Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Italy’S Jews From Emancipation To Fascism, Shira Klein

History Faculty Books and Book Chapters

How did Italy treat Jews during World War II? Historians have shown beyond doubt that many Italians were complicit in the Holocaust, yet Italy is still known as the Axis state that helped Jews. Shira Klein uncovers how Italian Jews, though victims of Italian persecution, promoted the view that Fascist Italy was categorically good to them. She shows how the Jews' experience in the decades before World War II - during which they became fervent Italian patriots while maintaining their distinctive Jewish culture - led them later to bolster the myth of Italy's wartime innocence in the Fascist racial campaign. …

The Otaku Phenomenon : Pop Culture, Fandom, And Religiosity In Contemporary Japan., Kendra Nicole Sheehan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation centers on the otaku subculture and their subsequent incorporation of Japanese religious elements into their consumption of Japanese popular culture. This phenomenon highlights the intersections of popular culture and religion in Japan, which is emerging in religious sites. Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples are incorporating popular culture as a means to maintain relevancy, encourage growth of parishioners, and raising revenue by capitalizing on the popularity of manga and anime. The relevance of this research connects to the continued impact of Japanese popular culture through globalization. The first chapter provides a theoretical background examining this socio-religious …

Integrating Public, Private, And Homeschool Students Into A Cohesive Youth Ministry, Michael Cunningham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parents make agonizing educational decisions for their children, and there are more options than ever before. Some opt to teach their children in the home; others pay handsomely to put their children in the best private schools money can buy. The remaining groups of parents select public, charter, or magnet schools based on those schools’ particular merits or because those schools represent their primary educational option. These subtle lifestyle decisions are building blocks upon which students develop their personality, intellectual ambition, extracurricular interests, and social networks. Neighborhoods, schools, and community activities are often as influential in the formation of a …

Thailand Church Planting As A Mission Field Through The Korean Church With A Focus On The Church Of Thailand Sarang, Taewan Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research is a study on planting Thailand churches as mission fields, with a focus on the Church of Thailand Sarang (CTS). Christians in Thailand are estimated to be 0.5 % of the whole population. Bangkok is considered a gateway city for Buddhism in Southeast Asia; the city is strategically important for Christian mission. Thailand has had a Christian influence during the past 190 years, but the number, influence, and self-support of the churches are still weak. Therefore, the necessity for the cooperation between Korean churches in Thailand and Korean missionaries is present. The human, material, and spiritual resources may …

The Black Church And Community: A Model For Church Community Engagement And Development, Brye Mcmillon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This project examines the role of the Black Church in the development of the African American Community and seeks to encourage churches to embrace this role. Support for communities by churches in rural North Alabama is key to improving living conditions and achieving biblically based outreach. This project investigates the church’s theological duties for community outreach and provides a biblical mandate as a part of a larger community development model, while preparing ministry teams for outreach. This paper will consider the equipping methodology that leads to a trained ministry team able to reach, identify, and fulfill the needs of the …

A Study Of Fatherlessness In The African-American Community In Relationship To The Positive Role Of Christianity, Kevin Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The following study is a qualitative investigation into the issue of fatherlessness among African Americans and its relation to the positive role of Christianity. The primary objective of the study is to determine, understand, and describe the circumstances that brought about fatherlessness and what role Christians may play to help address the problem. Also, the study focuses on developing a deep understanding of the consequences of fatherlessness and what role Christians may play to help mitigate these consequences. The results of this research will reconnect, revitalize, recover trust, ease the pain, and implement healing for fathers, children, and all involved. …

Learning From The Unpleasant Truths Of Interfaith Conversation: William Stringfellow's Lessons For The Jewish Lawyer, Russell G. Pearce

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

The Fluid Gaze In Virtual Reality, Soudhamini

Film and Media Arts Faculty Articles and Research

"In 2006, in the course of an Artists Residency in Munich I made a video triptych titled Meditations on the Tiger, in which a story unfolds over three adjacent screens... The story is as linear as it can get, but working with three screens I found I could move laterally as well... There were multiple tracks of time running together on that train - the real time of action and event, the hurtling projected time of anticipation and expectation, and the deep, reflective time of memory, thought and speech. 3 video timelines synchronized so we begin to approach image, just …

Calundu's Winds Of Divination: Music And Black Religiosity In Eighteenth And Nineteenth-Century Minas Gerais, Brazil, Jonathon Grasse

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Calundu was an African-derived religious practice known in colonial Brazil, most widely recognized in Minas Gerais during and following that region’s early eighteenth-century gold rush. Drumming, chant, and dance channeled healing and divinational powers brought about primarily through trance possession. Severely disrupted by Church intervention, descriptions of calundu found in Portuguese Inquisition testimony join the published observations by European travelers as windows into the social history of Minas Gerais, an important yet often overlooked cultural territory of Brazil. This region of gold, diamonds, and coffee formed one of the most intense, highly populated slave operations known in the Western Hemisphere. …

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 …

Christ And The Cradle: The Explanatory Power Of Christian Theism For Basic Moral Sensibilities On The Ontology Of Children, Jeffrey Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

We have excellent reasons to take moral intuitions about the moral treatment of children seriously. In fact, this gives us excellent prima facie reason to believe in God as the best explanation of, say, the inherent dignity of people, including children. But when we look to the past, we see that often children have been horribly treated and not accorded worth. And today, still, there are lots of disturbing trends as to how they’re treated, which invariably reflect deficient worldviews. Ultimately, it’s not just theism we need, but something more, arguably Christian theology, which makes great sense of our best …

Five Steps For Developing Biblical Pastoral Leadership Teams Within South Korean Presbyterian Churches, Yeongkwang Yoon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to suggest five steps for developing biblical pastoral leadership teams within South Korean Presbyterian churches, which are presently stagnating and declining under their non-biblical leadership. Growth of a church is directly dependent upon a healthy body of leaders who reflect sound biblical leadership, and the senior pastors of South Korean Presbyterian churches must intentionally conform all non-biblical leadership styles within their churches to biblical pastoral leadership. This project will attempt to provide the pastors of South Korean Presbyterian churches five steps for developing a biblical pastoral leadership team by identifying the relationship between church …

The Relationship Between Religious Commitment And Bible Literacy In Suburban New York And New Jersey Christian High School Juniors And Seniors, Pradeep Emmanuel Stephen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This correlative study explored the relationship between the religious commitment of junior and senior Christian high school students and their level of Bible literacy as indicated by their respective scores on the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) and Assessment of Bible Knowledge Test (ABKT). Using a non-parametric Spearman’s rho statistic for a correlation test, the study fills a gap in the literature by analyzing the strength of the relationship between students’ levels of Bible literacy and outcomes on the specific religiosity subscales on the DUREL instrument, including Organizational Religious Activity (ORA), Non-Organizational Activity (NORA) and Intrinsic Religiosity (IR). A non-random …

Corporatization Of The Church Compromises Christian’S Priorities, Purpose, And Practices, Edwin Alston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In effort to mainstream its exposure, income, agenda, and influence among the people all over the world, some churches have embraced a corporate model in operating and ministering to the masses. Corporatization advocates business mindset, which leads to less sensitivity to building a relationship with God. This trend focuses on revenue and the bottom line. By seeking a self-gratifying importance in society, a growing number of churches are no longer the institution that houses individuals who serve as the salt of the earth and light of the world. This strategy minimizes spiritual formation and discipleship in order to promote a …

The Role Of Spirituality Among Schizophrenia Patients: An Integrated Literature Review, Sarah Bieber

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Abstract

Background: Over the past 30 years, the field of psychology has evolved to become more receptive towards spirituality as an influential concept in the recovery of many mental health illnesses. The role of spirituality as it relates to recovery for patients living with schizophrenia, however, has not been effectively explored. In order to induce a spiritual sense, one must have an ability to think and reflect abstractly; however, this requirement conflicts with the schizophrenic mind’s preference for concrete thinking. It is questionable whether patients with schizophrenia regard the role of spirituality as it relates to their recovery in the …

The Moderating Effects Of Positive Religious/Spiritual Coping On Teachers’ Pain And Stress, Dawn Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this internet-based survey was to investigate the effects of positive religious or spiritual coping strategies on teachers’ chronic pain reports. Teachers in the United States may represent a vulnerable group due to a high prevalence of risk factors for chronic pain conditions. Teachers have been identified to experience high stress (Johnson, et al., 2005; Kyriacou, 2001) and report poor job satisfaction (Wang, Hall, & Rahimi, 2015), which are associated with development of chronic pain conditions (Kopec & Sayre, 2004). Religious coping strategies have been associated with beneficial associations with stress and health (Reutter & Bigatti, 2014). The …

A Church Based Curriculum Providing Marriage And Family Education For Stepfamilies And Ministries, Richard Helein

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Within the American population, the Stepfamily now outnumbers that of the traditional nuclear family; a trend mirrored in the local church. Stepfamilies within the church culture struggle in navigating the relational complexities, emotional and spiritual strain, and biblical confusion inherent to the formation of a stepfamily, while church leaders lack both understanding and the training necessary to minister to this growing population. Often step-families choose anonymity or leave the local church for fear of being shunned. In synthesizing, existing research with data garnered from stepfamilies via their participation in an anonymous online survey and participatory learning activity (PLA), challenges unique …

A Case Study On The Quiet Time At Christian Schools With A Focus On Dongbang High School, Sung Yeo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research aims to study the examples of Quiet Time that have taken place in some mission schools for the development of the students' upright character, the recovery of Christian values, and the invigoration of campus missionaries. Recently, students' character has been adversely affected by corruption, the influence of post-modernism as well as a lack of morality; mission schools are no exception. Furthermore, education centered on entrance exams and a prohibition on religious discrimination make harsh circumstances for Christian education and ministry even in mission schools. As a school chaplain, the writer has become keenly aware of the necessity of …

Two Way Discipleship Curriculum: Correlation Of Discipleship With Pastoral Counseling For South Korean Churches, Yoonsu Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In South Korea, many churches create and run discipleship programs. The programs help many people to focus on Jesus, but the programs come with significant problem. . If a person is experiencing a mental problem like stress, depression, or addiction, that person has a much more difficult time focusing on Jesus Christ rather than the struggles in his or her own life. Most discipleship programs ignore these prevalent mental issues, but including mental care in the course is vital to develop true disciples. Pastoral counseling has various mental care methods that address the problems facing many of its participants. South …

A Study On The Factors Of Church Growth By Building Young Adults: The Case Of Busan Happy Church, Sung Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to suggest a church model that can raise up young adults based on a case study focusing on Busan Happy Church, which has experienced a great young adult revival amidst the reality of a decline in Korean churches. Korea has become an aging society due to a decreasing birthrate, and the Korean church is aging more rapidly than society is because young people continue to leave church. This researcher investigates reasons for the rapid decrease in the number of young adults in the Korean church, analyzing both the social and theological aspects in order …

Case Studies Of The Participation And Results Of Professional Visitation To Schools By Youth Ministries Of Local Churches In Korea, Young Cho

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study is to get results from youth ministry participation in local churches through a school visitation ministry. Youth ministry faces a crisis in Korea because the number of church attendees is decreasing. In fact, the number of church members in Korea is decreasing, but the numbers of people in the youth group are much smaller than other age groups. Thus, the study shows the failure of education from church and home. The researcher experienced this issue in his own church and tried to find alternative methods. Upon closer study, he found hope for a youth …

A Study On Church Growth Through Social Work As A Contact Point Of Community, Young Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The objectives of this study is to provide a vision for developing the churches in South Korea and to develop a method to recover the missional function of churches through non-profit organizations. Although Korean churches have achieved a remarkable growth both quantitatively and qualitatively, they have been busy maintaining their status in an immature fashion, resulting in the loss of their influence around the rapidly diversifying world. This study aims to provide a direction and an alternative for the church to recover its mission and approach to the world by studying the ministry associated with non-profit organizations. In order to …

A Study Of Worship Renewal Through The Blended Worship Style In Small Churches, Sun Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The topic of this study is to research and discuss the potential of worship renewal through blended worship in small churches. Renewal to inspirational worship is a powerful demand from all churches. This researcher proves whether the researcher’s experience can be applied to the worship renewal of other small churches in the same way. For this purpose, this study first provides a Biblical discussion about the concept of praise, the significance and potential capability of praise in worship, and prepare a theoretical basis by reviewing related books and preceding research materials. Along with this, this researcher obtains statistical data by …

The Ethical Import Of Entheogens, Joshua Falcon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term entheogen refers to drugs—including the artificial substances and active principles drawn from them—which are known to produce ecstasy and have been used traditionally in certain religious and shamanic contexts. The entheogenic experiences provoked by entheogens are described by users in myriad ways, including in spiritual, religious, philosophical, and secular contexts. Entheogenic experiences have shown that they can create opportunities for individuals to generate meaning, including novel philosophical insights, which users claim to gain by way of experience. As such, entheogenic experiences exhibit the ability to influence a change in a user’s fundamental philosophical commitments, or live options, including …

The Effects Of Children's Spiritual Coping After Parent, Grandparent Or Sibling Death On Children's Grief, Personal Growth, And Mental Health, Ivette M. Hidalgo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parental death can have a negative impact on children’s lives with changes in economic resources, and lead to change in residence, loss of contact with friends and neighbors, change in caretakers, and loss of time with the surviving parent. Research on the effects of a grandparent’s death on children is limited. Death of a sibling signifies the loss of a role model, friend, confidante, and playmate. The purpose of this correlational study was to identify: 1) differences in the spiritual coping strategies used by children across age groups, gender, race/ethnicity, participation in religious rituals and practices, and the relationship of …

Ethical Theories And Perspectives On End-Of-Life Decisions, Lauren Skelton

Dialogue & Nexus

This paper approaches several different ethical theories to see how they interact with the issue of withdrawing and withholding life-sustaining care. After the theories of Utilitarianism, Kantian and Prima Facie Deontology, Virtue Ethics, and Evolutionary Ethics are explored at length, Deontological theories are proven to be the best decision-making guide from the perspective of both patients and those in policy-making positions. When used together, Kantian and Prima Facie Deontology offer the overall best combination of ethical instruction and personal freedom.

Christian And Islamic Perspectives On The Ethical Dilemma Of In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf), Stephanie Sariles

Dialogue & Nexus

After defining IVF procedures and the associated biomedical ethics with each, I will compare and contrast Christian and Islamic perspectives on IVF. Christianity in general does not accept IVF, because it is an unnatural method of reproduction that can affect Christian traditions such as parenthood and marriage. Despite this view, Protestants, in particular, have opened up to IVF as a method for treating infertility. Islam fully accepts IVF provided the married couple follows Islamic law. Sunni Muslims do not accept gamete donation, but Shi’ite Muslims are more flexible with gamete donation and surrogacy.

Ecofeminism: The Path Towards Healing The Earth, Jamie Thompson

Dialogue & Nexus

The concept of the patriarchy, or any concept in which one group dominates another, is inseparable from the formation of human kind’s domination of nature. This domination of nature has led to the current the ecological crisis humanity faces. Those who deny climate change can admit to the massive amounts of pollution, trash, and deforestation. Despite this worsening economic crisis, those in power have been slow to react. Women can ultimately provide and lead the movement to solve this ecological crisis through the growing movement of Ecofeminism. In the philosophy of Ecofeminism, individuals recognize and reject western dualistic thinking that …

A New Taxonomy Of Altruism In Terms Of Prosocial Behaviors, Kristin Kaiser

Dialogue & Nexus

The definition of altruism has been studied, explained, and even confused by many scholars in various fields. The term itself has been inappropriately used to describe prosocial behaviors that do not fall within the definition of altruism. An evaluation of Grant Ramsey’s taxonomy of altruism, which includes biological altruism, psychological altruism, and helping altruism, proves that it is not adequate in categorizing organism’s behaviors. A new taxonomy, with the branches of kin selection, reciprocity, and aesthetic altruism, is presented and explained to clarify the definition of altruism and alleviate confusion about how to describe prosocial behaviors. Both naming systems are …

The Evolutionary Theodicy Problem, Houston Schoonmaker

Dialogue & Nexus

Evolutionary theodicies attempt to explain how innocent suffering, death, and extinction seen throughout the evolutionary process of evolution can coincide with believing in a loving God. Since Darwin, scholars have questioned the importance of studying natural selection at such an intricate level. With the knowledge of natural selection, the fact that great suffering is witnessed across nature permits doubts in discussions regarding a benevolent God that created the universe. In this paper, I begin with background information about evolution, theodicy, and how they are related. I look at two major perspectives: the belief that evolution ameliorates the theodicy problem or …