Tag: religion

  • Cultural Differences in Moral Reasoning

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013] Cultural differences in moral reasoning are driven by various influences — history, leadership, religious belief, experiences with peace and warfare, available resources and the strategies for extracting and distributing those resources. These cultural differences are not limited to the scale of nations. There… Read more

  • Why Parents Shouldn’t Be Able to Refuse Medical Treatment for an Ill Child

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013] Legally, refusal to provide or access medical care for children can be termed medical neglect. According to the latest available national statistics, documented child abuse and neglect in 2011 affected more than 675,000 children, or nearly 1 in a 100 kids. On average,… Read more

  • Evangelism in the Early Seventeenth & Eighteenth Centuries

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013] The roots of American evangelism go back to 16th century Europe, when Anabaptists began suggesting that church should be separate from the state. This view did not find favor among governments closely aligned with the Catholic church, and consequently Anabaptism was brutally suppressed.… Read more

  • Chinese Religion & Ethics in the 17th Century

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013. Published version here.] The Chinese word for religion didn’t enter the language until late in the 19th century, when scholars needed a term to translate the concept from Western texts. The conception of religion as the West understands it today simply did not… Read more

  • Who Advocated Religious Individualism?

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013] The modern understanding of religious individualism, as defined by the Catholic Encyclopedia, “describes the attitude of those persons who refuse to subscribe to definite creeds, or to submit to any external religious authority.” It is conceptually similar to “cafeteria Christians,” a phrase used… Read more

  • Cultural Influence on Morals

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013. Published version here.] Culture influences morals. But it is not the only influence, nor necessarily the strongest one. Thinking about how culture influences morals raises several questions. What are morals? What is culture? What are their sources and what causes them to change?… Read more

  • Globalization & Religious Violence

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013] Even as the world population has grown, globalization has made our planet shrink. Travel options have expanded, more people are living in cities, and the products we use daily are increasingly made and distributed by multinational corporations. Mass production and its economic advantages… Read more

  • Astro-Theology & Shamanism

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013] Astro-Theology and Shamanism both explore the intersection of ancient astronomy, early religion and psychoactive plants, as part of a genre known as entheogen studies. This focuses primarily on past and present use of psychoactive plants and fungi in spiritual/religious contexts. A variety of… Read more

  • Secularism After the Crusades

    Secularism After the Crusades

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media] The Crusades were a series of military conflicts spanning two centuries, from 1095 – 1300. The First Crusade began as a bid by Pope Urban II to wrest Jerusalem and surrounding areas from Muslim rule (sometimes referred to as the East, or Asia Minor) and… Read more

  • What Factors Might Be Influencing Religious Trends?

    [One of 50 articles written and published for Demand Media in 2013] The character of religion in the U.S. has undergone many changes since the country’s founding, and today change remains a constant. Three contemporary trends stand out. First, affiliation with traditional institutions is loosening and declining, while belief in God holds steady. Second, views… Read more