God’s Rage:

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" God’s Rage: "
Jonas Svensson

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1079170
Doc. No	:	LA122799
Call No	:	‭10.1163/15685276-12341343‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Jonas Svensson
Title & Author	:	God’s Rage: [Article] : Muslim Representations of hiv/aids as a Divine Punishment from the Perspective of the Cognitive Science of Religion\ Jonas Svensson
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Numen
Date	:	2014
Volume/ Issue Number	:	61/5-6
Page No	:	569–593
Abstract	:	Research from a number of disciplines indicates that the interpretation of hiv/aids as a divine punishment for illicit sexual practices dominates both a contemporary intra-Muslim public religious discourse and perceptions of the disease among Muslims. This dominance persists despite the existence of alternative theological interpretations, and despite seemingly contradictory empirical evidence. The present article develops a hypothesis on why this is the case and poses it against existing attempts at explanations. The theoretical basis for this hypothesis is elaborated with the help of findings from within the cognitive science of religion, and particularly the notion of an “epidemiology of representations.” According to the hypothesis, a combination of general psychological and cognitive factors and specific contextual factors provide the notion of hiv/aids as a divine punishment, with a selective advantage in certain social contexts over both theological alternatives and non-religious understandings of the disease. The article finally puts forward some predictions that may be tested empirically in further research. Research from a number of disciplines indicates that the interpretation of hiv/aids as a divine punishment for illicit sexual practices dominates both a contemporary intra-Muslim public religious discourse and perceptions of the disease among Muslims. This dominance persists despite the existence of alternative theological interpretations, and despite seemingly contradictory empirical evidence. The present article develops a hypothesis on why this is the case and poses it against existing attempts at explanations. The theoretical basis for this hypothesis is elaborated with the help of findings from within the cognitive science of religion, and particularly the notion of an “epidemiology of representations.” According to the hypothesis, a combination of general psychological and cognitive factors and specific contextual factors provide the notion of hiv/aids as a divine punishment, with a selective advantage in certain social contexts over both theological alternatives and non-religious understandings of the disease. The article finally puts forward some predictions that may be tested empirically in further research.
Descriptor	:	cognitive science of religion
Descriptor	:	divine punishment
Descriptor	:	epidemiology of representations
Descriptor	:	hiv/aids
Descriptor	:	Islam
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/15685276-12341343‬