History of Religion Commons^™

Wonders In The Deep: Faith And Religious Practice In The Shipboard Writings Of American Sailors, 1810-1859, Valerie Sallis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While stereotypes of sailors as immoral, godless ne’er-do-wells flourish in mainland historical accounts, little attention has been paid to the records left by sailors that document their own faith and religious practices. This thesis examines the logbooks, journals, and diaries written by American sailors while at sea, sounding the depth of sailors’ religious beliefs through their own words. While American seamen certainly drank, swore, and caroused, sailors also frequently captured in their writing a much more religious nature than the mainland expected of them. Sailors’ position as highly mobile laborers on the ultimate borderlands—the sea itself—impacted their religious practice and …

The Valiant Woman, Ann Louise Cole

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1600, Hosokawa Tama Gracia perished under mysterious circumstances. She was a noblewoman married to a powerful daimyo, the daughter of a traitor, and a Kirishitan convert during the “Christian Century” in Japan. In life, she was both dutifully subservient and tenaciously bold. In death, she was fodder for propaganda, and in the hands of European writers her life story was re-written for specific narrative purposes. The most striking of these artistic transformations is her depiction as a Christian martyr in the late seventeenth-century Latin Jesuit drama Mulier fortis. The music for this drama was composed by Johann Bernhard Staudt …

Noble Pagans And Satanic Saracens: Literary Portrayals Of Islam In Medieval Italy And Iberia., John Spencer Jones

Honors Theses

The medieval Christian world is generally associated with a kind of religious zealotry that would seem to preclude the development of nuanced understandings of the religious Other. The heightened interreligious contact in regions such as Iberia and the Italian Peninsula, however, made room for relationships with members of other faiths that resulted in more developed ideas about these other creeds. This honors thesis examines the portrayal of Islam in the Christian literature of medieval Italy and Iberia, dating from the late 11th century to the middle of the 14th century. It categorizes a few types of the literary “use” of …

By The Power Vesta-Ed In Me: The Power Of The Vestal Virgins And Those Who Took Advantage Of It, Elena M. Stanley

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

Vestal Virgins were high ranking members of the Roman elite. Due to the priestesses’ elevated standing, Romans made use of their inherent privileges. Through analyses of case studies from ancient authors and archaeology, I identify three ways Romans wielded Vestal power: familial connections, financial and material resources, and political sway. I end by exploring cases of crimen incesti, the crime of unchastity, which highlight all three forms. The Vestals were influential women who shared access to power in different ways. The Vestals were active participants in the social and political world of Rome.

From Handmaids To Princesses: How Identity And Politics Impact Definitions Of Biblical Rape, Gabrielle R. Isaac-Herzog

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

The politics of sex in the Bible are complex. They are impacted and limited by the time of the stories, as well as the political landscape and laws of the region. However, since many modern religions have emerged from the text of the Hebrew Bible, it is important for scholars to continue the work of critically examining the texts in the contemporary context. This paper offers a textual analysis of several biblical stories through a feminist and decolonial lens. Through the generation of a taxonomy by which these stories can be categorized, this paper posits that the biblical definitions of …

Qur’An And Constitutions: Sharia In Modern Muslim Democracies, Adrian N. Vasquez

Young Historians Conference

In contemporary society there has seen a gradual shift in the politics of the Muslim world toward more democratic constitutions. This shift can be seen in the aftermath of successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt during the Arab Spring as well as isolated cases in other countries. The change echoes those that resulted from the Protestant Reformation’s challenge of the Catholic Church’s authority in 16th century European politics. By looking at the ideas of early constitutionalism in Europe that supported liberalism, it is possible to compare those with the goals of constitutions of new Muslim democracies. Though in many cases …

The Failure Of The Anabaptist Kingdom Of Münster, Sonja Cutts

Young Historians Conference

In February 1534, after rebelling against the authority of their Catholic prince-bishop, the German town of Münster fell under Anabaptist rule. During the next sixteen months, the city’s religious leaders would advocate in favor of Münster becoming a “community of goods,” in which all goods are shared in common. However, their egalitarian dream never fully materialized. This paper examines how the hidden motives of Münster’s political leaders both helped the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster come into being and prevented the accomplishment of its economic goals.

Of Vultures, Souls, And Galen: Theology And Medical Cures In Early Medieval Europe, Christina Cannon

Campus Research Month

Examining how medical cures in early medieval Europe reflect the theology of the time is one that involves tracing and defining the emergence of a more defined field of "medicine," beginning with Galen. The work briefly examines prevailing contemporary views of the relation of body to soul, as well as what medical cures looked like. Understanding how 'pagan' thought was conceptualized and related to 'Christian' thought during the period is also helpful, and the work seeks to broadly consider these themes while noting particular examples that answer the question of how theology and medicine were related in medieval Europe.

Privilege, Power, And Patronage: Examining The Lives And Afterlives Of Three Tudor Noblewomen, Caroline Elizabeth Armbruster

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation uses the lives of Catherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk; Anne Stanhope, Duchess of Somerset; and Jane Guildford, Duchess of Northumberland to examine various aspects of their experiences as noblewomen and as members of privileged family groups. By focusing on these three women, whose lives and careers spanned eight decades, this dissertation demonstrates the centrality of such women to Tudor politics. Catherine, Anne, and Jane were born into powerful, landowning families. Their successful marriages allowed them to climb the ranks of the Tudor aristocracy and paved the way for their entry into the Tudor political arena. They served as …

Church-State Relations: The Protection Of Conscience Against Governmental Encroachment, Jennifer Decker

Liberty University Research Week

Doctoral

Textual or Investigative

Life Beyond Bars: Nine Prisoners And Their Families, And Faith-Based Efforts To Recognize And Avoid-Cross-Generational Criminal Habits., Alfreda Reese

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The aim of this study is to examine prisoners’ firsthand experiences and their underlying family issues to bring awareness and delete current cross-generational criminal habits. Through analyzing a series of individual experiences and exploring underlying family issues, the study intends to bring awareness and exposure to the implications of the criminal justice system on prisoners and their families. This study will analyze personal stories of prisoners and their families to identify, interact, and intervene in best practices to avoid criminal habits. The research gathered aims to empower prisoners and their families in suggested ways to delete repeated criminal patterns and …

Transforming Leviathan: Job, Hobbes, Zvyagintsev And Philosophical Progression, Graham C. Goff

Journal of Religion & Film

The allegory of Leviathan, the biblical serpent of the seas, has undergone numerous distinct and even antithetical conceptions since its origin in the book of Job. Most prominently, Leviathan was the namesake of Thomas Hobbes’s 1651 political treatise and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s 2014 film of the same name, a damning indictment of Russian corruption. These three iterations underscore the societal transition from the recognition of power as being derived from God to the secularization of power in Hobbes’s philosophy, to the negation of the legitimacy of divine and secular institutional power, in Zvyagintsev’s controversial film. This examination of Leviathan’s three unique …

Gender, Race, And Religion In An African Enlightenment, Jonathan D. Lyonhart

Journal of Religion & Film

Black Panther (2018) not only heralded a new future for representation in big-budget films but also gave an alternative vision of the past, one which recasts the Enlightenment within an African context. By going through its technological enlightenment in isolation from Western ideals and dominance, Wakanda opens a space for reflecting on alternate ways progress can—and still might—unfold. More specifically, this alternative history creates room for reimagining how modernity—with its myriad social, scientific, and religious paradigm shifts—could have negotiated questions of race, and, in turn, how race could have informed and redirected some of the lesser impulses of modernity. Similar …

2022 Conference Program, Taylor University

Phi Alpha Theta Conference at Taylor University

The 2022 Phi Alpha Theta conference took place on May 5, 2022 in the Zondervan Library at Taylor University.

Panel 1: Issues in Asian (-American) History

Panel 2: Themes in American History

Conference Organizer: Dr. Benjamin Wetzal

The Twin Yosemite Meetings Of John Muir: Ralph Waldo Emerson And Theodore Roosevelt, Russell Knapp

Phi Alpha Theta Conference at Taylor University

The two parallel visitations from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Roosevelt to John Muir and the different relationships that resulted illustrate two extremes in Muir’s life, the excited dreamer who was influenced by Emerson, and the accomplished conservationist who influenced Roosevelt.

From Disengagement To Intervention: The Chinese Civil War, Korean War, And The Paradigm Shift Of The U.S. Foreign Policy In East Asia, Hosung Jung

Phi Alpha Theta Conference at Taylor University

This paper is a comparative analysis of the U.S. foreign policy in the Chinese Civil War and Korean War on the brink of the Cold War in East Asia.

Res Historica, Volume 1, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The inaugural journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Hunter Curlee, and Johnathan Sorce. Cover art for this volume is the Phi Alpha Theta: Alpha Rho Epsilon logo created by Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg.

The Power Of Mothers: A Comparison Of The Egyptian Goddess Isis And Virgin Mary During The Roman Empire Through Literature And Art, Katherine Burdick

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The Egyptian goddess Isis and the Virgin Mary are two mother figures that were an essential part of Roman culture. Isis rose to prominence in Roman religion when the Republic expanded into Egypt in 30 B.C. She was adopted into the Roman pantheon alongside many other deities from other cultures. Mary rose to prominence in a very different way. A majority of early Christian worship was heavily persecuted and not accepted by many Roman emperors. However, eventually, Christianity eclipsed cult worship of deities. Isis and Mary were both seen as comforting mother figures for not only their sons, Horus and …

Corinth Baptist Church Records, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection consists of the records of Corinth Baptist Church, as well as records pertaining to the Ogeechee Baptist Association. Spanning, 1896-1969, materials include Corinth Baptist Church’s founding decorum, a deed for the land and some church-related personal correspondence, as well as a composition book repurposed as an informal record compilation, in addition to Corinth Baptist Church’s meeting minutes between 1903 and 1952. It also contains Corinth Baptist Church’s Uniform Letters to the Association from 1955 and 1956, and then from 1959-1967, as well as the Ogeechee Baptist Assocation’s meeting minutes from 1924 and 1963.

Enlightened Evangelicalism And The American Revolutionary War: A Comparison Of John Witherspoon And John Zubly, Henry Bolin Jr.

Senior Theses

This paper compares the religion, philosophy, and politics of Presbyterian ministers John Witherspoon and John Zubly leading up to the American Revolutionary War, during which Zubly was a Loyalist and Witherspoon was a Patriot. The two ministers integrated Enlightenment thought and evangelical Calvinism differently which led to hold opposing political views. Witherspoon’s commitment to the Scottish Enlightenment concept of ethical sensibility was not contrary to Calvinist doctrine, but rather fits within the Reformed understanding of how God’s grace restores nature. Even though Zubly ended up becoming a Loyalist during the Revolutionary War, his pre-war political leanings are complicated, as he …

Beacons Of Peace And Tolerance: The Politics Of Memory In Judeo-Moroccan Cultural And Historical Institutions, Audrey Ming An Hirsch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Bayt Dakira, a historical, religious, cultural, and academic institution located in the heart of Essaouira’s old medina, seeks to conserve Jewish-Moroccan memory and promote values of peace and tolerance as exemplified by the city’s history of Jewish-Muslim coexistence. As an institution dedicated to conserving the culture of a people that have all but virtually emigrated from Morocco, Bayt Dakira’s purpose is initially unclear. This study uncovers the ways in which Bayt Dakira is an example of a seemingly apolitical institution being wielded to advance national and international political agendas. As an officially apolitical place of cultural and academic exchange, Bayt …

American Fury: Catholic Responses To Spanish Anticlericalism (1936-1939), Paul Sanders Linker Jr.

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the roles, ideologies, attitudes, and arguments of American Catholics in debates over the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939. Although the war only lasted between these years, these debates carried over into WWII as Spain’s neutrality came into question. Specifically, the focus is on how American Catholics grappled with historically unprecedented Spanish anticlericalism, the direct murder of roughly 7000 Catholic clergy and persecution of many more by Spanish Republicans, and why this anticlericalism drove most Catholics into a form of unapologetic pro-Francoism. This research is conducted by careful analysis of both mainstream and Catholic newspapers/journals. Mainstream pro-Republican press …

Postcolonialism And The Missionary Experience In The Book Of Mormon, Diana Witt

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

In their irreverent 2011 musical, The Book of Mormon, writer-composers Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and Robert Lopez satirize the work of Mormon missionaries. This paper analyzes the musical's book and lyrics, its cultural context and reception, and postcolonial scholarship. The paper argues that while The Book of Mormon operates as a postcolonialist text by critiquing cultural hegemony, it also reinforces stereotypes and practices present in colonization like othering and cultural colonialism.

Vedantic Basis And Praxis Of The Integral Advaita Of Sri Aurobindo, Debashish Banerji

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

The integral nondualism of Sri Aurobindo can be traced to the great pronouncements (mahāvākya) of the Upanishads and later commentaries. This study examines teachings on the Supermind (vijñāna) and the other four kinds of consciousness that define human reality: Matter (annaṃ), Life (prāṇaḥ), Mind (manaḥ), and Bliss (ānanda). Through Yoga and Tantra, one learns and embodies the pathway to the divine.

Digital And Spatial Humanities Mapping: Eurasia-Pacific Early Trade And Belief Linkages, Igor Sitnikov, David Blundell

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

The Eurasia-Pacific is a dynamic region of rapid economic growth, cultural awareness, natural resource exploration, and military buildup. The concept of the region is relatively new, featuring contested vast areas of geo-resource space of numerous cultures and languages. The current findings in anthropology and archaeology and even its more specific subfields such as folklore are important contribution to the understanding of periodic environmental changes and technical innovations were the main forces of transformations in social structures that have determined the mechanisms and levels of cross-cultural trade activity across the region. We have traced early trade and belief linkages across Eurasia-Pacific …

Tusha Hiti: The Origin And Significance Of The Name, Deepak Shimkhada

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

In this article, the author examines the royal bath called Tushā Hiti located in Sūndari Chowk (Beautiful Courtyard) of Pātan Durbar Square, using six different methods of investigation. The question: What is in a name? started the ball of investigation rolling and along the way were added more supporting blocks such as history, iconography, function and purpose, notion of purity and impurity, and finally the hiti in popular culture to get a complete picture of the subject in question.

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion: Perspectives From Contemporary India And 6th Century Jain Yoga, Christopher Key Chapple

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

Times New Roman

Ganges In Indian Sculpture And Literature: Mythology And Personification, Nalini Rao

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

The river Ganges is a symbol of wealth, purity and eternity, and its sacred waters have inspired sages, philosophers, and artists in India who have immortalized its divine imagery. However, it has rarely been understood from a historical point of view, as to how it became so sacred and to view it from a multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary perspective with an accumulation of layers of historical thought and practices, provides a rationale for the living practices around the river. The paper explores the evolution of the concept of sacredness and eternity of River Ganges through art- historical and archaeological evidence. It …

Buddhist Modernism In The Philippines: Emerging Localization Of Humanistic Buddhism, Aristotle C. Dy

Chinese Studies Department Faculty Publications

Mahayana Buddhism is well known for being successfully implanted in various cultures. Chinese Buddhism, considered one of the three great religions of China along with Confucianism and Taoism, is a classic example. From China, Buddhism traveled further and, in the twentieth century, developed a particular way of engaging the world. Humanistic Buddhism, a particular form of engaged Buddhism that grew out of twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism, has been present in the Philippines since the 1990s and signaled a new phase in the growth of Buddhism in the country. In particular, the Philippine initiators of Foguangshan and Ciji did not limit themselves …

Coping With Defeat: Sunni Islam, Roman Catholicism, And The Modern State. Jonathan Laurence (Princeton, Nj: Princeton University Press, 2021). Pp. 606. $35.00 Paper. Isbn: 9780691172125, Jared Rubin

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

A book review of Coping with Defeat: Sunni Islam, Roman Catholicism, and the Modern State by Jonathan Lawrence.