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Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

From Topos To Utopia: Critical Buddhism, Globalization, And Ideology Criticism, James Shields Nov 2014

From Topos To Utopia: Critical Buddhism, Globalization, And Ideology Criticism, James Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.


Seno'o Giro: Life And Thought Of A Radical Buddhist, James Shields Jul 2014

Seno'o Giro: Life And Thought Of A Radical Buddhist, James Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.


Scientism, Satire, And Sacrificial Ceremony In Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground" And C.S. Lewis's "That Hideous Strength", Jonathan Smalt May 2014

Scientism, Satire, And Sacrificial Ceremony In Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground" And C.S. Lewis's "That Hideous Strength", Jonathan Smalt

Masters Theses

Though the nineteenth-century Victorian belief that science alone could provide utopia for man weakened in the epistemological uncertainty of the postmodern era, this belief still continues today. In order to understand our current scientific milieu--and the dangers of propagating scientism--we must first trace the rise of scientism in the nineteenth-century. Though removed, Fyodor Dostoevsky, in Notes From Underground (1864), and C.S. Lewis, in That Hideous Strength (1965), are united in their critiques of scientism as a conceptual framework for human residency. For Dostoevsky, the Crystal Palace of London's Great Exhibition (1862) embodied the nineteenth-century goal to found utopia through the …


Roosevelt, Boy Scouts, And The Formation Of Muscular Christian Character, Gordon J. Christen Apr 2014

Roosevelt, Boy Scouts, And The Formation Of Muscular Christian Character, Gordon J. Christen

Religious Studies Honors Projects

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, many prominent Christians and political leaders saw a degenerative influence in industrializing America. For them, urban culture had eroded gender roles, personal strength, and moral fiber. So-called “Muscular Christians” prescribed physical exertion and wilderness experience to cure these ills. I argue that these values were embodied in idealized characters such as Theodore Roosevelt, Jesus, and the Boy Scout to give a form to cultural remedies. In the process, they became the terms upon which proper Americanism, and proper Christianity, were constructed.


The German Peasants’ War: The Intersection Of Theology And Society, Zachary Tyree Apr 2014

The German Peasants’ War: The Intersection Of Theology And Society, Zachary Tyree

Senior Honors Theses

This paper examines the way that Reformation theology, particularly that espoused by Martin Luther, impacted German society. Sixteenth-century German society was very hierarchical in nature, with the Roman Catholic Church at the top, followed by the nobility, and finally the peasants, who suffered economic and political plight. Luther’s break from the Church in 1517 and the subsequent years brought tension to society. Developments extending from that break challenged the social hierarchy. One of the major social consequences of the Protestant Reformation, which was rooted in Luther’s theology, was the Peasants’ War. Luther criticized the peasants for the uprising, based on …


I Am Who I Am: The Book Of Exodus And African American Individuality, Joseph L. Kirkenir Apr 2014

I Am Who I Am: The Book Of Exodus And African American Individuality, Joseph L. Kirkenir

Student Publications

Scholars often attempt to construct collective ideologies in order to generalize the beliefs and views of entire populations, with one target population frequently being the African American community during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, doing so fails to recognize the individuality of the population’s members and, especially in the case of the country’s oppressed Blacks, establishes a system where assumed notions and ignorant ideas abound. One might argue that the popularity of the book of Exodus in the time’s African American expressive outlets indicates that there did exist a collective ideology based upon the biblical narrative. However, …


Zen And The Art Of Treason: Radical Buddhism In Meiji Era (1868–1912) Japan, James Shields Mar 2014

Zen And The Art Of Treason: Radical Buddhism In Meiji Era (1868–1912) Japan, James Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

In the early decades of the twentieth century, as Japanese society became engulfed in war and increasing nationalism, the majority of Buddhist leaders and institutions capitulated to the status quo. At the same time, there was a stream of ‘resistance’ among a few Buddhist figures, both priests and laity. These instances of progressive and ‘radical Buddhism’ had roots in late Edo-period peasant revolts, the lingering discourse of early Meiji period liberalism, trends within Buddhist reform and modernisation and the emergence in the first decade of the twentieth century of radical political thought, including various forms of socialism and anarchism. This …


Introduction To Against Harmony: Radical Buddhism In Thought And Practice, James Shields Mar 2014

Introduction To Against Harmony: Radical Buddhism In Thought And Practice, James Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.


Money, Religion, And Tyranny: God And The Demonic In Luther's Antifragile Theology, Guillermo C. Hansen Jan 2014

Money, Religion, And Tyranny: God And The Demonic In Luther's Antifragile Theology, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Menorah Review (No. 81, Summer/Fall, 2014) Jan 2014

Menorah Review (No. 81, Summer/Fall, 2014)

Menorah Review

Books in Brief: New and Notable -- candelabra gold -- Education: Yeshivah style -- Moreshet: From the Sources -- Mysteries of the Books of Job: From Elihu to Elie Wiesel -- Two Nations Are In Your Womb (Gen 25:23) -- When Rhetoric Dominates The Message -- Zachor


Menorah Review (No. 80, Winter.Spring, 2014) Jan 2014

Menorah Review (No. 80, Winter.Spring, 2014)

Menorah Review

Author's Reflections on Politics in the Bible -- Books in Brief: New and Notable -- Masada -- Nazism and Politics -- night trains -- Salvation Through Transgression -- Shoah: The "First" Day -- The "Jewish" World of Herbert Hoover


Historical Movements And The Theology Behind The Pluralism Project At Harvard University, Scott Macleod Jan 2014

Historical Movements And The Theology Behind The Pluralism Project At Harvard University, Scott Macleod

Masters Theses

The focus of this paper is to address religious pluralism as a belief along with examining multiple factors that have been a catalyst for the Pluralism Project at Harvard University to become part of American culture. The theology behind and ideology of the Pluralism Project will be examined along with the writings of Diana Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project. Outwardly, The Pluralism Project and the works of Eck give the impression of an impartial attempt to educate people on the growing religious diversity found within America. However, it will be shown that the Pluralism Project and the efforts of …