This paper examines the economic aspects of Buddhist monasteries in Chinese history in chronological order. The focus is on the problems related to land and taxes, which were crucial factors for the economic situation of monasteries and sensitive issues in the governing of every dynasty. By looking into the interaction among Buddhist monasteries, state/local government, great families and elites regarding land estates and tax policies in different time periods, the study reveals that despite the lasting criticisms that Buddhist monasteries were harmful to the economic wellbeing of society and effected the revenue of the state, monasteries in fact actively engaged in economic activities, and could be utilized by the state as a tool to centralize wealth from society, contributing to the state economy in its own way. The role of Buddhist monasteries was largely decided by their subject position in front of the state. The study shows that the prosperity of monastic economy was of different levels under the different social and political environment in each dynasty, but even in its most prosperous time, the scale of monasteries could be easily reduced by the state and their resources could be appropriated by government when it was considered necessary. Besides, the study also depicts the process of Buddhist monasteries gradually becoming taxed by the state, showing the general tendency that the Buddhist monastic economy was in the process of becoming more incorporated into or controlled by the state across time. / Master of Arts (MA)

The Appalachian Preaching Missions (1955-1981) occurred annually in Northeast Tennessee, with their predecessor, the Bristol Preaching Mission, dating back to at least 1949. Local churches, primarily Protestant, organized and convened these annual ecumenical gatherings. Nationally known clergy and laypeople from various denominations spoke, with up to several thousand congregants attending each mission. These individuals provided sermons and speeches on spiritual, domestic, and international issues. Among the most consistently repeated sermon themes was Christianity’s spiritual conflict with atheistic communism. This work addresses the missions’ origins and how the speakers spoke on international Christian missions in decolonized or developing nations as threatened by communist regimes, anxieties of nuclear proliferation, and the need for ecumenical cooperation. This work demonstrates that the choice of subject matter and speakers at the missions reflected wider American anti-communism, an increased politicization of Christianity, and ecumenical coalition building.

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and Dowager Queen of France, demonstrated atypical religious tolerance during the turmoil of the sixteenth-century reformations, particularly in comparison to other monarchs of the time. This research especially focuses on her upbringing in France, and how her education and those around her influenced the pragmatism and actions displayed as a monarch in Scotland until July 1565. Her youth in France and religious tolerance is a rare focus in secondary sources compared to the more dramatic events in her later life.

The thesis investigates the interpretation of some of the most problematic passages of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, i.e. passages involving the concept or practice of herem. The texts under consideration contain prima facie divine commands to commit genocide as well as descriptions of genocidal military campaigns commended by God. The thesis presents and analyses the solutions that Christian interpreters through the ages have proposed to the concomitant moral and hermeneutical challenges. A number of ways in which they have been used to justify violence and war are also addressed. For the patristic and early medieval eras the thesis aims to be as comprehensive as possible in identifying and analysing the various interpretative options, while for later periods the focus lies on new developments. In addition to offering the most comprehensive presentation of the Wirkungsgeschichte of herem texts to date, the thesis offers an analysis and critical evaluation of the theologico-hermeneutical assumptions underlying each of the several approaches, and their exegetical and practical consequences. The resulting analytical taxonomy and hermeneutical map is an original contribution to the history of exegesis and the study of the interplay between religion and violence. The cognitive dissonance herem texts cause for pious readers is introduced as an inconsistent set of five propositions: (1) God is good; (2) the bible is true; (3) genocide is atrocious; (4) according to the bible, God commanded and commended genocide; (5) a good being, let alone the supremely good Being, would never command or commend an atrocity. If proposition (4) is assumed, at least one of the deeply-held beliefs expressed in the other four must be modified or given up. The introduction is followed by four diachronic chapters in which the various exegetical approaches are set out: pre-critical (from the OT to the Apostolic Fathers), dissenting (Marcion and other ancient critics), figurative (from Origen to high medieval times), divine-command-ethics,(from Augustine to Calvin) and violent (from Ambrose to Puritan North America). A concluding chapter presents near contemporary re-iterations and variations of the historic approaches.

<p>Teza se bavi religijskom istorijom rimske provincije Druge Panonije (Pannonia Secunda), formirane administrativnim reformama cara Dioklecijana (284-305) na prostoru jugoistočnog dela nekada&scaron;nje provincije Donje Panonije (Pannonia Inferior). Hronolo&scaron;ki tema je ograničena na 4. vek s obzirom da u to vreme dolazi do krupnih i dalekosežnih promena u religijskoj politici Rimskog carstva. Ovo je period tranzicije između stare helensko-rimske religioznosti i hri&scaron;ćanstva u razvoju. U toku jednog veka učinjen je prelaz od progonjenog hri&scaron;ćanstva kao religio illicita iz vremena prve tetrarhije (293-305) do potpuno afirmisanog hri&scaron;ćanstva kao jedine legitimne državne religije (381).<br />Druga Panonija je tokom 4. veka postala caput Illyrici ne samo kao administrativni i politički centar novoformirane teritorijalne prefekture Ilirik, već i u crkvenom pogledu sedi&scaron;te Sirmijske mitropolije. Podizanje vojno-političkog značaja ove provincije, donelo je rimskoj koloniji Sirmiju rang carskog grada u kome su zbog nestabilnosti donjedunavskog limesa često boravili carevi i dvor. Shodno tome, Sirmij je u progonima hri&scaron;ćana tetrarhijskog perioda zabeležio najveći broj mučenika u odnosu na ostatak Ilirika. Zapisi o stradanju sirmijskog episkopa Irineja, njegovog đakona Dimitrija, cibalskog lektora Poliona, sirmijske građanke Anastazije i ba&scaron;tovana Sinerota i drugi udarilo je temelj martirolo&scaron;koj književnosti Ilirika i dalo osnov za poznavanje organizacije i života prvih hri&scaron;ćanskih zajednica u Drugoj Panoniji. Prvi deo teze proučava ovu bogatu literarnu tradiciju, podrvrgava je istorijskoj kritici i nadopunjuje podacima arheolo&scaron;kih izvora vezanih za kultove mučenika Druge Panonije.<br />Posle legalizacije hri&scaron;ćanstva i zahvaljujući stalnom prisustvu carske administracije i dvora, Sirmij je za celo područje Ilirika postao glavno crkveno sedi&scaron;te, u kome su se u periodu od 349. do 378. održali crkveni sabori i donete formule vere od velikog značaja za op&scaron;ti tok istorije hri&scaron;ćanstva.&nbsp; Tako je značajan segment teze posveće ulozi Druge Panonije u hristolo&scaron;kim raspravama od Nikejskog do Akvilejskog sabora (325-381), analizi sirmijskih sabora i formula vere, ulozi mursanskog episkopa Valensa u crkvenoj politici homojskih pristalica, učenju sirmijskog episkopa Fotina i teolo&scaron;koj poziciji Germinija Sirmijskog.<br />Hronolo&scaron;ki poslednja tema disertacije jeste period konsolidacije nikejskog pokreta na Akvilejskom saboru (381), na kom sirmijski episkop Anemije bio aktivni učesnik i &scaron;tićenik moćnog Ambrozija Milanskog. Verska konsolidacija Druge Panonije i njeno pristajanje uz trinitarnu teologiju, odigrala se u periodu političke i kulturne dezintegracijom prouzrokovane ubrzanim padom donjedunavskog limesa i varvarizacije panonskih provincija.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />S obziroma na značajne rezultate arheologije u proteklih pet decenija, autor je na osnovu materijalne ekspresije religije stanovnika Druge Panonije prikazao odlike načina sahranjivanja i formiranje verske topografije najznačajnijih lokaliteta. Autor je sakupio i obradio neobjavljenu rukopisnu građu relevantnu za martirologiju Druge Panonije, kao i neke neobjavljene ranohri&scaron;ćanske natpise sa ovog područja, koji pomažu u rekonstrukciji religijskog života stanovnika Druge Panonije u 4. veku.<br />Cilj teze bio je sveobuhvatno interdisciplinarno istraživanje ključnog perioda religijske istorije Druge Panonije, praćeno sintezom danas dostupnih izvora, kao polazne tačke svih daljih istraživanja.</p> / <p>The thesis deals with religious history of Roman province Pannonia Secunda, formed in the southeastern part of the former province Pannonia Inferior within the administrative reforms of emperor Diocletian (284-305). The subject is chronologically limited to the 4th century in light of the fact that this period saw fundamental and far-reaching changes in the religious policy of the Late Roman Empire. It is a period of transition from the old Hellenic-Roman religion to freshly institutionalised Christianity. This century witnessed a paradoxical leap from the persecuted Christanity as religio illicita to the fully accepted Christianity as the only legitimate religion.<br />In the 4th century Pannonia Secunda became caput Illyrici not only of the newly-established prefecture Illyricum, but as the religious capital within the Metropolis of Sirmium. The increase of military and political importance of the province brought the Roman colony Sirmium a rank of imperial city, in which due to instability of the Lower Danube limes Roman emperors often dwelt. Consequently, Sirmium listed the greatest number of martyrs in comparison to the rest of Illyricum during the tetrarchic persecutions. Records of martyrdoms of Sirmian bishop Irenaeus, his deacon Demetrius, lector Pollio from Cibalae, Sirmian citizen Anastasia, gardener Syneros and many others became the core of the martyrological and hagiographical literature of Illyricum as well as the foundation for the study of Christian communities in Pannonia Secunda. First segment of the thesis studies this rich literary tradition, subjects it to historical criticism and corroborates it with archaeological evidence coming from the cult of these martyrs.<br />After legalization of Christianity, Sirmium became the main ecclesiastical see, which housed several church council from 349 to 378. These councils brought creeds that influenced Christological disputes in the entire state.&nbsp; Thus a significant segment of the thesis is concerned with the role of Pannonia Secunda in the Christological disputes from the Nicene council to the Council of Aquileia (325-381), analyzing Sirmian councils and formulas, the role of Valens of Mursa in homoian party, theology of Photinus of Sirmium and theological position of Germinius of Sirmium.<br />Chronologically the last theme is the period of Nicenian consolidation in the Council of Constantinople and the Council of Aquileia (381), where Sirmian bishop Anemius was active participant and a prot&eacute;g&eacute;e of the mighty Ambrose of Milan. However, this religious change in the religious affiliation of Pannonia Secunda&#39;s clergy and adherence to trinitarian theology, coincided with political and cultural disintegration of the province due to the collapse of the northern frontier and permanent barbarian settlement within its borders.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />In view of significant archeological discoveries within the last five decades, the author dedicated a chapter to the material expression of religion of the Pannonia Secunda&rsquo;s population through forms of burial and cult architecture. The author also collected and analysed unpublished manuscripts relevant to reconstruction of Pannonian martyrology, along with some unpublished epigraphic material which bring beter understanding of religious life of the 4th century Pannonia Secunda.<br />The aim of the thesis was a comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the key period in the religious history of Pannonia Secunda accompanied with a synthesis of most significant sources as the basis for all future research.</p>

The argument of this dissertation is that a critical reading of the concept of "covenant" in early American writings is instrumental to understanding the paradoxes in the American political concepts of freedom and equality. Following Slavoj Zizek's theoretical approach to theology, I trace the covenant concept in early American literature from the theological expressions and disputes in Puritan Massachusetts through Jonathan Edwards's Freedom of Will and the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, showing how the covenant theology of colonial New England dispersed into more "secular" forms of what may be called an American political theology. The first chapter provides an overview of recent attempts to integrate theology and theory, specifically comparing Jacques Derrida and Zizek to better understand the latter's theology of materialism which relies on as well as informs the Reformed Protestant covenantal dichotomy of grace and works. The second chapter establishes the complicated architecture of the covenant concept within seventeenth-century New England Reformed Protestantism, and uses church membership transcripts along with Ann Hutchinson court trial documents to demonstrate how this inherently unstable theology created unintended slippage between God's grace and mankind's works, resulting in a theological formulation remarkably open to Zizek's analysis of political ideology. The third chapter demonstrates how Jonathan Edwards, through his ingenious counter-argument in Freedom of Will, provides a theoretical foundation for an uneasy but necessary alignment of the covenants of works and grace, releasing the subjunctive potential of grace to operate through history as a predeterminer of meaning and, potentially, freedom. In the last chapter, I argue that Emerson finally converts the covenant from a politically conceptualized theological framework for radical grace into a personal institutionalization of grace itself. Stanley Cavell's exploration of Emerson's "constitution" in light of the covenant motif demonstrates the political (im)possibilities inherent in America's self-conceptions of personal liberty and civic equality. In the end, complexities inherent in the concept of the covenant, especially its creative failure to control the radical nature of "grace," are determinative factors in our contradictory American egalitarian ideals.

Despite the wealth of scholarship concerning the origins of religious beliefs, practices, and cultures, there has been little consideration of the impact of ecological landscapes on the development of ancient religions. Although the influence of the natural environment is considered among the variables in explaining the development of various economic, political, and other social systems throughout history, there is a specific gap concerning its impact on the origins of religious systems. The argument which is taken up in this writing is the correlation between agriculturally marginal landscape and the development of monotheism. Specifically that the religions of the ancient Iranians and Israelites were shaped, in part, by the ecological landscapes in which they developed. Using comparative case studies (primarily: Judaism, Zoroastrianism; and including the religions: Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Kikuyu, Maasai, and Lakota) and a dataset of temple sites of the greater Near East through the Iron Age, which are in established archaeological record, digitally mapped in ArcGIS, this argument takes up an examination of the apparent interconnection between mobile societies, monotheism, and a respective lack of temple building culture. Although the primary subjects of the argument are very ancient religious societies, this research is eminently relevant to modern humans because we continue to be affected by natural and built environments. Our modern minds and bodies are shaped, partly, in pragmatic response to spaces in which we develop individually and collectively. This writing is one call for more work to be done to understand the effects of our environments on our minds and ways of thinking. This call for scholarship – for understanding – comes, not accidentally, at a time when the implications of human psychological responses to the environment are particularly unsettling. As the tide of human-caused climate change begins to flood our societies and world, how too might the currents of an unraveling biosphere affect our minds? If the development of a mobile deity and mobile society was the pragmatic response of a people to agriculturally marginal landscapes, what economic, social, and religious constructs might be borne of ecological devastation?

Margaret Haughery (1813-1882), a widowed, illiterate Irish immigrant who became known as “the Bread Woman” of New Orleans and the “Angel of the Delta” had grossed over $40,000 by the time of her death. She owned and ran a dairy farm and nationally-known bakery, donated to orphanages, leased property, owned slaves, joined with business partners and brought lawsuits. Although Haughery accomplished much in her life, she is commonly remembered only for her benevolent work with orphans and the poor. In 1884, a statue of her, posed with orphans, was erected by the city’s elite, one of the earliest statues of a woman in the nation. This thesis argues that it was Haughery’s willingness to engage in the mundane business practices of the day, including slaveholding, that made her veneration as a benefactress possible. Using acts of sale, property records, wills, newspaper articles, advertisements, and representations of Haughery, this thesis explores the life behind the image of the “Bread Woman.”

Le but de la présente thèse est d’étudier les témoignages sur la doctrine de l’« Hadès ouranien » du IVe siècle avant J.-C. au VIe siècle après J.-C. et de dégager les éléments essentiels. L’« Hadès ouranien », traduction de l’expression ὁ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ᾍδης, est un thème de pensée qui caractérise tout un millénaire de la philosophie et de la religion de l’Antiquité païenne. En traitant ce thème historico-religieux, on se veut le plus complet possible mais tout en étant prudent envers nos sources, qui sont fragmentaires et qui proviennent, pour la majorité, de la tradition platonico-péripatéticienne et de ses commentateurs. Aussi, s’efforce-t-on de montrer que l’Hadès ouranien est un lieu de purification pour l’âme et donc, un purgatoire. D’une manière générale, notre recherche est la première entièrement consacrée au sujet de l’Hadès ouranien et à son évolution durant l’Antiquité. Pour ce faire, sur la base d’une approche contextualisée, nous croyons devoir distinguer en réalité trois lieux où l’Hadès céleste a été situé : il y a d’un côté l’emplacement dans la Voie Lactée (Héraclide du Pont) ; il y a aussi un effort, assez divers en ses formes, de situer ce Purgatoire entre la Lune et la terre ou aux alentours de la Lune (les académiciens, les stoïciens, Cicéron, Virgile, Plutarque, les écrits hermétiques) ; finalement, Numénius et les néoplatoniciens latins l’ont situé entre la sphère des fixes et la terre. Quant à l’évolution des éléments qui constituent notre thème, la thèse montre que le platonisme et le néoplatonisme ont fourni un milieu propice pour le développement et la propagation dans l’empire gréco-romain des doctrines sur l’Hadès céleste. De plus, ces mouvements ont aidé à la spiritualisation progressive de cet espace purgatoire. Par ailleurs, on établira certaines caractéristiques de notre thème : l’échappée de l’âme hors du corps, l’allégorie physique et la division, ontologique et physique, entre les mondes sublunaire et supralunaire. Dans une première partie, on traitera de la doctrine de l’Hadès ouranien dans l’ancienne Académie platonicienne (Héraclide, Xénocrate, Philippe d’Oponte) et dans le stoïcisme. La deuxième partie est consacrée à l’analyse du Purgatoire chez Plutarque de Chéronée. La doctrine du Purgatoire selon Cicéron et Virgile et chez leurs interprètes néoplatoniciens, ainsi que dans l’hermétisme et le gnosticisme sera traitée dans la troisième partie. Dans la quatrième et dernière partie, on explorera la doctrine du Purgatoire dans le Oracles chaldaïques et dans les écrits de Proclus, particulièrement dans son Commentaire sur la République de Platon. / The aim of the present dissertation is to study the testimonies concerning the doctrine of the “Celestial Hades” from the 4th century BCE to the 6th century CE and to uncover its essential elements. The “Celestial Hades”, translation of the Greek expression ὁ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ᾍδης, is a pattern of thought that characterizes a millenary of the philosophy and the religion of Pagan Antiquity. In analysing this historico-religious motif, we try to be as exhaustive as possible, though we are very prudent towards our sources, which are in most cases fragmentary and originate from the Platonico-Aristotelian tradition. Hence, an effort has been made to show that the celestial Hades is a place of purification for the soul and thus a Purgatory. Generally speaking, our investigation is the first to be entirely dedicated to the study of the doctrine of the Celestial Hades and to its development during Antiquity. To achieve this aim, and following a contextualist approach, we have tried to distinguish three places where the Celestial Hades has been situated: it has been situated either in the Milky Way (Heraclides of Pontus); or between the Moon and the Earth or around the Moon (the Academicians, the Stoics, Cicero, Virgil, Plutarch, the Hermetical writings); finally, it has been situated, according to Numenius and the Latin Neoplatonists, between the sphere of the fixed stars and the Earth. As regarding its development, our study shows that the Platonist and Neoplatonist traditions have provided a favourable milieu for the propagation of this doctrine in Antiquity. Moreover, certain characteristics regarding our theme will be established: the ascension of the soul, the doctrine of physical allegory and the division, ontological et physical, between the sublunary and the supralunary worlds. In the first part of our research, we analyse the doctrine of the Celestial Hades on the Early Academy of Plato (Heraclides, Xenocrates, Philip of Opus) and in the Stoic school. The second part is dedicated to Plutarch’s doctrine of Purgatory. Thirdly, the same doctrine will be analysed in Cicero and Virgil, and their exegetes, as well as in the Hermetic treatises and Gnosticism. The fourth and last part will explore the celestial Purgatory in the Chaldaean Oracles and in the writings of Proclus, particularly his Commentary on the Republic.

The thesis "The Devil as Portrayed in Contemporary Film Art. Focused on American and British Production from the 60s until the Present" discusses the portrayal of the Devil in contemporary American and British film. The work is divided into two main parts. The theoretical part summarizes the concept of the Devil from the perspective of different religions, followed by a chapter on the concept of the Devil in the visual arts. The practical part of the work analyzes films that represent the Devil as a man or a zoomorphic creature, films dealing with exorcism, and finally films that portray the Devil as the Antichrist. The work examines the symbols used in films to capture the Devil in its entirety. It deals primarily with the Devil's appearance, character and power as well as the methods used to demonstrate this power. The analysis of the filmmakers' interpretation is then compared with the Devil as portrayed in traditional religion and art. The goal is to systematically develop an overview of the Devil as a recurring character in contemporary film art and at the same time examine the relationship between film, religious and artistic conceptions of the Devil.