In this article I explore the function that religious rituals play in the context of poverty amongst the members of the Corinthian Church of South Africa based in Durban, South Africa. I seek to address three questions: what generates friendship, what enhances fellowship, and more importantly what fosters service in the Corinthian Church of South Africa in Durban, KwaZulu– Natal and the worship...

In this paper we o¤er a new theory of religion. Our theory relies on the assumption that individuals in society have di¤erent beliefs about the statistical relation between their actions in a strategic social interaction (speci…cally, a Prisoner’s Dilemma) and uncertain events that a¤ect their utility. This heterogeneity of beliefs allows for the endogenous emergence of religious institutions; ...

This paper reviews the literature on the religion–technology nexus, drawing up a research agenda and offering preliminary empirical insights. First, I stress the need to explore the new politics of space as a consequence of technological development, emphasizing questions about the role of religion in effecting a form of religious (neo)imperialism, and uneven access to techno-religious spaces. ...

In Hindu communities, breastfeeding is nearly universal and continues for most children beyond infancy. This review examines the religious and cultural basis for the contemporary breastfeeding practices amongst the Hindu. Practices at the time of birth and feeding rituals like prelacteal feeds, importance and timing of complementary feeds, and protections for the breastfeeding mother are examin...

The target article develops an account of religious prosociality that is driven by increases in self-control. We suggest this account is incomplete. Although religion might increase prosociality to the in-group, it decreases it to the much larger out-group. Rituals, for example, lead to out-group derogation. We also challenge the link between religion and improved self-control, offering evidenc...

The costly signaling theory of religion posits that religious rituals and taboos can promote intragroup cooperation, which is argued to be the primary adaptive benefit of religion. To test this theory, the authors collected historical data on the constraints and ritual requirements that eighty-three 19th-century U.S. communes imposed on their members. All communes must solve the collective acti...

al-shab al-zarif, one of the most well-known poets of decadence age, is also a foremost borrower of religious texts in the field of worldly lyric. his lyrics are influence by quran, various religious texts, and notions of his sufi father, afif al-din telmesani. this study tries to examine the works of this prominent poet and analyze their intersexual relations to show his power in mixing religi...