Some religious rites of Hajj (the obligatory pilgrimage that many Muslims make to Mecca) cannot be performed during menstruation, so women may wish to suppress their menses. Eliminating monthly periods could further improve the quality of women’s lives, reducing both physical pain and mood swings that can be disruptive or debilitating, to say nothing of the inconvenience and cost of managing mo...

Schoejdt, Sørensen, Nielbo, Xygalatas, Mitkidis and Bulbulia put forward a new cognitive model of religious interactions, which we depict in Figure one. The model stresses three common features of such interactions: the requirement to suppress emotion expression, the exposure to ritualized behavior and the presence of a charismatic authority (1). These features have different cognitive effects ...

Mythical and religious belief systems in a social context can be regarded as a conglomeration of sacrosanct rites which revolve around substantive values that involve an element of faith. Moreover, we can conclude that ideologies, myths and beliefs can all be analyzed in terms of systems within a cultural context. The significance of being able to define ideologies, myths and beliefs as systems...

method or conceptual discipline, but rather represented a way of life and a discovery of one’s self. The philosopher was much more a spiritual adviser than a professor. He exhorted his students to mold themselves through a conversion of attention and through spiritual exercises to follow the paths of wisdom. As Pierre Hadot has noted, the discourse on the transcendent and the spiritual experien...

Religiosity is a powerful force shaping human societies, affecting domains as diverse as economic growth or the ability to cope with illness. As more religious leaders and organizations as well as believers start using social networking sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook), online activities become important extensions to traditional religious rituals and practices. However, there has been lack of r...

Epidemiologic studies of the effects of religion on blood pressure suggest that religious commitment is inversely associated with blood pressure and that several religious denominations or groups have relatively low rates of hypertension-related morbidity and mortality. In this review, we examine the implication that certain characteristics and functions of religion account for this association...

INTRODUCTION Is marijuana dangerous? With an estimated 150 million people worldwide smoking or eating marijuana leaves annually,1 the question is pertinent. Marijuana is perceived as an innocuous drug in many circles due to its association with cultural and religious rituals, and with the fact that unlike alcohol, cocaine, or heroin, it rarely brings individuComorbid Cannabis Misuse in Psychoti...