Questions regarding the conditions of the origin of Mormonism have been asked repeatedly since Joseph Smith first made his claims public regarding his religious experiences. The same questions have been asked by both proponents and opponents of Smith's story: "How did Mormonism begin?", "Who was Joseph Smith?", "What was Joseph Smith?", "What did he do?" If it could be shown that Joseph Smith was an honest, upright, and sincere person, then the religion he produced was more likely to be reliable and truthful. If it could be shown that Joseph Smith was a fraud and a deceiver, then presumably, the religion could have been revealed as a fake and a great hoax. For many years the issues were wrapped up in the polarization of these extreme points of view. Not until the 1940's did the emotional content of these questions abate to the degree that a more objective examination of the evidence was possible.

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Text in German / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

Text in English / The Muslim population in South Africa has its origins in the 17th Century when they were initially brought in as slaves or political exiles by the Dutch colonisers. Christian-Muslim relations have not always been good and especially the topic of 'conversion' has often caused conflict between the members of the two faiths. Additional problems such as the apartheid era has caused many Christians, especially Africans, to question their faith and turn their back on Christianity by converting to Islam. There are other areas which have caused conflict in the relations such as mistrust, misinformation and discrimination. In South Africa's religiously pluralistic society people convert from Christianity to Islam, and vice versa, from a variety of motives. This study first discusses various Christian missiological debates on understandings of conversion and then surveys psychological approaches to the motivational structures of 'decision-making'. The heart of the study is the presentation and analysis of the conversion narratives of 20 converts (10 from Islam to Christianity and 10 from Christianity to Islam). These narratives are analysed in terms of five key conversion motives, as a result of which various patterns of conversion motives emerge. In church practice and missiology, conversion is often understood only in one direction (towards Christianity) and with only one valid motive, namely a strictly religious one. This study reveals, however, that such a view is inadequate. Conversion should rather be understood as a two-way movement and based on combinations of various motives. This study concludes with the presentation of a holistic missiological understanding of conversion which applies more adequately to the South African context. This new understanding of conversion may help to promote better understanding and respect between faith communities. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

Text in German / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

The dissertation focuses on the conversion experiences and individual processes of twenty-four native British Muslim converts and fifty-two native German Muslim converts, based on personal interviews and completed questionnaires between 2008 and 2010. It analyses the occurring similarities and differences among British and German Muslim converts, and puts them into relation to basic Islamic requirements of the individual, and in the context of their respective social settings. Accordingly, the primary focus is placed on the changing behavioural norms in the individual process of religious conversion concerning family and mixed-gender relations and the converts’ attitudes towards particularly often sensitive and controversial topics. My empirical research on this phenomenon was guided by many research questions, such as: What has provoked the participants to convert to Islam, and what impact and influence does their conversion have on their (former and primarily) non-Muslim environment? Do Muslim converts tend to distance themselves from their former lifestyles and change their social behavioural patterns, and are the objectives and purposes that they see themselves having in the given society directed to them being: bridge-builders or isolators? The topic of conversion to Islam, particularly within Western non-Muslim societies is a growing research phenomenon. At the same time, there has only been little contribution to the literature that deals with comparative analyses of Muslim converts in different countries. This dissertation is based on the conversion research methods by Wohlrarb-Sahr (1999) and Zebiri (2008), and further concentrates on the acute challenges and personal understandings of Muslim converts regarding cultural, religious, and moral changes, changes in belief and adoption of religious practices as well as social relations. Dissatisfaction with the former faith or given social norms, the appeal of the Muslim tenets, the search for identity and the desire to have a sense of belonging included the participants’ motivation for conversion. Taking the former into consideration enabled the result of providing a personal, lively yet rational insight into the lives of British and German Muslim converts.

The Waldensians are ancient Protestant Sectarians who have inhabited the Piedmont Region of the Cottian Alps for centuries. They claim to be the oldest Protestant Church in the world. Having survived 700 years of persecution, the Waldensians finally achieved religious liberty in 1848. Two years later Mormon church leader Lorenzo Snow and some other Elders entered the Protestant valleys on a proselyting mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One hundred-eighty-seven Waldensians were converted to Mormonism. Twenty years later, one-third of these Mormon Waldensians had been excommunicated, one-third had emigrated to Utah and one-third became inactive or returned to their former faith. This study focuses on the seventy-two converts (primarily members of twelve families) who converted, immigrated and settled in the Mormon colonies in Utah. Church and civil records, life sketches, diaries, journals and letters were used in this project. The study concludes with an analysis of the contributions of Mormon Waldensians to the LDS church and the American West.

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Thesis (D. Min.)--Columbia International University, 2008. / Typescript. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-174).