<p>Employing the concept of "governmentality" developed by French poststructuralist Michel Foucault. this study investigates religious practices in congregational and in _ interdenominational associations as well as the religious discourse of the local clergy and newspaper editors. It works at the local level to place religion in the public and private spaces of late nineteenth-century London Ontario. Methodologically it departs from many important local studies of religion in society by adopting a cultural rather than demographic approach. This approach allows attention to the diversities and ambiguities of religious practices and discourses as the churches negotiated their place in liberal society.</p> <p>The argument suggests that religion was called upon to produce self-governing citizens to ensure the efficiency of the liberal society corning into being in London. The arts of government this liberal society required centered on disciplines of freedom which religion could provide to the degree it conformed to the liberal imperatives of rationality, universality, and harmony across traditional sectional divides. Thus religion had public place in ensuring social stability just as it had in its traditional establishment role. However the governmentality of freedom had changed the spaces in which religion could work. Individual freedom of conscience in matters religious was essential to liberal society and thus religion had to fulfill its public role without public authority. Moreover, the power of religion to provide an alternative construction of reality to that of liberal society required that religion itself be carefully controlled and disciplined by liberal values. In this situation local congregations and local clergy were inspired to contribute to the spiritual and material project of constructing a religion worthy of a free people, but, in doing so, found the practices that grounded their identity in a particular way of being Christian challenged and eroded.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Three Catholic women shared the unique experiences that shaped their relationship with Catholicism and the customs they practice today in order to sustain their faith. Each of the three speakers discussed their personal histories and how religion played a vital role in their development. / with Kate Carter, Sr. Mary Sweeney, S.C., and Nancy Pineda-Madrid / Heights Room

This study analyzes the use of audiovisual media in the Evangelical practices of liturgy, teaching, and community engagement. In order to gain a more holistic perspective on the role media plays in these practices, the study focuses on media examples taken from prominent religious institutions. By analyzing these examples through the lens of critical theory, the study reveals aspects where the spectacle trends of our culture has permeated the media produced to help audiences engage in religious practices. Because religion helps people cultivate meaning in their lives, the influence of the spectacle trends on religious practices is important to examine as it has the potential to control that meaning. As a result, the contributions of religious media can become indistinguishable from those of mainstream media. Therefore, critical theory can be a powerful tool to help religious institutions discern where media amplifies meaning in practices and where it becomes a distraction. As the study examines existing content already utilized in Evangelical practices, the impact is compared across the three practices, which better illuminates the overall influence. / Media Studies & Production

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In recent decades, research on family life and religion has been conducted. Much of the research done on religion and well-being has shown beneficial effects of religion or religious practices on well-being (Bonner, Koven, & Patrick, 2003; Loser, Klein, Hill, & Dollahite, 2008). Using data from the Flourishing Families Project (N = 359 adolescents), the relationship between religious variables (family religious practices, family religious importance and religiosity), family climate measures (family connectedness and parent conflict) and adolescent depressive symptoms was examined. Results indicate no significant relationship between religious variables and adolescent depressive symptoms, but a positive relationship between parent conflict and adolescent depressive symptoms and a negative relationship between family connectedness and adolescent depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that while family climate is important to adolescent depressive symptoms, religious activity as measured by family practices is not protective.

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Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T14:49:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Simone Dupla.pdf: 2971799 bytes, checksum: 7e1e207afce384b2447f024c95b4ed22 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-01 / Fundação Araucária de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Paraná / Inanna, the multifaceted goddess of Mesopotamian culture, was worshiped throughout the history of this society. Known as the goddess of love and war, their status in the Mesopotamian pantheon and its functionality has been re-reading object by many historians. The purpose of this study was to address the representations present in the worship of Inanna through symbols and attributes to it attributed unveiling its characteristics and relationship with the imagery of that society. To do this, we use as sources, in addition to recorded images for artifacts, myths and hymns dedicated to this deity. We realize that the ways of holiness expressed in the worship of Inanna allowed the articulation of this in many social segments and ensured their maintenance and survival. Thus, images and symbols that made up the religious universe of divinity were assignments and constructions that are perpetuated over time related to the reality of his first devotees and those who captivated over the millenniums. / Inanna, a deusa multifacetada da cultura mesopotâmica, foi cultuada durante toda a história dessa sociedade. Conhecida como deusa do amor e da guerra, seu estatuto no panteão mesopotâmico e sua funcionalidade tem sido objeto de releitura por parte de muitos historiadores. O objetivo desse trabalho foi abordar as representações presentes no culto a Inanna por meio dos símbolos e atributos a ela imputados desvelando suas características e relação com o imaginário daquela sociedade. Para tal, utilizamos como fontes, além das imagens registradas em artefatos, mitos e hinos dedicados a essa divindade. Percebemos que as formas de sacralidade expressas no culto a Inanna permitiu a articulação deste nos muitos segmentos sociais e garantiu a sua manutenção e sobrevivência. Assim, imagens e símbolos que compunham o universo religioso da divindade foram atribuições e construções que se perpetuaram ao longo do tempo relacionadas à realidade de seus primeiros devotos e aqueles que cativados ao longo dos milênios.

Master of Science / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Elaine M. Johannes / Permanently moving from one country to another affects the family. This can include the ways in which parents interact with their children. That interaction can be especially challenging when Muslim families move to primarily non-Muslim Western societies such as the United States. This report reviews challenges, opportunities, and strategies for Muslim parents residing in the United States to embed Islamic values and religious practices with their adolescent children. This report also identifies effective ways for Muslim parents to help their adolescent children understand, accept, and practice the Muslim faith. After a review of scholarly literature and existing Islamic religious practice materials, recommendations are provided to help parents effectively model and support appropriate Islamic religious practice to their adolescent children based on the parents’ traditional Muslim beliefs.

This study, grounded in qualitative research methods, aims to provide a deeper insight into Sweden's religious landscape by examining the varied responses of different religious groups to the ongoing process of secularization and how these communities work to preserve their faith in a secular society. The study applies Weber's and Casanova's conceptualization of modernization, emphasizing the transformation of established systems through new ideologies, offering an analysis of how religious groups respond to secularization. Grounded in secularization theory, which focuses on the diminishing impact of religion in modernized societies, the study explores the consequences of secularization for religious groups, considering factors such as community-building efforts, engagement of religious adherents, social status, and individual religiosity. Initiating with a literature review, the study identifies key issues and develops a profound understanding of the subject. Additionally, representatives and leaders from various religious communities in Sweden, including Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, are interviewed. The research findings shed light on a comprehensive understanding of the intricate terrain illustrating the repercussions of secularization on Swedish society. The results suggest that various congregations are influenced by trends in secularization, modernization, and individualism. Different religious communities exhibit distinct responses and implement various strategies to preserve religion, identity, and a sense of community within their respective congregations. This insight is crucial for both religious communities and individuals navigating the evolving religious environment, striving to comprehend its consequences for religion, community, and society.

L’étude des pratiques religieuses du monde artisanal grec antique (de l’époque archaïque à l’époque hellénistique) vise à appréhender les artisans, non en tant que producteurs de biens matériels, mais en tant qu’acteurs de la vie religieuse. Il s’agit d’examiner, par le biais des données archéologiques, les conditions sociales et psychologiques de la production, de manière à mettre en évidence des pratiques qui ne relèvent plus de la technique mais de la sphère religieuse. L’enquête s’étend dans trois domaines. Tout d’abord celui de la cité : les données relatives aux fêtes civiques, aux pratiques votives ou encore aux consultations oraculaires attestent la place des artisans dans la vie religieuse de la polis grecque. La recherche se poursuit dans les espaces de travail artisanal : des lieux d’extraction aux ateliers urbains, les espaces artisanaux livrent des témoignages aussi riches que diversifiés. Enfin, l’enquête s’achève dans le domaine funéraire : l’étude des tombes d’artisans aborde leur rapport à la mort.Les pratiques cultuelles, magico-religieuses ou encore funéraires sont autant de phénomènes religieux abordés dans cette étude. Tous ces aspects sont certes illustrés par des indices pour la plupart discrets et épars : leur accumulation n’en forme pas moins un ensemble cohérent qui dessine peu à peu un nouveau profil du monde artisanal avec des spécificités religieuses mais aussi culturelles et sociales. Touche par touche se constitue ainsi un portrait vivant et coloré des acteurs du monde artisanal qui sort un peu de l’ombre le « héros secret de l’histoire grecque ». / The inquiry about the religious practices in the ancient greek craft’s world (from archaic to Hellenistic period) aims to approach craftsmen, not as producers of material goods, but as actors of the religious life. The claim is to examine, by means of the archaeological data, the social and psychological conditions of the production, and to highlight practices which are not any more a matter of technique but of religious sphere. The inquiry extends over three fields. The first one concerns the Polis : the data relative to festivals, to votive or to oraculare practices give evidence of the place of craftsmen in the religious life of the greek Polis. The research continues into the work’s spaces: from the quarries to the urban workshops, the work places supply many testimonies as wealthy as diversified. Finally, the inquiry ends in the funeral field : the study of the craftsman’s graves moves on their relationship to death.The worship, the magico-religious ritual and the funeral practices are as many religious phenomena investigated in this book. All these aspects are certainly illustrated by, for the most part, discreet and scattered clues : their accumulation nevertheless forms a coherent set which draws little by little a new profile of the craft’s world not only with religious, but also cultural and social specificities. Touch by touch a portrait of the craftsmen is appearing alive and colored which somewhat pulls out the shadow the " secret hero of the greek history ".