Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Black Liberation Theology In The Civil Rights Movement: Contextualizing The Works Of James H. Cone, Ella Cox

Honors Theses

In recent years, the need for racial reconciliation within the American Church has become increasingly apparent. In order to move toward justice and promote diversity, however, White Americans must first develop a greater understanding of the Black struggle for equality and equity, which has been largely shaped by liberation theology. James H. Cone, known as the Founder of Black Liberation Theology, has authored many books on this topic, but his works lack the understanding and attention they merit in predominantly White circles. This thesis seeks to shed light on the importance of liberation theology to the Black American experience by …

Catholicism Online: How The Church Is Communicating In The Visual Field, Alexandra Barfield

Honors Theses

ABSTRACT

Given the rise and importance of social media in the last two decades, religious institutions, especially the Roman Catholic Church, have an important place online to fulfill their mission and belief of spreading the Gospel message. Communicating this message on social media and with contemporary marketing practices is an opportunity and a challenge for churches, Catholics, and apostolates alike. In this study, I analyze a variety of Catholic-related Instagram accounts and interview individuals involved in Church management and content creation. This primary research is prefaced with secondary research exploring the status of the Catholic Church in the United States, …

How Properly Contextualized Christianity Could Benefit Japan, Benjamin Highsmith

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to ask the question “how could Christianity, if properly contextualized, benefit Japan?” It does so through the use of academic sources, interviews, and personal observations. Topics covered include Japanese culture, its perception of Christianity, and the lifestyles of Japanese Christians. This thesis uses cultural concepts to explain how Christianity and Japanese culture might find themselves at odds, but also explains how Christianity could work in unison with Japanese culture in order to benefit Japanese society as a whole, defending its argument using Biblical concepts intertwined with Japanese values.

Church State Relations: Religiopolitics In Chile And Uruguay In The 21st Century, Calley Overton

Honors Theses

This paper addresses the issue of Church-state relations in the last twenty years with special respect to Latin America, specifically in Chile and Uruguay. In my project, I will be looking at the presidential administrations of Chilean presidents Michelle Bachelet and Sebastian Piñera and Uruguayan president Tabaré Vázquez. I will use newspaper articles from El Pais (Uruguay) and El Mercurio (Chile) to examine whether political affiliation or country history determines the activism of the Catholic Church in these countries. I argue that country history has a greater influence on the role of the Catholic Church in a country’s politics than …

Meditation In Buddhism, Mbsr, And The Bible: Examining The Implications For Christian Counselors, Kara Delaune

Honors Theses

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has become a popular treatment in clinical settings for a variety of conditions. The term mindfulness was first used in relation to the Satipaffhana Sutta. 1 This passage from the Buddhist texts contains instructions regarding sati, which roughly translates from the Pali language to English as mindfulness. Mindfulness is a key component of the Buddhist religion, finding its place in both the Threefold Way and the Seven Factors of Awakening, or Enlightenment. Mindfulness falls under the umbrella of meditation. 2 Meditation takes several forms. Meditation is extremely useful for Christians, but not every type of meditation …

Party Songs: A Correlation Between Political Affiliation And Liturgical Music, Renee Leavitt

Honors Theses

I believe that there is a correlation between musical taste and political affiliation, based upon my experience in the church and as an observer of the congregation. By asking individual people -- such as choir directors, organists, and theologians -- about a correlation between political affiliation and liturgical music taste, I believe there is enough of a pattern to deserve study. This pattern I am looking for should exhibit some shared interest in the subject at hand, some examples of the congregation liking or not liking particular music, or further information that I can explore. After interviewing those workers of …

Content And Character: Modeling Christian Communication After Jesus' Sermon On The Mount, Sophie Demuth

Honors Theses

In order to learn about Jesus’ communication method, I decided to study the Sermon on the Mount. After doing an in-depth study of Jesus’ method (how he taught, the devices he used, and his structure), I realized his method is only a part of his effectiveness as a speaker. Without credibility and integrity as well, Jesus’ teaching would fall flat and cease to have authority. This realization especially struck me because, in the field of communications, method is emphasized over integrity and character. I decided to compare Jesus’ method and character with what the communication field teaches about public speaking. …

Faith And Literature: A Look At Book Censorship, Laura Cox

Honors Theses

For centuries, society has debated the issue of book censorship. Before Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press in 1455, the burning of hand-scribed books destroyed limited copies and guaranteed they would not be read. With the printing press, books could be produced in greater numbers; yet, printed speech was still a commodity that could be controlled. In 1517, Pope Leo X condemned Martin Luther's Ninety Five Theses, an early example of religious censorship of materials deemed dangerous or subversive. Political censorship quickly followed when Emperor Charles V issued the Edict ofWorms, containing a "Law ofPrinting" which banned the printing, copying, …

Southern Baptist Convention Media Missions In Africa: Cross-Cultural Communications In A Pluralistic Environment, Ian Robert Cosh

Honors Theses

The purpose for research was to analyze and synthesize the accomplishments of the Southern Baptist Convention's media missions work in Africa and to document the essence, magnitude and complexity of the task facing media missionaries in Africa. Research conducted by the writer at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in June 1986 revealed that the formal study of media missions is comparatively new, and therefore not well documented. Much of the up-to-date information available is in the form of audio cassette tapes and video recordings. Research papers written by students at the seminary, within the past two years, frequently cite sources at …