Abstract
Within Western secular societies, everything has to be substantiated by empirical evidence; this means it has to be quantifiable and measurable. Research, particularly quantitative research, then, is the criterion by which everything, including religion, is either accepted or rejected. The separation of religion from science began with the Renaissance, the Reformation and the advent of the Enlightenment. It was perceived that religion did not match the language of science and that there was no logical proof or empirical evidence for the existence of God. Religion therefore, due to its inability to be measured and quantified, has since been largely marginalised. In recent times, in order to integrate ‘religion’ into everyday life, attempts have been made to argue and bring in scientific proof for the effectiveness of religion for improved health and well-being. The psychiatrist Harold Koenig has been one of the key people whose collation of research evidence has shown that religion has a positive effect on both physical and mental health. By looking firstly at the definitions of religion and spirituality and then discussing various opinions from both secular and religious perspectives, including those of Said Nursi, this paper aimed to determine whether religion and spirituality can indeed be measured.
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Notes
For example see Nursi (2002).
The Nursian concepts of ma‘na-i ismī and ma ‘nā-i ḥarfī represent two diametrically opposed positions: either one can interpret the metaphorical “verses” observed in the cosmos as being ‘other-indicative’ (ma ‘nā-i ḥarfī), namely as signs pointing to the Creator; or one can disconnect them from their Divine origin and impose on them a ‘self-referential’ meaning (ma‘na-i ismī), and disconnect them from the Divine by claiming that they indicate none other than their own existences. Nursi uses this important concept pair in numerous places throughout the Risale-i Nur and it is therefore key to his hermeneutical approach. For example see Nursi (2000a).
Nursi uses the concept-pair of ‘prophethood’ and ‘philosophy’ to distinguish between the approach to the world that is in line with Quranic precepts and the approach which accords paramountcy to human reason and human reason alone: the first he calls ‘the line of prophethood’ and the second, the ‘line of philosophy’. For Nursi’s discussion of the ‘line of prophethood’ and the ‘line of philosophy’, see Nursi 2001.
Nursi explains in his treatise on Nature that causes are only apparent and that in reality they have no role in bringing things into effect. For more explanation refer to: Nursi (2000c).
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Turner, M. Can the Effects of Religion and Spirituality on Both Physical and Mental Health be Scientifically Measured? An Overview of the Key Sources, with Particular Reference to the Teachings of Said Nursi. J Relig Health 54, 2045–2051 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9894-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9894-3