This study examined the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale-Chinese version (SCSS-C) in Taiwanese adults. A convenience sample of 232 participants in Taiwan completed an online survey, and 45 of the 232 participants completed the SCSS-C again over a 2 week interval. The content validity index of the SCSS-C was 0.97. Parallel analysis and exploratory factor analysis results revealed two factors (religious coping and non-religious coping). The internal consistency of the SCSS-C was satisfactory (α = 0.88 to 0.92). Test-retest reliability was satisfactory (r = 0.68 to 0.89). The psychometric properties of the SCSS-C were found to be acceptable for use in Taiwanese adults.
Vaccine hesitancy is gaining attention due to the increasing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Malaysia is a majority Muslim country and religion has a significant influence on the acceptance or rejection of vaccines. This is clearly seen through the disagreement over the halal status of vaccines. Social media has become a platform for discussion and dissemination of information and dis-information on vaccines. Thus, it has had a relatively significant influence on vaccine hesitancy among social media users. By analysing tweets from February 2020 to February 2021 using Twitter API, this paper highlights the discussion of COVID-19 vaccines' halal status on Twitter. This study focuses on the analysis of vaccination reluctancy among the Twitter users in Malaysia and found that the most prevalent theme from the discussion is the constructed religious narratives to justify scientifically misleading and false claims concerning vaccination represented on social media. This finding also calls for a deeper understanding of society's constructed knowledge concerning contemporary issues in the digital age on social media.
Management of newborns with disorders of sex development (DSD), especially in deciding the need for a sex assignment surgery, is a complex matter. It is associated with many bioethical issues, such as concerns about the rights and welfare of the newborns and the reliability of parents' consent to the paternalistic disposition of physicians in making the best decisions. This paper, containing interviews with six medical experts and three religious' experts, aims to raise awareness of the multidisciplinary approach, which uses a combination of medicine, religion, and ethics in managing children with DSD, particularly in Malaysia, to avoid unnecessary psychological, biological, emotional, and societal ramifications.
In 1961, the Journal of Religion and Health (JORH) commenced publishing articles that examined modern religious and spiritual philosophy in relation to psychology and health. The year 2021 marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of JORH. This research paper retrospectively analyses the journal's content. It provides insight into JORH's publication trends, citation records, prominent themes, authors' collaboration and its aggregate contribution to the field of religion and health. Over time, the number of publications, citations and downloads of JORH articles have substantially increased, as has the journals prominence and diverse contributions to the study of religion, spirituality and health.
The present work aimed to identify and describe the Malaysian Muslim community's understanding of health and cosmetic products related to the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad which are available in the Malaysian market. The demographics of this understanding are examined with respect to gender, age, marital and working status, highest level of education, and monthly income earned. A survey was conducted in 2017. A structured questionnaire pertaining to such products was used to capture the relevant data. This survey implemented a multistage design stratified by state, proportionate to the size of the state population, and was representative of the Malaysian population. Data analysis of the results was carried out using frequency and Chi-square analysis with the help of Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0. The paper concluded that the community's understanding of the term 'prophetic products' is that it refers to various products that Prophet Muhammad used and/or spoke of approvingly such as dates, raisins, pomegranates, honey, and others. It was observed that these ingredients were strongly identified in public perception as prophetic health and cosmetic products and that there is consequently great demand for these among Malaysians. This factor was identified through various elements. First, the combination of things recognized as prophetic items such as dates, raisins, pomegranates, honey, and others within the product. Second, the labeling of merchandise as prophetic products. Prophetic health merchandise was more popular among Malaysians than were cosmetic products.
This cross-sectional survey investigates the influence of youths' religiosity on their attitude towards people with disabilities. The Muslim religiosity questionnaire and multidimensional attitudes scale towards persons with disabilities were used to survey 733 youths from the federal university in the United Arab Emirates. The results indicated that the youths were religious and had positive attitudes towards people with disabilities. An increase in religiosity is associated with a positive attitude towards disability, and both religiosity and total family income positively impacted the attitude towards people with disabilities. Reducing inequalities by including persons with disabilities is one of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development objectives. Policies should aim to enhance curriculum, improvise public guidelines and partner with associated faith-based leaders to build an inclusive society for people with disabilities, thus helping to achieve sustainable development goals.
Religiously integrated interventions for treating mental illnesses have proved effective. However, many studies have yet to adequately address the effects of Islamic religious-based rituals on mental health among Muslims. The present study investigated the impact of a purposefully designed Islamic religion-based intervention on reducing depression and anxiety disorders among Muslim patients using a randomised controlled trial design. A total of 62 Muslim patients (30 women and 32 men) were divided by gender into two groups, with each group assigned randomly to either treatment or control groups. The participants who received the Islamic-based intervention were compared to participants who received the control intervention. Taylor's (cite date) manifest anxiety scale and Steer and Beck's (cite the date) depression scale were used to examine the effects on depression and anxiety levels. ANCOVA results revealed that the Islamic intervention significantly reduced anxiety levels in women (d = 0.75) and depression levels in men (d = 0.80) compared to the typical care control groups.
The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a remarkable medical science breakthrough that enables the understanding of genetics and the intervention of human health. An individual's health is influenced by physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and religious factors. Among these, religious beliefs shape our thinking on cloning, stem cells, and gene editing, affecting healthcare decisions and the motivation for seeking treatment. Is the human genome sacred? Does editing it violate the idea that we're made in God's image or allow us to "play God"? Understanding the perspectives behind the fundamental religious doctrines of Islam, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist on gene editing/therapy in somatic and germline cells would ensure a right balance between geneticists and theologians in providing the best healthcare while catering to individual beliefs.
This paper discusses the relationship between spiritual and emotional intelligence and eternal happiness, from an Islamic perspective. In Islam, achieving spiritual intelligence first requires a close relationship with God-established, for example, through consistent purification of the soul, repentance, acts of worship, performing good deeds and avoiding evil. Through such action, the light of God-which comes with Divine guidance and the knowledge of truth-touches the hearts of believers, causing them to experience pure contentedness. This study takes a qualitative approach, using the NVivo text analysis tool to analyse texts from 43 references, comprising 31 journal articles and 12 books or chapters. The three most frequently used words were 'Islamic', 'spiritual' and 'happiness', while 'intelligence' was the fourteenth most-used. This finding highlights the fear of God due to the love of God as the highest obedience, as it is the purest and sincerest degree of worship (i.e. for God's sake completely). Spiritual intelligence trains the soul from its prone-to-evil state to become more angelic or serene, thereby increasing emotional intelligence. This will be reflected in a believer's attitude, emotion and behaviours aligning with the conduct commended in Islam, to whom God promises an afterlife of eternal happiness in Heaven. This paper draws on the Qur'an and Sunnah as well as prominent Islamic scholarship to support the Islamic concepts discussed, enriching our understanding and perspective on the Islamic concept of spiritual and emotional intelligence and its role in attaining eternal happiness in Islam. This study also highlights several key concepts pivotal to Islamic spiritual and emotional intelligence as pre-requisites for obtaining eternal happiness, therefore advancing current knowledge on the subject.
This study examined the mediating effects of psychological strain (Strain Theory) as a possible explanation for the relationship between religiosity and suicidality among Chinese young adults. A questionnaire was administered that included the Religious Orientation-Revised Scale (RO-RS), Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), and Psychological Strains Scale (PSS). Using cluster sampling, we recruited 13,250 college students across seven provinces in China. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the main determinants of suicidality. We further explored the mediation effect of psychological strains on the relationship between religion and suicidality. We found that non-believers obtained the lowest PSS. Believers of Islam and other religions obtained higher RO-RS scores compared to non-religious participants. Psychological strain imposed a complete effect between religiosity and suicidality. A positive relationship between religion and suicidality was present among the participants of the study. Individuals who are affiliated with a religion are considered as a marginalized population in China, which may lead to psychological strains, further increasing the risk of suicidality.
Workplace spirituality (WPS) has been associated with various benefits, including its potential to reduce work-family conflict. Previous studies have established that individual religiosity influences work-family enrichment. To date, there has been no reliable evidence on the relationship between WPS and work-to-family enrichment (WFE). Hence, the present research aimed to identify the relationship between the three components of WPS, namely inner life, meaningful work, and sense of community and WFE among employees of the public sector in Malaysia. In this study, data collection was conducted using questionnaires that were distributed to two public organizations, which managed to receive a total of 81% response rate. The results were in line with past studies, which indicated a significant and positive relationship between workplace spirituality dimensions (inner life, meaningful work, and sense of community) and WFE. The significant influence of the sense of community toward WFE is believed to be caused by the collectivist culture of Malaysians. Therefore, the aspect of community must be taken into consideration in order to increase work-family enrichment among employees, particularly in the context of religious and collectivist society.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global phenomenon defined by uncertainty, fear and grief which has resulted in record high levels of stress and anxiety in the first half of 2020. It also led to an increased interest in the study of the role of belief, religion, and spirituality as responses to coping with and responding to the pandemic throughout different societal domains. This study explores the impact of anxiety and stress caused by the pandemic on Muslim academics' subjective well-being. It also explores correlations between coping and spirituality by assessing Muslim academics' coping strategies in overcoming stress and anxiety. To this end, this study sampled 480 Muslim academics ages 25-60 years residing in Muslim countries. The findings show a negative yet significant correlation between anxiety and well-being while also showing a positive and significant correlation between coping strategies and subjective well-being. The research also points to the role of coping strategies in reducing anxiety and stress, the resulting improvements in well-being for Muslim academics, and the mediating effect of coping strategies between anxiety, stress, and well-being for Muslim academics.
This paper reports on the psychometric properties of the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) with a sample of 311 Iranian patients who were suffering from cancer between September and December 2020. A cross-sectional study design was used, and convenience sampling was employed. Reliability was evaluated by internal consistency Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and average inter-item correlation. The exploratory factor analysis showed that the ROS had 15 items and two factors (religious identity and personal identity) that explained 43.2% of the total variance of religious orientation in Iranian patients with cancer. Construct validity was assessed by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency and composite reliability were acceptable. The results indicate that the ROS can produce reliable and valid data on religious orientation in a sample of Iranian patient with cancer.
Religiosity and spirituality have previously been found to have significant effects on mental and physical health. This study aimed to compare elderly people utilizing different types of religious activities in their daily routine and the effects upon their quality of life and cognitive function. A cross-sectional study was conducted among elderly people dwelling in suburban areas of Malaysia. The Malay version of Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Older Americans Resources and Services's Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (OARS's IADL), and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) questionnaires were used in this study. Independent t test was utilized to determine the difference in the quality of life and the cognitive function between groups of elderly people that were categorized based on their level of participation in different religious activities. The study involved 432 participants. The mean score for all domain of SF-36 was significantly higher among those who engaged in the religious activities as compared to those elderly who were either less engaged or did not practice religious activities. The mean score of GDS-15, OARS's IADL, and MoCA was also significantly higher among those who participated in religious activities. There was a significant impact on the quality of life and cognitive function among elderly people practicing religious activities. This study proved the importance of practicing religious activities among the elderly in achieving healthy aging.
Little is known about the impact of religion on vaccine receptivity in Malaysia. Improved vaccine uptake is positively reflected in the reduction of vaccine-preventable diseases. This study aimed to explore and compare the attitudes, religious beliefs, and familiarity regarding vaccination between the religious studies and science students. A survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted between a convenient sample of students (N = 300) of religious studies and applied sciences in Kuantan, Malaysia. A new, face- and content-validated questionnaire was used for data collection. A total of 206 students responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 86.6%. Overall, participants demonstrated positive attitudes towards vaccination (n = 185, 89.9%). Only a minority of respondents expressed an opposition to vaccination (n = 21, 10.2%). Religious factors (permissibility) of vaccines (n = 12, 57.1%) and harm associated with the vaccine (n = 13, 61.9%) were the most common reasons for not supporting vaccination among the non-supporters. Most (n = 135, 65.5%) respondents agreed that vaccination is parallel with the Islamic concept of protecting life and preventing harm. Almost half of the respondents (n = 98, 47.6%) admit to declaring "Fatwa" to oblige parents to vaccinate their children. Religious beliefs and safety issues surrounding immunisation were reported as the major barriers for the support of immunisation. Well-designed programs are recommended to reshape the religious beliefs and convictions among students toward vaccination.
Research has shown that religion is associated with a better quality of life (QoL). This study aims to examine ethnic differences in the association between religion and the QoL of older adults in a predominantly Muslim population within a multicultural setting. Two-wave data of 3,810 participants consisting of mostly Muslims and older adults aged ≥ 55 years were collected as part of the community health surveys conducted in 2013 and 2018 in the South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO). Both cross-sectional analyses of baseline data and prospective analyses of longitudinal data were conducted. The associations between religiosity and quality of life were mainly positive in the cross-sectional analysis. In the two-wave analysis, religious importance was negatively associated with QoL among the Malays (B = - 1.103, SE B = 0.029, p
The Sharī'ah affords considerable concern for human emotions, with its rulings seeking to remove the deliberate and accidental types of harm that may be inflicted on individuals or society. The principle of medical confidentiality protects patients' dignity and avoids potential harm if otherwise practised. Texts from the Quran and Sunnah substantiate that unjustified disclosure of secrets is prohibited and whoever breaches confidentiality is to be punished. This paper explores the origins of Islamic ethical framework vis-à-vis dealing with privacy, particularly confidential information acquired by health professionals. For that, this paper attempts to explore various āyāt (Quranic verses) and aḥādīth (Prophetic traditions) related to privacy, and thus to analogically deduct various aspects of confidentiality in the context of medical ethics. As a result, it aims to discourse on key principles of medical confidentiality from an Islamic juristic perspective, discussing its types and conditions.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship among spiritual intelligence, spiritual well-being and death anxiety among Iranian veterans. In this predictive correlational study, 211 veterans completed King and DeCicco's Spiritual Intelligence Scale, Paloutzian and Ellison's Spiritual Well-being Scale and Templer's Death Anxiety Scale-Extended. After confirming the reliability of the constructs using intra-class correlation coefficient, partial least squares structural equation modeling method was utilized to assess the impact of spiritual well-being and spiritual intelligence on death anxiety. This study found a significant positive relationship between spiritual intelligence and death anxiety after controlling for the effects of age, education level and disability. However, there was a significant negative relationship between spiritual well-being and death anxiety among Iranian veterans. Negative relationships were found between spiritual well-being and death anxiety among Iranian veterans. However, spiritual intelligence had a positive impact on death anxiety.
This paper aimed to summarize kratom's psychological effects on users and the Islamic views on kratom use. A literature survey of published kratom studies, teachings based on the holy Qur'an, the Sunnah, and views of several Islamic scholars based on qualitative methodology through text analysis was conducted. The results demonstrated that despite its beneficial therapeutic effects, the harm induced by kratom outweighs its benefits. We concluded that kratom use for medicinal purposes is only warranted if useful constituent mitragynine can be extracted and used on its own, and if more rigorous human studies demonstrated good safety profile and efficacy of mitragynine for therapeutic purposes.