Religion Commons^™

Letters From The Levant: An Astellian Reading, Tanner Stott

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Among the more startling friendships of early 18th-century London’s literary scene is that of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Mary Astell. Their commonalities—remarkable self-education, political activism, and prolific writing—are dwarfed by vast differences of class, politics, and character. Astell, a curiously conservative woman nearly twenty-three years Montagu’s senior, spent her unmarried life squarely in the middle class. Montagu, on the other hand, began her life in England’s loftiest social echelons—the daughter of a Duke, she eloped with untitled Edward only to see him become one of England’s wealthiest men. Montagu lived colorfully with “principles,” according to Lady Irwin, “as corrupt …

Civilizing The Russian Frontier: Ferdinand And Elisabeth Von Wrangell’S Impact On Russian America, Ariel Brown

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In the early 19th century, the Russian colonies in North America struggled due to alcoholism, limited health care, violent attacks from Native tribes, extramarital relations, rat infestations, and weather-induced architectural decay. It is no wonder then that Ferdinand von Wrangell, the sixth governor of Russian America said, “It was our duty or rather we considered it as such, to introduce the concepts of decency and mores to this remote corner of the globe.” He believed his wife Elisabeth would also play a large role in that endeavor, stating, “In the absence of European females our ideas, conventions of civilization and …

From Cotton To Canyons: An Analysis Of The Historic Industries Of Southern Utah, Brielle Beardall

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On October 6, 1861, Brigham Young stood before Latter-day Saints gathered in the Old Salt Lake City Tabernacle and called 300 missionaries on an ambitious undertaking: Over three hundred families would leave their homes and settle in the Utahn southwestern desert; a region that earned the nickname of “Utah’s Dixie” for both its southern location and its punishing heat. Their mission was to cultivate cotton and increase Utahn economic independence from the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Allen Joseph Stout recalled in a personal journal about his experience learning of the call to Southern Utah, “My neighbors reported that …

Narrating The Bucolic South: How Southern Living Reflected And Shaped The South In The 1990s, Krista C. Wright

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In December 1995 at a company Christmas party, previous editor Gary McCalla spoke with Emory Cunningham, sitting president and chair who oversaw the transition from the practical Progressive Farmer to a lifestyle magazine for the “New South.” Looking around the room, Cunningham remarked, “These young people have no idea where we came from.” McCalla recalled a memo he and John Logue, creative director of the magazine, had written in the early days, outlining “what we believed had to be done to save Southern Living.” At that moment, the two noticed the song playing in the background— “History” by Michael …

“Wak[Ing] Up A Sleeping Giant”: Zions Opinion’S Crusade For Independent Governance And Free Speech At Brigham Young University During The 1968–1969 School Year, Joseph Boysen

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1968, university and college students across the United States demanded a larger voice in university governance. Sit-ins, rallies, and demonstrations were common, whether for civil rights, free speech, women’s rights, or against the Vietnam war and the draft. For instance, students took over the office of the President of Columbia University to protest the University’s appropriation of land that might have benefited the Black community. In this context, the students at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, had the chance to consider how they were going to pursue their own calls for change. Although they did not engage in …

Le Roi Shrinks Before La Nation And La Liberté: Feminine Allegories And The King In French Revolutionary Prints, Jared Cluff

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Printers in the early years of the French Revolution faced an unprecedented problem with new, unprecedented legal flexibility. Though the most cohesive government-coordinated efforts to overturn old symbols and refashion France’s national identity would not come until the Republican period, French engravers in the early years of the Revolution found existing Old Regime symbols and visual codes inadequate tools, so sought “a visual formula for [this] unprecedented historical change.” Furthermore, while the National Assembly did not completely do away with the Old Regime censorship systems that it ostensibly abolished with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, printers …

Reshaping Home: Chinese Immigrant Women’S Adaptation And Family Transformation Under Exclusion, Chloe Nicole 零星 Isom

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1941, Jew Law Ying arrived at the port of San Francisco with her infant daughter, Bak Heong, seeking admission to join her merchant husband, Yung Hin Sen, in the United States. Upon arrival, immigration officials detained Jew Law Ying and her daughter and required both her and her husband to answer nearly two hundred detailed questions about themselves to prove their identities and relationship. Officials designed these questions to uncover inconsistencies and expose fraudulent relationships, and they were so intricate that, despite their legal and legitimate marriage, Jew Law Ying and Yung Hin Sen had prepared extensively, memorizing answers …

From The Editor: Preface, Phoebe England Baker Editor In Chief

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. for a class. There, I experienced the life-changing Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Never had I attended a museum that was so well-curated. The museum started in the basement, a space intentionally designed with narrow passages, low ceilings, and dim lighting to evoke the conditions of a slave ship.

Front Matter

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Mystical Revelation And Knowledge Of God: Reclaiming Spirituality In Theology Through The Mystics, Elizabeth A. Merski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the scholastic era, the pursuit of God has occurred preeminently through reason, leading to an imbalanced theology of God that persists to the present day in the form of intellect-centered theology. As a resolution, this work proposes that the mobilization of private, mystical revelation as a source of legitimized theological knowledge of God has the potential to close the existent epistemological gap between reason/belief and theology/spirituality, demonstrating the integral unity between authentic knowledge of God and the receiver’s personal acceptance of God in faith. After examining the required methodological components for the discipline of theology and identifying criteria for …

Sing Lustily And With Good Courage: Reinventing Methodist Hymns In The Context Of The Indonesian Methodist Church, Budi Taniwan

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

The majority of Methodist churches continue to uphold the legacy of hymn singing, a practice highly esteemed by early Methodists. John and Charles Wesley employed hymns alongside sermons as a means of teaching Methodist theology, shaping Christian discipleship, and forming Methodist identity. However, in contemporary times, Indonesian Methodist churches recite fewer doctrinal hymns. Inadequate early translations, the absence of authentically Indonesian Methodist hymns, and the emergence of contemporary Christian music have contributed to this decline. Changes in liturgy, worship culture, and technology have also transformed the way congregations learn and sing their faith. This study explores the historical and theological …

How Philip K. Dick Used The Unreliable Narrator To Transport Unwitting Acolytes, Michael Barros, Jordi Smith

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This essay examines the use of the unreliable narrator to transport the reader into narrative worlds, specifically in Philip K. Dick's fiction. By exploring the phenomenon of narrative transportation and the role of emotions in engagement with fiction, we argue that Dick's use of the unreliable narrator significantly engages and transports readers into his narrative worlds. Subsequently, we contend that his belief in the fundamental reality of those worlds is effectively positioning himself as a gatekeeper and mediator between the narrative world and the real world, which sets him, in his mind, as a prophet, using fiction as a tool …

A Remarkable Journey Of Faith And Perseverance, John Zimmerman

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Ten months ago, Colin Jambekar was sitting through chemotherapy treatments that lasted up to seven hours a day while trying to keep pace with a demanding civil engineering course load.

On May 9, 2026, he walked across the commencement stage at Calvin University as a college graduate, cancer survivor, and conference champion student-athlete.

The Modal Catuṣkoṭi: Formalizing Emptiness In Classical Modal Logic, Chance Chapman

Comparative Philosophy

Nāgārjuna’s arguments in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā rely extensively on modus tollens, yet this inference is invalid in the paraconsistent frameworks typically used to formalize the catuṣkoṭi. We develop a modal extension of Belnap-Dunn semantics to address this, expressed as: ¬□(v(P) = t) ∧ ¬□(v(P) = f) ∧ ¬□(v(P) = b) ∧ ¬□(v(P) = n). This formula applies self-reflexively, resolves longstanding interpretive debates regarding verses within Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Vigrahavyāvartanī such as his “no thesis” defense, and bridges interpretive gaps between traditionally designated Eastern and Western logical traditions, providing a Western analytical translation of Indian dialectic into symbolic modal logic that …

A Poetic Call For And A Reflection And Commentary On Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, And Compassion, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Finding a published poem I had written as a teenager, titled “The Heavens Weep.” this article uses that poem as the basis for a commentary that reflects on the state of the world today (2026),  As a commentary, the article uses the poetic and metaphoric words in the poem as a relevant "reality check" for what is still going on today.  In essence, the commentary is about a call for Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, and Compassion, or what I call Archetypal Energies, Higher Vibrational Energies that operate deep within our individual and collective psyches to creatively urge us to "see" …

The Legend Of The Bear Lake Monster, Melissa Anderson Asay

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The Bear Lake Monster is a legend that has persisted for centuries. This monster is rooted in Shoshone oral traditions and hold the potential to be based off of fossils found in the Shoshone territory. This living legend was later amplified by Mormon settlers. One settler in particular, Joseph C. Rich, played a significant role in shaping its narrative. Though he eventually admitted to fabricating sightings to encourage settlement, belief in the creature remains alive today. The serpent’s presence in local lore has undeniably influenced the Bear Lake region, shaping both its identity and tourism industry. This legend serves as …

The Rending Of The Temple Curtain In The Gospel Of Luke: Its Relocation And Implications, Kim Kai Chan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rending of the temple curtain at Jesus’s death is recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels, yet Luke relocates the event from after to before Jesus’s death, creating interpretive challenges. While Mark connects the curtain’s tearing to the rending of the heavens at Jesus’s baptism through the verb σχίζω, this study argues that Luke reframes the tearing motif by linking the curtain’s rending to the tearing of the new garment in the parables of Luke 5:36–39, likewise employing σχίζω.

On the one hand, these parables in Luke 5 represent Jesus’s reasoning with his critics that to resist him and his …

"Dark And Loathsome": The Construction And Persistence Of Racial Theology In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Margaret Phillips

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints banned Black men from holding the priesthood until 1978, a policy many mistake for the whole of the faith's engagement with race. This thesis argues that the priesthood ban was only a symptom of a far deeper theology of race, one built into Mormonism's broader theology from its founding. Two intertwined beliefs anchor this theology: the default whiteness of the human body and soul, and twin curse narratives that mark Black and Indigenous peoples alike as bearers of a divine curse— dark skin read as the visible penalty for their ancestors' sin. …

My God Is My Mercy: A Philological And Exegetical Study Of The Use Of Hesed In The Old Testament And Its Echoes In The New Testament, Sister Mary Agatha Hester, O.P.

Theology Graduate Theses

One little word can have a mighty impact. This is the case with the Hebrew word hesed.  Having encountered hesed in Scripture scholarship, pursuit of its nature and nuance has become a quest that has resulted in this thesis. What follows is a philological and exegetical study of the meaning and use of hesed in the Old Testament, its intertextual echoes in the New Testament, and its implications for right living. First, the use of hesed is analyzed in the context of the Old Testament, focusing on Exodus 34:6-7, which serves as the exemplar text. Using the work of …

Religious Practice And Attitudes Toward Immigration And Racial Justice In America, Amya Douglas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This study aims to understand how Christians’ knowledge of Scripture and involvement in the church have an impact on their social-political views, specifically, racial justice and immigration. By using the survey responses from the 6th wave of the Baylor Religion Survey, more frequent church attendance and reading Scripture were correlated with a greater recognition of racism in terms of being against white supremacy and white nationalism, supporting racial justice when asked about racial gaps, and possessing greater support for immigrants. This study highlights the distinction between religious affiliation and religious practice, and it suggests that certain policy sentiments can be …

Witchcraft Dialogues : Anthropological And Philosophical Exchanges, George Clement Bond, Diane M. Ciekawy

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Witchcraft Dialogues analyzes the complex manner in which human beings construct, experience, and think about the occult. It brings together anthropologists, philosophers, and sociologists, from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, to engage the metaphysical properties of witchcraft and sorcery and to explore their manifestations in people’s lived experiences.

While many Africanist scholars shun the analysis of witchcraft as an appropriate domain of investigation, the experiences, thoughts, activities, and powers that witchcraft encompasses have become increasingly the source of interest and debate. Concepts of witchcraft and the phenomena to which they are applied express something fundamental to the human condition and …

The Church And Nature’S Cathedral: Catholics, Protestants, And The Yosemite Chapel, Adam Hogan

Eastern Sierra History Journal

John Muir saw nature and national parks as religious symbols themselves. Since Muir’s day, generations of Americans have worshipped in the outdoor sanctuaries. However, while much scholarly attention has focused on national parks as symbols or religious icons, scholars have paid far less attention to the actual church services that have taken place in America’s national parks. Yet, a church in a national park presents many complications, and Adam Hogan explores these dilemmas through a history of the controversies surrounding who could pray in the Yosemite Chapel.

Ethics Under Siege: The Conflict In Tigray Through The Lens Of Just War Theory, Daniela Widya Purba

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

This research article explains the ethical principles of the conflict in Tigray based on the Just War Theory. By using the descriptive qualitative methodology, this research article draws data from secondary sources which includes; academic journals, news reports, as well as international legal instruments to analyze the moral trajectory of the conflict. This research begins with jus ad bellum, to assess Ethiopia’s government justification in declaring conflict within Tigray. While the government fulfilled the criteria of just cause and legitimate authority, the question stands on the ambiguous political intentions and the failure to enact peaceful alternatives before resulting in waging …

Presidential Visits As Foreign Policy Instruments: U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy In Trump’S Second Term, Atar Thaung Htet

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Through an analysis of President Donald Trump's October 2025 travel to Asia, this study investigates the consequences of U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy under his second-term diplomacy. The paper examines three significant diplomatic encounters—the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, bilateral meetings in Japan, and the APEC Summit in South Korea—using a qualitative case study methodology based on role theory and foreign policy analysis. The results show that alliance-centered security cooperation, strategic balancing toward China, and selective economic engagement were U.S. Indo-Pacific goals. Through extremely transactional and bilateralized relations, presidential diplomacy allowed the United States to fulfill a number of foreign policy responsibilities, such …

Institutionalized Collective ZakāH System In India And Technological Integration: A Qualitative Descriptive Analysis Of ZakāH Payers' Perception, Syed Imtiyaz Hassan

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics

This qualitative descriptive study based on naturalistic inquiry was conducted to investigate awareness, present habits, experiences, opinion about establishing institutionalized collective Zakāh system, and degree of acceptance of technology among Zakāh payers in India. The study found that approximately 60% of Zakāh payers of India are having just basic information. The other notable outcome worth mention is the trust issue. Less than 50% of Zakāh payers are able to trust and have full confidence that their Zakāh is utilized properly. This study also collected the data related to perception of Zakāh payers about the …