The problem of this study was to determine legal, moral, and social responsibilities and practices of the Texas public school system in dealing with religion. The purposes of the study were (1) to determine the impact of state and federal judicial decisions on religious practices in schools, (2) to review the historical background for trends of religious practices in the public schools of Texas, (3) to determine the social and professional influence on religious practices in public schools, and (4) to survey current religious practices from a select sample of public schools in Texas to determine if schools were basically sectarian. The following conclusions are inferred: I. It is not the intention of the Supreme Court of the United States to deny the existence of a Supreme Being, but rather its intention is to assure each individual freedom from any form of an established religion. 2. School policies do not delineate the role of religion in public school, 3. Through careful planning, progress could be made in developing policies for a study of religion which will complement, not supplement, the religious teachings of the home and of the church. 4. There are many opportunities for public schools to provide religious materials and courses in religion which are within the legal scope of Amendment I of the Constitution of the United States.

This study is a sub-analysis ofthe previously collected cross-sectional DRUGNET survey data. The sample included 1,178 current users of illicit drugs and 389 former users. This study was delimited to U.S. citizens, aged 18 years and older, who completed the DRUGNET survey (n =1,567). DRUGNET was a descriptive online survey of self - reported attitudes and behaviors among a group of adult, self - identified drug users (i.e., not drug abusers). The purpose of the sub-analysis was to explore the importance of religion, spirituality, and religious service attendance in the context of an otherwise normal healthy adult life. Moreover, it also looked into potential patterns of association between aspects of religiosity/spirituality and illicit drug use. The study explored if there was a relationship between the strength of a respondent's spiritual or religious beliefs and the patterns of their recreational drug use. A canonical correlation analysis was conducted using self-rated spirituality, self-rated religiosity, and attendance at services as variables on the left (entered in MANOVA as dependent variables) and self-reported use of six groups of drugs as variables on the right (entered in MANOV A as covariates). One significant function was found, which showed that attending religious services and importance of religion were negatively associated with the use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and hallucinogens. That is, people who reported a higher level of religiosity and who attended religious services were less likely to use these psychoactive drugs.

Magijos samprata moksliniame diskurse neišvengiamai atskleidžia ne tik mokslininko ar tiriamos visuomenės sampratas, bet ir išryškina perskyras. Taip atsiranda poreikis plėsti sampratos ribas, telkiantis ne tik į praktinę magijos pusę, bet ir į bendrus maginės pasaulėžiūros aspektus. Šiuo tyrimu, remiantis Lietuvos studentų magijos ir religijos sampratomis, maginėmis-religinėmis praktikomis, antgamtinio pasaulio suvokiniais, patirtimis, siekiama atskleisti magijos supratimo įvairovę. Išanalizavus studentų magijos ir religijos sampratas, studentams būdingas magines-religines praktikas, atskleidžiamos studentams būdingiausios magijos ir religijos sampratos, maginių-religinių praktikų ypatumai. Disertacijoje tiriamos ne tik studentų magijos ir religijos sampratos, maginės-religinės praktikos, bet ir antgamtinio pasaulio patirtys ir suvokiniai, kuriuose magija atsiskleidžia kaip bendražmogiškos pasaulėžiūros dalis. Tokiame kontekste išryškėja magijos suvokimo dualizmas – atsispindi du skirtingi jos matymo būdai. Viena vertus, magija atsiskleidžia kaip į tikslą orientuotų praktikų, veiksmų visuma. Kita vertus, studentų maginėse-religinėse praktikose atsispindintys antgamtinio pasaulio suvokiniai, antgamtinio pasaulio patirtys atskleidžia magiją kaip prisidedančią prie žmogaus pasaulėžiūros formavimosi. / The concept of magic in a scientific discourse inevitably reveals not only the concepts of a scientist or a society that is being researched but also highlights disjunctions between them. This causes a need to widen the boundaries of the concept focusing both on the practical side of magic and the common aspects of a magic worldview. The object of the research is to reveal a variety of understanding magic based on concepts of magic and religion, magico-religious practices, and Otherworld experiences and conceptions of Lithuanian students. The analysis of students‘ concepts of magic and religion and magico-religious practices revealed the most common concepts and features of magico-religious practices in the group researched. The dissertation explores not only students‘ concepts of magic and religion and magico-religious practices but also Otherworld experiences and conceptions, which reflect magic as a part of the common human worldview. In such context dualism in perception of magic comes to light; two different ways of perceiving magic are reflected. On the one hand magic reveals itself as the whole of actions oriented towards an aim. On the other hand students‘ Otherworld experiences and conceptions that reflect themselves in student’s magico-religious practices reveal magic as a contributory element in a person’s worldview formation.

The concept of magic in a scientific discourse inevitably reveals not only the concepts of a scientist or a society that is being researched but also highlights disjunctions between them. This causes a need to widen the boundaries of the concept focusing both on the practical side of magic and the common aspects of a magic worldview. The object of the research is to reveal a variety of understanding magic based on concepts of magic and religion, magico-religious practices, and Otherworld experiences and conceptions of Lithuanian students. The analysis of students‘ concepts of magic and religion and magico-religious practices revealed the most common concepts and features of magico-religious practices in the group researched. The dissertation explores not only students‘ concepts of magic and religion and magico-religious practices but also Otherworld experiences and conceptions, which reflect magic as a part of the common human worldview. In such context dualism in perception of magic comes to light; two different ways of perceiving magic are reflected. On the one hand magic reveals itself as the whole of actions oriented towards an aim. On the other hand students‘ Otherworld experiences and conceptions that reflect themselves in student’s magico-religious practices reveal magic as a contributory element in a person’s worldview formation. / Magijos samprata moksliniame diskurse neišvengiamai atskleidžia ne tik mokslininko ar tiriamos visuomenės sampratas, bet ir išryškina perskyras. Taip atsiranda poreikis plėsti sampratos ribas, telkiantis ne tik į praktinę magijos pusę, bet ir į bendrus maginės pasaulėžiūros aspektus. Šiuo tyrimu, remiantis Lietuvos studentų magijos ir religijos sampratomis, maginėmis-religinėmis praktikomis, antgamtinio pasaulio suvokiniais, patirtimis, siekiama atskleisti magijos supratimo įvairovę. Išanalizavus studentų magijos ir religijos sampratas, studentams būdingas magines-religines praktikas, atskleidžiamos studentams būdingiausios magijos ir religijos sampratos, maginių-religinių praktikų ypatumai. Disertacijoje tiriamos ne tik studentų magijos ir religijos sampratos, maginės-religinės praktikos, bet ir antgamtinio pasaulio patirtys ir suvokiniai, kuriuose magija atsiskleidžia kaip bendražmogiškos pasaulėžiūros dalis. Tokiame kontekste išryškėja magijos suvokimo dualizmas – atsispindi du skirtingi jos matymo būdai. Viena vertus, magija atsiskleidžia kaip į tikslą orientuotų praktikų, veiksmų visuma. Kita vertus, studentų maginėse-religinėse praktikose atsispindintys antgamtinio pasaulio suvokiniai, antgamtinio pasaulio patirtys atskleidžia magiją kaip prisidedančią prie žmogaus pasaulėžiūros formavimosi.

Notre recherche propose une synthèse sur les pratiques religieuses dans le Proche-Orient romain. Elle trouve son intérêt dans la confrontation de sources variées: textes littéraires et épigraphiques, objets archéologiques et représentations iconographiques. Nous nous sommes donné comme tâche d'étudier ces sources non pas séparément mais de les comparer afin d'identifier les instruments de culte, de les décrire et de déterminer quelle était leur place dans les rites religieux du Proche-Orient romain. Le but de ce travail est de poser les bases d'une nouvelle interprétation des rites de cette région grâce à l'ensemble des données réunies dans un corpus. Notre étude considère les cérémonies religieuses, non pas au travers des mythes ou des divinités, mais par la pratique, par les gestes accomplis au moyen d'objets cultuels laissant apparaître les liens entre sacrifiants, offrandes et dieux. Cette étude permet de souligner la variété des cultes et des rites du Proche-Orient romain et la diversité culturelle de cette région, au carrefour de différentes civilisations et mêlant des traditions orientales, grecques et romaines. / Our research presents a synthesis of the religious practices in the Roman Near East. Its interest is based on the confrontation of various sources: literary and epigraphic texts, archaeological objects and iconography. These sources are not studied separately but comparatively in order to identify the instruments of worship, to describe them and to determine their use in the religious rites of the Roman Near East. The aim of this work is to lay the foundations for a new interpretation of the rites of this region through all the data collected in a corpus. Our study proposes to consider the religious ceremonies, not through myths and deities, but from the practices and the gestures made with cultual objects revealing the links between sacrificers, offerings and gods. This study brings out the variety of cults and rites of the Roman Near East and the cultural diversity of this region, at the crossroads of different civilizations mixing Eastern, Greek and Roman traditions.

[pt] A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo aprofundar os conhecimentos e as reflexões sociais a respeito da resistência à estigmatização das práticas religiosas de matriz africana, a partir da microanálise narrativa-interacional de uma entrevista entre duas pessoas engajadas nessas práticas. A Perspectiva Sociointeracional do Discurso e a Análise de Narrativa fundamentam o trabalho, que é qualitativo-interpretativista, com inspiração etnográfica. Durante a entrevista, os participantes coconstróem uma narrativa central, cujo conteúdo é a história de vida do entrevistado, a partir de pequenos episódios narrativos encaixados, relacionados ao contexto religioso em que se inserem. Os interlocutores precisam manejar a tensão do estigma das práticas religiosas de matriz africana, que perpassa toda a conversa, e resistir a ela. A análise do encontro social sugere a existência de um vínculo entre a referida estigmatização e os macrodiscursos racistas, que desvalorizam as negritudes e oprimem a pessoa negra. Além disso, o estudo do contexto interacional aponta que outros estigmas, como o de religião e o de classe social, contribuem para rotular as práticas religiosas de matriz africana como desviantes. Os interlocutores recorrem à reflexividade no ato de narrar, que cumpre a função de resistir aos estereótipos depreciativos (selvageria, maldade, primitivismo, ignorância) aos quais as práticas religiosas de matriz africana foram relacionadas no senso comum. Desta forma, distribuem discursos alternativos, com valores e crenças adequados às identidades sociais que pretendem performar. / [en] The present research aims to deepen the knowledge and social reflections regarding the resistance to stigmatization of religious practices of african matrix, from the narrative-interactive microanalysis of an interview between two people engaged in these practices. Sociointeractional Perspective of Discourse and Narrative Analysis ground the work, which is qualitative-interpretativist, with ethnographic inspiration. During the interview, the participants co-create a central narrative, whose content is the life story of the interviewee, based on small narrative episodes embedded, related to the religious context in which they are inserted. The interlocutors need to handle the tension of the stigma of religious practices of african matrix, that permeate all conversation, and they also have to resist it. The analysis of the social encounter suggests a link between this stigmatization and the racist macrodiscourses, which devalue blacknesses and oppress black people. In addition, the study of the interactional context points out that other stigmas, such as religion and social class, contribute to labeling religious practices of african matrix as deviant. The interlocutors resort to reflexivity in the act of narrating, which fulfills the function of resisting the derogatory stereotypes (savagery, wickedness, primitivism, ignorance) to which religious practices of african matrix have been related in common sense. as well as counteracting it to the values and beliefs that practitioners consider appropriate to their social identities. In this way, they distribute alternative discourses, with values and beliefs appropriate to the social identities they intend to perform.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:21:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARCO DAVI DE OLIVEIRA.pdf: 2348003 bytes, checksum: da46d36d9f2f5938c4cc9aaf05a9b924 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-13 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This research aims to reflect on the influence of faith for the social transformation in Heliopolis shanty town through religious practices. Focused on some representative actions in the fight for housing in the 1970-1993 period and better life conditions in the shanty town as well as in the city of São Paulo, the research observes whether the religious practices can be considered a motivator for the social transformation or not. The research wants to question about the influence of faith for the engagement of the people actively involved in the housing movement in the shanty town and how this faith is shown amidst the fight for better life conditions. / A pesquisa se propõe a refletir sobre a influência da fé na transformação social da favela de Heliópolis. Focada em algumas ações representativas da luta por moradia, no período de 1970 a 1993, e na conquista de melhores condições de vida na favela e na cidade de São Paulo, a pesquisa observa como as práticas religiosas servem ou não de motivação para a transformação social. A pesquisa pergunta pela influência da fé no engajamento de indivíduos denvolvidos ativamente no movimento de moradia na favela e como essa fé se evidencia em meio à luta por melhores condições de vida.

In the ancient world, magic and magical practice was in fact hugely common between people and within the society, different types of magical material has been proved to be importent instrument during those mysterious events. But how we see those ancient materials and how we read them is still one of the key questions that we cannot answer with our modern understanding. Yet, it is not totally impossible to try to solve this type of question. This study will be concerned with ancient amulets from the Roman world, and the time period will draw on the imperial period in ancient Rome. The amulet can be categorized into different types, depending on what subject and motives they are focusing on, for example, amulet to protect mothers during the childbirth is one of the common type of protecting amulet for women, because mortality rate for both mother and the child was extremely high during the ancient period; there’s even amulets that protect people from evil spirits, such as the evil eye, which will be explained in one of the chapter. In this case, this study will be focusing on one type named “bullae”, which is speculated to be used only by roman children. It will be interpret with ancient literature and modern researches, so we may be able to investigate a part of how and why ancient people were using magical materials in their common life, also what it could tell us about the society of ancient Rome, and at last, in which ways do we know that this type of thing can be recognize as “amulet” instead of other types of jewellery.

This dissertation deals with the religious practices of the settlers in the central highlands of Palestine, during the pre-monarchic period (ca 1200-1000 BCE; the so-called ‘period of the Judges’), as revealed by archaeology (cultic artifacts and sites, as well as burial customs and practices). The religious practices of the settlers have been shown to reflect continuity with, and were practically indistinguishable from, those of the Late Bronze Canaanite cult, suggesting that the majority of the settlers were originally Canaanites, most probably from the coastal city-states (ie, the religious practices have been used as an ‘ethnic marker’). It has also been proposed that one of the motivating factors for the migration of people from the coastal region to the central highlands was a fairly dramatic climatic shift, one which resulted in the area becoming increasingly and significantly drier from the late 13th century BCE until about 900 BCE. / Thesis (M.A. (Biblical Archaelogy))

Ritos de magia e sobrevivência tem como tema central as manifestações mágico-religiosas em seus nexos com a história social do Brasil e de São Paulo dos últimos anos do século XIX às primeiras décadas do século XX. A temática foi sugerida inicialmente pelo nosso trabalho de mestrado e pela documentação criminal da segunda metade do século XIX que chamou a atenção para a importância de uma religiosidade difusa, no geral oriunda das crenças afro-brasileiras, no processo de luta contra a reificação pretendida pelo regime da dominação escravista e por seus efeitos no pós-Abolição. Impregnada na organização do dia-a-dia das populações urbanas e rurais, muitas delas oriundas da condição escrava, manifesta na ação de curandeiros, feiticeiros, pitonisas e benzedeiras, insinuou a força de uma sensibilidade religiosa que se transformava muitas vezes em componente essencial de processos cognitivos e de uma concepção de mundo capaz de fornecer os referenciais para que tais grupos pudessem pensar a sua condição social e se compatibilizar com a sociedade mais ampla. De outra parte, nos quadros das transformações que se operavam no período, não se tratava de uma simples permanência de ritos e crenças, em continuidade com as tradições do catolicismo popular e dos ritos afro-brasileiros, mas de um processo de acentuada revivescência das mais variadas correntes de pensamento mágico e místico, denotando em outros termos os ritmos e as direções dos processos históricos em curso. A história da cidade nessa época, marcada pelo crescimento espantoso do número de habitantes, vinha inscrita também no alastramento das vertentes do pensamento espiritualista: a difusão do espiritismo, as teorias e práticas relacionadas ao magnetismo animal, a ciência do ocultismo, a quiromancia e a cartomancia mesclavam-se às tradições existentes e acabavam por moldar práticas e figuras multifacetadas. Além disso, aludiam ao clima de insegurança social, à mobilidade de contingentes populacionais imigrantes, migrantes e negros, às oscilações implícitas nos processos históricos em curso e, indiretamente, ofereciam um quadro revelador do custo social da urbanização e da modernização. Emprestando os termos de Oswaldo Xidieh (1944), senhores e senhoras em idade provecta, negras velhas e macumbeiros, parteiras e carolas, curandeiros e benzedeiras, rezadores e tiradores de cobra, capelães e cozinheiras, amas-secas e mumbavas, crias e cantadores, folientos do Divino, penitentes andarilhos e beatas são os sujeitos desse estudo. / This thesis, Ritos de magia e sobrevivência, is focused on magical-religious manifestations in its links with Social History of Brazil and São Paulo in the last years of the nineteenth century to the early decades of the twentieth century. The theme was originally suggested by our previous research based on criminal documentation of the second half of the nineteenth century that drew attention to the importance of a diffuse religiosity, in general originated from the African-Brazilian beliefs, in the struggle against reification intended by slavery and their effects on post-Abolition. Steeped in the organization of everyday life of urban and rural populations, many of them coming from the slave condition, manifested in the action of healers, shamans, and pythoness, the strength of a religious sensibility became an essential component of cognitive processes and a conception of the world able to provide references for such groups could think about their social status and be compatible with the wider society. On the other hand, in the frames of transformations operated in this period, in continuity with the traditions of popular Catholicism and African-Brazilians rites, in a stead process of revival of the most various currents of mystical thought and magic, the religious dimension denote in other terms the historical process in progress. São Paulo´ History at this time, marked by phenomenal growth in the number of inhabitants, was also marked by the spread of spiritual strands of thought: the diffusion of spiritualism, the theories and practices related to Animal Magnetism, the Occultism, the Cartomancy mixed with ancient traditions and practices and ultimately shape different figures. Moreover, allude to the climate of social insecurity, the mobility of population groups of immigrants, migrants and blacks population, and also fluctuations implicit in ongoing historical processes, reveal indirectly the social cost of urbanization and modernization. Borrowing the terms of Oswaldo Xidieh (1944), \"lords and ladies in ripe age, old black and macumbeiros, pious and midwives, healers and faith healers, chanters, chaplains and cooks, nannies and mumbavas, and young singers , folientos the Divine, wanderers and penitents butts \"are the subjects of this study.