Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Origins Of Religious Disbelief: A Dual Inheritance Approach, Will M. Gervais, Maxine B. Najle, Nava Caluori

Psychology Graduate Research

Widespread religious disbelief represents a key testing ground for theories of religion. We evaluated the predictions of three prominent theoretical approaches—secularization, cognitive byproduct, and dual inheritance—in a nationally representative (United States, N = 1,417) data set with preregistered analyses and found considerable support for the dual inheritance perspective. Of key predictors of religious disbelief, witnessing fewer credible cultural cues of religious commitment was the most potent, β = .28, followed distantly by reflective cognitive style, β = .13, and less advanced mentalizing, β = .05. Low cultural exposure predicted about 90% higher odds of atheism than did peak cognitive reflection, …

Spiritual Mentoring During Emerging Adulthood: A Dyadic Perspective, Jeffrey L. Reed

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Mentoring relationships have long been identified as a valuable means for supporting identity development in young adults and assisting these individuals in navigating life transitions. The guidance and stability afforded by mentoring relationships can be particularly beneficial to individuals undergoing transitions in their personal or professional lives, or both, and are thus well-suited to play a meaningful role in the lives of emerging adults. Emerging adults are also in a unique developmental stage in which they experience increased freedom and opportunity for exploration away from parents and guardians. While this freedom often results in increased risky behavior, it also allows …

Dusty Shoes: Appalachia Wisdom Fertilizing The Future Of Religious Leadership, Jill Crainshaw

Journal of Appalachian Health

Dust from their journeys through the hills and hollows of Appalachia clings to their shoes and has forever shaped their vocational journeys. This is a refrain I have distilled from the reflections of students who have participated in Wake Forest University School of Divinity’s multicultural contexts course that includes a 10-day sojourn in the mountains of North Carolina.

The Indigenous Archive: Religion And Education In Eighteenth-Century Mexico, Mónica Díaz

Hispanic Studies Faculty Publications

This article argues that eighteenth-century native elites played a significant role in the larger intellectual scene of colonial Mexico by participating in the same debates as their creole and European counterparts. I contend that the documentation produced by native elites related to the indigenous schools (colegios), convents, and seminaries during the eighteenth century provides an important context for understanding the ways in which knowledge circulated between natives, creoles, and Europeans. In addition, when this "indigenous archive" is read in tandem with more traditional historiographical native sources, we can better appreciate the indigenous roots of the dominant narrative of …

The Relationship Between Involvement In Religious Student Organizations And The Development Of Socially Responsible Leadership Capacity, William J. Black

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This study of 76,365 students from 82 U.S. institutions explored the relationship between involvement in a religious student organization and student capacities for socially responsible leadership, based on the Social Change Model of Leadership (SCM). Results from t-tests found students involved in both religious and secular student organizations reported statistically significantly higher scores on all eight measures of socially responsible leadership than students involved in only religious student organizations.

Hierarchical multiple regression models explained between 26% and 29% of the variance in student reported levels of overall socially responsible leadership. Compared to students involved in no organizations, involvement in …

Individual Differences In Intentional And Unintentional Exposure To Online Pornography Among Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents, Cecilia M. S. Ma, Daniel T. L. Shek, Catie C. W. Lai

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The current study aimed to test how gender and religion affect unintentional and intentional exposure to online pornography in Chinese adolescents. A total of 1401 secondary school students (age range from 11 to 16 years) participated in the study. Findings from multivariate analyses show that males reported higher levels of unintentional and intentional exposure to online pornography than females. Significant differences were found in adolescents’ religiosity, with students who had religious beliefs reporting a lower level of unintentional exposure to online pornography than their counterparts without religious beliefs. In terms of intentional exposure to online pornography, adolescents were more likely …

Confronting Kenneth Burke's Anti-Semitism, Janice W. Fernheimer

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hispanic Religious Outreach In The Upper U.S. South: Missionary Outreach, Strategies, And Institutional Praxis Among Mainstream Denominations, John Benitez

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Hispanic religious ministry provides a way for long established mainstreams to stay afloat in the face of the demographic realities in the U.S. today. Unfortunately, the lack of literature, particularly in geography, precludes the examination of elements of contemporary Hispanic religious outreach, including such considerations as strategies, their effectiveness, and institutional praxis among mainstream religious denominations in the U.S.

Using a hybrid methodology that relies on several techniques, I examine Hispanic religious ministry in the Upper U.S. South, which geographers tell us is America’s newest Hispanic destination. I, thereby, develop and present here a case study to compare Hispanic religious …

Multiracial Churches: An Unusual Arrangement, David John Luke

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

It is commonly said that 11:00 A.M. Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. The contact theory explains how interracial contact can help to ameliorate racism - and this type of interaction can easily be fostered in a church environment. Durkheim's idea of the "collective effervescence" felt in ritual experiences would be beneficial for crossing racial lines and improving race relations in the U.S. in multiracial churches. A great deal of recent sociological work has focused on the phenomenon of church segregation on a nationwide scale. This paper compares characteristics found in nationwide religious congregation surveys and case …