Sociology of Religion Commons^™

"La Vida Es Un Carnaval": An Exploration Of Cuban Identity And Nostalgia Through Dance/Movement Therapy - A Community Engagement Project, Maria Fernanda Mendez Mendoza

Expressive Therapies Theses

“La Vida Es Un Carnaval” is a community engagement project and thesis that explores how identity and nostalgic resilience show up through dance/movement therapy with Cuban immigrants living in the United States, specifically Massachusetts. This project brought together six Cuban-born participants, ages 26 to 67, each with their own unique migration stories; from the Rafter Balsero Crisis of 1994, to the “Wet-Foot/Dry-Foot” policy, and family reunification. Through a mix of in-person and online sessions, participants explored their experiences using intermodal activities including dance/movement therapy techniques, conversation, journaling, artwork, and music. Themes of cultural pride, “Cubanía” – Cuban-ness, culture shock, and …

Ideas Of The "Russian World" And Ukraine: Value Epicrises On The Ukrainian Orthodox Church Under The Moscow Patriarchate, Oleksandr Brodetskyi, Iryna Horokholinska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Against the background of the identity, jurisdictional, and institutional crossroads in which contemporary Ukrainian Orthodoxy finds itself, the authors analyze the mental, value-related, and personal (linked to the “human factor”) influences in Ukraine of the destructive and militant ideology of the “Russian World” (Russkiy Mir), as well as the degree of involvement of leading functionaries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the dissemination of these influences.

The article reveals the mechanisms of the corrosion of spirituality among the ecclesiastical elites of Russia and their satellites in Ukraine. This corrosion is manifested in the substitution of the Church’s …

The Impact Of Religiosity On Students’ Experience At The University Of South Dakota, Emmalee J. Bosma

Honors Thesis

College can be a shocking and exciting experience for many young people, but at times can lead to crisis or hardship when they must choose what to believe. Some students may seek out a religious belief in something greater than themselves to quell their longing for meaning while in college, and others may continue the beliefs they have known. This research surveyed students to examine how college students’ level of religiosity influences their academic performance, mental health, sense of purpose and identity, and feelings of belonging and connection at the University of South Dakota (USD). Secondly, through interviewing members of …

Developing A Shared Ecclesial Identity Utilizing Story-Based Elements With First Baptist Church, Gainesville, Georgia, Jeremy T. Shoulta

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The Body of Christ is challenged to, “be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind” (Philippians 2:2). How then could a congregation, comprised of individuals harboring diverse cultural worldviews, discover and live into this reality? Through various individual and group exercises, participants sought to determine whether story elements have the power to serve as a true sense-making device within an ecclesial setting. The results indicate that that a majority of participants found the story-based framework beneficial in regards to their personal understanding of the work of First Baptist Church.

Raj Karega Khalsa! - The Evolution Of The Sikh Identity, Vineet Mehmi

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Generally, religion has served as a method of creating a unique identity and history for many groups across history. This concept is especially true for the Sikh community, to the point that they have carved their own niche across the different places they inhabit in the world, whether that be their homeland of Panjab or their extensive population in places like Canada or the United Kingdom. However, this expansion and development of their culture did not come without a cost, formed through countless battles, martyrdom, and revolutions. Chardi Kala, a foundational idea in Sikhi that refers to eternal optimism even …

Identity Formation And Powerful Narrative: What The Church Can Learn From Disney, Janie Fisher

Master of Art Theology Thesis

This thesis explores a phenomenon I first observed while working for The Walt Disney Company in Florida. Many people seem to be dedicated to Disney in a distinctly religious way, giving the company their time, money, abilities, and heart. Disney is one of the most successful organizations in America, and they have mastered the art of storytelling in their films and theme parks. These stories can be used for identity formation, as they teach people who they are, what the world is like, and how they ought to live. Disney uses religious means to help their fans feel as if …

Class(Ify)Ing Christianity In Singapore: Tracing The Interlinked Spaces Of Privilege And Position, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper considers how two facets of identity – religion and class – are performed, (re)produced and negotiated within the spaces of the Christian school, home and church in Singapore. We show how the social structuring of one space can inform and influence the structuring of another. Spaces of Christianity in Singapore tend to be mutually reinforcing, strengthening the linkages between religion and class, and in particular reifying the position of Christianity as a religion of the privileged classes. However, the ways in which Christian spaces are reified can become problematic when space is in fact shared with less privileged …

Placing God: Defining “Post-Christianity” For Contemporary Japanese Christians, Leryan Anthony Burrey

Master's Projects and Capstones

This work suggests that we consider a new, working definition of post-Christianity. This new paradigm is in response to Western Christian thought being too dominant a force that fails to take into enough account other global experiences— like those of Japanese Christians. These reflections are based on scholarly opinions claiming that Christianity is a “global culture,” and ultimately argues for more international inclusivity in Western Christian thought and institutions, especially regarding the Asia-Pacific. Moreover, this paper illuminates how iitoko dori allows Christian thought to peacefully coexist in Japan’s greater society. The research also explores specific Japanese cultural practices that make …

Decomorose: The Somatic Flowering Of The Living Quality, Shaun J. Martin

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This essay is an exploration of the human maturation process from a transpersonal point of view. The main premise of the essay is the notion that our maturation on the level of consciousness (the living quality) is not synonymous with our bodily maturation or the ongoing construction of our social personality (the identity project). It suggests that transpersonality is a fundamental component in human development, but has been overlooked and left out in most areas of modern culture. The recent rise of mental illnesses and the overall frustration or discontent within our society is a direct result of infrastructures that …

Overview And Acknowledgments, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

The Experiences Of Western Australian Muslims Within The Current Political And Social Environment, John Lehane

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of Western Australian (WA) Muslims, within the context of the current Australian political and social climate, with a key focus on how political and social factors, and the vast introduction of Australian antiterrorism legislation, may impact them. Also explored in this inquiry, was how mainstream media and their regular portrayal of Islamic-inspired terrorist attacks, which has at times connected all Muslims to these atrocities, is creating a social division within the Australian community which is difficult to overcome.

A generic qualitative methodology was utilised to best capture the lived experiences …

Producing An Lgbt Religious Organizational Identity: The Case Of Dignityusa, Nik Lampe, James Cavendish, J. E. Sumerau

The Qualitative Report

In this exploratory study, we examine the production of an organizational LGBT religious identity utilizing the case of DignityUSA. To this end, we engage in two interconnected analyses. First, we revisit and verify the findings of Loseke and Cavendish (2001) concerning the production of what they called a “Dignified Self,” which LGBT Catholics may use to integrate their religious-sexual-gender identities. Then, we expand on their analyses of DignityUSA in the late 1990’s to outline the ways DignityUSA constructs an organizational identity their members may draw upon to construct the Dignified Self and integrate their sexual/gender and religious identities. In so …

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 …

In The World But Not Of It: Negotiating Evangelical Tradition And Gendered Identity In Contemporary Family Life, Lauren Hansbury

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Evangelical Protestants are an influential force in the world of politics, particularly in bringing debates over family values to the forefront of public life within the last thirty years. Their perspectives on gender have become a central point of contention in the so-called "culture wars" in American society. Recent research shows that the majority of evangelicals do not embody gender roles that fit within traditional, patriarchal, and gender essentialist models once central to evangelical thought on family life. Evangelicals live out their everyday family lives in much the same way as non-evangelicals and non-religious Americans. Research on evangelicals and subcultural …

Dreaming Of Eden: A Sociological Inquiry Into Sacred Selves And Public Places, Donald J. Ebel

Sociology Department Publications

A diverse literature from several different disciplines addresses the issues of identity, settings and spirituality. This paper focuses upon drawing these traditions together in order to understand the relationship from a more holistic perspective, and to discern to what degree the three domains interact in a sociological sense. Several hypotheses are tested to discover if setting influences the salience of people’s spiritual identity or the levels of their spiritual transcendence, as well as whether or not age, controlling for other factors, explains or influences these two aspects of spiritual expression. Findings indicate that neither setting nor age significantly influence identity …

Zycie W Ameryce: Life In America (Poster), Brynn A. Cotter

Summer Research Program

Poster complementing author's summer research project exploring the history of the Polish-American community of Worcester, Massachusetts centered on the parish of Our Lady of Czestochowa and how its members responded to the forces of Americanization. Research in area archives such as the Worcester Historical Museum, the Worcester Public Library, and at Our Lady of Czestochowa’s rectory and its parish school of Saint Mary’s, as well as oral history interviews with past and longtime members of the community test the assumption that the story of Worcester’s Polish community is one of loss and decline. On the contrary, Polish-American efforts to preserve …

Zycie W Ameryce: Life In America, Brynn A. Cotter

Summer Research Program

My project explores the history of the Polish-American community of Worcester, Massachusetts centered on the parish of Our Lady of Czestochowa and how its members responded to the forces of Americanization. Like many ethnic groups new to America, Polish-Americans and Polish immigrants in the twentieth century had to adapt in a world that demanded conformity in exchange for social mobility and departure from tradition and community. Over eight weeks, I conducted research in area archives such as the Worcester Historical Museum, the Worcester Public Library, and at Our Lady of Czestochowa’s rectory and its parish school of Saint Mary’s, as …

Being Non-Christian In A Christian Community: Experiences Of Belonging And Identity Among Korean Americans, Jane Yeonjae Lee

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This study responds to the need to investigate the lives of secular migrants where religious marginalization may play a significant role in their everyday lives. Through a qualitative approach, this exploratory study examines the experiences of secular and religiously marginalized Korean Americans in relation to their predominantly Christian communities. In particular, the study focuses on the unique experiences of those aged between 25 and 35 living in the greater Boston area. The study compiles vivid narratives of non-Christian Korean American experiences within a dominant Christian ethnic community focusing on their religious and non-religious performances.

The overall objectives of this study, …

Introduction To New Work On Immigration And Identity In Contemporary France, Québec, And Ireland, Dervila Cooke

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided for the introduction.

Thematic Bibliography To New Work On Immigration And Identity In Contemporary France, Québec, And Ireland, Dervila Cooke

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.