Religion and Economics

This study revisits the societal implications of cybercrime among youths in contemporary Igbo society, focusing on its forms, causes, and effects, while also examining the roles of the Church and government in curbing this growing problem. The research is significant for families, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, ICT professionals, and other stakeholders involved in combatting cybercrime in Nigeria. It aims to provide crucial insights for academic institutions, serving as a resource for students and scholars in fields such as criminology, sociology, law, computer science, and religious studies. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the development of future leaders who can use their potential to drive positive societal change. The scope of the study is focused on cybercrime among Igbo youths in Southeastern Nigeria, employing both primary and secondary data sources, including oral interviews, observations, academic books, journals, newspapers, and lecture notes.

The chapter offers a summary and critique of Rodney Stark and Roger Finke's Acts of Faith (2000), a central publication in the economics of religion. The chapter critically discusses whether this version of the economics of religion approach can be considered a comprehensive theory of religion.

This study revisits the societal implications of cybercrime among youths in contemporary Igbo society, focusing on its forms, causes, and effects, while also examining the roles of the Church and government in curbing this growing problem. The research is significant for families, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, ICT professionals, and other stakeholders involved in combatting cybercrime in Nigeria. It aims to provide crucial insights for academic institutions, serving as a resource for students and scholars in fields such as criminology, sociology, law, computer science, and religious studies. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the development of future leaders who can use their potential to drive positive societal change. The scope of the study is focused on cybercrime among Igbo youths in South-eastern Nigeria, employing both primary and secondary data sources, including oral interviews, observations, academic books, journals, newspapers, and lecture notes.

Religious teachings have long emphasized environmental stewardship, with many Islamic principles advocating sustainable living and conservation efforts. In Indonesia, where religiosity is high, faith-based education plays a crucial role in shaping environmental awareness. This study analyses the Arabic language curriculum in madrasas and pesantrens to explore how environmental values are integrated into Arabic language instruction. Currently, only two explicit environmental themes are found in textbooks, indicating a gap in curriculum development. Using curriculum and literature analysis, this research proposes strategies such as enriching textbook themes, developing environmentfocused modules, providing teacher training, and implementing project-based learning. The findings demonstrate that Arabic language education can serve as an effective medium for fostering environmental awareness based on Islamic teachings. Integrating these values not only enhances the relevance of Arabic instruction but also cultivates a generation that is both religiously devoted and environmentally conscious. Recommendations are provided to strengthen the Arabic curriculum as a tool for building environmental awareness in madrasas and pesantrens.

Cashless policy and Gishu (E-fraud) cases in digital and electronic payment system are on the surge despite the introduction of Bank Verification Number (BVN). This cankerworn "fraud" has posed a major risk to not only the banking sector but customers who has lost confidence in banks and indeed the Nigerian economy. This ugly phenomenon had been attributed to growing army of unemployed youths by some scholars. While some contend that the major contributing factor is compromise by law enforcement agents. Others maintain that it is due to the collapse in the moral authority of social institution. The thrust of the study is to examine different cases of Efraud in the policy and proffer prophetic strategies to curb the activities of business fraudsters. With the aid of secondary sources of information, the study contextualized the phenomenon within the frame work of Islamic orthodoxy, attempts reconciliation with opposing views. The findings of the study revealed that E-fraud has become the order of the day among the youth. The paper concludes that the scourge has a triangular axis of evil which is centred around the politicians, clergy and media in the twenty first century and the best strategy to curtail it is leadership by example as exemplified by the Prophet in the early history of Islam.

Granica između nauke i vere Pitanje postojanja Boga vekovima je bilo predmet filozofskih, teoloških i naučnih rasprava. Međutim, savremena otkrića u kvantnoj fizici i psihologiji postavljaju ga u novi kontekst. Ako je realnost fleksibilna i zavisna od posmatrača, da li to znači da su i bogovi, ili njihovo odsustvo, takođe relativni? Može li vera zaista "kolapsirati" određenu verziju univerzuma, kao što merenje utiče na kvantne čestice? Ovaj esej ispituje kako kvantna fizika, kognitivna nauka i filozofija zajedno otvaraju mogućnost da je postojanje ili nepostojanje Boga pitanje svesti i percepcije, a ne objektivne spoljašnje istine. Kvantna fizika: svet kao potencijal Kvantna fizika je možda najradikalnija revolucija u naučnom razumevanju realnosti. Ključni eksperiment koji otkriva njenu čudnovatost jeste eksperiment sa dvostrukim prorezom 1. U njemu, čestice svetlosti (fotoni) ili materije (elektroni) ponašaju se kao talasi koji prolaze kroz oba proreza istovremenoali samo dok ih niko ne posmatra. Kada ih posmatramo, one "odlučuju" kroz koji prorez prolaze i ponašaju se kao čestice. Ovo sugeriše da sam čin posmatranja "fiksira" stvarnost iz neodređenog stanja potencijala u konkretno stanje.

В девятой главе «Динамический иджтихад в шиитском исламе», Акиф Тагиев анализирует то, как шиитские богословы и муджтахиды пытаются урегулировать вопросы современности и ответить на ее вызовы. Предметом исследования Тагиева является доктрина «динамического иджтихада» или «динамической юриспруденции», излагаемая в трудах аятоллы Юсуфа Саанеи (1937–2020) и делающая акцент на возможности пересмотра определенных «догматических» положений ислама. В правовой теории шиитов-двунадесятников произошел крупный эпистемологический сдвиг – отдано предпочтение Корану, а разум представлен как законный источник для обнаружения того, что правовые постановления были изданы в историческом контексте времени (заман) и пространства (макан) и не могут быть универсальны в этих аспектах. Динамический иджтихад во всех его проявлениях, а именно в адаптации шиитской юриспруденции к условиям современного мира, утверждает Тагиев, является залогом сохранения и развития шиитской правовой школы.

Religion plays a crucial role not only in shaping individual and group behavior but also in influencing governance structures and economic performance. Many countries incorporate religion into their constitutions, with some adopting official state religions as the foundation of governance, thereby creating theocratic states. This study aims to explore the relationship between religion and state governance, as well as the relationship between religion and economic performance, based on the classification of countries by religion. The data for this analysis is sourced from the World Bank and the Pew Research Center. It encompasses GDP per capita figures for 133 countries for the years 1990 and 2022, along with estimates of the global population by religion in 2050, derived through a cohort-component technique. A descriptive and comparative approach is utilized to explore the relationship between religion, governance, and the economic performance of these nations. This study finds that countries with an official state religion, supported by strong governance and prudent resource management, tend to achieve better economic outcomes, as evidenced by higher GDP per capita levels. Conversely, countries with weak governance or without clear religious support often experience economic stagnation. The findings recommend the importance of integrating religious values into inclusive and sustainable development policies.

Temple Worship Can Begin Today Ancient Jewish history would offer rich material for a dystopian movie. I've presented here a picture of a population with a peculiar mindset that has spanned thousands of years and is rooted in the ancient Egyptian thought system. The Israelites have provided the written records showing how these ideas have evolved. What's next? Israel has always been centered on the Temple. It served as the omphalos, the place where Heaven and Earth are joined. It is the Gate that brings everything into our world. It is here that the righteous souls are translated back to the Creator. It connects today's generation to all the past generations. The Jewish people have been cut off from temple worship for nearly 2,000 years. Recently, tensions between Jews and Muslims have peaked. For the Shi'ite Muslims, The Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque serve as their omphalos. It marks the spot where Mohammed ascended to Heaven and returned. It connects today's citizens with their ancestors. Taking the Temple Mount away from the Palestinians amounts to cutting this ideological connection between God and Muslims.

The global spread of Pentecostalism has been facilitated by a combination of transnational impulses and indigenizing interests. In the case of independent Pentecostal megachurches, their growth in urban centres is reflected in both Western and Asian societies. Megachurches in America and Southeast Asia have flourished because of their unique blend of middleclass congregants, appeal to consumerist and popular culture, as well as their compatibility with the urban lifestyle patterns of their congregants. However, it would be a mistake to assume that the drivers of growth and the conditions behind the common features of these megachurches are the same. Examining Jakarta, Surabaya, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila, we show that megachurches are not located in shopping malls and commercial complexes merely for growth purposes or to align with the consumerism ethos of capitalism. Deeply local concerns, such as hostile neighbourhoods dominated by Muslim or Catholic majorities, have led to the camouflaging of Christian symbols in urban settings. The purposeful targeting of youth also reveals the Southeast Asian megachurch engaging with the new urban mobilities triggered by rapid economic development. We conclude that the Southeast Asian city's structure and layout are being repurposed by Christian innovation and reinterpretation. Christianity in the Southeast Asian city is hidden in plain sight.

The post-pandemic economy in South Africa has exacerbated significant economic challenges, due to increasing unemployment, political corruption, inflation, and rising poverty, which have worsened the struggles of many (see Francis & Webster 2019:789-791; Arndt et al. 2020:16-22; van Papendorp, Packirisamy & Masike 2024:1-4). However, amid this turmoil, Christian megachurches (especially those promoting prosperity theology), have continued to flourish. Prominent South African pastors continue to espouse that financial success is a sign of divine favour, encouraging congregants to tithe faithfully, in exchange for promised wealth (Barron 2022:88-94). Such doctrine aligns with broader religious narratives that intertwine which religion has become commodified: positioning 'celebrity pastors' as both spiritual, political, and financial influences. In addition to how the rise of 'big religion'-defined as the fusion of religion with commercial enterprise, poses significant challenges to extant socioeconomic inequalities within the country, as it reinforces the theological legitimisation of wealth accumulation and a monopoly over status functions, at the expense of the working class.

This study examines the intersection of theology and economics through Patristic interpretations of economic inequality, focusing on the scriptural account of the rich young man (Matthew 19:16–30, Mark 10:17–31, and Luke 18:18–30). It contrasts the perspectives of two early Church Fathers: Clement of Alexandria, who views wealth as a morally neutral tool requiring proper stewardship, and Basil the Great, who condemns wealth hoarding as a form of social injustice necessitating redistribution. These divergent views illustrate how theological insights shape economic thought and policy. By analyzing their writings, this study underscores the enduring relevance of Patristic theology for contemporary debates on wealth and inequality. This research argues that theological perspectives, while diverse, provide essential moral and ethical foundations for addressing economic disparities.

la política para introducir homogeneidades dentro de las heterogeneidades del cuerpo social. Se trata de un fenómeno ya descrito por Georges Bataille en La estructura psicológica del fascismo, en la cual argumenta -según Jay (2003, 116)que el poder fascista estaba compuesto no solo por la dimensión militar, sino, además, por la dimensión religiosa: Las cualidades derivadas de la homogeneidad introyectada, tales como el deber, la disciplina y la obediencia, y las cualidades derivadas de la heterogeneidad esencial, la violencia imperativa y la posición del jefe como el objeto trascendente de la afectividad colectiva. Pero el valor religioso del jefe es realmente el valor fundamental (si no formal) del fascismo, que le da a la actividad de los milicianos su característica tonalidad afectiva, distinta de la del soldado en general (Bataille,

A rare and nearly life-size bronze statue of Dionysus is displayed in the
Classical Artifacts section of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. The piece,
whose origin of discovery is unknown, was broken into pieces and smuggled
abroad. It was brought back to Turkey and reassembled by the Turkish Ministry
of Culture and Tourism. Bronze statues in human form were frequently used in
the houses of wealthy city dwellers in antiquity. Bronze is reused by melting,
which has caused the present statue to become an increasingly rare artifact.
This study aims to introduce the bronze sculpture of Dionysus, its possible date
of creation, and its intended use by comparing it with similar examples from
the Roman Empire. The study conducted thus far, indicates that the artifact
may have been used as a lighting device These lighting devices were especially
popular in the 1st century AD, and similar examples can be seen in Pompeii. The
stylistic analysis indicates that the sculpture is pasticcio and contains elements
from a wide range of time periods and dates to the 1st–2nd centuries AD.

This article explores J. A. Hobson's writings on religion. Hobson had an economic methodology focused on an organic view of society, treating it like a living being. Imperialism, promoted by the government, the press, and religion acts like a parasitic ideology, infecting all parts of society, including the intersection between economic and religious discourse. Hobson argued that economic factors played an important role in the decline of religion. For Hobson, there is a struggle between "God" and "Mammon," in which economic concerns outpace religious ones, leading to the latter's decline. His status as a lecturer in the South Place Ethical Society makes his rhetoric somewhat that of a "secular preacher." His writings on religion demonstrate how he understood imperialism as a worldview with religious undertones that influences all spheres of society. "Imperialism as religion" would not be an incorrect way to characterize his work.

breathe a whole new truth into the text-any text-but more profoundly the Parables attributed to Jesus of Nazareth. In the era of allegory and standard interpretations and proper driving conduct and road manners, Velunta's Jeepney Hermeneutics is a necessary disruption to the ways in which we, as "faithful" Bible readers and "lawabiding" motorists capable of doing no wrong, conduct and view ourselves. Reading the Parables of Jesus inside a Jeepney is good news for everyone in the jeepney which is roughly 70% of the general population in the Philippines. It is bad news for those in the remaining 25% and an absolute horror story for those in the uppermost 5%. And if truth is a matter of statistics, the truth that is preached by Velunta, is indeed truest. Those who would feel insulted by these truths will realize, by the end of this book, that they are exactly that which is wrong in this world and they should-quite honestly-repent before a Jeepney runs them over.

What are the co-making processes that blur the boundaries between religion
and economy? How can we move past misleading metaphors and
analogies that reify the false distinction between sacred and secular
or that frame religion as pure essences corrupted by financialization?
Inspired by McLaughlin et al.’s (2020) call for increased attention to the
“corporate form of religion,” we outline how common social structural
and aspirational elements undergird shared processes of both religionmaking
and corporation-making. Drawing on ethnographic and historical
data from contributing authors to this Special Issue, we hypothesize
that the reification of religion and business is context dependent, benefits
regimes of power, and is open to contestation; and that some intentional
communities, purposeful or not, have from their inception been understood
as neither religious nor corporate. We marshal global data from diverse
case studies to explore the modes of relatedness between religions
and corporations, on the one hand, and the context-specific boundarymaking
practices that reify a false binary, on the other.

Prior to the outset of Christianity in the Philippines, natives from various ethnic-groups were believers of animism. Their animistic belief was really embedded in their culture and day-today life. This was dominant until the Spaniards came and christianization started to integrate to the mainstream of natives. Nonetheless, despite the widespread of new religion, animistic attitudes of the natives have remained. Thus, we Filipinos, call our faith a hybrid of animism and christianity. This can be seen, for instance, from the tradition of "pagpunas o paghipo sa poon," which displays the belief in Jesus Christ through animistic tradition. Filipinos, as profoundly attached to religious images, manifest different emotions that evoke from it. Although it appears to be animistic, Filipinos' desire is the higher consciousness that is represented by religious images. Potentially, this veneration of Filipinos resembled the Hindu aesthetic theory of rasa when Abhinavagupta refers to this as a taste of the ultimate reality. Rasa connotes a deeper aesthetic experience with religious connotations. The rasas are not, therefore, mere passing personal emotions evoked in the audience by an expertly wrought work of literature, but rather a realisation of one's own higher consciousness, spurred by the experience of emotions that are not tied to one's own ego. Its larger purpose of the rasas is not mere aesthetic pleasure, but rather inspiring enlightenment. Hence, rasa can serve a path to spiritual growth and understanding as akin to the veneration of Filipinos towards religious images. In this paper, I will present the Hindu aesthetic theory of rasa. Next, I will discuss the veneration of Filipinos towards religious images and art. Thirdly, I will analyse how Filipinos embodied the Hindu aesthetic theory of rasa. In conclusion, I would agree that the veneration of Filipinos have realised the rasa theory of Hindu tradition.

Efforts to address the logic of extraction, which arguably is at the core of our current environmental catastrophe, are examples for a non-reductive material turn in the study of religion and theology. These efforts are linked with the logics of property, possession, human/nature, and human/land relations. This emphasis on materiality and relationship creates welcome openings for another set of relationships that is still underreflected in the material turn in religion and theology, namely the various connections between extraction and exploitation, specifically of labor, both productive and reproductive, human and other-than-human. In this article, the logic of extraction will be interpreted and reevaluated in its relation to exploitative relationships of labor, which in turn will be deepened in conversation with extraction. Relationships of extraction, production and reproduction will further be investigated in terms of the notion of a religious surplus, which examines the multiple contributions of religion and theology as generated in broader surplus-producing relationships.

It is natural to identify the Holy with things which are symbols of the Holy. Socrates, Jesus, and Paul spoke against this identification, and in the Middle East today it is disastrous and bloody. With our WMD today and other weapons, we can no longer afford our various idolatries. A "Way" (of life) out is suggested by the Book of Revelation, where in the End, there is no Temple, for the Temple is God.

The article presents religion as a subject of economic history research in the theoretical perspective, which relates to institutional economics. According to Douglass C. North, institutions are the game rules or restrictions which have been created by people. They form their cooperation and create an incentive structure for the interpersonal exchange that takes place (political, economic, and social). The above economist proposed also the division of institutions into formal and informal. The second ones include, e.g. beliefs. According to this theory, religion can be treated as an institution. It is also possible to research its significance, e.g. in the field of complex changes taking place in society in a particular space-time perspective. This perspective seems to be particularly interesting for the humanities and social sciences, including economic history. The text brings about the understanding of institutions within the framework of institutional economics. It also concerns the issues connected with the study of religion by economic historians through the characterization of approaches (models) presenting the relationships between religion and the economy.

Punk is unique in that it is the only subculture in which the absence of signifiers of the style and mindset can be twisted into actually representing the style and mindset: when a person says, "You don't look punk," the instant retort is "Well, isn't that actually punk?" This opens an opportunity to reconsider punk's semiotics, born from a postmodern sensi bility, to see how well its signifiers "float." The essay examines the phenomenon through the concept of doxa, the ideas and beliefs that become "taken for granted" in a communi ty to then function as a tool of social control. A recent example of this is found in the anger expressed within the punk fan community concerning alt-right Trump supporters eagerly touting themselves as the "new punk." The issue of deploying a closed definition of punk can then be extended to questioning systems of authenticity and ontology in rela tion to identity as a whole.

Una rivoluzione epistemologica La testualità B) TRAMA E ORDITO Un'Oikonomia duplice La tessitura C) VALORE E FEDE Due élite complementari I tessitori D) IL CIRCOLO VIRTUOSO ll Monte di Pietà: un modello di Oikonomia Cristiana? Il tessuto Osservazioni preliminari: Le Ipo-tesi di un estraneo Oggi vengo-motivato, felice e onorato-a Trento: da Voi! Ma vengo da un "altrove", da straniero: vengo dalla Germania, non sono uno storico, né certamente un medievista. Mi considero un filosofo, che ha anche studiato teologia protestante e si è laureato con una tesi di argomento sociologico. Sono comunque curioso, sono curioso di saperne di più sul tema "Monti di pietà", da quando mia moglie Karin ed io ne abbiamo sentito parlare per la prima volta durante l'estate 2011 da una collaboratrice dell'Ufficio del Turismo della Provincia di Macerata, la Signora Clara Buscalferri. Senza porre altri indugi, l'amica Clara ci ha invitato a casa sua, a Calderola nelle Marche, per ammirare insieme il quadro, dipinto da Lorenzo d'Alessandro, nella chiesa locale di "Santa Maria del Monte". Questo dipinto, che con le sue immagini si è fissato nella mia testa, ebbene, proprio questo quadro mi ha portato qui, oggi. Sono passati molti anni, e molti amici ho avuto potuto di conoscere su questi tortuosi sentieri. Tra loro ce ne sono due, che Voi tutti conoscete: Roberto Lambertini e Giacomo Todeschini, il primo l'ho conosciuto a Macerata ed il secondo a Berlino. Molto ho potuto imparare da entrambi. Oggi sono felicissimo perché ho potuto finalmente incontrare, qui a Trento, e conoscere di persona, molti di quelli dai quali ho anche appreso tanto: la professoressa Muzzarelli, stimatissima da tanto tempo, ed i colleghi di recente scoperta

Based on kabbalistic sources, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum - the Satmar Rebbe -developed a new “money theology.”  It differentiated between pure and impure money. Impure money was, for example, that which was earned from Gentiles, heretics, Zionists, or the Israeli government. The theory also explained how to convert impure money into pure money and why it was important to have as much pure capital as possible.

The 'center of Mecca' in the Koran, Bi-batni MKH (بِبَطْنِ مكه) - Makkah absent of diacritical marks - is the Dwelling Place of God, the most important feature on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the cave under the Foundation Stone.
The cave hid four specific items, the ark, the manna, the rock (Miriam), the staff, and a treasury chest. Without access to the cave and these objects, the redemption of Israel cannot be fulfilled.
The Victory! was likely written between 614 and 617 AD under Nehemiah ben Hushiel’s leadership. This is the only timeframe during which ritual sacrifices are independently attested. However, inadmissible tradition and the Damascus mosaics suggest a parallel story around the year 683 AD with the conflict between ‘Abd al-Malik and Az-Zubayr.

Sequential explanatory mixed research was conducted among Ethiopian evangelical churches to discover the relationship between religious support and human flourishing. Data were collected from members of five of the largest evangelical churches in five major cities of Ethiopia, using Religious Support Scale and Flourishing Scale, followed by focus-group discussions and structured interviews of church leaders of these five churches. Descriptive statistics and simultaneous multiple regression indicated that religious support contributes to psychosocial well-being for church members. This finding is supported by the ensuing qualitative data analysis, which showed the understanding and contribution of church leaders toward well-being.

Despite the fact that 99 percent of us work for a living and although work shapes us to the core, class and labor are topics that are underrepresented in the work of scholars of religion, theology, and the Bible. With this volume, an international group of scholars and activists from nine different countries is bringing issues of religion, class, and labor back into conversation. Historians and theologians investigate how new images of God and the world emerge, and what difference they can make. Biblical critics develop new takes on ancient texts that lead to the reversal of readings that had been seemingly stable, settled, and taken for granted. Activists and organizers identify neglected sources of power and energy returning in new force and point to transformations happening. Asking how labor and religion mutually shape each other and how the agency of working people operates in their lives, the contributors also employ intersectional approaches that engage race, gender, sexuality, and colonialism. This volume presents transdisciplinary, transtextual, transactional, transnational, and transgressive work in progress, much needed in our time.

In this paper, I am planning to examine the relevance of Buddhist teachings, more its relevance as a socio-cultural agency in understanding situation Sri Lanka is passing and how to get out of it. Of course, it is the task of the state, economists and entrepreneurs etc., who are professional in dealing with economic matters to address the topic of economic empowerment. However, religion too, has not been a silent agent in critical situations. The faith leaders inspired by selfless thinking and love for their followers have taken leadership to guide people from their difficulties (the Buddha is symbolized as a ferry-man who leads people from fearful this shore to the other shore, which is safe (tinno'ahm tārayissāmi) ; Moses led people to Canaan in the Old Bible). Current Situation in Sri Lanka and world According to the latest report of the world Bank, despite certain stabilities gained by the country within the last two years towards gaining economic progress, poverty of the general public has increased. A considerable number of both urban and rural areas have no access to work. 1

The Greek god Dionysos is often characterized by modern scholarship in a highly conceptualized way. From the perspective of such studies, Dionysos has become a metaphysical concept, a symbol of the primeval human impulses. For such hermeneutics, Dionysos' relation to wine has been considered to be secondary and unessential. The present study is a reassessment of the role of wine in some of the main themes of Dionysiac mythology and cult. These include the ivy, the Theban myth of Dionysos' birth, the Orphic myth of Dionysos, the main festivals dedicated to the god, the Dionysiac madness, the satyrs and the maenads as the main followers of Dionysos, the identification of Bakchos with the Eleusinian Iakchos, rituals such as those of Dionysos liknitēs, the aiōra (swinging), and the flood, the relation of the god to the sea, and the sacred wedding between the Athenian basilinna and Dionysos. I show that not only does wine not represent a secondary or derived aspect of Dionysos, but it can be found at the foundation of all these well-known aspects of Dionysiac cult and myth. Dionysos is essentially what the whole of antiquity recognized and celebrated in him, namely the god of wine. The mythology of Dionysos is the mythology of wine.

This study focuses on three Catholic ritual dances on the island of Luzon in the Philippines: Sayaw ng Panalangin, a fertility dance in Obando, Bulacan, the devotion to the Holy Cross through the subli in Batangas, and the kuraldal in Sasmuan, Pampanga, which centers on the devotion to St. Lucy. Using the etic approach, it aims to provide an anthropological framework in which Catholic ritual dances can be analyzed. Relying on the narratives provided by four selected texts, a framework was derived that explains how these ritual dances underwent transculturation and transformative continuity. It was found that transformations resulting from the two notions are still sustained in the ritual dances at present time with the images of saints and panata (vow) of devotees at its core. Liminality, communitas, and the syntagmatic relationship of the elements in each dance ritual existed in the context of the three ritual dances.

It comes from the Latin word "cultio,-ionis", and Spanish, culto, which has the same meaning as "veneration". So, honoring and venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is so popular among Roman Catholics, is referred to in an official document titled, "Marialis Cultus."

Judaism is a monotheistic religion of the Jewish people, i.e. with a belief in one God and foundations in Mosaic and rabbinical teachings. The Jewish people have been asked to accept the worshiping of one God instead of many (polytheism). The will of this one God, the Creator, is expressed in the Torahthe first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) which contains the Ten Commandments. Such Jewish monotheism was later inherited and adopted by both Christianity and Islam. The essence of Judaism is that the Jews believe that as a result of the agreement between God and Abraham, they as the Chosen People have a unique relationship with God. Besides, they believe that the Messiah is going to be sent by God with a mission to collect all peoples of Israel in the promised land and bring everlasting peace to Earth. The Christians, but not the Jews, believe that Jesus Christ was such a Messiah.