Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Power And Religiously Motivated Ingroup Preference On Social Affiliation, Hernan Escobar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human beings are fundamentally social animals motivated by a need to establish and maintain close social relationships. The creation of these relationships inevitably leads to the creation of groups, along with a desire for power as a method of determining how resources are to be allocated within these groups. Most groups are characterized by individuals who belong to the ingroup and those who are relegated to an outgroup, and one powerful motivator of ingroup favoritism is religious affiliation. Although research has shown that feelings of low power increase the drive to socially affiliate, research has not yet explored how religious …

The Effects Of Christianity On Adult Resiliency When Overcoming Grief, Mia-Tiara S. Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grief seems to affect everyone in some way over the course of life. This research conducted a thematic analysis using grounded theory methods to understand the process in which Christians overcome grief when losing a loved one. A total of six participants volunteered to be able to share their stories. The questions to be answered included: “What is the process of growing resilience among Christians who experience grief due to losing a loved one?” and “How does one’s faith impact this process of overcoming grief?” Utilizing Strauss and Corbin (1990), the data collected in this study was analyzed by open, …

The Trickster And The Tricked: Agency Versus Passivity In Egyptian Representations Of The God Seth, Tanya Mai Olson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will seek to explore some of the diverse roles played by the god Seth over the course of Pharaonic history. As one of the most complex figures in Egyptian religion and mythology, a diachronic analysis will show that Seth could be portrayed as either an active or passive force, based largely upon the role he was meant to play. By exploring the iconography of his artistic depictions, and corroborating these depictions with textual evidence, this thesis hopes to contextualize Seth's active and passive portrayals and discuss his benevolent and malevolent roles as a god of multiple domains, including …

Living Through Terror And Terror Through Living: The Biopolitical Dimensions Of Religion, Security, And Terrorism, Donnie Featherston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent emphasis and attention by thinkers, media pundits, and politicians on terrorism requires new, critical evaluation of the processes by which terrorism is understood. By investigating the concept of biopolitics, as developed specifically through Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben, new insights into the interactions between terrorism, politics, and religion can emerge. Most notably, the attempts to explain terror as simply an economic problem, an excessive form of violence, and/or as religious fervency gone awry rely on embedded biopolitical concepts. The continual attempts to solve terrorism through increased biopolitical strategies, thereby making terrorism a problem for biopolitics, only further substantiate the …

Chatter And Chant: Religion And Community On The Renaissance English Stage, Rachel Dunleavy Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines moments in five English Renaissance plays when characters employ religious language in bids to consolidate or to fracture communities. The plays are John Bale's King Johan (c. 1538, revised c. 1560), Nathaniel Woodes' Conflict of Conscience (c. 1581); Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness (1603); Shakespeare's Cymbeline (1611); and John Webster's The White Devil (1612). The types of communities examined most closely are those of a small scale - relationships of individuals to God, marriages, families, friendships, households, parishes, courts - but these appear against the backdrop of much larger communities such as the nation …

A Close Reading Of Albert Cleage Jrs The Black Messiah: A Study In Rhetorical Hermeneutics, Black Prophetic Rhetoric And Radical Black Politics, Earle J. Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The physical and rhetorical presentations in Albert Cleage Jrs 1968 publication, The Black Messiah, had an enormous impact on the theological and rhetorical landscape of the late 1960s and continues to echo into the early part of the 21st century. This book of 20 sermons preached at the height of the black power movement in Detroit was disruptive to a white supremacist religious consciousness that plagued the mainstream religious arena and general American public. The Black Messiah has contributed substantially to the change in public discourse about Jesus, Christianity, Black Power, and what it meant to the Christian then (and …

Trinity Part One : Food Of The Gods., Thomas Edward Olges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A novel of supernatural horror, Trinity begins in the wake of a catastrophe. A young woman, divinely pregnant, has lost both her life and her son in the process of delivery. Three people dear to her—her fiancé, her brother, and a close friend—have found themselves irreparably altered by the experience. Their bodies changed and reality warping around them, the three set off across the country in an attempt to prevent other incursions of the miraculous into our reality. This thesis includes the novel’s introductory scene and its first principle section, “Food of the Gods.”

Spirituality And Suicidal Behavior: The Mediating Role Of Self-Forgiveness And Psychache, Benjamin B. Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Growing evidence for protective factors of spirituality against physical and mental health related outcomes has led to the consideration of spirituality as a protective factor for suicidal behaviors. Although initial support for this association is promising, spirituality has yet to be explored as it relates to psychache. Additionally, self-forgiveness has emerged as an important protective factor of suicidal behavior, but has not been explored in the context of psychache. Following a model developed by Webb, Hirsch, and Toussaint (2015), the current project explores the protective role of spirituality on suicidal behavior based on three dimensions of spirituality: ritualistic, theistic, and …

Homesick Hallelujahs, Koltin Scott Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Homesick Hallelujahs explores the complexities of southern life. What begins as a bildungsroman of a young, lower-class Tennessean soon evolves into an exploration of southern culture and values, a journey across what is real and what is hoped-for in the lives of Appalachian southerners, and an exploding of themes that show up along the way. Racial tensions, religion and the lack thereof, the escape from the mundane that literature provides, identity politics, America's deep and divisive history--all of these things come to the forefront as the work progresses beyond "local color" into a realm that is universal and unabashedly American. …

Time After Time: An Iconographical Analysis Of Images Of Time And Eternity In The New Kingdom Netherworld Books, Amber Lue Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To the ancient Egyptians, time in the afterlife differed from time on earth. In the Netherworld, time could be manipulated in ways unperceivable in the human realm: it was born and devoured, measured for the blessed dead, and inverted to rejuvenate the sun god and the blessed dead who accompanied him. Images of these occurrences were manifested pictorially in the Netherworld Books, compositions that traced the sun god's nocturnal journey through the Netherworld, from sunset in the evening to sunrise in the morning. This thesis deconstructs and analyzes the iconography of these scenes according to the artistic principles of ancient …

The First Life Journey Of Many: The Lived Experience Of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning Individuals Who Were Raised Within The Catholic Church On Their Coming Out Process, Michelle Colarusso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ) adults encounter societal challenges, pushback from religious organizations, and discrimination from lawmakers which interfere with their ability to come out as their true selves. This qualitative, phenomenologically oriented study explored the LGBTQ identity and practicing Catholic religious beliefs in an attempt to develop a rich description and understanding of the experience of LGBTQ individuals’ coming out process in relation to the practice of Catholic religious beliefs. The central research question that guided this inquiry was the following: What are the lived experiences of persons who identify as Catholic and who have come out as …

"Maybe Jesus Was Suicidal Too": A Qualitative Inquiry Into Religion And Spirituality In Suicide Attempts, Elizabeth Ryan Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Among the current trends in suicidology that hold promise for suicide prevention are a focus on new areas for empirical exploration and the employment of creative methodologies to ascertain these phenomena. One such area is religion, along with its more enigmatic counterpart, spirituality. Suicidological research has long demonstrated that people who are religiously involved tend to be more protected from suicide than those who are not, yet it has been less attentive to the conditions under which religion or spirituality fails to inhibit suicidality. In the decades since Durkheim's renowned 1897 study, the majority of the related research has taken …

The Negotiation Of Racial, Ethnic, And Religious Identification In American Heathenry, Thad Nathan Horrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigation of religious, ethnic, and racial identification in the social "field" of Heathenry. Heathenry is a reconstructionist religious movement attempting to reconnect with or revive the pre-Christian traditions of the Germanic tribes of northern Europe. Often articulated as an "ethnic religion," Heathenry has also been frequently tied to white supremacist violence and hate crimes. Applying Anthony Wallace's model of revitalization movements, I attempt to make sense of what it is contemporary Heathens are trying to accomplish in today's society: What is it Heathens are trying to revitalize?

As a field of contestation over common-sense meanings …

Religiosity And Internalized Homonegativity: The Effect Of Religious Conservatism On Depression In Sexual Minorities, Matthew Thaxton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual minorities report higher rates of mental illnesses than the general population, most notably depression. This study focuses on the relationship between religious commitment in sexual minorities, internalized homonegativity, and depression. In order to do this, 265 participants answered a survey that consisted of inventories to test for sexual orientation, religious commitment, political and religious views, and internalized homonegativity. Participants came from Abilene Christian University and LGBT groups from the surrounding Abilene, Texas area. Of the 265 participants, 33 self-identified as a sexual minority. The data from those that identified as a sexual minority was analyzed to find correlations between …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experience Of Adult Female Sexual Assault Survivors, Ann N. Hellman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault is an international problem affecting hundreds of thousands of women each year. Significant psychological, physical, and financial consequences result from sexual assault. The prevalence of sexual assault suggests that nurses frequently encounter survivors yet minimal literature exists focusing on how nurses should adjust their care to meet the needs of this population.

The phenomenon of sexual assault has been widely studied from multiple perspectives and across disciplines. Likewise, studies of spiritual and religious beliefs and practices and their impact at the end-of-life and in disease, grief, and loss are extensive in nursing literature. However, a nominal number of …

'My Heart Is In His Hands': The Lived Spiritual Experiences Of Congolese Refugee Women Survivors Of Sexual Violence, Melissa Anne Smigelsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has experienced widespread violence, including sexual violence. Sexual violence toward women includes rape, genital mutilation, and sexual slavery. Many Congolese have sought to escape such conditions as refugees in the United States. In the present study, we examined lived spiritual experiences of nine Congolese refugee women, survivors of sexual violence. Overall, this study provides new insights into participants' experiences of spirituality in the aftermath of sexual trauma and in living as a refugee. Consensual qualitative research (CQR) methods were used to analyze participants' responses to a semi-structured interview protocol. Participants endorsed faith that God …

Media Representation Of Islam And Muslims In Southern Appalachia, Saundra K. Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Southern Appalachian attitudes about the religion of Islam and Muslim adherents are influenced largely by mass media's representations. With more than 80% of Appalachia’s population following Protestant Christianity, exposure to Islam in daily life is limited. Media outlets offer the greatest exposure to information about the religion and its adherents. This thesis examined the region's media representation of Islam and Muslims to determine what images are most often portrayed. Research following a twoyear span of reporting in Southern Appalachia studied substance, word frequency, imagery, and editing used in articles that focused on Islam and Muslims. Through the use of content …

Piercing The Religious Hinge: Understanding Religio-Civic Controversy Through Analogical Argument, Brian Clair Heslop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Religion's place in American society has been locked in a binary, seen either as an inappropriate societal "mind trap" or indispensable for community-building. I posit that this binary, or what I call the "religious hinge," limits how we view religion in the public sphere and constrains our understanding of democracy. My project seeks to pierce the current confining view of "religion-as-disease-or-cure" and open up our understanding of public conflict. I approach this task by moving past the abstract questions concerning church and state and examining analogical arguments in particular religio-civic controversies. I examine points of resistance between agonists through a …

Southerner As Other: Exploring Regional Identity Through The Southern Vampire, Lauren N. Fowler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since its conception in folklore and superstition, the vampire has had an innate ability to reflect the environment of the culture that creates it. Each manifestation of this being is entirely unique to the culture in which it is born. The vampire of the American South is no exception to this idea. As a region with a particularly tumultuous history, the South has been molded by many cultural influences. Religion, sexuality, and race are some of the most notable factors to have impacted the area. Many Southern authors writing vampire fiction explore the fears, stereotypes, and prejudices of the culture …

Feel-Good Giving: The Mythic Construction Of Generosity In Millions, Grace Y. Chiou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The question of what generosity is and how it is practiced in relation to the neoliberal contexts of late capitalism has emerged as a subject of interest across a variety of fields. Instead of placing emphasis on the recipient and the cause or structural inequalities contributing to the need for generosity, new practices of giving have appeared on a variety of media platforms and have been performed by a host of celebrities, sports figures, and politicians that emphasize the giver's moral goodness.

By using a critical cultural studies approach, this dissertation demonstrates that in the visual culture of humanitarianism representations …

Organic Angels: Innocence, Conversion, And Consumption In The Antebellum American Novel, Laura Jean Schrock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Midcentury American novelists variously reworked the traditional conversion narrative to reflect a marked cultural shift in attitude towards human "nature," newly conceived as innocent and inclined to salvation. This liberalized aesthetic of conversion takes shape through the trope of the "organic angel," a developmental female figure whose journey from childhood innocence to saintly womanhood merges the processes of sexual maturation and Protestant conversion. Because she purifies self-interested desire by redirecting it towards spiritual ends, the organic angel provides a symbolic reconciliation of the young nation's budding imperial capitalism with its millennial expectations. While traditional emphasis on a maternal ethos at …

Religion And Interpersonal Trust: An Individual Differences Analysis, Kaitlyn Sawyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several factors including experience, group membership, and religious involvement can have an impact on trust. The purpose of the current research was to examine religion as a possible factor in an individual’s trust behaviors. Researchers hypothesized that (1) individuals who identified themselves as being religious would trust strangers more easily than those who did not identify with a religion, and (2) that individuals would more easily trust strangers if the strangers were presented as being religious. Seventy-two participants were presented with three vignettes and were asked to respond to a series of scales measuring general trust, religiosity, conservatism, social distance, …

Behind The Doors Of White Supremacy, Catlyn Kenna Keenan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What is the relationship between religious belief and acts of violence and terrorism? The American white supremacy movements of the Ku Klux Klan and Christian Identity are deeply rooted in Protestant Christianity and are also responsible for some of the gravest acts of violence on American soil. The intersection between religious belief and terrorist action illuminates the interplay between religion and acts of violence.

This study firstly provides a history of the ideology of Christian Identity with specific attention to the ways in which committing violence is rationalized and understood as redemptive. Secondly, this study identifies six characteristics of a …

Adolescent Religion And Parenthood Outcomes In Young Adulthood, Kelli K. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A multitude of research exists examining the relationship between religion and early marriage, yet little research has focused on the relationship between religion and early childbearing. Even less has examined the influence of adolescent religion on early parenthood. Using data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, I examined the relationship between religion in adolescence and parenthood outcomes in early adulthood. I focus on how religiosity in adolescence shapes whether an individual is more or less likely to be sexually active, become pregnant, and/or have and keep a child. Results suggest that those who are religious in adolescence are …

Catholic Healing Masses: Intersections Of Health And Healing In Yucatan, Suzanne Draper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The conception of illness and healing in contemporary Mexican Catholic discourse highlights both particular and ubiquitous instances of a health experience perceived locally and widespread. Catholic healing masses are utilized as supplemental methods of individual health restoration coupled with Western medicinal techniques in Catholic dramas. Aside from the spiritual and religious significance of this practice, the use of healing masses as an additional means to achieving an optimal health status implies that something is lacking in current biomedical models. The purpose of my research is to explore the humanistic terms under which healing masses operate and translate these terms into …

(Tele)Presence In Mediated Worship: The Influence Of Antecedent Traits And The Effect On Memory, Enjoyment And Behavior, Brian Klebig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the phenomena of (tele)presence in the distinct mediated environment of an online Christian worship service. A quantitative field experiment involving 48 participants who had just viewed a religious Internet broadcast was undertaken. Individual differences in personality and religiosity are examined in tandem with (tele)presence as predictors of a number of outcome variables, including memory, enjoyment of the online worship service and behavioral intention to be more active with the church. The results showed no significant relationship between religiosity and the experience of (tele)presence, but that users who experienced greater (tele)presence enjoyed the service more, had a greater …

The Role Of Religion In The Relationship Between Loneliness And Health Behaviors, Lindsy Jean Magee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While research has demonstrated the relationship of religion to health risk and health promoting behaviors, it has not investigated the relationship between religious coping and health risk and health promoting behaviors. In addition, while the link between loneliness and certain health risk and health promoting behaviors has been established, little research has looked at the potential effect that religion has on the relationship between loneliness, health risk, and health promoting behaviors. As such, it was the purpose of this study to investigate the relationship between religious coping and health risk and health promoting behaviors and to investigate the role of …

The Council Of The Indies And Religion In The Spanish New World, Ashley D. Ellington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Council of the Indies was responsible for the governing of the Spanish Empire, including issues of religion. During the reign of Philip II, the Council gained independence from the Council of Castile and was able to take more control of the Spanish territories. In response to outside factors, the Council codified its laws regarding the spread of the Catholic faith, which became the basis for Council control of religion under the authority of the king. A review of the Council during this time led to many changes in an effort to make the Council less corrupt and more efficient. …

Why Aren't More Heathens Eco-Pagan Vegetarians? The Intersection Of Gender, Politics, And Spiritual Environmentalism, Kristen An Horton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neo-Paganism, a nature-based new religious movement, provides a rich backdrop for the study of spiritual environmentalism. This ethnographic project analyzes the dynamic interconnectedness of neo-paganism and environmentalism, or "eco-paganism," and how Heathenry reframes the natural world using interpretations of Old Norse lore. A Heathen's connection to nature and how this connection is incorporated into his/her daily life supports the idea of environmentalism, yet their patriarchal and conservative political beliefs devalue environmentalism. My focus is on the feminization of the environment and vegetarianism to such a degree that Heathens view these movements as radicalized liberal tree hugging hobbies and how these …

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 …