Past research has shown that both creativity and religious orientation are related to psychological wellbeing. There has also been some support for the idea that a relationship exists between creativity and religiosity. The present study sought to determine whether the interaction between creativity and religious orientation would be a significant predictor of psychological wellbeing. Psychological wellbeing, in the current study, was defined as the linear composite of life satisfaction, meaning in life, and purpose in life. The independent variables were measured using the Religious Orientation Scale, the Religious Orientation Scale Revised, and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Dependent variables were assessed via the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Scales of Psychological Wellbeing Short Forms, and the Life Attitude Profile Revised. Questionnaires were administered to 291 college students at a mid-western university. Individuals were identified as being either high or low in creativity and as either intrinsic or extrinsic with respect to their religious orientation. A final participant sample participant sample of 120 participants was retained for analysis and a two by two factorial MANOVA was performed to determine if creativity and religious orientation would interact. While the results of the study suggested that creativity and religious orientation were both significant predictors of psychological wellbeing, the interaction of these variables was not found to be a significant predictor of psychological wellbeing. The independent factor of creativity was found to be a significant predictor beyond the .05 level for psychological wellbeing, satisfaction with life, purpose in life, and meaning in life. Similarly, religious orientation as an independent factor was found to be a significant predictor beyond the .05 level for psychological wellbeing, purpose in life, and having meaning in life. While this data is consistent with the current literature, religious orientation was not a significant predictor of life satisfaction. It was postulated that the lack of interaction may have been attributed to low variability in test scores, developmental characteristics of the sample, and/or the more precise psychometric properties of the instruments used in the current study. Recommendations for future research were suggested. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

<p>This study is a theoretical research concerning Ibn Arabi's Sufi experience and his philosophy of the &quot / unity of being&quot / (also his poetical talent). I therefore adopted the historical and analytical methodologies to analyse and reply on the questions and suggestions I have raised in this paper. Both of the methodologies reveal the actual status of the Sufism of Ibn Arabi who came with a challenging sufi doctrine. Also, in the theoretical methodology I attempt to define Sufism by giving a panoramic history of it. I have also researched Ibn Arabi's status amongst his contemporaries for example, Al-Hallaj and Ibn Al Farid, and how they influenced him as a Sufi thinker during this time.</p> <p><br /> In the analytical study I explore the poems &quot / Tarjuman al Ashwaq&quot / of Ibn Arabi, of which I have selected some poems to study analytically. Through this I discovered Ibn Arabi's Sufi inclinations and the criticisms of various literary scholars, theologians, philosophers and also sufi thinkers, both from the East and the West. In this analysis I have also focused on the artistic value of the poetry which he utilized to promote his own doctrine &quot / the unity of being.&quot / </p>

<p>This study is a theoretical research concerning Ibn Arabi's Sufi experience and his philosophy of the &quot / unity of being&quot / (also his poetical talent). I therefore adopted the historical and analytical methodologies to analyse and reply on the questions and suggestions I have raised in this paper. Both of the methodologies reveal the actual status of the Sufism of Ibn Arabi who came with a challenging sufi doctrine. Also, in the theoretical methodology I attempt to define Sufism by giving a panoramic history of it. I have also researched Ibn Arabi's status amongst his contemporaries for example, Al-Hallaj and Ibn Al Farid, and how they influenced him as a Sufi thinker during this time.</p> <p><br /> In the analytical study I explore the poems &quot / Tarjuman al Ashwaq&quot / of Ibn Arabi, of which I have selected some poems to study analytically. Through this I discovered Ibn Arabi's Sufi inclinations and the criticisms of various literary scholars, theologians, philosophers and also sufi thinkers, both from the East and the West. In this analysis I have also focused on the artistic value of the poetry which he utilized to promote his own doctrine &quot / the unity of being.&quot / </p>

This project revisits the work of Nikolai Berdiaev, one of the first Russian Silver Age religious philosophers to be widely read in the West. The focus of this research is his thought on freedom and the ‘creative act’. We will argue that Berdiaev’s vision of freedom contains two types of freedom – a freedom understood within the created order and a freedom ‘outside’ of creation. It will be shown that in the former type, the reader finds a nuanced and insightful multi-layered conception of human freedom, which offers intriguing possibilities for exploring freedom and its implications for humanity. It will also be demonstrated that this type of freedom is closely related to his innovative view of creativity. Berdiaev conceives of freedom and creativity as distinct concepts, and yet so integrally related that they are interdependent. In the latter type of freedom, the reader will encounter a highly speculative and original metaphysical view that attempts to explain freedom as non-determination and answer the challenges of theodicy, which, this research will maintain, fails to do. This research will contend (contrary to Berdiaev’s own statements) that his thought is most comprehensible from a broadly theological perspective. This perspective will underscore the significant tension within his work that arises from his speculative metaphysics. Unlike earlier works on Berdiaev that glossed over this tension, we will attempt to ameliorate it by engaging Jürgen Moltmann’s theology of freedom. Moltmann’s theology will provide a number of ideas and concepts for an analysis, critique, and reconfiguration of Berdiaev’s vision. This reconfiguration will seek to remain faithful to Berdiaev’s core concerns, while providing a new interpretation of his thought that is relevant for a contemporary dialogue concerning the significance of freedom and creativity for the person and community in relation to God.