Sociology of Religion Commons^™

Keeping Up With Hanuman: Reimagining The Myth Of Hanuman Through Animation, Mrinalini Mitra

Denison Journal of Religion

Hanuman (2005) distinguished itself from the previous films by mimicking and adopting an animation style that was adopted in Western superhero movies and cartoons. The favorable response of the Indian community and diaspora to the movie Hanuman coupled with the fact that Hanuman had previously been adapted in basic arcade and online games as the main hero, inspired the Indian digital gaming industry. This essay analyzes the popularity of the ‘animated’ Hanuman and the Indian audiences eagerness to ingest Hanuman’s stories through animation. What makes Hanuman appealing to new media genres, like animation, in the Indian sub-continent? How do the …

Jim Crow Jesus, Sky Paxton

Denison Journal of Religion

With an attention to womanist theological critiques of hetero-patriarchal-white- sexist America especially from Kelly Brown Douglas, this essay deconstructs the images of the white Christ and reconstructs the Black Christ. The Black Christ was born out of Blacks’ critical awareness of white exceptionalism, experiences of historical racism, and gender and sexuality-sensitive approach to Christian theology. Finally, Paxton suggests a Black female gay as the radical embodiment of the Christ in the 21st century America.

The Economics Of The Guru, Margaret Mahoney

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay studies “Gurus,” specifically the globalization of Hinduism that has spread Hindu spiritual practices in the West and also influenced the practices in In- dia. In the United States, a focus on the self and individualism is a trait commonly found which has led to an increase in mindfulness practices. These practices travel around the world and are changed in the process, then come back to the “East” as comodified practices. Many modern gurus have latched onto traditionally Hindu practices and teachings and sell their own version of it in lectures and products that promise its consumers a better …

Gaston’S Economic, Religious And Political Intersectionality, Jack Droke

Denison Journal of Religion

Gaston county, North Carolina provides a perfect case to explore the intersectionality of the economy, politics, and religion that dominates power structures on a national scale. With an attention to the Loray Mill strike of 1929, this paper theologically analyzes the relationship between neoliberal economy and the prosperity gospel and questions whether the church is a setting of concessions when it should be acting as a voice for its constituents, regardless of what the upper class desires or has constructed.

What "Makes" A Religion?: Interactions Of Orthodoxy And Orthopraxy In Hinduism, Eva Rosenthal

Denison Journal of Religion

This paper explores the complexities of the following question: In being Hindu, in what ways does one "practice" and in what ways does one "believe?" To what extent are ancient texts considered an un-debatable "source" for faith in divine presence? Gaining an understanding of what these texts are and how exactly they relate to both ritual and belief (because, as we will come to find, both ritual and belief are present in every facet of Hindu worship; what we are looking at is their interaction with one another and which seems to be of more importance in each given circumstance) …

A Necropolitical Analysis Of American Military Recruitment, Sarah Curtin

Denison Journal of Religion

In light of postcolonial theorist Achille Mbembe’s idea of necropolitics or sovereignty’s right to kill, Curtin historically and ethically analyzes American military recruitment from a draft to an all-volunteer-force. Defining soldiering as a form of necropolitical labor because soldiers, especially low-ranked soldiers, jeopardize their own lives while carrying out their jobs at war, the author ethically suggests that (1) war must be understood as a path to death, (2) the U.S. should slowly downsize its military, and (3) religion such as Christianity must accentuate life over death.

Note From The Editor, Eva Rosenthal

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

The Promises And Perils Of Radio As A Medium Of Faith In A Q’Eqchi’-Maya Catholic Community, Eric Hoenes Del Pinal

Journal of Global Catholicism

Because their parish is large, dispersed, and overwhelmingly rural, FM radio is one of the few reliable means through which the Q’eqchi’-Maya Catholics of San Felipe in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, can communicate with each other en masse. Yet, because it is a one-way medium, it is also impossible to gauge how its intended audience is responding, or if is even there to receive broadcasted messages. Drawing on ethnographic material collected in 2005 (on the use of radio broadcasting to call together ritual participants) and 2016 (on an ultimately failed attempt to launch a radio station to serve rural parishioners), …

Conflict Between Religious Beliefs And Sexuality: An Autoethnography, Carlos E. Gerena

The Qualitative Report

Despite the shift in attitudes in religious institutions toward homosexuals in the United States, there are some religions that continue to view same-sex behavior as a deviant and damning sin. For many, religious beliefs and values provide meaning and impact personal identity. Using autoethnography, I will explicate my own experiences with religious institutions and the ongoing conflict between religious beliefs and sexuality. I will discuss messages received from the Pentecostal church, family, and Latino community, and how these messages influenced my human development and emotional well-being. I show that internalization of the principles taught by the Pentecostal Church triggered a …

Aimee Semple Mcpherson’S Pentecostalism, Darwinism, Eugenics, The Disenfranchised, And The Scopes Monkey Trial, Margaret English De Alminana

Selected Faculty Publications

This article posits that the cultural battle waged by Aimee Semple McPherson in concert with William Jennings Bryan over evolution and modernism was largely focused on a popular social theory linked to eugenics. On July 21, 1925, in the city of Dayton, Tennessee, a twentieth-century watershed event became a harbinger of the age: The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, popularly known as the Scopes Monkey Trial. The public remembers the event as spotlighting the fundamentalist-modernist controversy with respect to the teaching of evolution in the public-school curriculum against the protests of fundamentalist Christians who advocated Creationism. The …

Mobile Application For Thai & Foreign Tourists Visiting Thai Temple, Kewalin Angkananon, Piyabud Plodaksorn, Mike Wald

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This research gathered requirements from Thai and foreign tourists to successfully design Thai and English Android and IOS versions of a mobile application to provide an enhanced experience for tourists visiting the Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan (PMW) Temple in Thailand. The content and user interface were designed based on theories and related research and three experts evaluated the prototype to improve the final application versions which were evaluated at the temple by Thai and foreign tourists. Analysis of the results showed that both the Thai and foreign tourists found similar high satisfaction with the performance of the Android and IOS mobile …

Religion And Spirituality In Clinical Practice: An Exploration Of Reluctance Among Practitioners., David Drew, Jessica Banks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Across the United States, an overwhelming majority of the population claim that religion and spirituality beliefs shape their worldview and assist in coping with life stressors. Yet, the literature has shown that mental health practitioners reported discomfort integrating religion and spiritually in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to explore whether license-holding mental health professionals in Southern California develop reluctance toward addressing religion/spirituality with their clients. Through snowball sampling, 52 clinicians composed of social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists were recruited across Southern California (N =52). The participants were measured descriptively based on …

Why The Covenant Worked: On The Institutional Foundations Of The American Civil Religion, John W. Compton

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Scholars of American civil religion (ACR) have paid insufficient attention to the micro-level processes through which civil religious ideas have historically influenced beliefs and behavior. We know little about what makes such appeals meaningful to average Americans (assuming they are meaningful); nor do we know much about the mechanisms through which abstract religious themes and imagery come to be associated with specific policy aims, or what Robert Bellah called “national goals.” This article argues that a renewed focus on the relationship between civil religion and organized religion can help fill this gap in the literature. More specifically, I draw attention …

Supernatural Pilgrims: A Journey To A New Apostolic Reformation Congregation In The Ozarks, Samuel Wayne Gingerich

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Birthed out of the revival events of the 1990s, the New Apostolic Reformation is known for its charismatic leaders and provocative theology. As an emerging third wave Pentecostal movement, the New Apostolic Reformation is redefining the edifices of American Pentecostalism. While academics and journalists are currently focused on exposing the influence of some of its leaders such as C. Peter Wagner, Bill Johnson, Randy Clark, and Heidi Baker, there is little scholarship regarding the congregations and communities of believers who find themselves a part of this dynamic movement. This thesis takes a step towards understanding the larger story of the …

Editors' Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau, Kate Deconinck

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Bailey's "Race And Redemption In Puritan New England" (Critical Book Review), Jill D. Botticelli

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Queerness, Witchcraft, And Embodied Presence: Aesthetic Knowings Of What A Body Can Do, Megan Bigelow

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Taking as a point of entry the critique of representation and affirming the limitations of the cuts that language makes, this capstone project explores the imbrications and assemblages between Foucault’s concept of subjugated knowledges, witchcraft and other body-based ways of knowing and being, and the consciousness of non-human forms such as plants and through the framework of non-representational theory, process philosophies, aesthetics, queerness, and the concept of difference itself.

Since such theories themselves are living, breathing entities, this capstone project explores the ideological split that has occurred between sacred and secular beliefs, moving through different figures such as nuns and …

Once Upon A Time...When A Revolution Evolved To A Civil War In Syria, Crystal M. Myers

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This paper gives an overview of how the conflict in Syria has evolved from a revolution into a sectarian civil war. Power is maintained by the ruling Assad family through promotion of the Alawite minority within the government and military. Methods of persecution on the Sunni majority by the Assad government are discussed as well as a policy of strategic expulsion of the Sunni enclave to Idlib, a city on the outskirts of Syria (bordering Turkey).

Engaging Sacred Space And Experiencing God In The Mountains: A Study Of The Non-Traditional Worship Environment Of Mountain Cathedrals, An Ecumenical Meetup Group Based In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Brendan Isaiah Nixon

Geography ETDs

This paper focuses on the non-traditional Christian worship site of Mountain Cathedrals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I argue that affectual and emotional responses are elicited from the congregants of Mountain Cathedrals through the process of sacralization. It is shown that Christian worship in a non-traditional outdoor setting affects the ways in which the congregants engage with, participate in, and create sacred space. I survey current literatures of sacred space, the contemporary Christian church, and non-traditional worships spaces. Using the literature as a backdrop, I utilize Mountain Cathedrals as a case study for understanding the ways in which sacred space is …

Evangelicalism And Peace And Conflict Studies: A Wheaton College Case Study, Sophia Bouwsma

Capstone Collection

Evangelicalism and peace and conflict studies are both salient topics in addressing current religious and political dynamics in the United States. Amid the realities and myths surrounding these topics, there are many complementarities and tensions between evangelicalism and peace and conflict studies, both real and perceived. One of evangelicalism’s most prominent academic institutions, Wheaton College, recently established a Peace and Conflict Studies Program, placing this program at the center of an unexpected relationship between peace and conflict studies and evangelicalism. This study examines the views of students in Wheaton’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program to explore how they see the …

"It Is Our Own Thing": The Expression Of And Limits To Enculturation At St. Joseph's Anglophone Parish, Kayleigh Kaminski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Down a small side street in the heart of Yaoundé, Cameroon, St. Joseph’s Anglophone Parish houses worshippers from the Northwest and Southwest regions of the country. Its members bring their cultural traditions to the church in the process of enculturation, and mass is filled with clergy-sanctioned elements of traditional culture, but beyond its walls, people still carry out the traditional practices that are deemed as “non-Christian” by the Church. This study seeks to examine the ways that traditional culture manifests itself both inside and outside St. Joseph’s Anglophone Parish, exploring the ways in which tradition is translated in the church …

A Study Of Stambeli In Digital Media, Nneka Mogbo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper explores stambeli, a traditional spiritual music in Tunisia, by understanding its musical and spiritual components then identifying ways it is presented in digital media. Stambeli is shaped by pre-Islamic West African animist beliefs, spiritual healing and trances. The genre arrived in Tunisia when sub-Saharan Africans arrived in the north through slavery, migration or trade from present-day countries like Mauritania, Mali and Chad. Today, it is a geographic and cultural intersection of sub-Saharan, North and West African influences.

Assessing The Personal Needs And Professional Issues That Hinder Credentialed Women In The Ohio Ministry Network: Egalitarianism And The Image Of God, Deedra Ann Shilliday

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The purpose of this study was to discover if some local Assemblies of God (A/G) church practices differed from the denominational egalitarian theology. Credentialed women from the Ohio Ministry Network (OMN), a district of the General Council of the Assemblies of God, were surveyed. According to the survey results, time management, representation at OMN events, ministry connections, and exclusion from the leadership pipeline are the greatest challenges for credentialed women. The goal of promoting awareness of the personal needs and professional issues of credentialed women was actualized by integrating the literature review of imago Dei theology with an Ohio School …

Unity And Diversity: How A Bilingual-Multicultural Congregation Reflects The Nature Of The Trinity In Unity And Diversity, Albert W. Triolo

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project used the lenses of adaptive change, transculturation, church size theory, love the stranger, led by the Spirit, unity and diversity in God’s family, imago Trinitatis, and missio Dei to study how action research interventions might affect a culturally diverse congregation. It was found that understanding culture is complicated, homogeneous units typically stay apart but do come together, crossing boundaries of homogeneity is difficult, ongoing education helps for transculturation, transculturation comes mostly through conversation, and people can experience Trinitarian equality through transculturation. In short, the Common Culture of a Community is Cultivated in its Context through Conversation and Communion.

Risen With Healing In Her Wings: An Ecclesiological Ethnography Of Three Young Congregations In St. Paul, Minnesota, Catrina Louise Ciccone

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This dissertation assumes that death and resurrection is the rhythm of life for all disciples of Jesus Christ, and that this baptismal pattern of dying in Christ and being raised to new life in Christ plays itself out in many penultimate iterations across our lives until our ultimate Death and Resurrection. As such, living in a cultural climate in which the white North American Christendom Church is captive to an ecclesiology of death, fixated upon and anxious about its imminent demise, this dissertation seeks to provide a counter-narrative: an ecclesiology of the resurrection occurring in this new missional era, a …

Sr. Ethel: On The Marriage Tribunal, Carter Pease

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

I interviewed Sr. Ethel in January of 2019 regarding her life experiences as a woman religious. This paper includes a portion of the interview where she spoke about her work on a marriage tribunal as one of the most significant jobs in her time as a sister.

Kata Ostojic, Marija Maracic, Josipa Karaca

SICANJE

No abstract provided.

Janja Majstorovic, Marija Maracic, Josipa Karaca

SICANJE

No abstract provided.

Oneness In Everyday Life: Nonduality, Wholeness And Human Life After Awakening, Gibbons, Tom

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

In Advaita Vedanta a distinction is made between an experience of oneness and permanent awakening. The author argues that a nondual philosophy such as Advaita - as opposed to a direct experience of oneness – contains significant theoretical difficulties, which in turn are reflected in problems with actualizing nonduality in everyday human life. Alternative spiritual conceptions that might be more helpful in guiding the nondual aspirant in her spiritual life are examined, including the concept of “wholeness.” In the place of a reliance on an exclusive doctrine of nonduality, Jorge Ferrar’s concept of “Participatory Spirituality” and A. H. Almaas’s idea …

Categorical Modelling Of Conscious States, Baruss, Imants

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

In the last several decades, there has been an explosion of research concerning consciousness with some efforts at mathematical modelling. The purpose of this paper is to model conscious states using categorical constructions. In particular, this modelling captures temporality, the intentional structure of consciousness, and meaning fields, which provide the templates for occurrent events. The architecture of conscious states naturally lends itself to applications of category theory, more specifically to sheaf-like constructions in which the stacks over a site are topoi whose germs are the objects of the topoi. Each topos represents the potential experiential content of an individual where …