Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Hard Times For Peace Between Two Internally Divided Societies, Claudia Heiss

Human Rights & Human Welfare

These are not promising days for those who desire peace between Israelis and Palestinians, with two states respected by each other and recognized by the international community, living securely side by side. Richard Falk’s article rightly stresses the negative role played by the US Government in its sharp rejection of the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations Security Council. The problem, however, seems to lie deeper in these complex societies and their current political leaderships.

Governing Religion: A Study Of Religions Function Across Three Distinctly Different Societies, Sky Kochenour

Honors Theses

Religion’s place in political order is a controversial subject. How does the function of religion compare to that of political order? Can it support a society in the same way? My research attempts to answer these questions by investigating three distinct time periods and cultures. I first examine the primitive people of the Azande tribe in Africa, an example of a society based mainly on religion. My research then turns to the fifth and sixth century Greeks, a society in flux, attempting to hold on to religion in the throes of a logical revolution. Finally, I turn to America to …

The Importance Of Undecideds In The Evolution Vs. Creationism Debate, Seth Steinman

Senior Honors Projects

As a scientific theory, evolution has as much empirical support for its core assertions as the heliocentric universe theory or the belief that the Earth is round. Despite a unanimous consensus in the scientific community about evolution’s validity, the General Social Survey (GSS) consistently reports that 85 percent of Americans are either undecided or do not believe in evolution.

This divide between evolutionists, led by scientists, and creationists, led by religious leaders, has enormous scientific and political implications, which include funding for basic scientific research, acting to stop global warming, and what schools should be teaching our children.

The most …

The Influence And Legacy Of Deism In Eighteenth Century America, Tiffany E. Piland

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

This thesis project, The Influence and Legacy of Deism in Eighteenth Century America, examines deism’s impact as a theological system on American life and culture in the eighteenth century. Beginning with a basic definition of the term deism, a historical background is included. Next, the work of Galileo, Bacon, Newton, and Locke is examined for its impact on eighteenth century thought as well as early deist writers such as John Toland, Matthew Tindal, and Lord Herbert of Cherbury.

Moving onto America in the eighteenth century, colonial newspaper articles, letters, and other documents are examined that contain references to deism. Colleges …

Southern Exceptionalism And Its Impact On Environmental Attitude, Summer Dawn Woehr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the environment has become a top concern for many people. Scientific studies have shown evidence of immediate and future threats on our environment. Despite the vast amount of evidence, many people (especially in the South) do not believe there is a human cause for global warming, a fundamental part of the environmental movement. Literature suggests Southern exceptionalism may a play a part in shaping attitudes toward environmental policies in the South. Further, a recent look at V.O. Key Jr.'s 1949 Southern Politics in State and Nation suggests that religion has since been overlooked as an explanation for …

Underwood Collection (Mss 58), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and selected full-text scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Collection 58. Correspondence, diaries, papers, and genealogical materials of Joseph Rogers Underwood, U.S. Senator from Bowling Green, Kentucky, his wife Elizabeth Cox Underwood, his brother Warner Lewis Underwood, and his son, John Cox Underwood.

Les Musulmans : Un Cauchemar Ou Une Force Pour L’Europe ?, Hichem Karoui, Arno Tausch

Hichem Karoui

This is a comparative study related to European and Global Islam, based on documented- social- anthropological analysis, and quantitative data from the European Social Survey and the World Values Survey. Can we really say that Islam is not faulty as for the exclusion of European Muslims? Or is it only biased European policies toward Islam? How can we explain the radicalization of some European Muslims?

Mcdonald, Dan Allyn, 1905-1974 - Collector (Mss 343), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 343. Correspondence, legal papers, financial records and sundry other documents related to Eugene Scott Brown and his father-in-law, Gilbert Marshall Mulligan, attorneys of Scottsville, Allen County, Kentucky. Also includes stray Allen County court records, research notes related to the Civil War, and records about early telephone service in Allen County.

Has A New Way Of Measuring Religion Uncovered A Religious Left?, Matthew Frei

Library Research Grants

Research typically reveals that religious voters tend to be conservative and Republican. However, a new survey question used on the American National Elections Study (ANES) was recently developed to separate individualistic Christians from communitarian Christians by asking whether they try more to help others or to avoid sin. Scholars have used the question to claim that religious communitarians lean to the political left. This analysis shows that the new ANES question is correlated with partisan identification, but should not be interpreted as evidence of a religious left.

The New American Civil Religion: Lesson For Italy, Andrew Koppelman

Faculty Working Papers

American civil religion has been changing, responding to increasing religious plurality by becoming more abstract. The problem of increasing plurality is not only an American one. It is also presented in Italy, where civic identity has been centered around a Catholicism that is no longer universal. Perhaps Italy has, in this respect, an American future.

Old Europe Versus New Europe: Cultural Similarity Tolerance, Religion And Anti-Americanism In A Divided European Union, Madalina Cristina Hanes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research focuses on anti-Americanism in Europe. Old Europe, including countries like France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, is significantly more anti-American than New Europe, which includes countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary. In this project, however, I have made a number of observations that go beyond than this simple conclusion. I examined factors that could be behind these different levels of anti-Americanism in Old Europe and New Europe, and one key answer that emerged was “cultural similarity.” There are, of course, other factors that impact attitudes towards the United States and Americans, such as the …