This creative thesis is written in two parts: Volume 1 is a novel and Volume 2 is the accompanying exegesis which explains the process of contextualising a school of philosophy’s politics within the novel. These volumes combine to build a new window onto contemporary theoretical debate regarding the sustainability of so-called liberal democracy. Volume 1, the novel, provides a fictionalised account of federal government involvement with the popular music industry in Australia during the 1990s. The story is told from the point of view of a newcomer to a music industry organisation funded by the federal government called the ‘Oz Rock Foundation’. This organisation is run by a former federal politician who maintains close links with his political colleagues still in government. When the newcomer discovers a young Aboriginal prisoner with exceptional musical talents, the former politician seizes this opportunity to help launch the Oz Rock Foundation in the ‘Year of the Indigenous Person’. This venture, however, has unexpected consequences which emerge as the story develops. Volume 2, the exegesis, employs a narrative framework to explain the process by which an analysis of philosopher Richard Rorty’s version of neopragmatism fed into the creation of the novel. Political issues raised by neopragmatism are thematically linked to fictional contexts informed by the history of government experimentation with the Australian music industry. The process is guided by questions designed to assess whether a neopragmatic version of liberal democracy is sustainable in this form. The novel is further shaped by its attempt to extend a particular tradition, within the genre of the political novel, that contextualises themes related to ‘natural rights’ as the foundation of liberal democracy. The exegesis, in its discussion of issues raised by the completed novel, then draws on existing research into the sustainability of democracy in order to synthesise an overall perspective. NOTE: Due to copyright arrangements with the publisher of Making Noises, the text of the novel (Volume 1) is not available as part of the digital version of this thesis. The novel was published in November 2006 by OverDog Press (Melbourne, Australia). The ISBN is: 9780975797921

No digital copy at the request of the author - refer to citation field for details of published version. / The style of language at Vatican II made a break with the then-current scholastic language of Catholic theology. Less concerned to define, in scholastic mode, the language of Vatican II was more concerned to persuade, in a rhetorical mode that was identified as 'pastoral' at the time. This book takes the central word 'dialogue' as the important interface between these two modes of language, because 'dialogue' had a history in scholastic theology as the finding-the-end-result dialectic of Thomism, yet 'dialogue' in twentieth-century philosophical thought had acquired the Buberian sense of an ongoing relationship that did not lend itself to once-and-for-all definitions. Some of the difficulties that have arisen in implementing the teaching of Vatican II are shown to result from these two different understandings of dialogue, compounded for English-speaking readers by the fact that two different Latin words in the original documents were commonly translated as 'dialogue' in the five major English translations.

New Zealand Catholic lay women have actively participated in overseas missionary work for over forty years. From the 1960s, the Catholic Overseas Volunteer Organization (COVS), under the auspices of the New Zealand bishops, enabled lay women to respond to missionary bishops’ requests for assistance. Overseas, they worked in a range of mission stations with a variety of religious orders. Their experiences are the focus of this study. Their stories have not been told previously and part of the intent is to make their work visible, particularly, to add to the histories of New Zealand women, Catholic women and Christian missionary women more generally. This thesis contends that their overseas experiences were far from partnership and collaboration and have subsequently failed to provide opportunities for wider participation in the New Zealand Church. Vatican documents, archival material, interviews with fifty ex-volunteers and the two lay women directors of the organization provide the data for this thesis. Feminist theology forms the theoretical base and narrative analysis the interpretive tool. There were three volunteer cohorts: young, single volunteers, mothers with dependent children and older women. Most volunteers grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, came from Catholic homes, attended Catholic schools and were actively involved in New Zealand parishes. Overseas, the women continued lives of faith and service, contributing needed and valuable skills. Many younger women enjoyed professional opportunities and their missionary community. It was harder to fit in to a mission station as Catholic mothers or older women and many found it difficult to establish a missionary identity, to be accepted as part of the team. In all groups, there was great satisfaction when experiences matched expectations. The missionary insights and/or skills of these ex-volunteers have generally not been sought by their New Zealand parishes and they are, for the most part, an unappreciated and neglected resource. Lay women’s experiences of overseas mission point to a need for change – lay women seek not only to participate but to be valued partners in their Church. / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access.

No digital copy at the request of the author - refer to citation field for details of published version. / The style of language at Vatican II made a break with the then-current scholastic language of Catholic theology. Less concerned to define, in scholastic mode, the language of Vatican II was more concerned to persuade, in a rhetorical mode that was identified as 'pastoral' at the time. This book takes the central word 'dialogue' as the important interface between these two modes of language, because 'dialogue' had a history in scholastic theology as the finding-the-end-result dialectic of Thomism, yet 'dialogue' in twentieth-century philosophical thought had acquired the Buberian sense of an ongoing relationship that did not lend itself to once-and-for-all definitions. Some of the difficulties that have arisen in implementing the teaching of Vatican II are shown to result from these two different understandings of dialogue, compounded for English-speaking readers by the fact that two different Latin words in the original documents were commonly translated as 'dialogue' in the five major English translations.

New Zealand Catholic lay women have actively participated in overseas missionary work for over forty years. From the 1960s, the Catholic Overseas Volunteer Organization (COVS), under the auspices of the New Zealand bishops, enabled lay women to respond to missionary bishops’ requests for assistance. Overseas, they worked in a range of mission stations with a variety of religious orders. Their experiences are the focus of this study. Their stories have not been told previously and part of the intent is to make their work visible, particularly, to add to the histories of New Zealand women, Catholic women and Christian missionary women more generally. This thesis contends that their overseas experiences were far from partnership and collaboration and have subsequently failed to provide opportunities for wider participation in the New Zealand Church. Vatican documents, archival material, interviews with fifty ex-volunteers and the two lay women directors of the organization provide the data for this thesis. Feminist theology forms the theoretical base and narrative analysis the interpretive tool. There were three volunteer cohorts: young, single volunteers, mothers with dependent children and older women. Most volunteers grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, came from Catholic homes, attended Catholic schools and were actively involved in New Zealand parishes. Overseas, the women continued lives of faith and service, contributing needed and valuable skills. Many younger women enjoyed professional opportunities and their missionary community. It was harder to fit in to a mission station as Catholic mothers or older women and many found it difficult to establish a missionary identity, to be accepted as part of the team. In all groups, there was great satisfaction when experiences matched expectations. The missionary insights and/or skills of these ex-volunteers have generally not been sought by their New Zealand parishes and they are, for the most part, an unappreciated and neglected resource. Lay women’s experiences of overseas mission point to a need for change – lay women seek not only to participate but to be valued partners in their Church. / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access.

No digital copy at the request of the author - refer to citation field for details of published version. / The style of language at Vatican II made a break with the then-current scholastic language of Catholic theology. Less concerned to define, in scholastic mode, the language of Vatican II was more concerned to persuade, in a rhetorical mode that was identified as 'pastoral' at the time. This book takes the central word 'dialogue' as the important interface between these two modes of language, because 'dialogue' had a history in scholastic theology as the finding-the-end-result dialectic of Thomism, yet 'dialogue' in twentieth-century philosophical thought had acquired the Buberian sense of an ongoing relationship that did not lend itself to once-and-for-all definitions. Some of the difficulties that have arisen in implementing the teaching of Vatican II are shown to result from these two different understandings of dialogue, compounded for English-speaking readers by the fact that two different Latin words in the original documents were commonly translated as 'dialogue' in the five major English translations.

This thesis presents a broad exploratory analysis of apostasy from religious fundamentalism in light of cognitive developmental theory. Reciprocally, the thesis provides a critique of cognitive developmental theory in light of its application to apostasy from fundamentalism. Autobiographical narratives of approximately 200 apostates from Christian and Muslim fundamentalisms are used to represent the experience of apostasy. Three related and representative cognitive developmental theories are used to inform the analysis of these apostate narratives. These theories include James Fowler’s Stages of Faith (FDT) (1981); Fritz Oser and Paul Gmünder’s Stages of Religious Judgment (RJT) (1991); and Helmut Reich’s Levels of Relational and Contextual Reasoning (RCR) (2002). These three representative theories are used to generate cognitive developmental hypotheses for the experiences of apostates from fundamentalisms. There are three primary hypotheses guiding the research: (i) Fundamentalist contents predispose a particular form of cognitive operations. (ii) Fundamentalist contents suspend equilibration between accommodation and assimilation. And (iii), some forms of apostasy from fundamentalism are the product of a sociocognitive conflict. These hypotheses are addressed through four research questions: (i) How do fundamentalist cultures sponsor or arrest cognitive development? (ii) What are the developmental characteristics of apostates’ experiences? (iii) What are the implications of cognitive development for apostasy and fundamentalism? And (iv), what are the implications of apostasy from fundamentalism for theories of cognitive development? The thesis utilises a paradigm of critical realism and a theory of interactionism. Critical realism assumes the existence of an objective reality, while acknowledging its exclusively subjective mediation. The interactionist approach acknowledges the potential influences of genetic predisposition, social-environmental context, and individual agency affecting cognitive development and apostasy from fundamentalism. A dual methodological approach is used to collect and analyse data relevant to the hypothesis. Data collection involves two phases: (i) Collection of existing unstructured apostate narratives. And (ii), collection of semi-structured apostate responses. The first phase narratives are collected using online databases, published anthologies, and solicited scripts. The second phase responses are collected using a semi-structured survey. The dual methodological analysis combines coded content analysis and narrative analysis. Coding is informed by the three developmental theories. The qualitative thesis findings may be summarised in two parts. The first pertains to apostasy from fundamentalism; the second pertains to cognitive developmental theory. Of the former, the research found: (i) Cognitive development represents a significant and even primary influence in some forms of apostasy from fundamentalism. And (ii), some forms of fundamentalism sponsor stage specific structures. Reflecting on cognitive theories of religious development, the research found: (i) Sociocultural, affective, and noncognitive physical influences may directly and indirectly facilitate or inhibit cognitive development. (ii) Specific stages and structures of cognitive development may be culturally embedded. (iii) Cognitive development may be compartmentalised. (iv) Cognitive development may regress or fracture when faced with transitional crises and environmental changes. (v) There are diverse trajectories of religious development. And (vi), fractured development at one stage may perpetuate fractured development in the next stage. Finally, the thesis discusses implications of these findings for contemporary dialogue on religious development. These collective findings provide support for a religious styles model (i.e. Streib’s Religious Styles Perspective, 2001) that integrates a cognitive stream based on Fowler’s faith development into a more multiperspective understanding of religious development. Such a model would account more adequately for the diverse influences interacting to produce different trajectories of religious development.

New Zealand Catholic lay women have actively participated in overseas missionary work for over forty years. From the 1960s, the Catholic Overseas Volunteer Organization (COVS), under the auspices of the New Zealand bishops, enabled lay women to respond to missionary bishops’ requests for assistance. Overseas, they worked in a range of mission stations with a variety of religious orders. Their experiences are the focus of this study. Their stories have not been told previously and part of the intent is to make their work visible, particularly, to add to the histories of New Zealand women, Catholic women and Christian missionary women more generally. This thesis contends that their overseas experiences were far from partnership and collaboration and have subsequently failed to provide opportunities for wider participation in the New Zealand Church. Vatican documents, archival material, interviews with fifty ex-volunteers and the two lay women directors of the organization provide the data for this thesis. Feminist theology forms the theoretical base and narrative analysis the interpretive tool. There were three volunteer cohorts: young, single volunteers, mothers with dependent children and older women. Most volunteers grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, came from Catholic homes, attended Catholic schools and were actively involved in New Zealand parishes. Overseas, the women continued lives of faith and service, contributing needed and valuable skills. Many younger women enjoyed professional opportunities and their missionary community. It was harder to fit in to a mission station as Catholic mothers or older women and many found it difficult to establish a missionary identity, to be accepted as part of the team. In all groups, there was great satisfaction when experiences matched expectations. The missionary insights and/or skills of these ex-volunteers have generally not been sought by their New Zealand parishes and they are, for the most part, an unappreciated and neglected resource. Lay women’s experiences of overseas mission point to a need for change – lay women seek not only to participate but to be valued partners in their Church. / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access.

No digital copy at the request of the author - refer to citation field for details of published version. / The style of language at Vatican II made a break with the then-current scholastic language of Catholic theology. Less concerned to define, in scholastic mode, the language of Vatican II was more concerned to persuade, in a rhetorical mode that was identified as 'pastoral' at the time. This book takes the central word 'dialogue' as the important interface between these two modes of language, because 'dialogue' had a history in scholastic theology as the finding-the-end-result dialectic of Thomism, yet 'dialogue' in twentieth-century philosophical thought had acquired the Buberian sense of an ongoing relationship that did not lend itself to once-and-for-all definitions. Some of the difficulties that have arisen in implementing the teaching of Vatican II are shown to result from these two different understandings of dialogue, compounded for English-speaking readers by the fact that two different Latin words in the original documents were commonly translated as 'dialogue' in the five major English translations.

New Zealand Catholic lay women have actively participated in overseas missionary work for over forty years. From the 1960s, the Catholic Overseas Volunteer Organization (COVS), under the auspices of the New Zealand bishops, enabled lay women to respond to missionary bishops’ requests for assistance. Overseas, they worked in a range of mission stations with a variety of religious orders. Their experiences are the focus of this study. Their stories have not been told previously and part of the intent is to make their work visible, particularly, to add to the histories of New Zealand women, Catholic women and Christian missionary women more generally. This thesis contends that their overseas experiences were far from partnership and collaboration and have subsequently failed to provide opportunities for wider participation in the New Zealand Church. Vatican documents, archival material, interviews with fifty ex-volunteers and the two lay women directors of the organization provide the data for this thesis. Feminist theology forms the theoretical base and narrative analysis the interpretive tool. There were three volunteer cohorts: young, single volunteers, mothers with dependent children and older women. Most volunteers grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, came from Catholic homes, attended Catholic schools and were actively involved in New Zealand parishes. Overseas, the women continued lives of faith and service, contributing needed and valuable skills. Many younger women enjoyed professional opportunities and their missionary community. It was harder to fit in to a mission station as Catholic mothers or older women and many found it difficult to establish a missionary identity, to be accepted as part of the team. In all groups, there was great satisfaction when experiences matched expectations. The missionary insights and/or skills of these ex-volunteers have generally not been sought by their New Zealand parishes and they are, for the most part, an unappreciated and neglected resource. Lay women’s experiences of overseas mission point to a need for change – lay women seek not only to participate but to be valued partners in their Church. / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access.