In the early twentieth century America witnessed the emergence of a new form of political, social, and religious leader: the Christian anticommunist crusader. Crusaders fused patriotism, capitalism, conservative politics, theories of race and gender, and old-timey religion behind the façade of anticommunism. Crusaders believed themselves to be warriors in a cosmic battle between good and evil. Engaged in a social, political, economic, and religious war, they organized a militant campaign to drive out the influences of “godless communism” that they believed were threatening America. Politicians, businessmen, and religious leaders willingly adopted the title of “crusader” as a marker of their commitment to American liberty and opposition to communism. Each individual highlighted in this work adopted the title of “crusader.” Coalescing in a global crusade against communism, a network of crusaders and special interests produced a crusade aesthetic that haunted American culture well into the latter-half of the twentieth century. By surveying a diverse cast of anticommunists not often associated with one another, this project illustrates the complex, and often time incongruous, racially charged make-up of the crusade for Christ and against communism. The project analyzes the networks of Catholic radio priest Charles Coughlin, “hillbilly-type evangelist” Billy James Hargis, evangelical standard-bearer Billy Graham, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Ezra Taft Benson, and Black Panther Party Minister of Information Eldridge Cleaver. Instead of focusing exclusively on the intellectual productions, political alliances, or theological boundaries of these figures, this project focuses on their unifying aesthetic. Through the study of crusade aesthetics, this project expands the boundaries of the “Religious Right” and American conservatism by identifying the unifying meanings, sentiments, values, and varied principles that haunted American culture in the twentieth century. Knowledge, subjects, and objects are drawn together without necessarily being centered. The crusade, understood as a set of values, materials, and performance, is the aesthetic referenced throughout. As each chapter demonstrates, the crusade is accompanied by material traits of expression, the effects of which multiply as the crusade is imagined, produced, and performed. By untangling the frameworks of the crusade aesthetic, this project illustrates how the variation demonstrated in the diversity of crusaders is not a signal for separation, but evidence of the pervasive power of the aesthetic itself. Analyzing the aesthetics of the crusade broadens the historical categories while allowing room for the messy nature of history to unfold in a manner that demonstrates just how pervasive the crusade really was, or is. This project demonstrates the manner in which the crusade is the product of and unifying force throughout a chaotic assemblage of religion, politics, economics, maintaining distinct categories of race, gender and class. Though the crusade aesthetic assumed varied forms throughout the twentieth century there are five consistent principles that guide the crusade: “conservative” political and economic interest, anti-authoritarianism, the traditional white Christian-American family, a moral citizen subject, and a weaponized milieu of emotion (including fear, anger, sadness, trust/distrust, longing for community, nostalgia, anticipation of the “end times,” and others). Disseminated in mass via empires of print, television, radio, spoken word, interpersonal communication, and other material means, the crusade positioned itself at the center of conservative Christianity and politics. It united a tangled web of seemingly disparate persons, politics, economics, and intellectual trends by effacing difference under the banner of a Christian crusade against communism. Moreover, the crusade produced a cultural environment that defined what it meant to be a “true” Christian and American. Finally, the crusade motivated Americans to take personal action in defense of a Christian America founded squarely upon a divinely ordained capitalist economy. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / April 15, 2019. / Includes bibliographical references. / John Corrigan, Professor Directing Dissertation; G. Kurt Piehler, University Representative; Michael J. McVicar, Committee Member; Jamil W. Drake, Committee Member.

This dissertation examines the roles of religious sincerity and “sincerely held religious belief” in the U.S. state’s regulation of “religion” and interactions with believers. My central concern is how contested conceptualizations of religion inform secular governance as well as lived belief and practice. The primary historical upshot is to explain the rise of the “sincerity test” in American law, as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1944. Claimants seeking accommodation or exemption due to their religious beliefs must prove that they are sincere, that is, that they “internally” believe what they outwardly profess to believe. The chapters approach sincere religious belief from a variety of methodological perspectives with case studies. The project focuses especially on religious believers’ interactions with secular state agents, which includes judges and legislators but also licensure bureaus, local selective service boards, private detective agencies, and postal inspectors. The latter half of the dissertation centers largely on legal history, particularly free exercise cases. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / December 11, 2017. / Includes bibliographical references. / John Corrigan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Andrew Epstein, University Representative; Michael McVicar, Committee Member; Jamil Drake, Committee Member.

Since its inception, the Christian ministerial priesthood has occupied a place of esteem and gradually assigned privilege through its various stages of development and eventual establishment. Influenced over time by various major historical events, newer philosophical insights and perspectives, and the post-modern ethos embracing current society, the Catholic ministerial priesthood is today being drawn into more frequent ministerial disengagement.

The lay minister of the Eucharist often is a generous volunteer of his or her time, and who is gladly accepted and commissioned by the parish. But the call to ministry comes from two main sources: a “call” from an interior desire to serve sometimes in any capacity but mostly to serve specifically in a particular ministry like the Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist; another is a “call” from the pulpit when ministries launch appeals for membership among the laity for the different ministries that are wanting of membership, mainly for volunteers. After signing up there would then be the customary, brief preparatory period of instructions for the candidates on the “functions” and “procedures,” essentially the bare basics of performing the ministry. However, the newly commissioned minister is immediately put on the growing roster, given assignments, and then commonly left alone without an established continuing formation and further development of prayer and spiritual practices.

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No description available.

The Lokamanya B. G. Tilak wrote a commentary on the Bhagavadgita, which is called Srimadbhagavadgitarahasya athava Karmayogasastra but is popularly known as the Gitarahasya. In the Gitarahasya, Tilak often quotes three of the prominent saints of Maharastra, namely, Jnanesvar, Tukaram, and Ramadas. A few scholars have indicated that there might be some influence of the theology of the prominent Maratha saints on the Gitarahasya. But no one has studied their matter in detail and demonstrated the depth of their influence on the Gitarahasya. This thesis hopes to fill that gap in Tilak scholarship. In attempting to do that this thesis traces out how the religious, social, philosophical and ethical ideas of Jnanesvar, Tukaram and Ramadas influenced Tilak's religious, social, philosophical and ethical thought in the Gitarahasya. Tilak was a controversial leader in Maharastra. He opposed the 'Age of Consent Bill' introduced by Hindu social reformers and argued that social reform should be carried out within the frame of Hinduism. He opposed the Moderate party being allowed to hold its social reform from political reform. His opposition to the social reforms proposed by the social reformers was understood by many to mean that he was anti-reformist and pro-orthodox. How can a student of Tilak understand him? This thesis provides an answer to this problem saying that Tilak took a middle position on questions of social reform and orthodoxy between the strict orthodox, who were completely opposed to social change, and the Hindu social reformers, who wanted to reform Hindu society on the basis of western values and culture. This thesis demonstrates that Tilak's middle position on those issues is best understood as an attempt to continue the position taken by the Maratha saints on problems of social change and orthodoxy. Tilak, being a nationalist, defended Hindu values and institutions. He defended the final authority of the vedas. He defended the traditional Hindu social order, that is, the varna vyavstha, in terms of the guna-karma theory (i.e., position of an individual in Hindu society is determined by his qualities and functions). He did not, however, justify social hierarchy in terms of birth. He was fully aware of the defects of the message of the Bhagavadgita along these lines. Tilak argued that the Gita over the commentaries written by other acaryas. This might lead one to believe that Tilak's advaitic philosophy and Samkara's advaita Vedanta were identical. This thesis, however, argues that Tilak's advaitic philosophy differs from Samkara's system in that Tilak follows the advaitic theology of the Maratha saints rather than that of Samkara's system. Tilak's system is purna advaita (perfect or complete non-dualism) like that of the saints, rather than Samkara's kevala advaita (pure or abstract non-dualism). Tilak rejected all the bhasyas on the Gita because they proposed either jnanmarga or bhaktimarga as the way of liberation and exhorted a liberated person to renounce society and take samnyasa (renunciation of society). Tilak argued that the Karmayoga of the Gita is a synthesis of knowledge (jnana), devotion (bhakti), and action (Karma) and its liberated person (jnana or sthitaprajna) continues to act even after liberation. This is Tilak's unique position. This thesis argues that Tilak's distinctive position follows the activistic (pravrttipara) theology of the Maratha saints whose bhaktimarga was a synthesis of knowledge, action and devotion and who asked a liberated person to continue doing his soico-religious duties for the welfare of others in the spirit of dedication and selflessness. Tilak followed the saints of Maharastra very closely in this regard. In short, this thesis is an attempt to explain Tilak's religious, social, philosophical and ethical ideas in the light of the saintly tradition of Maharstra. It does not specifically deny that he was aware of western thought that he felt some loyalty to his Brahmanical heritage, or that he was responding creatively to the political and cultural pressures of his day. While each of these factors affected his thought, this thesis argues that he was determined to keep to the tradition of the Maratha saints and that in the Gitarahasya he largely succeeded in that endeavor. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

At first sight the problem of the sources of Buddhism seems to require merely a study of the life and teachings of Gotama. or Sakyamuni, the "Buddha" or "enlightsned one." The existence even of such a person has been questioned, however. Many scholars question his importance in the development of Buddhism, and even in the field of his life and career there is a great variety in the theories which have been seriously held by western scholars. It is the purpose of this thesis to study these problems and to arrive at the true solution of the sources of Buddhism.

The term stewardship, as used in this thesis, implies that material possessions are a trust from God and carry with them a social responsibility of which the meeting of human need is the first consideration.

The subject for this thesis was chosen as a result of a deep interest, on the part of the writer, in the languages of the past and present. This interest has been increased while engaged in the study of the Hebrew language in the classes of Dr. T.W.Nakarai of the college of Religion at Butler University. He has made possible a comprehension of the different values and meanings of words as they have passed down through the ages, as well as a realization of the impossibility to express exactly the connoted meanings of words in a language other than that in which they were written.