Humans are biased toward teleological explanations of natural phenomena. The promiscuous teleology account posits that this proclivity is rooted in the detection of supernatural agency behind the design of the natural world. This idea is supported by numerous positive correlatio…
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Many religious/spiritual (R/S) individuals receive meaning from R/S and utilize R/S to help them cope with stressful life events. However, natural disasters can disrupt the R/S meaning-making process (e.g., positive R/S coping strategies) because natural disasters can elicit cog…
The research outlined in this project addresses happiness. Happiness has long been studied by individuals from a multitude of disciplines. These individuals have included philosophers, scientists, politicians, psychologists, religious leaders, and artists among many others. The …
This research study used hermeneutic phenomenology to explore the lived experience of eighteen participants, who self-identified as having observed an interruptive symbol (image, art piece, song, poem or the like), that impacted the observer in some way. It focused on how the pa…
As more and more millennials disaffiliate from fundamental religions, a sense of confusion and loss, feelings of isolation, and even a lingering sense of betrayal seem to follow. The process of disaffiliation is an under researched area within the psychology of religion. The pre…
Research suggests that deeply held beliefs about the world, self, and others often inform subjective appraisals of stressful or traumatic events and these appraisals, in turn, drive posttraumatic reactions for many individuals. The present study examined how internal working mod…
Psychosis is a central concept in mental health, yet the concept is unclear. Clinicians are challenged with the task to be able to distinguish psychotic phenomena; however, little is known about how clinicians are able to distinguish religious/spiritual phenomena from psychotic …
The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of faith-based service projects on undergraduate students. Specifically, this study sought to determine the existence of common themes such as the development of an individual’s sense of meaning and purpose through participatio…
Statements about God are often highlighted as a unique philosophical problem. Religious language typically takes the form of indicative statements of fact but resists the traditional means of verification or falsification. Despite this apparent deficiency, religious statements c…
This thesis uses the photographic portrait as an example of contemporary art practice to examine developments in aesthetic sensibility and constructions of meaning with particular address to ineffable qualities in both the subject and in the photograph. It examines the contribut…
This research addresses an intersection of philosophy of religion and aesthetics via a theory of religious ritual hermeneutics and aesthetics. Primary attention is paid to a daily religious ritual in Vedic Hinduism (agnihotra , twice daily oblations to Agni) and in Islam (s[dotb…
This thesis will focus on an analysis of the first Qur'anic verses from the perspectives of language and meaning. Over time, as with any historical text, interpretations of verses in the Qur'an have varied, sometimes radically, beginning with the word Igra' , the very first word…
The study reported here originated in my therapeutic work with children at risk and my search for a therapeutic approach which would help them develop the inner strength to cope with their difficulties. The concept of ‘meaning in life' as a source of strength has been extensivel…
The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate that Alexander Maclaren's psychological point of view on character, which connects to the meanings of the texts on three distinct aspects, constitutes a text-driven approach for preaching historical narratives. Chapter 1 serves …
The present dissertation is an effort to introduce Monk Yaodi Roasts Zhuangzi into contemporary Anglophone discourse on the Zhuangzi. The guiding theme of the present dissertation is human flourishing, with a particular focus on meaning and wellbeing. The dissertation is built a…
The emergence of modern warfare has contributed to greater numbers of service members being exposed to morally ambiguous decisions and actions (e.g., harming civilians and non-combatants). The moral and spiritual implications of serving in combat have gained increasing attention…
Thousands of Iraq combat veterans are currently returning home from the war. A significant percentage of these soldiers are presenting with mental-health problems, foremost of which is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a debilitating condition which has psychological and ps…
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is one of the only regions throughout the world that saw an increase in new HIV infections from 2001 to 2009. Although UNAIDS estimates that 460,000 individuals are currently living with HIV in MENA, the exact number of women living with H…
By inviting educators from diverse backgrounds to participate in creative conversations, I had hoped to reflect on experiences that had helped construct our theories of environmental education, and inform practice. I sought consistency across the espoused ethics of co-participan…