Dissertations / Theses: 'Religious communitie'

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NEGRI, ALESSANDRO. "IL CONTRASTO ALLA RADICALIZZAZIONE VIOLENTA DI MATRICE RELIGIOSA IN UN ORDINAMENTO LAICO E PLURALISTA." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/2434/816085.

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Nonostante il tema della lotta al terrorismo di matrice asseritamente religiosa, e dunque della radicalizzazione che precede il passaggio all’atto violento, sia al centro del dibattito politico e giuridico ormai da vent’anni, il nostro ordinamento non sembra essere stato ancora in grado di elaborare una risposta univoca e efficace a detti fenomeni. Il punto di partenza da cui prende le mosse questo lavoro è la convinzione che le difficoltà finora incontrate siano anzitutto legate alla lacuna di una definizione giuridica di radicalizzazione, foriera di confusione e criticità. Primo scopo di tale ricerca, quindi, è conferire a tale concetto un’autentica rilevanza giuridica, capace di indicare all’ordinamento il baricentro attorno al quale orientare la propria reazione. Alla luce della proposta qui elaborata, secondo cui il radicalizzato è colui che ha modellato la sua intera personalità attorno alla sua professione di fede e rifiuta di riconoscere pari dignità a chi non condivide la sua religiosità totalizzante, si vaglierà poi l’attuale modello italiano di contrasto alla radicalizzazione, evidenziandone in particolare i limiti e le debolezze. La seconda parte del lavoro suggerisce invece inedite strategie di prevenzione della radicalizzazione e di de-radicalizzazione attuabili in un ordinamento laico come quello italiano, prefigurando nuove ipotesi di collaborazione con le comunità religiose compatibili col quadro costituzionale e sottolineando la centralità del concetto di responsabilità in un piano laico di de-radicalizzazione.
Despite the fact that the fight against allegedly religious terrorism, and therefore the radicalisation that precedes the transition to violence, has been at the centre of the political and legal debate for twenty years now, our legal system does not yet seem to have been able to develop a univocal and effective response to these phenomena. The starting point for this work is the conviction that the difficulties encountered so far are first and foremost linked to the lack of a legal definition of radicalisation, a source of confusion and criticality. The first aim of this research, therefore, is to give this concept legal relevance, capable of indicating to the legal system the centre of gravity around which to orient its reaction. In the light of the proposal elaborated here, according to which the radicalised individual is he who has modelled his entire personality around his profession of faith and refuses to recognise equal dignity to those who do not share his totalising religiosity, the present Italian model of counteracting radicalisation will be examined, highlighting, in particular, its limits and weaknesses. The second part of the thesis, on the other hand, suggests new strategies for the prevention of radicalisation and de-radicalisation that can be implemented in a secular system such as the Italian one, prefiguring new hypotheses of collaboration with religious communities compatible with the constitutional framework and stressing the centrality of the concept of responsibility in a secular plan of de-radicalisation.

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Clements, Andrea D., and Natalie Cyphers. ""Identifying as Religious" and "Strength of Religious Commitment" Predict Substance Use Rates, but "Type of Religion" Does Not." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2015. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/7248.

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Wahlstrom, Andrew Kenneth. "Liberalism, perfectionism, and religious communities." view abstract or download file of text, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3018399.

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Andre, Alex Nicholas. "Does Disassociation from the Majority Religious Affiliation Affect Community Desirability?" BYU ScholarsArchive, 2020. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8465.

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How do predominantly religious rural communities influence members who are not associated with the dominant religion? Does disassociation with the majority religious affiliation impact community desirability? Current community literature has shown that religious affiliation identification can influence community sentiment (Jennings and Krannich 2013; Kan and Kim 1981; Stinner, Van Loon, Chung, and Byun 1990; Mattarita-Cascante, Stedman, and Luloff 2010) while other studies suggest the possibility of either mixed or inconclusive results (Adams 1992; Andrews 2011; Flagg and Painter II 2019; Reitz, Banerjee, Phan, and Thompson 2009). Using data from the Rural Utah Community Study in 2017, the current study will examine the association between religious affiliation and community desirability in a unique setting. I find that even when accounting for length of residence, age, and the perception of local services, religious affiliation continues to be associated with community desirability. These findings have potential implications for other communities with a majority religion.

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Hills, Franklin Jr. "The Middle-Class Religious Ideology and the Underclass Struggle: A Growing Divide in Black Religion." Scholar Commons, 2006. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3833.

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The trajectory of religious phenomena has been to give a reflective, yet formative understanding of the ethos endemic to a culture. Pursuant to this thought, the ethos of African American religion can rightfully be described as a religious sociological construct, mired in a myriad of changes. These changes have had a profound effect on how African Americans relate to their God, their world, and themselves. The chief aim of this enterprise is to chronicle the transformation of Black Religion in the United States, noting the social and economic factors that served synergistically to formulate its current mission. I conclude that the advancements made during the Civil Rights Era have served as an impetus, within the past thirty years, that has resulted in a shift in the mission of Black Religion. I contend that this shift is away from the traditional communal appeal to a more individualistic appeal that substantiates middle-class African American religious ideology. I further contend that the rise of the African American middle-class religious ideology has contributed to the perpetual state of the African American underclass as illustrated in Black Religion. In undertaking this effort, I have drawn from an assortment of books and articles in addition to church literature, audio sermons, and personal interviews. In establishing a premise for this argument, this thesis will explore the religious modus vivendi of early slaves. The Black Church was born out of the need to combat the atrocities and vicissitudes that were directly and indirectly a result of slavery. Slavery, therefore, provides a meaningful basis in which to begin to understand the embryonic stage of the church. After examining the formative years of Black Religion, I will then construct a cogent argument as to how the Civil Rights Movement employed Black Religion as a tool to empower the Black community, thus appealing to the community. I will then proceed to compare how Black Religion was employed during the Civil Rights Era to how it is employed presently. This comparison will provide the premise for my argument.

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Hilliard, Shane. "Making Disciples| A Church in Transition Within the Community of God." Thesis, Drew University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10973131.

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This project examines the dynamics of discipleship and missional community. The concept and perceptions around both topics are relational. As all relationships are, by definition Discipleship is multilayered and multifaceted. Christian Discipleship is revealed through Christ’s example, as evident in His teachings and His ministry within the community. This project begins with a specific definition of Christian Discipleship followed by a demonstration of how that definition can be executed within a particular church. The paper will not limit Discipleship solely within the church but will articulate discipleship through community outreach and conclude with an evaluation of the project and its methodologies.

The goal of the project is to define and effectively utilize Christian Discipleship principles as revealed through the life of Christ. This paper seeks to explore the making of Christian Discipleship within a church in transition, as we seek to be engaged with the larger neighborhood context. This project will address two major social challenges in East New York: Mental illness and homelessness. It will examine discipleship as a model for effective ministry among and within those realities.

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Brown, Carlton T. "An Evaluation of a Mentoring and Partnering Program to Mobilize Small Harlem Churches to Intentional Community Engagement." Thesis, Nyack College, Alliance Theological Seminary, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10276923.

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ABSTRACT Title: An Evaluation of a Mentoring and Partnering Program to Mobilize Small Harlem Churches to Intentional Community Engagement Author: Carlton T Brown Degree: Doctor of Ministry Date: 3-1-17 Adviser: Dr. Frank Chan The purpose of writing "An Evaluation of a Mentoring and Partnering Program to Mobilize Small Harlem Churches to Intentional Community Engagement" is to address and evaluate a mentoring and partnering program designed to mobilize small Harlem churches to intentional community engagement. The approach of the project focuses on the modification of ministry views of the pastor and key leader(s) of small, less resourced churches through the intervention of the Pastor of a large 500 or more member church in the area of community engagement and potential partnership opportunities for that purpose. Chapter 1 provides the purpose, goals, context, and rationale of this project. This chapter includes the Researcher?s inspiration for the research, purpose of the study, ministry problem addressed, Bethel Gospel ministry and community context in which research was conducted, research questions and model of research, definition of terms ?Ark Mentality, black liberation theology, great commission, theology of the priestly and prophetic, storefront churches ? and possible limitations and delimitations of the current project. Chapter 2 provides literature review and theological foundations for historical and current state of the ministry of the black church inner-city and its approach to community engagements and partnerships dealing with the prevailing spiritual and social condition in context of the churches mission. Chapter 3 sets forth the research methodology utilized in approaching managing attitude changes of pastors and leaders of small less resourced churches, the instruments used to establish initial position, procedures employed during mentoring session, and data collection procedure. Chapter 4 presents an analysis of the findings including: quantitative and qualitative data of the 5 areas of assessment and intervention including: Discipleship, Mission and Vision, Community Engagement, Great Commission, and Shared Missional Commitment, along with information gleaned from interview and finally post-intervention Church Philosophy Questionnaire. Chapter 5 summarizes the purpose of the project, the findings as regards the attitudes and commitments of the participants. The research questions are restated. The Researcher?s conclusions include challenges of participants? schedules and ministry commitments, and the possibility of conflicts around theological issues.

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Crom, Matthew Russell. "Religious pluralism : Josiah Royce's communities of interpretation /." view abstract or download file of text, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1331400021&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=11238&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 281-287). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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James, Jonathan D. "Anointing the airwaves : the influence of Charismatic televangelism on the Protestant church and Hindu community in contemporary, urban India." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2008. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/217.

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The Indian Government's open policy on satellite television is attracting a plethora of American-based Charismatic television ministries in India. This thesis based primarily on an ethnographic study of church and Hindu community leaders, together with a subsidiary historical-comparative analysis, shows that Charismatic pastors are more positive about Charismatic televangelism than non-Charismatic pastors. Both groups of pastors however, have strong reservations on issues like fundraising, dress code and western dancing. The high-caste Hindus are resistant to any form of Christian evangelism including televangelism. Besides caste, class, language and gender, televangelism faces cultural barriers in reaching Indians. The prosperity, success and healing doctrines of Charismatic teaching. appeal to Hindus from the middle to lower level economic classes for whom these TV messages may be a means of achieving their material goals through a new form of "sanskritisation". Concerns have also been expressed, that these Hindus who are attracted tu Charismatic teievangelism are espousing a form of 'popular Christianity', a faith that focuses on personal fulfilment rather than personal holiness and accountability within the life of the church. A case study of the 'global' televangelism program Solutions, showed that it was generally well-received although both Hindus and Christians found culturally disjunctive elements in both the message as well as in the underlying aspects of the message such as dress code and culture. While some Hindus welcomed their own understanding of the 'syncretistic Christ', in the program, other Hindus took exception to the portrayal of the 'exclusive Christ'.

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Shuportyaka, Yevheniya. "THE SPECTACLE OF AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA INTEGRATION IN THE EVANGELICAL PRACTICES OF LITURGY, TEACHING, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT." Master's thesis, Temple University Libraries, 2019. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/560927.

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Media Studies & Production
M.A.
This study analyzes the use of audiovisual media in the Evangelical practices of liturgy, teaching, and community engagement. In order to gain a more holistic perspective on the role media plays in these practices, the study focuses on media examples taken from prominent religious institutions. By analyzing these examples through the lens of critical theory, the study reveals aspects where the spectacle trends of our culture has permeated the media produced to help audiences engage in religious practices. Because religion helps people cultivate meaning in their lives, the influence of the spectacle trends on religious practices is important to examine as it has the potential to control that meaning. As a result, the contributions of religious media can become indistinguishable from those of mainstream media. Therefore, critical theory can be a powerful tool to help religious institutions discern where media amplifies meaning in practices and where it becomes a distraction. As the study examines existing content already utilized in Evangelical practices, the impact is compared across the three practices, which better illuminates the overall influence.
Temple University--Theses

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Helvetius, Anne-Marie. "Communautés religieuses, évêques et laïques dans l'ancien Pagus de Hainaut durant le Haut Moyen Age (VIIe-milieu du XIe siècle)." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/212992.

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Santos, Elenilson Delmiro dos. "“Do centro para a margem”: Um estudo histórico-antropológico do processo de ascensão, declínio e reinvenção das cebs, o caso da comunidade São Benedito – Santa Rita/PB." Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 2016. http://tede.biblioteca.ufpb.br:8080/handle/tede/8776.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
The religious scene that has established itself in Brazil in recent years, have demanded of religions, especially Catholicism, the need to put forth ruptures, conflicts, innovations, continuities and especially adoptions of new theologies in overcoming old. It is urgent prevail for pastoral models that are able to establish a close relationship with the new religious standards set by society. In effect, we are witnessing the affirmation of religious experiences, set by the traces of modernity, who preach the centrality of subjective and private sphere of religion. As a result, experiments such as Ecclesial Base Communities - CEBs for take hold in view of the collective and social character of religion, come into crisis. In this sense, this work is premised analyze the current situation of CEBs in Brazil, as suggested by the subtitle of our work, the process of the rise, decline and reinvention, and as a source of analysis a case study. Our theoretical option is for the concept of religious modernity, as worked out by Danièle Hervieu-Léger. As a research source, use of bibliographic production, arising from the fields of Sciences of Religions, Sociology, Anthropology and Theology. Thus, authors such as Faustino Teixeira, Leonardo Boff, José Comblin, among others, were of fundamental importance to the extent allowed us to better understand the elements that sustain and inspire the journey of CEBs. In analyzing the results of the field, the anthropological literature as Vagner Gonçalves, Roberto C. de Oliveira, among others, helped us to understand and cut the lines of our interviewees to collaborate with what was our interest in this study. As a result of research conducted in São Benedito community, city of Santa Rita/PB, obtained from the literature and the field itself some answers to the questions that inspired the construction of this work: there is still place for the CEBs in the current religious dynamics? Were they, in fact, the CEBs living a moment of reflux? Our results showed that the maintenance of CEBs in the Catholic religious scene, much depends on your own ability to renew themselves and interact with new social and religious demands.
O cenário religioso que vem se estabelecendo no Brasil, nos últimos anos, têm exigido das religiões, especialmente do catolicismo, a necessidade de se colocar diante de rupturas, conflitos, inovações, continuidades e, principalmente, de adoções de novas teologias em superação das velhas. Torna-se urgente primar por modelos pastorais que sejam capazes de estabelecer uma relação de proximidade com os novos padrões religiosos estabelecidos pela sociedade. Como efeito, passamos a assistir a afirmação de experiências religiosas, configuradas pelos traços da modernidade, que pregam a centralidade da dimensão subjetiva e privada da religião. Como consequência, experiências como as Comunidades Eclesiais de Base - CEBs, por se firmarem na perspectiva do caráter coletivo e social da religião, entram em crise. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho tem por premissa analisar a atual situação das CEBs no Brasil, como sugere o subtítulo do nosso trabalho, seu processo de ascensão, declínio e reinvenção, tendo como fonte de análise um estudo de caso. Nossa opção teórica fica por conta do conceito de modernidade religiosa, conforme trabalhado por Danièle Hervieu-Léger. Como fonte de pesquisa, utilizamos de produção bibliográfica, advindas dos campos das Ciências das Religiões, Sociologia, Antropologia e Teologia. Deste modo, autores como Faustino Teixeira, Leonardo Boff, José Comblin, entre outros, foram de fundamental importância na medida em nos permitiram compreender melhor os elementos que sustentam e inspiram a caminhada das CEBs. Na análise dos resultados do campo, a literatura antropológica, como Vagner Gonçalves, Roberto C. de Oliveira, entre outros, nos ajudou a entender e a recortar as falas dos nossos sujeitos entrevistados no sentido de colaborar com aquilo que era de nosso interesse nesse estudo. Como resultado da pesquisa, realizada na Comunidade São Benedito, cidade de Santa Rita/PB, obtivemos da literatura especializada e do próprio campo algumas respostas para as questões que inspiraram a construção desse trabalho: ainda existe espaço para as CEBs na atual dinâmica religiosa? Estariam, de fato, as CEBs vivendo um momento de refluxo? Nossos resultados mostraram que a manutenção das CEBs no cenário religioso católico, em muito, depende de sua própria capacidade de renovar-se e interagir com as novas demandas sociais e religiosas.

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Vyas, Krutarth J. "HIV Stigma Within Religious Communities in Rural India." ScholarWorks, 2015. http://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1725.

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This study was conducted to gain a better understanding of HIV/AIDS-related stigma within religious communities in rural Gujarat, India. This study used the hidden distress model of HIV stigma and the HIV peer education model as conceptual frameworks to examine a rural population sample of 100 participants. Regression analysis was conducted to test if school education had a moderating effect on the relationship between illness as punishment for sin (IPS) and HIV stigma. Religiosity was tested for mediating effects on the relationship between early religious involvement (ERI) and HIV stigma. The results of this study indicated that single unemployed men under the age of 28 were more likely to relate religiosity, IPS, and ERI to HIV stigma. Furthermore, education did not significantly moderate the relationship between IPS and HIV Stigma, and religiosity also did not mediate the relationship between ERI and HIV stigma. However, an additional mediation analysis showed that IPS did mediate the relationship between religiosity and HIV stigma in this study. The results of this study suggested that HIV/AIDS awareness programs may need to focus on young unemployed men because they may be the most susceptible to stigmatic thinking. It can be concluded that IPS was a major contributor in the proliferation of HIV stigma for participants in this study. Further research is needed to understand how belief in an authoritarian God could increase IPS, and how education initiatives may aid in decreasing IPS among inhabitants. This study strived to add to the existing body of knowledge and help improve the lives of those infected with HIV in rural parts of India.

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Cassell, Paul. "A semiotic and emergent theory of religious communities." Thesis, Boston University, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/31521.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University
Two influential twentieth-century theorists of religion, Émile Durkheim and Roy Rappaport, analyzed religious communities in terms of distinctive features that emerge under special circumstances from the complex dynamics of ordinary human sociality. Durkheim was deeply impressed by the emergent features of religious sociality, to the point that he interpreted a religious community as expressing the way society - thought of as a system of active forces arising from and operating on the constituent individuals - can become self-aware, thinking and feeling through individuals. The status of Durkheim's strong language about religious communities having states of consciousness is a matter of debate but, however his usage is construed, he does make a strong claim on behalf of the emergent properties of complex social systems. Rappaport proposed that a religious community is an adaptive system maintaining itself in an environment, in a manner formally similar to biological organisms. In both cases, emergence is a central theme, yet it is insufficiently explained and theorized. This dissertation argues that emergence theory as it has been developed in the years since Durkheim and Rappaport published, most notably by Terrence Deacon, illuminates the arguments of Durkheim and Rappaport and can render their claims about emergent properties and adaptive social dynamics more precisely and more fruitfully. In general terms, emergence theory analyzes the way relational and organizational features of an aggregate play a causal role in system dynamics, resulting in new system capabilities and qualities. Deacon's achievement is to characterize different kinds of emergent systems in terms of the different ways meaning and reference (semiotics) function in system dynamics. This conceptual linkage between emergence and semiotics is extremely promising for interpreting the emergent features of forms of sociality in which religious meanings and beliefs play vital roles. In applying Deacon's account of emergence to the theories of religious community presented by Durkheim and Rappaport, this dissertation characterizes religious communities as semiotic-emergent systems, and from this perspective analyzes the organizational form of religious community dynamics.

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Abel, Michael K. "Sacred ties : why religion inspires confidence, community, and sacrifice /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/8894.

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Selmane, Fabian. "A longing for community : A study about the entrance process into the Pentecostal Church." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för humaniora, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-37059.

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The purpose of this study is to depict the entrance process into the Pentecostal church and compare it with three different models of the entrance process into religious organizations too se if there are any similarities. The purpose is also to see if there are any similarities between the informants in their entrance process, and which strengths and weaknesses the three models have, when utilized on the entrance process into the Pentecostal church. The results indicates that there are some similarities between the informant´s entrance process into the Pentecostal church, such as the contact the informants have with the Pentecostal church during their entrance process and the context the informant´s was situated in. There are also some similarities before joining, such as the engagement in religion and the longing after a community. The similarities with the three models indicate that they show most similarities with the model that John R. Rambo has created over the entrance process. The strength and weaknesses of the three models are varying, with all three models showing some strenghts and weaknesses. Some steps in the models could also be considered neutral, when compared to the entrance process into the Pentecostal church. One factor that contributes to the weaknesses of the models is the empiric material that the models are based on.

Inga anmärkningar

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Poirier, Michelle. "Planning for conflict in a religious community." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ59512.pdf.

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Foltz-Morrison, Robert C. "The north Jersey company of pastors| Building competencies and strengthening relationships for ministry as a community of practice." Thesis, Hartford Seminary, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3574237.

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This final project report set out to design a peer-led learning model that would assist pastors in building competencies and strengthening peer relationships among Presbyterian pastors in northern New Jersey. The project addressed a national trend that reveals an increasing number of pastors are leaving Christian ministry today because of inadequate support and their lack of varied and specialized skills to serve congregations. However, some of the most recent research by the U. S. Congregational Life Survey (US CLS Wave Two), the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE) project, and the Faith Communities Today (FACT) survey confirmed pastors and their congregations benefit by pastors participating in peer learning.

Grounded in the theology that Christian ministry is nurtured by communities that embody and practice what they believe, and by theories that enduring learning takes place in association with others, this project drew from Presbyterian ecclesiology, the company of pastors (Calvin), a community of practice (Wenger), self-directed learning (Knowles), group theory (Johnsons), and the areas of learning pastors volunteered to lead. There were no attending costs and the monthly format was simple: pastors shared a meal and fellowship followed by worship and relevant teaching led by the pastors themselves.

Twenty-five pastors, representing one-fifth of the congregations in three regional bodies, attended one or more of the nine gatherings. A large part of the report concentrated on the more active twelve mature, highly stressed, and highly motivated pastors who represented different urban and suburban communities, genders, races, and sexual orientations. The report evaluated what facilitated and hindered this project's objectives. Its conclusion provided seven insights for pastors and seminarians, denominational agencies and regional body leaders, seminaries and foundations concerned about pastoral preparation for the rigors and challenges of congregational ministry.

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Curran, Kimberly Ann. "Religious women and their communities in late medieval Scotland." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2005. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2043/.

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The traditional view of historians is that Scottish female religious establishments were not worthy of study due to the ?scanty? sources available for these women, by these women or their convents. This study will challenge this preconceived notion that Scottish female religious were unimportant to the overall study of monasticism in Scotland. It demonstrates that by using a wide range of sources, Scottish female religious in Scotland were successful both economically and locally and had varying connections to the outside world.The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between Scottish convents, their inhabitants and Scottish families, kin-groups and locality. Firstly, will be a discussion of how the outside world and their connections to convents began by looking at the grants and further patronage of these religious communities. Further contacts between the two were varied ranging from the foundation and granting of gifts to these religious communities, the challenging of conventual rights and privileges, external conflict like warfare or the suppression of a convent. Secondly, an assessment has been carried out of the origins of Scottish nuns and the identifying of female religious: the outcome of this has been the construction of a database of all known Scottish female religious. Prosopographical analysis has been applied to show their links to local families, former patrons or founders and their relations to one another. The next part of this study discusses the organization and governance of Scottish convents by examining the role of Scottish prioresses in their religious and secular communities. The office of the prioress has yet to be fully evaluated as an important role in the monastery or in her local community and this section will highlight her many-faceted roles. In addition, how prioresses succeeded to office prioress and monastic elections will be discussed further.

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Clements, Andrea D., and Anna V. Ermakova. "Religious Attendance Versus Religious Surrender as a Measure of Prenatal Stress." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2011. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/7276.

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Pearson, Megan Rebecca. "Religious objections to equality laws : reconciling religious freedom with gay rights." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2014. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/949/.

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This thesis considers how the law should manage conflicts between religious freedom and the prohibition of sexual orientation discrimination. It starts from the basis that both these rights are valuable and worthy of protection, but that such disputes are often characterised by animosity. It contends that a proportionality analysis provides the best method for resolving these conflicts. In particular, it argues that proportionality is a conciliatory method of reasoning because it provides context-dependent and nuanced answers to these issues, providing scope for re-assessment in future cases, and because it accepts losing claims as in principle as worthy of protection. It is also argued that proportionality is advantageous because it inherently demands justification where rights are infringed. The thesis takes a comparative approach, examining the law in England and Wales, Canada and the USA to demonstrate the clash of rights and to compare how these issues have been dealt with by courts and legislatures. It considers these issues with reference to four areas of law. The first assesses how far employees with discriminatory religious beliefs should be accommodated in the workplace, including whether they should have a right not to perform aspects of their work that are contrary to their beliefs and whether they should be permitted to share their discriminatory views at work. The second considers whether and when religious organisations should be permitted to discriminate in their employment decisions. The third examines how far religious organisations should be permitted to discriminate in providing services, such as charitable services or when hiring out premises, and the fourth whether religious individuals should be allowed to discriminate in the secular marketplace.

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Cyphers, Natalie A., and Andrea D. Clements. "Assessing Religious Commitment: The Religious Surrender and Attendance Satisfaction Scale." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/7200.

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Survey instruments have been developed to measure whether someone claims to be religious but do not address the degree to which someone is satisfied with their religious commitment. The Religious Surrender and Attendance Satisfaction Scale (RSASS) was revised to measure both a person's level of religious commitment and satisfaction with level of religious commitment. This study was conducted to determine initial validity for the satisfaction portion of the RSASS. Construct validity measures provided initial confirmation of the utility of RSASS as a measure of satisfaction with religious commitment, that can be used by nurses in practice and research.

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Morse, Tracy Ann. "Seeing Grace: Religious Rhetoric in the Deaf Community." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194132.

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The author argues that religion has provided the deaf community with a powerful language to convey their authority in struggles to preserve sign language. Employing religious rhetoric, the American deaf community historically overcame the oppression of a dominant hearing community that suppressed the use of sign language. Grounding his arguments for educating deaf Americans in his Protestant theology, the Reverend Thomas Gallaudet garnered support for the school by appealing to the Christian convictions of the citizens of Hartford - intertwining Protestantism with the emerging American deaf community. By exploring the school, sanctuary, and social activism of the American deaf community, the author provides evidence of deaf community rhetoric that includes religious themes and biblical references. For example, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, arguments for methods of how to teach deaf students divided on ideological grounds. Manualists who supported the use of sign language often grounded their arguments in Protestant theology, while oralists who were influenced by Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species grounded arguments in evolutionary thinking. The influence of biblical teachings was evident in the schools for the deaf. The chapel services perpetuated the use of sign language even in times when sign language was under attack. From these chapel services came a social purpose for the church sanctuary in the lives of deaf Americans in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America. The sanctuary also provided the deaf community with a political platform advocating sign language use. The social activism of the deaf community has taken on many forms. In the early twentieth century, the National Association of the Deaf president, George Veditz, used film to capture his fiery Preservation of the Sign Language, which is filled with religious rhetoric advocating the deaf community’s use of sign language. More recently, Deaf West Theatre’ production of Big River is an example of how artful expression is used to support the values of the deaf community. This dissertation concludes with the suggestion that technology has replaced many of the functions of religion in the lives of deaf Americans and the author encourages further research in specific areas.

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Allen, Bryan. "The Christian new religious movement : evolution or heresy?" Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683259.

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Berkland, Adam. "Religious Congregations and Civic Resources." Thesis, Boston College, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/684.

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Thesis advisor: Kay Schlozman
Much has been said recently about the decline in both political and non-political civic participation in the United States. Many American religious congregations, however, continue to stand strong as voluntary associations connecting people with the political and civic life in our country. This paper explains the role that religious congregations can play as promoters of civic engagement. Specifically, it describes the mechanisms by which religious congregations can provide what I call civic resources to their members, resources members utilize to participate in other forms of civic activity outside of their congregation. These resources can be broken down into three main categories. Civic skills are the communication and organizational abilities that an individual can draw upon to make participation more effective. Congregations provide opportunities for members to gain experience using such skills when becoming involved in church governance or in organizing church committees to take on special tasks or put on special events. Social infrastructure captures the value of the social networks and organizational resources available to members of a congregation. The tight-knit social community within a church serves as an effective network to spread relevant information or recruit volunteers for any collective activity. Finally, there are a number of psychological resources a congregation can bring to bear on an individual. Oftentimes the religious teachings of congregations encourage members to adopt civic-minded values and attitudes that serve as a strong motivation to participate
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Political Science Honors Program
Discipline: College Honors Program
Discipline: Political Science

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Garcia, Martina Maria Eudosia Gonzáles. "Recomposição da vida religiosa: Estudo das relações entre indivíduo e comunidade em congregações femininas." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2006. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/2007.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CRE - Martina Maria E G Garcia.pdf: 1010964 bytes, checksum: 405aa9a401e10d266ef853ac6c1b8e40 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-11-08
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Women religious congregations experience a re-composition in the context of the contemporary modernity, establishing new sociable links between the individual and the forms of life and common action. This re-composition process is introduced due to the emergence of the individualism exists in the Women Religious Life. Institutional mechanisms lose legitimation power on the members while these enlarge the margin of freedom and autonomy. This context allows to build more equalitarian relationships, opens space for the difference and the plurality where women are more attentive to their subjectivity and needs. The relationships are elaborated from the individual experience and the subjects of the group who interact to each other, so as to broaden the society to form a sense and action. A dialectic accompanies this process in formation and the constant effort makes the building up of communities possible who try to establish a balance between the individual accomplishment and the common commitment through co-operation, dialogue and by overcoming of conflicts. This work discourses by the relationships that establishes between individual and community in areas of power, action and daily religious living
Congregações religiosas femininas experimentam uma recomposição no contexto da modernidade contemporânea mediante a emergência do individualismo. Estabelece-se novas teias de sociabilidade entre o indivíduo e as formas de vida e de ação comuns. Mecanismos institucionais perdem poder de legitimação sobre os membros enquanto estes ampliam a margem de liberdade e autonomia. Esse contexto permite a construção de relações mais igualitárias, abre espaço para a diferença e a pluralidade onde mulheres estão mais atentas a subjetividade e as necessidades próprias. As relações são elaboradas a partir da experiência individual e grupal dos sujeitos que interagem entre si e com a sociedade a fim de construir o sentido e a ação. Uma dialética acompanha este processo em formação e o constante esforço torna possível a construção de comunidades que procuram estabelecer um equilíbrio entre a realização individual e o compromisso comum mediante cooperação, diálogo e superação de conflitos. Este trabalho discorre sobre as relações que se estabelecem entre indivíduo e comunidade em áreas de poder, ação, cotidiano e vivência religiosa

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Driver, Cory Thomas. "Personal Experience (Hi)Stories from Moroccan Mixed Ethno-Religious Communities." The Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1312991523.

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Nye, William Jr. "The Receptiveness of the Amish Community to a Community School Designed Specifically for Amish Culture and Needs." Youngstown State University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1369394870.

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McCloud, John Oscar Jr. "Leadership development| A strategy for the training and development of small group leadership at Renaissance Community Church (RCC) in Chesapeake, Virginia." Thesis, Regent University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3722125.

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The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the question: What would constitute an effective strategy for training and developing holistic small group leaders, specifically at Renaissance Community Church? To begin the process of answering this question the author identified four specific steps that were necessary to assist in the development of holistic small group leaders at RCC.

Prior to the project design, the author, working with Dr. Bobby Hill of Hill Consulting, and using the NCD assessment tools, discovered that small groups were the minimum factor. It was at that point that RCC began transitioning from a church with small groups to a church of small groups.

This led to the first step of the ministry project, which involved recruiting twelve potential leaders and administering a pre-test designed to gauge the participant’s current level of understanding and confidence to explain the following concepts: understanding God’s purpose for small groups, understanding a leader’s personal development, understanding and developing new leaders, understanding the dynamics of spiritual development, leading small group meetings, comprehending group progress, understanding the role of a shepherd, and with these competencies impact their world.

For the second step, using a Modeling/Turbo group model, the author developed an eight-week small group setting using the Leading Life-Changing with Small Groups as the leadership curriculum for the twelve participants. The author then used a post-test to measure the participants’ development in their abilities to explain and implement the material.

The third step consisted of the turbo launch in which the participants led six groups for eight weeks using the material ReGroup: Training Groups to be Groups, specifically designed by the author in order for the participants to implement their new skills.

This eight-week process ended with the fourth step, an exit interview with questions (see Appendix F) designed to measure the qualitative efficacy of the Leading Life-Changing with Small Groups training program. The participants’ showed signs of significant increase in both the understanding of the material during the eight week modeling/turbo group.

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Ball, Roger. "Healthy marriage initiative| A community centered religious educational analysis." Thesis, Fordham University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10113659.

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This research looks at HMI through the context of marriage and family life of Pentecostal faith communities and how a religious educative and ministerial lens can strengthen such programs in local churches. Through historical and secondary analyses, the researcher examines the history, evolution and examples of recent HMI evaluations. The study is informed by, recent sociological studies, feminist theology and religious education experts. The work proposes how Healthy Marriage Initiatives within congregational settings can be strengthened through religious educative, spiritual, and pastoral responses to marriage and family life within faith communities.

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Alessandrini, Raniero. "Spirituality of the religious brothers in today's Scalabrinian community." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2002. http://www.tren.com.

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Primhak, Victoria Jane. "Women in religious communities the Benedictine convents in Venice, 1400-1550 /." Thesis, Online version, 1991. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?did=1&uin=uk.bl.ethos.241885.

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Franke, Katharina. ""We call it Springbok-German!": language contact in the German communities in South Africa." Monash University. Faculty of Arts. School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, 2009. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/68398.

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Varieties of German are spoken all over the world, some of which have been maintained for prolonged periods of time. As a result, these transplanted varieties often show traces of the ongoing language contact as specific to their particular context. This thesis explores one such transplanted German language variety – Springbok- German – as spoken by a small subset of German Lutherans in South Africa. Specifically, this study takes as its focus eight rural German communities across two South African provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, which were founded in the second half of the 19th century. The study employs a broadly ethnographic approach and integrates participant observation with interviews and (limited) questionnaire data. On the one hand, it addresses issues of language maintenance and shift, and on the other, presents findings from an analysis of grammatical features, that is morphosyntactic and syntactic features, of this particular German language variety. The thesis explores the domains where speakers continue to make use of German, by discussing practices at home, within the church and community, and at school. It also briefly considers German media consumption. The findings reveal that the home and the church/community constitute the strongholds of German language maintenance, although intermarriage is having an increasing impact on these patterns. Changes in the demographics of the communities, e.g. out-migration of younger speakers and barely any in-migration, are also shown to be detrimental to the continued survival of German in this region. Conceptualising these communities as ethnoreligious ones where (Luther) German functions as a ‘sacred variety’ (cf. Fishman, 2006a) helps to account for the prolonged maintenance patterns as exhibited by the communities. The study explores how the communities are shaped by their German Lutheranism and a 19th century understanding of Volkstum, and how this resulted in an insistence on preserving the German language and culture at all costs. This is still transparent today. This study also seeks to provide new insights into the structure of Springbok- German, and, for this purpose, explores a number of (morpho)syntactic features, including case marking, possessive constructions, word order, and infinitive complements. Although the overall findings indicate that Springbok-German is (still) relatively conservative, there are clear indications of emerging structural changes. While reduction in the case system, for example, is not as advanced as in other transplanted German varieties, the accusative/dative distinction is becoming increasingly blurred. Changes are also apparent in possessive constructions and word order. In this context, the study considers the fundamental question of the role language contact plays in such situations, i.e. whether the respective changes can plausibly be attributed to contact with Afrikaans and/or English, or whether they are best seen as the result of language-internal tendencies. The conclusion follows that it is difficult to ascertain the precise role of external influence vs. internal developments. The developments in Springbok-German are best seen as resulting from a combination of both, shaped furthermore by the social conditions as prevalent in this particular language contact setting.

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Ogunsola, A. M. O. "Religious change and the reconstruction of Idoani (a Yoruba community)." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.383280.

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Harvey, Alexandra Katharina. "Developing a professional learning community for teachers of religious education." Thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2009. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/672fa1f181b971e643e51dac0b4241825c89cf879ed1f3af6f5d4e59b4ca9fa7/5257545/64910_downloaded_stream_135.pdf.

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This thesis, 'Developing a professional learning community for teachers of religious education', aimed to study the learning experiences of teachers involved in professional learning to implement new religious education guidelines. In particular, the study attempted to explore teacher perceptions of the characteristics of effective professional learning and identified factors influencing their professional growth. Following the development of themes and key understandings, further research aimed to study the impact that teacher professional learning had on improving classroom instruction that in turn improved student learning outcomes. Situated within a qualitative paradigm the research design for the study is that of symbolic interactionism. Grounded theory methodology was used to analyse the theory generated from the data which included surveys, guided conversations, and moderation of student work samples. Themes generated from the study included Change and professional learning; The content of professional learning; The structure and design of professional learning in religious education; The context of professional learning in religious education; The reasons for professional learning in religious education; Professional learning that influenced teaching practices; and Professional learning that influenced student outcomes. From these themes, key understanding were developed and discussed against the research literature. The study has the potential to inform educational leaders of effective characteristics of professional learning for teachers of religious education that promote teacher learning and improve student outcomes.

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Laakili, Myriam. "Se convertir à l’islam en France aujourd’hui : entre cheminements individuels et appartenances communautaires." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017AIXM0043.

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Devenir musulman en France c’est rejoindre un groupe de croyants dont le terme usuel de « communauté » peine à décrire la fragmentation et le caractère diversifié. Comme pour tout converti, celui qui rejoint l’islam se trouve soumis à un conflit de loyauté et de légitimation. Mais cela prend dans l’objet qui nous occupe une ampleur particulière en raison de l’imagerie négative fréquemment associée à l’islam et de l’âpreté des débats qu’il suscite : à la trahison des origines s’ajoute celle des valeurs et des idéaux. Les récents événements de l’actualité, en particulier ceux liés à la montée en puissance depuis quelques années du djihadisme militarisé représenté par Daesh, dont les effets se font sentir jusqu’en France, saturent l’espace des médias et placent le converti en posture particulièrement délicate (Roy, 2016). Notre recherche propose une approche de la conversion religieuse en termes de processus, en analysant les trajectoires de vie des convertis, en définissant un « avant » et un « après », afin de rendre visible l’articulation complexe entre les convertis et leur environnement, entre l’intime et l’institutionnel. Nous décrivons un cheminement qui mène à la conversion, en tentant d’appréhender l’initiation à l’islam par le converti, mais aussi l’apprentissage des pratiques religieuses et sociales qui aboutissent à la publicisation du choix. D’autre part, nous analysons la construction d’une appartenance à la communauté d’accueil via un mode de socialisation qui prend des formes différentes, en lien avec le groupe religieux choisi ; enfin, nous étudions la rhétorique des convertis destinée à affirmer la légitimité de leur conversion
Becoming a Muslim in France means joining a group of believers usually designated by the term “community” which struggles to describe its often fragmentary and diverse nature. The convert himself has to confront to these contradictions: he is exposed to the representations of a community supposedly homogeneous and to the preconceptions built through ‘‘common sense”, but also with the objective and plural reality unveiled. Like any kind of converts, those who join Islam are subject to a conflict of loyalty and legitimacy. The recent events, especially those related to the rise in recent years of the militarized jihadism represented by Daesh, which effects have reached as far as France, have constantly been under public and mediatic attention and place the convert in a position of uneasiness (Roy, 2016). The conversion to Islam is thus an object of study and debate often passionate and crossed by contradictions. Our research argues an approach of religious conversion in terms of processes, analyzing the life trajectories of converts, defining a "before" and an "after" in order to make visible the complex articulation between the converts and their environment, between the private and the public sphere. We describe a quest that leads to conversion, trying to grasp the initiation to Islam by the convert, but also the initiation to the religious and social practices that turn their choice into facts. On another hand, we analyze how a convert ends up belonging to the community through different modes of socialization, in connection with the chosen religious group. Finally, we study the rhetoric of the converts which aims at strengthening the legitimacy of the act of conversion

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Eriksson, Elisabet. "Christian Communities and Prevention of HIV among Youth in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Internationell mödra- och barnhälsovård (IMCH), 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-155097.

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Young people in South Africa, particularly females, are at great risk of acquiring HIV, and heterosexual sex is the predominant mode of HIV transmission. In order to curb the epidemic the Department of Health encourages all sectors in the society, including religious institutions, to respond effectively. The present thesis seeks to increase the understanding of the role of Christian communities in prevention of HIV for young people. Three denominations in KwaZulu-Natal were selected to reflect the diversity of Christian churches in South Africa: the Roman Catholic Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, and the Assemblies of God. Using qualitative interviews the first paper explores how religious leaders (n=16) deal with the conflict between the values of the church and young people’s sexuality. Study II reports on attitudes to HIV prevention for young people among religious leaders (n=215) using questionnaire survey data. Study III investigates how young people (n=62) reflect on messages received from their churches regarding premarital sex by analysing nine focus group discussions. In the fourth paper, based on questionnaire survey data, we report on young people’s (n=811) experiences of relationships with the opposite sex and their perceived risk of HIV infection. The view that young people in churches are sexually active before marriage was common among religious leadership. The majority of religious leaders also reported that they are responsible for educating young people about HIV prevention. Religious leaders who had received training on HIV were more likely to run a life skills programme for young people, however they were ambivalent about prevention messages. Young people reported premarital sexual abstinence as the main HIV prevention message from their churches. The majority responded that they had received information about HIV in church. To be in a relationship was common, more so for males for whom multiple relationships also were viewed more acceptable. To perceive themselves at risk of HIV infection was common. Further training for religious leaders is needed to enable them to manage the conflict between the doctrine of the church and their willingness to assist young people in the transition into adulthood.
Faculty of Medicine

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Hoernig, Heidi. "Worship in the suburbs: the development experience of recent immigrant religious communities." Thesis, University of Waterloo, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/2903.

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Immigration is transforming large Canadian urban regions. Rapidly increasing religious diversity is one dimension of the dramatic, multicultural shift accompanying this sea-change. Over the past decade, many important questions have emerged concerning urban planning and management amidst ethnoracial diversity. The development of places of worship, key activity centres for many recent immigrant communities, intersects many of these questions. Land use conflict related to place of worship development has been a common feature of much of the empirical, urban literature.

This study explored the development experience of religious communities from five religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism, in three suburban communities of the Greater Toronto Area: Mississauga, Brampton and Markham. The key objectives of the study were to compare experiences across minority religious groups in order to explore development issues, to better understand relationships between religion, culture and land use, and to examine municipal planning implications of and responses to religious diversity.

The study findings show that most place of worship development experiences have been characterized by adaptation rather than conflict. The findings reveal involved and nuanced stories about the development process in which many recent immigrant, minority religious communities participate. As such, the study highlights the inter-woven complexities and challenges of establishing these significant religious, cultural and social institutions, difficulties that cannot be easily teased apart to isolate one or two problematic variables.

In this way, the study findings accord with the recent urban literature on difference which argues that urban experiences of difference are simultaneously produced by structuring processes of political-economy and socially constructed by multi-faceted, changing subjects (Bridge & Watson, 2003; Eade & Mele, 2002; Jacobs & Fincher, 1998; Low, 1996). Findings show that minority place of worship development is constrained by suburban form, land use planning policy and land economics. At the same time, these constraints are differentially mediated by the resources and strategies of religious communities. Religion and culture play a role in the needs and experiences of place of worship development, but high or unconventional needs are not necessarily tied to challenging development experiences.

The study recommendations build upon the current normative literature in the broader field of multicultural planning. I argue that the common prescriptions set forward by multicultural planning advocates, such as improved cultural knowledge and communication in policy development and implementation are not sufficient to address the challenges of urban planning and management amidst religious and ethnoracial diversity. The study findings suggest that proponents of multicultural planning need to approach the challenges of diversity strategically, to reconsider points, means and agents of intervention. Study recommendations call for a return to the role of the planning expert, to proactively address key land use planning issues such as transportation planning and land use conflict before problems occur. Such a move would concomitantly benefit all community residents, not only those belonging to religious communities. This is because two of the more challenging dimensions of place of worship development: transportation planning and neighbour relations, are issues common to suburban land use development, regardless of the religion, ethnicity or race of the participants. Recommendations also suggest that multicultural planning must be a collective project, requiring the involvement of many actors, including urban academics, immigrant communities and their advocates, political and community leadership as well as urban practitioners both inside and outside of the municipal planning department.

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Patka, Mazna. "Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities in Faith Communities: Perspectives of Catholic Religious Leaders." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1632.

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Community psychology is concerned with the relationship between individuals and social systems in community contexts, but the field has under-explored the role of religious organizations in the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Worldwide, most people identify with a religion, and congregations serve as important mediating structure that creates a sense of community and provides linkages between individuals and society. There may be significant benefits to religious participation, including greater life satisfaction, health, and quality of life. Such benefits may be especially important to individuals with intellectual disability who generally experience poorer outcomes. However, we know very little about the inclusion of persons with intellectual disability in faith communities, particularly from the perspective of faith leaders who play pivotal roles in transmitting values and making decisions for their community. The present dissertation aimed to address gaps in knowledge about how religious leaders make meaning of intellectual disabilities and their perspectives toward individuals with intellectual disabilities. Catholic priests, parochial vicars, and deacons were interviewed to address three overarching research questions, viz. (a) What types of experiences, in and outside of faith communities, do religious leaders have with individuals with intellectual disabilities?; (b) What are the beliefs of religious leaders toward the involvement of individuals with intellectual disabilities within faith communities?; and (c) How does religion inform the understanding of intellectual disabilities among religious leaders? Participation was limited to religious leaders who are part of the U.S. Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Portland, Oregon. Participation was only sought from religious leaders who are assigned to parishes that either host adaptive liturgies or were identified as having at least one parishioner with developmental disabilities participating in the mainstream mass. A total of 12 religious leaders (pastors, parochial vicars, and deacons) participated in the present study. Semi-structured interviews illuminated the perspectives of religious leaders toward individuals with intellectual disabilities such as the type of involvement individuals with intellectual disabilities are encouraged to engage in within the congregation. Additionally, participants were also asked about how they made meaning of intellectual disabilities. Using grounded theory analysis, I identified five models of intellectual disability that organize the complex relationships among the focal research questions. These five models include (1) Close to God, (2) Conformity, (3) Unfortunate Innocent Children, (4) Deficient, and (5) Human Diversity. Among the five models, Human Diversity viewed intellectual disability as a natural part of human variation while the rest focused on negative or positive stereotypes of intellectual disabilities. Each model yields a different definition which results in varying determinations of the needs of people with intellectual disabilities. However, each definition is one dimensional and bound in culture. Most of these models suggest that the construction and categorization of intellectual disability may perpetuate inequality. Additional research is needed to explore the boundaries of models of intellectual disabilities constructed within a religious context. The present dissertation is one step in exploring meanings of intellectual disabilities and factors that impact their participation in faith communities

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Barnett, Jan. "Between towns: Religious life and leadership during a time of critical change." Thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2005. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/c21eafb9959be0f4fa67fd250dba5a355bbfb56e5f8ddc7fef1aae7c2e94a242/1233042/64789_downloaded_stream_14.pdf.

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The purpose of this study was to explore and delineate leadership practices, which could facilitate the transition of Catholic religious institutes into the world of the third millennium, within groups facing the diminishment, and even death, of current forms of religious life. Hermeneutical phenomenology, particularly as developed by Ricoeur, provided the philosophical base for an analysis of the multiple hermeneutical dimensions of culture, human sciences, spirituality and religion. Elements of postmodernism and feminism were also found to be useful starting points. Qualitative research provided the mechanisms out of which meaningful data was elicited and text and context explored. An extensive literature review and individual interviews with thirty women and men in leadership positions in religious institutes formed the basis of the research. Initial findings were tested against the insights of a focus group of religious involved and interested in the future of religious life and its leadership. Additionally, the responses of the leaders of religious congregations in NSW at their annual conference provided a valuable sounding board for the research findings. Core to the study, respondents believed, was a changing concept of God, described in the interviews as 'the larger God', and named as the foundation of contemporary religious commitment. A second fundamental call was pinpointed as that of radical commitment to 'the other'. 'Commitment to, and relationship with, the other' was seen as a critical focus for religious organisations in an increasingly divided and polarised world. For women and men currently in the midst of religious life transition, identity, mission and community were identified as specific orientations from which unfamiliar and emerging forms of 'the larger God' and 'relationship with the other' were examined.;Authenticating leadership was used to describe the form of leadership believed to be necessary during this time of transition to endorse and authenticate the tentative sparks of new life. This leadership was depicted as stimulated by a sense of spiritual dynamism and an outward focus, activating the motivation of the congregation towards 'the larger God' and 'the other'. Energising, empowering and challenging the group were described as intrinsic to these orientations. Demonstrating authenticity, embracing diversity, accepting suffering as the inevitable price of effective contemporary leadership, and 'holding leadership lightly', were also highlighted as essential elements for a leadership aimed at authenticating diverse expressions of new forms of religious life. Two clear leadership practices were named as essential for effective transition during this period of decisive transformation. Consciously managing the disintegration and death of current expressions of religious life, while simultaneously mobilising the energies of small emergent groups to explore and attempt new and diverse forms, were seen as the most difficult, but probably the most critical, challenges for leadership at this time.

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Sizelove, Dennis. "An investigation of psychological factors associated with religious involvement /." Auburn, Ala., 2007. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/07M%20Dissertations/SIZELOVE_DENNIS_24.pdf.

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Fletcher, Tifani R., Andrea D. Clements, Lana McGrady, and Beth A. Bailey. "Religious Commitment and Depression During Pregnancy." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2013. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/7265.

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Touihri-Mebarek, Donia. "Ruptures et continuités dans les politiques d'intégration au Royaume-Uni (1997-2014)." Thesis, Paris 3, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014PA030163.

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Au Royaume-Uni, les politiques d’intégration ont fait l’objet de redéfinitions successives depuis les émeutes urbaines de 2001 en Angleterre. Ces événements et les attaques terroristes de Londres de 2005, qui ont largement été décrits comme les résultats de la ségrégation ethnique de la société britannique, ont conduit à une remise en question des politiques multiculturalistes mises en œuvre depuis les années 1980, et à un réexamen des politiques d’intégration. L’objet de cette recherche est de déterminer les ruptures et les continuités dans les nouvelles définitions des politiques d’intégration, tant au niveau du discours politique que dans les modalités de mise en œuvre des politiques publiques, et de déterminer dans quelle mesure une véritable rupture avec le multiculturalisme s’est opérée entre 2001 et 2014. L’analyse des discours, des rapports officiels ainsi que notre enquête de terrain sur les réformes et les nouvelles modalités de la procédure de naturalisation ont abouti à plusieurs conclusions : d’un côté, on observe la cristallisation progressive d’une approche assimilationniste de l’intégration, particulièrement visible avec l’arrivée des conservateurs au pouvoir depuis 2010 ; de l’autre, on s’aperçoit que le discours et les politiques multiculturalistes persistent sous diverses formes. Ainsi, une vision nouvelle de l’intégration comme la « community cohesion » peut être interprétée comme ayant reconduit ce paradigme sous diverses formes. Quant à la reconnaissance continue du pluralisme religieux dans l’action publique, elle procède de ce que nous pouvons appeler une « confessionnalisation » du multiculturalisme britannique
In the United Kingdom, integration policies have undergone a constant process of redefinition since the urban riots in northern England in 2001. These events, and the London bombings of 2005, which were widely described as resulting from the ethnic segregation of British society, have led to a questioning of the multiculturalist policies implemented since the 1980s and to a review of integration policies. The objective of this research is to determine the ruptures and the continuities in the new political definitions of integration, both at the level of political discourse and of the actual implementation of policy guidelines, and to determine whether there has been indeed a break with multiculturalism between 2001 and 2014. Analysis of speeches and official reports, as well as a field survey on the reforms and on the new arrangements for naturalization lead to several conclusions: On the one hand, it is possible to observe the gradual crystallization of an assimilationist approach to integration that has become more visible since the Conservatives came to power in 2010. On the other hand, however, multiculturalist discourses and policies subsist in various guises; in fact, innovative visions of integration such as ‘community cohesion’ can be understood to have renewed this paradigm in new ways. Likewise, the increasing recognition of religious pluralism in public action suggests what we call a ‘confessionalisation’ of British multiculturalism

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44

Meiring, Arnold Maurits. "Heart of Darkness a deconstruction of traditional Christian concepts of reconciliation by means of a religious studies perspective on the Christian and African religions /." Thesis, Pretoria : [s.n.], 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10312005-093457/.

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Goodwin, E. "Communities of the Move : the transformation of communities of women religious in late medieval and early modern England." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2015. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/13972/.

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English women religious were part of consistently changing, reforming and vibrant communities. The convent that enclosed them with walls was only one of the ways in which their communities were defined, and of which they were a part. In late medieval England, their communities were informed and consistently reasserted through the exchange, integration and reading of pious texts that informed the spirituality of the convent, demonstrated their connections with the local laity and placed the female readership in a wider community of shared devotion. Visual culture within the convent, and engaged with by the inhabitants, vividly reflected broad trends of a wide devotional community, and the gifting of secular material placed these women firmly within wider lay communities. During the Dissolution of the monasteries, communities of women religious were not diminished by the threat to and eventual disbanding of institutional boundaries; both members of the internal and external communities negotiated community borders to maintain communal connections. After the Suppression, communities of female religious were once again maintained and recreated through texts and through their sense of spiritual self, often in hostile and alien environments. Through three case studies, the communal experiences of women religious in England are assessed, bringing together convents of different size, wealth and religious order to understand a representative, national picture of female religious life. Borrowing methods from prosopography, this work analyses the transformations of community from both external influence and internal negotiation, reformation and recreation. The communities to which women religious belonged were not static, but consistently reaffirmed and reformed through textual evidence, visual culture and negotiation with the laity.

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Killian, Mark P. "Everything in Common: The Strength and Vitality of Two Christian Intentional Communities." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1378109049.

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Mahmud, Faisal. "Järva Community Center : A social, cultural and religious hub for Järva." Thesis, KTH, Arkitektur, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-41494.

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Why this proposal makes sense... The aim of this project is to research the relationship between a mosque and the functions of a community center. It is located between Tensta and Rinkeby, two suburbs in the north of Stockholm. I believe that the two areas can gain a lot by a shared community center due to both positive and negative similarities. The proximity to Järvafältet and Kista is a great plus in the equation. Kista is another suburb in the Järva area and it has been a huge success with regards to education, entrepreneurship and the IT-industry that re- sides there. My goal was to create a contemporary mosque that stays true to Islamic architectural concepts while I develop a new aesthetic language for the spaces that a mosque requires. How can we use the mosque as an attracting catalyst in order to reach out to the inhabitants in these areas? A lot of people in Järva have roots in other parts of the world. There are a lot of vibrant communities from all over the world in Tensta and Rinkeby. People have great respect for faith and religious matters and consider it to be a major part of their identity. What spaces can a mosque share with the community center for opti- mal use and convenience? My proposal takes into consideration that a mosque has a limited num- ber of days during the year when the worshippers need all the space that they can get. I have therefore proposed to put the mosque next to the sports hall so that the sports hall can be used for prayer and spiritual activities during special events such as the month of Ramadan and Friday prayers. When the sports hall is not used by the mosque it goes back to being just a regular sports hall with an intricate roof. What makes it a community center? To make the project more compelling I have added other functions in order to address the needs and wishes of the inhabitants. There is also a library, a food court, lecture hall/cinema, offices, conference rooms, seminar rooms and a class room.

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Band, M. D. "Religiosity, coping and suicidality among the religious Zionist community of Israel." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2006. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1445306/.

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The relationship between religion and mental health has been the subject of extensive research particularly in recent years. Concurrently, the issues of coping and suicidality have also been widely studied. Significantly however, how religious people cope with harsh life situations and how their religiosity impacts on their coping skills is an area which seems to have been overlooked. The present study analyses how members of one cultural group, the Religious Zionist community in Israel, cope with harsh life situations. Two introductory chapters reporting on previous research relating to religion, mental health and suicide are followed by a historical and psycho-sociological review of the development of the Religious Zionist community over the last 100 years. A qualitative study (n=18) informed the quantitative research (n=124) such that questionnaires were developed through insights gained in the interviews. A synthesis of the qualitative and quantitative studies led to conclusions which have helped to refine the understanding of the relationship between religiosity, coping, and suicidality. Although the study confirms the conclusions of previous research - in general religion creates a buffer to suicidal activity - the results showed a relatively low impact of religiosity on coping: people who regard themselves as religious find it difficult to access their religiosity during harsh life situations. Furthermore, religiosity appears to have a greater impact on suicide acceptance than on suicide ideation. The study highlights the critical role of religious coping as a mediating factor between religiosity and suicide. The thesis suggests certain themes which help to explain the findings, for example the specific complexity of personal and collective identities which characterise the Religious Zionist community, or - more significantly - the possibilty that religious coping is not actually absent but is only available in a second, later stage of coping. As an example of a harsh life event which affected the whole community, the thesis presents a provisional analysis of the Disengagement plan of 2005, and finally the study analyses the significance of the researcher's socio-religious background and its impact on the research.

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King, Carolyn. "Policy and practice in religious education within faith and community schools." Thesis, Lancaster University, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.654542.

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As Britain's population has changed, so have the requirements within the religious education curriculum. The diversified nature of British citizens places a huge responsibility on the government to ensure that each individual is treated equally. The population reflects a rich diversity of culture, tradition, ethnic origin, and also religion and beliefs. Diversity of religion within the education system plays a major role in cultivating an appreciation, understanding and acceptance of differences, and also encourages young people to participate in inter-faith dialogue. In 2004 the government introduced a non-statutory National Framework Agreement for Religious Education (NFRE). The main aims of the NFRE are to ensure that a pluralistic perspective is introduced into the curriculum so that different faiths are represented, to promote the value of community cohesion, and to standardise the curriculum content and assessment practices across England and Wales. The thesis originally set out to explore specifically the response of a sample of faithbased and community schools to the NFRE. However, I discovered early within the study that the sample schools did not use the NFRE at all as curriculum guidance for religious studies. Therefore, the theoretical aspirations of the NFRE are examined against the practical application of religious education within the schools. This thesis presents a commentary on religious education (RE) within a sample of faith-based and community schools in Lancashire. The study seeks to assess if the sample schools have aligned their RE curriculum to that proposed within the NFRE or not, and if not why not. There is an evaluation of how and why the NFRE policy has been developed at national level and how the information has been disseminated to regional level and understood at local level. Saunders (1986a) 'staircase' model has been employed to analyse this communication from national to regional to local level. The study shows a complete lack of communication in the case of the schools in the sample. However, interview responses from participants in all three schools demonstrate that the principles of the NFRE were being applied even in the absence of explicit knowledge of the document's existence. Although the faith-based schools in the study were not bound by the NFRE requirements, it was clear that they were at least as compliant as, if not more compliant than, the community school with the demands of the policy.

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Gayer, Colman. "Aging and social change in a religious community: A case history." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 1991. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1055340278.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Religious communitie'

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