Digital Commons Network^™

Creation Care As Caring For Human Beings: An Environmental Justice Case Study, Jeffrey S. Lamp, Ph.D., Kathryn J. Moder, Megan R. Munhoffen, Cade A. Rich, Nathan B. Von Atzigen

Research Symposium

Caring for God’s creation is a burgeoning area of interest among Christians in recent decades. In many Christian circles, however, caring for creation is not given high priority in rankings of the duties of Christian disciples in the world. This article will argue that caring for creation is a biblically mandated call for God’s people in the world and derives from the role of human beings as caretakers of creation, creation’s status as a recipient of God’s salvation in Christ, and the connection between human beings and the other-than-human creation. If creation care is understood as an act of healing …

The Rhetoric Of Spirituality, Gender, And The Environment In The Wicker Man (1973) And Midsommar (2019), Emma Frances Bloomfield

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

The Wicker Man (1973) and Midsommar (2019) are horror films that address dominant ideologies including the patriarchy, anthropocentrism, and Christianity. Both films have a nature-connected cult that sacrifices for the community and performs rituals informed by pagan eco-spirituality. I perform an ecofeminist rhetorical criticism to analyze how, despite these shared themes, spiritual, gender, and environmental messages differ between the two films. In The Wicker Man, the audience is invited to sympathize with Neil’s character, his Christianity, and his individualistic masculinity as he is sacrificed in the cult’s harvest ritual. Alternatively, the main character in Midsommar, Dani, gets revenge …

Rhetoric, Authority, And Children Of God: Charismatic Authority And Ecstasy In American Religions, Clarissa A. Stephenson

Celebration of Learning

As new religious movements have flooded the social landscape of the United States, they have inspired large counter-movements. These countermovements assumed a category of accepted religions which excluded religious movements that challenged the hegemonic way of life in the U.S. Some of these new religions - deemed "cults" by outsider groups- were seemingly able to exert total control over the actions of their followers, especially in relation to their physical and sexual relationships. Movements like Children of God- the religion to be studied in this paper- place a focus on the physical body as the road to spiritual salvation. The …

Wrap-Up Report, Wonsuk Ma

Empowered21 Scholars' Consultations

No abstract provided.

New Religious Movements As Target Audience At Malta Temples: A Challenge For Interpreters, Marie Avellino-Stewart, Dane Munro

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

No abstract provided.

The Spiritual Seekers And The 'Tourist Bubble': The Aminè Experience, Monica Gilli, Stefania Palmisano

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Our case study is the Federation of Damanhur. Damanhur, one of the most important spiritual communities in Europe, is located in ValChiusella, fifty kilometres north of Torino, Piedmont, Italy. At present, according to the community’s estimates, about 600 members live there permanently. Damanhur every year hosts thousands of visitors who experience the spiritual community thanks to daily tours, weekly stays and seminars. Since some years some scholars of the University of Torino are studying the community of Damanhur, with particular attention to the relationship between the spiritual dimension and the economy, including tourism. In this paper we present some results …

Osaka’S Thirteen Buddhas: The Proliferation Of Modern Japanese Pilgrimage Routes Extended Abstract, Greg Wilkinson

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Osaka’s Thirteen Buddha Pilgrimage is a route through the greater Osaka area to Buddhist temples. Thirteen Buddha pilgrimage routes have experienced growth in participation over the past few years. This new popularity has increased the number of thirteen Buddha pilgrimages routes. This proliferation in routes are a phenomenon, which deserves attention because pilgrimage participation is often used not only as an illustration of a specific religious practice but also a significant variable in the continuing discourse about Japan’s secularization (Reader 2012). This study investigates more specifically Osaka’s thirteen Buddha pilgrimage sites and how each has become a location for multiple …

The Use Of Social Media By Contemporary Witchcraft Communities, Michael J. Haverty

COLA Research and Creativity Conference

This event will be a summarization of the theory and findings of my research project that looks at how self-identifying witches use social media. Witchcraft users have historically adapted to the changes in society like all other peoples. Witchcraft users have also historically only had contact with others of their spiritual practices during yearly gathering events or local covens. However, social media has created platforms for people from minority subcultures to interact in ways that were formerly limited. By digitally surveying and interviewing users of the social media platform Tumblr who self-identify as witches, this project attempts to look at …

Mother Goddesses And Subversive Witches: Competing Narratives Of Gender Essentialism, Heteronormativity, And Queerness In Wiccan Ritual And Theology, Carly Floyd, Meghan Burke, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Wicca is typically recognized as a feminist and queer-friendly religion embraced by many women and LGBTQ+ people. While women are undoubtedly emphasized positively, however, I argue that much of the focus is in fact a form of benevolent sexism, coming out of an essentialist understanding of women’s nature being nurturing, intuitive, and emotional. The resulting heteronormativity and its procreative focus can create an exclusionary environment for gay men and women as well as for transgender and genderfluid or non-binary individuals. My research utilizes ethnographic participantobservation of a local Wiccan coven and semi-structured qualitative interviews with Wiccans and Pagans from across …

Obligations Of Grace, Mark E. Roberts

Empowered21 Scholars' Consultations

Grace obliges recipients to respond in gratitude and obedience to God, the giver of grace. While the New Testament emphasizes God's grace given through Jesus Christ in a New Covenant with believers, the Old Testament emphasizes grace more than many Christians recognize. Grace is expressed in the Old Testament especially through God's free choosing of Abraham as the "father of the faithful," through divine covenants with Abraham, with the divinely constituted nation of Israel, and with the governing house of David. Such grace abounds when God's covenanted people fail to keep their covenant, yet God, after disciplining the covenant people …

2. Evangelical Reflections On Seventh-Day Adventism: Yesterday And Today, Kenneth Richard Samples

Questions on Doctrine 50th Anniversary Conference, October 2007

Paper

Border Crossings: Baha’I Women And Narratives Of Learning To Be Global Citizens, Siew Sim Chin

Adult Education Research Conference

This is an empirical study of how ten Baha’i women learn to cultivate a sense of global belonging through mapping and entering the world from a spiritual paradigm. Emerging from the (re)constitution of their identities across place, nations, and religion is a widening of loyalties and expanded belonging.

The Internet And Neopaganism: A Match Made In Avalon, Austin Buscher, Carole Myscofski, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Complete 2005 Program

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Beyond Violence And Kool-Aid: Toward An Original Method Of Cult Study With The Branch Davidians And Aum Shinrikyo, Brian Nowicki, Carole Myscofski, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Complete 1999 Program

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Selected Topics In Tort Law, Sheila L. Birnbaum, Robert Keeton, Richard Delgado, Deborah R. Hensler

University of Richmond Law Review Symposium

This speaker series took place over several days during the Spring semester of 1990.

"The Special Problems of Causation in Toxic Tort Cases" lecture given by Sheila L. Birnbaum, Partner in the New York City firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom. (Tuesday, January 23, 1990)

"Damage Recovery in Toxic Tort Suits" lecture given by Sheila L. Binbaum, Partner in the New York City firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom. (Tuesday, January 30, 1990)

"Methods and Roles in Tort Lawmaking" lecture given by The Honorable Robert Keeton, Langdell Professor Emeritus at Harvard Law School, U.S. District Court Judge for …