published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2006. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-175).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2001. / Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-221).

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes special report study entitled : Typological study of structural roof system for religious buildings. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2001. / Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-221).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2006. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-175).

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1965 H37 / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to identify a set of perceived indicators of institutional quality for theological schools. To identify the most commonly agreed upon indicators of perceived quality for theological schools, 69 variable indicators of quality were selected from research regarding quality in higher education and in theological schools and compiled into the Inventory of Determinants of Quality for Theological Schools (IDQTS). This instrument was mailed to presidents or deans of non-Catholic theological schools, theological school faculty members, theological school graduates who are practicing ministers, and church leaders. Of the 487 surveys mailed, 288 were returned to be included in this study. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure was executed for each of the 69 IDQTS items to determine if the group means of the four study group responses were significantly different. The level of significance was set at .01. Thirty-nine IDQTS items were found to have no significant difference in the group means for responses at the .01 level. Twenty-nine of these 39 items were rated as Important or Most Important perceived indicators of institutional quality for theological schools with overall means of 3.00 or higher. Ten other items were rated as Less important to Unimportant perceived indicators of institutional quality for theological schools with overall means of 2.99 or lower. When the four study groups were treated as four individual raters and Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance was applied to their responses on the IDQTS, a W of .8881 was calculated with p < .01. Of the IDQTS items perceived to be ranked in the highest one-third of indicators of institutional quality in theological schools, eight were associated with student outcomes, five were associated with faculty, four were associated with administration and organization, four were associated with curriculum, one was associated with institutional demographics, one was associated with student services and none were associated with institutional resources.

This dissertation analyzes the education of Muslim leaders in accredited North American institutions. Currently, the only accredited programs that train Muslim leaders in the United States and Canada are Protestant Christian seminaries. Based on ethnographic research conducted at Hartford Seminary (Hartford, Connecticut), Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario), and Bayan Claremont (Claremont, California), I analyze the impact of multifaith educational models on the development of North American Muslim leaders, such as Muslim chaplains, pastors, and spiritual caregivers. I examine the various rationales provided by the institutions in question for the establishment of Muslim leadership training programs at Christian seminaries, as well as Muslim students’ justifications for studying at these institutions. Subsequently, I argue that these programs depend on multiple forms of “translation” that render members of distinct religious traditions comprehensible to one another. These multifaith programs require translations of space in order to accommodate the practical needs of members of diverse religious backgrounds, and to generate experiences of inclusivity. I also examine curricular translations, specifically focusing on translations of “the spiritual,” given the centrality of the concept within the professional field of chaplaincy. Finally, I analyze translations of debates about gender and authority in Islam into multifaith classrooms. These various negotiations make apparent that the burdens of translation are not equally shared. Within the Protestant milieus in which these Muslim leadership programs take shape, the work of Muslim students is ultimately framed and evaluated within a setting where Christianity provides the overwhelming “logic” of the field. This dissertation thus reveals the inculcation of norms of Muslim authority that align with liberal Christian values, including but not limited to: religious individualism, spirituality (versus legalism), democracy, non-hierarchical forms of authority, ecumenism, and interfaith relationship-building.