Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1918. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [282]-286) and index.

This study compares spiritualist belief systems found in Africa, China and the United States. The purpose is to determine the functions these belief systems serve for their adherents and to isolate the features common to all three systems and find possible explanations for the similarities.Original fieldwork was conducted at Camp Chesterfield, Chesterfield, Indiana to obtain data for the chapter on the United States. The fieldwork and data of other scholars was utilized for the chapters on China and Africa.Belief systems from these three culture areas are described in terms of history, social and economic environment, cosmology, and ritual. Similarities in cosmology and ritual are then discussed. Functions, ritual aspects, and cosmology common to all three areas are identified. Diffusion as a possible cause of the similarities is eliminated in favor of psychological/physiological experiences with are universally possible, even if never actualized, to all human beings.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1932. / Vita. Published also without thesis note. Music: p. 216-222. Bibliography: p. 631-653.

Thesis (PH. D.)--Columbia university, 1932. / Vita. Published also without thesis note. Music: p. 216-222. Bibliography: p. 631-653.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1918. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [282]-286) and index.

Thesis (Th. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1918. / Vita. Bibliography: p. [282]-286.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2001. / Adviser: Elizabeth Ammons. Submitted to the Dept. of English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-189). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

Thesis--University of Chicago, 1916. / At head of title: The University of Chicago. "Private edition." Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-139).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 289-309).

The Caodai religion of Vietnam has often been labeled as a peasant-driven, politico-religious sect due to its anti-colonial activities during the first half of the 1940s. This paper conducts an historical analysis of Caodaism’s formative years (1926-1941) to show that the religion was in fact primarily managed by Cochinchinese (South Vietnamese) elites who appropriated many of the governance and economic models introduced by the French colonial government. Combining their knowledge of Western bureaucratic systems with Asian religious traditions into a form of hybridity that exhibited both cultures, these elites founded the religion of Caodaism. The paper uses the concept of hybridity to look at how other aspects embody the negotiation and reappropriation of ideas by Caodaists. These include the concept of salvation, the religion’s spirit pantheon, Caodaism’s most famous Western convert (Gabriel Gobron), and the Caodai community in Tay Ninh province. I argue that these hybrid forms allowed Caodaists to overcome a sense of cultural inferiority by establishing cultural parity with the West. Furthermore, I look at the recent developments within Caodaist communities that have formed in the wake of the 1975 Vietnamese Diaspora. I first examine the influence of restrictive state policies on Caodaists in the homeland and compare it with the experiences of diasporic Vietnamese in rebuilding their religion outside of Vietnam. I find that these diasporic communities are caught between two poles in their attempts to revive the religion. Some overseas Caodaists feel that it is necessary to preserve the tradition by supporting mainland Caodaism from the outside. Others find it more suitable to begin reinventing the religion to cater to diasporic needs and challenges. This tension, I argue, also constitutes a type of hybridity in which individuals must delegate between these two approaches to decide the future of their religion. / text