History of Religion Commons^™

A Place For Ancient Philosophy In Axial Age Historiography, John R. Shook

Comparative Philosophy

Long-standing debates over historiographical approaches to the Axial Age have distracted the history of philosophy from its own disciplined inquiry into the breadth and depth of ancient thought beyond the Greeks. The philosopher Karl Jaspers offered a vista for seeing commonalities among ancient innovations and discerning continuities along history to modern times. That dual agenda divided Axial historiography with the question of whether axiality reflects creativities of ancient systems or have modern reflections created images of axiality. A singular chronology for humanity encourages a mode of philosophical history open to providential designs, epochal turns, spiritual evolutions, psychological leaps, or cognitive …

The Soldier Saint: Latter-Day Saint Veterans Of The Vietnam War, Cassie Evans

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This digital exhibit and accompanying paper explore the experiences and contributions of Latter-day Saint veterans during the Vietnam War, focusing on their role within both military and religious contexts. Despite representing only a small percentage of the American military forces in Vietnam, Latter-day Saints influenced the war's cultural and spiritual landscape. Through personal narratives, interviews, and historical analysis, the study sheds light on how these veterans navigated the complexities of their faith amidst the challenges of combat.

Additionally, it considers the relationship between military service and missionary efforts, highlighting how the presence of Latter-day Saint soldiers contributed to later religious …

The Representation Of Indonesian National Identity In Syuhada Mosque, Kotabaru, Yogyakarta, Muthia Zahri Mardhiyah, Ali Akbar

International Review of Humanities Studies

This article examines the concept of national identity as embodied by the Syuhada Mosque, located in Kotabaru, Yogyakarta. Completed in 1952, the mosque was established as a monument to the independence of the Republic of Indonesia. This research addresses whether Syuhada Mosque genuinely represents national identity. The study aims to describe the architectural form of Syuhada Mosque and elucidate the representations of national identity embedded within its structure. The research methodology aligns with the framework proposed by Sharer and Ashmore, encompassing formulation, implementation, data collection, data processing, analysis, interpretation, and publication. Based on its historical background, the foundational ideas and …

The Influence Of Colonialism On The Development Of Religious Life In Timor Leste, Abdul Kadirsyam Salampessy, Rahadjeng Pulungsari Hadi

International Review of Humanities Studies

Timor-Leste is the youngest country in the world with unique religious dynamics. The Catholic population increased rapidly after independence, while the Muslim population decreased drastically due to political dynamics. The presence of Mari Alkatiri, an Arab-descended Timorese Muslim who became Prime Minister (PM) twice, is a depiction of the presence of Islam in a Catholic-majority country. The long history of colonialism in Timor-Leste has greatly influenced the landscape of religious life there. In its development, the people of Timor-Leste live harmoniously and democratically.

This journal uses a qualitative research method that focuses on the social and cultural phenomena of the …

An Ever-Changing Errand Into The Wilderness: The Relationship Between American Civil Religion And Exceptionalism, Blake S. Hart

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This article explores the profound religious underpinnings of American exceptionalism, positing that the nation’s identity and political culture are deeply infused with a uniquely American civil religion. This civil religion is characterized by an eschatological hope that traces back to the very origins of the United States, serving as the cornerstone for its ideology and principles. American civil religion is not static but dynamic, constantly shaped by each era's major social, political, and cultural trends. It democratizes the millennial and apocalyptic visions traditionally belonging to the sacred realm, reinterpreting these religious narratives within the secular context of national destiny and …

"Female Faithfulness Encouraged": Gendered Piety In Early American Print, Kadienne Sizemore

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Following the American Revolution, membership in Baptist churches grew exponentially and the influence of the Baptist persuasion was significant. As one of the fastest growing Protestant denominations in early America, Baptists and their interests were often indicative of larger trends in religiosity. Conceptions of piety, including beliefs surrounding submission, faithfulness, and duty, were central to the structure of Baptist congregations and their proximate communities. This paper explores the role of gender in the discussion, presentation, and justification of Baptist notions of piety in their publications during the Early American Republic. To build on the work of historians exploring female autonomy …

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 …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 67, No. 3

Restoration Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The Ghannouchi Test: The Compatibility Of Religious Ideas And Secular Democracy, Andrew P. Sheppe

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Secular, democratic societies and governments evolved out of religious societies and defined themselves partially in opposition to religious authority. This historical relationship has led to a debate about the compatibility between religious ideas and modern, secular society. Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde posited that secular, democratic societies still depend on religious foundations. Jürgen Habermas disagrees, claiming that processes of rational dialogue can provide sufficient support.

Two prominent twentieth century theologians, Reinhold Niebuhr and Abraham Joshua Heschel demonstrate that democratic systems are enriched and protected by theistic ideas, thus supporting Böckenförde’s dictum. However, they both recognize the importance of epistemic humility and a …

Acting Religion: Analyzing The Aids Crisis Through A Religious Lens, Anya Thaovan Nguyenkhoa

Voces Novae

No abstract provided.

From Pagan Chieftains To Christian Kings: Shaping Medieval Nordic Political Culture, Carissa Chinnery

Voces Novae

No abstract provided.

Religious Faith In The Context Of The Russian-Ukrainian War: Challenges And Risks, Olena Predko, Mykola Ptytsia

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the role of religious faith in the context of the russian-Ukrainian war, its impact on society, and the challenges and risks faced by religious communities and believers. The study analyzes how the war brings the issue of religious faith-seeking to the forefront, its semantic nuances, and how it transforms religious identity and the level of religiosity among the population. Special attention is given to the use of religious faith in hybrid warfare, the issue of spiritual support for both military personnel and civilians, as well as the risks associated with the politicization of religious life. The article …

Study Of Religious Experience Using The Introspection Method: Case Of Estonia, Siim Nigulas, Tõnu Lehtsaar

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article revisits the method of introspection as a valuable tool for studying religious experience in Estonia, where spirituality is often personal, unaffiliated, and deeply introspective. Drawing on the legacy of the Dorpat school—particularly Karl Girgensohn—it highlights how experimental introspection can illuminate the dimensions of faith. Considering Estonia’s post-Soviet religious individualization, the method offers a culturally fitting and academically rigorous approach. The study argues for the revival and adaptation of introspective techniques to explore the inner dynamics of belief in a secular yet spiritually curious society.

Personal Responsibility Of Organizers And Participants Of Repressions Against Protestant Communities In Ukraine, Oksana Vysoven, Ihor Datskiv, Alina Zadorozhnya, Yurii Fihurnyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the personal responsibility of the organizers and participants in the repressions against Protestant communities in Ukraine. The punitive and preventive atheistic campaigns of the communist regime were carried out by specific individuals who were organizers and participants in the destruction of churches, the dispersal of prayer services, the destruction of material and spiritual values of Protestant communities, the harassment of believers at work and their place of residence, the imposition of monetary fines on them, and so on. Communist regime functionaries participated in the persecution of believers during trials, in places of imprisonment, etc. Believers suffered most …

Privatisation And Toleration: How The Eighteenth-Century Enlightenment Impacted European Attitudes Towards Religion, Cody Mitchell

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

For centuries, scholars have debated the significance of the Enlightenment in its impact on European attitudes to religion. On one hand, many scholars immediately following the eighteenth century saw the period as a particularly anti-religious one. For many, particularly at the popular level, the supposed birth of toleration during the Enlightenment and the post-Renaissance rise of free thought and rationalism brought about a dramatic shift in opinions and attitudes towards religion—manifesting, particularly, in the widespread acceptance of irreligion. Today, most historians adopt a more cautious approach, recognising that rarely does history conform to such simple narratives. This paper seeks to …

So Who Gets To Be Modern? Jadidism And Reform In Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Century Russia, Grant Douglas Linville

University Honors Theses

Jadidism was a sociocultural reformist project from the 1880s to 1920s developed by Muslim intellectuals in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The Jadidist movement derives its name from the "new-method" (usul-al Jadid) schools that spread Jadid pedagogy, which revolved around the inclusion of secular topics and Western knowledge as well as instruction in local, Tatar, and Russian languages, in addition to the already present religious studies accompanied by Arabic and Persian taught in the Islamic educational institutions the maktab and madrasa (primary and higher education respectively). Over time Jadidism grew to encompass a host of societal …

For The Time Beings, Tori Hong

Masters Theses

For the Time Beings is a socially engaged installation and artist book exploring the material consequences and future possibilities of sociocultural time theories. Time, in the West, is typically associated with Newtonian linearity, while in the East, time theory relies on Buddhist principles. These epistemologies reinforce hierarchical and patriarchal structures. Centered on Indigenous Asian and Asian American perspectives, For the Time Beings challenges dominant ideologies of existing in time and space.

For nearly a year, I’ve burned handwritten prayers on new and full moons. The ashes of these prayers are incorporated into reverential drawings of chosen ancestors, made with charcoal …

Ritual And Revolution: Rethinking Roman Women’S Influence On Religion, Katlin Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis challenges the long-standing portrayal of Roman women as passive figures. Focusing on the mid-to-late Roman Republic and early Empire (264 B.C.E.–180 C.E.), it argues that women were active participants in Roman society, particularly through their engagement in religious life. Drawing on the theory of “lived religion,” this study highlights how religion offered Roman women opportunity to interact with both domestic and public spheres in socially acceptable means. Religion allowed women to exercise influence, power, and autonomy otherwise denied to them in political or legal contexts. Through a combination of textual analysis and material evidence, such as inscriptions and …

The Martyrdom Of Archbishop William Laud: A Study Of Competing Narratives And Religio-Politics In Stuart England, Parker Slawson

Honors Theses

In the decades preceding the English Civil Wars, religious and political conflicts intensified in large part due to the reforms imposed by William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury under Charles I. Laud’s promotion of increased ceremonialism, the “beauty of holiness,” and hierarchical church structure provoked fierce opposition from Puritans and other non-conforming sects of Protestantism, who interpreted these changes as a revival of Catholic practices. His arrest in 1640 and subsequent execution in 1645 became the focal point for broader ideological conflict. Following his death, two competing narratives emerged: one framing Laud as a traitorous figure attempting to restore Catholicism in …

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.

“From The Synagogue To The Streets”: Outsider Rabbis, Mississippi, And The Civil Rights Movement, Holli Elaine Parker

Master's Theses

The historiography of Jews in the Civil Rights Movement is extensive, and recent scholarship has reevaluated the relationships between Jews and civil rights organizations. The role of southern Jews in critical states, such as Mississippi, is often amalgamated into one category: supportive but scared. The focus on two rabbis known for their outspokenness regarding racial equality, Charles Mantinband of Hattiesburg and Perry Nussbaum of Jackson, is central to most southern Jewish studies. However, it neglects aspects of their background. Neither rabbi was a native Mississippian nor accepted as truly Southern due to the stances they took regarding racial equality. Charles …

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.

Fighting For The Right Of The People: The Case Of The Catholic Church In Korea During The Democratization Movement, Martin E. Perez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In July of 1987, after almost a decade of military rule, President Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea agreed to resign as acting president, thus allowing the first democratic elections to take place in the country for the first time in 27 years. The citizens of South Korea rejoiced at hearing the news that democracy has finally come to the country and they no longer would have to live in fear from an authoritarian government. People were now free to express their frustrations, concerns, and not having to worry about being detained by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency or the anti-communist …

“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 …

A Sacrifice On The Altar Of Unity: The Loss Of Black Identity In The Unification Of Kynett And Lagrange First Umc., Rebecca Sue Wishnevski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the 1996 merger of Kynett United Methodist Church, a historically Black church, and LaGrange First United Methodist Church, a traditionally White church in LaGrange, Kentucky. The study provides insight into nonurban Black churches, showing that while they may have smaller congregations in smaller towns, the Black church remains central to Black life and connection like its urban contemporaries. Methods for collecting primary source material relied heavily on oral histories performed by the researcher with Black and White individuals attending said churches and their experiences during the merger. The study reveals that although unification promised a modern building …

Religious Freedom In The Ussr After The Russian Orthodox Church Restoration In September 1943: Us Viewpoint, Eduard Khodun

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article deals with the reaction of American society to changes in the religious policy of the Soviet Union during World War II. After the reestablishment of the Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in September 1943, assessments of the state of religious freedom in the USSR ranged from optimistic, which considered this event as a relaxation of restrictions or even the beginning of a new type of relationship between the regime and religious communities, to deep skepticism, which was determined by the awareness of the true motives and goals of the Soviet leadership. The Kremlin's decision was seen as …

The Golem, Sayanti Ganguly Puckett Dr.

Sabbatical Projects

My research explores the Jewish mythical figure of the golem and the symbolism behind it from contradictory angles that juxtapose the figure as a subservient defender of the oppressed Jews and as a monster over whom his creator has lost control and who then runs amok slaughtering those it is created to protect. My research attempts to make sense of these clashing propensities to understand how this figure can become such a bewildering yet ominous figure to Christians and Jews alike. Additionally, in the ultimate destruction of the golem, I would like to explore societal anxieties, fears, and securities about …

The Philosopher’S Art: The Alchemical And Religious Writings Of Sir Isaac Newton, Caleb J. Stamp

Senior Honors Theses

Sir Isaac Newton is inarguably one of the most famous yet divisive geniuses in human history. His writing touched on a staggering variety of topics, including chemistry, physics, and history, among others. Some of his less well-known works – most notably, his alchemical experiments and his prophetic commentaries – have created wildly conflicting views of both him and his theories. However, Newton’s alchemical and religious writings are crucial to understanding his broader worldview: namely, that the spiritual and natural aspects of the world worked together in a universe created by a supreme God who ordained that reality operates in a …

Review Of Lu Ann Homza's Religious Authority In The Spanish Renaissance, Alice L. Alvarado

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Lu Ann Homza’s intricate study of the major players involved in religious authority comes to life in her thought-provoking work Religious Authority in the Spanish Renaissance. Homza delicately weaved social, political, and religious analysis throughout the various layers of her chapters to give the reader a sense of the powers-that-be behind the secretive Spanish Inquisition and the overall hierarchical structure of the Catholic church. Homza does not shy away from confronting the previously upheld authority of Marcel Bataillon, and simultaneously challenges the reader to refuse to apply modern constructs or context to the unique time and place known as …