The full text of Senior Independent Study Theses submitted during and after 2012 are available to download only by College of Wooster users. Unless listed as an exemplar, all other theses are restricted.

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Senior Independent Study Theses from 2023

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No One Is an Island: Towards a Geocritical Perspective of Identity via Japanese Culture and Literature, Zachary Filippi
Department: Religious Studies; English

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Religion in North Korea, Hyunmin Kim
Department: Religious Studies

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A Puzzle That’ll Never Be Complete: A Multi-Generational Memoir of Four Generations of Black Women, and Our Experiences in the Black Church, Yakeria S. Lamar
Department: Religious Studies

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"Lord, You Make Me Worthy": How Women Priests View Excommunication and Work toward an Inclusive Catholicism, Alysha V. Matson
Department: Religious Studies

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This Is Not About The Body: Deprioritizing A Corporeal Study of The Hijra, Alex C. Padfield
Department: Religious Studies

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Les Mourides: Perceptions of Religious Authority and Political Decision-Making, Henry Pellegrin
Department: Global and International Studies; Religious Studies

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Divinity's Secret Love Song: An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Humanity and the Divine Through The Lens of Sacred Narratives, Kevin Douglas Poe
Department: Philosophy; Religious Studies

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GOP Jesus and Trump: an Exploration of the Usage of Evangelical Christianity by Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, Fiona Erin Rebbecca Schieve
Department: Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2022

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On The Basis Of Biological Sex: Examining The Social Impacts Of The Maintenance Of The Two-Sex System In Sports, Camille Carr
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology

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Perspectives: Understanding Conflict In New Religious Movements Through Epistolary Voices And Their Entanglements, Rebekah Emily Trunnell
Department: English; Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2021

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Conversations on the Christian to Buddhist Conversion Experience: Framed by Lewis Rambo’s 1993 Conversion Model, Lauren Brown
Department: Religious Studies

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Paradoxical Descriptions of Divine Beings, Tiago Garcia
Department: English; Religious Studies

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Those Who Choose: A New Conceptual Model for the Origin of Religious Schisms, Benjamin R. Hassan
Department: Religious Studies

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Survive or Thrive? A Study of American Church Success During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Max Thomas Moller
Department: Religious Studies

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도시를 떠나 산지를 향해: Mountain Temple Complexes as an Expression of Korean Buddhism, Anthony Eanraig Riggs
Department: Archaeology; Religious Studies

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Implications of Buddhist Monk’s and Olympic Pentathlete’s Diet on Performance in their Respective Fields, Kelsey Anne Stone
Department: Biology; Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2020

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Sacred Space in a Mundane Place, Reinier B. DesCoteaux
Department: Religious Studies

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What are My Rites?: Exploring Tahara as a Ritual Process in Judaism, Kaitlyn Khayat
Department: Sociology and Anthropology; Religious Studies

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Being Moved by the Wild: A Study of Wilderness Spirituality and the Outdoors as a Tool for Retention and Recruitment in Quaker Communities, Elise Marie Nikolich
Department: Religious Studies

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The Genuine Option: What Religious Studies is Missing Concerning William James, Peter F. Schopen III
Department: Philosophy; Religious Studies

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Understanding, Supporting, and Rationalizing the State of Israel: An Examination of Educational Tools for Reform Youth, Hannah R. Sullivan
Department: Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2019

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"Who Do You Know Here?” A Qualitative and Comparative Study of the LGBTQ+ Community and Their Safety in Religious Spaces, Connor Ferreri
Department: Religious Studies

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E Unibus Pluram: Investigating the Differences in Political Participation Among the Religiously Unaffiliated in the US, Emma Folkenroth
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies

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Mothering Without Ownership, Gabrielle Girard
Department: Religious Studies

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Dr. George S. Benson and the National Education Program: An Analysis of Films from 1948 to 1972, Cullen Wayman King
Department: History; Religious Studies

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What Does God Have To Do With It? : A study of the impact Protestant Christianity had on United States foreign policy during the Cold War., Garrett Layde
Department: Religious Studies; Political Science

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2018

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When Sex Ed Pretends to be Secular: The Influence of Christianity in Secular Abstinence Education, Samuel D. Bauman
Department: Religious Studies

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“Everybody Worships”: Religious and Para-Religious Presences and Interactions in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, Nan Denette
Department: Religious Studies; English

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Religion, Animals and Healing: Viewing the Horse through Islam, Christianity, and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, Emily Huxtable
Department: Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2017

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The Big Man and The Big House: The Influence of Protestantism on the Danish and American Prison Systems, Elizabeth C. Brewington
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology

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Mediating Religious Tensions in France: An Examination of Discriminatory Laïc Policies in the 21st Century, Theadora E. Kwan
Department: French and Francophone Studies; Religious Studies

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Neuroscience & the Religious Mind: A Materialist Critique of Neurotheology, Adam John McDonough
Department: Philosophy; Religious Studies

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Interconnection of All: Advaita Vedanta and Mahayana Teachings on Unity, Aziza Moore
Department: Religious Studies

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The Role of New National Monuments on the American Religious Understanding of Land, Herbert Sizek
Department: Religious Studies

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“Points of Convergence”: Between and Within Emic and Etic Perspectives of Religion and Culture Through the Analysis of Heathenry and Neoshamanism(s), Harrison Uhall
Department: Religious Studies

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The Lost Connection Between Evangelicalism and Women in the Three Great Movements of the Twentieth Century: Prohibition, Women's Suffrage and African American Civil Rights, Clare A. Zanger
Department: History; Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2016

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The Factors That Influence Religious Preferences in Young Adults: Neuroscience, Psychology Sociology and the Environment, Kelli W. Baxstrom
Department: Religious Studies

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Cochineal: Connecting Chemistry and Religious Studies through the World of Art, Amanda Carmichael
Department: Chemistry; Religious Studies

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Planting A Better Future: North American Church Efforts to Create Food Justice, Hilary Coady
Department: Religious Studies

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George Harrison As He Is, Samuel H. Easterday
Department: Religious Studies

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The Scholar, the Teacher, the Saint: The Life, Work, and Nonviolent Philosophy of James M. Lawson, Jr., Kristen Estabrook
Department: History; Religious Studies

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From Coexistence to Cooperation, Thomas A. Granowitz
Department: Religious Studies

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A Classroom, a Con Game, and a Churchlike Revival: Poetry Slam and its Heritage of Sacred Performance, Caira A. Lee
Department: Religious Studies

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Is Parochial School a Good Fit for You? A Case Study Examining Motives and Reasons Behind Parents Picking Private School for Their Children, Franny M. McHale
Department: Religious Studies

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Making It Personal: How the Islamic State Targets the Alienated, Andi M. Shackleton
Department: Religious Studies

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The Elephant in the Room, The Fetus in the Womb: Disability Rights Activists’ Perspectives on Prenatal Genetic Testing and Selective Termination of Down syndrome, Evangeline Maria Smith
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology

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Being Asian, Becoming American: The Life and Practice of Religion in East Asian Immigrant Communities, Whitney A. Spaulding
Department: Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2015

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What Would Jesus Cover? An Examination of the Moral Failures of the United States Health Care System, Eleanor P. Bacon
Department: Religious Studies

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Religion in Relationships: Observing Young Adults Religious Identities within Social Relationships, Cathy Z. Gwaltney
Department: Religious Studies

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Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: An Investigation into Interdependence as a Basis for Collaborative Ethical Engagement, Demitra Nicole Hart
Department: Religious Studies

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My Tattoos Are My Story: An Exploration of the Self and Body Modification, Emma J. Kahn
Department: Philosophy; Religious Studies

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Profane or Profound?: An Examination of Satirized Religion in British and American Culture through the works of South Park and Monty Python, Susannah Montgomery
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology

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Supreme Mathematics: A Comparative Study of Black Muslim Movements in America, Amjad Moore
Department: Religious Studies

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The Temptations of Faith, Ellen Sandin
Department: Religious Studies

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The Identity of Lilith: How Writers Shape and Use the Identity of Spirits in Modern America, William S. Schell
Department: Religious Studies

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On Being: An Exploration of Wholeness Through Literature, Bridget Schmidt
Department: Religious Studies

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Analyzing Christianity's Eco-Conscience: A Study of God and the Environment, Emily H. Stevens
Department: Religious Studies

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On the Effects of Guru Avatars as Forces Encouraging Social Welfare Activism, Will Turner
Department: Religious Studies

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Turkey's New Islam: A Study of Religious and Political Identity in the Kemalist Political State, Nathaniel D. Weaver
Department: History; Religious Studies

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The Influence of Christianity and Chinese Culture on Chinese Christian Married Couples in Northeast Ohio, Mone S. Zafra
Department: Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2014

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Religiously Influenced Interstate Conflict: The Role of Religiosity and Perceived Loss in International Relations, Aaron Brown
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies

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How Inclusive Nationalism Implemented by the State can Prevent an Increase in Religious Polarization, Erin T. Bruening
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies

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Keeping the Dream There: A Study of Narratives on the Palestinian Right to Return, Emily K. Cherney
Department: Communication Studies; Religious Studies

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Coffee Shop Spirituality on the Internet: Strategies of Epistemology at Work in Digital Religion, Carl William D. Freeman
Department: Religious Studies

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Our Father Who Art in Georgia: Case Studies of the Family and Christian Mythology in Southern Gothic Short Fiction, Eleanor K. Godbey
Department: English; Religious Studies

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Molecular Biology of a Miracle: Conceptualization of Medicine Through the Amish-Religious Lens and Antimicrobial Properties of Burdock Burn Wound Treatment, Caroline H. Gormley
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Religious Studies

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Interfaith Dialogue: Engaging Children, Abigail M. Harris-Ridker
Department: Religious Studies

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Restorative Reintegration: Restorative Justice and the Applications and Implications for Child Soldier Reintegration, Carolyn Elizabeth Hockey
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology

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Space Oddity: An Exploration of Religious Success in Emergent UFO Religions, Celetia Liang
Department: Religious Studies

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Finding the Cross in a World Without God, Seth A. Michael
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology

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Not Your Grandmother's Pro-Life Movement: The Changing Face of the American Pro-Life Movement, Abigail E. Rodenfels
Department: Religious Studies

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But the Heart is Still Indian: Hindutva and the Imagined Nation in Post-Partition Hindi Cinema, Rachel A. Rothenberg
Department: History; Religious Studies

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“…In the Breaking of the Bread”: An Analysis of Food Culture and Ritual at The Abbey of Gethsemani, Matthew Stouffer
Department: Religious Studies

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“Stimulating” Church Growth? How Economic Growth Impacts Growth of Christianity in Post-Reform Urban China —Evidence from Household Survey, Zilu Wang
Department: Economics; Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2013

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Pray the Gay Away: An Examination of Masculinity in the Ex-Gay Movement, Christina Bowerman
Department: Religious Studies; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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The Role of Normativity and Discourses of Authenticity in Religious Studies, Daniel Iwaniec
Department: Religious Studies

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Spirosony: Music and Spirituality, the Practice of Presence - A Case Study in Gregorian Chant and Human Manifestations of Spirituality through Music, Jordan Alexander Key
Department: Religious Studies

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Science and Religion' or 'Scieligion'?: the Relationship Between Science and Religion and the Possibilities of the Integration of the Two, Patrick Lai-Fang
Department: Religious Studies

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Hospitality, Homosexuality, and Hazel-Nut Hurling: a Comparison of Genesis 19 Between Judaism and Islam Through Midrash and Tafsir, Grace E. Miller
Department: Religious Studies

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People and Plants in a Rust Belt City: a Critical Analysis of Urban Agriculture in Cleveland, Ohio Using a Sustainable Development Framework, Erika Takeo
Department: Religious Studies

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Gay, Asian, and Religious: the Search For Religious Community By Queer Asian Americans, Celeste Tannenbaum
Department: Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2012

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The New Buffalo: the Effects of Exchange on North American Indigenous Tradition, Kathryn I. Brady
Department: Religious Studies

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Finding Peace Through Religious Difference: Healing the Wounds of Violent Conflict Through Interfaith Dialogue, Kristen J.E. Connors
Department: International Relations; Religious Studies

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Now I Walk in Beauty: A Comparative Examination of Historical and Contemporary Native American Religious Traditions Through the Lakota and Shoshone-Bannock Sun Dances, Jessie Felling
Department: Religious Studies

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Seen and Unseen Face of God: An Artist's Exploration of Patua Art and Religion, Julia Murphy
Department: Art and Art History; Religious Studies

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2011

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Nun Yo' Business: How American Women Religious Responded to the Apostolic Visitation, Emily Ludlow Auth
Department: Religious Studies

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From Goddess to Dragons, Rta to Ren: Water Through the Lenses of Hinduism and Chinese Religions, Christine Evans
Department: Religious Studies

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Sharing Food From the Master's Table: Working Towards Feminist Solidarity Through Bible Study, Abigail Heimach
Department: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Religious Studies

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Kali the Bloodthirsty, Lilith the Vengeful: a Compartative Analysis to Determine Goddess Stature, Houstin Phyllis Hoskins
Department: Religious Studies

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Faith, Politics, and the State: the Impact of Antagonistic Rhetoric By the U.S.' Christian Right and India's Hindu Nationalism, Linda Kuster
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies

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The United Methodist System of Itinerancy, and their Congregations' Understanding of It, Michael Law
Department: Religious Studies

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How Should Pope John Paul II Be Remembered? a Study of the Legacy of the Pope John Paul II, Justin R. Lizik
Department: Religious Studies

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In the Forests of North America They Dream of India: A Cultural Exploration of Postmodern Americans as Buddhist Pilgrims, Noreen Lucic
Department: Religious Studies

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The Quest Through Emerging Adulthood: A Look at the Influence Travel has on Emerging Adults, Rena A. Starr
Department: Religious Studies

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Ain't I a True Woman?: a Foucauldian Exploration of Agency Within the True Woman Movement, Laura Stricklen
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2010

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Batman, Superman, and Spiderman: A Cross Cultural Study of Hero Mythology, Carly Amster
Department: Religious Studies

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Batman, Superman, and Spiderman: a Cross Cultural Study of Hero Mythology, Carly Amster
Department: Religious Studies

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When the Arahats Go Marching in: A Brief Historiography of the Study of Tibetan and Japanese Religions as They Were Impacted by the Introduction of Buddhism, Gregory Carlisle
Department: Religious Studies

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Renegotiating the Role of Religion in the Public Sphere: Evidence of a New Phase in the Evolution of French Society, Britta Nicole Harman
Department: French and Francophone Studies; Religious Studies

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Buddhism in the Tibetan Diaspora: Framing Culture and Adapting Tradition, Nicholas Charles Christopher Janus
Department: Religious Studies