Sociology of Religion Commons^™

Rockin' The Church: Vernacular Catholic Musical Practices, Kinga Povedak

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article focuses on the unique dimensions of lived or vernacular Catholicism through the analysis of contemporary congregational music in Hungary. Looking at the musical lives of Hungarian Roman Catholics from the late 1960s to contemporary times can provide us with new understandings of the theological contents and aesthetics, as well as the vernacular religiosity of the community. Christian popular music appeared behind the Iron Curtain relatively early, in 1967 when the first “beat mass” was created and introduced at Budapest. The early Christian popular music sounded astonishingly similar to the songs of the American Folk Mass Movement of the …

Longings, Letters And Prayers: Visitor's Books At Hungarian Marian Shrines, Krisztina Frauhammer

Journal of Global Catholicism

The following study seeks to show the flow of contemporary rituals associated with pilgrimage shrines. I will consider how visitor’s books placed on display at shrine churches are being utilized in the modern context by pilgrims and tourists alike. Requests, words of thanksgiving, and testimony are coupled with an honest, reflexive style that lends to the formation of these individualized prayers. These prayers are original, specific and peculiar as they follow patterns that are informal in nature. These prayers allow pilgrims to initiate contact with the Transcendent through the act and practice of writing. An idiosyncratic form of sacred communication …

Introduction: Consumer Contexts And Divine Presences In Hungarian Catholicism, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction to Hungarian Catholicism: Living Faith Across Diverse Social and Intellectual Contexts, highlighting both the specific contributions of the articles to the study of Hungarian Catholicism and situating them within the broad sweep of Hungarian and Catholic Studies.

Overview And Acknowledgements, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Overview of Hungarian Catholicism: Living Faith Across Diverse Social and Intellectual Context, highlighting the articles' contribution to the study of Global Catholicism.

Temple Stay As Transformative Travel: An Experience Of The Buddhist Temple Stay Program In Korea, Susan L. Ross, Jungyun (Christine) Hur, Jamie Hoffman

Journal of Tourism Insights

The burgeoning tourism niche called temple stay, which originated in Korea, has been marketed to Koreans and internationals as a means for travelers to become immersed in cultural heritage, learn about Buddhism, and find one’s “true self” by spending a few days to a week as a guest in a living, operational Buddhist monastery. Although this tourism segment is gaining wide-spread appeal, the temple stay phenomenon has received relatively little scholarly attention outside of Korea. The handful of papers identified on the subject that are written in English, refer to this phenomenon as constituting various segments such as rural tourism, …

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), …

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).

Being A Prison Chaplain In A Godless Country: An Exploration Of The Czech Correctional Chaplaincy, Andrea Beláňová, Tereza Trejbalova, Bridget Kelley

Graduate Research Symposium (2018 - present)

Prison chaplaincy, along with religiosity in the criminal justice system, are widely researched in the US (e.g.,Maruna, Wilson, & Curran, 2006; Sundt & Cullen, 1998). The Czech Republic remains one of the most secular countries in the world; about 72% of the population does not identify with any religion or church (Pew Research Center, 2017). The religious landscape in the country lead to prison chaplains being a largely unexplored population, existing in the tension between a total institution and their church. Due to the lack of research concerning this population in the Czech republic, this study aims to examine 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.

Evangelical Faith And Culture In The Lives Of Vietnam’S Upland Hmong - 1987-2017, Jim Lewis

Biblical and Theological Studies Faculty Works

This paper centers on the contemporary conversion movement to Christianity among the Hmong of the Northern Mountainous Region (NMR). Taking place within the brief scope of only 30 years, religious change among the 1.2 million highland Hmong in Vietnam’s fourteen provinces has resulted in some 330,000 declaring they have exchanged many traditional beliefs for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They have embraced substantially the same faith as the Tin Lanh Church, which first came to Vietnam in 1911, one of Vietnam’s six officially approved religions. It is reasonable to claim that a mass movement of this magnitude among a …

Islam & Interfaith Dialogue: Innovative Diplomacy Between The United States And Islamic Republic Of Iran, Kristyn Rohrer

Honors Student Research

This meta-communicative study provides an analysis of global interfaith dialogue as it pertains to peace and conflict, with a primary focus on Islam. The Islamic Republic of Iran and United States have a complicated history. Their diplomatic relationship is rife with manipulation, radicalism, and a disregard for human dignity. Currently, the US is imposing hundreds of sanctions and restrictions on Iran, from nuclear energy to medicine, as a result of President Trump’s decision to back out of the Iran Deal. However, other forms of dialogue are affecting positive relations between the two countries. Interfaith dialogue between North American Mennonites and …

Schisms And Conflict Management In New African Immigrants’ Religious Organizations In The Greater Atlanta Area, Christina Edwards

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

New African immigrant religious organizations (NAIRO) are transnational religious organizations established and led by new African immigrants (NAI). These organizations are experiencing planned growth as outlined in their manuals, but little is known about the internal conflicts that lead to unplanned schisms or break away congregations. Foundational studies in the field of Sociology of Religion failed to include NAI-led churches in their studies and Atlanta was not selected as an immigrant hub city in their follow-up studies. This dissertation explores the social phenomenon of NAIRO internal conflicts that lead to unplanned schisms and therefore contribute to the overall growth of …

La Relación De Prácticas Religiosas E La Identidad: Los Campesinos Migrantes Q’Eros / The Relationship Of Religious Practices And Identity: The Migrant Peasants Q'Eros, Autumn Delong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio se enfoca en la relación entre la experiencia religiosa de los campesinos migrantes q’ero y la concepción de la identidad. Describe el estado de los rituales religiosos en la ciudad de Cusco y explica la preservación y el cambio de las prácticas a través de la migración de los q’ero del campo a la ciudad. Además, explica el papel de las tradiciones religiosas como un fortalecimiento y reafirmación de la identidad q’ero en medio del nuevo ambiente de la ciudad. Este informe muestra que las perspectivas de los especialistas y practicantes de los rituales de la cosmovisión andina …

“Yo Agradezco Por No Sentirme Solo”: La Iglesia Evangélica En El Espacio Transnacional / "I Thank You For Not Feeling Alone": The Evangelical Church In The Transnational Space, L. Elizabeth Jowers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Del 86% de argentinos que fueron criados en una familia católica, el 15% ahora no se autodenomina católico. Este trabajo se enfoca en dos flujos demográficos en la Argentina. Uno es la diversificación del campo religioso, en particular la influencia creciente con respecto a la iglesia cristiana evangélica. El segundo flujo es la inmigración, en particular la inmigración de los países limítrofes de la Argentina. Estos dos flujos demográficos están vinculados a los temas globales del desarrollo económico y la difusión acelerada de las ideas y creencias en el siglo XXI. Estas dos tendencias se ven claramente en el distrito …

Restoring Eden: The Role Of Christianity On Environmental Conservation: A Case Of Karatu District, Arusha, Tanzania, Taylor Allen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In order for environmental conservation to be effective it must have a method of translating to people’s everyday values. Developing countries which include mostly bio-diversity hotspot areas are important to maintain sustainable development. Due to most of these countries following an organized religion, predominantly Christian, an alternative method of conservation may be successful to motivate citizens to participate in efforts. In order for this to be successful, members of the congregation must agree that there is a religious obligation to care for the environment. For Christianity this obligation is discussed by the creation story in the bible. This paper will …

Sufis In A 'Foreign' Zawiya: Moroccan Perceptions Of The Tijani Pilgrimage To Fes, Joel Green

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this ISP is to investigate Moroccan perceptions of sub-Saharan members of the Tijaniyya during the completion of their religious pilgrimage to Fes. The relationship between Moroccans andTijani pilgrims is particularly complex as it occurs at an intersection of various identities, most prominently including race, religion, class and nationality. This project focuses on Moroccans who work in the area surrounding the shrine of Ahmed al-Tijani and either market their business towards Tijani pilgrims or frequently serve Tijani pilgrims as customers. In the course of interviews with five Moroccans, three major themes emerged: 1. Condemnation of Tijani religious practice. …

Renegado: Immigrant Identities And Aspirations Of White Muslim Converts In Morocco, Paul Williamson Kiefer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

If one turns over enough stones in Morocco, they will come across hundreds of Western converts to Islam, most of whom are white. Some are obvious: one might spot a blue-eyed Belgian wearing a jellaba on a train to Fes or a Danish woman in a hijab running a bakery in central Casablanca. Others might be mistaken for tourists, like an American woman with her hair pulled back into a ponytail seated in the corner of a high-end café in Rabat. These converts are immigrants, and most chose to live in Morocco as a form of hijra, or migration for …

Natura Sanat: On Ecological Aspects Of Healing Miracles In Kalwaria Pacławska, Poland, Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska

Journal of Global Catholicism

The subject-matter of my article is a change affecting the discourse on miraculous healings in a Catholic Marian sanctuary – Kalwaria Pacławska – run by Franciscan friars in the South-Eastern Poland and a way in which those changes affect pilgrims’ bodies. In Kalwaria Pacławska there meet, intersect and compete various religious and secular discourses and they all influence emotions and bodily sensations accompanying pilgrimage to this sacred site. One of those discourses has been introduced to Kalwaria just recently. The central element of the sanctuary is the miraculous image of Virgin Mary which is the goal of numerous pilgrimages from …

Authors' Introduction, Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska, Magdalena Lubanska

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Cold Genocide: Falun Gong In China, Maria Cheung, Torsten Trey, David Matas, Richard An

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The article explores patterns of a cold genocide in the eradication campaign against Falun Gong. Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that has been targeted for eradication by the Chinese regime since 1999. In comparison to the documented cases of genocide, the genocide of Falun Gong stands out as anomalous because it is virtually ignored. The article seeks to elucidate the multi-faceted nature of this concealed genocide from an interdisciplinary perspective encompassing social work, medicine and law, In particular, the article demonstrates that the eradication campaign against Falun Gong is distinguishable as a cold genocide as it is: (1) multi-dimensional …

Non-Traditional Transitional Justice Mechanisms And Perceptions And Symptoms Of Victimization Among Diasporic Individuals: Members Of The Coptic Christian Diaspora In The United States As A Case Study, Samy S. A. Gerges

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

Transitional justice measures are state-centered measures articulating atrocities committed by officials and occurring within the borders of a specific state. Questioning members of a Diaspora about the impact of transitional justice on their self-classification as victims and their experienced symptoms of victimization may therefore support attempts to expand the field of transitional justice. This study contributes to a body of work promoting understanding of the possibilities and constraints of transitional justice mechanisms, in the context of hate crime against Copts by Muslims in Egypt. To analyze the impact of restored relationships on self-classified victimhood and experienced symptoms of victimization, the …

Out Of The Shadows: Women Of The Fmln Guerrilla Army In El Salvador’S Civil War, 1979–1992, Erica Gonzalez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Over the course of a century, revolutionary movements have emerged every few years across the region of Central America, movements that fought for overturning dictatorships and confronting socio-economic inequalities. Women experience higher levels of poverty, human rights violations and discrimination due to gender inequalities. Representing 30% of the FMLN guerrilla army, women in El Salvador took a quantum leap into one of the most horrific and violent armed conflicts in the history of the country (Montgomery 123). Theorists have sought to explain why women became involved in the war. Experts of insurgent collective action agree that women's participation played a …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Church And State In Rwanda: Catholic Missiology And The 1994 Genocide Against The Tutsi, Marcus Timothy Haworth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, over one million Tutsis were killed by the government of Rwanda and Hutu extremists. In this study, I address two questions: (1) did the Church, as an institution, offer a convincing counter-narrative to the dominant ideology of racialized ethnic identities of twentieth century European colonialism in the present-day nation-state of Rwanda? If it did not, why not? And, (2) what role, if any, did the Church, as an institution, play, in promoting a “social imagination” that valued religious identity, or truths, over the dominant European colonial ideology, and later the nationalistic narrative of …

“Gracias A Dios, Gracias Al Comandante”: El Uso De La Religión Como Una Herramienta Política En Nicaragua Desde 2006 / "Thank God, Thanks To The Commander": The Use Of Religion As A Political Tool In Nicaragua Since 2006, Azani Creeks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio cualitativo examina la relación centenaria entre la religión y el poder político en Nicaragua, centrándose específicamente en su desarrollo y función desde la reelección de Daniel Ortega en 2006. A través de entrevistas, observaciones y análisis de contenido realizados en la ciudad capital de Managua, el estudio halla que el gobierno nicaragüense invierte mucho tiempo y dinero en la creación de alianzas públicas con líderes católicos y evangélicos, ya que el estado se declara inconstitucionalmente cristiano. Aunque los temas religiosos son un gran foco de atención del gobierno, este estudio muestra que no está claro si el pueblo …

The Mountain Stands: An Autoethnographic Inquiry Into Zulu Christians' Approaches To Spiritual Health, Makayla Lagerman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Spiritual health is a vital component of individual wellness that can be described in many ways; most commonly, it is thought of as the connectivity of the inner spirit to others, the world, transcendental beings, and more. From personal experience, I know that the state of my spiritual wellbeing can greatly impact my physical and mental health. For this reason, actively considered how to think about spiritual health for one of the first times in my life.

This project sought to explore Zulu Christians’ approaches to spiritual health in concurrence with my own. This was done by interviewing one Swazi …

Getting Sick Where Karma Is Gravity: Disease In The Tibetan Perspective, Moreau Hadley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Karma is the Buddhist idea that our actions from current and previous lives affect our fortune in this life. In particular, if we suffer in the current life, it is due to negative action in the past. Likewise, if we prosper, it is due to past positive acts, such as compassion. The idea of karma extends to illness; in simplification, sickness is attributed to negative past action.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the belief of karmic disease in the Tibetan Buddhist community of Shangri-La. Although disease is often used as an example of karmic suffering, and there …

Religion, Media, And Marginality In Modern Africa, Felicitas Becker, Joel Cabrita, Marie Rodet

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

In recent years, anthropologists, historians, and others have been drawn to study the profuse and creative usages of digital media by religious movements. At the same time, scholars of Christian Africa have long been concerned with the history of textual culture, the politics of Bible translation, and the status of the vernacular in Christianity. Students of Islam in Africa have similarly examined politics of knowledge, the transmission of learning in written form, and the influence of new media. Until now, however, these arenas—Christianity and Islam, digital media and “old” media—have been studied separately.

Religion, Media, and Marginality in Modern Africa …

Who Is My Neighbor? Identifying Epistemic Peers Among Polarized Communities, Alex Hoagland

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.