Religion Commons^™

Spiritual Independence In Finley's Elsie Dinsmore Series, Alcott's Little Women Seriesand Wilder's Little House Series, Rebekka Anna Mehl

Dissertations

This project bridges the academic fields of comparative religion and children's literature by examining depictions of religious experience in children's literature. I specifically discuss how female religious experience and morality are depicted in three single-author series for girls set between 1850 and 1900—the Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley, the Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott and the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I examine the moral principles of honesty and obedience, longsuffering contentment and industriousness and how they can come together to contribute to the development of a sensitive conscience which can encourage a sense of …

Why Religious People Believe What They Shouldn't: Explaining Theological Incorrectness In South Asia And America, D. Jason Slone

Dissertations

Cross-cultural descriptions of religious thought and behavior in South Asia and America show that people commonly hold ideas and perform actions that seem to be not only conceptually incoherent but also “theologically incorrect” by the standards of their own traditions. For example. South Asian Theravada Buddhists are taught that the historical Buddha is unavailable because he attained enlightenment and achieved parinirvana (“complete extinction”) and yet conceptually and ritually represent him as if he is present and available for petition. Similarly, American Protestants represent the Christian God as having absolute divine sovereignty and yet reveal confidence in an inner locus of …

A Psychoanalytic And Archetypal Examination Of Two Seminal Dreams And Visions Of Ellen G. White, Dennis E. Waite

Dissertations

This study is a psychological examination of the earliest dreams and visions of Ellen G. Harmon (more commonly known by her married name Ellen G. White), a 19th century prophetess and founding leader of the Seventh-day Adventist church. The following two questions were addressed: (1) What effects did Mrs. White’s dreams and visions have upon her resolution of childhood emotional or developmental conflicts? and (2) In what way do Mrs. White’s early religious experiences clarify the role of religious experience in individual psychological and emotional development?

Two dreams and two visions were selected for analysis by two methods of dream …