Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Events & Activities

2013 Festival of Scholars

Religion Department Presentations

Date: Wednesday, April 25
Time: 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Location: Lundring Events Center

Description:

This session will have papers using a variety of research methods and exploring different global religions.

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Student Abstracts at this Session

Student(s):
Kjrstin Berg

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Windham-Hughes, Mr. Nathan French French
Agency and Piety in Muslim Communities
My experiences studying and working alongside Muslims in Cairo and Washington, D.C. challenged the Western narrative I was familiar with that so often calls Muslim women oppressed and subjugated. Upon return to CLU I hoped to share new insights with those around me. Using an ethnographic analysis of the Mosque Movement for women in Cairo and my own experiences, my study will challenge a narrow view of feminism and demonstrate that agency and piety are not mutually exclusive terms. Of particular interest will be daily aspects of ritual practice and its effect on internal conviction. A look at these practices will show how agency and piety can strengthen and build upon each other and how women are able to display their independence within specific cultural and religious structures.
Student(s):
Bradley Boelman

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. R. Guy Erwin
Constructing Western Thought
In The City of God against the pagans, Augustine of Hippo eloquently illustrates not only his comprehensive understanding of Judeo-Christian sources, but also sources of the pagan philosophers and thinkers of Ancient Greece and Rome. However, because much of the population would have been unable to read and understand Augustine’s arguments, The City of God serves as a window into Augustine, rather than into his intended audience. It shows Augustine’s unique position in history, having the ability to connect the ideas of both the pagans and the Christians. This connection in turn allows the reader to directly view the parameters of Western thought, according to Augustine. With Augustine’s education, his ability to synthesize ancient sources, and his respected authority among the Christians and the pagans, The City of God helped breathe the last breath of the Roman Empire, finalizing the constraints of Western thought.
Student(s):
Peter Gonia
and Aminah Hassoun

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Peter Carlson
Masculinity in Christianity
There is a perceived conflict between western, English-speaking
masculinity and Christianity that has stumped Christian men for
centuries. The values portrayed in the Christian faith do not seem to
align well with the typical masculine values, constructions, and behaviors during several periods throughout history. This has led many men to attempt to discover what it means to not only be a man or a Christian, but a Christian man. I will prove that recent history shows that when masculinity is threatened, Christian men react through a process that has come to be known as masculine Christianity. This process helps men to re-define, and in most cases re-discover their Christian manhood. Masculine Christianity is defined in this essay as an umbrella term, which emphasizes the typical roles, values, attributes, and characteristics of a patriarchal, male-dominated society.
Student(s):
Aminah Hassoun

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Peter Carlson
Masculine Ideology in the Nation of Islam: Finding Peace Through Justice and Power
With the understanding that religions accommodate and generate a myriad expressions, this paper explores the relationship between expressions of masculinity in the Nation of Islam and its teachings of peace and justice. The Black Muslim experience in the United States is both religious and politically rooted in a history of struggle. The purpose of this research is to explore how conditions of powerlessness and "social emasculation" relate to the presence of masculine ideology within a religious tradition, where tension wrestles between teachings of spiritual submission and louder calls for political empowerment. In a focused analysis of key sermons and political speeches by influential leaders like Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan, this study highlights the androcentric emphasis and masculine echoes of Black Muslim millennialism in America. In conclusion this paper also draws upon the broader implications of masculinity and politics in religion.
Student(s):
Glynnis Jones

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. R. Guy Erwin
Death As Punishment: What Does Augustine Think About Death Under the Christian Faith?
Death has forever been a mystifying occurrence in the life of man; he has tried to understand it, avoid it, and cheat it for thousands of years. Despite his most valiant efforts, man never succeeded in gaining the immortality he so fervently chased. The bible attempted to answer man’s questions by stating that bodily death was an unavoidable punishment brought upon man when Adam and Eve betrayed God in Paradise. A devout Christian, Saint Augustine of Hippo believed that two kinds of death exist for man; the death of the body and the death of the soul. In his City of God, Augustine explores the differences between the two types of death and determines what a being a Christian means in both, as well as whether or not it is the ultimate punishment.
Student(s):
Kayla Peralta

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. R. Guy Erwin
An Analysis on Augustine's View of Sexuality and How It Has Influenced People Today
Despite the act of sex being the same for every person, how it should be utilized in society varies significantly from person to person. Those with traditional views think sex should be restricted to marriage alone, while those who are liberal are not bothered by how or why it is executed. People indifferent to those positions think that the only basis for sex should be that the two persons are in love. These opinions have characterized society over time, and some beliefs have become the authoritative model over others. Saint Augustine’s view on sex has majorly influenced people, even modern thinkers today. The purpose of this presentation is to analyze Augustine’s outlook on sexual interactions, and examine how they have influenced attitudes today. Through the use of his works and a multimedia format, we will explore Augustine and his position on sex.
Student(s):
Nicholas Sabatella

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. R. Guy Erwin
Augustine's Argument for the Defense of Free Will
Free will, the ability for a human to choose his actions freely, has been a topic of constant debate and study since the conception of the pursuit of knowledge. From the earliest of philosophers, to technologically advanced modern day neuroscientists, the existence of man’s free will has been a topic of major social importance with implications in ethics, philosophy, science and religion; and no definitive explanation is unanimously accepted throughout the history of this search. Augustine argues that free will exists through God’s divine will and creation, and although everything God created is good, free will is what led to the creation of natural evil and original sin through the actions of Adam and Eve. Augustine’s concepts of the human will in his book The City of God against the Pagans, is an exceedingly influential argument, which has shaped western religious foundations and still holds authority to this day.
Student(s):
Caitlin Scott
and Eric Zeiger

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. R. Guy Erwin
What Role Do Angels and Demons Play in Augustine's Arguments in Support of Christianity?
In the early 5th century, following the Fall of Rome, Augustine played a vital role in the Christian church and used his rhetorical skills that he had developed in his life to defend the church. Throughout his arguments and in his writings, angels and demons are prominent motifs that play an important role in many of his arguments. Specifically, in Augustine’s The City of God Against the Pagans, angels and demons are discussed in great depth and are very important for both Augustine and the reader of that time. However, for many reading The City of God today, the motifs of angels and demons may convey a very different message. The purpose of this project is to look at the importance of angels and demons in Augustine’s time and apply it to the understanding of The City of God in a present interpretation.
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