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Julia Hills Johnson, 1783-1853 My Soul Rejoiced, Linda J. Thayne

Theses and Dissertations

Julia Hills Johnson, the 48-year-old wife of Ezekiel Johnson and mother of sixteen children, found spiritual fulfillment in the doctrines of a new religion called Mormonism. Her baptism in 1831 was a simple act that ultimately led her halfway across the American continent, and strained her marital relationship, yet filled her with a sense of spiritual contentment. Julia's commitment to her faith, her tenacity, self-determination and willingness to take risks to participate in this new religious movement sets her apart from other nineteenth-century farm women in New England and New York. Julia's religiosity was self-determined and tenacious. She chose to …

Metropolitan Community Church: A Perfectly Queer Reading Of The Bible, Matthew D. Stewart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the hermeneutical strategies that Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) has employed in interpreting the Bible. As a new religious movement (NRM) with an outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals MCC interprets the text in light of its membership. The interpretive strategies and methodologies employed are in keeping with other denominations in the Christian tradition. This provides a possible avenue by which MCC can be classified within the Christian tradition.

The interpretation of the biblical text is given in light of the gay people who compose MCC's membership. Gays and lesbians have experienced social and religious stress. …

Logging-On To Sai Baba: The Poetics Of Sacred Globalization, Meredith Morgan Feike

LSU Master's Theses

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the leader of a progressive religious movement steeped in the Hindu tradition. The Sathya Sai Baba Organization claims to have over thirty million members in approximately 170 countries. The dedicated followers of the movement believe Sai Baba to be an avatar or incarnation of God in human form. Sai Baba utilizes the Internet to transmit his universalistic philosophies around the world. With this digital universe, devotees can log-on to a multitude of official Sai websites that act as training ground for achieving liberation of the mind and soul. This path of devotion that Sai …

The Proliferating Sacred: Secularization And Postmodernity, Donald Surrency

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When analyzing the role religion plays in contemporary American society, one is forced to address the notion of secularization. This is a term that broadly refers to the marginalization of religious influence in culture and society that began at the outset of the Enlightenment, sometime during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but, as Peter Berger argues, can actually be traced back to the times of the great Israelite prophets who emerged during the Axial Age (800-200 BCE). Throughout the available literature, proponents of the secularization thesis extend the marginalization of religious influence from the societal level to the level of …

The Freedom To Manifest Religious Belief: An Analysis Of The Necessity Clauses Of The Iccpr And The Echr, M. Todd Parker

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.

Indoctrination, Diversity, And Teaching About Spirituality And Religion In The Workplace, Donald W. Mccormmick

Organization Management Journal

The author reflects on his experience and discusses problems in teaching a course about spirituality and religion in the workplace. Sometimes indoctrination happens when professors treat their own spiritual ideology as the truth, or they require students to engage in religious practices in class. Indoctrination is teaching people “to accept a system of thought uncritically.” The management education literature has little to say about indoctrination. Indoctrination can be avoided by (1) ensuring informed consent, (2) designing learning activities for students from all spiritual perspectives, (3) teaching about the topic (instead of taking the “how to” approach), (4) presenting diverse spiritual …

The Sanctity Of Religious Liberty Of Minority Faiths Under State Constitutions: Three Hypotheses, Gary S. Gildin

Faculty Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Freedom To Manifest Religious Belief: An Analysis Of The Neccesity Clauses Of The Iccpr And The Echr, Todd Parker

ExpressO

This paper examines Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Both documents affirm freedom of religion as a fundamental human right, yet both recognize the need for restrictions on freedom of religion when “necessary.” The paper discusses the text of Articles 18 and 9, as well as European Court of Human Rights and Human Rights Committee cases interpreting and applying the Articles. The paper then analyzes several current laws restricting religious freedom on necessity grounds as to whether the restrictions are legitimate or illegitimate under the …

A King Who Devours His People: Jiang Zemin And The Falun Gong Crackdown: A Bibliography, Michael J. Greenlee

International Journal of Legal Information

In July 1999, the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began an official crackdown against the qigong cultivation group known as Falun Gong. Intended to quickly contain and eliminate what the PRC considers an evil or heretical cult (xiejiao), the suppression has instead created the longest sustained and, since the Tiananmen Square protests of June 1989, most widely known human rights protest conducted in the PRC. The Falun Gong has received worldwide recognition and support while the crackdown continues to provoke harsh criticism against the PRC as new allegations of human rights …

The Sanctity Of Religious Liberty Of Minority Faiths Under State Constitutions: Three Hypotheses, Gary S. Gildin

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Changing Religious Structures And Civil Society In Latin America: The Case Of Nicaragua, John G. Poffenbarger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Two phenomena have been ongoing in Central America over the past 30 years. The first has been a change in the dominant religious structures in the region with the growth of Evangelical Protestantism and Pentecostalism, as well as ongoing changes within the Roman Catholic Church, such as the rise and fall of Progressive Catholicism. The other major phenomenon has been the establishment of democratic regimes across the isthmus. Putnam, Inglehart, Almond & Verba, among others, assert that for a democracy to flourish a vibrant civil society must be present. These scholars, along with Huntington, Weber, and Wald et al. believe …

Gathering The Flock And Marginalizing The Sheep: The Origins Of A Christian Deaf Liberation Theology, Sophara Sok

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

The Christian religion plays an important role in the lives of many deaf and hearing Americans as a source of security and spirituality; however Deaf people have values, a worldview, and sensory preferences that differ in a significant ways from hearing people. This paper argues that those differences lead to an underlying predicament brimming with ideological conflicts between being a culturally Deaf person and a Christian. A new religious movement derived from Liberation Theology promises a resolution to the identity/ideological struggle for Deaf Christians but will succeed only if educational and religious institutions make a concerted effort to teach Deaf …

Locating The Transnational In Cambodia’S Dhammayātrā, Kathryn Poethig

SSGS Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Shembe, Ancestors, Or Christ?: A Missiological Inquiry Into The Status And Role Of Jesus Christ In The Amnazaretha Church, Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa, Edley Joseph Moodley

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Witness And Worship In Pluralistic America, John F. Johnson, Joel Okamoto, Charles Arand, David Adams, Richard Warneck, Andrew H. Bartelt, Paul Raabe, William Schumacher, Paul Robinson, James Voelz, Robert Kolb

Ebooks

American society in the twenty- first century poses a myriad of challenges for the church as it seeks to be an effective witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Among these challenges is an increasingly pluralistic cultural and religious context.

Mw 775 830 Christian Witness And Other Faiths, Terry C. Muck

Syllabi

Readings Richard Plantinga, ed. Christianity and Plurality: Classic and Contemporary Readings. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. 379 pages. ISBN: 0-631-20915-8 (paperback) Wesley Pluralism Packet David Bosch. A Spirituality of the Road. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2000 (1979). 92 pages. ISBN: 1-57910-795-8 (paperback) Paul Hiebert. Missiological Implications of Epistemological Shifts. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press, International, 1999. 135 pages. ISBN: 1-56338-259-8 (paperback)

Dictionary Of Contemporary Religion In The Western World: Exploring Living Faiths In Postmodern Contexts (Review), James F. Lewis

Biblical and Theological Studies Faculty Works

When Samuel Clemens heard that a journalist had reported his passing, he quipped: “Rumors of my death, have been greatly exaggerated.” In a similar vein, the Dictionary serves to lay to rest the antiquated but oft-believed claim of secular elites concerning the imminent demise of religion. In 100 articles, written by 61 gifted contributors (18 of whom are from North America) the reader is informed of the staggering breadth, growing profusion and zealous tenacity of religion in modern human culture and its ability to ever morph into new and creative expressions. The authors are committed to the Christian tradition but …

Mapping 'New' Geographies Of Religion: Politics And Poetics In Modernity, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article reviews geographical research on religion in the 1990s, and highlights work from neighbouring disciplines where relevant. Contrary to views that the field is incoherent, I suggest that much of the literature pays attention to several key themes, particularly, the politics and poetics of religious place, identity and community. I illustrate the key issues, arguments and conceptualizations in these areas, and suggest various ways forward. These 'new' geographies emphasize different sites of religious practice beyond the 'officially sacred'; different sensuous sacred geographies; different religions in different historical and place-specific contexts; different geographical scales of analysis; different constitutions of population …

Religious Faith And Mental Health Outcomes, Thomas G. Plante, Naveen K. Sharma

Psychology

In this chapter we review recent research regarding the relationship between religious faith/spirituality and mental health outcomes, as well as provide directions for future research and discussion. The specific aspects of mental health and illness that we focus on include well-being, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and schizophrenia. We also briefly discuss research pertaining to religious faith and personality disorders, eating disorders, somatoform disorders, and bipolar disorder.

Afro-Cuban Diasporan Religions: A Comparative Analysis Of The Literature And Selected Annotated Bibliography, Sara M. Sanchez

Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies Occasional Papers

No abstract provided.

Religion/Religions In The United States: Changing Perspectives And Prospects, Stephen J. Stein

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Religious Liberty at the Dawn of a New Millennium held at Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington on April 9, 1999.

Multiple Discourses In Early Mormon Religion, Jon M. Duncan

Theses and Dissertations

The development of early Mormon religion is best viewed in the context of multiple discourses, each of which contained various competing symbols. These discourses shaped the mind and world-view of early Latter-day Saints and determined in part their behavior. Prophetic symbols existed simultaneously with other, more American symbols; and while neither discourse excluded the other, a prophetic discourse gradually came to dominate. At the same time, however, the American discourse in Mormon religion remained intact and continued to influence the behavior and actions of early Mormons.

Lux Et Lex: Volume 5, Number 1, Sandy Slater, Bob Garrett, Rebecca Moore, Janet Spaeth

Lux et Lex

This issue of Lux et Lex, a publication of the Chester Fritz Library at the University of North Dakota, was published in May 1998.

Religious Healing In The Courts: The Liberties And Liabilities Of Patients, Parents, And Healers, Barry Nobel

Seattle University Law Review

Accordingly, in light of this struggle to balance public health with religious liberty, this Article chronicles the evolving liberties and liabilities of religious patients, parents, and healers over the course of the twentieth century and examines the current state of religious healing law. Throughout, it advocates the greatest possible liberty for religious healing consistent with public and family security, as well as advocating equal protection under the law for all involved in religious treatment, whether they are members of organized religious groups or individual practitioners.

Government Regulation Of Religiously Based Social Services: The First Amendment Considerations, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

A daunting welter of variables confronts anyone who sets out to systematize the First Amendment's effect on the government's role in regulating social services operated by religious organizations. The task is further complicated because the regulations in question often were promulgated as a consequence of the monitoring that inevitably accompanies government spending on private-sector welfare programs. The most suitable methodology should take into account: 1) the nature of the organizations that are the object of the government's regulation or program of aid; 2) the interrelationship between government and religious organizations that results from the regulation or aid; and 3) the …

Marty Zelenietz's Review Of Michele Stephen's Sorcerer And Witch In Melanesia, Marty Zelenietz

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Tort Claims Against Churches And Ecclesiastical Officers: The First Amendment Considerations, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

Federal and state courts are increasingly confronted with the unenviable task of giving legal definition to matters affecting relations between religion and government.' Many of the lawsuits pitting church against state are surface manifestations of a more fundamental disintegration of an American public philosophy.

Toward A General Theory Of Church-State Relations And The First Amendment, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

Although government intervention in religious affairs is a new and understandably worrisome experience for many American churches, history instructs us that the confrontation is not novel. We can find some comfort in the fact that this double wrestle of state with church and state with individual believers is a perennial match. After all, it has been nearly sixty years since a brutish measure in Oregon making parochial school education unlawful had to be sidelined by the United States Supreme Court in Pierce v. Society of Sisters.' Over forty-five years ago the Supreme Court decided Lovell v. City of Griffin, snuffing …

Deprogramming Members Of Religious Sects , John E. Lemoult

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Remarkable Occurrences Lately Discovered Among The People Called Shakers;: Of A Treasonous And Barbarous Nature, Or Shakerism Developed, Kentucky Library Research Collections

Research Collections

No abstract provided.