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Transcendence: Exploring The Connections Between Transgender/Gender Non-Conforming Identities And Experiences Of Nature Through Art, Mc Jackson

Undergraduate Theses

“Transcendence: Exploring the connections between transgender/gender non-conforming identities and experiences of nature through art” is the written portion of a creative thesis revolving around an immersive art installation and short film. Transcendence, the installation, was created to promote connection by exploring the overlap between transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) experiences and experiences of nature. Part of this installation is a short film of interviews conducted with transgender and GNC individuals about nature, their gender experiences, and the transcendent nature of the two. The written thesis analyzes existing literature on nature as a restorative, therapeutic, spiritual setting, offers insight into …

Inner Work Community: Shadow Work As Spiritual Formation, Michael Simmons

Doctor of Leadership

The NPO statement surrounding this doctoral project is that A theological, practical, and community-centered framework for shadow work is disconnected from Christian spiritual formation. This doctoral project is the culmination of a three-fold process: discovering the need for shadow work in the context of spiritual formation, designing multi-faceted virtually-based opportunities to address this need among individuals and groups, and delivering those opportunities via online courses, one-on-one shadow work, and digital content such as essays, articles, and podcasts. My vocational context is my unofficial organization, and MVP, Inner Work Community, which provides these opportunities. Inner Work Community is extended through partnerships …

Is The Enneagram Compatible With The Catholic Faith?, Connie Burianek

Religious & Theological Studies Student Work

Within the past several years, the Enneagram of Personality’s popularity has increased significantly in terms of public attention. As a result, social media contains many “memes” primarily focusing on stereotypes of “9 personality types.” Like all stereotyping, this focus is often damaging from a psychological standpoint. Additionally, some have appropriated the material into a form of New Age Spirituality. Use of the Enneagram in this way has led to much suspicion and criticism of the Enneagram. In 2000, the US Bishops’ Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices drafted A Brief Report on the Origins of the Enneagram (US bishop' Secretariat …

The Expression Of Satanist Identity: Does Visible Identification Of Satanism Predict Discrimination And Depression?, Allyson Dudley

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The current research examines the relationship between visible expression of religion, identification within Satanism, experiences of discrimination, and depression in a sample of modern Satanists (n = 1,272). Historically, Satanism has been scrutinized as immoral and a threat to public safety. The current research attempts to challenge that viewpoint by employing culturally competent methods and understanding of modern Satanism. Findings indicate a negative relationship between expression of Satanism and discrimination, expression of Satanism and depressive symptoms, in-group ties and discrimination, and identification (in-group ties and in-group affect) and depressive symptoms. Results show a positive relationship between identification with Satanism and …

Unveiling God In Counseling: The Compatibility Of Christian Theology And The Modern Therapeutic Process, Kelvin Jamaal Mack

Senior Theses

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the compatibility of Christian theology and a modern therapeutic process informed by secularism. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate that the conceptualization of an active God in the therapeutic process is essential for counselors and clients who adhere to the Christian faith. This conceptualization is either missing or altered by therapeutic processes that operate under the worldview assumptions of secularism. This is what is described as the veiling of God. To explore this issue, a four-tiered analytical approach has been invoked. First, a brief history of secularism and its major …

Constraint And Control, Patricia Ayres

Theses and Dissertations

I have long considered themes of the body. Drawing on my knowledge as a fashion designer, I bring materials and hardware from the fashion industry into my artwork transforming and rendering them non-functional. My sculptures relate to stories of isolation, separation, and confinement. The following pages will analyze how the United States penal system controls, constrains and restricts the body through physical and psychological wounds. Furthermore, they will examine how the Catholic Church controls people’s minds and behavior through a ritualistic belief system.

Revitalizing The Church Through Reaching Men With Families, Mike Conan

Doctor of Ministry

Churches today face a unique crisis as most of them are either declining or plateaued, and the culture around them has changed, and men have not responded with faith and godliness, but instead with fear and withdrawal. Churches, especially conservative evangelical churches, who can overcome the worldview struggles and learn to embrace the postmodern, and overcome the struggles of patriarchy and learn to see how the power bestowed by society can be used for good, can see revitalization that will bring renewal to every part of their churches. Reaching these men usually brings new life to the entire church, as …

Optimism For Church Growth: Encouraging Lessons From Christian Revivalists For Generations Primed To Flourish, Michael L. Wilson

Doctor of Ministry

Negativity is contributing to the numerical decline of the Christian church in America. Dogmatism, judgmentalism, hypocrisy, and pessimism have added to the image problem that repels pre-Christians. The common self-critiquing statement of many Christians, that Christianity has become known more for what it is against than what it is for, identifies part of the error that has led to the image problem that burdens the Christian church, but it stops short of diagnosing the full spectrum of the limiting effects of negativity.

In vision-casting, tone matters, and it’s difficult to trust a sinking ship. Reversing the judgmental and pessimistic tone …

Life Or Death And Other False Dichotomies: A Theology Of Hospice, Kayla Stock

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

Feelings of fear and failure are often ascribed to death and dying; hospice offers a new way forward. This paper considers fear of death from a personal and evolutionary psychological perspective, then branching into the ways fear of death and death anxiety are made manifest in the health care system. Within the health care system, in particular the biomedical model of health care, death is construed as the enemy, the ultimate mark of failure. In one sense, death is fundamentally unknown, and is therefore naturally fear-inducing. Simultaneously, death is also both singularly and universally knowable; it is the only thing …

The Pornography Pandemic: Implications, Scope And Solutions For The Church In The Post-Internet Age, Dillon A. Diaz

Selected Honors Theses

Pornography, recently declared a public health risk, has become an increasingly large problem for society, in particular, the church. The users of pornography span across the board, including men, women, adolescents, children, and even clergy. Pornography has been shown to have detrimental effects in the marriage and family. It also presents a distorted view of sexuality, increasing violent sexual attitudes and other deviancies. As the pornographic industry targets younger audiences, they are more easily hooked due to psychological phenomena and physical changes to the brain that result from pornographic use. All these issues find expression in the life of the …

The [E]Motionless Body No Longer: Tracing The Historical Intersections Of Mental Illness And Movement In The American Asylum, Holly Adele Herzfeld

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

Psychosocial Factors And Mental Health Of Muslims Living In The United States, Lamise N. Shawahin

Open Access Dissertations

Muslim Americans are at risk for experiencing systematic and interpersonal acts of discrimination (Rippy & Newman, 2006). Such experiences of discrimination can lead to the development of depressive symptoms. Thus, it is critical to understand factors that may influence the relationship between experiencing discrimination and developing depressive symptoms. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between psychosocial adversities (i.e., perceived discrimination), psychosocial resources (i.e., coping strategies, religious community support) and depressive symptoms. Hypotheses regarding both the relationships among the variables, as well as the mediating role psychosocial resources play in the relationship between perceived discrimination and …

Herman Bavinck Between Scholastic And Modern Psychology: Toward A "Reformed Psychology.", Joohyun Kim

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

Bavinck completed his first psychology book, Principles of Psychology (Beginselen der Psychologie, 1897) in the middle of his theological writings from his interaction with the nineteenth century psychologies. In 1920, Bavinck published another psychology book entitled Biblical and Religious Psychology (Bijbelsche en Religieuze Psychologie) on the basis of solid exegesis and biblical principles. In Principles of Psychology, Bavinck intended that his psychological principles would be as worthy as the empirical psychology of his day. Kuyper also stressed the doctrinal value of faculty psychology to Bavinck’s first psychology book in his review. Yet, these two psychology books were virtually neglected both …

Life Is Suffering: Buddhism As A Potential Obstacle To Crisis And Trauma Intervention, Elizabeth Peevy

Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the need for an empirical examination of the interaction between Crisis Intervention strategies and religions. While there seem to be obvious obstacles to crisis intervention within the major tenets of most of the world's religions, there has been little to no accessible research on the subject. This paper will focus only on Buddhism, a religion that gets much attention in regard to mental health. In the practice of crisis and trauma intervention, a person who holds to traditional Buddhist views should theoretically suffer more severely with PTSD symptoms because of Buddhism's emphasis …

The Transition From The Psychical To The Psychological: An Examination Of William James’ Influence On Henry James’ “The Turn Of The Screw”, Harry A. Jones Iv

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will show that, in its original form, “The Turn of the Screw” acted as a monument to the intellectual unity shared between Henry James and his brother William. Through evaluating James’ biography, memoirs, and letters with William, this thesis will illustrate the subtle collaborative inspirations that initially helped James write the first twelve-part serial edition of “The Turn of the Screw” for Collier’s Weekly, which ran from January 27, 1898 until April 16, 1898. I will also demonstrate the effect of William’s philosophy and his death on the revisions James’ made to his story as published in the …

On The Evolutionary Origins Of Religious Belief, Robert Duane Howard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Religious belief is a byproduct of evolutionarily designed cognitive mechanisms. The ubiquity of religious belief and experience across human cultures is explained by our common human psychology; our domain-specific cognitive mechanisms give rise, collectively, to the phenomenon of byproduct religious belief/experience. In this thesis, I will examine what I call religion-generating cognitive mechanisms, and I will argue that byproduct raw god-beliefs are developed by cultures into refined god-beliefs. These refined god-beliefs are co-opted by evolutionary processes and are cultural adaptations. My conception of “religious belief” in terms of raw and refined god-beliefs allows a disambiguation of the term “religion,” and …

Comparison Of The Use Of Gendered Language In Discourse On Christian Theology And Psychology, Chloe Ackerman

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The English language has historically reflected the sexist principles of Western culture. Common examples include the use of sexist pronouns and nouns such as policeman, businessman, or servicemen to represent men and women. Research in the last 50 years revealed the detrimental effects of sexist language, and the English language was accordingly altered. However, sexist language is still used colloquially and in settings such as Christian theology. This study explored differences in the use of gender language between the discourse on Christian theology and psychology, and tested a method of promoting inclusive gender language in Christian discourse. One hundred thirty-nine …

Factors Influencing Diabetes Self-Management Of Filipino Americans With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Holistic Approach, Jocelyn B. Sonsona

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is an increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus among Filipino Americans. However, how well Filipino Americans with diabetes self-manage their disease and what factors influence their diabetes self-management behaviors remain unknown. Based on a holistic approach, this quantitative study was designed to investigate the diabetes self-management behaviors of this population and the factors influencing their self-management behaviors. The combined roles of diabetes knowledge, diabetes self-efficacy, spirituality, and social support were examined in predicting diabetes self-care behaviors. A convenience sample of 113 Filipino Americans with Type 2 diabetes mellitus completed the Diabetes Knowledge Test, Self-Efficacy for Diabetes Test, Daily …

(De)Psychologizing Shangri-La: Recognizing And Reconsidering C.G. Jung's Role In The Construction Of Tibetan Buddhism In The Western Imagination, Alec M. Terrana

Pomona Senior Theses

Popular literature on Tibetan Buddhism often overemphasizes the psychological dimension of the religion's beliefs and practices. This misrepresentative portrayal is largely traceable to the writings of the psychoanalyst C.G. Jung. By employing distinctly psychological terminology and interpretive strategies in his analyses of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and mandala symbolism, Jung helped to establish precedents that were adopted in subsequent analyses of the religion. Imposing a psychological lens on Tibetan Buddhism obscures other essential elements of the tradition, such as cosmology, physiology, and ritualism, thereby silencing the voices of Tibetans in analyses of their own practices. Jung's imposition of …

The Impact Of Counselor Level Of Spiritual Well-Being On The Morale, Global Symptoms, And Global Impairment Of Adolescents Receiving Treatment For Substance Use And/Or Other Mental Health Disorders: A Pilot Study, Michael William Holland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years there has been a movement towards a holistic perspective of human nature in the counseling leading to increased interest in the nature and role of spirituality in counseling and the counseling process. In the present study multiple regression analysis is used to determine whether Counselor Level of Spiritual Well-Being, or aspects thereof, namely, Counselor Level of Existential Well-Being and/or Counselor Level of Religious Well-Being, as measured by the Spiritual Well-Being Scale significantly impacts client outcomes, namely, Morale, Global Symptoms, and Global Impairment as measured by the Health Dynamics Inventory for adolescents receiving treatment for substance use and/or …

Redeeming Disruptions: A Recommended Model Of Spiritual Formation For Christian Churches Of The Pacific Northwest, Tony L. Nelson

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

Racial Prejudice, Homophobia, And Sexism As A Function Of Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Religious Values, Religious Pressures, And Religious Orientation, Dixie Turner

Doctoral Dissertations

Past literature is ambiguous regarding relationships among different religious variables and prejudice. The purpose of this study was to clarify complicated relationships among religious pressures, religious fundamentalism, Christian orthodoxy, intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation, quest orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, and the outcome variables of racial prejudice, homophobia, and sexism. Two models, a developmental model and social learning model, were proposed in this study and were tested using structural-equation modeling. Participants were 310 self-identified Christian students. Several predicted paths were deleted in both models because they did not contribute to good fit. Three predictor variables: Christian orthodoxy, extrinsic religious orientation, and religious …

The Mystery Of Suffering: The Philosophy Of Dostoevsky's Characters, Elizabeth J. Ewald

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Is Religion "Just" Supernatural Agency, Social Support, Or Meaning?, A. Taylor Newton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is longstanding tension in the study of religion between those who believe religion can be reduced to general psychosocial processes and those who think that religion is somehow unique. One way to test these two possibilities is to compare religious versions of mechanisms to nonreligious versions. If religion is somehow unique, then the religious versions should explain variance in outcomes that the nonreligious versions do not. Three studies confirmed religion's independent predictive power. Exposure to a religious supernatural agent reduced cheating more than exposure to a nonreligious supernatural agent (Study 1), receiving religious social support during a stressful task …

Attachment To God: Its Impact On The Psychological Wellbeing Of Persons With Religious Vocation, Innocent F. Okozi

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Racial Discrimination, Skin Tone, Locus Of Control, And Acculturation Among Mennonite Latino/As Of The Rio Grande Valley, Nancy Rivera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study assessed the relationship between perceived racial discrimination, and skin tone, locus of control and acculturation among Latino/a Mennonites of the Rio Grande Valley. Eighty nine Latino/a Mennonites were recruited. The following measures were used: Schedule of Racist Events, Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, a short version of the revised Acculturation Scale for Mexican Americans-II, and Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. A window tint meter assessed skin tone. Multiple regression analysis and multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine how rates of perceived discrimination among Mennonite Latinos/as were related to skin tone, locus of control and acculturation. The results …

Spirituality And Therapeutic Counseling, Deborah Kelly

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Impact Of Cultural And Religious Values On Television And Newspaper Advertising Content And Appeal: A Cross-Cultural Study Of The United States And The Arab World, Morris A. Kalliny

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Standardization versus adaptation of advertising has been a subject of great controversy that has been debated for more than 50 years. Scholars have pointed out the increasing demand for more cross-cultural research on advertising content that can contribute to the standardization versus adaptation debate. Scholars have also pointed out that although the Arab world offers great opportunities for multinational corporations, the Arab world has been severely neglected in academic research. To comply with this demand, this study investigates the similarities and differences of the manifestation of cultural and religious values in the U.S. and the Arab world (Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, …

Help-Seeking Attitudes In Latino Pentecostals, Genaro J. Adrian

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Prayer As A Treatment Modality In Patient Healthcare: Physicians' Spiritual Beliefs And Religious Practices And Their Relationship To Patient Health, D. Ronald Rickerhauser

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The intention of this study was to determine whether physicians' spiritual beliefs and the integration of prayer in medical practice are associated with patient health. In this study, 546 physicians from 40 different family practice residency programs in the contiguous United States completed and returned surveys. Regression analyses using these data and patient statistics provided by the clinics were performed. Patient's length of hospital stay and a ratio of clinic patients to hospital patients were used as dependent measures. The results did not show a relationship between physician beliefs, prayer, and patient health. However, there was a significant relationship between …