History of Religion Commons^™

Full Issue: Volume 2, Issue 1, Editorial Board

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

The first issue in the second volume of the Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal.

Selection From "Una Iglesia Desaparecida: The End Of An Era For The Chilean Catholic Church", September Porras Payea

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This article aims to investigate the changing political alignment of the Chilean Catholic Church following the fall of the dictatorship in the early 1990’s. The author brings together a primary source collection of new articles, photographs, and interviews, as well as a secondary source collection of sociological surveys and historiography, to interrogate the process and outcome of this political transition. The article maintains that desires for hierarchical control and a rejection of past, progressive theology motivated Church leaders to transition the Church away from community based leadership, to clerical control.

February 2021, Temple Shalom

Newsletter Archive

Contents: Temple Shalom Travels to Europe; From the Rabbi; From the President; Book Group; Community Notices

The Oldest Post-Truth? The Rise Of Antisemitism In The United States And Beyond, Gerald Steinacher

Department of History: Faculty Publications

Antisemitism, the negative stereotyping and hatred of Jews, has overshadowed Western history for 2000 years. In the 20th century, antisemitism led to the Shoah, the systematic state-sponsored murder of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies. In recent decades, antisemitism diminished significantly in the Western world, and there was hope that this plague would soon be consigned to the past. On the contrary, the past few years have witnessed a drastic increase of antisemitism in Western societies, often paired with far-right activism, racism, and xenophobia. In 2017 in Charlottesville, there were hundreds of marchers giving Nazi salutes, waving …

January 2021, Temple Shalom Synagogue Center

Newsletter Archive

Contents: Temple Shalom had a Great Fall; From the Rabbi; President's Message; Book Group; Community Notices

Review Of Elizabeth Clarke And Robert W. Daniel, Eds., People And Piety: Protestant Devotional Identities In Early Modern England, Brooke Conti

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Playing At The Crossroads Of Religion And Law: Historical Milieu, Context And Curriculum Hooks In Lost & Found, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

This chapter presents the use of Lost & Found – a purpose-built tabletop to mobile game series – to teach medieval religious legal systems. The series aims to broaden the discourse around religious legal systems and to counter popular depiction of these systems which often promote prejudice and misnomers. A central element is the importance of contextualizing religion in period and locale. The Lost & Found series uses period accurate depictions of material culture to set the stage for play around relevant topics – specifically how the law promoted collaboration and sustainable governance practices in Fustat (Old Cairo) in twelfth-century …

"Sapiens Dominabitur Astris": A Diachronic Survey Of A Ubiquitous Astrological Phrase, Justin Niermeier-Dohoney

Arts and Communication Faculty Publications

From the late thirteenth through late seventeenth centuries, a single three-word Latin phrase—sapiens dominabitur astris, or “the wise man will be master of the stars”—proliferated in astrological, theological, philosophical, and literary texts. It became a convenient marker denoting orthodox positions on free will and defining the boundaries of the scientifically and morally legitimate practice of astrology. By combining the methodology of a diachronic historical survey with a microhistorical focus on evolving phraseology, this study argues that closely examining the use of this phrase reveals how debates about the meanings of wisdom, free will, determinism, and the interpretation of stellar influence …

The Pursuit Of Salvation. Community, Space, And Discipline In Early Medieval Monasticism, Albrecht Diem

History - All Scholarship

This book is published with open access: https://www.brepolsonline.net/action/showBook?doi=10.1484/M.DM-EB.5.120300 A history of the monastic pursuit of eternal salvation in the early medieval West, revolving around a seventh-century monastic rule for nuns, the Regula cuiusdam ad uirgines ("Someone’s Rule for Virgins") The seventh-century Regula cuiusdam ad uirgines (Someone’s Rule for Virgins), which was most likely written by Jonas of Bobbio, the hagiographer of the Irish monk Columbanus, forms an ideal point of departure for writing a new history of the emergence of Western monasticism understood as a history of the individual and collective attempt to pursue eternal salvation. The book provides a …

A Holy Tug Of War: Us Christians Against The Contras (1970-1990), Mark Maxwell Brown

Theses and Dissertations--History

After the Sandinista revolution of 1979 ousted the longstanding Somoza dynasty of Nicaragua, the small Central American nation became an obsession of US foreign policy as the Reagan administration committed its efforts to deposing the leftist revolutionary government through the funding and training of the Contras, a counter-revolutionary guerrilla group. With the Cold War at a boiling point, continued control and influence over Central America became a pillar of US anticommunist agenda. Uniquely, many of the most ardent critics of the Reagan administration during this period of violent intervention were Christian missionaries. The Sandinistas were able to defeat the Somoza …

Icelandic Folklore And The Cultural Memory Of Religious Change, Eric Shane Bryan

English and Technical Communication Faculty Research & Creative Works

This book attempts to understand the origins and development of religious belief in Iceland and greater Scandinavia through the lenses of five carefully selected Icelandic folktales collected in Iceland during the nineteenth century. Each of these five stories has a story of its own: a historical and cultural context, a literary legacy, influences from beliefs of all kinds (orthodox and heterodox, elite or lay), and modalities (oral or written) by which the story was told. These factors leave an imprint -- sometimes discernible, sometimes not -- upon the story, and when that imprint is readable, the legacies and influences upon …

The Dynamic Relationship Between Young Spanish Catholics And The Church, Caroline Cox

CMC Senior Theses

Research Question: How is the commitment of Spaniards to Catholicism changing with younger generations? And why is this relevant given Spain’s deep roots with the religion?

The Catholic Church and Spain have been highly involved with each other for centuries. It is possible that the Church’s controversies and conservative values are distancing young members from pursuing a stronger relationship with their faith. I predicted that more young Spanish Catholics’ commitment to the Church was wavering because of three potential reasons: increased security and education, child sex abuse scandals involving clergymen, and the institution’s outdated attitudes. I conducted a study …

“The Entire Army Says Hello”: Common Soldiers’ Experiences, Localism, And Army Reform In Britain And Prussia, 1739-1789, Alexander S. Burns

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation fundamentally questions the state of the field regarding militaries, state building, and narratives of modernity in the Kingdoms of Britain and Prussia. An examination of military stereotyping, common soldiers’ correspondence, religion, localism, and army reform all suggests that the British and Prussian militaries were mutually-intelligible and similar, not radically different. This similarity has broad implications for the modern history of these two European states. Britain was not on a straight road to whiggish parliamentary progress, and Prussia was not on a straight road to militarism and authoritarian rule. Rather, in second half of the eighteenth century, both of …

Voices Of Courage: A Comparison Of The Treatment Of Evangelicals And Dissidents Under Khrushchev, Abigail Coker

Senior Honors Theses

Nikita Khrushchev’s time in power from 1953-1964 has often been thought of as a period of “thaw” in the Soviet Union, as he allowed a certain degree of freedom of expression for artists and writers. However, this view of the Khrushchev “thaw” ignores the blatant human rights violations enacted by the Soviet Union during this time, specifically in its treatment of evangelicals and other dissidents. This work examines Khrushchev’s treatment of evangelicals and other dissidents with the goal of refining modern perceptions on Khrushchev’s time in office. The timelines and methods of both the anti-religious campaign of 1959-1964 and the …