This research aimed to explore the significance of home education within Jewish culture. This study involved existing well-documented data from online interviews with parents and children engaged in home education. The sample included families from various branches of Judaism. Data was collected through semi-structured online interviews. The research results identified the role of religious counselling in shaping children’s religious identity. Home education and religious upbringing remain vital aspects of developing children’s religious and cultural identity in Jewish families. The study determined that home education in eight Jewish families fostered a deeper understanding of religious texts and traditions, while also providing an individualised approach to the study of religion. Religious counselling is provided both formally through Torah lessons and informally through family discussions and participation in religious rituals. Home education is an effective means of transmitting religious faith and traditions in Jewish families. It provides flexibility and opportunities for deep immersion in religious learning, while simultaneously fostering strong intergenerational connections. An analysis of religious and educational documents revealed that Jewish families have a wide range of tools and resources to ensure the religious and general education of their children. To improve support for such families, it is recommended to develop specialised counselling programs and materials for parents who provide home education. The collected data confirmed the hypothesis about the positive impact of home education on the religious identity of children in Jewish families. The data also showed the importance of participation in family rituals and mentoring for the formation of religious beliefs.
This paper analyzes a dynamic interaction between a fully rational, privately informed sender and a boundedly rational, uninformed receiver with memory constraints. The sender controls the flow of information, while the receiver designs a decision-making protocol that uses a finite state space to learn and to provide incentives. We characterize optimal protocols and quantify the scope for manipulation and the incentive cost of guarding against it. We show that distinctive behavioral patterns that might otherwise appear erratic or psychologically driven -- such as information disengagement, opinion polarization conditional on the same information, and indecision near the decision point -- emerge as systematic equilibrium responses to asymmetric rationality and information. The model provides an expressive framework for procedural rationality in strategic settings.
This article explores Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī’s political thought in relation to modern debates on secularism and Islamic reform. While often invoked by Islamist thinkers to support their anti-secular stance, al-Afghānī’s reflections on reason, religion, and constitutional politics show that he engaged with modernity in a more nuanced way than is commonly recognized. This article examines al-Afghānī’s writings and their reception. It argues that his thought was not about choosing a side between religion and secularism. Instead, his thought is better understood as a pragmatic anti-colonial strategy aimed at the revival of Muslim civilization. This reframing challenges the widely cited genealogical narrative that links him to later Islamists. His attempt to reconcile religious traditions with the imperative for reform provides valuable insights into the responses of Muslim reformers to modernity—insights that remain highly relevant today.
Maimonides (d. 1204) explained the thirteen faith principles of Judaism in his Commentary on Perek Helek. He presented these principles as mandatory criteria for attaining salvation and having a Jewish identity. Over time, the thirteen principles were accepted as the foundations of traditional Judaism. On the other hand, Maimonides reiterated the thirteen principles with the same content in another book called Sefer ha-Mada. However, Sefer ha-Mada was accused by Jewish scholars of having philosophical content contrary to traditional Judaism and was banned. Therefore, although Maimonides constructed the principles of faith with the same content in both works, one was accepted as the foundations of traditional Judaism, while the other was accused of being alien to traditional Judaism. This article attempts to show that the philosophical content that led to the prohibition of Sefer ha-Mada is also found in the thirteen principles in the Commentary on Perek Helek. It also explores why the thirteen principles have been embraced by the Jewish community despite their philosophical content.
Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Through an exploration of meal regulations, dining rituals, and monastic rules of Han Buddhist and Cistercian monks, this article discusses how food affects space formation, layout organization, and site selection in monastic venues using Guoqing Si and Poblet Monastery as detailed case studies. The dining rituals, such as guotang and the Refectory, transform daily routines into acts of worship and practice, particularly within the palace-like dining spaces. Monastic rules and the concept of cleanliness influence the layout of monastic spaces, effectively distinguishing between sacred and secular areas. The types of food, influenced by self-sufficiency and food taboos, impact the formation of monasteries in the surrounding landscape, while the diligent labor of monks in cultivating the wilderness contributes to the sanctity of the venues. By employing anthropology as a tool for field observation and considering architectural design as a holistic mindset, this article concludes that due to the self-sufficiency of monastic lives, monks establish a sustainable agri-food space system. This ensures that food production, waste management, water utilization, food processing, and meal consumption can be sustainable practices. Food taboos are determined by the understanding of purity in both religions, leading to the establishment of a distinct spatial order for food between the sacred and secular realms. Ultimately, ordinary meals are consumed within extraordinary dining spaces, providing monks with a silent and sacred eating atmosphere. Under the overall influence of food, both monasteries have developed their own food spatial systems, and the act of dining has transformed from a daily routine to a sacred worship.
We introduce a 4-dimensional analogue of the rational Seifert genus of a knot $K\subset Y$, which we call the rational slice genus, that measures the complexity of a homology class in $H_2(Y\times [0,1],K;\mathbb{Q})$. Our main theorem is a lower bound for the rational slice genus of a knot in terms of its Heegaard Floer $τ$ invariants. To prove this, we bound the $τ$ invariants of any satellite link whose pattern is a closed braid in terms of the $τ$ invariants of the companion knot, a result which should be of independent value. Our techniques also produce rational PL slice genus bounds. As applications, we use our bounds to prove that Floer simple knots have rational slice genus equal to their rational Seifert genus. We also show that there exist sequences of knots in a fixed 3-manifold whose PL slice genus is unbounded. In addition, we produce stronger bounds for the slice genus of knots relative to the rational longitude, and use these to produce a rational slice-Bennequin bound for knots in contact manifolds with non-trivial contact invariant.
The dominant theories of rational choice assume logical omniscience. That is, they assume that when facing a decision problem, an agent can perform all relevant computations and determine the truth value of all relevant logical/mathematical claims. This assumption is unrealistic when, for example, we offer bets on remote digits of pi or when an agent faces a computationally intractable planning problem. Furthermore, the assumption of logical omniscience creates contradictions in cases where the environment can contain descriptions of the agent itself. Importantly, strategic interactions as studied in game theory are decision problems in which a rational agent is predicted by its environment (the other players). In this paper, we develop a theory of rational decision making that does not assume logical omniscience. We consider agents who repeatedly face decision problems (including ones like betting on digits of pi or games against other agents). The main contribution of this paper is to provide a sensible theory of rationality for such agents. Roughly, we require that a boundedly rational inductive agent tests each efficiently computable hypothesis infinitely often and follows those hypotheses that keep their promises of high rewards. We then prove that agents that are rational in this sense have other desirable properties. For example, they learn to value random and pseudo-random lotteries at their expected reward. Finally, we consider strategic interactions between different agents and prove a folk theorem for what strategies bounded rational inductive agents can converge to.
In this paper, we generalize the notion of rational singularities for any reflexive sheaf of rank $1$, link our notion of rational singularities with the notion of rational singularities in [Kov11], and prove generalizations of standard facts about rational singularities. Moreover, by using a definition of non-rational locus, we introduce the notion of $(B_{q+1})$ as a dual notion of well-known Serre's notion of $(S_{q+1})$, and prove a theorem about $q$-birational morphisms.
Miquel Àngel Essomba, Maria Nadeu, Anna Tarrés Vallespí
This paper examines a study that aimed to fill in the gap in research about interfaith dialogue and leisure time education in Catalonia (Spain). Combining both quantitative and qualitative research methods, we analyzed the role that interfaith dialogue plays for leisure time educators. The research was carried out between 2021 and 2022 in three phases: one descriptive through an ad hoc questionnaire, a second one comprehensive by exploring educators’ voices in focus groups, and a third one prescriptive to design evidence-based policy recommendations and training frames. The whole research allowed us to state the low status that interfaith dialogue plays within the leisure time education in the research context, as well as the high expectations and positive attitude by educators to improve interfaith dialogue in these educational settings. Further research considering more voices (children, families, administration, religious groups) could be explored in the future to increase the knowledge on the subject.
The Song dynasty (960–1279) was the peak of <i>fengshui</i> development in China. During this period, <i>fengshui</i> books proliferated, and geomantic techniques spread rapidly. Thus, the population was generally inclined to consider the influence of architecture on the fate of individuals or families from a <i>fengshui</i> perspective. In addition to writing books on <i>fengshui</i>, many Buddhist monks and Daoist masters also practiced the location selection and spatial planning of Buddhist and Daoist temples, houses, and tombs. This paper first collates the <i>fengshui</i> books written by Buddhist monks and Daoists during the Song dynasty and then analyzes their spatial planning concepts according to the geomancy theory. Secondly, taking into account specific cases of Buddhist and Daoist temples, garden buildings, and residential tombs, it elaborates on the reasons and purposes behind the Buddhist monks’ and Daoists’ use of the geomancy theory. Lastly, the changes in the function of site selection in the urban landscape reflect the interaction between Buddhism, Daoism, and <i>fengshui</i> during the Song dynasty. An awareness of the historical origins of religious tradition is helpful in our understanding of <i>fengshui</i> architectural heritage in general.
We define a notion of Hodge modules with rational singularities. A variety has rational singularities in the usual sense, if it is normal and the Hodge module related to intersection cohomology has rational singularities in the present sense. Our main result is a generalization of Boutot's theorem that if a reductive group acts on an affine variety with a stable point, and $H$ is an equivariant Hodge module with rational singularities, then the induced module on the GIT quotient also has rational singularities.
There are undoubtedly differences between Roman Catholic and African Pentecostalism such as doctrinal issues and salvific conceptualisations. Besides non-Catholics, specifically Pentecostal churches have always been perceived as non-churches and lacking the real salvation by Roman Catholics. Thus, Roman Catholics have looked at Pentecostals with the eye of suspicion regardless of ecumenical efforts made to bring the two together. Similarly, Pentecostals have perceived Catholics as carrying a non-transformative doctrine, lacking the Spirit, and leaning towards political institutions and systems. Hence, the relationship between these two movements has been perceived as irreconcilable and incompatible with some leaders giving up on ecumenical engagements. However, a literature review on the relationship between Roman Catholic and African Pentecostalism reveals some similarities between the two movements through the ecumenical dialogue model. In other words, as much
as the two movements do not see eye to eye, they have commonalities such as the use of sacramentals, common foundational beliefs, and salvation through Jesus. These similarities can be used as a starting point toward ecumenism and helping the two movements to move towards unity.
This paper examines how the Buddhist revival, the Chan revival, and recent popularity of transnational meditation practices have facilitated Chinese women practicing Buddhist meditation in contemporary China. With the influence of the opening of China and growing transnational networks, there has been an increasing number of Han Chinese monastics and lay people practicing transnational meditation, such as <i>samādhi</i>, <i>vipassanā</i> and mindfulness, in the past two decades. Despite the restriction of accessing Chan halls at monasteries, some Chinese nuns and laywomen have traveled to learn meditation in different parts of China, and international meditation centers in Southeast Asia to study with yogis from all over the world. Surprisingly some returned female travelers have taken significant roles in organizing meditation retreats, and establishing meditation centers and meditation halls. Through examining some ethnographic cases of Chinese nuns and laywomen, this paper argues that the transnational meditation movement has an impact not only on gender equality, especially concerning Chinese women practicing meditation, but also on the development of contemporary Chinese Buddhism. The significant role of Chinese female meditators in promoting Buddhist meditation can reflect a trend of re-positioning the Chan School in contemporary China.
Theory of mind, the theory that humans attribute mental states to others, has become increasingly influential in the Cognitive Science of Religion in recent years, due to several papers which posit that supernatural agents, like gods, demons, and the dead, are accredited greater than normal knowledge and awareness. Using Old Norse mythology and literary accounts of Old Norse religion, supported by archaeological evidence, I examine the extent to which this modern perspective on religious theory of mind is reflected in religious traditions from the Viking Age. I focus especially on the extent to which superperception and superknowledge were attributed to Old Norse supernatural agents and the impact of this on expressions of religion; how the attribution of theory of mind varied with circumstances and the agents to which it was being attributed; and the extent to which features of religious theory of mind common in other societies were present in the historical North. On this basis, I also evaluate the usefulness of Old Norse historiography to Cognitive Science of Religion and vice versa.
Shintō, the national religion of Japan, is grounded in the mythological narratives that are found in the 8th-Century chronicle, Kojiki 古事記 (712). Within this early source book of Japanese history, myth, and national origins, there are many accounts of islands (terrestrial and imaginary), which provide a foundation for comprehending the geographical cosmology (i.e., sacred space) of Japan’s territorial boundaries and the nearby region in the 8th Century, as well as the ritualistic significance of some of the country’s islands to this day. Within a complex geocultural genealogy of gods that links geography to mythology and the Japanese imperial line, land and life were created along with a number of small and large islands. Drawing on theoretical work and case studies that explore the geopolitics of border islands, this article offers a critical study of this ancient work of Japanese history with specific reference to islands and their significance in mapping Japan. Arguing that a characteristic of islandness in Japan has an inherent connection with Shintō religious myth, the article shows how mythological islanding permeates geographic, social, and cultural terrains. The discussion maps the island narratives found in the Kojiki within a framework that identifies and discusses toponymy, geography, and meaning in this island nation’s mythology.
in 1721 Christian Wolff gave a lecture on Confucius at Halle University where he positively appraised his rationalism comparing it favourably to his own. this caused a scandal that led to his expulsion from the university because of his perceived atheism. His Discourse on the Practical Philosophy of the Chinese (Oratio de Sinarum Philosophia Practica) is sometimes read as championing the autonomy of ethics from religion and ‘the Chinese confirmed for him that revelation was not necessary for knowledge or practise of genuine virtue’ (larrimore, 2000, p. 189). Jonathan i. israel (2001) begins his chapter on ‘Spinoza, Confucius and Classical Chinese Philosophy’ in Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity, 1650–1750 with the remark:
O presente artigo parte da perspectiva de que a arte é um dos fenômenos especificamente humanos, a qual confere um sentido para a existência. Teve por objetivo apreender a visão de Viktor Frankl sobre a espiritualidade e a arte. Para atingir esse escopo, inicialmente discorreu-se sobre a relação entre a busca de sentido e a arte na perspectiva da Logoterapia e Análise Existencial e, em seguida, debruçou-se sobre onze obras artísticas que retratavam o livro Em busca de sentido. Pôde-se constatar, por meio de pinturas sobre o campo de concentração nazista, a presença do posicionamento espiritual dos prisioneiros. Concluiu-se que a arte seria uma via para reumanizar e transformar o mundo.