The Mediating Role of Religious Beliefs in the Relationship between Well-Being and Fear of the Pandemic

Religion is one of the social entities that has had a significant impact on the pandemic.The study’s goals are to investigate the relationship between well-being and fear of COVID-19,as well as to test whether religious beliefs mediate the effect of wellbeing on fear of COVID-19.The sample comprised of 433 participants in Vietnam.Independent Sample t-Test,One-way ANOVA,mediation analysis were used to analyze the data.In the levels of well-being,individuals who engage in religious services daily have higher levels than those hardly and never attend,and people from the age of 18 to 30 have higher levels than individuals from 31 to above 60 years.In addition,people aged from 51 to above 60 have higher levels of religious beliefs than people aged from 18 to 50.Females experience more fear of COVID-19 compared to males.The latter illustrates that religious beliefs mediate the effect of well-being on fear of COVID-19.Social workers and clinicians must prioritize older adults and people with chronic diseases for early mental interventions,and they should be aware of the role of religion in psychological treatment integration.

The Relationship between Religious Belief and Agricultural Production of the Miao People

Religious belief is an important part of the Miao People culture.The agricultural economic situation in the Miao region is an essential factor for determining the generation and development of its religious belief.Religious belief also has a tremendous impact on the agricultural production of the Miao people.This paper summarized the religious belief form and the agricultural situation of Miao People,and analyzed the relationship between the religious belief and agricultural production of Miao People.

On the Study of Cultural Connotation in Zhuang Proverbs: Religious Belief and Ecological Ethics

Zhuang’s proverbs are derived from the long-term experience in the survival and development of nature, andinextricably related to it. Many of Zhuang’s proverbs reflect the folk religious belief’s reverence, prudence,compliance and protection of the ecological environment. The implicit or explicit ecological ethics consciousnessin Zhuang proverbs has a subtle influence on Zhuang people’s thoughts and behaviors, and objectively regulates therelationship between man and nature, which helps the Zhuang people consciously keep the balance of naturalecology in their daily life.

Upholding Equality and Unity Among Ethnic Groups, and Freedom of Religious Belief

Since the founding of the People＇s Republic of China, the Chinese government, to ensure equality and unity among ethnic groups and achieve their common development, has formulated a series of ethnic and religious policies on the basis of the actual situations of the various ethnic groups and religions, and these policies have been continuously enriched and improved in practice.

Freedom of Religious Beliefs as Seen in a Chinese Province

In recent years, the Chinese Government has been time and again accused, by those in the West whoare either hostile towards the country or ignorant of its realities, of acting in violation of the right of its citizens toreligious beliefs. There is the allegation that 'official respect for religious freedom in China has diminished.'To find out the truth, the China Society for Human Right Studies (CSHRS) organized a study tour of Hebei Province,north China, the very first of its kind since the society came into being ten years ago. The group, headed by Zhou Jue,president of the CSHRS, comprised some of the most prominent experts on human rights and on international laws.The study tour, from September 21 to 27, 2003, covered all the religions practiced in China—Buddhism, Taoism,Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism, with Catholicism as the focus.

Potential influences of religiosity and religious coping strategies on people with diabetes

Diabetes is a significant health issue that threatens patients’overall wellbeing and quality of life.Critical public health concerns center on creating the best approach for diabetes management.Patients and caregivers have different approaches to diabetes management;however,this and the associated physiological,physical and mental health issues remain challenging.This review explores the potential influences of religiosity and religious coping strategies on people with diabetes.This study used a literature review approach to investigate how religiosity and religious coping strategies can influence the effective management of diabetes among patients.Based on the literature search,the researchers were able to identify and cite published papers that were analyzed using the descriptivenarrative analysis.An important goal of the descriptive-narrative analysis was to provide descriptions of the selected literature and take implications from the literature.The results of studies reviewed show some religious coping strategies for managing chronic diseases such as diabetes.The studies did establish a relationship between religiosity and diabetes management and suggest that religious coping strategies could positively impact the management of diabetes;however,they reported some adverse effects.Hence,we propose a pathway for the development of religion-oriented interventions and support framework for the management of diabetes.

Religious Narratives and Religious Coping Strategies in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic

Recent findings demonstrate a growing interest in religiosity during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest that religiousness has a Janus-face impact on coping with stress.On the one hand,the empirical data indicates a positive link between religiosity and mental health,agreeableness,and higher emotion regulation skills.On the other side,some surveys describe religious people as being reluctant to follow the recommendation of public health experts,and they also tend to score lower on intelligence and analytic thinking measures.However,how religiosity in our country impacts psychological processes of perception and coping with stress during the pandemic is not studied yet.The research reveals religious views on the COVID-19 pandemic through the analysis of semi-structured interviews with believers from different Bulgarian religious communities—Orthodox Christians,Catholics,Protestants,and Muslims.The focus of the one religious interpretation is pandemic as retribution for the self-forgetfulness of a man and the consumerist attitude towards God’s creation.The main narrative in the other interpretation considers diseases and suffering that accompany human life as a natural consequence of original sin and perishable human nature.Both points of view relate to various coping methods with challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial decision‑making behaviors of Ethnic Tibetan Households based on mental accounting

Ethnic Tibetans(ETs)typically reside in the remote plateaus of China and possess strong cultural and spiritual values.Their financial decision-making is influenced by economic and physical factors,unique culture,social norms,and psychological motivators.We conducted an in-person survey of 480 randomly selected ET households across four provinces in rural China.The survey data was analyzed using three different econometric models—probit,ordered probit,and ranked ordered logit—to examine the choice of borrowing from formal or informal credit sources,the number of sources borrowed from,and repayment priority.Our findings indicate that mental accounting plays a significant role in the financial decision-making process of ET households.Additionally,we find that the informal credit source is strongly associated with the financial decisions of ET households.The majority of loans from formal financial institutions are used to meet daily needs,as opposed to purchasing productive inputs.Our results also suggest that strong social relationships and religious beliefs prevent households from defaulting,and that loans from formal financial sources receive repayment priority.China would benefit from promoting inclusive finance and encouraging the adoption of improved agricultural practices to support the prosperity of ET and other minority communities.

The Spread of Chinese-character Culture on the Silk Road During the Tang Dynasty

The spread of Chinese characters and Chinese classic works during the Tang Dynasty presented diversified discourses of acceptance and development in different periods and regions. This was due to the differences in commercial, economic, political, religious, and cultural environments proportional to the real environment's demand for Chinese characters and Chinese classical works. Chinese characters were introduced to Gaochang, Qiuci, Khotan, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam as early as the Han Dynasty, with different development paths in these regions. It is easy to form a long lasting culture spread by Chinese language and characters, as long as official languages are consistent with national or religious languages of the regions. It is difficult to form a long lasting culture spread by official languages and characters if the official languages and characters are inconsistent with either languages of daily life or religious languages. Once there is replacement of official languages and characters, or a change in religious belief, it would cause incompatibility between official languages and daily life languages, Chinese-character culture is bound to decline and gradually fade way. But if there are Han people, they will retain the use of Chinese characters.

Chinese Religions and the Construction of a Community of Common Destiny for All Mankind:Ideas and Practice

Freedom of religious belief is a clear civil right enshrined in the Chinese Constitution. The Chinese government’s effective protection of the freedom of religious belief and the legitimate rights and interests of the religious community in China has created conditions and provided opportunities for the religious community to play a more active role in social affairs. The five major religions in China are participating in the building of a community of common destiny for all mankind.

Restrictions of the Islamic Financial System and Counterpart Financial Support for Xinjiang

This paper builds a theoretical framework of two-period general equilibrium model to explore whether 1) the restrictions of the Islamic financial system(RIFS) limit economic development in Xinjiang and 2) counterpart financial support for Xinjiang(CFSX) promotes economic development and social stability. First, we introduce above mentioned restrictions caused by Islamic beliefs into a general equilibrium model and modify Islamic agents' budget constraints to define the benchmark equilibrium.Comparing the benchmark equilibrium with the perfect equilibrium, in which these restrictions are removed, we discover the RIFS paradox that RIFS undermine the social welfare and income of Muslims.Second, the financial support is introduced into the pattern of benchmark equilibrium as an exogenous variable to model its impact and hence we define the CFSX equilibrium. A series of policy analyses implies that the CFSX strategy improves living standards and social welfare in Xinjiang.