“We think this way as a society!”: Community-level science literacy among ultra-Orthodox Jews

Taragin‐Zeller, Lea; Rozenblum, Yael; Baram‐Tsabari, Ayelet

doi:10.1177/09636625221110106

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Further complicating this, disaffiliates do not have personal experience in actively accessing the healthcare system. The ultra-Orthodox are more likely to seek the advice of a rabbinic figure or an askan before approaching a physician or other healthcare provider (Taragin-Zeller et al 2022; Zalcberg Block and Zalcberg 2023). This translates to limited knowledge of the healthcare system.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the ultra-Orthodox community, many depend on askanim and rabbis to advise them how to proceed with healthcare decisions. As a result of this dependency, when the disaffiliate must fend for him or herself in relation to healthcare, they are at a loss of how to do so (Taragin-Zeller et al 2022). This problem is especially prominent among men, who received less secular education than women, in keeping with the finding of Keller et al (2023) that men reported adverse education experiences at a significantly higher rate than women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are very little secular subjects taught, such as English, mathematics, or science, in yeshivot. This means that ultra-Orthodox men (and to a lesser extent women, as they do receive a basic secular education, though it is censored) have little scientific literacy (Keller et al 2023;Taragin-Zeller et al 2022). The interviewees, particularly the young men reflecting on their education, remarked on their lack of understanding of the medical world.…”

Section: Lack Of Health-related Education and Knowledge Of The Health...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), defined as lay helpers, informal helpers or middlemen, play a role in mediating various aspects of life for members of the ultra-Orthodox community, including healthcare. Though usually having no formal medical education, askanim advise members of the community concerning medical treatment and are viewed as a source of authority (Orr, Unger, and Finkelstein 2021b; Taragin-Zeller, Rozenblum, and Baram-Tsabari 2022; Zalcberg Block and Zalcberg 2023).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Barriers to the Healthcare System Faced by Ultra-Orthodox Religious Disaffiliates

Pinchas-Mizrachi,

Orr,

Zalcman

et al. 2024

Review of Religious Research

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Many religious disaffiliates, similar to immigrants, experience health vulnerabilities. Yet, few studies address their ability to access the healthcare system. This article contributes to filling this void by examining the case of Israeli Jewish ultra-Orthodox disaffiliates. The study analyzes the barriers that hinder these disaffiliates’ access to the healthcare system, adversely affecting their well-being. This research is based on 36 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ultra-Orthodox disaffiliates, analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Six barriers were identified: lack of health-related education and knowledge of the healthcare system, poverty and structural determinants of health, lack of respect for authority, communication gaps, lack of belonging, and stigmas, particularly in mental health. We recommend training healthcare providers and students to better understand and address these barriers and disaffiliates’ unique needs when providing care for them. Specifically, we suggest incorporating this overlooked subject in the frameworks of cultural competency and structural competency, encouraging collaboration between healthcare practitioners and religious disaffiliates to promote equitable and inclusive policies. Implications for community organizations include offering courses, simulations, peer guidance, and consultation for disaffiliates on health-related issues, as well as engaging disaffiliates in self-advocacy. We propose that this study is relevant to disaffiliates from varied insular, high-tension religious communities worldwide.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Lack Of Health-related Education and Knowledge Of The Health...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Barriers to the Healthcare System Faced by Ultra-Orthodox Religious Disaffiliates

Pinchas-Mizrachi,

Orr,

Zalcman

et al. 2024

Review of Religious Research

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“…Within the emerging field of inclusive science communication, faith leaders are often portrayed as "trusted voices" within their communities who serve as sources of support, information and credibility [39][40][41]. Religious leaders can also identify ways to overcome particular community-based challenges, bridging understanding about the diverse ways health, healing and risk are conceived, especially in situations where health regulations can be perceived as undermining group-based priorities [see: [42][43][44][45].…”

Section: Religion Health and Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious diversity and public health: Lessons from COVID-19

Taragin-Zeller,

Berenblum,

Brasil

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

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Scholars have identified a range of variables that predict public health compliance during COVID-19, including: psychological, institutional and situational variables as well as demographic characteristics, such as gender, location and age. In this paper, we argue that religious affiliation is also a clear predictor for compliance with public health guidelines. Based on a sample representative survey (N = 800) of Haredi Jews in Israel, we found that Haredi Jews mostly followed COVID-19 health regulations. Among the respondents who were non-compliant, however, we found large divergences which mostly reflected religious affiliation. While members of Lithuanian and Sephardi communities reported following guidelines, Hasidim, a more charismatic sub-group, were 12% and 14% more likely to flout public health guidelines than their Lithuanian and Sephardi counterparts, respectively. Despite this inner diversity, all Haredim were portrayed in Israeli media as one homogeneous group that was blamed for flouting public health guidelines and spreading COVID-19. Based on these findings, we argue for the importance of public health messaging that attends to diverse aspects of religious dogma, practice and observance by creating partnerships and sustainable relationships between different actors and stakeholders. In addition, we found that compliance was also shaped by knowledge about COVID-19 and public concern. Taking these findings together, health communication that acknowledges religious diversity while providing critical knowledge about the pandemic is key to developing and implementing community-focused interventions and public health programs. Practically, these insights help to improve pandemic governance as well as contributing theoretically to the study of public health relations and religion by highlighting how discourses around health vary and how differently positioned actors shape representations of responsiveness and health compliance.

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Epistemic networks and the social nature of public engagement with science

Feinstein,

Baram‐Tsabari

2024

J Res Sci Teach

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This theoretical paper focuses on the social processes of public engagement with science and their implications for science education. The core of our argument is that science education should help people become better at evaluating, using, and curating their epistemic networks to make personal and civic decisions and to understand the natural world. In this context, an epistemic network is a set of people who support sensemaking by providing new information and aiding in the interpretation and reconstruction of scientific knowledge in context. We believe epistemic networks are an important consideration for science education, particularly when misinformation plays an outsized role in the cultural landscape. Understanding when epistemic networks are useful and how science education should incorporate them requires a clear sense of how they work in different contexts. We start by contrasting the inevitably social nature of all public engagement with science with the particularly social or interpersonal nature of some public engagement with science. We draw on research from education, communication, and science and technology studies to develop the idea of an epistemic network and to describe two basic types: the individual resource network and the collective action network. We illustrate each type with an extended example that is hypothetical but informed by both research and experience. Finally, we discuss how science education can incorporate epistemic networks, as well as the challenges inherent in that educational strategy.

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“We think this way as a society!”: Community-level science literacy among ultra-Orthodox Jews

Cited by 13 publications

References 51 publications

Barriers to the Healthcare System Faced by Ultra-Orthodox Religious Disaffiliates

Barriers to the Healthcare System Faced by Ultra-Orthodox Religious Disaffiliates

Religious diversity and public health: Lessons from COVID-19

Epistemic networks and the social nature of public engagement with science

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