Dissonance Between Christian Beliefs And Eating Habits In The South, Karli Dianne Stringer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to initiate understanding of how obesity in the South is still so prevalent even though the majority of inhabitants subscribe to a faith that discourages unhealthy lifestyles. Furthermore, the information presented in this research sought to fill the knowledge gap for communicators and educators concerning the dissonance between Christianity in the South and the unhealthy eating habits of Southerners. Grounded in the Cognitive Dissonance Theory, this study comprised of a semi-structured interview route in which Protestant evangelical Christians in the South (N = 11) participated in a descriptive study conducted by a committee …

In The Presence Of Evil: Demonic Perception Narratives, Victoria Jaye

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

I offer a new classification system for organizing, understanding, and validating the inhuman demonic encounter by organizing it through the senses the experience is activating. A demonic or inhuman spirit, which can be used interchangeably, is a spirit in that they exist without bodies, possess abilities greater than that of humans (rendering them inhuman), are hyperintelligent, react negatively to Christian religious iconography, and are malevolent in their behavior towards humans.

The system I have created is organized by the sensory perceptions of the narrative (i.e. sight, sound, smell, and feeling of the demonic presence) then is divided further by the …

Clinically Healing By Faith For Black Christian Women: A Proposed Model For Collaborative Religious And Psychological Treatment For The Aftermath Of Infidelity, Aldra Forrester

Dissertations

Infidelity rates are high in the United States and one of the leading causes for divorce between married couples. Research indicates that the Black community has a higher proclivity to infidelity compared to Whites. Black women have a higher chance of ending up in undissolved marriages than other races (Jarama et al., 2007). Previous studies have explored reasons behind the increased rates of high marital instability among Black women, including: the sex ratio imbalance, high mortality, and incarceration among Black men. Since African Americans are considered more religious than the general population, this literature review identified the need for an …

Identification Of Cultural Differences And Their Effects On International Relations: A Novel Approach, Stephen W. Jones

Dissertations

International Relations suffers from underspecified treatments of culture that risk reifying, essentializing, or ignoring the effects of cultural differences in the conduct of relationships between states. Following a review of the development of the culture concept, this interpretivist, epistemologically critical realist, dissertation introduces intercultural adaptive frameshifting from the intercultural communication literature. To assess whether culture has effect within an epistemic community, four frameworks are evaluated within a non-IR field (global Christian reasoning). Speech act theory is used to assess meaningful affect through illocutionary and/or perlocutionary divergence based on cultural difference.

Following the findings that such cultural differences do in fact …

"It's Like Being Pulled In Two Directions": Experiences Of Transgender Latter-Day Saints, Morgan Monet

Theses and Dissertations

This study qualitatively examined the experiences of transgender individuals who also identify as active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (N=10). Researchers took an interpretive phenomenological approach to elicit factors which allow trans Mormon folks to hold their apparently conflicting religious and gender identities simultaneously (and the consequences of doing so). Overall, we aimed to answer the broad question, “what is it like to be transgender and Mormon?” Following a process of semi-structured interviews, transcription, and coding, the broad categories which seemed to connect many elements of the trans/Mormon experience were 1) a sense of being …

Can Science And Christianity Coexist In The Medical Profession?, Wuxia Zhang

Honor’s College Freeman Research Journal

I know my choice of thesis question seems strange for a biology major. Like many of my Honor College brothers and sisters, I could have chosen to stay within the lines of my degree focus. I am admittingly noting that my thesis borders dangerously on a philosophical or moralistic debate. Refreshingly, I hope to defend neither nor endorse a particular sway of opinion. I am simply using this vehicle as a measuring device that challenges and explores an unavoidable dilemma faced by any scientific professional of faith, presumably. I pose this question in terms of Christianity simply because it is …

Community And Idolatry: San Francisco Cajonos, Yalalag, And Betaza Through The Criminal Court Of Villa Alta, 1700-1704, Jessica Mitchell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The trials of San Francisco Cajonos and Betaza and Yalálag heard in Villa Alta’s criminal court depict many important facets of life in Colonial Oaxaca, and they especially paint the picture of community, how it was defined and how it operated in reality. Looking specifically at these two rich examples in Villa Alta’s criminal court, at the time, idolatry – native religion, rituals, and devotions defined by Catholics as idolatrous -- helped shape the lines of community and defined who belonged in which space. It also highlights how betrayal and revenge were construed by a community and the response for …

Reflecting On Our Terrain: How People And Places Create A Spirit Of Home, Meagan E. Harkins

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the nature of home. It situates the idea of home, both as a physical place and a spiritual state, where the subjects of these stories find belonging. Fourteen interviews were conducted, from December 2020 through February 2021, resulting in a series of longform stories. Eight interviews were recorded with immediate family and childhood friends in my hometown, the suburbs of Orlando, Fla. The balance of the stories derived from Zoom interviews, culminating in a 1,200-mile road journey to South Carolina, for the remaining ones.

What emerged from these oral history interviews and ensuing longform pieces are three …

Gender Ideology, Gender Consciousness, And Identity Among Conservative Baptist Women: An Intersectional Perspective, Marina I. Rivera Ramos

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this qualitative study, I interviewed 13 women from two separate conservative Baptist congregations in Central Florida, one English-speaking and the other Hispanic. The purpose of this research was to explore the ways in which conservative Baptist women develop their identity as women, the gender ideologies they espouse, their experiences in ministry, and the possibility that they can achieve gender consciousness without aligning with feminist principles. In addition, my research employs an intersectional perspective to demonstrate differences in the experiences of white women and women of color in the church. This study consisted of semi-structured interviews with women from both …

An Exploratory Scale Of Christian Privilege: The Development Of A Scale To Measure The Attitudinal Constituents Of Christian Privilege, Brier S. Gallihugh

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Research surrounding measures of privilege awareness commonly involve White privilege awareness. However, relatively few (i.e., Privilege and Oppression Inventory) look other forms of privilege (i.e., heterosexual, sexism, religion). As such, this study looked to create a more extensive scale that would assess Christian privilege awareness among Christian participants. Items were adapted from theoretically analogous White privilege scales in addition to literature on Christian privilege. Using a sample of 391 participants recruited from Facebook, Reddit, SONA and Twitter, an exploratory factor analysis was run on a 28-item scale. The analysis suggested that a final 21-item, two-factor solution was the best fit …

Ecological Repentance, Emmanuel Salem

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In an age ripe with discovery and analysis regarding anthropogenic pollution and the resultant climate change, a causal ideological explanation is naturally sought. This paper seeks to delve deep into the Christian religion and its relationship to the current climate crisis, as well as discuss whether or not predictions and speculative assertions professed in the famous essay by Lynn White, Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis, hold up when surveyed with a more critical and thorough evaluative lens. This conversation is undertaken under three core considerations: biblical cosmology, what has happened in the world of Christian bioethics since White’s time, …

Relational Engagement At The Intersection Of Personal And Professional Identities: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Experience Of Christian Therapists, Aaron Smith

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Though Christian spirituality and therapeutic relationships are unique subjects, commonly found throughout literature pertaining to each topic is an emphasis on how people ought to approach and participate in relationship with one another. In other words, each subject represents a unique tradition of relational engagement. For therapists who practice Christian spirituality, it is possible, if not likely, that both traditions impact how they go about engaging with clients. Despite this, there is a lack of material exploring the experience of relational engagement when these traditions intersect. For this reason, I set out to explore what this experience is like for …

Second Generation Christian Korean Canadians: Exploring Their Lived Experiences Of Mental Health Issues And Services, Kyoung Jung Kim

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

This study explores the lived experiences of second-generation Christian Korean Canadian young adults with mental health issues (MHI) and their use of health services (MHS). In addition, this study asked this cohort to discuss their beliefs about the views their parents held about MHI and MHS. All research participants were born and raised in Canada by Korean born immigrant parents. This study was descriptive, phenomenological, and qualitative in nature; it consisted of in-depth interviews with six male and six female participants. In their experience with MHI, seven participants experienced fear and sadness (depression and anxiety) and three of them …