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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
We Swim, We Are Not Swallowed, Taylor Klassman
We Swim, We Are Not Swallowed, Taylor Klassman
Denison Journal of Religion
This essay explores the hostile relationship that exists between mainstream Christianity and the queer community. Klassman claims that the possible solutions to that problem currently available are not effective. The queer community has sometimes favored separatism to avoid conflict; it has created its own environment in which members can worship how they please. This does create a kind of unified community, but it also defines members exclusively by their sexuality and makes it the most significant part of their personhood. Additionally, it does not work to address prejudices existing within the mainstream religious communities. Another option currently available for queer …
Making Room For Two In One: The Conflictive Relationship Between American And Catholic Identities In American Literature, Kimberly Anne Humphrey
Making Room For Two In One: The Conflictive Relationship Between American And Catholic Identities In American Literature, Kimberly Anne Humphrey
Denison Journal of Religion
This article considers the manner in which co-existing Catholic and American identities are represented in Andrew Greeley's Cardinal Sins, Edwin O'Connor's The Edge of Sadness, Walker Percy's Love in Ruins: The Behavior of a Bad Catholic at the Time Near the End of the World, and J.F. Powers's Morte d'Urban. In each novel, there is a conflict or difficulty in reconciling various identities, in particular Catholic and American identities. While the ways in which these two interact and, occasionally, conflict varies in each novel, there is always some attempt to work out a reconciliation between the two. Humphrey concludes her …
The Baha'i Faith In America, 1893-1900: A Diffusion Of The American Religious Zeitgeist, Joshua Rager
The Baha'i Faith In America, 1893-1900: A Diffusion Of The American Religious Zeitgeist, Joshua Rager
Denison Journal of Religion
This article argues that while the Baha'i faith may appear to be very exotic and distinct from traditional American Protestantism, it is actually very representative of the American religious zeitgeist, or "spirit of the times." The founder of Baha'i was Baha'u'llah, but the man who was primarily responsible for bringing the faith to America was the Syrian Kheiralla. He was educated at an American Bible university, and spent much of his life in the United States. Eventually, he self-identified as American. Furthermore, the faith that he brought with him to the United States was not orthodox Bahai'ism. Kheiralla altered many …
Peter Berger And The Rise And Fall Of The Theory Of Secularization, Dylan Reaves
Peter Berger And The Rise And Fall Of The Theory Of Secularization, Dylan Reaves
Denison Journal of Religion
In the 1960's most sociologists, Peter Berger included, believed that secularization, or the end of power of religious institutions and symbols, was an inevitable byproduct of modernization. However, in subsequent decades Berger has realized that this prediction was incorrect and that religion was maintaining if not growing its power in many areas, with the possible exception of Western Europe and the Western intelligentsia. The resurgence of religion that Berger has witnessed over the past fifty years is not an isolated phenomenon. Berger believes that it will shape four areas: 1) international politics; 2) war and peace; 3) religion and economics; …
A Case For Heresy, Claire Navarro
A Case For Heresy, Claire Navarro
Denison Journal of Religion
This article serves as a reminder to mainstream Christians about the origins of the word "heresy." While today heresy has an immediate and profoundly negative connotation, this was not always true. Originally, the root of the word heresy implied a "choice," or a "different school of thought." This implied a difference, but not necessarily incorrectness. For instance, the word "hairesis" was used by Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, to describe the three branches of Judaism"Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees. While these three sects had different understandings of their faith, there was not a sense of condemnation. In fact, without the …
Modernity - Man's Precarious Reality, Bror Welander
Modernity - Man's Precarious Reality, Bror Welander
Denison Journal of Religion
Welander examines the instability that modernity creates in life. By studying the work of sociologist Peter Berger, Welander explores some of the most important questions spawned by modernity. Traditional societies boasted a high understanding of normative values, frequently through religious institutions, whereas modernity, characterized by industrialization, urbanization, technological innovation, bureaucratization, and globalization, lacks those common, binding principles. Economic, social, ideological, and technological changes have also resulted in a new level of pluralism. While one or two societal institutions previously were able to rule society's consciousness and stabilize morality, now hundreds of thousands of institutions vie for power. Overloading people with …
Women Of Genesis: Mothers Of Power, Olivia Depreter
Women Of Genesis: Mothers Of Power, Olivia Depreter
Denison Journal of Religion
DePreter argues against the common argument that women have little or no power in the biblical narrative. DePreter acknowledges that the stories of the Hebrew Bible occur during a time of patriarchy, but she does not agree that women are stripped of their power because of this. Women of the Bible are often criticized for seeming to represent a stereotype of cruelty and manipulation. DePreter argues that this should not be attributed to women's nature but rather to a marginalized group doing what they have to do to fulfill the covenant. This is seen most apparently in the stories of …
Harnessing Shakti: The Social Implications Of Vedic And Classical Hindu Interpretations Of Female Power, Olivia Cox
Harnessing Shakti: The Social Implications Of Vedic And Classical Hindu Interpretations Of Female Power, Olivia Cox
Denison Journal of Religion
This essay argues that the role of women in Hindu culture during different time periods has not been defined by theological change so much as social and political change. The concept of Shakti, or woman's power, has always been present in Hindu theology, but the way in which that power has been understood differed depending on the socio-historical context. For instance, the relative stability of the Vedic period and the emphasis on domesticity and family during that period made for an atmosphere in which women were of the utmost importance. Therefore, their power was available in private life as well …
Abraham: First Patriarch, First Prophet: Genesis 12-23 As Motive And Model For The Hebrew Prophetic Voice, Eleanor Swensson
Abraham: First Patriarch, First Prophet: Genesis 12-23 As Motive And Model For The Hebrew Prophetic Voice, Eleanor Swensson
Denison Journal of Religion
Swensson claims not only that Abraham is the first prophet to appear in the Hebrew Bible, but also that his intimate, friendly relationship with God is the perfect model for the relationship between humanity and divinity. Swensson identifies four markers that differentiate Abraham's relationship with God from all other human-divine relationships previously available in the text: 1) a reciprocal call between the human and the divine, 2) the gradual revelation of God's will, 3) Abraham's direct and honest communication with God, 4) an "anomic, deviant existence" that shows Abraham's complete devotion to the will of God. The reciprocal call between …
Gustavo Gutierrez's Liberation Theology: Traditional Catholicism From The Perspective Of The Afflicted Poor, Kimberly Anne Humphrey
Gustavo Gutierrez's Liberation Theology: Traditional Catholicism From The Perspective Of The Afflicted Poor, Kimberly Anne Humphrey
Denison Journal of Religion
This article turns to the Liberation Theology of Gustavo Gutierrez to explore a Catholic theology that directly addresses the problem of life in the Third World. Gutierrez focuses his argument on a God of history who worked for and lived with the marginalized, most notably in the Exodus and the Christ event. Furthermore, Gutierrez argues that the Church must be a light for all people who lives amongst the oppressed, and beckons the rest of the world to follow its lead. Humphrey concludes that Guti̩rrez's theology should be considered in light of the inhumane poverty that has become commonplace in …
The Problem Of Death And Dying In Contemporary America: A Thanatological Diagnosis And The Case For Religion, Eleanor Swensson
The Problem Of Death And Dying In Contemporary America: A Thanatological Diagnosis And The Case For Religion, Eleanor Swensson
Denison Journal of Religion
Swensson lays out the many obstacles that have resulted in twenty-first century Americans being unable to accept death. By examining the history of major social changes in the West, such as the Protestant reformation, as well as the current ways of dealing with death and dying, Swensson posits that improving how society deals with death and the dying must be aided by theology. Currently, social, political, and religious changes in the West have led to a general sense of loneliness, meaninglessness, and helplessness that are only intensified when a person faces death. Unfortunately, the current environment in which most people …
Walter Rauschenbusch And The Social Gospel, Amanda Conley
Walter Rauschenbusch And The Social Gospel, Amanda Conley
Denison Journal of Religion
This article brings Walter Rauschenbusch's theory of the Social Gospel into the current age and argues for its continued relevancy as a social critique and a charge to create a better world. The Social Gospel was concerned with collapsing Christianity and social issues onto each other. Rauschenbusch looked to a God active in history to make his argument that Christianity must be a revolutionary faith"one invested in politics and social concerns. To do this effectively, Rauschenbusch stated that religion must be concerned on all levels of daily life"from the larger political and economic issues, to the effects of those issues …
The Empirical Impulse: Empire And Religion As Bane And Blessing For Art, Jacquelyn Fishburne
The Empirical Impulse: Empire And Religion As Bane And Blessing For Art, Jacquelyn Fishburne
Denison Journal of Religion
This article rests upon the premise that empire and religion are often intertwined and reliant upon each other. Fishburne points to the time of Constantine as a world-altering example of this. After his conversion, Christianity and the Roman Empire became synonymous, with far-reaching implications. This is easily apparent when one examines the role that empire and religion played in art. Historically, this melding of religion and empire spawned an artistic revival that pushed artists into new techniques and styles. However, this new burgeoning was balanced by the strict control the Church had over artists. Art was restricted to religious subject …
Laughter In A Time Of Tragedy: Examining Humor During The Holocaust, Whitney Carpenter
Laughter In A Time Of Tragedy: Examining Humor During The Holocaust, Whitney Carpenter
Denison Journal of Religion
Carpenter argues that it was humor that inspired the Jewish people to survive the Holocaust. The power of laughter is shown in three respective functions: as an alternative hermeneutic, as a form of rebellion, and as an acknowledgement of God. The first showed itself in the Jewish peoples by serving as an alternative to internalizing the despair of their situation. It provided a means through which they could detach themselves from their circumstance and choose to live in the light of a different perspective. Laughter could also serve as rebellion: by laughing at the jokes that the Nazis tried to …
Joanna Macy: Buddhism And Power For Social Change, Caiti Schroering
Joanna Macy: Buddhism And Power For Social Change, Caiti Schroering
Denison Journal of Religion
This article examines Joanna Macy's theory of "despairwork" and its roots in the Sarvodaya Buddhist movement. Macy writes with the purpose of inspiring communities and individuals to look honestly at the state of the world and to respond passionately. She argues that apathy appears so common today because feigning disinterest is far easier than facing the monumental problems that face the world. From the threat of nuclear war to environmental destruction, humanity is overwhelmed by the possibility of its own end. Instead of giving in to crippling despair, Macy believes that honestly admitting the frightening possibilities can be a powerful …
Redeeming The Atonement: Girardian Theory, Michelle Kailey
Redeeming The Atonement: Girardian Theory, Michelle Kailey
Denison Journal of Religion
his article shows a discomfort with the way that mainstream Christianity often discusses the atonement by deifying meekness and sacrifice, an attitude that often legitimizes the cycle of domestic abuse. The author seeks a theology that will not allow the cross to become an oppressive force against the marginalized, and finds her answer in Girardian theory. This theory proposes an understanding of human behavior in four basic stages: mimetic desire, mimetic rivalry, scapegoating sacrifice, and scapegoating myth. Mimetic desire states that humans only want what they want because they know others desire it. Next, a rivalry begins between groups that …
A Recuperative Theology Of The Body: Nakedness In Genesis 3 And 9.20-27, Emily Toler
A Recuperative Theology Of The Body: Nakedness In Genesis 3 And 9.20-27, Emily Toler
Denison Journal of Religion
This essay examines the two creation stories in the Hebrew Bible, and reinterprets the nakedness present in those stories. While nakedness is frequently seen as a shameful condition of humanity, Toler reminds the reader that it is part of the creation that God declared to be "good." Though nudity is associated with tumultuous moments in the relationship between humanity and God, Toler argues that it is fear of God, not fear or shame of nakedness that motivates the uncomfortable moments like the one when Adam and Eve hid from God behind a bush. Today, nakedness is so often associated with …
Re-Imaging Modern Jewish Theology: A Closer Look At Post-Holocaust Theology, Rebecca Grimm
Re-Imaging Modern Jewish Theology: A Closer Look At Post-Holocaust Theology, Rebecca Grimm
Denison Journal of Religion
Grimm argues for a more accessible theology and metaphor for God. She looks to Melissa Raphael's post-Holocaust theology as a beginning to this new trend. Raphael, who started her theological study in the thealogy movement (known for its feminization of God,) brings this knowledge to her study of the Holocaust. The traditional Jewish theological explanation of the Holocaust asserts that God was absent during the Holocaust so as not to interfere with free will. However, this ignores the experience of half of the victims of the Holocaust: women. God appeared absent to some, she says, because they were looking for …
Cardinal Bernardin: A Framework For Consistency, Katie St. Clair
Cardinal Bernardin: A Framework For Consistency, Katie St. Clair
Denison Journal of Religion
This essay illuminates the tension that exists for many religious people as they consider the appropriate amount of overlap between their personal convictions and public, often political, decisions. Bernardin was the former Archbishop of Chicago and a member of the Second Vatican Council. He made recognizable efforts to enact the doctrines of Guadium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. This document is famous for its declaration that the Church's aim is to "read the signs of the times and interpret them in light of the Gospel." Bernardin exemplified this notion by writing extensively on …
Saving God's Body From Empire: An Analysis Of American Empire According To A Metaphorical Theology By Sallie Mcfague, Megan Pike
Denison Journal of Religion
In this article, Pike uses the theology of Sallie McFague to criticize imperialism, particularly its ecological consequences, and to argue for an ecologically minded economy. Under the current empire of free market capitalism, God is a patriarchal figure who legitimates the ruling order. This bestows a false sense of approval on individuals, corporations, and nations that exploit the lowly in order to increase their own profit margin. Sallie McFague believes that the metaphors used for God profoundly influence how people conceive of their relationship with God and the world around them. The current metaphor for God reveals a divinity that …
'You Shall Worship God On This Mountain': A Theological Reading Of Discrimination & Dehumanization At Denison, Emily Toler
'You Shall Worship God On This Mountain': A Theological Reading Of Discrimination & Dehumanization At Denison, Emily Toler
Denison Journal of Religion
This article examines protests against prejudice on Denison's campus in 2007 through the theological perspectives of M. Douglas Meeks and Jurgen Moltmann. The author argues that these two theologians offer pieces of a theology that can categorize the experiences at Denison during that time. First, Meeks thinks of communities as "households" that are asked to work as loving and supportive families. Meeks also asks Christians to remember the triune God and to use the example of that relationship"three persons in one, all working in community for the love of others"to serve as a model for their own relationships. Moltmann's theology …
What Does Scripture Say About Homosexuality?: Ethical Questions For Christian Communities, Emily Toler
What Does Scripture Say About Homosexuality?: Ethical Questions For Christian Communities, Emily Toler
Denison Journal of Religion
This article seeks to articulate a close reading of the treatment of homosexuality in the bible in order to help Christians discern an appropriate reaction to homosexuality and homosexuals on a community level. First delving into the traditional verses used to condemn homosexuality like the story of the Sodomite, the Holiness Code in Leviticus, and Paul's letter to the Romans, the author finds that these passages frequently have competing interpretations. For example, the story of the Sodomites is often told as a condemnation of rape, violence, and inhospitableness, not homosexuality. The Holiness Code could be interpreted not only as a …
Literature, Christianity, And Empire, Laura Perrings
Literature, Christianity, And Empire, Laura Perrings
Denison Journal of Religion
Empires use all the weapons in their arsenal as it attempts to justify its actions. Literature has often been made a tool, but it also has a history of criticizing empire. In this essay, Perrings uses the example of the novella Oroonoko by Aphra Behn. This woman author of the 17th century uses a tale about an African prince sold into slavery in South America as a critique British Empire's dehumanization of native peoples, slaves, and women. The language that Behn uses over the course of work resonates with Christian metaphors. While religion was often used to legitimate empire, Behn …
Changes In Sufism In The American Context, Patrick Hamilton
Changes In Sufism In The American Context, Patrick Hamilton
Denison Journal of Religion
This article considers the ways in which Sufism has altered since entering the American context. While in Islamic countries, Sufism's atypical rituals and interpretations of the Qur'an often made it a target of mainstream Islam. Once Sufism arrived in the United States, however, it rapidly began to change as practitioners no longer had to consider the pressures of a largely Islamic community. This does not mean, however, that there is no pluralism within Sufism in the United States. While early generations of immigrant Sufis remain more strongly tied to a traditional Islamic heritage, many of the Euro-American converts claim no …
Desmond Tutu: A Theological Model For Justice In The Context Of Apartheid, Tracy Riggle
Desmond Tutu: A Theological Model For Justice In The Context Of Apartheid, Tracy Riggle
Denison Journal of Religion
The power that religion can have over society today is undeniable. Riggle laments that our culture is plagued with strong memories of terrorist attacks, and fear of religious injustices based on gender and sexuality. Instead of giving up on religion's potential for positive influence, the author turns to an example of life-giving religion. Desmond Tutu, an Anglican Archbishop and South African political activist, demonstrates the continued existence of life-giving faith. Tutu, a man influenced by his Anglican religion, his African spirituality, and Apartheid, bases his theology on imago dei, the notion that humans are made in God's own image and …
The Tower Of Babel: The Dispersion Of God's People, Stephanie Dixon
The Tower Of Babel: The Dispersion Of God's People, Stephanie Dixon
Denison Journal of Religion
Dixon reimagines the story of the tower of Babel by making God's dispersion of the people a reward instead of a punishment. While this story is often read as a sign of humanity's hubris and disobedience and God's punishment, this essay choose to see the narrative as evidence of God's pride in his people and his confidence in them to populate the earth. While the vast majority of the Genesis stories show very specific interactions between particular men and women and God, this story depicts a broader narrative. Perhaps while the other stories attempt to demonstrate the relationships that exist …
The Tower Of Babel, Laura Perrings
The Tower Of Babel, Laura Perrings
Denison Journal of Religion
This essay refocuses the narrative of the tower of Babel to focus not on the division of languages or cultures, but rather on the relationship with god that this division reflected. Perrings notes that while the original unified language of humanity must have eased communication between people and can be seen, particularly in this day of cultural tension and violence, that this relationship was not pleasing to god. God is not only offended by the pride of the people, but is also concerned with their inattention to his rules and also their misunderstanding of their relationship with god. The focus …
Jean-Paul Sartre: The Bad Faith Of Empire, Megan Henricks
Jean-Paul Sartre: The Bad Faith Of Empire, Megan Henricks
Denison Journal of Religion
Henricks shows Sartre's concept of "bad faith" as a considerable influence several theologians' criticism of empire. In order to explain "bad faith," Henricks first elucidates Sartre's concepts of "being-in-itself" and "being-for-itself." While "being-in-itself" implies on object that simply is what it is and cannot become more than its current identity, "being-for-itself" has the capacity to change and transcend its current identity. Humans, Henricks points out, are "beings-for-themselves" but they also contain qualities associated with "beings-in-themselves." This duality of humanity is of the utmost importance to respect. "Bad faith" is a lie to oneself that has destabilizing results. "Bad Faith" can …
A President's Jeremiad Of Terror (Excerpts From Honors Thesis, The Rhetoric Of The War On Terror: George W. Bush's Transformation Of The Jeremiad), Lauren Alissa Clark
A President's Jeremiad Of Terror (Excerpts From Honors Thesis, The Rhetoric Of The War On Terror: George W. Bush's Transformation Of The Jeremiad), Lauren Alissa Clark
Denison Journal of Religion
Clark examines George W. Bush's transformation of the Jeremiad as an internal critique to a self-promoting form that characterizes an "other" as the enemy, and not the self. The Jeremiad is a rhetorical form that is originally taken from the biblical prophet Jeremiah. The form consists of four primary steps: (1) painting a picture of the ideal of the community, (2) clarifying how things currently stand, (3) warning against what will happen if the community does not change, (4) offering hope for a future in which the community does change its behavior. In its original form, all of these steps …
Aids And Empire: Setting: The Conditions Of A Pandemic, Cora Walsh
Aids And Empire: Setting: The Conditions Of A Pandemic, Cora Walsh
Denison Journal of Religion
Walsh criticizes the imperialistic tendencies of the United States for not only helping to create an economic and social system that stratifies wealth, but also creates such deplorable conditions of the poor that their physical well-being is also jeopardized. This is seen most profoundly in sub-Saharan Africa where the AIDS pandemic has hit most violently. Furthermore, Walsh is disappointed in the United States for creating an atmosphere of inefficient humanitarian response. During the presidency of George W. Bush, the U.S. frequently gave government resources to conservative Christian groups that practice such things as abstinence only responses, making effective treatment to …