Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Akan Traditional Religion And Catholicism In Dialogue: Envisaging A Paradigm Shift In The Theology Of Marriage In Postmodern Ghana, Daniel Adjei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The changing phases of religions, cultures, and world history in postmodernity call on the Catholic tradition to be religiously and culturally interreligious. The identity and mission of the Church can no longer be defined in a Eurocentric, triumphalist, or exclusivist term as in colonial times. As the Church expands to new religio-cultural and socio-political territories, the theological principles of dialogue, interculturality, listening, and inculturation must guide her mission. This dissertation, tracing the historical, cultural, and theological development of interreligious and cultural dialogue in the Catholic Church, argues that the Catholic Church of Ghana must engage religious and cultural diversity with …

Social Media As Second Creation: Cyber-Space As A Denial Of Cosmic Community, Carter Ford

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Social media aims to move the communal sphere into the digital world. It is often quipped that the current generation is the most “connected” yet “disconnected” generation in history. If social media truly succeeds in moving the social community into a digital sphere, what is the source of the widely experienced disconnect from one another? I will argue that evaluating social media in light of Bonhoeffer’s cosmic community reveals that social media insufficiently invades the space of human relationship, not capable of supporting either connection between individuals or creation. Thus, rather than affirming real relationship online, social media replaces community …

The Intersection Of Consumerism And The View Of The Christian Church In American Evangelicalism, Nathaniel Mumau

Senior Honors Theses

American Evangelicalism is a religious category that describes a wide variety of Christian denominations and their churches in the United States of America. Church attendance overall has declined, and rates of church membership have plummeted even faster. At the heart of this issue is a misunderstanding of the role the local church is meant to play in the lives of Christians. In modern American society, consumerism is essential to every part of living and thus has confounded the view of the church in the lives of evangelical Christians. The church is viewed as a product to be experienced and at …

A Leadership Strategy To Identify And Reverse The Effects Of Consumerism On The Commitment To The Mission And Management Of The Village Seventh-Day Adventist Church Members, Ronald Paul Kelly Jr.

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Low levels of commitment have detrimentally affected many aspects of the Village Church's health and vitality. The present study was developed to see to what degree the leaders of the Village Church had imbibed consumer constructs of identity and ministry and to what degree those constructs could be changed when presented with a biblical construct of identity and ministry.

Method

A week of spiritual emphasis entitled "Built on the Rock" examined the principles of the church growth movement as manifest in the megachurch movement. By contrast, the scriptural paradigm of the church as a family was presented as a …

Then Sings The Church A New Song, Ian D. Bula

Masters Theses

The collective life of the Ancient Israelites was defined by a tumultuous journey through the desert as the primary setting where God continuously sought a relationship with them. Their liberation from Egyptian bondage was the central element that resulted from God’s self- revelation and action toward His people. Their response to Him in worship reflects the nature instilled in all humankind to respond in many ways to divine action. One of these ways is through the use of music. Music has accompanied the worship of God’s people since the time of the Patriarchs. The Exodus was the experience that sprung …

Degrowth And Catholic Social Thought: Rethinking Socio-Economics For A Planet In Crisis, Chad G. Baron

Master's Theses

It is assumed within both degrowth literature and the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church (CST) that socio-economic transitions and transformations are needed due to the failings of the dominant capitalist paradigm. Both bodies of thought engage with issues of socio-economic transitions by considering what constitutes globally just development, and by outlining key principles they espouse to be foundational to global justice. By highlighting these principles, and locating the affinities between the two, these theories of socio-economic development can benefit from engaging with the other’s promoted framework. What could follow is a more coherent and holistic approach to development, …

The Diminished Experience Of Liturgy In A Pandemic, Joseph Torti

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

Vatican II taught that the “Eucharistic sacrifice is the source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium, 11). For many, this Holy Eucharist is spiritual food to nourish the soul that has been worn down by the challenges of daily life. Participation in the communion ritual where we all share of this holy sacrifice allows the faithful to be truly one with Jesus Christ. We are more than one year into the global Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Our lives have been significantly altered by this new reality. At the outset of the pandemic, most of the world went into …

The Diminished Experience Of Liturgy In A Pandemic, Joseph Torti

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This paper considers the pastoral challenge of a diminished experience of liturgy and worship during the Covid-19 pandemic. It explores the ubiquity of the digital realm and a pervasive culture of consumerism as factors in addition to the pandemic contributing to the challenge. We then reflect on the challenge through the theological perspective of Scripture, sacramental theology, Vatican II teaching and liturgical theology before proposing a pastoral plan.

Divine Over Matter: The Idolatry Of Consumerism, Shayne Yano

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

Consumerism has evolved into a lifestyle in which people seek to find meaning in life through shopping and acquiring material possessions. Corporations like Apple use advertising to make buyers feel like they always need to have the latest and greatest in order to be happy, while websites like Amazon have made it possible to shop endlessly without even having to leave the couch. For many, these consumeristic habits have become commonplace, but there are potential dangers to this kind of lifestyle as it relates to a relationship with God. We are trained by clever marketing and advertisements to believe that …

The Imago Dei As A Response To Consumerism And Individualism Within The Church, Carine George

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

The pastoral problem being addressed has to do with the culture of consumerism and individualism that have influenced the culture of the Church. Within Western society, the “ism” culture, consisting of factors such as: hedonism, consumerism, materialism, secularism, relativism and individualism, has become very prominent. Christians often operate no differently than non-Christians, and this is problematic since Christians are called to be salt for the earth and light for the world (Matthew 5:13-16), a people set apart. In John 15:19, we are told that we were not made to be of this world, so we need to stop being influenced …

Consumer Capitalist Christmas: How Participation In Christmas Frames Us As Religious Subjects, Shelby Burroughs

Religion: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier every year. It starts with the music that plays on the radio, then retail stores begin to drape their shelves with red and green streamers, followed by Christmas movies running on every other channel. Every December, Christmas feels almost inescapable. The holiday manages to find its way into every facet of public life in the United States. Christians and non-Christians alike find themselves exchanging gifts with friends and loved ones on the 25th of December every year. Christmas is able to be so pervasive because of how unassuming it is. You participate in …

Prophet Of Consumerism, Aaron Baart

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"How can you let the Bible read you today, rather than merely the other way around? Read slower. Way slower. Read for transformation, not for information."

Posting about how consumerism affects the way we read the Bible from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

http://inallthings.org/the-prophet-of-consumerism/

Christ, Consumerism, And Christmas, Aaron Baart

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Maybe the greatest advertising gaffe occurred when the Savior of the world somehow got wrapped up in our consumerism in the first place."

Posting about receiving Christ at Christmas from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/christ-consumerism-and-christmas/

Endless Cycle Of Want, Howard Schaap

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Are any of our wants 'normal' and inherently human, or are they all created in us by the world of advertising and its wizard(s) behind the curtain(s)?"

Posting about the cycle of want and consumption from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/the-endless-cycle-of-want/

The Buzz About The Church: Re-Imagining Discipleship Through A Theology Of Beekeeping, Matthew Todd Thomas

Doctor of Ministry

"The Buzz About The Church: Re-Imagining Discipleship Through a Theology of Beekeeping", creates and awareness of the root problems of why the church has not passed on its sacred faith to future generations. Historically, some contributors to non-transmission have been Gnosticism, the Enlightenment, Consumerism and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. The dissertation also focuses on movements which have sprung up in response to a declining church like the Emergent Church Movement and Missional Church Movement.

This dissertation argues the solution to the problem is reestablishment of the practice of discipleship as Jesus modeled. Beekeeping is used to reimagine the model of discipleship. …

Quaker Plaining As Critical Aesthetic, Peter J. Collins

Quaker Studies

In the first part of this paper I explore the possibility of identifying a Quaker aesthetic through the concepts 'plain' and 'plaining'. I begin with an examination of the importance of 'the plain' as product and practice to seventeenth-century Friends and briefly outline its enduring importance to Quakers. Friends, however, were not the first group to adopt the plain style which is better understood when located in its broader historical context. For Quakers, the plain is ethic as well as aesthetic, partially grounding all Quaker testimonies. Given the well-documented aestheticization of contemporary life, I argue that the Quaker plain and …

Ingratitude Day, Neal Deroo

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Given how the logic of the two days work against each other, you may only be able to really celebrate one (even if you participate in both). So which day will highlight your week and your life—Thanksgiving or Black Friday?"

Posting about Thanksgiving and Black Friday from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/ingratitude-day/

The Religion Of Consumption And Christian Neighbor Love, Christopher Porter

Dissertations

Loyola University Chicago

THE RELIGION OF CONSUMPTION AND CHRISTIAN NEIGHBOR LOVE

Consumerism is a word frequently used in various disciplines to express the variety of attitudes, motivations, and practices found among the middle and upper classes. It drives the global economy and influences individuals' socio-psychological perceptions. Some have gone so far as to call consumerism a religion, yet they have not substantiated this claim. This dissertation offers a framework that accounts for consumerism as a religion both as a person's ultimate concern and as a structuralized belief system. As such, it prescribes moral values that shape how people respond to …

Realms And Redescription In Ricoeur: Discovering Fresh Metaphoric Networks For Spiritual Formation In A Postmodern Consumer Culture, Anderson Campbell

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

Modern Materialism Through The Lens Of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Alan Pope

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The suffering that gives rise to and is perpetuated by contemporary culture’s addiction to

materialistic consumption is described surprisingly well by the ancient tradition of Indo-

Tibetan Buddhism. From this perspective, modern human beings exemplify hungry ghosts

trapped in a state of incessant greed and insatiability, which at its core reflects a desperate

attempt to maintain a sense of self that is out of accord with basic reality. The rich Tibetan

Buddhist understanding of the unfolding process by which the hungry ghost negotiates its

project, including its attempts to avoid greater suffering and to seek bliss, serves to elucidate

our …

Religious Groups & “Affluenza”: Further Exploration Of The Tv-Materialism Link, Mark D Harmon

School of Journalism and Electronic Media Publications and Other Works

The researcher explores whether previously noted links between television viewing and materialism also appear among those in religious communities. Secondary analyses were conducted using data from six previous studies: Mennonites, American Buddhists, North American Hispanic Youth in Seventh-Day Adventist Congregations, two studies of youth in various Protestant denominations, and a national youth study with an over-sample of parochial students. Across the six studies heavier TV viewing generally correlated with materialist values, especially the value of "making a lot of money" for the young. The results validate Georg Simmel’s observation that even those devoutly dedicated to salvation and the soul are …

The Art Of The Pink Nun: Evangelical Christianity And The Performance Of Capitalism, Sonia M. Hazard

Religious Studies Honors Projects

The Pink Nun is an underground feminist performance artist, chastity advocate and pious evangelical Christian. In her artwork, the Pink Nun ironically deploys the methodologies and visual vocabulary of late American consumer capitalism, such that the evangelical Christian values of chastity and sexual purity become products to be bought and sold. In this unorthodox appropriation of capitalism, the Pink Nun finds an alternative way to preach her message, engage a self-announcing secular culture, and perhaps ultimately “harvest souls.” I argue that religion here does not perform in a conventionally “religious” way; it may be manifest more subtly, entwined with and …

Being Consumed: Economics And Christian Desire, William Cavanaugh

William T. Cavanaugh

Are Christians for or against the free market? Should we not think of ourselves as consumers? Are we for or against globalization? How to we live in a world of scare resources? William Cavanaugh brings us a theological view and practice of everyday economic life with the use of Christian resources. He argues that we should not take the free market, consumer culture, globalization, and scarcity as givens, but change the terms of debate in each case. His consideration of the free market is not a question of for or against, but when exactly a market is truly free. He …

The Cult Of Comfort, Raymond W. Leach

Doctor of Ministry

The tension in which we find ourselves when it comes to the accumulation of wealth and material possessions is a common one for Christians in the United States. This is a natural result of living in a culture that is driven by the pursuit of comfort. It is aggravated by the fact that so many of our tendencies when it comes to money, happiness, and success are conditioned by the world instead of being shaped by the Word of God. We strive for worldly kingship, but we are called to otherworldly kingdom participation. We pursue comfort as defined by our …

Is Economic Growth A Panacea For Our Social Ills?, Evert Van Der Heide

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.