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Articles 1 - 30 of 31
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Sacrilege In The Sanctuary: Thucydidean Perspectives On The Violation Of Sacred Space During The Peloponnesian War, Suzanne Y. Tryon
Sacrilege In The Sanctuary: Thucydidean Perspectives On The Violation Of Sacred Space During The Peloponnesian War, Suzanne Y. Tryon
Religious Studies Theses
Few have paid attention to the role that pan-Hellenic religious norms play in Thucy-dides‟s The Peloponnesian War. This thesis investigates the trope of religious sacrilege in the form of violated sacred space. By examining how this trope functions within his chosen rhetori-cal presentation, I will argue that a secular interpretation of Thucydides does not accord with what he tries to accomplish within his narrative, and that scenes describing such sacrilege actual-ly function in crucial ways to support a major premise of his work. Two specific instances of sacrilege will be examined: the civil war on Corcyra in 427 BCE; and …
Hagiography, Teratology, And The "History" Of Michael Jackson, Kelly M. O'Riley
Hagiography, Teratology, And The "History" Of Michael Jackson, Kelly M. O'Riley
Religious Studies Theses
Before his death, Michael Jackson arguably was one of the most famous living celebrities to walk the planet. Onstage, on air, and onscreen, he captivated the attention of millions of people around the world, whether because they loved him or loved to hate him. In an attempt to explain his popularity and cultural influence, I analyze certain theoretical and methodological approaches found in recent scholarship on western hagiographic and teratological texts, and apply these theories and methods to selected biographies written on Michael Jackson. By interpreting the biographies in this way, I suggest why saints, monsters, and celebrities have received …
Raising The Voice For Communion And Conquest: Hymn Singing In Contact Among The Brainerd Missionaries And The Cherokees, 1817-1838, Gavin M. Cooper
Raising The Voice For Communion And Conquest: Hymn Singing In Contact Among The Brainerd Missionaries And The Cherokees, 1817-1838, Gavin M. Cooper
Religious Studies Theses
Many scholars have recognized the communicative and emotive power of singing as a ritual performance, and some have argued that hymn singing has played a significant role as a medium of cultural and religious communication and exchange. To better understand how and why singing might facilitate such exchange, this essay explores as a case study, the role of hymn singing in the cultural contact between the Cherokees and the missionaries at Brainerd, near Chattanooga, TN. By examining accounts of ritual singing recorded by both missionaries and Cherokees, the project illuminates how these communities, respectively, may have understood the role of …
Redescribing Agency Through Sport And Ritual: Considering An Alternative Approach, Bethanie Harsh
Redescribing Agency Through Sport And Ritual: Considering An Alternative Approach, Bethanie Harsh
Religious Studies Theses
This project exposes the problems with the dominant conception of agency in secular liberal discourse. The main critique is that the dominant conception of agency tends to attribute value to certain aspects of action that are not necessarily the most telling or valuable in terms of what constitutes agency. I use Saba Mahmood’s Politics of Piety to aid in this critique. Her project uses the Muslim rituals performed by women of the mosque movement in Egypt to demonstrate the need for a more nuanced conception of agency in academics. I use CLR James’ Beyond a Boundary to support the approach …
A Hermeneutical Examination Of Creation In Islam At Georgia State University, Ndola M'Balia Owuo-Hagood
A Hermeneutical Examination Of Creation In Islam At Georgia State University, Ndola M'Balia Owuo-Hagood
Religious Studies Theses
In traditional Islam, Adam is the first human created. Eve, or Hawa, was created to be his mate and she was made from Adam’s uppermost left rib. There has been a move to argue that Eve and Adam were created simultaneously. I will argue that, because of the negative patriarchal and misogynistic imagery that has been attached to Islam, some feminist Muslim thinkers are attempting to move Islam into a realm where they believe is revolutionary enough to make a new statement in the modern world. These feminist Muslims are making strides to make the Qur'an the sole authority in …
The Audacity Of Faith: A Study Of Barack Obama's Religious Views And How They Could Shape His United States Presidency, Zachary Ross
The Audacity Of Faith: A Study Of Barack Obama's Religious Views And How They Could Shape His United States Presidency, Zachary Ross
Religious Studies Theses
During the 2008 Presidential election, questions concerning Barack Obama’s religious views arose. Specifically, the controversy surrounding Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, caused some people to wonder how Wright’s theology may have influenced Obama. This project investigates Obama’s religious views and examines several forces, including Wright, which influenced his theological perspective. Wright bases his theological perspective on the works of James Cone, a significant figure in Black Liberation Theology and a mentor to Wright. This thesis compares and contrasts Obama’s religious perspective with that of James Cone.
Can We Be Forgiven?: On "Impossible" And "Communal" Forgiveness In Contemporary Philosophy And Theology, Joshua Scott Lupo
Can We Be Forgiven?: On "Impossible" And "Communal" Forgiveness In Contemporary Philosophy And Theology, Joshua Scott Lupo
Religious Studies Theses
This essay traces two trends in current philosophical and theological debates concerning forgiveness. One, advocated by Vladimir Jankélévitch and Jacques Derrida, I label “impossible” forgiveness. The second, advanced by John Milbank and L. Gregory Jones, I label “communal” forgiveness. I explore and critically examine each of these positions in the first two sections of the thesis. In the last section of the thesis I examine a recent conversation amongst religious ethicists against the background of the theoretical conversations described in the first half of the essay. Bringing the theoretical conversation together with the religious ethicists’ conversation, I argue that whether …
Bhaktivedanta Swami's American Scripture, Christa Marie Lasher
Bhaktivedanta Swami's American Scripture, Christa Marie Lasher
Religious Studies Theses
This essay explores ISKCON’s religious text A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, as an American scripture. This commentary expressed a philosophy which attracted ISKCON’s American converts and gave voice to the protest they had against the larger American culture. Using Thomas Tweed’s theory of dissent, I show how the Bhagavad Gita As It Is gave the American converts of the 1960s and 1970s a language of dissent in the larger American conversation and allowed them to create an alternative American identity. In this way, the Bhagavad Gita is an American text.
The Brain On Ritual: How Tantric Puja Shapes The Mind, Sherry Lynn Morton
The Brain On Ritual: How Tantric Puja Shapes The Mind, Sherry Lynn Morton
Religious Studies Theses
Traditional ritual studies approaches to the body are effective for illuminating how the body functions as an entity that absorbs and expresses a variety of social, and political dynamics; however, they are less productive for understanding the body as a physical organism. This interdisciplinary thesis applies theoretical models from cognitive science, social psychology and ritual studies to the Śrī Cakra Pūjā in order to develop a more complete understanding of the ritual body as a physical body. Using Lawrence Barsalou’s theory of embodied cognition, which focuses on the impact of human experiences on the creation and integration of neural pathways, …
The Red Tent A Case Study For Feminist Midrash, Karen Flagg
The Red Tent A Case Study For Feminist Midrash, Karen Flagg
Religious Studies Theses
This thesis puts forth the argument that two contrasting models of modern feminist midrash evolved in the late nineteenth century. Both models successfully bridge Jewish tradition and modern experience. The Red Tent serves as a primary text and a case study in this discussion of modern feminist midrash.
Changing Narratives, Changing Destiny: Myth, Ritual And Afrocentric Identity Construction At The National Rites Of Passage Institute, Michael Karlin
Changing Narratives, Changing Destiny: Myth, Ritual And Afrocentric Identity Construction At The National Rites Of Passage Institute, Michael Karlin
Religious Studies Theses
According to the National Rites of Passage Institute (NROPI), African Americans have lost their authentic identity, which has led to inauthentic, broken individuals and communities. In order to reverse these trends, according to NROPI, African Americans must rediscover their authentic identity through a rites of passage program that plucks them from a Eurocentric narrative and places them into an Afrocentric one. This thesis explores how NROPI is a religious response to adversity that takes on a decidedly American form of contemporary religiosity. I argue that by analyzing NROPI and other contemporary rites of passage programs through the lens of religious …
To Cover Our Daughters: A Modern Chastity Ritual In Evangelical America, Holly Adams Phillips
To Cover Our Daughters: A Modern Chastity Ritual In Evangelical America, Holly Adams Phillips
Religious Studies Theses
Over the last ten years, a newly created ritual called a Purity Ball has become increasingly popular in American evangelical communities. In much of the present literature, Purity Balls are assumed solely to address a daughter’s emerging sexuality in a ritual designed to counteract evolving American norms on sexuality; however, the ritual may carry additional latent sociological functions. While experienced explicitly by the individual participants as a celebration of father/daughter relationships and a means to address evolutionary sexual mating strategies, Purity Balls may implicitly regenerate existing social hierarchy. This ritual facilitates a sociological purpose by means of re-establishing the role …
The Shrine Of Our Lady Of Ephesus: A Study Of The Personas Of Mary As Lived Religion, Heather Abraham
The Shrine Of Our Lady Of Ephesus: A Study Of The Personas Of Mary As Lived Religion, Heather Abraham
Religious Studies Theses
In Pure Lust, Mary Daly claims that the Virgin Mary is an “image of total subservience, the dethroned and sapped Goddess who was converted into a vessel.” Daly perceives Mary primarily through Christian scripture and other orthodox texts, ignoring her role as part of a religion lived and experienced outside of Church doctrine and dogma. This thesis explores how Mary is perceived and utilized by the laity, as opposed to the theological Mary, by specifically looking at how the Virgin Mary is imagined and experienced at the Our Lady of Ephesus Shrine in Western Turkey. Utilizing Robert Orsi’s lived religion …
The Significance Of Jesus' Healing Miracles: A Study Of Their Role In The Synoptic Gospels And Their Importance To Early Christianity, John Morgan Cadenhead
The Significance Of Jesus' Healing Miracles: A Study Of Their Role In The Synoptic Gospels And Their Importance To Early Christianity, John Morgan Cadenhead
Religious Studies Theses
This essay examines the healing miracles of Jesus as described by the Synoptic Gospels and posits that the appeal of the Synoptics over non-canonical texts can partially be found in the former’s focus on these physical healing miracles. The essay argues that the idea that one can be healed of physical pain through faith is a varied theme in the Synoptics and a strong motivator to bring an interest in early Christianity, especially during a time of persecution. Further, this essay considers Gnostic Gospels and their relative lack of healing miracles to expand upon a theory put forth by Elaine …
Wiccan Marriage And American Marriage Law: Interactions, Jeanelle Marie Carda
Wiccan Marriage And American Marriage Law: Interactions, Jeanelle Marie Carda
Religious Studies Theses
This project considers the ways in which Wiccan marriage and American marriage law interact with each other. The thesis examines certain aspects of the history of 20th-century American marriage law, the concurrent development of contemporary marriage ritual in Wicca, developing problems in this area, and possible solutions. In particular, the project focuses on the recognition of religious groups and their officials as they are authorized by state and federal law to perform marriages and how this process has affected Wiccan ritual.
The Making Of An Image: The Narrative Form Of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, Katherine Amanda Milby
The Making Of An Image: The Narrative Form Of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, Katherine Amanda Milby
Religious Studies Theses
This thesis explores the meaning and significance of the form of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah. It asks the questions: What are the possible reasons for Ibn Ishaq choosing a narrative form for this biography of Muhammad? What does a narrative format grant the text? Are there historical factors which could have influenced the decision? What other influences affected the text? Finally, what are the implications of Ibn Ishaq’s decision to use a narrative form? Taking into consideration narrative theory, the historical setting, and textual evidence, the thesis argues that Ibn Ishaq chose the format most likely to control the …
The Value Of Buddhist Responses To Issues Of Overpopulation, Overconsumption, And Environmental Degradation, James H. Hitchcock
The Value Of Buddhist Responses To Issues Of Overpopulation, Overconsumption, And Environmental Degradation, James H. Hitchcock
Religious Studies Theses
As the global population continues to increase at an alarming rate, the world, as a whole, now faces the issue of overpopulation. If the world’s natural resource consumption and environmental pollution/destruction continue at their current pace, then the earth will eventually no longer be able to sustain all of its inhabitants. Social change is the only way to prevent this. The world’s religious traditions possess particular motivational qualities with respect to people’s worldviews and behaviors. All of the world’s religious traditions are responding, in some way, to overpopulation. Traditions in isolation, however, do not address the complexities of the current …
Nietzsche As Interpreter: Against The Religious And Secular Appropriations, John D. Rivenbark
Nietzsche As Interpreter: Against The Religious And Secular Appropriations, John D. Rivenbark
Religious Studies Theses
Best known if not equally understood for having a madman proclaim the demise of God, Friedrich Nietzsche’s thought has served as a fecund resource for disparate groups advancing diverse agendas. This paper critically examines the phenomenon of invoking Nietzsche as the final word. This paper argues that, far from being a conversation-stopper, Nietzsche can be understood as enhancing dialogue, across disciplines and between groups such as philosophers and theologians more prone to militant rhetoric than fruitful dialogue. In order to validate this claim it will be necessary to examine in detail the two aspects of Nietzsche’s thought most often invoked …
A Euro-American 'Ulama? Mu'tazilism, (Post)Modernity, And Minority Islam, Anthony Robert Byrd
A Euro-American 'Ulama? Mu'tazilism, (Post)Modernity, And Minority Islam, Anthony Robert Byrd
Religious Studies Theses
Muslim heresiographers present the medieval rationalist school of theology known as the Mu‛tazila as heretics, while modern Western and modernist Muslim scholarship almost invariably present the Mu‛tazila as the original free-thinkers of Islam. The result is a polarized view of the Mu‛tazili tradition; Islamists view the Mu‛tazila as a heresy best forgotten while modernists, Muslim and Western, as historical proof of Islam’s essentially rational character. The present study is an attempt to problematize both perspectives by reexamining the concepts of reason (or rationalism) and tradition (or traditionalism) in light of Mu‛tazilite theology and ethics. This analysis shows that the modern …
Labors Of Authenticity: The Function Of Spirituality And The Construction Of Selfhood In The American Business, James Dennis Lorusso
Labors Of Authenticity: The Function Of Spirituality And The Construction Of Selfhood In The American Business, James Dennis Lorusso
Religious Studies Theses
In light of claims that liberalism has led to a breakdown in society, this paper refutes these claims by examining how workplace spirituality at Starbucks Coffee impacts the identities of several employees. While others have examined workplace spirituality as a management technique, this study illustrates how it could be understood as a distinctly modern way of being religious. By linking the ethnography to recent religious trends, this study illustrates how employees are cultivating a spirituality of an inner self. Specifically, these employees accomplish three things. First, they claim to discover their true authentic self. Also, despite the alienation of modern …
Death In Sacred Harp, Jessica Tilley
Death In Sacred Harp, Jessica Tilley
Religious Studies Theses
The extraordinary body of Sacred Harp music has been dubbed "the oldest continuously sung American music." Steven Marini, scholar of sacred arts, proposes that the Sacred Harp community welcomes anyone into their singings, regardless of their religious beliefs. His analysis does not take into account the emphasis placed on conversion to Christianity that is demonstrated by the lyrics and the rituals of the Sacred Harp community, however. Religion is not "a matter of personal faith" to Sacred Harp singers as Marini suggests, but a matter of a very specific set of faith commitments. The implications of these commitments for Sacred …
On The Viability Of A Pluralistic Bioethics, Christopher Durante
On The Viability Of A Pluralistic Bioethics, Christopher Durante
Religious Studies Theses
In an attempt to promote in-depth dialogue amongst bioethicists coming from distinct disciplinary and religious backgrounds this thesis offers an overview of the current state of bioethics and a critical analysis of a number of the leading methods of addressing pluralism in bioethics. Exploring the critiques and methodological proposals coming from the social sciences, the contract theorists, and the pragmatists, this study describes the problems which arise when confronting moral and religious diversity in a bioethical context and examines the ability of these various methodologies to adequately resolve these matters. Finally, after a discussion of the benefits and the potential …
The Spectacle Of The Sotah: A Rabbinic Perspective On Justice And Punishment, Andrew Durdin
The Spectacle Of The Sotah: A Rabbinic Perspective On Justice And Punishment, Andrew Durdin
Religious Studies Theses
The first chapter of Mishnah tractate Sotah (m. Sot) records rabbinic elaboration and interpretation on the sotah ritual contained in the Hebrew Bible, Numbers 5:11-31. Specifically, the nine mishnayoth that compose m. Sot 1 discuss the circumstances for invoking the trial of the “bitter waters” and the overall treatment of the suspected wife during the trial. This paper argues that, when read together, m. Sot 1 describes an entire economy of justice and punishment that must be imposed on a wife who is merely suspected of adultery, quite apart from whether she is—or is not—guilty of adultery. Through a close …
Liberation Gospel: A Study Of Contemporary Radical Liberal Theology And Practice In The Southern United States, Jeannie Malena Alexander
Liberation Gospel: A Study Of Contemporary Radical Liberal Theology And Practice In The Southern United States, Jeannie Malena Alexander
Religious Studies Theses
This thesis examines current radical liberal Christian activism in the Southern United States through focusing upon a particular intentional community located in Atlanta, Georgia, The Open Door Community. Through praxis and reflection, this community has developed its own unique practice and theology that I have termed “Liberation Gospel.” This thesis analyzes and describes a unique community in order to understand where the community succeeds, and where it does not, in putting its theological beliefs into practice. This very liberal community does not distinguish between their politics and their theology.
Mary Of Magdala: The Evolution Of An Image, Rachel D. Owen
Mary Of Magdala: The Evolution Of An Image, Rachel D. Owen
Religious Studies Theses
Mary of Magdala: The Evolution of an Image by Rachel Owen Under the Direction of Louis A. Ruprecht, Jr. ABSTRACT In this study, Mary of Magdala will be presented as a cumulative character consisting of multiple layers rather than as a concrete historical figure, for this allows one to see the opaque connections between her divergent textual and traditional (medieval) images. The “historical” Mary does, however, find a place here--she is presented only as a persistent early Christian belief in the veracity of her figure, and as the foundation for both the textual and traditional Mary. In light of this, …
Loose Canon On Deck: How Contemporary Christians React To Media Portrayals Of Faith, Beliefs, And Rituals, Mitchell L. Leopard
Loose Canon On Deck: How Contemporary Christians React To Media Portrayals Of Faith, Beliefs, And Rituals, Mitchell L. Leopard
Religious Studies Theses
Throughout much of Christian history, the church had predominant control over religious ritual and belief. As early as the 1st Century, institutions representing "orthodoxy" were banning, forbidding or destroying the "heretical", separating it from what eventually would become canon and religious practice. The 21st Century provides new ways for spiritual knowledge to spread, bypassing traditional methods. Modern Martin Luthers can nail a manifesto to an internet door while the media's obsession with non-canonical texts provides no shortage of material for movies and television. A multi-media barrage challenges orthodox concepts and scriptural definition, often blurring the line between religion and entertainment. …
Distinction Without Separation: Challenging Contemporary Yoga-Christian Praxis Dialogue Through A Comparison Of Striving And Personal Transformation In The Yoga-S?Tra And The Life Of Moses, Scott William Hodgman
Distinction Without Separation: Challenging Contemporary Yoga-Christian Praxis Dialogue Through A Comparison Of Striving And Personal Transformation In The Yoga-S?Tra And The Life Of Moses, Scott William Hodgman
Religious Studies Theses
In contemporary society, distinct traditions are bleeding into one another, blurring traditional lines of inquiry and historically significant boundaries. This phenomenon frames this project and creates the context for the Yoga-Christian praxis dialogue this study constructively critiques. Unfortunately, this dialogue exhibits an Eliadean concern for essentialism and universality. I challenge this trend by juxtaposing two distinct texts, Patañjali‘s Yoga-Sūtra and Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Moses. These texts point to the similar idea that without striving and personal transformation neither the yogic practitioner nor practicing Christian logically subsists. More importantly, however, from this point of correspondence I constructively critique the …
Shankara: A Hindu Revivalist Or A Crypto-Buddhist?, Kencho Tenzin
Shankara: A Hindu Revivalist Or A Crypto-Buddhist?, Kencho Tenzin
Religious Studies Theses
Shankara, the great Indian thinker, was known as the accurate expounder of the Upanishads. He is seen as a towering figure in the history of Indian philosophy and is credited with restoring the teachings of the Vedas to their pristine form. However, there are others who do not see such contributions from Shankara. They criticize his philosophy by calling it “crypto-Buddhism.” It is his unique philosophy of Advaita Vedanta that puts him at odds with other Hindu orthodox schools. Ironically, he is also criticized by Buddhists as a “born enemy of Buddhism” due to his relentless attacks on their tradition. …
Fundamentalism And Modernity: A Critique Of The "Anti-Modern" Conception Of Fundamentalism, Andrew Charles Hoffmeister
Fundamentalism And Modernity: A Critique Of The "Anti-Modern" Conception Of Fundamentalism, Andrew Charles Hoffmeister
Religious Studies Theses
This paper addresses the conception that fundamentalisms are “anti-modern.” I propose that this view is a mischaracterization of fundamentalisms. I argue that an understanding of fundamentalisms would be better served by forgoing this “anti-modern” characterization and instead approaching fundamentalisms from the perspective that they are wholly modern phenomenon. In my analysis I use the writings and speeches of Pat Robertson as examples of the modern nature of America Fundamentalism in four areas. The first area examines how the Enlightenment influenced Fundamentalism’s development of inerrantism. The second area examines Fundamentalism’s prophetic interpretation. The third area examines the political nature of Fundamentalism. …
Can Religion Help? Using John Howard Yoder And Mohandas Gandhi To Conceptualize New Approaches To Intractable Social And Political Problems Such As Violence And War, Gregory T. Keeter
Can Religion Help? Using John Howard Yoder And Mohandas Gandhi To Conceptualize New Approaches To Intractable Social And Political Problems Such As Violence And War, Gregory T. Keeter
Religious Studies Theses
Religious Studies is making possible a scholarly study of many aspects of human religious traditions and practices, but the field has yet to articulate fully the ability of such study to affect the creation of new approaches to intractable social and political problems. Many of these problems have as their basis religious justifications, yet the rigor of academic thought has only barely begun to clarify the underlying religious reasoning. Through this essay I intend to provide clarity to some of the underlying religious justifications for war and violence by examining the religious writings of two widely recognized theologians that firmly …