Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Spirits & Sacred Sites: A Study Of Beliefs On Unguja Island, Julie Bardenwerper

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The spiritual beliefs and mizimu, or sacred sites, of villagers were studied in Mangapwani, Makunduchi, and Muungoni on Unguja Island. Through semi-formal interviews, a better understanding of the prevalence and tenets of spiritual beliefs and mizimu use in present Swahili culture was gained. It was found that belief in the existence of spirits is very widespread still today, although these beliefs include many variances. Mizimu are generally being kept in tact for traditional purposes, but the spiritual belief behind them is fading. It was recommended that further study of this topic is done, particularly on mizimu, as it is an …

Shifting Focus: Redefining The Goals Of Sea Turtle Consumption And Protection In Bali, Audrey Jensen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Many would say that the environment and human culture consists of an evolutionary process, complete with necessary adaptations to current situations and the availability of resources. However, religion is usually thought to be a constant, an entity that grounds the individual believer in a “truth” that transcends time. Ultimately, the boundary between culture and religion is especially hard to decipher, particularly in the daily rituals of the Balinese. While religious beliefs are often rooted in history, they too transform through inevitable reinterpretation. The following paper describes the tremendous environmental and cultural impact of the controversial turtle trade in Bali, specifically …

Integrating Identities: Negotiating The Religious Lives Of Homosexual Christians In The Netherlands, Scott Mitchell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper explores how homosexual Christians experience their religious life, as well as the various methods used to negotiate any difficulties or conflicts between these two identities. Data for this study consists of in-depth interviews with homosexual Dutch adults who participate in worship services at a Catholic congregation in North Holland which ministers specifically to the homosexual community. Findings reveal that respondents describe their religious life as taking place on three different levels: the denominational, the individual, and the community level. These descriptions were characterized by an overall rejection of official denominational doctrine concerning homosexuality, an isolation of religious practice …

An Oriental Christ: A Perfect Condition After The State Was God, Thomas Nathaniel Eaves

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Where do we begin with our understanding of the human composition of God, with humanity’s embracement of the existential? Humanity has rendered faith volatile and constant, a consequence, not flaw, merely of developed sentience. Yet, whether God or evolution has burdened humanity with this responsibility, faith and belief continue their inexplicable and unwearied existence. People, whether atheistic, agnostic, or faith bound, have proven the existence of an utterly human liability for irrationality, or certainly rational subscription. Emile Durkheim wrote of religion as purely existent within shared life, unsusceptible to segregation and compartmental comprehension. Max Weber considered religion as providing prescientific …

Bodhisattvas In The Pagoda And In The World: Socially Engaged Buddhism In Hue, Rachel Cotterman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

How do Buddhist pagodas and other Buddhist institutions, practices, and practitioners engage with the larger realm of society in Vietnam? Does the majority Mahayana Buddhist population enact this tradition's Boddhisatva ideal of helping all beings transcend suffering? What Buddhist teachings might provide a successful model for social engagement today? This paper addresses these questions in the context of the city of Hue, with an in depth case study at Tu Hieu pagoda that is situated within an investigation into the broader culture of Buddhism in this city.

Using participant observation, interviews, and literature reviewed, I explore the vibrant presence of …