<p>This dissertation interprets the origins and growth of per-Restoration Quakerism through concepts developed in social-psychology and the sociology of religion. It argues that previous attempts to interpret Quakerism through psychological or mystical perspectives fail to locate the group in its socio-historical setting, and therefore these interpretations provide inadequate explanations of the group and its most prominent personality, George Fox. By utilizing, however, the social-psychological theory of "relative deprivation," the dissertation both explains the origins of Quakerism's religious ideology, and shows how its members' sense of felt deprivation determined the group's decisions about allocating economic and personal resources in an anti-tithe campaign.</p> <p>Briefly stated, the central argument of the study is that the Quakers felt frustration and resentment toward the victorious Puritans (post 1648) whom they believed had failed to implement a series of promised social and political reforms, including tithe-abolition. In fact, the 3roup emerged among religious and political radicals who felt particularly resentful over the continuation of the state-supported tithe system, and Quakerism launched a vehement campaign to have governmental officials abolish tithes at the same time that it encouraged people to withhold payment of them.</p> <p>Quakerism's anti-tithe campaign generated a number of staunch opponents, however, and the dissertation uses the concept of 11 relative deprivation" to explain their reaction to the group. These fearful opponents felt deprived relative to the social conditions that would be imposed if the Quakers were to succeed in achieving their goal of tithe-abolition, since many of them were tithe-receivers themselves.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the wives of the married applicants, aspirants and candidates to the permanent diaconate are required to accompany their husbands during the process of formation. Currently, the formation program does not engage them fully. Since women cannot be ordained as deacons, they are not perceived as the intended recipients for the formation offered by the program. This study proposes an alternative vision and theological framework. The study affirms the full dignity of women as human beings created in the image and likeness of God and therefore, perfectly well suited to be icons of God as they minister to the Christian community and to the world. The study explores the ministry of notable women mentioned in the New Testament, particularly Mary the mother of God; Mary Magdalene; Mary of Bethany; the foreigner woman identified as a Syrophoenician in the Gospel of Mark and as a Canaanite in the Gospel of Matthew; the Samaritan woman at the well; Phoebe, introduced by St. Paul to the Romans as a Deacon and the women mentioned in the First Letter to Timothy in the middle of the author’s list of requirements for deacons. While remaining open to the possibility of women being admitted to the ordained permanent diaconate, this study aims at providing a theological and practical framework to make the diaconate formation program more meaningful and fruitful for the women in it. The ministry of women is as important and valuable as the ministry of men and formation for ministry is a good that ought to be made available to those who seek that formation. This proposal includes the modification of the vision, policies, procedures and curriculum of diaconate formation to make the formation of women an explicit and integral part of the program.

This thesis examines the role of the cultural discourse on the indigenous religious traditions of China and their place within an officially sanctioned construction of Chinese culture. It starts by examining the concept of culture as it developed in the modern era, its place within the construction of national identities, and the marginalizing effects this has on certain members of national populations. Next it turns to the development of the cultural discourse within China from the mid-1800s to the Cultural Revolution, highlighting the social and legal transformations as they restricted and reframed the practice and articulation of religious traditions in mainland China. Following these early articulations of a cultural discourse in China and the subjugation of religious traditions to secular standards of legitimation, it examines the official presentations and governmentally sanctioned forms of the Daoist tradition in post-Mao China during a “cultural revival,” through an analysis of official publications and online presentations. Finally, it examines the way teachers and administrators package Chinese culture for a foreign audience through the Confucius Institute. This thesis argues that, despite greater freedom to explore indigenous traditions previously written off as “superstitious” within the cultural revival of contemporary China, the official cultural discourse in China continues to operate within the parameters of a modern cultural identity that marginalizes ritualistic forms of religion, allowing these religious forms to survive in an official space only as exotic images, sanitized and secularized activities, or ethical ideals.

This study examines the influence of various Western mystical traditions on Leonard Cohen’s second novel, Beautiful Losers. It begins with a discussion of Cohen’s public remarks concerning religion and mysticism followed by an assessment of twentieth century Canadian criticism on Beautiful Losers. Three thematic chapters comprise the majority of the study, each concerning a different mystical tradition—Kabbalism, Gnosticism, and Christian mysticism, respectively. The author considers Beautiful Losers in relation to these systems, concluding that the novel effectively depicts the pursuit of God, or knowledge, through mystic practice and doctrine. This study will interest scholars seeking a careful exploration of Cohen’s use of religious themes in his work.

In recent years there has been a considerable increase in the amount of empirical research done in the area of the sociology of religion. Most of this type of research has been a gradual attempt of working toward the possibility of establishing a casual relationship between religious beliefs and human social behavior.

This thesis examines how different types of connection – intimacy, community, and compassion – can positively impact the cultivation of well-being and ways of knowing. Using Scholarly Personal Narrative methodology (narrative storytelling supported by scholarship) I describe my journey from the 15-years I lived as a monastic yogic nun, followed by a period of heartbreak, to my recent experience as a tip-toeing Buddhist and mid-life graduate student who yearned for community, a place to belong, and an opportunity to be heard, seen and valued. I explore how the pain and suffering of loneliness, grief, loss, and change, when met by presence, patience, awareness, care and flexibility, can help to strengthen one's relationships with the self, others and surrounding environment. I close by outlining how contemplative pedagogy (learner-oriented, introspective and experiential learning) can help to create new ways of knowing, improve cognitive functioning and well-being, and cultivate compassion. I demonstrate how these three connections can transform the higher education learning experience from an abstract, impersonal view of reality to an authentic, interconnected, and intimate one that help students develop long-lasting and meaningful relationships well beyond the classroom walls.

This thesis approaches the connection of the experience of sound/music and the experience of religion. The investigation applies a methodology of lens analysis, using the religious and mystical theories of Rudolf Otto and William James, to the case-study of Mantric chanting in a contemporary diasporic, orthopractic tradition of Sikh mysticism--3HO Kundalini Yoga. It is concluded that the experiences of sound/music and of religion are connected insofar as they are intrinsically corporeal experiences that exhibit a paradoxical immersive transcendence; Immersive because of how inescapably corporeally based they are, and yet transcendent because of how they can transport one’s consciousness to states of knowing, feeling, and understanding that are camouflaged from ordinary (non-musical, non-religious) mundane corporeal experiences.

The study was designed to be a critical assessment of the Snow-Machalek Conversion Typology. Data were collected from Mormon converts in the British Isles, and an attempt was made to apply the typology to these converts. It was assumed that if the typology could be effectively applied to Mormon converts, strong correlations would be found between its dimensions and quantitative measures of conversion. It was also assumed that social integration of converts would play an important part in the conversion process. The application of the typology proved to be very difficult; however, some dimensions seemed to be more useful than others. Social integration was very important for British converts to Mormonism. An alternative theoretical emphasis to the study of conversion is offered which stresses the importance of social integration in the development of a new global perspective.

The relations between faculty religiosity, changes in reliaious beliefs, and commitment to scholarly openness were examined through a survey of 257 faculty at three universities. A new measure of scholarly openness was developed for this study because of ambiguities in previous indirect and attitudinal measures. Patterns of faculty religiosity as a function of education, graduate school prestige, academic discipline, and educational period of religious change are generally compatible with previous studies, but patterns for scholarly openness are not. Faculty religiosity and scholarly openness were negatively correlated for those Faculty who had never experienced sinnificant reliaious change and for those who had changed from one religon to another, congruent with the hypothesis that religious faith and scholarly openness are incompatible, but the correlations were not strong. However, the two dimensions were uncorrelated for faculty who had changed in either more religious or less religious directions. Six factors contributing to religious change were identified by principle components analysis from responses to 31 reasons for change presented in Likert format and from scores assigned to faculty self-descriptions. Correlations between factor scores and scholarly openness suggest that the process of personal interaction concerning religious beliefs may be particularly significant in nullifying the antithetical relationship between religious faith and scholarly openness.

In this paper we will examine, in survey fashion the hermeneutical programs formulated by supernatural orthodoxy,1 the natural religion school,2 and the attempts to find an alternative to these in the post-Enlightenment period of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A preliminary overview is in order to map out the direction of the discussion and to suggest a common uncritical assumption held by all major programs, viz, the use of non-biblical literary models for interpreting the immanent character of the Scriptures. 1. Orthodoxy has reference to the Protestant interpretation of the Bible which accepted the possibility of divine intervention into history. This intervention included the miraculous activity of God on behalf of his people and the communication of information to his inspired writers. 2. The natural religion school denied the miraculous intervention of God preferring a rational description of the world in terms of unbreakable laws derived from science.