Uncovering Resilience Disparities among Religious Groups in Israel's Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Drive: Lessons Learned to the Post-COVID Era.

The aim of the current study was to examine the emotional resilience, satisfaction with life, social support, and anxiety during the vaccination process of the Israeli population after the end of the third lockdown, according to religiosity degree. We hypothesized that a higher degree of religiosity (ultra-Orthodox and religious participants) would be associated with higher levels of resilience and with lower levels of anxiety than in secular individuals. In addition, it was hypothesized that satisfaction with life, social support, anxiety, and religiosity will predict resilience and anxiety. Nine hundred and ninety-three native Jewish Hebrew-speaking respondents representing ultra-Orthodox, religious, observant, and secular Jews participated in this study. Ultra-Orthodox participants showed higher resilience and satisfaction with life than other groups, and lower levels of anxiety. Satisfaction with life and social support predicted higher resilience. It is suggested that religious faith as well as satisfaction with life may provide a source of strength and resilience in stressful life events.

Closed but Not Protected: Excess Deaths Among the Amish and Mennonites During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

"Excess deaths" is a means to estimate the lethality of COVID-19 (directly and indirectly). Assessing "excess death" in closed religious communities provides information on how COVID-19 impacted these communities. We use obituary information published in an Amish/Mennonite newspaper to examine excess death among the Amish/Mennonites in 2020. Our results indicate the Amish/Mennonite excess death rates are similar to the national trends in the USA. The excess death rate for Amish/Mennonites spiked with a 125% increase in November 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on this closed religious community highlights the need to consider religion to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Understanding HIV and associated risk factors among religious groups in Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND: The influence of religion and belief systems is widely recognized as an important factor in understanding of health risk perception and myths in the general fight against the HIV pandemic. This study compares the understanding of HIV risk factors and utilization of some HIV services among religious groups in Zimbabwe. METHODS: We conducted secondary data statistical analysis to investigate the understanding of HIV and associated risk factors among religious groups in Zimbabwe using 2015-2016 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) data. We began by investigating associations between understanding of HIV and associated risk factors among religious groups. A multivariate stepwise backward elimination method was carried out to explore factors determining understanding of HIV risk after controlling for confounding factors using the most recent ZDHS data (2015-2016). RESULTS: The results from the three surveys showed that, in general apostolic sector had low understanding of HIV and associated risk factors compared to other religious groups. Analysis of the 2015-2016 ZDHS data showed that women belonging to the apostolic sector were less likely to know where to get an HIV test odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval, 0.665 (0.503-0.880) and to know that male circumcision reduces HIV transmission OR 0.863 (0.781-0.955). Women from this group had no knowledge that circumcised men can be infected if they do not use condoms OR 0.633 (0.579-0.693), nor that it is possible for a healthy-looking person to have HIV, OR 0.814 (0.719-0.921). They would not buy vegetables from a vendor with HIV OR 0.817 (0.729-0.915) and were less likely to support that HIV positive children should be allowed to attend school with HIV negative children OR 0.804 (0.680-0.950). Similar results were obtained for men in the apostolic sector. These men also did not agree that women were justified to use condoms if the husband has an Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) OR 0.851 (0.748-0.967). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that apostolic sector lack adequate knowledge of HIV and associated risk factors than other religious groups. Targeting HIV prevention programmes by religious groups could be an efficient approach for controlling HIV in Zimbabwe.

Escaping and Falling into Poverty in India Today.

The study examines the dynamic nature of movements into and out of poverty over a period when poverty has fallen substantially in India. The analysis identifies people who escaped poverty and those who fell into it over the period 2005 to 2012. The analysis identifies people who escaped poverty and those who fell into it over the period 2005 to 2012. Using panel data from the India Human Development Survey for 2005 and 2012, we find that the risks of marginalized communities such as Dalits and Adivasis of falling into or remaining in poverty were higher than those for more privileged groups. Some, but not all of these higher risks are explained by educational, financial, and social disadvantages of these groups in 2005. Results from a logistic regression show that some factors that help people escape poverty differ from those that push people into it and that the strength of their effects varies.

Examining differences in drinking patterns among Jewish and Arab university students in Israel.

OBJECTIVES: Worldwide there is a dearth of studies examining drinking patterns in Arabs and how these compare to other populations. The few studies that exist have suggested distinct drinking patterns in Arabs, with not only high rates of abstinence but also high rates of heavy drinking among current drinkers. No studies have yet examined potential socio-cognitive mechanisms that may contribute to this distinct drinking pattern. Israel represents a unique and valuable resource for studying Arab population drinking patterns because Israeli Arabs are nonimmigrants living in areas where exposure to Western lifestyles, including alcohol consumption, is prevalent. The current study was set out to examine differences in alcohol consumption in a convenience sample of 1310 Jewish and Arab students from Israeli universities and colleges and to explore alcohol expectancies as potential mediators of ethno-religious differences. DESIGN: Logistic regressions were used to produce odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals to test differences between Jewish and Arab students on binary outcomes (lifetime, last month, and heavy drinking). Mediation of ethno-religious differences by alcohol expectancies was tested with bootstrapping procedures. RESULTS: Results show that while Israeli Arab students tend to be more likely to abstain from alcohol than Israeli Jewish students, among current drinkers, Israeli Arab students are at a particular high risk of heavy drinking. Results also show that this is partly mediated by the expectancy that alcohol only influences the drinker at high levels of intake. CONCLUSION: The current study confirms distinct Arab drinking patterns found in previous studies. The present study is the first demonstration that drinking expectations mediate ethno-religious differences in heavy drinking among Israeli Arabs and Jews. This work contributes to the understanding of ethno-religious group differences in harmful drinking, potentially informing future etiologic research and public health interventions aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm.

Representação social do pecado segundo grupos religiosos / Representación social del pecado según grupos religiosos / Social representation of sin according to religious groups

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar as representações sociais do pecado segundo grupos religiosos. Para tanto, realizamos a coleta de dados por meio de questionário com questões relacionadas aos dados pessoais dos sujeitos e sobre suas representações sobre o que é o pecado. Participaram da pesquisa, 223 estudantes de Ensino Médio da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 18 e 30 anos, que se autodefiniram como Católicos, Evangélicos e Sem Religião. Os dados foram analisados utilizando a análise de conteúdo. Quanto aos resultados, católicos e evangélicos representaram o pecado a partir do caráter prescritivo da moral, enquanto os sem religião o representaram em face do caráter desviante/criminoso. A representação social do pecado para o grupo dos sem religião, como desvio/crime, aponta para o desenvolvimento de uma ética secular, isto é, não-religiosa, capaz de enfrentar a pressão prescritiva da maioria.

Nuestro objetivo fue estudiar las representaciones sociales del pecado según grupos religiosos. Para ello, se colectaron los datos a través de un cuestionario compuesto de datos personales por la siguiente pregunta: Àqué es el pecado? En la investigación participaron 223 estudiantes de la enseñanza media de la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, de ambos sexos, con edades entre 18 y 30 años, que se autodefinían como Católicos, Evangélicos y Sin Religión. Los datos fueron analizados mediante el análisis de contenido. En cuanto a los resultados, los católicos y los evangélicos representan el pecado desde el carácter prescriptivo de la moral, mientras que el Sin Religión lo representaron en la perspectiva del carácter desviado/ criminal. La representación social del pecado para el grupo Sin Religión, desde el punto de desviación/delito, apunta al desarrollo de una ética secular, es decir, no religiosa, capaz de enfrentarse a la presión prescriptiva de la mayoría.

The aim of this work was to study the social representations of sin according to religious groups. To this end, we collected data through a questionnaire including questions relating to personal data of the individuals and their representations of what is sin. The research involved 223 high school students from the city of Rio de Janeiro, of both sexes, aged between 18 and 30 years, who defined themselves as Catholics, Evangelicals and with no religion. Data were analyzed using content analysis. The results point out that Catholics and Evangelicals accounted sin from the prescriptive character of morality, while no religion represented sin in the face of deviant/criminal character. The social representation of sin for the group of no religion, as deviation from religion/crime, points to the development of a secular ethics, ie, non-religious ethics which is able to stand up to the prescriptive. pressure of the most.

Representação social do pecado segundo grupos religiosos / Representación social del pecado según grupos religiosos / Social representation of sin according to religious groups

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar as representações sociais do pecado segundo grupos religiosos. Para tanto, realizamos a coleta de dados por meio de questionário com questões relacionadas aos dados pessoais dos sujeitos e sobre suas representações sobre o que é o pecado. Participaram da pesquisa, 223 estudantes de Ensino Médio da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 18 e 30 anos, que se autodefiniram como Católicos, Evangélicos e Sem Religião. Os dados foram analisados utilizando a análise de conteúdo. Quanto aos resultados, católicos e evangélicos representaram o pecado a partir do caráter prescritivo da moral, enquanto os sem religião o representaram em face do caráter desviante/criminoso. A representação social do pecado para o grupo dos sem religião, como desvio/crime, aponta para o desenvolvimento de uma ética secular, isto é, não-religiosa, capaz de enfrentar a pressão prescritiva da maioria.

Nuestro objetivo fue estudiar las representaciones sociales del pecado según grupos religiosos. Para ello, se colectaron los datos a través de un cuestionario compuesto de datos personales por la siguiente pregunta: Àqué es el pecado? En la investigación participaron 223 estudiantes de la enseñanza media de la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, de ambos sexos, con edades entre 18 y 30 años, que se autodefinían como Católicos, Evangélicos y Sin Religión. Los datos fueron analizados mediante el análisis de contenido. En cuanto a los resultados, los católicos y los evangélicos representan el pecado desde el carácter prescriptivo de la moral, mientras que el Sin Religión lo representaron en la perspectiva del carácter desviado/ criminal. La representación social del pecado para el grupo Sin Religión, desde el punto de desviación/delito, apunta al desarrollo de una ética secular, es decir, no religiosa, capaz de enfrentarse a la presión prescriptiva de la mayoría.

The aim of this work was to study the social representations of sin according to religious groups. To this end, we collected data through a questionnaire including questions relating to personal data of the individuals and their representations of what is sin. The research involved 223 high school students from the city of Rio de Janeiro, of both sexes, aged between 18 and 30 years, who defined themselves as Catholics, Evangelicals and with no religion. Data were analyzed using content analysis. The results point out that Catholics and Evangelicals accounted sin from the prescriptive character of morality, while no religion represented sin in the face of deviant/criminal character. The social representation of sin for the group of no religion, as deviation from religion/crime, points to the development of a secular ethics, ie, non-religious ethics which is able to stand up to the prescriptive. pressure of the most.

Faith communities and their assets for health promotion: the views from health professionals and faith leaders in Dundee, in Scotland.

Within the European Union, as well as in Canada and the United States (US), health promoters employ a number of strategies to encourage community-based health improvements. This involves the creation of innovative health promotion partnerships to support and enable people to choose and engage in healthy living practices. Compared to the US, in other Western countries, such as the United Kingdom, faith communities have largely been ignored in health promotion partnerships. This study established existing evidence about health promotion in faith communities in Scotland by examining the perceptions and attitudes concerning health promotion among faith leaders and health promotion professionals. We conducted 33 semi-structured interviews with health promotion professionals (n = 9) and representatives of Christian and non-Christian faith communities (n = 24). The majority of participants expressed an interest in the concept of health promotion in a faith community and could readily envision its application in their area of work. Both groups identified multiple physical assets, as well as social supports within faith communities that could be directed towards healthy living activities. Faith groups and church organisations may constitute potential partners and new settings to increase community capacity for health promotion. Further research and funding for demonstration projects may be particularly helpful to provide evidence of the strengths and limitations of faith-based health promotion in Scotland, which in turn could inform health promotion practice and policy.