Growing Religious Diversity in South Carolina: Implications for the Palmetto State

This paper documents the growth of religious diversity in South Carolina, drawing on interviews with members from the traditions represented, previous scholarly research on religion in South Carolina, newspaper articles, census data and interviews with religion reporters and educators across the state. After presenting basic outlines and historical sketchs of each faith in South Carolina, the paper goes on to explore the implications of this growing diversity for a Southern "Bible Belt" state like South Carolina, highlighting controversies over prayer in public schools and at government council meetings and examining discrimination and hate crimes. It also gives attention to the two predominant reactions to religious diversity in South Carolina--the emerging interfaith movement and the attempts to convert members of other religious traditions, suggesting that dialogue needs to take place along this boundary as well as between faiths

All the King’s Horses, All the King’s Elephants: The Fates of Royal Animals in Nepal’s Post-Monarchy Period

In May of 2008, Nepal’s 240-year-old monarchy was legally dissolved. In the wake of this dissolution, the new interim government sought to replace royal institutions, procedures, and ceremonies with new, parallel processes. One unexpected royal legacy that politicians needed to resolve was that of the former royal animals that had been connected to the position of the King. The king of Nepal and palace institutions had been responsible for the welfare of a range of animals: private royal horses, a palace dairy herd, elephants in Chitwan, and an aviary of pheasants. Many of Nepal’s ex-royal animals have survived for years after the monarchy’s collapse, and many of them were left vulnerable, with no one clearly responsible for or dedicated to them in the new political context. The peculiar and marginalized fates of Nepal’s ex-royal animals highlight the profound institutional complexity the monarchy once entailed, and the far-reaching consequences of its dissolution. They also reveal the grudging and complex ways that parliamentary politicians and bureaucrats have handled some of the more inconvenient legacies of the institution they eliminated

The origins and transformation of the nonjuror schism, 1670-1715 : illustrated by special reference to the career, writings and activities of Dr. George Hickes, 1642-1715

This thesis intends to show how some of the Laudian high church and high Tory clergy of the Restorian era  were impelled to reject the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its consequences for the church because of their  close association with the anti-Exclusion policies of the crown in the later years of Charles II. Passive  obedience, non-resistance and hereditary divine right were political theories based on scripture, the early  church, the sufferings of the early martyrs and of Christ himself. The clergy, as a special class of educated  professionals, could advance themselves significantly in their calling by preaching and writing in favour of the  currently favourable political ideology of the later Stuarts. Fortified by the glorious deaths of King Charles the  Martyr and Archbishop Laud, passive obedience and nonresistance were regarded as vital moral precepts of   the Christian faith. The sufferings of the Church of England and its faithful confessors during the Great   Rebellion had made anglicanism a martyr faith, passionately held. In this golden age of anglican patristic  scholarship, the works of Ignatius of Antioch and Cyprian re-emphasized the conviction that episcopacy was of divine right and an essential part of Christ's church. Political opposition or religious nonconformity were alike  considered as sinful and perverse.For the Church of England the double blows of James II's ungrateful treachery and the Revolution itself were  shattering shocks. The minority of bishops and clergy who refused the new oaths and accepted deprivation  regarded their removal as being as invalid as the deposition of James II. The consecration of Tillotson and the  other Revolution 'intruders' caused the nonjuror bishops to go beyond the intended precedents of the  Interregnum and to consecrate new bishops in secret. A great controversy was begun by the ousted nonjurors  using high sacramental theology, eucharistic doctrine, the apostolic succession of bishops and priests, and the  essential independence of the church from the state. The whole relationship of church and state since  Henry VIII and Elizabeth was thus radically called in question, and the nonjurors developed a powerful attack on  the complying 'Revolution church' more revolutionary than the Revolution itself.The career of George Hickes ideally illustrates the rise of a late restoration divine who strongly supported  Charles II. He achieved eminence just before James II attacked the Anglican church's monopoly, defended the  church strongly against the king's aggression and took an uncompromising stand against the Revolution settlement in church and state. A clandestine bishop and rigid high churchman of a logically hard, ruthless and  consistent mind, Hickes outstandingly represented the nonjurors' position in ecclesiastical matters as well as  Jacobitism. He finally opposed Henry Dodwell's return to the established church in 1710 and established his  own leadership of the diehard rump of nonjurors and secured further episcopal consecrations to ensure the continuance of the nonjuror schism

\u3cem\u3eDe Consecrationibus\u3c/em\u3e: Abbot Suger\u27s Consecrations of the Abbey Church of St. Denis

Between 1140 and 1144, several consecrations at the newly renovated abbey church of the royal monastery at St. Denis, located just a few miles north of Paris, the capital of the Capetian kings, were carried out under the careful control of its abbot, Suger. These ecclesiastical ceremonies were of immediate concern to the king of France, a number of significant French lords, and to the French clergy for their importance in recognizing the patron saint of the monarchy, and by extension of the people of France. The consecrations used traditional elements of liturgy to introduce elements of the new “Gothic” architectural style that quickly became representative of the French church and monarch. The first of the ceremonies emphasized the long connection between monarchs and the Church in France. The last, however, not only presented dramatic architectural features emphasizing the history and significance of the abbey but also served as an occasion for settling a vicious war between the king and one of his chief vassals. Abbot Suger orchestrated this consecration to demonstrate the monarch’s acceptance of the Church as his overlord. The ceremonies were discussed briefly in small books produced afterwards by Abbot Suger, De Consecratione and De Administratione. When the ceremonies are examined within the context of the monastic, economic, and political environment of the mid-twelfth century it becomes clear that these events link the history of France from its earliest days to the dynamic changes of the high middle Ages, setting the stage for a stronger French monarchy with its associated symbols of power

Reflections on rasāyana, bcud len and related practices in Nyingma (rnying ma) tantric ritual

The Tibetan term, bcud len, "imbibing the essence juice", is an equivalent for Sanskrit, rasāyana, but in Tibetan Buddhist ritual manuals, both terms occur, apparently with slightly different connotations. Practices classified as bcud len are frequently relatively short, and seem primarily designed for the use of individual yogis, usually as a subsidiary practice to complement their main tantric meditation. The production of bcud len pills which are said to sustain, rejuvenate and extend the life of the body, or even to bring immortality, is often an integral part of the practice. The term, rasāyana, is used in Tibetan transliteration (ra sā ya na), not as a title or classification for a specific ritual practice or recipe for pills, but rather to refer to the processes of alchemical transformation of substances within complex ritual "medicinal accomplishment" (sman sgrub) performances which are generally communal. In this case too, pills are produced, of the broader "sacred elixir dharma medicine" (dam rdzas bdud rtsi chos sman) type. This paper will consider a range of the practices, and of substances used in the sacred medicinal compounds

History and Doctrinal Development of the Order of Aaron

The purpose of this study was to trace the historical development of the Order of Aaron, or Aaronic Order, the governing body of the True Church of God, and to determine its present status in the religions of the world. The study included a summary of the origin of the Order, historical development, present establishment, organization within the Order, including types of memberships, as well as a resume of the theological teachings and practices of this group.Research involved a study of the publications of the Aaronic Order. Information from these sources was supplemented by correspondence and personal interviews with members of the Order of Aaron, namely the Chief High Priest, Dr. Maurice Lerrie Glendenning, and his wife, Dr. Helen R. Glendenning; Robert J. Conrad, First High Priest; and Bliss G. Childs, Second High Priest.The result of this study indicates that all material presented herein is the belief of the leaders of the Aaronic Order and it is printed with their approval as being true and an accurate summary of their history and doctrinal development

Julien Poinssot et ses descendants: Trois générations de découvertes qui ont démêlé les anciennes religions de l’Afrique du Nord

This paper discusses the scientific lives of Julien, Louis and Claude Poinssot (grandfather, father and son) and their important contribution to the study of ancient religions in North Africa, especially in Tunisia, including their intense engagement with the ancient Thugga. Julien, who had been trained as a notary, soon became a pioneering epigraphist of Proconsularis. As a result of the colonial context in which he worked and the bureaucratic problems he encountered, his archaeological career was brief, albeit intensive. Nevertheless, his vocation was inherited by his descendants, Louis and Claude, who eventually became Directors of Antiquities and of Museums. Their work left a remarkable legacy, including the Mahdia underwater excavations and the exploration of the Dougga Capitol.Cet article traite de la vie scientifique de Julien, Louis et Claude Poinssot (respectivement grandpère, père et fils) et de leur contribution significative aux études des religions anciennes en Afrique du Nord, en particulier en Tunisie, y compris un investissement intense avec l’ancienne Thugga. Julien, qui avait été formé pour devenir notaire, est rapidement devenu un épigraphiste pionnier de Proconsularis. Le contexte colonial dans lequel il a développé sa carrière archéologique et les problèmes bureaucratiques auxquels il a dû faire face l’ont rendu bref malgré son intensité, mais cette vocation a été héritée par ses descendants, Louis et Claude, qui deviendront par la suite Directeurs des Antiquités et des Musées, dont les travaux ont laissé un héritage remarquable, notamment les fouilles subaquatiques de Mahdia et l’exploration du Capitole de Dougga