Secularization in the Holy Land： Challenges for the State- Secularism and Nationalism in Israel

Israel is on the way to become a secular state. Parts of the society are separating from the religious authority. Under the international pressure of the globalization it is getting more important for Israel to integrate in the western interpretation of secularization. It seems that a secular Israel could resolve the political and social inequality between the ethnic groups. But the process of secularization causes a couple of problems in the society. Since years Israel is on the move to fred his identity in a pluralistic and globalized world. The religious affiliation is decreasing in Israel. People do not believe privately anymore. In public it is still demonstrated, that Israel is united in the religious beliefs. Nationalism regains strength in Israel and causes new conflicts. This qualitative work based on hermeneutic and media analyses will show how problematic the way of secularization is and that the society will be probably even more unequal than before. If Israel is losing his ties of religious beliefs it needs to find a new identity But the increase of secularization causes also the increase of nationalism. Nationalism and in his extreme forms of religious nationalism or ethnocentrism will jeopardize equality under the population. Thus, the question has to be answered if a secular Israel will be more open, pluralistic or equal and fmaUy better prepared to meet the challenges of the politically unstable Middle East region and the globalization.

Identity(ies)and Transnationalization of Brazilian Evangelical Churches in Portugal:Case study of World Cathedral of Hope and Victory in Christ Churches

The presence of evangelicals in Brazil is a social and religious phenomenon that has aroused interest of many scholars due to its rapid and significant expansion in recent decades and its projection beyond national borders.Among evangelical denominations that stand out in this scenario are Pentecostal churches,which have developed intense missionary activity in several countries,including Europe.In this article,we intend to analyze features and challenges of Brazilian evangelical churches:World Cathedral of Hope(CIME)(Catedral Mundial da Esperança-ICME)and Assembly of God Victory in Christ(ADVEC)(Assembleia de Deus Vitória em Cristo-ADVEC)that operate in Portugal,seeking to understand issues of identity and belonging of these communities,their models of transnationalization,its evangelization strategies and its adaptations to Portuguese context,in the period from 2000 to 2020.

Exploring the Intersection of Spirituality and Religion:Transcendence,Secularism,and Personal Beliefs in Contemporary Society

This paper explores the intersection of spirituality and religion,focusing on how transcendence,secularism,and personal beliefs shape contemporary spiritual practices.It examines the philosophical foundations of transcendence,the rise of existentialism,and the distinction between spirituality and religion.Secularism's role in fostering personal spirituality and reducing religious authority is discussed,alongside the psychological and societal impacts of spiritual transcendence.The paper also critiques the limitations of spirituality,emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that integrates cognitive development and mental health perspectives.

Secularism and Secularization in the Arab World

The development of secularism and secularization is a major issue in the Arab world in the intellectual,cultural and social dimensions.A general survey of the development of secularism and secularization in the Arab world is a premise to understand modern Arab politics,society and culture.

Dynamic mode decomposition of the geomagnetic field over the last two decades

Earth’s magnetic field,which is generated in the liquid outer core through the dynamo action,undergoes changes on timescales of a few years to several million years,yet the underlying mechanisms responsible for the field variations remain to be elucidated.In this study,we apply a novel data analysis technique developed in fluid dynamics,namely the dynamic mode decomposition,to analyze the geomagnetic variations over the last two decades when continuous satellite observations are available.The dominant dynamic modes are extracted by solving an eigen-value problem,so one can identify modes with periods longer than the time span of data.Our analysis show that similar dynamic modes are extracted from the geomagnetic secular variation and secular acceleration,justifying the validity of applying the dynamic mode decomposition method to geomagnetic field.We reveal that the geomagnetic field variations are characterized by a global mode with period of 58 years,a localized mode with period of 16 years and an equatorially trapped mode with period of 8.5 years.These modes are possibly related to magnetohydrodynamic waves in the Earth’s outer core.

The study of geomagnetic jerk from 2010 to 2021 based on hourly mean data from global geomagnetic observatories

The secular variation in the global geomagnetic field was analyzed in terms of the annual differences in monthly means by using the hourly mean data from 18 foreign(outside China)observatories of the World Data Center(WDC)for Geomagnetism from January 2010 to January 2020 as well as 9 observatories in the Geomagnetic Network of China from January 2015 to April 2021.In addition,according to the correlation of noisy components from the observatories,a covariance matrix was constructed based on residuals between observations and the CHAOS-7.4 model to remove external contamination.Through a comparison before and after denoising,we found that the overall average standard deviations were reduced by 29.97%in China and by 41.4%outside China.Results showed the correlation coefficient between external noise(mainly the magnetosphere ring current)and the Dst index was 0.82,and the correlation coefficient between external noise and the Ring Current(RC)index reached 0.94.A geomagnetic jerk was globally discovered around 2018.0 on the geomagnetic eastward component Y.The jerk timing in China was around 2020.0,and the earliest one was in2018.75,whereas the timing outside China was around 2018.0,and the earliest one was in 2017.67.This 2-year lag may have been caused by the higher electrical conductivity of the deep mantle.After more data were added,this jerk event was found to occur in an orderly manner in the northern hemisphere as the longitude increased and the intensity gradually increased as well.The variations in location of the jerk center were analyzed according to the CHAOS-7.4 model.Results revealed six extreme points distributed nearby the equator.The strongest was near the equator,at 170°E,and the strength gradually decreased as it extended to the northern and southern hemispheres.Another extreme point with the opposite sign was located at the equator,at 20°W,in the south-central part of the Atlantic,and the strength gradually decreased as it extended into Europe.The covariance matrix method can be used to analyze data from the Macao Science Satellite-1 mission in the future,and this method is expected to play a positive role in modeling and separating the large-scale external field.

The Symbiosis of Sacred Space and Secular Experience-Reflecting on Ethnographic Filming

Based on the experience of ethnographic filming,this article outlines the dynamic process of the protection and development of Baima Tibetan traditional villages with the help of iconic descriptions of Baima Tibetans’daily lives and sacrificial activities,and explores how Baima Tibetans inherit their culture while adapting to social development with imagery means during rural revitalization,and how the locals integrate sacred space and secular experience in order to construct their own cultural symbols for the sake of embracing the new era.As far as anthropology-ethnographic descriptions of embodiment are concerned,traditional text research has limitations.In comparison,video graphic anthropology has natural advantages.Its advantages not only lie in the means of images,but also lie in the ability to connect the“sense of things”,mind and nature,realizing the interaction between mind and things,and mentality and object.The visual ethnography is an important research method for anthropological research to enter the world of his other.This is also an important way to describe the integration and symbiosis of local subjectivity,local sacred space,and secular experience.

Analysis of the Orbitation and Rotation of Celestial Bodies

We have developed a structure of dynamic knowledge for non-inertial systems, the so-called Theory of Dynamic Interactions (TDI) as a part of non-inertial dynamic knowledge, which incorporates a causal demonstration of phenomena accelerated by rotation, which would complement Classical Mechanics. We believe that the TDI mathematical model that we propose is of great conceptual importance. In addition, we think that it is not only necessary to understand the dynamics of rotating bodies, but also to understand the dynamics of the cosmos, with bodies that orbit and with constantly recurring movements, which make possible systems that have been in dynamic equilibrium for centuries and are not in a process of unlimited expansion. We even believe that this new dynamic theory allows us a better understanding of our universe, and the matter from which it is made.

Uranium Series Disequilibrium and Precision Measurement of Radionuclides Activity in Sediment Sample Using Low Background Gamma Spectrometry

Low background gamma spectrometry was used to measure the radionuclides activity of 238U, 232Th, and 235U series as well as 40K and 137Cs in a sediment sample. The goal of the study was to measure the 238U (63.3 keV peak of 234Th;1001 keV peak of 234mPa) and 235U (143.76 keV, 163.33 keV, and 205.31 keV peaks) activity by low background gamma spectrometry in sediment sample. 235U activity in environmental samples is difficult to accurately measure by gamma spectrometry due to its low abundance in nature and low gamma line intensities at 143.76 keV, 163.33 keV, and 205.31 keV. We have shown that by using low background gamma spectrometry, it is possible to accurately measure the 235U activity in sediment samples. The 235U activity was measured without using the major peak of 185.7 keV (Iγ = 57.2%) which requires interference correction from 186.21 keV of 226Ra. 226Ra activity was determined by measuring 222Rn daughters (214Pb and 214Bi). The precision and accuracy of the gamma activity measurement in the sediment sample were verified by using the HPGe detectors with Certified Reference Material (CRM) Irish Sea Sediment (IAEA-385). The results obtained for the 63.33 keV energy line of 234Th are compared with the 1001 keV energy line of 234mPa. The values of 238U and 235U activities, as well as 40K, 137Cs, and 226Ra, agreed with the certificate values of CRM. The results show that the 238U is in equilibrium with its daughters (234Th, 234mPa, and 210Pb). 232Th is also in equilibrium with its daughters (228Ra, 212Pb, 212Bi and 208Tl). 235U/238U activity ratio of 0.046 ± 0.007 in the sediment is constant in nature but fluctuates due to geological processes. A value of 0.055 ± 0.008 was found in our sediment sample.

On Religion Analysis Paradigm of“Economic Man”

Religion analysis paradigm of“economic man”takes“hypothesis of rational man”in the economics as the logical starting point,emphasizes that religion rationality is built on the calculation of cost and benefit,and elaborates proposition such as religious demand,religious supply,religion market,and religious capital,further refuting“religion recession theory”in secularization theory.Although its argument foundation that self-interest equals to rationality is still controversial,such paradigm broadens the view of religion studies and provides a possible way of religion management,which deserves our further discussion.

A Humanist God？ On the troubled Relationship Between Humanism and Religion Today

The relationship between humanism and religion has always been difficult, since the Renaissance. If we look at the Humanist Associations active today in the world, we find that the relationship has become almost a declared war. Religion appears to be the greatest enemy of humanism, i.e., of the humanity. Authentic humanism seems to be exclusively secular and atheistic： you can do good only if there is no God. In this contribution I look at some programmatic documents of Humanist Associations to understand the reasons for this contrast, in the background of secularization. The result is that some criticisms of religion -- its potential for violence and obscurantism -- are historically and theoretically justifiable but partial. Indeed, they show a poor and narrow vision of religion that leads to a narrow view of the human experience. A more complex vision of man requires a more complex vision of religion. A complex vision of man includes the most ＂irrational＂ and enigmatic aspects of our being, as love, death, pain, desire, imagination and even freedom and creativity. On this basis we can appropriately understand the historical and existential role of religion. Otherwise, if God is the one painted by humanists, God would not be good, let alone a good humanist.

The Misconception of Religion as the Legal External Appearance of Identity?The Latest Studies of Olivier Roy

The aim of this essay is to retrace the latest theses and hypotheses formulated by Olivier Roy,an influent European scholar who has worked almost all his entire academic drifting in the scientific fields of sociology,political thought,and more recently even in the pragmatic theory of comparative public law.His researches have had seminal consequences in the liberal debate related to the importance of religions in the so called“public sphere”,significantly evolving the level and the deepness of studies on secularization.To recognize this leading figure and the high quality of his historical and political formation does not mean to refuse an open-oriented confrontation with two aspects apparently undervalued in Olivier Roy’s works.First of all,we can still consider(and emphasize)the necessity of a legal theoretical contribution to justify the transition of religions from their static and original normative demand to their current pluralistic variety of internal legal schools,accents,and especially customary practices.Subsequently,we have to image an ultimate criterion to recompose the differences in every cult and in getting an ideally political point of view from each religious belonging in an always more crumbled juridical culture.It cannot be anymore the defense of the Christian roots of Western liberalism,but it could become the opportunity to embrace the universality of human dignity and to tackle the strength of the most arduous social issues in the multicultural society we are living in.

Shepherding Public Discourse Practices： Homiletic Form Aligned to the Logic Operative in Racial Rhetoric and Public Theological Discourse for Secular Liberal Democracies

Given that preaching is the primary mode of public theological discourse for most Christian ministers, an intellectual virtue of verbal restraint is required when practicing public theology and it is wise to address the ways that homilies can shepherd public discourse practices. A theology of rhetoric includes the homilist＇s moral purpose. Homilies either enhance public discourse or pervert it. This essay sketches a pattern of sermon movement that respects the logic operative in public theology, given the social context of America. Homilies can help cultivate the pastoral care of public rhetoric by modeling discourse that nurtures the politics of accountability. While many call for a public ethos where divergent moral voices engage each other in highly contested arenas, a precondition to practicing effective public theology requires that one exercises discourse in a way that respects the social limits on the free exercise of religion. It is important that a public theology of rhetoric clarifies the original social agreement for acceptable religious discourse in the public arena. Homiletics, as a dimension of practical theology, can teach preachers methods of pastoral care for public discourse. The social agreement in liberal democracies to contain the combative nature of religious discourse assumes a logic that is circumscribed by commitments to （1） religious pluralism, （2） theological agnosticism, and （3） epistemological pragmatism. Here we propose that a sermon＇s form, which implicitly touches upon these commitments, can tap into the basic modes of persuasion in secular liberal societies. This respects the moral purposes previously agreed upon and expected of partisans during highly contestable times. This calls for incarnational humility on the part of the Christian public theologian and it guides her/his practice.

A Study on Advertisements in The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal

The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal is one of the most valued English literature in China’s history of Christianity and the key publications of missionaries from the second half of the 19th Century to the first half of the 20th Century.The advertisements in it have not been properly stressed by the academic world,most of which are even deleted in the bound volumes.This paper aims to give a preliminary study on the advertisements in Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal,comparing and analyzing advertisers,slogans and text structures and appeal methods of advertisements of shipping,banking,schools and book introduction in Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal,thus demonstrating its significance in China’s modern advertising industry and Sino-western commercial trade and cultural exchange.

Secular Change in Stature of Urban Chinese Children and Adolescents, 1985-2010

Objective Research evidence shows a secular trend in Chinese physical growth in recent years.The aim of this study was to analyze and assess changes in stature of children and adolescents during the 25 years from 1985‐2010,using national data.Methods Data came from successive cycles of the Chinese National Survey on Students＇ Constitution and Health（CNSSCH）.Subjects were 7‐ to 18‐year‐old children and adolescents.Results An overall positive secular trend occurred in urban China during 1985‐2010.The overall average rates of increment were 2.4 and 1.7 cm/decade for boys and girls,respectively.Total increases in adult stature for boys and girls were 2.6 and 1.7 cm,yielding rates of 1.0 and 0.7 cm/decade,respectively.Cities with different socioeconomic levels had different characteristic trends.Mean stature increases in big cities were larger than those in moderate and small cities,and boys and girls in moderate and small cities showed greater potential for growth in stature.Conclusion An overall positive secular growth trend was associated with socioeconomic progress and differed with area socioeconomic levels.School policies and strategies should be developed based on increased stature,and should continue narrowing the inequity between different socioeconomic populations.

Global Sea Level Change and Thermal Contribution

The global long-term sea level trend is obtained from the analysis of tide gauge data and TOPEX/Poseidon data. The linear trend of global mean sea level is highly non-uniform spatially, with an average rate of 2.2 mmyear^-1 in T/P sea-level rise from October 1992 to September 2002. Sea level change due to temperature variation （the thermosteric sea level） is discussed. The results are compared with TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data in the same temporal span at different spatial scales. It is indicated that the thermal effect accounts for 86% and 73% of the observed seasonal variability in the northern and southern hemispheres, respectively. The TOPEX/Poseidon observed sea level lags behind the TSL by 2 months in the zonal band of 40%-60% in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Systematic differences of about 1-2 cm between TOPEX/Poseidon observations and thermosteric sea level data are obtained. The potential causes tbr these differences include water exchange among the atmosphere, land, and oceans, and some possible deviations in thermosteric contribution estimates and geophysical corrections to the TOPEX/Poseidon data.

Secular Changes on the Distribution of Body Mass Index among Chinese Children and Adolescents, 1985-2010

Objective To analyze the change in Body Mass Index （BMI） distribution among Chinese children and adolescents for the development of more effective intervention for childhood obesity. Methods Data on the national students＇ constitution and health survey between 1985 and 2010 was used for this study. Subjects were students aged 7-18 randomly selected from 30 provinces in China. BMI for-age curves were developed by LMS method, and the trend of BMI distribution was determined by comparing the upper BMI percentiles and analyzing the skew shift of distribution between 2985 and 2010. Results An overall positive swift trend of BMI between 1985 and 2010 was observed among the Chinese school-age children and adolescents. The average median of the BMI increased from 16.8 and 17.0 ks/m2 to 18.2 and 17.9 kg/m2 in 25 years, with increments 0.56 and 0.36 kg/m2 per decade for males and females, respectively. The more obvious increments were found at the high BMI. The total increments of BMI in this period were 4.03 and 2.20 kg/m2 at the 85th, 6.24 and 3.57 kg/m2 at the 95th, and 6.99 and 4.27 kg/m2 at the 97th percentiles, for males and females, respectively. Conclusion Obvious increments were observed at high BMI of the Chinese children and adolescents. More effective interventions should be taken for control and prevention of obesity and its health consequence for these subgroups. It is necessary to establish a risk-complex system consisting of the identification of BMI scope, the screen of the disease risk factors and the assessment of excessive adiposity.

Secular trends in incidence of lung cancer by histological type in Beijing, China, 2000-2016

Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize secular trends in the sex-specific, age-standardized incidence of lung cancer by histological type in Beijing, China, from 2000 to 2016 based on data from a populationbased cancer registry.Methods: Data on the incidence of cancer from 2000 to 2016 were obtained from the Beijing Cancer Registry.We examined trends in the sex-specific, age-standardized incidence of lung cancer by histological type using a Joinpoint regression model.Results: A total of 117,409 cases of lung cancer were diagnosed from 2000 to 2016. Overall, 73,062(62.23%)patients were males. The most common histological type among both sexes was adenocarcinoma; however, the proportion of adenocarcinoma differed significantly between males and females(45.36% vs. 77.14%, respectively,P<0.0001). The age-standardized incidence of total lung cancer increased from 2000 to 2010 with an annual percent change(APC) of 2.2% [95% confidence interval(95% CI), 1.5% to 2.9%] and stabilized thereafter. Among males, the incidence of total lung cancer peaked in 2008 and then decreased slightly, with an APC of-1.1%(95%CI,-2.1% to-0.1%). Among females, the incidence increased continuously during the study period, with an APC of 1.4%(95% CI, 0.9% to 1.9%). The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma decreased significantly in recent years among both sexes, with APCs of-2.6%(95% CI,-4.5% to-0.6%) from 2007 to 2016 for males and-5.4%(95%CI,-7.2% to-3.6%) from 2004 to 2016 for females. In contrast, the incidence of adenocarcinoma increased continuously throughout the study period, by APCs of 4.0%(95% CI, 2.6% to 5.4%) for males and 6.2%(95% CI,4.8% to 7.6%) for females. The incidence of small cell carcinoma peaked in 2007 and stabilized thereafter among males, whereas it peaked in 2012 and then decreased with an APC of-14.7%(95% CI,-25.3% to-2.6%) among females. The incidence of large cell carcinoma and other specified malignant neoplasm did not change much,whereas the incidence of unspecified type decreased among both sexes during the study period.Conclusions: Although the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma decreased significantly among both sexes in recent years in Beijing, China, adenocarcinoma increased continuously throughout the study period among both sexes. Knowledge of differences in trends is useful for surveillance and control of lung cancer. However, the reason for the increase in adenocarcinoma remains unclear and warrants investigation.

Secular Changes of Stature in Rural Children and Adolescents in China, 1985-2010

Objective To analyze and assess secular change in stature in rural children and adolescents in China from 1985 to 2010. Methods Data were obtained from the 6 rounds of the Chinese National Survey on Student＇s Constitution and Health. The subjects enrolled in the study were children and adolescents aged 7-18 years in rural areas of provincial capitals. Results An overall positive secular trend in stature occurred in rural areas of provincial capitals in China from 1985 to 2010. The overall average increase rates were 3.1 and 2.4 cm/decade for boys and girls, respectively. The total body height increases for grown up boys and girls were 3.6 and 2.3 cm and the increase rates were 1.4 and 0.9 cm/decade, respectively. There were differences in body height increase among eastern, central and western regions. The average body height of the children or adolescents in eastern region was highest, followed by central region and western region. The overall increase rates in central region were highest among the three regions. The difference between eastern/central region and western region was obvious. 〈br〉 Conclusion Positive secular trend in stature of children or adolescents has occurred in rural area of China, and rural boys and girls showed a great potential for continuous growth. More attention should be paid to the differences in children＇s body height between western region and eastern/central region.

On the correlation of nonlinear variables containing secular trend variations： numerical experiments

Due to global warming, the general circulation, underlying surfaces characteristics, and geophysical and meteorological elements all show evident secular trends. This paper points out that when calculating the correlation of two variables containing their own obvious secular trends, the interannual correlation characteristics between the two variables may be distorted （overestimated or underestimated）. Numerical experiments in this paper show that if two variables have opposite secular trends, the correlation coefficient between the two variables is reduced （the positive correlation is underestimated, or the negative correlation is overestimated）; and if the two variables have the same sign of secular trends, the correlation coefficient between the two variables is increased （the positive correlation is overestimated, or the negative correlation is underestimated）. Numerical experiments also suggest that the effect of secular trends on the interannual correlation of the two variables is interchangeable, that is to say, as long as the values of the two trends are not changed, the two variables interchange their positions, and the effect of the secular trends on the interannual correlation coefficient of the two variables remains the same. If the two variables have the same-（opposite-） sign trends, the effect of secular trends on the interannal correlation coefficient is more （less） distinctive. A meteorological example is given.