This article contains the reasons for the establishment of sacred trees in Israel based on a field study. It includes 97 interviews with Muslim and Druze informants. While Muslims (Arabs and Bedouins) consider sacred trees especially as an abode of righteous figures' (Wellis') souls or as having a connection to their graves, the Druze relate sacred trees especially to the events or deeds in the...

We report a series of experiments carried out with Palestinian and Israeli participants showing that violent opposition to compromise over issues considered sacred is (i) increased by offering material incentives to compromise but (ii) decreased when the adversary makes symbolic compromises over their own sacred values. These results demonstrate some of the unique properties of reasoning and de...

Th is chapter reviews a body of research on sacred values and cultural confl ict. Research conducted in the West Bank, Iran, Indonesia, and India reveals that when people transform a resource, idea, or activity into a sacred value, normative approaches to dispute resolution may fail. In a series of experiments, the authors fi nd that off ering material incentives to encourage people to compromi...

English as well as French differentiates the term holy from the term sacred – in fact, Levinas' book "Du sacré au saint" is translated as "From the Sacred to the Holy". This is illustrative of the extent to which the meanings of the two words differ. God is called "The Holy One Blessed be He", but we would find it peculiar to refer to Him as "The Sacred One". By contrast, when referring to plac...

Tree worship is very common worldwide. This field study surveys the ceremonies and customs related to sacred trees in present-day Israel; it includes the results of interviews with 98 informants in thirty-one Arab, Bedouin, and Druze villages in the Galilee. The main results are: 1. Sacred trees were treated as another kind of sacred entity with all their metaphysical as well as physical manife...

Author details Department of Neurology, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Department of Neurology, Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hwaseong, Korea. Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang, Korea. Department of Neurology, Chung...

Childbearing women and infants in developing countries continue to experience unacceptably high rates of mortality and morbidity in spite of targeted initiatives to address the problem. The aim of this study was to identify the beliefs and rituals of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in one indigenous Guatemalan community to better understand the cultural influences on perinatal care practice...

‘‘Our land is sacred, and not tradable.’’ ‘‘Jerusalem is not up for discussion.’’ ‘‘As a matter of principle, I will not give that crook a dime!’’ ‘‘Human life cannot be given a dollar value.’’ Each of these statements suggests that the actor places a sacred value on some issue. But, what does sacred mean? One possible answer is that it is a constraint and that the issue is truly not open for d...

This article surveys the beliefs concerning the supernatural characteristics and powers of sacred trees in Israel; it is based on a field study as well as a survey of the literature and includes 118 interviews with Muslims and Druze. Both the Muslims and Druze in this study attribute supernatural dimensions to sacred trees which are directly related to ancient, deep-rooted pagan traditions. The...

A growing body of research is beginning to identify characteristics that influence or are related to helping professionals’ integration of clients’ religion and spirituality (RS) in mental health treatment. This article presents Namaste Theory, a new theory for understanding the role of mental health practitioners’ RS in clinical practice. Using Glaser’s (2008) formal quantitative grounded theo...