This study considers religion and mimetic violence in the work of four contemporary Canadian Native writers: Maria Campbell, Beatrice Culleton, Thomas King, and Basil Johnston. The mimetic violence examined is both social (the colonial attempt to remake the colonized into a reflection of the dominant culture) and personal (inter-Native conflict in which participants mirror one another in their struggle for a mutually covetted object). In order to investigate the former, I rely on the work of Homi K. Bhabha on colonial mimicry and hybridity; to examine the latter, I employ René Girard’s model of mimetic desire and violence. The principal academic contexts to this work are the study of Native literature and the academic study of religion, including the sub-field of Religion and Literature. After reviewing the relevant literature in these fields, and examining mimetic violence in key texts by the Native authors listed, I make several concluding points. First, I argue that a causal link between colonial violence and inter-Native mimetic violence is evident in the category of Native literature labelled by Thomas King as “polemical.” This includes Campbell’s Halfbreed, Culleton’s In Search of April Raintree, and King’s own Green Grass, Running Water. Second, I find that Johnston’s Moose Meat & Wild Rice and Indian School Days generally take care to separate colonial mimesis from Native mimetic conflict. This work fits King’s “associational” category of Native literature, and the disconnect evident in Johnston’s stories between the two forms of mimesis might stand as a defining feature of this category. Third, I assert that in none of the Native literature examined is religion viewed in a positive, idealist manner that assumes in its “true” manifestation it cannot be the cause of violence, which is the position taken by most religion scholars. I argue that the emphasis the Native texts place on the historic, material actions and effects of Christian individuals and institutions complements similar work being done by a minority of academics in the study of religion. Fourth, I propose possible avenues for the further investigation of mimesis in Native literature, which would use/focus on: metaphor-centred hermeneutical models; trickster figures and theories; and the conception of both Native and colonial identity. Finally, I argue that critics of Native literature have tended to idealize Native cultures, and that inter-Native mimetic violence offers a humanizing corrective to this perspective.

The work of mid-twentieth century psychoanalyst Melanie Klein stresses the importance of the phantasy world and its role within the human psyche. For Klein innate human destructive phantasies coexist with feelings of love, guilt, and reparation. Love and hate exist in tension with one another and one must cope with balancing these feelings. I will use the psychoanalytic concept of reparation as understood by Klein to explore the performance of apology and reparation. Reparation, for Klein, refers to the psychological need to make things good, that is to say, to mend and repair relationships with others. Using this concept this work will examine the United Church of Canada's 1986 and 1998 apologies to First Nations peoples for its involvement in the residential school system, as well as the Canadian government's “Statement of Reconciliation” and 2008 apology for residential schools. This work asks the question: are these apologies effective in their attempts to make amends for past injustices or are they examples of what Klein calls “manic reparation”, which works to conceal, hide, or preserve phantasies of aggression? Klein's theories will provide a new and evaluative theoretical lens to discuss apology. The academic study of apology currently seeks to find “categorical elements”, which are then used to decide if the apology is a “success.” But this approach is missing the important component of the implied reparative concept within an apology. An apology is not only a written text but also an act that can work to conceal or reveal the perpetrators’ view of their transgressions. Exploring the manifest and latent content of apologies will provide a richer insight into the apology process.

This study considers religion and mimetic violence in the work of four contemporary Canadian Native writers: Maria Campbell, Beatrice Culleton, Thomas King, and Basil Johnston. The mimetic violence examined is both social (the colonial attempt to remake the colonized into a reflection of the dominant culture) and personal (inter-Native conflict in which participants mirror one another in their struggle for a mutually covetted object). In order to investigate the former, I rely on the work of Homi K. Bhabha on colonial mimicry and hybridity; to examine the latter, I employ René Girard’s model of mimetic desire and violence. The principal academic contexts to this work are the study of Native literature and the academic study of religion, including the sub-field of Religion and Literature. After reviewing the relevant literature in these fields, and examining mimetic violence in key texts by the Native authors listed, I make several concluding points. First, I argue that a causal link between colonial violence and inter-Native mimetic violence is evident in the category of Native literature labelled by Thomas King as “polemical.” This includes Campbell’s Halfbreed, Culleton’s In Search of April Raintree, and King’s own Green Grass, Running Water. Second, I find that Johnston’s Moose Meat & Wild Rice and Indian School Days generally take care to separate colonial mimesis from Native mimetic conflict. This work fits King’s “associational” category of Native literature, and the disconnect evident in Johnston’s stories between the two forms of mimesis might stand as a defining feature of this category. Third, I assert that in none of the Native literature examined is religion viewed in a positive, idealist manner that assumes in its “true” manifestation it cannot be the cause of violence, which is the position taken by most religion scholars. I argue that the emphasis the Native texts place on the historic, material actions and effects of Christian individuals and institutions complements similar work being done by a minority of academics in the study of religion. Fourth, I propose possible avenues for the further investigation of mimesis in Native literature, which would use/focus on: metaphor-centred hermeneutical models; trickster figures and theories; and the conception of both Native and colonial identity. Finally, I argue that critics of Native literature have tended to idealize Native cultures, and that inter-Native mimetic violence offers a humanizing corrective to this perspective.

As the United States is in the midst of a proclaimed time of economic distress it is essential to identify the methods which families demonstrate skills of survival. This study is based on the premise that African-Americans have a self-made kin support system and culture which provide resources and skills for the betterment of the family unit. A quantitative methods design is used to identify and prioritize the resources and behaviors utilized by African-American families in time of declared economic crisis. Through the Africultural Coping Skills inventory this study identifies that African-American families within the Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area use a great deal of the identified cultural-specific coping mechanisms. In addition, results from the modified version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale demonstrate that the study participant, who served as their African-American family representative, perceived their well-being as positive. A thorough analysis of the study's resulting data and a discussion are provided alongside review of concepts from Afrocentric theory and resource exchange theory. Several recommendations are provided as a result of this analysis and discussion. Recommendations are also provided in hopes of ensuring that continuous efforts are made to document and expose the positive attributes found within African-American family and culture are noted as a natural form of resilience.

This dissertation is an inquiry on what the church should do to respond more adequately to the needs of single mothers in Kenya today. The project was conducted at the shelter for homeless women of the First Presbyterian Church, 1328 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia. This church is a large, white, middle-class, Christian community. It operates a variety of ministries. One of these ministries is called AMTS (Atlanta Ministry to International Students), which is under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Faked Abu-Akel. It is a ministry which is not only supported by this church, but by other churches such as Oglethorpe Presbyterian Church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, St. James United Methodist Church, St. Martin Episcopal Church, Northside United Methodist Church, and the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta. This unique ministry, in the American setting, will help the project because the persons who are to participate in the doctoral project are familiar with this church. They have previously been invited to various functions of the church. They know it, the ministers, and the role of this student minister in these ministries. The community ministry of this church is a far-reaching one. The writer has been working closely with the pastor, Rev. Charles Black. At times he has introduced Kenyan students to the ministers of the church for help, particularly in furnishing their houses when they come to Atlanta. These ministries have been attracting many international students, making it an ideal venue for this project. The church in Kenya is not adequately responding to the needs of single mothers and their children. It will, therefore, be ideal to carry out the project in a place where the church is responding to the needs of the less fortunate members of the society. Working there, I am able to gain some insights from the dynamic operation of this church. It operates a shelter for homeless women, a ministry to international students, a food pantry and clothes closet for the underprivileged. The doctoral project described in this document is designed to benefit participants from Kenya who are studying in Atlanta colleges and universities and those working in the city. It will involve married women and men, single mothers, and leaders from the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. It is designed to enable single mothers to express their pain, their anger and frustrations. The participants will struggle with the question of the acceptance of single mothers as people who do not deserve condemnation from both the church and the society, but love, care and recognition. Six group sessions will be held at the church where participants will listen to one another, have dialogue, hear stories from single mothers, and listen to three presentations by experts in African Traditional Religion, Presbyterian Practice and Procedure, book and field research by the writer. It is anticipated that by the end of the project three major issues will have emerged. These are, briefly, that: (a) there are a lot of injustices done to single mothers by the church and the society in Kenya. (b) there is a persistent denial, by the church, of the existence of this class of women who are single mothers. (c) a creative response to these needs will be by teaching, and by the church acting as an agent of social change. There is a need for a ministry to single mothers in the form of a support group.

The purpose and focus of this work is to seek practical means by which local African-American congregations can minister to persons living with AIDS (PLWAs), and to institute an educational awareness model which emphasizes prevention of the HIV virus. The impetus for the study was a pastoral clinical education program which brought the researcher in contact with HIV/AIDS patients and their families. The study and resulting model for ministry is designed to inspire clergy and laity to institute sharing and caring ministries for PLWAs. Members of the faith community are challenged to respond to the Biblical mandate of Jesus Christ by developing compassionate outreach programs in their local communities. Having studied the literature, the time has come to demonstrate the practice of this ministry issue at the Antioch African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.C.) in Decatur, Georgia.

This dissertation seeks to add to our understanding of the faith development of college students by focusing on the transitional phases. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive and detailed description of the effects of liminality on the perceived faith development of twelve students attending a southern United Methodist Church-related college. Qualitative data analysis through the Faith Development Interview Guide (FDIG) was used to gather and compose the data in a desirable format. The primary data were generated through interviews with each of twelve respondents (six males and six females). Secondary data from document analysis provided information about the context of the study (e.g., institutional setting, personal reflections from respondents, etc.). Findings from the research study identified how the respondents described their faith development and how liminality helped them to experience and better understand the transformation of their faith. The source of this study included primary information from oral interviews, secondary literature, including theories of development, and scholarly work from the fields of cultural anthropology, psychology, and theology. The author's analysis of the various sources resulted in a thesis that conveys as fully as possible the dynamic nature that liminality has on the faith development of college students. The research question that provided direction for the study was: 'How can liminality help students to explain and understand the transformation of their worldviews (faith expressions) at a small liberal arts United Methodist Church-related college?' James Fowler's theory of faith development and his FDIG were used as practical instruments to collect and analyze the data.

This work seeks to construct and implement in two Baptist churches a viable congregational model for doing youth ministry, which can be used to improve positive self-esteem in Black children, ages ten thru eighteen. Positive self-esteem is examined in the congregational settings by posing and answering six (6) questions: What is Self-Esteem? Who is God? Who am I? Who are you? Who are we in Christ? and What ought we do? These six (6) questions form the essence of positive self-esteem. The model uses family relationships between adult presenters and the intended youth, adult presentations on Christian identity and action in the congregation, field trips, Black history materials in the homes, and visual aids as the vehicles to accomplish the improvement in the positive self-esteem of the youth. The model responds to the threat to positive self-esteem of many of the youth as evidenced by racism and discrimination in American society, the presence of several indicators of negative or low self-esteem, problems in the very institutions that influence positive self-esteem, and adult perceptions of the social environment. It is based on the premise that the church must provide the family with the tools to help our children survive in this society. This will be accomplished by preparing our youth to affirm positive actions that build and affirm positive self-esteem and to reject the negative actions that counter it. This project seeks to use the extended family system and the conjugal family system of the children in their quest for positive self-esteem because of its potential as a positive influence. Finally, this work seeks to place the responsibility of the children in the hands of the entire church family, which is called to actively work to nurture them in this crucial and critical time in their lives.

An inquiry was made as to the cause for the alienated gender relations between men and women leaders at the Cathedral Of Faith Church Of God In Christ. Cathedral is a large church located in the West End section of Atlanta, Georgia. Its members are black. The church is surrounded by Fort McPherson---(a United States Army base), A U C (the Atlanta University Center), and Cascade Heights, the most prominent black neighborhood in the city. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center For Social Change is also near by. The church sits in the midst of a lower-class to low middle-class community. The Pastor's charismatic style of ministry attracts a diverse membership. This setting was ideal for the inquiry. The purpose for the study was to reduce the alienation and to promote reconciliation between some of the leaders of the church. Women and men are presently face to face with the challenges brought on by contemporary role reversals, in the home, in the church, and in the work place. These role reversals have prompted hierarchical social systems to retaliate against these changes in an abusive fashion. Alienated relationships are the result. The Christian Tradition, established through the coming of Jesus Christ, has enabled us to meet these gender role challenges. Relationships can be reconciled through Christ. A doctoral project was designed to get at the root of the alienation which the Cathedral members were experiencing. It was grounded in clinical pastoral educational methodology. Biblical, psychological, and Christian educational content and theories were foundational to the model. Principles of theology, sociology, and church administration were integrated with the basic structure of the project. The multi-disciplinary approach promoted objectivity and helped the group to view the conflictual issues in new ways. A group of eighteen leaders, all members of Cathedral, agreed to wrestle with the issues surrounding their alienated relationships. Six lively sessions were filled with: dialogue, role plays, a story, a movie, a game, and a live presentation by other administrative persons in the church. Dialogue related to issues of: abuse, social justice, sexism, reverse sexism, and hierarchical systems created turmoil at different times. Discussions and exercises related to family life, marital conflict, team work and fair play, created an atmosphere which was usually exciting, and educational. The pastoral model which was assumed, confronted the alienation between the group members with empathy. The empathetic approach was instrumental in beginning a process of reconciliation between the Christian 'Women of Power' and 'Men of Power' at the Cathedral Of Faith Church.

This dissertation offers an interdisciplinary model of pastoral counseling with 'interdependence' as its organizing principle. This interdisciplinary model relies on the theological concept of Community, according to Howard Thurman, and the psychological issue of dependence as articulated in the Object Relations theory of W. R. D. Fairbairn. Interdependence as a norm for this interdisciplinary Community/Mature Dependence model of pastoral counseling is helpful in that it responds to a need in the field of pastoral counseling for relevant input concerning norms, values and criteria for effective pastoral counseling with persons, particularly those from bi-cultural communities, such as African Americans. In this respect, the African American cultural values of Collective Identity, Family life and Resiliency in Struggle and Suffering form an integral part of this interdisciplinary model. Interwoven with the theological and psychological concepts and the African American cultural values are the clinical cases of two African Americans, a female and a male. These concepts and the cultural values chosen to bring to bear on the counseling relations with these persons are especially helpful due to their focus on the value of communal interrelating and the processes of whole-making. Prominent issues raised in conjunction with the clinical cases are: (1) the fragmentation, splitting and distorted self images that can occur due to improper nurturing in childhood and/or as a result of racism and oppression, (2) the effects of racism and discrimination on personal and familial value systems, and (3) the pain and suffering caused by unresolved conflict involved in the status of being bi-cultural. Howard Thurman, as an African American theologian who, from outside the majority culture and some of its theoretical and cultural constrictions brings to this discussion his unique perspective of Community which grounds all persons and all dimensions of personhood in an Ultimate unity. Thurman, speaking with the insights of one who has suffered racial oppression and discrimination, lifts his voice of sensitive concern and caring to all persons bound in the human condition and outlines the task for the reconciliation of all of creation. Unity, Actualization of Potential, Love and Reconciliation are the four major components of Thurman's concept of Community addressed in this dissertation. My analysis also brings the object relations theory of W. R. D. Fairbairn into dialogue with Thurman, the cultural factors and the clinical data from the two case studies. Fairbairn, deviates from psychoanalytic tradition in that he formulated an alternative interpretation of the core of personality than that advocated by Sigmund Freud. Fairbairn's assertion is that the libidinal ego is first and foremost in need and in search of an satisfying object, i.e., a meaningful and positive relationship with another person. With the help of Thurman, Fairbairn, the clinical cases and African American cultural factors, I highlight the illusory or at best transient nature of independence and the process I demonstrate the need for an appreciation of the nature of dependency, particularly in the context of Interdependence. A three dimensional model of pastoral counseling is presented which elaborates upon the importance of (1) the client's historical situation and cultural values; (2) identification, a proper sense of self and differentiation; and, (3) shared suffering, actualization of potential and liberating and reconciling love.