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Public Goods can be seen as one important way in which societies sustain themselves over time. These are part of the puzzle of the development of political order. Public goods like the rule of law are non-substractable and non-excludable. For economists the classic textbook examples are national defense and police protection. In this paper I argue that religiosity can function like police protection, a means of sustaining order through fear of punishment from a transcendent source. As a means of reducing defection from social norms it has a role to play as a public good. But religion cannot at the same time be seen as the source of such norms or dissention will undermine the very order that punishment seems to reinforce.

The continuing, albeit heightened, relevance of faith-related disruptions in domestic and international discourses are a function of politics and geopolitics and is not, on empirical evidence, suggestive of heightened piety. Would this induce that religion is not politics, that religiosity is not religion, and that global order is to be premised on global interests and not on exclusively national ones? Are we prepared, conceptually and organizationally, to undertake it even if it involves as it must going beyond the traditional paradigm of faith and of national interest? Or, could the alternative be a modern-day version of Milton's Pandemonium, the high capital of Satan and his peers, built by little demons?

The collapse of the USSR marked the end of the multiethnic 'Soviet Nation'. Consequent to the moving out of the republics from the federation, Russia and Russians faced the challenge of defining their own identity and that of a new, multinational, multi-confessional state—the Russian Federation. Towards this end of regenerating identity, religion proved to be a very potent instrument. Religion and religiosity in Russia is closely interconnected with ethnic self-awareness and consolidation of political identities that go beyond religion. It has been employed to foster both inclusive and exclusive identities and have also impacted crucial decisions of the state. Its social and political role is profound and so is its engagement with the institutions of the state. It is significant that both the institutional and ideological aspects of religion have emerged as distinct factors in contemporary Russian politics. The re-emergence and the consolidation of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in the social and political life of contemporary Russia has submerged smaller religious identities in all spheres of social and political life. Given Russia's religious diversity, this has impacted intergroup relations and generated tensions in the society, resulting from both the 'politicization of religion' and the 'desecularization' project from above.

In an analysis of the complexity of the religious phenomenon in the contemporary world, it is argued that secularization has the paradoxical effect of sustaining both historic & more recently formed religions. These latter actively resist its impact but adapt themselves in complex ways -- including the incorporation of the secular -- & survive with modified values & ceremonial symbols. Religions become secularized, & secular expressions continue to manifest religious elements. It is concluded that the relations between secularism & religiosity constitute less a dichotomy than a continuum or mosaic. 2 Photographs. Adapted from the source document.

The current edition of Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies throws light on various themes related to contemporary development of Islamic religiosity with its multiple contexts. Indeed, Islam has become inspirations for many who uphold its dogma. Muslims, like any other who embrace other faiths, have participated in the creation of various traditions along human history. The first article, penned by Octavia with the title "Islamism and Democracy: a Gender Analysis on PKS's Application of Democratic Principles and Values," focuses on the internal dynamic within the Prosperous Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera/PKS) with regard to the way in which the group has dealt with gender issues. The author detects the internal development of the PKS in which its activists responded to the gender issues in two ways. The first group remains conservative in line with Islamist ideology. The second group seems to start looking at the issue in a rather progressive way. Whereas the conservative wing displays their ideological stance, the progressive wing exhibits pragmatic step in response to the demand of the current context. After all, this shows ambiguity in the party's position pertaining to gender issues.

Summary The effects of pornography have received increased scrutiny in the digital age. Several U.S. states have recently passed resolutions declaring pornography a public health crisis, and clients are increasingly seeking help for related concerns. Given the pornography debate encompasses micro and macro arenas, social workers have reason to be engaged. But there is a dearth of literature examining social workers' views on these issues. Given values play an integral role in informing attitudes about sexuality, we sought to better understand the role of religiosity in shaping social work students' views on pornography via a web-based survey ( n = 136). Findings Results from a path analysis suggest highly religious students are more likely to believe pornography is a serious public health issue, and this relationship is mediated through their perception of pornography's addictiveness. Applications That highly religious social work students are more likely to pathologize pornography has implications for policy advocacy and clinical social work practice. If highly religious social workers are more likely to rate pornography as addictive, they may be more likely to pathologize their clients' use of it. This is significant in that addiction is a heavy label that may harm clients. Our findings further speak to the importance of educating social work students and practitioners about reflexivity, not only in the context of individual practice but also in the macro practice arena. We argue that staying cognizant of their biases and utilizing a biopsychosocial perspective, social workers can bring a valuable perspective to the pornography debate.

"Considering the lack of attention paid to religious topics in European popular journalism and scholarly magazines, the noticeable interest in religiosity and passionate discussions on the issue in the United States is an interesting phenomenon. An inquiring observer of American religious life will easily notice that new publications on the topic are issued with an extraordinary frequency. This indicates that religion is an important part of various aspects of the American past and present reality. It constituted one of the fundamentals upon which the United States was built, determined the mentality of the first settlers and their descendants and was an influential factor in the social and cultural changes in the country. Moreover, religion has always interwoven with politics, from the period of the first colonial authorities up to today. An interesting characteristic of American religion is also its symbiosis with popular culture. It seems that church leaders are experts in benefiting from modern technologies, both in performing religious services and in attracting new members. All these issues make American religiosity an intriguing phenomenon from a sociological point of view. Therefore, I will investigate it in this paper. Nevertheless, there are numerous difficulties which come along with all the fascinating observations, mainly caused by the fact that there is simply no one dominant American faith. The times when Protestantism did not have rivals and shaped American culture are gone. Nowadays, the American religious scene is so diverse that it cannot be easily organised or classified. Bearing this fact in mind, I will attempt to sketch a general and to some degree simplified image of American religiosity which will, however, provide an insight into this absorbing topic."(.)

Objective. What effect does the extent of economic inequality within a country have on the religiosity of the people who live there? As inequality increases, does religion serve primarily as a source of comfort for the deprived and impoverished or as a tool of social control for the rich and powerful?Methods. This article examines these questions with two complementary analyses of inequality and religiosity: a multilevel analysis of countries around the world over two decades and a time‐series analysis of the United States over a half‐century.Results. Economic inequality has a strong positive effect on the religiosity of all members of a society regardless of income.Conclusions. These results support relative power theory, which maintains that greater inequality yields more religiosity by increasing the degree to which wealthy people are attracted to religion and have the power to shape the attitudes and beliefs of those with fewer means.

"Gender and Religiosity in the United States" published on by Oxford University Press.