History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons^™

Table Of Contents, Jhcs Staff

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A list of article contents for this issue.

The Way Of The Gods: The Development Of Shinto Nationalism In Early Modern Japan, Chadwick Mackenzie Totty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research looks at the development of Shinto nationalism in Edo Period Japan (1603-1868). It focuses on the development of intellectual thought and the relationship between the kogaku school in Japanese Confucianism and the kokugaku school in Shintoism. The primary goal is to demonstrate that there was a trend wherein members of these two schools looked back to the past in order to rediscover a lost utopia and Way. This study examines the works of Yamaga Soko, Itō Jinsai, Ogyū Sorai, Kamo no Mabuchi, and Motoori Norinaga to demonstrate how this line of thought helped contribute to the development of …

Euthanasia: Is It Ethically And Morally Acceptable?, Hannah Carmichael

University Honors Program

All over the world, there is discussion being made about euthanasia and if it is ethically and morally acceptable. The opinions are different from state to state and country to country. These differences in opinions evolve from different religions, political forces, generations, genders, and social classes. Through literature review, an overview of euthanasia, along with the ethical dilemmas, the laws regarding euthanasia, and the financial outcomes of euthanasia will be presented. Findings suggest that there may never be a definitive answer to the ethics of euthanasia, but more discussion and research can lead to a more understanding of the positive …

Book Of Mormon Costume Resource Guide, Rory R. Scanlon

Faculty Publications

This report offers visual costume research support for artists working on Book of Mormon projects, with an historical overview of Mesoamerica and how to understand its historical clothing pieces, an annotated listing of the best research sources, a list of garment and fabric terms for the 2000 BC to 600 AD period, and sample sketches from historical artifacts to suggest how to interpret the original research images the artist will encounter.

Old Testament Costume Resource Guide, Rory R. Scanlon

Faculty Publications

This report offers visual costume research support for artists working on Old Testament Bible projects, with an historical overview of Mesopotamia and how to understand its historical clothing pieces, an annotated listing of the best research sources, a list of garment and fabric terms for the 4000 BC to 0 AD period, and sample sketches from historical artifacts to suggest how to interpret the original research images the artist will encounter.

East Asian Buddhism, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Climbing A Ladder To Heaven. Gnostic Vision Of The World In Jacob's Ladder (1990), Fryderyk Kwiatkowski

Journal of Religion & Film

Contemporary film-makers quite willingly employ motifs typical of various gnostic trends. The author shows that ancient gnosticism is a treasury of motifs and a source of aesthetical and narrative strategies present in contemporary cinema. The article treats Jacob’s Ladder (1990, dir. Adrian Lyne) which is analyzed through Gnostic beliefs. In the author’s opinion, this film can be treated as a model where the gnostic thought has been presented in a coherent and systematic manner.

Kashmiri Marsiya (Elegy) Manuscripts: The Valuable Sources For The Dissemination, Reconstruction And Safeguarding The History And Culture-Iii, Tawfeeq Nazir

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Manuscripts are the links to the historical facts that will otherwise remain unknown to the world. They contain authentic information and facts about the social, political and cultural aspects of a nation. Therefore their intellectual value cannot be over emphasized. Many countries and nations are joining hands towards preserving such cultural assets by way of taking conservation and preservation measures including digitization and documentation.

Marsiya or Elegy has gained more importance after the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (a.s) and his companions and household in Karbala. Marsiya has been since written and recited in order to mourning the tragic events of …

Ancient Magic And Modern Accessories: Developments In The Omamori Phenomenon, Eric Teixeira Mendes

Masters Theses

This thesis offers an examination of modern Japanese amulets, called omamori, distributed by Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines throughout Japan. As amulets, these objects are meant to be carried by a person at all times in which they wish to receive the benefits that an omamori is said to offer. In modern times, in addition to being a religious object, these amulets have become accessories for cell-phones, bags, purses, and automobiles. Said to protect people from accidents, disease, loneliness, failure, computer viruses, among many other things, these objects are one of the few material aspects of religion that are a …

Review: Ōtani Ei'ichi, Kindai Bukkyō To Iu Shiza: Sensō, Ajia, Shakaishugi (The Perspective Of Modern Buddhism: War, Asia, Socialism) (Perikansha, 2012)., James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Engaging The History Of Religion - From An Islamic Studies Perspective, Leif Stenberg, Susanne Olsson

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Review: Hwansoo Ilmee Kim, Empire Of The Dharma: Korean And Japanese Buddhism, 1877–1912., James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Spread Of Buddhism During Ancient China, Emma Englehart

Senior Theses

Stories contain the power to be able to pull people in and engulf them with the teachings and enjoyment they possess. Storytelling is used in many different manners and one of those is through religion. It is through the telling of stories, and eventually the writing of them, that major religious beliefs have successfully spread to other parts of the world instead of staying in one place. Buddhism is one of the religions that is well-known and practiced by many because of the spread of its stories to other parts of the world, especially Asia. In ancient China, Buddhism flourished …

Music And Islamic Reform, Amanda Pierce

Senior Theses

Music in the Islamic world is being used as a tool for change. Islam is going though a period of major reform, and music is a way to get people all over the world to listen. Though music is prohibited among conservative groups, the Sufis and Islamic youth are spreading ideas of nonviolence and love both to audiences within the religion and to outsiders. The introduction of music has been met with heavy resistance by orthodox members of the religious community, but it has also brought change and success.

Strengthening Biblical Historicity Vis-A`-Vis Minimalism, 1992–2008 And Beyond. Part 2.3: Some Commonalities In Approaches To Writing Ancient Israel’S History, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This series of articles covers scholarly works in English which can, at least potentially, be associated with a generally positive view of biblical historicity regarding periods preceding the Israelites’ return from exile. Part 2 covers works that treat the methodological issues at the center of the maximalist–minimalist debate. Parts 2.1 and 2.2 selectively survey the works of 24 non-minimalist scholars during two decades. In the absence of consensus, this article analyzes the works in Parts 2.1 and 2.2, tracing elements of approach that are held in common, at least among pluralities of non-minimalists (possible majorities are not noted). The first …

The Performance Of Leadership: All The School’S A Stage And The Teachers And Students Are Merely Players, Christi Anne Fenton

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify and better understand the performance qualities that are prevalent in successful principals. Specifically, acting and leadership tools previously identified and compared by Dunklee (2000) were used to gain a better understanding of the interview process utilized to hire K-12 principals in school districts with more than 10,000 students in the state of Indiana. Arguably, the roles of the principal are much like those of an actor who must think on his or her feet in multiple situations. It is hoped that this study contributes new knowledge to assist in the …

Effective Practices For Student Success In Algebra, Michelle M. Ginkins

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to better understand the instructional strategies of Algebra I teachers and leadership characteristics of administrators among secondary public schools with high and low performance on Algebra I End-of-Course Assessments (ECAs). The impact of poverty on student achievement was also investigated in relation to first-time test taker Algebra 1 ECA passing rates. The study south to determine if schools’ free and reduced lunch rates, teacher characteristics, and/or principal characteristics were significant predictors of first-time test taker Algebra 1 ECA passing rates. Whether there were significant differences in implementation of Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock’s (2001) …

The Violence Of Conversion: Proselytization And Interreligious Controversy In The Work Of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Chad Bauman

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Critics of Christianity in India have frequently accused Christianity of being a predatory, imperialistic religion with absolutist tendencies, and have framed Christian evangelism as an aggressive, uncouth act. More recently, however, and in an idiom that resonates with many contemporary Indians, Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1930-) has made the more controversial claim that the attempt to convert another person is itself an act of violence. In three parts, the paper 1) describes Dayananda’s claims, while bringing them into conversation with the arguments of earlier critics of Christianity (e.g., Mahatma Gandhi, Sita Ram Goel, Ashok Chowgule, Arun Shourie), 2) analyzes and critique …

The Movie Mogul, Moses And Muslims: Islamic Elements In Cecil B. Demille’S The Ten Commandments (1956), Michael D. Calabria Ofm

Journal of Religion & Film

Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 film, The Ten Commandments, has come to define the genre of the biblical epic. It has earned a permanent place in American culture due to its annual airing on television during the Easter and Passover holidays. Most viewers are unaware, however, that DeMille had sought to make a film that would appeal to Jews, Christians and Muslims at a time when their common Abrahamic ancestry had yet to be articulated, and interreligious dialogue was all but unheard of. To this end, Henry Noerdlinger, DeMille’s researcher for the film, consulted the Qur’an, and screenwriters incorporated Islamic …

Buddhism (The Conversion Of Captain American: Buddhism And Postwar Us Popular Culture), James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Review Of Riding The Wind With Liezi By Ronnie Littlejohn And Jeffrey Dippmann, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Buddhism As Performing Art: Visualizing Music In The Tibetan Sacred Ritual Music Liturgies, Jeffrey W. Cupchik

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

The eleventh-century Tibetan female ascetic, Machik Labdrön (1055-1153), developed a Vajrayāna (Tantric) Buddhist meditation method called Chöd (Tib. gCod, Eng. “to cut”) and associated ritual practices as a means of eliminating “self-grasping,” which is defined as the mistaken instinct of regarding one’s “self” and all phenomena as intrinsically, or independently, existent. Her musical-meditation method became renowned across Central Asia during her lifetime, and Chödritual practices and liturgies have been transmitted from teacher to disciple in unbroken lineages until today. The ritual is now well known globally, with Tibetan Lamas, nuns, and empowered exponents teaching widely, across a transnational …

The Creation Of Daoism, Paul Fischer

Philosophy & Religion Faculty Publications

This paper examines the creation of Daoism in its earliest, pre-Eastern Han period. After an examination of the critical terms "scholar/master" and "author/ school", I argue that, given the paucity of evidence, Sima Tan and Liu Xin should be credited with creating this tradition. The body of this article considers the definitions of Daoism given by these two scholars and all of the extant texts that Liu Xin classified as "Daoist." Based on these texts, I then suggest an amended definition of Daoism. In the conclusion, I address the recent claim that the daojia /daijiao dichotomy is false, speculating that …

Xuanzang’S Text Of Bodhisattva Precepts, Ronald S. Green, Chanju Mun

Philosophy and Religious Studies

A translation from the Chinese with annotations.

KūKai's Epitaph For Master Huiguo: An Introduction And Translation, Ronald S. Green, Chanju Mun

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Masjids, Ashrams And Mazars: Transnational Sufism And The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, Merin Shobhana Xavier

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship is a community that formed in relation to the Tamil teacher Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (d. 1986). Bawa’s teachings attracted diverse followers- those with Islamic inclinations, those from Jewish, Hindu and Christian backgrounds, and those seeking to transcend religious creeds. With his passing and no appointed successor, the communities that developed during Bawa Muhaiyaddeen’s lifetime rely now on the institutions and spaces established by him. These include a mosque and burial shrine (mazar) in Pennsylvania and an ashram and shrine in Sri Lanka. This case study of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship and its parallel …

Disciplining Yoga: Foucauldian Themes In Sivananda Yoga Practice, Mark E. Eaton

Publications and Research

This paper considers the yoga practices at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center as “disciplinary” practices. Yoga has a long history of being interpreted as “discipline”; this paper will consider how it is disciplinary and what is being disciplined. To this end, this paper will frame Sivananda yoga as a discipline from two perspectives: Sarah Strauss’ characterization of yoga as an “oasis regime”; and Michel Foucault’s view of discipline as minute “carceral” elaborations of power. These approaches are contrasted and ultimately, following Foucault, yoga disciplines are understood as being constitutive of the subject. The disciplinary character of yoga at the Sivananda …

Table Of Contents, Jhcs Staff

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A list of article contents for this issue.

Reports And News, Jhcs Staff

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Reports and news for the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies 2015 Annual General Meeting.

Recent Articles Of 2015, Jhcs Staff

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A list of recently published articles of interest to society members.