudes towards use of ART, permanent sterilization, and surrogacy. Familiarity with the religious beliefs and perspectives is important for the reproductive health specialist in order to provide appropriate counseling for their patients. IMPACT STATEMENT: A summative reference guide can help provide patient-centered care for reproductive health and family planning.

Playing God? Religious Perspectives on Manipulating the Genome.

The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a remarkable medical science breakthrough that enables the understanding of genetics and the intervention of human health. An individual's health is influenced by physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and religious factors. Among these, religious beliefs shape our thinking on cloning, stem cells, and gene editing, affecting healthcare decisions and the motivation for seeking treatment. Is the human genome sacred? Does editing it violate the idea that we're made in God's image or allow us to "play God"? Understanding the perspectives behind the fundamental religious doctrines of Islam, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist on gene editing/therapy in somatic and germline cells would ensure a right balance between geneticists and theologians in providing the best healthcare while catering to individual beliefs.

'You don't just do it because someone else said so': Menstrual practices and women's agency in the Hindu diaspora of Trinidad.

Meanings of menstruation are deeply embedded in culture and religion. The current dominant narrative presents menstrual practices as restrictions and often describes Hindu women as 'subjected to' these practices, characterising them as the oppressed victims of their religion. This article seeks to complicate this oversimplified narrative by exploring women's motivations, choices and decisions related to menstrual practices in a small-scale study based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with women in the Hindu-Trinidadian diaspora. Our findings indicate that the women we interviewed exercise agency in the cognitive, emotional, religious and socio-cultural spheres. Many of them accept the ritual 'impurity' but overwhelmingly restrict this label to the spiritual sphere and separate it from their menstruating bodies. Many reject the idea that the practices are restrictive or stigmatising. They do not understand religion as the source of menstrual stigma but instead value or accept menstrual practices as part of what it means to be a Hindu woman-motivated by religious observance and/or the desire to be part of a community that upholds tradition. These varied manifestations of women's agency challenge the understanding of menstrual practices as necessarily-and-always oppressive and call for acknowledging the nuance and complexity of women's lives.

COVID-19, Moral Injury and the Bhagvad Gita.

During life challenging times like the present COVID-19 pandemic, the health care worker (HCW) is faced with a number of questions of an existential nature. There is a sense of guilt, anguish, helplessness, uncertainty and powerlessness when one is fighting something on such a powerful scale with limited resources and no definite end in sight. There are circumstances when these feelings can overwhelm a person leading to demoralization and potentially a moral injury. Spiritual practices and advice may help to deal with moral paradoxes and ethical dilemmas when other secular supports are undermined or inaccessible. The Holy Indian Epic, the Bhagvad Gita has described the moral distress of the warrior Arjuna, during the battle of Kurukshetra and the advice given to him by the Lord Krishna the gist of which can be encapsulated in the form of the four Ds- Detachment, Duty, Doer-ship and Dhyana or meditation. In this article, the authors explore how these concepts may be useful aids to the HCW faced with moral and psychological distress.

The role of ritual behaviour in anxiety reduction: an investigation of Marathi religious practices in Mauritius.

While the occurrence of rituals in anxiogenic contexts has been long noted and supported by ethnographic, quantitative and experimental studies, the purported effects of ritual behaviour on anxiety reduction have rarely been examined. In the present study, we investigate the anxiolytic effects of religious practices among the Marathi Hindu community in Mauritius and test whether these effects are facilitated by the degree of ritualization present in these practices. Seventy-five participants first experienced anxiety induction through the public speaking paradigm and were subsequently asked to either perform their habitual ritual in a local temple (ritual condition) or sit and relax (control condition). The results revealed that participants in the ritual condition reported lower perceived anxiety after the ritual treatment and displayed lower physiological anxiety, which was assessed as heart-rate variability. The degree of ritualization in the ritual condition showed suggestive albeit variable effects, and thus further investigation is needed. We conclude the paper with a discussion of various mechanisms that may facilitate the observed anxiolytic effects of ritual behaviour and should be investigated in the future. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ritual renaissance: new insights into the most human of behaviours'.

Religion and Caregiving for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: A Qualitative Study of Caregivers Across Four Religious Traditions and Five Global Contexts.

Studies of caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) rarely examine the role religion plays in their lives. We conducted qualitative interviews of 69 caregivers in four countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Cambodia, and India (Hyderabad and Nagaland), and across four religious traditions: Christian (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant), Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu. We asked respondents to describe the importance of religion for their becoming a caregiver, the way in which religion has helped them make sense of why children are orphans, and how religion helps them face the challenges of their occupation. Using qualitative descriptive analysis, three major themes emerged. Respondents discussed how religion provided a strong motivation for their work, reported that religious institutions were often the way in which they were introduced to caregiving as an occupation, and spoke of the ways religious practices sustain them in their work. They rarely advanced religion as an explanation for why OVC exist-only when pressed did they offer explicitly religious accounts. This study has implications for OVC care, including the importance of engaging religious institutions to support caregivers, the significance of attending to local religious context, and the vital need for research outside of Christian contexts.

Developmental dyslexia in Hindi readers: Is consistent sound-symbol mapping an asset in reading? Evidence from phonological and visuospatial working memory.

Phonological processing deficit is a hallmark of developmental dyslexia indicating a core cognitive dysfunction. Importance of working memory in reading and its association with the tasks measuring phonological processing is also debated in research. The present study investigates the role of working memory, phonological, and orthographic processing in Hindi-speaking dyslexic children (22 dyslexic and 23 control, of Grade 4). Hindi has a consistent symbol-sound mapping with an extensive list of visually complex graphemes. Although consistent symbol-sound mapping facilitates reading, graphemic complexity has its cost on memory. A range of tasks measuring phonological processing, working memory, and orthographic knowledge was designed and administered. Dyslexic children scored significantly lower than controls not only on working memory tasks but also on the tasks of phonological processing and orthographic knowledge. Moreover, the difference in working memory between dyslexic and normal children was more pronounced with increased task complexity. These results highlight complex relationships between working memory, phonological and orthographic processing together with visual attentional processing in Hindi, that contribute to the reading deficits encountered by children with dyslexia. Their respective contributions are considered in the discussion with some of the visual and phonological features of Hindi orthography and their associated effects in reading.

The Boundaries of Trust: Cross-Religious and Cross-Ethnic Field Experiments in Mauritius.

Several prominent evolutionary theories contend that religion was critical to the emergence of large-scale societies and encourages cooperation in contemporary complex groups. These theories argue that religious systems provide a reliable mechanism for finding trustworthy anonymous individuals under conditions of risk. In support, studies find that people displaying cues of religious identity are more likely to be trusted by anonymous coreligionists. However, recent research has found that displays of religious commitment can increase trust across religious divides. These findings are puzzling from the perspective that religion emerges to regulate coalitions. To date, these issues have not been investigated outside of American undergraduate samples nor have studies considered how religious identities interact with other essential group-membership signals, such as ancestry, to affect intergroup trust. Here, we address these issues and compare religious identity, ancestry, and trust among and between Christians and Hindus living in Mauritius. Ninety-seven participants rated the trustworthiness of faces, and in a modified trust game distributed money among these faces, which varied according to religious and ethnic identity. In contrast to previous research, we find that markers of religious identity increase monetary investments only among in-group members and not across religious divides. Moreover, out-group religious markers on faces of in-group ancestry decrease reported trustworthiness. These findings run counter to recent studies collected in the United States and suggest that local socioecologies influence the relationships between religion and trust. We conclude with suggestions for future research and a discussion of the challenges of conducting field experiments with remote populations.

Is Hinduism ambivalent about suicide?

BACKGROUND: Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and has over 1.1 billion adherents comprising about 16% of the global population living mainly in India and Nepal. The stand of Hinduism on suicide has been ambiguous through the ages, on one hand, condemning general suicides, while condoning religious suicides on the other. This ambiguity is reflected in contemporary India and among the Indian diaspora. AIMS: To examine the stand of Hinduism as a religion in the context of suicide. METHOD: A selected review of literature covering the major Hindu religious texts, cultural practices and suicide. RESULTS: People who follow Hinduism have a suicide rate of about 21 per 100,000 population compared to the global average of 11.4. Hindu countries have higher rates of suicide compared to Islamic and Christian countries, but these rates are lower when compared to Atheist and Buddhist countries. This is reflected in the Indian diaspora as well with reports from Fiji, the Caribbean, Malaysia and the United Kingdom, indicating that suicide was disproportionately high among those of Indian origin. However, a strong faith in Hinduism acts as protective factor. The Hindu belief in karma fosters a sense of acceptance of the vicissitudes of life with equanimity, and the belief in the cycle of births and deaths renders suicide meaningless, as one's soul continues after death. Their religious beliefs makes the Hindus tolerate and accept hardships and calamities stoically. CONCLUSION: In certain situations, the Hindu religion acts as a protective factor, whereas at other times, it may increase the risk of suicide. It is important to understand these different nuances in the Hindu religion in formulating a culturally appropriate suicide prevention strategy.

Hey Wait! I Just Thought of Something Else! Advaita and Clinical Hypnosis.

While much has been made of the value of Buddhist mindfulness in clinical treatment, little attention has been given over to its parallels, if not antecedents in Hindu philosophy. Buddhist traditions in the vipassana, ch'an and zen tradition, and the practices associated, find their roots in Advaita philosophy and practice. This article looks at the useful/effective nature of Advaita and its specific application in clinical hypnosis. The linkage between traditional wisdom sources, psychological investigations of the self and contemporary hypnosis is articulated in the article which follows, and a case example, regarding clinical application, is provided.

Are Happiness and Life Satisfaction Different Across Religious Groups? Exploring Determinants of Happiness and Life Satisfaction.

This study explores whether different religions experience different levels of happiness and life satisfaction and in case this is affected by country economic and cultural environment. Using World Value Survey (from 1981 to 2014), this study found that individual religiosity and country level of development play a significant role in shaping people's subjective well-being (SWB). Protestants, Buddhists and Roman Catholic were happier and most satisfied with their lives compared to other religious groups. Orthodox has the lowest SWB. Health status, household's financial satisfaction and freedom of choice are means by which religious groups and governments across the globe can improve the SWB of their citizens.

From rakhi to romance: negotiating 'acceptable' relationships in co-educational secondary schools in New Delhi, India.

Based on a multi-method study conducted with middle-class young people (aged 15-17) in three secondary schools in New Delhi, India, this paper focuses on heterosocial dynamics within school peer cultures as an important site of learning about gender and sexuality. Findings indicate that young people negotiate and adapt rakhi (brother-sister) relationships to form less strictly platonic heterosocial friendships, which leave open the possibility of romance. Students' preferences for certain heterosocial relationships are considered within the context of wider cultural narratives. For example, students often rejected rakhi relationships, tied to traditional, conservative values, in favour of heterosocial friendships associated with more modern and desirable social patterns. Moreover, students' own definitions of acceptable heterosocial interactions within peer cultures suggest that they are adept at negotiating norms of gender segregation that are enforced in co-educational schools. In contrast to other formal and informal sources of sexual learning available to them, experiences and stories of romances circulating in schools seemed to offer students alternative, more positive ways of understanding teenage intimacy and sexuality.

The Association of Religious Affiliation with Overweight/Obesity Among South Asians: The Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study.

Religiosity has been associated with greater body weight. Less is known about South Asian religions and associations with weight. Cross-sectional analysis of the MASALA study (n = 906). We examined associations between religious affiliation and overweight/obesity after controlling for age, sex, years lived in the USA, marital status, education, insurance status, health status, and smoking. We determined whether traditional cultural beliefs, physical activity, and dietary pattern mediated this association. The mean BMI was 26 kg/m2. Religious affiliation was associated with overweight/obesity for Hindus (OR 2.12; 95 % CI: 1.16, 3.89), Sikhs (OR 4.23; 95 % CI: 1.72, 10.38), and Muslims (OR 2.79; 95 % CI: 1.14, 6.80) compared with no religious affiliation. Traditional cultural beliefs (7 %), dietary pattern (1 %), and physical activity (1 %) mediated 9 % of the relationship. Interventions designed to promote healthy lifestyle changes to reduce the burden of overweight/obesity among South Asians need to be culturally and religiously tailored.

Religious leaders' perceptions of advance care planning: a secondary analysis of interviews with Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh and Bahá'í leaders.

BACKGROUND: International guidance for advance care planning (ACP) supports the integration of spiritual and religious aspects of care within the planning process. Religious leaders' perspectives could improve how ACP programs respect patients' faith backgrounds. This study aimed to examine: (i) how religious leaders understand and consider ACP and its implications, including (ii) how religion affects followers' approaches to end-of-life care and ACP, and (iii) their implications for healthcare. METHODS: Interview transcripts from a primary qualitative study conducted with religious leaders to inform an ACP website, ACPTalk, were used as data in this study. ACPTalk aims to assist health professionals conduct sensitive conversations with people from different religious backgrounds. A qualitative secondary analysis conducted on the interview transcripts focussed on religious leaders' statements related to this study's aims. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed using an inductive, comparative, and cyclical procedure informed by grounded theory. RESULTS: Thirty-five religious leaders (26 male; mean 58.6-years-old), from eight Christian and six non-Christian (Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh, Bahá'í) backgrounds were included. Three themes emerged which focussed on: religious leaders' ACP understanding and experiences; explanations for religious followers' approaches towards end-of-life care; and health professionals' need to enquire about how religion matters. Most leaders had some understanding of ACP and, once fully comprehended, most held ACP in positive regard. Religious followers' preferences for end-of-life care reflected family and geographical origins, cultural traditions, personal attitudes, and religiosity and faith interpretations. Implications for healthcare included the importance of avoiding generalisations and openness to individualised and/ or standardised religious expressions of one's religion. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of religious beliefs and values around death and dying could be useful in preparing health professionals for ACP with patients from different religions but equally important is avoidance of assumptions. Community-based initiatives, programs and faith settings are an avenue that could be used to increase awareness of ACP among religious followers' communities.

A systematic review of religious beliefs about major end-of-life issues in the five major world religions.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the religious/spiritual beliefs of followers of the five major world religions about frequently encountered medical situations at the end of life (EoL). METHOD: This was a systematic review of observational studies on the religious aspects of commonly encountered EoL situations. The databases used for retrieving studies were: Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid PsycINFO, Ovid Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus. Observational studies, including surveys from healthcare providers or the general population, and case studies were included for review. Articles written from a purely theoretical or philosophical perspective were excluded. RESULTS: Our search strategy generated 968 references, 40 of which were included for review, while 5 studies were added from reference lists. Whenever possible, we organized the results into five categories that would be clinically meaningful for palliative care practices at the EoL: advanced directives, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, physical requirements (artificial nutrition, hydration, and pain management), autopsy practices, and other EoL religious considerations. A wide degree of heterogeneity was observed within religions, depending on the country of origin, level of education, and degree of intrinsic religiosity. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Our review describes the religious practices pertaining to major EoL issues and explains the variations in EoL decision making by clinicians and patients based on their religious teachings and beliefs. Prospective studies with validated tools for religiosity should be performed in the future to assess the impact of religion on EoL care.