M.A. - Religion

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/8830

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The other side of the other: Gateways to awakening in the schisms of the Newar Buddhist identity politics of Kathmandu Valley
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2025) Madrone, Corwynn Wolf; Baroni, Helen J.; Religion
The study of “Otherness” is not merely for the purposes of empowering marginalized peoples and perspectives through recognition of systemic injustices, but also to discover and document places of power that exist only in the margins, hidden powers or opportunities for power which can further the underlying progressive agenda of fields such as Queer and Feminist Studies. Within the South Asian context, these projects have focused on intersections of marginalized identity categories, such as caste, gender, and sexuality. While each of these characteristics can be a source for disenfranchisement within social, legal, and religious frameworks, they can also be grounds for supporting and legitimizing one another. Just as the compounding of these factors can lead to negative social feedback loops and the critical collapse of individuals and communities, so can their confluence become the foundations of counter-narrative that redefine “Otherness” as spaces of privileged perspective—the wisdom of the wounded healer, a perspective of which our dying human world is in desperate need. The voice of the marginalized can empower not only those in the margins, but all those whose lives are put at existential risk by ongoing systems of global power and exploitation. By putting the works of contemporary Queer and Feminist Buddhist Studies scholars into conversation with historical and religious accounts and understandings of non-normativity in Kathmandu Valley, we find that these tensions between oppression and salvation have long existed, with the societal “Other” standing always at the crossroads. In this thesis, we focus on the intersection of caste and sex/gender identities as our source of discourse, comparing and contrasting historical Buddhist understandings of personhood and enlightenment with contemporary developments in Queer and Feminist Studies. Doing so, we further a conversation of protection and empowerment for all peoples by asking for help from those most deserving and desiring of these considerations—the historical and living “Others.”
Mai ka pō mai: Liminality and prohibition in material and cosmic feminine bodies
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2025) Jones, Elisabeth-Ann K.; Baroni, Helen J.; Religion
This research explores the historical redefinition and contemporary reclamation of menstruation and birth as sacred, focusing on their ritual, cosmological, and cultural significance across religious traditions. Centering Hawaiian frameworks of kapu and mana, the study examines how bodily processes once regarded as spiritually potent were reframed as impure through colonial, Christian, and patriarchal interventions. Hawaiian menstrual seclusion and birthing spaces, for instance, were not inherently marginalizing but structured as vital sites of spiritual power and balance.Through comparative analysis—including figures such as Mary, Shakti, Toyotamahime, and Pō—this project highlights recurring patterns in which feminine creative power is both honored and suppressed across traditions. Drawing on ritual theory, feminist theology, and Indigenous knowledge systems, this paper argues that menstruation and birth are not biological anomalies to be managed but thresholds of sacred transformation. These acts often give rise to instinctive rituals—non-verbal, embodied responses to liminal states—which reveal the body’s capacity to hold, generate, and express sacred potential. By recovering these rites from centuries of misinterpretation and erasure, this study offers a framework for rethinking sacred authority, ritual practice, and the role of the body in religious life.
THE ROLE OF ASCETIC PERFORMANCE FOR THE CULTIVATION OF POWER, FREEDOM, AND LIBERATION IN THE RENUNCIANT DHARMA TRADITIONS
(University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2024) Abril, Allan; Lamb, Ramdas; Religion
Each chapter of this thesis serves as a unique unfoldment of the concept and practice of tapasya (asceticism) in the ascetic Dharma Traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Tapasya is a Sanskrit term, stripped of any Hindu connotations, defined and applied universally to the traditions of Buddhism and Jainism. Conceptually, tapasya has two functions, physical and cognitive, which manifest uniquely within each Dharma lineage. Each tradition is considered a liberative methodology that is salvifically effective and thus a valid means for realization (moksha or nirvana). While the methods of each tradition differ, this thesis will argue that the methods of physical and cognitive austerities (tapasya) developed and performed by each tradition lead to a unity of clear and direct perception expressed by the Sanskrit term pratyakṣa.
American Buddhism as identity and practice : scholarly classifications of Buddhists in the United States
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2009-05) Walters, Christine L.; Baroni, Helen; Religion
Religious identity is oftentimes inextricably linked with ethnic and racial identity, and this is nowhere as clear as in American Buddhism. The "two Buddhisms" typology, a product of scholars describing Buddhists through a racial lens, has characterized American Buddhism into two different types: Buddhism practiced by persons of Asian ancestry who were raised in the tradition, versus Buddhism comprised of persons who choose later in life to accept and/or practice Buddhist teachings. While it seems that Buddhists raised in the tradition have a different understanding of Buddhism than those who accept Buddhism as adults, the language used has tended to emphasize the racial identity of adherents at the sacrifice of religious identity. What I propose, as a correction to the overemphasis on race in American Buddhism scholarship, is a model of denominationalism which will place emphasis on religious identity, while incorporating racial and/or ethnic identity at a secondary level.
Replicating Settler-Colonial Sacred Space on Stolen Land: The Byodo-In Temple in Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2023) Clusel, Shannon; Baroni, Helen J.; Religion
This paper examines the role of replicated settler-colonial structures on unceded land using the Byodo-In Temple in Hawaiʻi as a case study. In the late 19th Century, contract laborers emigrated from Japan to work on plantations in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. These immigrants faced decades of mistreatment and discrimination, with the Caucasian elite often characterizing Buddhist religious beliefs as antithetical to American Christian values. These anti-Japanese sentiments came to a head after the Pearl Harbor attack when the United States government incarcerated a vast number of Japanese immigrants and their Japanese-American children under suspicion of treason based on their race. After the Allied victory and the United States’ engagement in the Cold War, the government sought to promote an image of America as a champion of racial unity to deflect criticism from its imperialist policies. During this era, an American corporation built the Byodo-In Temple replica as part of a larger development project in Hawaiʻi. Using data from archives, interviews, and site visits, this study demonstrates the Byodo-In Temple’s involvement in settler-colonial industries that erase native (hi)stories, alienate the Indigenous population from their land, and support imperialist narratives circulated by and for the United States. This paper further argues that the Byodo-In Temple’s superficial connection to the local Japanese community and the dissimulated corporate greed that drives the temple’s existence complicate its authenticity as a Japanese sacred space. Finally, it calls for a decolonial reinterpretation of the site that would reaffirm native meanings of space while making apparent the temple’s settler-colonial history.
Two Tokugawa Era Skeptics: Tominaga Nakamoto And Andō Shōeki
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022) Nelson, Andrew Daniel; Mohr, Michel; Religion
This thesis explores the worldviews of two relatively obscure intellectuals in Tokugawa Japan, Tominaga Nakamoto and Andō Shōeki, who are remarkable for their rebellion against the Three Teachings. Tominaga was the son of a merchant kicked out of his own school for undermining the traditional narrative of Confucian history. He would then go on to write a similar critique of Buddhist history and a shorter, concise work called The Writings of an Old Man (Okina no fumi). This thesis examines Tominaga's Writings of an Old Man and the idea presented there of the makoto no michi. Although the term makoto no michi is rendered by Michael Pye as “way of truth,” this thesis suggests that “way of sincerity” would be more accurate. Furthermore it explores how Tominaga understands this way of sincerity, and how he grounds it in his rejection of authority coming from the past. As for Shōeki, little is known about him aside from the fact that he was a doctor. Shōeki's worldview is examined from the perspective of nature (shizen). He can be understood as an egalitarian philosopher who understood hierarchy as the result of a kind of cosmic illness affecting humanity, causing us to predate on one another in the manner of animals. Shōeki thus argues against the status quo, and claims that his knowledge comes from a direct connection with nature, enabling him to reject both the student-teacher relationship and reliance on authoritative texts. The present thesis considers Tominaga and Shōeki together as radical outsiders who were able to work with existing intellectual resources towards creating new, independent worldviews diverging from the major East Asian traditions of their time.
Ásatrúar Heathens In Hawaiʻi
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2020) Mason, Richard Lewis; Baroni, Helen J.; Religion
Ásatrú Heathenry is a steadily growing New Religious Movement (NRM) in the United States. This Neo-pagan Faith is a reconstructed return to the pre-Christian practices of the Viking Age. Few scholars have studied the religion, and no one has previously studied it in the military population within the geographical margins of Hawai`i. This study argues that the geographical isolation of the 50th State impacts the social structure of the local Ásatrú Heathen community. Moreover, this study contends that Ásatrú conversion bears distinctive motives resembling those of military enlistees and that Ásatrú’s ethical paradigms mirror the ethos favored by military service-people. With this strong military connection, the Ásatrú Heathens in Hawai`i also present a unique voice offering insight into the growth of the religion. In this research study, hermeneutical, ethnographic, and etymological methodologies are employed to better represent the varied practices found in the Ásatrú Heathens practitioner’s reconstruction of this ancient tradition. These practices are especially important to the Ásatrú in Hawai`i, who are forced to recreate the religion within the confines of their small military family units.
Living Bodhisattvas—Historical and Textual Sources of Practitioner Identity in the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2019) Freese, Allen Courtland; Pettit, Jonathan; Religion
Taiwan’s Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation is a charitable organization founded on the teachings of Humanistic Buddhism, which traces its history most directly to the Chinese Chan tradition. For practitioners of the Tzu Chi school of Buddhism, spiritual practice most often takes the form of regular participation in a variety of charitable activities. To advance the aims of her organization, Tzu Chi’s founder, Dharma Master Cheng Yen, makes use of traditional Buddhist teachings to inspire and mobilize her massive international network of volunteers. These volunteers, whom she calls Living Bodhisattvas, are encouraged to adopt the values she emphasizes through her teachings and to integrate them into their identity as Tzu Chi practitioners. This thesis provides an examination of the construction of this practitioner identity, from its historical roots to the implications it holds for the lives of the everyday followers of Tzu Chi in Taiwan. A range of moral values are identified, followed by an analysis of how they are adapted to form the cohesive religious identity of Tzu Chi’s Living Bodhisattva-practitioners. In the final analysis, this examination is intended to suggest how this form of practitioner identity contributes to the spirit and success of the organization as a whole. Chapter I begins with a history of Humanistic Buddhism, followed by an analysis of Cheng Yen’s interpretation of Buddhist doctrine in Chapter II, and a survey in Chapter III of biographical narratives from Tzu Chi’s publications, through which the organization’s values are projected onto the lives of real practitioners.
Freedom of Religion and the Indian Supreme Court: The Religious Denomination and Essential Practices Tests
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2019) Williams, Coleman; Lamb, Ramdas; Religion
As a religiously diverse society and self-proclaimed secular state, India is an ideal setting to explore the complex and often controversial intersections between religion and law. The religious freedom clauses of the Indian Constitution allow for the state to regulate and restrict certain activities associated with religious practice. By interpreting the constitutional provisions for religious freedom, the judiciary plays an important role in determining the extent to which the state can lawfully regulate religious affairs. This thesis seeks to historicize the related development of two jurisprudential tests employed by the Supreme Court of India: the religious denomination test and the essential practices test. The religious denomination test gives the Court the authority to determine which groups constitute religious denominations, and therefore, qualify for legal protection. The essential practices test limits the constitutional protection of religious practices to those that are deemed ‘essential’ to the respective faith. From their origins in the 1950s up to their application in contemporary cases on religious freedom, these two tests have served to limit the scope of legal protection under the Constitution and legitimize the interventionist tendencies of the Indian state. Additionally, this thesis will discuss the principles behind the operation of the two tests, their most prominent criticisms, and the potential implications of the Court’s approach.
Bhakti Bells and Bollywood: Positioning Kathak Dance as a Religious Ritual in Urban India
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2019) Stoltenberg, Hannah Rebekah; Lamb, Ramdas; Religion
The North Indian classical dance form of Kathak remains a prominent mode of artistic and cultural expression in the rapidly changing environments of urban India. As elements of the dance have been included in mediums of pop-culture, the traditional form and religious aspects have been maintained by practitioners in the midst of change. Kathak has inherent religious qualities and a rich cultural history intersecting with both Hindu and Muslim practices and ideologies. This dance form maintains it nature as a religious ritual relevant to a multiplicity of practitioners in the midst of significant historical changes and outside cultural influences through the balance of tradition and change in transmission. Examining the history and positioning of Kathak in religious thought and performance circles reveals the ritual relevancy for practitioners in urban settings. In the midst of change, Kathak has not become an art form of the past or an entertainment-driven dance form but fosters connections to culture, history, and spirituality providing practitioners with unique modes of engagement with art and transcendence.
He Hulikoʻa Kanaloa- Seeking the Depths of Kanaloa
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2018-12) Au, Jane; Brown, Marie Alohalani; Religion
The purpose of this thesis is to reach a more holistic understanding of Kanaloa, one of the major male forms of the divine in the Hawaiian pantheon. It examines infrequently accessed Hawaiian language resources in order to expand on his functions in ancestral times, as well as readdress narrow interpretations of him that ignore the depth and breadth of ʻike kupuna. In addition to prioritizing primary resources, this thesis also works to acknowledge Kanaloa’s position as a pan-Polynesian deity, and speaks to the variation with which Oceanic deities have been understood across time and place. The first chapter of this thesis discusses Tahiti’s Taʻaroa and the connections he bears to Kanaloa in Hawaiʻi. The second goes over Kanaloa’s portrayal in selected primary Hawaiian language resources, namely 19th and 20th century newspapers, which reveal several ways his functions and roles can be expanded. The third chapter discusses Kanaloa’s demonization during the advent of Christianity, and provides context for the legends that portray him as a “Hawaiian devil.” This thesis also includes an introduction detailing methodology and a conclusion that provides an analysis of the claims made.
Holistic Education At Naropa And Dila: Religious Or Educational Innovation?
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-05) Leonardi, Aaron; Religion
This thesis examines the educational orientations and innovations of two non-sectarian schools with charismatic Buddhist founders: the first is Naropa University in Boulder, CO, and the second is Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts (DILA), in Jinshan Taiwan. I hypothesize that the double identity of these schools provides insight into some of their pedagogical tools that, although Buddhist-inspired, could be transferred to other educational contexts. Ultimately, I propose that although the educational paths of Naropa and DILA differ in their points of departure from those of public education, they have the potential to converge on a goal. This convergent orientation is identified as holistic education. Finally, through the themes and innovations gathered from these schools, I examine holistic education as a pedagogy providing students with tools and insights that help them understand themselves in new and empowering ways.
The Rivers Of Faith: Mariology In Mariamabad, Pakistan
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-05) Bashir, Kainat; Religion
The Marian Shrine of Mariamabad, Pakistan is a Catholic Church, a site of pilgrimage famous for its unique ambiance and its yearly festival commemorating the birth of the Virgin Mary. Visitors and pilgrims include Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. The purpose of this study is to analyze various forms of devotion at Mariamabad from anthropological, phenomenological, and sociological perspectives. The focus is on the different confluences of Catholic and Islamic devotion, and the influence of the traditional religions of Pakistan on Catholic practices and vice versa. The unique encounter of devotees with the numinous (in the form of Mary) and spiritual satisfaction attained by pilgrims at Mariamabad suggest that religious belief transcends the barriers of cultures and traditions by absorbing native cultural roots and traditions within itself, thus creating unique and nuanced religious perceptions and distinct ritualistic practices.
Fiercely Beloved: Understanding Chinnamastā's Textual, Visual, and Experiential Dimensions
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2016-08) Dunn, Laura
Battling for the Soul of Korea: Buddhist Statecraft and Missionaries during the Pre-Colonial Era (1876-1910)
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2016-05) Kim, Joanna
Seeking the Baglan: Towards Healing Among Exilic Ilokanos
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2016-05) Fabia, Charissa
History, Scripture, and Practice in the Indo-Ismā‘īlī Tradition
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2015-08) Samji, Ali S.
To date, the study of the Fāṭimid and Alamūt – Arabic and Persian – periods of the Shī‘ah Imāmī Ismā‘īlī Muslims has taken precedence over the study of the Indo-Ismā‘īlī period. For this reason, the present thesis will consider the ‘Indian’ phase of the tradition by focusing on their history, scripture, and practice. Throughout the thesis, several gināns (Indo-Ismā‘īlī devotional literature) orated by the Ismā‘īlī pīrs (Persian sing.: پير ‘preacher-saint’) will be used to illustrate the devotional aspects of the tradition. By examining the ginānic corpus, it will be argued that the pīrs consciously merged Indian (e.g., avatāra: incarnation) and Ismā‘īlī (e.g., Mahdī: “Lord of the Resurrection”) concepts to create a distinctive tradition (Satpanth: “the true path”) in the Indian milieu.
The Moo Olelo of Joseph an Analysis of Tract [No. 8] Ka Moo Olelo No Iosepa
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2015-05) Davey, Lane
The Moo Olelo of Joseph explores the thread of traditional Hawaiian beliefs which are woven into the translation of the first Hawaiian Bible story. It is an analysis of tract [No.8] Ka Moo Olelo No Iosepa or The History of Joseph, which is the portion of Genesis that extends from chapter thirty-seven to the end of the book. Although some bibliographies reference Asa Thurston and Artemas Bishop as authors, primary resources accredit James Ely for the translation. This research provides a side by side comparison of the various stages of revisions that occurred from the original tract to its final composition in the first edition of Baibala Hemolele and offers some discussion about its composition from the King James English and original Hebrew. Traditional Hawaiian concepts such as mana, manao and moe uhane are reconstructed within the components of biblical characters, but Hebrew customs that resemble Hawaiian practices are often omitted from the 1828 original abridged tract. Ka Moo Olelo No Iosepa offers insights into the use of syncretism and the intertwining of traditional moolelo within early Bible translation.
From Prāṇa to Prāṇayāma: ancient sources, modern interpretations
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2013-08) Keehu, Kayla Remi
It is not uncommon for religious concepts to change over time, as practitioners gain knowledge of and insight into the subject at hand, or new revelations are made. This can be seen in the Abrahamic traditions with the concept of a Messiah, or the receiving of new prophets or covenants. The Hindu tradition, which pre-dates Western monotheism by centuries, has not been immune to this occurrence. Though what is considered to be authentically "Hindu" in antiquity is very much unsettled due to debates about the Aryan Migration there are fragments of ancient belief and practice that survive today. Whether categorized as Indus Valley Shamanism, Vedic Religion, or the Puranic Tradition, certain elements of these beliefs and practices have persisted in contemporary Hinduism, with elements even making their way into the West. Prāṇa, the Sanskrit word most commonly translated as "breath", is an example of a Hindu concept, mostly associated with yoga, which has undergone change through the ages. The concept of "controlling" prāṇa, through the practice known as prāṇāyāma began to appear in ancient texts several thousand years ago. Both practice and theory have continued to evolve up through the introduction and subsequent popularization of yoga in the West. Although the word "prāṇa" is not necessarily a part of yoga instruction today, most students are made aware that restricted breathing techniques are a part of the practice. With this in mind, a recent change in the understanding of this concept becomes not only obvious, but also expected, as a concept rooted in Indian religion is taught to non-Indians for nonreligious purposes. The topic of prāṇa has narrowly been explored by Western academics; those who have chosen to acknowledge it tend to either limit their discussion to the practice of prāṇāyāma, or often attempt to describe it as a "vital life force"1, neglecting to shed light on the complex history of and in depth philosophy regarding this concept. What they fail to recognize, or perhaps choose to ignore, is that their very concept of prāṇa often falls in line with that of the modern yogi, that is, the contemporary masters of yoga who compose and publish guidebooks on the practice of yoga and prāṇāyāma for a western audience. Scholars often skip over the vast body of ancient literature that depicts prāṇā in ways other than how they currently identify it, thus remaining bound within their own depictions that lack depth, substance, and clarity. It is essential, however, to explore the evolution of this concept if one is to truly understand what prāṇa is, and what can be done with it, and its place in the modern world, according to practitioners of prāṇāyāma.
The death diet when vegetarianism isn't non-violent enough to shed those extra karmas
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2013-08) Grimes, Samuel Maxwell
The ancient Jaina practice of fasting to death (sallekhanā or santhāra) has come under scrutiny in modern India since Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code forbids an attempt to commit suicide and section 306 prohibits its abetment. In most Indian states those fasting have been force-fed and their fast prematurely terminated, but a few states are exceptional and grant those observing sallekhanā special status. Individual states have varying interpretations of the national law, forcing many Jains to conduct the ancient, spiritual austerity in secret. The question has thus arisen: how and with what evidence, when sallekhanā is considered to be in violation of Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code by multiple Indian states, do Jains contend that it is not suicide? Suicide is a universal phenomenon understood and evaluated in a variety of ways in different times and places. Suicide literally means "self-killing", so even though every culture may not view the ethical and moral ramifications of the act in a similar fashion, most agree on what it means to kill one's own self. However, there are cases where intentional self-killing is not considered suicide. Psychologists, sociologists, philosophers and religious authorities have unique perspectives regarding the voluntary termination of one's own life. Sociology is concerned with the phenomenon on a more grand, and population-encompassing level while the field of psychology focuses on the prevention of suicide with regards to individuals. Philosophical speculation of the subject primarily revolves around the ethical implications of self-killing. Religions, unlike the disciplinary fields that seek to understand suicide, have created rules regarding its morality.

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