During the Second Vatican Council the state of life then known as religious life was recognised as a structure in the Church though not of the Church. This recognition was verbalised in a separate chapter in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen gentium. Chapter 6, "On Religious", was a watershed document as far as religious life (and all other forms of the life that came to be called "consecrated life") was concerned. It recognised consecrated life as an integral element in the Church and part of its mystery, with its mission intimately connected to that of Jesus through His Church. Consecrated life evolved over centuries in response to the needs of particular times and within particular social, cultural and ecclesiological frameworks. This study examines the evolution of forms recognised in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the treatment of consecrated life in specific Conciliar and Post-conciliar documents, in the documents of the 1994 Synod of Bishops on Consecrated Life and in the ensuing document, Vita consecrata. It follows the history of the development of Canon 605 which speaks of the approval of new forms and the roles of the Holy See and of diocesan bishops in the process of approval. It looks at the possibilities for new forms and suggests principles that would enable bishops to establish criteria for the discernment of new charisms and new forms of consecrated life. This study also examines the understanding of consecration as perceived in the documents and in the Code of Canon Law. It peruses the possibilities of expanding the meaning of the term to include persons who consecrate themselves to God without necessarily undertaking all the obligations as outlined in the canonical requirements for members of consecrated life. Finally, the study outlines the need for a revision of terminology to express the realities of what is happening in the Church today with respect to the consecration of lives to God.

A cause de la rarete des pretres, les missionnaires avaient souhaite la restauration du diaconat permanent et suggere de donner la grace sacramentelle du diaconat aux catechistes, leurs auxiliaires, qui accomplissaient deja le ministere diaconal. Une suggestion retenue par le Concile Vatican II qui allait retablir le diaconat permanent dans l'Eglise latine (LG 29; AG 16). Les diacres permanents autant que les catechistes trouvaient ainsi leur origine dans la situation de penurie des pretres et leur ministere etait percu comme un ministere de suppleance pastorale. L'episcopat du Congo-Kinshasa avait exprime, quelques annees plutot, le souhait d'instaurer le diaconat dans l'Eglise presente au Congo. Mais au lendemain du Concile, au lieu de retablir le diaconat, les eveques congolais opterent pour l'institution des ministeres laics recommandes par Vatican II (LG 33; 35) et organises par le Pape Paul VI, allant ainsi dans le sens de la prise de conscience de la vocation et de la mission des baptises. En effet, pour des raisons particulieres et a la suite des evaluations pastorales, ces eveques n'ont pas donc juge opportune la restauration de ce ministere ordonne. Ils ont decide d'organiser la pastorale en fonction de la collaboration des laics, et principalement des catechistes qui, suivant les regions du Congo, portent le nom de Balami/ Bakambi, definissant ainsi les responsabilites de chef de communaute chretienne (et meme paroissiale) qui leur sont confiees. Il s'agit ici des ministeres contextuels, car leur institution est justifiee par des circonstances et des besoins pastoraux locaux, a savoir l'afficanisation et l'inculturation du message evangelique. Dans ces conditions, le diaconat permanent est-il un ministere pertinent pour le Congo? Nous comprenons ainsi que tous les ministeres ne sont pas necessaires toujours et partout, qu'ils naissent des besoins des communautes et qu'il existe une diversite et une complementarite ministerielle dans l'Eglise. D'ou cette question: de quel ministere une Eglise particuliere donnee a-t-elle besoin pour etre Eglise du Christ, pour assurer son implantation, sa croissance et sa vie?

In 1975, parliament passed an Act "to make provision for the conditional and voluntary integration of private schools into the state system of education in New Zealand on a basis that will preserve and safeguard the special character of the education provided by them." Its short title is the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975. For Catholic schools, the "proprietor" referred to in the Act is the diocesan bishop or the superior of a religious institute. Thus a Catholic school becomes integrated when the proprietor and the Minister of Education for the Crown enter a formal agreement known as the integration agreement. Advantages that Catholics receive by way of integration include teachers' salaries paid to state standards, and buildings and grounds maintained at state cost (once they have been brought up to state code). Capital works, however, remain the responsibility of the code). Capital works, however, remain the responsibility of the proprietor. In this study we will consider the impact of the PSCIA 1975 on the canon law of the Church in regard to Catholic schools owned and managed by the Church. First we will consider the impact of the Act on the Catholic school as an expression of the apostolate of the parish or diocese as a juridical person. Flowing from this, we will explore also the consequences of the transference of administrative control from bishops and parish priests to boards, which the Act calls the "controlling authority" (and from 1989, "boards of trustee"). While the Act appears to give the proprietor sweeping rights regarding the preservation of "education with a special character"---the Catholic ethos---we will examine whether these rights are as extensive as those that he may have in canon law. Furthermore, we will explore whether under the Act there may be loss of effective canonical control which may be tantamount to canonical alienation. Second, we will address whether by integration the temporal goods that comprise the parochial or diocesan school have been canonically alienated (c. 1533 CIC/17). As all Cathofic schools were integrated prior to the promulgation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the canonical status of the schools and school buildings must be determined according to the ius vigens---the 1917 Code of Canon Law. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This master's thesis explores the dialogue between religion and psychology in the writings of psychologist Viktor E. Frankl. The thesis proposes a possible bridge between these two discourses by comparing the similar existential style in Frankl's writings and psychological theory with the religious philosophy of theologian Paul Tillich. Tillich's religious philosophy provides a theoretical foil to explore the religious themes within Frankl's work. Frankl and Tillich share a similar existential style and approach that influences their respective analysis of human nature. The thesis explores psychological and religious perspectives on the following: an existential analysis of human existence, universal religiousness and finally, psychological healing and religious salvation. The thesis proposes that Frankl's psychological model, known as Logotherapy, may also provide a theoretical answer to Tillich's own attempt to find a compatible bridge between both psychological and religious discourse and the role of psychologist and the minister and/or priest.

Since the 1970s migration to Canada has changed from European to non European sources. What, then, are the implications of global migration for religion in Canada and specifically the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC)? Previous research on migrant groups has examined both pluralist and assimilationist tendencies. In this thesis incorporating both sociology of religion and ethnicity approaches, I supplement previous research by examining the transnational aspects of ethnic congregations in the PAOC. Roland Robertson (1992) argues that the current phase of globalization is characterized by uncertainty and has implications for religion. According to Robertson's theory, religion gets restructured in terms of both local and global dynamics. Thus, the effects of globalization include theological, cultural, and organization change for the PAOC. The research examined the views and practices of the members of eight different congregations (N = 430) from a variety of cultural backgrounds including, Spanish, Korean, Tamil, Eritrean and European. The results show that the PAOC and the congregations are reacting in flexible and varied ways to global migration precisely because experiential religion allows ethnicity as a strategy, networks as an organizational mode, and charisma as authority.

This thesis illustrates how various theorists in religious studies and in psychology are advancing feminist scholarship in similar directions with respect to relational theory and theories of the female body. This analysis explicates areas of theoretical convergence within and between these disciplines, including, their methodological commitments; their distinctive contributions to relational theory; their analysis of the historical legacy of mind/body dualism; their interrogation of the processes by which the female body is regulated and contained in religion and contemporary culture; and their understanding of the psychological and religious effects produced by current body/self disciplinary practices. The dissertation concludes by suggesting that each discipline can provide correctives to, and enhance the other if dialogue between them was encouraged.

The mission of the Church is essentially to build up the Body of Christ and to work for the salvation of souls. This mission pertains to all the members of Christ's faithful, namely the clergy, the religious, and the lay faithful, but each one according to their own condition and office. The focus of this study is a historical and systematic analysis of the role of the lay members of Christ's faithful in the mission of the Church in Mbarara Archdiocese (Uganda). This is done in light of the first diocesan synod of Mbarara that took place in 1986. The synod was an occasion of self reflection for the diocese and a way of seeking answers that concern its mission to the people of God so as to deepen their Christian life. The history of the Church in Uganda in general, and Mbarara in particular, testifies to the positive contribution of the lay Christian faithful in the evangelization and growth of the Church in these areas. The lay catechists and lay Christian community leaders have worked side by side with missionaries and priests since the inception of the Catholic faith in Uganda till the present day. The lay faithful's role in the mission and ministry of the Church is more noticeable in those church structures below the parish level that have infrequent visits of priests and yet there is a lively practice of the faith at these levels. The role of the lay faithful in Mbarara is not limited to manifesting Christ to others by the witness of their life in secular work and business and in the ordinary circumstances social and family life. They have been, in accordance with the norms of Church law, brought to actively participate with the clergy in the pastoral ministry of the Church in the archdiocese. The analysis of the synodal acts shows the part played by the lay faithful in the proclamation of the word of God, their participation in fostering sacramental life in their Christian communities, their role in the administration of the temporal goods of the Church. Their role in promoting the social welfare of the people of God in the Archdiocese of Mbarara is in this study shown as a major component of their mission. The dissertation shows the lay person in the mission of the Church in Mbarara as an evangelizer, catechist, Christian/spiritual leader, parent, educator, and social worker.

This thesis argues that popular films convey religious ideology about female gender and therefore warrant consideration within the field of women and religion. Feminist theory in religion examines how western religious texts reflect anxiety about female relationships between mothers and daughters, friends, and lovers. Drawing on current scholarship in the areas of religion, gender, popular culture, and film, I demonstrate that ancient correlations between female bonding and tragedy or danger are perpetuated in the present through two movie genres, "chickflicks" and lesbian thrillers. In Chapter One, I examine the representation of female intimacy in ancient religious texts to demonstrate the following: (1) intimate female relationships are seen as disruptive to male hegemony; (2) Relationships between mothers and daughters end in tragedy and are subsequently forgotten; (3) Women's friendships occur under dire circumstances that often leave at least one woman abused, dead, or forgotten; and (4) Female sexual intimacy is typically associated with ill or violent women. In Chapter Two I explore the importance of film for the study of religion in Canada. Challenging distinctions between so-called "sacred" and "profane" cultures, several theorists argue that popular culture produces and conveys religious ideology within contemporary society. In particular, I emphasize the importance of examining cinematic representations of gender and sexuality within a religious context. Chapter Three analyzes two recent film genres that present women's relationships as key narrative features. Although chickflicks depict seemingly empowered heroines who bond to combat exploitation and abuse, the victories are ultimately short-lived. The typical death and debilitation of female characters in films such as Terms of Endearment (1983), Steel Magnolias (1989), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Thelma and Louise (1991), and Boys on the Side (1995) reaffirm religious views of female intimacy as a personal and social hazard. In lesbian thrillers, female sexual intimacy is further associated with evil, murderous characters. In films such as Basic Instinct (1992), Diabolique (1996), and Bound (1996), "psychodykes" perpetuate religious anxieties about the supposed social dangers of women's sexual liaisons. In the concluding chapter, I integrate psychoanalytic and film theories to analyze the popularity of chickflicks and lesbian thrillers amongst female audiences.

While it is generally acknowledged that the Bible's influence in Canadian history, as in all Western societies, has been significant, this thesis is the first extended study of the Bible's place in Canadian public life. Drawing on a wide range of printed primary sources, this thesis examines the way the Bible and biblical rhetoric were employed by public figures in Canada in the late nineteenth century. The majority of the figures whose rhetoric and writing is studied here were nationalists interested in defining their nation. This study's most basic conclusion is that the Bible did indeed inform the way English- and French-speaking Canadians spoke about their country in the late nineteenth century. A second conclusion is that Protestant Canadians who perceived French Quebec as a Bible-free zone were mistaken. French Canadian Catholics certainly did not read the Bible independently the way Protestants did, but the Scriptures were available even to illiterate French Canadians---via paintings, sculptures, iconography, and sermons. French Canada's "providential missions"---the belief that the French Canadians were a divinely chosen people in the New World---was frequently expressed in explicitly biblical terms. Protestants who thought Quebec's French-speaking Catholics were totally ignorant of the Scriptures were wrong. A third conclusion of this study is that, by virtue of their eagerness to attach biblical language to mundane projects, Canada's Protestants contributed to the creation of an intellectual atmosphere in which the Scriptures could be handled casually. Protestant biblicism could not but often render the Scriptures trivial. Finally, this thesis's fourth conclusion is that, according to the terms current in late nineteenth-century Canada, Quebec's catholic culture appears to have been somewhat more "biblical," if less biblicistic, than English-speaking Canadian culture.

This research is based on the examination of artifacts, specifically a series of artifacts known in Spanish as nichitos (little niches), found, among other places, in the Catholic Spanish speaking areas of Tucson, Arizona. Similar objects or constructions are also found in the Catholic Italian speaking communities of New York State and Missouri, and in the Catholic French Canadian communities of Quebec and Ontario, as well as in French speaking Louisiana. Nichito-like artifacts found in other cities, regions, and countries are included for the sake of comparison. The study of these artifacts is approached from an anthropological perspective, including ethnography, supplemented by folklore studies and informed by the multi-disciplinary context of religious studies. The research progresses through several phases. A classification of nichitos and nichito-like artifacts allows for definitions and contextualization of the artifacts themselves. Terms in Tucson Spanish are used for clarification and to establish a lexical norm for classification, as this community appears to have the most specialized collection of terms. An analysis of the context of the nichitos identifies the iconographical components of the artifacts. Religious and social aspects of nichito use are examined in the barrios of the Tucson area, leading to questions concerning religiosidad populare (popular religion) and the links or conflicts between domesticity and official religion.