The McCulloch Manuscripts are an important primary source of eighteenth-century historical documentation that to date have never been put into print in their original form.  This thesis is a critical edition and analysis of the 1,269-page, two-volume text originally entitled <i>Examinations of Persons Under Spiritual Concern at Cambuslang, during the Revival, in 17-41-42</i>, along with its accompanying documents and marginal annotations.  Compiled by the Reverend William McCulloch during the period of 1742-1749, and considered to be Scotland’s first oral history project, this collection of personal conversion narratives from subjects of the revival provides a unique perspective from which to understand the spiritually of both laity and clergy in eighteenth-century Scotland. Chapter One sets the Cambuslang Revival within its historical and local context, and chronicles the treatment given to the revival in prominent scholarly literature over the past two centuries. Chapter Two provides a description and analysis of the physical properties of the manuscripts, and of their distinctive nature and arrangement. Chapter Three details the editorial process utilized by William McCulloch in soliciting and interviewing narrative respondents, and in editing and compiling their narrative accounts in preparation for publication.  This chapter also proposes an interview framework utilized by McCulloch with the narrative respondents, and the distinctive role he played in framing and reporting the respondents’ experiences. Chapter Four definitively establishes the identity, role, and succession of each of the four clerical redactors who assisted McCulloch in preparing the Volume One for publication, analyzing their distinctive theological concerns - both individually and collectively - and their subsequent marginal annotations and revisions of the text.

In the aftermath of King Philip's War, Puritan Mary Rowlandson recorded her experiences as an Indian captive. In a vivid story that recollects the details of these events, Rowlandson attempts to impart a message to her community through the use of a variety of literary techniques. The genre of the Indian captivity narrative is a literary construct that she develops out of the following literary forms that existed at the time of her writing. These are the spiritual autobiography, a documentary method meant to archive spiritual and emotional growth through a record of daily activities; the conversion narrative, which made public one's theological assurance of God's grace; and the jeremiad, a sermon form designed to remind Puritans of their Covenant with God. To her contemporaries, Rowlandson served as an example of God's Providence. To later generations and specifically twenty-first century scholars, she represents America's first female literary prose voice.

The Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) in recent years is beginning to become more popular. This project evolves around the development of the field as well as critiques of the field. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of CSR, it lends an interesting way to understand religion as well as religious experiences. One of those religious experiences, conversion, is examined and explored through the use of conversion narratives from western women who were formally Christian but converted to Islam. Many themes arise out of this research that paves the way for trying to understand religious experiences. Overall, the project focuses on interpreting the conversion narratives to gain a better understanding of religious conversions for the sake of anthropology, philosophy, and cognitive psychology.

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Text in English / The Muslim population in South Africa has its origins in the 17th Century when they were initially brought in as slaves or political exiles by the Dutch colonisers. Christian-Muslim relations have not always been good and especially the topic of 'conversion' has often caused conflict between the members of the two faiths. Additional problems such as the apartheid era has caused many Christians, especially Africans, to question their faith and turn their back on Christianity by converting to Islam. There are other areas which have caused conflict in the relations such as mistrust, misinformation and discrimination. In South Africa's religiously pluralistic society people convert from Christianity to Islam, and vice versa, from a variety of motives. This study first discusses various Christian missiological debates on understandings of conversion and then surveys psychological approaches to the motivational structures of 'decision-making'. The heart of the study is the presentation and analysis of the conversion narratives of 20 converts (10 from Islam to Christianity and 10 from Christianity to Islam). These narratives are analysed in terms of five key conversion motives, as a result of which various patterns of conversion motives emerge. In church practice and missiology, conversion is often understood only in one direction (towards Christianity) and with only one valid motive, namely a strictly religious one. This study reveals, however, that such a view is inadequate. Conversion should rather be understood as a two-way movement and based on combinations of various motives. This study concludes with the presentation of a holistic missiological understanding of conversion which applies more adequately to the South African context. This new understanding of conversion may help to promote better understanding and respect between faith communities. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

Text in English / The Muslim population in South Africa has its origins in the 17th Century when they were initially brought in as slaves or political exiles by the Dutch colonisers. Christian-Muslim relations have not always been good and especially the topic of 'conversion' has often caused conflict between the members of the two faiths. Additional problems such as the apartheid era has caused many Christians, especially Africans, to question their faith and turn their back on Christianity by converting to Islam. There are other areas which have caused conflict in the relations such as mistrust, misinformation and discrimination. In South Africa's religiously pluralistic society people convert from Christianity to Islam, and vice versa, from a variety of motives. This study first discusses various Christian missiological debates on understandings of conversion and then surveys psychological approaches to the motivational structures of 'decision-making'. The heart of the study is the presentation and analysis of the conversion narratives of 20 converts (10 from Islam to Christianity and 10 from Christianity to Islam). These narratives are analysed in terms of five key conversion motives, as a result of which various patterns of conversion motives emerge. In church practice and missiology, conversion is often understood only in one direction (towards Christianity) and with only one valid motive, namely a strictly religious one. This study reveals, however, that such a view is inadequate. Conversion should rather be understood as a two-way movement and based on combinations of various motives. This study concludes with the presentation of a holistic missiological understanding of conversion which applies more adequately to the South African context. This new understanding of conversion may help to promote better understanding and respect between faith communities. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)