tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/faith-2068/articlesFaith – The Conversation2024-03-28T05:48:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259022024-03-28T05:48:40Z2024-03-28T05:48:40ZWhat is the Stations of the Cross ritual, and why do Christians still perform it at Easter?<p>A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some enjoy the season of hot cross buns and egg-shaped chocolates; others forgo such luxuries during daylight hours due to their Ramadan fast. Jews have recently celebrated Purim and remembered the bravery of Esther; meanwhile, the Hindu festival of Holi begins.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, hordes in their colours flock to the footy; others get involved in the Good Friday Appeal; and certain Christians enact a medieval tradition of walking the way of the cross around the streets of Melbourne. </p>
<p>So what is it, and why is it still performed?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jesus-wasnt-white-he-was-a-brown-skinned-middle-eastern-jew-heres-why-that-matters-91230">Jesus wasn't white: he was a brown-skinned, Middle Eastern Jew. Here's why that matters</a>
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<p>To enter into the Stations or Way of the Cross ritual is to enter into the last hours of Jesus before he was crucified, just outside Jerusalem around the year 33 CE. </p>
<p>Those last hours included a meal with his friends, prayer in a garden, his arrest and a trial that ends in the sentence of death by crucifixion. His body was then stripped and flogged, the cross placed on his shoulders to carry to the execution place. He stumbled under the weight of the cross, then was put on the cross to which he was nailed through his hands and feet before speaking his last words, and then dying. The last two stations, usually only visited on Easter morning, celebrate his resurrection from death.</p>
<p>The Stations of the Cross is a devotional and contemplative exercise, as pilgrims stop and pray, hear scripture, and ponder in silence the significance of each station, getting closer to the moment of Jesus’ death each time. </p>
<p>The practice of <em>memento mori</em> (remembering death) is found in a wide variety of religious and philosophical traditions. But Jesus’ death is a bit different – at least for Christians. At one level, Jesus died in a typical manner of execution for lower class people in the Roman Empire. As gruesome as it was, it was not unique or special. </p>
<p>But Christians quickly imbued this particular death with much more meaning. Jesus was believed to be the incarnation of God (that is, God in human form) and to have been raised from the dead three days later. And so his death and resurrection was interpreted as an event that brought salvation, forgiveness, and a new way of life into the world. It is this mystery Christians continue to celebrate all these years later. </p>
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<span class="caption">For Christians, the Stations of the Cross is an opportunity to reflect on every stage leading to Jesus’ crucifixion, and later resurrection.</span>
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<p>The Stations of the Cross has its roots in early Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem to walk in the final footsteps of Jesus. While the origins are unclear, it became popular in the late medieval period and was common across Europe by the 16th century. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.mccia.org.au/way-of-the-cross/">Melbourne city version of these stations</a> include 14 bronze reliefs located at a wide variety of churches in and around the CBD. Individuals can walk these themselves or join the city churches at 10am on Good Friday, starting at St Francis’ Church. Pre-COVID, this walking in the way of Jesus attracted up to 3,000 people each Good Friday. </p>
<p>This public expression of faith can seem unusual in a contemporary Australian city like Melbourne. Australian culture sometimes encourages people to keep their faith private. Our religious tolerance strains at its limits when religion spills out of homes, synagogues, temples, churches, or mosques and into the public sphere. People walking around the city stopping to reflect on a violent death that took place more than 2,000 years ago can seem awkward, even embarrassing to those looking on. Others watch with interest.</p>
<p>This raises the question of the kind of secular society we want to live in. One version of secularism says that religion should be kept well out of the public sphere, practised in private, and should not inform a person’s participation in public life. France often tends in this direction (see, for example, repeated attempts to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-30/france-bans-muslim-abayas-in-school-sparking-secularism-debate/102792014">ban the hijab</a> in public). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victim-or-victor-how-the-easter-story-still-resonates-today-203152">Victim or victor? How the Easter story still resonates today</a>
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<p>But another version of secularism says that while the state should not favour any particular religious or non-religious tradition, we are a stronger and richer society if we encourage all faiths and cultures to express themselves in public. Rather than hiding our deepest beliefs away, we should share them with each other.</p>
<p>On Good Friday afternoon, another tradition comes to life, as thousands gather to scream, yell and sing tribal songs as their teams fight it out on a football oval. To a non-AFL fan like myself, that gathering is equally strange. Yet, I can recognise the emotion and fervour as something familiar, something joyful, something that taps into our deepest desires and brings us together across cultural and social divides. </p>
<p>When footy games were first scheduled on this holy day for Christians, it was not without controversy. Headlines cried “<a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/religion-versus-sport-explaining-afl-games-on-good-friday-20140621-3al1d.html">religion versus sport</a>” and genuine questions about consumerism and work were raised. </p>
<p>For me, there is a certain delight in living in a society where not everyone is religious and even if they are, they are not religious in the same way. I’m glad to live in a society where such activities occur side by side, be they footy, Purim, Ramadan, Holi, or Easter. I am glad to live in a society where some yell at the footy and some pray in a city street – and some do both.</p>
<p>The Stations of the Cross is one more visible sign of our multicultural, multifaith society at work. We can be proud to live in a society where rituals that seem strange to some are nonetheless tolerated and even welcomed. This is something everyone can celebrate, whether religious or not.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225902/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn J. Whitaker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Like a lot of things that happen at this time of year, the Stations of the Cross is a ritual – and an important one to many.Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of DivinityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256002024-03-14T17:19:14Z2024-03-14T17:19:14ZRamadan and Lent fasts could have cardiovascular benefits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581669/original/file-20240313-24-wbolth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C15%2C5176%2C3430&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fasting-bread-water-strengthen-spirit-591668285">Jesus Cervantes/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Food abstinence is <a href="https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/health-fitness/intermittent-fasting">all the rage</a> when it comes to health and wellbeing, it seems. Wherever you look, from the UK’s prime minister, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68129595">Rishi Sunak</a>, to Hollywood celebrities like Thor star <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a41925303/chris-hemsworth-fasting-limitless-exclusive-clip/">Chris Hemsworth</a>, someone’s extolling the virtues of fasting for mind and body. </p>
<p>According to reports, Sunak considers fasting for the first 36 hours of each week as “an important discipline”, while Hemsworth attempted to “unlock his body’s anti-ageing powers” through an extreme four-day fast for his <a href="https://youtu.be/0G-3o2tw9zI?feature=shared">2023 TV series, Limitless</a>. </p>
<p>Intermittent fasting has also become a popular form of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0303720715300800">weight management</a>. Some plans, such as the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1476-511X-9-94">Daniel Fast</a> popularised by film star <a href="https://time.com/5503754/what-is-the-daniel-fast/">Chris Pratt</a>, claim to follow the diets of religious figures to offer spiritual as well as physical rewards.</p>
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<p>But, despite the widespread coverage of intermittent fasting over the past few years, religious fasts have not shared the same level of attention. Does following a religious fast have the same or even greater health benefits then fasting purely for health and wellbeing? </p>
<h2>Health benefits of fasting for Ramadan and Lent</h2>
<p>In 2024 and 2025, Ramadan and the Christian <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-rare-convergence-of-ramadan-passover-and-easter-recalls-a-shared/">period of Lent overlap</a>. Ramadan is a period of fasting for Muslims, while Lent is a period of abstinence for many Christians, particularly those of Orthodox denominations.</p>
<p>However, the nature of religious fasts varies. During Ramadan, fasting is a form of time-restricted eating – followers should avoid all food and drink between dawn and dusk. Whereas, Orthodox Christian fasting practices tend to focus on excluding <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC156653/#:%7E:text=Orthodox%20Christian%20holy%20books%20recommend,and%20Friday%20throughout%20the%20year.">all animal products and sources of fat</a> from the diet, rather than a full fast. </p>
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<p>With colleagues, I explored the potential health effects of different religious and faith-based fasts. By conducting a systematic review of published data from Muslim and Orthodox Christian communities only, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475324000735">our recent analysis</a> showed that both fasting approaches are associated with a reduction in cardiovascular risk – although for different reasons. </p>
<p>Fasting during Ramadan was associated with a significant reduction in blood pressure and body weight, whereas fasting among Orthodox Christians for Lent showed a significant association with a reduction in cholesterol.</p>
<p>Lower blood pressure among those fasting for Ramadan could be an effect of not eating or drinking during the day, thereby <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00283.2021">lowering insulin</a> levels which can act on the sympathetic nervous system as well as reducing blood volume. </p>
<p>Orthodox Christians following a plant-based fast may <a href="https://www.heartuk.org.uk/ultimate-cholesterol-lowering-plan/uclp-introduction">reduce fat intake and increase fibre</a> in comparison to their usual diet, which may explain the association of their Lent fast with lower cholesterol.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly given that fasts tend to limit energy intake, fasting for both Ramadan and Lent were also associated with weight loss. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-fast-safely-during-ramadan-what-the-science-shows-224547">How to fast safely during Ramadan – what the science shows</a>
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<p>However, some of these benefits may be cancelled out by overconsumption of less healthy food and drink when the fast is broken. To maintain the benefits of fasting, followers should avoid eating foods high in fat, sugar and salt. </p>
<h2>Aligning healthcare and religious practices</h2>
<p>Our review suggests that health professionals could support people to use aspects of their faith, including fasting practices, to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475324000735">support healthier lifestyles</a>. This could include working with faith leaders such as Imams and mosque communities prior to Ramadan, to explore healthy Iftar meals to break the fast.</p>
<p>It might even be possible to use aspects of faith to promote self-care as part of religious practice, to improve physical health alongside spiritual growth and identity. For example, religious leaders could encourage healthy community meals outside of fasting periods to promote health and social connectivity.</p>
<p>Research has suggested that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550830705001424?casa_token=9eZG0-RtGd4AAAAA:yf0OACZa2lvKPwDVudeHxjkGCe33Six9gLElr7qcgpsNEEIcQLH_znU3zmO39rN_VF6DlXU6">people of faith</a> enjoy more positive health outcomes for a range of interventions, including weight management. This may be at least partially due to faith-linked health interventions being more <a href="https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/mcnair/vol13/iss1/11/">culturally appropriate and aligned</a> with patients’ beliefs and ideas. For example, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X20302116">research suggests</a> an association between religiosity and self-control, which can positively impact eating patterns.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ramadan-four-tips-to-help-you-eat-right-and-stay-healthy-158731">Ramadan: four tips to help you eat right and stay healthy</a>
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<p>Aligning health programmes to the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550830705001424?casa_token=9eZG0-RtGd4AAAAA:yf0OACZa2lvKPwDVudeHxjkGCe33Six9gLElr7qcgpsNEEIcQLH_znU3zmO39rN_VF6DlXU6">faith identities</a> and practices of patients could <a href="https://www.researchprotocols.org/2015/2/e64">increase engagement and adherence</a>. For example, in the US, research has linked religious service attendance with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29790080/#:%7E:text=Frequent%20church%20attendance%20was%20significantly,Americans%20attempting%20to%20lose%20weight.">greater weight loss</a>. </p>
<p>So, Ramadan and Lent, when millions follow their religious obligations to fast, may be a good time for health professionals to work with faith groups to develop culturally inclusive approaches. This could help address the challenge of changing <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-65951-001">health behaviour</a>, as people are more likely to adhere to positive habits if these align with their personal values, including their faith.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225600/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duane Mellor is a member of the British Dietetic Association.</span></em></p>Plenty has been said about the health benefits of fasting, but what about as a religious practice?Duane Mellor, Lead for Evidence-Based Medicine and Nutrition, Aston Medical School, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2082772024-02-16T13:18:22Z2024-02-16T13:18:22ZAs a rabbi, philosopher and physician, Maimonides wrestled with religion and reason – the book he wrote to reconcile them, ‘Guide to the Perplexed,’ has sparked debate ever since<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574467/original/file-20240208-26-bikf0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C9%2C2041%2C2026&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A bas-relief of Maimonides, sculpted by Brenda Putnam, hangs in the U.S. House of Representatives among statues of historical lawmakers.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maimonides_bas-relief_in_the_U.S._House_of_Representatives_chamber_cropped.jpg">Architect of the Capitol/Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I teach a <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/judaic-studies/profile.html?id=friedman">philosophy of religion</a> seminar titled “Faith and Reason.” Most students who register arrive with a mistaken assumption: that the course explores the differences between the two.</p>
<p>“Faith” is often defined as belief in a supernatural God that transcends reason – and belief that science can only go so far to explain the fundamental mysteries of life. Reason, meanwhile, means inquiry that draws on <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism-empiricism/#Rati">logic and deductive reasoning</a>. </p>
<p>It seems like a stark choice, an either-or – until we read Maimonides. For Maimonides, a 12th century theologian, philosopher, rabbi and physician, there is no true faith without reason.</p>
<p>Maimonides’ full name was Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, and he is often referred to by the abbreviation “Rambam.” His writings spurred <a href="https://davidwacks.uoregon.edu/2019/07/10/maimo/">centuries of conflict</a> and were even <a href="https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/persecuting-ideas/">banned in some Jewish communities</a>. Yet he also penned one of the most famous guides to Jewish law and still stands as one of the most influential rabbis to have ever lived.</p>
<p>It is surprising for many students to learn that Maimonides, who lived in present-day Spain, Morocco and Egypt, embraced reason as the only way to make sense of faith. In this rabbi’s view, the idea of a battle between faith and reason sets boundaries where none need exist. </p>
<p>Faith must be grounded in reason, lest it become superstition. This synthesis is at the heart of Maimonides’ most famous philosophical work, “<a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Guide_for_the_Perplexed?tab=contents">The Guide for the Perplexed</a>.”</p>
<h2>Jerusalem and Athens</h2>
<p>Treating faith and reason <a href="https://public.wsu.edu/%7Ecampbelld/amlit/hellenism.htm">as if they are at odds</a> is nothing new. Some philosophers have described them as two different cities, as when University of Chicago professor <a href="https://leostrausscenter.uchicago.edu/biography/">Leo Strauss</a> <a href="https://www.commentary.org/articles/leo-strauss/jerusalem-and-athens-some-introductory-reflections/">wrote of “Jerusalem and Athens</a>.” </p>
<p>Both cities love wisdom, Strauss wrote, but attribute it to different things. In “Jerusalem,” where life is grounded by faith in God, “the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord,” Strauss wrote in 1967, quoting the biblical books of <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Proverbs.9.9?lang=bi">Proverbs</a> <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Job.28.28?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en">and Job</a>. In “Athens,” on the other hand, symbolized by the ancient Greek philosophers, “the beginning of wisdom is wonder” – the wonder of inquiry and reason.</p>
<p>Almost 800 years before, however, Maimonides was arguing that true religion, true wisdom, requires both. </p>
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<span class="caption">A statue of Maimonides in Cordoba, Spain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/statue-of-jewish-philosopher-maimonides-cordoba-span-news-photo/184251484?adppopup=true">Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Rambam was deeply steeped in Jewish learning. As a doctor, astronomer and philosopher, however, he was just as knowledgeable about the science of his day. He ostensibly wrote “The Guide to the Perplexed” to help his student Joseph Ibn Aknin navigate between the truths of philosophy, natural science and revelation.</p>
<p>Maimonides’ understanding of God and the universe <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides/">mostly agreed with Aristotle’s </a>. In <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Guide_for_the_Perplexed%2C_Part_2.1?ven=Guide_for_the_Perplexed,_English_Translation,_Friedlander_(1903)&lang=en">Part II of his “Guide</a>,” Maimonides credits Aristotle with helping to prove three key principles about God: God is incorporeal, without a physical body; God is one; and God transcends the material world. Yet God created the world and set it in motion, Maimonides asserts, and everything in it depends on God for its existence.</p>
<h2>Science and scripture</h2>
<p>Throughout these chapters, the rabbi does not turn to scripture to prove or disprove philosophical propositions, although <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Guide_for_the_Perplexed%2C_Part_2.5.3?ven=Guide_for_the_Perplexed,_English_Translation,_Friedlander_(1903)&lang=en&with=Navigation&lang2=en">he notes</a> that Aristotle’s opinion may be “in accordance with the words of our prophets and our theologians or Sages.”</p>
<p>This does not mean that Maimonides does not care about sacred texts – far from it. Rather, he argues that the truths of science and philosophy must inform how people interpret the Bible.</p>
<p>Many people of faith have read the Book of Genesis’ <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.1.27?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en">story of creation</a> literally. For them, God’s creation of humanity “in our image and likeness” means both that God must have a body and that humanity shares much in common with God.</p>
<p>For Maimonides, however, language like these passages in Genesis was allegorical. If reason teaches that <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Guide_for_the_Perplexed%2C_Part_1.1.2?lang=bi">God is incorporeal</a>, this means that God has no body; God does not physically see, nor do people see God. God does not speak, sit on a throne, stretch out an arm, rest or become angry. Reading these passages literally misunderstands the nature of God.</p>
<p>It is hard to overstate the significance of this claim. In Maimonides’ view, saying that God has a body is not just incorrect but blasphemous and idolatrous. He sees God as unique and transcendent, irreducible to anything human or material. And if God does not literally speak, then the Bible cannot be the literal word of God.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574498/original/file-20240208-22-irfpck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white image of an old, worn parchment covered in letters in black ink." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574498/original/file-20240208-22-irfpck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574498/original/file-20240208-22-irfpck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574498/original/file-20240208-22-irfpck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574498/original/file-20240208-22-irfpck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574498/original/file-20240208-22-irfpck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574498/original/file-20240208-22-irfpck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574498/original/file-20240208-22-irfpck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A letter Maimonides wrote around 1172, discovered in the late 1800s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/moses-maimonides-handwritten-letter-c-1172-signature-news-photo/590537778?adppopup=true">Culture Club/Hulton Archive via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Maimonides insists that the Bible be appreciated as an esoteric text. Any part of the revealed text that does not fit with a true understanding of God and the universe must be read allegorically.</p>
<p>Reason does not eliminate his faith in God, or the power of scripture. Instead, reason protects people from believing something incorrect about God’s nature. Maimonides insists that we have faith in reason and that reason ground our faith.</p>
<h2>The palace of God</h2>
<p>Maimonides’ philosophical writing is filled with debate and disagreement between him, fellow rabbis, Jewish philosophers and <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/arabic-islamic-natural/">the Kalam</a>, a medieval tradition of Islamic theology. Reason was the tool needed to make sense of sacred texts, and philosophical inquiry was the process needed to get it right. The goal was truth, not mere obedience. </p>
<p>Toward the end of his “Guide for the Perplexed,” Maimonides <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Guide_for_the_Perplexed%2C_Part_3.51.1?lang=en&with=Navigation&lang2=en">lays out what he believes are different levels of enlightenment</a>. The allegory centers on a king’s palace: Only a select few, those who pursue truest wisdom grounded in philosophy and science, will reach the room where the king – God – resides. People guided by faith alone, who accept scripture literally and unquestioningly, and believe that faith transcends reason, on the other hand, “have their backs turned toward the king’s palace,” moving further and further away from God.</p>
<p>Maimonides is considered one of <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides/">the greatest rabbinic authorities of all time</a>. And his resolution to the debate between faith and reason could not have been clearer: There should be no true conflict. Both reason and revelation are our guides.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208277/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Randy L. Friedman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Faith and reason are often treated as opposites. But some philosophers believe they can only strengthen each other, including the Jewish sage Maimonides, who wrote the famous ‘Guide to the Perplexed.’Randy L. Friedman, Associate Professor of Judaic Studies, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2188382023-12-14T13:38:10Z2023-12-14T13:38:10ZHope brings happiness, builds grit and gives life meaning. Here’s how to cultivate it<p>What is hope? In its simplest form, hope is about the future. </p>
<p>There are three necessary elements to hope: having a desire or a wish for something that is valuable, and the belief that it is possible to attain this wish, even when it seems uncertain. Then we have to trust that we have the resources, both internally and externally, to attain this important desire, even when we experience setbacks along the way.</p>
<p>For example, I may hope that I will retire in a peaceful coastal town to pursue my hobby of painting (desire) and I believe that it is possible, although I will have to plan carefully (trust in internal resources). I also trust that I will settle in the community and make friends who share my interest in painting (trust in external resources), even though it may be difficult at first. </p>
<p>When we hope, we have a vision of imaginary futures and we anticipate specific outcomes. In doing so, we choose to focus on possible good things that may happen, even when faced by uncertainty. </p>
<p>Hope has several further dimensions. It involves our thoughts, because we assess the future and the likelihood that we will attain what we wish for. In the process we are taking in information and using it to reach our goals. Hope is also about experiencing positive emotions. It can further be a motivational force, propelling us forward. </p>
<p>Hope may have a strong <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-24412-4_6">spiritual element</a> – many, if not most, faiths place importance on having trust in a higher power that valuable outcomes may be attained. This trust can maintain hope in difficult times. </p>
<p>Hope also has a social dimension, in the sense that people may share hopes, and have hopes for others. Our sense of hope may further be influenced by our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-021-09967-x">context</a>, and how others define what is possible and desirable in the future. This aspect of hope is important when we consider our expectations of national and international futures. </p>
<p>Overall, hope is a universal human phenomenon, studied from <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-24412-4_6">several disciplines</a>, for example, philosophy, theology, psychology, sociology and economics. In recent times, we are increasingly incorporating insights from all these fields to understand the complex phenomenon of hope.</p>
<p>In studying hope, it has been measured in different ways. Most <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-24412-4_6">psychological studies</a> have used existing questionnaires in the discipline.</p>
<h2>How hope affects our lives</h2>
<p>How we think and feel about the future has an effect on us in the present. </p>
<p>Overall, hope is beneficial to our well-being. Hope encourages us to persist, even though we may be facing setbacks. Hopeful individuals are more likely to frame difficulties as challenges, rather than threats. This enables them to experience setbacks as less stressful and draining. For example, research indicates that hope is negatively associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X22002287">depression</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X23001094?via%3Dihub">anxiety</a>.</p>
<p>This means that people who hold higher levels of hope will be less likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. Hope has been linked to many other positive outcomes, including higher levels of psychological well-being, life satisfaction, happiness, and meaning in life. </p>
<p>The importance of hope was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X23000040?via%3Dihub">studies</a> found that people who had higher levels of hope were less likely to experience high levels of stress, depression and anxiety. </p>
<p>The research that I am involved in, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-24412-4">International Hope Barometer Project</a>, investigated hope, coping, stress, well-being and personal growth among participants from 11 countries during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. </p>
<p>Most reported moderate to high levels of hope, although at the same time they experienced moderate levels of perceived stress, characterised by feelings of unpredictability, being out of control, and overload. Hope and well-being were primarily related to being able to reframe negative events in a positive manner, accepting and actively coping with everyday challenges, and finding relief and comfort in religious faith and practice.</p>
<p>Hope is not only beneficial to us on an individual level, but to society at large. Hopeful people are more likely to engage in proactive behaviours that could benefit the community. In the context of global and local turmoil, collective hope is particularly important in maintaining momentum towards the future. </p>
<h2>Learning to cultivate hope</h2>
<p>Hope can be strengthened and enhanced to some extent. Until now, most research has focused on how hope can be promoted in psychotherapeutic and medical settings. Several hope-focused interventions have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101509">developed</a> in these contexts, with promising results. </p>
<p>On a more general level, programmes to strengthen hope among young people have been developed. One, referred to as <a href="https://www.unil.ch/scpf/en/home/menuinst/the-center.html">Positive Futures</a>, developed in Switzerland, aims to assist youth to recognise and cultivate positive things, experiences and emotions in life and foster self-worth. It further aims to develop desirable long-term future scenarios and promote hope through voluntary and meaningful projects. </p>
<p>On a more practical level, I believe it is possible to nurture hope through attending to the way we appraise difficulties. Can we see them as challenges rather than insurmountable obstacles? We can also consciously draw on our individual and collective resources and actively look for the good things around us, within the chaos we may be experiencing. </p>
<p>Sharing our hopes with people close to us can further strengthen hope through highlighting shared goals and wishes for the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tharina Guse receives funding from the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>People who hold higher levels of hope will be less likely to experience symptoms of depression. Shared hopes are also important for expectations of national and international futures.Tharina Guse, Professor of Psychology and Head of Department of Psychology, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2147012023-11-28T23:05:10Z2023-11-28T23:05:10ZMāori atheism on the rise: the legacy of colonisation is driving a decline in traditional Christian beliefs<p>Religious beliefs among Māori have shifted significantly over the past two decades. </p>
<p>The number of Māori identifying as having “no religion” in the <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-ethnic-group-summaries/m%C4%81ori">census</a> between 2006 and 2018 increased from 36.5% to 53.5%. Māori affiliation with Christianity has fallen from 46.2% to 29.9%. </p>
<p>Are Māori simply rejecting Christianity? Or are they rejecting all supernatural phenomena, including traditional Māori beliefs? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.explainingatheism.org/research-projects/explaining-mori-atheism-in-aotearoa-new-zealand">Our research</a> examined the apparent rise of Māori atheism. We found the colonial history of religion was a driving force for Māori who identified as atheist or having no religion.</p>
<p>We also found Māori atheists said they experienced discrimination for their lack of religion, and their “Māoriness” was questioned within their community or work. </p>
<p>The “no religion” category in the census captures a range of worldviews, including people who say they are spiritual but not religious; agnostics – people who are uncertain about the existence of a higher power; and atheists – people who do not believe in the existence of god(s). </p>
<h2>Multiple reasons for leaving religion</h2>
<p>As part of our research, we spoke with 16 Māori aged 30 to 65 who did not believe in god(s). All but four were raised in religious households. </p>
<p>Some emphasised lingering intellectual doubts as the reason for rejecting religion. As one participant explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If I’m being intellectually honest and consistent, I should put all my beliefs on the table and I should examine all of them. I shouldn’t keep some safe from scrutiny just because they’re mine, they’re Māori. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-is-being-maori-not-enough-why-maori-politics-are-always-personal-191740">When is being Māori not enough? Why Māori politics are always personal</a>
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<p>Others said they left for moral reasons. These included a perceived hypocrisy among churchgoers, immorality of religious leaders, and the role of religion in spreading harmful views about women and LGBTQ people.</p>
<p>Most participants, however, framed their rejection of religion as an expression of resistance against the colonial systems of belief. </p>
<p>In fact, participants’ ideas of “religion” were primarily shaped by their experience of various Christian denominations and their knowledge of the <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/the-missionaries">Christian missionary</a> history in Aotearoa New Zealand. </p>
<p>Accordingly, most of the people we spoke with viewed religion as a colonial tool for the oppression of Māori people and culture. Another participant noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve only become very angry against religion over the last five years after I found out what they’ve done to my culture […] We’ve lost a lot of our culture from the Anglican missionary societies […] Removing one’s culture and then assimilating them into religion is […] like a double-edged sword of colonisation. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some interviewees spoke about how Christianity had been used as a way to exert cultural superiority, labelling Indigenous beliefs and practices as “evil”. </p>
<p>Others argued that the God of the Bible is not indigenous to Aotearoa, but rather a creation myth from the Middle East and therefore inherently irrelevant to Māori people.</p>
<h2>Dissatisfaction entwined with colonial history</h2>
<p>The interview responses show Māori rejection of Christianity seems to be largely aligned with anti-colonial movements, Māori protest movements, and the decolonial feminist movement. </p>
<p>For most participants, “atheism” equated to non-belief in the existence of God and the rejection of monotheistic traditions, specifically Christianity. </p>
<p>In other words, being a Māori atheist did not necessarily mean the rejection of all supernatural beliefs. </p>
<p>While some individuals were confident in their non-belief in all supernatural phenomena, others were either ambivalent towards certain <a href="https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?&keywords=wairua">wairua</a> (spirit, soul) beliefs or emphasised the need to understand Māori beliefs as metaphors for a way to live. </p>
<h2>What it means to be Māori is changing</h2>
<p>The emergence of “non-religious” as a growing sector of the Māori community poses both challenges and opportunities to the ideas of what it is to be Māori and the development of New Zealand. </p>
<p>If we see ourselves progressing as a “bi-cultural” <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/treaty-of-waitangi-26336">Treaty</a>/<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/te-tiriti-o-waitangi-100960">Tiriti</a>-enhanced nation, it stands to reason we need to be able to identify the two cultures clearly.</p>
<p>But there is the opportunity to develop more quickly without identity “membership” based on religious affiliation or non-affiliation. </p>
<p>Within the community, there is a spectrum of views about the significance of religious or spiritual beliefs to Māori identity. </p>
<p>On one end, there are those who ask whether it is even possible to be Māori if one is not “religious” or “spiritual” in some shape or form. </p>
<p>At the other, there are those who distinguish between culture and religion, and argue Māori development can be more easily enhanced if one is freed from the constraints of religious belief. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kiwiana-is-past-its-use-by-date-is-it-time-to-re-imagine-our-symbols-of-national-identity-149967">Kiwiana is past its use-by date. Is it time to re-imagine our symbols of national identity?</a>
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<p>The former speaks to a “traditional” and conservative view of being Māori; the latter to notions of changes in cultures, the impact of the colonial experience, modernisation, and <a href="https://lianz.waikato.ac.nz/PAPERS/paul/MARI.pdf">different ways of being Māori</a>.</p>
<p>Our research highlights the diversity of non-religion among Māori, which is neither reflected in representations of Māori (for instance in education), nor considered in Māori-Crown relations. </p>
<p>While there is little difficulty in identifying the Crown in Treaty negotiations, the emerging “no religion” sector of the Māori community adds new layers of complexity to who the Treaty partner is. Importantly, is being spiritual or religious a prerequisite to being a Māori?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was supported by Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington’s Faculty Research Establishment Grant and the Explaining Atheism research grant awarded by Queen’s University Belfast with funding from the John Templeton Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Adds does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More than half of Māori identified as having ‘no religion’ in the latest census. Our new research examines what could be behind the sharp rise in Māori atheism.Masoumeh Sara Rahmani, Lecturer Study of Religion, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonPeter Adds, Professor, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2138162023-11-27T13:41:52Z2023-11-27T13:41:52ZThe challenges of being a religious scientist<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560847/original/file-20231121-29-g029uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C0%2C4034%2C2152&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many religious graduate students in science say they keep quiet about that aspect of their identity.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/research-experiment-and-medical-trial-being-done-by-royalty-free-image/1413606459?phrase=science+research&searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true">Sean Anthony Eddy/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Given popular portrayals, you would be forgiven for assuming that the type of person who is a scientist is not the type of person who would be religious. Consider the popular television show “The Big Bang Theory,” which is about friends who nearly all have advanced degrees in physics, biology or neuroscience. The main character, Sheldon – a physicist who is often dismissive of religion – is juxtaposed with his devout Christian mother, who is uninterested in and ignorant about science.</p>
<p>Such stereotypes reinforce the idea that religion and science are not only different from each other, but also locked in combat. Yet social scientists have found that most of the U.S. public does not actually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662511434908">view religion and science as being in conflict</a>. When religion does seem to reduce individuals’ acceptance of scientific ideas, it is typically <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2011.01603.x">not because of the facts themselves</a>. Rather, religious individuals’ objections are often grounded in the moral implications of that research, or scientists’ perceived role in policymaking.</p>
<p>And plenty of scientists are religious, undercutting assumptions about faith and science being inherently in conflict. Take <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2008/04/17/the-evidence-for-belief-an-interview-with-francis-collins/">Francis Collins</a>, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, who is open about his Christian beliefs.</p>
<p>On the other hand, religious people <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479823741/the-faithful-scientist/">do face challenges when working in science</a>. These challenges have little to do with internal struggles over stereotypical issues like the origins of human life. Instead, religious scientists more often report navigating hostility from their peers and a professional culture that poses challenges for other life goals, such as building a family.</p>
<p>I came to this conclusion after surveying over 1,300 U.S. graduate students in biology, chemistry, physics, psychology and sociology – one of many sociological studies I’ve done to try to understand <a href="https://soca.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty-directory/chris-scheitle">the social dynamics of religion and science</a>. Findings from this research are presented in a book I published in October 2023, “<a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479823741/the-faithful-scientist/">The Faithful Scientist: Experiences of Anti-Religious Bias in Scientific Training</a>.”</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560845/original/file-20231121-4286-92dvoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of scientists in white coats sits laughing as they sit in an informal lab meeting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560845/original/file-20231121-4286-92dvoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560845/original/file-20231121-4286-92dvoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560845/original/file-20231121-4286-92dvoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560845/original/file-20231121-4286-92dvoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560845/original/file-20231121-4286-92dvoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560845/original/file-20231121-4286-92dvoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560845/original/file-20231121-4286-92dvoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Religion isn’t always taken into consideration in conversations about academic diversity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/scientists-having-a-meeting-in-the-laboratory-royalty-free-image/1048721592?phrase=religious+students+lab&searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true">SolStock/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Assumed atheism</h2>
<p>According to my survey, 22% of graduate students in science say that they believe in God and 20% describe themselves as “very” or “moderately” religious. These percentages are similar to what is seen <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2007.54.2.289">among science faculty</a>, but much less than what is seen in the general U.S. public. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/04/25/key-findings-about-americans-belief-in-god/">According to surveys by the Pew Research Center</a>, around half of Americans say they believe in “God as described in the Bible,” while another third believe in some kind of higher power. Gallup has found that 3 in 4 Americans say religion is <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/358364/religious-americans.aspx">very or fairly important</a> in their lives.</p>
<p>The relatively nonreligious composition of their peers and faculty can create challenges for religious graduate students. Many of the religious students I spoke with described a culture that assumed everyone in a lab or classroom was atheist and permitted comments that were openly hostile toward religion or religious people. One Christian graduate student in biology told me, “I was actually really shocked when I started graduate school … at the lack of respect of my fellow students as well as professors. I still feel like I need to hide that part of my life. … I don’t feel willing to open up.” </p>
<p>Indeed, around two-thirds of the students who identified as very religious or moderately religious agreed with the statement that “people in my discipline have a negative attitude toward religion,” according to a survey I created and examined <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479823741/the-faithful-scientist/">in my book</a>. Around 40% of those students also agreed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2020.102503">they “conceal or camouflage</a>” their views or identity around people in their program. </p>
<h2>Family and career</h2>
<p>Religious graduate students in science face more subtle cultural conflicts as well. </p>
<p>Social science <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479843121/failing-families-failing-science/">has highlighted</a> the many challenges academic scientists face in establishing and maintaining their family life. For one, graduate school and pre-tenure positions are demanding, leading many academic scientists to delay having children and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0022590">have fewer children than they would have liked</a>. </p>
<p>The highly competitive nature of academic jobs also means that scientists rarely have much say in where they live, which makes it difficult to rely on the support of grandparents and other extended family when raising a family. All of these dynamics become even more difficult if a scientist is partnered with another scientist – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00917-z">what is often called the “two-body problem</a>.” </p>
<p>These challenges are particularly salient for religious graduate students. Many scholars’ studies have shown that religion <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118374085.ch14">influences individuals’ attitudes and behaviors</a> when it comes to things like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0000">how many children they would like to have</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560844/original/file-20231121-23-r5drof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man and a pregnant woman in casual clothing sit smiling on the floor as she holds her stomach." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560844/original/file-20231121-23-r5drof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560844/original/file-20231121-23-r5drof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560844/original/file-20231121-23-r5drof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560844/original/file-20231121-23-r5drof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560844/original/file-20231121-23-r5drof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560844/original/file-20231121-23-r5drof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560844/original/file-20231121-23-r5drof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Graduate students often struggle to figure out how to build their family during Ph.D. research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/smiling-man-looking-at-pregnant-woman-touching-royalty-free-image/1359730827?phrase=couple+discussion+pregnant&searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true">Westend61 via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Indeed, <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479823741/the-faithful-scientist/">my book’s survey</a> found that 23% of science graduate students who identify as very religious have at least one child already. This compares to 12% among the moderately religious, 7% among the slightly religious and 6% among those who say they are not religious. More religious students also indicated a greater desire to have additional children in the future. </p>
<p>These patterns have implications for career paths. My survey asked respondents to rate the importance of career, partnership and parenthood on a four-point scale. On average, religious students did not place less importance on career than their less religious peers, but they did place more importance on their family lives. This importance placed on family, in turn, is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12693">a lower intent to pursue research-focused tenure-track positions</a>. All else being equal, students who say that family goals are “very important” to them are 12% less likely to say they intend to pursue such a position, compared to students who say such family goals are “not important” to them.</p>
<h2>Benefits of religious diversity</h2>
<p>Many people may dismiss these challenges, as religion is not typically part of the conversation about supporting and increasing diversity in science. </p>
<p>At the very least, however, making derogatory comments or showing other forms of hostility toward an individual’s religion – as many of my respondents said they experienced – <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination">could violate anti-discrimination and harassment laws</a>.</p>
<p>What’s more, dimensions of diversity are not isolated from each other. The data collected for my book finds that female and Black graduate students in science are significantly more likely to identify as religious than male and white students. Twenty-three percent of Black students I surveyed identify as “very religious,” for example, compared with 7.3% of white students. Ignoring religion as a dimension of diversity has the potential to undermine efforts to support other forms of diversity in science.</p>
<p>I would argue that religious diversity could bring other benefits to the scientific community, as well. Given the heightened salience of work-family issues among scientists who are religious, these individuals could be important agents in changing norms and policies that improve work-life balance for all scientists. </p>
<p>Similarly, scientists who are religious could also serve as ambassadors, or what <a href="https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/elaine-howard-ecklund">sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund</a> <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/ctx.2008.7.1.12">calls “bridge-builders</a>,” between scientific and religious communities.</p>
<p>In the short term, graduate programs in science might consider how they approach and <a href="https://theconversation.com/many-scientists-are-atheists-but-that-doesnt-mean-they-are-anti-religious-167677">talk about religion</a>, keeping in mind that about 1 in 5 of their students are likely religious.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213816/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Research presented in this article was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Award #1749130, Christopher P. Scheitle, Principal Investigator).</span></em></p>Stereotypes about religion vs. science are overblown – but those assumptions can create challenges for religious grad students, a sociologist finds.Christopher P. Scheitle, Associate Professor of Sociology, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2161232023-10-25T12:50:23Z2023-10-25T12:50:23ZBritain’s first Faith Museum is the ideal place to set aside your preconceptions about religion<p>Britain’s first <a href="https://aucklandproject.org/venues/faith-museum/">Faith Museum</a>, which has recently opened in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, faces three problems. First, “religion” is an explosively controversial subject on which it’s almost impossible not to stir up anger. Yet it’s also a subject that a great many modern British people find baffling and laughably irrelevant to their lives. Finally, there is no such thing as “religion” or “faith” in the abstract – only specific faiths in actual people’s lives. </p>
<p>However, it turns out that a museum is the ideal solution to all these problems. A museum cannot be about abstractions such as faith, belief and religion. Rather, it is about actual objects, each with a specific history, gathered in a specific place, being looked at by specific human beings. All of which provides a rare opportunity to set aside your preconceptions about faith and just look.</p>
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<p>The setting is significant. County Durham is one of England’s most deprived counties, and Bishop Auckland is a tough little town even here. But the county has, as surely everyone knows, <a href="https://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk">the world’s finest cathedral</a> at its heart, while <a href="https://aucklandproject.org/venues/auckland-castle/">Auckland Castle</a> is the historic seat of <a href="https://englandsnortheast.co.uk/prince-bishops-durham/">the prince bishops of Durham</a>. The north-east of England is the ancient kingdom of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Northumbria">Northumbria</a>, the heart of early Christian England where the greatest scholar of his age, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Bede-the-Venerable">Venerable Bede</a>, first wrote about the “English people”.</p>
<p>The castle had been falling into slow decay until 2013, when it was bought from the bishops by a charitable trust run by the philanthropist <a href="https://aucklandproject.org/news/new-role-for-jonathan-ruffer/">Jonathan Ruffer</a>. The goal was not merely economic regeneration, but cultural renewal and claiming some of that proud heritage. There are now plenty of other things to see at Auckland Castle, but the new honey-stone block containing the Faith Museum stands out.</p>
<h2>What to see at the Faith Museum</h2>
<p>The museum’s ground floor leads visitors on a chronological journey from pre-Roman times to the present. It begins with carved markings on stones that appear to have had a ritual meaning, through various relics of Roman paganism, to the quietly significant display of <a href="https://artway.eu/content.php?id=2788&lang=en&action=show">a silver ring</a> which may be the oldest evidence of Christianity on this island.</p>
<p>The ring is one of several moments when you find yourself distracted by the thought: “How on earth did they get hold of <em>that</em>?” I won’t give away too many secrets, but the curators have plundered a wide range of other museums’ backroom collections to ensure visitors are not simply looking at books and obscure items of jewellery.</p>
<p>The fabrics, paintings, keepsakes and even a truly sinister child’s doll all serve to make the same point: “faith” is shorthand for what people take their lives to mean. These objects, which are all that we have of those people, are our best window to them.</p>
<p>The spine of the historic story is inevitably Christian (a spine with a sharp, badly healed fracture at the 16th-century Reformation). But while the multi-faceted Christian story is central, that story’s variety and the non-Christian threads are always in view. </p>
<p>For me, one of the most striking items is a Jewish vessel from Colchester that predates <a href="https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/why-were-the-jews-expelled-from-england-in-1290-0">the expulsion of England’s entire Jewish population in the 13th century</a>.</p>
<p>The scale is not huge. You can see every item on the lower floor – including the film montage about religion and sport in our time – within an hour, and you will only just be starting to develop museum legs. Then you are directed upstairs, and think: “So, we’ve done the history, is that it?”</p>
<h2>Reflecting on ‘faith’</h2>
<p>The very final part of the museum is a thoughtful set of spaces providing a snapshot of the rapidly changing religious landscape of Britain today. Here, a series of contemporary artists reflect on their different relationships to “faith”, and visitors are offered a chance to add your own response. Which is all fine and good, but that’s not why you visit a museum.</p>
<p>I am tempted not to tell you what awaits visitors in the penultimate space, at the top of the stairs, and if you’d rather find out for yourself, look away now. </p>
<p>Most of the top floor is boldly given over to a single installation: <a href="https://matcollishaw.com/works/eidolon/">Eidolon, by Mat Collishaw</a>. The work is a vast projection of an iris (the flower, not the eye), slowly opening and closing, which seems to burn with blue-gold flames yet is never consumed.</p>
<p>This may not sound very remarkable. But all I can say is that, having spent an hour being softened up by all the human lives and deaths to which the objects down below testified, I found myself almost wrenchingly moved by this installation. For me, it was a sort of minimalist answer to <a href="https://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/en">Saint-Chapelle in Paris</a>.</p>
<p>Your experience will be different, of course. Museums are like rivers: no one ever steps into the same one twice. But this is a river of faith worth stepping into. You will understand something of why so many people have been swept away by it. You may even feel a gently insistent tug yourself.</p>
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec Ryrie provided some limited, informal advice on specific objects to the curators of the Faith Museum during the development of the project.</span></em></p>The curators of this new Bishop Auckland museum have plundered a wide range of other backroom collections.Alec Ryrie, Professor of the History of Christianity, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2120392023-10-10T17:00:40Z2023-10-10T17:00:40ZThe Exorcist at 50: a terrifying film that symbolises the decline of America’s faith and optimism<p><em>Please note this piece contains spoilers.</em></p>
<p>Having made a <a href="https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2018/10/12/news/irish-film-maker-aislinn-clarke-on-her-new-horror-the-devil-s-doorway-1454950/">film about priests making a film</a>, I find myself discussing cinema with actual priests more than most. Invariably, the fathers’ favourite film is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/28/the-exorcist-review-friedkins-head-swivelling-horror-is-still-diabolically-inspired">The Exorcist</a>, in which two priests battle the ancient evil that has possessed a pre-teen girl. </p>
<p>At the climax, Father Damien Karras leaps from the child’s window, plunging down 75 steps to his death, exorcising the demon and saving the child. A hero.</p>
<p>There’s a thrill in seeing yourself depicted on screen, in seeing your vocation elevated to a <a href="https://time.com/6304708/heros-journey-psychology/">hero’s journey</a> and enmeshed into pop culture. I don’t want to know the chef who doesn’t enjoy Pixar’s <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ratatouille-2007">Ratatouille</a>.</p>
<p>But what about the rest of us? Most of us aren’t priests. Most aren’t even Catholic. Indeed, since the release of the film, the reputation of the Catholic church has sunk lower and lower, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/21/boston-globe-abuse-scandal-catholic">scandal, corruption and abuse</a> have become common knowledge. Yet the priests’ favourite film, which turns 50 this year, remains a household word, where other outstanding movies of the period have found themselves on the street.</p>
<p>The Exorcist is not Catholic propaganda. While the film’s director, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Friedkin">William Friedkin</a>, an agnostic Jew, described the film as being about faith, he meant the concept of faith itself – what the philosopher <a href="https://iep.utm.edu/kierkega/">Søren Kierkegaard</a> considered “holding on to the objective uncertainty with infinite passion”.</p>
<p>For Kierkegaard, faith was a venture, an action one takes in spite of – or because of – not knowing. Friedkin’s faith is not placed in anything named, but the film itself is riddled with uncertainty and culminates in action in the absence of certainty.</p>
<h2>America in crisis</h2>
<p>Friedkin was recognised as one of the premier directors of the 1970s’ all-male <a href="https://www.newwavefilm.com/international/new-hollywood.shtml">New Hollywood</a>, alongside peers such as <a href="https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/francis-ford-coppola">Frances Ford Coppola</a>, <a href="https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/martin-scorsese">Martin Scorsese</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-J-Pakula">Alan Pakula</a>, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jan/07/peter-bogdanovich-obituary">Peter Bogdanovich</a>. This movement responded to the experience of previous decades with films that captured the uncertainty and irresolution of American life: the Vietnam war, the civil rights movement, the Kennedy assassinations, Watergate.</p>
<p>If 1950s, America was a teenybopper full of hope and confidence, the America of the late 1960s was a young adult learning that her parents are only human after all and no one is taking the wheel. Not even Jesus.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/10/all-the-presidents-men-watergate-conspiracy-richard-nixon-woodward-bernstein-redford-hoffman">All The President’s Men</a> Pakula reveals the corruption at the heart of American democracy. Watergate was a watershed and faith in American institutions and the “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1939/04/the-great-american-experiment/653768/">great experiment</a>” never recovered.</p>
<p>Under more recent administrations corruption is expected, even accepted. All The President’s Men is surely a hit among journalists, but the hero class of Pakula’s film has taken a <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/impact-declining-trust-media">reputational drubbing in recent decades</a>, a notch above the priesthood.</p>
<p>Yet The Exorcist retains a legacy and place in popular culture that the other paranoid films of New Hollywood don’t.</p>
<p>For Friedkin, uncertainty in our institutions and our understanding is built in. When Regan McNeil becomes possessed by a demon, her mother takes her to a doctor, but psychiatry, psychoanalysis and hypnotherapy don’t work. The latest medical advances don’t work either.</p>
<p>And neither does a medieval Catholicism: the demon chuckles at the priests’ efforts to exorcise it. It mocks them. It even takes a crucifix and – rather than shrinking from it, as any self-respecting screen monster should, it repeatedly inserts the crucifix inside the body of its host. </p>
<p>The Exorcist is not a film about a successful exorcism, but about what we do in the face of uncertainty and the cynical grinning face of the demon doubt. It is not a film about a priest, but about a human being. When Karras takes the demon into himself and jumps from the window, it is literally a leap of faith. He can’t know that it will work, but he acts. Pazuzu, the demon of doubt, would prefer he didn’t act at all.</p>
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<h2>The great unknown</h2>
<p>For me, the film’s most chilling moment comes when Regan interrupts her mother’s raucous shindig to flatly tell a guest (an astronaut): “You’re gonna die up there.” Then she pisses on the carpet like an untrained animal.</p>
<p>The administration that presided over “one giant leap for mankind” was also responsible for Watergate: optimism gave way to cynicism and, in a cynical mindset, it is easier to do nothing at all. The demon here is a head-swivelling personification of imposter syndrome, it comes to remind us of our smallness, our irrelevance, our hopelessness. It speaks with such certainty.</p>
<p>Faith is about not being defeated by the limits of our understanding. We may not have all the answers, but we can be courageous and curious. Faith is action and the hope that action is worth taking. At a time when our institutions and frameworks for understanding the world continually let us down, perhaps we need this lesson more than ever.</p>
<p>While astronauts facing a journey into the unknown chasm of space may die up there, it is the giant leap for mankind that inspires them to go. The Exorcist perseveres, because it is hopeful, not hopeless. It says something necessary about humanity. It has faith in us.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aislinn Clarke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Made at a time when America was facing crises on many fronts, William Friedkin’s film has profound things to say about humanity and society.Aislinn Clarke, Lecturer in Film Studies, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2040912023-04-21T12:41:27Z2023-04-21T12:41:27ZWhat’s going on when the Virgin Mary appears and statues weep? The answers aren’t just about science or the supernatural<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521749/original/file-20230419-24-eipspl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C0%2C2100%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mary is often depicted weeping, a reminder of the 'Seven Sorrows' the Bible recounts her suffering.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/god-bless-you-royalty-free-image/1306577159?phrase=statue%20mary&adppopup=true">pratan ounpitipong/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Claims of appearances of the Virgin Mary and weeping statues have been common in Catholicism. And now they’re going to get a closer look – but on a worldwide scale.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pami.info/copia-di-home-en">The Pontificia Academia Mariana Internationalis</a>, or PAMI, recently announced an <a href="https://www.ewtnvatican.com/articles/vatican-creates-observatory-to-study-possible-apparitions-of-virgin-mary-856">“observatory”</a> to <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1758584/Weeping-Virgin-Mary-statues-Vatican-scientists-PAMI">investigate claims</a> of appearances of the Virgin Mary and reports of statues of her weeping oil and blood.</p>
<p>This announcement extends PAMI’s mission of promoting devotion to Mary and study of phenomena related to her. While still waiting for full Vatican approval, the observatory will train investigators to study mystical phenomena in cooperation with church authorities – for example, trying to determine the substance of reported tears.</p>
<p>Investigating the supernatural has always been a delicate task in the Catholic Church, which has to balance the faith of believers with the possibility of fraud.</p>
<h2>Marian apparitions</h2>
<p>Catholics believe Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, and the mother of God, who still makes her presence known. And the Catholic Church has officially recognized a number of sites where Mary has reportedly appeared around the globe.</p>
<p>The image of <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-12/our-lady-of-guadaloupe-feast-day-mexico-americas.html">Our Lady of Guadalupe</a> on a cloak in Mexico City has long been revered by Catholics as a miracle confirming Mary’s appearance to the peasant Juan Diego in 1531. In <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-europe-religion-prayer-communism-9df80314be754c4aa3de4403cd5ecced">Fatima, Portugal</a>, in 1917, <a href="https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/f/fatima-message.php">three children claimed</a> that the Virgin Mary had visited them <a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/05/10/story-fatima-apparitions-miracles-and-journey-sainthood">several times</a>. Crowds drawn by the children’s prophecy that Mary would reappear and perform a miracle reported seeing the sun “<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/36019/miracle-of-the-sun-broke-darkness-of-portugals-atheist-regimes">dance in the sky</a>.”</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521724/original/file-20230418-20-nho1md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white photograph shows people standing and kneeling in a field, looking up to the sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521724/original/file-20230418-20-nho1md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521724/original/file-20230418-20-nho1md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521724/original/file-20230418-20-nho1md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521724/original/file-20230418-20-nho1md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521724/original/file-20230418-20-nho1md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521724/original/file-20230418-20-nho1md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521724/original/file-20230418-20-nho1md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thousands of believers claimed to have seen a ‘Miracle of the Sun’ in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/thousands-of-believers-attending-the-miracle-of-the-sun-news-photo/1159595509?adppopup=true">Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most recent Marian apparition that a Catholic bishop has declared “<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/33982/a-marian-apparition-has-been-approved-in-argentina-and-its-a-big-deal">worthy of belief</a>” was in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, in 2016. A local Catholic woman told her priest that visions had begun with <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-rosary-why-a-set-of-beads-and-prayers-are-central-to-catholic-faith-192485">rosary prayer beads</a> glowing in multiple homes and progressed to Mary warning her of humanity’s “<a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/its-official-major-apparitions-of-mary-are-approved">self-destruction</a>.”</p>
<h2>Mary’s tears</h2>
<p>There is also a long history of claims of weeping Mary statues. A well-known example is the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/45666/weeping-madonna-of-syracuse-commemorated-in-sicily">Madonna of Syracuse, Sicily</a> – a plaster statue that seemed to shed tears. Investigators appointed by the church said the liquid was <a href="https://catholicshrinebasilica.com/santuario-madonna-delle-lacrime-syracuse-sicily-italy/">chemically similar</a> to human tears. The shrine now housing the image is shaped like a <a href="https://blog.learnsicilian.com/miracle-of-tears-history-of-the-weeping-madonna-of-syracuse-madonna-delle-lacrime/">tear drop</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521686/original/file-20230418-28-78j86w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An unusual cathedral, shaped like an upside-down flower, seen from above." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521686/original/file-20230418-28-78j86w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521686/original/file-20230418-28-78j86w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521686/original/file-20230418-28-78j86w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521686/original/file-20230418-28-78j86w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521686/original/file-20230418-28-78j86w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521686/original/file-20230418-28-78j86w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521686/original/file-20230418-28-78j86w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The church in Syracuse, Sicily, that holds a small statue of Mary believed to weep.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/sanctuary-of-the-mary-of-the-tears-royalty-free-image/899173404?phrase=madonna%20of%20syracuse&adppopup=true">Michele Ponzio/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Recently, weeping statues have been reported in places as distant from each other as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEe1a0IxROI">Paszto, Hungary</a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/07/18/a-virgin-mary-statue-has-been-weeping-olive-oil-church-leaders-cant-explain-it/?utm_term=.9c0d38087e0b">Hobbs, New Mexico</a>. It is, however, rare for the Catholic Church to say that an apparently weeping statue has a supernatural cause.</p>
<p>Mary’s tears have special significance for Catholics. She is often pictured as crying over the sins of the world and the pain she endured in her earthly life. <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mfenelon/what-are-the-seven-sorrows-of-mary">Mary’s earthly sorrows</a> are depicted by seven swords piercing her flaming heart.</p>
<p>Given Mary’s religious and symbolic significance, it is not surprising for a supposed apparition site or a weeping statue to become an object of devotion.</p>
<p>And when this happens, the local bishop sometimes <a href="https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe/2020/08/is-seeing-believing-how-the-church-faces-claims-of-marian-apparitions">decides to investigate</a>.</p>
<h2>The possibility of fraud</h2>
<p>In examining claims of the supernatural, bishops follow standards set by the Vatican’s <a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19780225_norme-apparizioni_en.html">Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith</a>, which oversees Catholic doctrine. Perhaps because they address controversial issues, the standards were only <a href="https://www.catholicsun.org/2012/05/24/vatican-publishes-rules-for-verifying-marian-apparitions/">made public in 2012</a> – nearly 35 years after they were first implemented. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522205/original/file-20230420-26-3kquvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four adults stand in a dark room around a statue of a woman in a white dress and blue cloak." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522205/original/file-20230420-26-3kquvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522205/original/file-20230420-26-3kquvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522205/original/file-20230420-26-3kquvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522205/original/file-20230420-26-3kquvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522205/original/file-20230420-26-3kquvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522205/original/file-20230420-26-3kquvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522205/original/file-20230420-26-3kquvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Christians pray in 2014 next to a statue of the Virgin Mary in northern Israel that residents said was weeping oil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Mideast%20Israel%20Weeping%20Statue/523aed5a7cc742bdbfc4ba56f23a7a2c?Query=statue%20mary%20tear%20weep&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=4&currentItemNo=3">AP Photo/Ariel Schalit</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The bishop, or a committee appointed by him, evaluates the alleged supernatural phenomenon. This involves interviewing witnesses and, sometimes, scientific tests. Impact on the community is also considered. Positive aspects include reports of physical healings and religious conversions, or a general deepening of faith among Catholics. Negative aspects would include selling oil from a purportedly weeping statue or claiming a message from Mary that goes against Catholic doctrine.</p>
<p>A well-known case of an apparition that the Catholic Church rejected concerns the visions of Veronica Lueken, the Brooklyn “Bayside Seer,” who died in 1995. Lueken reported a number of messages from Mary that concerned church authorities. For example, Lueken claimed in 1972 that Mary had told her that the pope was, in fact, <a href="https://www.tldm.org/Directives/d50.htm">an imposter</a> made to look like the true pope, <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en.html">Paul VI</a>, through plastic surgery. Although <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/09/nyregion/visions-of-doom-endure-in-queens-prophecy-and-a-rift-at-a-shrine.html">belief in the messages endures</a> among a small number of Catholics, the local bishop <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/declaration-concerning-the-bayside-movement-11313">deemed the apparitions not credible</a>. </p>
<p>When it comes to weeping statues, one of the primary questions is whether the event has been staged. For example, in two cases of statues that supposedly had wept blood – one in <a href="https://www.apnews.com/5bc729e1e9f2b843d2557ec63e5db6da">Canada</a> in 1986 and another in <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/church_custodian_on_trial_in_italy_for_weeping_statue_hoax">Italy</a> in 2006 – the blood turned out be that of the statue’s owner. </p>
<p>Liquids can also be injected into the porous material of statues and later seep out as “tears.” Oil that is mixed with fat can be applied to a statue’s eyes, which will “weep” when <a href="https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/the-mystery-of-mary-s-tears/article_38c3d91a-127a-5f7c-b0d2-c2bec26744a5.html">ambient temperatures</a> rise. </p>
<h2>Searching for meaning</h2>
<p>The Pontificia Academia Mariana Internationalis seems to be searching for proof of supernatural signs, which certainly draw intellectual curiosity and media attention.</p>
<p>But as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XuFPwjsAAAAJ&hl=en">a scholar of global Catholicism</a> who has written about claims of the supernatural, I think it’s also important to understand what brings people to an apparition site or weeping statue in the first place. </p>
<p>In my hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts, statues and pictures have appeared to weep oil and blood at the home of the <a href="http://www.telegram.com/article/20070416/NEWS/704160667/1116&Template=printart">late Audrey Santo</a>, who died in 2007 at the age of 23. As a child, “Little Audrey” was left mute and paralyzed after a swimming pool accident. In spite of her physical condition, pilgrims who came to see her believed that she was praying for them.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl with her mouth open lies in a bed as an older woman bends over her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228664/original/file-20180720-142432-1phkf6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228664/original/file-20180720-142432-1phkf6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228664/original/file-20180720-142432-1phkf6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228664/original/file-20180720-142432-1phkf6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228664/original/file-20180720-142432-1phkf6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228664/original/file-20180720-142432-1phkf6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228664/original/file-20180720-142432-1phkf6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A special outdoor Mass was celebrated in honor of Audrey Santo, who was reputed to be connected to miracles, at the Holy Cross College stadium in Worcester, Mass.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Gail Oskin</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After Santo’s death, a <a href="http://www.littleaudreysantofoundation.com/">foundation was established</a> to promote her cause for sainthood, believing that the statues and pictures in her home were signs that God has specially blessed her.</p>
<p><a href="https://crossworks.holycross.edu/rel_faculty_pub/5/">In my writings</a> about the case of Santo, I was definitely tempted to focus on talk of the supernatural. And the claims surrounding Little Audrey are still <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070928100126/http://www.worcesterdiocese.org/audrey.html">debated among Catholics</a> as her sainthood cause stalls. But what I found most interesting was listening to people share why weeping statues were so meaningful in their personal lives. </p>
<p>At the Santo home, the people I talked to shared moving personal stories of pain and sadness, hope and healing. In the end, the sense of togetherness in and through suffering was far more important than talk of scientific proofs of the supernatural.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-behind-belief-in-weeping-virgin-mary-statues-100358">an article originally published on July 23, 2018</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204091/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mathew Schmalz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Investigating supernatural claims is a delicate task for the church, and Catholic leaders rarely label them as authentic.Mathew Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy CrossLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1978672023-03-21T18:10:22Z2023-03-21T18:10:22ZCalls for a ‘green’ Ramadan revive Islam’s long tradition of sustainability and care for the planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516673/original/file-20230321-1318-95p970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3244%2C2096&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic, yes. But at least the bottles are being reused.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/supporters-of-ousted-egyptian-president-mohamed-morsi-news-photo/173359900?phrase=ramadan%20water%20bottles&adppopup=true">Marwan Naamani/AFP via Getty Images)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many Muslims <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ramadan-is-called-ramadan-6-questions-answered-77291?gclid=CjwKCAjwq-WgBhBMEiwAzKSH6EHWHNIK_vqp0nBD80s8rfAzTeyRZZqwcNUZV97ifh7Mhdw17AcPPBoC8KQQAvD_BwE">breaking fast in mosques around the world this Ramadan</a>, something will be missing: plastics.</p>
<p>The communal experience of iftars – the after-sunset meal that brings people of the faith together during the holy month – often necessitates the use of utensils designed for mass events, such as plastic knives and forks, along with bottles of water.</p>
<p>But to encourage Muslims to be more mindful of the impact of Ramadan on the environment, mosques are increasingly <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mosque-plastic-bottle-ban-1.5152210">dispensing of single-use items</a>, with some <a href="https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/europe/uk-mosques-to-ditch-plastic-cutlery-ahead-of-ramadan/">banning the use of plastics</a> altogether.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://history.umbc.edu/facultystaff/full-time/noor-zaidi/">historian of Islam</a>, I see this “greening” of Ramadan as entirely in keeping with the traditions of the faith, and in particular the observance of Ramadan.</p>
<p>The month – during which observant <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ramadan-is-called-ramadan-6-questions-answered-77291">Muslims must abstain</a> from even a sip of water or food from sun up to sun down – is a time for members of the faith to focus on purifying themselves as individuals against excess and materialism.</p>
<p>But in recent years, Muslim communities around the world have used the period to <a href="https://www.ciogc.org/the-fasting-of-ramadan-a-time-for-thought-action-and-change/">rally around themes of social awareness</a>. And this includes understanding the perils of wastefulness and embracing the link between Ramadan and environmental consciousness.</p>
<p>The ban on plastics – a move <a href="https://mcb.org.uk/plastic-ban-for-ramadan-urged-as-british-mosques-go-green/">encouraged by the Muslim Council of Britain</a> as a way for Muslims “to be mindful of [God’s] creation and care for the environment” – is just one example.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People clearing plastic from a beach" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516451/original/file-20230320-26-o9zpiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516451/original/file-20230320-26-o9zpiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516451/original/file-20230320-26-o9zpiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516451/original/file-20230320-26-o9zpiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516451/original/file-20230320-26-o9zpiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516451/original/file-20230320-26-o9zpiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516451/original/file-20230320-26-o9zpiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Environmental consciousness has gained traction in Muslim communities over recent years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/mother-and-daughter-cleaning-up-a-beach-royalty-free-image/1432295674?phrase=islam%20ecology&adppopup=true">Yasser Chalid via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Many other mosques and centers are discouraging large or extravagant evening meals altogether. The fear is such communal events <a href="https://www.islamichelp.org.uk/green-ramadan">generate food waste and overconsumption</a> and often rely on <a href="https://isna.net/greenramadan/">nonbiodegradable materials</a> for cutlery, plates and serving platters.</p>
<h2>Quranic environmentalism</h2>
<p>While the move toward environmental consciousness has gained traction in Muslim communities in recent years, the links between Islam and sustainability can be found in the faith’s foundational texts.</p>
<p>Scholars have long emphasized principles outlined in the Quran that highlight <a href="https://quran.com/en/al-anam/141">conservation</a>, reverence for <a href="https://quran.com/6/99?translations=131">living creatures</a> and the diversity of living things as <a href="https://quran.com/50?startingVerse=7">a reminder of God’s creation</a>. </p>
<p>The Quran repeatedly emphasizes the idea of “<a href="https://ansari.nd.edu/assets/342769/chapter3_a_qur_anic_environment.pdf">mizan</a>,” a kind of cosmic and natural balance, and the <a href="http://www.khaleafa.com/khaleafacom/caretakers-of-the-earth-an-islamic-perspective">role of humans as stewards and khalifa, or “viceregents,” on Earth</a> – terms that also carry an environmental interpretation.</p>
<p>Recently, Islamic <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ImUzOeIsCQdCGgi2y554jbFrV4g_SgxR/view">environmental activists have highlighted</a> the numerous hadith – sayings of the Prophet Muhammad that provide guidance to followers of the faith – that emphasize that Muslims should avoid excess, respect resources and living things, and consume in moderation. </p>
<p>Although present from the outset of the faith, Islam’s ties to environmentalism received major visibility with the works of Iranian philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and a series of lectures he delivered at the University of Chicago in 1966. The <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/de/title/man-and-nature-the-spiritual-crisis-in-modern-man/oclc/963433660">lectures and a subsequent book</a>, “Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis in Modern Man,” warned that humans had broken their relationship with nature and thus placed themselves in grave ecological danger.</p>
<p>Nasr blamed modern and Western science for being <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26899432?seq=3">materialistic, utilitarian and inhuman</a>, claiming it had destroyed traditional views of nature. Nasr <a href="https://www.academia.edu/35023936/The_Contemporary_Islamic_World_and_the_Environmental_Crisis">argued</a> that Islamic philosophy, metaphysics, scientific tradition, arts and literature emphasize the spiritual significance of nature. But he noted that numerous contemporary factors, such as mass rural-to-urban migration and poor and autocratic leadership, had prevented the Muslim world from realizing and implementing the Islamic view of the natural environment.</p>
<p>Scholars and activists expanded on Nasr’s work through the 1980s and 1990s, among them Fazlun Khalid, one of the world’s leading voices on Islam and environmentalism. In 1994, Khalid founded the <a href="https://www.ifees.org.uk/">Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences</a>, an organization dedicated to the maintenance of the planet as a healthy habitat for all living beings. Khalid and other Muslim environmentalists suggest that Islam’s nearly 2 billion adherents can participate in the tasks of environmental sustainability and equity not through Western models and ideologies but from <a href="https://crcc.usc.edu/fazlun-khalid-environmentalism-is-intrinsic-to-islam/">within their own traditions</a>.</p>
<p>Partnering with the United Nations Environment Program, Khalid and other <a href="https://www.unep.org/al-mizan-covenant-earth#:%7E:text=Al%2DMizan%3A%20A%20Covenant%20for%20the%20Earth%20presents%20an%20Islamic,other%20threats%20to%20the%20planet.">leading scholars</a> crafted <a href="https://www.unep.org/al-mizan-covenant-earth#:%7E:text=Al%2DMizan%3A%20A%20Covenant%20for%20the%20Earth%20presents%20an%20Islamic,other%20threats%20to%20the%20planet.">Al-Mizan</a>, a worldwide project for Muslim leaders interested in Muslims’ religious commitments to nature. “The ethos of Islam is that it integrates belief with a code of conduct which pays heed to the essence of the natural world,” Khalid wrote in “<a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/commission-environmental-economic-and-social-policy/201901/signs-earth-islam-modernity-and-climate-crisis#:%7E:text=This%20book%2C%20by%20one%20of,faces%20today%2C%20namely%20climate%20change.">Signs on the Earth: Islam, Modernity, and the Climate Crisis</a>.”</p>
<h2>Going beyond an eco-Ramadan</h2>
<p>Environmental crises <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.702">disproportionately affect the world’s poorest populations</a>, and academics have highlighted
the particular <a href="https://had-int.org/blog/how-is-climate-change-affecting-muslim-communities/">vulnerabilities of Muslim communities</a> around the world, such as the victims of <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-likely-increased-extreme-monsoon-rainfall-flooding-highly-vulnerable-communities-in-pakistan/">devastating floods in Pakistan</a> in 2022.</p>
<p>By highlighting <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780945454397">Islamic principles</a>, <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/alwaleed/outreach-and-projects/cop26">policies</a> and <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Islamic-Environmentalism-Activism-in-the-United-States-and-Great-Britain/Hancock/p/book/9780367878092">community approaches</a>, academics have shown how Islam <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-islam-can-represent-model-environmental-stewardship">can represent a model for environmental stewardship</a>.</p>
<p>This push for environmental consciousness extends beyond Ramadan. In recent years, Muslims have tried to introduce green practices into the shrine cities in Iraq during pilgrimage seasons in <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-ashura-how-this-shiite-muslim-holiday-inspires-millions-122610">Ashura</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-largest-contemporary-muslim-pilgrimage-isnt-the-hajj-to-mecca-its-the-shiite-pilgrimage-to-karbala-in-iraq-144542">Arbaeen</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Thousands of people gather in front of a shrine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516457/original/file-20230320-26-nhqapa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516457/original/file-20230320-26-nhqapa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516457/original/file-20230320-26-nhqapa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516457/original/file-20230320-26-nhqapa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516457/original/file-20230320-26-nhqapa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516457/original/file-20230320-26-nhqapa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516457/original/file-20230320-26-nhqapa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Pilgrims at the Holy Shrine in Karbala, Iraq.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/millions-of-pilgrims-in-karbala-shrine-iraq-royalty-free-image/893864662?phrase=arbaeen&adppopup=true">Jasmin Merdan via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>This has included <a href="https://thegreenpilgrim.org">awareness campaigns</a> encouraging the 20 million pilgrims who visit Arbaeen annually to reduce the tons of trash they leave every year that clog up Iraq’s waterways. Quoting from <a href="https://www.al-islam.org/articles/aspects-environmental-ethics-islamic-perspective-mohammad-ali-shomali-0">Shiite scholarship</a> and drawing on <a href="https://thegreenpilgrim.org/resources/">testimonials</a> from community leaders, the Green Pilgrim movement suggests carrying cloth bags and reusable water bottles, turning down plastic cutlery, and hosting eco-friendly stalls along the walk.</p>
<p>Muslim-owned businesses and nonprofits are joining these wider efforts. Melanie Elturk, the founder of the successful hijab brand Haute Hijab, regularly ties together faith, fashion, commerce and environmentalism by highlighting the brand’s <a href="https://www.hautehijab.com/pages/ethics-sustainability">focus on sustainability and environmental impact</a>. The Washington, D.C., nonprofit <a href="https://www.greenmuslims.org/">Green Muslims</a> pioneered <a href="https://festival.si.edu/blog/how-green-is-your-deen-environmentalism-islam">the first “leftar” – a play on the word “iftar</a>” – using leftovers and reusable containers.</p>
<p>These efforts are but a few of the diverse ways that Muslim communities are addressing environmental impact. The greening of Ramadan fits into a broader conversation about how often communities can tackle climate change within their own frameworks.</p>
<p>But Islamic environmentalism is more than just the dispensing of plastic forks and water bottles – it taps into a worldview ingrained in the faith from the outset, and can continue to guide adherents as they navigate environmentalism, a space where they may otherwise be marginalized.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197867/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Noorzehra Zaidi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Communal meals to break fast can mean lots of single-use plastics. A switch to environmentally friendly principles is in line with Islamic principles through the ages.Noorzehra Zaidi, Assistant Professor of HIstory, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1978452023-03-21T12:42:20Z2023-03-21T12:42:20ZRamadan finds greater recognition in America’s public schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516502/original/file-20230320-2667-t1lhni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C26%2C5879%2C3895&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muslim students may request special accommodations during the Islamic month of fasting.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/side-view-of-asian-beautiful-young-muslim-student-royalty-free-image/1213143339?phrase=Muslim%20students%20pray&adppopup=true">mkitina4 via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Ramadan – the Islamic month of fasting – is expected to begin at sunset on <a href="https://www.moonsighting.com/ramadan-eid.html">March 10, 2024</a>. The likely first day of fasting will be Monday, March 11. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=COz6BG8AAAAJ&hl=en">Amaarah DeCuir</a>, who researches Muslim student experiences, offers insights into how public schools can move toward greater recognition of the sacred Islamic month.</em></p>
<h2>How many Muslim students are enrolled in public schools in the US?</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/01/muslims-are-a-growing-presence-in-u-s-but-still-face-negative-views-from-the-public/">3.85 million</a> Muslims in the United States. Of that number, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/07/26/demographic-portrait-of-muslim-americans">1.35 million</a> are children.</p>
<p>Although this may only represent a small portion of public school students nationwide – and many Muslim children attend private Islamic schools – Muslim students are a part of a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2020/09/10/u-s-teens-take-after-their-parents-religiously-attend-services-together-and-enjoy-family-rituals/">60% majority</a> of students in public schools who say that religion is important in their lives.</p>
<h2>What are public schools legally obligated to do for Ramadan?</h2>
<p>Federal law – specifically <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocr-factsheet-shared-ancestry-202301.pdf">Title VI</a> of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – protects all students from discrimination based on race, color or national origin. This includes students of any religion.</p>
<p>In 2023, the U.S. Department of Education <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html">reissued guidance</a> on constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression. This gave school leaders detailed information on federal protections for students who seek to practice their religion during the school day.</p>
<p>These guidelines help schools prepare adequate accommodations for Muslim students year-round. The guidance <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html">specifically mentions Ramadan</a> stating Muslim students also have constitutional protections that <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html">permit them to pray</a> during non-instructional time, as long as it doesn’t disturb other students.</p>
<h2>What are the benefits when schools recognize Ramadan?</h2>
<p>Research shows that students <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13141">have a stronger sense of belonging</a>, have better <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02482">well-being</a> and <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1158154.pdf">do better academically</a> when they attend a school that fosters a positive environment that recognizes the diversity of the student body. </p>
<p>By contrast, students who experience discrimination and bias tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01712-3">suffer academically</a>. High-quality, supportive school environments create excellent teaching and learning for all students.</p>
<h2>What are specific ways that schools accommodate students who fast?</h2>
<p>During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink during daylight hours. Muslim students who fast may request <a href="https://ing.org/resources/for-educators/other-educator-resources/religious-practices-of-muslim-students-in-public-schools">to sit away from the school cafeteria</a> to avoid the sights and smells of food.</p>
<p>Alternate seating minimizes physical discomfort and supports other experiences like reading, quiet play or rest during lunchtime. Muslim students often prefer to sit in the library or a favorite classroom during their lunchtime, ideally with other Muslim students observing the fast.</p>
<p>Students who have not reached puberty, female students who are menstruating at the time and students who are ill or traveling <a href="https://www.islamicfinder.org/news/who-is-exempt-from-fasting-in-ramadan/">are exempt</a> from fasting during Ramadan. </p>
<h2>How have Muslim students experienced Ramadan in public schools?</h2>
<p>Although fasting does not prohibit studying and completing schoolwork, some fasting students may notice that <a href="https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/14681711/abstract/Effects_on_health_of_fluid_restriction_during_fasting_in_Ramadan_">they experience fatigue</a>, <a href="https://headachejournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1526-4610.1999.3907490.x">headaches</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/1601899.epdf">daytime dehydration</a> when fasting. <a href="https://www.healththoroughfare.com/food/ramadan-and-intermittent-fasting-how-it-boosts-your-well-being/60573">Others notice increased</a> energy and focus and better sleep. </p>
<p>Muslims begin abstaining from food and drink at dawn, typically one hour before sunrise. The exact time changes with the seasons and geographic location. During Ramadan 2024, which falls in March and April, fasting students may wake up as early as 5 a.m. to eat, drink and pray. By the end of the day, studies have shown that students may have less <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22375233/">cognitive focus</a>, in addition to fatigue and exhaustion.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.12.005">Some Muslim students struggle</a> with academic assessments and complicated tasks scheduled in the late afternoon during Ramadan. <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/05/14/colleges-try-accommodate-muslim-students-fasting-ramadan">They may seek permission</a> to take tests early in the school day when they are more alert and able to focus on complex tasks. </p>
<p>Muslim students break their fast at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ramadan">home</a> or the mosque at sunset. After the meal, families may join nighttime community prayers at the local mosque, for about two hours. These traditions and routines limit students’ abilities to complete typical homework assignments and after-school activities. Some students opt to do homework early in the morning when they are more alert, but some after-school programs like athletics and clubs are not easily postponed. Schools can support Muslim students by modifying expectations for after-school engagement during Ramadan.</p>
<h2>Does the Israel-Palestine conflict raise any particular concerns?</h2>
<p>The U.S. Department of Education <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html">2023 Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Expression</a> states that school officials are required to make accommodation “on the basis of requests.” But since Oct. 7, 2023, American Muslims have faced <a href="https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-received-1283-complaints-over-past-month-an-unprecedented-increase-in-complaints-of-islamophobia-anti-arab-bias/">increased anti-Muslim bias and hate</a>, creating a climate of fear that leads Muslims to hide their identity or censor their speech. A <a href="https://belonging.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/2021-09/Islamophobia%20Through%20the%20Eyes%20of%20Muslims.pdf">2020 national survey</a> found that 44.6% of Muslim young people were most likely to conceal their religious identity. </p>
<p>As educators prepare for Ramadan, they can advance <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000248254">inclusive</a> practices that offer schoolwide accommodations to minimize the need to make requests that reveal students’ religious identity. Similar to <a href="https://www.cast.org/news/2020/community-driven-process-update-udl-guidelines?_gl=1*1xdgz59*_ga*MTIzNDMwODA2Ni4xNzA5MTc5MTcw*_ga_C7LXP5M74W*MTcwOTE3OTE2OS4xLjAuMTcwOTE3OTE2OS4wLjAuMA..">universal design</a> principles, educators can offer alternative lunch seating, low-intensity physical education and multiple assessment schedules to support any student who might be observing the fast.</p>
<h2>What about doing physical education or sports during Ramadan?</h2>
<p>Muslim students who have physical education classes during Ramadan <a href="https://www.healthwellbeing.com/how-to-exercise-safely-during-ramadan/">may ask to avoid</a> cardio-intensive activities when fasting to avoid exhaustion and dehydration. Instead, <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/uk/fitness/a36074589/training-during-ramadan/">they may opt for moderate</a> strength training with periods of rest. </p>
<p>Young Muslim athletes <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260436485_Effects_of_Ramadan_fasting_on_physical_performance_and_psychological_characteristics_in_youth_soccer_players">might not perform</a> as well as they <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0765159711001717">usually do</a> at the start of Ramadan, until their bodies get <a href="https://www.omahacentralregister.com/8804/sports/muslim-student-athletes-observe-ramadan/">used to fasting</a>. Older student-athletes <a href="https://spectator.cuchicago.edu/5437/sports/cuc-muslim-student-athletes-celebrate-the-month-of-ramadan/">adjust their workout schedule</a> during Ramadan to prepare for competitions. Muslim student-athletes <a href="https://usatodayhss.com/2019/ramadan-and-the-muslim-student-athlete">rely upon coaches</a> to adapt physical training during Ramadan.</p>
<h2>How have college students recognized Ramadan on their campuses?</h2>
<p>Muslim students in higher education have long traditions of hosting annual Fast-A-Thons to invite fellow students to fast in community with them for one day in Ramadan. Dating back to 2001 at the <a href="https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/fast-a-thon/">University of Tennessee</a>, Muslim Student Associations, known as MSAs, <a href="https://events.islamicity.org/events/9th-annual-fastathon/">continue</a> to promote <a href="https://thebutlercollegian.com/2022/04/muslim-student-association-hosts-campus-wide-fast-a-thon/">Fast-A-Thons</a> to raise <a href="https://calendar.uab.edu/event/fast-a-thon_fundraiser_8894#.ZBSwChTMI2w">awareness</a> of Ramadan and Muslims. Occasionally, groups fund-raise for social justice causes like local and global hunger. Today, many college campus MSAs invite other students to fast for a day and host events to enjoy the sunset meal together.</p>
<h2>How many school districts close for the end-of-Ramadan festival?</h2>
<p>By my count, at least 19 U.S. public school districts were closed in 2023 <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-lead-more-public-schools-to-close-for-islamic-holidays-182197">for Eid al-Fitr</a>, the holiday that follows the month of Ramadan.</p>
<p>This now includes <a href="https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/education/2023/02/01/watchung-nj-school-district-eid-al-fitr/69854266007/">Watchung, New Jersey</a>,<a href="https://www.browardschools.com/Page/68992">Broward County, Florida</a>, <a href="https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/hilliard-becomes-first-school-district-recognize-eid/530-57af0792-8dce-4ecc-a821-d7691313f33a">Hilliard, Ohio</a>, and <a href="https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-schools-pass-calendar-eid-al-fitr-new-17741279.php">Stamford, Connecticut</a>. </p>
<p>Eid ul Fitr this year is expected to be observed on <a href="https://www.moonsighting.com/ramadan-eid.html">Wednesday, April 10</a>.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of <a href="https://theconversation.com/ramadan-finds-greater-recognition-in-americas-public-schools-197845">an article</a> originally published on March 21, 2023.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amaarah DeCuir does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Federal law protects students’ rights to request some religious accommodations, including during the month of Ramadan.Amaarah DeCuir, Senior Professorial Lecturer in Education, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1995762023-03-01T06:14:14Z2023-03-01T06:14:14ZHow sport became the new religion – a 200-year story of society’s ‘great conversion’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512192/original/file-20230224-772-4vwt02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C609%2C5221%2C3063&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Cradle-to-grave indoctrination': West Ham United fans before an FA Cup match at Kidderminster Harriers in February 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.alamy.com/soccer-football-fa-cup-fourth-round-kidderminster-harriers-v-west-ham-united-aggborough-stadium-kidderminster-britain-february-5-2022-fans-and-a-man-with-a-banner-reading-god-is-love-outside-the-stadium-before-the-match-action-images-via-reuterscarl-recine-image459610618.html?imageid=AF1A5DA4-D623-4DFE-978E-CE1CA7F5F8D8&p=1314830&pn=1&searchId=b337cc0ad6a4ea90df2f3d320fdd5866&searchtype=0">Carl Recine/Reuters/Alamy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Jesus Christ was a sportsman.” Or so claimed a preacher at one of the regular sporting services that were held throughout the first half of the 20th century in Protestant churches all over Britain.</p>
<p>Invitations were sent out to local organisations, and sportsmen and women would attend these services en masse. Churches would be decorated with club paraphernalia and cups won by local teams. Sporting celebrities – perhaps a Test cricketer or First Division footballer – would read the lessons, and the vicar or priest would preach on the value of sport and the need to play it in the right spirit. Occasionally, the preacher would himself be a sporting star such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Liddell">Billy Liddell</a>, the legendary Liverpool and Scotland footballer.</p>
<p>Since 1960, however, the trajectories of religion and sport have diverged dramatically. Throughout the UK, <a href="https://clivedfield.wordpress.com/counting-religion-in-britain/">attendances</a> for all the largest Christian denominations – Anglican, Church of Scotland, Catholic and Methodist – have fallen by more than half. At the same time, the commercialisation and televisation of sport has turned it into a <a href="https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/news/ucfb-news-hub/global-sports-industry-report-a-resilient-fightback-and-promising-future/#:%7E:text=Recent%20statistics%2C%20in%20the%20wake,of%20%24600bn%2D%24700bn.">multi-billion dollar global business</a>.</p>
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<p><strong><em>This article is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> derived from interdisciplinary research. The team is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Numerous high-profile sporting stars talk openly about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/17/god-given-talent-saka-rashford-and-sterling-blaze-a-trail-for-black-british-christians">the importance of religion to their careers</a>, including England footballers Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka. World heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/archive-interview-tyson-fury-the-boxer-who-prays-for-his-opponents/">credits his Catholic faith</a> with bringing him back from obesity, alcoholism and cocaine dependency.</p>
<p>Yet it is sport, and its “gods” like Fury, that attracts far greater devotion among much of the public. Parents are as anxious today to ensure their children spend Sunday mornings on the pitch or track as they might once have been to see them in Sunday school.</p>
<p>But to what extent is the worship of sport, and our regular pilgrimages to pitches and stadiums up and down the country, responsible for the emptying of churches and other religious establishments? This is the story of their parallel, and often conflicting, journeys – and how this “great conversion” changed modern society.</p>
<h2>When religion gave sport a helping hand</h2>
<p>Two hundred years ago, Christianity was a dominant force in British society. In the early 19th century, as the modern sporting world was just beginning to emerge, the relationship between church and sport was mainly antagonistic. Churches, especially the dominant evangelical Protestants, condemned the violence and brutality of many sports, as well as their association with gambling.</p>
<p>Many sports were on the defensive in the face of religious attack. In my book <a href="http://global.oup.com/academic/product/religion-and-the-rise-of-sport-in-England-9780192859983?cc=gb&lang=en&">Religion and the Rise of Sport in England</a>, I chart how sport’s advocates – players and commentators alike – responded with verbal and even physical attacks on religious zealots. In 1880, for example, boxing historian <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/50466">Henry Downes Miles</a> celebrated novelist William Thackeray’s stirring descriptions of the “noble art” while also bemoaning religion’s attempts to curb it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[This description of boxing] has lines of power to make the blood of your Englishman stir in days to come – should the preachers of peace at-any-price, parsimonious pusillanimity, puritanic precision and propriety have left our youth any blood to stir.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet around this time, there were also the first signs of a rapprochement between religion and sport. Some churchmen – influenced both by more liberal theologies and the nation’s health and societal failings – turned from condemning “bad” sports to promoting “good” ones, notably cricket and football. Meanwhile the new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscular_Christianity">Muscular Christianity movement</a> appealed for recognition of the needs of “the whole man or whole woman – body, mind and spirit”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512197/original/file-20230224-823-5z6x3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of a calisthenics college for Christian women." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512197/original/file-20230224-823-5z6x3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512197/original/file-20230224-823-5z6x3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512197/original/file-20230224-823-5z6x3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512197/original/file-20230224-823-5z6x3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512197/original/file-20230224-823-5z6x3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512197/original/file-20230224-823-5z6x3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512197/original/file-20230224-823-5z6x3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wood engraving, 1867.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calisthenics,_1867._Granger_Collection.jpg">Granger Collection</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By the 1850s, sport had become central to the curricula of Britain’s leading private schools. These were attended by many future Anglican clergymen, who would go on to bring a passion for sport to their parishes. No fewer than a third of the Oxford and Cambridge University cricket “blues” (first team players) from the years 1860 to 1900 were later ordained as clergy.</p>
<p>While the UK’s Christian sporting movement was pioneered by liberal Anglicans, other denominations (plus the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YMCA">YMCA</a> and, a little later, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YWCA">YWCA</a>) soon joined in. In an editorial on The Saving of the Body in 1896, the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4KUOAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false">Sunday School Chronicle</a> asserted that “the attempted divorce of the body and soul has ever been the source of the keenest woes of mankind”.</p>
<p>It explained that, unlike medieval saints’ instances of extreme bodily mortification, Jesus came to heal the whole man – and therefore:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When the religion of the gymnasium and the cricket-field is duly recognised and inculcated, we may hope for better results.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Religious clubs were formed, mostly strictly for fun and relaxation on a Saturday afternoon. But a few went on to greater things. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8423684-thank-god-for-football">Aston Villa</a> football club was founded in 1874 by a group of young men in a Methodist bible class, who already played cricket together and wanted a winter game. Rugby union’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/northampton_saints">Northampton Saints</a> started six years later as Northampton St James, having been founded by the curate of the town’s <a href="https://www.northamptonshiresurprise.com/organisation/northampton-st-james/">St James Church</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512199/original/file-20230224-1012-nrgfca.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Football team in old-fashioned kit, all seated" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512199/original/file-20230224-1012-nrgfca.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512199/original/file-20230224-1012-nrgfca.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512199/original/file-20230224-1012-nrgfca.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512199/original/file-20230224-1012-nrgfca.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512199/original/file-20230224-1012-nrgfca.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512199/original/file-20230224-1012-nrgfca.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512199/original/file-20230224-1012-nrgfca.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aston Villa’s FA Cup-winning team of 1895, posing with the trophy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aston_villa_1895_team.jpg">Henry Joseph Whitlock/Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, Christian missionaries were taking British sports to Africa and Asia. As J.A. Mangan describes in <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Games_Ethic_and_Imperialism.html?id=t9aIAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y">The Games Ethic and Imperialism</a>: “Missionaries took cricket to the Melanesians, football to the Bantu, rowing to the Hindu [and] athletics to the Iranians”. Missionaries were also the first footballers in Uganda, Nigeria, the French Congo and probably Africa’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Coast_(British_colony)">former Gold Coast</a> too, according to David Goldblatt in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/dec/16/featuresreviews.guardianreview9">The Ball is Round</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512202/original/file-20230224-883-9wdxqw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cricketer in old-fashioned kit and top hat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512202/original/file-20230224-883-9wdxqw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512202/original/file-20230224-883-9wdxqw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512202/original/file-20230224-883-9wdxqw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512202/original/file-20230224-883-9wdxqw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512202/original/file-20230224-883-9wdxqw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512202/original/file-20230224-883-9wdxqw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512202/original/file-20230224-883-9wdxqw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Illustration from The Cricket Field by Rev. James Pycroft.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Cricket_Field_0007.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But at home, religious denominations and their members responded selectively to the late Victorian sporting boom, adopting some sports while rejecting others. Anglicans, for example, enjoyed a love affair with cricket. One of the first books celebrating it as England’s “national game” was <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/52022/52022-h/52022-h.htm">The Cricket Field</a> (1851) by Rev. James Pycroft, a Devon clergyman who pronounced: “The game of cricket, philosophically considered, is a standing panegyric to the English character.”</p>
<p>Admittedly, Pycroft also noted a “darker side” to the game, arising from the large amount of betting on cricket matches at that time. But, in a claim that would be made for many other sports over the next century and a half, he suggested it was still a “panacea” for the nation’s social ills:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Such a national game as cricket will both humanise and harmonise our people. It teaches a love of order, discipline and fair-play for the pure honour and pure glory of victory.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/2019/08/13/boxing-as-a-jewish-sport">Jews came to the fore in boxing</a> in Britain – in contrast to the <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/nonconformists/#2-who-were-nonconformists-and-what-are-nonconformist-records">nonconformists</a> who mainly opposed boxing because of its violence, and who were totally against horse racing because it was based on betting. They approved of all “healthy” sports, though, and were enthusiastic cyclists and footballers. In contrast, many Catholics and Anglicans enjoyed horse racing and also boxed.</p>
<p>But as the 19th century neared its end, the most hotly debated issue was the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sport-and-the-Physical-Emancipation-of-English-Women-RLE-Sports-Studies/McCrone/p/book/9781138982802">rise of women’s sport</a>. Unlike in other parts of Europe, however, there was little religious opposition to women taking part in Britain.</p>
<p>From the 1870s, upper and upper-middle-class women were playing golf, tennis and croquet, and not long afterwards sport entered the curricula of girls’ private schools. By the 1890s, the country’s more affluent churches and chapels were forming tennis clubs, while those with a broader social constituency formed clubs for cycling and hockey, most of which welcomed both women and men.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512203/original/file-20230224-682-j2ktnx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four women in swimming robes, seated." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512203/original/file-20230224-682-j2ktnx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512203/original/file-20230224-682-j2ktnx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512203/original/file-20230224-682-j2ktnx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512203/original/file-20230224-682-j2ktnx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512203/original/file-20230224-682-j2ktnx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512203/original/file-20230224-682-j2ktnx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512203/original/file-20230224-682-j2ktnx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Britain’s 4x100m swimming relay team at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UK_Women_4x100m_team_1928_Olympics.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The involvement of churches in amateur sport would peak in the 1920s and 30s. In Bolton in the 1920s, for example, church-based clubs accounted for half of all teams playing cricket and football (the sports most widely practised by men) and well over half those playing hockey and rounders (typically practised by women).</p>
<p>At this time, an extensive sporting programme was so taken for granted in most churches that it scarcely needed a justification. However, there was a gradual decline in church-based sport after the second world war – which became much more rapid in the 1970s and ’80s.</p>
<h2>When sport became ‘bigger than religion’</h2>
<p>Even before the dawn of the 20th century, critics of private schools and universities were complaining that cricket had become “a new religion”. Similarly, some observers of working-class cultures were concerned that football had become “a passion and not merely a recreation”.</p>
<p>The most obvious challenge that the rise of sport presented for religion was competition for time. As well as the general problem that both are lengthy pursuits, there was the more specific problem of the times when sport is practised.</p>
<p>Jews had long faced the question of whether playing or watching sport on a Saturday is compatible with observance of the Sabbath. From the 1890s, Christians began to face similar issues with the slow-but-steady growth of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15203094-sport-and-the-english-middle-classes-1870-1914">recreational sport and exercise on Sundays</a>. The bicycle provided the perfect means for those who wanted to spend the day outdoors, far from church, and golf clubs were beginning to open on Sundays too – by 1914, this extended to around half of all English golf clubs.</p>
<p>But unlike in most other parts of Europe, <a href="https://christiansinsport.org.uk/resources/sunday-sport">professional sport on Sundays</a> remained rare. This meant that <a href="https://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Liddell">Eric Liddell</a>, the Scottish athlete and rugby union international immortalised in the film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyltmUR3MU">Chariots of Fire</a>, could quite easily combine his brilliant sporting career with a refusal to run on Sundays, so long as he remained in Britain. When the 1924 Olympics were held in Paris, however, Liddell famously refused to compromise by taking part in the Sunday heats for the 100m sprint. He went on to win 400m gold instead, before returning to China the following year to serve as a missionary teacher.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uwyltmUR3MU?wmode=transparent&start=20" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Eric Liddell’s victorious 400m run at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, recreated in the film Chariots of Fire.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The 1960s finally marked the beginning of the end for Britain’s “sacred” Sunday. In 1960, the Football Association lifted its ban on Sunday football, leading to the formation of numerous Sunday leagues for local clubs. The first Sunday matches between professional teams took rather longer, starting with <a href="https://www.footballsite.co.uk/History/Sunday%20Football.htm#:%7E:text=Things%20did%20change.,kicked%20off%20in%20the%20morning.">Cambridge United v Oldham Athletic</a> in the third round of the FA Cup on January 6 1974. Before then, in 1969, cricket had become the first major UK sport to stage elite-level Sunday sport with its new 40-over competition – sponsored by John Player cigarettes and televised by the BBC.</p>
<p>But perhaps the clearest indicator of the growing perception of sporting sites as “sacred spaces” was the practice of scattering supporters’ ashes on or close to a pitch. This gained particular popularity in Liverpool during the reign of the football club’s legendary manager Bill Shankly (1959-74), who is quoted in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/5454997-the-essential-shankly">John Keith’s biography</a> explaining the reasoning behind it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My aim was to bring the people close to the club and the team, and for them to be accepted part of it. The effect was that wives brought their late husbands’ ashes to Anfield and scattered them on the pitch after saying a little prayer … So people not only support Liverpool when they’re alive. They support them when they are dead.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Shankly’s own ashes were scattered at the Kop end of the Anfield pitch following his death in 1981.</p>
<p>By now, sporting enthusiasts were happy to declare – and elaborate on – their “sporting faith”. In 1997, lifelong Liverpool fan Alan Edge drew an extended parallel between his upbringing as a Catholic and his support for the Reds in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17454359-faith-of-our-fathers---football-as-a-religion">Faith of Our Fathers: Football as a Religion</a>. With chapter titles such as “Baptism”, “Communion” and “Confession”, Edge offers a convincing explanation of why so many fans say that football is their religion, and how this alternative faith is learnt:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m attempting to provide an insight into some of the reasons behind all the madness; why people like me turn into knee-jerking, football crazy lunatics … It is a story that could apply equally to fans from any of the other great footballing hotbeds … All are places where cradle-to-grave indoctrination is part of growing up; where football is a primary – at times, the primary – life-force, supplanting religion in the lives of many.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>‘Sport does things religion no longer offers’</h2>
<p>Whether as participant or supporter, many people’s loyalty to sport now provides a stronger source of identity than the religion (<a href="https://humanists.uk/2022/11/29/non-religious-surge-37-tick-no-religion-in-2021-census-uk-among-least-religious-countries-in-the-world/#:%7E:text=The%20data%20published%20by%20the,the%20non%2Dreligious%20in%20Wales.">if any</a>) to which they are nominally attached.</p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/apr/22/london-marathon-running-micah-true#comment-15769723">writing</a> about his experiences of long-distance running, author Jamie Doward suggests that, for him and many others, running marathons does some of the things that religion can no longer offer. He calls running “the secular equivalent of the Sunday service” and “modernity’s equivalent of a medieval pilgrimage”, adding:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is perhaps no surprise that the popularity of running is increasing as that of religion declines. The two appear coterminous, with both delivering their own forms of transcendence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In turn, sport has narrowed down the societal space traditionally occupied by religion. For example, the belief held by governments and many parents that sport can make you a better person has meant that sport frequently takes over the role formerly performed by churches of seeking to produce mature adults and good citizens.</p>
<p>In 2002, Tessa Jowell, then secretary of state for culture, media and sport, introduced the Labour government’s new sport and physical activity strategy, <a href="https://lancasterrowing.co.uk/gameplan2002.pdf">Game Plan</a>, by claiming that increased public participation could reduce crime and enhance social inclusion. She added that international sporting success could benefit everyone in the UK by producing a “feel-good factor” – and a year later <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/15/london.olympicgames">confirmed</a> that London would bid to host the 2012 Olympics. </p>
<p>Amid its growth, however, sport also had to cope with regular controversies that seemingly threatened to reduce its appeal. In 2017, at a time of widespread public concern about drug-taking in athletics and cycling, betting and ball-tampering in cricket, deliberate injuring of opponents in football and rugby, and physical and mental abuse of young athletes in football and gymnastics, a headline in the Guardian read: “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/05/public-faith-sport-low-corruption-doping-sacndals-survey">General public is losing faith in scandal-ridden sports</a>”. Yet even then, the referenced poll found that 71% of Britons still believed that “sport is a force for good”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512206/original/file-20230224-859-b4cons.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman bishop standing outside a church." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512206/original/file-20230224-859-b4cons.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512206/original/file-20230224-859-b4cons.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512206/original/file-20230224-859-b4cons.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512206/original/file-20230224-859-b4cons.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512206/original/file-20230224-859-b4cons.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512206/original/file-20230224-859-b4cons.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512206/original/file-20230224-859-b4cons.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Church of England’s bishop for sport, Libby Lane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bishop-libby-04_(51173276589).jpg">Diocese of Derby Communications/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Religious organisations have responded in different ways to the role of sport in contemporary society. Some, like the current bishop of Derby <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libby_Lane">Libby Lane</a>, see it as presenting opportunities for evangelism – if that is where the people are, the church should be there too. In 2019, following her appointment as the Church of England’s new bishop for sport, Lane <a href="https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/13-march/news/uk/the-bishop-of-derby-speaks-of-sport-s-opportunity-for-church">told the Church Times</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sport may be a way of growing the Kingdom of God for the Church … It shapes our culture, our identity, our cohesion, our wellbeing, our sense of self, and our sense of place in society. If we are concerned about the whole of human life, then for the Church to have a voice in [sport] is vital.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="https://sportschaplaincy.org.uk">sports chaplaincy</a> movement has also grown significantly since the 1990s – notably in football and rugby league, where it is now a standard post in most major clubs. And at the London Olympics in 2012, there were 162 working chaplains belonging to five religions.</p>
<p>A chaplain’s role is to provide personal support for people working in a difficult profession, many of whom have come from distant parts of the world. In the early 2000s, the chaplain of <a href="https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Jeffrey-Heskins/dp/1853117250">Bolton Wanderers</a> asked the football club’s players about their religions. As well as Christians and those with no religion, the squad included Muslims, a Jew and a Rastafarian.</p>
<p>But in addition to reflecting the rapid internationalisation of many professional dressing rooms, chaplains’ increased adoption by sports teams may reflect growing recognition of the mental as well as physical toll that elite sport can take.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the proliferation of Muslim cricket leagues and other <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/apr/29/their-passion-is-off-the-scale-how-the-ramadan-cricket-league-supports-young-muslims">Muslim sporting organisations</a> in Britain is in part a response to threats and challenges, including racism and the widespread drinking culture of some sports. The recent formation of the <a href="https://muslimgolfassociation.com">Muslim Golf Association</a> reflects the fact that, although the explicit exclusion which Jewish golfers faced in earlier times would now be illegal, Muslim golfers <a href="https://www.todays-golfer.com/news-and-events/general-news/2021/october/muslim-golf-association-how-one-man-is-trying-to-get-more-muslims-into-golf-/">still feel unwelcome</a> in some UK golf clubs.</p>
<p>And UK sporting organisations for Muslim women and girls, such as the <a href="https://www.mwsf.org.uk">Muslim Women’s Sports Foundation</a> and the <a href="https://www.muslimahsports.org.uk">Muslimah Sports Association</a>, are a response not only to prejudice and discrimination by non-Muslims but to the discouragement they may encounter from Muslim men. <a href="https://www.gbtaekwondo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Muslim-Females.pdf">A Sport England report in 2015</a> found that, while Muslim male players were more active in sport than those from any other religious or non-religious group, their female counterparts were less active than women from any other group.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512205/original/file-20230224-1612-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man waving to the crowd" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512205/original/file-20230224-1612-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512205/original/file-20230224-1612-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512205/original/file-20230224-1612-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512205/original/file-20230224-1612-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512205/original/file-20230224-1612-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512205/original/file-20230224-1612-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512205/original/file-20230224-1612-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Celtic manager Neil Lennon received death threats.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rome-italy-november-072019-neil-lennon-1553652764">Marco Iacobucci Epp/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, religious differences have long contributed to tensions and, in some cases, violence both on and off the pitch – most famously in Britain through the <a href="https://www.byarcadia.org/post/the-old-firm-celtic-rangers-and-sectarianism-in-scotland">historic rivalry</a> between Glasgow’s two biggest football clubs, Rangers and Celtic. In 2011, Celtic manager Neil Lennon and two prominent fans of the club were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/apr/20/celtic-parcel-bombs">sent parcel bombs</a> intended to kill or maim.</p>
<p>Duncan Morrow, a professor who chaired an independent advisory group on tackling sectarianism in Scotland in response to these heightened tensions, <a href="https://punditarena.com/football/thepateam/explained-the-bitter-religious-divide-behind-celticrangers-rivalry/">identified a fascinating shift</a> in religion’s relationship with sport:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In a time where religion is less important in society, it is almost as if it has become part of the identity of football in Scotland. In a sense, sectarianism now is a way of behaving rather than a way of believing.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Why many elite athletes still rely on religion</h2>
<p>In the early 2000s, the Muslim ethos of the Pakistan cricket team was so strong that the only Christian player, Yousuf Youhana, converted to Islam. The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Nasim Ashraf, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/clash-of-cricket-and-religion-pakistan-s-faith-sparks-unholy-row-6230476.html">wondered aloud if things had gone too far</a>. “There is no doubt,” he said, “religious faith is a motivating factor for the players – it binds them together.” But he also worried that undue pressure was being put on less devout players.</p>
<p>In more pluralistic and secular societies, the use of religion to bond a team together may prove counterproductive. But it is still vitally important for many sportsmen and women.</p>
<p>Faith-driven athletes find in their reading of the Bible or the Qur’an, or in their personal relationship with Jesus, the strength to face the trials and tribulations of elite sport – including not only the disciplines of training and of overcoming physical pain, but also the bitterness of defeat.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512222/original/file-20230224-1608-xbycv0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Athlete walking barefoot in stadium with union flag" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512222/original/file-20230224-1608-xbycv0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512222/original/file-20230224-1608-xbycv0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512222/original/file-20230224-1608-xbycv0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512222/original/file-20230224-1608-xbycv0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512222/original/file-20230224-1608-xbycv0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512222/original/file-20230224-1608-xbycv0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512222/original/file-20230224-1608-xbycv0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jonathan Edwards celebrates Olympic triple jump gold at the 2000 Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_Edwards_olympics_2000.jpg">Ian@ThePaperboy.com/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the best-known examples of how a leading athlete drew on his religion is Britain’s world record-holding triple jumper <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Edwards_(triple_jumper)">Jonathan Edwards</a>, who spoke frequently about his evangelical Christian belief during his days of competing. (Edwards would later renounce his faith following his retirement, claiming that it had acted as the most powerful kind of sports psychology.)</p>
<p>As well as strengthening his drive to succeed and helping him bounce back from defeat, Edwards also felt an obligation to speak about his faith. Or as his <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1000944.A_Time_To_Jump">biographer</a> put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Jonathan felt he was answering a call to be an evangelist – a witness to God in running shoes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Athletes from religious minorities frequently see themselves as symbols and champions of their own communities. Thus, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kid_Berg">Jack “Kid” Berg</a>, world light welterweight boxing champion in the 1930s, entered the ring with a prayer shawl round his shoulders and wore a Star of David during each fight. More recently, the England cricketer <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-29744049">Moeen Ali</a> has been a hero for many Muslims, yet provoked the ire of one Daily Telegraph journalist who is said to have told him: “You are playing for England, Moeen Ali, not for your religion.”</p>
<p>The stresses arising from failure in elite sport – and the value of faith in dealing with them – have also been highlighted in the career of British athlete <a href="https://www.reallifestories.org/stories/christine-ohuruogu-athlete/">Christine Ohuruogu</a>, who won 400m gold at the 2008 Olympics having earlier been banned for a year for allegedly missing a drug test:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Among the athletic victories, Christine has had to cope with numerous injury problems, the indignity of disqualification, and cruel false allegations in the tabloid press. Christine says that it is her strong faith in God which has sustained her.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And England rugby union star <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Wilkinson">Jonny Wilkinson</a> claimed that 24 hours after the last-minute drop goal which won the World Cup for England in 2003, he was overcome with “a powerful feeling of anti-climax”. He later explained in an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/sep/29/jonny-wilkinson-interview-donald-mcrae">interview with the Guardian</a> that he found the solution through his conversion to Buddhism:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s a philosophy and way of life that resonates with me. I agree with so much of the sentiment behind it. I enjoy the liberating effect it’s had on me to get back into the game – in a way that’s so much more rewarding because you’re enjoying the moment of being on the field. In the past it was basically me getting into the changing room, wiping my brow and thinking: “Thank God that’s over.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While sport has assumed a place in society that religion once filled for many, the questions that religions seek to answer have not gone away – not least for elite athletes. For them, sport is a profession and a very demanding one, and a significant number find strength and inspiration through their faith.</p>
<p>Of course, many of today’s UK-based sporting professionals hail from less secularised regions of the world, while others are the children of immigrants and refugees. The <a href="https://census.gov.uk/census-2021-results">2021 census</a> found that both the absolute number and proportion of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and those selecting “other religion” had all increased in England and Wales over the previous decade. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/londons-olympic-legacy-research-reveals-why-2-2-billion-investment-in-primary-school-pe-has-failed-teachers-178809">London's Olympic legacy: research reveals why £2.2 billion investment in primary school PE has failed teachers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So we are left with something of a paradox. While religion has been crowded out by sport in general society, it remains a conspicuous part of elite sport – with a <a href="https://thesportjournal.org/article/strength-of-religious-faith-of-athletes-and-nonathletes-at-two-ncaa-division-iii-institutions/">number of studies around the world</a> finding that athletes tend to be more religious than non-athletes.</p>
<p>The Church of England is aware of this contrast, and has responded by launching a <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/national-sport-and-wellbeing-project">National Sport and Wellbeing project</a>, piloted in eight of its dioceses. Despite launching just before the pandemic, initiatives have included adapting church premises for football, netball and keep-fit sessions, formation of new sports clubs aimed especially at non-churchgoers, and after-school clubs and summer holiday camps that offer a combination of sport and religion.</p>
<p>In fact, the agenda is more explicitly evangelistic than in the Victorian days of Muscular Christianity. Those engaging in today’s “sports ministry” are well aware of the challenges they face. Whereas in later Victorian times and the first half of the 20th century, many people had a loose connection with the church, now the majority have no connection at all. </p>
<p>But today’s religious evangelists display a strong faith in sport. They believe it can help build new connections, particularly among younger generations. As the Church of England’s outreach project concludes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This has a huge mission potential … If we are to find the sweet spot [between sport and religion], it could contribute to a growing and outward-facing Church.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
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<p><em>For you: more from our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Insights series</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/panic-horror-and-chaos-what-went-wrong-at-the-champions-league-final-and-what-needs-to-be-done-to-make-football-safer-184182?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Panic, horror and chaos: what went wrong at the Champions League final – and what needs to be done to make football safer
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<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/londons-olympic-legacy-research-reveals-why-2-2-billion-investment-in-primary-school-pe-has-failed-teachers-178809?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">London’s Olympic legacy: research reveals why £2.2 billion investment in primary school PE has failed teachers
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<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugh McLeod does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. He is the author of Religion and the Rise of Sport in England (Oxford University Press).
</span></em></p>Where once religion was a dominant force in society, now many more people reserve their faith for sport. But could the church use this to build a new following?Hugh McLeod, Emeritus Professor of Church History, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1922902023-01-31T13:48:00Z2023-01-31T13:48:00ZBlack college students who turn to their faith think less about suicide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506846/original/file-20230127-22-4ri2s1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=58%2C48%2C6464%2C4293&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Suicide attempts have risen dramatically among Black youths in recent years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/depressed-teen-boy-listens-to-music-on-wireless-royalty-free-image/1383921318?adppopup=true">SDI Productions via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Black college students who resorted to self-blame when faced with stress were also more likely to experience suicidal thoughts within the past year. This is in comparison to those who were less likely to resort to self-blame.</p>
<p>But those who turned to their faith to cope with stress were less likely to think about taking their own lives.</p>
<p>These are just two of the key findings from a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106448">study</a> on Black students’ mental health that I published in 2022. I initially conducted this work for my dissertation, analyzing previously collected surveys of 400 Black college students in the U.S. All participants were 18 to 35 years old. The overarching goal of this study was to examine the relationship between depression and suicidal ideation – or thoughts of suicide – to better understand how to disrupt the relationship between the two. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>While the suicide rates for white children between ages 5 and 11 decreased slightly – going from 1.14 to 0.77 per 1 million from 1993 to 2012 – suicide rates for Black children of the same age <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0465">nearly doubled</a>. Specifically, they went from 1.36 to 2.54 per 1 million during the same time frame.</p>
<p>Further, an analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed that suicide attempts <a href="https://theactionalliance.org/sites/default/files/ring_the_alarm-_the_crisis_of_black_youth_suicide_in_america_copy.pdf">rose 73%</a> for Black high school students between 1991 and 2017. </p>
<p>A more recent report indicates that deaths by suicide among 15-to-17-year-old Black youths <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.08.021">increased 4.9% between 2003 and 2017</a>, with suicides increasing 6.6% in Black girls and 2.8% in Black boys.</p>
<p>My colleague and I published a related study in 2020 in which we found that in a survey of more than 150,000 college students, the odds of attempting suicide within the past 12 months were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.10.019">1.48 times greater for Black students</a> than for white students.</p>
<p>Therefore, it seems that if Black students are experiencing increased risk for suicide both before and during their time in college, additional safeguards may be needed to help Black students cope with the various stressors they encounter not just during their time on campus, but throughout all stages of development.</p>
<p>For these reasons, I believe it is important for educators and those who support Black students to understand that experiencing persistent feelings of self-blame is potentially harmful to students’ mental health. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Examples of self-blame as measured in this study include asking participants to respond to statements like “I have been blaming myself for things that happened” and “I have been criticizing myself.” Other statements, like “I have been trying to find comfort in my religion or spiritual beliefs” and “I’ve been praying or meditating,” were used to measure Black students’ personal engagement with faith, religion and spirituality. While the questions included in this survey offer some insight into connections among self-blame, faith and mental health, I still see a need to explore other aspects of religion that highlight the role that faith plays for young people and their overall well-being. </p>
<p>Therefore, I am working to assess how various practices – such as attending religious services, reading sacred texts, joining faith communities and developing a personal, intimate relationship with God – influence mental health outcomes over time. I believe this will ultimately help identify which specific parts of being religious are most helpful or harmful for Black students as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192290/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janelle R. Goodwill is an advisory board member for Soul Survivors of Chicago. She also received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of NIMH or other related governmental agencies. </span></em></p>Self-blame was found to be associated with experiencing suicidal thoughts.Janelle R. Goodwill, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, University of ChicagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1967272023-01-30T13:13:24Z2023-01-30T13:13:24ZHow evangelicals moved from supporting environmental stewardship to climate skepticism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506489/original/file-20230125-2999-g8a2cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C8%2C5807%2C3839&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A display questioning humans' role in climate change, at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Ky.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/child-looks-at-a-display-questioning-humans-role-in-climate-news-photo/1244059010?phrase=climate%20evangelical%20religion%20%20united%20states&adppopup=true">Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>White conservative evangelicals, who make up most of the religious right movement, largely <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/221660">oppose government regulation to protect the environmental</a> initiatives, including efforts to curb human-caused climate change. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520972803">Multiple social scientific studies</a>, for example, consistently reveal that this group maintains a significant level of climate skepticism.</p>
<p>Contrary to popular perception, however, this hasn’t always been the case.</p>
<p><a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/97953#info_wrap">My research</a> reveals how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.97">white conservative evangelicals</a> supported an environmentally friendly position from the late 1960s to the early 1990s.</p>
<h2>Christian environmental stewardship</h2>
<p>In 1967, the idea of environmental protection became an issue for the wider Christian community after historian <a href="https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/presidential-addresses/lynn-white-jr">Lynn White Jr.</a> published “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.155.3767.1203">The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis</a>.” The article argued that growing environmental degradation was the result of Christian philosophies that encourage society to regard nature as a simple resource for the sole benefit of humanity.</p>
<p>One of the many Christian thinkers responding to White included popular conservative evangelical author <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1997/march3/7t322a.html">Francis Schaeffer</a>.</p>
<p>To answer White’s accusation, Schaeffer took to the lecture circuit to convince audiences of the importance of Christian environmental stewardship. According to this perspective, all of creation needed to be treated with respect and not abused for economic benefit. He argued that humans must value the nonhuman natural world because it was created by and owned by God. Consequently, humans were only caretakers, custodians or stewards of the natural environment. </p>
<h2>Perspectives of evangelical leaders</h2>
<p>In 1970, the same year as the first Earth Day observance, which signified the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/history/epa-history-earth-day">birth of the modern environmental movement</a>, Schaeffer’s perspectives were published in his book “<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Pollution_and_the_Death_of_Man.html?id=vzr4G5KAbHcC">Pollution and the Death of Man: The Christian View of Ecology</a>.” Subsequently, Schaeffer’s environmental views became the standard environmental position among many conservative evangelicals for roughly the next 20 years. </p>
<p>Schaeffer’s ideas were reflected and expanded in major publications such as <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/">Christianity Today</a>, the National Association of Evangelical’s <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1965/january-29/national-association-of-evangelicals-and-world-evangelical.html">United Evangelical Action</a> and the Moody Bible Institute’s <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/februaryweb-only/2-24-21.0.html">Moody Monthly</a>.</p>
<p>As I continued researching this topic, archival documents revealed that in 1971, the Southern Baptist Convention conducted a poll reflecting the environmental views of its 12 million members. It found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501762024">81.7% of pastors and 76.3% of Sunday school teachers</a> surveyed believed that churches should lead efforts to solve air and water pollution problems. </p>
<p>In another example reflecting Schaeffer’s views, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Christian school textbook publishers included environment-friendly philosophies in material sold to parents, pastors and teachers who were helping expand the growing home-school and <a href="https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/evangelical-homeschooling-and-the-development-of-family-values">Christian school movement</a>. The two most popular publishers, <a href="https://www.abeka.com/">ABeka Book</a> and <a href="https://www.bjupress.com/">Bob Jones University Press</a>, both supported Christian environmental stewardship views. ABeka Book, for instance, lauded the efforts of preservationist and Sierra Club founder <a href="https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspx">John Muir</a> in a reader intended for sixth graders.</p>
<h2>Respect for creation</h2>
<p>The religious right retained its eco-friendly philosophies after the formation of its first official organization, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/revisiting-the-legacy-of-jerry-falwell-sr-in-trumps-america-79551">Moral Majority</a>, in 1979. ABeka Book reprinted Muir’s story in 1986 and, as late as 1989, the publisher released an economics textbook that praised capitalism while warning of the environmental dangers of the free market.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505633/original/file-20230120-12-911rqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man dressed in a suit speaks from a podium as people stand around holding banners." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505633/original/file-20230120-12-911rqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505633/original/file-20230120-12-911rqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505633/original/file-20230120-12-911rqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505633/original/file-20230120-12-911rqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505633/original/file-20230120-12-911rqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505633/original/file-20230120-12-911rqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505633/original/file-20230120-12-911rqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pat Robertson speaks at a rally where he announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/pat-robertson-speaks-in-brooklyns-bedford-stuyvesant-news-photo/515209158?phrase=pat%20robertson%20gop&adppopup=true">Bettmann via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After bowing out of the presidential race in 1988, well-known televangelist <a href="https://www1.cbn.com/700club/pat-robertson">Pat Robertson</a> <a href="http://www.patrobertson.com/Speeches/PresidentialBidEnded.asp">addressed the GOP National Convention</a> in New Orleans. During his speech, he not only stated his support for classic religious right positions, such as <a href="https://religiondispatches.org/why-family-values-defined-conservative-christianity-and-why-religious-liberty-has-replaced-it/">traditional family values</a>, but also restated the community’s eco-friendly views, saying that he hoped for a future “where the water is pure to drink, the air clean to breathe, and the citizens respect and care for the soil, the forests, and God’s other creatures who share with us the earth, the sky and the water.” </p>
<p>On a politically charged national stage, Robertson reprised Schaeffer’s views of Christian environmental stewardship, emphasizing how all creation should be respected.</p>
<p>While Christian environmental stewardship became an accepted environmental perspective within the religious right, it existed only as an idea or philosophy – not as part of organized activism. But the reality of this support, however, challenges past understandings that this community largely ignored or opposed environmental protection efforts.</p>
<h2>The anti-environmental campaign</h2>
<p>In the early 1990s, segments of the religious right tried turning eco-friendly philosophies into action. The Southern Baptist Convention held <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/05/23/denominations-find-common-ground-in-saving-the-earth/3ddf1620-a134-4778-8d1c-a5ec67d6c6e3/">an environmental seminar in 1991</a> at which Schaeffer’s Christian environmental stewardship views were repeated. This effort, however, faced an insurmountable obstacle. </p>
<p>In an attempt to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09644010802055576">crush increasing international cooperation</a> to address human-caused climate change, U.S. political conservatives launched an anti-environmental campaign. Conservative think tanks and special advocacy groups <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3097132">denied the reality of human-caused global warming</a>, and some even supported conspiracy theories alleging that environmentalists wanted to <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/20140331/agenda-21-un-sustainability-and-right-wing-conspiracy-theory">create a one-world government</a>.</p>
<p>Besides finding an audience in secular conservative Americans, these outreach attempts found a home among the traditionally politically conservative religious right supporters. </p>
<p>Anti-environmental messages increasingly relied on ridicule, which some leading pastors endorsed. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/obituaries/16falwell.html">Jerry Falwell</a>, one of the founders of the religious right movement, for instance, began calling environmentalists “<a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501762024-010/html">tree huggers</a>” as early as 1992. At Pat Robertson’s Regent University’s newspaper, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501762024">political cartoons mocked sympathy</a> for the environment as left-wing extremism. </p>
<p>By 1993, the idea of Christian environmental stewardship had all but disappeared from the rhetoric of the religious right. In its place emerged firm opposition to environmental protection efforts, including the <a href="https://thenewpress.com/books/strangers-their-own-land">denial of anthropogenic climate change</a>, which the majority of this community supports today. </p>
<p>Although religious right supporters largely reject Schaeffer’s Christian environmental stewardship today, a small but noticeable number of voices within the community are keeping it alive. Perhaps the largest eco-friendly organization is the <a href="https://creationcare.org/">Evangelical Environmental Network</a>, which originated in 1993. Other notable developments include the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/us/evangelical-leaders-joinglobal-warming-initiative.html">signing of the Evangelical Climate Initiative in 2006</a> by well-known religious leaders. </p>
<p>These are remarkable developments that often employ theological arguments to support environmental activism. But they are largely overshadowed by the continuing <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3097132">nontheological anti-environmental arguments</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501762024">founded in misinformation</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196727/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neall Pogue does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It was in the 1990s that the idea of Christian environmental stewardship disappeared from the rhetoric of the religious right, paving the way for the anti-environmental position it holds today.Neall Pogue, Assistant Professor of Instruction, University of Texas at DallasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1946142023-01-10T13:29:29Z2023-01-10T13:29:29ZGod and guns often go together in US history – this course examines why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502489/original/file-20221221-20-q1wuth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C1986%2C1502&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Views on guns are intertwined with views on God for many Americans.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/pistol-on-open-bible-royalty-free-image/157197798?phrase=gun%20god&adppopup=true">RichLegg/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>“God and Guns: the History of Faith and Firearms in America”</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>As <a href="http://jslaughter01.faculty.wesleyan.edu">a religion professor</a>, I’ve come to know many students from other countries who identify as Christian. I realized they were puzzled at some of the things Americans often bundled into their faith – things these international Christians didn’t consider relevant to their own religious identity.</p>
<p>One issue in particular sparked a question from a South Asian Christian student: Why did American evangelicals seem to have such an affinity for firearms? For example, Pew Research indicates <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/november/god-gun-control-white-evangelicals-texas-church-shooting.html">41% of white evangelicals</a> own a firearm, compared with 30% of people in the U.S. overall. This unsettled the student, since they shared much of the same theology, and they wanted to know more about this connection.</p>
<p>I was embarrassed to admit that I didn’t have a satisfactory answer. Since I was trained as <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/122/article/766198">a historian of the 18th and early 19th centuries</a>, I suspected it wasn’t explained by the last 10 or 20 years. I knew we needed to go back and start with the Colonial era and work our way forward. This course is my humble attempt to answer these students’ questions.</p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>We spend the first two weeks reading what the Bible says about violence. There are no firearms in the ancient text, of course – but there are plenty of other weapons.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+5&version=KJV">hymns of celebration</a> after <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+4&version=KJV">defeating enemies</a>, such as when Jael hammers a peg through the head of the military commander Sisera in the Book of Judges, appear to celebrate violence.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5&version=KJV">the Sermon on the Mount</a>, however, Jesus teaches his followers to turn the other cheek. What do American Christians think about these types of passages, and to what degree do they inform their approach to firearms? </p>
<p>The surprises in the text are endless, especially since very few of my students have ever read the Bible.</p>
<p>Our readings help contextualize key themes in American history as we move through the course: from the Colonial era, <a href="https://wwnorton.co.uk/books/9780393334906-our-savage-neighbors-5712a22d-99af-4f98-ab18-ca2a75a2180e">when firearms, religion and violence were intertwined aspects of settlers’ lives</a>, to the Cold War, when we discover how evangelicals embraced a <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631495731">masculine, warriorlike idea of Jesus</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A black and white old-fashioned portrait of a standing man with a long white beard in black clothing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502500/original/file-20221222-22-kmbu5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502500/original/file-20221222-22-kmbu5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502500/original/file-20221222-22-kmbu5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502500/original/file-20221222-22-kmbu5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502500/original/file-20221222-22-kmbu5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502500/original/file-20221222-22-kmbu5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502500/original/file-20221222-22-kmbu5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Portrait of John Brown (1800-1859).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/portrait-of-john-brown-militant-abolitionist-that-seized-news-photo/615230680?phrase=%22john%20brown%22&adppopup=true">Corbis Historical via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Together, we explore digital and archival sources that show a wide range of attitudes toward weapons. For example, the abolitionist <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442236707/John-Brown-Speaks-Letters-and-Statements-from-Charlestown">John Brown’s prison letters</a> provide a fascinating window into how faith and firearms can be central to someone’s cause. Brown was a Christian who believed so strongly in abolishing slavery that he was convinced God had appointed him as his agent of violent judgment. The letters were written just prior to Brown’s execution in 1859, after his failed attempt to spark a slave uprising in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).</p>
<h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>
<p>Americans live in a country where politicians’ platforms often focus on God and guns.</p>
<p>Some are overtly weaving it into their election pitch, such as U.S. Senate candidate <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mandel-campaigning-pro-god-guns-050100949.html">Josh Mandel</a> of Ohio, who called himself “pro-God, guns and Trump,” while other Republicans such as Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/christmas-card-guns-lauren-boebert-thomas-massie-start-new-culture-ncna1285709">included guns in Christmas messages</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A crowd holds signs, including one that says, 'God...guns...and guts...lets keep them all.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502503/original/file-20221222-24-d330ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502503/original/file-20221222-24-d330ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502503/original/file-20221222-24-d330ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502503/original/file-20221222-24-d330ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502503/original/file-20221222-24-d330ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502503/original/file-20221222-24-d330ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502503/original/file-20221222-24-d330ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A crowd outside the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix in 2013, during a Guns Across America rally.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/GodAndGuns/9c3ba87661c54684aaea8a29da4171d0/photo?Query=guns%20god&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=116&currentItemNo=4">AP Photo/Matt York</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>American Christians, including evangelicals, are a diverse lot. The “peace church” tradition – the Mennonites, Amish and Quakers, among others – may not often grab headlines, but complicate the narrative about guns and God in U.S. culture. </p>
<p>Many other types of Christianity <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-01/the-role-of-religion-in-the-gun-control-debate/101114470">do not embrace firearms</a>, either. For example, Pew Research found that only 52% of Black Protestants have fired a gun, compared with <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/july/praise-lord-pass-ammunition-who-loves-god-guns-pew.html">a 72% average among all Americans</a>.</p>
<p>Yet from the time of the Puritans onward, many Christians <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691181592/as-a-city-on-a-hill">have viewed America as a divinely inspired nation</a> – an idea that often served to sanction violence, whether in a war for Indigenous lands, defending slavery or leading a revolt.</p>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>Hopefully this course will equip students to coherently answer the question of why American religious culture is so intertwined with gun culture – especially if the subject comes up at Thanksgiving dinner. </p>
<p>More seriously, the better that people in America understand how their predecessors viewed firearms, the more robust and productive debates will be over their place <a href="https://gunsandsocietycenter.com/">in American society today</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph P. Slaughter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Support for strong gun ownership rights is often associated with conservative Christian views, but religion and self-defense have a much longer history in the United States.Joseph P. Slaughter, Assistant Professor of the Practice in Religion and History and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Guns and Society, Wesleyan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1962512022-12-09T12:49:26Z2022-12-09T12:49:26ZStormzy: This Is What I Mean – spirituality takes centre stage on the artist’s new album<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499802/original/file-20221208-12402-uu5no9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6607%2C3587&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stormzy performs during the 56th Montreux Jazz Festival.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://epaimages.com/search.pp#">Gabriel Monnet</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>From the beginning of his career, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-dont-see-many-black-and-ethnic-minority-faces-in-cultural-spaces-and-what-happens-if-you-call-out-the-system-128792">Stormzy</a> has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPuj6UISMhs">unapologetically shared</a> his spiritual journey as a central part of his artistry. On his latest album, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5feRs2ejrMcxuM5hcDDSBb">This Is What I Mean</a>, Stormzy fuses his spiritual worldview with the day to day issues that are most important to him.</p>
<p>Songs such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCzhOL9PBiA">Give It To The Water</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dXAgOc-HYE">Holy Spirit</a> continue his conversations about faith in his music. </p>
<p>Stormzy is not alone in making art at the crossroads of popular culture and religion. Other contemporary examples include artists such as <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiEpdKLrer7AhUwQUEAHY0RBoYQyCl6BAgYEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgLj9YCI3fuA&usg=AOvVaw1Ei1nDzTUxXsL2vHRxmpdy">Dave</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjL8u3Grer7AhUpSkEAHR_DCUAQwqsBegQIXxAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dqb2WxKdXcxQ&usg=AOvVaw0CrYbpJ9oM1eyTDTfncb4W">Chance the Rapper</a>. Despite the decline in commitment to <a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/1043/11_Woodhead_1825.pdf">organised religion</a> in the UK, religious symbols, ideas and themes remain present in <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/call-me-the-seeker-9780826417138/">popular music.</a></p>
<h2>The decline of Christianity</h2>
<p>Between 2011 and 2021, the number of people in England and Wales stating they have “no religion” <a href="https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2022/11/census-england-and-wales-less-than-half-the-population-christian">increased from 25% to 37%</a>.</p>
<p>Recent census data also shows that for the first time, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/29/census-2021-in-charts-christianity-now-minority-religion-in-england-and-wales">less than half the population</a> now describe themselves as <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021">Christians</a>. This change could be interpreted as reflecting a lack of commitment to spirituality in society, or disenchantment.</p>
<p>Disenchantment is a term popularised by the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24579711#metadata_info_tab_contents">sociologist Max Weber</a>. It describes the western world predicted to exist once science and rationality dissolve the need for spiritual and religious beliefs. An enchanted worldview, meanwhile, is open to the existence of a spiritual realm.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxsjQ967kV8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Stormzy has a history of using gospel choirs in his performances.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The decline in commitment to organised religion does not necessarily equate to a rise in atheism, nor does it automatically indicate an <a href="https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/cmsfiles/The-Nones---Who-are-they-and-what-do-they-believe.pdf">aversion to religion</a>. </p>
<p>In This Is What I Mean, Stormzy works through his spiritual journey without adopting an evangelistic tone. This may carry an appeal to those who are not committed to a tightly organised church but have a curiosity about, or sensitivity to, spiritual matters.</p>
<h2>The age of authenticity</h2>
<p>Stormzy grew up attending church – his mother was a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/feb/19/stormzy-interview-gang-signs-and-prayers-respect-me-frank-ocean-adele">Pentecostal minister</a> in Streatham, London. He has no hesitation in bringing his team together for prayer before their shows and his songs (though often dealing with everyday issues) contain quotations from the bible. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=DxsjQ967kV8">Blinded by Your Grace</a> Stormzy (speaking of his relationship to God) states, “it’s not by blood, and it’s not by birth, but oh my God, what a God I serve”. He is indicating that he has been “adopted” by God, a direct reference to John 1:13.</p>
<p>Many of the <a href="http://mikedolbear.com/interviews/matty-brown-interview/">musicians</a> and <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-debbie-your-sound-of-the-summer-82l8d3wc7">singers</a> Stormzy uses come from a church background and he readily <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBwaflYUYrM">uses gospel choirs</a> in his performances. All of these choices reflect the <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_9026">enchanted</a> worldview from which he operates.</p>
<p>But it would be a mistake to assume that Stormzy is positioning himself as a representative of the church because of his overtly Christian spirituality. Instead, through his artistry, Stormzy acknowledges the tension between his spiritual commitment and his own self-confessed shortcomings. In Holy Spirit, he sings, “although I’m far from perfect, I need you [God] to hold me close”.</p>
<p>Stormzy could be considered a representative of what philosopher <a href="https://www.giffordlectures.org/books/secular-age">Charles Taylor</a> has termed <a href="https://theotherjournal.com/2008/06/religious-belonging-in-an-age-of-authenticity-a-conversation-with-charles-taylor-part-two-of-three/">The Age of Authenticity</a>. This is the idea that “everyone has their own particular way of being human and you can either be true or untrue to that”.</p>
<p>In an age of authenticity, people seek to find greater spiritual depth than can be offered in a disenchanted world. Instead of conforming to the models imposed by others, each person expresses their humanity (and spiritual commitments) in the way they choose.</p>
<p>The very title of Stormzy’s album, This Is What I Mean, can be interpreted as a reflection of this expressive age of authenticity.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sz98lPitnLk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Stormzy recites a passage from Luke’s Gospel on BBC One, Christmas 2019.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>His lyrics about faith are often conversational. “If you knew the burdens, the burdens are so heavy”, he sings on Holy Spirit, “but Lord, you made me ready, to carry all my burdens”. This testimonial style of writing reveals a very personal spiritual journey that Stormzy happens to be sharing with the world through his music. </p>
<p>Cynics may suggest that the continued focus on spiritual issues is similar to the trajectory of some American rappers. Although his behaviour does not appear to be in keeping with the spiritual values he professes, Kanye West has met with much commercial success in <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj_6OmbtOr7AhWSWcAKHUeeDfcQFnoECAwQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconversation.com%2Fi-teach-and-play-gospel-music-and-i-think-kanyes-jesus-is-king-is-a-remarkable-gospel-album-126191&usg=AOvVaw1ninsxjhiLhCCjhMQ7C-Y4">his gospel music ventures</a>, indicating that there is a market for this type of music. </p>
<p>But there is nothing to suggest that Stormzy has ulterior motives for foregrounding the spiritual aspects of his music.</p>
<h2>Spirituality in a post-Christian era</h2>
<p>This Is What I Mean enters UK pop culture at a time when gigs and personal listening through streaming services have become <a href="https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0172">new sites for spiritual experience</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black and white photo of Stormzy in a t-shirt looking to the sky, his hands outstretched, a microphone in his right." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499811/original/file-20221208-14434-p3m533.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499811/original/file-20221208-14434-p3m533.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499811/original/file-20221208-14434-p3m533.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499811/original/file-20221208-14434-p3m533.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499811/original/file-20221208-14434-p3m533.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499811/original/file-20221208-14434-p3m533.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499811/original/file-20221208-14434-p3m533.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stormzy looks to the skies as he performs in Amsterdam in February 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/22-february-2020-afas-live-amsterdam-1653336106">Ben Houdijk</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The UK is firmly in an era of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/28/the-guardian-view-on-post-christian-britain-a-spiritual-enigma">post-Christianity</a> where belief in God is no longer a default. Instead, multiple avenues for belief are available. Stormzy’s album offers an opportunity (without being preached at by a specific church or religious organisation) to consider an alternative to the disenchanted worldview.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew A. Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stormzy’s new album contains some deeply personal reflections on faith.Matthew A. Williams, Lecturer in Music, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1892612022-09-10T10:01:19Z2022-09-10T10:01:19Z‘Collective religious narcissism’: how young Indonesian Muslims flex their faith on social media<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480721/original/file-20220824-20-jt1h0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Keira Burton)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The word “narcissism” is often associated with selfies, posting content that boasts one’s achievements, or other forms of showing off.</p>
<p>In Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, “showing off” can also take the form of religious expression.</p>
<p>This was on display in the discrimination and attacks against heterodox Islamic groups such as the Shia community in <a href="https://www.e-journal.unair.ac.id/MKP/article/view/2467">East Java</a> and <a href="https://journal3.uin-alauddin.ac.id/index.php/voxpopuli/article/view/18369">South Sulawesi</a>, and also the Ahmadiyya community in <a href="https://journal.untar.ac.id/index.php/komunikasi/article/view/1507">Banten</a>.</p>
<p>These interdenominational conflicts involved younger and older adults, as a form of “collective religious narcissism”. This psychological tendency can span a community and is based on a certain religious bond.</p>
<p><a href="https://journal.uinsgd.ac.id/index.php/jw/article/view/6623/3924">My research</a> has attempted to understand this phenomenon, and investigate what it looks like in practice, by looking at four Instagram and Facebook pages of youth Muslim groups in Indonesia.</p>
<h2>Collective narcissism</h2>
<p>In psychology, the concept of narcissism is taken from Greek mythology. The Thespian hunter Narcissus is said to have fallen in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. His name was then adopted as a psychological term for someone exhibiting tendencies of extreme self-admiration.</p>
<p>Narcissism was then acknowledged in the fifth edition of the <a href="https://psychiatryonline.org/pb-assets/dsm/update/DSM5Update2016.pdf">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</a>. Its most extreme form entails a number of symptoms, including: intense fixation on one’s self; feelings of superiority; a lack of empathy; and tendencies to exploit others.</p>
<p>According to psychology researchers Kevin S. Carlson and Joshua Grubbs, narcissism is most prevalent among young people. Grubb’s research found people in the 18-25 age group are <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0215637">often more narcissistic</a> than their older peers.</p>
<p>Social psychologist <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721420917703">Agnieszka Golec de Zavala</a> also posited that narcissism, often starting at the individual level, can develop into a group symptom. For instance, narcissism can manifest in a range of collective phenomena, including ethnocentrism, hyper-nationalism, and religious extremism.</p>
<p>So how do these forms of collective narcissism show themselves among religious youths in Indonesia?</p>
<h2>Indonesian youth, in-group logic, and religious superiority</h2>
<p>My research attempts to investigate this by looking at a number of accounts on Instagram and Facebook.</p>
<p>These include the youth movements of Indonesia’s two largest Muslim majority organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama (@generasi_muda_nu_official) and Muhammadiyah (@pp.pemudamuhammadiyah). I also studied posts by @pemudahijrahyuk (a conservative Islamic youth movement) and Indonesia Tanpa Pacaran/ITP (a youth-led movement advocating for Muslims to reject modern dating). </p>
<p>Although my initial study was conducted in 2019, I argue these groups’ posts in 2022 still follow a similar pattern of advocacy and self-expression.</p>
<p>The youth wings of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, for instance, show religious expressions that focus on in-group pride. Muhammadiyah projects <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BukVWPQlrj9/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D">messages of self-confidence</a>, potentially as an attempt to bolster a sense of loyalty within the organisation.</p>
<p>The young cadres of NU, similar to their Muhammadiyah counterparts, also proactively express themselves in the digital space.</p>
<p>They often share posts containing messages of self-belonging, pride and greatness. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3e6rLGA-_I/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D">In a 2019 post</a>, an NU regional leader was quoted saying that his organisation’s members are on the “right path to religious truth”.</p>
<p>However, they sometimes upload responses that can be considered aggressive or offensive toward those that do not share their views.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChBgdCxvTxu/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D">Earlier last month</a>, for instance, the account uploaded a post supporting Saudi Arabia’s call to behead Muslims that advocate for the establishment of Islamic states or caliphates, and urging Indonesia to do the same.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478890/original/file-20220812-25-imfieg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478890/original/file-20220812-25-imfieg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478890/original/file-20220812-25-imfieg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478890/original/file-20220812-25-imfieg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478890/original/file-20220812-25-imfieg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478890/original/file-20220812-25-imfieg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478890/original/file-20220812-25-imfieg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478890/original/file-20220812-25-imfieg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Left: A post quoting an NU regional leader, saying that his organisation’s cadres are on the right path to religious truth. Right: a post supporting Saudi Arabia’s call to behead Muslims that advocate for the establishment of Islamic states or caliphates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Screenshots from @generasi_muda_nu_official's post on October 11th, 2019 and August 9th, 2022)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the ‘collective narcissism’ exhibited by the two Muslim organisations above mostly focus on their sense of pride, posts by <em>Pemuda Hijrah</em> (roughly translated as ‘Youth Returning to Islam’) and <em>Indonesia Tanpa Pacaran</em> (roughly translated as ‘Indonesia Without Dating’) contain strong sentiments of superiority.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478891/original/file-20220812-20-gx33u5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478891/original/file-20220812-20-gx33u5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478891/original/file-20220812-20-gx33u5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478891/original/file-20220812-20-gx33u5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478891/original/file-20220812-20-gx33u5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478891/original/file-20220812-20-gx33u5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1081&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478891/original/file-20220812-20-gx33u5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1081&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478891/original/file-20220812-20-gx33u5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1081&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A post by Pemuda Hijrah attacking Muslim women who don’t ‘cover up’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Screenshot from @pemudahijrahyuk's post on September 7th, 2019)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Posts by <em>Pemuda Hijrah</em> actively invite Muslims to adopt Islamic puritanism – a form of the religion that more closely conforms to its original teachings and social context in the 7th century. </p>
<p>The views of these youth-led movements are often viewed as conservative, although their social media posts sometimes also <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukhti-sekaligus-army-negosiasi-unik-antara-agama-dan-hiburan-pada-generasi-muda-muslim-di-indonesia-182694">reference popular culture</a>, from TikTok posts to Korean dramas.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2HcM2OFtqK/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D">In a 2019 post</a>, for instance, the group expresses concern and attacks other Muslim women who wear clothes they regard as provocative or revealing the “<em>awrah</em>” — men’s and women’s body parts that may be considered intimate in Islam.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <em>Indonesia Tanpa Pacaran</em> represents a group that militantly rejects modern dating in Indonesia. In numerous posts, such as one <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CgS4QuZhQS3/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=">uploaded last July</a>, the group vilifies other Muslim women who participate in that culture.</p>
<p>From these social media accounts, we see examples of how Indonesia’s youth Muslim groups express various forms of collective religious narcissism. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478892/original/file-20220812-18-bmhw7t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478892/original/file-20220812-18-bmhw7t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478892/original/file-20220812-18-bmhw7t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478892/original/file-20220812-18-bmhw7t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478892/original/file-20220812-18-bmhw7t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478892/original/file-20220812-18-bmhw7t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478892/original/file-20220812-18-bmhw7t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478892/original/file-20220812-18-bmhw7t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 5. A post by ITP vilifies Muslim women who participate in modern dating.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Screenshot from @indonesiatanpapacaran's post on July 22nd, 2022)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of them can be considered “positive”, in line with French psychoanalyst <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.2167-4086.2002.tb00020.x">Andre Green’s</a> argument, as being able to boost individuals’ self-esteem and drive for group activity.</p>
<p>On the other hand, others can be considered “negative” and exhibit narcissism that focus on feelings of religious superiority at the expense of those who do not share their views.</p>
<p>Some of those posts, for instance, express messages that tend to devalue other Muslims and push an “us versus them” narrative that could potentially cause discrimination and oppression.</p>
<h2>Young Indonesians need to be more aware and empathetic</h2>
<p>Based on the above examples, we still see some individuals and groups in Indonesia that champion certain labels of Islamic tradition in a way that tends to be hostile to others, fueled by their in-group logic.</p>
<p>These expressions can push individuals or communities to legitimise violent behaviour in the name of group loyalty.</p>
<p>Young people in Indonesia need to be aware of these social and psychological tendencies – particularly those that strive to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_2602">exert social dominance</a> over other minority groups.</p>
<p>Training ourselves and the groups we’re involved in to be more empathetic, is now more important than ever to preserve harmony within our society, and in turn, suppress potential points of conflict between religious groups.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189261/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Muhammad Naufal Waliyuddin tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Narcissism among young people is often associated with selfies and showing off on social media, but it can also take the form of religious expression or fanaticism.Muhammad Naufal Waliyuddin, Researcher of Youth and Religious Studies. Doctoral candidate in Islamic studies, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan KalijagaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1830762022-06-06T12:51:18Z2022-06-06T12:51:18Z2/3 of US colleges and universities lack student groups for Muslims, Jews, Hindus or Buddhists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464516/original/file-20220520-25-yatomj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C0%2C5843%2C3931&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muslim student groups are located at only 28% of U.S. colleges. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/side-view-of-asian-beautiful-young-muslim-student-royalty-free-image/1213143339?adppopup=true">mkitina4 via iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Most U.S. colleges and universities lack minority religious student groups for Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim students. This is according to our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00380407221084695">2022 peer-reviewed study</a> about officially recognized minority religious student groups across 1,953 four-year not-for-profit colleges and universities in the United States. </p>
<p>Colleges and universities across the U.S. typically <a href="https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.70.2.c8121767x9075210">maintain databases of all student organizations on their campuses</a>. By analyzing those databases, we found that Muslim student groups are located at only 28% of U.S. colleges and universities, while Jewish student groups are at just 25% of U.S. colleges and universities. </p>
<p>Additionally, Buddhist and Hindu student groups are each represented at 5% of colleges and universities. And 66% of U.S. colleges and universities lack any type of minority religious student group. </p>
<p>Using <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/">U.S. Department of Education data</a>, we also identified characteristics of schools that are home to one or more minority religious student groups. We found that the presence of minority religious student groups is partly due to institutional resources. For example, schools with large endowments tend to have more minority religious student groups than schools with smaller endowments, partly because wealthier schools employ more <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780761834236/Where-You-Work-Matters-Student-Affairs-Administration-at-Different-Types-of-Institutions">student affairs professionals</a>. Those professionals’ jobs are to support student organizations on campus. Also, wealthier schools often provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2018.1495073">funds</a> to student organizations.</p>
<p>Beyond providing staff and money, schools with larger numbers of students have more minority religious student groups. This is likely because schools with larger student bodies have more students interested in forming Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim student groups. </p>
<p>Finally, certain types of institutions are more likely to have minority religious student groups. We found that approximately 40% of public colleges and universities have minority religious student groups, while only 27% of private Christian colleges and universities have minority religious student groups. This is partly because private Christian colleges or universities are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/S0163-786X20210000044012">legally allowed to discriminate</a> against non-Christian students, including by refusing to recognize non-Christian student groups. Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim students may also avoid attending Christian colleges and universities in the first place.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Research shows that minority religious student groups can provide Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim student groups “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3200/CHNG.38.2.22-27">safe spaces</a>,” even in places where they do not feel welcome. For example, after 9/11, Muslim students faced <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1360200032000139910">abuse and harassment</a> on some college and university campuses. Muslim student groups supported these students by providing them with advice on how to navigate unwelcoming campus environments.</p>
<p>Minority religious student organizations also play important roles in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-013-9640-6">transforming their campuses’ policies</a> in ways that make those campuses friendlier to students from minority faiths. For example, national-level organizations such as the <a href="https://www.msanational.org/">Muslim Students Association</a> and <a href="https://www.hillel.org/">Hillel International</a> instruct leaders of local college chapters on how to establish prayer rooms on their campuses. They also provide guidance on how to persuade schools to serve halal or kosher meals, foods that conform to Muslim or Jewish dietary regulations, respectively.</p>
<p>The fact that most colleges and universities lack minority religious student groups means that many students lack resources that could <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469629964/muslim-american-women-on-campus/">make them feel more welcome on their campuses</a>.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>When researchers interview leaders or members of student groups, they often <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469636221/gay-on-gods-campus/">identify</a> practical strategies and tactics that students use to form and grow organizations on campus. However, because of our reliance on quantitative data, we don’t know how the strategic thinking and leadership capabilities of Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim students may have contributed to the establishment of groups on their campuses.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Future research could take a look at the characteristics of schools that have the largest or most active minority religious student organizations. Subsequent research could also identify characteristics of the most effective minority religious student groups.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183076/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan S. Coley is a Public Fellow at the Public Religion Research Institute. He receives funding from the Association for the Sociology of Religion, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Associations, and the Louisville Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary John Adler Jr receives funding from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, the Religious Research Association, the Association for the Sociology of Religion, the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Associations, the Louisville Institute, and the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dhruba Das does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim student organizations are rarities at most colleges and universities. An expert delves into why.Jonathan S. Coley, Associate Professor of Sociology, Oklahoma State UniversityDhruba Das, PhD Candidate and Graduate Teaching Associate, Oklahoma State UniversityGary John Adler Jr., Associate Professor of Sociology, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1784542022-03-30T15:50:16Z2022-03-30T15:50:16ZThe hijab is not a symbol of gender oppression – but those who choose to wear it risk Islamophobia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454725/original/file-20220328-17419-1ups4ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Covering is a matter of personal choice, faith and, for many women, freedom.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hijab-girl-exercising-on-walkway-bridge-1247806204">Jacob Lund | Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-trojan-horse-affair-islamophobia-scholar-on-the-long-shadow-cast-by-the-scandal-176281">New York Times podcast</a> on the alleged <a href="https://theconversation.com/operation-trojan-horse-examining-the-islamic-takeover-of-birmingham-schools-25764">“Trojan Horse” Islamisation of schools in Birmingham, England,</a> a Muslim woman who worked in one of the schools under discussion relays what happened when she started wearing the hijab. She had just got married and non-Muslim colleagues interpreted her head covering as a sign that her new husband was controlling her, that she was oppressed. </p>
<p>In reality, as she explains to the podcasts’ hosts, she had not previously worn the hijab because she was afraid of exactly this: people’s biased reactions to it. She only started to cover when she felt more confident that the school was a safe place where she could be herself without fear of Islamophobic repercussions. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-islamophobia-feel-like-we-dressed-visibly-as-muslims-for-a-month-to-find-out-66786">Wearing a form of head covering</a> is the most visible symbol of Islam in the west – and the most misunderstood. The ways in which Muslim women cover are diverse, ranging from the face veil or niqab, to covering their hair and upper body with the headscarf or hijab. And like Muslim women themselves, these come in a huge variety of colours, styles and fashions and are shaped by place, time and trends.</p>
<p>Some people have equated covering with gender inequality and have seen it as a threat to social cohesion or, worse, as synonymous with <a href="https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/islam-and-the-veil-theoretical-and-regional-contexts/">Islamist extremism</a>. While there are women who are pressured into <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/05/iran-abusive-forced-veiling-laws-police-womens-lives/">covering by law</a> or society, assuming that this applies to all who do so feeds these stereotypes, promoting a climate of racism and Islamophobia of which Muslim women, in the UK and worldwide, bear the brunt. </p>
<p>Those who choose to cover have to navigate both these prejudicial views and the legislation, the routine media scrutiny and the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42843357?seq=5#metadata_info_tab_contents">political debate</a> they engender – often without being included in any of it – in their everyday lives. </p>
<p>But what these assumptions fail to recognise are the multiple meanings that covering holds for the women who choose to do so. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01419870.2016.1159710">Research shows</a> that for many of those who wear it, the veil is not a passive garment. Rather, it is very often an important and integral part of women’s identity, an expression of personal choice. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in a leather jacket sits on a bench in a park with another woman in a pink hijab and marroon coat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454729/original/file-20220328-17748-jg7rno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454729/original/file-20220328-17748-jg7rno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454729/original/file-20220328-17748-jg7rno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454729/original/file-20220328-17748-jg7rno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454729/original/file-20220328-17748-jg7rno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454729/original/file-20220328-17748-jg7rno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454729/original/file-20220328-17748-jg7rno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Islamaphobia harms both women who cover and non-Muslims who are deemed to</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-british-muslim-women-meeting-urban-588826043">Monkey Business Images | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Wearing the headscarf can be liberating</h2>
<p>When deciding to cover, quite how a woman negotiates both personal choice and the fear of gendered Islamophobia is not always straightforward. For some women, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01419870.2016.1159710">as our research shows</a>, covering is empowering. </p>
<p>We did a number of individual and focus group interviews with Muslim women who wear the niqab in the UK. One person, Jasmine, told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sisters are forced to wear it in some places in the world. I will not deny this. This is not right. But I choose when to wear it and when to take it off. I choose what colours to wear, not just black and white.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another, Khadija, said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s awesome! It’s a beautiful, religious fashion statement. I have drawers full of a variety of vibrant colours, materials and prints. I match them with my outfits and wear a different style every day.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For these women, choosing to cover has been a way of demonstrating assertiveness and agency, of being in control of their bodies. In other words, the exact opposite of the passive, oppressed victimhood painted by stereotypical views.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in a blue headscarf and yellow coat poses in front of a pink building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454731/original/file-20220328-23-kcn5o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454731/original/file-20220328-23-kcn5o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454731/original/file-20220328-23-kcn5o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454731/original/file-20220328-23-kcn5o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454731/original/file-20220328-23-kcn5o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454731/original/file-20220328-23-kcn5o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454731/original/file-20220328-23-kcn5o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As an active garment, the headscarf has great style potential.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fashion-portrait-young-attractive-muslim-malay-1197876037">mentatdgt | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Covering can also be complicated</h2>
<p>For other women, it can be a more nuanced experience. One French politician <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-48725-6?noAccess=true">told us</a> about how she sought out culturally inconspicuous ways of covering, to prevent being stereotyped as a Muslim woman or face the gendered Islamophobia that often comes with it. She said she finds ways to manage it.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t wear a headscarf. I cover my hair with something, with a hat, with a beret, something culturally French. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Fashion designer and blogger <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2016/02/104067/news-uniqlo-hijab-tutorial-hana-tajima">Hana Tajima</a> has talked eloquently on social media about the challenges. In a recent post, she relayed how, on the one hand, there are people who don’t understand why anyone would want to cover in the first place: “They see the headscarf as a way of controlling and manipulating women.” And on the other hand, she said, “there are people who feel like, once you choose to wear the headscarf, you have a responsibility to maintain it.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CWT25GVFByH","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>She described the pressure of being expected to be the perfect embodiment of someone else’s idea about faith. As for women more broadly, the presumed significance and meaning of their dress is often externally prescribed by society. Still, wearing the headscarf can be a deeply personal choice and a personal expression of faith.</p>
<h2>Islamophobic reactions</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003023722-7/misogyny-hate-crimes-gendered-islamophobia-amina-easat-daas">Research shows</a> that the experiences of Muslim women who wear a covering in the west are part of a broader, intersecting pattern of prejudice, misogyny and racism. Muslim women who cover are stigmatised as threatening, their headscarf or veil the visual embodiment of what makes Muslims “other”.</p>
<p>Ultimately, <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003023722-7/misogyny-hate-crimes-gendered-islamophobia-amina-easat-daas">our research shows</a> that visibly Muslim women face a disproportionate impact of Islamophobia. This ranges from being denied services to being physically attacked in public, including having their headscarves removed against their will on the street. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A mother in a black niqab and a daughter wearing white jeans and a white hijab walk down a shopping street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454727/original/file-20220328-17346-1nae39l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454727/original/file-20220328-17346-1nae39l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454727/original/file-20220328-17346-1nae39l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454727/original/file-20220328-17346-1nae39l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454727/original/file-20220328-17346-1nae39l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454727/original/file-20220328-17346-1nae39l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454727/original/file-20220328-17346-1nae39l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Navigating the wider public’s response to the hijab can be a fraught experience for many Muslim women in the west.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-august-24-2016-woman-522871231">IR Stone | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Visible Muslimness <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-islamophobia-feel-like-we-dressed-visibly-as-muslims-for-a-month-to-find-out-66786">correlates</a> with directly experiencing Islamophobia. However, we have found that Islamophobia also impacts people who <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-all-look-the-same-non-muslim-men-targeted-in-islamophobic-hate-crime-because-of-their-appearance-85565">are not Muslim</a>, simply because their <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-all-look-the-same-non-muslim-men-targeted-in-islamophobic-hate-crime-because-of-their-appearance-85565">physical appearance</a>, their skin colour and even, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2004/jul/12/discriminationatwork.workandcareers">research suggests</a>, their names, mean they are deemed to “look” Muslim. Such anti-Muslim racism leads to people being further <a href="https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/31845/ssoar-2006-choudhury_et_al-Perceptions_of_discrimination_and_Islamophobia.pdf?sequence=1">discriminated against</a> in attempting to secure housing or access education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178454/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ignorant assumptions about what the headscarf means fail to recognise how integral it can be to a woman’s identity.Irene Zempi, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Nottingham Trent UniversityAmina Easat-Daas, Lecturer in Politics, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1772482022-02-18T03:07:57Z2022-02-18T03:07:57ZMorrison’s Christian empathy needs to be about more than just prayer – it requires action, too<p>Over the past week, Australians have heard Scott Morrison make several explicit references to his faith. Given Morrison has placed his faith front and centre of his public persona, it is helpful to try to understand how he perceives his faith and how it might intersect with his job as prime minister. </p>
<p>For me, Morrison’s recent comments about faith and prayer reveal a pattern of human passivity, dependence on divine intervention, and potential abnegation of power. </p>
<p>For example, in his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNQxLQRdX4Y">60 Minutes interview</a>, Morrison’s response to a question about his empathy was:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve worn out the carpet on the side of my bed […] on my knees, praying and praying […] praying for those who are losing loved ones, praying for those who couldn’t go to family funerals, praying for those who are exhausted […]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To be fair to Morrison, it would be odd for a person of any faith not to include prayer as part of their expression of concern for those who suffer or struggle. Such an approach has a long tradition. But we might expect more than just prayer from a devout Christian who also happens to be the prime minister. </p>
<p>In this response, he appears to prioritise prayer over action, which is astonishing given the power he holds due to his position. In the Christian tradition, prayer informs and even motivates action; it does not replace it. Such a response is also, of course, a way of signalling his piety to certain constituents.</p>
<p>It is not an isolated example. Take, for instance, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/26/scott-morrison-tells-christian-conference-he-was-called-to-do-gods-work-as-prime-minister">his address to the Australian Christian Churches National Conference</a> in 2021, where he told the crowd:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I can’t fix the world, I can’t save the world, but we both believe in someone who can.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That someone, of course, is God.</p>
<p>On the one hand, it shows admirable humility to acknowledge that even the prime minister cannot “fix the world”. But in alluding to the “someone who can”, Morrison appears to be giving over his agency and responsibility to God. Leave it up to God to act. </p>
<p>More recently, in a <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/pm-prompts-fury-by-looking-for-forgiveness-14-years-after-rudd-s-apology-20220214-p59weu.html">speech</a> commemorating 14 years since the Rudd government’s “sorry” to Indigenous peoples, Morrison shifted the focus to forgiveness, which sparked fury. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447190/original/file-20220218-15-16adff9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447190/original/file-20220218-15-16adff9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447190/original/file-20220218-15-16adff9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447190/original/file-20220218-15-16adff9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447190/original/file-20220218-15-16adff9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447190/original/file-20220218-15-16adff9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447190/original/file-20220218-15-16adff9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Morrison shifting the focus to ‘forgiveness’ in a speech commemorating the apology to the Stolen Generations sparked fury this week.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Morrison explicitly stated that forgiveness was an individual, not a “corporate” matter, expressing a hope for the kind of healing that came through forgiveness. His desire to move from apology to individual forgiveness is entirely consistent with his stated spirituality which emphasises individual and personal faith. </p>
<p>But it is also theologically thin. Trawloolway man and theologian <a href="https://uncommonprayers.blogspot.com/2022/02/">Garry Deverell</a> was quick to point out the prime minister had missed a step. In the Christian tradition, no apology can insist on forgiveness, and seeking forgiveness for harm done requires repentance, acts of restitution, and attempts to address injustice. The spiritual cannot be divorced from the physical, tangible, social, and political dimensions of life.</p>
<p>While acknowledging, rightly, that forgiveness is hard and cannot be earned, Morrison had put the onus on those wounded by systemic justice to do the work of forgiveness, rather than on those with power to do the work of restitution. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christians-in-australia-are-not-persecuted-and-it-is-insulting-to-argue-they-are-96351">Christians in Australia are not persecuted, and it is insulting to argue they are</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Prayer and action go hand in hand</h2>
<p>There’s a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_drowning_man#:%7E:text=The%20parable%20of%20the%20drowning,that%20God%20will%20save%20him.">classic story</a> that does the rounds in Christian circles of a guy who gets trapped when his town floods. In a desperate attempt to avoid the rising floodwaters he climbs onto his roof and prays to God to save him. </p>
<p>Soon a rescue crew in a boat come past and invite him into their boat, but he refuses. “God will save me,” he says. </p>
<p>Later a helicopter flies by and a man descends on a rope. He is offered a way off the roof by the rescue crew, but again he refuses. “God will save me.” </p>
<p>Eventually the man dies and goes to heaven, but he is confused. “Why didn’t you save me God?” he asks. “I’ve been a faithful Christian my whole life.” </p>
<p>And God replies: “What do you mean I didn’t save you? I sent a boat and a helicopter. You refused them both.”</p>
<p>Such parabolic stories demonstrate a Christian theological belief that God works through and with human activity, not despite it. It points to the need to integrate belief, prayer and action.</p>
<p>Theology – how we think and talk about God – matters precisely because of its implications for human activity. I have no reason to doubt that when Morrison talks about his faith he is sincere, and when he expresses his care for people primarily through prayer he is behaving in a normal way for his faith community. Yet this kind of passivity and trust in divine intervention is not the only or even the fullest expression of Christian faith. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447200/original/file-20220218-7720-1nrapxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447200/original/file-20220218-7720-1nrapxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447200/original/file-20220218-7720-1nrapxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447200/original/file-20220218-7720-1nrapxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447200/original/file-20220218-7720-1nrapxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447200/original/file-20220218-7720-1nrapxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447200/original/file-20220218-7720-1nrapxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Morrison’s faith is no doubt sincere. But God’s work requires action as well as prayer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Faith and power should integrate, not separate</h2>
<p>The danger of emphasising personal prayer as the primary expression of Christian care is that social responsibility can be abdicated. Pray and leave it up to God can be a cop-out, particularly for those with power. It can be a way to ignore systemic injustice by reducing faith to something personal and private.</p>
<p>As Brittany Higgins put it so eloquently in her <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/scott-morrison-not-attending-grace-tame-brittany-higgins-npc-address-but-will-be-paying-attention/news-story/1064a9ae967aed25bec83c21b28065db">recent National Press Club address</a>: “I didn’t want his sympathy as a father, I wanted him to use his power as prime minister.”</p>
<p>Theologians like Dietrich Bonhoeffer offer an alternative expression of Christian faith. Bonhoeffer lived and wrote during the early 20th-century rise of Nazism in Germany. In his well-known book The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer writes about “cheap grace”, which is the kind of faith that wants forgiveness without actual repentance, and justice or peace without personal cost. Cheap grace wants the inner spiritual resolution without the outward costly work. </p>
<p>For Bonhoeffer, that outward work included vocal criticism of the Nazi regime and of Christians who were silent bystanders. Bonhoeffer saw the way of Jesus was one that demanded practical help for victims of injustice and, where necessary, resistance to government. Arrested for conspiring to rescue Jews, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned before being executed at the Flossenbürg concentration camp in 1945.</p>
<p>Not every Christian needs to become a martyr, but <a href="https://uncommonprayers.blogspot.com/2021/04/scott-morrison-and-speaking-publicly.html">as Garry Deverell writes</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Christian is called not to separate but to integrate their faith and their public presence, work or office.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This broader view of faith is seen in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/22/if-scott-morrison-acted-on-his-strong-christian-faith-he-would-phase-out-coal">the call of Tim Costello</a> for the prime minister to act on his faith when it comes to climate change, or in the urging of church leaders for more compassionate action for refugees based on Christian values. After all, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A37-40&version=NRSV">Jesus teaches</a> that whatever one does for the least among us (defined as those who are hungry, poor or imprisoned) one does for Jesus. </p>
<p>Morrison is not the first prime minister to be a person of deep faith, nor will he be the last. That is not the issue. All politicians are informed by their value systems and beliefs, regardless of the religious or non-religious traditions that shape them. </p>
<p>Neither am I criticising Morrison for speaking out about his faith. I am, however, critical of the highly individualistic, spiritualised version of faith Morrison espouses, which allows him to shirk personal responsibility and action when convenient. </p>
<p>There are millions of faithful Christians in this country who also wear out the carpet in prayer every week. The difference is they do not hold the highest office in the land, nor have Morrison’s power to enact change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177248/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn J. Whitaker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It is not unusual that Morrison talks about prayer in his responses. But we might expect more than just prayer from a devout Christian who also happens to be prime minister.Robyn J. Whitaker, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of DivinityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1757172022-02-03T13:13:52Z2022-02-03T13:13:52ZWhy are people calling Bitcoin a religion?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443516/original/file-20220131-124991-gt2h4m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5636%2C3463&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some Bitcoin evangelists see the currency as an answer to problems that plague society.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/the-social-solidarity-economy-messiah-royalty-free-illustration/1309244426?adppopup=true">mustafa akman/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Read enough about Bitcoin, and you’ll inevitably come across people who refer to the cryptocurrency as a religion.</p>
<p>Bloomberg’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-01-04/five-things-you-need-to-know-to-start-your-day">Lorcan Roche Kelly</a> called Bitcoin “the first true religion of the 21st century.” Bitcoin promoter <a href="https://medium.com/the-bitcoin-times/the-passion-of-the-believers-bf26f3b46315">Hass McCook</a> has taken to calling himself “The Friar” and wrote a series of Medium pieces comparing Bitcoin to a religion. There is a <a href="https://churchofbitcoin.org/">Church of Bitcoin</a>, founded in 2017, that explicitly calls legendary Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto its “prophet.”</p>
<p>In Austin, Texas, <a href="https://austonia.com/crypto-billboards-austin">there are billboards</a> with slogans like “Crypto Is Real” that weirdly mirror the ubiquitous <a href="https://cdn.christianaidministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Houston-Texas.jpg">billboards about Jesus</a> found on Texas highways. Like many religions, Bitcoin even has <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/ne74nw/inside-the-world-of-the-bitcoin-carnivores%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank">dietary restrictions</a> associated with it.</p>
<h2>Religion’s dirty secret</h2>
<p>So does Bitcoin’s having prophets, evangelists and dietary laws make it a religion or not?</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4EKx-aoAAAAJ&hl=en">As a scholar of religion</a>, I think this is the wrong question to ask.</p>
<p>The dirty secret of religious studies is that there is no universal definition of what religion is. Traditions such as Christianity, Islam and Buddhism certainly exist and have similarities, but the idea that these are all examples of religion is relatively new.</p>
<p><a href="https://womrel.sitehost.iu.edu/Rel433%20Readings/SearchableTextFiles/Smith_ReligionReligionsReligious.pdf">The word “religion”</a> as it’s used today – a vague category that includes certain cultural ideas and practices related to God, the afterlife or morality – arose in Europe around the 16th century. Before this, many Europeans understood that there were only three types of people in the world: Christians, Jews and heathens. </p>
<p>This model shifted after the Protestant Reformation when a <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Early_Modern_Europe/t6TXB9RbwbYC?hl=en&gbpv=0">long series of wars</a> began between Catholics and Protestants. These became known as “wars of religion,” and religion became a way of talking about differences between Christians. At the same time, Europeans were encountering other cultures through exploration and colonialism. Some of the traditions they encountered shared certain similarities to Christianity and were also deemed religions.</p>
<p>Non-European languages have historically not had a direct equivalent to the word “religion.” What has counted as religion has changed over the centuries, and there are always political interests at stake in determining whether or not something is a religion.</p>
<p>As religion scholar <a href="https://religion.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/mccutchmtsr2007.pdf">Russell McCutcheon</a> argues, “The interesting thing to study, then, is not what religion is or is not, but ‘the making of it’ process itself – whether that manufacturing activity takes place in a courtroom or is a claim made by a group about their own behaviors and institutions.”</p>
<h2>Critics highlight irrationality</h2>
<p>With this in mind, why would anyone claim that Bitcoin is a religion?</p>
<p>Some commentators seem to be making this claim to steer investors away from Bitcoin. Emerging market fund manager <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/03/crypto-is-a-religion-not-an-investment-investor-mark-mobius-says.html">Mark Mobius</a>, in an attempt to tamp down enthusiasm about cryptocurrency, said that “crypto is a religion, not an investment.” </p>
<p>His statement, however, is an example of a <a href="https://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/logical-fallacies/logical-fallacies-false-dilemma/">false dichotomy fallacy</a>, or the assumption that if something is one thing, it cannot be another. There is no reason that a religion cannot also be an investment, a political system or nearly anything else. </p>
<p>Mobius’ point, though, is that “religion,” like cryptocurrency, is irrational. This criticism of religion has been around since the Enlightenment, <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Discovering_World_Religions_at_24_Frames/UVa2KtlPHocC?hl=en&gbpv=1">when Voltaire wrote</a>, “Nothing can be more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and common sense.”</p>
<p>In this case, labeling Bitcoin a “religion” suggests that bitcoin investors are fanatics and not making rational choices.</p>
<h2>Bitcoin as good and wholesome</h2>
<p>On the other hand, some Bitcoin proponents have leaned into the religion label. McCook’s articles use the language of religion to highlight certain aspects of Bitcoin culture and to normalize them. </p>
<p>For example, “<a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/stacking-sats%3A-how-small-weekly-investments-can-offer-decent-returns-2021-03-30">stacking sats</a>” – the practice of regularly buying small fractions of bitcoins – sounds weird. But McCook refers to this practice as a religious ritual, and more specifically as “<a href="https://medium.com/the-bitcoin-times/the-passion-of-the-believers-bf26f3b46315">tithing</a>.” Many churches practice tithing, in which members make regular donations to support their church. So this comparison makes sat stacking seem more familiar.</p>
<p>While for some people religion may be associated with the irrational, it is also associated with what religion scholar <a href="https://bulletin.equinoxpub.com/2013/11/why-atheism-matters/">Doug Cowan</a> calls “the good, moral and decent fallacy.” That is, some people often assume if something is really a religion, it must represent something good. People who “stack sats” might sound weird. But people who “tithe” could sound principled and wholesome.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Hands emerging from clouds holding a bitcoin token." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443521/original/file-20220131-23-y42jyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443521/original/file-20220131-23-y42jyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443521/original/file-20220131-23-y42jyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443521/original/file-20220131-23-y42jyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443521/original/file-20220131-23-y42jyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443521/original/file-20220131-23-y42jyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443521/original/file-20220131-23-y42jyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Associating Bitcoin with religion could add a sheen of morality.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/funny-cartoon-modern-illustration-on-bitcoin-royalty-free-illustration/1346610226?adppopup=true">Takoyaki Tech/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Using religion as a framework</h2>
<p>For religion scholars, categorizing something as a religion can pave the way for new insights.</p>
<p>As religion scholar <a href="https://womrel.sitehost.iu.edu/Rel433%20Readings/SearchableTextFiles/Smith_ReligionReligionsReligious.pdf">J.Z. Smith writes</a>, “‘Religion’ is not a native term; it is created by scholars for their intellectual purposes and therefore is theirs to define.” For Smith, categorizing certain traditions or cultural institutions as religions creates a comparative framework that will hopefully result in some new understanding. With this in mind, comparing Bitcoin to a tradition like Christianity may cause people to notice things that they didn’t before.</p>
<p>For example, many religions were founded by <a href="https://www.baylorisr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Charismatic-Leadership.pdf">charismatic leaders</a>. Charismatic authority does not come from any government office or tradition but solely from the relationship between a leader and their followers. Charismatic leaders are seen by their followers as superhuman or at least extraordinary. Because this relationship is precarious, leaders often remain aloof to keep followers from seeing them as ordinary human beings. </p>
<p>Several commentators have noted that Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto resembles a sort of prophet. Nakamoto’s true identity – or whether Nakamoto is actually a team of people – <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/27/bitcoins-origin-story-remains-shrouded-in-mystery-heres-why-it-matters.html">remains a mystery</a>. But the intrigue surrounding this figure is a source of charisma with consequences for bitcoin’s economic value. Many who invest in bitcoin do so in part because they regard Nakamoto as a genius and an economic rebel. In Budapest, artists even erected a <a href="https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/09/17/hungary-s-bitcoin-fans-unveil-faceless-statue-of-mysterious-crypto-founder-satoshi-nakamot">bronze statue</a> as a tribute to Nakamoto.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bust with gold face wearing a hooded sweatshirt." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444106/original/file-20220202-27-1tmt84n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444106/original/file-20220202-27-1tmt84n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444106/original/file-20220202-27-1tmt84n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444106/original/file-20220202-27-1tmt84n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444106/original/file-20220202-27-1tmt84n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444106/original/file-20220202-27-1tmt84n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/444106/original/file-20220202-27-1tmt84n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bust of Satoshi Nakamoto in Budapest, Hungary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bust_of_Satoshi_Nakamoto_in_Budapest.jpg">Fekist/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There’s also a connection between Bitcoin and <a href="https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-125">millennialism</a>, or the belief in a coming collective salvation for a select group of people. </p>
<p>In Christianity, millennial expectations involve the return of Jesus and the final judgment of the living and the dead. Some Bitcoiners believe in an inevitable coming “<a href="https://medium.com/the-bitcoin-times/the-passion-of-the-believers-bf26f3b46315">hyperbitcoinization</a>” in which bitcoin will be the only valid currency. When this happens, the “Bitcoin believers” who invested will be justified, while the “no coiners” who shunned cryptocurrency will lose everything.</p>
<h2>A path to salvation</h2>
<p>Finally, some Bitcoiners view bitcoin as not just a way to make money, but as the answer to all of humanity’s problems.</p>
<p>“Because the root cause of all of our problems is basically money printing and capital misallocation as a result of that,” <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2021/07/29/is-bitcoin-a-religion-if-not-it-soon-will-be">McCook argues</a>, “the only way the whales are going to be saved, or the trees are going to be saved, or the kids are going to be saved, is if we just stop the degeneracy.”</p>
<p>[<em>Explore the intersection of faith, politics, arts and culture.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/this-week-in-religion-76/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=religion-explore">Sign up for This Week in Religion.</a>]</p>
<p>This attitude may be the most significant point of comparison with religious traditions. In his book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/God-Not-One-World-Differences-ebook/dp/B003F1WMAC/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=prothero+god+is+not+one&qid=1643235046&sprefix=Prothero+god+%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-1">God Is Not One</a>,” religion professor <a href="https://www.bu.edu/religion/people/faculty/bios/prothero/">Stephen Prothero</a> highlights the distinctiveness of world religions using a four-point model, in which each tradition identifies a unique problem with the human condition, posits a solution, offers specific practices to achieve the solution and puts forth exemplars to model that path.</p>
<p>This model can be applied to Bitcoin: The problem is fiat currency, the solution is Bitcoin, and the practices include encouraging others to invest, “stacking sats” and “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hodl.asp">hodling</a>” – refusing to sell bitcoin to keep its value up. The exemplars include Satoshi and other figures involved in the creation of blockchain technology.</p>
<p>So does this comparison prove that Bitcoin is a religion? </p>
<p>Not necessarily, because theologians, sociologists and legal theorists have many different <a href="https://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln101/definitions.pdf">definitions of religion</a>, all of which are more or less useful depending on what the definition is being used for. </p>
<p>However, this comparison may help people understand why Bitcoin has become so attractive to so many people, in ways that would not be possible if Bitcoin were approached as a purely economic phenomenon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph P. Laycock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With mantras, a mysterious founder and promises of societal salvation, there are echoes of religious traditions in the cryptocurrency.Joseph P. Laycock, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Texas State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1721922021-12-01T16:59:25Z2021-12-01T16:59:25ZReligious communities can make the difference in winning the fight against climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435035/original/file-20211201-16-344zkv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3456%2C2302&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">All major religions call on their followers to respect the Earth.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:This_is_an_emergency_-_Climate_Angels_at_Extinction_Rebellion_Declaration_Day_Melbourne_-_IMG_4415_(33564926438).jpg">Takver/Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The threat of climate change signals a “<a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/05/ipcc_90_92_assessments_far_wg_II_spm.pdf">code red for humanity</a>”, and we are running out of time to transition away from carbon and prevent catastrophic planetary warming. Our best chance is to convince existing organisations with financial, political and social power to pioneer drastic change. Faith communities – to which 4 billion people worldwide belong, with an economic value of over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/15/us-religion-worth-1-trillion-study-economy-apple-google">£900 billion</a> (£676 billion) in the US alone – might be the force we need. </p>
<p>When US President John Biden met Pope Francis on October 29, climate change was a focus <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/29/us-president-biden-meets-pope-francis-at-the-vatican">of their discussion</a>. Later that day, the pope spoke on BBC Radio 4’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b113ly">Thought for the Day</a> strand on the Today programme to demand “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59075041?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA">radical decisions</a>” from world leaders on climate. He warned that the interlinking crises of the pandemic and climate change have created “a perfect storm” about to cause havoc to human civilisation. </p>
<p>Before the <a href="https://theconversation.com/glasgow-climate-pact-where-do-all-the-words-and-numbers-we-heard-at-cop26-leave-us-171704">COP26</a> UN climate conference took place in Glasgow, 40 religious leaders also met in the Vatican to make an unprecedented plea for addressing the climate crisis. </p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/4/religious-leaders-plead-for-rapid-climate-action-ahead-of-cop26">If one nation sinks, we all sink</a>”, said Rajwant Singh, a Sikh leader from Washington D.C. And the Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb of the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, an institution usually not known for its progressive politics, called on young Muslims “to be ready to fight against any action that damages the environment”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People in religious dress process down a street" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435029/original/file-20211201-27-3g28ab.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435029/original/file-20211201-27-3g28ab.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435029/original/file-20211201-27-3g28ab.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435029/original/file-20211201-27-3g28ab.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435029/original/file-20211201-27-3g28ab.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435029/original/file-20211201-27-3g28ab.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435029/original/file-20211201-27-3g28ab.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many religious leaders at COP26 protested against climate inaction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tobias Muller</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clearly, many faith leaders recognise that climate action has become a sacred duty. The skyrocketing number of books on <a href="https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199830060/obo-9780199830060-0103.xml">ecotheologies</a> show that commitment to climate action has entered the mainstream of most religions. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00808-3?utm_source=twt_nnc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=naturenews">The research</a> that we’ve done suggests that, by leveraging their massive influence, these groups can help the world take significant steps towards averting climate catastrophe.</p>
<h2>Taking action</h2>
<p>Recent <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/11/06/cop26-latest-climate-protests-go-global-as-activists-slam-summit-as-failure">climate protests</a> have seen priests, rabbis and imams join interfaith groups within radical climate movements such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/extinction-rebellion-why-disavowing-politics-is-a-dead-end-for-climate-action-145479">Extinction Rebellion</a> (XR). These leaders block roads and are arrested in full religious garb, invoking the tradition of religious civil disobedience pioneered by figures like <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/martin-luther-king-jr#:%7E:text=Martin%20Luther%20King%2C%20Jr.%2C,effect%20on%20the%20national%20consciousness.">Martin Luther King</a> who was arrested 29 times during his leadership of the US civil rights movement.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People hold banners on the street" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435040/original/file-20211201-26-6ahrip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435040/original/file-20211201-26-6ahrip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435040/original/file-20211201-26-6ahrip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435040/original/file-20211201-26-6ahrip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435040/original/file-20211201-26-6ahrip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435040/original/file-20211201-26-6ahrip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435040/original/file-20211201-26-6ahrip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Multifaith groups dedicated to challenging climate change are on the rise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/takver/46753684454">Takver/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Young people of faith, in particular, are not satisfied with the lack of action from political leaders. Young Christian climate activists entered Glasgow for COP26 after a 1,200-mile pilgrimage from Cornwall, urging churches along the way to step up climate action. A member of <a href="https://gordiejackson.medium.com/a-day-with-xr-faith-pilgrims-8f4aa99e0d49">XR Pilgrims</a>, a multifaith group, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59102422">explained that</a> “we have a spiritual duty of care to those who are less fortunate than us”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1459550856458784768"}"></div></p>
<p>One of the most prominent young climate activists, 24-year-old Vanessa Nakate, describes herself as a “born again Christian and climate activist” in that order. She describes her activism as informed by her faith, particularly the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d64004ec-684f-43c1-84e4-661de7f2d1a8">biblical command</a> to care for the Earth. In the wake of COP26, she demanded that leaders set up a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/29/we-know-who-caused-the-climate-crisis-but-they-dont-want-to-pay-for-it">compensation fund</a> for the destruction the climate crisis is already causing across Africa.</p>
<h2>Bridging the gap</h2>
<p>These grassroots actions on climate are already bearing fruit. On October 26, representatives from several thousand faith groups across the world announced that they would divest <a href="https://operationnoah.org/featured/gda2021/">£3.1 billion</a> of investments in fossil fuels – the largest ever faith-driven divestment movement.</p>
<p>When Tobias conducted research on how people of faith mobilise for climate action in 2020, he witnessed how Muslim and non-Muslim members of XR from Kenya, Gambia and the UK formed an unusual alliance to stop the development of a highly environmentally destructive <a href="https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2020/06/18/global-newsletter-40-the-world-is-still-sick/">luxury tourist resort</a> in Nairobi National Park. </p>
<p>Now, more faith groups need to follow these examples by developing ambitious plans to challenge the climate crisis. This could begin with turning houses of worship into models of sustainability. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The entrance to a mosque building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435032/original/file-20211201-25-1wspy73.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435032/original/file-20211201-25-1wspy73.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435032/original/file-20211201-25-1wspy73.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435032/original/file-20211201-25-1wspy73.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435032/original/file-20211201-25-1wspy73.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435032/original/file-20211201-25-1wspy73.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435032/original/file-20211201-25-1wspy73.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Cambridge Central Mosque is designed to reduce its environmental impact.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cmglee_Cambridge_Mosque_front.jpg">Cmglee/Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An example is the <a href="https://cambridgecentralmosque.org/">Cambridge Central Mosque</a>. Claiming to be Europe’s first fully eco-friendly mosque, its carbon footprint is nearly zero thanks to its <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-you-get-a-heat-pump-heres-how-they-compare-to-a-gas-boiler-151493">heat pumps</a>, LED lights and rainwater toilet flushes. Another is the Lutheran church of Hessen-Nassau in Germany, which aims to cover all available roof space of its more than 2,000 church buildings with <a href="https://www.ekd.de/photovoltaik-auf-dem-silbertablett-61952.htm">solar panels</a> to generate its own electricity.</p>
<p>We believe that scientists could play a key role in supporting this transition. As Tobias wrote recently in an essay for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00808-3">Nature</a>, by establishing dialogue between scientists and faith groups we can help convince even the most <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aaf0ce">conservative minds</a> of the reality of the climate crisis.</p>
<h2>The future</h2>
<p>But these steps alone are not enough. As the pope suggested to BBC listeners, religious groups must acknowledge that our <a href="https://theconversation.com/surviving-climate-change-means-transforming-both-economics-and-design-109164">profit-oriented economy</a> is making our planet uninhabitable. </p>
<p>Faith communities across the world together make up an industry that is bigger than most national economies. Through speaking the truth about the state of the planet and exercising uncompromising financial, social and political pressure on governments and corporations, they can shift the balance towards averting the devastation of all we hold sacred on Earth. These communities have the resources and the resilience, but above all the moral responsibility, to do that. </p>
<p>In light of the many times <a href="https://eu.rgj.com/story/life/2021/03/04/what-problem-religion-faith-forum/6914070002/">they have failed</a> to stand up for justice and human dignity, religions could win back their place at the forefront of a struggle that will define the future of humanity. To rephrase a <a href="https://www.etuc.org/en/no-jobs-dead-planet">famous slogan</a>, there are no religions on a dead planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172192/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tobias Müller receives funding from the European Union through a Horizon 2020 Grant. He has received research funding from the University of Cambridge, the Woolf Institute and the German National Academic Foundation. He currently conducts ethnographic research with Extinction Rebellion.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Esra Ozyurek is the Academic Director of the Cambridge Interfaith Programme at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. She does not receive funding that is relevant to the subject.</span></em></p>Faith leaders hold significant financial and political power - it’s their duty to use it to shape the future of our planet.Tobias Müller, Lecturer in Politics and International Studies, University of CambridgeEsra Özyürek, Professor of Abrahamic Faiths and Shared Values, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1698952021-10-19T14:54:29Z2021-10-19T14:54:29ZPublic libraries and faith-based organizations join forces to address homelessness<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426572/original/file-20211014-13-clbbep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4992%2C3585&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tents and other structures are seen in an aerial view at a homeless encampment at Strathcona Park in April, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated homelessness. Throughout the pandemic, <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003142065">shelters reduced capacity</a> to comply with public health protocols, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-049">people lost jobs</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-020-00502-1">affordable housing remained elusive</a>. </p>
<p>With a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-12/the-high-cost-of-clearing-homeless-encampments">rise in tent cities</a> and makeshift accommodations, homelessness has gained visibility.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-cities-across-canada-grapple-with-how-to-respond-to-growing-homeless/">Local municipal authorities across Canada</a> have worked to enforce bylaws. Many have <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-encampment-violence-in-toronto-betrays-any-real-hope-for-police-reform-165039">dismantled encampments to the dismay of activists and homeless people</a>. </p>
<p>These events, media coverage, ensuing protests and policy discussions raise important questions about public space: How should it be used? Who is the public? And the question I am concerned with here, what are the implications of pushing people who are homeless out of these “inclusive spaces”?</p>
<h2>Homelessness stigma in public spaces</h2>
<p>Public spaces, such as parks and sidewalks, are typically thought to belong to everyone. However, <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-ad/Geomedia%3A+Networked+Cities+and+the+Future+of+Public+Space-p-9780745660769">many scholars</a> have emphasized that there are rules and unsaid expectations that include and exclude. </p>
<p>Very few spaces exist where people who are homeless can feel like they belong.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spz004">Bylaws that criminalize</a> behaviours associated with homelessness — like panhandling — and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019853778">hostile architecture</a> — like a street bench with a central armrest that prevents people from lying down — are ways of pushing people out of a particular space.</p>
<p>Excluding homeless people from public spaces can perpetuate stigmas. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2012.707941">These social stigmas typically take the form of labelling</a>, stereotyping, a separation of “us and them” and a loss of social status. Sociologist Ervin Goffman famously described stigma as “<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Stigma/Erving-Goffman/9780671622442">a spoiled identity</a>” based on stereotypes rather than inherent qualities. </p>
<p>Homelessness stigmas discredit individuals from participating in social life and limit access to social resources. These stigmas work against efforts to address homelessness because they can lead people to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12857">avoid essential services</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man sits on a bench in front of a homeless tent camp" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426730/original/file-20211015-28-15g2s9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426730/original/file-20211015-28-15g2s9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426730/original/file-20211015-28-15g2s9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426730/original/file-20211015-28-15g2s9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426730/original/file-20211015-28-15g2s9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426730/original/file-20211015-28-15g2s9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426730/original/file-20211015-28-15g2s9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A man sits on a bench as encampment residents wait for Toronto police and city workers to clear the Lamport Stadium Park homeless encampment in July 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Social infrastructure</h2>
<p>A natural approach to addressing stigma is to bring people together by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2017.1325384">forming relationships</a> — in personal relationships, people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211048615">know each others’ personal stories and aspirations</a>, making them less inclined to rely on prejudice and harmful stereotypes. Brené Brown, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/234254/braving-the-wilderness-by-brene-brown-phd-msw/">who researches courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy</a> captures the essence of this idea with her catchphrase: “People are hard to hate close up. Move in.” And <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2021.1934631">social infrastructure is the systems and environments that facilitate encounters and relationships</a>, so <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/557044/palaces-for-the-people-by-eric-klinenberg/">social scientists</a> have positioned <a href="https://www.oecd-forum.org/posts/palaces-for-the-people-how-social-infrastructure-can-help-fight-inequality-polarization-and-the-decline-of-civic-life-by-eric-klinenberg">social infrastructure as an antidote to social inequality</a> and fragmentation.</p>
<p>Examples of social infrastructure include community centres, schools and <a href="https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v5i4.3430">public ice rinks</a>; any space where people can meet and establish social relationships. Social infrastructure is essential to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-021-03488-2">community wellness</a>, it offers grounds for people to pool resources, receive and offer support and navigate social differences. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12444">Strong social infrastructure</a> is accessible, safe and malleable to the public’s shifting interests, needs and challenges. Excluding those who are homeless from public spaces not only deepens stigmas that lead to the avoidance of essential services. It can also further marginalize them from the benefits of participating in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12505">communal life</a>.</p>
<h2>Spaces for people who are homeless</h2>
<p>Thankfully, some institutions seek to offer public spaces for people who are homeless. Public libraries and faith-based organizations, such as mosques, churches and non-profits grounded in religious belief, are two examples. While public libraries and faith-based organizations are both quintessential examples of social infrastructure, they differ in significant ways. </p>
<p>Both have strengths and limitations when it comes to creating social connections. Faith-based organizations can be spaces where deep friendships form. These organizations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fer029">bring people together</a> regularly into a social and spiritual environment. However, they also have <a href="https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2259">several barriers</a>, such as history or reputation of excluding based on identity. </p>
<p>In contrast, a core value of <a href="https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/corevalues">public librarianship</a> is to remove barriers to services. </p>
<p>Public libraries offer free services, regardless of socio-economic, housing and citizenship status, age, gender, ability, religion, sexual orientation, race or culture. Often described as a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2009.07.008">community hub</a>,” public libraries bring people together from all walks of life. Nevertheless, they must balance their enormous mandate to address the informational, learning and leisure needs of diverse populations with bounded resources. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A big red arrow is shown in the foreground. A woman wears a face mask and plastic gloves while browsing books at the Vancouver Public Library's central branch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426731/original/file-20211015-13-1hqkeq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426731/original/file-20211015-13-1hqkeq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426731/original/file-20211015-13-1hqkeq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426731/original/file-20211015-13-1hqkeq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426731/original/file-20211015-13-1hqkeq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426731/original/file-20211015-13-1hqkeq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426731/original/file-20211015-13-1hqkeq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woman wears a face mask and plastic gloves while browsing books at the Vancouver Public Library’s central branch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Partnering for stronger social infrastructure</h2>
<p>While these two institutions alone may not be able to solve the issue of social stigma, looking at how they provide spaces for homeless people is a good place to start. </p>
<p>Hamilton Public Library’s <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6804474/library-branch-east-hamilton-affordable-housing-project">Parkdale branch</a> in Ontario is an example of a partnership between a faith-based organization and a public library. This library branch is in an affordable housing residence, operated by Indwell. </p>
<p><a href="https://indwell.ca/">Indwell describes itself as</a> “a Christian charity that creates affordable housing communities that support people seeking health, wellness and belonging.” As the Parkdale branch only recently opened in <a href="https://www.hpl.ca/branches/parkdale-branch">July 2021</a>, it presents a budding opportunity to examine how these two types of social infrastructure coalesce to provide inclusive social spaces for people who are homeless. </p>
<p>Partnerships between organizations with shared interests and complementary strengths hold promise when it comes to developing novel solutions to complex problems. </p>
<p>There are several examples of both <a href="https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/2020/01/26/islamic-relief-reaches-out-to-hamilton-homeless.html">faith-based organizations</a> and <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/strengthening-communities-role-public-library-site-connection">public libraries</a> sharing their spaces with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389419850707">social workers</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.4278/ajhp.130403-CIT-149">health-care professionals</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768620971211">local enterprises</a>. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12561">a pilot project</a> in Philadelphia showed that having a social worker and a nurse working in a public library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. helped connect homeless people with appropriate health care. The authors attributed some of this intervention’s success to the public library’s financially accessible community space. Partnerships allow organizations to do more than they could alone for those who are homeless. </p>
<p>Looking for creative ways to strengthen social infrastructure for marginalized groups may be an important step towards building a more equitable society post-COVID-19.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169895/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaitlin Wynia Baluk works at Hamilton Public Library in Ontario as their researcher-in-residence. Kaitlin receives funding from Mitacs Inc. through Mitacs Accelerate. </span></em></p>While public libraries and faith-based organizations may not be able to solve the issue of social stigma, looking at how they provide spaces for homeless people is a good place to start.Kaitlin Wynia Baluk, Postdoctoral fellow in Health and Society, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657192021-08-31T12:28:42Z2021-08-31T12:28:42ZLessons about 9/11 often provoke harassment of Muslim students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418438/original/file-20210830-21-1p6zfzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muslim students report being teased and harassed when schools focus on 9/11.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/muslim-teenage-girl-thinking-for-travel-royalty-free-image/1136157808?adppopup=true">Jasmin Merdan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Near the start of each school year, many U.S. schools <a href="https://time.com/5672103/9-11-history-curriculum/">wrestle with how to teach about 9/11</a> – the <a href="https://www.history.com/news/deadliest-events-united-states">deadliest foreign attack ever on American soil</a>.</p>
<p>In interviews I conducted recently in the <a href="https://code.dccouncil.us/dc/council/code/sections/2-1105.html">Washington, D.C., metropolitan area</a> – one of three places <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57698668">where hijacked planes crashed</a> on Sept. 11, 2001 – I found that Muslim students are often subjected to ridicule and blame for the 9/11 attacks.</p>
<p>“Even if they’re joking around, they’ll say ‘terrorist’ and stuff like that,” one student told me. “That used to trigger me a lot.”</p>
<p>Another student told me: “9/11, every single year, is so awkward. The administrators would be like ‘On this fateful day, this happened’… then the Muslim jokes would come up, like ‘Don’t blow us up.’ When I was younger it bothered me, but now I’m just desensitized to it.”</p>
<p>“There’s so much tension, just being even this color and then being a Muslim, period,” yet another student told me. “It’s really strange, like, you feel it, they’re not saying it … ’You don’t understand this question because you’re Muslim,‘ which is the strangest thing, but it’s definitely the tension that these teachers give off sometimes.”</p>
<p>These students are among the 55 Muslim students, ages 12 to 21, whom I interviewed in the Greater Washington, D.C., area from 2019 through 2021 about their experiences in school during <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2011.585551">classroom lessons</a> about 9/11. Their experience is part of a larger pattern of Muslim students being <a href="https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-poll-2020-amid-pandemic-and-protest/#summary">targeted and bullied in U.S. schools</a>.</p>
<h2>Increase in harassment</h2>
<p>A 2020 poll found that <a href="https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-poll-2020-amid-pandemic-and-protest/#summary">51% of American Muslim families</a> reported that their children experienced religious-based bullying – insults or physical assaults – in school. That’s nearly twice the rate reported by parents among the general public, the same poll found. Perhaps more disturbingly, <a href="https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-poll-2020-amid-pandemic-and-protest/#summary">30%</a> of those incidents reportedly involved a teacher or school official – the same people whom students ought to be able to turn to for support.</p>
<h2>Effects on learning</h2>
<p>When Muslim students experience these kinds of challenges at school, it is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12238">higher levels of psychological distress</a>. Students can <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290495197_Race_and_belonging_in_school_How_anticipated_and_experienced_belonging_affect_choice_persistence_and_performance">learn better</a> when educators foster a sense of emotional safety and belonging.</p>
<p>Observers might conclude that it’s no big deal when students merely <a href="https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0136/CGP/v28i01/45-57">subject their Muslim classmates to jokes</a> – that the teasing is all in good humor and a normal part of high school.</p>
<p>My research – which is ongoing and unpublished – suggests that this sort of cavalier attitude can be found among teachers and administrators. A few students in my study noticed their teachers would dismiss their concerns or make excuses for students who teased Muslim students about 9/11 by suggesting the other student “didn’t mean it” or “was misunderstood.”</p>
<p>But calling Muslim students “terrorists” or telling them “don’t blow us up” repeats deeply ingrained <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716203588001011">stereotypes that vilify</a> Muslims as prone to extremist violence and should be considered <a href="https://islamophobiaisracism.wordpress.com/">anti-Muslim racism</a>, I believe. </p>
<h2>Opposition from the top</h2>
<p>Beyond having their concerns about harassment dismissed, Muslim students sometimes must deal with school administrators who block their efforts to form identity groups. For instance, a 2018 study found that at a high school where the principal suspended meetings for a Muslim Student Association, Muslim students felt as if their school was “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2018-0009">characterized by exclusion and racialized surveillance</a>.” Muslim students also report that their commitment to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv11smkkj">democratic values</a> is often called into question.</p>
<p>Despite the animosity that Muslim students face, scholars who specialize in Muslim student issues, such as <a href="https://www.dom.edu/directory/suhad-tabahi">Suhad Tabahi</a> and <a href="https://www.bu.edu/ssw/lecturers-mahlet-meshesha-and-dr-layla-khayr-join-bussw/">Layla Khayr</a>, argue that schools can do more to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdaa033">combat anti-Muslim racism</a>.</p>
<p>Much of that work can be done in the classroom – and school-based 9/11 observances and lessons represent a prime opportunity.</p>
<p>As a teacher trainer who partly works in developing <a href="https://www.contemporaryislam.org/9-11-teaching.html">culturally responsive 9/11 teaching resources</a>, I offer three strategies educators can use to reenvision how they deal with the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath.</p>
<h2>1. Teach culturally diverse stories</h2>
<p>Although it’s common for people to recall how “<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/9-11-attacks">Islamic extremists</a>” carried out the 9/11 attacks, it’s also true that Muslim immigrants, such as Mohammed Salman Hamdani, lost their lives serving as <a href="https://storycorps.org/stories/talat-hamdani-and-armeen-hamdani/">first responders</a>. Those stories can help counterbalance the negative sentiments that arise from Muslim-blaming narratives that sometimes accompany lessons about 9/11.</p>
<h2>2. Examine the social and political effects of 9/11</h2>
<p>Teach students how immigration policies became <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/human_rights_vol38_2011/human_rights_winter2011/9-11_transformation_of_us_immigration_law_policy/">linked to national security</a>. Introduce students to how 9/11 gave rise to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm">USA Patriot Act</a>, which authorized the broad use of federal surveillance to counter violent extremism, led to the formation of the <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/history">Department of Homeland Security</a> and informed the so-called “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/proclamation-ending-discriminatory-bans-on-entry-to-the-united-states/">Muslim ban</a>.”</p>
<p>Discuss how 9/11 led to <a href="https://scholars.org/contribution/targeting-muslim-americans-name-national-security">“no-fly” lists</a> and disproportionately affected the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/aeq.12136">surveillance</a> of Muslim Americans. Recount how the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/war-on-terror-timeline">wars</a> in Afghanistan and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3689022">Iraq</a> were linked to 9/11.</p>
<p>Show students how Muslims, and <a href="https://storycorps.org/stories/remembering-balbir-singh-sodhi-sikh-man-killed-in-post-911-hate-crime/">people assumed to be Muslim</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-islam-idUSKBN16T1TL">feared for their personal safety</a> because of all the backlash that followed 9/11.</p>
<p>This can help students better understand contemporary events, such as why <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/americans-prepare-to-welcome-thousands-of-afghan-refugees-even-as-political-rhetoric-heats-up/ar-AANxFS6?ocid=uxbndlbing">Afghan refugees</a> are coming to America, or why <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dhs-potential-terrorism-threats-911-anniversary/">airport security</a> increases around Sept. 11 each year.</p>
<h2>3. Keep students safe</h2>
<p>As the United States prepares for <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dhs-potential-terrorism-threats-911-anniversary/">potential terror threats</a> on the anniversary of 9/11, educators bear a responsibility to maintain a safe learning environment. Teachers should pay attention to the conversations between students to ensure that they are not repeating harmful words and actions that target Muslims. </p>
<p>Respond to students who express fear for their personal safety. Educators should consult their state’s <a href="https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/laws">anti-bullying policies</a> to get up to speed on how to handle harassment.</p>
<p>But by offering a broader perspective of 9/11 and its aftermath, educators can create a safer learning experience for students as they reflect on 9/11 and how it forever changed Americans’ lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165719/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amaarah DeCuir does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Comments made during class discussions about 9/11 often put Muslim students on edge, according to a researcher who interviewed 55 Muslim students in and around the nation’s capital.Amaarah DeCuir, Professorial Lecturer of Education, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1603282021-06-16T12:36:32Z2021-06-16T12:36:32ZFaith still shapes morals and values even after people are ‘done’ with religion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405480/original/file-20210609-14775-tfl15n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C18%2C3056%2C2031&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For many, leaving religion does not mean leaving behind religious morals and values.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/">Jesus Gonzalez/Moment via Getty</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Religion forms a moral foundation for billions of people throughout the world. </p>
<p>In a 2019 survey, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/07/20/the-global-god-divide/">44% of Americans</a> – along with 45% of people across 34 nations – said that belief in God is necessary “to be moral and have good values.” So what happens to a person’s morality and values when they lose faith? </p>
<p>Religion influences morals and values through multiple pathways. It shapes the way people think about and respond to the world, fosters habits such as church attendance and prayer, and provides a web of social connections. </p>
<p>As researchers who study <a href="https://fhssfaculty.byu.edu/directory/sam-hardy">the psychology</a> and <a href="https://soc.unl.edu/philip-schwadel">sociology of religion</a>, we expected that these psychological effects can linger even after observant people leave religion, a group we refer to as “religious dones.” So together with our co-authors <a href="https://hope.edu/directory/people/van-tongeren-daryl/index.html">Daryl R. Van Tongeren</a> and <a href="https://psychology.as.uky.edu/users/njdewa2">C. Nathan DeWall</a>, we sought to test this “religion residue effect” among Americans. Our research addressed the question: Do religious dones maintain some of the morals and values of religious Americans?</p>
<p>In other words, just because some people leave religion, does religion fully leave them? </p>
<h2>Measuring the religious residue effect</h2>
<p>Recent research demonstrates that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000288">religious dones around the world</a> fall between the never religious and the currently religious in terms of thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Many maintain some of the attributes of religious people, such as volunteering and charitable giving, even after they leave regular faith practices behind. So in our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220970814">first project</a>, we examined the association between leaving religion and the five <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407236-7.00002-4">moral foundations</a> commonly examined by psychologists: care/harm, fairness/cheating, ingroup loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion and purity/degradation.</p>
<p>We found that religious respondents were the most likely to support each of the five moral foundations. These involve intuitive judgments focusing on feeling the pain of others, and tapping into virtues such as kindness and compassion. For instance, religious Americans are relatively likely to oppose acts they deem “disgusting,” which is a component of the purity/degradation scale. This aligns with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868309353415">previous research on religion and moral foundations</a>.</p>
<p>Most importantly, and in line with the religion residue hypothesis, we have found what we call a “stairstep pattern” of beliefs. The consistently religious are more likely than the dones to endorse each moral foundation, and the religious dones are more likely to endorse them than the consistently nonreligious. The one exception was the moral foundation of fairness/cheating, which the dones and the consistently religious supported at similar rates.</p>
<p>Put another way, after leaving religion, religious dones maintain some emphasis on each of the five moral foundations, though less so than the consistently religious, which is why we refer to this as a stairstep pattern.</p>
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<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12620">second project</a> built on <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0038455">research showing that</a> religion is inextricably linked with values, particularly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6">Schwartz’s Circle of Values</a>, the predominant model of universal values used by Western psychologists. Values are the core organizing principles in people’s lives, and religion is positively associated with the values of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2003.10.005">security, conformity, tradition and benevolence</a>. These are “social focus values”: beliefs that address a generally understood need for coordinated social action. </p>
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<p>For this project, we asked a single group of study participants the same questions as they grew older over a period of 10 to 11 years. The participants were adolescents in the first wave of the survey, and in their mid-to-late 20s in the final wave.</p>
<p>Our findings revealed another stairstep pattern: The consistently religious among these young adults were significantly more likely than religious dones to support the social focus values of security, conformity and tradition; and religious dones were significantly more likely to support them than the consistently nonreligious. While a similar pattern emerged with the benevolence value, the difference between the religious dones and the consistently nonreligious was not statistically significant.</p>
<p>Together, these projects show that the religion residue effect is real. The morals and values of religious dones are more similar to those of religious Americans than they are to the morals and values of other nonreligious Americans. </p>
<p>Our follow-up analyses add some nuance to that key finding. For instance, the enduring impact of religious observance on values appears to be strongest among former evangelical Protestants. Among dones who left mainline Protestantism, Catholicism and other religious traditions, the religion residue effect is smaller and less consistent. </p>
<p>Our research also suggests that the religious residue effect can decay. The more time that passes after people leave religion, the more their morals and values come to resemble those of people who have never been religious. This is an important finding, because a large and growing number of Americans <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3088891">are leaving organized religion</a>, and there is still much to be learned about the psychological and social consequences of this decline in religion. </p>
<h2>The growing numbers of nonreligious</h2>
<p>As recently as 1990, only <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3088891">7% of Americans reported having no religion</a>. Thirty years later, in 2020, the percentage claiming to be nonreligious had quadrupled, with <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2021/01/14/measuring-religion-in-pew-research-centers-american-trends-panel/">almost 3 in 10 Americans having no religion</a>. There are now more nonreligious Americans than affiliates of any one single religious tradition, including the two largest: Catholicism and evangelical Protestantism. </p>
<p>This shift in religious practice may fundamentally change Americans’ perceptions of themselves, as well as their views of others. One thing that seems clear, though, is that those who leave religion are not the same as those who have never been religious. Given the rapid and continued growth in the number of nonreligious Americans, we expect that this distinction will become increasingly important to understanding the morals and values of the American people. </p>
<p>[<em>Explore the intersection of faith, politics, arts and culture.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/this-week-in-religion-76/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=religion-explore">Sign up for This Week in Religion.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Religion affects how people regard qualities like benevolence, kindness, conformity and fairness even after they stop practicing religion.Philip Schwadel, Professor of Sociology, University of Nebraska-LincolnSam Hardy, Professor of Psychology, Brigham Young UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.