Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Deploying Secular Historian's Rules As An Apologetic Method To Persuade Secular Naturalists/Humanists That Demons Exist, Mark P. Ragsdale

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Secular Humanists/Naturalists presuppose a priori that the existence and activity of non-material, incorporeal, spirit beings are not possible. Like a First Order Skeptic argues that one cannot be sure of anything beyond perception, the Secularist accepts existence of all that is material while rejecting any spiritual realm. The dissertation qualitatively ties together themes arguing that the same standards secularists apply to vetting any commonly accepted historical event whatever also inductively supports the existence and activity of demons.

What Shapes Visitor Experience At Religious Destinations? Deploying A Systematic Review To Identify Visitor Experience Constructs, Priyanka Singh, Amit Kumar Singh, Anil Kumar Singh, Irfan Ahmed Ansari

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

While religious sites are identified as unique experience spaces, offering diverse experiences, discourse on what constitutes a visitor’s experience still seems unsettled, primarily due to the fragmented approach owing to the classic binary of pilgrim-tourist. However, post-modern theories emphasise de-differentiation and blurring of boundaries between pilgrim-tourist and stress the need to add a new perspective to enhance the understanding of visitor experience at religious sites to manage tourism at such destinations efficiently. Therefore, the present study is undertaken to respond to this call and aims to identify constructs that shape visitors’ experience at religious sites. Building upon the synthesis of …

Writing For The Fantasy Genre Through The Christian Worldview, Angelina Rose Butters

Masters Theses

My thesis proffers the prevalence of Christian worldview elements in fantasy fiction. The research findings presented expand on the different Christian elements within fantasy literature by interpreting the writing and influence of Christian authors, such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and secular authors, such as Jennifer A. Neilson and J.K. Rowling. I argue that within fantasy there are Christian elements that are either overtly or covertly incorporated. I present my findings based on these readings in different sections: fantasy’s purpose to provide entertainment, the inclusion of God to dictate the destiny and laws of the fantasy worldview, the inclusion …

Blurring The Lines Between "Good" And "Bad" Religion: John Modern's Neuromatic, Jessica A. Johnson

Philosophy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Is Faith The Ultimate Divider?: The Intersections Between Religion And Political Behavior In The United States, Ryan Supple

Honors Projects

This thesis examines the complex relationship between religiosity and voting behavior in the United States. In a country where religion has diminished in importance over time, it seems rather fascinating that it still plays such a large role in the inner-workings of American politics. Chapter One analyzes the varying ways in which scholars have approached emergent political trends between religious groups, particularly with regards to political parties, voting behavior, and government representation. Chapter Two extends this analysis to the American National Election Studies (ANES), a national survey distributed to random samples of Americans during election seasons. The information from the …

Hawthorne’S Human Nature And Sin: Criticisms Of Puritanism And Progressivism, Oscar Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

One of America’s greatest authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne lived in a time of rapid scientific, material, and intellectual advancement. However, unlike many of his peers who went all-in on utopian reform movements, Hawthorne took a cautious and reserved approach to progress even though he supported the idea abstractly. Using six tales written acrossHawthorne’s career, this work will examine what each has to say about Hawthorne’s belief in human nature and why he takes such a skeptical position against movements aiming to fundamentally reshape people and society. The tales from the 1830s, “The Gentle Boy,” “Young Goodman Brown,” and “The Minister’s Black …

"Theology" In The Public University, Sarah T. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies have suggested the transformative potential of “theological” inquiry anddiscourse in religious studies, particularly, in furthering religious literacy and peace building initiatives through greater understanding of “other”. Yet, “theology” is a relatively new academic approach to peace building and conflict studies and is still marginalized to a large degree in secular universities. Vigorous inquiry into the intrinsic value and potential role of “theological” inquiry and discourse in secular academics, as well as possible pedagogical strategies, are worthwhile and necessary towards achieving the wider aims of the secular university. To those ends, this paper presents a broad survey of the …

“Beer & Hymns” And Community: Religious Identity And Participatory Sing-Alongs, Andrew Mall

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

As a series of loosely-organized events, “Beer & Hymns” started at the Greenbelt Festival in England in 2006 and migrated to the Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina in 2012. Local Beer & Hymns gatherings meet at bars, breweries, clubs, and pubs across the U.K., the U.S., and around the world. Most are not affiliated with a church or Christian denomination, instead relying on the energy of independent local organizers. Some attendees are regular churchgoers, other are not, but all find community in these sing-alongs—congregational singing, that is, outside of traditional congregational contexts. Beer & Hymns is exactly what it …

A Comparative Study On Church Health Between Churches Led By Bi-Vocational Pastors And Those Led By Full-Time Pastors In Faith Ministries Church In Zimbabwe, Christopher Chisale

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Religious Non-Affiliation: Expelled By The Right, William Vance Trollinger

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

For the past century, the bulk of white evangelicalism has been tightly linked to very conservative politics. But in response to social and cultural changes in the 1960s and 1970s, conservative white evangelicalism organized itself into the Christian Right, in the process attaching itself to and making itself indispensable to the Republican Party. While the Christian Right has enjoyed significant political success, its fusion of evangelicalism/Christianity with right-wing politics—which includes white nationalism, hostility to immigrants, unfettered capitalism, and intense homophobia—has driven many Americans (particularly, young Americans) to disaffiliate from religion altogether. In fact, the quantitative and qualitative evidence make it …

Is This A Christian Nation?: Virtual Symposium September 25, 2020, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Pulpits And Pews—Professors And Pagans: A Grounded Theory On Worldview Development And Integration Within Christian And Secular Culture, Luke Charles Moen

Masters Theses

The fragility characterizing the faith of young believers is nothing new to Christianity. Doubts as to whether or not Christianity is actually true continue to pose challenges to Christian youth as they grow into adulthood in an increasingly secularized culture. This study explores the concept of worldview development and integration within Christian youth, and addresses the growing problem of youth apostasy. Utilizing a methodology based on constructivist grounded theory, this study explores the relevant research on worldview integration and development through six worldview elements (Origin, Purpose, Value, Morality, Nature, Destination) to catalog the available data. The analysis of the research …

Aulos And Crotals In Graeco-Roman Egypt, Marwa El-Kady

Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists

(En) Aulos and crotals are two totally different musical instruments. Aulos is a wind instrument, while the crotals are of percussion type. They were preferably played in Egypt during the Graeco-roman period.

Aulos αὐλός was widely used in Graeco-roman Egypt and connected with cults of Egyptian deities like Bes, Hathor, Bastet and Harpocates; and Greek and Roman divinities like Dionysus (Bacchus), Athena (Minerva), and Apollo. This can be attested by historians, scenes, terra-cotta figurines and daily writings. However, the oboe (the double pipe musical instrument) had already been known in Pharonic Egypt and represented in many musical scenes in the …

More Than A Means To An End : The Practice Of Bi-Vocational Ministry Among Missionaries In Northern Nigeria, Oludamilohun Adeliyi

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

From Political Hebraism And Jewish Law To The Comparative Paradigm, Amos Israel-Vleeschhouwer

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The “Step-Child Of Scholarly Investigation”: Preliminary Observations About The Origins Of Academic Jewish Law Scholarship, David Hollander

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: Jewish And American Law: A Comparative Study. (Vols. 1 And 2) By Samuel J. Levine, Marie A. Failinger

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Denis Diderot: A Secular Hero, Ben Scott-Brandt

Honors Projects

My Honors Senior Project is a biography of Denis Diderot in the form of a children's song. MY understanding of Diderot's life is based on Andrew Curran's book, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely.

Songs help us memorize and retain information about the world, and singing songs together strengthens cultural and religious connections. Secular (nonreligious) people need songs, too. Diderot was a philosopher who didn't believe in God. He was an editor of L'Encyclopédie, one of the first encyclopedias, and he snuck in articles that challenged how people think. This was an important moment -- knowledge about the world …

Witnessing At Work When It's Taboo To Talk About Religion, Michael E. Cafferky

Faculty Works

This article explores an alternative to traditional approaches to evangelism in the workplace. it presents an approach based on using the language of business alone in conversations with coworkers, suppliers and customers. While it is often taboo to talk about religion in secular organizations, opportunities exist for believers to be not just silent witnesses but rather explicit verbal witnesses to Jesus Christ. Business conversations naturally present opportunities to champion the theological identity and character traits of Jesus Christ without mentioning his name.

Music And Jewish Practice In Contemporary Istanbul: Preserving Heritage, Bending Tradition, Joseph M. Alpar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a study of ongoing transformations in the sacred musical repertoires practiced by ḥazzanim (synagogue cantors) and their synagogue congregations in Istanbul’s contemporary Jewish community. I argue that clergy and laypeople alike negotiate their religious identities as Turkish Jews in the musical choices they make. While many try to maintain the community’s local music tradition, rooted in makam—the Ottoman Turkish melodic system—others attempt to broaden their repertoire with musics from Israel, the United States, and Ḥabad Hasidic Judaism. I examine adjustments made to the musical components of ritual as responses to decades of Jewish religious life as …

Q & A: Two Decades Of Experience In Secular And Christian Higher Education: An Interview, Linda Gray

Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education

The Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education (Th e Journal) seeks to support Christian educators by providing a forum for an exchange of research, educational resources, and ideas in order to encourage excellent teaching for the benefi t of the students. Th e Journal’s mission for Christian educators is—in part—the following statement:

Called by God, Christian educators allow their faith to infl uence (either directly or indirectly) all that they do in and out of the classroom. Th ey transform their students by inspiring love for God and others and by stimulating intellectual …

Toward Engaging The Secular: Charles Taylor's Modern Social Imaginaries, Human Flourishing, And Theological Method, Jenifer A. Daley

Dissertations

Increasing secularization seems to fly in the face of Christian proposals for a Scripture-only principle for theology. The question that this dissertation explores is "How will Christian theology tackle the resulting church-society impasse in a way that is both faithful to Scripture and intelligible contemporaneously without appearing to privilege one aspect over the other?" That is, "What form should theological method take to efficaciously engage the secular?" This study suggests that the answer might lie in an innovative fusion of Scripture with borrowed concepts from secular culture. Thus, this dissertation responds to the problem of the need for robust, multidimensional …

Millennials Leaving Religion: A Transcendental Phenomenological Research Study On Religious Disaffiliation, Elizabeth Ann Rainwater

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Religious disaffiliation among Millennials has increased significantly in the past decade alongside rapidly changing social relationships amplified by social media applications. In the United States, many Millennials claim no religious identity with many leaving their religion for a variety of reasons. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of religiously disaffiliated Millennials regarding their psychological health and well-being. Self-determination theory fulfilled the theoretical framework for examining the lived experiences of young adults regarding their well-being after religious disaffiliation. A purposive sample of 12 male and female religiously disaffiliated Millennials was recruited for semistructured interviews. …

From Wanderer To Warrior: Martin's Journey To Sainthood In Brian Jacques's Redwall Series, Marie A. Bliemeister

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children’s fantasy series have been set in the Medieval Era, a way to explore contemporary themes. This use of the Medieval Era is known as medievalism, where authors can explore contemporary issues by comparing them to the past (Bradford 3). Brian Jacques, the author of the popular children’s series Redwall, uses many aspects of the Medieval Era such as prophecies, glory, and battle, and visions or dreams to effectively spin a good yarn while commenting on the religious development of England in the late twentieth century. English moral was down due to the devastation of World War Two and …

Rethinking The Secular: Religion, Ethics And Science In Food Regulation, Richard Mohr

Richard Mohr

This paper explores some issues at the intersection of regulation and religion, as they apply to food. It reports on a work in progress examining the regulations and values that affect choices at food and drink outlets in an inner suburban street in Sydney.

It is part of a larger projected study of food as a central social, material and religious concern. In it we are exploring questions around community relations in a culturally and religiously diverse society. Here I focus on the ways religious, ethical and scientific considerations interact with regulatory regimes, whether those of government, industry, or religious …

Miter And Sword: Fighting Norman Bishops And Clergy, Timothy Robert Martin

Culminating Projects in History

This thesis examines Norman bishops and abbots, and their involvement in warfare, either as armed combatants, or commanders of military forces in Normandy, and later in England after William the Conquerors invasion in 1066. While it focuses primarily on the roles of the secular bishops, other relevant accounts of martial feats by other Norman militant clergy are also introduced where appropriate.

The foundation for the use of justified force and later the sanctioned use of violence by these militant secular clergy is explored to better understand the rational perceived by the clergy when acting as ‘soldiers of God.’ The use …

An Annunciation For A Secular Age: The Struggle For Faith In Mary Szybist's Incarnadine, Devin Morgan Theurer

Theses and Dissertations

Mary Szybist's 2013 collection, Incarnadine, uses the Annunciation as a foundational narrative through which to examine the implications of faith and having a relationship with God. Transforming this pivotal Biblical event through metaphor, intertextuality, and different points of view, Szybist showcases what Charles Taylor terms "fragilization" of faith, or the contestable and dubious position of believing among plurality of belief and nonbelief. By repeatedly shifting the framing of the Annunciation, Szybist creates several different visions of who God is. Rather than reinterpreting the Annunciation with a new dictum on exactly who God is and what it means to believe …

Cross-National Variation In The Social Origins And Religious Consequences Of Religious Non-Affiliation, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

I argue that the social implications of religious non-affiliation vary across cultural contexts, leading to differences across nations in both who is likely to be unaffiliated and the religious consequences of such non-affiliation. I test these propositions by examining cross-national variation in associations with non-affiliation using multilevel models and cross-sectional survey data from almost 70,000 respondents in 52 nations. The results indicate that: 1) both individual characteristics (gender, age, and marital status) and nation-level attributes (GDP, communism, and regulation of religion) strongly predict religious non-affiliation; 2) differences in non-affiliation by individual-level attributes—women vs. men, old vs. young, and married vs. …

Perspectives Of Secular Counselors Regarding Christian Counseling Forgiveness Therapy, Tezonia Rushan Morgan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Forgiveness is a concept that is strongly rooted in Christianity. Forgiveness therapy was developed with Christian principles and has proven to be successful for Christian counselors. However, forgiveness has not been explored from the perceptions of secular counselors. Specifically, it is not known if secular counselors are using concepts that are similar to Christian forgiveness therapy. Using forgiveness therapy, this qualitative grounded theory study described the experiences, thoughts, and understanding of forgiveness from the views of secular counselors. Research questions addressed if secular mental counselors have a concept similar to forgiveness therapy as defined in the Christian counseling literature. Individual …

Finding Christ In Cinema: Examining Secular Film Theologically, Evan Wheatley

Honors Theses

For me as a teenager, secular films were merely a form of entertainment. A trip to the movies meant the chance to escape to a “galaxy far, far away,” to stand alongside Harry Potter in his latest confrontation with Lord Voldemort. I did not realize at the time the parallels between the Force in Star Wars, and the Christian God, or how Harry and Voldemort’s cinematic struggle can be seen as an allegory for the fight between good and evil.

At the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, I was introduced to how God can use secular film to challenge our …