Sociology of Religion Commons^™

Oral History: Jayne Bausis Cotter

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a former member of Worcester's Polish community. The interview touches on many facets of community life from the importance of the Polish language, of the Church, as well as Polish pride, the experience of immigrants, and John Paull II.

Interview keywords: immigrant, language, church, college, pride.

Oral History: John Kraska

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a former member of Worcester’s Polish-American community. This interview touches on community and church life, immigration, divisions in the city, and the effect of I-290 on the community.

Interview keywords: English, festivities, church, I-290, Quo Vadis, White Eagle Club, PNI, sections, basketball, displaced persons.

Oral History: Thaddeus Stachura

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a former pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa parish, the center of Worcester’s Polish American community. This interview discusses much of the history of the community from its beginnings and delves into the life of a parish priest, while also touching on topics such as immigration, Church corruption, community life and difficulties, and local festivals.

Interview keywords: immigrants, Saint Casimir’s, difficulties, seminary, Bojanowski, Moneta, vocation, dompolski, immoral, Polish priest, Solidarity, redlining, violence, festival, PNI, citizenship.

The Salt March Today: Gandhian Lessons For Social Media Activism, Mclane Sellars, Kristόf Oltvai

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Tree Worship: Accidental Conservation Of Biodiversity Through The Protection Of Biodivinity, Emily Grabauskas

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

From Ancient Greco-Roman Culture The Contemporary Lgbtq Community: The Transfer Of Sex And Power Dynamics, Ibrahim Ibrahim

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Liberative Creation: Finding Alternative Meaning In Genesis 1:1-2:3, Steven Simpkins

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

'To Free The Truth': The Depth Of Latin American Theology Of Liberation, Dylan Parson

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Seeing And Being Seen At The Margins: Insight Into God From The Wilderness, Luke Hillier

Denison Journal of Religion

Hiller argues that by approaching the often neglected or negatively interpreted biblical story of Hagar through a particular context, one can conclude that God is encountered at Hagar’s location: the outskirts and the margins. Hiller’s analysis is rooted in this “literary and culturally contextual” reading of Genesis 16, asking the reader more deeply examine Hagar’s experience of oppression to see the radical nature of her encounter with God. The first part of this essay describes how Hagar’s agency, identity, and life are compromised in the face of adversity. As a female slave, Hagar answers to Sarah and Abraham in every …

Evil And Theodicy In Hinduism, Sunder Willett

Denison Journal of Religion

Willett explores the ways in which Hinduism uniquely deals with ideas related to evil and theodicy. First, Willett describes the context behind the two terms “evil” and “theodicy.” He explains that because of its ambiguous definitions, the term religion complicates our understanding of the term evil. Likewise, the Christian perception of evil creates significant problems when trying to consider the way that evil is a part of or related to other religions. Willet describes theodicy as the attempt to answer questions concerning the overwhelming amount of evil in the world and how one can “reconcile the belief of a good …

Poetic Justice: Hip-Hop And Black Liberation Theology, Mimi Mendes De Leon

Denison Journal of Religion

The essay opens with a discussion of a white artist’s recently attained Grammy award for his anthem for marriage equality. Black artist, Kendrick Lamar, was also in the running, but did not receive the Grammy for his critically acclaimed album about his life in Compton, good kid, M.A.A.D. city. Mendes makes this point to illustrate how the public perceives hip hop as political, arguing that hip hop in its nature is, in fact, thoroughly political. Hip Hop originates from the “corner”: “the heart of the inner city community.” The location of the corner may vary, but serves as a universal …

The Catholic Worker Movement, Victoria Newman

Denison Journal of Religion

The first segment of this essay traces the Catholic Worker movement from its beginnings, discussing the lives of its two founders. Rooted in its goals of social justice and social reform, the movement was composed of an intentional community founded by French peasant Peter Maurin and Catholic convert journalist Dorothy Day. Coming from starkly different backgrounds, the two crossed paths and published a newspaper, The Catholic Worker. This newly founded intentional community operated to love and serve the poor, believing that this was at the heart of the Christian message. Not only did they do so by helping to provide …

Interpreting Sati: The Complex Relationship Between Gender And Power In India, Cheyanne Cierpial

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay stresses the importance of context sensitivity when considering seemingly controversial issues. Cierpal uses the act of Sati, widow burning, to illuminate the need for such context sensitivity. The controversial act takes place when one’s husband dies. Sati is literally translated to “virtuous woman,” and the wife performs the ritual in order to serve, provide for, and protect her husband. Sati can bee seen as a “ritual necessary in order to regain and achieve ultimate devotion to her husband.” Many Western feminist scholars question whether a woman exercises agency in making this choice, yet these scholars often fail to …

Review: Resident Aliens: Life In The Christian Colony, By Stanley Hauerwas And William Willimon, Dylan Parson

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Review: American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us, By Robert D. Putnam And David E. Campbell, Victoria Neuman

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Review: Is Scripture Still Holy?: Coming Of Age With The New Testament, By A.E. Harvey, Jonathan Huang

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Discovering The Tragic Sense Of Life: An Examination Of Philosophical Influence In Art And Self, Jaime Arlene Zito

Denison Journal of Religion

To enable readers to understand her examination, Zito begins her essay by situating readers in a position to understand Miguel de Unamuno’s work, The Tragic Sense of Life. A man has no purpose in the world, but is a purpose in and of himself. An individual is his own objective, and this holds true for all individuals, for everyone seeks the same understanding of himself and of others. Meaning comes from the journey to understanding, rather than from understanding in itself, for once understanding is gained, there can be nothing after. Humans have a desire to exist, which is why …

On Mothers And Husbandry: An Interpreter’S Guide To “You Shall Not Boil A Kid In Its Mother’S Milk", Joshua Rager

Denison Journal of Religion

The body of this essay is separated into two distinct subjects. Firstly, scholarly analyses of the passage and their socio-economic impact are evaluated, followed by Rager’s own theological perspectives on the subject. The first section of the essay begins with first-century philosopher, Philo, who believed that to boil a kid in its mother’s milk was a violation of the dietary laws forbidding the consumption of dairy and meat simultaneously. The segregation of opposites is referenced as well, including child and mother and meat and milk with life and death, Jew and Gentile. For a long time the practice was said …

Who Is Jesus? New Monastic Perspectives, Tori Newman

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay is a discussion of Jesus’s political, economic, social, and theological implications in regards to the new monasticism movement. Newman begins by outlining the environment into which Jesus was born: a violent Empire and a genocide. Born by a virgin woman in a stable, surrounded by dirty shepherds, Jesus is immediately a social outcast. Named from his birth as the Messiah, and thus named as a threat to Caesar, Jesus is a refugee from the reigning political order. As he grows older, Jesus’ actions and teachings refute the political, economic, and social culture. He over turns the money changers’ …

Traducianism? Creationism? What Has An Ancient Debate To Do With The Modern Debate Over Abortion?, Ted Nelson

Denison Journal of Religion

Nelson examines Church Fathers’ positions on origin of the soul and relates their arguments to today’s debates over abortion and when the murder of a soul should be punishable by state law. The essay begins chronologically, starting with Origen, a third century theologian, and his idea of pre-existence of souls. Origen draws from Paul’s letter to the Romans and the Book of Jeremiah to explain that souls were not created by God, but rather had existed on an equal plane with God. This argument sets the stage for the two primary alternative beliefs: creationism and traducianism. Creationism is here defined …

Understanding The Response, Mimi Mendez De Leon

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Top Down Or Bottom-Up? Religion, Economics, And Social Justice, Jessica Ann Began

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Modern American Evangelical Conceptions Of Girls' Virginity: Their Origins In Patriarchal Property Discourse Of Deuteronomic Family Laws, Carly Matas

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Peyote And The Psychedelics: 20th Century Perceptions Of The Religious Use Of Psychoactive Substances, Joshua Rager

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

Eros Created, Eros Contaminated, Eros Condemned, Taylor Klassman

Denison Journal of Religion

No abstract provided.

We Swim, We Are Not Swallowed, Taylor Klassman

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay explores the hostile relationship that exists between mainstream Christianity and the queer community. Klassman claims that the possible solutions to that problem currently available are not effective. The queer community has sometimes favored separatism to avoid conflict; it has created its own environment in which members can worship how they please. This does create a kind of unified community, but it also defines members exclusively by their sexuality and makes it the most significant part of their personhood. Additionally, it does not work to address prejudices existing within the mainstream religious communities. Another option currently available for queer …

Making Room For Two In One: The Conflictive Relationship Between American And Catholic Identities In American Literature, Kimberly Anne Humphrey

Denison Journal of Religion

This article considers the manner in which co-existing Catholic and American identities are represented in Andrew Greeley's Cardinal Sins, Edwin O'Connor's The Edge of Sadness, Walker Percy's Love in Ruins: The Behavior of a Bad Catholic at the Time Near the End of the World, and J.F. Powers's Morte d'Urban. In each novel, there is a conflict or difficulty in reconciling various identities, in particular Catholic and American identities. While the ways in which these two interact and, occasionally, conflict varies in each novel, there is always some attempt to work out a reconciliation between the two. Humphrey concludes her …

The Baha'i Faith In America, 1893-1900: A Diffusion Of The American Religious Zeitgeist, Joshua Rager

Denison Journal of Religion

This article argues that while the Baha'i faith may appear to be very exotic and distinct from traditional American Protestantism, it is actually very representative of the American religious zeitgeist, or "spirit of the times." The founder of Baha'i was Baha'u'llah, but the man who was primarily responsible for bringing the faith to America was the Syrian Kheiralla. He was educated at an American Bible university, and spent much of his life in the United States. Eventually, he self-identified as American. Furthermore, the faith that he brought with him to the United States was not orthodox Bahai'ism. Kheiralla altered many …

Peter Berger And The Rise And Fall Of The Theory Of Secularization, Dylan Reaves

Denison Journal of Religion

In the 1960's most sociologists, Peter Berger included, believed that secularization, or the end of power of religious institutions and symbols, was an inevitable byproduct of modernization. However, in subsequent decades Berger has realized that this prediction was incorrect and that religion was maintaining if not growing its power in many areas, with the possible exception of Western Europe and the Western intelligentsia. The resurgence of religion that Berger has witnessed over the past fifty years is not an isolated phenomenon. Berger believes that it will shape four areas: 1) international politics; 2) war and peace; 3) religion and economics; …

A Case For Heresy, Claire Navarro

Denison Journal of Religion

This article serves as a reminder to mainstream Christians about the origins of the word "heresy." While today heresy has an immediate and profoundly negative connotation, this was not always true. Originally, the root of the word heresy implied a "choice," or a "different school of thought." This implied a difference, but not necessarily incorrectness. For instance, the word "hairesis" was used by Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, to describe the three branches of Judaism"Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees. While these three sects had different understandings of their faith, there was not a sense of condemnation. In fact, without the …