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This thesis presents an account of a sociological research project exploring funeral practices in Stornoway, Inverness and Edinburgh carried out during 2007.  While practices are rooted in Scotland’s Presbyterian past, changes have been occurring over the past decades, and the project explored these changes from the perspective of the reflexive individual and detraditionalisation as described by Giddens (1990, 1991, 1996).  Practices in Stornoway remain traditional, with funeral worship that focuses on God, and community involvement in the conduct of the funeral.  On the mainland, however, funerals show signs of detraditionalisation and personalisation which frequently occur at the suggestion of funeral professionals employed.  This happens through a focus on the deceased during the funeral, commonly through the inclusion of a tribute to the deceased and the playing of music the deceased liked.  The research was carried out using qualitative methods, and involved participant observation at four funerals and the analysis of documents such as <i>In Memoriam</i> notices.  The main research technique employed however was unstructured interviews, involving ministers of religion, humanist funeral celebrants, funeral directors, crematorium staff and a small number of bereaved individuals who had arranged funerals.  Bereaved informants were recruited with the sensitivity of the topic firmly in mind, and the ethical stance taken was informed by the British Sociological Association’s guidelines on ethical practice.

John Henry Newman was a renowned preacher especially in his years as an Anglican priest. This thesis aims to see what spiritual counsel he was preaching to his Anglican congregations and why he was so successful. For reasons of practicality it is limited to an examination of his principal collection of sermons, the eight volumes of Parochial and Plain Sermons which are pastoral sermons selected by Newman himself from those he delivered as an Anglican priest. It begins with some background on Newman himself and the religious context of England in the early 19th century. It also considers the basic principles of rhetorical skill. The discussion of the spirituality set out in the sermons begins with Newman’s presentation of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The thesis outlines his teaching on prayer, grace and the sacraments. It describes his emphasis on the unreality of this life and the prospect of immortality, the danger and evil of sin and the need for constant striving to do God’s will. It then lists the principal elements of behaviour of the true Christian, concluding with the Blessed Virgin Mary as the model of Christian behaviour. The final chapter cites the views of a range of authors on Newman’s effectiveness as a spiritual leader and identifies the elements which made him so successful as a preacher.

This study examines English eschatological homilies of the later twelfth century and their adaptation of both Anglo-Saxon traditions and sources introduced after the Norman Conquest. Later and non-homiletic texts are also discussed when these give clues to the continued prevalence of Anglo-Saxon and twelfth-century eschatological traditions in the later Middle Ages. Chapter 1 introduces the eschatology of the Anglo-Saxon homilists, describes English homily manuscripts written ca. 1150–1200, summarizes scholarly opinions on these texts, and details the author’s approach to the texts’ eschatological ideas. Chapter 2 examines the ‘Visit to the Tomb’ motif, which deeply influenced Anglo-Saxon depictions of individual mortality. Two early Middle English texts––Lambeth III and a treatise on the vices and virtues––contain versions of the motif that indicate a familiarity with the earlier homilies, though they also adapt the ‘Visit to the Tomb’ in new ways. The Old English texts in British Library, Cotton Vespasian D. xiv are the focus of Chapter 3. These include a description of the coming of Antichrist, the first English text of the ‘Fifteen Signs before Doomsday,’ and a typological interpretation of the Babylonian captivity. These pieces draw on both the Old English homilists and works unknown in England until ca. 1100, suggesting that twelfth-century English homilists did not sense any tension in combining ideas from pre- and post-Conquest traditions. Chapter 4 describes the Middle English reflexes of two Doomsday motifs common in the Old English homilies––the ‘Three Hosts of Doomsday’ and the ‘Four Angels of Judgment.’ The persistence of such motifs in later medieval England raises the possibility of a significant influence of Old English works on Middle English homiletic eschatology. The Conclusions section addresses this issue in further detail and suggests avenues of future research, while restating the importance of the twelfth-century homilies for the study of medieval English religious literature.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity International University, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 266-271).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Inaug.-Diss.--Albert-Ludwigs-Universität zu Freiburg i. Br. / Bibliography: p. 336-351.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2000. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 235-236).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Abilene Christian University, 2001. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-93).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-288). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.