Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory | Evaluation

Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory | Evaluation Contents (Jump to) Introduction Literature Review Psychological Test Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory Administration of SRFI Scoring and Interpretation of SRFI Validity and Reliability Strengths Limitations Conclusion References Introduction This write up is to analyze the effectiveness of an instrument used as a psychological test to gather information. The chosen instrument is Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory – Version II (SRFI). Parents and family environment or more appropriately family relationship plays a very important role in the well-being of children. (Lambert,M., 2010) In Malaysian context, discipline problem is an increasing phenomenon in primary schools as well as secondary schools. The root cause or the first and foremost reason behind those discipline problems is the family environment and relationship. SRFI is considered to be an instrument that can help the counselors and other helping professionals to identify the family functioning so that further plans can be done in order to help the children. Literature Review Previous literature on family assessment instruments for use in child welfare includes descriptions of instruments (Pinsof, 2009) and guides for developing comprehensive assessment strategies as part of community-based child welfare services reform (Pinsof, 2010). This structured literature review builds on these efforts by identifying the most valid and reliable instruments that address the following four federally-defined domains of family assessment: (1) patterns of social interaction, including the nature of contact and involvement with others, and the presence or absence of social support networks and relationships; (2) parenting practices, including methods of discipline, patterns of supervision, understanding of child development and/or of the emotional needs of children; (3) background and history of the parents or caregivers, including the history of abuse and neglect; and (4) problems in access to basic necessities such as income, employment, adequate housing, child care, t ransportation, and other needed services and supports (US, HHS, 2006). Several additional behaviors and conditions have been associated with child maltreatment, such as domestic violence, mental illness, poor physical health, disabilities, and alcohol and drug use. Ideally, a comprehensive family assessment instrument will address these conditions and indicate whether a need for more specialized assessment exists. An objective of this review was to identify measures that addressed these behaviors and conditions as part of a comprehensive family assessment strategy. However, the review of specialized instruments for these conditions and various disabilities was outside the scope of this review. A structured review on the assessment of children and youth in the child welfare system is the focus of a separate review. These major theoretical and disciplinary influences have given rise to several practical issues when considering the appropriateness of a family assessment measure and met hod. While there are many approaches, family assessment methods typically fall into three categories: client self-report, observation, and interviews. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. A key distinction is the degree to which the method is formalized. Formal methods, such as self-report questionnaires, tend to have procedures that are clearly outlined to facilitate consistently repeated administrations. By contrast, informal methods such as interviews may be less clear in their specification and more variable in terms of administration. Family assessment measures also vary in terms of the perspective obtained. Typically, child welfare practitioners will consider the perspectives of multiple individuals during the family assessment process, including â€Å"insider† reports from family members and children as well as â€Å"outsider† reports from school personnel, extended family members, and others that may be involved with the case. Integration of the assessment of multiple reporters with insider and outsider perspectives is reflected in the â€Å"multisystem-multi method† (MS-MM) approach (Greenberger, 2000) Self-report questionnaires provide a unique insider view of family life as well as reliable methods, simplified administration and scoring, and a measurable link between an individual’s perceptions or attitudes and behaviors. Given these advantages, they are by far the most commonly used method in research as well as in practice. Observation rating scales provide another cost-effective method of generating outsider information regarding family interaction patterns that can also be evaluated for reliability and validity. However, rating scales can also be limited in their usefulness by the competence of the rater and the psychometric quality of the scale. Raters must have a clear understanding of the concepts that are measured and the behaviors that represent the concepts in practice. They must also poss ess adequate knowledge of different populations in order to place observed behavior on a continuum, a concern that adequate training and clinical supervision can begin to address. However, as with self-report measures, evidence of the validity and reliability of an observational rating scale is critical in the instrument selection process, particularly with regard to specific stages of assessment. Psychological test Psychological tests are administered by many different professionals to many different individuals, and the results of these tests are used in ways that significantly affect us and those around us. Psychological test is something that requires us to perform behaviour to measure some personal attribute, trait, or characteristic or to predict an outcome. Psychological tests can differ in terms of how they are administered and their format. A test can be administered in paper-and-pencil format (individually or in a group setting), on a computer, or verbally. Similarly, a psychological test may consist of multiple-choice items; agree/disagree items, true/false items, open-ended questions, or some mix of these. There are also tests that ask respondents to perform some behaviour such as sorting cards, playing a role, or writing an essay. Psychological tests can differ in terms of how they are scored and interpreted. Some tests are completed on scan able sheets and are computer scored. Some are hand-scored by the person administering the test. Others are scored by the test takers themselves. In terms of interpretation, some tests generate results that can be interpreted easily by the test taker, and others require a knowledgeable professional to explain the results to the test taker. Psychological tests have various similarities and many differences. All psychological tests require an individual to perform one or more behaviours, and these behaviours are used to measure some personal attribute, trait, or characteristic thought to be important in describing or understanding behaviour or to predict an outcome. However, psychological tests can and do differ in terms of the behaviours they require individuals to perform, the attributes they measure, their content, how they are administered and formatted, how they are scored and interpreted, and their psychometric quality. All good tests have three defining characteristics in common. First, they include a representative sa mple of behaviours. Second, they collect the sample under standardized conditions. Third, they have rules for scoring. When using psychological tests, we must make some assumptions. We must assume that a test measures what it says it measures, that any inferences that are drawn about test takers from their scores on the test are appropriate, that an individual’s behaviour (and therefore test scores) will remain stable over time, that individuals understand test items similarly, that individuals can and will report accurately about their thoughts and feelings, and that the test score an individual receives is equal to his or her true behaviour/ability in the real world plus some error. Testing professionals refer to psychological tests in various ways. Sometimes they refer to them as tests of maximal performance, behaviour observations, or self-report. Sometimes they refer to them as standardized or non-standardized. Other times they refer to them as objective or projective. P rofessionals also refer to tests based on the dimensions they measure. It is important to remember the distinctions among four commonly misunderstood terms: psychological assessment, psychological test, measurement, and survey. First, although both psychological assessments and psychological tests are used to gather information, a psychological test is only one of many tools in the psychological assessment process. Second, a psychological test can be considered to be a measurement when the sampled behaviour can be expressed in a derived score. Third, psychological tests are different from surveys in that psychological tests focus on individual differences and often report one overall derived score (or scaled scores), and surveys focus on group similarities and typically report results at the question or item level. Beaver’s Self-Report Family Inventory (SRFI) Version II The Self-Report Family Inventory: Version II (SRFI) is a 36-item measure of perceptions of family functioning in five domains: Health/Competence, Conflict, Cohesion, Leadership, and Expressiveness. The instrument is a screening device to assess a family member’s view of overall family competence, based on the Beavers Systems Model of family functioning. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale; for the first 34 items, the scale descriptors are 1 = YES: Fits our family very well, 3 = SOME: Fits our family some, and 5 = NO: Does not fit our family. The last two items have response scales specific to the items. Lower scores represent greater family competence. Administration of SRFI It is a paper pencil method of administration for children aged 12 and above and also for the adults in the family. Interview also can be done for those who are illiterate or have reading and writing problem. Time given is within 5 to 10 minutes. Scoring and Interpretation of SRFI Summary scores for each of the five subscales can be obtained as follows: (An â€Å"R† refers to an item score that must be reversed prior to summing). To reverse score, change all numbers where indicated to their opposite. For example, five becomes a one, four becomes a two, three stays the same, two becomes a four, and one becomes a five. Health/Competence: Items 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18R, 19R, 20, 21, 24R, 25R, 27R, 28, 33, 35, and 36 Conflict: Items 5R, 6, 7, 8R, 10R, 14R, 18R, 24R, 25R, 30R, 31R, and 34 Cohesion: Items 2, 15, 19R, 27R, and 36 Expressiveness: Items 1, 9, 13R, 20, and 22 Leadership: Items 8R, 16, and 32 For each numbered item, fill in the score from the SFI. For items , reverse the score and enter the reversed score on the score sheet. Lower scores represent greater competence and higher scores indicate greater problems within the system. Validity and Reliability of SRFI Validity was measured by correlating the SRFI with the observational scales of the Beavers System Model. The results indicate a high degree of convergence of family constructs across the two methods at .62 or above (Beavers Hampson, 2000). The authors claim that this indicates that the SRFI is roughly equivalent to observations (Drumm, M. Carr, 2000). The authors of the instrument report high internal consistencies reliability with Cronbach alphas between .84 and .93 and test-retest reliabilities of .85 or better (Beavers Hampson, 2000). Strengths The great advantage of SRFI is that it gives the respondents’ own views directly. It gives access to phenomenological data, i.e., respondents’ perceptions of themselves and their world, which are unobtainable in any other way. Furthermore, self-report methods can be used to obtain information in situations where observational data are not normally available. Able to study large samples of people fairly easy. Able to examine a large number of variables. Can be carried out relatively cheaply. Limitations The main disadvantage of self-report is that there is a number of potential validity problems associated with it. The data are personal and idiosyncratic and thus may bear little relationship to ‘‘reality,’’ as seen by you or others. More importantly, people are not always truthful. Furthermore, research participants may not be able to provide the level of detail, or use the concepts, that the researcher is interested in. People may not respond truthfully, either because they cannot remember or because they wish to present themselves in a socially acceptable manner. We cannot establish cause and effect relationships from survey data as other variables which could have had an effect may not have been considered in the questionnaire or interview. It may be difficult to obtain a random sample of the population because some people who are selected refuse to answer questions or it may be difficult to obtain a full list of the population from which to select a random sample. Conclusions SRFI is best use for a quick access of information and it is easy to administer. To have a comprehensive assessment of family the same SRFI can be used as a tool for interview for a qualitative research. More information can be gathered if it is used while observing the family with their consent. Teachers, counsellors and discipline masters in school can use SRFI to plan future programs in order to help the children with complicated family background. It will be a very helpful tool in school environment. References Beavers, R., Hampson, R. B. (2000). The Beavers System Model of Family Functioning. Journal of Family Therapy, 22(2), 128-143. Drumm, M., Carr, A., Fitzgerald, M. (2000). The Beavers, McMaster and Circumplex clinical rating scales: A study of their sensitivity, specificity and discriminant validity. Journal of Family Therapy, 22(2), 225-258. Greenberger, E., Chen, C., Beam, M., Whang, S. M., Dong, Q. (2000). The perceived social contexts of adolescent misconduct: A comparative study of youths in three cultures. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10(3), 365–388. Johnson, L., Ketring, S., Anderson, S. (2010). The Intersession Report: Development of a short questionnaire for couple’s therapy. American Journal of Family Therapy, 38, 266–276. Kim, S. Y., Ge, X. (2000). Parenting practices and adolescent depressive symptoms in Chinese American families. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 420–435. Lambert, M. (2010). Prevention of treatment failure: The use of measuring, monitoring, and feedback in clinical practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Miller, S., Duncan, B., Brown, J., Sorrell, R., Chalk, M. (2006). Using outcome to inform and improved treatment outcomes: Making ongoing, real-time assessment feasible. Journal of Brief Therapy, 5, 5–23. Pinsof, W., Chambers, A. (2010). Empirically informed systemic psychotherapy: Tracking client change and therapist behavior during therapy. In J. Bray M. Stanton (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of family psychology (pp. 431–446). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Pinsof, W., Zinbarg, R., Lebow, J., Knobloch-Fedders, L., Durbin, E., Chambers, A., et al. (2009). Laying the foundation for progress research in family, couple, and individual therapy: The development and psychometric features of the initial systemic therapy inventory of change. Psychotherapy Research, 19, 143–156. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). Comprehensive Family Assessment Guidelines for Child Welfare. Washington, DC: Administration for Children and Families Childrens Bureau. www.ets.org www.pearsonassessments.com www.hoganassessments.com www.ipat.com www3.parinc.com www.psytech.co.uk www.psionline.com www.testagency.com www.upress.umn.edu/tests/default.html Should The Abortion Be Encouraged? Should The Abortion Be Encouraged? Abortion is a process of termination of pregnancy. The classic definition of abortion is the expulsion of the fetus before it is viable. This could include spontaneous abortion, which is a miscarriage, or induced abortion such as a doctor, the woman herself, or a layperson causes the abortion. Before modern methods of abortion, this sometimes meant the introduction of foreign objects like catheters into the uterus to disrupt the placenta and embryo (or fetus) so that a miscarriage would result (Family Jrank 2002). Abortion can be carried out by few ways such as taking pills and operation. Statistical information and cases. According to the report prepared by the Better Health Channel, in the year 1990, 23 percent of all pregnancies in Australia were terminated. This makes abortion become one of the most common surgical in the country with around 80,000 women undergoing abortion every year. Our current ratio of one abortion in every four pregnancies is an improvement over the estimated one in three recorded in Australia in the 1930s. Australias abortion rate is reasonably low by international standards compare to the United States of America has a 30 percent abortion rate. The majority of the Australians support the idea of the safe and legal abortion. The typical profile of a woman who is seeking abortion includes the ages in the 20s, single, educated and childless. Thesis statement This study has been carried out to determine whether abortion should be encouraged to the public. This study investigates the advantages and the disadvantages of the abortion to conclude that whether abortion should be encouraged to the public. This study draws on information gathered from International articles, World Wide Web sites, books and a survey. Abortion should be encouraged. First, abortion should be encouraged because an unwanted childs future will be affected. The young parent such as the teenager who has the unplanned pregnancy, they are unable to provide a good environment for the child. The teenager which is still studying and they do not have a job which causing them could not give a good environment to the child. Most of the juvenile crime happened is because of the children did not grow up in a good environment. Children who not grow in a good environment will cause them to do illegal things for getting attention from the others (Associated Content 2006). An unwilling parent is unlikely to be a good parent so the unwanted child is far more likely to drop out of school or commit acts of violence than children who are wanted, nurtured and well parent. The young parents are unable to take care of the child because they are immature. Parents play an important role in the childs education but the young parents have an immature mind so they can not give a good example for their child. When the young parents did something that is immature w ould affect the child do to the same mistake too. The young parents can not give accurate information that parents should give because their immature mind can not differentiate the rights and wrongs. If their children had done some mistake, the young parent could not give the right punishment and guide the child to the right pathway. In an addition, abortion should be encouraged because the future of the young parent would be affected if there is an unplanned pregnancy. According to the book, Should abortion rights be restricted? (2003), when a teenager is pregnant she has to face social problems, such as reduced education and employment opportunities. They are forced to stop their education because they have to spend more time on the child. For example, the young parent has to work hard to earn money for feeding the child. And due to the low education of the young parent, jobs with higher salaries may not want to hire them. There are only low salary jobs that would hire the low education teenager, which are typically hard-working employment types. The teenager could not afford to that job which is too heavy work. This will cause them to do illegal things to earn more money for their family such as become a robber, a thief, drug dealer and so on. And they will have to take the risk of getting caught by the police and going to jail. They also may be influenced by criminal associates and addicted to bad habits, such as smoking and gambling. So if they have an abortion, their future might include a  high standard of education, working with a high salary job and live happily. Furthermore, abortion should be encouraged because it can prevent the unwanted child. There are some cases such as rape or the incest pregnancy which is an unwanted pregnancy. The trauma will follow all of her life after the raping case, therefore, abortion is the right way to solve this problem or else an unwanted child would be the nightmare for the mother. We can not force a girl in her early age to become a mother after being raped. Abortion should be done toward the mother whom she does not know who is the father of the child. It will be a very hard life for the mother and the child which without a father. The mother is not ready to enter the parenthood yet. It is not easy to bring up a child by a single mother. The mother has to work hard for the child and have to spend time on taking care of the child at the same time. If a child grew up as a homely and because of it an unloved child, he or she will remember those painful experiences for the rest of your life (Associated Content 2007). Abortion should not be encouraged. On the other hand, abortion should not be encouraged because of the humans right. It is a process that is too cruel to a baby. The most basic human right of the human is the right to life there is no doubt which everyone knows it. The Catholic Bishop of the United States stated that since human life is sacred from conception until natural death, they contend, abortion is immoral. A person who did abortion is a murder because this action is taking away a human persons life. It is so unfair for a child who does not have a chance to enter this world. It is no different between abortion and infanticide. The parent should think about the rights of the child and not just make such selfish decide by their own opinion. We should appreciate the life that the god gives. It is the fate that the parent who get an unplanned pregnancy. God give them a chance to have a baby and guide them to another stage of life. All people, regardless of the circumstances of their conception, or whether they are healthy or handicapped, have been personally knit together by Gods fingers. He has planned out all the days of the unborn childs life before one of them has happened (Leadership U 1992).Some of the people might think that the embryo is just a bunch of cells but it actually a soul is inside the embryo. We have human rights because we are human beings. Therefore, direct abortion is never a morally tolerable option. Moreover, abortion should not be encouraged because a womans health would be affected badly by abortion. Abortion brings both physically and mentally harms to women. A woman who done the process of abortion has to face some physical health problem. Abortion is linked to the breast cancer due to the hormone changed after the abortion and resulting in an increase in a number of new breast cells. Infertility also one of the health problems that have to face by whom had done the process of abortion. As everyone knows that infertility which means being unable to have a child is a high risk of the abortion procedure. This health problem occurs is because, during the process of abortion, it damaged our uterus. Abortion brings mentally disturb to a woman too. At the early emotional effects, many women will experience the feelings of relief and numbness. In the later emotional effects, they have to face the complex feelings. They will have some complex feelings such as depression, tearfulness, guilt, anger, shame and so on. The mother who done the process of abortion may find difficult to face t he others who are pregnant or have babies. Flashbacks to the abortion experience also one of the mentally disturb to those who done abortion procedure. In a study report, 92 percent of women who have had an abortion will also feel guilt on that. As stated in Leadership U(1992), the mother would hear this little voice in her head says she is a terrible, awful person because she had done abortion. Due to the guilty feelings on taking away the childs life, they will feel very regret on it and causing they have an illusion that there is a ghost child following them. Lastly, abortion should not be encouraged because the parents have to take their responsibilities seriously towards the child. The parents behave badly so they have to pay the price. As a parent, they should know the values of a childs life and not just take abortion as an easy way to solve problems. Once they get pregnant, they have to do what a parent should do which they have to put afford on the baby and being a good example for the child. To prevent the same mistake again, they should give birth to the child and take care of the child. Whether or not a baby is unwanted is irrelevant. Just because a human being is not wanted does not mean that the human being has no value or should be killed. In addition, there are huge numbers of families who are willing to adopt those unwanted babies. So, those babies are wanted, not unwanted (CARM 2001). Conclusion Based on the evidence above, I strongly disagree abortion should be encouraged. It can not be a smart choice for the parent to do abortion. Abortion brings many disadvantages to the mother such as health problem as stated above. It brings both physically and mentally side effect. Abortion also is an immoral activity which is killing an innocent baby. Besides, if abortion is encouraged, it might cause the citizen to get involve in sexual activities easily because once they get pregnant and abortion could help them to solve the problem. There are many ways to solve the problems of unplanned pregnancy such as adoption, not just abortion. In the 50 sets of the personal survey, 44% of the public thinks that if one of their friends gets an unplanned pregnancy; continue the pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption is the best way for the mother. If the parent does not prepare to have a child yet then they should take action to prevent it before they get pregnant such as a condom. Besides, the government can help to prevent the unplanned pregnancy through education too. For an example, the Minister of Education has to implement sex education in schools to give students a better idea of sexual intercourse. When they get to know more about the sex knowledge, they would know the importance of preventing unplanned pregnancy. Therefore, it helps to prevent it. At the end of the essay, the 50 sets of the personal survey show that 84% of the public do not agree that abortion should be encouraged. The personal survey will be shown in the pie chart below:

Xuela’s Character in Jamaica Kincaids Autobiography of My Mother Essay

  Many critics of The Autobiography of my Mother have remarked on the unrealistic facets of Xuela's extremist character. Her lack of remorse, her emotional detachment, her love of the dirty and "impure," and her consuming need for total control over everyone and everything around her give her an almost mythic quality. A more well-rounded, humanistic character would have doubts and failings that Xuela does not seem to possess. In light of Xuela's deep-seated resentment of authority, stubborn love of the degraded and unacceptable, intense rejection of the à ¬master-slaveà ® relationship, and--most pointedly--her hatred of the British and British culture, many critics have embraced the idea that Xuela is highly symbolic of the conquered, colonized races whose blood makes up her own. There are many complex parallels between Xuela's character and the collective psyche and cultural beliefs of Dominica's "conquered" races. Yet, instead of sinking in despair, Xuela refuses to gracefully accept her lot in life. Early on, she rejects the imposed cultural perception of herself as inferior. Her description of her elementary schoolteacher is prescient: "a woman of the African people, that I could see, and she found in this a source of humiliation and self-loathing, and she wore despair like an article of clothing, like a mantle, or a staff on which she leaned constantly, a birthright which she would pass on to us" (15). Xuela then explains the distinction between Africans and Caribs in her Dominica. "My mother was a Carib woman, and when they (the class) looked at me this is what they saw. The Carib people had been defeated and then exterminated, thrown away like the weeds in a garden; the African people had been defeated but had survived. When... ...den. She understands it, although she does not share it. Xuela also possesses a deeply rooted need for control over her personal realm, possibly brought on by her hatred of the control exerted by the British over Dominica, as well as by her unhappy childhood. Above all, Xuela makes it her project in life to love herself, and, as one reviewer remarks, "she does so with a remarkable dedication" (Mead 52). Her own body becomes a temple to her, a place in which to feel safe and loved. Xuela says that she loves herself out of necessity, for the world she lives in is cruel and has little love to give her. Xuela's character is hard to take, from any standpoint. She is almost inhumanly resilient, and her hatred of all that is Western and white is all-consuming. For these reasons Xuela is sometimes seen as an abstraction, a symbol of an entire people's suffering.   

What is religion

What is religion? There are many definitions for the term â€Å"religion† in common usage. On this web site, we define it very broadly, in order to include the greatest number of belief systems: â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life. † Thus we include here all of the great monotheistic religions, Eastern religions; Neopagan religions; a wide range of other faith groups, spiritual paths, and ethical systems; and beliefs about the existence of God(s) and Goddess(es). We recognize that most people define â€Å"religion† in a much more exclusive manner. Christianity: There are many definitions for this term as well. Again, we use an inclusive definition: â€Å"An individual or group is Christian if they sincerely, thoughtfully and devoutly believe that they are Christian. † This generates a lot of angry Emails from some visitors to this site who are insistent on excluding the Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholic Church, the Mormons and some other denominations as sub-Christian, quasi-Christian non-Christian, or anti-Christian. We treat Christianity in greater detail than other religions, simply because about 75% of North Americans identify themselves with that religion. Christians outnumber the next largest organized religions, Judaism and Islam, by about 40 to 1 in the U. S. and Canada. We are not in any way implying that Christianity is superior or inferior to other religions. It is simply much more popular. Destructive, doomsday cults: These are fortunately few in number, and are listed elsewhere. Information for these essays was extracted from reliable sources, and believed to be accurate and reasonably unbiased. Where possible, they have been reviewed by a group (typically 3 or more) of persons who follow the belief before the material is placed online. â€Å"World† Religions: There are many, long established, major world religions, each with over three million followers. We have shown the five largest North American religions in bold: Baha'i Faith Buddhism Christianity; Christian groups, denominations and families (Amish to The Way) Confucianism Hinduism Islam Jainism Judaism Shinto Sikhism Taoism Vodun (Voodoo) 1 Neopagan Religious Faiths Neopagan faiths are modern-day reconstructions of ancient Pagan religions from various countries and eras. They experience a high but diminishing level of discrimination and persecution in North America. They were once rarely practiced in public for reasons of safety. This is rapidly changing for the better. Asatru (Norse Paganism) * Druidism Goddess Worship Wicca Witchcraft Notes: Many followers of Asatru regard themselves as â€Å"Heathens† rather than â€Å"Neopagans. † Many followers of these religions refer to themselves as â€Å"Pagans. † We use the term â€Å"Neopagan† because it is less ambiguous. Pagan† has a variety of unrelated meanings. Other organized Religions These are smaller religions, with a well defined belief in deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Of the many hundreds of faith groups in the world, we have chosen these because of their historical significance, or because of the massive amount of misinformation that has be en spread about them in North America: Caodaism Damanhur Community Druze Eckankar Elian Gonzalez religious movement Gnosticism Gypsies Hare Krishna – ISKCON Ifa, the religion of the Yoruba people of West Africa Lukumi Macumba Mowahhidoon Native American Spirituality Rom, Roma, Romani, Rroma, (a. k. a. Gypsies) Santeria Elian Gonzalez religious movement Satanism; The Church of Satan Scientology Unitarian-Universalism The Creativity Movement (formerly called World Church of the Creator) The Yazidi branch of Yazd? ism Zoroastrianism what is RELIGION? The English word â€Å"religion† is derived from the Middle English â€Å"religioun† which came from the Old French â€Å"religion. † It may have been originally derived from the Latin word â€Å"religo† which means â€Å"good faith,† â€Å"ritual,† and other similar meanings. Or it may have come from the Latin â€Å"relig? e† which means â€Å"to tie fast. † Defining the word â€Å"religion† is fraught with difficulty. Many attempts have been made. Most seem to focus on too narrowly only a few aspects of religion; they tend to exclude those religions that do not fit well. It is apparent that religion can be seen as a theological, philosophical, anthropological, sociological, and psychological phenomenon of human kind. To limit religion to only one of these categories is to miss its multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete definition. † All of the definitions that we have encountered contain at least one deficiency some exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. For example, their definition might include belief in a God or Goddess or combination of Gods and Goddesses who are responsible for the creation of the universe and for its continuing operation. This excludes such non-theistic religions as Buddhism and many forms of religious Satanism which have no such belief. Some definitions equate â€Å"religion† with â€Å"Christianity,† and thus define two out of every three humans in the world as non-religious. Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs and areas of study that most people do not regard as religious. Some define â€Å"religion† in terms of â€Å"the sacred† and/or â€Å"the spiritual,† and thus require the creation of two more definitions. Sometimes, definitions of â€Å"religion† contain more than one deficiency. However, this definition contains an element of controversy, because it implies that religions, and thus perhaps deity/deities, are created by humanity and not the reverse. A less contentious meaning might be the sum total of answers to the problem of our relationship with the universe, we call religion. â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview. † A worldview is a set of basic, foundational beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Thus we would consider Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Na tive American Spirituality, Wicca, and other Neopagan traditions to be religions. We also include Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, Ethical Culture etc. as religions, because they also contain a â€Å"belief about deity. Their belief is that they do not know whether a deity exists, or they have no knowledge of God, or they sincerely believe that God does not exist. Some people do not consider their personal spiritual path to be a religion. Many conservative Christians refer to Christianity not as a religion but as an intensely personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many Native Americans believe that their spiritual beliefs and practices are not a religion in the normal sense of the term. They form a integral and seamless part of their very being, totally integrated into their life experience. Agnostics and Atheists often do not regard their beliefs to be a religion. To most, Atheism and Agnosticism simply represent a single belief about the existence or non-existence of a supreme being. They do not necessarily include ethical matters. The New Age is sometimes referred to as a religion. However, it is in reality a collection of diverse beliefs and practices from which a practitioner may select those that appeal to her/him. The individual often grafts these beliefs and practices onto an established religion. â€Å"True religion is not about possessing the truth. No religion does that. It is rather an invitation into a journey that leads one toward the mystery of God. Idolatry is religion pretending that it has all the answers. † â€Å"†¦ just because you don't bow on your knees and worship an idol or an invisible being, does not mean you are not a Satan worshiper. The worship of any other god (s) is the same thing. There are no other gods. They are demons and Satan is in control of them. â€Å"Yes, Christianity is the one true religion. That may sound awfully dogmatic and narrow-minded, but the simple truth is that Christianity is the only true religion. Jesus said that He alone was the way to the Father (John 14:6), that He alone revealed the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22). Christians do not go around saying Christianity is the only way because they are arrogant, narrow-minded, stupid, and judgmental. They do so because they believe what Jesus said. How many religions are there in the world from which to locate the â€Å"true† one? According to David Barrett and team, there are 19 major world religious groupings in the world which are subdivided into a total of about 10,000 distinct religions. Of the latter, there were 270 religions and para-religions which had over a half million adherents in the year 2000 CE. Within Christianity, they have identified 34,000 separate groups (denominations, sects, individual unaffiliated churches, para-church groups, etc) in the world. â€Å"Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations. † 1 Even considering a single religion, Christianity, within a single country, there are often thousands of individual â€Å"Christian confessions and denominations. 4,684 groups in the U. S. ,364 in South Africa. 2,079 in Nigeria. 1,581 in Brazil. 1,327 in South-central Asia. Among other English-speaking countries, there are: 828 groups in the UK. 469 in Canada. 267 in Australia 175 in New Zealand. 2 Differences in the beliefs and practices of various faith groups: Probably the one area where religions differ the most is over the nature of deity. Various groups teach Agnosticism, Animism, Atheism, Strong Atheism, Deism, Duotheism, Henotheism, Monism, Monotheism, Panentheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, the Trinity, and probably some others that we have missed. Perhaps the next greatest range of beliefs are about the fate of people after death: whether there is simple annihilation, some form of energy-less existence as taught by the ancient Hebrews, Purgatory as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, Heaven or Paradise as taught by many religions, Hell which is also taught by many faiths, Limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana, an alternative world much like Earth, and probably some other places or states that we have missed. There is also a great range of beliefs and practices among different religions over other theological beliefs, ritual, organization, family structure, personal sexual behavior, and other topics. For example, differences exist on matters such as: abortion access, adult celibacy, animal sacrifices. ppearance factors (shaving, jewelry), birth control usage, calendar, clergy celibacy, clergy gender, clergy organization, meeting day, documentation, family power sharing, family types, gender of deities, homosexual rights, meeting place, nature of deities, nature of humanity, new year date, number of deities, origin of the universe, prayer, pre-marital sex, role of women, sacred texts, suicide, surgical modifications to the body, special clothing, symbols, etc. More details To our knowledge, no two religions teach the same message or expect the same practices from their followers. One would be hard pressed to find two faith groups within the same religion which have identical teachings and practices. If a â€Å"true religion† exists, then it would probably have to be one or a few faith groups within one of the 10,000 religions. All of the other religions and faith groups would be in error. What do faith groups teach about their own status? Most religious groups teach that their own beliefs and practices are the only true set, and that all other faith groups contain some degree of error. For example, the largest single faith group in the U. S. in Canada, and in the world is the Roman Catholic Church. According to the Times News Service, a year 2000 statement by the Church titled â€Å"Dominus Iesus† implies that â€Å"Churches such as the Church of England, where the apostolic succession of bishops from the time of St. Peter is disputed by Rome, and churches without bishops, are not considered ‘proper' churches. † Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches are â€Å"churches in the proper sense. † They suffer from â€Å"defects. † Dominus Iesus further states that religions other than Christianity are considered to be â€Å"gravely deficient. Their rituals can constitute â€Å"an obstacle to salvation† for their followers. 3,4 Other faith groups are either more inclusive or more exclusive than the Roman Catholic Church regarding the â€Å"truth† status of other faith groups. Which, then, is the true religion? Because religions are so different, only one could be the â€Å"true religion. † Perhaps none are. Within the â€Å"true religion† there may be more than one faith group that are sufficiently accurate in their beliefs and practices that all could qualify as â€Å"true. † The problem is how to find out which religion and which faith groups have this status. Some methods of determining the â€Å"true† religion are conduct an opinion poll. Unfortunately, beliefs differ around the world: In Saudi Arabia, the government claims that 100% of the population is Muslim. So there is probably a very high probability that a given citizen picked at random would firmly believe Islam is the true religion and that theirs is the true faith group. India is about 80% Hindu. There is a very high probability that any given citizen believes that their tradition with Hinduism is the true religion. The U. S. is about 75% Christian. The population in the American â€Å"Bible belt† is significantly higher than that. There is a very high probability that any given citizen in South Carolina, for example, believes that their denomination within Christianity is the true religion. It is obvious that one's personal beliefs about the true religion is largely a function of the country in which one happens to have been born, the area of that country, and the beliefs of one's parent(s): Pray to God 5 and ask to be enlightened. The founder of the Mormon movement, Joseph Smith, did precisely this. Mormons believe that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him side by side, and told him that none of the then existing Christian denominations were the true religion. He was instructed to create a new denomination to restore Christianity to its first century CE purity before it fell into heresy. This method appears to be unreliable. When people pray to God for enlightenment, most seem to conclude that their own religion and faith group is the true one. If people could access the will of God on this matter, then a vast majority of the world's population — the folks who pray — would realize that their faith group was not the true one. They would gradually migrate to the true religion. There would eventually be only one religion and one tradition within that religion left standing. Otherwise, people would be rejecting the will of God. All the other 11,000 religions and their tens of thousands of denominations or traditions would be phased out. The OCRT, the group that sponsors this web site, conducted a pilot study to determine whether a person can assess the will of God through prayer. We used a controversial topic: whether God favors same-sex marriage for homosexuals and some bisexuals. The answer that we found was that people appear to be unable to assess the will of God through prayer. Communication from God: God could initiate a direct communication to humanity. In order to be convincing, it would have to be totally unambiguous, clear and convincing. One example might be for God to rearrange a few thousand stars to spell out in the evening sky the name of the true religion. Unfortunately, at least within the Judeo-Christian traditions, God seems to be progressively withdrawing from humanity. He walked in person with Adam and Eve. Later, he only appeared in rare occasions as at Mount Sinai. Still later, he communicated with humans only through prophets. Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God and walked among humans in first century CE Palestine. However, he was seen by only a miniscule percentage of the human race. Now, access to God is through prayer. Unless God were to take the initiative, it appears that there is no way for humans to determine which religion is â€Å"true. â€Å"