The Practice of Altruism: Caring and Religion in Global PerspectiveCambridge Scholars Press, 2006 - 209 pages The study of altruism and altruistic behavior has caught the attention of social scientists especially in recent years. What motivates individuals to cultivate attitudes and actions that promote the wellbeing of others at the expense of, or at the risk of negative consequences for their own? In our contemporary global society marked by conflict and violence among different sectors of the population in various regions of the world, and wherein religion can be a factor that exacerbates such conflict and violence, harnessing the power of religion towards directions of reconciliation, creativity, and altruistic action, remains a crucial task for humankind. This volume addresses a question especially relevant in our day: do people who profess religious commitment or affiliation in a particular religious community tend to nurture altruistic kinds of attitude and action more than others? Social scientists present results of their empirical studies on Japanese society, as well as on North American, European, Indian, and Thai societies, to focus on this issue and offer insightful reflections on the relationship between religion and society. |
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... recent change from a state church to a folk church in 2000 has placed the church in a new position as a welfare provider . The present social engagement of the Swedish church is directed at particular groups and the role of the services ...
... recently taken place ; recent theory and data are more compatible with the view that " true altruism " does exist ( e.g. , Pilivian and Charng , 1990 ; Monroe , 1996 ; Monroe , 2004 ; Saari et al . , 2005 ) . The most prominent recent ...
... recently conducted a small survey ( N100 ) , 29 interviews with the church representatives ( four elected officials and ... recent study ( Yeung 2003b ) has also illustrated that even though religious elements are not very important in ...
Contents
Altruism in New Religions in Japan | 12 |
Kamagasaki Ecumenical Network | 43 |
Japanese Buddhist Responses to Terrorism | 60 |
Copyright | |
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Other editions - View all
The Practice of Altruism: Caring and Religion in Global Perspective Ruben Lf Habito,Keishin Inaba No preview available - 2008 |