Sociology of Religion Commons^™

Fundamentalist Disorientations For Queer Subjects: Narrative And Theory, Betty Canoso

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines disorientation experienced by queer people who were raised in high-cost fundamentalist Christianity–people like me. Disorientation is a philosophical concept useful for examining specific intersections of human experience, like queerness and fundamentalism. Philosophers such as Sara Ahmed (2006) and Ami Harbin (2016) have been exploring the intersection of queerness and disorientation. Psychologists, sociologists and researchers from other disciplines are analyzing the interrelatedness of queerness and religion, and disaffiliation and deconversion from high-cost or high-control religions is another ongoing area of interest. Yet, despite widespread interest in these concepts, few have looked at instances of disorientation as they pertain …

Carver, Kafka, And Woolf On Re-Enchanting Modernity, Zachary Davis

University Honors Theses

Though removed from the time of the modernists, Raymond Carver shares similar interests with Woolf and Kafka in his late century story "Cathedral," as he investigates art's capacity for creating meaning, or "re-enchanting." While Carver investigates the function of art in a chaotic world, his story does not feature a central artist figure or a hierarchical social structure surrounding the artistic process, but rather an organic artistic experience which creates community among the characters. In this way, "Cathedral" can be seen as a mediation between Woolf's and Kafka's distinct, if not opposing, reactions to Matthew Arnold's prophecy that "most of …

Faith Vs. Morality: Do Viewpoints Of Protestant Christians Attending Psu Align With Anti-Transgender Legislation Being Proposed In Oregon?, Asher Schneider

University Honors Theses

Transgender-identifying individuals living within the US face significantly higher rates of discrimination and harassment compared to the general US population. Recently, there have been thousands of legislative measures introduced with the intent of limiting the rights of Transgender and other LGBTQ identifying individuals. Christian Americans are significantly more likely than irreligious Americans to be against various rights for Transgender people, such as the ability to participate in sports or use restrooms that correlate with their self-identified gender rather than their biological sex. Research indicates that recent anti-transgender legislative measures introduced in several states is in part driven by the large …

Salvation And Sweet Rolls: An Examination Of Mormon Diet Books, Rachel Noorda

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

Religious diet books highlight the overlap between religious and diet cultures. This article examines the intersection of Mormonism, diet culture, and fatphobia through an analysis of Mormon diet books published between 1990 and 2015. The study explores how Mormon diet books leverage the Word of Wisdom (the LDS health code) to promote weight loss and reinforce religious obedience. By framing dietary compliance as a spiritual mandate, these texts link physical health and body size to moral and spiritual worthiness. This conflation of body and spirit, rooted in Mormon theology, amplifies fatphobia by promoting thinness as a sign of obedience and …

Nationalist And Non-Nationalist Christianity In The United States, Aaron Epperson

University Honors Theses

Christian nationalism has broken into the American news cycle over the last few years through its connection to former President Donald Trump, and it's closely associated with violent events like the January 6th insurrection and the Charlottesville, VA, Unite the Right rally. However, its close association with Trump and depiction in a 24-hour news cycle makes defining what Christian nationalism is--and is not--difficult for those unfamiliar with nationalism and the broader American Christian tradition. This paper hopes to briefly explore what Christian nationalism is within the United States through an exploration of nationalism itself and a discussion of nationalist and …

"Women, Life, Freedom": Media And Uprisings In Iran, Alexander J. Ham-Kucharski

Student Work

This research analyzes the use of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novels: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (2003) and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (2003) and her film Persepolis (2007) in regard to how media can teach history and political unrest and protestation, and how much of what is occurring in present day Iran of protests in regard to the death of Masha Amini and how the use of the hajib, while often a western feminist construct used to establish “orientalism “ of Muslim women, also is a deeply rooted metaphor of the restrictions of women in Iran and …

Lgbtq+ Congregants Navigating Identity In The Context Of "Welcoming But Not Affirming" Evangelical, Pentecostal, And Non-Denominational Religious Institutions: A Queer Narrative Analysis, Sarah E. Rasmussen

University Honors Theses

Welcoming but not affirming Evangelical, Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches invite LGBTQ+ people to attend their church, but do not affirm their identity as a gender and/or sexual minority. Because of this, they restrict LGBTQ+ attendees from participating in leadership, paid staff positions, and ministry work. LGBTQ+ attendees are often not aware of these restrictive policies initially. The current study aims to examine how LGBTQ+ people navigate their faith and identity within welcoming but not affirming church spaces through narrative analysis. Fifteen participants engaged in an interview, where they were asked about their experience within welcoming but not affirming church spaces. …

Who's In The Pew? A Study Of Religious Disengagement Among Young Adults, Jodi Brekhus

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation sought to understand religious disengagement among young adults in the U.S. Specifically, it addressed the following questions: How can the trend toward religious disengagement among young adults in the 1990s be explained?

In an attempt to answer these questions, several existing models and perspectives which attempt to explain the social causes of religious disengagement among young adults were presented. These are the following: age-based, social learning, traditional beliefs, the family-life cycle, religious innovation, localism and deprivation.

These models and perspectives were combined to create several hypotheses, which were then tested with data collected from General Social Survey (GSS). …

Faith, Hope, And Leverage: Attributes Of Effective Faith-Based Community Organizations, Richard White

Dissertations and Theses

In 1835, Alexis deTocqueville acknowledged in Democracy in America that the "intellectual and moral associations" of the United States were vital to its social, economic, and political health. Citizen voluntarism in the United States begins with the neighborliness of its early history and branches out through a bewildering variety of nonprofit organizations and voluntary associations. Throughout the history of the United States churches have played a vital role in civic volunteerism and politics. In the inner-urban core of America's largest cities, churches are frequently the last institution to leave, long after other social and economic institutions have fled. The call …