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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

On The Evolutionary Origins Of Religious Belief, Robert Duane Howard Dec 2015

On The Evolutionary Origins Of Religious Belief, Robert Duane Howard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Religious belief is a byproduct of evolutionarily designed cognitive mechanisms. The ubiquity of religious belief and experience across human cultures is explained by our common human psychology; our domain-specific cognitive mechanisms give rise, collectively, to the phenomenon of byproduct religious belief/experience. In this thesis, I will examine what I call religion-generating cognitive mechanisms, and I will argue that byproduct raw god-beliefs are developed by cultures into refined god-beliefs. These refined god-beliefs are co-opted by evolutionary processes and are cultural adaptations. My conception of “religious belief” in terms of raw and refined god-beliefs allows a disambiguation of the term “religion,” and …


A Correlational Study Of Emotional Intelligence And Servant-Leadership Among Church Leaders Sep 2015

A Correlational Study Of Emotional Intelligence And Servant-Leadership Among Church Leaders

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"the conclusion of this study was that, while one cannot definitively conclude that a training tool designed to build emotional intelligence would improve the correlation between emotional intelligence and servant leadership, knowing that emotional intelligence is learnable provides sufficient evidence to further investigate the correlation."


Formal Polity And Power Distribution In American Protestant Denominations, K. Takayama, Lynn Weber Jun 2015

Formal Polity And Power Distribution In American Protestant Denominations, K. Takayama, Lynn Weber

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.


Establishing A Solid Foundation Through An Identity In Christ, Matthew S. Pedersen Apr 2015

Establishing A Solid Foundation Through An Identity In Christ, Matthew S. Pedersen

Senior Honors Theses

An identity in Christ is the only solid foundation on which adolescents or adults can build their life. Identity is a major building block in a person’s life. Individuals with an unhealthy identity as a result of the culture will need to make many changes to this foundation in order to keep an accurate view of their lives. The definition of identity can show examples of negative consequences of an unhealthy identity. An identity based on the views of culture can show areas of weakness. Examining what the Bible says about man before and after a relationship with Christ will …


Raising Narcissists: What Over-Approving Parents Can Learn From Philippians 2, A. Thornhill Mar 2015

Raising Narcissists: What Over-Approving Parents Can Learn From Philippians 2, A. Thornhill

A. Chadwick Thornhill

No abstract provided.


Comparison Of The Use Of Gendered Language In Discourse On Christian Theology And Psychology, Chloe Ackerman Jan 2015

Comparison Of The Use Of Gendered Language In Discourse On Christian Theology And Psychology, Chloe Ackerman

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The English language has historically reflected the sexist principles of Western culture. Common examples include the use of sexist pronouns and nouns such as policeman, businessman, or servicemen to represent men and women. Research in the last 50 years revealed the detrimental effects of sexist language, and the English language was accordingly altered. However, sexist language is still used colloquially and in settings such as Christian theology. This study explored differences in the use of gender language between the discourse on Christian theology and psychology, and tested a method of promoting inclusive gender language in Christian discourse. One hundred thirty-nine …


Transpersonal Art—Does It Bite?, Judy Schavrien Jan 2015

Transpersonal Art—Does It Bite?, Judy Schavrien

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article addresses the question of whether or not political perspective and content enrich transpersonal art and studies. The artist’s argument for making the range of the transpersonal inclusive, not just transcendent but also immanent, employs examples from her art as well as descriptions of her process. She sets the discussion in three contexts: that of art criticism, contemporary and traditional; that of art production; and that of the field of transpersonal studies. In regard to the latter, she both defines and examines the role of spiritual bypass, and argues the importance of resisting the temptation to take refuge in …


Musical Creativity And Mindfulness Meditation: Can The Practice Of Mindfulness Meditation Enhance Perceived Musical Creativity?, John Z. Newton Jan 2015

Musical Creativity And Mindfulness Meditation: Can The Practice Of Mindfulness Meditation Enhance Perceived Musical Creativity?, John Z. Newton

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The relationship between musical creativity and mindfulness meditation is explored through a qualitative study of three composers’ individual experiences of musical creativity and participation in eight guided mindfulness meditation sessions. Through qualitative interviews conducted before and after completion of a mindfulness course, data was analyzed and categorized into themes in order to identify whether the practice of mindfulness meditation had enhanced participants’ perceived musical creativity. Themes from the first set of interviews (Expression, Harmony, Intuition) represent the participants’ subjective experience of musical creativity, while themes from the second set (Enhanced focus and awareness, Nonstriving) outline subjective changes reported by each …