Digital Commons Network^™

On The Passing Of Wendell Berry, Gayle E. Doornbos, Jeff Ploegstra, Danielle Wyenberg, Howard Schaap

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Berry’s literary contributions are vast and multifaceted, but the central messages carry an invitation into a more intentional life, one that prioritizes people, land, communities, and the joy of good work."

Posting about Wendell Berry's passing and literary legacy ­­­­­­­­from In All Things, an online hub that offers insight into maintaining and faithful and orthodox Reformed Christian worldview while fearlessly engaging in every aspect of contemporary life – until all is made new.

On the Passing of Wendell Berry

A More Perfect Union: An Examination Of The Film, Salt Of The Earth, And The American Labor Movement, Amber Montgomery

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

This paper examines the film, Salt of the Earth, which is based on the actual events of the Mine-Mill strike that took place in Hanover, New Mexico, in 1949. The strike was organized by Mexican workers with the help of their wives. The fight was over workers’ rights, as well as their dignity. At the same time, another fight was taking place. The wives of these miners were also seeking equality within their marriages, serving as a parallel narrative to the strike. To understand the environment at this time, this paper will also analyze American politics during this period, …

Theology As The Queen Of The Sciences? Kuyper, Bavinck, And Dooyeweerd, Steve Bishop, Renato Coletto

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Finding Home: How Richard Mouw And Dordt's Community Healed My Heart, Brad D. Hickey

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Basic Trends In The Contemporary Development Of State-Church Relations In Ukraine: A Sociological Perspective, Oleksandr Sagan, Galyna Sagan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Based on an analysis of research from sociological centers and institutes consistently operating in Ukraine, the authors present a comprehensive overview of the main trends occurring within the realm of state-church and inter-church relations. Specifically, the article addresses the trends in the self-identification of Orthodox believers in Ukraine, the dynamics of which sociologists have tracked since the beginning of the twenty-first century, as well as the changes unfolding in inter-Orthodox relations following the 2022 full-scale invasion. Crucial to this analysis is the highlighted inconsistency of state institutions in implementing the new law, Про захист конституційного ладу у сфері діяльності релігійних …

Religion And Economics: The Economic Views Of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia Ii Of Georgia, Giuli Giguashvili

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The paper examines the impact of religion on a country’s economic development, analyzing how religious values and institutions influence economic behavior. The research employs a qualitative, comparative, and historical approach based on the systematic analysis of primary and secondary sources. Religion can promote economic growth by strengthening work ethics, education, and social order. Still, it may also hinder development through inefficient resource allocation and regulatory influence. In the context of the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Georgia, the study highlights the relationship between Orthodox teaching and economic thought. Drawing on the epistles and sermons of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, …

Practical Aspects Of Religious Social Work In Modern Ukraine, Inna Vladislavivna Kovalchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This work analyzes the current state and specifics of the activity of religious organizations in the social sphere of Ukraine. Special attention is paid to the transformation of religious social work in the conditions of a full-scale war, where religious communities have become key agents of humanitarian, psychological and spiritual assistance. The article examines the mechanisms of interaction between the church, the state and non-governmental organizations in solving social problems. The findings are based on the practical experiences of those working with internally displaced persons (IDPs), veterans, large families, and individuals facing difficult life circumstances. Unique methods of denominational assistance …

The Orthodox Church Of Georgia In A Shifting Political Landscape: Long Traditions, The Holy Patriarchate And Geopolitics Between The European Union And Russia, Elina Mirjam Siekkinen

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper examines the geopolitical and societal effects of the 2026 patriarchal succession within the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), by analyzing how the recent election of Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III on May 11, 2026, impacts Georgia’s European Union integration efforts. The GOC is seen as the foundation of Georgian national identity and state legitimacy, also deeply rooted in the legacy of the late Patriarch Ilia II. The enthronement of the new Patriarch Shio III may reinforce the anti-Western narratives deployed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has actively delayed Georgia’s EU accession through illiberal policies such as the "Foreign Agents …

Alignments Of Orthodoxy In Moldova And The Axiocontext Of Russia’S War Against Ukraine, Oleksandr Brodestkyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A comprehensive analysis of the dominant trends shaping the contemporary religious situation in the Republic of Moldova, with particular attention to the geopolitical foundations and ramifications of the activities of religious hierarchs. The author examines the state of Orthodoxy in Moldova, to which the overwhelming majority of the country’s citizens belong. Particular attention is paid to its division between two alternative jurisdictional identities: one within the Romanian Orthodox Church and the other within the Russian Orthodox Church. The article draws on a substantial body of relevant statistical, sociological, and factual evidence. The author subjects a wide range of recent ecclesiastical …

How Do Governments Combat Jihad Online?, Noah Cook

Honors College Theses

Since the September 11th, 2001 attacks, jihadist groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and al-Shabaab have used the internet as a tool for recruitment, radicalization, and propaganda dissemination. Since then, governments, non-governmental organizations, and private companies have developed strategies to combat jihadism on the internet. This paper examines how these actors have worked to mitigate the digital jihadist footprint and its effects by analyzing three main approaches to countering violent Islamist extremism on the internet: counter narrative initiatives, awareness-raising programs, and content removals. This paper finds that each of these methods has its own strengths and weaknesses. Counter narrative campaigns show the …

The Role Of Ghanian Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches In Fighting Sexual Violence Against Women, Christian Tsekpoe

Salubritas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling

No abstract provided.

Earthly Alienization And Galactic Othering: How Star Wars Holistically Reimagines American History And Constructs A Pipeline To Christian-Imperial Humanitarianism, Taylor Valci

Effervescence: Yale Divinity School's Student Journal of Religion

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the future of religion looks remarkably familiar. This essay argues that Star Wars offers a holistic reimagining of American racial formation in a speculative interstellar setting, translating historical practices of othering and alienization into the galaxy’s social and religious order. Across the Skywalker Saga (1977–2019), the Jedi Order functions as a galactic priesthood whose moral universalism authorizes intervention, governance, and salvation across the cosmos. Drawing on American religious history, critical race theory, migration studies, humanitarianism, and imperial studies, I show how alien species, racialized language, colorblind representation, and sacred bloodlines …

Strengthening The Holy Athlete: Lay Ascesis And Athletics In The Works Of John Chrysostom, Stephanie R. Roston

Effervescence: Yale Divinity School's Student Journal of Religion

Contemporary fitness influencers often compel their audiences by appealing to the felt connection between physical and moral-spiritual conditioning, but this was also true for John Chrysostom and his attending congregations in late antiquity. Chrysostom believed that body and soul might be brought into healthy, transparent alignment through the cultivation of embodied training grounds for virtue, and he repeatedly utilized athletic imagery in his homilies and baptismal liturgy to emphasize that the cognitive attention necessary for such work is strengthened over time through repeated physical regimens such as fasting and vigils. Warning against hypocrisy, he looked to athletes and ascetics for …

Extraordinary Senses And Dreamscapes In Medieval Japanese Ōjōden Narratives: Reading Yoshishige No Yasutane’S Nihon Ōjōgokuraku-Ki, Qingxuan Wang

Effervescence: Yale Divinity School's Student Journal of Religion

This paper examines the affective and multi-sensorial narratives in Yoshishige no Yasutane’s Nihon Ōjōgokuraku-ki, the foundational collection of medieval Japanese Pure Land Buddhist rebirth tales (ōjōden). Composed at the threshold of a dark age in which Buddhist salvation through ordinary practice was believed to be impossible, the collection spoke directly to a faith community haunted by worldly suffering and their own spiritual inadequacy. Engaging with sensory studies and narratology, this paper challenges the binary divide between doctrinal expositions and didactic narratives in the study of Buddhism. Rather than treating the Nihon Ōjōgokuraku-ki as secondary supplements to scholar-monks’ …

Does Our Economy Cultivate Beauty?, Joshua Hollinger

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Wherever we’re failing to build and preserve beautiful places, the answer lies in fostering a society of people who have a taste for beauty and a loving desire to share it with others, and in finding mechanisms for cooperating and negotiating with each other amid our sin and finitude."

Posting about true beauty in an advertising-focused world ­­­­­­­­from In All Things, an online hub that offers insight into maintaining and faithful and orthodox Reformed Christian worldview while fearlessly engaging in every aspect of contemporary life – until all is made new.

Does Our Economy Cultivate Beauty?

Co-Dominion: The Changing Nature Of The Adamic Covenant In An Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Corey Hastings

Masters Theses

Theologians and religious bodies attest to the rising influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in governments, the economy, and the lives of the people of God. Through the covenant with Adam, God gave humans the blessing of dominion and capabilities unique to creation to till the earth. Today, humans retain the image of God but AI increasingly displaces human functions with coordinated agency. Using Hebrew language exegesis of passages from Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, this study compares capabilities gifted to humans with the scope of current and near future AI models. It incorporates direct artifact analysis of a large-language model as …

Timothy Baptist Church Of Amherst, Virginia, And Technology, Christopher L. Groom

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The contemporary local church faces a critical crossroads, challenged by a widening gap between traditional ministry approaches and today's digital-native world, resulting in decreased engagement and relevance. This research tackles the urgent issue of ecclesiastical stagnation in a highly connected society. When the local church and technology strategically unite, they can dramatically shift the church’s path from static tradition toward active, missional innovation. Embracing digital tools will transform preaching from a localized, one-dimensional event into a rich, multi-layered homiletic experience that enhances message impact and clarity. By intentionally using these tools, the church can reach a wider, more diverse audience …

The Recurring Motif Of The Sexualization Of Women Within The Biblical Narratives And The Accompanied Theme Of The Providence Of God, Joseph S. Bernath

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research project seeks to inform others on how selected women of the Bible, those of the Old and New Testament, may have made wrong choices regarding sexualization, whether it be prostitution, infertility, or adultery, that the plan of God did not deter from their lives—within the Old Testament God used a multitude of family dysfunctions to carry out His plan to bring about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, it was to further the Kingdom of God.

In the gospels, Jesus had a heart for women who had been involved in sexual situations of some kind, and …

The Influential Integration Of Emotional Intelligence And Discipleship: A Thesis For The Degree Of Doctor Of Ministry, Shawna R. Willis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The end goal of this research was to create a training guide manual that integrates discipleship and emotional intelligence to introduce and educate believers on how God made them through the collation of three well-known emotional intelligence tools: temperament, personality, and skill strengths. The three validated assessments were Arno Profile Assessment from the National Christian Counseling Association, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and Gallup StrengthsFinder©. Participants completed five steps of intervention design that aimed to increase emotional intelligence with a final step of training that taught biblical tools and Scripture resources to manage emotions, make godly relational choices, and apply towards discipleship. …

The Paradox Of Fear In Scripture: Humanity’S Fear Encounters The Fear Of The Lord, Denise K. Travanti

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research portrays a biblical theology of God’s presence in response to humanity’s natural fear when people are engaged in relationship with him. The Bible is framed with God dwelling with people and the absence of fear at the beginning of their existence and at the end of time in the new heaven and new earth. Fear arrives in the garden with Adam and Eve’s choice for autonomy and their relationship with God, and thus his presence, undergoes a change. From Moses through the Writings and the Prophets, then through the apostles’ experiences conveyed in the Epistles, the reality of …

From Faith To Faithful Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of Intergenerational Discipleship In Southern Baptist Ministries, Yolanda E. Hanspard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the availability of Christian education curricula and teaching tools in churches today, a significant disconnect exists in the programs designed to develop spiritually mature adults who actively live as disciples of Christ. This gap between religious instruction and transformative spiritual growth represents a critical challenge for contemporary Christian education. Traditional approaches have underperformed due to inadequate professional development and implementation fidelity. Grounded in Morris’ (2020) Four Pathways for Christian Discipleship framework and Hull’s (2010) Church-Centered Disciple-Making Plan, with this phenomenological qualitative study, the researcher explored effective strategies for discipleship and spiritual formation among adults in Southern Baptist Convention ministries …

“It’S Not Just A Story”: A Phenomenological Study Of Evangelical Christian Women Who Have Disclosed Childhood Sexual Abuse To An Evangelical Pastor, Erin M. Collins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe Evangelical Christian women's experiences disclosing childhood sexual abuse to their pastor in the southeastern region of the United States. Childhood sexual abuse has been a globally studied public health and human rights concern. Over the past few decades, the knowledge of childhood sexual abuse has accumulated in a substantial amount of empirical research, through state and federal legislations, as well as with media coverage. This research has shed light on the gaps in the study regarding disclosure of childhood sexual abuse to an evangelical pastor. Most available research discussed the physiological …

Building And Sustaining Foundations That Ground The Faithful: Helping Young Adults Stay Connected To Faith And The Church, Abe Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Today’s prevailing cultural philosophy is lost in a malaise of confusion and deception. Children and young adults from Christian homes and churches are being lured by these deceptions. Even churched students and graduates from Christian schools (like Colorado Springs Christian School) are hemorrhaging from the body of Christ at unacceptable levels. This DMin thesis project report demonstrates that, on a continuum of touchpoints in the spiritual formation journey, Camp Elim staff and Gap Year programs are an effective model for those seeking to restore young adults, ages eighteen to twenty-nine, to fulfilling, rich, and committed involvement in the body of …

Assessing The Feasibility Of An Online Gaming Ministry And Developing An Action Plan To Train Apologists For Outreach., Alexander R. Mooney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research project is to assess the feasibility of an online gaming ministry and to develop an action plan to train apologists for outreach. This study is necessary due to several key developments over the last few years, including the growth of social media and digital platforms, the rise of content creation on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and X, the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased the need for digital ministry, and the overall growth of Gen Z in religion and faith. Because of these points, the need for developing digital ministry and online gaming ministry has grown. …

Agapē, Aretē, And The Arena: Exploring Sport Through Faith, Reason, And Olympism, Gary V. Meegan

Journal of Catholic Education

Young people have a passion for play, for competition and sport, a place where they feel fully alive. As a result, Catholic schools have introduced courses to explore sport and spirituality, delving into the working of God in their lives through athletics. However, the study of philosophy is integral to the understanding of the Catholic faith, therefore any education must also include the study of philosophy if it is to be authentically Catholic. The opportunity to create a course that incorporated both disciplines with sport resulted in a high school elective course titled, Philosophy and Theology of Sport. Its purpose …

The Bambisanani Partnership: A Global Initiative Activating Faith And Sport, David Geldart, Matt Hoven

Journal of Catholic Education

The Bambisanani Partnership: A Global Initiative Activating Faith and Sport Partnership is a United Kingdom-based charity that originated as a sports-based partnership between St. Mary’s Catholic High School in the UK, and Mnyakanya High School in rural KwaZulu- Natal (KZN), South Africa, in 2006. Inspired by papal teaching about sport, this article explores the ways in which this particular program has been successful in providing opportunities to live out the Catholic faith through sports participation. The partnership, which remains based at St. Mary’s School and is run entirely by volunteers, operates in the Nkandla region of South Africa, which is …

The Magis Ministry Model - Building Sustainable Sports And Performing Arts Ministries, Drew J. Vilinsky

Journal of Catholic Education

The Magis Ministry Model addresses the documented decline in youth religious practice by leveraging the high participation rates in secondary school athletics and performing arts. Recognizing that many students struggle to connect faith with what they value, the model embeds lay adult chaplains within teams and troupes to provide a "ministry of accompaniment". Key to this framework are chapel talks—weekly, 15- to 20-minute reflections that invite students to encounter God through their specific craft. Longitudinal data from Saint Ignatius High School demonstrates significant impact:  over 74% of surveyed participants strongly advocate for the program's continuation, and successful head coaches now …

A Comparative Analysis Of Educator And Parent Perspectives Of Catholic High School Athletics, Kevin J. Calkins

Journal of Catholic Education

This study surveyed parents to compare their perceptions of the role of athletics in the Catholic high school environment with those of educators, and to examine the degree to which athletics influences parental enrollment decisions. Educators and parents mostly agree on the role of interscholastic athletics in Catholic high schools. The most noticeable difference between educators and parents is about the perceived role of athletics in student formation. While the strength and health of a Catholic high school’s athletic program are important considerations when parents choose a Catholic high school for their child, the results indicate that academic quality is …

Sport, Human Flourishing And The Common Good: A Jesuit Perspective, Patrick M. Kelly S.J.

Journal of Catholic Education

The author interprets humanist and early Jesuit education inspired by the Spiritual Exercises through the lens of the flow psychology theory of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to highlight that they bring about differentiation – the development of the different interests, skills, dimensions of the person – and integration – in a way that is connected to community and fosters the common good. The inclusion of physical education and sports in the humanist and early Jesuit schools – the first instance of it in Catholic schools – was influenced by longer traditions which emphasized the unity of the person and a “play ethic”, …

Sport Is The New Religion? Speculations In A Time Of Profound Cultural Change, Richard M. Rymarz

Journal of Catholic Education

Utilizing a narrative approach, this article begins with an indicative account of how religion and sport are related in a particular context. This narrative is a prelude to a closer examination of the decline of religion in contemporary culture. Religion is conceptualized following Durkheim. Its decline, using sources such as Berger, Luckmann, and Stoltz, is simply explained by using powerful descriptors such as loss of ritualized practice, secular competition, and diminishing plausibility. A second narrative is offered as a departure point for the oft-discussed maxim that sport is the new religion. Rather than one being seen as a substitute for …