Religion Commons^™

Deportation And Death: Examining The Second Trump Administration’S Immigration Policy Through The Lens Of Just War Theory, Finley W. Snyder

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

From day one of the second Trump administration, the White House has treated illegal immigration as an invasion, both rhetorically and, to a lesser extent, legally. The administration has not shied away from the use of force in this campaign, leading to the notable killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti along with countless acts of violence across the nation. This essay seeks to evaluate the ethics of the second Trump administration's immigration policy from within this "war" framing through the lens of just war theory. While there has been considerable attention to just war theory in the context of …

Constraint, Necessity, And God Beyond Structure: A Structural Account Of Suffering Under Three-Layer Cognitive Architecture, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

The question of why humans suffer, if God exists, has persisted across philosophical and theological traditions without resolution. This paper does not approach the problem as one of justification. Instead, it specifies the structural conditions under which suffering arises. The analysis adopts a three-layer model of cognition consisting of a Prior layer, a Core processing layer, and a Modulation layer. The Prior layer supplies constraints that initiate processing but remain inaccessible to it. Under these constraints, cognition begins in a non-neutral state in which one layer is initially foregrounded. When Modulation-layer processing is foregrounded, the condition of translation demands continuation. …

A Letter To The Future, Derek Schuurman

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

In 2100, our technology will be different, but our basic questions about life, meaning and evil will remain unchanged.

From Tiktok To Transcendence: Reclaiming Focus Through Contemplative Education, Araceli Gordus Huizar

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

In an era shaped by the attention economy and digital technology, students in higher education navigate constant stimulation that fragments attention, increases stress, and challenges emotional regulation. Research in psychology and neuroscience suggests that chronic exposure to social media, AI tools, and multitasking environments contributes to divided attention and diminished cognitive performance. While institutional responses, such as phone bans, attempt to manage distraction, they often fail to cultivate the internal capacities necessary for sustained focus and meaningful learning.

This paper argues that contemplative education--grounded in Buddhist and Hindu contemplative traditions and informed by humanistic psychology and contemporary mindfulness-based interventions--offers a …

Review Of The Black Practice Of Disbelief, Walter W. Hill Jr.

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Ancestral Rites And Tablets As A Site Of Contestation Between Confucian Filial Piety And Catholicism: The Cases Of Chinese Confucian Yan Mo And Korean Catholic Yun Ji-Chung, Mideum Hong

Journal of Global Catholicism

This essay examines how the Confucian practice of filial piety, particularly as expressed through ancestral rites and tablets, became a focal point of contention in the encounters between Confucianism and Catholicism. Focusing on the cases of the Chinese Catholic Yan Mo and the Korean Catholic martyr Yun Ji-chung, I argue that the different historical and cultural contexts in China and Korea significantly shaped how each figure understood and responded to the practice of ancestral rites. While Catholicism spread globally, local converts developed distinct theological interpretations rooted in their respective cultural traditions. Although Yan Mo and Yun Ji-chung reached divergent conclusions …

“Enslavement By Unbridled Passions:” Catholic Magisterial Institutional Attitudes Toward Homosexuals In Poland Between 1945 And 1989, Agnieszka Laddach

Journal of Global Catholicism

During Communism, the Polish bishops presented a narrative about (homo)sexuality with in order to create the image of a righteous moral and social life that was to influence the Catholics. In my research I conduced a thematic analysis of this narrative. I highlight the doctrinal and Polish social-religious context to foreground tendencies in the formation of Church teaching about homosexuality as well as the importance of the Church in Poland to its formation. Then, I show the factors that characterize the episcopal discourse’s content and language about homosexuality, recognizing that components of episcopal discourse suggest a specificity of Church potential …

Overview & Acknowledgments, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

This Introduction overviews the work of contributors from the Graduate Symposium sponsored by the Journal of Global Catholicism and the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.  The Introduction also highlights the independent peer reviewed submission from Dr. Agnieszka Laddach of the University of Warsaw.

Primordial Recognition And The Structure Of Human Cognition: Toward A Quranic Epistemology, Jana El-Boustani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reconstructs a Qur’anic epistemological architecture grounded in narrative rather than abstract system-building. It argues that the Qur’an articulates a unified account of human cognition in which intelligibility is grounded in divine instruction, recognition is affirmed through primordial testimony, and knowledge is exercised within finite yet accountable faculties.

Through close analysis of the story of Adam in Surat al-Baqarah, the primordial covenant in Surat al-Aʿrāf, and the verse of the Amanah in Surat al-Aḥzāb, the study demonstrates that the Qur’an presents human knowing as structured, oriented, and morally conditioned. Revelation functions not as the introduction of wholly new knowledge, …

A Descriptive Phenomenological Study Of South Texas Non-Denominational Hispanic Ministry Leaders' Spiritual Formation Through Total Worship, Wendy Méndez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Spiritual formation transforms a believer’s relationship with Christ. For ministry leaders, especially volunteers, this process may be enhanced through worship practices. Understanding worship as a holistic lifestyle—beyond just musical or liturgical expression—had a profound influence on participants’ personal and spiritual development in this study. Despite the abundance of literature on worship and spiritual formation, a gap existed in understanding how total worship influenced the spiritual lives of volunteer leaders, particularly in culturally diverse communities. This study addressed the lack of research on the role of total worship in the spiritual formation of volunteer leaders in predominantly Hispanic, English-speaking, non-denominational, charismatic …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 39. What About Wallace's 'Agnosticism'...?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) seems to have distinguished his earlier years of agnosticism from his later period as a spiritualist, but a closer look at the situation suggests he actually remained an agnostic all the way through to the end of his life. The confusion is occasioned by a lack of terminology that can be applied to his position, which most closely resembles a Spinozian manner of thinking.

Parallel Concepts Found In The Thousand And One Nights And Sufi Hagiography, Walaa Kamal Emam Kamel

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that The Thousand and One Nights functions as more than mere populist entertainment; rather, it constitutes a literary corpus imbued with Sufi mystical epistemologies that reflect the spiritual quests and Sufi concepts evident in hagiographical traditions. Through discourse and intertextual analysis of two Nights stories, “The City of Brass” and “The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad,” alongside Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār’s Tadhkirat al-awliyāʾ, this study demonstrates how shared rhetorical strategies—specifically David Pinault’s Leitwörter analysis and L.A. Paul’s Transformative Experience concept—reveal a narrative and rhetorical emphasis on the metamorphosis of the self from worldly attachment toward …

What Is Happening In The World Today And Why: Humanity’S Evolving Consciousness And The Role Of Archetypal Energies As Guides During An Unfolding Weeding Out And Alignment Process, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

What is happening in the world today and why? Humanity is evolving its consciousness at individual and collective levels. Given these seemingly tumultuous times, as of this writing (January 2026), to make such a statement may sound like a strange thing to say. However, I suggest that if you are alive today and if you are reading these words, these are the very times for which you were born--to assist Humanity as it evolves its consciousness with your unique gifts, whatever they may be. That is, this period of our individual and collective human being-ness may be characterized as an …

Humanity Is Evolving Its Consciousness: The Role Of Archetypal Energies As Guides During An Unfolding Weeding Out And Alignment Process, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Humanity is evolving its consciousness at individual and collective levels.  Given these seemingly tumultuous times, as of this writing (January 2026), to make such a statement may sound like a strange thing to say.  However, I suggest that if you are alive today and if you are reading these words, these are the very times for which you were born—to assist Humanity as it evolves its consciousness with your unique gifts, whatever they may be.  That is, this period of our individual and collective human being-ness may be characterized as an unfolding period of weeding out and alignment with the …

The Coherence Of Navayāna Pragmatism: Ambedkar And The Pragmatist Reconstruction Of Buddhist Philosophy, Danish Hamid

Comparative Philosophy

This paper examines the philosophical coherence of B.R. Ambedkar’s reconstruction of his (Navayāna) Buddhism in relation to John Dewey’s pragmatism. Building on Scott Stroud’s reading of Ambedkar as a Deweyan Pragmatist (2017, 2023), it argues that Dewey’s evolutionary naturalism, his conception of growth, and pragmatic redefinition of concepts provide Ambedkar with the methodological tools for a naturalistic and socially reconstructive reinterpretation of Buddhist doctrines such as anicca (impermanence), dhamma (Buddha’s teaching), nirvāṇa (enlightenment), karuna (compassion), etc. Ambedkar transforms impermanence from a metaphysics of flux into an ethics of progressive growth, and recasts dhamma as a social morality grounded in fraternity …

Infinite Line, Infinite Knowledge: The 'Spera' And Organized Chaos In Lambert's Encyclopedia, The 'Liber Floridus', Ava Romano

Theses and Dissertations

The Liber Floridus is a medieval encyclopedia renowned for its program of circular diagrams, or sperae. Inside this manuscript of 190 chapters, these diagrams frame and embody written knowledge, revealing a connection between encyclopedism and life in the Benedictine monastery by creating a coherent visual organization of chapters.

Emptiness Is Enlightenment: Two Interpretations Of Nāgārjuna's Middle Way As Buddhist Soteriology, Isabella R. Sullivan

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the soteriological implications of Nāgārjuna’s doctrine of emptiness (śūnyatā) as presented in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (MMK), or Root Verses of the Middle Way. While Nāgārjuna’s radical denial of intrinsic existence (svabhāva) is widely recognized as a masterful critique of metaphysics, modern scholarship remains divided on whether this "right view" can sufficiently ground the Buddhist Path to Liberation. This project centers on a comparative analysis of two prominent modern interpretations: Jay Garfield’s semantic anti-dualism and Giuseppe Ferraro’s anti-metaphysical realism.

The inquiry evaluates these perspectives against the doctrinal frameworks of the Four Noble Truths, dependent …

The Use Of Mindfulness In Empirically Supported Treatments In Psychology, Timothy Stewart

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

After gaining popularity in the United States of America (USA) in the 1960s and 1970s, Buddhist mindfulness was introduced to clinical psychology and investigated for its potential psychological healing effects. In the years since, mindfulness has been widely used in empirically supported treatments (ESTs) in clinical psychology in the USA to treat a wide variety of psychological conditions and disorders. This dissertation examines and compares conceptualizations and implicit understandings of mindfulness in early (Theravāda) Buddhism and in ESTs in clinical psychology in the USA. Through textual narrative analysis of two Buddhist sutta and 10 clinical psychology journal articles, this study …

Hospitality As A Philosophy Of Care, Freddy Clark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study examines hospitality as a philosophy of care and a practice of social justice, particularly within marginalized communities. While hospitality is often understood as a gesture of kindness or a function of the service industry, this research reframes it as an ethical and relational practice grounded in human dignity, mutuality, and community formation. It explores how hospitality extends beyond transactional exchanges to become a transformative expression of care that challenges exclusion and affirms belonging. Drawing on interdisciplinary frameworks, the study integrates biblical narratives, including the Good Samaritan and Matthew 25:35–40, philosophical perspectives from Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida, and …

Homoeopathy During One Hundred Years Of Lmhi (1925–2025)– Part 1: Philosophical Perspectives, Josef M. Schmidt

Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy

The celebration of 100 years of “Liga medicorum homoeopathica internationalis” (LMHI) in 2025 gives reason to reflect on the philosophical essence of Homoeopathy as well as its historical development within a dynamic, changing world up to now.

From a philosophical perspective, in this first part, it is pointed out that Hahnemann, the founder of Homoeopathy, needs to be understood in his entirety– not only as a keen discoverer, practitioner and thinker, but also in his spiritual shape, i.e. in his ethical, religious and humanitarian attitude and conviction.

Only thus may one grasp the significance of the schism pervading Homoeopathy’s history …

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 …

'That All May Be One’: Incarnation, Solidarity, And Anti-Racism In Jesuit Education, Yancy Hughes Dominick

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Jesuit colleges and universities in the US have been striving to become anti-racist. This work is often tied to mission and to a shared commitment to Jesuit and Catholic values like a faith that does justice and the dignity of all persons. At the same time, however, many Jesuit institutions frame their commitment to anti-racism in language that does not appeal to specific aspects of Jesuit tradition; likewise, mission and Jesuit identity is often described in ways that make no overt reference to anti-racism. A robust anti-racism, I argue, arises necessarily out of Jesuit Catholic thought, and fully realized Jesuit …

Martial Arts Studies: A Commentary On The Exploration Of Consciousness In Modern Martial Arts, James H. Sutton

Journal of Conscious Evolution

The rapid globalization of martial arts has reconditioned how the beliefs, customs, and philosophies of traditionally based systems are interpreted and applied in modern practice. As contemporary scholarship struggles to accommodate the cultural histories, myths, and traditions that permeate the perception of martial arts in modern contexts, the focus of inquiry has shifted towards explaining cultural variations in practice rather than understanding the nature of self-awareness derived from self-practice. Consequently, the deeper meanings of martial arts as pathways to personal and transpersonal awareness are often invalidated in favor of objective and verifiable explications. In short, the role of consciousness is …

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan As Philosophy Of Religion: The Intersections Of Faith, Science, And Philosophy In An Anime Adaptation, Carl Jayson D. Hernandez

Philosophy Department Faculty Publications

Ideas concerning religion are often communicated through popular media, such as anime. One of the anime adaptations that explicitly engages the intersections of religion, science, and philosophy is Vatican Kiseki Chousakan. This anime adaptation centers on a special unit from the Vatican that verifies miraculous phenomena worldwide. In this study, I reflect on how the anime representation communicates religious ideas about miracles, prophecies, and other spiritual matters to its viewers. This critical reflection reveals how anime promotes a philosophical view centered on the complementary relationship between religion and science. With these in mind, this study proceeds as follows. The first …

A Buddhist Critique Of Harmony, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Timbre — A Transcendent Paradox?, Eugenia Siegel Conte

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Timbre, as ethnomusicologist Cornelia Fales writes, is “paradoxical” precisely because it is one of the most exacting processes in which the human body may sense and comprehend the source of a sound even as that comprehended sound is impossible to describe outside of metaphor or comparison. As one of the more recognizable qualities of sound but the most difficult to describe, timbre allows us to consider physical/emotional (affective) experiences of sound as a key aspect of faith and meditation. In this article, I examine physical-affective intersections of faith and meditation that often are key to praxes of worship, and show …

The Morality Of The Civil War: Just War Theory And Union Policy And Conduct, Michael Payne

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This article shall argue that the Union army, which was composed primarily of Christian soldiers and officers, prosecuted the Civil War in as moral a fashion as possible. It shall examine the different ways in which one can judge the morality of war, concluding that the tenets of Just War Theory are the best standard by which to judge a belligerent’s actions. It shall then examine Union war policy to determine if it is consistent with Just War Theory. This shall be done through a side-by-side comparison of Just War Theory’s tenets and Union policy. It shall then explore whether …

Transmodern Cinema And Decolonial Film Theory: A Study Of Youssef Chahine’S Al Maṣīr, Joshua Polanski

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Robert K. Beshara, Transmodern Cinema and Decolonial Film Theory: A Study of Youssef Chahine’s Al Maṣīr (Bloomsbury, 2024).

Cinema Illuminating Reality: Media Philosophy Through Buddhism, Teng-Kuan Ng

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Victor Fan, Cinema Illuminating Reality: Media Philosophy through Buddhism (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2022)

Hermeneutical Priming And Linguistic Hijacking In The God’S Not Dead Series, Brant Entrekin

Journal of Religion & Film

In this paper, I analyze the evangelical Christian film series God's Not Dead. I argue that the film series functions as Christian Nationalist propaganda through its rhetoric and aesthetic choices. I then develop two forms of epistemic manipulation that the film uses to fulfill its propagandistic function: hermeneutical priming and linguistic hijacking. I suggest that the film series' use of these rhetorical strategies highlights some of the ways that evangelical Christian cinema is engaging with rising right-wing political movements and developing unique evangelical imaginations.