Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Non-Traditional Church Involvement As A Life-Course Turning Point: Qualitative Interviews With Religious Offenders, William Hunter Holt

Dissertations

This research project conducted and then analyzed qualitative interviews from former and current addicts and criminal offenders who are voluntarily participating in the Christian faith at the same non-traditional, Protestant church. An abridged case study of this church is also provided for background and context. Life-course theory and grounded theory are utilized.

Both the offenders and this church were chosen in an attempt to better understand how the offenders’ involvement at this house of worship, along with their faith in general, have impacted them. Obtaining the perspectives of the offender is essential for three reasons. First, qualitative research conducted in …

Family Relational Dialectics: A Systemic Model For Explaining Relational Factors Contributing To Adolescents' Faith Maturity, Life Values, And Commitment To Christ, Jasmine J. Fraser

Dissertations

Problem

Though widespread studies have been conducted on the psycho-socio-cultural effects of family systems functioning on individuals’ developmental outcomes, there is limited discussion on the direct correlations between family relational encounters and adolescents’ development of faith and life values. The effects of dialectical interplay within family systems are often missed, misinterpreted, or minimized. This study presumed that because familial relationships have far-reaching psycho-socio-cultural effects on individuals’ development outcomes, there are also likely effects on certain religious outcomes. Subsequently, certain parent-child relational encounters were examined to determine whether they have significant effects on adolescents’ faith maturity, life values, and commitment to …