History of Religion Commons^™

The Devil’S In The Details: Opposition To Demonology In Early Modern Europe, Abigail Pickard

The Purdue Historian

Common assumptions that believers of witchcraft in the early modern period were uneducated fanatics overgeneralize the complex interplay of early modern science and theology. The study of demons, known as demonology, was considered a science. It was a respected field that was studied and debated. Theologians scrutinized, defended, and revised demonological theories. Thinkers turned over foundational concepts and split hairs over the fine details of theology. Since educated scholars were considered authorities on demonology, they repeatedly wrote, talked, and theorized about the topic in a similar fashion to other ideologies of the early modern era. Due to this, authors of …

Hemispheres Of Faith: Mapping The Global Journey Of An Ivory Rosary Bead At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Mary M. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Hemispheres of Faith reattributes a carved ivory rosary bead in the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Quito School in 18th-century Ecuador. Through examining the trade history of the Manila Galleons, material analysis, and iconographic study, Hemispheres of Faith challenges the bead's European origins and reveals the object as a product of global exchange, devotional practice, and colonial artistic collaboration within the Spanish Empire.

Pedro Aceves Mfa Thesis, Pedro M. Aceves

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My Work is about looking at Cruising through a queer decolonial lens. Using multiple mediums such as photo, glass, Augmented reality, and film, I explore these queer histories and aesthetics through not just an anthropological approach but also an artistic epistemological approach weaving together narratives of prehispanic and modern queer Latinidad.

“The Atmosphere That Supports Life On Earth”: An Ecocritical Approach To Tolkien’S Arda, Elizabeth Anne Turello

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Ecocriticism speaks to the relationship between the environment and literature, a progressively vital topic of discussion. What is often overlooked, however, is the necessity of the theory’s applicability to stories of speculative fiction; that is, ones existing outside the realm of the real world or, as is the case with the father of modern-day fantasy J.R.R. Tolkien, a mythology set in the ancient days of our world (“Arda”). At first, it may seem contradictory to learn about our surroundings through fictionalized ones seemingly irrelevant to Earth’s own; this apparent contradiction is not valid, though, as the relationship between humans and …

The Impact Of Islam In The History Of Catholic Evangelization In Northwest Nigeria, Shichet Nache

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Abstract

Today, Nigeria is home for both Christians and Muslims. Before the arrival of Christianity and Islam in Nigeria, there was the indigenous African Traditional Religion (ATR). The different cultures, tribes, or ethnic groups in Nigeria had different modes of worship and religious practices in the light of this African Traditional Religion. Today, many Nigerians are either Muslims or Christians. Christianity and Islam have now dominated African Traditional Religion. Trade played a significant role in the transportation and establishment of Islam and Christianity in Nigeria. Northern Nigeria began to have contact with Islam between the ninth and eleventh centuries, while …

Cultural And Religious Perspectives On Suicide And Healing, Arielle Friedman

be Still

This essay is built off of a paper I wrote in a college global health course on culture and mental illness. I have always been fascinated by cultural interpretations of illness & believe that as a future physician, it is my responsibility to educate myself and others on the complex interplay between religious ideologies & recognition/management of biological disease in order to provide appropriate patient-centered care.

Monastic-Muslim Dialogue, William Skudlarek Osb

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

'God Loves The World' Documentary, Ilona Kitchen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The internet is a powerful place. People feel that they can share how they feel with no consequences. Hedviga Tkáčová (2021) argues that negative media portrayals of Christianity contribute to prejudice against Christian university students in Slovakia, which undermines social cohesion and highlights the need for greater support of religious diversity. From memes to viral videos, these digital interactions can feel like a personal attack, exposing how online spaces can betray the trust and faith of the Roman Catholic Church. As a Roman Catholic, I frequently encounter such issues when engaging with content in the media. In public settings, it …

The Development Of The Trinitarian Charism In Poland And Its Realization, Maciej Kowalski

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The aim of this article is to present the stages of development of the Trinitarian charism in Poland and to discuss the ways of its implementation, as well as to answer the question to what extent the Polish Trinitarians in their more than three hundred years of history have adapted the religious charism to their native conditions in changing historical circumstances. This, in turn, will allow better understanding of the heritage and activities of the Trinitarian Order in Poland, as well as to bring closer its multifaceted impact on various areas of Church and social life. The issues raised here, …

Jesuit Resources At Georgetown University Special Collections, Aleksandra L. Kinlen

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

This article provides a brief overview of the Jesuit materials available at the Booth Family Center for Special Collections (BFCSC) at Georgetown University’s Lauinger Library in Washington, DC. In particular, it discusses the Archives of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus as a resource for investigating early American Catholicism and the history of Jesuit slaveholding in the Province. Also mentioned are the wealth of collections from individual priests as well as the support that BFCSC can provide researchers.

The Meanings Of The Hospital De San Lázaro In Seventeenth-Century Manila, Francis Galasi

Journal of Global Catholicism

The Hospital de San Lázaro was a specialized health facility in the early modern Philippines, dedicated to the care of lepers and sufferers of other contagious diseases. While it was established for this specific purpose, its role in colonial society varied. This versatility reflected the distinct priorities and commitments of the groups pulled into its orbit, as each charged San Lázaro with a unique meaning. This article explores how and why these groups—the indigenous Filipinos, the Spanish residents and the Discalced Franciscans—understood San Lázaro in their own way. It highlights the ability of fixed institutions, such as a hospital, to …

Inciting Peace From The Inside Out, Stephen G. Adubato, Ebere Bosco Amakwe, Katherine Hinic, Sarita Maldjian, Forrest Pritchett, Jon Radwan, Nicholas Sooy, Chad Thralls

Conferences

Violence and war can be incited, and so can peace. This volume shares select addresses and responses from Seton Hall University’s 2/7/23 conference “Inciting Peace From The Inside Out.” A multi-disciplinary range of scholars each addresses how reconciliation processes grow from spiritual dynamics. Multiple religious traditions teach contemplative praxes that prioritize and nurture personal reflection oriented toward peace. Social conflicts divide, so engaging them with a partisan orientation only serves to escalate harmful rifts. In contrast, bringing personal awareness and sensitivity, spiritual balance, and holistic integral perspective to conflict can transcend divisions and work toward unity. This volume is supported …

The Secrets Of Christian Others: Hungarian Catholic Intellectuals Debate Ecumenism At A Transylvanian Pilgrimage Site, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

Claims about a shared Christian tradition animate European debates about religious otherness, but more remains to be known about how Catholics on Europe’s near-margins understand ecumenical unity among churches. I analyze contemporary Hungarian Catholic intellectuals’ publications about a controversy at the Hungarian national shrine, Our Lady of Csíksomlyó, in Transylvania. When a priest wrote that Csíksomlyó’s annual pilgrimage commemorated sixteenth-century Catholics’ victory over an invading Unitarian army, Transylvania’s Unitarian bishop denounced the origin as an undocumented myth. Prominent Catholic ethnologists, historians, and theologians agreed that, in the name of ecumenism, intellectuals should not publicly mention the origin narrative. But they …

The Divine Comedy: A Work Of Medieval Mythology, Jamie Alexander

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Prior to The Divine Comedy (1308-1321), ideas about Purgatory were in the early stages of development. Purgatory had loose rituals surrounding its existence and it lacked depiction in written works. Yet in the following centuries, the fear of Purgatory and the practices of penance and indulgences reached a fever pitch, ultimately leading to the Protestant Reformation. Purgatory as a celestial location, and not just the “purgatorial fires” of the Bible, only began to develop in the twelfth century, but its fearful description and imagery in The Divine Comedy not only solidified previously nebulous understandings of Purgatory, but also increased anxiety …

Editor's Introduction, Marc R. Loustau Ph.D.

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction by Managing Editor Marc Roscoe Loustau to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism in the Age of Pope Francis

Introduction:Towards An Economic Anthropology Of Catholicism, In The Age Of Pope Francis, Samuel Weeks, George Bayuga

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism, in the Age of Pope Francis.

Galileo And The Church: An Ecological Perspective, Holly J. Lawson

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

The post-medieval church was surrounded by intense sociocultural factors, including the recent Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Although “the Galileo affair,” as it has been dubbed in the years since, is generally presented as a case example of the conflict between science and faith or religion, it is far more complex than these two issues alone. Galileo’s discoveries supporting the Copernican theory entered a complex interplay of factors, eventually leading to a highly pressurized encounter between Galileo and the Inquisition. Galileo’s indictment is a nuanced, poignant example of the rich cultural and contextual factors that drive clashes of religion …

Art As Ammunition: The Creative Response To Violence In Ireland, Emma Muchow

Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research

This essay examines the role of murals in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a period of sectarian violence from 1968 to 1998. It argues that these murals functioned as powerful instruments for both sides of the conflict, serving as a platform to express political ideologies, cultural identities, and lived experiences. The analysis draws upon scholarly works on art and conflict, historical accounts of the Troubles, and examinations of specific murals.

The paper explores the multifaceted role these murals played. It highlights how they served as reflections of the social, political, and cultural tensions of the time. Furthermore, it examines how …

In My End Is My Beginning: Mary Stuart And The Foundation Of Her Religious Pragmatism, Shantelle M. Clement

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and Dowager Queen of France, demonstrated atypical religious tolerance during the turmoil of the sixteenth-century reformations, particularly in comparison to other monarchs of the time. This research especially focuses on her upbringing in France, and how her education and those around her influenced the pragmatism and actions displayed as a monarch in Scotland until July 1565. Her youth in France and religious tolerance is a rare focus in secondary sources compared to the more dramatic events in her later life.

Music Of The Divine: Interweaving Threads Connecting Contemporary Chant-Based Piano Repertoire, Jeremy D. Duck

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The purpose of this document is to prove chant remains an important source of inspiration among living composers, and, despite the number of piano works already incorporating chant, composers today are still finding unique ways to include chant in their music. To achieve this objective, representative works have been selected for research and analysis for four of the major chant traditions. Connor Chee’s The Navajo Piano, Victoria Bond’s Illuminations on Byzantine Chant, and Hayes Biggs’ E.M. am Flügel: Poem-Étude for Piano Solo, though the chants from which they are inspired are diverse in concept and style, they …

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Dr. Judith Hahn, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Interview with Judith Chair of Canon Law at the University of Bonn.

The Theology Of The Liturgical Seasons In The Syro-Malabar Church, Ann Mary Madavanakadu Cmc

Journal of Global Catholicism

This paper focuses on the theology of the liturgical seasons in the Syro-Malabar Church. The liturgical year with its liturgical cycles and seasons, is more than just a mere structural framework for the prayer life of the Church. It is a true locus of rich theology. The liturgical year is defined as the yearly plan of spiritual life by the Church, for her children, arranged in different seasons or periods to celebrate the mysteries of Christ in life together with feasts, fasts, and abstinence in order to make Christian life a successful pilgrimage to heaven for attaining salvation. This article …

Palliyogam: A Vibrant Legacy Of The Syro-Malabar Archiepiscopal Church, Dery Davis

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article explores the historic inheritance of the Palliyogam of the sui iuris Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church, focusing on its role in maintaining synodality in ecclesial life. Palliyogam, a parish assembly, has been the cornerstone of ecclesial communion among Malabar Christians for centuries. As Pope Francis inaugurates the three-year synod on synodality, this study examines how Palliyogam aligns with this synodal vision. The article delves into both the ancient form of Palliyogam and its present-day manifestation, shedding light on their theology and role in governance and decision-making within the Syro-Malabar tradition. The article emphasizes that synodality is already inherent …

Editor's Introduction, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction by Founding Editor, Mathew N. Schmalz to Graduate Symposium II.

Our Lady Of La Vang Journeys With The Nation: Marian Devotion And Pilgrimage In Vietnam, Dung Trang Ph.D., Lhc Khiet Tam

Journal of Global Catholicism

The sanctuary of Our Lady of La Vang (OLLV) reveals the role of popular devotion in Vietnamese Catholicism. It manifests the recent strategy from Vietnamese Church leaders to maintain a public presence with an emphasis on reinforcing a sense of Catholic identity through popular devotion and liturgy. Devotion to OLLV then reflects the interaction of several factors: the promotion of the clergy, political influence, and the collaboration of the Vietnamese Catholic laity. Building on existing scholarship that focuses on the cultural inheritance and collective identity of Vietnamese Catholics around the world, this paper explores the case study of the basilica …

Worship Space And Immigrant Memory: Korean Parishes In Los Angeles And New Jersey, Hansol Goo Ph.D. (Cand.)

Journal of Global Catholicism

It has been often observed that national parishes in the US play a central role for Catholic immigrants in preserving and transmitting the cultural heritage of the community. For Catholic immigrants, a parish is more than a place of worship. It is a source of belonging, comfort, friendship, social interaction, and most importantly, a place in which the immigrant’s cultural heritage is reaffirmed and preserved. The early European immigrants to the US built their national parishes following the architectural style of their homelands, by which they could express their cultural identity. However, more recent arrivals like Asians and Hispanics are …

Theological Implications Of The Symbols And Signs In The Sacrament Of Matrimony Of The Syro-Malabar Church, Nelson Mathew O. Carm.

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article discusses the significance of the signs and symbols used in the sacrament of the marriage of the Syro-Malabar Church and the adaptations from different cultures, particularly the Hindu culture of India. It concentrates on the specific elements found in the marriage celebration of the St. Thomas Christians. The rituals that are unique to the Sacrament of Matrimony of the Syro-Malabar Church, mainly expressed through symbols and signs, remain a significant contribution to the liturgy, spirituality, and theology of the Sacrament of Matrimony, and to the theology of inculturation. In the Syro-Malabar liturgy, marriage rituals, and signs and symbols …

Rethinking The Panata To The Nazareno Of Quiapo, Wilson Espiritu Ph.D.

Journal of Global Catholicism

Filipino Catholicism’s hallmark is its festive and colorful celebrations of popular piety, which exhibit the Catholic faith’s embeddedness in people’s lives and culture. One of the most renowned Filipino devotions is rendered to Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno of Quiapo, Manila. The devotion of making a pledge to the Nazareno, known as panata, is commonly understood as a sacred promise that must be kept in return for a request that is granted. In this paper, I propose a theological reading of panata performance that unites devotion to the Nazareno and commitment to the wellbeing of others. This interpretation aims to …

Overview & Acknowledgments, Marc R. Loustau Ph.D.

Journal of Global Catholicism

An introduction to the current issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism.

How To Talk About God: Origen And Gregory Of Nazianzus On Divine Transcendence And Theological Language, Coleman S. Kimbrough

Obsculta

This article discusses the doctrine of God of the early Church Fathers Origen and Gregory of Nazianzus. According to these two theologians, the tension between God's transcendence and God's immanence conditions the language we use to name and describe God. Such "God-talk" is necessarily limited by the ontological divide between the human and the divine. Using Origen and Gregory as reference points, I examine how the precise and careful use of apophatic, cataphatic, and analogical language is necessary to properly account for both God's eternal nature and God's work in the material world.