Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Introduction: Essays On Peace Bishops, Ron Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Building Bridges Through Shared Spirituality: A Practical Theology Of Fasting And Prayer Among Christians And Muslims In Mombasa, Mathew Musyoki

The Journal of Social Encounters

Christians and Muslims who live at the coastal region of Kenya frequently engage in inter-religious conflict. Following Gerben Heitink, action domains of religion and society where practical theology is seen as a theology [medium] of action. This research aims at establishing what Christian pastors and Muslim imams could potentially do to build bridges around the shared spirituality of prayer and fasting. Questionnaires and interview guides for focused group discussions were used to collect data which from a sample size of 60 respondents who were selected randomly and purposively. The data were analyzed and the results discussed. The research established that …

Subsidiarity: A Central Principle For Justice, Peace, And Sustainability In Mining, Caesar A. Montevecchio

The Journal of Social Encounters

The Catholic social teaching principle of subsidiarity states that problems should be dealt with at the lowest level possible, but the highest level necessary. It attempts to create structures of social power that can best protect the dignity of individuals and families and promote their human flourishing. In the case of mining, subsidiarity would say that the communities impacted by mining need to be centered and empowered to the greatest extent possible, but that the national, regional, and/or global nature of the issues at stake, like climate change, violent conflict, or economic justice, mean that community goals and decisions need …

Displacement Of The Rohingyas Of Myanmar, Land Grabbing, And Extractive Capital, Afroza Anwary

The Journal of Social Encounters

Research on the displacement of the Rohingya from their property has paid little attention to how the government’s land policies encourage various actors to seize that land and extract resources. This research is based on interviews with Rohingya refugees, reports from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies, and published academic work. Economic, social, and political factors are responsible for the displacement of Rohingyas. To argue that a single factor is responsible for their displacement would be incorrect, as research reveals a more complicated interaction of social forces. However, this paper considers the unique dynamics of land grabbing, land laws, ethnic …

Anti-Blackness, Reparations, And Reconciliation: A Redemptive Call To The Altar, Mary J. Lomax-Ghirarduzzi

Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Webinar Recordings and Conversations

Dr. Mary J. Lomax-Ghirarduzzi frames reparations for the descents of enslaved persons in the United States as a spiritual issue that requires social action. She has advanced equity and social justice as a professor and leader in California higher education for thirty years. This body of work, inspired by Black Liberation Theology and Catholic Social Teachings, is a unique contribution to the knowledge and resources on anti-Black racism and reparations. California is the first state in the nation to launch a comprehensive process to study and make recommendations on the negative effects of slavery to living African American descendants. Her …

The Soul Of A Leader: A Case Study In The Theory And Development Of A Reflective Instrument, Shelby Coble, Carson Reed

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This case study details the authors’ work to fulfill a consultative request from an elder group to do significant self‐reflection about their spiritual life and their practice of being good leaders. In response, the authors developed a rationale for considering resilience and spiritual vitality while exploring congregational leadership as vision work, relational work, and administrative work. With this theological grounding, the authors prepared an instrument that measures the capacity for resilience and spiritual vitality in the life of lay leaders. The instrument also creates reflection around three dimensions of leadership. The survey categories included: spiritual and personal life, a leader’s …

Collection Container Inventory, Cedarville University

The James T. Jeremiah Document Archive

No abstract provided.

R. Ḥasdai Crescas And The Concept Of Motivation In Modern Psychology And The Philosophy Of Education, Esti Eisenmann

Journal of Textual Reasoning

The concept of educational motivation refers to the desire to invest time and effort in a particular activity, even when this is difficult, exacts a high price, and may be unsuccessful. Recent decades have seen a growing recognition of the central role of motivation processes in students’ success in their studies and other processes of adaptation. Modern motivation theories attempt to study and explain the psychological processes that motivate human beings—processes associated with arousal, self-intention, and the like. According to these studies, motivation is both a cognitive and an emotional process, because thinking and emotion determine our individual path and …

The Clapham Saints: A Correlational Study Between A Christian's Level Of Commitment To The Christian Faith And Their Engagement In Human Trafficking Political Matters, Charles L. Carpenter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlational study is to determine if a relationship exists between the commitment level of Christians who attend a church in the Northern Shenandoah Valley portion of Virginia that falls under the covering of Abba’s House––Chattanooga, Tennessee as assessed by the Belief into Action (BIAC) scale, and their level of engagement in human trafficking political matters, as assessed by the Human Trafficking Political Engagement (HTPE) scale. Every year, millions of individuals become victims of human trafficking. Human trafficking victims are created in God's image, leaving Christians obligated to protect them. William Wilberforce and the Clapham Saints’ political …

Constructing A Theological Framework That Revitalizes The Missional Nature Of Churches Of Christ In South Australia, Mark Daniel Riessen

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis addresses the need for a theological framework that revitalizes the missional nature of Churches of Christ in South Australia. The problem identified within this ministry context was a lack of clear theological principles that informed a common understanding of identity for missional engagement. The purpose of the project was to create a study guide that informs common theological commitments and grounds congregations for missional vitality. A research and development team made up of seven Church of Christ ministers from different backgrounds was assembled to design a curriculum that addressed the problem. Through eight two-hour sessions over four months …

Newsletter Catholic Deaf Of Detroit, March 2023

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Detroit, MI

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit Finding Aid

Increasing Conceptual Clarity Of Act Interventions For Burnout: A Novel Workshop For Women In Ministry, Lydia Hogan

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The purpose of this study is threefold; to address a gap in the literature concerning mechanism of change of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions for burnout, to create an evidence-based burnout intervention for women in ministry, and to propose a theory of burnout etiology and recovery. Participants in this novel 6-week online ACT-based workshop showed significant improvement in burnout, particularly those who endorsed higher pre-intervention burnout. Change in burnout scores was inconsistently mediated by changes in psychological flexibility across dimensions of personal burnout, work burnout, and client burnout as measured on the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Findings of this study …

I Was Looking For God: A Study Of Wehrmacht Personnel And Their Personal Relationships With Religion, Christopher Bishop

Master's Theses

The Wehrmacht was Germany’s fighting force in the field during World War II. Its brutality and discriminatory practices rivaled that of the Nazi paramilitary and police units dispatched alongside them in newly conquered areas during this conflict. Coming from a society that was not at all unfamiliar with Christianity, some within the Wehrmacht related to Christianity in some form and attempted to use it to either justify actions or make sense of the world around them.

While considerable scholarship exists on the Nazi Party’s relationship to Christianity as a convenient propaganda tool for both soldier and civilian alike, the historiography …

Manufacturing A Protestant Consensus: Religion And Regime Entrenchment In The Eisenhower Era, John W. Compton

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

The party regime concept is central to the study of American political development. Yet many questions about the processes through which party regimes are created, maintained, and dismantled remain unanswered. This article argues that religious bodies have historically played an important role in these processes. Specifically, I demonstrate that “mainline” Protestant groups made three distinct contributions to the entrenchment of the post–New Deal Democratic regime. First, the National Council of Churches (NCC) credibly reframed Democratic policy commitments as embodying universal values (as opposed to the preferences of favored interest groups). Second, the NCC's economic policy arm, which included representatives from …

A Guide To Secondary Scholarship For Pure Land Buddhism Using Japanese Periodicals, Rebecca A. Stover

Journal of East Asian Libraries

This paper presents the process of locating Japanese language periodicals relating to Pure Land Buddhism and compiles a bibliography of open-access Japanese language sources for students in the process of Japanese Language acquisition. The paper attempts to scaffold the research process for students in the process of language acquisition and function as a guide to finding information.

Collection Container Inventories, Lynn A. Brock

Supplemental Material

No abstract provided.

Hand In Hand, Spring 2023

Hand in Hand

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Milwaukee, WI

Hand in Hand Finding Aid

Medical Leave And Unrealistic Ministry Expectations A Study At Zion Lutheran Church, Aaron G. Flatau

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

A medical leave of absence due to a kidney transplant resulted in feelings of guilt and failure for a pastor when he was unable to fulfill his desired ministry tasks. These feelings of guilt and failure were speculated to be unwarranted.

To determine if these feelings were unwarranted, this paper researched sickness as presented in the Bible. Biblical research found illness to be a personal reminder of a global fall, found a link between forgiveness of sin and healing of sickness, and examined illness in the context of the Kingdom of God. Historical examination found that illness within the context …

In Defense Of Religion-Sport Separation In Coaching, Lou Matz

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

Can a coach rightfully integrate a religious orientation in their coaching in a public institution? In its recent Kennedy v Bremerton School District (2022) decision, the U.S. Supreme Court defended the educational value of players’ exposure to diverse expressive activities as a part of learning how to live in a pluralistic society. I contend that religion-sport separation is the most philosophically defensible position, based primarily on the problems with supernatural theism in religions like Christianity. Nonetheless, there is a form of religion-sport integration that is theoretically possible within my critique of theism which could strengthen the inner morality of sport. …

Homemaking In And With Migrant Churches As Communities Of Care, Ma. Adeinev M. Reyes-Espiritu

Theology Department Faculty Publications

Research on migration and religion reports the significance of religion to migrants, particularly those who self-identify as religious. In particular, migrant churches have served as a sanctuary, a venue for social networking, and a community supportive of migrants’ wellbeing, to name a few things. However, migrant churches are also criticized for the possibility of becoming instruments of control over migrants. Heeding Boccagni and Hondagneu-Sotelo’s invitation to use the “homemaking optic” to inquire into the experience of integration of migrants, this paper analyzes how migrant churches foster migrants’ becoming at home in the receiving societies using Philippine migrant communities as a …

The Liminal Church: Why Navigating Thresholds Between Us Leads To Thriving, Andrew Hale

Doctor of Leadership

Through the discovery, design, and delivery stages of the doctoral project, I centered my work on the following NPO: Churches can thrive when they understand, navigate, and leverage the liminality existing between people, the community, and where God is leading. Despite the myriad of different contexts among local churches, whether polity, worship style, belief statements, and geographical locality, congregations are still composed of people living in relationship to one another and the community around them. Relationships, no matter their nature, are complicated. For the relationships within a local church to thrive, they require intentionality, coaching, effort, openness, and vulnerability. My …

Inner Work Community: Shadow Work As Spiritual Formation, Michael Simmons

Doctor of Leadership

The NPO statement surrounding this doctoral project is that A theological, practical, and community-centered framework for shadow work is disconnected from Christian spiritual formation. This doctoral project is the culmination of a three-fold process: discovering the need for shadow work in the context of spiritual formation, designing multi-faceted virtually-based opportunities to address this need among individuals and groups, and delivering those opportunities via online courses, one-on-one shadow work, and digital content such as essays, articles, and podcasts. My vocational context is my unofficial organization, and MVP, Inner Work Community, which provides these opportunities. Inner Work Community is extended through partnerships …

Strengths-Based African Leadership Training: A Comprehensive Guide For Empowering Grassroots Communities, Henry Gwani

Doctor of Leadership

This project portfolio addresses the following need, problem or opportunity (NPO): Hopelessness within African low-income communities highlights the need for equipping local agents with a Christian gospel that integrates discipleship with leadership development, vocational training, mental health and asset-based community development if we wish to see Shalom. Several insights emerged from this research. First, to foster holistic transformation within low-income communities, it is imperative for discipleship to include basic mental health and practical interventions such as vocational training. Second, each community, regardless of how impoverished, is blessed with assets (skills, experiences and relationships), that need to be leveraged for the …

Developing New Church Leaders In A Digital Age, Roy Gruber

Doctor of Leadership

Massive cultural and technological shifts usher in a new digital age, creating a leadership crisis in the American church. In a time of decline, how can the church thrive in the future? The answer to that question resides in future leadership in the church. The NPO for the Project states: The church needs to develop digital learners into new leaders for the next generation. The Project was developed to offer one tool to onboard new Christians toward future leadership. A few essential insights emerged from the research for the Project. First, in addition to significant cultural changes, there is emerging …

Newsletter Catholic Deaf Of Detroit, February 2023

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Detroit, MI

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit Finding Aid

Belonging: The Heart Of Our Family Calling, Janice M. Brewer-Stevens

Doctor of Ministry

Transracial families are part of our society whether people like it or not. There are not enough adoptive families of any kind, and children need support, love, and acceptance. Last August the Census Bureau reported that the number of non-Hispanic Americans who identify as multiracial jumped by 127 percent over the last decade, and for people who identified as Hispanic, the increase was even higher. Also, from 2017 to 2019, half of all U.S. adoptions were of non-white children, and half of these adoptions were transracial. The result? An increase in transracial adoptions in the United States and the subsequent …

Toward Wholeness: Discovering Intimacy With Jesus Through Holistic Healing, David H. Brown

Doctor of Ministry

NPO Statement: Christians longing for inner healing and wholeness along with growing intimacy with Jesus need a confident, competent pathway to follow.

Key Insights from Research: Intuitively true, but still surprising, the top factor for improving someone’s confidence in pursuing their healing and wholeness in a ministry setting is trust of the minister. This factor topped perceived competence of the minister, community support and biblical soundness as other confidence-building factors. Another key insight, this one brought about through my stakeholders, is the importance of telling one’s story, one’s testimony, to help gain trust and grow the confidence of a potential …

Competing Social Influence In Contested Diffusion: Luther, Erasmus And The Spread Of The Protestant Reformation, Sascha O. Becker, Steven Pfaff, Yuan Hsiao, Jared Rubin

ESI Working Papers

The spread of radical institutional change does not often result from one-sided pro-innovation influence; countervailing influence networks in support of the status quo can suppress adoption. We develop a model of multiple and competing network diffusion. To apply the contested-diffusion model to real data, we look at the contest between Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus, the two most influential intellectuals of early 16th-century Central Europe. Whereas Luther championed a radical reform of the Western Church that broke with Rome, Erasmus opposed him, stressing the unity of the Church. In the early phase of the Reformation, these two figures utilized influence …

God Games: An Experimental Study Of Uncertainty, Superstition, And Cooperation, Aidin Hajikhameneh, Laurence R. Iannaccone

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

This paper uses a novel lab experiment to test claims about the origins and functions of religion. We modify the standard public goods game, adding a computer-based agent that adjusts earnings in ways that might depend on players' contributions. Our treatments employ three different descriptions of the adjustment process that loosely correspond to monotheistic, atheistic, and agnostic interpretations of the computer's role. The adjustments neither mask players' contributions nor magnify their impact. Yet players in all three adjustment treatments contribute much more than those who play the standard public goods game. Players' contributions and survey responses show that adjustments induce …

Learning From Buddhist Teachings And Ethical Practices In Qualitative Research, Pei-Jung Li

The Qualitative Report

This paper aims at conceptualizing research ethics in qualitative research with Buddhist teachings. As a Buddhist, I first introduce how Buddhism came to be central in my life and eventually influenced me as a qualitative researcher. I exemplify how the concepts of all-beings-are-equal, karma, the five precepts, and repentance might inspire a qualitative practice that centers ethics and informs a researcher’s interactions with participants. I suggest that researchers not only work on reflecting on their body (actions), speech (talk), and mind (thoughts) but more importantly, move beyond just reflection and reflexivity to facing and resolving “unwholesome” moments that may arise …