This study is an attempt to construct a new biblical creationism as solution to the problem of the relationship between religion and science. It examines the challenge of modern evolutionism and the churches' responses against it. The modern evolutionism as the acting hypothesis of many modern scientific disciplines helps the Church to re-examine its traditional doctrine of creation. There are two Christian responses against the challenge: individually, various positions are active, such as the theistic evolutionism, the recent special creationism, and the old earth creationism; collectively, the Christian churches have not given careful consideration to the challenge. This study examines the creation account in Genesis 1 according to the Kantian epistemology of the writer's Th. M dissertation, an examination of modern eschatology. It proposes a presentist understanding of creation as the tentative alternative to the traditional creationism. It suggests that: 1) In evolution debate both creationists and evolutionists seem to assume there is an examined scientific creationism. 2) Because the traditional divine report model is unverifiable, we need to construct a scientific model. 3) The account seems to follow the ancient clay tablet format. 4) This study proposes a 'new habitat orientation week' model: the assumed observer's report of daily recognition of the wonderful world. 5) It informs us both of the responsibility for the world and of the significance of communal life. 6) It may provide a balanced foundation both for the sound relationship between science and religion and for the positive Christian worldview. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Dogmatics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Issues which faced Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries include the effects of new scientific theories on traditional religious belief, the impact of technological innovation, the implications of mass literacy and the changing role of women. This thesis records how such issues are reflected in contemporary literature, focusing on the emergence of popular culture and the best seller, a term which conflates author and novel. The first English best seller was Marie Corelli and, by way of introduction, Part I offers a summary of her life and her novels and a critical overview of her work. Part II of the thesis examines how the theory of evolution undermined traditional religious belief and prompted the search for a new creed able to defy materialism and reconcile science and religion. Contemporary literature mirrors the consequent interest in spiritualism during the 1890s and the period immediately following the Great War, and critical readings of Corelli�s A Romance of Two Worlds and The Life Everlasting demonstrate that these novels - which form the nucleus of her personal theology, the Electric Creed - are based on selections from the New Testament, occultism and, in particular, science and spiritualism. Part III of the thesis looks at the emergence of �the woman question�, the corresponding backlash by conservatives and the ways in which these conflicting views are explored in the popular literature of the time. A critical examination of the novella, My Wonderful Wife, reveals how Corelli uses social Darwinism in an ambivalent critique of the New Woman. Several of Corelli�s essays are discussed, showing that her views about the role of women were complex. A critical analysis of The Secret Power engages with Corelli�s peculiar kind of feminism, which would deny women the vote but envisages female scientists inventing and operating airships in order to secure the future of the human race. Interest in Marie Corelli has re-emerged recently, particularly in occult and feminist circles. Corelli�s immense popularity also makes her an important figure in cultural studies. This thesis adds to the body of knowledge about Corelli in that it consciously endeavours to avoid spiritualist or feminist ideological frameworks, instead using contemporary science as a context for examining her work.

abstract: This thesis examines the role of the media and popular culture in defining the shape and scope of what we think of today as "science." As a source of cognitive authority the scientific establishment is virtually beyond dispute. The intellectual clout of science seemingly elevates it to a position outside the influence of the general population. Yet in reality the emergence and evolution of the public sphere, including popular culture, has had a profound impact on the definition and application of science. What science is and how it relates to the life of the ordinary person are hardly static concepts; the public perception of science has been molding its boundaries since at least the 18th century. During the Enlightenment "natural philosophy" was broadly accessible and integrated nicely with other forms of knowledge. As the years passed into the 19th century, however, science became increasingly professionalized and distinct, until the "Two Cultures" had fully developed. The established scientific institution distanced itself from the nonscientific community, leaving the task of communicating scientific knowledge to various popularizers, who typically operated through the media and often used the mantle of science to further their own social or political agendas. Such isolation from orthodox science forced the public to create an alternate form of science for popular consumption, a form consisting mainly of decontextualized facts, often used in contrast to other forms of thought (i.e. religion, art, or pseudoscience). However, with the recent advent of "Web 2.0" and the increasing prominence of convergence culture, the role of the public sphere is undergoing a dramatic revolution. Concepts such as "collective intelligence" are changing consumers of information into simultaneous producers, establishing vast peer networks of collaboration and enabling the public to bypass traditional sources of authority. This new hypermobility of information and empowerment of the public sphere are just now beginning to break down science's monolithic status. In many ways, it seems, we are entering a new Enlightenment. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. English 2012

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho explora temas relacionados ao movimento criacionista e sua tensa relação com a teoria da evolução biológica de Charles Darwin a partir da noção popular atualmente difundida de que os conceitos de criação e evolução seriam mutuamente excludentes. O trabalho busca revisar a bibliografia especializada de forma a investigar se tal dicotomia é necessária e/ou epistemologicamente obrigatória, ou seja, se o teísmo ou o cristianismo levam obrigatoriamente a uma rejeição da teoria da evolução, evidenciando um real conflito entre ciência e religião. Para isso, o estudo parte de uma caracterização das diferentes posições criacionistas e evolucionistas e de um breve histórico do movimento criacionista até os dias atuais. No segundo capítulo, exploramos a maneira criacionista de entender hermeneuticamente o livro do Gênesis, tentando apontar os entraves que fazem com que esta visão entre em conflito com a ciência. Após, analisamos o que a teologia através de esforços hermenêuticos tem a dizer sobre o Gênesis, e o que as pesquisas revelam sobre a compreensão do cosmos do povo que escreveu o primeiro livro da Bíblia. Finalmente, no capítulo três, analisaremos as formas de relação que têm sido sugeridas para abordar o binômio ciência/religião e quais pontes de interação podem ser estabelecidas entre a teologia e a ciência evolucionista a partir desta reflexão. Concluiremos indicando o caminho que entendemos ser o mais frutífero para a superação da noção de conflito entre as duas áreas. Este caminho inclui o reconhecimento da natureza teológica e não científica do relato da criação, a separação necessária entre a física e a metafísica ao analisar-se qualquer achado da ciência moderna, e o redescobrimento da doutrina da criação. / This work explores themes related to the creationist movement and its tense relationship with the theory of biological evolution of Charles Darwin, starting from the widespread notion that the concepts of creation and evolution are mutually incompatible. The work aims at reviewing the specialized bibliography in order to investigate if such dichotomy is necessary and/or epistemologically mandatory, that is, whether or not theism or Christianity lead to an obligatory rejection of the theory of evolution, making evident a real conflict between science and religion. To accomplish that, the study begins with a characterization of the different creationist and evolutionist positions and with a brief historical background of the creationist movement up to these days. In the second chapter, we explore the creationist manner of hermeneutically understanding the book of Genesis, trying to point out the obstacles that make this particular view to be in conflict with science. Then, we analyze what theology, through its hermeneutical efforts, has to say about Genesis, and what the research reveals about the understanding of the Cosmos of the people who wrote the first book of the Bible. Finally, in the third chapter, we analyze the forms of relationship that have been suggested to approach the science/religion controversy and what interaction bridges can be established between theology and evolutionary science from this discussion. We conclude by indicating the path we believe to be the most fruitful for overcoming the notion of conflict between the two fields. This path includes the recognition of the theological, and not scientific, nature of the creation account, the necessary separation between physics and metaphysics when analyzing any finding of modern science and the rediscovery of the doctrine of creation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:15:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RenataBarbosaCruz2.pdf: 1252446 bytes, checksum: f55760b5f901be6c7c7e907e06b2c671 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study investigates the relations and the repercussions in the public schools, of the scientific contents and the doctrinal orientations from Christian denominations, both Catholic and Evangelical groups. These impacts mainly occur in relation to two themes: 1) sexual and reproductive rights and gender issues; 2) Creationism versus Evolutionism. The methodology used consisted of a qualitative research, documentary, consisting of content analysis and literature review. The documentary research had been made using the Google engine search, during the period from August 2011 until September 2014. After surveying some of the countless religious websites and blogs, it was possible to selected 28 texts, which were published in 11 websites and 5 blogs, from 9 different Christian groups. Those groups are: Assembleia de Deus, Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia, Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, Testemunhas de Jeová, Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil (IECLB), Igreja Batista Lagoinha, Igreja Evangélica Cristã, Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil and Igreja Católica Apostólica Romana. The results of the analysis of these texts enabled a better understanding of some points of view and doctrinal relations in connection to the researched themes. The Christian religious denominations that addressed the Creationism and the Evolutionism theme, presented a contrary view of the Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin, thus stated that the scientific theories around the origin of the world and the species are conflicting with the Creationism. In relation to the sexual and reproductive rights and the gender issues, the analyzed texts have shown, mostly, a contrary positioning to homosexuality, contraception, having an abortion and the sexual intercourse before the matrimony. Such texts when checked out to some of the scientific contents proposed by the Ministry of Education, allowed to confirming the proposed hypothesis, that it is possible to identify repercussions of religious doctrines interfering in public schools work referring scientific contents. / O presente estudo investiga repercussões existentes, para as escolas públicas, entre os conteúdos científicos curriculares ministrados e as orientações doutrinárias de denominações religiosas cristãs. Estes impactos ocorrem principalmente em relação a duas temáticas: 1) direitos sexuais e reprodutivos e questões de gênero; 2) criacionismo versus evolucionismo. A metodologia utilizada consistiu em uma pesquisa qualitativa, documental, composta também pela análise de conteúdo e por uma revisão de literatura. A pesquisa documental foi realizada por meio do site de buscas Google, no período de agosto de 2011 a setembro de 2014. Após o levantamento de inúmeros sites e blogs, foram selecionados 28 textos, publicados em 11 sites e 5 blogs de 9 denominações religiosas cristãs: Assembleia de Deus, Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia, Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, Testemunhas de Jeová, Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil (IECLB), Igreja Batista Lagoinha, Igreja Evangélica Cristã, Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil e Igreja Católica Apostólica Romana. O resultado da análise destes textos possibilitou uma visão acerca de pontos de vista e relações doutrinárias em relação às temáticas pesquisadas. As denominações religiosas cristãs que abordaram a temática do Criacionismo e do Evolucionismo apresentaram um posicionamento contrário à Teoria da Evolução de Charles Darwin, pois alegaram que as teorias científicas acerca da origem do mundo e das espécies são conflitantes com o Criacionismo, ou seja, a versão do livro de Gênesis, presente na Bíblia. Em relação aos direitos sexuais e reprodutivos e questões de gêneros, os textos analisados apresentaram, em sua maioria, um posicionamento contrário à homossexualidade, anticoncepção, realização do aborto e de relações sexuais antes do casamento. Concluiu-se que a presença de conteúdos religiosos no currículo e no cotidiano escolar das escolas públicas pode gerar conflitos com os conteúdos científicos propostos pelo Ministério da Educação, comprometendo a qualidade de ensino.

Submitted by Neusa Fagundes (neusa.fagundes@unioeste.br) on 2018-04-02T14:41:51Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Kellys_Saucedo2015.pdf: 1734045 bytes, checksum: 1f94e389e198c4003eb441770b643692 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-02T14:41:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Kellys_Saucedo2015.pdf: 1734045 bytes, checksum: 1f94e389e198c4003eb441770b643692 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The last decade of the twentieth century was an important period for the reformulation of the legislative corpus regarding Religious Education in Brazil. In the history of the discipline, there has been the predominance of optional registration with mandatory offer in the curricula of public elementary schools. Nevertheless, despite this characteristic, the State delegated to volunteers, generally linked to religious institutions, the responsibility for teaching the subject. With the enactment of the Federal Law nº 9475/1997, which amended what was stated in the article 33 of the LDB (Law of Guidelines and Bases of Education) in force, the expression “at no cost to the state” was removed from this federal law, and education systems began to regulate the hiring of teachers. In the state of Paraná, the Deliberation nº 01/2006 of the State Board of Education indicates, as selection and hiring criteria for the Religious Education in the early years, primarily, the option for graduates in Pedagogy. This guideline led to the following central research question: how the pedagogues are being prepared to teach Religious Education? In order to answer this question, three instruments were used: literature review, documentary research and field research. Literature review aimed to cover the historical background of Religious Education and the presence of Religion in the History of Brazilian Education. These data provided relevant information underpinning the main issues on initial formation and the performance of Religious Education teachers. More specific readings on different historical contexts were also included, showing how the relationship between Science and Religion had – and sometimes still have – different impacts on society. It is understood that, directly or indirectly, these debates interfere with the teacher’s initial education and performance, with implications in the classroom that can contribute or not to the development of children in early learning processes. Documentary research was carried out through the analysis of laws, rules, instructions and other official documents produced by the national, state and municipal legislative and regulatory bodies designed to organize the subject of Religious Education. Field research was constituted by interviews with four coordinators of Education (Pedagogy) in-classroom courses of Higher Education Institutions from Cascavel (Paraná, Brazil) and by a questionnaire applied to senior students of these courses, which propitiated to apprehend the mismatches of initial education related to the teaching of Religious Education. With respect to the Municipal School System, interviews were carried out with the Municipal Coordinator of Religious Education, fourteen Religious Education teachers and a school director. The results indicate that the nature of the production of religious knowledge and the influence of Religion in child development are underemphasized content both in initial and in continuing education of teachers. Another important result of this study was the finding that the sample participants generally have serious shortcomings in their education with regard to constructing conceptual overviews of Science and Religion topics. Research data also highlighted the need to rethink the initial and continuing education of Religious Education teachers, because the current legislation has not been sufficient to elucidate the problem regarding the content approach and, in some cases, the materialization of the current epistemological proposal of Religious Education. In this sense, the suggestion is to include, in the initial and continuing education of pedagogues, discussions on the history of the discipline and the methodological and epistemological differences of the nature of religious and scientific knowledge, considering that these contents are the basis to build dialogical bridges with other areas of knowledge, including the teaching of Science. / A última década do século XX, no Brasil, representou um importante período para a reformulação do corpus normativo do Ensino Religioso. No histórico da disciplina, foi predominante a matrícula facultativa com oferta obrigatória nos currículos das escolas públicas de Ensino Fundamental. Entretanto, apesar dessa característica, o Estado delegava a voluntários, vinculados, em geral, a instituições religiosas, a responsabilidade pelo ensino da disciplina. Com a promulgação da Lei Federal nº 9475/1997, que alterou o disposto no art. 33 da LDB em vigor, a expressão “sem ônus para os cofres públicos” foi removida da lei federal, e os sistemas de ensino passaram a normatizar a contratação de professores. No Estado do Paraná, a Deliberação nº 01/2006, do Conselho Estadual de Educação, indica, como critério de seleção e contratação para o Ensino Religioso nos anos iniciais, prioritariamente, os alunos graduados em Pedagogia. Em virtude dessa instrução, formulou-se a seguinte questão central de pesquisa: como os Pedagogos estão sendo preparados para atuarem com a disciplina de Ensino Religioso? Em busca de resposta a esse questionamento, três instrumentos foram utilizados: pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e de campo. A pesquisa bibliográfica teve por objetivo a compreensão do percurso do Ensino Religioso e da presença da Religião na História da Educação brasileira. Esses dados forneceram informações relevantes que alicerçam as principais questões sobre a formação inicial e a atuação de professores de Ensino Religioso. Foram agregadas, ainda, leituras mais específicas sobre diferentes contextos históricos, nos quais as relações entre Ciência e Religião tiveram – e, por vezes, ainda têm – diferentes repercussões na sociedade. Entende-se que, direta ou indiretamente, esses debates interferem na formação inicial e na atuação do professor, provocando implicações na sala de aula que podem contribuir, ou não, para o desenvolvimento das crianças em processos iniciais de aprendizagem. A pesquisa documental foi empreendida por meio da análise de leis, normas, instruções e demais documentos oficiais produzidos pelos órgãos legislativos e normativos nacionais, estaduais e municipais elaborados para organizar a disciplina de Ensino Religioso. A pesquisa de campo foi constituída por entrevistas com quatro coordenadores de cursos de Pedagogia, na modalidade presencial, de Instituições de Ensino Superior situadas em Cascavel (PR), e pela aplicação de questionário aos alunos formandos desses cursos, o que propiciou a compreensão dos descaminhos na formação inicial em relação à docência do Ensino Religioso. Na Rede Municipal de Ensino, foram entrevistados o Coordenador Municipal do Ensino Religioso, quatorze professores dessa disciplina e um diretor de Escola Municipal. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam que a natureza da produção do conhecimento religioso e a influência da Religião no desenvolvimento infantil são conteúdos pouco enfatizados, tanto na formação inicial quanto na formação continuada de professores. Outro resultado importante desta pesquisa foi a verificação de que os participantes da amostra, em geral, apresentam sérias lacunas para construção de sínteses conceituais de tópicos relacionados a Ciência e a Religião. Os dados ressaltaram, ainda, a necessidade de repensar a formação inicial e continuada dos docentes de Ensino Religioso, pois a legislação em vigor não tem sido suficiente para elucidar as problemáticas com a abordagem dos conteúdos e, em alguns casos, a efetivação da atual proposta epistemológica do Ensino Religioso. Nesse sentido, sugere-se a inclusão, na formação inicial e continuada dos professores pedagogos, de reflexões sobre o histórico da disciplina e sobre as diferenças metodológicas e epistemológicas da natureza dos conhecimentos religioso e científico, considerando que esses conteúdos são a base para a formação de pontes dialógicas com outras áreas do conhecimento, entre as quais o ensino de Ciências.

Reformed Epistemology is an influential view in contemporary philosophy of religion, according to which theistic beliefs that are the product of our native, non-inferential cognitive faculties often constitute knowledge if God exists. My aim in this thesis is to ascertain whether Reformed Epistemology is viable in light of contemporary scientific explanations of the mechanisms of religious belief- formation, especially the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR). I argue for a qualified “yes.” To begin with, I attempt to carefully reconstruct and scrutinise some currently popular “debunking arguments” from CSR’s findings, which aim to show that non-inferential religious beliefs are not knowledge, even if true, given the causal origins that CSR ascribes to them. I try to show that in various ways these arguments fail. Subsequently, I attempt to find a better such argument. The strongest debunking argument, I contend, is one that focuses upon the diverse and mutually inconsistent outputs of the religious belief-producing mechanisms described by CSR. However, I go on to argue that even supposing that this argument succeeds in showing that religious beliefs that are partly the product of contingent cultural influences are not knowledge even if true, there remains a body of what I term “core propositions”—propositions concerning the existence of some kind of personal, supernatural creator and moral lawgiver, in which humans are naturally disposed to believe regardless of their particular cultural setting— that can be known if God exists. Finally, I try to show that merely having this core supernaturalistic knowledge would provide someone with the cognitive contact with God that is sufficient for having a personal relationship with God (if God exists), even if only de re relationship. I argue, moreover, that God would have positively good reasons for creating a world in which human beliefs about life’s most important matters, including religious matters, are significantly dependent upon testimony and hence subject to the ebbs and flows of cultural tides.

Die Theorien, die in dieser Arbeit verglichen werden sollen, stammen von exponierten Vordenkern der CSR. Sowohl Thomas E. Lawson und Robert N. McCauley als auch Harvey Whitehouse stellen eine stark um das Thema Ritual kursierende Religionstheorie vor, deren Fundamente von kognitionswissenschaftlichen und evolutionären Prämissen geprägt sind.:1. Einleitung 04 2. Die Ritualtheorie von R. N. McCauley und E. Thomas Lawson 05 2.1 Ziele der Theorie 06 2.2 Die Theorie der Kompetenz religiöser Rituale 07 2.3 Das System zur Repräsentation von Handlungen 10 2.4 Religiöse Rituale vs. religiöse Aktivitäten 11 2.4.1 Akteure, Handlungen und Objekte 12 2.4.2 Die zwei Profile von Ritualen 13 2.5 Wiederholbarkeit, Reversibilität und Variabilität 15 2.6 Strukturelle Tiefe und Zentralität 16 2.7 Epidemiologie 17 2.8 Stimulation und Frequenz 18 3. Die Religions-Theorie von Harvey Whitehouse 19 3.1 Erinnerung und Motivation 21 3.2 Der doktrinale Religionsmodus 22 3.2.1 Semantisches Wissen, religiöse Führer und Orthodoxie 22 3.2.2 Repitition, implizites Gedächtnis und Rituale 23 3.2.3 Anonymität und Verbreitung 24 3.3 Der imagistische Religionsmodus 25 3.3.1 Erregung, episodisches Gedächtnis und Reflexion 25 3.3.2 Diversität und Führungslosigkeit 26 3.3.3 Kohäsion und Verbreitung 27 3.4 Identity Fusion und Group Identification 29 3.4.1 Psychologische Mechanismen bei Identity Fusion 30 3.4.2 Psychologische Mechanismen bei Group Identification 31 3.5 Empirische Einordnung und Ursprünge 31 4. Interner Vergleich der beiden Theorien 33 4.1 Lawson/McCauley: Kritik an der Ritual Frequency Hypothesis 34 4.1.1 Lawson/McCauley: Beobachtung vs. Teilnahme 35 4.1.2 Definition: Teilnahme 35 4.1.3 Lawson/McCauley: Keine Frequency Hypothesis ohne Ritual Form 36 4.2 Whitehouse: Form und Frequenz 37 4.2.1 Whitehouse: Ritual Form als Hybrid 37 4.2.2 Whitehouse: Erinnerung und Motivation 38 4.2.3 Whitehouse: Semantisches Wissen vs. kognitive Prozesse 39 3 5. Anwendung der beiden Theorien 40 5.1 Die Lawson/McCauley-Theorie am Beispiel jüdischer Rituale 41 5.1.1 Beschneidung 42 5.1.2 Konversion 43 5.1.3 Kommentar zu Tamás Biró 45 5.2 Die Lawson/McCauley-Theorie am Beispiel von Nonnen im Theravada Buddhismus 46 5.2.1 Buddha als CPS-Akteur 48 5.2.2 Die Ordinierung als special agent-Ritual 48 5.2.3 Kommentar zu Slone und Mort 50 5.3 Religiöse Modi am Beispiel der Nazareth Baptist Church 51 5.3.1 Der sakrale Tanz 51 5.3.2 Heilungsgeschichten 52 5.3.3 Die Kirchenspaltung 53 5.3.4 Kommentar zu Echtler 54 5.4 Frequenzen und Profile bei Ritualen der Qumran-Bewegung 55 5.4.1 Rituelle Reinigung 56 5.4.2 Sabbat 58 5.4.3 Mahl und Studium 59 5.4.4 Kommentar zu Jokiranta 60 6. Die Methoden der Cognitive Science of Religion 61 6.1 Die Lawson/McCauley-Theorie im experimentellen Versuch 63 6.1.1 Die Variablen 63 6.1.2 Die Durchführung 64 6.1.3 Vorhersagen 66 6.1.4 Diskussion 66 6.2 Die Theorie religiöser Modi am Beispiel von eHRAF-Daten 69 6.2.1 Das Erstellen einer Datenbank für die modes-Theorie 70 6.2.2 Die Methode 71 6.2.3 Diskussion 72 7. Religionswissenschaftliche Reflexion 73 7.1 Alternative kognitive Modelle 74 7.2 Kritikpunkt: tedium-Effekt 76 7.3 Mentale Repräsentationen 78 8. Schlussbetrachtung 80 Literatur Quellen

Religiously conservative Americans consistently demonstrate lower scientific literacy than other Americans. Some argue, however, that Americans’ scientific literacy is contingent on subcultural conflict, showing differences in scientific literacy that emerge only on religiously contested scientific claims. Building on these insights, we find that the most salient factor explaining Americans’ divergence on contested (though not on uncontested) scientific claims is not religious commitment or conservatism per se, but an ideology that seeks political—and consequently epistemic—dominance: Christian nationalism. National data show that Christian nationalism is unassociated with Americans’ answers on questions about uncontested scientific knowledge. However, Christian nationalism is the strongest predictor of incorrect answers on questions about religiously contested scientific claims. Contemporary “culture war” debates over science have little to do with outright ignorance of science, nor are they strictly about religiosity or theological conservatism. Rather, disputes over science and religion reflect politically motivated denials of scientific facts that threaten Christian nationalism’s claims to epistemic and cultural authority.

Doctor Theologiae - DTh / This doctoral thesis comprises a critical comparison of the theme of concursus, the way in which God and humanity interact, in the Pentecostal-Charismatic and Process-Relational traditions. The comparison is literature-based; similarities and differences in the theological literature of each tradition are compared in order to determine the extent of compatibilities and incompatibilities. The hypothesis is that similarities in the literature sufficiently leverage differences. The first chapter includes a statement of the problem, namely that the global expansion of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movements necessitates interaction with more academically and philosophically oriented theological traditions such as Process- Relational theology. The second chapter comprises an historical survey of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movements, including key dogmas and practices. Chapter three comprises an historical survey of Process-Relational theology, including its philosophical, metaphysical, and scientific orientations. Seminal Process- Relational theists such as Whitehead, Hartshorne, and Cobb are surveyed. Chapter four consists of a broad historical survey of the theological theme of concursus, including the notions of causation, free will, and determinism in both philosophy and theology. Further, the fourth chapter includesa broad historical survey of pneumatology, which is framed as the basis for a comparison of concursus. Chapters five and six comprise surveys of concursus in the Pentecostal- Charismatic and Process-Relational traditions respectively. Chapter seven entails an extensive analysis of differences and synthesis of similarities between the Pentecostal-Charismatic and Process-Relational notions of concursus. Four differences and four similarities are identified. Differences and similarities are ranked and compared for compatibility. Ultimately, the research question is answered affirmatively and conditionally: yes, according to the literature of both traditions, similarities sufficiently leverage differences, but socio-linguistic barriers may obstruct meaningful mutual transformation. Chapter eight concludes with a brief exploration of ecclesial and social implications.