Even in predominantly religious societies, there are substantial individual differences in religious commitment. Why is this? One possibility is that differences in social conformity (i.e. the tendency to think and behave as others do) underlie inclination towards religiosity. However, the link between religiosity and conformity has not yet been directly examined. In this study, we tested the n...

Two chitosan samples (medium molecular weight (MMCHI) and low molecular weight (LMCHI)) were investigated as an enzyme immobilization matrix for the fabrication of a glucose biosensor. Chitosan membranes prepared from acetic acid were flexible, transparent, smooth and quick-drying. The FTIR spectra showed the existence of intermolecular interactions between chitosan and glucose oxidase (GOD). H...

L EADING THE 1953 inaugural parade for President Eisenhower was a fl oat known to its builders as " God's Float. " Added to the parade lineup at the last moment, when a parade offi cial noticed that the event might fail to represent the idea that " this was a nation whose people believed in God, " the fl oat was constructed to make that abstract point concrete. It was built around a " central e...

Violent people often claim that God sanctions their actions. In two studies, participants read a violent passage said to come from either the Bible or an ancient scroll. For half the participants, the passage said that God sanctioned the violence. Next, participants competed with an ostensible partner on a task in which the winner could blast the loser with loud noise through headphones (the ag...

Fungal glucose oxidase (GOD) is widely employed in the different sectors of food industries for use in baking products, dry egg powder, beverages, and gluconic acid production. GOD also has several other novel applications in chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, and other biotechnological industries. The electrochemical suitability of GOD catalyzed reactions has enabled its successful use in bioe...

Despite the cultural ubiquity of ideas and images related to God, relatively little is known about the effects of exposure to God representations on behavior. Specific depictions of God differ across religions, but common to most is that God is (a) an omnipotent, controlling force and (b) an omniscient, all-knowing being. Given these 2 characteristic features, how might exposure to the concept ...

INTRODUCTION In Western Europe, the Christian churches are changing at a large scale. Two examples may illustrate the new situation: In France, a traditional catholic country, until the 1960s the belief in God remained stable around 75 %. In 2006, only 52 % of the population indicate that they trust in God. While in the 1990s around 80 % attended worship services regularly, today only 51 % do s...

In this brief reply to Walls’ challenging critique, I try to do two things: first, clarify the most fundamental point on which I think Walls and I disagree, and second, argue that, as surprising as it may first appear, Walls’ free will theodicy of hell requires that God interfere with human freedom in inappropriate ways. For a number of years now I have considered Jerry Walls to be one of my be...

The fundamental belief in Sikhism is that God exists not merely as an idea or concept, but as a real entity. God is indescribable, yet knowable and perceivable to anyone who is prepared to dedicate the time and energy to become perceptive to His persona. The Gurus never spoke about proofs of the existence of God. For them, He is too real, and something obvious does not require any logical proof...

items “unreal” leaves out something important. I have suggested that God is, at bottom, one of these abstract objects. You can be a skeptic about the traditional picture of God as a quasi-material, ghostly being, and still believe the idea of God I presented in this book. 3. There can be a God even if no one created the universe. If God is the supremely good being, then there could be a God eve...