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  • 1. Farley, Jared The Politicalization of the American Evangelical Press, 1960-1981: A Test of the Ideological Theory of Social Movement Mobilization

    Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2006, Political Science

    In the last decade, scholars have increasingly begun to study the role of issue entrepreneurs and subculture elites in utilizing ideologies, frames and cultural symbolism in the mobilization of social and political movements. Despite this, one of the most important social/political movements of the last century, the rise of the Evangelical Right, has largely escaped examination through these lenses. A limited number have focused their attention upon the more prominent evangelical leaders, like Rev. Jerry Falwell, but this work examines the evangelical subculture from a broader perspective. A similar criticism is that the scholarship in this field often oversimplifies this political reawakening. Researchers often suggest that the 1976 presidential campaign of fellow evangelical Jimmy Carter was the central mobilizing force which propelled white evangelicals into the electoral arena, causing secular conservative political operatives to realize the dormant electoral potential of this community. This study shows that operatives and elites within the evangelical subculture were moving to politicalize the subculture long before the 1980 election, the establishment of Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority or even the 1976 election. Finally, this study provides an analysis of the ideology evangelicals were mobilized under during the 1960s and 1970s. Social movement scholars have recently begun talking about the functions movement ideologies must serve for a mobilization to be successful. This study tests these hypotheses with a systematic, empirical, primary source analysis, rather than the nonsystematic, hearsay or anecdotal evidence that exemplifies most of the social movements' literature. The final chapter provides an overview of the political ideology and issue framing which emerge from the pages of the major evangelical periodicals of this time period. This politicalization of the evangelical subculture is an important topic for analysis not only because of what it can tell (open full item for complete abstract)
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    Committee: Ryan Barilleaux (Advisor) Subjects:

  • 2. Esh, Bryn A Vision for Greater Inclusion: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Christians in Protestant Evangelical Faith Communities

    Undergraduate Honors Program, Malone University, 2025, Honors Thesis

    This study aims to gain a better understanding of the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Christians and their experiences within Protestant evangelical contexts. Throughout nine interviews, this study gained insight into the process by which participants formed their identity, supportive and unsupportive experiences within family systems and faith communities, and explored implications for both faith communities and relationships. This study notes the importance of policy transparency, creating inclusive spaces, using inclusive language, and advocating for LGB communities in a public manner—however that looks in one's specific faith context. This research highlights specific ways in which readers can support LGB people when they disclose their identity to individuals in their lives. Finally, for individuals and faith communities looking to create more hospitable spaces for LGB individuals, the results of this study point towards maintaining a posture of humility and open-mindedness as LGB individuals share their stories and their experiences within faith communities.
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    Committee: Elizabeth Patterson Roe (Committee Chair); Andrew Reynolds (Committee Member); Marcia Everett (Committee Member); Kathryn Huisinga (Other) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Glbt Studies; Personal Relationships; Religion; Social Research; Social Work; Spirituality

  • 3. Ruiz, John Evangelical Christians And Professional Chaplaincy: A Handbook Of Discernment For Evangelicals Considering Ministry As A Professional Chaplain

    Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2024, Doctor of Ministry Program

    The purpose of this project was to create a resource that would provide practical insights leading toward discernment for Evangelical Christians considering professional chaplaincy. The manual A Handbook of Discernment for Evangelicals Considering Ministry as a Professional Chaplain was written and evaluated by a team of twelve professionals who serve as pastors and chaplains. A Likert survey with additional qualitative questions was administered to determine if the handbook successfully led to discernment and provided practical tools for entering the profession of professional chaplaincy. Responses indicated the handbook would be an effective tool for discernment for persons considering professional chaplaincy.
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    Committee: Dawn Morton (Advisor) Subjects: Clergy; Pastoral Counseling; Religious Education

  • 4. Hyatt, Steven Christ-Centered Education: Toward an Affirmative Pedagogy

    PHD, Kent State University, 2024, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

    Since the inception of Christianity, Christians have struggled to know how to interact with surrounding cultures, what aspects of life to pass on to the next generation, and how to disciple the next generation in faith in Christ. This project is an ontological investigation into Christ-centered education, making the case to move beyond the pre-critical, and critical to embrace an affirmative post-critical pedagogy. Having been grounded in the faith and grace of the evangel (Chapter I) and approaching epistemology with Christian humility (Chapter II), the Christ-centered educator embodies both critical pedagogy and affirmative pedagogy (Chapter III), based on six biblical principles that undergird Christ-centered education: 1. worship, 2. wisdom, 3. love, 4. faithfulness to the Bible, 5. in community fellowship, as 6. responsible stewards (Chapter IV). Christ-centered educators should be affirmed in these principles by their community (of other Christ-centered educators, administration, and by local Christ-centered churches and families) as they are called to live out the evangel in their classrooms and churches, flourishing as disciples of Jesus and as teachers (Chapter V). This is the ontological embodiment of Christ-centered pedagogy expressed in an affirmative, post-critical pedagogy.
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    Committee: Natasha Levinson (Advisor); Mary Parr (Committee Member); Cynthia Osborn (Committee Member); Tricia Niesz (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Philosophy; Educational Sociology; Educational Theory; Epistemology; Pedagogy; Religion; Religious Education; Spirituality; Teacher Education; Teaching

  • 5. Vanderbeke, Marianne My Mom Gave Me a Book: A Critical Review of Evangelical Literature about Puberty, Sexuality, and Gender Roles and their Role in Conversations about Sex Education

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Media and Communication

    Generations of women in the Evangelical Church have embodied narratives passed from mother to daughter, from church leadership, and through their religious communities. These narratives, including those of women's subservience and deserving of suffering endured from spouses, church leaders, and others, have origins in the earliest days of church history. In this thesis I examine how such narratives are embedded in books on pubertal guidance targeted to mothers and daughters in Evangelical Christian communities. Building on Fish's work on interpretive communities, Gramsci's conceptualization of hegemony, Foucault theorizing on power, and an interdisciplinary literature on the interaction between religion, culture, and politics, I interrogate themes of puberty, sexual function, gender roles, consent, and gender-based violence addressed in books on pubertal guidance, and how these books contribute to or reinforce evangelical Christian doctrinal narratives on gender and sexuality. Through a methodological approach using grounded theory, narrative inquiry, autoethnography, and textual analysis, findings indicate Evangelical Christian culture creates an interpretive community which drives only acceptable interpretation of religious texts (primarily the Bible), gender norms, and patriarchal power dynamics. Themes emerging from the texts analyzed, including Complementarianism, submission, purity, modesty, inadequacy, and silencing, have deep consequences not only for women and girls in Evangelical Christian communities, but for society at large as the legislative push for adherence to Evangelical Christian doctrinal ideologies work to remove access to basic human rights for people who do not adhere them. Misinformation, incomplete information, and hegemonic narratives serve to perpetuate gender inequality and have broad effects on women's and girls' mental, emotional, and physical health. In light of the most recent intrusions by Christian Nationalists into the legislative (open full item for complete abstract)
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    Committee: Lara Martin Lengel Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Clayton` Rosati Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lisa Hanasono Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Behavioral Psychology; Bible; Biblical Studies; Biographies; Communication; Divinity; Education; Ethics; Families and Family Life; Gender; Gender Studies; Health; Health Care; Health Education; History; Individual and Family Studies; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Pastoral Counseling; Personal Relationships; Philosophy; Public Health; Public Health Education; Public Policy; Religion; Religious Congregations; Religious Education; Religious History; Rhetoric; Social Research; Social Structure; Sociology; Spirituality; Theology; Womens Studies

  • 6. Castellani, Jennifer Deconstructing Eve: A Critical Feminist Analysis of Mid-Level Female Administrators in Conservative Evangelical Universities

    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2016, Educational Leadership

    Research demonstrates that female staff in conservative, Christian colleges experience gender discrimination in a variety of forms, and this oppression is often because evangelical theology dictates women are ontologically second class citizens. This qualitative critical feminist dissertation specifically focuses on the gendered experiences of female mid-level administrators in evangelical academia. Interviews and participant reflective exercises were used to collect data, and findings demonstrate gender inequality exists within Christian academia. Female mid-level supervisors reported difficulty balancing home and work responsibilities, pay disparity, thwarted promotional opportunities, and covert and overt discrimination. Recommended strategies to address gender inequality include leadership development programs, mentoring, advocacy for balanced hiring and salaries, gender equity task forces, climate surveys, and internal and external coalitions.
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    Committee: Molly Schaller Dr (Advisor) Subjects: Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory; Gender; Gender Studies; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Religion; Theology; Womens Studies

  • 7. Berry, Autumn The Historical Evolution of Malone: A Challenge to Keep Christ First in the Journey from Bible College to Christian Liberal Arts University

    Undergraduate Honors Program, Malone University, 2015, Honors Thesis

    This paper focuses on the changes Malone went through between 1966-1971. At that time, Christian colleges throughout the nation were deeply wrestling with social upheaval, and many institutions decided to become secular. Then-president Everett Cattell worked with current and prospective students, faculty and staff, and alumni and parents to gather opinions to determine exactly what constituents were looking for in a Christian college. The five years of efforts culminated primarily in removing a single sentence in the student handbook that made reference to students abiding by all policies whether they were commuting or living on campus. Although the change was technically minor, it had major ramifications for the Malone community.
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    Committee: Amy M. Yuncker (Advisor); Diane Chambers PhD. (Committee Member); Malcolm Gold PhD. (Committee Member); Jacalynn Welling PhD. (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Religious Education

  • 8. Hoover, Linda Effects of Negative Media on Evangelical Christians' Attitudes Toward Evangelism

    Psy. D., Antioch University, 2015, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology

    This study examined how negative media influenced Evangelical Christians and their attitude toward evangelism practices. Using self-questionnaires, participants identified their level of in-group identification and type of internalized motivation for engaging in religious practices. After viewing a negative media clip about the professional football player, Tim Tebow, and his public expression of faith, 412 Evangelical Christians rated their fear of negative evaluation about engaging in evangelism. A control group of 31 participants completed questionnaires but received no media exposure. Consistent with previous research, the current study found that media exposure activated internalized social norms and feelings of oughtness, which were shown to be statistically significant predictors of anxiety as measured by BFNE-II scores. Internalization types were not found to be significant predictors for control group scores. Although 82% of Evangelical Christians highly identified with their in-group and 72% endorsed voluntary participation in evangelism practices, 59% of all participants registered clinically significant anxiety about evangelism regardless of exposure to negative media. Evangelism anxiety appeared be influenced by a sense of moral duty (Johnston, 2003), feelings of oughtness (Lindenberg et al., 2011), the risk of interpersonal rejection (Ingram, 1989), and fear of prejudicial treatment (Bobkowski & Kalyanaraman, 2010). Results indicated exposure to negative media activated obligatory expectations for conformity with evangelism practices. The electronic version of the dissertation is accessible at the Ohiolink ETD center http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd.
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    Committee: Steve Kadin PhD (Committee Chair); Sharleen O'Brien PsyD (Committee Member); Christopher Rosik PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Mass Media; Psychology; Religious Congregations; Social Research

  • 9. Feldheim, Andrew The Spiritual Dynamic in Alcoholics Anonymous and the Factors Precipitating A.A.'s Separation From the Oxford Group

    Master of Arts, Miami University, 2013, Comparative Religion

    Alcoholics Anonymous has grown since the mid-1930's from a loose cohesion of individuals seeking recovery to iconic status as a paradigmatic self-help organization. Few people among the many familiar with A.A. are aware of its genesis from a popular Christian evangelical organization called the Oxford Group. This paper charts the course of A.A. from its Oxford Group roots, both in terms of historical development and the evolution of the spiritual dynamic that served as the functional nexus for both organizations. This paper also addresses key differences in the agendas of both groups that eventually necessitated their separation, as well as the questionable assumption that Alcoholics Anonymous is the more "secular" of the two.
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    Committee: Elizabeth Wilson PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Alternative Medicine; American History; Religion; Religious History; Spirituality

  • 10. Martin, Joshua Evangelizing Environmentalism: A Vision for a Broader “Creation Care” Movement

    Bachelor of Arts, University of Toledo, 2009, Philosophy

    Environmentalism, an ideology once vilified by whole swathes of the American evangelical community as pagan pantheism, has in recent years gained an increasingly larger foothold in the community. Prominent evangelical organizations and churches have drafted declarations expressing their concern for the deteriorating state of creation, denominational leaders are fervently promoting sustainability, and congregations are starting to reconsider their divinely ordained dominion over the earth. This thesis will explore this emerging phenomenon by examining these declarations as well as the scholarship of those evangelical leaders advocating creation care. I will provide a historical overview of such material since the 1970s, attempt to explain the factors that contributed to the movement, and explicate the philosophical nuances of both liberal and conservative evangelical treatments of the environment. Subsequently, I will offer an endorsement of a panentheistic, pneumatological, and pro-environmental evangelical framework that recognizes the pervasive presence of the divine in all life forms. This solution will build upon the liberal evangelical treatment of the environment isolated from the problematic notion of human ontology possessed by conservative evangelicals, while utilizing their shared theological language to establish a connection. I believe this modified creation care framework will stand supremely capable of catalyzing a shift within the conservative evangelical community toward an appropriate sustainability ethic, hopefully helping in some small way to stave off ecological Armageddon.
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    Committee: Benjamin Pryor (Advisor); Jeanine Diller (Advisor) Subjects: Philosophy; Religion

  • 11. Shively, Elizabeth Happily Ever After: Gender, Romance and Relationships in the Christian Courtship Movement

    Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Comparative Studies

    Courtship, the practice of forgoing traditional dating in favor of trusting God to choose your mate, has been gaining ground among conservative Christians in the U.S. since the early 1990s, but it has received little attention in scholarship or popular media. It emerged among Christian homeschooling families who were looking for an alternative to traditional dating, which they feared would bring sexual and romantic temptations into the lives of their children. The movement gained widespread appeal with the 1997 publication of Joshua Harris' courtship confessional I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which went on to sell nearly a million copies. Combining ethnographic fieldwork, including interviews with courtship participants, and analysis of courtship media, including the movement's popular self-help books, this dissertation is the first to examine the courtship movement comprehensively, including its authors and proponents, media, theology, discourses and participants. This dissertation traces the growth of courtship alongside the Christian homeschool movement, arguing that the movement owes its growth to the proclivity of homeschool students to be both enterprising and voracious readers. Despites participants' reluctance to embrace the ‘courtship' label or endorse a particular Christian denomination, I identify courtship's ties to Christian Reconstructionist theology, and I argue that courtship authors' reluctance to enforce a courtship formula has actually contributed to the successful spread of courtship principles, including parental involvement, physical and emotional purity, and dating only with the purpose of marriage in mind. It also identifies characteristics I call luminous femininity and radiant modesty. Girls in the courtship movement strive to exude a mix of warm nurturing, service, hospitality and radiant modesty, a glowing purity. Contrary to critiques that equate traditional femininity with passivity, I find that girls in the courtship movement actively embra (open full item for complete abstract)
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    Committee: Tanya Erzen PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Mary Thomas PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Hugh Urban PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; Religion; Religious History; Womens Studies

  • 12. Besco, E. A history of the Evangelical Alliance : pioneer in Christian co-operation

    Master of Arts, Oberlin College, 1963, Theology

    This study is an attempt to trace the history of the Evangelical Alliance. I was introduced to the Alliance by the biography of Philip Schaff. It appeared that this was an interesting and unexplored area of Church history. The Evangelical Alliance has been overlooked by most popular historians of the ecumenical movement. The only work that presents a comprehensive study is the all-embracing history of the ecumenical movement by Ruth Rouse and Stephen C. Neill. Even the renowned Church historian Kenneth S. Latourette relies upon Rouse and Neill' s work for the note he makes of the Alliance. I am convinced that this has been a loss to those participating in the ecumenical movement. The material on the Alliance is available and should be more widely used. Many of the "new" problems of unity discussions were also troublesome to the Alliance.
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    Committee: (Advisor) Subjects: Religious History

  • 13. Barth, Whittney Interpreting the Eleventh Commandment: A Look at Creation Care and Its Role in American Politics

    Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, 2008, College of Arts and Sciences - Religion

    Often when words like Evangelical and global climate change are found in the same sentence, they are accompanied with words like hoax or liberal. This thesis explores the involvement of Evangelical Christians in the ongoing public discourse about the negative consequences of human action towards the environment. A growing number of Evangelicals (a demographic that voted George W. Bush into office by a margin of four to one) are speaking out in favor of environmental protection. Human-induced global climate change is posited as an issue of immediate concern to this growing movement which has come to be known as Creation Care. Despite this trend, the Creation Care movement is not without critics from within the Evangelical community. This thesis argues that this contention is more political than it is theological and that both sides justify their claims by employing familiar frames that resonate with Evangelical voters.
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    Committee: Peter Williams PhD (Advisor); Jim Hanges PhD (Committee Member); John Forren PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Earth; Political Science; Religion; Religious Congregations; Religious History

  • 14. Brehm, Stephanie “Shalom, God Bless, and Please Exit to the Right:” A Cultural Ethnography of the Holy Land Experience

    Master of Arts, Miami University, 2011, Comparative Religion

    This thesis explores the intersection of evangelical Christianity, entertainment, and consumerism in America through a cultural ethnography of the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Florida. This case study examines the diversity within the evangelical subculture and the blurring of the line between sacred and secular in American popular culture. In this thesis, I begin by discussing the historical lineage of American evangelical entertainment and consumerism, as well as disneyfication theories. I then classify the Holy Land Experience as a contemporary form of disneyfied evangetainment. Finally, I delve into the implications of classifying this theme park as a sacred space, a pilgrimage, or a replica, and I explore the types of worship and material objects sold and purchased at the Holy Land Experience.
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    Committee: Peter Williams PhD (Advisor); James Bielo PhD (Committee Member); James Hanges PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Religion

  • 15. Weber, Donovan EVANGELICAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN A CROSS-CULTURAL CONTEXT: AN EXAMINATION OF SHORT-TERM MISSIONS THROUGH THE LENS OF CRITICAL SERVICE-LEARNING

    Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2011, Educational Leadership

    The practice short-term missions (STM) is a growing phenomenon amongst Evangelical Christians. It is conservatively estimated that over 1.6 million Christians participate in a STM experience each year with a cost of approximately 2.7 billion dollars (Wuthnow & Offutt, 2008) and yet there is very little research being produced on this trend. This research project explores the activities of a subset of this movement by asking “to what extent are the practices of those who plan and implement short-term mission trips for Evangelical university students in the United States congruent with perceptions of good practice in service-learning literature.” To answer this question data were collected through an online survey (n = 101) and follow up interviews (n = 14) with campus ministers who organize and lead STMs with their students. These data are evaluated through key concepts of reciprocity and reflection identified in the service-learning literature with special attention given to imbalances of power as a concern of critical service-learning. Findings reveal that an overemphasis on evangelism and poorly directed reflection opportunities can impede truly reciprocal relationships in STM programs, but that there are positive trends developing in Evangelicalism with the potential of overcoming the lack of reciprocity in STMs.
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    Committee: Kathleen Knight-Abowitz Dr. (Committee Chair); Sally Lloyd Dr. (Committee Member); Richard Quantz Dr. (Committee Member); Judy Rogers Dr. (Committee Member); William Boone Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership

  • 16. Hewitt, Kimberly How evangelical Christian women negotiate discourses in the construction of self: A poststructural feminist analysis

    Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2009, Educational Leadership

    Situating my research within the theoretical framework of poststructural feminism, I pose the question, “How do evangelical Christian women negotiate, appropriate, resist, and embrace the multiple and conflicting discourses through which they are constituted and constitute themselves?” To explore this question, I asked participants to create artifacts to address a prompt designed to explore their multiple and conflicting discourses. I also conducted two-part interviews with each participant. Using the methods of textual analysis and deconstruction, I concluded that each of the women moves—often uneasily—between the dominant discourse of complementarianism and the counter-discourse of egalitarianism. Each woman's views are complex, nuanced, and at times paradoxical. While each of the women remained committed to the discursive construct of headship at least symbolically, each of the women also employed multiple strategies to emasculate it. Further, all of the women rejected dominant and hegemonic readings of key biblical passages and used a variety of strategies to re-read and un-read the passages. While each participant invokes the language and claims of liberal feminism, especially within her professional discourse, most participants eschew the term “feminist,” and all of them evince complex views on the discourse of feminism. These findings have implications for teacher education, K-12 public education, and the advancement of feminism.
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    Committee: Lisa D. Weems PhD (Committee Chair); Kathleen Knight-Abowitz PhD (Committee Member); Peter Magolda PhD (Committee Member); Tammy Schwartz PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Gender; Religion; Womens Studies

  • 17. Rees, Myev A NEW PURPOSE: RICK WARREN, THE MEGACHURCH MOVEMENT, AND EARLY TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AMERICAN EVANGELICAL DISCOURSE

    Master of Arts, Miami University, 2009, Religion

    This thesis is a study of Rick Warren, celebrity pastor and bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life, and his role in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century American evangelical discourse. This thesis provides a historical, cultural, and theological description of American evangelicalism and of the megachurch movement in order to facilitate an understanding of Warren's influence on both categories. Finally, this thesis argues that Warren's influence and leadership are causing a cultural and theological shift within American evangelicalism.
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    Committee: Peter Williams PhD (Advisor); James Hanges PhD (Committee Member); Mary Cayton PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Religion

  • 18. Korb, Laurie An Investigation into the Relationship Between Aspects of Religiosity and Marital Functioning Among Evangelical Christians

    Master of Science, Miami University, 2007, Family and Child Studies

    The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between several dimensions of religiosity and marital functioning among married couples living in the Western New York area. Participants were 111 individuals from one Evangelical Christian church. A scale, Integration of Biblical Principles, was developed and tested for this study. Several aspects of religiosity were found to be correlated with marital functioning, but integration of Biblical principles had the strongest association. Regression analysis determined number of years married, belief construct, and integration of Biblical principles were the best predictors of marital functioning. As hypothesized, the integration dimension of religiosity, or application, is the best predictor of marital functioning compared with other religiosity variables tested. Implications for refinement of the Integration scale and for the usefulness of the study results are discussed.
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    Committee: Charles Hennon (Advisor) Subjects:

  • 19. Sanders, Alvin THE SPIRIT IS WILLING BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK: UNDERSTANDING RACIAL DIVERSITY ON A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE CAMPUS

    Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2006, Educational Leadership

    This dissertation is required by the Ph.D. program in Educational Leadership at Miami University. It consists of five chapters that discuss how racial diversity is understood among faculty and staff at an evangelical Christian college. Hunter (1991) defines contemporary evangelical Christians as people who adhere to the belief that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God; the belief in the divinity of Christ; and the belief in the efficacy of Christ's life, death, and physical resurrection of the salvation of the human soul. Emerson and Smith (2000) describe evangelical Christians as a mosaic socially, politically, economically, and regionally who share the defining feature that the final ultimate authority for truth is the Bible. The primary research question of the study was how do evangelicals in Christian institutions of higher learning understand racial diversity? There were two subquestions: (1) What prevents a Christian from taking the moral action of embracing racial diversity within their institution of higher learning; and (2) What social identity is primary when evangelical Christians think about the subject of racial diversity on campus? Chapter one provides a statement of the problem and other introductory information. Chapter two provides a review of relevant literature as well as describes the conceptual framework of the study, which is the social construction of the evangelical Christian. In Chapter three the site of study, which is fictionally named Evangelical Christian College (ECC), is introduced. There is also a discussion concerning the methodology, which is a combination of case study/phenomenology research. In chapter four the main focus is on a critical hermeneutical analysis of the interviews which serves as the main source of research data. The interview texts produced were analyzed utilizing critical theory in the tradition of Jurgen Habermas (1999). In chapter five implications of the study are presented and a theoretical framework for imp (open full item for complete abstract)
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    Committee: Dr. Michael Dantley (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Administration

  • 20. Baker, Elizabeth SANTIFICATION, GENDER, AND EVANGELICALS: THE SYMBOLIC NATURE OF COVENANT MARRIAGES

    Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Sociology/Applied Demography

    In recent decades, societal expectations about marital roles became generally more egalitarian. Despite this general shift some segments of society, such as evangelicals, have resisted this contemporary trend by retaining hierarchical gender roles. However, recent research suggests that some evangelicals soften their gendered marital model by incorporating more egalitarian elements. I use a symbolic interactionist perspective to explore how the perceived sanctity of marriage makes perceptions of gender and gendered obligations more salient to spouses in covenant marriages than to spouses in standard marriages. I use quantitative and qualitative data from a panel survey of newlywed covenant and standard couples in Louisiana (Marriage Matters, 1997-2004). In the quantitative analyses, I routinely find across all gender, religious, and marital attitude indices that covenants are more traditional than standards and this traditionalism is not an artifact of their greater evangelism. The qualitative findings illuminate the core meanings covenants attribute to their traditionalism and a key finding shows that they have a rigid hierarchy, but soften this hierarchy by constructing a warm, respectful interpretation of gender differences. Covenants believe that their marital status aides them to focus on each other more completely. They also view their marriage as being more Godly than do standards. Covenants use their beliefs in God and religion to justify their traditional attitudes. Conversely, standards do not seem to be as adept in discussing gender. They are less likely to share a guiding story about how gender should be manifested in marriage even though gender roles and displays are evident in their marriages. The core of the qualitative findings show a major distinction between standards and covenants.
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    Committee: Laura Sanchez (Advisor) Subjects: