We show how in colonial Potosı́ (present-day Bolivia) social and political stability was achieved through the self-organization of society through the repetition of religious rituals. Our analysis shows that the population of Potosı́ develops over the time a series of cycles of rituals and miracles as a response to social upheaval and natural disasters and that these cycles of religious performan...

Currently the demand for transplant organs, particularly kidneys, far outstrips the supply in the United Kingdom. This problem is particularly severe for the Black African and Black Caribbean populations who have a higher predisposition to end-stage renal failure. Several commentators have suggested that religious and cultural traditions may be the major determinant preventing Black Africans an...

This is the first part of a two-part article on the concept of brainwashing in the study of new religious movements (NRMs). The use of this term has become so emotionally charged that scholars find it difficult to discuss its merits and scientific utility with calmness and objectivity. I devote Part One of this article to an examination of the cultural and structural sources of an extreme polar...

Although the recent Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) show that two-thirds of marriages in Pakistan are consanguineous, the sociocultural determinants of such marriages remain largely unexplored. This paper examines the relative importance of the three commonly perceived reasons for such marriages: religious, economic and cultural. The analysis is based on qualitative data collected ...

Using indepth interviews and focus group data generated from elderly men and women in Singapore, this article focuses on the impact of religious beliefs and practices on their aging experience. The cross-cultural comparison deals with the Malay community comprising Muslims, and the Indian community comprising Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and a Jain. The research demonstrates the positive influence...

Africa is one continent with several worlds. Africa is home to innumerable tribes, ethnic and social groups, some representing very large populations consisting of millions of people, others are smaller groups of a few thousand. All these tribes and groups have cultures which are different, but represent the mosaic of cultural diversity of Africa. When considering any particular issue partainin...

BACKGROUND Muslim women are one sub-population in Ghana among whom the rate of skilled maternal health services accessibility and utilisation is very low. However, there are no studies in Ghana that explore the maternity needs and care experiences of Muslim women, and why they do not utilise maternal healthcare services at health facilities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the maternity...

In Australia and Canada, the sexual health needs of migrant and refugee women have been of increasing concern, because of their underutilization of sexual health services and higher rate of sexual health problems. Previous research on migrant women's sexual health has focused on their higher risk of difficulties, or barriers to service use, rather than their construction or understanding of sex...

Within the last few years the relationship between religiousness and psychosocial adjustment has become a subject of increasing interest. However, previous research did not explicitly differentiate between dispositional religious commitment and situation-specific religious coping. The current cross-sectional study investigated the relative power of religious commitment, positive and negative re...

The establishment of reliable and authoritative figures on ethnic, religious, and language groups plays a prominent role in efforts to fight discrimination and foster individual human rights as well as minority group rights. However, there is no consensus among statisticians, demographers and social scientists at large concerning standards to be used in the identification of minority groups and...