History Commons^™

Book Review: Katell Berthelot. Jews And Their Roman Rivals: Pagan Rome’S Challenge To Israel, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

This is a magisterial work, one which sets high the bar in the comparative study of civilizations. In it, Prof. Katell Berthelot covers the sweep of 600 years, from the second century, BCE, to the fourth century, CE, as she analyzes the extensive impact of Rome on Jewish ideas of law, religion, and peoplehood and, secondarily, the corresponding impact of their rivals, the Jews, on Roman society and history.

The Rise Of Russian Peasant Witchcraft: A Response To Social Unrest In Imperial Russia, Katrina Sommer

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

Imperial Russia became home to a unique form of witchcraft from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. Combining its religious history, patterns of imperial expansion and governance, and social hierarchies, witchcraft accusations arose during especially troublesome economic and political times. Differing from eighteenth-century America Witchcraft trials, these trials were not only femicide. Targeting anyone who might subvert established social or cultural norms, these accusations often led to violent expungement, ending with a ritual of communal bonding.

The Impact Of Religious Beliefs, Practices, And Social Networks On Rwandan Rescue Efforts During Genocide, Nicole Fox, Hollie Nyseth Brehm, John Gasana Gasasira

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

In April 1994, in one of the most Christian nations in Africa, genocidal violence erupted culminating in the deaths of upwards of one million people. While thousands participated in mass killings, others choose not to, and rescued persecuted individuals instead. Relying on 45 in-depth interviews with individuals who rescued others in Rwanda, we demonstrate that religion is tied to rescue efforts in at least three ways: 1) through the creation of cognitive safety nets that enabled high-risk actions; 2) through religious practices that isolated individuals from the social networks of those committing the violence; and 3) through religious social networks …

Political Power Of Iranian Hierocracies, János Jany

Comparative Civilizations Review

The aim of the paper is to demonstrate that the current Iranian regime is no novelty in Iranian history and political thinking, but has two antecedents: the rule of the Sasanians in late Antiquity (3rd–7th centuries) and that of the Safavids (16th–18th centuries) in modern times. After a brief outline of relevant historical events the paper scrutinizes the common features of these three regimes. The comparison includes the analyses of foreign policy, its scope, aim and direction, cultural policy and the relevance of political ideologies, socio-economic policy, religious policy, political structure and mechanisms of decision-making. The results of the comparison …

“But I Only Wanted Them To Conform”: A Detailed Look Into The Initial Cohort Of Girls At The Indiana Reformatory Institution For Women And Girls Between 1873 And 1884, Molly Whitted, Michelle Williams

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

For the past four years, as part of a group of currently and formerly incarcerated scholars, we have researched the “inmates” and staff at the Indiana Women’s Prison during the institution’s first decade. Then known as the Indiana Reformatory Institution for Women and Girls, the facility was located near downtown Indianapolis on Randolph and Michigan Street. We focused on a key constituent of the Indiana Reformatory for Women and Girls: the girls themselves, heretofore voiceless and uninvestigated.

Our primary sources include the annual reports of the reformatory and the original registries for the girls during the survey period of 1873–1884. …

Natura Sanat: On Ecological Aspects Of Healing Miracles In Kalwaria Pacławska, Poland, Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska

Journal of Global Catholicism

The subject-matter of my article is a change affecting the discourse on miraculous healings in a Catholic Marian sanctuary – Kalwaria Pacławska – run by Franciscan friars in the South-Eastern Poland and a way in which those changes affect pilgrims’ bodies. In Kalwaria Pacławska there meet, intersect and compete various religious and secular discourses and they all influence emotions and bodily sensations accompanying pilgrimage to this sacred site. One of those discourses has been introduced to Kalwaria just recently. The central element of the sanctuary is the miraculous image of Virgin Mary which is the goal of numerous pilgrimages from …

Prohibition Among Danish American Lutherans, Nick Kofod Mogensen

The Bridge

On January 17, 1920, a major change took place in American society. The Eighteenth Amendment went into effect and started the Prohibition Era, banning the sale of alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933. Prohibition was not a uniquely American idea. Under pressure from temperance movements, most Nordic countries banned or severely restricted the sale of alcohol around the same time as the United States did. The Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Finland all banned alcohol during the first few decades of the twentieth century. Although a narrow majority of the Swedish people refused an outright ban in …

Studies On Religion And Recidivism: Focus On Roxbury, Dorchester, And Mattapan, George Walters-Sleyon

Trotter Review

This research article raises the question of whether religion can be considered a viable partner in the reduction of the high rate of recidivism associated with the increasing mass incarceration in the United States. Can sustainable transformation in the life of a prisoner or former prisoner as a result of religious conversion be subjected to evidenced-based practices to derive impartial conclusions about the value of religion in their lives? With a particular focus on three neighborhoods of Boston—Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan—this study examines the relevance of religion and faith-based organizations in lowering the high rate of recidivism associated with incarceration …

On Danish-American Cultural Identity, Signe Sloth

The Bridge

In 1967 an article was published which kick-started a discussion that is still going on among sociologists today. The subject of the article is American civil religion and the writer is the American sociologist Robert Bellah who claims that every nation and every people has a religious self-understanding. He advocates an American civil religion that is separated from other denominations and established religious institutions, but just like them demands recognition and understanding. Bellah defines this Civil Religion as " ... A genuine apprehension of universal and transcendental religious reality as seen in or . . . as revealed through the …

Non-Lutheran Denominations Among The Danish Immigrant Churches, Robert A (Bob) Olsen

The Bridge

The combined 2012 Issue (Volume 35) of "The Bridge" was a translation of Max Henius' "Den Danskfodte Amerikaner" (The Danish-Born American), published in 1912. It is a fascinating addition for the English speaking "Danes" dealing with many aspects of the lives of the approximately 300,000 Danish-born that emigrated to the United States in the years prior to that time. It discusses many aspects of Danish-American life at the time, ranging from schools, societies, the Danish press, old people's homes, organizations and churches. Unfortunately when it comes to schools, churches, and newspapers there is barely a mention of anything outside of …

The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church In America: A Brief Overview Of Its History And Activity, P. S. Vig

The Bridge

“The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America” is the name of an organization of congregations and pastors who are among those Danes who have immigrated to America, and who desire to hold firmly to the faith in which they were baptized, to remain in that church to which they have belonged since childhood, and who want to support the effort to preserve that faith in their adopted land and pass that heritage on to their children. This goal is not attainable except by mutual work, sacrifice and effort. “The United Church,” as we are now used to saying in …

Religion And Integration Among The Danish Immigrants In The Us 1848-1914, Marianne Sletten Paasch

The Bridge

One of the most controversial social issues in the western hemisphere today is the integration of immigrants into a host society. The problems appear to be many and the solutions few. In Denmark we have had a long and at times heated debate about immigrants, their integration into Danish society and their religious practices - including how religion can influence the integration process of immigrants. During the last 10 years this "problem" has made headlines over and over again and has often greatly influenced the decision making process of our parliament. But we are not alone. The "integration problem" exists …

Quand On Vient Aussi De L’Autre Monde: Appartenance(S), Conflit(S) Et Déchirement(S) Dans L’Enfant Des Deux Mondes De Karima Berger, Carla Calargé

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

My essay analyzes Karima Berger’s first novel, L’enfant des deux mondes (1989). The author who has been living in France for more than 25 years tells the story of a Muslim Arab girl (herself ?) educated in the French school system of pre-independent Algeria. In this study, I examine linguistic, cultural and religious issues raised by the novel in an effort to identify the factors that keep the protagonist imprisoned in a permanent state of being in-between-two-worlds without fully belonging to any of them.

Politics Among Danish Americans In The Midwest, Ca. 1890-1914, Jorn Brondal

The Bridge

During the last decades of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, ethnicity and religion played a vital role in shaping the political culture of the Midwest. Indeed, historians like Samuel P. Hays, Lee Benson, Richard Jensen (of part Danish origins), and Paul Kleppner argued that ethnoreligious factors to a higher degree than socioeconomic circumstances informed the party affiliation of ordinary voters.1 It is definitely true that some ethnoreligious groups like, say, the Irish Catholics and the German Lutherans boasted fullfledged political subcultures complete with their own press, their own political leadership and to some extent, at least, their own …

Carl Theodor Dreyer' S Response To Anti-Semitism In His Unfilmed Jesus Film Scenario, Peter G. Christensen

The Bridge

The controversy in 2004 over possible anti-Semitism in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ had precedents in earlier Jesus-films. Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Gospel According to Matthew and Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth have also been accused of anti-Semitism. Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889-1968) wanted to combat anti-Semitism, as he directly stated in his own essays attached to his Jesus screenplay, which since his death has been published in English, Danish, and French versions. Dreyer began the film project in 1949-1950 in Independence, Missouri, writing in English, and he worked on it until the end of his life. However, he …

Danish Churches And Congregations In Indianapolis, 1868-1885, Barbara R. George

The Bridge

A look at the population make-up of Indianapolis and Indiana during the time period from the end of the Civil War (approximately 1865) until the 1880s shows that the Danes had little impact in the relatively small Indiana immigration picture. Indiana was less influenced by foreign born than any other northern state. Although ranking ninth in the number of German-born residents in 1880, Indiana ranked thirteenth in the number of foreign born, and was sixth in total population. As a state it was not particularly aggressive in promoting itself as a viable destination for immigrants, and ranked only in front …

Danish Lutheran Churches In America: Contributions Of The United (Danish) Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1896-1960, Edward A. Hansen

The Bridge

The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church was formed in 1896 by a merger of two Danish immigrant groups. One group, the "Blair Synod" had been excluded from the Danish Lutherans organized in America in 1872, in a controversy mainly involving the Bible as the Word of God. The second group, the "North Church," had been organized in 1884 by Danish members of the NorwegianDanish Evangelical Lutheran Church (founded in 1870). These Danes had withdrawn peaceably from their Norwegian brethren, in order better to serve immigrants from Denmark. By the 1940s this united church had changed from almost exclusive use of …

The Establishment Of Danish Lutheran Churches In Canada, Rolf Buschardt Christensen

The Bridge

This paper presents a brief history of the establishment of Danish Lutheran congregations in Canada during the twentieth century. As they will continue to evolve, the paper ends with a short discussion of challenges facing the Danish congregations in Canada as they enter the twenty-first century.

The Christmas Tree And The Two Churches, Johannes V. Knudsen

The Bridge

Part of the Danish American heritage is the fact that there were, unfortunately, some believe, two separate Danish American Lutheran Church groups. Because of theological differences (and perhaps personality conflicts, as well) between these two groups, they remained separate entities from their complex beginnings in the latter half of the nineteenth century until mergers took place with a number of other ethnic Lutheran church groups in the early 1960s, culminating in the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988. The histories of and differences between the two synods, the American Evangelical Lutheran Church and the United Evangelical …

The Bridge Builders Of Luther Memorial, Wilber J. Williamson

The Bridge

The congregation of Luther Memorial Church in Des Moines, Iowa, celebrated its centennial anniversary in 1999, during which time there was a good deal of reflection concerning the historical roots and activities of the church during the preceding one hundred years. Much of the early history of the congregation was closely associated with Grand View College. During the first decades, the school provided worship facilities as well as the pastor services for the emerging congregation. With financial support from the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, a building was erected in 1917, which has served as the home for the congregation since …

Peder Kjolhede-Man Of Action, Thorvald Hansen

The Bridge

Prior to the coming of the Protestant Reformation in 1536, the area in which Peder Kjoilhede (hereinafter Kjolhede) was born and grew up was owned by the Roman Catholic bishops. This area, south of the Limfjord and close to the west coast of Jutland, became the property of the king. It was parceled out by him to those who had rendered service to him, and much later, through division and sales, a portion of it came to be the property of Johan Kjolhede and was known as the farm of Kjolhedegird.

Restless Fanatic:Mogens Abraham Sommer, 1829-1901, Thorvald Hansen

The Bridge

This account of the life and activities of a Danish religious fanatic who played a significant role in emigration has been prepared on the basis of materials available in this country. Further items are available in Denmark, but on the basis of what is known to be available, it is doubtful that this would make any appreciable difference. To my knowledge, this is the only English language story of his life.

A Norwegian In The Pew Of Budolfi Cathedral In Aalborg: The Annunciation Of The Virgin Mary, 1996, Oyvind T. Gulliksen

The Bridge

As an alien soul from the Norwegian church, I sought refuge in Aalborg cathedral on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary ("Marire bebudelses

The Turkey, Carl Hansen

The Bridge

The church bells did not chime in Rainesville, for there was no church. But there was a schoolhouse, and in it, the Danish and Norwegian church folk gathered twice a month to hear a Norwegian pastor, who in half an hour taught his parishioners about predestination, free will, and the Missouri Synod's infallibility. But it was still Christmas Eve, even if the church bells did not chime. And if there was anyone who doubted it, they could just stick their noses inside Jens Larsen's door to be convinced.

Tireless In His Service: Rasmus Andersen, Pastor And Author 1878-1924, Thorvald Hansen

The Bridge

Of the four founders of the Danish Lutheran Church in America in 1872, the one concerning whom the most information exists is Rasmus Andersen. Yet it has been my observation that comparatively little is known about him. A reason for this is that, to my knowledge, no comprehensive biography exists, and there is almost nothing available in the English language. Most of the material that does exist is to be found in the Danes World Wide Archives ("Udvandrerarkivet") in Aalborg, Denmark. According to Birgit Flemming Larsen, who oversees that archive, the Andersen collection is the largest at the Aalborg archive. …

Peasant Revivalism And Secularization: Protestant Popular Culture In Denmark And Sweden 1820-1850, Hanne Sanders

The Bridge

The subject of this dissertation is religious revivalism in Danish and Swedish agrarian society in the first half of the nineteenth century. Its purpose has been to analyse a specific religious phenomenon in a presecularized society. As other historians have done, I have analysed revivalism from a social and a political point of view. Furthermore, I have focused on the religious dimension of the movement not as a theological, but as a cultural and social problem. My main thesis is that during the secularization of society the meaning of religion changed from knowledge and social culture it came to mean …

Pioneer Life In The Big Dane Settlement, August Rasmussen

The Bridge

My experience in pioneer life commenced in 1856, after a long and stormy voyage from Denmark to America in that year. I shall, by the kind assistance of the Independent, give a little of my pioneer life and settlement during forty-five years. My thoughts are running back to the first Christmas I celebrated here in America, in 1856. It was a merry one, as you will see farther on. My wife and I were then both young, about twenty-seven years each.

Three Churches At West Denmark, Edwin Pedersen

The Bridge

Not many congregations know the heartbreak of losing two churches and a parsonage to fire in less than fifty years, or have in their congregation two members who can remember the building of three churches; but so it is at West Denmark, Wisconsin.

The Theological Contributions Of Johannes V. Knudsen, Axel Kildegaard

The Bridge

"The glory of God is man fully alive." That quotation attributed to lreneus, Church father and first systematic theologian, is about 1800 years old. It affords a clue in my search for the common thread that runs throughout the seemingly diverse theological interests of Johannes V. Knudsen. The Celt, lreneus, Bishop of Lyons, who lived in the volatile second century when the Christian tradition was taking shape, wrote two significant works. One defined the basic Christian teachings, and the other, Against the Heresies, answered false teachings. These works spoke also to the interests of Bishop N.F.S. Grundtvig in 19th century …

Children Of Danish Roots, L.C. Laursen

The Bridge

Children of Danish Roots is a translation by Willard R. Garred of Stammens B0rn, an article that appeared originally in the 1931 issue of the "Ryslinge Julebog," a Christmas magazine of the Ryslinge Folk High School, Ryslinge, Denmark. The article was written by L. C. Laursen when he lived in the western Nebraska community at Mirage Flats near Hay Springs. After his arrival in the community he named it Ryslinge, a name generally accepted by the settlers and their friends.