Religion in the lives of Hindu widows: Narratives from Vrindavan, India.

Abstract

Religion's impact on society cannot be overestimated. In the multireligious country of India, it is prevalent in the micro-level interactions and practices of commoners and the macro-level strategies and policies of political parties. Religion thus holds power to make or break societal structures and practices. This article investigates the role of religion in the lives of widows living in Vrindavan, India, by analyzing 37 narratives. Religion was found to have a dual role. Through the sociological lens, it is among the major reasons for these widows' marginalized and dejected condition, having been abandoned by their families and society. The sociological themes comprise interpreting the doctrine of karma to rationalize widowhood, the formation of negative attitudes toward widows, and religion as a source of exclusion. Conversely, through the psychological lens, religion provides them with the necessary psychological resources to cope with several hardships in their daily lives. The psychological themes comprise seeing misery as an instrument of God, developing a personal connection with God, surrendering to God, using religious rituals as distractions from misery, helping others, and conceptualizing Vrindavan as a place of Krishna and enabler of spiritual retreat. The linkages to theory and a model for religion in the lives of Vrindavan widows are also discussed.

Introduction to the special section: Psychology of Indian spirituality and religion, emerging perspectives.

“…In the first article, Pandey and Gupta (2019) examine religion in the lives of Hindu widows. Much evidence from diverse religious traditions has linked religion with either better or worse health and well-being, depending upon the specific population and upon the dimension of religion that is being considered (Abu Raiya, Pargament, & Magyar-Russell, 2010; Oman & Nuru-Jeter, 2018).…”

“…Much evidence from diverse religious traditions has linked religion with either better or worse health and well-being, depending upon the specific population and upon the dimension of religion that is being considered (Abu Raiya, Pargament, & Magyar-Russell, 2010; Oman & Nuru-Jeter, 2018). Similarly, based on qualitative interviews with 37 Hindu widows, Pandey and Gupta document a “dual role” (Pandey & Gupta, 2019, p. 91) of religion, as in popular understanding it simultaneously sanctions social disabilities of widows and supplies numerous coping strategies that assist them in managing life challenges. Such findings parallel the widely observed patterns of dual impacts worldwide and in western samples, in which religion is often ambiguously or adversely linked to ethnic and sexual discrimination, yet simultaneously serves as a multifaceted resource for the marginalized groups.…”

“…Over time, however, as religious traditions evolve, justice- and equity-enhancing changes often occur in the social expectations and norms that are sanctified by religious traditions (Oman & Nuru-Jeter, 2018). Through their study, Pandey and Gupta hope to aid mental health professionals working with widow populations, and to help policymakers and activists to work effectively, taking into account “prevailing socioreligious realities” (Pandey & Gupta, 2019, p. 98).…”

“…1We are grateful to former editor-in-chief Ralph Piedmont and his team of associate editors for having overseen the reviewing process for the empirical articles by Pandey and Gupta (2019) and by Fincham, May, and Kamble (2019).…”

Examining the engagement of young consumers for religiously sanctioned food: the case of halal food in India

“…Consumer engagement has been primarily defined in relation to an individual's repeated interaction that invariably strengthens his or her psychological or physical investments for a product, service or a brand (Chaffey, 2007), and it forms the central theme of discussion in this paper. Religion has both sociological and psychological mechanism to affect individual behavior (Pandey and Gupta, 2019;Pandey and Singh, 2019). Religion has unexpectedly evolved as an important element of consumer engagement for marketers (Miller and Miller, 2005) probably because of its instinctual nature, as religions and societies have been inextricably intertwined as ages.…”