Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
Udvada Atash Behram
The Udvada Atash Behram, also known as the Iran Shah, "King of Iran", is a sacred fire housed in a temple in Udvada, Gujarat on the west coast of India. It is the first of the eight fire temples (holy place of worship) of the Zoroastrian religion in the country. The Atash Bahram, meaning "Victorious Fire", is the oldest fire temples in India, dated to the eight century, and represents the historical cultural and religious links with Iran. The current temple housing the sacred fire was built in 1742 by Motlibai Wadia from Bombay. The temple structure, built spaciously, is well decorated and contains the Dasturji Koyaji Mirza hall and a museum. The main hall of the temple is accessed through a two-stage staircase. The temple attracts Zoroastrian pilgrims from all parts of India, Pakistan and from around the world.
  • 944
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Marrano
Marranos were Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were forced to convert to Christianity during the Middle Ages, yet continued to practice Judaism in secret. The term specifically refers to the charge of Crypto-Judaism, whereas the term converso was used for the wider population of Jewish converts to Catholicism, whether or not they secretly still practised Jewish rites. Converts from either Judaism or Islam were referred to by the broader term of "New Christians". The term "marrano" came into later use in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree; it prohibited the practice of Judaism in Spain and required all remaining Jews to convert or leave. By then, the large majority of Jews in Spain had converted to Catholicism, and conversos numbered hundreds of thousands. They were closely monitored by the Spanish Inquisition and subject to suspicions by Catholics of the secret practice of Judaism, also known as "Marranism". In modern use "marrano" is sometimes, but not always, considered offensive; and "crypto-Jew" is occasionally preferred in scholarly works.
  • 930
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Biblical Sabbath
Biblical Sabbath is a weekly day of rest or time of worship given in the Bible as the seventh day. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other faiths. Though many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia, most originate in the same textual tradition of "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy". Observation and remembrance of Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments (the fourth in the original Jewish, the Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant traditions, the third in Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions), sometimes referred to individually as the Sabbath Commandment. Most people who observe Biblical Sabbath regard it as having been made for man (Mark. 2:27) at Creation (Ex. 20:8–11), and instituted as a perpetual covenant for the people of Israel (Ex. 31:13-17, Ex. 23:12, Deut. 5:13-14), a rule that also applies to proselytes, and a sign respecting two events: the seventh day, during which God rested after having completed Creation in six days (Gen. 2:2-3, Ex. 20:8-11), and God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt (Deut. 5:12-15).
  • 924
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Catholic Bible
Within Catholicism, the Bible comprises the whole 73-book canon recognized by the Catholic Church, including the deuterocanonical books. It is sometimes referred to as the Catholic Bible.
  • 923
  • 30 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Occultism in Nazism
Nazism and occultism describes a range of theories, speculation and research into the origins of Nazism and its possible relation to various occult traditions. Such ideas have been a part of popular culture since at least the early 1940s, during World War II, and gained renewed popularity starting in the 1960s. There are documentaries and books on the topic, among the most significant are The Morning of the Magicians (1960) and The Spear of Destiny (1972). Nazism and occultism has also been featured in numerous films, novels, comic books and other fictional media. Some good examples are the film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and the comic book series Hellboy. Historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke analyzed the topic in The Occult Roots of Nazism in which he argued there were in fact links between some ideals of Ariosophy and Nazi ideology. He also analyzed the problems of the numerous popular occult historiography books written on the topic. He sought to separate empiricism and sociology from the modern mythology of Nazi occultism that exists in many books which "have represented the Nazi phenomenon as the product of arcane and demonic influence". He considered most of these to be "sensational and under-researched".
  • 921
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Intervention Program to Reduce Religious Prejudice in Education
In a plural society, education has an important role in preparing students to be able to live together with differences, including religious differences. In the context of education, various terminology can be used to describe a prejudice reduction intervention program as a combination of the terms interfaith or inter-religious with learning, education, and dialogue. There are four forms of interfaith learning in educational settings, namely formal academic, informal academic, formal social, and informal social. Intervention program activities can be one or a combination of two or more forms of interfaith learning. Contact theory hypotheses can be applied in interfaith learning in educational settings to reduce religious prejudice through changes in knowledge, attitudes, and skills/behaviors. To obtain a wider impact of intervention programs on educational settings, intervention programs can be integrated with existing learning/curriculum so that they are compulsory for all students.
  • 916
  • 02 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Angakkuq
The Inuit angakkuq (plural: angakkuit, Inuktitut syllabics ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ or ᐊᖓᒃᑯᖅ) Inuvialuktun: angatkuq; Greenlandic: angakkoq, pl. angákut) is an intellectual and spiritual figure in Inuit culture who corresponds to a medicine man. Other cultures, including Alaska Natives, have traditionally had similar spiritual mediators, although the Alaska Native religion has many forms and variants.
  • 906
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Dream Yoga
Dream yoga or Milam (Tibetan: རྨི་ལམ་རྣལ་འབྱོར་, Wylie: rmi lam rnal 'byor, THL: milam naljor; Sanskrit: स्वप्नदर्शन, svapnadarśana)—the Yoga of the Dream State—is a suite of advanced tantric sadhana of the entwined Mantrayana lineages of Dzogchen (Nyingmapa, Ngagpa, Mahasiddha, Kagyu and Bönpo). Dream yoga consists of tantric processes and techniques within the trance Bardos of Dream and Sleep (Standard Tibetan: mi-lam bardo) Six Yogas of Naropa. In the tradition of the tantra, the dream yoga method is usually passed on by a qualified teacher to his/her students after necessary initiation. Various Tibetan lamas are unanimous that it is more of a passing of an enlightened experience rather than any textual information. In a footnote on 'Zhitro' (Tibetan: zhi khro) Namdak & Dixey, et al. (2002: p. 124) identify that the 'dream body' and the 'bardo body' is the 'vision body' (Tibetan: yid lus):
  • 892
  • 28 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Catholic Theology of the Body
The theology of the body is a broad term for Catholic teachings on the human body. The dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, defined in Pope Pius XII's 1950 apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus, is one of the most recent developments in the Catholic theology of the body.
  • 892
  • 30 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Ashtavinayaka
Ashtavinayak (Marathi: अष्टविनायक) literally means "eight Ganeshas" in Sanskrit. Ganesh is the Hinduism/Hindu deity of unity, prosperity & learning and removes obstacles. The term refers to eight Ganeshas. Ashtavinayaka yatra trip refers to a pilgrimage to the eight Hindu temples in Maharashtra state of India that house eight distinct idols of Ganesh, in a pre-ascertained sequence. The Ashtavinayak yatra or pilgrimage covers the eight ancient holy temples of Ganesh which are situated around Pune. Each of these temples has its own individual legend and history, as distinct from each other as the murtis in each temple. The form of each murti of Ganesh and His trunk are distinct from one another. However, there are other temples of eight Ganesh in various other parts of Maharashtra; the ones around Pune are more well known than the former. It is believed to be for completion of Ashtavinayak Yatra visit the first Ganpati after visiting all the eight Ganpatis again, to complete the yatra.
  • 882
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Arba'een
Template:HusaynTemplate:Islamic Culture Arba'ein (Arabic: الأربعين), Chehellom (Persian: چهلم‎, "the fortieth day") is a Shia religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Al-Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, who was martyred on the 10th day of the month of Muharram.Imam Hussain ibn Ali and 71 of his companions were martyred by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad's army under the governance of Yazeed Malhoon in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE). Arba'ein or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after the death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions. Arba'ein is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, in which up to 40 million (In reality, there are no reliable methods for tallying the number of site visitors. This is an entirely estimated set of statistics. Logically, it is possible to gather 40m persons on a small city) people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq.
  • 876
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Global Trends in Halal Food Standards
The demand for ethical foods is rising, with halal foods playing a significant role in this trend. However, halal standards vary globally, which can have substantial implications. Multiple Halal Certification Bodies (HCBs) can approve food products but they often prioritize national regulations over international alignment.
  • 870
  • 29 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Salakapurusa
According to the Jain cosmology, the śalākapuruṣa (Sanskrit: शलाकपुरूष) "illustrious or worthy persons" are 63 illustrious beings who appear during each half-time cycle. They are also known as the triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣa (63 illustrious persons). The Jain universal or legendary history is a compilation of the deeds of these illustrious persons. Their life stories are said to be most inspiring. The śalākāpuruṣa comprise 24 Tirthankaras (Teaching Gods), twelve Chakravartin (universal monarchs, emperors of six continents), nine Balabhadras (gentle heroes), nine Narayanas (warrior heroes) and nine Prati-narayanas (anti-heroes). According to Jain cosmology, time is without beginning and eternal. The Kālacakra, the cosmic wheel of time, rotates ceaselessly. The wheel of time is divided into two half-rotations, Utsarpiṇī or ascending time cycle and Avasarpiṇī, the descending time cycle, occurring continuously after each other. Utsarpiṇī is a period of progressive prosperity and happiness where the time spans and ages are at an increasing scale while the Avasarpiṇī is a period of increasing sorrow and immorality with decline in time spans of the epochs. During each such time cycle, these 63 illustrious persons appear and establish the religion and order in society. According to Jain cosmology, since time is eternal, infinite kalacakras have elapsed and will occur in future and hence infinite sets of these 63 illustrious persons have appeared, and will appear, to establish order and religion in their respective eras.
  • 868
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Doubting Thomas
A doubting Thomas is a skeptic who refuses to believe without direct personal experience — a reference to the Gospel of John's depiction of the Apostle Thomas, who, in John's account, refused to believe the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles until he could see and feel Jesus' crucifixion wounds. In art, the episode (formally called the Incredulity of Thomas) has been frequently depicted since at least the 15th century, with its depiction reflecting a range of theological interpretations.
  • 857
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Rerikhism
Rerikhism or Roerichism (Russian: Рерихи́зм, Рерихиа́нство, Ре́риховское движе́ние) is a spiritual and cultural movement centered on the teachings transmitted by Helena and Nicholas Roerich. It draws ideas from Theosophy, Eastern and Western religions, and Vedic and Buddhist traditions, molding them into the Russian culture and Russian cosmism.
  • 853
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Shinbutsu-shūgō
Shinbutsu-shūgō (神仏習合, "syncretism of kami and buddhas"), also called Shinbutsu-konkō (神仏混淆, "jumbling up" or "contamination of kami and buddhas"), is the syncretism of Buddhism and kami worship that was Japan's only organized religion up until the Meiji period. Beginning in 1868, the new Meiji government approved a series of laws that separated Japanese native kami worship, on one side, from Buddhism which had assimilated it, on the other. When Buddhism was introduced from China in the Asuka period (6th century), rather than discarding the old belief system, the Japanese tried to reconcile the two, assuming both were true. As a consequence, Buddhist temples (寺, tera) were attached to local Shinto shrines (神社, jinja) and vice versa and devoted to both kami and buddhas. The local religion and foreign Buddhism never quite fused, but remained however inextricably linked all the way to the present day, always interacting. The depth of the resulting influence of Buddhism on local religious beliefs can be seen for example in the fact that much of Shinto's conceptual vocabulary and even the types of Shinto shrines we see today, with a large worship hall and religious images, are themselves of Buddhist origin. The formal separation of Buddhism from Shinto took place only as recently as the end of the 19th century; however, in many ways, the blending of the two still continues. The term shinbutsu shūgō itself was coined during the early modern era (17th century) to refer to the amalgamation of kami and buddhas in general, as opposed to specific currents within Buddhism which did the same, e.g. Ryōbu Shintō and Sannō Shintō. The term may have a negative connotation of bastardization and randomness.
  • 838
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
New Christian
New Christian (Spanish: cristiano nuevo; Portuguese: cristão-novo; Catalan: cristià nou) was a law-effective and social category developed from the 15th century onwards, and used in what is today Spain and Portugal as well as their New World colonies, to refer to Sephardi Jews and Muslims ("Moors") who had converted to the Catholic Church, often by force or coercion. It was developed and employed after the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula by the Catholic Monarchs. By law, the category of New Christian included not only recent converts, but also all their known baptized descendants with any fraction or quantum of New Christian blood up to the fourth generation, and then in Phillip II's reign it included any person with any fraction of New Christian blood "from time immemorial". In Portugal, it was only in 1772 that Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquess of Pombal, finally decreed an end to the legal distinction between New Christians and Old Christians.
  • 837
  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky
Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky: compiled from information supplied by her relatives and friends is a book originally published in 1886 in London; it was compiled by a member of the Theosophical Society A. P. Sinnett, the first biographer of H. P. Blavatsky (née Hahn). He describes the many unusual incidents in her life, beginning from her childhood in Russia and asserts that she has been with "an early connection with the supernatural world;" he says about her short unlucky marriage and "decade of extensive global travels," about her period of learning in Tibet, and the "criticism she received about some of her 'phenomena' and practices."
  • 836
  • 06 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Vicar Apostolic
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church centered in missionary regions and countries where a diocese has not yet been established. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more. The hope is that the region will generate sufficient numbers of Catholics for the Church to create a diocese. In turn, the status of Apostolic vicariate is often a promotion for a former apostolic prefecture, while either may have started out as a mission sui iuris.
  • 826
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Alexandrian Rite
The Alexandrian Rite is the liturgical rite used by the Oriental Orthodox Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by the Eastern Catholic Coptic Catholic Church, Eritrean Catholic Church, and Ethiopian Catholic Church. The Alexandrian rite's Divine Liturgy contains elements from the liturgies of Saints Mark the Evangelist (who is traditionally regarded as the first bishop of Alexandria), Basil the Great, Cyril the Great, and Gregory Nazianzus. The Liturgy of Saint Cyril is a Coptic language translation from Greek of the Liturgy of Saint Mark. The Alexandrian Rite is sub-grouped into two rites: the Coptic Rite and the Ge'ez Rite.
  • 825
  • 14 Oct 2022
  • Page
  • of
  • 19
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Books

>>
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Encyclopedia of Fungi
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
ScholarVision Creations
Feedback