Changing Mercy In Aotearoa New Zealand,
2026
College of the Holy Cross
Changing Mercy In Aotearoa New Zealand, Anna Nicholls Victoria University Of Wellington
Journal of Global Catholicism
This paper examines the evolving expression of Catholicity within the Mercy organization in Aotearoa New Zealand. It explores the impact of Vatican II, demographic shifts, and societal changes. Through interviews with lay leaders in Whānau Mercy Ministries, the religiosity, inclusive approach, and the tension between traditional Catholic identity and pluralism in the organization are explored. A pertinent discussion concerns how the organization uses a more secular portrayal of Catherine McAuley as a unifying figure for the religiously diverse audience. The author argues that while secularization influences the organization, it fosters human flourishing and community engagement, offering opportunities for growth rather …
Ancestral Rites And Tablets As A Site Of Contestation Between Confucian Filial Piety And Catholicism: The Cases Of Chinese Confucian Yan Mo And Korean Catholic Yun Ji-Chung,
2026
Georgetown University
Ancestral Rites And Tablets As A Site Of Contestation Between Confucian Filial Piety And Catholicism: The Cases Of Chinese Confucian Yan Mo And Korean Catholic Yun Ji-Chung, Mideum Hong
Journal of Global Catholicism
This essay examines how the Confucian practice of filial piety, particularly as expressed through ancestral rites and tablets, became a focal point of contention in the encounters between Confucianism and Catholicism. Focusing on the cases of the Chinese Catholic Yan Mo and the Korean Catholic martyr Yun Ji-chung, I argue that the different historical and cultural contexts in China and Korea significantly shaped how each figure understood and responded to the practice of ancestral rites. While Catholicism spread globally, local converts developed distinct theological interpretations rooted in their respective cultural traditions. Although Yan Mo and Yun Ji-chung reached divergent conclusions …
Opening And Closing Doors: Internationalism In The Norbertine Missions To Settler And Indigenous Populations In Wisconsin,
2026
Fordham University
Opening And Closing Doors: Internationalism In The Norbertine Missions To Settler And Indigenous Populations In Wisconsin, Alex Gruber
Journal of Global Catholicism
In this essay, I argue that the Premonstratensian or Norbertine Order located in Berne Abbey in the Netherlands responded strongly to a call for international ministry by going to northeast Wisconsin for Walloon settlers from Belgium and their descendants in 1893. However, these priests and brothers fell much farther short of internationalism in the mission to the Oneida Nation reservation they received in 1898. I will make my case by detailing these two missions and analyzing how the Norbertines acknowledged their international nature and practiced or failed to practice internationalism in them. Diving into the mission histories requires discussion of …
The Paradox Of Appropriation: A History Of Media Technology And Propaganda In Rwanda, 1900–1964,
2026
Arizona State University
The Paradox Of Appropriation: A History Of Media Technology And Propaganda In Rwanda, 1900–1964, Claudia Brown
Journal of Global Catholicism
Scholars of the 1994 Rwandan genocide agree that media technology and propaganda played a role in mobilizing ordinary Rwandans in 1994 to commit genocide. Underappreciated in these inquiries is the history of the introduction of media technology and propaganda in Rwandan society by missionaries, technologies Rwandans later appropriated and applied to a pursuit of self-determination, but also in support of perpetrating genocide. A close examination of the social and political context of Rwanda’s colonial era and Catholic evangelism reveals a variety of motives for adopting propaganda as a strategy for evangelizing and rallying support for decolonization. This article casts light …
The Untameability Of The Sacred: Votive Traditions At Notre Dame De Lourdes And El Santuario De Chimayó,
2026
Fordham University
The Untameability Of The Sacred: Votive Traditions At Notre Dame De Lourdes And El Santuario De Chimayó, Gabrielle Bibeau
Journal of Global Catholicism
This article compares divergent votive practices at Notre Dame de Lourdes in France and El Santuario de Chimayó in New Mexico. Lourdes’ embrace of modern aesthetic values—simplicity, order, and functional clarity—has led to the removal and tight regulation of most ex-votos. By contrast, Chimayó’s roots in Latin American Baroque aesthetics, with its emphasis on abundance, drama, and hybridity, create space for a vibrant proliferation of offerings. Drawing on Jacques Rancière’s theory of aesthetics and politics as the “distribution of the sensible,” the article shows how aesthetic judgments intertwine with clerical power to curate, constrain, and authorize pilgrims’ access to the …
“Enslavement By Unbridled Passions:” Catholic Magisterial Institutional Attitudes Toward Homosexuals In Poland Between 1945 And 1989,
2026
University of Warsaw
“Enslavement By Unbridled Passions:” Catholic Magisterial Institutional Attitudes Toward Homosexuals In Poland Between 1945 And 1989, Agnieszka Laddach
Journal of Global Catholicism
During Communism, the Polish bishops presented a narrative about (homo)sexuality with in order to create the image of a righteous moral and social life that was to influence the Catholics. In my research I conduced a thematic analysis of this narrative. I highlight the doctrinal and Polish social-religious context to foreground tendencies in the formation of Church teaching about homosexuality as well as the importance of the Church in Poland to its formation. Then, I show the factors that characterize the episcopal discourse’s content and language about homosexuality, recognizing that components of episcopal discourse suggest a specificity of Church potential …
Overview & Acknowledgments,
2026
College of the Holy Cross
Overview & Acknowledgments, Mathew Schmalz
Journal of Global Catholicism
This Introduction overviews the work of contributors from the Graduate Symposium sponsored by the Journal of Global Catholicism and the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture. The Introduction also highlights the independent peer reviewed submission from Dr. Agnieszka Laddach of the University of Warsaw.
The Festival Of “Geristoba” (The Feast Of The Moon) In Shida Kartli, Associated With The Cult Of Saint George,
2026
Gori State University
The Festival Of “Geristoba” (The Feast Of The Moon) In Shida Kartli, Associated With The Cult Of Saint George, Giorgi Sosiashvili Prof. Dr., Aleksandre Mgebrishvili Prof. Dr.
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
This study examines Geristoba, the Saint George feast historically celebrated around the Church of Saint George in Geri (Shida Kartli, Georgia) and its related sanctuary in Arbo. Drawing on the Chronicle of Geri (compiled by Deacon Iakob Lomouri), 19th–20th-century ethnographic accounts (S. Makalatia), historical notes (A. Garsevanishvili, Z. Chichinadze), and period press reports (Tsnobis Purtseli, Mtskemsi), the article reconstructs the site’s foundation traditions—attributed to King Pharsman and later royal patronage under Queen Tamar—alongside the ritual calendar and practices. It argues that Geristoba preserves a layered syncretism: Christian veneration of Saint George overlaid on earlier lunar cult symbolism, visible in the …
Book Review: Sister Sinner By Claire Hoffman,
2026
Liberty University
Book Review: Sister Sinner By Claire Hoffman, Shawn Smith
Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History
Claire Hoffman’s *Sister Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson* (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025) offers a very balanced and engaging look at one of the most influential yet controversial figures in early twentieth-century American Christianity. Blending meticulous scholarship with narrative flair, Hoffman explores McPherson’s rise from obscure evangelist to international celebrity, her pioneering use of radio, and her complex role in shaping Pentecostalism and popular culture. Avoiding sensationalism, Hoffman examines McPherson’s triumphs, contradictions, and mysterious disappearance with nuance and respect, resulting in a balanced yet compelling and well contextualized biography.
A Crown In Death: An (Expanded) Dramaturgical Approach To The Trojan Women Of Euripides,
2026
Liberty University
A Crown In Death: An (Expanded) Dramaturgical Approach To The Trojan Women Of Euripides, Stephanie Lester
Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship
In the action-packed, visually-oriented market for modern media, some may assume a 2,400-year-old Greek tragedy to be slightly past its expiration date, especially if it features little to no action onstage like in Euripides’ The Trojan Women. However, it is important to remember that literature is lost when the world fails to cherish it, so if a text survives that long, it may be worth another cursory glance. In this case, that glance involved a full dramaturgical study featuring qualitative script analysis of multiple translations of The Trojan Women with related texts to explore context, themes, common literary devices, and …
American Women's Clubs In The Nineteenth Century: The Case Of The Female Relief Society Of Nauvoo (1842-1844),
2026
University of Houston - Main
American Women's Clubs In The Nineteenth Century: The Case Of The Female Relief Society Of Nauvoo (1842-1844), Adithi Nythruva
Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History
Throughout the nineteenth century, women’s clubs provided American women with the space to influence the patriarchal-dominated public sphere and venture beyond their traditional domestic roles. This paper demonstrates that the Relief Society women developed a more nuanced relationship with feminist agency through their initiatives. Through an analysis of 33 sets of meeting notes from the society’s early years, this paper argues that the Relief Society women established feminist agency by exercising female authority, addressing scandals and injustices, and building a sisterhood. Additionally, through feminist agency, the Relief Society paralleled, and pre-dated the activities of many popular women’s clubs during the …
The Joy Above All Joys: Roland D. Sawyer’S Socialism For The Working Class,
2026
University of New Hampshire, Durham
The Joy Above All Joys: Roland D. Sawyer’S Socialism For The Working Class, Maggie R. Buglino
Roland D. Sawyer Scholarship Papers
Following the Industrial Revolution, Americans were required to adapt to the nation's new capitalistic society. Witnessing the subsequent struggle of working-class families, 20th century Christian socialist Roland D. Sawyer was resolved to advocate for a reformed economic structure. This paper is dependent entirely on primary sources in the Roland D. Sawyer Collection, available in the University of New Hampshire's Milne Special Collections. Studying Sawyer's autobiography and various socialist writings illustrates his idea of a good life for the American working-class and how they were to achieve it through the adoption of a socialist doctrine. Throughout his activism, he encouraged Americans …
Infinite Line, Infinite Knowledge: The 'Spera' And Organized Chaos In Lambert's Encyclopedia, The 'Liber Floridus',
2026
CUNY Hunter College
Infinite Line, Infinite Knowledge: The 'Spera' And Organized Chaos In Lambert's Encyclopedia, The 'Liber Floridus', Ava Romano
Theses and Dissertations
The Liber Floridus is a medieval encyclopedia renowned for its program of circular diagrams, or sperae. Inside this manuscript of 190 chapters, these diagrams frame and embody written knowledge, revealing a connection between encyclopedism and life in the Benedictine monastery by creating a coherent visual organization of chapters.
The Religious Landscape Of Ukraine During The War: Consolidation Potential And Destructive Imitations,
2026
Bohdan Khmelnytskyi National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Ukraine
The Religious Landscape Of Ukraine During The War: Consolidation Potential And Destructive Imitations, Vadym Dyiak
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article examines the transformation of religion’s functional role in the context of the russian-Ukrainian war. The author analyzes how the extreme circumstances of armed conflict catalyze the polarization of Ukraine’s religious landscape, clearly distinguishing between authentic religiosity and its ideological imitations. The main focus is on conceptualizing the differences between churches that serve as a resource for spiritual consolidation and social therapy (the OCU, the UGCC) and religious institutions that are used as instruments of hybrid aggression. To describe the latter phenomenon, the author introduces and adapts Oswald Spengler’s concept of “historical pseudomorphosis.” It is argued that the activities …
Bolshevik Anti-Religious Policy As An Instrument Of Ideological Influence On The Youth Of National Minorities In The Volhynia-Zhytomyr Region (1925-1936),
2026
Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University
Bolshevik Anti-Religious Policy As An Instrument Of Ideological Influence On The Youth Of National Minorities In The Volhynia-Zhytomyr Region (1925-1936), Galyna Starodubets, Oleksandra Stasiuk
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The relevance of the research problem lies in the need to expand scholarly knowledge about the role and place of national minorities (Poles, Germans, and Jews) in the processes of Sovietization of the Ukrainian countryside and in the establishment of the totalitarian regime in general during the first decades of Soviet rule in Ukraine. Drawing on extensive source material, the article examines the policy of the Bolshevik authorities toward the youth of the Polish, German, and Jewish national minorities in the Volyn–Zhytomyr region against the background of the Sovietization of the countryside in the mid-1920s to the early 1930s. It …
Volunteer Activities Of Religious Organizations In Ukraine During The Russian-Ukrainian War (2014-2025),
2026
Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University
Volunteer Activities Of Religious Organizations In Ukraine During The Russian-Ukrainian War (2014-2025), Serhii Stelnykovych, Ivan Kovalchuk, Iryna Miakinchenko
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article analyzes the volunteer activities of religious organizations in Ukraine during the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014–2025. Two stages are identified. In the first stage (2014–early 2022), volunteer initiatives of religious organizations adapted to the localized conflict in Donbas. In the second stage (early 2022–2025), under the conditions of the full- scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, volunteering by religious organizations took on the character of humanitarian mobilization. The role of interfaith structures–above all, the All- Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO)–in shaping and supporting volunteer initiatives is demonstrated. It is argued that humanitarian assistance to civilians and military …
The Phenomenon Of Ukrainian Chaplaincy From The Underground Of The 1990s To Officer Ranks In The Historical And Spiritual Experience Of Lieutenant Colonel Of Aviation And Pastor Vasyl Khimich,
2026
Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences
The Phenomenon Of Ukrainian Chaplaincy From The Underground Of The 1990s To Officer Ranks In The Historical And Spiritual Experience Of Lieutenant Colonel Of Aviation And Pastor Vasyl Khimich, Valentyna Kuryliak
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
Vasyl Khimich is a career aviation officer, retired lieutenant colonel, and pastor who combined the discipline of a Soviet officer with the spiritual mission of developing educational standards. This interview is about how faith became a strategic resource of national security. The figure of Vasyl Khimich is exceptionally valuable for the history of Protestantism in Ukraine, as he combines the experience of a Soviet career aviation officer, a pastor, and a developer of the first standards of military chaplaincy in Ukraine. His path demonstrates the complex evolution of the Ukrainian military-Christian movement from underground meetings to official recognition at the …
Religious Transformation Of Crimea Amid Geopolitical Changes: From Pluralism To Totalitarian Control (2000–2026),
2026
Mykhailo Dragomanov Ukrainian State University
Religious Transformation Of Crimea Amid Geopolitical Changes: From Pluralism To Totalitarian Control (2000–2026), Volodymyr Zuikov
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
This article analyzes the radical transformation of the religious landscape of the Crimean Peninsula in the context of geopolitical changes and “hybrid warfare.” I conduct a comparative analysis of two chronological periods: the stage of Ukrainian sovereignty from 2000 to 2013, which was characterized by a high level of religious pluralism and interconfessional peace, and the period of Russian occupation from 2014 to 2024/2026, which was marked by a transition to a rigid hierarchical system of control. The scholarly novelty of the study lies in its detailed reconstruction of the mechanisms of the “hybrid absorption” of Protestant communities, including Baptists, …
The Symbolic Language Of Militarized Orthodoxy In Patriarchal Sermons, Architecture, And Pseudo-Historical Memory,
2026
Poltava V. G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University
The Symbolic Language Of Militarized Orthodoxy In Patriarchal Sermons, Architecture, And Pseudo-Historical Memory, Oleksandr Lukyanenko
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article is devoted to a comprehensive cultural and religious analysis of the processes of militarization of religious worldview in modern Russia using the example of public speeches of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, as well as the symbolic space of the Main Temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Particular attention is paid to the study of the mechanisms of sacralization of war through the integration of historical memory, Orthodox rhetoric and the state ideology of the “Russian world”. The study analyzes the peculiarities of the interpretation of World War II as the sacred foundation of modern Russian …
Pentecostals In The Ukrainian Ssr During Collectivization And The Holodomor Of 1930–1933: Socio-Adaptive Survival Practices,
2026
Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University
Pentecostals In The Ukrainian Ssr During Collectivization And The Holodomor Of 1930–1933: Socio-Adaptive Survival Practices, Oleksandr Korotaiev
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe
The article examines the social adaptation and survival practices of Pentecostal communities in the Ukrainian SSR under the conditions of forced collectivization, dekulakization, and the Holodomor of 1930–1933. Drawing on criminal-investigative case files of the GPU, top-secret Soviet security service documents, party and state decrees, and testimonies of contemporaries, the study reconstructs individual, family, and communal strategies employed by believers in response to systematic state violence. Particular attention is devoted to Pentecostal communities in the Odesa okrug, especially the village of Holma in the Balta district, where Soviet repressive policies manifested themselves through a combination of economic pressure, religious persecution, …
