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The Relationship Between Moral Thought-Action Fusion And Scrupulosity Across Judaism, Christianity, And Islam, Kelsey Evey Jan 2024

The Relationship Between Moral Thought-Action Fusion And Scrupulosity Across Judaism, Christianity, And Islam, Kelsey Evey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Scrupulosity is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) where individuals are upset by intrusive thoughts related to religious or moral issues. Current research suggests that scrupulosity occurs across the major world religions—including the Abrahamic religions (i.e., Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Some research suggests that moral thought-action fusion (moral TAF), a dysfunctional belief that thinking something is equal to doing it, may only be pathological under certain circumstances (e.g., if it is not culturally normative). If this is true, the current cognitive model of scrupulosity may need to be amended to reflect how cultural differences impact the role of moral TAF …


Three Essays In Urban, Health And Public Economics, Dinushka Paranavitana Jan 2024

Three Essays In Urban, Health And Public Economics, Dinushka Paranavitana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation “Three Essays in Urban, Health and Public Economics” contains three chapters which explore urban, health and public economics. The first two chapters focus on examining the unexpected consequences of urban and health related policies, while the third chapter explores the nuanced relationships between health policies and religion. The first chapter examines the impact of NFL and NBA games, beyond the reach of stadium walls and arenas, extending to how it affects driver behavior after games. In this paper I analyze how game outcomes for professional level football and basketball games have an impact on affecting the rate of …


Faithful Partner: The Role And Agency Of Pastors' Wives In The Protestant Reformation, Elizabeth M. Dubendorfer Jan 2024

Faithful Partner: The Role And Agency Of Pastors' Wives In The Protestant Reformation, Elizabeth M. Dubendorfer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This thesis explores the critical yet often overlooked roles of pastors' wives during the Protestant Reformation, focusing on three key figures: Katharina von Bora, Katharina Schütz Zell, and Elisabeth Cruciger. It examines how these women navigated the complexities of Reformation-era Germany, blending traditional gender roles with new practices that emerged from their unique positions as clerical spouses. By investigating their personal histories, theological contributions, and community engagements, the thesis demonstrates that these pioneering women established a distinct archetype for pastors' wives. This archetype was characterized by a profound commitment to faith, an expanded view of motherhood and wifely duties, and …


Losing My Religion: Contextualizing Continental Catholic Seminaries In The Elizabethan Reformation, 1558-1603, Cole Volman Jan 2023

Losing My Religion: Contextualizing Continental Catholic Seminaries In The Elizabethan Reformation, 1558-1603, Cole Volman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation examines the impact and influence of a portion of the early modern Jesuit seminary network within the narrative of the Counter Reformation. Following the rise of Elizabeth I, a significant number of Catholic recusants fled England to take up residence in a series of schools spread across Europe with the intention of completing their education and later contributing to the efforts to preserve Catholicism in their homeland. This dissertation argues that these schools played a significant role in the course of the “English Mission,” contributing to its conception, escalation, and eventual collapse in the late sixteenth century. Despite …


“The Entire Army Says Hello”: Common Soldiers’ Experiences, Localism, And Army Reform In Britain And Prussia, 1739-1789, Alexander S. Burns Jan 2021

“The Entire Army Says Hello”: Common Soldiers’ Experiences, Localism, And Army Reform In Britain And Prussia, 1739-1789, Alexander S. Burns

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation fundamentally questions the state of the field regarding militaries, state building, and narratives of modernity in the Kingdoms of Britain and Prussia. An examination of military stereotyping, common soldiers’ correspondence, religion, localism, and army reform all suggests that the British and Prussian militaries were mutually-intelligible and similar, not radically different. This similarity has broad implications for the modern history of these two European states. Britain was not on a straight road to whiggish parliamentary progress, and Prussia was not on a straight road to militarism and authoritarian rule. Rather, in second half of the eighteenth century, both of …


Addressing A Blind Spot: Altruistic Fear And Religious Bias Motivated Victimization, Emily N. Hawkins Jan 2021

Addressing A Blind Spot: Altruistic Fear And Religious Bias Motivated Victimization, Emily N. Hawkins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Fear of victimization is different than actual victimization but has real consequences for individuals’ behaviors and attitudes. Research on fear of victimization in the United States has typically emphasized individuals’ own fears of experiencing violent, sexual, and property crimes. Yet, some studies suggest that fear of crime for other people whose safety one values – significant others, friends, and children – or altruistic fear is more common and often more intense than one’s personal fear of victimization. While some literature exists on the prevalence of altruistic fear in American households, little is known about altruistic fears specifically rooted in the …


Hearing Ourselves Speak: Finding The Trans Sound In The Ohio River Valley, Gwendolyn Patricia Saporito-Emler Jan 2021

Hearing Ourselves Speak: Finding The Trans Sound In The Ohio River Valley, Gwendolyn Patricia Saporito-Emler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This thesis discusses at length the experiences of four interviewees, selected for being both musicians as well as transgender people. From the author’s shared perspective as a trans woman, this work addresses the issues and boons of being trans musicians. It reflects their experiences, both positive and negative, as well as provides conjectural analyses of the respondents’ shared stories. It identifies common themes, issues regularly experienced by trans people, and offers arguments on why ending this hate is so vitally essential.


Creating Positive, Negative, And Neutral Primes And Testing Their Impact On Scrupulosity Relevant Tasks And Symptoms, Kelsey Jean Evey Jan 2020

Creating Positive, Negative, And Neutral Primes And Testing Their Impact On Scrupulosity Relevant Tasks And Symptoms, Kelsey Jean Evey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A series of three studies was conducted to develop and validate primes to activate negative, positive, or neutral beliefs about God and to determine how these activated beliefs impact scrupulosity signs and symptoms. Scrupulosity is a specific presentation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in which individuals become preoccupied and distressed by intrusive thoughts and images related to religious issues. Individuals with more severe scrupulosity often have more negative beliefs about God. Christianity conceptualizes God in both positive (e.g., loving, caring, and helpful) and negative (e.g., angry, judgmental, and wrathful) terms. It is therefore important to determine how more positive, negative, or …


Shaping Urban Spaces To Fit Into Religious Boundaries Through Landscape, Niharika Alahari Jan 2020

Shaping Urban Spaces To Fit Into Religious Boundaries Through Landscape, Niharika Alahari

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In India, rivers are considered a sacred entity for Hindus and temples on the banks of rivers are a common sight in Indian architectural character. Devotees come to worship and perform small ceremonies on ghats, banks of the river, to the gods and ancestors. This is considered a part of an important ritual prior to entering the temple associated with the river. One such river in South India where this practice occurs, is the Krishna river in Vijayawada, an important pilgrimage center for devotees and the location for this study. Although this practice is a daily occurrence and one hundred …


Perceived Clinician Competence To Work With Spiritual Issues In Supervision, Brittany J Shannon Jan 2018

Perceived Clinician Competence To Work With Spiritual Issues In Supervision, Brittany J Shannon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

No abstract provided.


… Like Animals., Brandon Schnur Jan 2018

… Like Animals., Brandon Schnur

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

No abstract provided.


Resilient First-Generation College Students: A Multiple Regression Analysis Examining The Impact Of Optimism, Academic Self-Efficacy, Social Support, Religiousness, And Spirituality On Perceived Resilience, David F. Davino May 2013

Resilient First-Generation College Students: A Multiple Regression Analysis Examining The Impact Of Optimism, Academic Self-Efficacy, Social Support, Religiousness, And Spirituality On Perceived Resilience, David F. Davino

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

First-generation college students (FGCS) have been identified as an at-risk population as evidenced by higher attrition rates, lower socio-economic backgrounds, and are less engaged in the college environment when compared to their college peers. Yet despite these stressors, many will graduate college demonstrating their resilience. This study examined optimism, academic self-efficacy, social support, religiousness, and spirituality as potential protective factors for FGCS who perceive themselves to be resilient. Two-way effects were examined in order to determine if any two-way combination of the five protective factors explored in this study explained more of the variance in perceived resilience of FGCS. Demographic …


Foreign Christian Influence In Developing World Domestic Social Policy, William Harrison Jan 2012

Foreign Christian Influence In Developing World Domestic Social Policy, William Harrison

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

There is a debate going on in the United States today about where our culture is headed. In the United States and much of the West, society is becoming more liberal on issues such as gay rights and abortion. In countries of the developing in Africa and Latin America there has also been a debate about these issues. This is in part fueled by Christian groups coming from outside of the countries of the developing world who are attempting to export the Culture Wars of the West to the developing world. This paper theorizes that foreign Christian groups have a …


Runes: Past And Present, Elliott S. Evans May 2011

Runes: Past And Present, Elliott S. Evans

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The purpose of this study is to illustrate how the primary function of runes has changed through history. In doing so this study also begins to document the reemergence of runes especially in Asatru circles. Runes were historically employed for utilitarian purposes whereas they have been imbued with magical qualities in the eyes of their modern users. By using a modified version of the speech act theory, the notion of "magic" is linguistically operationalized and used to demonstrate the stark contrast between the primary purpose of historical runic texts and modern ones.


The Sacred In The Profane: Understanding Andy Warhol's Relationship With The Visual Image, Linda Rosefsky May 2011

The Sacred In The Profane: Understanding Andy Warhol's Relationship With The Visual Image, Linda Rosefsky

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

For Andy Warhol (1928-1987), images meant for commercial advertisement, tabloid publication, and entertainment were not merely meaningless reflections of a commodity and media-obsessed world -- they were sacred. In 1986, the Pop artist based the last major series of his career on a reproduction of a Renaissance masterpiece, Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper (1495-97/98, figure 1). Given the slick packaging of Warhol's oeuvre and his cool public persona, it would be easy to dismiss these late paintings as a cynical comment on the proliferation of images in American society. Viewing The Last Supper series from the perspectives of biography, psychology, …


A Leap Of Faith: *Scale, Critical Realism And *Emergence In The Geography Of Religion, Michael P. Ferber May 2010

A Leap Of Faith: *Scale, Critical Realism And *Emergence In The Geography Of Religion, Michael P. Ferber

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation explores the role of scale in human geography through a study involving a critical realist investigation of the geography of religious adherence. Using the contributions of a critical realist framework of stratification, emergence, and pluralistic methodologies, religious adherence is studied at the scales of the individual adherent, the church, and within local associations of churches. Analysis was performed through a study of two denominational congregations and an independent congregation in Harrison County, West Virginia and used a combination of surveys and in-depth interviews with religious adherents, pastors and local denominational leaders. The conceptual framework of this dissertation stands …


From Bigfoot In The Backyard To Ghosts In The Attic: Predictors Of Paranormal Belief, Jeff Tranguch May 2010

From Bigfoot In The Backyard To Ghosts In The Attic: Predictors Of Paranormal Belief, Jeff Tranguch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Previous research on the social predictors of paranormal belief is contradictive and unclear. Depending on which author you read, one theory is better at explaining why individuals accept belief in paranormal phenomena. This problem most likely is the result of weak sample sizes and an inconsistency in defining and measuring the paranormal. This thesis incorporates data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey which is one of the largest, most recent data sets assessing paranormal belief. Three predominant theories within the literature are tested. Findings lend support to the marginalization theory claiming that individuals who are marginalized from society tend to …


Religious And Environmental Values In Pcusa And Ucc Church Camp Programs, Ross S. Bash May 2010

Religious And Environmental Values In Pcusa And Ucc Church Camp Programs, Ross S. Bash

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The association between denominational affiliation, as the independent variable, and (1) religious values, (2) environmental values, and (3) the integration of religious values and environmental values, as the dependent variables, in church camp programs of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (PCUSA) and the United Church of Christ (UCC) was examined through survey research of PCUSA and UCC church camps across the United States. The results indicated that there is a significant statistical relationship between PCUSA and UCC church camp programs by reference to denominational affiliation for all three dependent variables.


Are Strict Churches Really Stronger? A Study Of Strictness, Congregational Activity, And Growth In American Protestant Churches, Rebecca Ann Flynn Jan 2010

Are Strict Churches Really Stronger? A Study Of Strictness, Congregational Activity, And Growth In American Protestant Churches, Rebecca Ann Flynn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The purpose of this study was to determine whether strict churches are more likely than others to experience growth and what role congregational activity might play in the relationship between strictness and growth. Using data from the Faith Communities Today (FACT) 2000 survey, I tested Dean Kelley's (1972) claim that strictness is an important factor in church growth and Laurence Iannaccone's (1992) assertion that strict churches grow because they reduce free-riding, or increase congregational activity. The results lend only limited support for the idea that strict churches are more likely than more lenient churches to experience growth and do not …


Religiousness, Future Time Perspective, And Death Anxiety Among Adults, James A. Henrie Jan 2010

Religiousness, Future Time Perspective, And Death Anxiety Among Adults, James A. Henrie

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The present study examined relations of death anxiety to age, gender, trait anxiety, future time perspective, religiousness, spirituality, and religious doubt. The primary goals of the investigation were to test for a curvilinear relation between religious meaning and death anxiety and to test whether the relations of age and gender with death anxiety were mediated by trait anxiety, future time perspective, religiousness, spirituality, and religious doubt. Participants were adults (18 to 89 years of age, M = 38.28 years, SD = 19.30, 79.1% female, 93.8% Caucasian) who completed the pertinent questionnaires online. Results indicated that there was indeed a curvilinear …


The Treatment Of The Monotheistic Religions In World History High School Textbooks: A Comparison Of Sample Editions 2001--2007, Jason Eugene Allen Aug 2009

The Treatment Of The Monotheistic Religions In World History High School Textbooks: A Comparison Of Sample Editions 2001--2007, Jason Eugene Allen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study examines the treatment of the three most practiced monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, within the pages of High School World History Textbooks. The results find that within World History textbooks Christianity and Islam receive more coverage than Judaism in narrative content, word usage, illustrations, and questions presented. Christianity receives the greatest amount of narrative content in all textbooks studied whereas Islam has portrayals that highlight the spiritual aspects of the religion to a greater extent than do Christianity and Judaism. Judaism received the least amount of coverage of the three religions. Very little is presented concerning the …


William Blake's Artificial Mythology And Quotations From World Mythos, Teresa L. Cunningham Aug 2008

William Blake's Artificial Mythology And Quotations From World Mythos, Teresa L. Cunningham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The central theme of this thesis is the visual analysis of William Blake's art in connection to the available mythological and religious texts by which Blake constructed his own artificial mythology. This analysis will include explorations into Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Jewish and Hindu myth as well as Christian and mystic texts. The various works or "books" by Blake will be the visual basis, specifically The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790), his later "prophetic" work Jerusalem, the Emanation of the Giant Albion (1820) and his last completed work The Illustrations of the Book of Job (1825). This thesis will affirm that …


Adolescent Religiosity And Conformity To Parents: Is Sex A Moderator?, Rebecca Kim Summers Jan 2006

Adolescent Religiosity And Conformity To Parents: Is Sex A Moderator?, Rebecca Kim Summers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study examines relations between adolescent reports of conformity to their parents and religiosity and if these are moderated by the sex of the adolescent and parent. Self-report data was collected from 121 ninth and tenth graders enrolled in three non-metropolitan high schools. Religiosity was measured by Schumm et al.'s (1991) modified version of Gorsuch and Venable's (1983) scales. Conformity to Parents was assessed using Peterson's (Peterson, Rollins, & Thomas, 1985) Conformity to Parents scales. Four regressions were used. Results indicate that females: (a) report higher levels of conformity to parents and religiosity than males and (b) that when adolescent …


Changing Religious Structures And Civil Society In Latin America: The Case Of Nicaragua, John G. Poffenbarger May 2005

Changing Religious Structures And Civil Society In Latin America: The Case Of Nicaragua, John G. Poffenbarger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Two phenomena have been ongoing in Central America over the past 30 years. The first has been a change in the dominant religious structures in the region with the growth of Evangelical Protestantism and Pentecostalism, as well as ongoing changes within the Roman Catholic Church, such as the rise and fall of Progressive Catholicism. The other major phenomenon has been the establishment of democratic regimes across the isthmus. Putnam, Inglehart, Almond & Verba, among others, assert that for a democracy to flourish a vibrant civil society must be present. These scholars, along with Huntington, Weber, and Wald et al. believe …


Essays On The Economics Of Religion, Charitable Giving, And Youth Crime, Brian J. Osoba Aug 2004

Essays On The Economics Of Religion, Charitable Giving, And Youth Crime, Brian J. Osoba

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation includes essays on the application of economics to areas previously thought to be the domain of sociology, psychology, and political science. Chapter 1 introduces the paths that economics has blazed into the areas of religion, charitable giving, crime, and government formation. The second chapter examines the functions that risk and time preference play in the strength of an individual's religious belief. The results illustrate that individuals treat religion like other goods exhibiting uncertainty and a delayed expected future payoff. Chapter 3 investigates the role of prestige and warm glow in the market for charitable giving. The results indicate …


Relationships Among Spirituality, Cognitive Processing, And Personal Control, Karri Bonner Dec 2002

Relationships Among Spirituality, Cognitive Processing, And Personal Control, Karri Bonner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The current study was a cross-sectional investigation of how spirituality as a positive life theme might be related to a unique style of cognitive processing. Of secondary interest were the relationships among spirituality and other personal control variables. Using memory recall and recognition tasks, the current study sought to determine whether or not participants would attend more to positive, negative, neutral, or religious words. The results of the current study indicate that (1) older adults are more spiritual than younger adults, (2) higher spirituality is related to higher levels of optimism, (3) spirituality is related to an external locus of …