The theme of the research focuses on religious beliefs in the existence of the immortals in the beyond and on social interaction among strangers and intimates. It is assumed that people who have religious beliefs are different from people who do not have religious beliefs. The purpose of the research is to have a better understanding of the concept of religion and to explore the function of religion in everyday life. More than 200 people including religious and nonreligious, Germans and Chinese participated in the investigation. The result of the study shows that people whose self ascribed identity is religious accept the existence of the immortals in the beyond as real and therefore their behaviour and motives in social interaction differ from the people who do not have religious beliefs. Differences between Germans and Chinese were found as well.

Autorentext

The Author: Yongling Xue, born in 1960 in Beijing (China), obtained a Master's degree of Laws at Peking University in 1995, a Master's degree of Arts at Munich University (2001) and a doctoral degree of philosophy at Munich University in 2004. She was a teaching and research assistant at Peking and Munich University and works at present as a language teacher for an International Language School in Germany.

Inhalt
Contents: Religious Belief Social Interaction Immortal Stranger Intimate Problem Solving.