- University of Cape Town, School of Public Health & Family Medicine, Department MemberWake Forest University School of Medicine, Social Sciences & Health Policy, Department Memberadd
- Religion & Public Health, Contemporary Social Ethics, Religion and Globalization, Religion and politics in Africa, Religion and Violence, Sociology of religion (Religion), and 22 moreChaos/Complexities, Habermas, Hermeneutics, Immanuel Kant, Paul Ricoeur (in ) Philosophy, Philosophy in Africa, Social Determinants of Health, Critical Theory, Continental Philosophy, Gilles Deleuze, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Jurgen Habermas, Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, Émmanuel Lévinas, Religious Studies, Religion, Theology, Violence, and Sociology of Religionedit
- Convenor & Lead Researcher, Leading Causes of Life Initiative (LCLI), an international collaboration of Fellows and c... moreConvenor & Lead Researcher, Leading Causes of Life Initiative (LCLI), an international collaboration of Fellows and colleagues (see http://www.leading-causes.com/).
Previously co-director, International Religious Health Assets Programme (see http://www.irhap.uct.ac.za/).edit
Published by Edward Elgar this revelatory Handbook, with contributions from many leading figures across 29 chapters, explores the relationship between religion and health, emphasising the effects of organised religion and spirituality on... more
Published by Edward Elgar this revelatory Handbook, with contributions from many leading figures across 29 chapters, explores the relationship between religion and health, emphasising the effects of organised religion and spirituality on community, population, and public health. While comprehensively summarising the current state of the field, it focusses on pursuing new pathways vital for human health in a turbulent world.,
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Esta es una traducción al español de la descripción posterior, el contenido, el prefacio y la introducción del libro, El Espíritu Humano (de lo contrario, solo está disponible en inglés en su totalidad).
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The health or well-being of Africans, inscribed on the African body and strongly reflected in various religious constructs, is profoundly affected by economic factors. We can, therefore, pursue the complex relationship between economy and... more
The health or well-being of Africans, inscribed on the African body and strongly reflected in various religious constructs, is profoundly affected by economic factors. We can, therefore, pursue the complex relationship between economy and religion by paying attention to what happens to people’s bodies through time and space and to how that shapes perceptions of illness and death, health and well-being. Not just about empirical bodies, it also evokes two fundamental, religious questions: How ought we to live? In what can we hope?
Particular answers to these questions, notwithstanding any commonalities among peoples, are as different as are the histories and cultures of those who ask them. In this respect, Africa is as diverse as any part of the world. No attempt is made here to describe that diversity. Instead, in rethinking economy in relation to religion, five directions of enquiry are suggested, each formulated in terms of the African body: home-place and its social extension; movement and migration; desire and its limits; health and well-being; and spirit.
Particular answers to these questions, notwithstanding any commonalities among peoples, are as different as are the histories and cultures of those who ask them. In this respect, Africa is as diverse as any part of the world. No attempt is made here to describe that diversity. Instead, in rethinking economy in relation to religion, five directions of enquiry are suggested, each formulated in terms of the African body: home-place and its social extension; movement and migration; desire and its limits; health and well-being; and spirit.
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What have we been missing? What if we are missing the fact that everything we hope for…is already happening, in the most inconveniently hopeful way, scattered all over the ground we are supposed to know? What if the movement—call... more
What have we been missing?
What if we are missing the fact that everything we hope for…is already happening, in the most inconveniently hopeful way, scattered all over the ground we are supposed to know?
What if the movement—call it population health or Shalom—is not waiting for us to learn enough to lead but is just going on ahead mostly without us? What if we are called not to be leaders, but followers, smart reinforcements ready to be blended in to others’ works of mercy and justice?
The premise of the See2See Road Trip was that you have to go, look and listen.
The richness of the surprises that emerged testify that there is nothing quite so smart as the kind of humility on the ground that drew us to go and see in order really to see.
We hope this report encourages you to do the same around your home community or state, which probably has as many surprises as we found in more than three thousand miles.
What if we are missing the fact that everything we hope for…is already happening, in the most inconveniently hopeful way, scattered all over the ground we are supposed to know?
What if the movement—call it population health or Shalom—is not waiting for us to learn enough to lead but is just going on ahead mostly without us? What if we are called not to be leaders, but followers, smart reinforcements ready to be blended in to others’ works of mercy and justice?
The premise of the See2See Road Trip was that you have to go, look and listen.
The richness of the surprises that emerged testify that there is nothing quite so smart as the kind of humility on the ground that drew us to go and see in order really to see.
We hope this report encourages you to do the same around your home community or state, which probably has as many surprises as we found in more than three thousand miles.
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The idea of freedom remains contested in postcolonial African societies. Problematically, when it functions as legitimation by local elites or political leaders for new patterns of domination and unjust acquisition of power and resources,... more
The idea of freedom remains contested in postcolonial African societies. Problematically, when it functions as legitimation by local elites or political leaders for new patterns of domination and unjust acquisition of power and resources, it has often embodied self-interests that necessarily includes some and excludes others. A contestation for the mantle of liberator is then waged on the back of new kinds of unfreedom.
A relativistic notion of freedom resting on the contingent particularities (of geography, history and culture) is thus unhelpful, making it hard, if not impossible, to decide whose freedom is prior, whose claim trumps another’s. Take your choice as to what freedom means, one could say; but then the choice is made on some other ground than freedom itself.
Is there then a sense of freedom not governed by, yet capable of grounding, any particular, contingent meaning—a general or universal understanding that can help us adjudicate its particular meanings (realizing that particular needs, competing interests, and unintended consequences limit what happens in practice)? If so, what are its implications?
This is the subject of this paper, which answers in the affirmative.
A relativistic notion of freedom resting on the contingent particularities (of geography, history and culture) is thus unhelpful, making it hard, if not impossible, to decide whose freedom is prior, whose claim trumps another’s. Take your choice as to what freedom means, one could say; but then the choice is made on some other ground than freedom itself.
Is there then a sense of freedom not governed by, yet capable of grounding, any particular, contingent meaning—a general or universal understanding that can help us adjudicate its particular meanings (realizing that particular needs, competing interests, and unintended consequences limit what happens in practice)? If so, what are its implications?
This is the subject of this paper, which answers in the affirmative.
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The human spirit is worthy of our attention not only because it is universal and not the privileged possession of the clever and geniuses of our world but also because it is the ground for any and all justice and virtue. If we want to "... more
The human spirit is worthy of our attention not only because it is universal and not the privileged possession of the clever and geniuses of our world but also because it is the ground for any and all justice and virtue. If we want to " bet on a sure thing, " we should bet on the power of responsible spirit, no matter how crippled it might appear to be, and seek its exemplification in our own lives. Our very freedom depends upon it. This book provides the groundwork for understanding why. It establishes a foundational perspective on the human spirit, responds to potential misunderstandings of it from the side of other disciplines and viewpoints, and shows how it can inform particular traditions and institutions, including those of science and religious faith.
The uploadable front matter, Preface & Introduction gives a clear view of what the book is about. Also provided are three reference styles for the book (Chicago, APA, PLoS), plus links for ordering the print or e-book version (with prices in SA Rands and US dollars).
The uploadable front matter, Preface & Introduction gives a clear view of what the book is about. Also provided are three reference styles for the book (Chicago, APA, PLoS), plus links for ordering the print or e-book version (with prices in SA Rands and US dollars).
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This piece was originally written for and published by the Public Services Commission of South Africa in 1999 (reference below). Almost 20 years later I have updated what I wrote then, mostly in footnotes, partly by means of a postscript,... more
This piece was originally written for and published by the Public Services Commission of South Africa in 1999 (reference below). Almost 20 years later I have updated what I wrote then, mostly in footnotes, partly by means of a postscript, at a time when corruption is entrenched at the highest levels. Previously frowned upon in public, thanks to complicit actors in many sectors including government, corruption is now close to being normalized.
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Study commissioned by B & M Gates Foundation (Cape Town, African Religious Health Assets Programme), 235 pp. Includes desk review of health/faith entities in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as particular case studies of Zambia, Uganda, and Mali.
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Health, freedom and social justice cannot be separated. Anyone who loves a neighborhood, a nation or a small planet enough to work for its future, inevitably measures success by its health and well-being. How long do the neighbors... more
Health, freedom and social justice cannot be separated. Anyone who loves a neighborhood, a nation or a small planet enough to work for its future, inevitably measures success by its health and well-being. How long do the neighbors live, and with what degree of freedom from the burden of illness? Do they have water, food, shelter and access to medical services?
Martin Luther King, who fought and died for political rights, could say that “of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” Health is one way to describe our capacity to be alive and to play our role as members of families and neighborhoods, indeed as citizens. But how does one choose life for the community? How do we as leaders make sure that our lives are about life and health?
The journey this Barefoot Guide will take you on is a response to those questions! The connection between religion and public health is important. This is not just an opinion but a fact. For example in Africa, depending on the country, anything between 20-70% of public healthcare is delivered through religious institutions or groups. This BFG focuses on understanding and working with that reality. Religious assets for health are everywhere, they matter to a lot of people, and they can be mobilized for the health of all.
It has chapters on: thinking differently about the health of the public; revisiting the history of the link between religion and public health; working with and mobilizing religious health assets; supporting the ‘leading causes of life’; understanding ‘healthworlds’ and the strengths of ‘people who come together’; boundary leadership; thinking about systems; and ‘deep accountability.’
What you are getting in this Barefoot Guide, then, is a way of understanding why we say that, and how you can use these ideas to take up the challenge of health in your own communities—whether you consider yourself especially religious or not! It is an invitation to take a journey, one whose goal is a better life for all.
Martin Luther King, who fought and died for political rights, could say that “of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” Health is one way to describe our capacity to be alive and to play our role as members of families and neighborhoods, indeed as citizens. But how does one choose life for the community? How do we as leaders make sure that our lives are about life and health?
The journey this Barefoot Guide will take you on is a response to those questions! The connection between religion and public health is important. This is not just an opinion but a fact. For example in Africa, depending on the country, anything between 20-70% of public healthcare is delivered through religious institutions or groups. This BFG focuses on understanding and working with that reality. Religious assets for health are everywhere, they matter to a lot of people, and they can be mobilized for the health of all.
It has chapters on: thinking differently about the health of the public; revisiting the history of the link between religion and public health; working with and mobilizing religious health assets; supporting the ‘leading causes of life’; understanding ‘healthworlds’ and the strengths of ‘people who come together’; boundary leadership; thinking about systems; and ‘deep accountability.’
What you are getting in this Barefoot Guide, then, is a way of understanding why we say that, and how you can use these ideas to take up the challenge of health in your own communities—whether you consider yourself especially religious or not! It is an invitation to take a journey, one whose goal is a better life for all.
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A cutting edge serious of studies, it Includes an Introduction by myself (Cochrane), and chapters on political theories of transition in relation to the role of Christianity (and religion more generally), plus case studies of South... more
A cutting edge serious of studies, it Includes an Introduction by myself (Cochrane), and chapters on political theories of transition in relation to the role of Christianity (and religion more generally), plus case studies of South Africa, Mozambique, Brazil and South Korea, with a concluding analysis by Christine Lienemann-Perrin. Most of the chapters are updated and translated versions from a book originally published in German (Christine Lienemann-Perrin & Wolfgang Lienemann (Hg), Kirche und Öffentlichkeit in Transformationsgesellschaften, Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer).
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Religion and the Health of the Public fills a major gap in academic literature on religion and public health. Its innovative concepts provide a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding and working on the interface between... more
Religion and the Health of the Public fills a major gap in academic literature on religion and public health. Its innovative concepts provide a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding and working on the interface between religion and public health. It draws on global health history and practice - from London's 1854 cholera outbreak, to HIV in Africa today, to large and novel hospital and congregational partnerships in the Memphis. Calling for "deep accountability" by religious and public health leaders, it deals with the embodied religious mind, religious health assets, leading causes of life, boundary leadership, congregate strengths, and a healthy political economy - all in the service of transformation.
CONTENTS:
1. Seeing Differently: Changing the Paradigm of the Health of the Public
2. The Health of the Public and the Religious Mind: Connections and Disconnections
3. Religious Health Assets: What Religion Brings to Health of the Public
4. Leading Causes of Life: Pathology in its Place
5. Seeking Health: Persons, Bodies and Choices
6. People who Congregate: Building on Strengths
7. Boundary Leadership: Embodying Complexity in Turbulence
8. The Challenge of Systems
9. Religion and the Health of the Public: Deep Accountability
"Examples of effective partnerships between public health" and religious leaders are numerous, but we have lacked a conceptual map to help us understand their common values and shared intelligence. Gunderson and Cochrane offer us an important map that helps us to see our communities and our work in a wholly new way, challenging the status quo." -- James W. Curran, Dean of Public Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
"No field needs a new paradigm more than healthcare, which is exactly what Gunderson and Cochrane offer us in this timely volume." -- Bob Waller, ex-CEO and President, Mayo Clinic
"Gunderson and Cochrane are doing a global health physical check-up. ... Read this book and you will not only feel better, you'll do better. In fact, you might end up doing a lot of good." -- Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Chicago Theological Seminary
"This profound book offers religious and public health leaders vital resources for increasing mutual understanding and focusing constructive cooperation in service of healthy people within healthy societies." -- Most Rev. Dr Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archibiship of Cape Town
"To anyone interested in salutogenic conceptions of health, it is mandatory reading." -- Ola Sigurdson, Director of the Centre for Culture and Health, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
CONTENTS:
1. Seeing Differently: Changing the Paradigm of the Health of the Public
2. The Health of the Public and the Religious Mind: Connections and Disconnections
3. Religious Health Assets: What Religion Brings to Health of the Public
4. Leading Causes of Life: Pathology in its Place
5. Seeking Health: Persons, Bodies and Choices
6. People who Congregate: Building on Strengths
7. Boundary Leadership: Embodying Complexity in Turbulence
8. The Challenge of Systems
9. Religion and the Health of the Public: Deep Accountability
"Examples of effective partnerships between public health" and religious leaders are numerous, but we have lacked a conceptual map to help us understand their common values and shared intelligence. Gunderson and Cochrane offer us an important map that helps us to see our communities and our work in a wholly new way, challenging the status quo." -- James W. Curran, Dean of Public Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
"No field needs a new paradigm more than healthcare, which is exactly what Gunderson and Cochrane offer us in this timely volume." -- Bob Waller, ex-CEO and President, Mayo Clinic
"Gunderson and Cochrane are doing a global health physical check-up. ... Read this book and you will not only feel better, you'll do better. In fact, you might end up doing a lot of good." -- Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Chicago Theological Seminary
"This profound book offers religious and public health leaders vital resources for increasing mutual understanding and focusing constructive cooperation in service of healthy people within healthy societies." -- Most Rev. Dr Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archibiship of Cape Town
"To anyone interested in salutogenic conceptions of health, it is mandatory reading." -- Ola Sigurdson, Director of the Centre for Culture and Health, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
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These selected essays, originally presented at the African Religious Health Assets Program (ARHAP) International Colloquium in Cape Town in 2009, include several cutting edge studies and reflections on the increasingly important... more
These selected essays, originally presented at the African Religious Health Assets Program (ARHAP) International Colloquium in Cape Town in 2009, include several cutting edge studies and reflections on the increasingly important interface of religion and public health.
As a whole, they reflect ARHAP’s general sensibility: that religious entities and impulses of one kind or another need to be better understood and mobilized for public health. Religious entities commit vast energies and resources to health. How does one encourage, support and leverage that work for the good of all? What does one need to understand and do to align these assets and capacities, tangible and intangible, with public health institutions and interventions in service of the health of all? What do religious leaders and public health leaders need to learn about and from each other in this regard?
The essays, embodying a rich ARHAPian tapestry of inter-disciplinary thinkers, researchers and practitioners, address ways of understanding religion and public health, ways of thinking about the necessary leadership, specific work on HIV and AIDS, implications for practice and innovation, and lessons learned from work at the forefront of religion in development.
As a whole, they reflect ARHAP’s general sensibility: that religious entities and impulses of one kind or another need to be better understood and mobilized for public health. Religious entities commit vast energies and resources to health. How does one encourage, support and leverage that work for the good of all? What does one need to understand and do to align these assets and capacities, tangible and intangible, with public health institutions and interventions in service of the health of all? What do religious leaders and public health leaders need to learn about and from each other in this regard?
The essays, embodying a rich ARHAPian tapestry of inter-disciplinary thinkers, researchers and practitioners, address ways of understanding religion and public health, ways of thinking about the necessary leadership, specific work on HIV and AIDS, implications for practice and innovation, and lessons learned from work at the forefront of religion in development.
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"The essays collected in this volume in honour and memory of Steve de Gruchy, South African activist and theologian, are original contributions reflecting many concerns and interests at the heart of his life and work. They include... more
"The essays collected in this volume in honour and
memory of Steve de Gruchy, South African activist
and theologian, are original contributions reflecting
many concerns and interests at the heart of his life
and work. They include sections on 'Re-learning our
Mother tongue,' referring to theology in
dialogue with other disciplines; on 'Living on the edge,'
provoking new directions of thought; on 'Theology
and development,' a field to which de Gruchy had
made a particular contribution; and on 'Roots and
rooting,' tracing his involvement in mission and the
Ecumenical church."
memory of Steve de Gruchy, South African activist
and theologian, are original contributions reflecting
many concerns and interests at the heart of his life
and work. They include sections on 'Re-learning our
Mother tongue,' referring to theology in
dialogue with other disciplines; on 'Living on the edge,'
provoking new directions of thought; on 'Theology
and development,' a field to which de Gruchy had
made a particular contribution; and on 'Roots and
rooting,' tracing his involvement in mission and the
Ecumenical church."
Book blurb: "Deeply challenging the theological status quo, this important work searches for a new theological and ministerial paradigm in our time of massive social, economic, and geopolitical change. Guided by liberation theology and... more
Book blurb: "Deeply challenging the theological status quo, this important work searches for a new theological and ministerial paradigm in our time of massive social, economic, and geopolitical change. Guided by liberation theology and even more by his remarkable experience with south African indigenous groups and popular religion, Cochrane believes that theology's future role will be to listen to the "local wisdom" of religious people at society's margins, to widen the circle to encompass its public relevance, and to leverage the insights at the margin to displace the center."
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Called at the time "the first serious revisionist account of South African church history," this book is a critical study of the role of the major English-speaking churches (e.g. Anglican, Methodist) in the rise of segregation and... more
Called at the time "the first serious revisionist account of South African church history," this book is a critical study of the role of the major English-speaking churches (e.g. Anglican, Methodist) in the rise of segregation and Apartheid in South Africa, the first part assesses the role of missionaries (especially in the 19th Century), analyses the Lagden Commission and its role after the "Anglo-Boer' (South African) War in establishing virtually all the policies that later hardened into what we know as Apartheid, and the ambiguous response of churches and mission bodies. Part Two, more of a theoretical reflection based on the empirical analyses (and on philosophical and theological resources that were part of the original study but are not contained in the book) probes the possibility of what one might call a "critical church."
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Transitions foncières dans les Balkans. Roumanie, Albanie, Grèce (Options méditerranéennes, Série A. Séminaires Méditerranéens 2009. N° 82) Les articles présentés dans ce numéro thématique d'Options Méditerranéennes analysent les... more
Transitions foncières dans les Balkans. Roumanie, Albanie, Grèce (Options méditerranéennes, Série A. Séminaires Méditerranéens 2009. N° 82) Les articles présentés dans ce numéro thématique d'Options Méditerranéennes analysent les transitions ...
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An academic directory and search engine.
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This paper aims to develop a hermeneutic strategy able to direct a useful participation by the Church in the formation of public policy. It does so by drawing on the work of feminist theorists, among them Kathleen Kirby. The political... more
This paper aims to develop a hermeneutic strategy able to direct a useful participation by the Church in the formation of public policy. It does so by drawing on the work of feminist theorists, among them Kathleen Kirby. The political implications of the ‘hermeneutics of the boundary’, Kirby identified, are explored here to establish how they might impact on conceptions of public policy making and applications.
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For three years, he came to the family home every week to mow, rake, and maintain the garden for which two professionals had little time. Leonard,2 a young Xhosa man, itinerant, uncomfortable speaking English, living in a shack with his... more
For three years, he came to the family home every week to mow, rake, and maintain the garden for which two professionals had little time. Leonard,2 a young Xhosa man, itinerant, uncomfortable speaking English, living in a shack with his brother, and unable to find full time employment, lived precariously. Yet honorable, trustworthy, diligent, and always friendly—even if cannily—he was easy to deal with.
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The paradigm we have outlined for understanding religion and the health of the public rests partly on the credibility of each component idea, and partly on how those components as a whole serve the work of better reflection and action.... more
The paradigm we have outlined for understanding religion and the health of the public rests partly on the credibility of each component idea, and partly on how those components as a whole serve the work of better reflection and action. Here we reflect on one last critical component, the link between the health of the public on one hand, and polity and economy on the other. This link seems obvious, as farming is to weather and climate. However, no aspect is as challenging or contested, and we tread warily in this respect. Faith, health, politics, and economics: each is an aspect of human life that might be designed to rule the others, each has appeared to do so in different times and places, and each is complex beyond measure.
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The aim of this article was to report and critically reflect on community asset mapping processes used to develop a contextually valid interpersonal violence prevention programme in South Africa to promote positive forms of masculinity,... more
The aim of this article was to report and critically reflect on community asset mapping processes used to develop a contextually valid interpersonal violence prevention programme in South Africa to promote positive forms of masculinity, safety and peace. This study was informed by a critical public health framework, and was guided by the values and principles of community-based participatory action research. The research and action methods used included community asset mapping and action planning workshops, workshop evaluation questionnaires and reflexive researcher diary notes. Data were analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The results of this study demonstrated that the community asset mapping process provides reflexive and embedded spaces for academic and community participants to interactively engage and critically discuss issues which resonate with community concerns, and collectively find possible solutions to challenges identified. A participatory and ass...
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Ellen Idler and colleagues argue that durable partnerships with religious bodies can contribute to better population health outcomes
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On October 17, 2022, Albert Nolan passed away after an eventual and significant life. A Dominican, perhaps best known for his book, Jesus Before Christianity, his life was a testimony of grace, humility and engagement in seeking justice... more
On October 17, 2022, Albert Nolan passed away after an eventual and significant life. A Dominican, perhaps best known for his book, Jesus Before Christianity, his life was a testimony of grace, humility and engagement in seeking justice for all. Here, I suggest that one image of Christ that fits his life and work is “the cosmopolitan Christ.” I locate my reasoning in relation to three “signs of the times” (a concept he adopted in his own writing): aggressive new ethnonationalisms, the normalization of new kleptocracies that ‘capture the state’, and the failure to properly anticipate climate change, a poisoned planet, and species extinction. From this flows a discussion on the nature of freedom as a mark of being human, which leads into what I mean by a ‘cosmopolitan Christ’.
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Twelve theses on national building and a Christian theological approach to power and justice. In South Africa, reconciliation among previous protagonists in war has occurred in miraculous ways, but the damages caused by decades of... more
Twelve theses on national building and a Christian theological approach to power and justice.
In South Africa, reconciliation among previous protagonists in war has occurred in miraculous ways, but the damages caused by decades of oppression and by racial privilege and power, and the serious gaps between the educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor, those with access to resources and those with little ... these damages and their effects remain the most potent challenge to fulfilling the promise of a new nationhood and a just society. To these specific gaps must be added those more general ruptures that point to the oppression of women and children in the horrific figures of rape and other violence, the patriarchal dominations which beset much of our society, and the abuse that hits far too many homes and relationships. On what grounds do Christians contribute to the formation of public policy in the face of such realities? Here I offer a set of guiding theses ...
In South Africa, reconciliation among previous protagonists in war has occurred in miraculous ways, but the damages caused by decades of oppression and by racial privilege and power, and the serious gaps between the educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor, those with access to resources and those with little ... these damages and their effects remain the most potent challenge to fulfilling the promise of a new nationhood and a just society. To these specific gaps must be added those more general ruptures that point to the oppression of women and children in the horrific figures of rape and other violence, the patriarchal dominations which beset much of our society, and the abuse that hits far too many homes and relationships. On what grounds do Christians contribute to the formation of public policy in the face of such realities? Here I offer a set of guiding theses ...
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Researching phenomena associated with religion or spirituality faces a triple conundrum not easily resolved: What counts as religion or spirituality, are they independent or derivative phenomena, and can they be empirically determined at... more
Researching phenomena associated with religion or spirituality faces a triple conundrum not easily resolved: What counts as religion or spirituality, are they independent or derivative phenomena, and can they be empirically determined at all? Appropriately, therefore, a recent special issue of the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality asks: What is its object of study? We argue that this cannot be resolved merely by considering diverse religious or spiritual phenomena. It requires a turn instead to what grounds religious and spiritual experience. Illustrating this claim from field research on “spiritual capacities and religious assets for health” in the face of interpersonal violence in two local communities, we argue that a set of supersensible, non-material, and therefore “spiritual” but nonetheless real human capacities that we must assume human beings possess, ground the sensible, empirical phenomena or “appearances” we call religion or spirituality. The notion of supersensible spiritual capacities, by definition incapable of empirical proof or disproof, places strict limits on phenomenal claims about religion or spirituality, particularly ontological ones. Although studying the phenomena or appearances remains important, paying attention to spiritual capacities enables us better to grasp the contingent nature of such phenomena while grounding them in that innate and general disposition of the human being—which we tentatively define as the C-factor.
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After World War II religion was effectively rejected or sidelined in development policy and practice. Newly emerging international agencies—like the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organizati...
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The human spirit is worthy of our attention not only because it is universal and not the privileged possession of the clever and geniuses of our world but also because it is the ground for any and all justice and virtue. If we want to... more
The human spirit is worthy of our attention not only because it is universal and not the privileged possession of the clever and geniuses of our world but also because it is the ground for any and all justice and virtue. If we want to " bet on a sure thing, " we should bet on the power of responsible spirit, no matter how crippled it might appear to be, and seek its exemplification in our own lives. Our very freedom depends upon it. This book provides the groundwork for understanding why. It establishes a foundational perspective on the human spirit, responds to potential misunderstandings of it from the side of other disciplines and viewpoints, and shows how it can inform particular traditions and institutions, including those of science and religious faith. The uploadable front matter, Preface & Introduction gives a clear view of what the book is about. Also provided are three reference styles for the book (Chicago, APA, PLoS), plus links for ordering the print or e-book version (with prices in SA Rands and US dollars).
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Reflecting on research on “religion” and “health” in Africa, one quickly confronts the challenge of what we might call “the complex real”. Adequately to understand and act upon the complex real requires multiple disciplines and... more
Reflecting on research on “religion” and “health” in Africa, one quickly confronts the challenge of what we might call “the complex real”. Adequately to understand and act upon the complex real requires multiple disciplines and interlocking theoretical constructs that transcend any particular discipline. Here the issue of transdisciplinarity arises and, with it, the relationship between knowledge and ethics. Does this have relevance for African Studies, where the intellectual task of asking “what do we know” is hard to separate from the practical one of asking “what should we do”? Here we pursue that question using Max-Neef’s seminal understanding of transdisciplinarity.
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In the US Civil War the battle of Shiloh, remarkable for its raw violence, the ignorance of its generals, and the age of its soldiers, turned the Tennessee River east of Memphis red with young blood. One general, leading a ten thousand... more
In the US Civil War the battle of Shiloh, remarkable for its raw violence, the ignorance of its generals, and the age of its soldiers, turned the Tennessee River east of Memphis red with young blood. One general, leading a ten thousand strong Union division, took two days to find the road leading to the main battlefield, though the sound of distant gunfire was always present. Thick underbrush and the gentle roll of the terrain meant that thousands of men, many teenagers, lost their lives, dying without ever seeing their enemy. Most soldiers perished from lack of water or inadequate treatment of relatively minor wounds in desperate camps a few dozen miles removed from the battlefield while their generals dithered about what to do next. Others lived to fight again, but hundreds simply chose to walk away and keep walking, refusing to be party to such deadly meaninglessness.
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Mowbray, an otherwise innocuous suburb of Cape Town, is a transport hub, a place of transition. Here all sorts of workers, mostly from distant townships, are on their way into or out of the city, getting off the train and onto a bus as... more
Mowbray, an otherwise innocuous suburb of Cape Town, is a transport hub, a place of transition. Here all sorts of workers, mostly from distant townships, are on their way into or out of the city, getting off the train and onto a bus as they travel. Here, food and goods are sold on the sidewalk, crowds pushing this way and that under the careful and constant eye of police, commerce and conflict amid the noise, and replete with smells and energy of a thriving society.
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Better theory enables better practice, or it is not worth the bother. If a theory does not help those in positions of influence to guide efforts and alignments relevant to the health of their community, it is little better than... more
Better theory enables better practice, or it is not worth the bother. If a theory does not help those in positions of influence to guide efforts and alignments relevant to the health of their community, it is little better than intellectual entertainment, a distraction. Good theory helps people in positions of influence, many of whom might not think of themselves as “leaders,” to achieve deep accountability for how they use their influence and live their lives. They seek accountability that is deep-rooted in an understanding of the complexity of life and in respect for its forms, aware of the turbulence it contains, sensitive to the variety of levels and scales at which human relationships matter, and worthy of the weight their decisions must support over time. We have defined health as comprehensive well-being, and linked it to freedom via Amartya Sen’s theory of development, and to justice by calling on Paul Ricoeur’s analysis of ethics as rooted in an understanding of the self as constituted by another. Deep accountability for health takes account of all three dimensions of human life.
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With the rise of the nation-state and the great corporate ventures of industrial and ?nancial capitalism, especially when considered alongside the decline of religious authority in both of these spheres under conditions of modernity, the... more
With the rise of the nation-state and the great corporate ventures of industrial and ?nancial capitalism, especially when considered alongside the decline of religious authority in both of these spheres under conditions of modernity, the role of the citizen has moved to the fore. As the idea of citizenship has expanded, ?rst excluding certain classes, racially de?ned groups and women, later including them, so too has the question of the role of citizens in society. Speci?cally, given the expansion of complexity in the spheres of both economy and polity, driven by scienti?c, technological and managerial innovations, the role of citizens has grown increasingly unstable. It is sometimes attacked or even crushed, sometimes reduced to little more than expressing an opinion now and again through a public vote, and most commonly expressed through the multiple kinds of associational and organizational structures that citizens have themselves built – what we general call civil society (see Cohen & Arato, 1995).
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... He cites the Indian historian Shahid Amin on the "Hindi majoritarians who identify the Muslim minority as villains of the Indian past and present" (265 n.1 ... In the chapter entitled, "Mother... more
... He cites the Indian historian Shahid Amin on the "Hindi majoritarians who identify the Muslim minority as villains of the Indian past and present" (265 n.1 ... In the chapter entitled, "Mother Faces the Nation," Krog writes about the hearing of Winnie Madikizella-Mandela in late 1997. ...
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With the rise of the nation-state and the great corporate ventures of industrial and ?nancial capitalism, especially when considered alongside the decline of religious authority in both of these spheres under conditions of modernity, the... more
With the rise of the nation-state and the great corporate ventures of industrial and ?nancial capitalism, especially when considered alongside the decline of religious authority in both of these spheres under conditions of modernity, the role of the citizen has moved to the fore. As the idea of citizenship has expanded, ?rst excluding certain classes, racially de?ned groups and women, later including them, so too has the question of the role of citizens in society. Speci?cally, given the expansion of complexity in the spheres of both economy and polity, driven by scienti?c, technological and managerial innovations, the role of citizens has grown increasingly unstable. It is sometimes attacked or even crushed, sometimes reduced to little more than expressing an opinion now and again through a public vote, and most commonly expressed through the multiple kinds of associational and organizational structures that citizens have themselves built – what we general call civil society (see C...
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ABSTRACT This study examines how South African religious leaders mobilised spiritual capacity and religious assets to resist and fight against state and structural violence during the 1970s and 1980s. Document analysis and qualitative... more
ABSTRACT This study examines how South African religious leaders mobilised spiritual capacity and religious assets to resist and fight against state and structural violence during the 1970s and 1980s. Document analysis and qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with six key informants who were directly or indirectly involved in an interfaith Peace March in 1989 in Cape Town. Our analysis was aimed at identifying and understanding the factors, which enabled individuals from diverse religious backgrounds to work together to combat the Apartheid state and structural violence, drawing out possible roles for interfaith leadership within the prevention of direct violence in South Africa. The analysis shows that interfaith leadership was enacted as five kinds of performances: of safety in sacred spaces, solidarity and community, non-violence, voice and representation, and humanitarian relief and healing. These performances relied on specific religious assets, spiritual capacity and psychological and interpersonal qualities characteristic of transformative leaders. In conclusion, we offer some suggestions for how interfaith leadership alongside other social actors may contribute to the prevention of interpersonal violence.
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The identification and mobilisation of factors that promote peace is central to peace promotion. Through a community-based participatory research project, SCRATCHMAPS (Spiritual Capacity and Religious Assets for Transforming Community... more
The identification and mobilisation of factors that promote peace is central to peace promotion. Through a community-based participatory research project, SCRATCHMAPS (Spiritual Capacity and Religious Assets for Transforming Community Health through mobilising Males for Peace and Safety), a grounded-theoretical study in a low-income community in South Africa, including both quantitative and qualitative methods and forms of analysis, was conducted to explore community members’ perceptions of factors that promote peace. The findings presented in this chapter reveal a major emphasis on ‘intangible’ factors, many of them linked to a new concept of ‘spiritual capacity’, that the community believe play a central role in promoting peace. In line with initiatives that combine research and action in efforts to promote peace, the authors briefly describe how these findings were used to direct a community intervention aimed at mobilising religious assets and enabling spiritual capacity to promote peace. Structural factors such as employment and economic security are centrally important in any attempts to promote peace, but the authors argue that more attention should be focused on understanding and mobilising factors such as compassion, respect, and hope, at different levels of the social system. This raises a number of challenges to those involved in peace psychology.
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The history of religion can barely be separated from that of health. Most, if not all, religions are bound up with some comprehensive conception of health and well-being, whether cast in cyclical or linear patterns of redemption,... more
The history of religion can barely be separated from that of health. Most, if not all, religions are bound up with some comprehensive conception of health and well-being, whether cast in cyclical or linear patterns of redemption, salvation, or fullness of life. Health, here, means more than medicine.1 However, even the term “medicine” has a deeper meaning than most realize, with surprising etymological origins in the pharaonic language of Egypt: the mediation (medi) of the healer (sine).2
At one level, this book is about the relationship between public health and religion. It is a relationship with deep historical roots that remain much closer to our time than what current intellectual formation and disciplinary training... more
At one level, this book is about the relationship between public health and religion. It is a relationship with deep historical roots that remain much closer to our time than what current intellectual formation and disciplinary training in either public health or religious leadership fully grasps. Reconnecting the two is more important than one might think. One of our major undertakings here, then, is to argue for that reconnection—for the sake of public health and for the best in religious traditions.
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An integrative paradigm for religion in the health of the public begins in our thinking with the idea of religious health assets (RHAs). This gives the name to the work over the last several years of the international collaborative we... more
An integrative paradigm for religion in the health of the public begins in our thinking with the idea of religious health assets (RHAs). This gives the name to the work over the last several years of the international collaborative we helped found, the African Religious Health Assets Programme (ARHAP). Wherever we encountered others, the first puzzle, quite understandably, was what we meant by “RHAs” and why we were using this term. Explaining this, and laying the foundation for the interconnected ideas that follow, is our task here.
Public health professionals are often surprised at how ubiquitously and actively congregations already engage in work relevant to the health of communities. Congregational leaders are equally as often surprised to learn how much of what... more
Public health professionals are often surprised at how ubiquitously and actively congregations already engage in work relevant to the health of communities. Congregational leaders are equally as often surprised to learn how much of what they “naturally” do is relevant to the health of the public. As their activity in caring for individuals is so common, reflecting deeply held historical norms, they do not think of their work as advancing or sustaining community systems of health that they can deliberately improve.
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Based on ongoing research and analysis by a transdisciplinary, international collaboration of non-formal health services in the context of health challenges such as HIV and AIDS, congestive heart failure, diabetes, palliative care, and... more
Based on ongoing research and analysis by a transdisciplinary, international collaboration of non-formal health services in the context of health challenges such as HIV and AIDS, congestive heart failure, diabetes, palliative care, and interpersonal violence, this paper addresses the question of evaluation criteria for medicine in the twenty-first century. It offers no detailed discussion of specific legal frameworks, medical choices, or standard financial challenges. Rather, it suggests that crucial to their resolution may be a different way of looking at them. This is expressed via four interrelated but discrete notions: health assets, healthworlds, causes of life, and deep accountability. To contextualize these notions, two themes that are central to questions of prioritization in medicine and health care are first considered: the lure and allure of science and aspects of rational choice theory and the question of the common good. Health assets are then explained and their relevance illustrated with reference to research conducted in Zambia and Lesotho for the World Health Organization. From this research arises the idea of healthworlds, which articulates the crucial agency of the health seeker in most, if not all, medical or health interventions. Healthworlds reflect ways of understanding health and healing that exceed clinical perspectives but that nonetheless have clinical relevance. The significance of these concepts is illustrated with reference to an innovative, community-based partnership established by a major health system in Memphis, Tennessee, that has attracted national interest and that offers insights into the question of criteria for evaluating medicine in formal health systems. Finally, this leads to the suggestion that we would be well served to grasp the crucial health and health care in terms of what we might call “leading causes of life.” This conceptual framework emphasizes that which is generative of health; it seeks to balance the overwhelming stress on pathology which is taken as normative but which might be precisely where we are failing. The paper ends by calling for a “deep accountability” that surpasses, without setting aside, financial and operational accountability, placing the question of prioritization in medicine within a larger framework of criteria for evaluating medicine in the twenty-first century.
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Research Interests: Political Science and MIT
James R. Cochrane, Deborah McFarland, & Gary R. Gunderson, 2014. In Ellen L. Idler (ed.), Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health (New York : Oxford University Press), 344-367. Frequently in partnership, but sometimes at... more
James R. Cochrane, Deborah McFarland, & Gary R. Gunderson, 2014. In Ellen L. Idler (ed.), Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health (New York : Oxford University Press), 344-367. Frequently in partnership, but sometimes at odds, religious institutions and public health institutions work to improve the well-being of their communities. There is increasing awareness among public health professionals and the general public that the social conditions of poverty, lack of education, income inequality, poor working conditions, and experiences of discrimination play a dominant role in determining health status. But this broad view of the social determinants of health has largely ignored the role of religious practices and institutions in shaping the life conditions of billions around the globe. In Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health, leading scholars in the social sciences, public health, and religion address this omission by examining the embodied sacred practices of the world's religions, the history of alignment and tension between religious and public health institutions, the research on the health impact of religious practice throughout the life course, and the role of religious institutions in health and development efforts around the globe. In addition, the volume explores religion's role in the ongoing epidemics of HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer's disease, as well as preparations for an influenza pandemic. Together, these groundbreaking essays help complete the picture of the social determinants of health by including religion, which has until now been an invisible determinant.
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Religious convictions and ways of seeing reality have their own independent impact, in the case of the World Trade Center towers a very visible, clearly material, and highly symbolic impact all at once. This has given rise to new... more
Religious convictions and ways of seeing reality have their own independent impact, in the case of the World Trade Center towers a very visible, clearly material, and highly symbolic impact all at once. This has given rise to new discussions on religion in society, in the public sphere. To think again of theology, and religion, in the public place, in the market square, I focus on the lens offered by the idea of civil society, to highlight some important challenges to theology in our time, in dialogue with the African context, and with the work of people such as Mahmood Mamdani, Cohen and Arato, Jürgen Haber-mas, Jean Bethke Elshtain. Questions about the ecclesia and the believing /acting /responsible human being emerge clearly. I end by claiming that responsible theological reflection seeks to break open new possibilities amidst the limits of present actualities. It partakes of what is to come, refuses to possess the truth, supports the struggle of human beings to actualize themsel...
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💥A fully revised and reframed of the 'leading causes of life' framework. Most importantly, it explains the necessarily interrelated nature of the 'five causes' of human life (beyond mere biological life, a sine qua non) and why, equally... more
💥A fully revised and reframed of the 'leading causes of life' framework. Most importantly, it explains the necessarily interrelated nature of the 'five causes' of human life (beyond mere biological life, a sine qua non) and why, equally necessarily, this is impossible to understand without its foundation in the moral responsibility we have for our presence -- our intentions and actions ♨️-- in the world.
For each of the 'five causes' (agency, coherence, hope, connection, intergenerativity) a range of references to studies and sources from a wide range of disciplines is given.
For each of the 'five causes' (agency, coherence, hope, connection, intergenerativity) a range of references to studies and sources from a wide range of disciplines is given.
Research Interests: Social Theory, Sociology of Religion, Positive Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion, and 11 moreSocial Sciences, Interdisciplinarity, Complexity, Morality (Social Psychology), Life Cycle Assessment, Moral Theology, Moral Development, Public Health, Moral and Political Philosophy, Salutogenesis, and Human flourishing
Address in Tübingen (2010), translated into English, with a postscript (2016), detailing the important impulse that came from meetings in Tübingen in the 1960s that fed directly into the WHO's mandate of primary health care (PHC), playing... more
Address in Tübingen (2010), translated into English, with a postscript (2016), detailing the important impulse that came from meetings in Tübingen in the 1960s that fed directly into the WHO's mandate of primary health care (PHC), playing a key role in defining what one means by health, its link to justice (now often discussed in relation to the "social determinants" of health), and holistic nature. The essay reflects on what we can (and can't) learn from that impulse in the context of the 21st Century and argues for why some of what was understood then remains highly relevant now.
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One way the African Religious Health Assets Programme has sought to undertake research into ‘religious health assets’ (RHAs) is through the development of ‘participatory inquiry,’ an approach that in fact combines several ideas in one.... more
One way the African Religious Health Assets Programme has sought to undertake research into ‘religious health assets’ (RHAs) is through the development of ‘participatory inquiry,’ an approach that in fact combines several ideas in one. The relevant toolset we call ‘Participatory Inquiry into Religious Health Assets, Networks and Agency,’ or PIRHANA. Here we introduce this research strategy, and ask what it does and does not achieve. This toolset was used first in research done for the World Health Organization (ARHAP 2006) and since in a range of other international settings. Its value has been repeatedly ratified: it is particularly useful for gathering certain kinds of data, and its participatory richness has noteworthy kick-on effects in bringing key actors together around common concerns.
The PIRHANA toolset can readily be turned into mere technique, and used with a purely instrumental purpose; but then its value is reduced and some of its most important and powerful features undermined. It is therefore critical to understand its theoretical foundations and its practical intentionality.
In what follows, we provide some background to the tool, explore the research concerns that led to its development, and examine its theoretical foundations. Then we outline the tool and its logic. Finally, we ask what the tool achieves and what it does not.
The PIRHANA toolset can readily be turned into mere technique, and used with a purely instrumental purpose; but then its value is reduced and some of its most important and powerful features undermined. It is therefore critical to understand its theoretical foundations and its practical intentionality.
In what follows, we provide some background to the tool, explore the research concerns that led to its development, and examine its theoretical foundations. Then we outline the tool and its logic. Finally, we ask what the tool achieves and what it does not.
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The African Religious Health Assets Programme (ARHAP) mapped and assess religious entities engaged in health prevention, care, support and treatment, and developed tools for aligning religious and community health assets in partnership... more
The African Religious Health Assets Programme (ARHAP) mapped and assess religious entities engaged in health prevention, care, support and treatment, and developed tools for aligning religious and community health assets in partnership with formal health services and systems. This has provided evidence for just how widespread, and varying in range and type, religious entities engaged in health work are. Many of them, however, are not visible to formal public health institutions. Ubiquitous in many contexts, delivering large-scale services in the aggregate, individually they are often small, flexible, frequently grassroots-based or linked, and without the organisational and material capacities to make their presence and voice more widely felt. They do not easily find a relationship to formal health institutions or systems, though providing for a great deal of health interventions, often where state or corporate agencies do not operate well, or at all. I argue here, drawing on ARHAP’s experience, that one of the most critical factors in addressing this breakdown of an effective alignment of religious health assets and public health is the role of credible, or trustworthy, intermediaries. The earlier work by Thomas Carroll (1992), who analyzed thirty intermediary organisations in Latin America, helps us understand how to address this, especially with respect to the kind of intermediary he calls a grassroots support organisation.
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💥A fully revised and reframed of the 'leading causes of life' framework. Most importantly, it explains the necessarily interrelated nature of the 'five causes' of human life (beyond mere biological life, a sine qua non) and why, equally... more
💥A fully revised and reframed of the 'leading causes of life' framework. Most importantly, it explains the necessarily interrelated nature of the 'five causes' of human life (beyond mere biological life, a sine qua non) and why, equally necessarily, this is impossible to understand without its foundation in the moral responsibility we have for our presence -- our intentions and actions ♨️-- in the world.
For each of the 'five causes' (agency, coherence, hope, connection, intergenerativity) a range of references to studies and sources from a wide range of disciplines is given.
For each of the 'five causes' (agency, coherence, hope, connection, intergenerativity) a range of references to studies and sources from a wide range of disciplines is given.
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This summary of the five 'leading causes of life' outlines each of them (coherence, connection, agency, intergenerativity or 'blessing', and hope), and includes some basic references that indicate how far-reaching the ideas are and what... more
This summary of the five 'leading causes of life' outlines each of them (coherence, connection, agency, intergenerativity or 'blessing', and hope), and includes some basic references that indicate how far-reaching the ideas are and what basis they have in other work.
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This document outlines key concepts that underpin the entire 'leading causes of life' framework and without which it is easily misunderstood. These concepts include: 'causation', 'imagination and play,' 'understanding the human spirit',... more
This document outlines key concepts that underpin the entire 'leading causes of life' framework and without which it is easily misunderstood. These concepts include: 'causation', 'imagination and play,' 'understanding the human spirit', and 'life's work as poeisis'.
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An illustrated introduction to the five 'leading causes of life' (LCL). From an online book on 'mobilizing religious assets for health' for transformation (http://www.barefootguide.org/barefoot-guide-3.html), written with Gary Gunderson... more
An illustrated introduction to the five 'leading causes of life' (LCL). From an online book on 'mobilizing religious assets for health' for transformation (http://www.barefootguide.org/barefoot-guide-3.html), written with Gary Gunderson and with drawings by Tebo Cochrane, it provides a short and sweet overview of the concept and its general relevance.
For more on the LCLI Initiative, see: http://www.leading-causes.com/index.html.
For more on the LCLI Initiative, see: http://www.leading-causes.com/index.html.