Violent traumatic events impact communities and demand ministerial responses that are not only pastoral in nature but also prophetic, challenging institutional and sociocultural roots of violence through vision and analysis. There is a noticeable gap in qualitative studies of the prophetic pastoral practices of organized trauma response ministries in addressing violence. This dissertation addresses this gap through qualitative case studies of two trauma response ministries operating in diverse cultural contexts. The dissertation forges a beginning constructive practical theology of trauma from the voices, experiences, and practices of survivors and their trauma response ministry providers, lifting up the need for an intercultural approach and examining the results for untapped theological resources for constructive practical theologies of trauma. By integrating trauma studies into lived religion approaches, this dissertation conceptualizes survivors' use of material objects, rituals, and surroundings to enact a 'theopoetics of material religion.' This theopoetics captures the constructive theological significance of survivors' use of material objects, rituals, and surroundings for prophetic and performative testimony and witness. The introduction and chapter one make the case that addressing the problem of violent trauma in the American context calls for an approach rooted in prophetic pastoral care practices, one that is attentive to the particular contextual realities and resources of communities living in the aftermath of trauma. Using a lived religion methodological approach enhanced by trauma studies and a theopoetics of material religion, chapter two presents a case study of an inner-city lay-led trauma response ministry that serves family survivors of homicide. Chapter three presents a case study of a denominational-based trauma response ministry's services to a suburban congregation following a gun assault. Chapter four illustrates the theological themes witnessed in each case study and places these in intercultural dialogue. The final chapter engages current constructive theologies of trauma and brings the insights of the case studies to bear on interpretations of theology in the aftermath of trauma. The dissertation begins to forge of a constructive practical theology of trauma and concludes with strategic recommendations for constructive practical theologians, pastoral care providers, and social and ecclesial structures.

This thesis explores the use of language, myth creation, and the development of American civil religion to construct a national identity. It analyzes the role of religious language in imagining an identity for the American people, with Protestant Christianity being a driving force for this rhetoric. Throughout this thesis, I argue that specific historical figures have become symbols of American identity, creating an American cult that venerates these figures as sacred icons. This thesis traces the historical development of thought as it relates to American political figures taking on mythical and legendary status in the minds of the citizens. The role of monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C., as capsules into the past and symbolic representations of what is essential to the American people, is also explored. I argue that monuments and memorials have artistic perspectives and use specific imagery that shows how the designers want their audience to view and interpret the events and people who are the subject of the piece and how notions of national identity are projected onto monuments, memorials, and symbols. The thesis also examines the growing phenomenon of far-right nationalism in the United States and how President Trump used populism and rhetoric of American civil religion to strengthen his support. I also explore the variations of patriotic participation through protests by Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter Movement showing the diverse nature of national identity and civic contribution. The thesis also delves into the importance of the military in the United States and how soldiers have become a symbol of American patriotism and identity. By highlighting the role of religion, language, and mythology in shaping national identity, this thesis sheds light on the complex interplay between culture, history, and identity in the United States.

Le Congrès Eucharistique International est l’un des événements de masse les plus significatifs du catholicisme contemporain. À mi-chemin entre la modernité et la tradition, il s’agit d’un phénomène de mobilisation des fidèles comparable à des événements de masse laïcs, tels que l´Exposition Universelle, les congrès scientifiques et politiques, et même les Jeux Olympiques. Notre travail fait une étude comparative de deux des trois Congrès Internationaux qui ont eu lieu en Espagne (Madrid 1911 et Barcelone 1952). Ces assemblées catholiques sont un vaste et riche champ pour la recherche du point de vue des études transdisciplinaires, et en particulier de la perspective de l’histoire culturelle, car chaque célébration implique une convergence particulière d’intérêts multiples (religieux, politiques, économiques, spatiaux, symboliques, etc.). Tandis que pour la première partie de la thèse nous avons fait une contextualisation historique approfondie de chaque congrès (locale, nationale et internationale), pour la deuxième partie, nous avons opté pour une perspective comparative et diachronique autour de deux thématiques essentielles pour l´étude des faits religieux contemporains : catholicisme espagnol et modernité (chapitre 5), et catholicisme espagnol et espace urbain (chapitre 6). La perspective spatiale de notre sixième chapitre est très importante, car, dans le cadre espagnol, il n’existe à ce jour que très peu d’études approfondies sur la religion comme un facteur de transformation de la ville, et inversement, de la ville comme un élément de modernisation du catholicisme contemporain. / The International Eucharistic Congress is one of the most striking mega events organized by the Catholic Church in late modernity. Its hybrid nature (both traditional and modern, secular and spiritual), the fact that it has been celebrated since the end of the XIXth century in all five continents, and the imposing multitudes it gathers, make it an extraordinary object of study for the field of Religion and History. Despite its being mainly conservative in nature, its celebration has also allowed for restricted, but fundamental, religious innovation, gradually allowing the Church to creatively face the challenges of an increasingly less observant modern society. Spain has celebrated the IEC on three occasions: Madrid 1911, Barcelona 1952 and Seville 1993. Our work wishes to establish a rich comparison between the first two. We will first situate the 1911 and 1952 celebrations in their local, national and international historical contexts. Then, in the second part of our work, we will study both celebrations from a diachronic and thematic perspective, namely, the relation of Spanish Catholicism both to Modernity (to the emergence of mass culture and society) and to Urban Space. Taking a postsecular point of view, we will emphasize the fact that the place, role, meaning, and identity of religion in Spain have changed in tandem with modernity’s social, economic, political and cultural transformations. Ultimately, inspired by both by S. Juliá´s revision of the historical metanarrative that considered Spain as Modernity´s failure/“anomaly”, and by F. Montero´s call to develop a Cultural History of Spanish Catholicism, our study wishes to critically reevaluate the role that History has traditionally ascribed to Catholicism in Contemporary Spain.