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Relationship Between Religion And Native American Identity, Gennaro W. Milo

Graduate Research Posters

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between religious affiliation and Native American Identity. Based on the findings of this study, a component of a Native American's Identity is their religious affiliation. To contribute to the research on Native American and Alaskan Native identity, this study targeted the teenage demographic of ages 12 to 19 years old. Over growing concern, expressed by tribal elders, about a loss of cultural identity amongst teens, this study investigates a connection between a teen’s sense of identity and their religious affiliation (Quigley, 2019). This study used a multiple-choice …

The Experiences Of Religiously And Spiritually Diverse Counselors And Psychotherapists Who Work With Survivors Of Sexual Violence, John M. Waters

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of religiously and spiritually diverse counselors and psychotherapists who work with survivors of sexual violence. The researcher used a transcendental phenomenological approach to understand how the participants engaged their religious and/or spiritual identity to cope with the traumatic stress that accompanies continuous exposure to their clients’ trauma narratives over time. As the only study that has examined these phenomena qualitatively, the present study aimed to enhance counselors and counselor educators’ understanding of the ways that religiously and spiritually diverse counselors make meaning of their experiences. The researcher collected …

Eyesore, Laura Bender

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A chaplain bears witness to the cost of war.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Predicting Black Male Undergraduate Degree Completion At A Pwi Examining Single Indicators Of Religiosity, Anxiety, And Depression., Nickolas Spears Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Religiosity is a well-known protective factor for mental health as a coping and resilience source, which positively affects Black male college students' academic success. However, less is known about whether religiosity predicts degree completion and buffers Black males' mental health from a quantitative research approach. Black males have one of the lowest degree completion rates at four-year institutions. Students who experience poor mental health outcomes have lower degree completion. This study utilized logistic regression to investigate whether religiosity: (1) predicted degree completion among Black male undergraduate students and (2) moderated anxiety and depression. The results suggest Black males identify high …

Forgiveness Of In-Group Offenders In Christian Congregations, Chelsea L. Greer, Everett L. Worthington, Daryl R. Van Tongeren, Aubrey L. Gartner, David J. Jennings, Yin Lin, Caroline R. Lavelock, Todd W. Greer, Man Yee Ho

Psychology Publications

Religious communities, like other communities, are ripe for interpersonal offenses. We examined the degree to which group identification predicted forgiveness of an in-group offender. We examined the effects of a victim’s perception of his or her religious group identification as a state-specific personal variable on forgiveness by integrating Social Identity Theory into a model of Relational Spirituality (Davis, Hook, & Worthington, 2008) to help explain victim’s responses to transgressions within a religious context. Data were collected from members of Christian congregations from the mid-west region of the United States (Study 1, N = 63), and college students belonging to Christian …

Exploring The Dynamics Of Identity Based Conflict And The Possibility For Its Sustainable Management: A Study Of The Persistent Ethno-Religious Conflict In Wukari Area Of Taraba State, Nigeria, Jude A. Momodu, G.I. Matudi, Abiodun L. Momodu

Ethnic Studies Review

This article explores the dynamics of identity-based conflict and the possibility for its management. The study in particular focuses on the persistent ethno-religious conflicts in the Wukari Area of Taraba State, Nigeria. The real issues precipitating the persistent ethno-religious conflicts and the costs of the conflicts were clearly brought to the fore. The study proposes a new paradigm for managing social conflicts at the community level through the 'use of community solutions for community problems' which will involve the constructive participation of all of the stakeholders in the community. This paper concludes by making a proposal for the establishment of …

Bereavement In Emerging Adulthood: The Influence Of Religion And Type Of Loss, Elizabeth Collison

Theses and Dissertations

Bereavement is an important area of research as it may result in grief reactions that lead to serious psychological and health consequences (Stroebe, Schut, & Stroebe, 2007). Positive outcomes, such as personal growth or spiritual well-being, may also transpire post-loss (Hogan & Schmidt, 2002; Paloutzian & Ellison, 1982). Though research on bereavement has grown, few studies have focused on the at-risk group of emerging adults (Hardison, Neimeyer, & Lichstein, 2005; Arnett, 2000). The current study aims to add to the bereavement in emerging adulthood literature through analyzing descriptive data and assessing the impact of type of loss (i.e., nonviolent vs. …

Health And Religious Commitment Among College Students: The Effects Of Health Behavior, Mental Health, And Social Support, Monica Yvette Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Empirical findings supporting the connection between religion and spirituality and health have been consistently found in the literature, whereas the factors explaining this relationship have lacked clarity. The present study sought to explore this relationship and establish health behavior, mental health, and social support as mediating factors to the proposed association between religious commitment and physical health. Physical health was measured by a number of indicators: body mass index, self-reported medical conditions, prescription drug use, over-the-counter medication usage, and problem use of drugs and alcohol. A sample of 150 college students from a university in Central Virginia participated in this …

The Effectiveness Of Religion-Affiliated Nonprofit Organizations In Social Services: A Survey Study Of Nursing Homes In Virginia, Bulent Ucar

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether being a church affiliated nursing home influences performance. Performance is measured based on criterion put in place by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The secondary purpose is, regardless of ownership type - religiously affiliated or secular- to investigate if more religiously involved nursing homes perform better than their less religiously involved counterparts. These two purposes are hypothesized with six different hypotheses each of which are tested by utilizing OLS regression analysis. This study extensively discusses the arguments surrounding the Charitable Choice Initiative, which allowed faith-based organizations (FBOs) …

Hunger For Grace: The Association Between Eating Disorders And Religiousness, Janet Lydecker

Theses and Dissertations

Religiousness is one potential, understudied psychosocial correlate of eating disorders. To assess associations between religiousness and eating disorders, this study developed the Religious Attendance and Belief Scale (Rel-AB), and examined its psychometric properties. Women from a large population-based sample (N = 1510; M(age) = 42.5) completed subscales measuring (1) belief in a personal and loving God, and (2) attendance at religion-related activities, as well as eating disorder measures. Belief was negatively associated with eating disorder symptomatology among women meeting broadly defined criteria for bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders and religiousness were not associated in the overall sample, and associations were largely …

[Review Of] Alyshia Galvez, Guadalupe In New York: Devotion And Struggle For Citizenship Rights Among Mexican Immigrants, Stephanie Reichelderfer

Ethnic Studies Review

Alyshia Galvez's Guadalupe in New York is an important contribution to a growing body of sociological and anthropological work devoted to immigrants and their fight for basic human rights in the United States. Galvez, a cultural anthropologist, uses interviews and observations to study the process of guadalupanismo (worship of Mexico's patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe) among recent Mexican immigrants in New York City. Between 2000 and 2008, Galvez gathered information on Marian worship by following members of comités guadalupanos, or social groups organized by parish, and explains her methodology in a useful appendix. Galvez argues that through these comités, …

The Effectiveness Of Religiously Tailored Couple Counseling, Joshua Hook

Theses and Dissertations

Large numbers of couples seek treatment from religious counselors who integrate religion and spirituality (R/S) into counseling. The present dissertation reviewed the literature examining the effectiveness of R/S counseling. Several R/S treatments were helpful in treating psychological problems. There was little evidence that R/S treatments outperformed secular treatments. In Study 1, a nationwide survey was conducted that examined the beliefs of Christian counselors about integrating R/S into couple counseling. Christian counselors (N = 630) completed measures of religious commitment, experience in couple counseling, attitudes toward using religious techniques in couple counseling, and the use of theory in couple counseling. Counselors …

Trends In Black-White Church Integration, Philip Q. Yang, Starlita Smith

Ethnic Studies Review

Historically, the separation of blacks and whites in churches was well known (Gilbreath 1995; Schaefer 2005). Even in 1968, about four years after the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. still said that "eleven o'clock on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week" (Gilbreath 1995:1). His reference was to the entrenched practice of black and white Americans who worshiped separately in segregated congregations even though as Christians, their faith was supposed to bring them together to love each other as brothers and sisters. King's statement was not just a casual …

To Arrange Or Not: Marriage Trends In The South Asian American Community, Farha Ternikar

Ethnic Studies Review

The idea of the arranged marriage has always seemed "exotic" yet has fascinated the American public. Recent media coverage of arranged marriages is evident in popular periodicals such as the New York Times Online (August 17, 2000) and Newsweek (March 15, 1999). Foner highlights that the arranged marriage is an example of "the continued impact of premigration cultural beliefs and social practices" that South Asian immigrants have transported to the United States (Foner 1997, 964). She offers an interpretive synthesis by showing that "[n]ew immigrant family patterns are shaped by cultural meanings and social practices that immigrants bring with them …

Relationships Between Dimensions Of Religiosity And Internalizing And Externalizing Psychiatric Disorders: A Twin Study, Gilbert Todd Vance

Theses and Dissertations

The present study estimated the genetic and environmental effects on different dimensions of religiosity, explored how genetic and environmental effects covary across different dimensions of religiosity, and decomposed the covariance of genetic and environmental effects between different dimensions of religiosity and internalizing and externalizing psychiatric disorders. Dimensions of religiosity were found to be largely influenced by additive genetic and unique environmental effects, with little influence observed from common enviromental effects. Multidimensional analyses found that the seven religiosity factors observed in the present study were influenced by one common additive genetic factor, three common unique environmental factors, and unique environmental effects …

Gender And Forgiveness In Early Married Couples, Andrea J. Lerner

Theses and Dissertations

Ninety-five studies that addressed the possibility of gender differences in forgiveness literature are reviewed. Gender differences were examined with respect to predictor variables and outcome variables. Participants were 314 couples from the community who had been married less than one year. Participants filled out questionnaires. Males were more forgiving and were more committed to the marriage. However, females were more successful at granting forgiveness. In addition, females were more religious and reported more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hostility. Four structural equation models were tested in order to test for gender differences. Structural models including the latent variables of martial …

[Review Of] Stephen F. Feraca. Wakinyan: Lakota Religion In The Twentieth Century And Julian Rice. Before The Great Spirit: The Many Faces Of Sioux Spirituality, Raymond A. Bucko

Ethnic Studies Review

Each of these authors provides unique approaches and insights concerning Lakota ritual and belief. Julian Rice, a prolific writer on Lakota Literature, attempts to reconstruct the essence of Lakota religion before European contact while Feraca, who logged long periods of interaction with Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Reservation as a government employee and field worker, provides an intricate portrait of Lakota ritual during his tenure on the Pine Ridge reservation. They reach similar basic understandings of Lakota religious practice: the importance of the acquisition of spiritual power, the primacy of kinship, the democratic and charismatic nature of individual religious …

[Review Of] Clyde Holler. Black Elk's Religion: The Sun Dance And Lakota Catholicism, David M. Gradwohl

Ethnic Studies Review

Few, if any, American Indian individuals are more widely known in the United States than the Lakota holy man, Black Elk (1863-1950). His story, particularly as presented by John Neihardt in Black Elk Speaks, has been required reading for legions of students taking classes in literature, religion, anthropology, and American Indian Studies. Scholars in those fields have generated a body of critical literature which has taken on a life of its own as Neihardt's book, originally published in 1931, has been reprinted in paperback editions many times since 1960. During the 1970s, Neihardt appeared on the Dick Cavett show and, …

Women, Religion, And Peace In An American Indian Ritual, Kristin Herzog

Explorations in Ethnic Studies

The poem prefaces Leslie Marmon Silko's novel Ceremony, the story of a young American Indian who regains the wholeness and meaning of his life by rediscovering his ancient tribal roots and rituals.[1] It is a story of the American Southwest, especially the Pueblo-Laguna people. Anyone even vaguely familiar with American Indian culture knows that the groups were originally as different from each other as modern-day Swedes are from Albanians or Catalans, if not more so. There were more than 2,000 independent culture groups in Columbus's time, and they spoke 500 different languages belonging to fifty distinct language groups, some as …

Critique [Of Women, Religion, And Peace In An American Indian Ritual By Kristin Herzog], Linda Jean Carpenter

Explorations in Ethnic Studies

Herzog's article is organized around three threads which she proposes as useful for strengthening the fabric of contemporary U.S. society. The three threads, teased from an exploration of a portion of the Dekanawida-Hayonwatha stories (narrative and ritual of the Haudenosaunee) are: 1. the high status of women in Haudenosaunee society 2. the understanding of statecraft as a sacred responsibility toward all creation 3. peace as justice and wholeness in the social order. The threads found in stories dating back to about the 15th century provide a view of beliefs denominated by the Haudenosaunee society as being praiseworthy and of good …

Critique [Of Women, Religion, And Peace In An American Indian Ritual By Kristin Herzog], Ernest Champion

Explorations in Ethnic Studies

Kristin Herzog's journey into the past is a necessary journey for serious students of ethnic and American studies; she establishes the relevance and validity of oral literature which has been relegated to an inferior status by scholars in the western world. The attempt to impose an inferior status on oral literature is rather sinister when one considers the absence of a written literature has been taken to mean an absence of intellectual activity on the part of such people. Not only American Indians but also Africans have suffered a great deal because of the tendency to regard such people as …

Critique [Of Women, Religion, And Peace In An American Indian Ritual By Kristin Herzog], Alice Deck

Explorations in Ethnic Studies

After a lengthy description of the various facets of Haudosaunee ritual, Kristin Herzog makes some interesting statements on the parallels between our modem day social arguments and those which plagued them centuries ago. The unique feature of Haudosaunec social organization is its systematic balance of power between the sexes. Although it is doubtful that American women who are currently engaged in a struggle for political and social power will achieve quite the same degree of equity, just studying a society in which such a balance was achieved is helpful for those in the process of defining women's goals and objectives.

Critique [Of Women, Religion, And Peace In An American Indian Ritual By Kristin Herzog], Karl J. Reinhardt

Explorations in Ethnic Studies

The value of Herzog's study, in addition to the factual information presented, is a tragic reminder of two interrelated truths: 1) by studying history we could learn how to make a better world in which to live; and, 2) we do not learn from history. The women's movement of recent years has two aspects which do not, for all times, go together. One moving force in its genesis is the demand that physical and emotional abuse and misuse of women by men cease. The other, not necessarily related to the first, is that of equal status, which includes equal access …