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History of Religion Commons

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2025

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Articles 1 - 30 of 130

Full-Text Articles in History of Religion

Visualizing Religion In American Culture: Comics As Tools For Deep Learning In The Lipscomb Life Program, Robbie Spivey, Josh Fleer, Kynnedy Gilbert, Sierra Chagnon French, Cindy Valentine Dec 2025

Visualizing Religion In American Culture: Comics As Tools For Deep Learning In The Lipscomb Life Program, Robbie Spivey, Josh Fleer, Kynnedy Gilbert, Sierra Chagnon French, Cindy Valentine

Student Scholar Symposium

This session explores how visual learning is used in the course Religion in American Culture (HI 4013), part of the Lipscomb Initiative for Education (LIFE) Program, which provides higher education for incarcerated students. The program follows the Inside-Out model, bringing together Lipscomb University students and incarcerated students in a shared learning space. Instead of a traditional research project, this session highlights how the LIFE Program creates a unique learning community where all students engage deeply with course topics. A panel of students and professors will share how the class's creative assignment—drawing comics to illustrate key themes from each course unit—puts …


Kalunga Crossings: Waterscapes Of Terror And "Teachment" In The African Atlantic World, Dianne M. Stewart, Tracey E. Hucks, Solimar Otero Dec 2025

Kalunga Crossings: Waterscapes Of Terror And "Teachment" In The African Atlantic World, Dianne M. Stewart, Tracey E. Hucks, Solimar Otero

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

In this article, we think alongside historian of religions Charles H. Long to analyze the relationship between water and empire, explore theoretical approaches to water and modernity, and probe the significance of water in Africana ecologies and spiritual cultures, highlighting its suggestive contributions to restorative epistemologies of ecological co-habitation. Our investigation advances an Africana religious framework of “waterscapes of terror and ‘teachment’” that centers diaspora bodies of water as loci for analyzing history, materiality, and ecological regard. Teachment is an anti-colonial linguistic irruption, an all-encompassing term for Africana pedagogies and epistemologies that defy antiblack and anti-African colonial instruction. Examining how …


Shattered Liberation: Sexualized Violence Against Holocaust Survivors, 1943–1946, Nina Paulovicova, Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, Joanna Beata Michlic Dec 2025

Shattered Liberation: Sexualized Violence Against Holocaust Survivors, 1943–1946, Nina Paulovicova, Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, Joanna Beata Michlic

Purdue University Press Books

Shattered Liberation: Sexualized Violence Against Holocaust Survivors, 1943–1946 challenges the notion of joyous liberation of Holocaust survivors by the Red Army, which is often embedded in popular imagination and collective memory. This is one of the first volumes to shine light on the sexualized violence that some Holocaust survivors endured in the hands of the Soviet Army, partisans, rescuers, and army personnel in filtration camps during the liberation process. By focusing on testimonies and memoirs, this book discusses in detail a wide range of interactions, including sexual violence, rape, forced cohabitation, sex barter, aid, and romance. The book addresses methodological …


Adventism In The Ukrainian Ssr During The Post-War Period (1946–1952): Structure, Activities, And Relations With The Authorities (A Case Study Of Vinnytsia Region)., Anatoliy A. Voynarovskiy Skiy Dec 2025

Adventism In The Ukrainian Ssr During The Post-War Period (1946–1952): Structure, Activities, And Relations With The Authorities (A Case Study Of Vinnytsia Region)., Anatoliy A. Voynarovskiy Skiy

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article contributes to the study of Adventism as a Protestant movement and examines its structure, activities, and interactions with Soviet authorities in the Ukrainian SSR during the post-war period (1946–1952). Particular attention is paid to the organizational characteristics and functioning of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (hereinafter SDA), which, among Ukrainian SSR regions, had the largest number of adherents in Vinnytsia region. In the present-day context of Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty, formation of the national church, and protection of religious freedoms for all citizens, particular attention should be paid to understanding the role of religious institutions in the development of …


Orthodoxy, Culture And Language: Alaska In Russia’S Religious Diplomacy Of The 21st Century, Oleksandr Lukyanenko Dec 2025

Orthodoxy, Culture And Language: Alaska In Russia’S Religious Diplomacy Of The 21st Century, Oleksandr Lukyanenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article is devoted to the analysis of the religious factor of the Russian foreign diplomacy in the light of Vladimir Putin’s high-profile visit to Alaska n August 15, 2025. The paper studies a special place of Alaska in the historical imagination of Russian political and church discourse. The status of this particular territory in Russian state worldview – the former “Russian America” – is indicative: it refers to the idea of an unfinished imperial legacy. The research doesn’t touch a main event that included a meeting with US President Donald Trump but an off-schedule meeting with Archbishop Alexei (Trader) …


Knowing One's Place At The Table: Taste As A Means Of Othering In The American Colonies, 1700-1775, Nicholas Harp Dec 2025

Knowing One's Place At The Table: Taste As A Means Of Othering In The American Colonies, 1700-1775, Nicholas Harp

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This thesis began as an inquiry into a simple question. How did people in the American colonies talk about the food that they ate? This question led to a fascinating look into the social dynamics of the people living in eighteenth century America. Their own personal writings demonstrate how they understood their place in society through the food that they ate. Moreover, they often wrote about the way that other people ate in ways that alienated or discriminated against different ethnic groups. A look into the secondary historiography revealed that other historians had noticed this trend. However, very few addressed …


Comparative Study Of Worship Practices In Alexandrian And Syriac Traditions, Chinsangmuan Guite Dec 2025

Comparative Study Of Worship Practices In Alexandrian And Syriac Traditions, Chinsangmuan Guite

Senior Honors Theses

This study examines the comparative development of worship practices in the Alexandrian and Syriac Christian traditions during the period of the early church. It focuses on how each community integrated their own respective cultural elements while preserving a strong theological foundation, without compromising on the teachings of Christ. Drawing on liturgical texts, hymnography, theological writings, and historical analyses, the study explores the ways in which Alexandrian worship reflected Egyptian and Hellenistic linguistic, musical, and ritual traditions, while Syriac worship was shaped by Semitic poetic forms, Aramaic language, and regional symbolism. Despite these cultural differences, both traditions remained united in their …


The Seed That Begot America: How Political Principles Of The Reformation Contributed To The American Founding, Gabriel Stisser Nov 2025

The Seed That Begot America: How Political Principles Of The Reformation Contributed To The American Founding, Gabriel Stisser

Senior Honors Theses

When teaching the American founding, the contemporary public-school curriculum tends to emphasize the influence of the thinkers from the antiquity and Enlightenment periods. However, the curriculum tends to neglect the impact that the Reformation had upon America's formation. Through a qualitative historical review, this study will analyze both primary and secondary sources to examine how Reformed ideals of the political covenant, limited government, and resistance to tyranny influenced the American founding. This analysis finds that the Reformed (sometimes called Calvinist) political ideals from the Reformation had a significant influence upon the formation of the New England colonies, the enlightenment figures …


Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray Nov 2025

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …


A Buddhist Critique Of Harmony, James Mark Shields Oct 2025

A Buddhist Critique Of Harmony, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.


Combatting Road Accidents And Fatalities : The Colonial State, Voluntary Organisations, And Road Safety In Northern Rhodesia, 1940s-1964, Mbozi Santebe Oct 2025

Combatting Road Accidents And Fatalities : The Colonial State, Voluntary Organisations, And Road Safety In Northern Rhodesia, 1940s-1964, Mbozi Santebe

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) experienced an increase in the use of motor vehicles from the late 1920s. Consequently, there was a rapid increase in the occurrence of road accidents from the 1940s onwards. The rise in cases of accidents attracted attention of the colonial state and other stakeholders that embarked on measures to improve road safety. Using a corpus of archival sources, this article examines the measures that the colonial state and voluntary organisations undertook to improve road safety in Northern Rhodesia from the 1940s to 1964. It contributes to scholarly works on the use of motor vehicles in Africa …


Dynamics Of Infanticides Among The Ngoni Of Tanzania, 1850s-1916, Andrew S. Kasambala, Oswald J. Masebo Oct 2025

Dynamics Of Infanticides Among The Ngoni Of Tanzania, 1850s-1916, Andrew S. Kasambala, Oswald J. Masebo

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Infanticide is one of the key factors in explaining changes in human populations since the antiquity. This paper examines dynamics of infanticide practices among the Ngoni of Tanzania from the late pre- colonial to the end of German colonial rule in 1916. Relying on primary and secondary sources, it argues that while infanticide remained a critical problem in Songea from the 19th century to the end of German colonialism in 1916, the context in which it was practiced and the interventions devised to alleviate it changed over time. While it was primarily practiced in Songea by pre-Ngoni communal based clans …


Criteria For Rejecting Ideas In African Philosophy : A Historical And Epistemological Analysis, Eric C. Mgalula Oct 2025

Criteria For Rejecting Ideas In African Philosophy : A Historical And Epistemological Analysis, Eric C. Mgalula

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

The rejection of African ideas remains a pivotal debate in African philosophy, centring on tensions between universalist epistemologies and culturally specific criteria. This study synthesizes fragmented discussions into a cohesive framework, interrogating when and why African ideas may be deemed inadequate. It critiques contemporary African scholarship that rigidly adheres to indigenous traditions under decolonial and nationalist imperatives, advocating instead for a balanced approach that harmonizes intellectual rigor with cultural authenticity. Through a historical analysis of key thinkers—from Tempels and Hountondji to Wiredu and Oyewumí—this article historicizes the evolution of evaluative criteria in African philosophy, challenging colonial legacies and romanticized traditionalism. …


Mediation Partiality And The East African Community’S ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ In The Kenyan Post-Election Crisis Of 2007/2008, Rasul A. Minja Oct 2025

Mediation Partiality And The East African Community’S ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ In The Kenyan Post-Election Crisis Of 2007/2008, Rasul A. Minja

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article examines the role of East African Community (EAC) in mediating the 2007/2008 Kenyan post-election crisis, analysing its engagement in regional conflict resolution. Despite its mandate to promote peace, the EAC's response was constrained by institutional weaknesses, political dynamics, and reliance on quiet diplomacy. The African Union-backed Panel of Eminent African Personalities, led by Kofi Annan, ultimately led the mediation, sidelining the EAC. Through the analysis of primary and secondary sources, the article indicates that EAC lacked a binding conflict management framework and faced decision-making delays that hindered swift intervention. The partiality of key figures, particularly President Yoweri Museveni …


Jonathan M Jackson, Visions For An African Valley: Histories Of Development In Kilombero, Tanzania Since 1877., Emanuel L. Mchome Oct 2025

Jonathan M Jackson, Visions For An African Valley: Histories Of Development In Kilombero, Tanzania Since 1877., Emanuel L. Mchome

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Research on the history of colonial development and future-making in Tanzania has focused on the racial and class politics that influenced development visions and practices. Studies of postcolonial development history have demonstrated how state leaders and their ideologies shaped nation-building trajectories. Notwithstanding of the temporal dynamics, scholars have analysed how the flow of finance and technical assistance reveals intertwined global forces such as nationalism and the Cold War, and how foreign development assistance shaped development in Tanzania. Visions for an African Valley moves beyond this conventional analysis. Instead of employing ideological lenses in analysis, it specifically examines how colonial and …


Beyond Christianity : German Missionaries’ Heritage In Colonial Mbeya, Tanzania, 1880s-1918, Ashura Jackson Ngoya, Edward Simon Mgaya Oct 2025

Beyond Christianity : German Missionaries’ Heritage In Colonial Mbeya, Tanzania, 1880s-1918, Ashura Jackson Ngoya, Edward Simon Mgaya

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article examines the history of German missionaries in the colonial Mbeya, a southwest region of Tanzania, from the 1880s to 1918. It explores how missionaries influenced political, social, and economic changes that had a profound impact on the lives of the local population. The article investigates the secular roles of missionaries, which, although they supported evangelisation, they were not directly non- secular aspects. In doing so, the article considers missionaries' efforts in education, health, agriculture, trade, and tax collection, which sometimes led to them working as colonial intermediaries in certain areas of Mbeya. Based on primary and secondary sources, …


Engineering Inefficiencies And Technical Dependency : A Vital Lens In Understanding Power Outages In Postcolonial Tanzania, 1960s-1990s, Emanuel L. Mchome Oct 2025

Engineering Inefficiencies And Technical Dependency : A Vital Lens In Understanding Power Outages In Postcolonial Tanzania, 1960s-1990s, Emanuel L. Mchome

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article examines how the construction of power infrastructure in the 1960s-1980s shaped the future functioning of the Tanzanian power grid from the 1990s. The article is based on oral sources and archival material collected from the Swedish National Archives in Stockholm, the Tanzania National Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO), the East Africana Section of the Wilbert Chagula Library at University of Dar es Salaam, the Rufiji Basin Development Authority (RUBADA) and the World Bank online sources. The article argues that engineering inefficiencies of some Western planners and builders of TANESCO’s power grid who failed to consider local ecological issues …


America’S Best Idea: The Separation Of Church And State, A Review, Michael A. Smith Oct 2025

America’S Best Idea: The Separation Of Church And State, A Review, Michael A. Smith

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This article critically assesses Randall Balmer’s America’s Best Idea, a historical and legal examination of the Jeffersonian principle of church-state separation. Drawing on Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists and Roger Williams’ earlier theological insights, Balmer frames the metaphorical “wall” as both a constitutional safeguard and cultural cornerstone. The review analyzes the book’s treatment of evolving Supreme Court jurisprudence, particularly the shift from strict separationism to accommodationism in recent decisions. It contextualizes this legal transformation within the broader rise of Christian Nationalism, examining the ideological and institutional pressures reshaping civic discourse. While affirming Balmer’s historical rigor and rhetorical …


The Architects Of Consensus: Propaganda, Patriotism, And The Owi’S Battle For The American Mind, Ryan G. Fix Oct 2025

The Architects Of Consensus: Propaganda, Patriotism, And The Owi’S Battle For The American Mind, Ryan G. Fix

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

During World War II, the Office of War Information (OWI) became the United States' most sophisticated domestic propaganda agency, charged with forging national unity in the face of global conflict. This paper explores how the OWI fused federal authority with private-sector cooperation to influence public sentiment through film, advertising, journalism, and rumor control. Rather than resorting to direct censorship, the agency relied on voluntary collaboration, emotional appeal, and strategic framing to shape a coherent narrative that blurred the line between democratic persuasion and ideological management. Drawing on an extensive range of primary sources, including internal memos, field reports, and public …


The Boxer Rebellion And Missionaries: A Study Of Historical Context And Ideological Perspectives, Danielle Russano-Simpkins Oct 2025

The Boxer Rebellion And Missionaries: A Study Of Historical Context And Ideological Perspectives, Danielle Russano-Simpkins

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This paper examines the complex interplay between missionary activity, imperial ambitions, and indigenous resistance in China during the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901). Analyzing primary sources and revisionist accounts, it is argued that the rebellion exposed the contradictions between missionaries' spiritual goals and their complicity in imperial structures. The study highlights how missionary theology, imperial relationships, and local resistance converged to create one of modern history's most significant anti-foreign uprisings, shaping subsequent Sino-Western relations and Chinese nationalism.


The Tomb Of Andraemon And Colophonian Burial Culture, Emily Brophy Oct 2025

The Tomb Of Andraemon And Colophonian Burial Culture, Emily Brophy

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The ancient city of Colophon is surrounded by extensive necropoleis from the Mycenaean, Geometric, and Classical periods of Greek history. Long before the necropoleis’ modern rediscovery, Pausanias described his encounter with the tomb of Andraemon in the 2nd century CE. Searching for Andraemon’s tomb using specific details from Pausanias’s Descriptions of Greece, as well as geographic and archaeological evidence, firmly places the tomb within a complex burial culture surrounding the site of ancient Colophon in modern-day Izmir, Turkey.


Review Of: With The Best Of Intentions: Interreligious Missteps And Mistakes, William Skudlarek Osb Sep 2025

Review Of: With The Best Of Intentions: Interreligious Missteps And Mistakes, William Skudlarek Osb

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.


Schism And Dialogue In Antioch: Melkite-Orthodox Relations, 1724 – Present, Berge Traboulsi Sep 2025

Schism And Dialogue In Antioch: Melkite-Orthodox Relations, 1724 – Present, Berge Traboulsi

The Journal of Social Encounters

More than three centuries after the emergence of Uniatism and the 1724 Antiochian schism, deep divisions persist between the Melkite Greek Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches. Despite ecumenical milestones and the official condemnation of Uniatism, full ecclesiastical union remains elusive. Efforts to heal the 1054 schism between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy likewise continue to encounter significant obstacles. This study examines traditional Melkite–Orthodox relations, academic initiatives, and dialogue efforts within the Antiochian context. It advocates bold, reform-oriented approaches to coexistence and collaboration—grounded in human rights and fraternity—moving beyond polemics toward mutual understanding, reconciliation, and trust.


The Black Curse: The Curse Of Ham And The Mark Of Cain As Justification For Black Subjugation, Margaret Phillips Sep 2025

The Black Curse: The Curse Of Ham And The Mark Of Cain As Justification For Black Subjugation, Margaret Phillips

History in the Making

The concept of race, particularly the construction of blackness and anti-blackness, emerged during the Medieval and Early Modern periods around the Mediterranean and its surrounding cultures. It is a concept of religious origin, in that it first depended on the worldview of the Abrahamic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam— and their interpretations of the narratives surrounding the Biblical figures Cain and Ham. This established the “mark” of black skin as a curse placed by the Abrahamic God that made up the foundational justifications for racial hierarchies and the subjugation of black Africans. The convenient narrative framed blackness as inherently inferior and …


The Prophet's Medicine: How Mormon Doctrine And Medical Practices Evolved Along The American Frontier, Drew Robinson Sep 2025

The Prophet's Medicine: How Mormon Doctrine And Medical Practices Evolved Along The American Frontier, Drew Robinson

The Ozark Historical Review

Joseph Smith rejected both the religious and medical orthodoxies of his day and developed his own theological systems while learning to rely solely on herbs for his medical care. His medical convictions regarding herbal medicine were as authoritative and binding for Mormons to practice as his religious revelations. However, by the time Brigham Young had become leader of the Mormons, regular medicine had become both modern and superior to other medical practices, including the Mormons’ herbal medicine. Though the use of herbal medicine had been codified into religious law by Smith, the benefits and availability of modern medicine earned the …


Local Identity In The Lives Of The Fathers Of Mérida: When Ethnicity And Religion Aren’T The Point, Erica Buchberger Sep 2025

Local Identity In The Lives Of The Fathers Of Mérida: When Ethnicity And Religion Aren’T The Point, Erica Buchberger

History Faculty Publications

While scholarship on early medieval Europe often centers ethnicity or religion over other forms of identity, they were not always the most relevant form of identification for contemporaries. In the Lives of the Fathers of Mérida (late sixth-early seventh century), ethnic and religious identity were actually deployed to construct a local identity around the space and people of the city. This article explores how the text did so by closely analyzing terms used and their context, and by applying social scientific theories of boundary construction to illuminate the strategies of identification behind it. It argues that such an approach …


Historical Research And Conservation Treatment Of An Oversized 19th-Century Subscription Family Bible, Charlotte Starnes Sep 2025

Historical Research And Conservation Treatment Of An Oversized 19th-Century Subscription Family Bible, Charlotte Starnes

Art Conservation Master's Projects

This paper briefly examines the construction, materials, and conservation challenges of 19th-century subscription Bibles, focusing on the treatment of an 1885 Thomas Kelly Latin Vulgate Family Bible. These large-format, heavily decorated volumes represent the unique intersection of industrialized book production and traditional hand-binding techniques. Through the visual comparison of multiple subscription Bible structures and canvasser’s sample books, historical research, and survey responses from conservators, this project identifies key structural features, including hybrid board attachment methods, varied sewing techniques, and the sculpted two-board coverboard structure. X-radiography, microscopy, and preliminary XRF analysis provide further insights into material choices, such as the use …


Transformasi Syair Dodaidi: Dari Tradisi Lisan Ke Komersialisasi Digital Dalam Sejarah Masyarakat Aceh, Haikal Haikal, Anifa Nurhayati Aug 2025

Transformasi Syair Dodaidi: Dari Tradisi Lisan Ke Komersialisasi Digital Dalam Sejarah Masyarakat Aceh, Haikal Haikal, Anifa Nurhayati

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Syair Dodaidi, as a form of Acehnese oral tradition, has played a significant role in the social and cultural life of the Acehnese people for centuries. It originally developed as a lullaby sung by mothers to their children, with lyrics containing prayers and praise to Allah SWT. This study aims to examine the transformation of Syair Dodaidi in the context of contemporary Acehnese society. The research methodology uses a historical approach with the stages of heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The results show that although Syair Dodaidi is still practiced as part of cultural heritage, there have been a …


A Religious Etiology Of Genito-Pelvic Pain And Pain With Penetration, Emily L. Carlson Aug 2025

A Religious Etiology Of Genito-Pelvic Pain And Pain With Penetration, Emily L. Carlson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Pelvic pain during penetration (PPDP) has been described using various diagnostic terms, including vaginismus, dyspareunia, and vulvodynia. The most recent and comprehensive classification is Genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder (GPPPD) which is characterized by psychological distress associated with pain during or in anticipation of vaginal penetration (DSM-5-TR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2022). The etiology of PPDP is multifactorial, involving a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and relational factors. Religious and cultural influences may play a significant role in shaping individuals’ experiences of sexual pain. This study investigated the etiology of PPDP in relation to the religious influences among women raised in Judeo-Christian …


Tradition, Critque, And The Modern Moral Lingua Franca: A Lutheran Articulation Of Human Rights Language, Christian B. Dollar Aug 2025

Tradition, Critque, And The Modern Moral Lingua Franca: A Lutheran Articulation Of Human Rights Language, Christian B. Dollar

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The language of subjective, individual rights has become the primary way of speaking about the rights and wrongs of human life together. Since the end of World War II, one subset of this language—that of human rights—has achieved a global influence. The various Christian traditions of the west have, in large part, adopted this language of human rights to articulate and supplement their assorted social teachings. Yet, the adoption of human rights language has been contested by a dedicated cadre of Roman Catholic and Protestant theologians concerned about the potentially anti-Christian implications inherent in the grammar of rights. Christian rights …