The bishopric of Brechin has long been viewed as something of an anomaly among the dioceses of medieval Scotland. Its bishops exercised authority over churches and lands in Angus and the Mearns, yet this territory was shared with the much larger diocese of St Andrews, and to a much lesser extent those of Dunkeld and Aberdeen. This complex pattern of landholding and lordship persisted right up until the Reformation and it is a situation unparalleled elsewhere in medieval Scotland. However, although its oddness has been noted by many, scholarly engagement with this area has been limited, focussing mainly on the Céli Dé community and hereditary abbatial family associated with the church at Brechin in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This thesis examines the bishopric of Brechin in the context of wider church organisation in Angus and the Mearns in the central Middle Ages, seeking to find explanations for its seemingly unique development. The problem is approached from a number of different perspectives: by considering the context of secular lordship in Angus and the Mearns; by examining the parishes and churches which made up the bishopric of Brechin; by exploring saintly commemorations and church dedications, not only in the diocese of Brechin, but throughout Angus and the Mearns; and finally by carrying out a case-study of one of Brechin’s most important churches, that of the burgh of Montrose. This multi-faceted approach demonstrates that the bishopric of Brechin had strong links with the secular lordship of Brechin, the wider holdings of Earl David of Huntingdon in Angus and the Mearns, and indeed with kings of Scots. It also highlights connections between diocesan organisation and a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary, a veneration present in Brechin from the early Middle Ages. In addition to this, a picture emerges of the nearby church of Montrose having been an important ecclesiastical focus to rival Brechin.

The aim of this dissertation is to examine critically the incessant inter-religious conflicts in Northern Nigeria, to identify the real causes of such conflicts and to suggest theological and practical ways to sustain peace building endeavours. Conflicts as an inevitable part of human existence can be triggered and exacerbated by numerous factors. Religion as a powerful impulse in human existence has been used to fuel conflict in Northern Nigeria. Radical religious strife, quest for more converts, colonisation, ethnicity, and perceived political domination have strengthened stereotypical views of the self and the other. Religion is closely intertwined with culture and thus central in the understanding and establishment of peace in society; continue to play paradoxical role in the locality. Religion can be a cause of conflict and a way of conflict resolution. In Nigeria religion has failed to establish the peace which it has claimed to promote, because deep historical feuds have found expression in religion, and religion is thus at the core of the strife as experienced in contemporary Northern Nigeria. The theology of the Second Vatican Council, in which the Roman Catholic Church reflects on its self-understanding as a community and its role in the world, provides a first model for the encounter between Christianity and other religions in mutual understanding. This thesis considers the theological potential of this interreligious encounter (or dialogue) between Islamic and Christian traditions in general and the possibilities and difficulties of dialogue between Muslims and Christians in Northern Nigeria in particular. Moreover, this study delves into the need for engagement between theology and politics in addressing issues of conflict. It explores the theology of interreligious dialogue as a means for a promising peace-building process in Northern Nigeria. Religion as a significant part of the problem is equally essential in proffering solutions. However, taken on their own terms, neither religion nor politics have comprehensive answers. Hence, any peace building project in Northern Nigeria must be multi-faceted. It could be, modelled on a theological approach for encounter and dialogue which examines common grounds for collaboration within the two faith traditions, in an attempt to consider and strengthen peace-building endeavours within the region.

The focus of this dissertation is the county of Cheshire during the momentous religious changes of the sixteenth century. It aims to show that it is unrealistic to expect a monolithic reaction to such change: as in any county a combination of factors came together resulting in a variety of responses. It also seeks to discredit a number of myths which continue to proliferate about local people and events of this time. The prominence given by both contemporaries and subsequent scholars to Catholic survivalism in the neighbouring county of Lancashire has tended to overshadow the position in Cheshire; indeed some studies have conflated the two. A central aim of this dissertation has been to demonstrate that the two counties responded differently, and to seek to explain why this might have been. A chronological approach has been adopted because it was felt that this would afford a cohesive structure. Within each time period certain continuities and recurring themes will become apparent, however. This is, in part, a function of the sources used, since many of these records derive from institutions or practices which continued fundamentally unaffected throughout the period. This was markedly also a time of radical change, and the abolition of some existing institutions and the introduction of new procedures produced new types of records which demonstrate the local impact of some of those changes. The focus of much Reformation scholarship has now moved away from regional studies towards a more thematic approach, representing one strand of post revisionism. One outcome of the local study in this dissertation has been to demonstrate how new regional studies can contribute to a variety of debates by offering fresh insights and conclusions from a re-consideration of familiar evidence and an examination of evidence which may not be widely known.

This thesis seeks to explore the various worlds of early modern spirituality through the lens of one important and influential figure, Arthur Hildersham. Using diocesan, parish, and national records, and a close study of Hildersham’s printed works, it traces the story of one strand of England’s parallel Reformations. Hildersham’s long association with the parish of Ashby-de-la-Zouch provides the opportunity to examine the progress of the puritan Reformation in a particular locality over an extended period. His role as a godly pastor, and the message he delivered to his people, are considered. The thesis attempts to show that the effect of puritanism within a parish community was not necessarily divisive or unpopular, particularly when it was promulgated for many years and supported by a godly patron. Hildersham’s participation in networks of godly sociability and movements for further reformation illustrate how powerful and wide-reaching such associations could be. As an archetype of ‘Jacobethan’ nonseparating nonconformity, Hildersham’s career supplies a focus for looking at shifting configurations of conformity and orthodoxy. His ambivalent relationship with the ecclesiastical establishment, it is argued, demonstrates that even the most principled nonconformists had more agency than is sometimes allowed. How Hildersham was able to maintain a position of influence despite his frequent suspensions is examined. Recent studies of puritan culture have challenged a familiar radical/moderate paradigm, and this thesis supports the argument that the boundaries between mainstream puritans like Hildersham and those on the radical fringes were, in practice, blurred. However, it rejects the conclusion that all puritanism was intrinsically radical and that its adherents were incipient heretics. Hildersham’s legacy allows us to explore how a later age fashioned and used the memory of the past. It is hoped that this study will contribute to our understanding of the multi-layered experience of post-Reformation English religion.

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Chinese Historical Studies / Master / Master of Arts

This doctoral thesis examines the relationship between Protestant Christianity and collective violence in rural China during the turbulent period of the late nineteenth century (1860-1900). It focuses on the creation of some Chinese Baptist and Presbyterian village communities in the prefecture of Chaozhou in Guangdong province. Set in this highly competitive and violent environment, this study singles out intra-lineage and intra-village conflicts as a key to understanding the Protestant expansion into the interior. It argues that Protestant Christianity advanced in some inland areas with a long history of rural violence. Conversion, especially of an entire lineage segment or a substantial number of villagers, often followed the pre-existing communal divisions and rivalries. When the American Baptist and English Presbyterian missions became entngled in the longstanding intra-lineage and intravillage conflicts, they added a new dimension to the competition. The missionary presence enabled the local Christians to mobilize external resources to strengthen themselves against their rivals. Apart from appealing to the missionaries for help, the Christians also took the initiative to integrate the church into the extensive kinship, lineage and territorial networks. It was through these networks that the Christians could come together to form a regional church alliance for mutual support and protection. In this process of church-building and alliancemaking, the Baptist and Presbyterian communities emerged as some kind of protective organizations and created a new balance of power in the local politics. This political nature of the Protestant movements not only fits well with David Faure's characterization of popular religious activities as "a demonstration of power" but also permits a comparison with Maurice Freedman and Hugh D. R. Baker's studies of lineage politics in southern China. This argument is tested against four incidents of collective violence. In the Zhazi (1878) and Caikou (1898) cases of intra-village disputes, the rival segments split into Christian and non-Christian factions. When the non-Christian power holders sought to get rid of a handful of Presbyterian worshippers, the Presbyterians had to rely on the English mission for help. In the Kuxi (1896) and Liugang (1897) cases of intra-lineage conflicts, the hostile lineage segments divided into the Baptist and Catholic, as well as the Baptist and Presbyterian camps. They continued to struggle against each other under the respective covers of the churches. In all the cases, the Christian communities employed conversion as a political strategy to pursue their own agendas, which were different from the religious concern of the missionaries. In this perspective, many incidents of violence involving local Christians should better be understood in the wider context of communal conflicts in southern China generally, and not just be seenas the results of anti-imperialism, anti-foreignism and cultural antagonism between Confucianism and Christianity. The violence was in fact the manifestation of factional struggles which had long predated the arrival of the Baptist and Presbyterian missions. This research has consulted a wide range of primary sources, ranging from the Baptist and Presbyterian missionary accounts to the American and British consular correspondence, and from the Chinese local magistrates' reports to some ethnographic data which was collected in several Christian villages in 1998. By supplementing the archival materials with the ethnographic data, this study has been able to probe more deeply into the inner dynamics of the Christian communities than have many current studies of Chinese Christian movements. It has also gone beyond the conventional focus on inter-group violence to explore the significance of intra-group fighting at the grass-roots level.

This thesis examines the development of cremation in England, the first Christian country to cremate, rather than bury, the majority of its dead. It offers the first full length account of cremation in England. The thesis first compares the social setting of funerals in simpler and industrial societies. It then examines successive developments in Roman Catholic policy towards cremation and compares contemporary modes of disposal in selected European countries, emphasising the differing role of specific social institutions. The history of cremation in England is traced from 1820, when the social problems of rapid urbanisation challenged the Churches' monopoly in the disposal of the dead. The development of local authority cemeteries after 1850 is presented as a critical point in the secularisation of death. After legalisation in 1884, the acceptance of cremation was slow, only 9% of funerals by 1945. Thereafter, local authorities rapidly and successfully promoted cremation which first outnumbered burial in 1967. The thesis examines the causes of this rapid change. It estimates the effects upon cremation practice of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Contemporary choice between burial and cremation is examined from the perspective of 58 families, bereaved in 1988-9. Fieldwork was conducted in a Fenland village and in an East Midlands city. Disposal decisions are revealed as taken on grounds meaningful in family terms and rarely with a religious referent. The funeral is a critical focus for social and conceptual attitudes to death. In developed societies, the traditional functions of the funeral have been reduced and the social threat of death mitigated, by such factors as greater longevity, the professionalisation of death work, the changing role of the family and the reduced salience of religion. Through its analysis of the replacement of burial by cremation, this thesis offers a further understanding of the relationship between death and social structure. -

ABSTRACT WAYLON MOORE'S THEOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY OF DISCIPLE-MAKING IN LIGHT OF NEW TESTAMENT DISCIPLESHIP PRINCIPLES Calvin Johnson Carr, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2014 Chair: Dr. Timothy K. Beougher This dissertation evaluates Waylon Moore's discipleship strategy to determine whether it conforms to the principles that are taught in the New Testament scriptures. Chapter 1 presents the case to study Moore on the subject and how the research was carried out. Chapter 2 gives a brief biography of Moore's background, with a view to his development as a disciple-maker. Chapter 3 examines Moore's core theological beliefs that can be seen from his scriptural interpretation and other key theological influences. Chapter 4 lays out Moore's methods, which are the result of his theological beliefs and become his "how to's" in disciplemaking. Chapter 5 examines the New Testament teachings on disciple-making. Chapter 6 takes what was learned in chapter 5 and critiques Moore's approach, showing his strengths and weaknesses. Chapter 7 gives the conclusions of this study and provides suggestions for future study.

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