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Pseudoarchaeology And The Ancient Astronaut Theory : An Analysis Of A Modern Belief System, Morgana Sommer

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone will discuss the Ancient Astronaut Theory and its public acceptance, despite vast criticism from the scholarly community. By laying out the historical context of the Ancient Astronaut Theory and examining some of its most important claims, this paper attempts to form an understanding of why it enjoys such popularity with the general public. The religious theories of Émile Durkheim as well as Claude Lévi-Strauss’s Structuralism are used to examine the Ancient Astronaut Theory as a modern beliefs system.

The Impact Of Minority Faith On The Experience Of Mental Health Services: The Perspectives Of Devotees Of Earth Religions, Alison Niblick

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In response to an identified need in the psychological literature for research on minority religion, especially earth-centered religion, this dissertation was developed to 1) present an overview of the three main branches of contemporary earth religion, 2) illuminate the realities of minority religious identity in the United States of America, 3) collect data regarding the demographic and identity variables of devotees of earth centered religion, and 4) solicit feedback from the earth religious community regarding its understanding of psychological distress, preferred ways of coping with distress, and perceptions and experiences of professional mental health services. A total of 64 self-identified …

Religion And Spirituality In Nevada, Ariane G. Mitchum, Michael Ian Borer

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Across the world, religion is integral to society insofar it shapes people’s thoughts, behaviors, and interactions. What exactly the term “religion” means, however, is far from clear-cut, as it continues to be a highly charged topic of discussion and debate, a subject that many hold dear and near to their hearts.

Limiting Principles And Empowering Practices In American Indian Religious Freedoms, Kristen A. Carpenter

Publications

Employment Division v. Smith was a watershed moment in First Amendment law, with the Supreme Court holding that neutral statutes of general applicability could not burden the free exercise of religion. Congress's subsequent attempts, including the passage of Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, to revive legal protections for religious practice through the legislative and administrative process have received tremendous attention from legal scholars. Lost in this conversation, however, have been the American Indians at the center of the Smith case. Indeed, for them, the decision criminalizing the possession of their peyote sacrament was …

Attitudes Toward Marriage, Divorce, Cohabitation, And Casual Sex Among Working-Age Latinos: Does Religion Matter?, Christopher G. Ellison, Nicholas H. Wolfinger, Aida I. Ramos-Wada

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

The rapid growth of the Latino population in the United States has renewed interest in Latino family research. It has often been assumed that Catholicism is a key factor influencing Latinos’ attitudes toward the family, despite the fact that nearly one third of Latinos are not Catholic. This article uses data from the 2006 National Survey of Religion and Family Life, a survey of working-age adults (aged 18-59 years) in the lower 48 states, to explore the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity—denomination, church attendance, prayer, and beliefs about the Bible—and Latinos’ attitudes regarding marriage, divorce, cohabitation, and casual sex. …

Ritual As Clinical Intervention In Groupwork With African American Women, Kathryn Kristin Berg

Master's Theses

This paper is an exploratory study on the subject of ritual as clinical intervention in groupwork with African American women. It is predicated on the idea that ritual has the potential to foster emotional growth in clients by creating structure and facilitating processes of transition. Ritual has largely been underexplored in the literature as a clinical intervention. However, there is a particular gap in research on ritual in groupwork with African American women. The first half of this paper provides an overview of social work scholarship covering individual branches of the subject, including spirituality in social work, spirituality in the …

Reinhold Niebuhr's Ethics Of Rhetoric, Joseph E. Rhodes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the writings of the American public intellectual and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971). My project is a unique contribution to Niebuhrian studies in that I approach these works from the perspective of a rhetorical theorist. My intention is to parse from Niebuhr’s editorial commentaries, his philosophical inquiries and lectures, his theological treatises, and his sermonic essays an specifically “Niebuhrian ethics of rhetoric.” In order to accomplish this task I investigate the rhetorical situation Niebuhr was embedded in and to which he was responding to at the turn of the twentieth century. Part of the analysis of his rhetorical …

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives On The Relationship Between Magic And Religion, Shawna Dolansky, David A. Allred

BYU Studies

Defining terms is a foundational task in academic studies, and a clear example of its importance is in the ongoing debates on the relationship between magic and religion. Because of the various ways in which magic has been defined over time and because of the negative connotations that can accompany some definitions, explorations of magic and religion are rife with misunderstanding and ethnocentrism, most famously dating back to the milieu of cultural evolution that characterized nineteenth-century anthropology, especially in the works of Edward B. Taylor and James G. Frazer. However, questions about the relationship between magic and religion go back …

Does Faith Matter? A Comparison Of Faith-Based And Secular International Nongovernmental Organizations Engaged In Humanitarian Assistance, Jill Mcleigh

All Dissertations

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant increase in international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) participating in humanitarian assistance, and thus, an increase in the study of these organizations. In part because of former President George W. Bush's faith-based initiative, interest in a particular subset of INGOs - religious INGOs (ROs) - has been on the rise. Among the gaps in this literature is a quantitative approach to understanding the types of activities and funding opportunities INGOs pursue based on whether they are religious and what makes an organization religious. To address these omissions, this dissertation examines the religious …

Common Ground With A Common Faith: Dewey’S Idea Of The “Religious”, Bradley Baurain

Education and Culture

In A Common Faith, Dewey rejects organized religion and belief in the supernatural, instead arguing for an authentically “religious” attitude which this interpretive essay analyzes in terms of four propositions: (1) Knowledge is unified. (2) Knowledge is democratic. (3) The pursuit of moral ideals requires moral faith. (4) The authority for moral ideals is experience as explored via inquiry. The author responds from the perspective of his own religious faith and outlines conceptual relationships with modern spirituality in education writers. The common ground is that the “religious” must be seen as a significant way of being and becoming in education.

Teaching Religion In The Deep South, William L. Smith

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this paper is to generate discussion about the teaching and learning sociology and religious studies using the "study in depth" method. In addition, the author shares with readers how one course, and a specific set of readings contributed to a department's overall plan for study in depth in sociology. Study in depth is defined as the comprehension of "a complex structure of knowledge" (Association of American Colleges). It uses a multidisciplinary approach that is vital to teaching and learning sociology, religious studies, and other subjects. Sociology of Religion at this university is an upper-division elective for sociology …

The Anthropology And Sociology Of Proponent And Opponent Worldviews In Central Arkansas Regarding Same-Sex Issues And Constitutionally Protected Rights: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, Rohn Muse

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis autoethnographically examines divergent worldviews, specifically with respect to the contentious issues of same-sex marriage and adoption/foster-parenting of children by unmarried cohabitating couples in Arkansas. Moral panics and moral politics are central to current debates about each. This thesis integrates and synthesizes interdisciplinary perspectives and insights while deconstructing and unpacking dissimilar beliefs and behaviors found in this Bible-belt state. Selected GLBTQQ/SGL narratives, interwoven with my story, compare left-leaning liberalism with ultraconservative cognitive framing utilized to oppose gay rights. Vicious targeting of gays prevails in absolute opposition to gay issues when strictly based in faith and resolute religious dogma. Humanism …

Re-Visioning The Semantic And Semiotic Registers In The Study Of Culture And Religion, Gary S. Bedford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term `God' may be understood as the desire for the complete epistemological condition of thought; language expresses this condition in statements of `meaning.' `Religion' expresses this desire in texts and ritual practice which may be examined by in academic study; however, because the `third term' of religio is understood as the condition of being `bounded to or by,' the study of religion is itself bounded to or by this desire for the completion of thought. This desire cannot be understood as an `alterity' of thought but is rather the internal native or `alter-native' condition of thought itself. …

Democracy Online: Immigration Discourse Over Time, Brian David Harris

Theses and Dissertations

The growth of internet communication has affected deliberative democracy by introducing new public spheres. One emerging public sphere is the discussion forum linked to online news sources. By analyzing 1,768 comments posted to a regional online news website, I discuss five key frameworks that commenters used to simplify the debate over immigration. I also find that extreme comments decreased in frequency over a two-year period while more moderate comments increased. In light of group polarization theory, this finding suggests that the forum is more like a single community with a fairly moderate average position to which people with differing opinions …

Wooster Magazine: Summer 2011, Karol Crosbie

Wooster Magazine: 2011-2020

This edition of the Wooster Magazine was published in the summer of 2011. The magazine begins with an article by editor Karol Crosbie about IS celebrations--IS Monday and IS Symposium. Sara Patton '67 has retired this summer from her position as the vice president for development. Twelve student's Independent Studies are featured with the overarching theme of popular culture. Four alumni are highlighted for their farming practices: David Cleverdon '63, Susan Ordway Hurd '72, Sharon Mortimer Roeder '93, and Mike Eisenstat '70. The magazine concludes with an excerpt from L Gordon Tait's new manuscript titled Personal Reflections on the History …

Plenary Session On Macromarketing And Politics Roundtable On Macromarketing And Politics, Raymond Benton Jr.

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this conference presentation I draw on C.S. Lewis to make the point that newspapers, films, novels, and textbooks all undermine the macromarketing point of view. Every student in every class in all schools of business sees economics everywhere and by it they see, interpret, and understand everything else. That blocks a macromarketing perspective, a perspective that does not rely on the market and the state as the sole alternatives in the provisioning systems of societies (George Fisk’s widely referenced definition of marketing among the macromarketing community). To fully grasp that one must appreciate that the market is a metaphor.

The Reciprocal Reshaping Of The American Dream And American Religion, Samir S. Gupte

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Religion has played an important role in the creation and dissemination of the idea now called the American Dream since the discovery of the North American continent. The first iteration of the American Dream manifested in the sixteenth century as a Return to Eden. The next phase was best represented by the Puritan quest for freedom of religion. In the eighteenth century, independence was the object of the American Dream. This was supported by the First Great Awakening. The nineteenth century American Dream can be characterized as opportunity as evidenced by immigration, westward migration, and the growth of commercial enterprise. …

The Importance Of Undecideds In The Evolution Vs. Creationism Debate, Seth Steinman

Senior Honors Projects

As a scientific theory, evolution has as much empirical support for its core assertions as the heliocentric universe theory or the belief that the Earth is round.  Despite a unanimous consensus in the scientific community about evolution’s validity, the General Social Survey (GSS) consistently reports that 85 percent of Americans are either undecided or do not believe in evolution.

This divide between evolutionists, led by scientists, and creationists, led by religious leaders, has enormous scientific and political implications, which include funding for basic scientific research, acting to stop global warming, and what schools should be teaching our children.

The most …

Sexual Rights And Religion: Same-Sex Marriage And Lawmakers' Catholic Identity In Argentina, Juan Marco Vaggione

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Helplessness To Hope: Cultural Transformations For The Maasai Girl-Child, Kelly Suzanne Bingham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined how the life dreams of the girls at the MTH Center of Hope in Kenya are being altered as a result in a change of cultural experience. The center was built as a place of rescue to protect Maasai girls from early marriage, FGM and extreme poverty while allowing them to stay in school. The phenomenological study included observations, interviews, focus groups and a questionnaire that was used to elicit responses and begin dialogue. Results indicate that there is a definite need not only for secondary and tertiary education for the girls but also to train the …

Beyond Colonization, Commodification, And Reclamation: Recognizing And Retheorizing The Role Of Religion In Hula, Christine E. Chan

Pomona Senior Theses

Given the history of colonization and commodification in Hawai`i, it is no surprise that non-traditional performances are met with critical reception. However, in this thesis, I hope to destabilize the popular binary juxtaposition of authentic Hawaiian art and (mis)appropriated tourist kitsch. I argue that hula has been Orientalized and wrongly associated with religion not only by colonizers and the tourist industry, but also by those whose response to colonization is a call for purity and authenticity in the practice of Hawaiian culture. I am specifically referring to people who romanticize and mythologize hula and Hawai`i prior to European contact. Therefore, …

American Muslim Identities: A Qualitative Study Of Two Mosques In South Florida, Azka Mahmood Mahmood

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most existing research on Muslims and transnational Islam originates from Europe. However, the Muslim population in Europe differs from American Muslims in a number of important ways. In this research I aim to address the general paucity in sociological literature that originates from the U.S. and focus on the mosque as a space where American Muslim identity forms and evolves for both first- and second-generation American Muslims. I examine two American mosques in South Florida as the sites of the development of American Muslim identities based on ethnographic data and participant interviews. I find that the research sites perform functions …

Shirley, Latrel, B. 1989 (Fa 543), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text (click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 543. Paper titled "The Bible Time Capsule" written by Latrel Shirley about Lisa Gail (Morrison) Shirley's Bible and the ephemera stored in it. Includes colored illustrations.

Islam In The Secular Nomos Of The European Court Of Human Rights, Peter G. Danchin

Faculty Scholarship

Since 2001 the European Court of Human Rights has decided a series of cases involving Islam and the claims of Muslim communities (both majorities and minorities) to freedom of religion and belief. This Article suggests that what is most interesting about these cases is how they are unsettling existing normative legal categories under the ECHR and catalyzing new forms of politics and rethinking of both the historical and theoretical premises of modern liberal political orders. These controversies raise anew two critical questions for ECHR jurisprudence: first, regarding the proper scope of the right to religious freedom; and second, regarding the …

The New American Civil Religion: Lesson For Italy, Andrew Koppelman

Faculty Working Papers

American civil religion has been changing, responding to increasing religious plurality by becoming more abstract. The problem of increasing plurality is not only an American one. It is also presented in Italy, where civic identity has been centered around a Catholicism that is no longer universal. Perhaps Italy has, in this respect, an American future.

Divergent Responses To The Human Predicament: A Case Study In New Comparativism, Mark Toole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The enterprise of comparison has been regarded by some as one of the most vital characteristics of a healthy academic study of religion. However, the failed legacy of Eliadian Comparativism has caused others to suggest that the art of comparison has not yet lived up to its promise. This study brings together the best tools of what the author calls "Smithian New Comparativism." In order to demonstrate concretely a rigorous and responsible critical comparative analysis, and to chart a course for future academically beneficial cross-cultural comparisons, this project presents a case study that compares two religious traditions' doctrinal responses to …

"The Alien Within": Residual Catholicism And The Emerging National Identity Of Post-Reformation England, Melissa K. Siik (Femino)

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation contributes to the current critical discourse in Early Modern English Studies on the conceptions and literary representations of national and racial identity in 16th- and 17th-century England. Central to this discourse is an examination of how the English defined themselves in relation to those they deemed as "others": the foreign and marginalized members of society. My study is unique because I look at individual figures of "otherness"---the Irishman, the Turk, and the Jew---in light of their common characteristic: their shared significance as coded figures of Catholicism. Ultimately, my dissertation unifies disparate conversations about race, religion, and politics in …

Good Neighbors: Agents Of Change In The New Rural South, 1900 To 1940, Thomas Wayne Copeland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work paints an intimate portrait of rural people who lived in the hill counties of northeast Mississippi and southwest Arkansas between 1900 and 1940. Howard County, Arkansas and Union County, Mississippi serve as the representative counties for each hill-country region. Howard County is located in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, and Union County is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. This study identifies who in the rural communities was most responsible for bringing positive changes to their communities, questions what motivated their efforts, and evaluates their successes and failures. To this end, the work first examines …

The Last Shall Be First: Human Potential In Genetic And Theological Perspectives, M. Therese Lysaught

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

The notion of “human potential” provides a fruitful window through which to explore the competing conceptual frameworks of contemporary genetics and Christianity. The contemporary cultural frame of genetics conceives of human potential in a broadly positive manner: the source of personal and societal flourishing is located within individual bodies, waiting to be identified and unleashed by genetic science and medicine for the good of persons and society. In the Judeo-Christian narrative, human individual, biological potential is far less relevant—and, in fact, may be construed as an impediment to the achievement of personal and social flourishing. Implications for the dialogue between …

Women And Work-Life Balance: A Phenomenological Qualitative Analysis Of Identity, Relational Style, Adaptive Style, And Drive And Motivation, And The Role Of Faith From The Narrative Life-Story Framework, Elizabeth Krymis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to review the literature regarding the plurality of roles of women, including work-life balance issues. The purpose of this study is also to share insights regarding the role of faith in women's identity, relational style, drive and motivation, and adaptive style. This phenomenological study used the narrative life-course framework to gain understanding of eleven women's lives as they seek balance in work and life. Four themes were selected based on a previous study by Giele, and include identity, relational style, drive and motivation, and adaptive style. The findings indicate that for those who value …