Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Freemasonry And Evangelical Christianity: Are They Compatible?, John Carl Mozingo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Since 1717 there has been a formalized organization known as the Freemasons. Currently, there are over six-million members worldwide, with over 18% of those members residing in the United States. The Freemasons have been controversial since their inception due to their secret nature. There are claims that the organization is anti-Christian as well as claims that support its compatibility with the church, indicating that there are Freemasons on the rolls of our Evangelical Churches. Therefore, using observation and participant research as well as secondary data analysis and archival study, this paper will seek to determine if Freemasonry is compatible with …

State Regulation Of Religion: The Effect Of Religious Freedom On Muslims' Religiosity, Hannah M. Ridge

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Substantial scholarship argues that regulation of religion suppresses religiosity in a community by reducing individuals’ satisfaction with their religious experience. To date this research has assumed that regulations are enforced on and affect religious communities uniformly. It has also focused heavily on Western Christian populations and aggregated national data. We suggest that state regulation of religious communities and behaviours impacts citizens differently based on their affiliation. Using individual-level assessments of freedom and religiosity from Muslim-majority countries, we show that, at the individual level, restricting freedom suppresses religious belief and behaviour. Restrictions on religious minorities, however, can increase religiosity. As such, …

Feminism, Religion, And Work In The United States, Margaret R. Halpin

Student Publications

Feminism in the contemporary United States is a diverse field of thought with several strains of ideological leanings, including liberal, neoliberal, and the contested conservative feminism. Each is uniquely situated in the American context due to the heavy influence of American values and culture-specific definitions of justice, success, and progress. Entrenched in the Western conceptions of secularism and advancement, “modern” feminism in the United States prides itself as the example of peak progressivism, yet does so without critically engaging with its definition of modernity or secularism. In particular, the relationship between religion and feminism is complicated in the U.S., with …

Vegan Parents And Children: Zero Parental Compromise, Carlo Alvaro

Publications and Research

Marcus William Hunt argues that, when co-parents disagree over whether to raise their child (or children) as a vegan, they should reach a compromise as a gift given by one parent to the other out of respect for his or her authority. Josh Millburn contends that Hunt’s proposal of parental compromise over veganism is unacceptable on the ground that it overlooks respect for animal rights, which bars compromising. However, he contemplates the possibility of parental compromise over “unusual eating,” of animal-based foods obtained without the violation of animal rights. I argue for zero parental compromise, rejecting a rights-oriented approach, and …

Anti-Christian Violence In India, Chad Bauman

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

No abstract provided.

Law Library Blog (September 2020): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Designing Analog Learning Games: Genre Affordances, Limitations And Multi-Game Approaches, Owen Gottlieb, Ian Schreiber

Articles

This chapter explores what the authors discovered about analog games and game design during the many iterative processes that have led to the Lost & Found series, and how they found certain constraints and affordances (that which an artifact assists, promotes or allows) provided by the boardgame genre. Some findings were counter-intuitive. What choices would allow for the modeling of complex systems, such as legal and economic systems? What choices would allow for gameplay within the time of a class-period? What mechanics could promote discussions of tradeoff decisions? If players are expending too much cognition on arithmetic strategizing, could that …

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.

Vida Y Sacrificio: Los Nueve Rituales Para La Luz La Vida Y El Maíz, Marina Valls I García

Congreso internacional sobre iconografía precolombina, Barcelona 2019. Actas.

El Códice Borgia presenta uno de los rituales más complejos de toda la liturgia mesoamericana; el conocido como “los nueve rituales para la luz, la vida y el maíz”. El presente estudio es la primera entrega de una serie de artículos en los que se realiza una revisión crítica e interpretativa del ceremonial litúrgico, representado entre las páginas 29 y 42 del documento. Con el objetivo de una mejor comprensión de todo el imaginario reflejado, se plantea una aproximación interdisciplinar que permita apreciar la gran cantidad de figuras poéticas visuales y sutilezas que conforman el discurso religioso y artístico mesoamericano, …

The “Untouchable” Who Touched Millions: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Navayana Buddhism, And Complexity In Social Work Scholarship On Religion, Siddhesh Mukerji

College of Education and Social Services Faculty Publications

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was a twentieth century socio-political and religious reformer whose activities impacted millions of lives, especially among India’s Dalit community. This article illustrates his lifework and its lessons for social work scholarship on religion. Using the examples of Ambedkar and Navayana Buddhism, I discuss three sources of complexity for social work scholarship on religion: 1) religion may function as both oppressive and emancipatory; 2) religion is malleable, not monolithic; and 3) religion is situated in and interactive with contexts. I conclude with suggestions for how social work scholarship on religion may account for complexity.

Nora’S Ironic Longing For Christlike Love Self‐ Sacrifice, Self‐Love, And The “Religion Of Torvald” In Ibsen’S A Doll House, David V. Urban

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

This essay argues that in Ibsen’s A Doll House, both Nora and her husband, Torvald Helmer, exhibit a “religion of Torvald” characterized by their respective devotion to Torvald himself. However, while Torvald’s devotion to himself is characterized by self‐love and self-centeredness, Nora’s “religion of Torvald” is based on her expectation that Torvald will exhibit the Christlike office of bearing Nora’s sins by proclaiming himself guilty of her crime of forgery, thus rendering her blameless. After Torvald shatters Nora’s expectations by reacting with abuse and cowardice to the news of Nora’s forgery and Krogstad’s consequent blackmail, Nora loses her previous faith …

Deep Doctrine And Passionate Proclamation: How Understanding The Relationship Between God's Sovereignty And Evangelism Increases Evangelistic Zeal, Christopher Lee Verser

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The gospel must be accurately communicated to a lost man for that individual to have the opportunity to be saved. It is the responsibility of Christians to be ambassadors of Christ and proclaim this gospel to all men. All Christians can grow in their zeal for evangelism. Many Christians have very little zeal for evangelism due to several reasons. This lack of evangelistic zeal can be increased by a robust understanding of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and the relationship between God’s sovereignty and evangelism. In the Scripture, Christians are taught that doctrine directly affects behavior and action. The more …

Religious Influence On The French Campaign Against Korea Of 1866, Sophie Hargrave

Honors Projects

The French Campaign against Korea in 1866 was a relatively minor and unknown conflict in the course of both French and Korean history. However, it offers valuable information about the religious beliefs and value systems that defined the governmental systems of both countries, because it was the French response to the execution of several French Jesuit priests by the Korean government. Korea was largely influenced by three religions in the 19^th century: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shamanism. France had a rich history of Catholicism and a wealth of Jesuit missionaries traveling abroad. The Confucian background of Korea, specifically, influenced its …

Metaphor As Dynamic Myth In Ricoeur, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Symbolism of Evil is the final book in Ricoeur’s early trilogy on the will. While Freedom and Nature sets aside normative questions altogether and Fallible Man examines the question of what makes the bad will possible, here Ricoeur takes up the question of evil in its actuality. What is the nature of the will that has succumbed to evil? The question of evil resists reflection and remains inscrutable, leading Ricoeur to proceed indirectly through a study of the abundant resources contained in symbols and myths. Symbols, as Ricoeur famously says, “give rise to thought” and thereby open up a …

Church Revitalization Through Effective Women’S Ministry, Dennis Jay Mccullough

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

America’s churches are in crisis. Historically, women are the majority and have been the backbone of the American Church. They go faithfully to churches where their needs are often overlooked, not identified, and they are unfulfilled. They faithfully serve the ministry while they are suffering in silence and waiting for the church to respond. The following thesis explores church revitalization efforts through effective women’s ministry. A qualitative approach will be utilized to collect and analyze the data. The data will be collected through recorded personal interviews and observations. Some interview statements will be measured on a Likert scale to judge …

Room For Opportunity: An Investigation Of Catholic Student Life At The University Of Maine, Jacob Buttarazzi

Honors College

Like most Honors graduates before me, the final work for this thesis became something much different than what I had originally intended. Originally, I wanted to make short videos and blog posts about the nature of religion at UMaine. However, the project evolved into a short documentary focused specifically on Catholic students. I produced, directed, shot, and edited the film. My primary goal was to investigate whether or not Catholic students felt like a minority and how that affected them. I was repeatedly forced to reevaluate my own experience with faith throughout the production process. As a practicing Catholic, I …

Terms Of Erasure: The Jewish Experience In A Rural New England Town, Jessica Sweeney

Honors College

Throughout history, Jewish Americans have been and continue to be persecuted for their religion and ethnic identity. Additionally, anti-Semitism has been a rising problem in recent years. This research seeks to understand how this national issue affects individuals in a rural community in New England. More broadly, this thesis attempts to understand how Jews in a rural community in New England experience anti-Semitism. To conduct this research, a series of interviews were collected in the region and were subsequently analyzed using a modified version of Grounded Theory. The purpose of this research is to understand the Jewish experience in a …

Networked Religion: Metaphysical Redemption Or Eternal Regret?, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"I’d like to set the tone of this commentary commenting upon the above quotation by Reagan: Can we doubt that war criminals in your administration, under the tutelage of your ‘Reagan Doctrine,’ transformed the country into a harrowing neoliberal horror show starring the nomenklatura of corporate America? They achieved this world-historical assault on the working-class through foreign and domestic policies and acts of clandestine military outlawry that can only provoke a rational mind to contemptuously scoff at your use of the word ‘refuge’ and ‘freedom’ to describe the USA."

Religious Schism: A Case Study Of Social And Political Critique In Sāmoa, Alexis M. M. Zilen

Student Publications

Examining religious schism within Sāmoa in order to demonstrate that schism of Christianity within Sāmoa, of charismatic-Pentecostal churches from traditional mainline churches, represents a social critique. By unifying under a reformed church environment, which mimics existing religious and cultural systems, Sāmoans are challenging their economic, social, and political positionality, while upholding the traditional framework of the fa’aSāmoa, Sāmoan way of life. This work highlights how individuals within Sāmoa navigate increasingly complex social, political, and economic power dynamics. Much of the focus of explores how individuals exercise religious agency, formulated through a created Sāmoan cosmology, to challenge larger structures of oppression …

The Common Man And The Rise Of The Anabaptist Kingdom Of Munster, 1534-1535, Andrew Roebuck

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This essay studies the causes of the rise of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster, with special emphasis on the actions and agency of the common people. The analysis begins with the two main primary sources, Hermann von Kerssenbrock and Henry Gresbeck, whose accounts provide firsthand knowledge of how events in Munster led to the Anabaptist takeover. Care is taken to read beyond some of the biases and assumptions made by those authors to gain the clearest insight for what really happened.

The essay looks at Anabaptism itself, including what it meant to be Anabaptist from the perspectives of participants and …

The Stained River Of Immaculate Conception: An Analysis Of Judeo-Christian European Dominion Of Nature Along The Mississippi River, Rosalie Looijaard

Race, Ethnicity, & Religion

This paper analyzes how the Mississippi River and its surrounding land were co-opted by European explorers to establish Christian dominance in hopes of remaking the Garden of Eden. Christian colonizers both deified and dominated nature to both justify colonization and display their own power over space and religion. This paper first analyzes Hernando de Soto's and Jacques Marquette's naming of the river, and then argues how this initial naming is indicative of a larger trend of occupying and deifying perceived virginal nature and wilderness in order to establish a Christian space on the North American Continent.

Ngos, Religious Diversity, And Displacement In Morocco: How Ngos In Morocco Navigate Religious Diversity When Working With Displaced Populations From Other Countries, Anjali Patel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research delves into how Christian organizations serving displaced populations and migrants from other countries in Morocco navigate religious diversity. The research explores how Christian NGOs navigate their religious identity in a predominantly Muslim society as well as how they aid migrants in being able to practice their faith. The paper examines what displacement looks like in Morocco, the complexity of how Islam is incorporated into the Moroccan constitution, and the breakdown of organizations providing services to refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Morocco. A hybrid case study-literature review approach is taken to highlight the ways in which two Christian …

Nigeria's Membership In The Organization Of Islamic Cooperation: Origin, Nature, And Impact, Eddy Aitah

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores Nigeria’s membership into the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), covertly instituted by General Ibrahim Babangida who rose to power as Nigeria’s military head of state in 1985, a strategic move that resulted in socioeconomic benefits which improved the standard of living of the people of Nigeria. Regionally divided, Muslim influence on the north, and Christian to the south. The commingling with other traditional Nigerian religious cultures, sociopolitical strategies, and legislative protocol are contested by these opposing factions on a continuum. Using archival research methods, both textual and multimedia, this work posits that despite the religious controversies and …

When Atheists Become Deities: How Vox Lux Shows The Intersection Of Secularism, Religion, And Pop Stardom In Consumer Society, Lindsay Saulsberry

Religion and Film

An examination of Christian concepts in relation to secular pop stars though an analysis of the film Vox Lux (2018) and the significance of celebrity worship within the context of consumer society. Includes notable ideas from Talal Asad, Kent Brintnall, René Girard, John Lyden, Rupert Till and Emilie Townes.

Faith, Doubt, And Reason - Conclusion And Epilogue, Brent Hege

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Courtesy of Wipf and Stock Publishers:

Faith, doubt, and reason are universal human faculties, yet they are frequently misunderstood, denigrated, and even abused. What does it mean to have faith, and what distinguishes faith from belief? Can someone have faith without religious commitments? What is doubt, and what is its relationship to faith and belief? How do we make sense of evil and suffering? What roles does reason play in our lives? What do we do when we have the sneaking suspicion that life is absurd? What do we love, and what do we fear? How do faith, doubt, and …

Resisting The Tradition Of Sexism, Tobi N. Farbstein

Georges Lieber Essay Contest on Resistance

I stood there, or rather wobbled, standing on a plastic chair, peering over the division of a wall. Three feet away, I saw a boy reading from the Torah. There were men embracing, women cheering from across the wall, and rounds of applause on both sides. I stepped down from the chair and glanced at the sky. In my view, a large barrier towered over me, piercing the blue-- the Western Wall. My haze was then suddenly interrupted by a woman frantically mounting the chair I had previously been standing on. She was desperate to get a view of the …

Urban Contacts: Orientalist Urban Planning And Le Corbusier In French Colonial Algiers, Delaney Tax

Copley Library Undergraduate Research Awards

Algiers, the first French colony in Africa, was conquered in 1830 and gained independence in 1962. During this period, Algiers was constructed into an Orientalist acting ground that was shaped through political, social, economic formations in the built environment. The French colonial fascination with Algiers centered around the casbah, and thus the casbah became a laboratory for ethnographic and urban reflections. The French process of urban planning included military intervention, preservation motivated by exoticism and museology, and superstructure master plans dictated by the present benefit of indigenous communities to the colonial regime. Le Corbusier’s contact with Algiers further expresses the …

Somewhere I’Ve Never Been: Part 1, John Lanci

JRCA Pedagogy

“We want teaching to be something we can acquire and lock up,” but teaching is “nothing we can hold onto, nothing we can simply pull off the shelf and run.”1 I suspect that after the experience of the past semester, most of us have kissed that aspiration goodbye. For us in academia, it is hardly an exaggeration to note that everything has changed, and changed fast, and most of us are now being asked to do what seems impossible despite our institutions’ emergency attempts to equip us for what we need in order to promote (or at least maintain) student …

Clocktower, Cholera And Covid19: Script For Television Program Broadcast As "With You In Spirit:Short Messages Of Hope And Encouragement From People Of Many Faiths And None., Alan Hilliard

Other

No abstract provided.

Eyesore, Laura Bender

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A chaplain bears witness to the cost of war.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.