... and influence us. Social Sciences: anthropology, economics, geography, political science, psychology, and sociology stimulate our intellectual and personal growth by improving our understanding of our own and other ways of life. Our basic customs, of human development, of human social relations, and of the economic, political, social, and cultural systems in which we as individuals live. They encourage the growth of ... members of many communities, both small and large such as family, workplace, neighborhood, special interest groups, state and others. Anthropology deals mostly about the...

• Word Count: 292
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Graduate

... cultural experience of an earlier time period? As America settles into its nightly routine of television viewing, corporate profiteers are quick to substitute the lure of material luxury and consumer gratification for the fading spirit. Consumers are only now beginning to realize the political power they wield as a collective buying force. Union pickets and grassroots economic boycotts have tested the power of ... the buying force on a small scale. As the public tires of the shallow gratifications and empty promises of consumerism, it will return to large-scale boycotts to control the a...

• Word Count: 347
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Graduate

Shamanism is is a complex of practices, beliefs, values and behaviors that enable the practitioner to elect a shift from ordinary consciousness into a trance state with a specific goal in mind, such as healing, obtaining information, power, vision, divination, contacting the spirit of the deceased, soul retrieval or ... world and throughout time, recognize that the universe is alive, conscious, and filled with spiritual power. Shamans know how to access this web of power and work it skillfully and effectively to address their, and their community's needs. Shamanism is the intentional effort ...

• Word Count: 325
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Graduate

... of Religious Affair which regulates and oversees China's five sanctioned religious institutions. Those religions are Catholicism, Islam, Daoism, Buddhism and Protestantism. These religious institutes have to act in accordance to the government. China has avowed that they are in support of free religious practices; though the government still maintains a firm authority on how their populous must ... began prosecuting and arresting individuals associated with this spiritual movement. The crackdown that was conducted by the government was a massive violation of human rights, as they preced...

• Word Count: 704
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... theological language in the context of religious studies." It poses the question, "of by what name shall academic students of religion, know the unknowable." Throughout his article, McCutcheon attempts to tackle the question by distinguishing how the theological language can be categorized between a gender-neutral "God" and the generic uses of "gods." However, he argues that there's not one a ... specific way to use the "correct (use) of language" when speaking in a theological perspective. McCutcheon discusses how implementing a "name" accurately can become an issue in two instances, b...

• Word Count: 596
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Graduate

... opposed and those supportive of the Great Awakening; caused primarily by a decline in worship attendance, and Enlightenment rationalism. Due to conciliations with the Congregational Church, such as the Half-way Covenant, used to raise the worship attendance, which however, led to further declines of religious commitment. However, with preachers such as Jonathan Edwards, in his notable sermon, "Sinners in the ... one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked. (5b2)", and George Whitfield, who caused even the skeptical Benjamin Franklin t...

• Word Count: 616
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Graduate

... Chinese from diverse origins--Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, and Southeast Asian countries. Despite the many tensions and conflicts that exist within these congregations, most individuals find ways to creatively integrate their evangelical Christian beliefs with traditional Chinese (mostly Confucian) values. The church becomes a place where they can selectively assimilate into American society while simultaneously preserving Chinese ... assist each other. History shows that numerous churches and religious organizations played very important roles in helping immigrants from China, Japa...

• Word Count: 422
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... . In countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, Islam not only shapes law but also dominates politics, all decisions being scrutinised by respected religious leaders. These countries may be considered to be at one extreme end of the religion and politics debate, secular states such as China being at the opposite end of the spectrum. In America religious affiliation has often ... politics. Religious symbols and values play an increasingly prominent role in the political spectrum with some candidates such as Bush in the lead up to the 2000 election claiming that it was God who had chosen him...

• Word Count: 741
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Graduate

... priority over individual political and civil rights, and philosophical ideas around human nature and societal relationships that differ from those held in the 'West'. The authors further argue that to try to apply the 'Western' idea of human rights in non- 'Western' states is futile because the meaning behind these rights has little context and the values that ... under 'God', and communist delegations would have outright vetoed such a reference. Post-1945 the notion of human rights was constructed and conceptualised, largely through the United Nations (UN) to ensure...

• Word Count: 1758
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... extreme form of politicized Islam that has become dominant in much of the Muslim world and is the ideological source of global Islamic terrorism." - Melanie Phillips People illustrate Islam to be a very violent religion that focuses on nothing but war, and hurting innocent people, but in reality, it is actually peaceful, and caring. Being a Muslim has given me the opportunity ... 's 'security' while hollowing out its values on the grounds that minority rights must take precedence, inadvertently providing a legal battering ram for the Islamic Jihad" (Phillips 35). In response to all ...

• Word Count: 937
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... false religious movement. Osvaldo F. Pardo's The Origins of Mexican Catholicism and Oppenheimer's Knocking on Heaven's Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture will be used to analyze the forces that shape the origins and administration of the conference and how this creates an environment for misleading displays of devoutness. Oppenheimer credits the success of the counterculture ... always religious but instead "aggressively social" in that American's seek the sense of belonging through their involvement with religious endeavors. The creators of Passion Conferences aim to c...

• Word Count: 1256
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Graduate

... and fire purification rituals are found throughout Japan, emphasizing the need for purifying the acquired physical, spiritual, and mental pollutions of everyday dis-eases. It is important for Japanese people to maintain a healthy and pure being, and their rituals have provided a means of awareness and cleansing for them. Charms such as omamoris, traffic and money charms are exchanged between ... the local expressions that bring specific families into their religious communities" temples and shrines. Small and individualized cults, called ko, are also part of devotion in Japan, usually of...

• Word Count: 818
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Graduate

... an entirely religious revolt and many historians agree with this finding although there are many other aspects of life affecting the rebels that may have provoked a rebellion and there are others who believe that the religious side to the Pilgrimage of Grace was only to 'deceive the simple and ignorant.' The Pilgrimage not only immediately gave the concept of it being a religious revolt ... in 1536 a time when the country was at peace. These taxations were coupled wit ha poor harvest and with a bleak prospect of a better harvest the following summer and the added burden of the risk of l...

• Word Count: 1219
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Graduate

... Incidentally, the right hippocampus and amygdala (and the right hemisphere in general) are also directly involved in the production of religious imagery, including visual hallucinations. Thus, there seems to be a specific complementary relationship between REM sleep, mystical experiences, and right temporal activity. This suggests a direct, neurophysiological/anatomical link between dreams, religious imagery, and spiritual ... jealous, conquering, angry, and belligerent patriarchal gods throughout history. Another prominent common concern of the limbic system and religion is sexuality, ...

• Word Count: 2354
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... the Dog" directed by Barry Levinson, was a political satire which focused on how the Presidential campaigns are focused on superficial and manipulative techniques to make the candidates look upstanding and patriotic and a newspaper article named "Truth overboard-the story that won't go away" by The ... known as the Children Overboard has also successfully presents that the politicians have the power over the media and media have the power to change the facts to manipulate the public and demonstrating that prevailing representation of people and politics at a given time is a function of ...

• Word Count: 1196
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Graduate

... and the lives of ascetics who denounce society and wander off alone in search of enlightenment. Throughout the fifty minutes of this film, Gyre introduces his viewers to the realities of rural Indian life; the modesty of their existence, their strife during difficult times of drought and famine, and the traditional caste system in which they live. Gyre explains the ... with a sannyasin; a renouncer of society, an enlightened man. Humble in nature and unwilling to discuss his life prior to his renunciation of the material world (as it is not reality, according to him), this "Mahatma" giv...

• Word Count: 704
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Graduate

... coping. Financial and social support may be unavailable, which is not uncommon in the United States where so many, especially children, do not have medical insurance. Quality of life has been demonstrated through a study to be directly effected from "faith in God" and emotional support of sick patients (Potts, 1998). Obviously religion and spirituality influence mental and physical health and provide support ... their red-meet consumption to improve their protein intake, could be disastrous in a professional relationship. The second recommendation of spiritual assessment and religious h...

• Word Count: 1484
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Graduate

... Nietzsche claims "the power of the past to enforce its claims on the future always forms a threat to the project modernism" which ultimately leads to generational unhappiness (Nietzsche, 34). However, if humanity adopts the animal's ability to forget, the species will also enable the ability to only appropriate elements of the past that are "life-serving" and forget those that are unnecessary ... sovereignty on the masses. For Marx, religion is at the root of capitalism, in which humanity is alienated from internal, creative powers, which allows an external power to dictate man's life (M...

• Word Count: 1000
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Graduate

... and their purposes, I desired a more personal account from a devotee; I wanted to know how God's many forms were present in the devotee's life. The Hindus have represented God in various forms and while each form points to the same direction, it is up to the devotee to choose which deity to develop an attachment or relationship will. The Hindu devotee told me that worshipping ... material pleasures and desires overcome the individual." These songs were key rituals to the Hindu goal of maintaining a low ego, through which they develop a sense of communitas, "a sense of camaraderie, a visi...

• Word Count: 1573
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Graduate