Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Autism And The Body Of Christ: Understanding, Accommodating, And Accepting Autistic Believers In The Church, Kaitlyn Cook

Senior Honors Theses

Autism is a neurotype that causes a different set of strengths and weaknesses and thus should be embraced and accommodated within the church. Not only are autistic believers able to grasp Christian concepts, but they also have different perspectives and skills that can be instrumental in building up the church. Promoting a correct view of autism and accommodating neurodiversity within the church will allow autistic believers to follow God’s command to be part of a body and build up the church. The church can employ several strategies to create an accessible environment for believers on the spectrum, including creating sensory-safe …

“These Are Our Saints:” A Lourdes Shrine, The St. Coletta School For Exceptional Children, And The Catholic Remaking Of Cognitive Disability, Andrew Walker-Cornetta

Religion

This chapter appears from the book American Patroness: Marian Shrines and the Making of US Catholicism by Katherine Dugan and Karen E. Park, Editors.

"'These Are Our Saints:' A Lourdes Shrine, the St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children, and the Catholic Remaking of Cognitive Disability" focuses on a Lourdes shrine on the campus of what was once perhaps the most celebrated institution in the United States for persons with cognitive disabilities. It takes this site as a window onto mid-twentieth century Catholic efforts to re-imagine cognitive difference and highlights the importance of Marian devotional grammars to those efforts.

Ignatian Values And International Conference On Disability, Enaya Hammad Othman

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

This essay focuses on the values of Ignatius Loyola (1491–1556) concerning the issues related to disability and how the mission of the “Conference on Disability at the Intersection of History, Culture, Religion, Gender, and Health” hosted by Marquette University embodies those values. This conference, which was first held in 2022 and planned to take place in 2025 again, serves several goals shared by Jesuit education, Catholic values and Ignatius’ philosophy. It aspires to contribute to social justice, deep thinking and reflection, and meaningful change in society. Above all, the conference is motivated by ‘service’ to humanity and thus to the …

Book Review: Disability: Living Into The Diversity Of Christ's Body, Ron Bruner

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Disability: Living into the Diversity of Christ’s Body, by Brian Brock. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. 180 pages, $21.99.

The Spiritual Impact Of Disability On Parents And Caregivers, Grant Azbell

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This study was designed to examine the impact of disability on the faith and faith communities of parents and caregivers of persons experiencing disability. This study proceeded by asking nine parents or caregivers of persons experiencing disability a series of seven questions to evaluate the impact of disability on their faith and on their relationship to their faith community. The interviews were conducted on Zoom and the recordings were transcribed and coded to observe discernable patterns and themes amongst the participants. What emerged from the data is important for ministers, church leaders, and anyone wanting to know more about the …

Disability, Difference, And Inclusion In The Church: A Special Issue, Jennifer Reinsch Schroeder

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This introductory article sets the context for the conversations in this special issue of Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry on disability, difference, and inclusion in the church.

The Impact Of Preaching The Image Of God As Disability-Inclusive, Laurie E. Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to Howard (2010), the North American Mission Board (NAMB) considers the disabled community in America to be unreached by the church. Hardwick (2021) also writes, “The disability community is the most unique community, the largest minority group in the world” (p. 12). This quantitative descriptive research study explored the frequency of preaching the biblical principle imago Dei, found in Genesis 1:27, in a way that includes the disabled, and how this preaching may impact disability-inclusivity in the church. The Word of God states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them” …

Improving Communication Access With Deaf People Through Nursing Simulation: A Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration, Jamie L. Mccartney Ph.D., Tracy Gidden, Jennifer Biggs, Kathy Geething, Karl Kosko Ph.D.

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

Baccalaureate nursing and sign language interpreting students participated in a pediatric discharge simulation with a deaf person playing the role of the baby’s parent. At the conclusion of the simulation, participants were emailed a consent letter and a link to a 17-item questionnaire developed by the authors. Responses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, whereby nonparametric statistics were calculated to examine Likert-scale items. A Mann-Whitney test statistic was calculated, instead of an independent samples t-test, given the smaller sample in the current study (n = 26). A question was posed to participants that evaluated their self-perception of the effectiveness of …

Blindness And The Beast: Disability, Fairy Tale And Myth In Wilkie Collins’ Poor Miss Finch, György Kiss

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

The paper offers a close reading of Wilkie Collins’ 1872 novel, Poor Miss Finch through the lens of fairy tales, gender, and disability studies. In Poor Miss Finch, we follow the life of a young blind woman, Lucilla Finch, who falls in love with a man named Oscar Dubourg, whose appearance can be described as “monstrous”. This plot evokes the popular tale of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, which the paper argues is the inspiration of Poor Miss Finch. In his work, Collins incorporates and rethinks many elements of the fairy tale to fit them into the 19^{th …}

A Community Centered By Love: A Linguistic Approach To The Theology Of Paul's Instruction For The Corinthian Body, Cadence Moore

Honors Projects

This article appropriates elements of M.A.K. Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to analyze the Apostle Paul’s communication with the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 12-14. The linguistic evidence of the text reveals that Paul’s instructions guide the Corinthians to order their community through love, imitating the Trinity’s nature of diversity and unity. The final section translates Paul’s teachings to a modern context using Richard B. Steele’s article, “Disability and the Beloved Community,” a reframing of how Christian communities interact with and not only include persons with disabilities but fully incorporate their diverse gifts into the church body.

Deaf Accessibility In The Christian Church, Madison Finley

Honors Projects

Around the globe, only two percent of Deaf people have had the opportunity to be introduced to the Gospel. Religious accessibility is limited for individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. This paper begins to investigate:

• How can Christian churches increase accessibility to religion, worship, and other programs for Deaf individuals?

My Honors Project activity is preparing research and materials for a physical guide booklet for Christian churches that do not currently offer any Deaf ministries or American Sign Language interpretation or that may be seeking to increase accessibility for Deaf individuals. The primary purpose of this project is to create …

Apologetics And Disability: Reframing Our Response To The Question Of Suffering, Rochelle Scheurermann

Great Commission Research Journal

A prominent question that is asked when people consider God is how to account for suffering if God is good and all-powerful. For Christians, answering this question is a major part of apologetic and evangelistic training. But what if the way we have traditionally approached this question is not good news for everyone? This paper examines the suffering question in light of disabilities and suggests a new way to engage in apologetics that is centered in creation (not fall) and celebrates the gifts and opportunities that come through a diversity of ability.

Virtue And Human Fragility, Kate Ward

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

New perspectives from virtue ethicists engaged with human fragility make concrete moral theology’s long understanding that humans are both free and constrained in our virtue pursuit. Theologians examine the possibilities of virtue under conditions of oppression as well as the virtue and vice of oppressors. Some adapt the term “moral luck” from philosophy to describe how persistent life circumstances shape the pursuit of virtue. Others focus on determinative individual acts through the lens of moral injury, a concept developed by psychologists caring for veterans. Finally, theologians engaged with disability describe flourishing, virtuous lives lived amid human mental and physical fragility.

A Disability Theology Of Limits For Responding To Moral Injury, Lisa Hickman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The lament of Jeremiah, “they dress the wound of my people as if it were not serious,” reverberates today as veterans return home from a decade of war, ridden by PTSD and moral injury, only to discover lethargy, lack of seriousness and complacency in societal response. The seriousness of our soldiers’ wounds, to body and spirit alike, demand ethical, societal and theological responsibility. Failure to address the seriousness of these wounds results in distress, depression and even suicide for the soldier. Statistics may describe a portion of the reality, but the degree to which soldiers suffer in silence and the …

Re-Imagining Embodiment And The Self In People With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries: A Narrative Approach, Namitha Kumar, Sangeetha Menon

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Traumatic spinal cord injuries from accidents cause physical and social suffering, pain and loss. After an initial period of physical and psychological trauma, the individual begins to cope and successfully crosses over. Crossing over as a term used in the spinal cord injury register refers to positive adaptation—physical, psychological and social. This paper is based on a qualitative narrative study of the lived experiences of individuals negotiating spinal cord injuries in the Indian context wherein the disability is no longer the location of inability, tragedy, pain, and loss, but one of creative possibilities. As individuals re-imagine embodiment and self, a …

The Special Need Of The Local Church, Sarah Deacon

The Kabod

All around this world are individuals with special needs who are seeking to find a place where they truly belong: “According to a 2010 U.S. Census study, 56.7 million Americans, or about one in five U.S. residents have a disability” (Lee 40). With such a statistic, an individual with special needs is bound to be found in almost every church across the U.S. In her book Leading a Special Needs Ministry, Amy Fenton Lee states, “Congregations with a regular attendance from eighty to eight thousand are both impacted, as children with neurological and physical disabilities seek inclusion” (36). Many churches …

Unity In Diversity: An Intentional Plan To Move From Inclusion To Belonging To Becoming, Brian R. Mowrey

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis project was to develop an intentional plan to embrace and celebrate unity in diversity at Walnut Hill Community Church. The church enjoyed diversity in race, ethnicity, age and ability but had no plan to embrace and celebrate the diversity present within the congregation. The purpose of this project was to present recommendations to the leadership of Walnut Hill that would guide the church into a new season of unity in diversity, attract more diversity into the church and more effectively impact an increasingly divided world by uniquely living out the vision of Jesus Christ to …

Supporting Students With Disabilities In Catholic Elementary And Secondary Schools: A Catholic Higher Education Perspective, Michael Boyle

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Support Experiences Of Church-Going Christian Foster And Adoptive Families Of Children With Special Needs, Taylor Weaver

Senior Honors Theses

Much research is done on the populations of families of children with special needs, church-going Christian families, and foster and adoptive families, but little exists on the families who fall into all three categories. This thesis seeks to help remedy this problem by studying the support experiences of these families. Existing research on foster and adoptive families, families with special needs, and disability in the church is reviewed. A phenomenological study of five parents’ lived experiences was completed through interviews, where three main themes emerged: the importance of informal support, the need for formal support, and the integral role of …

Ilhan & Family, Ilhan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ilhan, his wife Nura, and their children resided near Kabul, in a region where both the Taliban and ISIS were active. As Shias, Ilhan’s family faced numerous menaces, including threatsfrom ISIS that they would be beheaded if they did not display ISIS flags. Ilhan’s sister Radwa, who is deaf and mute, was forced to marry a regional leader. In addition to being threatened on religious grounds, Ilhan’s family was also threatened by anelder of their town. Out of desperation, Ilhan’s family sold their house appliances, escaped Afghanistan, and arrived at the Oinofyta refugee campin Greece. Ilhan’s family fled with Radwa, …

Unconfessing Transgender: Dysphoric Youths And The Medicalization Of Madness In John Gower’S “Tale Of Iphis And Ianthe”, M W. Bychowski

Accessus

On the brink of the twenty-first century, Judith Butler argues in “Undiagnosing Gender” that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) defines the psychiatric condition of “Gender Identity Disorder” (or “Gender Dysphoria”) in ways that control biological diversity and construct “transgender” as a marginalized identity. By turning the study of gender away from vulnerable individuals and towards the broader systems of power, Butler works to liberate bodies from the medical mechanisms managing difference and precluding potentially disruptive innovations in forms of life and embodiment by creating categories of gender and disability.

Turning to the brink of the 15 …

Ilhan, Nura, Radwa, Ziagull And Children, Ilhan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ilhan, his wife Nura, and their children resided near Kabul, in a region where both the Taliban and ISIS were active. As Shias, Ilhan’s family faced numerous menaces, including threats from ISIS that they would be beheaded if they did not display ISIS flags. Ilhan’s sister Radwa, who is deaf and mute, was forced to marry a regional leader. In addition to being threatened on religious grounds, Ilhan’s family was also threatened by an elder of their town. Out of desperation, Ilhan’s family sold their house appliances, escaped Afghanistan, and arrived at the …

Rising Above A Crippling Hermeneutic, Luke Steven, Carlos, Armando Thompson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sacred texts authored in antiquity present a challenge for contemporary religious practitioners because there is always a question regarding how to interpret and apply the message today. Prominent Pentecostal theologian and disability theorist Amos Yong faces this challenge concerning the Bible as it relates to disabilities and those who have them. As I argue in this thesis, Yong succeeds in challenging the Pentecostal perceptions of disability without compromising on the over-all Pentecostal view of scripture.

The Hebrew Bible, which, according to Yong, "...serves as the foundation of the Christian scriptures," contains multiple passages that portray disability in a negative light. …

Serving God In The Midst Of Multiple Sclerosis: A Holistic And Spiritual Model For Physical Sustainment, Timothy Harville

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Multiple Sclerosis is a devastating disease that affects not only the one who suffers with MS, but also their family and relationships leaving the patient feeling depressed and without hope. If the disease is disclosed, many churches and the International Mission Board will reject the person's application because of the potential cost and medical care needed. This author was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis in 2008. This writer has experienced the obstacles described above. This model will serve as a motivational tool to help all of us who suffer with MS to use the disability for …

Where I Am, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Where I Am (2013) directed by Pamela Drynan.

When I Walk, Jeanette Reedy Solano

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of When I Walk (2013) directed by Jason DaSilva.

Behinderung Und Veränderungen In Der Ethik-Theorie Und -Praxis, Hille Haker

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Theology And Down Syndrome: Reimagining Disability In Late Modernity, Amos Yong, Rosalynde F. Welch

BYU Studies Quarterly

Amos Yong's Theology and Down Syndrome represents an ambitious attempt by an Evangelical theologian to come to grips with the conditions and conundrums of disability in a contemporary Christian context. The book's nine chapters and formidable bibliography inquire into cognitive disability of all kinds, not, despite its title, narrowly into Down syndrome alone. Yong writes in the dense idiom of critical academic theology and disability studies that may put off some readers, but the text is leavened with epigraphs, personal asides, and case studies that will appeal to most readers.

Yong sets himself three aims in this volume: to edify …

Ministry Among Those Who Live With Disabilities: Disability As An Issue Of Faith And Hope, Joan Cornelison

Symposium on Worship Archive

An estimated 80% of families affected by disability do not attend church even though many wish they could. 8.1% of persons with disabilities seek pastoral care compared to only 4.0% of those without disabilities. 8 out of 10 people with and without disabilities consider their faith to be important to them; with approximately 65% saying their religious faith is very important. Churches have the unique opportunity to make a difference.