This dissertation seeks to shed light on the broad range of practices that Vietnamese Buddhism has contributed to the American religious landscape since its arrival due to the impact of the Vietnam War. Despite the presence of almost one million Buddhist Vietnamese and their Buddhist temples and centers, flourishing in nearly in every state of America, the diversity of this Buddhist tradition, however, has largely been neglected in the current academic study of religion. The major practices, religious activities, adaptations, as well as obstacles faced by the tradition are still issues to be addressed. My dissertation, being grounded in an immigrant's experience and perspective, is intended to fill that gap, adding a more balanced and detailed view to the study of Vietnamese Buddhism. My historical, ethnographic, and phenmenological methods of study will establish the presence of major Vietnamese Buddhist practices, illuminating their contributions to American life, showing their adaptation and impact, and projecting the future prospect of the tradition. This dissertation, essentially, is a case study of religious adaptation and assimilation. I, however, do not limit my analysis to the theory that religious adaptation is promulgated merely by indigenous Buddhist cultural elites who have embraced and advocated the foreign faith in their own terms. Instead, I will add that religious adaptation is also initiated by the immigrants. The Vietnamese immigrants themselves, though trying to retain their Vietnamese Buddhist heritage, have initiated adaptation in order to serve the cultural and spiritual needs of their community in America. Adaptation is a survival mechanism for the immigrant communities. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Religion in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2007. / July 9, 2007. / Religion of Vietnam, Vietnamese Buddhist / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathleen M. Erndl, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Johnson, Outside Committee Member; Bryan Cuevas, Committee Member; Amanda Porterfield, Committee Member.

Origen uses the common Greek root martyr- almost 900 times in his extant writings. Although most of these uses are in line with traditions already established in Greek literature, some exhibit traits associated with newer uses in early Christian literature. To date, though, there has been no detailed analysis of Origen's use of the root martyr-. This dissertation asks what a thorough analysis of the root martyr- in Origen's literature reveals about how he uses the root. This analysis is broken up into four chapters. Chapter 1 examines Origen's uses of the root that are in line with established traditions in Greek literature, taking into account approximately 700 uses. This examination reveals that Origen frequently employs the root to refer to public and persuasive actions, such as the testimony in a trial. Chapters 2-4 focus on Origen's uses of the root martyr- that resemble the newer, distinct early Christian uses, taking into account roughly 180 uses. Chapter 2 begins this analysis by examining the relationship of Origen's applications of the root to the Christian life generally. Chapters 3 and 4 continue the analysis by focusing on two types of actions, Christian death and other Christian responses to persecution, which Origen associates with these distinct uses of martyr-. This analysis reveals not only what actions Origen includes among these uses of the root martyr- but also what distinguishes them from Origen's other uses. Though these distinct uses continue to be public and persuasive in nature, chapters 2-4 argue that they are distinguished by the fact that Origen uses them to refer to actions that are worthy of imitation. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Religion in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 2, 2008. / Biblical Studies, Patristics, Early Christianity, Martyrdom, Origen / Includes bibliographical references. / Nicole Kelley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Svetla Slaveva‐Griffin, Outside Committee Member; David Levenson, Committee Member; Matthew Goff, Committee Member.

This thesis considers the role that gospel music played in the culture of early to mid-twentieth century Chicago. In order to better understand why the popularity of gospel music increased dramatically in the first half of the century, this paper looks at a number of Thomas Andrew Dorsey's songs. Dorsey's lyrics discussed life's difficulties and acknowledged pain and suffering, while at the same time offering hope for a better future through God. By understanding the social conditions of Chicago at this time, it becomes clear why these themes were appealing to Chicagoans of all backgrounds. In addition to impacting individuals' lives, gospel also affected Chicago's culture by uniting disparate groups by fostering compassion and negotiating racial tension through its performance at outdoor music festivals. The widespread appeal of these songs also worked to humanize the suffering and hope of African Americans. By relating to these songs, people of all backgrounds were also relating to the experience of African Americans, which fostered a compassionate understanding among whites and blacks. Furthermore, performances of gospel music at festivals brought migrants, old settlers, and whites together, literally and figuratively, by opening the events to people of all races and by emphasizing the similarities of attendees' American and Protestant identities. Catherine Bell's theory of ritual in her work Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice also helps make sense of how these festivals united Chicagoans by explaining how the performance of gospel music allowed people of various backgrounds to become involved in the formation of a new, more interracial Chicago culture. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Religion in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2008. / December 18, 2007. / Gospel Music, Great Migration, Chicago, Thomas Andrew Dorsey / Includes bibliographical references. / Amanda Porterfield, Professor Directing Thesis; John Corrigan, Committee Member; Amy Koehlinger, Committee Member.

This dissertation examines Southern civil religion in the post-Reconstruction era (c. 1877-1920). Geographically, it focuses on the "unfinished South" – an area encompassing Middle and West Florida, Southwest Alabama, and Southwest Georgia. Metaphorically, the word "unfinished" amplifies this study's principal thesis. That is, after Reconstruction the many voices of the many Souths competed to have their civil religious values recognized and actualized. In the unfinished South, civil religion remained an unfinished product, a river-like demonstration of eternal flux influenced by the position of the speaker, the tenor of the time, and the topic under consideration. Previous histories concerning this topic have centered on the Lost Cause. These studies have sufficiently proven that after the Civil War, public devotions to the Confederacy became an important part of the Southern white identity. As this dissertation reveals, however, the Lost Cause was but one civil religious topic among many. Blacks, whites, men, women, Northerners, Southerners, Democrats, Republicans, Catholics, Protestants, and Jews each formulated unique civil religious worldviews. Furthermore, within each circle, variations existed. Some groups had more political influence, economic strength, or numbers than others did. Still, the politically disfranchised, the economically alienated, and the numerically diminutive had a picture for what they believed society ought to be. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Religion in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2006. / August 24, 2006. / Civil Religion, Religion in the South, American Religious History, New South / Includes bibliographical references. / John Corrigan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Elna C. Green, Outside Committee Member; Amanda Porterfield, Committee Member; Amy Koehlinger, Committee Member.

Joseph B. Soloveitchik and George A. Lindbeck both constructed postliberal, religious methodologies that drew on modern resources as a basis for the retrieval of tradition. In the proposed dissertation, I argue that their attempts, though laudable to the extent that they create space for tradition, fall short insofar as both ideologies manifest a tendency toward the reification of tradition. Thus, despite their best attempts to the contrary, their accounts of religion construct religious identity and practice according to a fixed or quasi-fixed script and close religion off from the insights and critiques of contemporary culture. This occurs because they reverse liberalism's dialectic between tradition and culture by affirming tradition over culture. This weak dialectical relation seals religion off from a robust dialogue with culture, and subsequently their theorizing results in entombing both religious practice and identity within traditional conceptions. While they allow for some level of religious innovation, it is constricted by the quasi-a priori transcendental conditions (put forward by Lindbeck) or the a priori transcendental conditions (put forward by Soloveitchik). I offer a Wittgensteinian critique of postliberalism's methodology and argue that their theorizing collapses into idolatry owing to a flawed conception of language that holds their theorizing captive to metaphysical assumptions. Wittgenstein's descriptive philosophy, understood as a kind therapy, offers both diagnosis and cure. Language becomes idolatrous when it is literalized, when it is taken to be a representation of reality. I draw on Wittgenstein's criticisms of representationalism along with his use of the poetic imagination to show that religion can avoid the pitfalls of idolatry by constructing a robust dialectic between tradition and culture. This creates theoretical space for the cultivation of a poetic, religious identity. Abandoning representationalist accounts of language opens the door to a poetic understanding of grammar, which unhinges religious practitioners from the metaphysics of representationalism and frees them to live within the fluidity of life, moving back and forth between tradition and culture. In short, I show that Wittgenstein's work can be appropriated in religion with the consequence that religious adherents are freed from living their lives according to a fixed or quasi-fixed script. Traditional textual resources are understood as offering poetic images, which must be put into a robust dialogue with culture. This poetic understanding of grammar allows for the use and play of images in the constitution of religious life and practice without literalizing or fixing any one of them. Last, I argue that Wittgenstein's poetics has an ethical import. Metaphysics can be violent insofar as it forces people to live or believe in a certain way. If they do not conform to the metaphysical assumptions put forward by their religious community, their identity is diminished or sometimes even violently stripped away. Wittgenstein's work beckons readers to avoid the violence of metaphysics by freeing them to live within the "hurly burly" of life, moving to and fro between the traditional images that have sustained them and the new ones that confront them. His work cultivates a subjectivity that is ever opening outward toward difference and otherness. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Religion in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2009. / July 3, 2009. / Ethics, Theology, Philosophy Of Religion, Philosophy Of Language / Includes bibliographical references. / Martin Kavka, Professor Directing Dissertation; Russell Dancy, Outside Committee Member; Sumner B. Twiss, Committee Member.

This dissertation examines the John of the Cross' (1542-1591) construction of a uniquely "Discalced Carmelite identity" in his writings, with particular emphasis on his works, the Ascent of Mount Carmel and the Dark Night. The focus of this study is placed on John's interpretation of Teresa of Avila's version of Discalced reform that she founded, with its special emphasis on reform as the quest for mystical union with God at the center of the Carmelite soul. To this end, John appropriated scholastic, monastic, apophatic and erotic traditions to define the reform, and to distinguish it from the many competing identities in sixteenth century Spain. Previous studies have examined John's construction of the self within theological, philosophical and literary contexts, and have located many of the influences on John and Teresa's conception of the self, its structures and trajectories. As this dissertation reveals, however, most of the studies on John, unlike so many recent studies done on Teresa, fail to embed his texts in the thick context of his historical world. This study seeks to link John's unique conception of the self and its construction with the many related conversations in Spain to which John was privy. Of particular importance to this study is the impact of this context with John's attempt to trace a Discalced Carmelite identity capable of bearing the weight of a Teresian model of reform. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2008. / December 12, 2008. / Spain, Carmelites, Teresa of Avila, Apophatic, Asceticism, Mysticism, Eros / Includes bibliographical references. / John Corrigan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Nancy Warren, Outside Committee Member; Amanda Porterfield, Committee Member; John Kelsay, Committee Member.

In 1896, Congregational minister Charles M. Sheldon wrote the seminal social gospel novel In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do. What began as an attempt to inspire college students in Topeka, Kansas became a national bestseller that continued to inspire millions long after its initial publication. Historians and literary critics disagree about the literary merit and historical significance of both Sheldon and his most famous novel. Much of this debate concentrates on the relative sophistication and originality of Sheldon's prose as well as the degree of liberal or conservative influences in the text. In the process, historians and literary critics set Sheldon apart from other social gospelers as a direct result of his popularity. This paper intends to further scholarship by placing Sheldon in conversation with other social gospel thinkers rather than distinguishing him as a "popular" figure. In doing so, historical understanding of social gospel movements can broaden to include figures like Sheldon and places like Kansas. The historiography of the social gospel currently stifles a movement that was more fluid than is typically considered. By bringing Sheldon fully into the social gospel movement, the historiography can maintain its urban, industrial, and intellectual core while also allowing for less acknowledged areas of the social gospel movement like frontier, rural, and middle-brow reformers and reform movements. Furthermore, Sheldon provides the best perspective on social gospel history and historiography because the phrase and concept driving In His Steps mainstreamed the social gospel. To avoid the popularity of In His Steps or the centrality of "What would Jesus do?" to the social gospel ignores the heart of the social gospel movement. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2009. / January 16, 2009. / Christian Ethics, Charles M. Sheldon, Social Gospel, In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do, Walter Rauschenbusch, Kansas / Includes bibliographical references. / Amanda Porterfield, Professor Directing Thesis; John Corrigan, Committee Member; Molly Oshatz, Committee Member.

In 1976, the Dalai Lama publicly denounced the Tibetan Buddhist deity, Dorjé Shukden, urging his followers to discontinue their worship of him. This disavowal sparked an onslaught of negative publicity for the Tibetan leader within his community. Division lines were drawn between those who supported the Dalai Lama and those who were angered and offended by his change of sentiment. In 1997, the resentment came to a head with the deaths of three of the Dalai Lama's supporters. Not surprisingly, the so-called "Shuken Affair," or "Shukden Controversy," has become an object of fascination for many westerners who are baffled by this Buddhist display of political strife. In recent times, a small, but noteworthy, body of scholarship has arisen, which attempts to understand this dilemma. Most of these works have been aimed at explicating the opinions and claims of each side of the disagreement within the framework of Tibetan Buddhist understandings of protective deities. In order to do so, these endeavors rely on the origin myth of Dorjé Shukden as the foundation of their understandings of the history of this affair. However, it is my contention that these works have been inadequate in their discussion of the historical bases of this controversy because they have leaned too heavily on the origin tale without satisfactory reference to other historical materials. While some scholars have attempted to follow the schism back to its roots in seventeenth-century Lhasa, I believe that their use of primary materials has been myopic. Because they take for granted the historicity of the events detailed in the origin myth, they fail to ask truly innovative questions about the individuals portrayed therein. In particular, they express little fascination with the man who is said to have become Dorjé Shukden, the incarnate lama, Drakpa Gyeltsen. The object of the present endeavor is to transcend these commonly held notions in order to attempt some real understanding of who this man was and why he might have become associated with Dorjé Shukden. In the process, I will enumerate some Tibetan understandings of protective deities: their function and their mannerisms. I will also offer a survey of some of the recent polemical works produced by both sides, so that the reader may more fully understand the controversy in its modern context. As a means of explicating the historical circumstances of the quarrel, I will examine the various sources related to the life of Drakpa Gyeltsen. Finally, I will offer some personal insights into several opportunities for further studies in this area. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2007. / March 30, 2007. / Shukden Controversy, Drakpa Gyeltsen, Tibetan History / Includes bibliographical references. / Bryan Cuevas, Professor Directing Thesis; Kathleen Erndl, Committee Member; John Corrigan, Committee Member.

This dissertation proposes that the Disney theme park be approached as an agent of ritualization in the creation and experience of sacralized space: an ordered, organized space for the thoughtful, selective construction of social meaning and the mutual exercise of symbolic power, initiated in the creation of environment and experienced through ritualized activities and spatial movement, resulting in the recovery of the past and the possibility of a transformed future. This thesis will be pursued in four stages: first, an examination of the definitional parameters of sacralized space and ritualization, emphasizing the mutual construction of meaning and the interwoven power relationships inherent in the creation and experience of such a space; second, the application of these parameters and emphases to the Disney theme parks in terms of the creative process of park participants; third, the application of these parameters and emphases to the Disney theme parks in terms of the experiential process of park participants; and fourth, the resultant exercise of power and construction of meaning by park participants within sacralized space. Such an examination of Disney theme parks hopefully will provide a broad ground on which to place in dialogue the other interpretive proposals within contemporary Disney thought, a basis for the thoughtful discussion of these sites within Religious Studies, as well as a more flexible and coherent method of newly considering the complexity of the parks and their pervading influence, for good or for ill, on the global cultural stage. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2003. / October 31, 2003. / Disney, Ritual, Sacred Space / Includes bibliographical references. / John Kelsay, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert Neuman, Outside Committee Member; Kathleen Erndl, Committee Member.

Roman Catholics lived in the antebellum South, fought for the Confederate States of America, and participated in the postwar Lost Cause tradition. They encountered a Protestant-dominated South, but retained their minority religious identity. The creation of a southern brand of Catholicism, therefore, required that both Catholics and Protestants identified with some nondenominational attributes of southern culture. An examination of a white Creole regiment, the Orleans Guard, and their Catholic chaplain, Father Isidore Francois Turgis, challenges the historiographical omission of southern Catholicism from American religious history. As southerners, the Creoles of New Orleans reinforced the white supremacist, honor-driven cause of the Confederacy. They joined the predominantly Protestant Confederate Army, in which Catholics and Protestants fought and died for the same causes. As Catholics, the Confederate soldiers valued the accompaniment of a priest for sacramental and spiritual guidance. The experience of combat energized their religious sensibilities, but they did not express their religion in the same ways as Confederate evangelicals. After the war, Catholic southerners participated in the remembrance of the Lost Cause. Yet in addition to focusing on the standard Confederate icons of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, they emphasized the memory of ordinary soldiers, their brothers-in-arms. Moreover, they transformed the figure of Turgis into a hero of the South, acceptable even to non-Catholics, despite his position as a recent French immigrant and an anti-slavery advocate. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Religion in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. / Fall Semester, 2003. / September 10, 2003. / Catholicism, Civil War, Lost Cause, Louisiana, New Orleans, American Religious History / Includes bibliographical references. / John Corrigan, Professor Directing Thesis; Amanda Porterfield, Committee Member; Amy Koehlinger, Committee Member.