Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2014, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

Geographers have traditionally delimited and mapped religious adherence at the national or international scales through the use of small-scale choropleth maps depicting national or international distributions. Because such maps engender a number of shortcomings this study employs publically available county-level data on religious adherence from the Digital Atlas of American Religion, a web-based GIS site that enables researchers using spatially referenced data, to make complex and visually dynamic maps that can be easily interpreted. The analysis employs measures of diversity and isolation drawn from the fields of statistics and biology to develop diversity and isolation indices that will then be mapped employing a GIS in order to produce a more accurate interpretation of religious diversity in the southeastern United States. The study argues that the indices of relative "strength" derived from the methodologies employed in this study will produce a more accurate assessment of religious diversity.

Committee: Timothy Anderson Dr. (Advisor); Gaurav Sinha Dr. (Committee Member); Harold Perkins Dr. (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Geography; Religion

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Educational Studies

Worldview diversity education is an integral aspect of preparing students to negotiate difference in an interconnected world and to work together toward solving global problems. It intersects with diversity and intercultural learning, contributing the missing piece of religious, secular, and spiritual worldviews to global learning. This study utilized a survey and comparative case study to explore non-U.S. global liberal arts colleges and universities' engagement in worldview diversity education, common approaches, and how senior campus leaders expressed worldview diversity education in relation to larger education purposes, policyscapes, and priorities. Incorporating a view of education practice as policy and of worldviews as representing not just systems of belief but also cultures of belonging, this study contributes to the identification and development of worldview diversity education policy and practice among global liberal arts colleges and universities.

Committee: Matthew Mayhew (Committee Chair); Amy Barnes (Committee Member); Tatiana Suspitsyna (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; International Relations; Religious Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2019, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of graduate Muslim students at a US Midwest institution of higher education with religious microaggressions. Although a significant amount of research has been conducted on racial microaggressions, few research studies have investigated religious microaggressions. None of the studies on religious microaggressions have examined the experiences of graduate Muslim students at an institution of higher education. A qualitative design that used individual interviews was followed to collect data from 16 participants from different countries with different immigration statuses. Themes from studies by Nadal et al. (2010, 2012) about religious microaggressions and microaggressions against Muslims were used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that all participants had experienced religious microaggressions in one way or another. Impacts and coping strategies were detected as well. While some of the findings aligned with Nadal et al.'s (2010, 2012) themes, others were identified as new themes. These included infrastructural microaggressions, and microaggressions resulting from institutional interactions. Based on the findings, recommendations are provided for institutions of higher education that promote diversity and inclusion.

Committee: Frans Doppen H (Committee Chair); Michael Kopish (Committee Member); Emmanuel Jean-Francois (Committee Member); Greg Kessler (Committee Member) Subjects: Curricula; Curriculum Development; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Teacher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, Sociology

Racial inequality persists in American society and, thus, scholars have called for systematic analyses of the mechanisms and processes that reproduce racial differences in access to resources, opportunity, and power. Using data collected from 121 leaders and 684 members of diverse churches, I investigate the role of race in how leaders access and mobilize social capital and how these processes influence the formation of friendships. While racial integration increases the social proximity of racial and ethnic minorities to resource-rich networks, the ability to access those networks is limited by the social ties that people form. Drawing upon an in-depth analysis of qualitative interviews, I first find that white men form social networks that facilitate interracial sharing and opportunity hoarding and, in comparison to white women and people of color, experience greater access to resources through personal, community, and institutional networks. My second empirical chapter examines how and why leaders develop diversity initiatives for their congregations using a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews. I find that while white leaders promote equality and diversity, they also commodify the social value of race and ethnicity to generate resources from their social networks. In the final empirical chapter, I conduct a multilevel analysis examining how diversity strategies and other organizational factors shape the diversity and strength of friendships that form within multiracial churches. I find that increasing the proportion of paid leaders of color is the only diversity strategy that positively associates with increased diversity of member networks. Further investigation reveals that churches who receive funding for being diverse are less racial integrated and that race moderates the strength of close ties. These findings of this dissertation suggest the need for further investigation into the racial mechanisms that influence the social capital of leaders and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Korie Edwards (Advisor); Vincent Roscigno (Committee Co-Chair); David Melamed (Committee Member); Reanne Frank (Committee Member) Subjects: Clergy; Organization Theory; Religion; Religious Congregations; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Sociology

One assumption that is often implicit yet widely held in the conflict literature is the existence of "identity-based (ethnic)" conflicts. While this type of conflict is presumed to be conceptually and empirically distinct from "non-identity" conflicts, few close examinations have been undertaken regarding the validity of this assumption. By using the conditional risk model, a Cox proportional hazard model that allows for multiple failures, this dissertation investigates whether or not the two war "types" evince different causal explanations in ways that can justify the oft-mentioned distinction. Results suggest that while the different "types" of war share many causes, economic exclusion seems more applicable to non-identity civil war (e.g., class-based warfare) while political exclusion better explains identity-based civil war overall, suggesting that there may be some truth to the argument that political recognition plays an important role in identity-based war. First, socioeconomic development and international economic integration seem generally important for war prevention, yet other aspects of modernization show different patterns across the "types" of civil war. Population growth increases the risk of identity-based war. Economic differentials encourage non-identity wars, whereas political differentials seem to pose a greater danger of identity-based warfare. Second, as for political environments, inclusive political systems exhibit generally beneficial effects, while exclusive ones are the most dangerous, particularly regarding identity-based conflicts. Also, systematic denial of political opportunities, whether through discriminatory policies or deprivation of autonomy, increases the risk of identity war. In contrast, economic discrimination increases the risk of non-identity warfare. Third, the group size/numbers and identity attributes in combination differently affect the risk of the two war "types." Religious diversity reduces the risk of non-identity w (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Edward M. Crenshaw (Committee Chair); J. Craig Jenkins (Committee Member); Pamela M. Paxton (Committee Member); Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology