Religion Commons^™

Editor’S Perspective: The Fusion Of Religion And Business, Michael E. Cafferky

Faculty Works

This article provides a summary of the ancient Hebrew concept of emeth (truth, faithfulness) and how it is relevant to contemporary business.

Sr. Carolyn: Voice For The Voiceless, Michele Hill

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper discusses parts of an interview I conducted with Sr. Carolyn on the roles of women religious and how they, including herself, are involved in activism.

Sr. Holy: A Calling From The Lord, Caitlyn Schaffer

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes a portion of an interview with Sr. Holy, a woman religious missionary who belongs to the congregation of Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, where her theological beliefs are enacted by her service to others. Within the congregation of Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, she is focused on directing the novitiate, giving spiritual direction, volunteering with the aid for women, networking with the aid for women, and taking part in a life learning center making disciples. She uses her gifts that Jesus has given her to employ her virtues in the service of others. Throughout her life she mentioned the …

Sr. Sarah Grace: The Common Good, Caleb Wright

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes part of an interview with Sr. Sarah Grace from January 2, 2018. She is a women religious who has worked in education for 25 years. This paper includes a portion of the interview where she shared her perspective on the common good.

Sr. Rebecca: The True Value Of Women, Shelby M. Burroughs

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes part of an interview with Sister Rebecca, a Salesian who has worked in education for the last 10 years, and her views on the roles that women religious play in the lives of people

Review Of When Race, Religion, And Sport Collide: Black Athletes At Byu And Beyond, By Darron T. Smith, Richard Kimball

Mormon Studies Review

On the cusp of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in March 2011, Brigham Young University announced the suspension of star center Brandon Davies for violating the school’s honor code. Until that point in the season, the African American Davies had helped the Cougars to a number-three ranking in the national polls and had established himself as an outstanding sophomore center. The suspension became fodder for commentators on every side and spent a short time in the national spotlight. Davies’s reinstatement for the following season prompted

much less discussion and seemed to forestall further dialogue about the handling of the suspension …

Review Of Why Liberals Win (Even Win They Lose Elections): How America’S Raucous, Nasty, And Mean ‘Culture Wars’ Make For A More Inclusive Nation, By Stephen Prothero, Neil J. Young

Mormon Studies Review

Depending on how one feels about the 2016 election, reading a book titled Why Liberals Win (Even When They Lose Elections) might seem like either a deluded endeavor or much-needed balm. In his latest work, Stephen Prothero argues that liberals stand on the victorious side of history, if not always the ballot box, because they have won every culture war battle since the nation’s founding. Liberals win, Prothero contends, because conservatives launch culture wars to preserve a way of life that has already begun to change, an ill-fated effort that cannot turn back the progressive forces of history that churn …

Review Of Natural Born Seer: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1805–1830, By Richard S. Van Wagoner, Mark Ashurst-Mcgee, Mark L. Staker

Mormon Studies Review

Around the turn of the century, Signature Books planned a series of three volumes that would cover Joseph Smith’s life in detail. Richard S. Van Wagoner was commissioned to write the first volume of the trilogy, treating the period from Smith’s birth to his move to Ohio. Van Wagoner’s Natural Born Seer: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1805– 1830 engages Smith’s family and cultural background, his childhood and formative years, his visionary claims, his translation of the Book of Mormon, and the organization of the Mormon church. Much of the work of Mormon history is done by amateur scholars who contribute …

Living Through Terror And Terror Through Living: The Biopolitical Dimensions Of Religion, Security, And Terrorism, Donnie Featherston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent emphasis and attention by thinkers, media pundits, and politicians on terrorism requires new, critical evaluation of the processes by which terrorism is understood. By investigating the concept of biopolitics, as developed specifically through Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben, new insights into the interactions between terrorism, politics, and religion can emerge. Most notably, the attempts to explain terror as simply an economic problem, an excessive form of violence, and/or as religious fervency gone awry rely on embedded biopolitical concepts. The continual attempts to solve terrorism through increased biopolitical strategies, thereby making terrorism a problem for biopolitics, only further substantiate the …

Early Proceedings Of The Association Of Professors Of Mission. Vol 2, Robert A. Danielson, David E. Fenrick

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

The“Specialness” Of Religious Conscience: An Egalitarian Response, Joseph Marsden Dunne

Wayne State University Dissertations

Religion is often singled out for special legal treatment in Western societies. This is certainly true in the United States where religion enjoys a special place in the First Amendment to the Constitution via the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses. Through Free Exercise guarantees, for example, the Supreme Court held in Wisconsin v. Yoder that Amish children were entitled to an exemption from compulsory school attendance laws after the eighth grade, emphasizing that this was a uniquely religious exemption that did not apply to everyone. Moreover, those conscientiously objecting to contemporary vaccination laws may find themselves with varying protections depending …

Deepening Divisions: The Influence Of Protestant Faith In Civil War Reconciliation, Jeremy Solomon

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis considers the influence of mainstream Protestantism on Civil War reconciliation. Through reconciliation, Northern and Southern residents came to forgiveness and comradery, moving beyond animosity. This has been a focus of historical research in the past two decades, but with particular attention to the resentment of veterans. With this, many scholars have overlooked the impact of other institutions of American society. This thesis addresses the issue by analyzing the effects of religious opinions on the perceptions that veterans and civilians held of their former enemies. Protestantism was the dominant faith of the nation, rivaling any organization of influence in …

The Power In Multiplying: Growth In New Religious Movements, Nicole Wrobel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Starting in November of 2016, a documentary series aired on the original network A&E where it continues to capture the attention of thousands of viewers in America. Scientology: The Aftermath, starring the well-known King of Queens and Dancing with the Stars actress Leah Remini and former senior executive of the church of Scientology International and Sea Organization Mike Rinder, aim to reveal the "truth" that hides behind the church of Scientology. The show interviews ex-practitioners who claim their lives have been deeply impacted by the church and who want to assist in revealing the shocking stories of abuse and harassment …

Semantics And The Study Of Religion, G. Scott Davis

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

This essay argues that the approach to meaning articulated by Donald Davidson supplies all the student of religion needs to know about this subject. By focusing on interpretation as understood by Davidson, we can understand, for example, the beliefs and practices of a people such as the Dogon of Mali. By adding to this the evidence of ethnography and history, students of religion can give a compelling account of change and adjudicate between competing analyses.

Intercultural And Interreligious Bonds In The Language Of Colors, Lucy Soucek

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the interfaith elements of the artwork of three south Asian visual artists, The Singh Twins, Siona Benjamin, and Arpana Caur. All coming from various religious backgrounds, living in multicultural societies, and navigating the borders and boundaries between different religious thought, these artists create meaningful artwork which explores what it means to live in a pluralistic society. All three artists invite viewers to think differently, formulate opinions, rethink assumptions, and spark associations. They use art as a way to ignite interfaith understanding, reaching broader audiences and asking us to question how we understand our neighbors and ourselves.

The Believing Scientist: Essays On Science And Religion, Hyrum Lewis

BYU Studies

Stephen M. Barr. The Believing Scientist: Essays on Science and Religion.

Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2016.

Cecil B. Demille And David O. Mckay–An Unexpected Friendship, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

Early in the twentieth century, what should have been a most unlikely friendship curiously evolved into a lifelong amiable relationship between world-renowned filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and David O. McKay, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In some ways, the two men were polar opposites. DeMille was an icon in the twentieth-century film industry who directed seventy motion pictures in an illustrious career that spanned over four decades. Dwelling in the midst of “Babylon” (Los Angeles), he was referred to as “Mr. Hollywood.” McKay presided from the heart of Latter-day Saint conservatism, Salt Lake City, dedicated …

Prosocial Religion And Games: Lost & Found, Owen Gottlieb, Ian Schreiber

Articles

In a time when religious legal systems are discussed without an understanding of history or context, it is more important than ever to help widen the understanding and discourse about the prosocial aspects of religious legal systems throughout history. The Lost & Found (www.lostandfoundthegame.com) game series, targeted for an audience of teens through twentysomethings in formal, learning environments, is designed to teach the prosocial aspects of medieval religious systems—specifically collaboration, cooperation, and the balancing of communal and individual/family needs. Set in Fustat (Old Cairo) in the 12th century, the first two games in the series address laws in Moses Maimonides’ …

Denominational Incompatibility And Religious Pluralism: A Non-Pluralist Response To A Pluralist Critique, Matthew Stinson

Global Tides

Religious Pluralism is the view that no one religion is correct, and no religion enjoys special status in relation to the Ultimate. Recently, Samuel Ruhmkorff has defended Religious Pluralism from what we'll call 'The Incompatibility Objection': many religions appear to make incompatible claims about ultimate reality, and therefore they cannot all be true. Ruhmkorff defends Religious Pluralism from the incompatibility problem by applying a “subsets of belief” defense that non-pluralists may use in response to denominational differences within a religion. He argues that non-pluralists are faced with denominational incompatibility within whatever religion they are asserting is uniquely true. He further …

Cross-National Variation In The Social Origins And Religious Consequences Of Religious Non-Affiliation, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

I argue that the social implications of religious non-affiliation vary across cultural contexts, leading to differences across nations in both who is likely to be unaffiliated and the religious consequences of such non-affiliation. I test these propositions by examining cross-national variation in associations with non-affiliation using multilevel models and cross-sectional survey data from almost 70,000 respondents in 52 nations. The results indicate that: 1) both individual characteristics (gender, age, and marital status) and nation-level attributes (GDP, communism, and regulation of religion) strongly predict religious non-affiliation; 2) differences in non-affiliation by individual-level attributes—women vs. men, old vs. young, and married vs. …

Early Proceedings Of The Association Of Professors Of Mission. Vol 1, Robert A. Danielson, David E. Fenrick

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Religion And Families: An Introduction, Alison Palmer

BYU Studies

Loren D. Marks and David C. Dollahite, Religion and Families: An Introduction, Textbooks in Family Studies Series (New York: Routledge, 2017)

Records Of The Ed Robb Evangelistic Association Arc1994-005 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

“Take And Eat”: Links Between The Eucharist And Human Flesh In Some Twentieth-Century Irish Texts, Eamon Maher

Articles

Given the strong influence of Catholicism on the Irish psyche and culture, it is not altogether surprising that it should feature strongly in the work of the country’s writers and artists. This essay will concentrate on the extent to which the Eucharist, a central tenet of Catholic faith, is linked to a certain perception of the body as seen in the work of three well-known Irish fiction writers: Aidan Mathews, Frank McCourt, and John McGahern. Part of the process revolves around reverence for the Eucharist, which, in order to be properly received, demands a purity of mind and body that …

Forecasting Changes In Religiosity And Existential Security With An Agent-Based Model, Ross J. Gore, Carlos Lemos, F. Leron Shults, Wesley J. Wildman

VMASC Publications

We employ existing data sets and agent-based modeling to forecast changes in religiosity and existential security among a collective of individuals over time. Existential security reflects the extent of economic, socioeconomic and human development provided by society. Our model includes agents in social networks interacting with one another based on the education level of the agents, the religious practices of the agents, and each agent's existential security within their natural and social environments. The data used to inform the values and relationships among these variables is based on rigorous statistical analysis of the International Social Survey Programme Religion Module (ISSP) …

A Generative Model Of The Mutual Escalation Of Anxiety Between Religious Groups, F. Leron Shults, Ross Gore, Wesley J. Wildman, Christopher J. Lynch, Justin E. Lane, Monica D. Toft

VMASC Publications

We propose a generative agent-based model of the emergence and escalation of xenophobic anxiety in which individuals from two different religious groups encounter various hazards within an artificial society. The architecture of the model is informed by several empirically validated theories about the role of religion in intergroup conflict. Our results identify some of the conditions and mechanisms that engender the intensification of anxiety within and between religious groups. We define mutually escalating xenophobic anxiety as the increase of the average level of anxiety of the agents in both groups overtime. Trace validation techniques show that the most common conditions …

Factors That Influence How Sunni Muslims In Western Michigan Perceive Violence, Joyce Busch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decisionmakers in organizations like the Department of Defense and the State Department rely on accurate information to develop strategies to engage foreign populations. There is gap in understanding how perceptions are formed in religious adherents, specifically understanding how Muslims determine if violence is an acceptable or unacceptable behavior. Informed by Hobföll's conservation of resources theory of stress, the purpose of this case study was to identify and understand the religious and secular factors that influenced a group of Sunni Muslims in Western Michigan to accept or reject violent behaviors. Research questions focused on how this population's perception of violence was …

Addressing Spiritual Care Needs In Primary Care, Olayinka Akerele-Olufidipe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This DNP project focused on the spiritual aspects of care that are often neglected in the outpatient setting. Most patients value their spiritual health and believe that it is just as important as their mental and physical health. The purpose of this project was to improve the overall spiritual care provided to patients, their families, and/or caregivers in times when they were experiencing spiritual distress. This quality improvement (QI) project was designed to determine whether embedding a chaplain in an outpatient clinic instead of providing a pamphlet about chaplain services increases patient satisfaction. Secondary analysis of the data in this …

The Issues And Perceptions Of Muslim Employees Concerning Religious Accommodation In The Workplace, Daniel Winfred White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Religious accommodation in the workplace has been a growing issue in the business community, partly as a result of an increasing number of religious discrimination cases in the United States. The focus of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate Muslims' perceptions concerning religious accommodation using pluralism and religious pluralism as the theoretical frameworks. Data were collected via an online survey of Muslims from different regions throughout the United States with a sample size of 28 participants. Data from the online survey were analyzed using the Moustakas method of phenomenological analysis, which consists of epoché, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and …

Filling The Gaps In Civil Society The Role Of The Catholic Church In Latin American Democratization, John Thiede, Matthew Carnes

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, we seek to draw lessons about the roles that religious institutions can play in promoting democracy in deeply divided societies by examining the experience of the Catholic Church in Latin America. We focus on the cases of Chile and El Salvador, two countries where the Catholic Church played a decisive role in advancing democracy after autocratic military rule. These two cases illustrate where theology and action productively promoted social change in highly conflictual societies. We note challenges to democracy in the region, but also new opportunities in the era of the first Latin American pope, Francis.