Religion Commons^™

Auden: Body/Mind, Basil Lloyd-Moffett

CMC Senior Theses

On one hand Auden appears the most cerebral of poets. It is said that when he arrived at school, aged eight, he professed himself excited to study the different psychological types, and the cryptic verse that was to emerge over a decade later bears the scars of his reading, psychological or otherwise, as clearly as the relentlessly analytical Dichtung und Wahrheit and other late works.Absorbing and repurposing philosophical, psychological, religious, and scientific works was an essential part of his artistic strategy, and led to credible accusations of plagiarism on a number of occasions.And just as his collaborators and friends mocked …

Divine Democracy: Examining The Intersection Of Religion And Politics In Civil Religion, José Andrés Serrano

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This thesis seeks to build upon and provide a new interpretation of civil religion in the United States. In it, the history of civil religion from the 1960s, starting with Bellah, to the 2010s will be analyzed for any themes still used in the 2020s. Similarly, understanding what a religion is within this time frame will be broken apart and examined to see how it paralleled the evolution of political understanding. Building upon its history, the paper will break into four prominent chapters: Is American Democracy Like a Civil Religion?, Religious Characteristics in the American Government, American Democracy as a …

The Restoration Of Religious Freedom: Joseph Smith’S Evolving Understanding Of The United States Constitution, 1830-1844, Mitch Nelson

CGU Theses & Dissertations

As the founder of the most persecuted denomination of the nineteenth century in the United States, Joseph Smith desperately yearned for religious freedom. I argue that Joseph Smith understood religious freedom as a theological doctrine given by God to help individuals, communities, and nations discover how to balance order and diversity. Rather than being a product of democratic government, he viewed religious freedom as the necessary foundation for a just government and society. Therefore, maintaining religious freedom would preserve the governing system, not the other way around. For Joseph, religious freedom was incrementally discovered in a process of identity formation …

As Below So Above: Reconstructing The Neo-Babylonian Worldview, Heather Marie Burrow

CGU Theses & Dissertations

To add to our knowledge about a Near Eastern culture, this project examines through textual evidence how the early first millennium BCE Neo-Babylonians thought, reasoned, and wrote in order to partially reconstruct the shared, generally held worldview of the Neo-Babylonian people using the transdisciplinary approach of worldview analysis. Worldviews are what we use to think with, not what we think about. Underlying surficial cultural behaviors are deeper levels of cognition regarding how to reason, perceive the world, prioritize values, prescribe behavior, and explain all of life. Specifically, this work examines the language and logic reflected in the textual archive, believing …

Immigrant Muslim Women’S Belief And Practice Of The Veil In Southern California, Fatimah Alsuhaibani

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The literature lacks a thorough examination of why a Muslim woman decides to veil or not. Thus, utilizing interviews and the theoretical frameworks developed by Tweed, Vasquez, and others, my study investigated the practice and beliefs of Sunni immigrant Muslim women in the Inland Empire in terms of the veil. Because of the global nature of Islam and the transnational Muslim community, their framework may be utilized to evaluate immigrant Muslim women in the United States, who exemplify principles of transnationalism and globalization. Furthermore, my research found that once Muslim women relocate to the Inland Empire and adjust to life …

What Is A “Helpmate”? Using Comparative Semitic Linguistics To Propose New Translations For Ezer Kenegdo, Rebekah Call

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation argues that a comparative Semitic analysis of ezer kenegdo (KJV: “help meet”) in Genesis 2:18, 20 can provide new semantic ranges that enrich the reading of gender roles in Genesis 1-3. The usage of ezer kenegdo in Genesis 2:18, 20 has defied satisfactory interpretation, even though this passage has played an important role in the conversation surrounding gender roles in the Bible, in other religious discourse, and even aspects of culture influenced by elements of Jewish and Christian worldviews. The struggle with this phrase is twofold: the first difficulty lies in the association of ezer “help” with subordinate …

Influenced: Performing Gender And Femininity In Mormon And Evangelical Online Spaces, Kathryn Ann Davis

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The construction of a digital self is fully performative; online identities are simultaneously highly curated, edited, and uniquely personal. These spaces allow users to become producers of identity and religious narrative. In this dissertation I examine the online communities which are a dynamic and developing aspect of religious life in America. I will argue that religious women have created increasingly diverse virtual spaces for themselves, and that these online communities give women a safe space to talk about their faith and create common bonds with other female adherents. I have engaged with these creators directly through oral history interviews and …

From Building To Dwelling: Unfolding Infinity Through Bioregional Fulfillment, Sanjana Bhatnagar

Pitzer Senior Theses

The causes of anthropogenic climate change touch every feature of our modern-day existences. Approaches to sustainability tend to focus on material actions, but unsustainable practices are guided by an ontological orientation of individuality and human exceptionalism. This thesis provides an alternate account of being that decenters individuality through weaving the metaphysics of Fazang of the Huayan School of Mahayana Buddhism with the metaphysics of Martin Heidegger. To encompass the whole of the relational network that constitutes and conditionally defines our existence, I expand Heidegger’s account of locales as relational sites which are put forth solely by humans to an account …

Diversity, Equity, & Exclusion: Examining Jewish Identity & Antisemitism As Missing Pieces Of Dei And Ethnic Studies Education, Katie Meitchik

Pitzer Senior Theses

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a theory and practice that focuses on systemic structures, inequities, and social change by examining concepts such as race, gender, class, sexuality, ethnicity, ability, and religion. Incorporating DEI initiatives into learning spaces can lead to a deeper sense of self, stronger coalition building, increased civic engagement, and a sense of healing, resistance, and belonging. Although a nationwide criteria for using DEI practices in education has not yet been implemented as a key component to public school teaching, there are programs emerging with the intent to utilize the theory. This has led to a movement …

Towards A Philosophy Of Least Violence, Daniel Whitcomb Ambord

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Gianni Vattimo is often regarded as a purely negative, eliminativist thinker, defined by the weak thought that he articulated over the course of his storied career. Our temptation to read him in this way is encouraged, not only by an extensive and growing body of secondary literature in the Anglophone world, but by Vattimo’s own consistent focus on weakening as represent an alternative to the strong and violent metaphysical systems that have defined much of the philosophical legacy of the Christian West. What often go unacknowledged, therefore, are the positive elements in Vattimo’s work. Indeed, weakening is, from the start, …

A Theology Of Divine Calling In Light Of Karl Barth, A.N. Whitehead, And Meister Eckhart’S Theological Forms, Kin Ting Caleb Cheung

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation aims to show how divine calling can be considered a multifaceted reality. The theory of divine calling includes God, humans, the content of the call, and the interaction between God and humans. It embraces a wide range of data: theology, anthropology, metaphysical considerations, and subjective experience. As this dissertation wants to understand divine calling in a multifaceted way, this dissertation examines it from three different perspectives. The theology/philosophy of Karl Barth, A. N. Whitehead, and Meister Eckhart is utilized. They represent three distinctive theological forms: revelational, metaphysical, and experiential. This dissertation studies their theology/philosophy according to their forms …

Still Reforming: The Need For A New Confession In The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Matthew W. Bussell

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) the creeds and confessions collected in the Book of Confessions articulate not only the doctrines of the church, but also the identity and purpose of the denomination. The Book of Confessions contains twelve documents from different periods in the history of the church, each of them addressing the experience of the church in their unique contexts. As the church looks to move into the future following God’s calling, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is called to rearticulate its faith, identity, and purpose through the writing of a confession with an inclusive anthropology and missional ecclesiology. This …

The Political Implications Of The Evangelical Right’S Anti-Critical Race Theory Rhetoric, Elizabeth Howell-Egan

Scripps Senior Theses

Critical Race Theory (CRT), once an abstract principle used in academic circles, has exploded onto the national stage as parents fight against their children supposedly being taught its tenets. Through an analysis of key political and religious leaders, I discuss the right’s obsession with CRT in schools, where it came from, and its political implications.

Rice, Reciprocity, And Generosity: Embedded Ecologies In Hindu Women’S Rituals, Zoe Carlson

CMC Senior Theses

Hindu women’s perspectives of the more-than-human world are illuminated through ritual. Researching ecological actions millions of people of different faiths across the world partake in every day, in the context of the climate crisis of our present time, is a vital project I undertake in this thesis. I look to Hinduism, which has traditionally been called an “ecological” religion, but without a clear definition of what “ecological” means. I use Vijaya Nagarajan’s theories about Hinduism, women, and ecology as a theoretical guide. I apply her theory of “embedded ecologies” to analyze how knowledge about the environment is layered in cultural, …

Building Zion: Sacred Space, The United Order, And Mormon Successor Groups, Stephen Cameron

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Building Zion, for Mormonism, is a crucial element in both temporal and spiritual matters. Joseph Smith established the foundation upon which the religion would build decades after his death. Three successor groups, each claiming to be the true inheritor of Smith's prophetic mantle, from Brigham Young and the Utah Pioneers to the early Short Creek fundamentalists and lastly, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, took on the challenge of creating Zion on earth through the creation of sacred spaces and sacred communities. By using Mircea Eliade and Mary Douglas to frame the discussion, this study will …

Indigenous Climatic Perspectives: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Environmental Discourse Analysis, Linda G. Claros

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents a multidisciplinary analysis of climate discourse from Indigenous Climatic Perspectives (ICP). This research highlights how the manner in which we relate intellectually, culturally and spiritually to the environment has been dictated by economic ideology developed within Euro-American capitalistic paradigms. Hence, the origin of our climate disaster is traced to religious and philosophical assumptions about Nature and the environment, that operate unchallenged within spheres of discourse- scientific, religious and cultural. This dissertation presents an alternative means of analysis, Indigenous Climatic Perspectives, by which we can come to understand our place in the biosphere by embedding new theoretical and …

Perceiving The Good: An Agent Relative Account Of Desire, Paul R. Pistone

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In this project I investigate and develop a theory of desire primarily focused on the metaphysics of desire. Since my theory of desire is an evaluative theory, I address discussions concerning value and goodness, and its relation to the ethics and metaphysics of desire. Defining a desire is a complex endeavor and so is determining how desires fit within our mental economy. To locate my position, I begin with an investigation of various, often opposing, theories of desire. I examine motivational theories, pleasure-based theories, reward/learning accounts, and evaluative models. Ultimately, I argue that none of these theories provides adequate explanation …

Ecofeminist Theology In Islam: The Process And Application Of Synthesizing Rosemary Radford Ruether’S Insights, Islamic Feminist Aspirations, And Ecological Concerns, Nayawiyyah U. Muhammad

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The focal point of this dissertation is theoretical and applicatory in scope; it incorporates three distinct areas of scholarship, the ecofeminist theology of Rosemary Radford Ruether, Islamic feminism, and Islamic environmentalism towards the primary goal of making a case for the construction of an ecofeminist theology in Islam. Specifically, I seek to consolidate Islamic feminists and environmental theories and approaches while utilizing and bringing to bear the insights and critiques of Ruether. This is accomplished through a process of synthesis and application. The intersection of environmental destruction and gender disparity is the hallmark claim of ecofeminism and thus, I begin …

Sikhs And Colonialism: A Study Of Religious Identity Across Time From Guru Nanak To The British Raj, Samrath S. Machra

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis deals with how a religious community shapes itself in the face of powerful external pressures. It explores ways the Sikh religion (code, creed, and cultus) was influenced by its encounters with the British Empire and in process, gave birth to a new combinative tradition. This paper will look at where the Sikh people located themselves during the Colonial period, to understand Colonialism’s imprint on the Sikh tradition. It traces the thread of contact throughout Sikh history and argues that British contact resulted in religious and cultural exchanges which reoriented Sikh creed, code, and cultus. The resulting combinative tradition …

Phenomenology Of Death: The Religious Dimension In The Ethical Thought Of Emmanuel Levinas, Changhyun Kim

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores Levinas’s phenomenology of death in order to unveil the religious dimension in his ethical thought through examining the political moment of the third party. I argue that death is neither a pure phenomenon transparently intelligible in the noema-noesis structure of intentionality nor a mere non-phenomenon totally irrelevant to the phenomenological investigation. Rather, death is a para-phenomenon whose unfathomable feature calls into question Levinas’s two important philosophical precedents: 1) Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology, in a methodological sense, and 2) Heidegger’s ontological interpretation of death, in a thematical sense. On the one hand, Levinas faces in the para-phenomenality of death …

Dressing The Witch: Clothing, The Body, And Accusations Of Witchcraft In Puritan New England, Rachel Murrell

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Though this infamous period in American history has been examined numerous times, this paper aims to analyze the role in which “soft culture,” in particular dress and clothing, played in the search for witches amongst Salem women in 1692. Of necessity to this analysis is a thorough examination of early American material culture and the role in which early New Englanders interacted with newfound notions of materiality. This analysis examines two distinct points of contention at the crux of this cultural turn: the maintenance of and visual adherence to rigid social class standards through clothing and the visual interpretation of …

The Dynamic Relationship Between Young Spanish Catholics And The Church, Caroline Cox

CMC Senior Theses

Research Question: How is the commitment of Spaniards to Catholicism changing with younger generations? And why is this relevant given Spain’s deep roots with the religion?

The Catholic Church and Spain have been highly involved with each other for centuries. It is possible that the Church’s controversies and conservative values are distancing young members from pursuing a stronger relationship with their faith. I predicted that more young Spanish Catholics’ commitment to the Church was wavering because of three potential reasons: increased security and education, child sex abuse scandals involving clergymen, and the institution’s outdated attitudes. I conducted a study …

Idealism In Spinoza’S Metaphysics, Epistemology, And Ethics: A Friendly And Judicious Revision To The Active/Passive Distinction As Solution To Spinoza’S Attribute And Parallelism Problems, Sean Butler

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Spinoza’s doctrine of parallelism admits of certain observed inconsistencies that have long troubled Spinoza scholars. The scholarship over the last one hundred and thirty years or so has offered three dominant interpretations of Spinoza’s metaphysics as a result of the deficiencies with the doctrine of parallelism. These are 1) the subjective/objective distinction according to which the attribute of thought is understood as subjective and the attribute of extension is understood as objective, 2) materialism according to which the attribute of thought is claimed to depend on the attribute of extension, and 3) idealism according to which the attribute of extension …

Becoming Friends Of God: Practicing Philosophy Of Religion And Theology In And For A Radical Spirit Of Individuality And Humanity, Brandon Vermilya Yarbrough

CGU Theses & Dissertations

We want to live well. For us, coming to live well involves learning to think well. The extent to which we can make the transition from death and misery to life and blessedness will depend on the extent to which we learn to truly think the transition. We are not free to truly opt for life unless we can truly distinguish between death and life, and we are not free to truly opt for blessedness unless we can truly distinguish between misery and blessedness. Toward these ends, we have much work to do. It is not the case that every …

Classical Trinitarian Theology And The Idolatry Of Nationalism: The Doctrine Of The Trinity As A Critique Of Political Theology, Shane Akerman

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation proposes that the doctrine of the Trinity, in the field of political theology today, should be taken as a critique of the idolatry of nationalism and should point us toward a new theological politics that is informed by the proper worship of the triune God, especially in the Church’s sacred liturgy. Existing proposals regarding the relation between trinitarian and political theology can be sorted into two basic camps, separated by alternative understandings of the meaning of political theology as primarily either descriptive or prescriptive. Representative of the descriptive sort is Agamben’s genealogical analysis of the link between trinitarian …

Said The River: The Confluence Of Ecotheology And Water, Margaret Harrington Ferris

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Environmental water issues are increasingly in the consciousness of environmental advocates, as well as scientists and engineers. Water experts have approached water issues from a scientific and engineering framework, which has led them to preference material and technical solutions. Yet those solutions have been insufficient. The interdisciplinary field of water studies has been critical of the scientific-engineering approach. Several water scholars have posited that water issues are social-human problems first, and material-technical problems second. They call for alternative approaches that emphasize reconstructing water as a necessary precursor to formulating effective, enduring solutions to environmental water issues. Likewise, ecotheological scholars and …

The Revealing Love Of God: A Systematic, Hermeneutic, And Phenomenological Approach To Thinking Well About The Love Of God, Daniel L. Nelson

CGU Theses & Dissertations

“The medium is the message:” theological reflections on the idea that God is love. I am proposing that the idea of the self-revelational nature of God’s being functions, among other ways, rhetorically, such that the content of revelation (God’s love) determines the rhetorical mode of its communication (giving orders, inviting, begging, etc.). The three aspects of rhetoric that Kenneth Burke emphasizes in A Rhetoric of Motives—the use of identification, that it is addressed and, as such, is convincing (persuasive)—are examined in terms of revelation. Chapter one seeks to clear the way for what is commonly understood as special revelation by …

The Pervasive Emptiness: Acedia, Modernity, And The Boredom Of Secularity, Samuel Welbaum

CGU Theses & Dissertations

A case can be made that the greatest fear of our time is the fear of boredom. We live in an age in which things change daily. New technologies are developed, old inventions are reconceived, the entertainment industry churns out movies, shows, and music constantly, and yet, people still experience boredom. Some have even said that it's the defining experience of our day. Where does this boredom come from? Why has it become prominent? What is causing it to gain power so rapidly? And how might it be stopped? Those questions are the driving force behind his work. This dissertation …

Portrait Of A Heretic: The Development Of Walter Kaufmann's Philosophy Of Religion, Duncan William Gale

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This is a study of the philosophy of religion of Walter Kaufmann, specifically how he found his unique philosophical voice during the first decade of his career. It begins with Kaufmann’s work as a translator and commentator on Friedrich Nietzsche, examining the ways his interpretation of Nietzsche’s philosophy both informs and anticipates his own philosophical perspective. Attention is also given to Kaufmann’s work on Hegel and existentialism as it relates to his development. After these considerations, Kaufmann’s first original work of philosophy, Critique of Religion and Philosophy , is examined in detail, beginning with his appraisal of the field of …

Toward A New Conception Of Human Subjectivity For The Age Of Globalization: Revisiting The Hegelian Vision Of “Spiritual Subjectivity”, Yun Kwon Yoo

CGU Theses & Dissertations

My major argument in this dissertation is that Hegelian spiritual subjectivity can and should serve as a philosophical basis for envisioning a new conception of human subjectivity for the age of globalization. Why, then, does globalization demand a new conception of human subjectivity at all? What constitutes the Hegelian spiritual subjectivity such that it is not only relevant and but also necessary to the contemporary, postmodern context of globalization? My dissertation largely addresses these two questions. As for the first question, it requires my critical analysis of the context in which we are living. We are living in an era …