Digital Commons Network^™

Relationships Between Religious Denomination, Quality Of Life, Motivation And Meaning In Abeokuta, Nigeria, Mary Gloria Njoku, Babajide Gideon Adeyinka

Journal of Global Catholicism

Inter-disciplinary research that combines methods in psychology of the impact of religious change in Africa and theological approaches has been very scant in Nigeria. This study examines the relationship among religious denominations, quality of life, motivation and meaning in life in Abeokuta metropolis in Ogun State, Nigeria using psychological and religious tools. The study hypothesizes that members of the Roman Catholic denomination would differ from members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the Living Faith Church in motivational factors and meaning making.

Prayers, Sex, Islam, And Electric Guitars: A Rhetorical Criticism Of The Taqwacores, Margaret Moore

Conversations: A Graduate Student Journal of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology

Punk rock Islam may not a common phrase to hear in society, but it is quickly expanding in popularity and in effectiveness. A fiction book entitled "The Taqwacores" tells the story of faithful Muslims practicing punk rock Islam in their own way. The novel utilizes constittive rhetoric, a concept popularized by Maurice Charland, to create a social movement that is sweeping the world. This paper analyzes the novel using the tenets of constitutive rhetoric and uses social movement theory to understand the implications that a simple book is having upon the world. Punk rock Islam may not be such an …

St. Thomas On Deprogramming: Is It Justifiable?, Catherine Wong

The Catholic Lawyer

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.

Spiritans For Today: Manuel De Sousa Gonçalves, C.S.Sp., Tony Neves C.S.Sp.

Spiritan Horizons

No abstract provided.

The Tao Te Ching [Laozi] /Lao-Tzu Metaphysics (What Is Existence?), A. Amon Greene

Access*: Interdisciplinary Journal of Student Research and Scholarship

As Chinese philosophies enter the global marketplace, Taoist ideas are emerging with greater frequency. In order to make Zhou Dynastic Taoist ideas accessible to Western acculturated readers a more conventionally “Western” examination of a key Taoist text the "Tao te ching/Dao de jing" by Lao Tzu/Laozi is presented in this paper. I examine the foundational metaphysics presented in the Tao te ching. Lao Tzu contends that the Tao transcends all conditions, all conceptualization and naming, presenting an inherent conundrum. I argue that by evoking a-rational and experiential discourse the Tao te ching attempts to impart impressions of The Tao. By …

Work Ethic, Turnover, And Performance: An Examination Of Predictive Validity For Entry-Level Employees, Christina Banister

Dissertations

Work ethic is continually cited as a top factor in hiring new employees (Flynn, 1994; Shimko, 1990; VanNess, Melinsky, Buff, & Seifert, 2010). Research on the relationship between work ethic and job performance has typically shown positive results in a variety of contexts (Meriac & Gorman, 2017; Miller et al., 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine dimensions of work ethic and its relationship with turnover and contextual performance in an often-neglected segment of the workforce: entry-level employees. Data were collected from a large fast food franchise, including work ethic, turnover data, and supervisor-rated job performance. In Study …

Review Of Mormons In The Piazza: History Of The Latter-Day Saints In Italy, Richard N. Holzapfel

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Mormons in the Piazza: History of the Latter-day Saints in Italy is a tour de force and has immediately become a model for future histories written about Latter-day Saints living, working, serving, and struggling to find a place in nations outside the United States.

An Analysis Of The Experiences And Integration Of Transpersonal Phenomena Induced By Electronic Dance Music Events, Audrey Redfield

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Electronic dance music (EDM) events are attended by millions of people all over the world. While prior research uncovered the spiritual and religious elements as well as the transpersonal nature of EDM events, this preliminary study further explored the types of transpersonal phenomena that participants experience at EDM events and their subsequent integration of these experiences into daily life. A semi-structured, in-depth interview was used to explore this topic with 12 EDM participants. A thematic analysis was conducted on the data. Findings suggested that EDM events have the potential to foster interpersonal relationships with the numinous, spiritual beings, and human …

Electronic Dance Music Events As Modern-Day Ritual, Audrey Redfield, Marie I. Thouin-Savard

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Electronic dance music (EDM) events may function as a ritual space for psycho-spiritual exploration and personal development, often linked to the occurrence of non-ordinary states of consciousness in participants. This paper reviews the literature addressing the spiritual, religious, and transpersonal facets of participants’ experiences at EDM events, with an emphasis on the subsequent integration of these experiences into daily life. Several empirical studies conducted in the past two decades, of which the most recent was conducted by the first author of the present paper (Redfield, 2017, this issue), provides grounds to argue that EDM events can be vectors for enhancing …

Community, Identity, And Tradition Within A Progressive Christian Congregation, James W. Skinner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Trends towards religious individualism, the de-institutionalization of religion, and the decline of denominational affiliations potentially impact religious congregations in a range of different ways. Drawing on a variety of theoretical and historical perspectives, this study examines these issues through a qualitative case study of a progressive Christian congregation in Brooklyn, New York. The case study explores the history, worship practices, and culture of the congregation in detail, focusing on the formation of religious identity and community within the context of congregational life. This close examination of the culture of the congregation reveals the ways in which the tensions between religious …

The Impact Of Spirituality And Trauma On Appraisals Of Psychotic-Like Experiences, Kathleen Isaac

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: A substantial portion of the general population (2.5% to 31.4% internationally) reports psychotic-like experiences, which are paranormal, psychic or bizarre perceptual experiences such as voice hearing, or holding strong beliefs (i.e. superstitions) that are neither experienced as pathological nor indicative of a psychotic disorder. Cognitive models of psychosis suggest that the cognitive appraisal (i.e. personal interpretation) of the experience may help distinguish non-clinical psychotic-like experiences from clinical psychotic symptoms. This dissertation attempted to add to cognitive models by assessing whether cultural and personal factors such as spirituality and trauma inform the appraisals of anomalous experiences. This study used a …

Contentious Politics In The Arab Middle East: Jordanian Salafism And The Social Appropriation Of Tradition, Massimo Ramaioli

Dissertations - ALL

In which ways do intellectuals affect social and political mobilization? How do they impact the trajectory of contention – the kind of mobilization and its developments - through their ideological work? Prominent intellectuals seem to play a relevant role in contentious politics, yet this role is still undertheorized. In this project, I analyze this question in the context of contemporary Arab Salafism, a particularly literal interpretation of Sunni Islam. I seek to unpack the processes by which prominent Islamist intellectuals impact and shape two Salafi currents originating and operating across Jordan during the 1990s and beyond. The first current is …

The Good Life: Descriptors Of Change In Roma Pentecostal Communities In Serbia And Croatia, Melody J. Wachsmuth

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Studies in specific geographical contexts have shown that the spread of Pentecostalism’s impact on Roma communities is twofold: it is linked to social change including a rise of education levels, literacy, decrease in crime, better relationships with the majority culture, and also is instrumental in the fostering of a “trans-national” identity and revitalization of their respective Roma identities. However, Pentecostalism cannot be considered a formula that intersects with a Romani community with consequential predictable results— in fact, in Southeastern Europe, Romani Pentecostalism is growing at a much slower rate than that of its counterparts in Western Europe and in places …

Building A Spiritual Home: Religious Engagement Of Former Vincentian Volunteers, Scott Kelley, Patricia Wittberg

Mission and Ministry Publications

Recent academic and popular literature has postulated a “story of diminishment” when speaking of the religious practice of young adults in the United States. The current paper looks at the impact of volunteer service on the likelihood that young adults will remain connected to organized religion through an analysis of two studies of young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 who had previously participated in volunteer programs that were sponsored by various Catholic organizations in the Vincentian tradition. The first study, conducted between February and May of 2014 by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) …

Building A Spiritual Home: Religious Engagement Of Former Vincentian Volunteers, Scott Kelley, Patricia A. Wittberg Sc

Scott Kelley

The Economy Of Evangelism In The Colonial American South, Julia Carroll

Masters Theses

Eighteenth-century Methodist evangelism supported, perpetuated, and promoted slavery as requisite for a productive economy in the colonial American South. Religious thought of the First Great Awakening emerged alongside a colonial economy increasingly reliant on chattel slavery for its prosperity. The records of well-traveled celebrity minister and provocateur of the Anglican tradition, George Whitefield, suggest how Calvinist-Methodist evangelicals viewed slavery as necessary to supporting colonial ministerial efforts. Whitefield’s absorption of and immersion into American culture is revealed in his owning a plantation, portraying a willingness to sacrifice the mobility of the disfranchised for widespread consumption of evangelical thought. A side effect …

Ellen White, Health, And The Third Angel’S Message: Part 2: Minimizing Non-Communicable Diseases, Warren A. Shipton

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

"There have been remarkable changes in causes of human diseases identified in the last 150 years. Following the discovery of antibiotics and their widespread adoption since mid-last century and other advances in the field of microbiology, the incidence of contagious diseases has declined. Now the world is facing the danger of epidemics of non-communicable diseases that are related to life-style choices. Societies have invited and experienced these diseases for a long time, but they are now ravaging our health. In the times when Ellen White wrote, she laid a firm foundation for maintenance of physical health by anchoring her advice …

Anthropology, Saint Mary's College Of California

Undergraduate Course Catalog

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 Epistemology Of Esoteric Culture: Spiritual Claim-Making Within The American Neopagan Community, Marty Laubach

Marty Laubach

Non-institutionalised religious communities within western esotericism, such as New Age or Neopagan subcultures, are dynamic marketplaces for knowledge construction that may appear to be chaotic and governed only by the rule of caveat emptor. However, a close examination reveals authorization processes developing along similar lines as those followed by scientific empiricism during the seventeenth century. Claims of esoteric knowledge are developed from psychism experiences, and are authenticated by examining the claimant’s social standing, the narrative structure of the claim and the interests of the claimant and the judge. Such claims are authorized by incorporation into collective action, publications, workshops and …

Historical Perspectives Of Shifting Motives For Faith-Based Travel, Dane Munro

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Throughout pre-history and history, millions of people of many religions and faiths have undertaken pilgrimages. Although ‘the quintessential form of religiously motivated travel is pilgrimage’, the meaning of the practice of pilgrimage has changed over the centuries (Dietz, 2005:27). There are also some consistent Leitmotifs and principles in religious travel. Participants of the New Religious Movements (NRM) travel to Neolithic and other prehistoric sites (such as Malta) for a spiritual experience at such sites, seeking to fulfil needs which the historic churches cannot or no longer can fulfil. (Rountree, 2002:475-496). Many NRMs are based on historical values, past religions or …

Introduction: Walking The World, Dane Munro, Lucinda Mary Carspecken, Ian S. Mcintosh

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Changes In Sufism In The American Context, Patrick Hamilton

Denison Journal of Religion

This article considers the ways in which Sufism has altered since entering the American context. While in Islamic countries, Sufism's atypical rituals and interpretations of the Qur'an often made it a target of mainstream Islam. Once Sufism arrived in the United States, however, it rapidly began to change as practitioners no longer had to consider the pressures of a largely Islamic community. This does not mean, however, that there is no pluralism within Sufism in the United States. While early generations of immigrant Sufis remain more strongly tied to a traditional Islamic heritage, many of the Euro-American converts claim no …

Religion And Genocide Nexuses: Bosnia As Case Study, Kate E. Temoney

Department of Religion Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Social scientists have been involved in systematic research on genocide for over forty years, yet an under-examined aspect of genocide literature is a sustained focus on the nexuses of religion and genocide, a lacuna that this article seeks to address. Four ways religion and genocide intersect are proposed, of which two will receive specific attention: (1) how religious rhetoric and (2) how religious individuals and institutions foment genocide. These two intersections are further nuanced by combining a Weberian method of typologies, the Durkheimian theory of collective violence, and empirical data in the form of rhetoric espoused by perpetrators and supporters …

On The Road To Nowhere: Stalled Politics And Urban Infrastructure In Kathmandu, Dannah K. Dennis

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

During the period leading up to the passage of the 2015 constitution in Nepal, the roads of Kathmandu were often interpreted by the city’s residents as symbols of the stalled constitutional process and of the faltering and corrupt nature of national politics in general. By detailing specific moments in which the inadequacy of roads and the inadequacy of the state were directly juxtaposed in everyday conversations, this article calls for sustained attention to the interrelationship between urban infrastructure and national- and local-level politics.

"Cracks In The Melting Pot": Native Americans, Military Service And Citizenship, Brittany A. Kelley

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This paper focuses on Native American military service in Euro-American Wars. It analyzes their reasons for fighting and compares those reasons to the reasons of other racial and ethnic groups. This paper explores how certain racial and ethnic groups are marginalized and “otherized” and how they occasionally attempt to assimilate into mainstream society through military service. Irish Americans and African Americans viewed the Civil War in this way, while Native Americans hoped they would be able to improve their individual situations. Native Americans fought for purposes of assimilation and citizenship in World War I, and while they were technically granted …

Deism Revisited: A Modern Approach, Tina Johnson

Dialogue & Nexus

An evaluation of the history of Deism and its modern counterpart, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, in light of Theistic Naturalism is done in order to place the several forms of deism into a proper context in modern society. My hoped for outcome is that perhaps we can view Deism as a progressive rather than an archaic belief system that still has a purpose in American religious culture.

The Dangerous Discourse Of Dianetics: Linguistic Manifestations Of Violence Toward Queerness In The Canonical Religious Philosophy Of Scientology, Francesca Retana

Relics, Remnants, and Religion: An Undergraduate Journal in Religious Studies

At present, there is a groundswell of public sensational interest in the subject of Scientology; and, in fact, in the time since I began this research paper, a nine-episode documentary series has premiered and reached finale on A&E titled “Scientology and the Aftermath”— a personal project hosted by sitcom celebrity, ex-Scientologist, and author of Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, Leah Remini.^[1] I could not begin to enumerate the myriad exposés/memoirs of ex-Scientologists that have been published in recent years nor could I emphasize enough the rampant conspiracy theories that are at the disposal of any curious mind on what …