The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of Joe Duquette High School students through listening to their stories. My approach to listening developed out of the context of the school's Aboriginal philosophy. The thesis analyzes and describes what constitutes a meaningful education within the cultural framework of Good and Right Relations from the perspective of Joe Duquette High School students. The Joe Duquette High School environment is a holistic one where the Sacred Circle philosophy and the good and right relations framework serves as a guide to the pedagogy of the school. The methodology used in this thesis was shaped by the cultural philosophy of Joe Duquette High School and guided by student emphasis and meaning. A number of methodologies were drawn upon in order to approach the multiple contexts of the Joe Duquette High School cultural complex. The central themes identified by students through their narratives serve as an organizational framework for the findings. My interpretation of what the students said is presented through my own personal narrative. I used my own story to develop more fully those ideas/concepts/ideals expressed by the students.The main contribution of this study is highlighting the Joe Duquette High School experience through the students' perspectives and the method used to tell their story came out of the cultural context of the school.

This study discloses Shinto’s experiential and existential significance and aims to articulate Shinto’s sacred objective. It shows that Shinto, by way of experience, communicates being in the world with nature and with others as a sacred objective. This suggests that Shinto, in communicating its objective, appeals to the emotions more so than to the intellect; and that Shinto’s sacred objective does not transcend the natural world of both nature and everyday affairs. This study pursues this goal by showing the experiential and existential dimensions of the three primary features of Shinto: it shows how kami (or kami-ness) is thought of as an awe producing quality of being/s that are mostly associated with the natural world; how Shinto shrines’ aesthetics and atmosphere are thought to evoke a feeling of the natural world’s sacredness; and how festivals are thought to be ecstatic and effervescent occasions that regenerate an affirmation of being in the world with others. Though this study does not employ a strict methodological approach—insofar as the conclusions herein are based primarily on literature review—it was motivated by an existential outlook on the study of religion and assumes that the term “religion” refers primarily to an existential phenomenon that pertains not necessarily to socio-historical institutions but to a way of being in the world.

Suite aux grands changements politiques, économiques et sociaux que l’Occident a connus depuis plus d’un siècle, de nombreux problèmes ont émergé, de nouveaux défis ont été lancés et plusieurs approches et solutions ont été avancées. L’avènement de la démocratie, un exploit humain inestimable, a plus ou moins règlementé la pluralité idéologique, pour permettre un exercice politique organisé. Aujourd’hui, dans le nouvel ordre mondial, c’est la pluralité morale et religieuse qui a besoin d’être gérée; un défi pour les institutions démocratiques et pour la société civile, afin de réaliser un mieux vivre-ensemble dans le dialogue, la compréhension et le compromis. Or, beaucoup de travail est encore à faire : dans un premier temps, à l’intérieur de chaque tradition religieuse; dans un deuxième temps, entre les différentes traditions; et dans un troisième temps, entre ces traditions et la modernité. Le ‘dogmatisme’ est au cœur de ces débats, qu’il soit d’ordre traditionnel ou moderne, il entrave la raison dans son processus de libération et d’émancipation. La problématique de ce mémoire concerne la gestion de la pluralité morale et religieuse en Occident. Dans ce travail, nous allons essayer de démontrer comment la libération du dogmatisme en général et la libération du ‘dogmatisme’ musulman, en particulier, peuvent contribuer à la réalisation d’un mieux vivre-ensemble en Occident. Pour ce faire, nous analyserons les projets de deux penseurs musulmans contemporains : Muhammad Arkoun et Tariq Ramadan. Notre recherche va essentiellement se pencher sur leurs attitudes vis-à-vis de la tradition et de la modernité, car, nous pensons que l’enjeu du ‘dogmatisme’ est lié aux rapports des musulmans à leur tradition et à la modernité. Selon nos deux penseurs, la libération du ‘dogmatisme’ musulman n’est possible qu’à condition de pouvoir changer à la fois notre rapport à la tradition et à la modernité. Arkoun pense que ce changement doit suivre le modèle de la libération occidentale, au moyen d’une critique subversive de la tradition islamique. Cependant, Ramadan opte pour une réforme radicale de la pensée islamique qui vise une critique globale de la tradition, mais, qui épargne les fondements de la foi : le ‘sacré’. / Following the major political, economic and social changes that occurred in the West for over a century, many problems have emerged, new challenges have surfaced, and several approaches and solutions have been proposed. The advent of democracy, an invaluable human achievement, more or less regulated ideological plurality, and allowed the evolution of an organized political exercise. Today, in the new world order, it is the moral and religious diversity that need to be managed. The challenge remains for democratic institutions and civil society to create a better harmonious community through dialogue, understanding and compromise. However, much work is still to be done : first, within each religious tradition, second, between different traditions and third, between tradition and modernity. Dogmatism is at the heart of these debates. An order, whether traditional or modern hampers objectives reasoning in the process of liberation and emancipation. The issue of this paper concerns the management of the moral and religious plurality in the West. In this work, we will try to demonstrate how the relinquishing of ‘dogmatism’ in general and the relinquishing of Muslim ‘dogmatism’ in particular, can contribute to the achievement of a harmonious in a pluralistic West. This will be achieved by shedding light on the projects of two contemporary Muslim thinkers : Muhammad Arkoun and Tariq Ramadan. Our research is mainly to reflect on their attitudes towards tradition versus modernity, as we believe that the issue of dogmatism is linked to Muslims’ attitude towards tradition and modernity. According to these two thinkers, the release of muslims’ ‘dogmatism’ is only possible by changing both our relationship to tradition and modernity. Arkoun thinks this change should follow the model of Western release through a subversive critique of the Islamic tradition. However, Ramadan opts for a radical reform of Islamic thought through a comprehensive critique of the tradition, in order to save the foundation of faith : The ‘sacred’.

The concepts and issues surrounding the study of sacred places represent a complex interaction of mindscapes and landscapes. Using as the main examples Stonehenge and the Bighorn Medicine Wheel, this thesis is about these interactions in natural, community sacred places and serves two main purposes. The first is to clarify the meaning of -sacred- and the application of sacred designation to natural places. The second is to explore options for the protection. conservation and restoration of such places. In addition. an interpretation of cultural issues surrounding the understanding of the sacred in place explores and explains the connections between worldviews, stories or mythologies, and sense of place in sacred places so that a better understanding can be reached of the paradigms that underlie our conception of the sacred and of nature. and by extension, the sacred in nature. This in turn serves to illuminate the recommendation of focal restoration techniques to restore sacred places.

This research reports on a project concerned with the relationship between the person and the environment in the context of achieving a contemplative or existential state – a state which can be experienced either consciously or subconsciously. The need for such a study originated with the desire to contribute to the design of multicultural spaces which could be used for a range of activities within the public and the personal arena, activities including contemplation, meditation and prayer. The concept of ‘sacred’ is explored in the literature review and in primary interviews with the participants of this study. Given that the word ‘sacred’ is highly value-laden and potentially alienating for some people, it was decided to use the more accessible term ‘contemplative’. The outcomes of the study inform the practice of interior design and architecture which tends currently to neglect the potential for all spaces to be existentially meaningful. Informed by phenomenological methodology, data were collected from a diverse group of people, using photo-elicitation and interviews. The technique of photo-elicitation proved to be highly effective in helping people reveal their everyday lived experience of contemplative spaces. Reflective analysis (Van Manen 2000) was used to explore the data collected. The initial stage of analysis produced three categories of data: varying conceptions of contemplation, aspects of the person involved in the contemplation, and aspects of environment involved in contemplation. From this, it was found that achieving a state of contemplation involves both the person and the environment in a dialectic process of unfolding. The unfolding has various physical, psycho-social, and existential dimensions or qualities which operate sequentially and simultaneously. Two concepts emerged as being central to unfolding: ‘Cleansing’ and ‘Nothingness’. Unfolding is found to comprise the Core; Distinction; Manifestation; Cleansing; Creation; and Sharing. This has a parallel with Mircea Eliade’s (1959) definition of sacred as something that manifests itself as different from the profane. The power of design, re-contextualization through utility and purpose, and the existential engagements between the person and environment are used as a basis for establishing the potential contribution of the study to interior design. In this way, the study makes a contribution to our understanding of how space and its elements inspire, support and sustain person environment interaction – particularly at the existential level – as well as to our understanding of the multi-dimensional and holistic nature of this interaction. In addition, it points to the need for a phenomenological re-conceptualisation of the design/client relationship. In summary, the contributions of this research are: the exploration of contemplative experience as sacred experience; an understanding of the design of space as creating engagement between person and environment; a rationale for the introduction of a phenomenological approach to the relationship between designer and clients; and raising awareness of the spiritual in a holistic approach to design.

Mémoire (M.A.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1995. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-208).

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-208).

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2716. Adviser: Fred Stoltzfus. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 170) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Queensland, 2006. / Compact disc comprises recorded performances of the compositions. Includes bibliographical references.