The promulgation of South African policy regarding the place of religion in public education was delayed until 2003, after a lively debate. The National Policy on Religion in Education effectively banned confessional, sectarian religion from public schools, but allowed for the teaching of Religion Studies as an academic subject and for religious observances, on condition that these were offered...

To determine the relation of religious behavior to certain areas of personality, such as neuroticism, spontaneity, and worldmindedness, dimensions of personal and religious behavior were isolated by factor analysis and interrelated by canonical analysis. Characteristics of religious behavior and personalityreligion interaction differ among Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Baha'is, and non-affiliat...

When we think about the relationship between the brain and Judaism there are many possibilities to explore, ranging from the practical to the esoteric. Over the past twenty years there has been a growing development in this field, which some have referred to as neurotheology. Broadly speaking, neurotheology is a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to understand the relationship specific...

Many theories of religion tend toward a naturalistic, sociological, Durkheimian framework. While these theories have pointed out important dimensions of religious experience, they risk reducing the human experience of religion to a purely social or psychological phenomenon, without taking seriously the claims of religious adherents themselves. How can we begin to work toward a unique theory of ...

Similarity of religious beliefs and practices among friends, or network-religion autocorrelation, is a common aspect of many social networks. Network-religion autocorrelation is important because it strengthens plausibility structures (Berger 1967), or the combination of beliefs and strong social ties to others who share those beliefs. Plausibility structures support sacred umbrellas (Smith 199...

Empirical studies have identified significant links between religion and spirituality and health. The reasons for these associations, however, are unclear. Typically, religion and spirituality have been measured by global indices (e.g., frequency of church attendance, self-rated religiousness and spirituality) that do not specify how or why religion and spirituality affect health. The authors h...