This dissertation concerns the cult of Mount Yudono (located in present-day Yamagata Prefecture) during the Edo period (1603–1868). In the first chapter, I take into account the historical background and religious dynamics that led to the formation of the sacred territory of the Three Dewa Mountains (Dewa Sanzan), namely Mount Haguro, Mount Gassan, and Mount Chōkai, of which Mount Yudono was considered to be the shared sancta sanctorum. The second chapter analyzes the particularities of the religious institutions that administered the territory of Mount Yudono. Specifically, I focus on the pivotal role played by a special group of ascetics that were called “permanent ascetics” (issei gyōnin) in shaping the religious identity and tradition of this mountain. In the third chapter, I study the structures and meanings of the funerary rituals, which were performed in order to mummify the corpses of eminent issei gyōnin. This section underlines the symbiotic relationship between issei gyōnin and lay devotees, the latter of whom continued venerating the mummified remains of the ascetics and transmitting legends about them to consolidate and expand their religious charisma even after the ascetic’s demise. The fourth chapter focuses on the foundation stories (engi) about Mount Yudono and the rituals that characterized the pilgrimage toward this mountain. I show how the engi were fundamental tools for instilling devotional discourses and mythical memories about Yudono into large groups of social actors, many of whom visited this sacred territory as pilgrims. The fifth chapter explores the rich material and visual culture that characterized the cult of Mount Yudono. I underlined the importance of semiotic strategies that played a pivotal role in the ritual transfer of Mount Yudono to other numinous sites. These included the process of “intervisuality” (mitate) and the creation of stelae and sacred mounds (tsuka) in order to expand the devotional discourses associated with this mountain.

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The following study of the theology of Clement of Alexandria is an attempt to gain some definite ideas of the theological tenets held by this early Christian. Such a study reveals the fact that Clement did not altogether have a definite theology completely formulated. On some points he has been almost silent - for reasons quite apparent. Although later theologies have attempted to find their justification in these early church fathers, in this work there is no such attempt.

The significance of a written History of The Christian Churches or Churches in Marion County, Indiana has been stated on different occasions by many church members. Dr. F.D. Kershner, Dean of the College of Religion in Butler University, expressed his desire in May 1936 that some student in the College of Religion might write such a history. The importance of the work, and Dr. Kershner's suggestion have prompted me to write this dissertation.

My dissertation research project focuses on the doctrinal and practical importance of Sunday observance, also known as Sabbath observance, in the sixteenth-and-seventeenth-century Reformed communities in the Low Countries. My project investigates the theological import of the Sabbath and its practical applications. In tracing the development of the Sabbath in the Dutch Reformation, the first step is to focus on how Dutch Reformed theologians conceived of the Sabbath. When studying theologians important for the Dutch Reformed tradition the importance of the Sabbath cannot be ignored, but it is also evident that the theological issues regarding the Sabbath were complex and hotly contested. The theology of the Sabbath, I will argue, moves over time from an emphasis on spiritual rest to participating in the ministries of the church to a strict rest from all work and recreation. Having examined the theological understanding of the Sabbath in the Dutch Reformed tradition, the next step is to explore congregants’ actual Sunday practices. By attending to church governance records at the national, regional, and local levels the importance of proper Sabbath observance quickly becomes clear. The provicinal synod records, classes’ records, and consistory records indicate that church authorities in the Dutch Republic were adamant that church members faithfully attend sermon and catechism services, refrain from sinful practices, and abstain from recreational activities. Equally as telling as the observance demanded of church members is how church authorities responded. The church records portray the church authorities as fretting over the disordered and unregulated nature of improper Sabbath observance. Furthermore, the church authorities frequently place the issue of Sabbath observance in the context of difficulties with other confessional groups. Having established the importance of the Sabbath in Dutch Reformed theology and lived piety, I argue the emphasis on Sunday observance is best understood as resulting from two main factors. First, the emphasis on the Sabbath took place within a religiously plural situation where the Dutch Reformed Church was seeking to distinguish itself from Catholics, Anabaptists, and Remonstrants. In other words, my thesis is that emphasis on proper Sunday observance is a result of the Reformed church authorities attempting to maintain the pious reputation of the Reformed faith and establish the identity of the Reformed Church in the midst of multiple other confessional identities. Second, proper observance of the Sabbath was important because it was a way to ensure order within the church and society more broadly. Sunday observance was part of the religious authorities’ desire to maintain religious and moral order within the church and broader society. My project leads to several conclusions. First, the theological issues regarding the Sabbath were not straight-forward in the Dutch Reformed tradition and received nuanced and varied treatment from different theologians. Second, strict Sabbath observance in the Dutch Reformed churches was not primarily the result of the influence of the English Purtians. Instead, the strict demands for Sunday observance were inherent within the Dutch Reformation. Finally, the interplay between church authorities and lay members regarding Sunday observance was complicated and contested. Lay members were quite willing to attend morning sermon services and, generally, abstain from work. However, they were much less willing to refrain from recreational activities, attend afternoon catechism services, and cease questionable, if not sinful, behaviors. The Dutch Reformation, then, was not simply handed down from above but was negotiated between church authorities and institutions and the lay members of the churches and the broader society.

An examination of the historiography of education in the Late Reformation in Mecklenburg.

The focus of this dissertation is an exploration of the relationship between the Italian Reformation and some sixteenth-century religious paintings. It aims to discover if, when viewed chronologically, they provide a visualization of the course taken by the Italian Reformation. For sometime art historians have been aware that some religious paintings are at odds with the iconography of Catholic orthodoxy, such works are usually treated in isolation from each other. Here they are brought together and analyzed in the context of a widely disseminated religious debate in which artists were participants, if only as members of society, and not necessarily as members of a particular Protestant sect. It focuses on individual works by Fra Bartolomeo della Porta, Jacopo Pontormo, Lorenzo Lotto, Michelangelo, Jacopo Bassano, and Caravaggio. The paintings considered are interpreted in relation to the sermons of Savonarola, the Catechism and One Hundred and Ten Considerations, of Juan de Valdès, the Beneficio di Cristo, Italian evangelism, the spirituali, and radical groups such as the Anabaptists.

This thesis offers a new interpretation of Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf. This interpretation is grounded on Immanuel Kant's moral philosophy and is centered on a discussion and analysis of an inescapable paradox which is fundamental to the human condition. I argue that our rational capacity exposes us to an unconditional and insuperable moral demand. However, we have only ever a finite material capacity to offer in response to this autonomous command. It is our fate, therefore, to impose conditions on our own unconditional imperative, that is, to exist as a self-evident contradiction. Since it is possible to escape neither the conditioned nor the unconditioned pole, we must eventually despair of the possibility of moral sufficiency. I argue that Steppenwolf is an aesthetic articulation of and response to this radical and tragic disparity within the structure of the human being. The first of four chapters focuses on Kant's moral philosophy and offers a philosophical foundation for the discussion of this disparity. I investigate the most basic structures of freedom, autonomy and responsibility in an effort to reveal and acknowledge this inherent human contradiction. The second chapter locates my position within the tradition of Steppenwolf interpretation. My own interpretation of Steppenwolf follows. By means of Hesse's non-fictional writings, I situate some of the novel's ambiguities within the larger context of Hesse's written thought. I argue that Steppenwolf chronicles one man's resisted progression toward the despairing acknowledgment of his own moral inadequacy. I also argue that Steppenwolf offers an intimation of deliverance, but only in the form of willing and anonymous self-sacrifice in the name of the impossible ideal. The final chapter considers a fundamental three stage moral development described by both Kant and Hesse. The progression from one stage to the next seems rationally impossible. However, stage progression can be accomplished by means of enabling aesthetic and symbolic experiences. By means of this analysis I explain why the immortal can appear in the temporal realm only in the unconditional and self-abandoning submission of the finite to self-evident, yet impossible, practical commands.

Police officers are exposed to occupational stressors that can negatively affect their job performance. Spirituality has received scholarly attention as a potential therapeutic strategy to assist individuals working under stressful conditions. Research indicated that police culture often overlooks the spiritual well-being of police officers. Much of the police literature on stress and spirituality has been examined using quantitative methods of inquiry. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore police officers' perceptions regarding the use of spirituality to manage occupational stress and job performance. Fry's spiritual leadership theory provided the framework for the study. Semistructured interviews with a purposive sample of 6 participants were analyzed for codes and themes using Colaizzi's descriptive phenomenological method. Findings revealed that participants used their spirituality to cope with police stress and improve job performance, which created a healthy work-life balance, enhanced decision-making, and provided a greater sense of self-awareness. Consistent with spiritual leadership theory, participants perceived police work as a noble calling and that spirituality through faith-based belief systems and a deep connection to the communities they serve had a meaningful impact on their well-being and commitment to the organization. Findings may encourage law enforcement leaders, administrators, and trainers to recognize the possible benefits of nurturing the spiritual dimension within officers and to consider incorporating spirituality into standard training practices, organizational policies, and employee wellness programs.

Because marriage brings two individuals who may or may not come from the same background into an intimate relationship, there are times when a marriage can be stressful. Although spirituality may be useful in coping with marital stress, there are few published studies on the influence of spirituality on stress in marriages in recent years. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of spiritualty on stress in marriages. Differentation-based spirituality, an outgrowth of Kerr and Bowen's spirituality theory, served as the theoretical framework. A phenomenological research design was used to explore whether spirituality was a factor that allowed couples to remain married during marital stress. Twelve couples took part in an idiographic sampling which focused on the individual in order to understand the full complexity of the individual's experience with stress they endured in marriage, how they coped with stress, and whether their spiritual beliefs affected their ability to remain married. Audiotaped interviews were transcribed, coded, and then categorized into themes. The results of this study indicated that spirituality affected the marriages of participants. Spirituality is beneficial for couples dealing with stress in their marriage. The social implications for this study are valuable for the professional, and to the clients who seek services from the professionals, positive social change can be found in new directions for future research and developing interventions for professionals working with couples. A recommendation is to develop more research about spirituality, stress, and marriage that can be used to help couples in crises during marriage counseling.