Anthropology Commons^™

Images Of God: The Effect Of Personal Theologies On Moral Attitudes, Political Affiliation, And Religious Behavior, Christoper Bader, Paul Froese

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Social scientists often explain religious effects in terms of religious group affiliations. Typically, researchers identify religious groups by denomination or some broader popular categorization, such as “fundamentalist” or “evangelical.” To capture religious differences more effectively, Steensland et al. (2000) propose an intricate classification of American denominations that takes into account the theology and historical development of various American religious traditions to predict individual attitudes and behaviors. We believe that equal care and attention should be devoted to the development of key measures of belief that may cross denominational lines. In this article, we propose one such measure: personal conceptions or …

Models Of Cosmic Order: Physical Expression Of Sacred Space Among The Ancient Maya, Jennifer P. Mathews, J. F. Garber

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Research

The archaeological record, as well as written texts, oral traditions, and iconographic representations, express the Maya perception of cosmic order, including the concepts of quadripartite division and layered cosmos. The ritual act of portioning and layering created spatial order and was used to organize everything from the heavens to the layout of altars. These acts were also metaphors for world creation, world order, and establishing the center as a position of power and authority. This article examines the articulations of these concepts from the level of caches to the level of regions from the past and present in an attempt …

The Evangelical Movement In Ecuador, Steve Grosz

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Religion And Animals: A Changing Scene, Paul Waldau

State of the Animals 2003

For protections to evolve to include nonhuman species, religions— through their leaders, their institutions, and above all their believers— must take seriously the important role that they have played, and certainly will continue to play, in humans’ engagement with the lives beyond our species line. Religions have such a central role in the transmission of basic images and values regarding living beings that, without their help, the problem of the species line will not be solved in this century. A central question for this century is whether influential religious institutions will continue to convey images that radically and absolutely dismiss …

Implicit Religion And The Curvilinear Relationship Between Religion And Death Anxiety, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Debate over the relationship of religion to death anxiety has included the opposing views of Malinowski, who held that religion lessened death anxiety, and Radcliffe-Brown, who argued that religion increased death anxiety. Homans' theoretical synthesis of these viewpoints was tested by Leming, who concluded that the empirical relationship was curvilinear, meaning that both high and low religious involvements resulted in low death anxiety while middle-range attachments did not.

Reconsideration of this result argues that the presence of death anxiety is not dependent upon social learning, and that either high or low levels of theism leads to the resolution of anxiety …

Fame And Latter-Day Saint Youth: Value Conflicts And The Interpretive Audience, Shellie M. Frey

Theses and Dissertations

Fame is a paradoxical issue: a phenomenon that is both embraced and shunned simultaneously in American culture and particularly within many religious institutions. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), for instance, discourage its members (particularly the youth) from seeking out fame as well as famous individuals as role models. Yet they also incorporate positive rhetoric about fame as well in terms of famous LDS people, landmarks or groups. Furthermore, various aspects of the LDS Church (worldwide televised conferences, widely distributed books written by Church leaders, etc.) are highly mediated, thus, integrated with a public venue …

A Brazilian Challenge To Lewis's Explanation Of Cult Mediumship, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Recruitment into peripheral possession trance cults has been explained as attempts to compensate for socio-economic deprivation and jural impotence. This model, best developed by I.M. Lewis, is reviewed and its predictions tested against two types of Brazilian data. Firstly, national census figures of religious affiliation are compared with measure of socio-economic stress for a diachronic analysis. A second, synchronic analysis involves 62 respondents in Rio de Janeiro who completed questionnaires on socio-economic status, cultic affiliation, and perceptions of stress and gender inequality. The results offer only weak support for Lewis's original model, which may therefore profit from supplementation from other …

Introduction: A Changing Indonesia, Maribeth Erb, Kathleen M. Adams

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Interview With Bill Cowan (Fa 386), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Bill Cowan conducted by Shirley Draper on 24 February 1998. From folk studies student project concerning bush arbor religious meetings in Logan County, Kentucky.

Religion And Healing The Mind/Body/Self, Meredith B. Mcguire

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Research

In order to understand the linkage between religion and healing, we must go well beyond the theme of body regulation. Although religion does involve body regulation and control, and although these functions are reflected in healing practices, there are many other ways by which religion is linked with human bodies. We will arrive at a far richer appreciation of this linkage if we start with a broad sociology of the human body, its illnesses and healing, and ask the expanded question: How is religion involved in these complex processes?

Trigg County, Kentucky African American Oral History Project (Fa 196), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid for Folklife Archives Project 196. Project by four WKU Folk Studies students in which they interviewed Trigg County, Kentucky African Americans about various aspects of their lives. Most of the individuals that were interviewed had a rural background and were born in the early 1900s. Interviews may be accessed by clicking on the "Additional Files" below.

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Non-Lds Experience In Utah, Jesse Smith Bushman

Theses and Dissertations

Utah's foundation under the influence of the LDS church, and the continued influence of the majority LDS population in the state make this area unique in the United States. This situation makes life for the non-LDS in Utah somewhat different than in other areas. Through a series of interviews with members of the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist (National Baptist Convention), Buddhist, and Jewish faiths, this thesis produced a large body of qualitative data concerning the non-LDS experience in Utah.

The experience of non-LDS people in Utah can by typified, with a few exceptions, as a traditional majority/minority interaction. Elements of …

Interview With Lennie Burgess Martin (Fa 383), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Lennie Burgess Martin conducted by Shannon Dennin and Jason Henning on 3 April 1993. From folk studies student project concerning hunting and religion in Logan County, Kentucky.

The Seeds Of Prosperity And Discord: The Political Economy Of Community Polarization In Greenfield, Massachusetts, 1770-1820, Gerald F. Reid

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Focuses on the process of community polarization in Greenfield, Massachusetts leading to two distinct communities in the 1816. Social and economic transformation in Greenfield in the late 18th century; Distribution of wealth; Labor supply; Expansion of trade; Immigration of skilled workers; Religious differences; Factors leading to the division of the congregational society.

Club Dead, Not Club Med: Staging Death In Contemporary Tana Toraja (Indonesia), Kathleen M. Adams

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay is broadly concerned with this theme of discourse and religious practices among the Sa'dan Toraja people of upland Sulawesi. Specifically, I wish to explore some of the ways in which the Torajan mortuary complex of the 1980s and 1990s has been reconceptualized as Torajans' encounters with the wider world intensify. Outward migration (merantau) to urban centres in Indonesia, increased familiarity with the bureaucratic organization of the Indonesian government and the Church, the spread of television, and the ever-growing presence of tourists and anthropologists in Tana Toraja Regency have all fostered Torajans' rethinking of their "traditional" funeral rituals. In …

The Discourse Of Souls In Tana Toraja (Indonesia): Indigenous Notions And Christian Conceptions, Kathleen M. Adams

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Suzanne Falgout's Review Of Martha C. Ward's Nest In The Wind: Adventures In Anthropology On A Tropical Island, Suzanne Falgout

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Interview With Martha Cleo Abernathy Tormey (Fa 94), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Martha Cleo Abernathy Tormey conducted by Amanda Lee Davis on 8 October 1989. From folk studies student project titled “Christmas Traditions,” concerning Christmas folklore and traditions in Alabama and Tennessee.

Interview With Carole Marie Lindsey Logue (Fa 94), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Carole Marie Lindsey Logue conducted by Amanda Lee Davis on 7 October 1989. From folk studies student project titled “Christmas Traditions,” concerning Christmas folklore and traditions in Alabama and Tennessee.

Interview With Frank N. Davis, Jr. (Fa 94), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Frank N. Davis, Jr. conducted by Amanda Lee Davis on 7 October 1989. From folk studies student project titled “Christmas Traditions,” concerning Christmas folklore and traditions in Alabama and Tennessee.

Interview With Shirley Ann Coffey Cartwright Davis (Fa 94), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Shirley Ann Coffey Cartwright Davis conducted by Amanda Lee Davis on 6 October 1989. From folk studies student project titled “Christmas Traditions,” concerning Christmas folklore and traditions in Alabama and Tennessee.

Interview With Many Vanh Phramratsamy (Fa 83), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Many Vanh Phramratsamy conducted by Nancy C. Hundley on 4 April 1989. From folk studies student project directed by Dr. William Lynwood Montell titled “The Voice of the People: An Understanding of Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese in Bowling Green, Kentucky,” This project involved nine students and twenty-six informants.

Interview With Sat Kung (Fa 83), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Sat Kung conducted by Susan Zurowski on 29 March 1989. From folk studies student project directed by Dr. William Lynwood Montell titled “The Voice of the People: An Understanding of Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese in Bowling Green, Kentucky,” This project involved nine students and twenty-six informants.

Interview With Detthaxay Chanthalangsy (Fa 83), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Detthaxay Chanthalangsy conducted by Greg Jenkins on 28 March 1989. From folk studies student project directed by Dr. William Lynwood Montell titled “The Voice of the People: An Understanding of Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese in Bowling Green, Kentucky,” This project involved nine students and twenty-six informants.

Interview With Bruce Phimphone Sengkhamyoung (Fa 83), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Bruce Phimphone Sengkhamyong conducted by Richard F. Hale on 27 March 1989. From folk studies student project directed by Dr. William Lynwood Montell titled “The Voice of the People: An Understanding of Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese in Bowling Green, Kentucky,” This project involved nine students and twenty-six informants.

Interview With My Vang And Ye Chak (Fa 83), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with My Vang and Ye Chak conducted by Carol A. Bell on 23 March 1989. From folk studies student project directed by Dr. William Lynwood Montell titled “The Voice of the People: An Understanding of Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese in Bowling Green, Kentucky,” This project involved nine students and twenty-six informants.

Interview With Pane Sananikone (Fa 83), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of interview with Pane Sananikone conducted by Jimmy D. Browning on 18 March 1989. From folk studies student project directed by Dr. William Lynwood Montell titled “The Voice of the People: An Understanding of Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese in Bowling Green, Kentucky,” This project involved nine students and twenty-six informants.

Marty Zelenietz's Review Of Michele Stephen's Sorcerer And Witch In Melanesia, Marty Zelenietz

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Interview With Sherman Moffitt Regarding Ccc (Fa 81), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcription of an oral interview done with Sherman Moffitt related to his work in a Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Mammoth Cave in the 1930s and his subsequent career as a minister.

Rebecca A. Stephenson's Review Of Ngatupuna Kautai Et Al., Atiu: An Island Community, Rebecca A. Stephenson

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.