This thesis addresses Constantine's developments of the Roman province of Palaestina. It analyzes two important Christian bishops, Eusebius of Caesarea and Cyril of Jerusalem, and one nameless Christian traveler, the Bordeaux pilgrim, to illuminate how fourth-century Christians understood these developments. This study examines the surviving writings of these Christian authors: the Bordeaux Itinerary, Cyril's Catechetical Lectures, and Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, Onomasticon, Preparation of the Gospel, Proof of the Gospel, and the Life of Constantine, and the archaeological remains of several Constantinian basilicas to interpret their views of the imperial attentions that were being poured into the land. Together these accounts provide views of fourth-century Palaestina and Jerusalem that when combined more fully illuminate how Christians understood Constantine's Holy Land policy. This study focuses on Constantine's developments of the city of Jerusalem, primarily the so-called Triad of Churches (The church of the Nativity, the Eleona, and the Holy Sepulchre) built in and around the city. It likewise considers the countryside of Palaestina outside of Jerusalem. While some Christians were resistant to the developments of Jerusalem, our sources reveal how many Christians supported, or at least desired to experience, the newly developing Christian Holy Land. This thesis argues that most of the discrepancies over the city of Jerusalem between our sources, especially Eusebius and Cyril, developed from long-standing political tensions between the cities of Caesarea and Jerusalem. The Bordeaux pilgrim, on the other hand, traveled across the Roman Empire to see and experience the developing sites throughout the land with no interest in local political debates. With this added perspective we can see how Christians, separated from the positions of church fathers, experienced the developing Holy Land.

Lo studio ricostruisce le fasi dell’attività missionaria di padre Alfonso Vagnone in Cina, che si svolse tra il 1605 e il 1640. Il lavoro è organizzato in tre parti, suddivise in cinque capitoli: 1. Formazione giovanile di Vagnone e successiva attività di insegnamento presso il Collegio Braidense di Milano. In seguito, il gesuita ottenne il permesso di recarsi in missione in Cina e giunse a Nanchino nel 1605, dove, dopo aver imparato con impegno e dedizione la lingua cinese, incominciò con successo la sua opera di evangelizzazione. Nel 1616 egli subì una dura persecuzione e fu espulso da Nanchino. Dopo cinque anni di insegnamento della filosofia e teologia nel Collegio S. Paolo a Macao, nel 1624 rientrò nella Cina continentale, riprendendo la sua attività di evangelizzazione a Jiangzhou. Morì il aprile 1640. 2. Attività missionaria di padre Vagnone a Jiangzhou. Con l’aiuto di Tommaso Han Lin e Pietro Duan Gun, egli fu il promotore della diffusione del cristianesimo nello Shanxi (tanto da essere considerato l’apostolo dell’evangelizzazione di questa provincia). 3. Studio delle opere del gesuita e, in particolare, del pensiero pedagogico ed etico espresso in un suo testo intitolato Educazione della Gioventù. Il lavoro ha dunque cercato di mettere in luce gli aspetti più significativi della personalità scientifica, teologica, retorica, etica e missionaria di padre Alfonso Vagnone. / The study reconstructs the stages of the Chinese missionary activity of Father Alfonso Vagnone, which took place between 1605 and 1640. The paper is organized into three parts, divided into five chapters: 1. Training of young Vagnone and subsequent teaching at the Braidense College of Milan. Later, the Jesuit was allowed to go on a mission in China and came to Nanjing in 1605, where, after learning the Chinese language with commitment and dedication, successfully began its work of evangelization. In 1616 he suffered a severe persecution and was expelled from Nanjing. After five years of teaching philosophy and theology at the College of St. Paul in Macao, he returned in mainland China in 1624, resuming his work of evangelization in Jiangzhou. He died on April 9, 1640. 2. Vagnone missionary activity in Jiangzhou. With the help of Thomas Han Duan Lin and Peter Gun, he was the promoter of the spread of Christianity in Shanxi (he is considered the apostle of the evangelization of this province). 3. Study of the works of the Jesuit and, in particular, the pedagogical and ethical thinking expressed in his text Education of Youth. Therefore, the work highlights the most significant aspects of Father Alfonso Vagnone scientific, theological, rhetoric, ethics, and missionary personality.

This thesis explores the American view of the Brazilian Catholic Church through the critical examination of cables produced by the U.S. diplomatic mission in Brazil during the period 1964-1972. This thesis maintains that the United States regarded the progressive catholic movement, and eventually the Church as a whole, as a threat to its security interests. Nonetheless, by the end of 1960s, the American approach changed from suspicion to collaboration as the historical circumstances required so. This thesis sheds light on the significance of the U.S. as a major player in the political conflict that affected Brazil in the 1964-1972 years in which the Brazilian Catholic Church, and particularly its progressive segments, played a fundamental role.

Exploding on the American scene in 1906, Pentecostalism became arguably the most influential religious phenomenon of the twentieth century. Sparked by the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, the movement grew rapidly throughout the United States and garnered global momentum. This study investigates the original Los Angeles Apostolic Faith Mission and the subsequent extension of the mission to South Africa through an examination of periodicals, mission records, and personal documents. Using the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa as a case study, this study measures the significance of print media in the emergence and evolution of the early Pentecostal movement. Based on historical analysis of more than 260 issues of the mission’s periodical, “The Comforter and Messenger of Hope,” this dissertation demonstrates how the publication served a variety of functions critical to the establishment of Pentecostalism in South Africa. As a work of cultural history, it situates the periodical within larger trends in South African culture and society. It illustrates how the periodical functioned simultaneously at the local and international level to standardize Pentecostal discourse and formulate an early Pentecostal identity. Finally, this dissertation argues that Pentecostal periodicals formed a transnational network of Pentecostal thought, connections, and support in the early twentieth century that influenced the development of Pentecostalism in the South African context.

Le traité des Catégories d’Aristote est l’une des premières œuvres de la philosophie occidentale traduite en chinois. Introduit par les jésuites en Chine au XVIIème siècle, sa traduction fut une confrontation entre la pensée gréco-chrétienne et la pensée chinoise. Elle nous renseigne sur le rapport entre la langue et la pensée. Le premier chapitre est un aperçu de l’environnement historico-culturel dans lequel cette traduction a été réalisée. Le deuxième chapitre présente notre méthode et nos outils de travail. Nous expliquons, dans le troisième chapitre, le titre de l’ouvrage en chinois : il est censé être la traduction du mot « logique », mais il est composé de mots qui renvoient à des doctrines philosophiques chinoises traitant de problèmes fondamentalement différents de ceux dont s’occupe la logique aristotélicienne. Les quatrième et cinquième chapitres constituent un commentaire de la traduction chinoise du premier chapitre du traité aristotélicien. Les différences linguistiques entre le chinois et les langues indo-européennes se révèlent tant sur le plan lexical que sur le plan grammatical. Nous terminons notre travail par une discussion sur la traduction du verbe « être ». Notre objet est de montrer que ce qui est perdu dans la traduction est moins le sens du mot « être » que sa syntaxe et le mode de pensée qui lui est lié. Étudier les intraduisibles en philosophie, c’est découvrir les différentes façons de thématiser et de problématiser, qui caractérisent chaque système de pensée. Cette étude de philosophie comparée gréco-chinoise espère contribuer à la réflexion sur la pluralité linguistique et culturelle. / Aristotle’s Categories is one of the first Western philosophical texts translated into Chinese. Since Jesuit missionaries introduced scientific thoughts into China in the 17th century, Chinese literati have shown a strong interest in the demonstration method that was originated in Aristotelian logic. This dissertation presents a detailed study of the Chinese translation Ming li tan, with the aim of addressing several issues on the relationship between language and thought. Chapter 1 is an overview of the historical and cultural environment in which the translation took place. Chapter 2 presents our approach to comparative philosophy. Chapter 3 discusses the translation of the title “Ming li tan”. The term “ming li” is used as a translation of the word “logic”, but is actually composed of terms referring to Chinese philosophical doctrines which deal with problems fundamentally different from those of the Aristotelian logic. Chapters 4 and 5 provide a detailed commentary of the Chinese translation of the first chapter of Categories, focusing in particular on three notions: homonym, synonym and paronym. We conclude our work with a discussion on the translation of the verb “to be” and its derivatives (e.g., being, substance), and explain the reasoning behind its various Chinese renditions. Our central claim is that what is lost in translation is less the literal meaning of word “to be” than its syntax and the way of thinking underlying the use of this word. The focus on translation provides a unique approach to studying linguistic relativism and linguistic and cultural pluralism. A good understanding of these issues is crucial for improving the intercultural dialogue.

During June of 2015, an anthropological and sociological study was conducted in the Dominican city of Bani. On the surface, the banilejo people appear to be devout Catholics. However, having had access to their personal lives, it was evident that their peculiar family traditions and folklore hinted at their liminal identities. This study involved interviewing 23 female subjects with questions found in the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitorial manuals. In addition, their mitochondrial DNA sequences were analyzed and demonstrated a high percentage of consanguinity and inbreeding within Bani's population. The genetic analysis of their mitochondrial DNA yielded genetic links with Jewish women from worldwide Jewish communities. Victor Turner's communitas theory and Geertz's thick description were used as the methodology. Ultimately, the sociological and anthropological analysis of their way of life evidenced how their ancestors preserved Jewish identity covertly throughout the inquisition time period (1481-1834) and how they continue to perpetuate it in contemporary times through consanguinity, and the power of superstition and taboo.

While it may be argued that aggression against women is part of a culture of violence deeply rooted in Spanish society, the gender-related violence that exists in today’s Spain is more specifically a legacy of Franco’s dictatorship (1939-1975). Franco’s Spain endorsed unequal gender relations, championed patriarchal dominance and power over women, and imposed models of hegemonic and authoritarian masculinities that internalized violence by rendering it a feature inseparable from manhood and virility. This dissertation provides a comprehensive analysis of masculinity and gender violence in Franco’s Spain, by analyzing the novel as the primary cultural vehicle of social criticism and political dissent against the new regime during a period (1939-1962) dominated by silence and censorship. The first part of this work defines and elucidates the concepts of masculinity and gender violence and the relationship between them. It also compares the significant social and cultural achievements of Spanish women during the Second Republic (1931-1939) with the reactionary curbing of those achievements during Francoism. The second part of this research presents a multidisciplinary analysis of masculinity and gender violence in three novels: Nada (1944) by Carmen Laforet, Juegos de manos (1954) by Juan Goytisolo and Tiempo de silencio (1962) by Luis Martin Santos. Through the literary representation of different models of masculinity and the psychological and social parameters that encourage and incite gender violence, these authors conceptualize and express their political ideology, as well as their symbolic interpretation of Francoist Spain.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore how Christian networks enable strategies of transnational alliance, whereby groups in different nations strive to strengthen one another’s leverage and credibility in order to resolve conflicts and elaborate new possibilities. This research does so by analyzing the case of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC). The project examines the historical development of the IPC from the initial missionary period of the 1850s until the present. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to consider how the historical struggle to articulate autonomy and equality vis-à-vis the U.S. Presbyterians (PCUSA) and paternalist models of ecclesial relations has affected recent political strategies pursued by the IPC. Despite the paternalism of the early missionary model, changing conceptions of social transformation during the 60s contributed to a shift in relations. Over time the IPC and PCUSA negotiated relationships in which groups both acknowledge a problematic history and insist upon an ethnic of partnership and respect. Today, PCUSA groups, in concert with the IPC, collaborate on a range of transnational political strategies aimed at strengthening the IPC’s leverage in local struggles for justice and peace. A review of this case suggests that long-established Christian networks may have an advantage over other civil society groups such as NGOs in facilitating strategies of transnational alliance. Although civil society organizations often have better access to important resources needed for international advocacy initiatives, Christian networks, such as the one established between the IPC and U.S. Presbyterian communities, rely on a history of negotiating power-disparity in order to elaborate relationships based on listening and partnership. Such findings prove important not only to how we conceptualize transnational alliance but also to the ways that we think about the history and future of Christian networks.

Eighteenth-century Methodist evangelism supported, perpetuated, and promoted slavery as requisite for a productive economy in the colonial American South. Religious thought of the First Great Awakening emerged alongside a colonial economy increasingly reliant on chattel slavery for its prosperity. The records of well-traveled celebrity minister and provocateur of the Anglican tradition, George Whitefield, suggest how Calvinist-Methodist evangelicals viewed slavery as necessary to supporting colonial ministerial efforts. Whitefield’s absorption of and immersion into American culture is revealed in his owning a plantation, portraying a willingness to sacrifice the mobility of the disfranchised for widespread consumption of evangelical thought. A side effect of this was free and formerly enslaved individuals of African descent gained direct access to itinerancy in the post-Revolutionary Atlantic world, as evidenced by the multi-racial ministerial network of Whitefield’s proslavery benefactor, Selina Hastings. Paradoxically, southern evangelicalism appealed to the disfranchised while perpetuating slavery as a socially normative, religiously-sanctioned institution.

While commenting upon the challenges of studying the history of religious figures and movements, Richard Bushman once said, “Everything we know in this life is seen through someone’s eyes. All a historian has to work with is the way this person saw it...The purpose of history is not to find out what really happened but to collect the ways human observers have described what they think happened. We [as historians] look at the world through other’s eyes.”[1] This thesis seeks not to argue the veracity of any particular religious doctrine, but rather strives to understand the historical development of certain Mormon beliefs by looking through the eyes of those who helped form them. Mormon doctrines are often regarded as impositions made by Joseph Smith onto docile followers. Such an interpretation fails to recognize that lay members were just as influential in the development of Mormon doctrine as was the founder of the religion. Joseph’s revelations did not emerge ex nihilo. Joseph engaged the world and people around him and his environment shaped the doctrines forming in his mind and continued to do so once they were taught to his followers. [2] This study will examine the origins of Mormonism’s dietary code, known as the Word of Wisdom, and the sect’s doctrines concerning the body. Both of these tenets of Mormonism were shaped by the environments in which they emerged. The regional environments which influenced to evolution of the Word of Wisdom are central to this study. In the case of the Word of Wisdom, Joseph first began teaching the doctrine in Kirtland, Ohio, an area of constant reform movements and moral activism. Conflicts within the Mormon Church reflect the tensions of Ohio settler’s reformist culture primarily located in the region known as the Western Reserve. This study will also look at the tensions within the Mormon community itself. These tensions involved leader responses to the Word of Wisdom, conflicts over church power structures, and the fallout from the Kirtland Bank’s failure in the financial panic of 1837. As the main Mormon Church body moved from Ohio, to Missouri, to Illinois, and eventually Utah they adopted attitudes toward the Word of Wisdom that reflected the new environments in which they found themselves. In Missouri the Word of Wisdom emerges in official charges in church disciplinary courts. However, an examination of these courts indicates that the Word of Wisdom was merely one indicator of a more serious power struggle within church leadership structures. Missouri temperance, which was relatively temped, did not influence church affairs nearly as much as struggles within church leadership itself. In Illinois Mormonism’s doctrine of the body also affected the ways in which the Word of Wisdom was implemented as it influenced the ways in which Mormons conceptualized health, godliness, plural marriage (polygamy), procreation, and their identities as a people. Simply put, context is everything and this study tries to show that the study of the teachings of any religious group should not be done piecemeal because each doctrine is shaped by and in turn shapes the other doctrines with which it is associated. [1] Samuel Alonzo Dodge, “The Hermeneutics of Suspicion” (interview with Richard Bushman), in Exploring the First Vision, ed. Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2012), 277. [2] Contrary to standard scholarly practice, Mormon historical and cultural custom is to refer to many of the early church leaders by their first names rather than surnames. I have decided to follow this custom throughout the thesis.