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The Supreme Court, The Establishment Clause, And The First Amendment., William Lorigan 1976-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the faiths of select Founding Fathers, the religious context of their time, and six Supreme Court decisions concerning religion, to highlight the inconsistencies found within the Supreme Court's jurisprudence covering cases concerning religion. Through an examination of the religious practices of the Founding Fathers, it became evident that their views on religion, and how religion should be observed, were as diverse as they were. An examination of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence concerning religion reflects a very confusing and inconsistent application of the First Amendment, including the Court's inability to formulate a test that can be consistently applied …

The Feeling Of Faith : A Thomistic Account Of Religious Emotions., John K. Dryden 1976-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a philosophical analysis of religious emotions. It draws upon Thomas Aquinas’s theory of the passions to build and apply a framework for thinking about religious emotions and their role in the spiritual life. The first two chapters are dedicated to building the theoretical framework. Chapter one outlines Aquinas’s theory of emotions in a very general way and compares this account to recent versions of cognitivism. By placing Aquinas in conversation with contemporary accounts, I show that his theory is able to capture the central insights of this mainstream philosophical view. According to the Thomistic account that emerges …

Thinking, With Heidegger, The Religion-Science-Theology Relation, David L. Carlson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work is an attempt to think the essential nature of the interrelationships among religion, science, and theology (RST) out of Heidegger's engagement with the question of Being. Three primary questions initially motivated this inquiry: First, how are the interrelations (if any) among religion, science, and theology to be understood? Second, is a relation of "dialogue," in some sense, possible among the three elements of the RST triad? And third, does theology have a rightful place in the public square dominated by the view that science serves as the "gold standard" for rationality and truth? The inquiry interweaves five threads, …

A Theological Inquiry Regarding The Practice Of The Eucharist In Cyberspace, Janice L. Duce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study looks at the Eucharist in cyberspace, beginning with a case study of a faith community who met with controversy after the group shared the ritual in cyberspace. Based on a qualitative study of the practice and its aftermath, the theoretical analysis includes the nature of the Internet itself and its capacity as a location for networked communities; its capacity to operate as a communication medium for a religious ritual; and the involvement of active users.

The users in this case were members of a religious community interested in preserving their Eucharist theological tradition. The first set of major …

Living Between Two Worlds: Conflict, Investigation And The Change, Noura Abdulhameed Shuqair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with my exploration of art as an aesthetic object, this paper shows the growth of my work and concept. Through my practice, I have been able to understand the contradictions in my traditional society and western modernity. It has helped me grapple with my own beliefs, and begin to confront those I don't agree with.

There Is A Gnawing Worm Under The Bark Of Our Tree Of Liberty: Anti-Mission Baptists, Religious Liberty, And Local Church Autonomy, John Lindbeck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The schism between American missionary and anti-mission Baptists of the 1820s and 1830s stemmed from an ideological disagreement about how Baptists should interact with the rest of society. While anti-mission Baptists maintained their distance from "worldly" non-Baptist society, missionary Baptists attempted to convert and transform "the world." Anti-mission Baptists feared that large-scale missionary and benevolent societies would slowly accumulate money and influence, and that they would use that influence to infringe on the autonomy of local congregations and the religious liberty of the nation. While histories of this topic often portray anti-mission Baptists as obscure and paranoid of an imagined …

Orisa Tradtion, Catholicism, And The Construction Of Black Identity In 19th Century Brazil And Cuba, Allison Sellers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis compares the role of the hybridized religious traditions Candomblé and Santería in the construction of identity for people of color in Brazil and Cuba in the 19th century. In particular, it focuses on the development of these traditions within Catholic confraternities and contrasts the use of ethnic and religious categories within them to define “African-ness” and “blackness” as Brazil and Cuba transitioned from slaveholding colonies to pos t-abolition nationstates. This comparison is illustrated through the examination of each colony’s slave trade and the nature of slavery as it was practiced within them; the analysis of the structure of …

A Delphi Study To Construct A Script Concordance Test For Spiritual And Religious Competence In Counseling, Christopher Christmas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The need to address spiritual and religious issues is well established in the counseling literature and in accreditation standards, however, many graduates counseling students do not feel prepared to address these issues. In the United States, the vast majority of clients consider themselves to be spiritual or religious, so counselors who lack competence in addressing spiritual and religious issues in counseling are likely to offer ineffective or perhaps unethical care to clients. Counselor educators must improve education and assessment in this critical specialty area of counseling. Of primary concern is a student’s ability to demonstrate spiritual competence in counseling. The …

Christ And Class: The Protestant Episcopal Church In The South, 1760-1865, Ryan Lee Fletcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Christ and Class: The Protestant Episcopal Church in the South, 1760-1865 Ryan Lee Fletcher This dissertation examines the emergence, practices, religious culture, expansion, and social role of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the American South from 1760 to 1865. The dissertation employs three major research methodologies by: (1) centralizing the role of social class in the Episcopal Church's history, (2) seriously considering the Episcopal Church's distinctive theology, and (3) quantifying the connections that linked the Episcopal Church to the South's economic structures. Archival research, periodicals, and published records related to the Protestant Episcopal Church provided the primary evidence used in …

Neither Slave Nor Free... : Interracial Ecclesiastical Interaction In Presbyterian Mission Churches From South Carolina To Mississippi, 1818-1877., Otis Westbrook Pickett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the efforts of a variety of missionary agencies, organizations, Presbyteries, synods and congregations who pursued domestic missionary efforts and established mission churches among enslaved Africans and Native Americans from South Carolina to Mississippi from 1818-1877. The dissertation begins with a historiographical overview of southern religion among whites, enslaved Africans and Native Americans. It then follows the work of the Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury among the Choctaw, the Rev. T.C. Stuart among the Chickasaw, the Rev. Charles Colcock Jones among enslaved Africans in Georgia and investigates the work of the Rev. John Adger and John Lafayette Girardeau among …

Tv Casualties: The Negative Impact Of Political Messages In Non-News Programs, Salvatore James Russo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prior works in the social sciences have demonstrated the importance that television can have in shaping the views and outlooks of viewers. Studies have examined how it is that overtly political broadcasting, such as political commercials or ideological cable news channels, can impact viewers. However, precious little scholarship in the field of political science has been devoted to examining how non-news programming, the lion's share of what is shown on television, can shape and mold viewers' outlooks and opinions. Television programming is often built around conflict, presenting a distorted view of the world wherein certain "in-groups," mainly the assumed audience …

The Impact Of Religious Commitment And Motivation On African American Male Academic Achievement, Beverly Cabble Logan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed method, pragmatic, research study was to determine, from successful African American college age students, what influences have contributed to their academic success. Quantitative data were collected using two survey instruments, the Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI-10) and a researcher created demographic instrument for data collection. Qualitative data were collected through five researcherconducted focus group discussions with 10 African American students enrolled in a four year university located in the southeast region of the United States. The guiding questions were: How does religious commitment impact academic achievement among minority male college students? What relationship exists between religious …