History of Religion Commons^™

Quantitative Literacy And The Humanities, Rachel Chrastil

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

William Vandever: Presbyterian, Congressman, General, Douglas Firth Anderson

Faculty Publications

What happens to Dutch ethnic identity after several generations in America? William Vandever (1817-1893) illustrates at least one path of acculturation. He was a Congressman twice--first from Iowa, later from California. During the Civil War, he raised a Union regiment from Iowa and was a general by the time the war ended. In the 1870s he was a U.S. Indian Inspector. His Dutchness, though, persisted through his self-identification as a devout Presbyterian--in the greater Reformed tradition of his Dutch ancestors of the 17th century.

Finding The Witch’S Mark: Female Participation In The Judicial System During The Hopkins Trials 1645-47, Shannon M. Lundquist

Departmental Honors Projects

Between the years of 1645 and 1647 in East Anglia, a series of witch trials known as the Hopkins Trials took place. In all, 250 witches were accused and 100 hanged. The ability to convict a person of the crime of witchcraft relied heavily on evidence which was hard to come by given the nature of the crime of witchcraft. Tangible proof of an intangible crime was needed; this came in the form of witch’s marks. To the learned population, marks were a symbol of the witch’s covenant with the devil. To the lay person, they were called ‘teats’ and …

Modern Japanese Literature And Visual Culture: Constructions Of Religious And Historical Identity, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

This course is a survey of modern Japanese literature and visual culture since the Meiji Restoration (1868). It focuses on constructions of identities within historical contexts. Our objective is to analyze ways in which writers and artists have positioned their subjects and re-imagined culture to create particular portrayals. The class examines a selection of shōsetsu (the Japanese novel) of Natsume Soseki, Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, Murakami Haruki, and Ogawa Yōko, films of Miyazaki Hayao, and important anime. The course promotes critical methodologies and interdisciplinary or comparative studies, combining, for example, literature with film, visual culture, gender studies, cultural history, Buddhist …

New Perspectives On The Northampton Communion Controversy Iii: Count Vavasor's Tirade And The Second Council, 1751, Douglas L. Winiarski

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Jonathan Edwards’ fateful decision to repudiate the church admission practices of his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, provoked a bitter dispute with his parishioners that led to his dismissal in 1750. Scholars have long debated the meaning of this crucial turning point in Edwards’ pastoral career. For early biographers, the Northampton communion controversy served as an index of eighteenth-century religious decline. More recent studies situate Edwards’ dismissal within a series of local quarrels over his salary, the “Bad Book” affair, conflicts with the Williams family, and the paternity case of Elisha Hawley. This essay is the first a series that reexamines the …

New Perspectives On The Northampton Communion Controversy Ii: Relations, Professions, And Experiences, 1748-1760, Douglas L. Winiarski

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

The second installment of a five-part series presenting documents relating to the “Qualifications Controversy” that led to Edwards’ dismissal at Northampton, this article presents a series of “relations,” or lay spiritual autobiographies presented for church membership. These relations come from other Massachusetts churches, many of whose pastors were aligned with Edwards, and yet reveal some significant differences from the form and content that Edwards came to advocate for such relations.

Stirpiculture : Science-Guided Human Propagation And The Oneida Community, Alexandra Leah Prince

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Between 1869 and 1879, the communal Christian group the Oneida Community undertook a pioneering eugenics experiment called "stirpiculture" by the group's leader, John Humphrey Noyes. Stirpiculture resulted in the planned conception, birth, and communal rearing of fifty-eight children, bred from selected members of the Oneida Community. This thesis concerns the scientific as well as the religious origins of the Oneida Community's stirpiculture experiment, and explores the ways in which the experiment changed the Community over time, especially as the "stirpicults," or children of the experiment matured and reoriented the Community away from the religious tenets on which it was founded. …

The Council Of The Indies And Religion In The Spanish New World, Ashley D. Ellington

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The Council of the Indies was responsible for the governing of the Spanish Empire, including issues of religion. During the reign of Philip II, the Council gained independence from the Council of Castile and was able to take more control of the Spanish territories. In response to outside factors, the Council codified its laws regarding the spread of the Catholic faith, which became the basis for Council control of religion under the authority of the king. A review of the Council during this time led to many changes in an effort to make the Council less corrupt and more efficient. …

The Father Of Black Adventism, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Atatürk's Balancing Act: The Role Of Secularism In Turkey, Patrick G. Rear

Global Tides

The intersection of religion and politics in the form of a civil religion has been present since time immemorial. This paper looks specifically to the relationship between Turkey’s development of a secular civil religion after gaining independence and the advancing of women’s rights and democratic values. In examining the intersections of state and religion in a secular Islamic society, it draws parallels to the French civil religion as it came to be following the French Revolution. Though Atatürk and other secularists were strong forces in developing the civil religion, the paper also examines liberal democratic and conservative Islamic groups in …

Jesuits In The Philippines: Politics And Missionary Work In The Colonial Setting, Francis B. Galasi

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

China In Transition: Jesuit Encounters With The Dying Qing Empire, Anthony E. Clark

History Faculty Scholarship

When four French Jesuits first encountered China in the late 1800s, they were unexpectedly swept into the turbulence of a dying empire. In this lecture, Dr. Anthony Clark, considers what it was like to be a Jesuit missionary in China as the Qing empire erupted into the violent Boxer Uprising of 1900. Living in what is today called Hebei, these missionaries struggled to learn Chinese and adjust to Chinese culture, while also maintaining their relationships with their families back in Europe. Dr. Clark will also discuss his recent travels to where these Jesuits lived and died in 1900. When Sts. …

Grafting Onto `The Jew': The Importance Of Being Jew-Ish To Early Modern English Christian Identity, Joan Blackwell Wedes

Wayne State University Dissertations

The dissertation examines how Jewish figures in early modern plays, prose, and poetry moved beyond the uncomplicated medieval image of murderous villain and towards a more reasoned consideration of the Jew's position in Christianity as well as in English life. While there has been significant scholarship on early modern representations of Jews, particularly in drama, these studies have not examined how Paul's Letter to the Romans, in forming much of Reformation doctrine, was also crucial in forming attitudes towards and representations of literary and living Jews. My project uniquely combines history, biblical studies, and literary analysis to reveal how early …

0816: First Presbyterian Church Of Huntington Records, 1890-2008, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection contains the records of the First Presbyterian Church of Huntington from the 1890s to the early 2000s. Most of the collection falls between 1930 and 2002. Within the collection are administrative records such as minutes, registers, and accounting records; photographs of members, non-members, former members, church functions; scrapbooks of sanctuary renovations, church functions, and miscellaneous ephemera; newspaper clippings; an international collection; histories of the First Presbyterian Church; a large collection of lantern slides; and other various items.

To view materials from this collection that are digitized and available online, search the First Presbyterian Church of Huntington, 1890-2008 here.

Role Theory As An Informative Lens For Understanding The Familial And Political Power Struggles Of Henry Viii And Mary I Of England, Niki Incorvia

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to analyze the application of twentieth century sociologist George Mead's role theory to Henry VIII and Mary I, of Britain's Tudor Dynasty, regarding their treatment of their families during the early to mid-sixteenth century. Contemporary role theory can offer a useful lens to study sixteenth century royal family functionality through an analysis of Henry VIII and Mary I's lives as monarchs of England. Role theory can illuminate the role conflict that led to a separation between Henry and Mary as people and as sovereigns. Their roles, derived from traditional authority, set them apart as people and led …

An Examination Of The Martyrdoms Of Lyon In Ad 177: A Critique Of The Theory Of The Trinqui, Timothy Yonts

Masters Theses

Historical research concerning the Christian persecution of Lyon in AD 177 has attempted to solve the question of relationship between the events in Lyon and the political and religious context of the Roman Empire. One such theory, the trinqui theory, posits that the Gallic aristocracy exploited Christians as sacrificial victims in an ancient Celtic ritual involving the use of criminals in gladiatorial entertainment. If true, the trinqui theory effectively shifts the responsibility for the killings from the imperial government under Marcus Aurelius to the provincial and aristocratic authorities in Gaul. This thesis will critique the trinqui theory by showing that …

Historical Movements And The Theology Behind The Pluralism Project At Harvard University, Scott Macleod

Masters Theses

The focus of this paper is to address religious pluralism as a belief along with examining multiple factors that have been a catalyst for the Pluralism Project at Harvard University to become part of American culture. The theology behind and ideology of the Pluralism Project will be examined along with the writings of Diana Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project. Outwardly, The Pluralism Project and the works of Eck give the impression of an impartial attempt to educate people on the growing religious diversity found within America. However, it will be shown that the Pluralism Project and the efforts of …

The Chimerae Of Their Age:Twelfth Century Cistercian Engagement Beyond Monastic Walls, Daniel J. Martin

Pomona Senior Theses

One of the great paradoxes of the medieval period is the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1225), in which monks of the Cistercian Order took an active and violent role in campaigning against the heretics of the Languedoc. Why, and how, did this order officially devoted to prayer and contemplation become one of the prime orchestrators of one of medieval Europe’s most gruesome affairs? This thesis seeks to answer that question, not by looking at the crusading Cistercians themselves, but at their predecessor Bernard of Clairvaux, who—I will argue—made the Albigensian Crusade possible by making it permissible for monks to intervene in the …

The Effects Of Processing Fluency On Restorative Environments, Andrea Ahles

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Educator Perceptions Of The Opitimal Professional Development Experience, Kent Lloyd Pettet

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.