In 2008, the topic of “evolution” was introduced into the Life Science syllabus for the first time in South African schools. Evolution is a controversial topic in most countries and the controversy will be experienced in South African schools. This controversy results from the erroneous belief that teachers and most people have that religion and evolutionary theory contradict each other. This research study explored the difficulties faced by teachers with strong religious beliefs when they teach evolution. Eight teachers with strong religious beliefs were identified. Teachers of the Muslim and Christian faith who taught at either religious or secular schools formed part of the research study. The teachers were subjected to an in-depth interview where they were questioned about their religious beliefs and their opinions about creation and evolution. They also described how they taught evolution and explained how they coped with the conflict of faith and science that they experienced when they taught evolution. These teachers also experienced myriad difficulties when they taught evolution. These difficulties were described to me as the researcher. The findings indicated that all of the Muslim teachers and three of the four Christian teachers interviewed are Creationists. This leads to personal conflict that some of the teachers interviewed experience because of their belief that evolution and religious belief contradict each other. Two of the teachers in this study also experience a lack of confidence with the subject knowledge because they lack training in evolutionary theory. Due to this lack of training there are some teachers who harbour misconceptions about evolutionary concepts and who pass these misconceptions to learners. There is also pressure placed on teachers to teach creationism or to teach creationism alongside evolution from some religious leaders, some parents and certain members of the community. A few teachers with strong religious beliefs could teach evolution very superficially or these teachers could even sabotage their teaching of evolution. Teachers also experience difficulties teaching the learners in their class. The findings indicate that learners in religious schools may refuse to learn about evolution and learners in certainschools choosenot to do Life Sciences from Grade 10 to avoid learning about evolution. There are certain strategies that teachers employ to minimise the conflict they experience when teaching evolution. Learners were told they had to study evolution in order to pass the matriculation examination. Teachers also explained to learners that they needed to study evolution so that they could argue for Creationism from a position of knowledge and not ignorance. Certain teachers interviewed taught learners that science needs to be considered separate to religion. The conflict of faith and science that teachers experience when they teach evolution causes difficulties for these teachers.This conflict could arise from personal conflict with their faith or they could experience discord from learners, parents and members from the community in which they teach.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

No description available.

This dissertation presents three separate studies designed to provide structure and evidence-based insight into the impact of religious beliefs on public perceptions and U.S. government policies regarding embryonic stem cell research. First, a systematic literature review of nine (n=9) empirical studies that examined individuals' religious beliefs and perceptions/utilization of genetic technologies/services will be presented. Based on the finding from the review, there was an equal balance between studies that found that religion was a factor positively affecting intention to submit to genetic testing and those that illustrated a negative association. Secondly, a qualitative examination of college students' from various racial/ethnic and religious backgrounds exploring the definition, interpretation, and conceptualization of the influence of religious beliefs on perceptions regarding embryonic stem cell research will be offered. Employing an emergent design, the data collection process encompassed thirty-seven in-depth interviews. The majority of participants in this study believed that ESCR should be conducted and federally funding in the United States, regardless of their religious beliefs. Lastly, the findings from the analysis of congressional records from the U.S. Congress for areas of convergence and divergence between discussions, voting, and legislation regarding stem cell research with the official stances of the major religious groups in the United States accessing the influence of religious rhetoric on political discourse regarding embryonic stem cell research will be discussed. Findings from this study suggest that religious rhetoric has a substantial influence on political rhetoric regarding ESCR.

No description available.

The problem concerns determining whether healthy and unhealthy religious beliefs can be distinguished. A 150 item Religious Beliefs Inventory (RBI) was developed to assess healthy and unhealthy religious beliefs. In a pilot study, RBI scales were developed and the MMPI-168 was used as the criteria measure. Fifteen of the 23 RBI scales yielded an average reliability of .79 and an average validity of .48 for 95 undergraduate university subjects. The present study seeks to cross-validate the results of the pilot study with a church-active sample. Six judges/pastors evaluated RBI items as healthy or unhealthy and their responses were used to formulate and validate the RBI scoring system. For the 196 church-active subjects, Hypothesis 1 is supported by eleven of the seventeen significant predicted correlations between the RBI and the validity criteria MMPI- 168, ranging from .14 to .28 with an average of .20. The average reliability of 15 RBI scales is .71. Hypothesis 2 is supported by five of eight significant predicted positive correlations between the RBI and the Rehfisch RI (Rigidity) scale, ranging from .18 to .25 with an average of .17. One or more of the following explanations may account for the absence of higher and more numerous significant correlations for support for Hypotheses 1 and 2 found in the present study: (a) the distribution of scores on 18 of 24 RBI scales are skewed to the right; (b) there are significant differences between characteristics of the pilot study undergraduate sample and the church-active sample participating in the present study; (c) there is a need to assess an individual's degree of involvement in his religious beliefs; (d) psychometric improvements are needed in the RBI; and (e) limitations of the validity criteria. In conclusion, although the RBI is not ready for clinical use, fifteen of the RBI scales appear to hold promise and deserve further revision and research.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

abstract: People may conceptualize God as benevolent and as authoritarian. This research investigates the influence of these God-concepts on prosocial behavior; specifically whether such concepts differentially predict a set of beliefs about the self and the world, volunteer motivations, and intentions to volunteer for secular causes. Two studies, one correlation and one experimental, were conducted among college students who were Christians and indicated they believe that God exists. A measurement model of the concepts of Benevolent and Authoritarian God was first tested, and a conceptual path model was then analyzed. I found that concepts of a benevolent God were associated with a benevolent self-identity, perceived moral and religious obligations to help, and a high sense of personal responsibility with a total positive indirect effect on intentions to volunteer - mainly via internal motivations. In contrast, concepts of an authoritarian God were associated with a perceived religious obligation, having a positive indirect effect on intentions to volunteer via external motivations; but also with a low benevolent self-identity and low personal responsibility associated with amotivation (the disinclination to volunteer). Thus, there was a null total indirect effect of belief in an authoritarian God on intentions to volunteer. Future directions including the use of religious primes are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2012

The thesis is focused on five religious beliefs officially allowed by Chinese government. It briefly reviews an attitude of Chinese government to religious beliefs through last sixty years and discusses ideas that stems from theological nature of the religious beliefs and its impact on believer's economic activity. Ordered Logit analysis and other methods are used to analyze the conclusions that follow from these ideas. As data sources it uses socio-economic questionnaires World Values Survey and Spiritual Life Study of Chinese Residents - Association of Religion Data Archives. Several analyses can serve as a proof that there is a relationship between respondents' religion and their economic thinking and acting and that it also influences respondents' quality of life. The quality of live is measured as a set of categorical variables. These variables will be judged from the point of view of liberal economics.

Thesis advisor: Sara Moorman / In this thesis, I investigate if there are regional differences in suicide acceptability attitudes in the United States and what might explain these differences, namely political views or religious beliefs. I examine four suicide attitudes from the 2018 General Social Survey: whether a person has the right to die by suicide due to an incurable disease; bankruptcy; dishonoring one’s family; or being tired of living and ready to die. I draw upon a number of theories that discuss how one’s environment can influence their attitudes and how individuals form their attitudes in general. An individual from New England was found to be more accepting of suicide than someone from another region, and individual-level political and religious views were somewhat able to explain one’s suicide acceptability attitudes. Overall, regional differences in suicide attitudes do exist, perhaps helpful for future research to better understand differences in suicide rates around the country. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Sociology.