Theses/Dissertations - Church-State Studies

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Studying the relationship between church and state: practical limits of church, state, and society programs in higher education.
(2006-05-27T19:46:43Z) Meyer, Catharine Anna.; Davis, Derek, 1949-; McDaniel, Charles A.; Corey, David D.; Marsh, Christopher, 1969-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
Over the course of the last half-century, a distinctive category of new degree-granting programs has emerged in American institutions of higher education. These programs, collectively referred to as programs of Church, State, and Society, are devoted to studying the relationship between state authority and religious practice, and the subsequent effects this relationship has on society. As this curriculum is relatively new to higher education, it is the purpose of this thesis to critically examine the fundamental nature of Church, State, and Society programs. The thesis will argue that programs of Church, State, and Society should be oriented by an epistemological philosophy of higher education--one that limits the scope of its practical activities yet nevertheless embraces the practical utility that results as a by-product of such epistemological activity.
The dilemma of justice: how religion influences the political environment of post-1948 Israel and Palestine.
(2006-05-27T19:49:02Z) Ross, Sasha A.; Ellis, Marc H.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This thesis examines the historical context, ideological traditions, and structures of power that have animated relations between Israeli Jews and Arab Palestinians during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Cognizant of the “prisms of pain” that have come to symbolize both Jewish and Palestinian identities, this thesis assumes that identities are in constant flux and are often determined by that which they negotiate against. Its first section considers some historical forces, specific inter-group events, and internal political tensions that intensified the early Jewish and Arab national projects against the British and that later pitted each group against the other. The second section examines the values enshrined in the sacred texts of each monotheistic tradition and the extent to which such have influenced the political engagement between Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Israel and Palestine. It concludes that because religion can be used as a political tool of repression, a prophetic spirituality common to all three traditions may be necessary for any sustainable project of social transformation and political reconciliation.
Conceiving coexistence: an exposition on the divergent Western and Islamic conceptualizations of tolerance.
(2006-07-29T18:22:55Z) Tyler, Aaron M.; Davis, Derek, 1949-; Brackney, William H.; Nederman, Cary J.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This dissertation provides a brief analysis of select writings and practics of tolerance in Western and Islamic histories to show how an intercultural understanding of tolerance is well within the philosophical, theological, and practical parameters of both traditions.
Nicholas Wolterstorff's Reformed epistemology and its challenge to Lockean and Rawlsian liberalism
(2006-07-31T01:10:00Z) Coyle, Douglas L.; Beckwith, Francis.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This dissertation charts the thought of Nicholas Wolterstorff as it regards his epistemology and political philosophy. It seeks to unfold his theory of democracy, which he calls the consocial position. It begins by introducing the reader to Wolterstorff by relating events and experiences of his life. This background information is important as it has played a vital role in shaping his thought. Next, it moves to explaining basic terms and ideas employed throughout. The basic issue, as Wolterstorff addresses it, is the question of whether citizens of a liberal democracy have a moral duty of religious-reason restraint in their public deliberations. Two basic strands of political theory are proposed as talking partners for Wolterstorff. The first is an Enlightenment public epistemology liberalism that argues for religious-reason restraint on the basis of a foundationalist epistemology. Wolterstorff develops this view through the work of John Locke. He criticizes this position and offers an alternative epistemology to that of foundationalism, which I call innocence epistemology. The second is a Post-Enlightenment public epistemology liberalism that argues for religious-reason restraint on the basis of a political doctrine. Wolterstorff develops this position through the work of John Rawls. He criticizes this position, and in its places offers his consocial position. His consocial position argues for a version of liberal democracy that does not require religious-reason restraint. The consocial position has three theses, none of which require a religious-reason restraint. The first thesis proposes three restraints on public deliberation, namely civility, respect for the law, and justice as the goal of deliberation. The second thesis proposes a particular understanding of the First Amendment as it regards government and religion. It calls for a position of impartiality, not neutrality. The third thesis proposes justice in shalom. This conception of justice has two primary components, namely a notion of rights, and a notion of prioritizing the evil of violating personhood.
Patriarchy and politics: a comparative evaluation of the religious, political and social thought of Sir Robert Filmer and Robert Lewis Dabney.
(2006-07-31T19:36:18Z) Davenport, R. Dean.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This dissertation examines the religious, political and social thought of Sir Robert Filmer and his influence in early America. Filmer was a seventeenth-century English political theorist whose thought was critiqued by John Locke in The First Treatise of Government. Filmer subscribed to a patriarchical theory of the origins of government, a view held by many pre-modern political thinkers. In this dissertation the historical roots of the patriarchal theory and its conflict with the modern, social contract theory are discussed. Filmer's critique of the social contract theories of Hugo Grotius, Thomas Hobbes and John Milton also are considered, thus setting the stage for an examination of Filmer’s relationship to Locke. The influence of Filmer in early America is then addressed. Filmer was more popular in the colonial South, especially among the Anglicans and Royalists of Virginia, but had few admirers in New England where Puritanism and the social-contract thought of Locke and Milton prevailed. The relationship between Filmer's thought and the religious, political and social views of later antebellum thinkers also is examined, with particular attention given to Robert Lewis Dabney, a nineteenth-century Presbyterian theologian from Virginia.
Religious liberty through the lens of textualism and a Living Constitution: the First Amendment Establishment Clause interpretations of Justices William Brennan, Jr. and Antonin Scalia.
(2006-11-25T01:19:59Z) Nies, Gregory O.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; Beckwith, Francis.; Waltman, Jerold L., 1945-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This paper examines how the jurisprudential visions of United States Supreme Court Justices William Brennan, Jr. and Antonin Scalia guide their interpretations of the First Amendment Establishment Clause. The paper begins by examining Establishment Clause basics, the United States legal system and judicial philosophies, and Establishment Clause jurisprudential history. The elusive search for a standard Establishment Clause interpretation in modern jurisprudence is examined through an analysis of the linear historical view and the practitioner's categorical view. It is argued that the single most important factor in determining an overall jurisprudential philosophy is ones method of interpretation. Accordingly, the primary methods of constitutional interpretation, originalism, textualism and the Living Constitution method are examined. Justice Brennan's and Justice Scalia's jurisprudential visions are examined generally, and in the context of their Establishment Clause jurisprudence. The paper concludes that both justices have consistently applied their widely different but principled jurisprudential visions when interpreting the Establishment Clause.
The revival of political hesychasm in Greek Orthodox thought: a study of the hesychast basis of the thought of John S. Romanides and Christos Yannaras.
(2006-12-11T16:57:05Z) Payne, Daniel P.; Davis, Derek, 1949-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
In the 1940s Russian émigré theologians rediscovered the ascetic-theology of St. Gregory Palamas. Palamas's theology became the basis for an articulation of an Orthodox theological identity apart from Roman Catholic and Protestant influences. In particular the "Neo-Patristic Synthesis" of Fr. Georges Florovsky and the appropriation of Palamas's theology by Vladimir Lossky set the course for future Orthodox theology in the twentieth century. Their thought had a direct influence upon the thought of Greek theologians John S. Romanides and Christos Yannaras in the late twentieth century. Each of these theologians formulated a political theology using the ascetic-theology of Palamas combined with the Roman identity of the Greek Orthodox people. Both of these thinkers called for a return to the ecclesial-communal life of the late Byzantine period as an alternative to the secular vision of the modern West. The resulting paradigm developed by their thought has led to the formation of what has been called the "Neo-Orthodox Movement." Essentially, what the intellectual and populist thinkers of the movement have expressed in their writings is "political hesychasm." Romanides and Yannaras desire to establish an Orthodox identity that separates the Roman aspect from the Hellenic element of Greek identity. The Roman identity of the Greek people is the Orthodox Christian element removed from the pagan Hellenism, which, as they argue, the Western powers imposed on the Greek people in the establishment of the modern nation-state of Greece in 1821. Romanides and Yannaras want to remove the Western and pagan elements from the Hellenic identity of the people, and replace it with the Orthodox identity rooted in hesychast spirituality based on the teachings of Gregory Palamas. Using an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the thought of Romanides and Yannaras, the work employs constructivist sociology with history and theology to arrive at a complete understanding of their politico-theological arguments. Furthermore, the work examines the theological sources as well as the historical setting for the development of their thought. Additionally, the project assesses their political theology and provides opportunities for further theological development.
Faith seeking understanding: the relationship between noetic and pneumatic differentiation in Eric Voegelin's political philosophy.
(2007-01-11) Russell, Jeremiah H.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This thesis is a study of the philosophy of Eric Voegelin with particular focus on the relationship between noetic differentiation (particularly Greek philosophy) and pneumatic differentiation (particularly Christianity). The thesis begins with an examination of the recovery of transcendence in politics through his noetic theory of consciousness and noetic theory of history. It then turns to consider Voegelin's reading of Christianity, which makes a nuanced distinction between the superior Christian differentiation and its subsequent derailed expression. The thesis proposes that, for a variety of reasons, Voegelin gave primacy to Greek philosophy over Christianity in order to restore political order through a "noetically-controlled Christianity."
The responses of the church in Nigeria to socio-economic, political, and religious problems in Nigeria: a case study of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
(2007-01-22T22:40:48Z) Mbachirin, Abraham T.; Davis, Derek, 1949-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This dissertation evaluates the activities of the church in Nigeria and its contribution to national development. Christianity came to Nigeria through missionary activities of various parts of the western world and South Africa and was firmly established in the late eighteen century. Today, Christianity is one of the major religions in Nigeria with a significant numerical strength as well as a profound social, economical, political, and religious influence both inside and outside Nigeria. Since its establishment, Christianity has made great achievements in the areas of education, healthcare, and rural development. This study aims to: first, show that the church in Nigeria has been part of nation building and in some areas has been ahead even the government. Second, to unveil the social, economic, political, and religious problems in Nigeria, and discuss their interconnection, intensity, as well as how they impede development in Nigeria. Third, to investigate the motivations or philosophy responsible for the emergence of Christian religious organizations, especially the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the umbrella of Christian churches in Nigeria. Fourth, to identify and analyze the approaches of the church to socio-economic, political, and religious problems, and unveil the implications of these responses on the church and the Nigerian society in general. This study demonstrates that the responses of the church in Nigeria have more to do with socio-economic, political and religious realities than a theological and philosophical conviction. The responses of the church are situationally motivated and compelled. The socio-economic and political realities in Europe and Africa played a major role in the coming of missionaries to Nigeria. In fact, the Nigerian church and its organizations are pragmatic in their activities and approaches to socio-economic, political, and religious issues. In some cases, the approaches taken by the church to address societal problems have created more problems than they have solved. Nevertheless, the church acting through (CAN) has made notable achievement.
Kingdom of priests or democracy of competent souls? the 'Baptist Manifesto,' John Howard Yoder, and the question of Baptist identity.
(2007-03-08T15:40:14Z) Black, Andrew D.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This thesis examines "Re-envisioning Baptist Identity: A Manifesto for Baptist Christians in North America," a statement published by a group of Baptist theologians in 1997. The "Baptifesto," as it has come to be known, claimed that modern Baptists have uncritically adopted individualistic and rationalistic theories of freedom that work against the biblical vision of liberty experienced through participation in the church’s corporate vocation to discipleship. The purpose of this study is to place the "Baptifesto" within the context of contemporary debates over Baptist identity and to show its connections to critiques of the dominant forms of American Christianity within ecumenical theological and ethical conversations. The various writings of Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder (1927-1997) serves as a primary resource for explicating the matrix of ecclesiological, historical, social, and theological issues raised by the "Baptifesto" and its challenge to standard accounts of Baptist identity in the late twentieth century.
Coexistent inconsistency: the Supreme Court, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the expansion of religious liberties.
(2007-12-04T19:53:53Z) Lynn, Nathan R.; McDaniel, Charles A.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
During the course of the Twentieth Century, the Jehovah’s Witnesses went before the United States Supreme Court over twenty times in an effort to further their religious liberties. These cases involved the often tumultuous relationship between their theology and the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. Occasionally the Witnesses proved inconsistent with their faith; however, the Supreme Court proved just as inconsistent in their rulings and reasoning of these cases. These inconsistencies between the two parties created a symbiotic benefit for not only the Witnesses, but all Americans, as new religious freedoms were granted. While persecution and unpopularity plagued the Witnesses, this only made them more resilient and determined to pursue legal methods and ensure their liberties would be established and well-protected.
Defying boundaries: the challenge of transnational religion to international relations.
(2008-06-09T13:36:43Z) Kent, Jennifer M.; Marsh, Christopher, 1969-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
It is my intent to evaluate the ways in which the primary International Relations paradigms analyze, incorporate, or disregard religion, particularly its transnational manifestations. It is my contention that transnational religion is a potent actor in the international community, whose potential for disruption or for diplomacy within the international system has been systematically ignored or mis-interpreted by the predominant international relations paradigms. The developing field of constructivism, though primarily based in the other social sciences, offers an alternative and promising framework for the study of religion in international relations. I outline each school’s deficiencies in their approach to transnational religion and identify important areas of potential development towards a more comprehensive analysis of the significance of transnational religion to international relations.
Render unto Caesar, render unto God: Texas denominational colleges and universities and the politics of the Civil War era.
(2008-06-09T13:48:29Z) Karppi, Daniel G.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
This dissertation is a study of church-state relations. Its overarching goal is to illuminate the manner in which religion and government interact. The setting for this study is the Civil War era, which includes the period from the 1840s to the 1880s. The actors in this study are the state of Texas, Texas denominational colleges and universities, church leaders, and key educational pioneers. Analysis is limited to three specific denominations: the Baptists, the Methodists, and the Presbyterians. Its central argument is that Texas denominational colleges and universities reflected and promoted the social and political values of Texas during the Civil War era. Supporting evidence for this argument is provided by bringing together religious history and educational history. The topics and questions examined are varied. One chapter is devoted to the question of how both church and state viewed the role of denominational colleges and universities. The remaining chapters focus on specific political and social questions. They cover the response by Texas denominational colleges and universities to slavery, secession, and reconstruction. To document this response, particular attention is paid to the formal and informal curriculum.
The Gospel of indifference: rape as a weapon of war and the church in Rwanda and Sudan.
(2008-06-11T16:05:52Z) Gafford, Lindsay D.; Marsh, Christopher, 1969-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
Over the past two decades the global community has witnessed multiple genocides in which rape was/is used as a primary tactic of war and ethnic cleansing. In response, several organizations have established themselves as places of refuge and healing for victims of wartime rape, and the use of rape as a weapon is now considered a crime against humanity. However, a religious response to the victims of wartime and genocidal rape is noticeably absent. This thesis examines the role of religion and use of wartime rape in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the current genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, as well as the response to victims of wartime rape by members of the religious groups involved, particularly local churches. These two case studies demonstrate that whether perpetrator or victim in the conflict, the response of the church to victims of wartime rape is the same—silence.
All truth is God's truth: the life and ideas of Frank E. Gaebelein.
(2008-10-01T15:54:50Z) Beck, Albert R.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
Frank Gaebelein (1899-1983) was a key figure in the twentieth-century evangelical movement. His greatest impact was felt in the area of Christian education, but he was active in many other issues of concern to evangelicals, particularly matters of social justice and the arts. “Truth” was the animating concept behind Gaebelein’s work; his goal was to attempt to connect whatever subject he addressed with a biblical concept of the truth. Gaebelein’s life paralleled and helped define the transition of fundamentalism to evangelicalism. The son of a noted fundamentalist, his early years centered around his work at The Stony Brook School, an evangelical boarding school on Long Island, New York. It was here that Gaebelein developed his ideas on the philosophy of Christian education. “The integration of faith and learning” under the pattern of God’s overarching truth was the defining characteristic of his writing and practice in education. In his later years, Gaebelein devoted attention to matters of social justice and the arts. He was a theological conservative, but Gaebelein also believed that evangelical orthodoxy led him to take more moderate stances on social and cultural issues. He was a supporter of racial integration and an advocate for simple living, and he insisted that evangelicals had to engage the arts if they were to have lasting social impact. Gaebelein believed that all truth was God’s truth, and it was the duty of the Christian to relate every personal and corporate action to truth rooted in God. This commitment to truth proved to be a dynamic factor, allowing for an expansive application of Christian interest and ministry to all walks of life. At the same time, traditional evangelical notions of truth, rooted in a Common Sense Realist philosophy stemming from the Enlightenment, often lacked critical self awareness that limited the application and understanding of truth in an age that would soon came to deny the very existence of truth.
James M. Dunn and soul freedom: a paradigm for Baptist political engagement in the public arena.
(2008-10-01T19:19:39Z) Weaver, Aaron Douglas.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
In the last half of the twentieth century, James Dunn has been the most aggressive Baptist proponent for religious liberty in the United States. As the leader of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Dunn’s understanding of church-state separation was a battleground in the Southern Baptist Controversy of the 1980s. “Conservative Resurgence” leaders opposed Dunn and the Southern Baptist Convention eventually withdrew from the BJC. This thesis analyzes the public career of James Dunn, especially his views on religious liberty. Dunn embodied and articulated a paradigm for Baptist political engagement in the public arena which was based upon the concept of soul freedom: voluntary uncoerced faith and an unfettered individual conscience before God. Dunn defended soul freedom as the historic Baptist basis of religious liberty against critics whom he believed had forfeited their Baptist identity by aligning with the Religious Right and its rejection of church-state separation.
Is “social justice” justice? : A Thomistic argument for “social persons” as the proper subjects of the virtue of social justice.
(2008-10-15T14:21:42Z) Lee, John R. (Richard), 1981-; Beckwith, Francis.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
The term “social justice,” as it occurs in the Catholic social encyclical tradition, presents a core, definitional problem. According to Catholic social thought, social justice has social institutions as its subjects. However, in the Thomistic tradition, justice is understood to be a virtue, i.e., a human habit with human persons as subjects. Thus, with its non-personal subjects, social justice would seem not to be a virtue, and thus not to be a true form of justice. We offer a solution to this problem, based on the idea of social personhood. Drawing from the Thomistic understanding of “person” as a being “distinct in a rational nature”, it is argued that certain social institutions—those with a unity of order—are capable of meeting Aquinas’ analogical definition of personhood. Thus, social institutions with a unity of order—i.e., societies—are understood to be “social persons” and thus the proper subjects of virtue, including the virtue of justice. After a review of alternative conceptions, it is argued that “social justice” in the Catholic social encyclical tradition is best understood as general justice (justice directed toward the common good) extended to include not only human persons, but social persons as well. Advantages of this conception are highlighted. Metaphysically, an understanding of social justice as exercised by social persons fits nicely with an understanding of society as non-substantial, but subsistent being. This understanding of societal being supports certain intuitions we have about the nature of societal organization. In regards to social philosophy, an understanding of social justice as general justice exercised by social persons helps to account for the principle of subsidiarity and situate it properly within the domain of just acts. Consequently, the notion of social personhood helps to bring social institutions—considered per se, not as mere summations of individual persons—into the domain of justice.
An analysis of church social service and partnership following Hurricane Katrina.
(2009-04-01T16:39:50Z) Napoli, Amanda Diane.; Marsh, Christopher, 1969-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
Historically, churches have been service providers willing to partner with religious, secular, business and government agencies for social services. Theoretical evidence points to how this relationship may look based upon studies of congregations and their partners in the delivery of social services, however, there is little known about service efforts churches engage in for disaster relief and the partnerships they forge for such efforts, particularly their relations with the government for disaster relief. This dissertation utilizes qualitative collective case study to obtain a broader understanding of the church service efforts and partnerships demonstrated following Hurricane Katrina. Churches played an instrumental role as a part of the wide safety net of service providers. This investigation analyzes churches in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of differing size, race, theology, and organizational structure that offered emergency aid following Hurricane Katrina to reveal (a) how they participated in service efforts and the meaning they applied to such efforts, (b) the partnerships they forged for relief services, (c) and how they partnered with the government for relief efforts.
Clare of Assisi : shaping a new paradigm of sainthood.
(2010-02-02T20:07:11Z) Sutherland, Gabrielle E.; Hamilton, J. S., 1955-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
Separating the historical figure of Saint Clare from the icon handed down from history is a significant part of this study. Part of the complexity of the life of Clare of Assisi rested in the negotiation of her very public spiritual life during a time of ecclesiastical reform and her formative association with the Franciscan movement. Another part of that construct can be attributed to her role in society as a noblewoman in the burgeoning Italian commune with all that involved. Finding the woman who was Clare within the iconic image passed down poses a challenge. The process of becoming a saint is a living dialogue between the saint-the-person and sainthood-the-symbol. Semiotic theory offers a method for studying this process of Clare-the-saint serving as image, becoming a symbol, and eventually a sign for her time—especially for women—as she grappled with questions of identity, redefined relationships, and applied her theories towards a model for Franciscan living. The legendae surrounding Clare (even those produced during her lifetime) were a significant element of this process, as the writers consciously drew upon traditional and contemporary themes from literature and iconic imagery. Clare employed similar themes in her own writings, and the Church did the same upon her death, using the occasion to re-formulate and more firmly cement canonization procedures.
The effects of American fundamentalism on educating towards a virtuous citizenry : the case of C. I. Scofield and Philadelphia Biblical University.
(2010-06-23T12:16:50Z) Basie, John D.; Hankins, Barry, 1956-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.
From the founding of Harvard in 1636 until the end of nineteenth century, the old-time college model of higher education was pervasive throughout the fledgling American republic. Christian morality was foundational to the curriculum as was the formation of virtuous citizens who would consistently contribute to the common good of American society through the pursuit of the culture-forming professions of medicine, law, and the ministry. Although evangelization and spiritual growth were viewed as important goals of the old-time college, they were not the primary educational aims. By contrast, Bible institutes placed such emphases above other educational aims. These institutions were founded by conservative evangelicals in large part as a defensive reaction to modernist-informed liberal Protestantism beginning at the end of the nineteenth century. C.I. Scofield was Philadelphia Biblical University’s primary founder and first president. His dispensational leanings were central to the institution’s educational aims from the founding of the institution in 1914 (then called Philadelphia School of the Bible) to the 1950s and through the present. There are two significant consequences of Scofield’s dispensationalism that are relevant to PBU. First, Scofield’s dispensationalist leanings were central to his educational philosophy and in the way the early PBU curriculum represented a break from the old-time college model of higher education. Instead of adopting the old-time college philosophy of forming virtuous citizens whose focus would hold together an earthly as well as a heavenly telos, Scofield intended to form citizens of heaven only. Second, Scofieldian dispensationalism at PBU was stronger in the 1950s than it is now. As the institution moved from that decade into the 1970s, 1990s, and finally to the present, its classic historic Scofieldian-dispensational identity has diminished while the characteristics that suggest it is increasingly committed to the common good and forming virtuous citizens of earth—not just citizens of heaven—have strengthened.

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