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Dissertation Proposal

After successful completion of the preliminary examination, you (now a candidate for the Ph.D.) will submit a formal proposal for a dissertation topic to the dissertation committee—a committee of 4 to 5 faculty, including the director of the dissertation, chosen by you in consultation with the director and approved by the Director of the Graduate Program in Religion. 

Approval of Dissertation Topic

You must receive your doctoral committee's approval for the proposed study. The following steps should be taken:

• Consultation with the probable principal advisor regarding the dissertation topic.
•  a working title
•  a statement of the problem to be address and the core thesis to be developed
•  a brief defense of the topic's significance, including the prospective dissertation's location within a wider field of scholarship, paying particular attention to the context of the field's secondary literature (i.e. who is working in related or parallel areas and how does the dissertation differ from or build upon their work)
•  a brief statement regarding the methodology and foreign languages to be used
•  a working outline, including descriptive chapter headings and a brief statement of the material to be covered within each section
•  a basic bibliography of key primary and secondary sources
• The Advisor circulates the proposal to all members of the proposed dissertation committee (DC).
• At least 3 members of the committee meet with you to discuss the proposal and approve it.
• The student submits the "Proposal Form for CDC" to the GPR office for the Committee on Doctoral Committees (CDC) to consider it. This form outlines the elements needed and the length for each section. and includes a brief bibliography, normally consisting of key primary and secondary sources.
• If you, for any reason should radically change your proposal from the one originally approved, you must take the above steps for the approval of the new proposal.

Dissertation Guidance

While the dissertation advisor has principal responsibility for advice and guidance, it is understood that any member of the committee is available for guidance. You are urged, and your advisor may require this, to submit sections of your dissertation while it is still in the process of preparation to various committee members for criticism. Any member may request that certain sections or chapters of the dissertation be submitted to him/her before they reach the stage of final draft.

Complete Dissertation

The dissertation must meet the standards of the Graduate Program in Religion and the Graduate School of Duke University. Doctoral dissertations ordinarily run 90,000 to 100,000 words including notes and bibliography. For information about the format specified by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, see  Guide for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations.

Please note that while The Graduate School stipulates a deadline for initial submission of 2 weeks prior to your defense, the Graduate Program in  Religion requires a 3-week minimum of time for the dissertation to be distributed to committee members to read prior to the defense.

Dissertation Defense

When the dissertation is completed, you will defend it orally before the dissertation committee. Defenses, while conducted by the dissertation committee, are open to the university community.

The oral defense usually lasts 2 hours. All members of the dissertation committee, including the advisor, must be present at the defense or may participate by video or conference call.

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Department of Religious Studies

Dissertation, coursework and requirements.

The dissertation requirement includes the following: the formulation of an acceptable dissertation topic; the preparation of a formal prospectus; a closed oral prospectus defense; the formation of a dissertation committee; the submission and acceptance of the actual dissertation; a final public oral examination.

Dissertations regularly set one's scholarly program for years to come and contribute substantially to one's professional identity, including one's perceived suitability for various teaching positions. Students should be thinking about possible dissertation topics from the beginning of their program, and should discuss these aspects of prospective thesis topics early on with their advisors. Topics or areas for dissertation research often develop out of work in seminars and courses, so students should choose course papers with an eye to their suitability for further research. Once a student has identified a topic or promising area, the natural choice for first reader or advisor will be the faculty member whose specializations most closely match that topic. The student should work with this person (and the other faculty members in the program) to develop a prospectus and to choose second and third readers for the dissertation.

Students ordinarily devote at least two years to the dissertation, including research and writing, although occasionally less.

Written Prospectus

Students who have successfully passed their examinations must then present a dissertation prospectus to the Religious Studies faculty for their discussion and approval. The prospectus should present the proposed dissertation topic, explain its scholarly context and justification, describe the methodologies to be employed, put forth a plan for procedure (e.g., a tentative, annotated table of contents) and a select bibliography. The ideal typical length of the prospectus is ten to twenty pages, including a bibliography.

The student works closely with his or her advisor on the prospectus. Before a prospectus meeting can be scheduled, the student should circulate a draft of the prospectus to all probable members of the dissertation committee, sufficiently far in advance to allow the committee members time to comment on the draft, and to allow the student to make any necessary revisions. The student should also determine, in advance, the availability of committee members to respond to such drafts.

Graduate students should allow at least four weeks for this part of the process, if not longer, depending on the state of the initial draft and the availability of the committee members.

When the committee members have had an opportunity to comment on the draft, and when the proposed dissertation director is satisfied that the prospectus is ready, the meeting may be scheduled. Once the dissertation director notifies the DGS that the prospectus is ready, prospectus meetings will be scheduled thought the Department Administrator, who will use a scheduling survey to identify a feasible time for the meeting. The DGS then approves the meeting time, announces the meeting to the department faculty, and any appropriate outside faculty, and circulates the prospectus electronically. The faculty should be given notice of the meeting, and be sent the approved draft of the prospectus, no less than two weeks in advance. To facilitate this, the DGS should receive the approved prospectus  no less than 17 days  before the proposed meeting date, and  ideally 21 days  in advance of the proposed meeting. 

Prospectus Presentation

The prospectus presentation ordinarily takes place 2-4 weeks after submission of the prospectus. Unlike the final oral defense of the dissertation, this is a closed meeting (ordinarily about 90 minutes), where the RS faculty (and invited faculty guests) and the student discuss the proposed dissertation. This is a working session whose purpose is for the faculty to have constructive input early enough to avoid major problems later and to assist in clarifying the dissertation process.

Ordinarily, the DGS presides. After any appropriate preliminary consultation of the faculty, the student begins with a brief statement (10 minutes), describing the genesis of the project and how it relates to the work the student has done in the department. After appropriate faculty questioning and discussion, the student leaves the room briefly while faculty assess the dissertation, raise any further issues, and clarify agreements about the dissertation committee. The student then returns and is informed of the faculty's decision regarding both the prospectus and the committee, and given any further points of clarification, advice, or procedure. Occasionally, the faculty may ask for revisions or clarifications prior to official approval of the prospectus. When the faculty approves the prospectus, the student is formally advanced to candidacy. 

Dissertation Committee & Advising

The student's dissertation committee will be determined upon consultation between the student and faculty. The committee should be informally arranged prior to the prospectus meeting, with the help of the student's advisor and the DGS. The committee is officially constituted at the conference on the dissertation prospectus. Ultimately, the authority for appointing the dissertation director and the members of the dissertation committee rests with the faculty of the Department.

The dissertation committee consists of an advisor and at least two other members. Depending on the dissertation it may be advisable to have a fourth member on the committee (In exceptional circumstances, a fifth member is possible; but this is unusual and needs to be justified by the specific circumstances). When deemed appropriate, it is possible to have scholars from outside the department to serve on the committee.

Procedures for Dissertation Advising

Different institutions (and departments) have different procedures for dissertation advising. In Religious Studies, it is often the case that only the advisor reads first drafts, and that second and third (and fourth, if applicable) readers only see and critique the project at a later stage. These practices, however, are flexible, and students are encouraged to devise a process with their advisors that provides the most constructive guidance to the student, and produces the strongest possible result. Students should keep in mind, though, that reading and critiquing dissertations is highly time-consuming for faculty. Being mindful of faculty schedules and workload makes it more likely that students will receive productive feedback and complete their dissertation in a timely manner. Students should always let faculty members know well in advance when to expect drafts, and should have reasonable expectations about faculty turn-around time. 

Dissertation Defense/Oral Examination

The Department of Religious Studies requires that the dissertation, demonstrating original research and advanced scholarship, be defended in an oral examination before the faculty. This occasion brings the student together with the readers and other pertinent faculty and is usually open to the larger university community, including graduate students.

It is the responsibility of the dissertation advisor to determine, in consultation with the full dissertation committee, that a dissertation is acceptable and ready for defense. All committee members must thus have read the final version of the dissertation sufficiently to participate in this determination. When the advisor, having consulted with the whole committee, judges that a dissertation is ready for defense, she or he will, in consultation with the DGS, schedule a date, time and place for the defense. Defense are not ordinarily scheduled during Winter Break, when the University is not in session, nor during the summer months of July, and August, and June defenses are unusual.  

Notice of the defense must be provided to the full faculty no less than two weeks prior to the defense. An electronic copy of the dissertation and an abstract must also be circulated to the faculty no less than two weeks prior to the defense.

The format of the defense, which is technically an oral examination, is similar to that of the prospectus meeting. University procedures expect that the dissertation director will reside, but the DGS may also do so, often in concert with the dissertation director. Normally, the faculty hold a brief closed meeting (without the candidate or any guests) to discuss the format of the defense, and to consider any last minute issues that may have arisen. The candidate and any other guests attending then join the faculty. After the candidate provides an overview of the dissertation, faculty ask critical questions, normally for about an hour and a half. The faculty then meet in closed session to evaluate the student's work. Faculty may ask for additional revisions prior to formally accepting the dissertation. When the faculty formally accept the dissertation, including approval of the defense, the student has successfully completed the doctoral degree.

Deposit of the Dissertation

Detailed instructions for the preparation and submission of the dissertation and abstract, as well as information on filing fees, microfilm publication and copyright, are available on the Graduate School website . Students should familiarize themselves with these requirements very early on in the writing process. Students must allow a minimum of several days beyond the defense before formal submission, in order to incorporate any final changes or corrections from the defense before binding: several weeks are preferable.

The Graduate School expects that all candidates will successfully submit and defend the dissertation within five years of achieving candidacy. Students who have not done so may petition the Graduate School for a one-year extension, in the form of an explanatory letter, with the consent of the DGS. A second one-year extension is also possible but requires action by the Graduate Council. Such requests are not automatically granted, and students should make every possible effort to meet this deadline.

Additional Information

Dissertation Project Proposals

The doctoral dissertation process has five parts: the dissertation project proposal (presented in the sixth semester), submission of the final proposal (reviewed and accepted in early Fall or seventh semester), the dissertation itself, the public presentation of the research project, and an oral defense of the dissertation.

The purpose of the dissertation project proposal is to ensure that the candidate’s project is feasible and represents an original and important contribution to knowledge . A well-developed proposal also helps the candidate to clarify the project in their own mind, as well as to create a common set of expectations among their supervisory committee members.

The process for the dissertation project proposal is as follows:

• A preliminary dissertation project proposal is developed in conversation with the supervisor and supervisory committee members.
• After completion of the field exam, the candidate gives an oral presentation of the proposal at an event organized by the Joint Committee (see below).
• The candidate then submits a complete draft of the proposal, approved by their supervisory committee, to the program director for the Joint Committee’s approval.
• The committee votes to approve the proposal or asks the candidate to revise and resubmit it.
• Once the proposal has been approved, the candidate may then begin actively researching and writing the dissertation, while also working to meet other remaining program milestones.

Requirement checklist

• The proposal cover sheets (see p. 32) must be signed and dated by the student as well as all members of the proposed supervisory committee.
• It is the student’s responsibility to secure signatures and to submit the proposal to the director before the deadline set by the Joint Committee.
• The suggested length for a proposal is 4,000-5,000 words, plus a bibliography.
• The proposal must follow a proper academic style guide.
• a title (this should invite engagement but also be clear about the nature of your project; often a subtitle will explain the project more precisely);
• an abstract of about 150 words;
• a brief, annotated Table of Contents that includes clear chapter titles and one or two sentences describing the chapter contents;
• a brief timeline of how the student and committee envision the project developing;
• an outline of language skills required for your project and your progress to date in developing those skills;
• a bibliography for the project (about 30 sources).

Crafting the Proposal

There is no template for a dissertation project proposal, but you could look to the criteria provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for the criteria for a successful proposal. (SSHRC guidelines can be found here: https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/fellowships/doctoral-doctorat-eng.aspx#5 .)

Any proposal must answer four questions:

• What are you going to study? SSHRC criteria: “You should have a specific, focused, and feasible research question” (or questions), as well as objective(s)
• How are you going to do it? SSHRC criteria: “You should offer a clear description of the proposed methodology”
• What is the significance of your project? SSHRC criteria: “Explain the significance and expected contributions to research”
• How are you positioned to undertake this project? SSHRC criteria: “Describe you relevant training, such as academic training, lived experience or traditional teachings”

Examining these questions in some detail will help the Joint Committee make ecisions about the clarity, viability, and value of your project. 

1. What are you going to study?

The criteria for a successful dissertation is an original and important contribution to knowledge .

A guiding question. What is the question your thesis will answer? A dissertation must have one—and only one—topic that can be summed up in a guiding question. Developing a guiding question will allow you to define the scope of your project with sufficient precision to avoid being lost or overwhelmed. It allows you to decide what to study and, equally important, what to ignore.

Originality. Your dissertation must be original. That means it cannot simply summarize scholarship to date. There are a variety of ways one can be original:

• Find a new source of data.
• Develop or correct a theory (use new data to develop a new explanation or correct an old one).
• Apply a theory to a new or unexplored phenomenon.
• Apply a theory from a different discipline to a religious phenomenon (e.g., apply theories of how social movements grow from sociology to a new religious movement).

The point is that you must find something that has not been done before.

Importance. To be considered “important,” your project must first be substantial and rigorous, displaying a high level of research and writing. Your project must also be of scholarly interest. You might ask the question, important to whom ? This is why a dissertation project begins with a literature review. You must discover who your audience might be, what the state of the question is among those scholars, and what has been done (and left undone) by researchers working in that area. One scholar suggests that the best ways to be original and important are to:

• Fill a hole (address a topic that other scholars have overlooked).
• Correct a mistake (find evidence that challenges a widely held belief or that challenges a theory).
• Break new ground (for example, by studying a group that has never been examined or by applying an innovative theoretical framework to a group).

You may find other ways as long as you explain the contribution your dissertation will make. This again highlights the necessity of a literature review in order to contextualize your thesis project in

on-going academic and public debates and to ensure that your contribution is original and important .

2. How are you going to study it?

At some point in the proposal, you need a detailed discussion of theory, method, and your “data set” or source of information, such as interviews of a specific population, primary source material, printed matter, web sites, or creative material (films, TV shows, art works).  

Theory. Theory provides explanation. Many scholarly works are criticized for being merely descriptive. Theory moves your project beyond description to analysis and critique. In fact, you may find that your topic is best understood using a variety of theories. In any case, you will need to outline a clear theoretical framework and to demonstrate the explanatory value of that framework. What will your theoretical approach explain that a) is valuable, and b) we cannot get in any other way?

Method. It is also important to describe your method–the steps you will take to answer your question–in clear and simple terms. How will you gather your data (interviews, archival research, surveys, online searches, viewing films, etc.)? What method will you use to analyze your data (statistical analysis, coding, discourse analysis, etc.)? Again, you may find yourself using a variety of methods (for instance, reading official texts describing religious norms and then interviewing people to see if they actually follow those norms). You should show that your method is appropriate both to your chosen theoretical framework and to the goals of the dissertation. Again, ask yourself what your methodological approach will give you that a) is valuable, and b) we cannot get in any other way.

Data set. Your proposal should include a detailed description of your data set (what exactly you will look at). If you are doing content analysis, for example, what books or journals will you read? If you are doing historical research, what archives will you visit? If you plan to interview people, how will you choose your participants? What kind of interviews or surveys will you use? How many participants will you interview? What kind of questions will you ask? How will you gain access to members of a religious community? Again, you should explain the benefits of using this particular data set over others.

Your supervisory committee, as well as the Joint Committee, will be asking whether your data set is appropriate. Will the data you seek to collect help you answer the core question of your dissertation project? Is it appropriate in size, i.e., sufficiently large to answer your thesis question but not so large as to be unfeasible? The committees may ask if you have access to the information you need. For example, some archives and religious sites are closed to outsiders. Do you foresee any opportunities or barriers to gaining access to your data? One of our students attempted to interview members of a religious institution, but its leaders told its members not to participate.

Connecting theory, method, and data set. In the theory and method sections, you will have to explain how the application of your theoretical framework and method to your data set serves the goals of your project. Each section will also need to address the most important and up-to-date scholarly works, including criticism of your selected theoretical framework and method so that you can discuss their limitations and shortcomings.

Ethics . You must also consider the ethical issues in conducting and disseminating your research. Is there potential for harm in your research project? How will you protect the agency and dignity of your participants? Does your research meet the criteria set out in the latest Tri-Council Policy Statement on research involving humans? What obstacles might you face in receiving ethics clearance from your institution? Who will benefit from your study and how?

3. Why is it significant? (So what?)

Many dissertations–along with other scholarly publications–languish unread because, while they may be excellent in all technical respects, they fail to address a question of real significance. Other projects fail to demonstrate how they contribute to the ongoing scholarly or public discourse on a topic. What is the significance of your project? Put differently, why should people care about the work into which you have put so much time and energy? This is a question that is best answered in clear and direct terms, rather than vague assertions of importance.

Audience. In order to explain the significance of your project, you must first imagine an audience for your scholarship. Who would benefit from reading your research: which scholars? Educators? Community members? Stakeholders? Policy makers? Individuals? Why would it matter to them? How might they use your insights? To whom is your work “important”? Which scholars will want to read your dissertation or the publications that derive from it? Part of the answer will come from your literature review. What does your research add to on-going debates among scholars? Will you fill a hole, correct a mistake, or break new ground? How will your project open new avenues of research? How will it contribute to other members of society, including the community that you are studying?

4. How are you positioned to answer this important question?

Scholarly experience and qualifications. Identify your particular skills, experiences, and resources that will help you to answer your dissertation’s question. You may want to highlight:

• any academic training (specialized courses or specific professors) that will help you conduct this research;
• E.g., you lived in or travelled to the region that you are proposing to study or you were employed by an NGO that worked closely with the community you wish to study.
• language skills you possess appropriate to the proposed project;
• special access to resources (for example, as an insider, you might have access to data that outsiders are not allowed to see);
• any other skills, experience, or access to resources that would make you a “good fit” for this study.

Positionality. Finally, you should address the issue of “positionality” in your proposed project. What challenges and opportunities does your position in society present for your ability to conduct this research? In terms of the community you wish to study, are you an “insider” or “outsider”? What impact will that have on your project? Will issues such as race, gender, ethnicity, or religion affect how you will conduct this research? Are there unequal power dynamics that may challenge the ethical or scholarly integrity of your study?

Concluding remarks. While there is no template for a successful dissertation project proposal—or for a successful dissertation, for that matter–a solid proposal must inform the community of what question you will answer, how you will answer it, why the answer matters, and why you are the best person to answer that particular question.

Religious Studies

You are here, dissertation proposal.

The dissertation proposal is prepared in preparation for the fourth exam. It is worked out in consultation with the faculty, and submitted to the teaching group in Philosophy of Religion, several of whom will meet with the student for a colloquium to assess the scope, significance, and feasibility of the topic and the student’s preparation to accomplish it in a reasonable time. After approval by the teaching group, a two-page, single-spaced summary of the proposal is submitted to the entire graduate faculty in Religious Studies and thence, if none object, to the Dean of the Graduate School. Once accepted this prospectus becomes the basis for the eventual assessment of the completed dissertation. After acceptance of the prospectus, the student is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. Students must be admitted to candidacy by the beginning of their seventh semester in the program.

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Digital Commons @ USF > College of Arts and Sciences > Religious Studies > Theses and Dissertations

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2022 2022.

Interpreting 9/11: Religious or Political Event? , Fadime Apaydin

The need to address religious diversity at work: an all-inclusive model of spirituality at work , Ivonne Valero Cázares

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

The Mass is the Medium: Marshall McLuhan and Roman Catholic Liturgical Change , Ashil D. Manohar

White Too Long: Christianity or Nationalism? , Rachel E. Osborne

"Theology" in the Public University , Sarah T. White

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Warfare in Christianity and Islam: Unveiling Secular Justifications and Motivations Behind So-Called Religious Violence , Onur Korkmaz

Legitimizing Violence: Functional Similarities of the Religious and the Secular Violence , Tahir Topal

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

“Living Creatures of Every Kind:” An Ecofeminist Reading of Genesis 1-3 , T. G. Barkasy

Three Theorists on Religious Violence in an Islamic Context: Karen Armstrong, Mark Juergensmeyer, and William T. Cavanaugh , Ayse Camur

Complex Tripartite Hydro Politics of River Ganges , Muttaki Bin Kamal

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Solid Metaphor and Sacred Space: Interpreting the Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Relations Found at Beth Alpha Synagogue , Evan Carter

Growth, and Development of Care for Leprosy Sufferers Provided by Religious Institutions from the First Century AD to the Middle Ages , Philippa Juliet Meek

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Altering Tian: Spirituality in Early Confucianism , Jacob Thomas Atkinson

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

The U.S. Department of State Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives: What does the U.S. engage when they engage `religion'? , Belgica Marisol Cucalon

Rising Above a Crippling Hermeneutic , Luke Steven, Carlos, Armando Thompson

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

From Cosmogony to Anthropogony: Inscribing Bodies in Vedic Cosmogony and Samskara Rituals , Christine Boulos

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Gadamer and Nāgārjuna in Play: Providing a New Anti-Objectivist Foundation for Gadamer’s Interpretive Pluralism with Nāgārjuna’s Help , Nicholas Byle

Shamanism, Spiritual Transformation and the Ethical Obligations of the Dying Person: A Narrative Approach , Ellen W. Klein

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

Finding Confucianism in Scientology: A comparative analysis , John Albert Kieffer

Sympathy for the devil: A character analysis of Gibreel Farishta in Salman Rushdie's The satanic verses , Catherine Mary Lafuente

The Babel paradox , Michel Machado

Theology, Spirituality, and the Academic Study of Religion in Public Universities , Don Saunders

Broadening the Spectrum: The Religious Dimensions of the Rainbow Gatherings , Seth M. Walker

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

Poetry and Ritual: The Physical Expression of Homoerotic Imagery in sama , Zachary Holladay

Religious Exiles And Emigrants: The Changing Face Of Zoroastrianism , Tara Angelique Migliore

Metropolitan Community Church: A Perfectly Queer Reading Of The Bible , Matthew D. Stewart

Theses/Dissertations from 2007 2007

(Dis)continuity between Sikhism and Islam: The development of hukam across religions , Mark Horowitz

Natural Law Ethics: A Comparison of the Theravāda and Thomistic Traditions , David Lantigua

An analysis Of Origen's charismatic ideology in his Commentary on the Gospel of John , Kimberly W. Logan-Hudson

The proliferating sacred: Secularization and postmodernity , Donald Surrency

Theses/Dissertations from 2006 2006

The commodification of yoga in contemporary U.S. culture , Michelle E. Demeter

The Middle-Class Religious Ideology and the Underclass Struggle: A Growing Divide in Black Religion , Franklin Hills Jr.

The ethics of the spirit in Galatians: Considering Paul's paranesis in the interpretation of his theology , Steven Douglas Meigs

Cicero and St. Augustine's Just War Theory: Classical Influences on a Christian Idea , Berit Van Neste

Theses/Dissertations from 2005 2005

The Origins of Jewish Apocalyptic Literature: Prophecy, Babylon, and 1 Enoch , Sarah Robinson

Theses/Dissertations from 2004 2004

Sports and the American Sacred: What are the Limits of Civil Religion? , Frank Ferreri

Radical Religious Groups and Government Policy: A Critical Evaluation , Tori Chambers Lockler

“Symbolism of Language: A Study in the Dialogue of Power Between the Imperial Cult and the Synoptic Gospels” , Sharon Matlock-Marsh

Near-Death Experiences, Religion, and Life After Death , Holly Wallace

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Home > Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences > Religious Studies > Theses and Dissertations

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

Participation in the Martyred Christ: Augustine of Hippo on Martyrdom and Martyr Veneration , Matthew Esquivel

Accounting for the Gift: Theology and Ethics in Accounting , Daniel Sebastian

Radical Explorations Of Radical Empiricism: William James’s Transmissive Theory Of Mind In The Context Of Visionary Experience , Rita Spellman

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Eudaimonist Exemplarism and Saints , Brian C. Clark

Educating a Denomination: Albert C. Outler and American Theological Education, 1925 - 1974 , Lane Davis

Rebekah Retold: A Functional Reception-Historical Analysis of Rebekah in Narrative Retellings of Genesis , Kelsey Spinnato

Monetary Muddles: Money and Language, Ethics and Theology , Tyler Womack

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Faithful: The Formation of Women's Religious and Political Identities at First Baptist Dallas , Marie Olson Purcell

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Protest and Politics: A Biographical Theology of Bayard Rustin, Friendship, Charity, and Economic Justice , Justin Barringer

A Renewed Christian Sabbath, After Supersessionism and After Christendom , Abigail Woolley Cutter

Gender as Love: A Theological Account , Fellipe do Vale

Deliver Us: The New Eve, Coredemption, and the Motherhood of God , William Glass

Trinity and Divine Subjectivity: A Study in the Trinitarian Theologies of Franz Anton Staudenmaier and Isaak August Dorner , Andrew Hamilton

Jesus Christ, Revelation of Love: A Christology of the Disabled Christ , Lisa Hancock

Ecclesial Unity in Cyril of Alexandria , Andrew Mercer

The Humanity of Christ as Instrument of Salvation in the Theology of Thomas Aquinas , J. David Moser

Honor Gained, Lost, and Restored: The Honor and Shame of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark , April Simpson

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Pluralism as a Social Practice: A Pragmatist Approach to Engaging Diversity in Public Life , Mary Leah Friedline

Religion and Rural Internationalism in the Nineteenth-Century Middle West: The Global Consciousness of Rural Dutch Middle Westerners,1865–1901 , Andrew Klumpp

Religion Wrecked Her Mind: Religious Insanity in the Nineteenth Century , Courtney Lacy

“Our Heaven Begun Below”: A Contemporary Theology of Eucharistic Sacrifice in the Wesleyan Tradition , Geoffrey C. Moore

“Lo Que Predicábamos No E[ra] Americanismo”: Protestantism and Cross-Cultural Religious Encounter in the Shadow of Empire, A Twentieth Century Cuban Case , Grace Vargas

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Augustine's Concept of Volition and Its Significance for the Doctrine of Original Sin , Scot Bontrager

Ephesians and Ecumenism , Toby Eisenberg

The Unmarried (M)Other: A Study of Christianity, Capitalism, and Counternarratives Concerning Motherhood and Marriage in the United States and South Africa , Haley Feuerbacher

John Duns Scotus On the Trinitarian Center of the Graced Life , Mitchell Kennard

“Spirited” Engagement: Latin American Faith and the Construction of Emancipative Pentecostalism , David Luckey

The Church and Social Responsibility: Contributions to Contemporary Social Ethics from the Ecumenical Social Method of the Oxford Conference on Church, Community, and State of 1937 , Gary B. MacDonald

Infertility in 1 Samuel 1: Toward a Hermeneutic of Reproduction , David A. Schones

“And They Shall Eat Until They Are Satisfied:” Critical Disability Theory and Widows, Orphans, Aliens, and Levites in the Book of Deuteronomy , Cheryl Strimple

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Believing Into Christ: Restoring the Relational Sense of Belief as Constitutive of the Christian Faith , Natalya Cherry

My Lover is Mine and I am His--The Grazer in the Lilies: A Philosophical-Literary Reading of the Song of Songs , Leslie Fuller

Mapping the Nature of Empire: The Legacy of Theological Geography in the Early Iberian Atlantic , Ángel Jazak Gallardo

The Apostolic Council of Jerusalem: Taing-Yinn Tharr (တိုင္း၇င္းသား) Apostleship as Anti-Colonial Existence , Lahpai Shawng Htoi

Human Capabilities, Religion, and Rights , Oleg Makariev

But We Know: A Feminist, Christian Ethnography and Analysis of Single, Working-Class Mothers and Class, Gender, and Race Dynamics in the U. S. Political Economy , Julie A. Mavity Maddalena

Christian Political Economy and Economic Science: A Pathway for Interdisciplinary Dialogue , Nathan McLellan

The Installation of the Human: Whiteness, Religion, and Racial Capitalism , Benjamin Robinson

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

The Evangelists' Editorial Efforts; Matthean and Lukan Theology vis-a-vis a Few, Unique Parables , Benjamin C. Joseph Mr.

Christus Satisfactor: An Anselmian Approach to the Doctrine of Atonement , David M. Mahfood

Opaque Redemption: Whiteness, Theology, and the Politics of The Human , Timothy McGee

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M.A. Proposals

A reader for the thesis is assigned from the faculty; the director and reader are responsible for approving the proposal and placing it in the student's file. The student, with the help of a faculty member who serves as director, will prepare a one-page thesis proposal that presents the background, purpose, method, and contribution of the thesis. The proposal with a selected bibliography will be submitted to the Director of the Academic Area for approval and will then go to the M.A. Committee for final approval.

S.T.L. Proposals

The S.T.L. candidate will work in conjunction with the Director and Reader of the thesis in preparing the proposal. When the Director and Reader approve the proposal, it will then be submitted to the faculty of the Academic Area for approval. Subsequently the proposal is submitted to the members of the Ecclesiastical Degree Committee for approval. The proposal is kept in the student's file.

Doctoral Proposals

These regulations apply to PhD and STD proposals. A student, who has been formally admitted to candidacy, is eligible to submit a doctoral proposal. The following guidelines for the dissertation proposal must be carefully followed:

The Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Approval Process

Initial steps of the process.

The student is responsible for securing a director and two readers who will form the dissertation committee. Generally, the committee members should be STRS faculty and hold the degree of Ph.D. or D.Phil. The readers may hold the D.Min. degree if they bring relevant experience to the committee.

The Ph.D. Proposal Committee will use a rubric for evaluating proposals that specifies the instructions articulated in the university guidelines for proposals. The proposal should be organized as follows:

• Background / state of the question
• Methodology
• Contribution / Originality
• Apended biography (additional two pages)

Evaluation of the Proposal by the Ph.D. Proposal Committee

• Once the director has determined that the proposal is ready to be evaluated, the proposal must be approved by the student's academic area.
• The student must send the Chair of the Ph.D. Proposal Committee an electronic copy of the proposal.
• The student must provide the Chair with two forms: a. Doctoral Dissertation Topic and Committee Request for Approval Form (signed by the area director, the dissertation advisor, and the student) b. Ph.D. Proposal Recommendation by the Academic Area Form (signed by area director)
• When the Chair has received both forms and the electronic copy of the proposal, the proposal will go before the Ph.D. Proposal Committee. The Ph.D. Proposal Committee meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month. The Chair should receive all documents by the Wednesday prior to the meeting.
• At the Committee meeting, the student's director is asked to be present to answer any questions the Committee may have. The proposal may be approved by the Committee either "as is" or on the understanding that small-scale emendations will be made. In the latter case, it is the responsibility of the director to communicate the requested emendations to the student and to ensure that these are made by the student. Once the emendations have been made to the director's satisfaction, the student should submit the revised proposal to the Ph.D. Proposal Committee Chair. The Committee may also decide that the proposal requires major reworking and needs to be resubmitted to the Committee after revision. In this case as well, the director is responsible for conveying the Committee's remarks to the student and ensuring that the student makes the recommended revisions. Once this has been done to the director's satisfaction, the student should forward the revised proposal to the Ph.D. Chair who will bring it before the Committee at its next meeting.

Final Stages of the Dissertation Proposal Approval Process

Once the Ph.D. Proposal Committee Chair has the student's proposal as approved by the Committee (or revised in accordance with the Committee's comments) as well as the two required documents listed above, the Chair will write the student a letter officially informing them that the proposal has been approved by the Committee. A copy of that letter will be included in the student's file, which the Chair will submit to the STRS Dean. The Dean will either approve the proposal as submitted and sign the "Request for Approval Form" or ask for changes, which the Dean will communicate to the director and the student. The director and student will make changes and resubmit the proposal to the Dean.

Once the Dean has signed the proposal, he will transmit the student's file to the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies. The Dean of Graduate Studies will have the proposal assessed by an evaluator outside STRS. On the basis of that evaluation, the Dean of Graduate Studies will either approve the proposal as submitted or ask that it be revised in minor or major ways, and will so inform the student and director. If revisions are necessary, they will need to be made by the student in consultation with the director. The revised proposal must then be resubmitted to the Dean of Graduate Studies, who, in all cases, makes the final decision regarding the approval of the proposal.

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Religion, Theology and Philosophy Dissertation Topics

Published by Alvin Nicolas at January 6th, 2023 , Revised On March 17, 2023

Introduction

As part of the religious, theology, and philosophy studies course, dissertation writing is inherently vital to the final result. Various religions are practised in the world today. Some of the major religions include; Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Sikhism.

In the contemporary world, religion is often not associated with politics and worldly life. Nevertheless, we can not deny its relationship and influence on humans and global peace. Therefore it is vital to choose a research topic that adds to the current body of literature.

To help you choose an appropriate topic and its subsequent research methodology, below is a list of issues classified using the thematic and exploratory approach for the religious studies dissertation.

PhD qualified writers of our team have developed these topics, so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the problem,  research question , aim and objectives,  literature review ,  along with the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted.  Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation example  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

W“Our expert dissertation writers can help you with all stages of the dissertation writing process including topic research and selection, dissertation plan, dissertation proposal, methodology, statistical analysis, primary and secondary research, findings and analysis, and complete dissertation writing.“

2022 Religion, Theology and Philosophy Research Topics

Does religion make society patriarchal, or does society make religion patriarchal a historical analysis of islam and hinduism in southasia.

Research Aim: This research aims to find the relationship between patriarchal society and religion. It will analyse a causal link between both phenomena by discovering whether faith makes society patriarchal or a particular social structure that makes religion patriarchal. And to show this relationship, this research will use Islam and Hinduism as a case study to establish whether these religions made SouthAsian countries patriarchal or these countries with their specific cultures and traditions made these religions patriarchal.

The Role of Feminist Religious Movements in Promoting Gender Equality- A Feminist Critique of Christianity and Islam on Lacking Gender Equality

Research Aim: This research explores the impact of feminist religious movements on gender equality worldwide. It presents a historical view of how changing women’s religious ideologies helped them attain their rights worldwide. Moreover, it offers a thorough feminist critique of the world’s two most followed religions, Christianity and Islam, on how they cannot provide women with their due rights. Keeping in view how these religions failed to give women their rights, it will show how the increasing role of women in these religions helped them get their rights.

Who Does it Better? Western vs Eastern Philosophy in Defining the Role of Genders in Society- An Analysis Through a Plutonic Lens

Research Aim: This research compares Western and Eastern philosophies in defining the gender roles in society through a Platonic point of view. It will reach and contrast both perspectives regarding treating men and women in various societal parts. Then it will use Pluto’s philosophical theories to show which philosophy has defined these roles better by providing a detailed critique on both. Lastly, as objectively as possible, it will show which philosophy is better through various metrics defined by Pluto and other Western and Eastern Philosophers.

Does God Promote Wars? The Role of Religion in the World Wars: A Critique of Richard Dawkins

Research Aim: This research sheds light on a crucial debate in religion and wars studies whether religion has something to do with wars. It will analyse the world wars to show whether religious elements made conflicts worse or other factors that overshadowed the spiritual aspects. Furthermore, it will include the viewpoint of famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, a part of the neo-atheist movement. His critique of God and religions will help to understand the relationship comprehensively.

Does Power Corrupt Religion? The Role of State in Using Religious Actors for its Political Motives- A Case of the US and Al Qaeda

Research Aim: This research shows how enormous political powers can use religion as a tool for their political motives. It will analyse a state’s channels to influence religion in a country or other countries. Moreover, it will identify which immense political powers fulfilled primary political motives throughout history. And more specifically, it will use US and AlQaeda as a case study of how the US used them for their reasons and what happened when they weren’t able to control them.

Covid-19 Religion, Theology and Philosophy Research Topics

Religious communities and coronavirus pandemic.

Research Aim: This study will focus on reviewing the contribution of religious communities to combat the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Indian religious politics during the Coronavirus pandemic

Research Aim: This study will investigate the issues and conflicts that arose in India during the outbreak of COVID-19 and the response of the international countries on it.

Theology and Coronavirus crisis

Research Aim: This study will focus on theological studies on the Coronavirus pandemic.

Philosophy, science, and religion during Coronavirus

Research Aim: This study will address the importance of philosophy, science, and religion in combatting Coronavirus.

World Religions Dissertation Topics

Under the category of world religion, the teaching courses cover a range of topics, including the traditional aspects and forms of religion found globally, including the mainstream practising religions such as Buddhism or Catholicism, fastest-growing religion like Islam, and belief systems such as the traditions of the Samurai tribe.

Given the highly diverse nature of faith, it is pertinent to explore and analyse this diversity in terms of the continuous evolution of the human race. The list of topics below provides a focused thematic and exploratory approach that may be used for world religion research dissertation purposes.

Topic 1: Increasing Islamophobia in the Western Countries, Its Causes and Possible Remedies

Research Aim: The hatred, intolerance, prejudice, or hostility towards the religion of Islamic and its followers are termed Islamophobia. In the last few years, the increasing trend of Islamophobia has been witnessed in the Western Countries, which at some instances lead to the act of violence and killing of Muslims, for example, the New Zealand mosque shooting in 2019 where 51 Muslims were shot dead by an Islamophobic was extreme evidence of the existence of Islamophobia. Therefore, in today’s time, when millions of Muslims live in Western Countries, it is essential to identify the causes of increasing Islamophobia and how it can be controlled.

Topic 2: Prevention of blasphemy and its Role in Global Peace

Research Aim: When someone speaks or writes profanely about a sacred or religious personality, place, or object, it amounts to blasphemy. The seculars and proponents of freedom of speech and expression do not hesitate to malign, mock and insult religion and the holy personages. However, blasphemy can enrage thousands and millions of believers worldwide as they cannot tolerate any disrespect towards their religion or holy personages, and they can become violent. In this study, the global blasphemy laws and how much they prevent blasphemy are explored, and their role in developing global peace is explored based on a survey-based study.

Topic 3: Religious Violence and its Association with Religious Intolerance

Research Aim: When religion is a subject or an object of violence, it is categorized as religious violence. In situations where people show no or lack of religious intolerance towards another religion and its followers, they tend to disapprove, criticize, and even use violence to show their dominance. Given this, it is argued that people have intolerance towards another religion, then their intolerance, if it remains unchecks, can even lead to violence. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate religious intolerance’s causal relationship with religious violence to identify if religious intolerance can trigger religious violence.

Topic 4: The notion of Atheism in the modern world. A critical analysis

Research Aim: Atheism is a belief in the non-existence of any God. In the contemporary world, scientific advancements and modern technology have made significant breakthroughs that have unravelled many unexplained phenomena and have consequently changed people’s lives and beliefs. As people’s reliance on science and technology has increased, anything that cannot be proven logically or through scientific evidence is rejected, even if it is God’s existence. In this research past, literature will be critically analyzed to identify what atheism means in today’s modern world and how it has altered people’s beliefs.

Topic 5: An analysis of belief and culture of African Christians in Diaspora.

Research Aim: During recent history, many African Christians have migrated to Western or Developed Countries to save their lives or attain better life prospects and living standards. After living in other Countries, African Christians came into contact with new cultures, traditions, religions, languages, and beliefs, altering their ideas and culture. In this regard, this survey-based study aims to identify whether African Christians have preserved their beliefs and culture while living in Diaspora.

Topic 6: The evolution of religious beliefs in India posts 20th century: A critical analysis.

Research Aim: In this research, the molecular structure of various tumors is discussed along with the therapeutic issues faced for these ailments and their treatments. Target spots for treatment and different chemical mixes for its treatments are also explained in this research.

Topic 7: The inherent belief of all religions lies in following the teachings prescribed by a higher authority. Discuss.

Research Aim: All religions have some guidelines recorded in holy books and religious scriptures that their believers have to follow. Whether obeying a higher authority’s commands is a common notion in all religions is critically discussed by conducting a thematic analysis of past literature.

Topic 8: Religious diversity and terrorism: An empirical analysis.

Research Aim: There are hundreds of religions practised globally that are significantly diversified in terms of beliefs, characteristics, traditions, festivals, and customs. In the past three decades, the increased occurrence of religious-based terrorism worldwide gives rise to a need to explore any causal link present between religious diversity and terrorism.

Topic 9: A Comparative study between Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity

Research Aim: The similarities and differences between Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are compared by conducting a thematic analysis. These religions’ religious scriptures will be discussed and compared to identify the shared characteristics present amongst them.

Topic 10: Why Islam is the Fastest Growing Religion in the World?

Research Aim: Islam has been linked with global terrorism in the media, yet still, it is number one in the list of fastest-growing religions of the world. In this regard, an in-depth exploratory study is to be conducted to identify the underlying reasons. A growing number of people are accepting the religion of Islam.

History and Religion Dissertation Topics

History and religion have been a topic of interest throughout previous decades and gained particular importance amongst researchers focusing on the impact and influence of religion on culture throughout history.

Based on  a literature review of the religious references, the researchers have drawn a connection between literature and culture. History and religion are not confined to the evolution or impact of a particular religion. Still, it goes beyond the diversity of religion and focuses on developing the human race throughout time. Below is a list of suggested topics that can be used for history and religion research dissertations.

Topic 11: The comparative study between ancient Judaism and Hinduism

Research Aim: The similarities present between ancient Judaism and Hinduism are critically reviewed. For instance, both religions have a distinct class system that divides people into superior and lower classes. In Judaism, people are divided into Jews and non-Jews, referred to as gentiles, and as per Judaism, gentiles are animals in human form. Similarly, Hinduism divides people into four classes; Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, where Shudras are given animal status.

Topic 12: How the Renaissance altered Christian religion and beliefs during the 15th and 16th Century Europe

Research Aim: Renaissance was a revolt against the supremacy of Christian theology, pope, the prohibition of learning science and logic, and interference of Church in the personal life of individuals during middle ages starting from 500 to 1400 Century. The renaissance proposed a new idea of humanism where religion must not intervene in an individual’s worldly and religious affairs, and people are free to have their own religion and beliefs. This study will critically analyse how the renaissance impacted the Christian religion and beliefs of European people during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Topic 13: Was Christ really crucified? A critical analysis of the contradictory evidence found in Christian and Islam

Research Aim: As per Christian belief, Jesus Christ was crucified, and he gave his life on the cross so that all Christians can be forgiven for their sins and go to paradise. However, as per Islamic belief, Christ was never crucified. Instead, God ascended Jesus Christ and made the betrayed companion look like Jesus Christ, and the Romans crucified him thinking that he was Jesus Christ.

Topic 14: Illicit affairs between Monks and Nuns in Christian Monasticism, a myth or a reality?

Research Aim: The mass grave of newly born babies found beneath the Catholic Church in Ireland provides evidence to support the myths about secret sex lives of monks and nuns throughout the history of Christian Monasticism. Based on the thematic analysis of the historical evidence found in literature and media, the immorality and hypocrisy of Catholic Monasticism will be critically reviewed.

Topic 15: Historical account of the destruction of Jerusalem and Jewish exile by King Nebuchadnezzar

Research Aim: The King of ancient Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had destroyed Jerusalem along with the temple of Solomon and exiled all Jews from Jerusalem in 586 BC. Many Jews were taken to Babylon as slaves, while many were dispersed and wandered in the desert for many years. Thematic analysis will be conducted in this study. The historical evidence found in the past literature will be critically reviewed to understand the Jewish Diaspora and their hardships.

Topic 16: Islam: The religious foundations and evolution through the 7th century into the modern world.

Research Aim: The religion of Islam, which came in the 7th Century in Arab, has spread to every part of the world today. Today more than 350 million Muslims exist and follow the religion of Islam, which was introduced around 1400 years ago. Although they have been divided into different groups and sects, they still share some common fundamental beliefs. Therefore, an exploratory study will be conducted to identify how Islam has evolved and how its religious foundations are compatible with the modern world.

Topic 17: The life of Adolf Hitler: impact of religious doctrine and belief.

Research Aim: Adolf Hitler was born and raised in a Roman Catholic family. As per his public speeches, he considered Jews to be the true enemy of Christianity, and by fighting against them, he was actually doing God’s work. Therefore, a thematic analysis is to be conducted on the life of Adolf Hitler to ascertain whether his religious doctrine and belief impacted his life.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service , which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

Religion and the Contemporary World Dissertation Topics

This theme focuses on topics that analyse the effect of religion within the contemporary world, including the media’s influence and the application of religious beliefs to the modern-day world.

This is an interesting topic for those aiming to look at theology and religion together since the implications of religion to the contemporary world has become the focus of discussion and dichotomy. Below is a list of topics that can be used for Religion and the Contemporary World Research Dissertation purposes.

Topic 18: Islam subjugate or uplift women: A critical analysis

Research Aim: Islam is criticized for women subjugation and inequality. Still, women in Western countries willingly accept Islam and follow Islamic practices such as wearing Hijab and covering their heads and faces. If Islam actually subjugates women, then why are independent and educated women in Western countries like France and the UK becoming Muslim. To unrevealed this mystery, an exploratory study is to be conducted where the women who accepted Islam will be interviewed to find out whether Islam subjugated them or uplift their status.

Topic 19: Religion is redundant in today's contemporary world.

Research Aim: Religion tends to hinder scientific developments because religion does not permit anything in line with religious law and guidelines. Today’s contemporary world can no longer follow any such restrictions, which can become a hurdle in scientific advancements and medical breakthroughs. Besides, nowadays, people use scientific evidence and logic to justify something rather than blindly relying on religious explanations. In view of this, a survey-based study is to be performed to determine whether religion has become unnecessary in today’s modern world.

Topic 20: Religions and faith communities can be a source of social stability and progress in today’s contemporary world.

Research Aim: In today’s socially and economically unstable and uncertain environment, association with religions and faith communities can enable individuals to have social stability and progress. People tend to look after each other in faith communities. For instance, black Church organisations in London provide work, education and training to black Christians. A thematic analysis will be performed in this research to evaluate whether people can gain social security, better work and prospects by being associated with religious communities.

Topic 21: Various religions, including Christianity and Islam, do not recognize the relationship between same-sex genders. Discuss in light of recent legalization and the global evolution for equality of all people.

Research Aim: The recent laws and legalization made to give rights and equality to the LGBL community are legally permitting people of the same sexual orientations to marry or live in relationships as partners. However, various religions like Christianity and Islam does not permit any such relationships and legalizing the same-sex marriage and relationship would create more differences in the society. This study will focus on identifying the in-depth view of Christians and Muslims on same-sex marriages and their likely impact on their rights, belief and practices.

Topic 22: Equality of women is a blessing or a curse?

Research Aim: Women in western countries like America and the UK are given equal rights and responsibilities. In eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, women have lower rights and responsibilities than men. It is argued that when women have equitable rights, they get higher or lower rights than men based on situations. For instance, a woman as a mother has more rights than a man as a father. In view of this, equitable rights give women more privileges as they don’t have to bear the hardships and exploitation. An exploratory study will be conducted in Pakistan to ascertain whether women feel more blessed or cursed by having equality.

Topic 23: The miracle of splitting of the Moon in the light of scientific evidence.

Research Aim: According to the Islamic belief when people of Mecca in Arab asked the Prophet Muhammad to show a miracle if he is actually a messenger of God, then Prophet Muhammad split the moon in two halves with the movement of this index finger and then rejoined them together. In 1969 the photograph of moon taken by NASA spaceship clearly showed the splitting mark on the surface of moon. Modern astronomers also provide scientific evidence to support the splitting of moon. In this research the scientific evidence to support or oppose the splitting of moon will be critically analysed to determine whether moon was splitting actually splitted.

Topic 24: Why religions and faith are gaining popularity in today’s time.

Research Aim: In today’s time when economic and social problems are on rise, it is worth identifying the reasons because of which more and more people are evidently moving towards religions and faith. Therefore a thematic analysis is to be conducted to explore the reasons why people around the world are becoming more religious by demonstrating and practicing their faith.

Topic 25: Eastern religions, especially Islam have suffered greatly post 9/11 in terms of media representation and fair trial. Discuss.

Research Aim: Since the 9/11 terrorist attack, Eastern religions like Sikhism, Hinduism and especially Islam has been suffered greatly as the followers of these religions were perceived terrorists/extremists and were being victimized. The negative portrayal by media created negative image which may have negatively impacted the fair trial of Muslims and followers of other Eastern religions. Therefore an exploratory study is to be conduct to identify the problem which Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus faced in America after 9/11.

Also Read: Politics Dissertation Topics

Ethics and Religion Dissertation Topics

The notion of ethics in religion encompasses morality and various morality components to apply to modern life and daily situations. Morality and religion have gone hand in hand throughout history, and it has been observed that multiple moral conducts are justified with the notion of religious beliefs.

For researchers who wish to get a deeper understanding of this relationship, below is a list of topics that can be used for dissertation purposes.

Topic 26: Religious beliefs and morality are deeply entrenched within each other. Critically discuss.

Research Aim: The concept of morality is found in every religion. The concept of right and wrong given by religious beliefs and morality are alike. For instance, telling a lie is bad, while speaking the truth is good for both religions and moral values. In this study, the similarities between religious convictions and moral ethics are reviewed to determine whether religious convictions and moral ethics are intertwined.

Topic 27: Military Action: Ethical justification through religion.

Research Aim: When military action is to be taken against a militant group or terrorists, it would be ethically right to do so in self-defence and protect innocent human lives. Because of this, different religions’ ethical justification to justify military action will be critically reviewed in this study.

Topic 28: Ethical egoism and its relation with moral code.

Research Aim: Ethical egoism is a notion which states that people tend to behave morally only if the moral act would maximize their self-interest. However, a moral code is a set of rules that people follow to live a good life, determining their morals and actions. In this study, the relationship between ethical egoism and moral code will be empirically analyzed.

Topic 29: There is no moral code to justify Islamic Terrorism

Research Aim: Islam is a religion that prohibits killing innocent people, and killing of an innocent soul is regarded as killing the whole of humanity. In this study, the Islamic teachings and moral code will be critically analyzed to identify whether the Islamic moral code justifies the Terrorism done by Islam’s followers.

Topic 30: How is morality entrenched within the teachings of Islam?

Research Aim: Morality means the sense of right and wrong or good or bad behaviour. It is claimed that Islam is a religion that is based on goodness, righteousness and teaches to do good in society and be good with everyone. The Islamic teachings will be critically reviewed in this study to determine how it is entrenched with morality.

Topic 31: Human rights and the ethical dichotomy of religious beliefs.

Research Aim: Human rights are based on all human beings’ equality. However, religious beliefs tend to show ethical dichotomy because it divides people’s rights based on believers and non-believers or piety, where the believers or pious people like religious leaders tend to have more rights than the non-believers or followers. This study is important to identify how religious ethics contradiction with human rights.

Topic 32: Situational ethics through religion. Discuss critically the impact of situational ethics in a multi ethnic community.

Research Aim: When an act in a particular context or situation is judged following a religion’s ethical standards, instead of by the usual morality standards, it is referred to as situational ethics through faith. It can be argued, and if everyone starts justifying their unethical acts with situational ethics in a multi-ethnic community, they will be going against usual standards of morality. This research aims to identify the impact of situational ethics through religion on a multi-ethnic community and how it can create chaos and injustice in society.

Religion and Philosophy Dissertation Topics

Religion and philosophy have been going hand in hand throughout history. Philosophy has been used to justify and question God’s supreme power and the fundamentals of religious faith.

The basic premise of philosophy and its application to religion is based on trying to ascertain the existence of religion as a possibility. You can find a topic that interests you from the list of religion and philosophy dissertation topics below.

Topic 33: Relationship between existence of life and existence of God. Critically discuss with examples.

Research Aim: When a small object like a clock can never be made on its own unless someone creates it, then how it is possible that such a big and complex world and life can be created on its own without a creator. Because of this notion, in this research, God’s existence is critically analyzed based on its relationship with the existence of life.

Topic 34: If there is a God, who was he created by? An in-depth analysis based on fundamental religious beliefs

Research Aim: Based on the argument that nothing can be created on its own and there must be a creator for everything, this idea gives rise to a question that if God exists, then who created God. This question will be critically analyzed by reviewing the fundamental religious beliefs found in the religious literature of various religions.

Topic 35: Christianity is actually Paulism: A Critical Review

Research Aim: It is argued that today’s Christianity is not what Jesus Christ taught, but it is the beliefs and doctrines developed based on what Saint Paul wrote and taught about Christ and Christianity. Saint Paul wrote the thirteen books of the New Testament, and scholars believe that Paul’s teachings greatly deviated from the actual teachings of Jesus Christ. In this study, Paul and the contribution of Saint Paul in developing today’s Christianity will be critically reviewed to evaluate the argument.

Topic 36: Life after death and accountability is a necessity to remedy the injustice done in the world.

Research Aim: In this world, many of the times, the wrongdoers get away from punishment and justice is not provided to the innocent victims. Therefore it is essential that in the hereafter, people can be answerable for their good or bad deeds where they cannot get away after doing injustice, and the victims can be compensated. In this research, the justification for life after death is reviewed in line with the world’s injustice.

Topic 37: God is known to be an all loving, all-encompassing being. How can the evil in the world be justified in the face of an omnipotent God?

Research Aim: It is argued that when God is all-loving, and he is present everywhere, how so much evil, violence, and injustice may be possible in his presence, so much evil violence and injustice is possible taking place in the world. Given this statement, this research aims to justify the existence of evil in the world.

Topic 38: If God cannot be seen then it does not prove that he does not exist.

Research Aim: few things in the world cannot be seen or measured, but they exist, such as pain or magic. Based on this notion, it can be argued that it is not sufficient to deny God’s existence if we cannot see him. This research focuses on determining why it is not enough to disprove God’s presence only because he cannot be seen.

Topic 39: God is only a figments of a believer’s imagination. Discuss.

Research Aim: In different religions, God’s idea and characteristics are different. Some worship idols, some worship animals and supernatural beings, while others worship non-living objects like the moon, stars, sun, trees, and fire. Therefore in this research, God as an invention by the imagination of believers will be critically discussed.

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Architecture and Religion: Built Heritage Dissertation Topics

Architecture has played an essential role within the religious communities since it provides a tangible component of the community’s belief in substantiating their religious faith.

To understand the true essence of an architectural building within the religious faith, it is essential to look beyond the buildings’ structural aesthetics and understand the deeper engraved intangible value of religious faith that drives the community. Below is a list of topics that might be interesting for architecture and religion-based dissertation.

Topic 40: Architectural buildings such as churches and mosques have great religious significance. Discuss.

Research Aim: Religious architectural buildings like the synagogue, cathedral, church, shrine, temple, and mosques carry unique religious importance because it symbolizes religious history, culture, give exalted appeal and have a great influence on the religious community. In this research, architectural buildings’ religious importance, namely, synagogue, cathedral, church, shrine, temple, and mosques, will be discussed to identify their religious followers’ respective significance.

Topic 41: What are the components of a Church?

Research Aim: A church is a structure used by Christians to carry out their religious activities and worship. Traditionally, its interior is built in the Christian cross’s shape, and its components included; center aisle, alter, bema, and seats. However, the church building may also have a courtyard, apse, and mausoleum. The modern church buildings may have different structures and components. Therefore in this study, the traditional and modern church buildings are compared and contrasted to identify the mandatory components of a Christian Church.

Topic 42: Without religious buildings to substantiate faith, followers would lose their religion. Discuss.

Research Aim: Religious buildings like churches, temples, and mosques are the holy places where religious followers can worship, practise their faiths, and socialize with their fellow believers to substantiate their beliefs. This research aims to discuss whether, in the absence of religious buildings where followers can affirm their faiths, there are chances that they would lose their religion.

Topic 43: How far would you agree with the belief that divine presence can only be felt within religious architectural spaces?

Research Aim: The religious buildings are believed to have a divine presence, and people tend to go to such places so that they can feel that divine presence. Given this, it can be argued that a true believer may not necessarily need to visit a religious building to feel the divine presence. Therefore an exploratory study will be conducted to determine whether it is necessary to visit religious architectural spaces to feel the divine presence.

Topic 44: Demolishing a building that is fundamental to a religious belief is tantamount to disgracing the divine God. Discuss.

Research Aim: Destroying a religious building with significant importance to a religious belief would be equal to disrespecting the divine God and religion. The believers of that religion would not tolerate if their religious building is demolished, and they can react violently and create havoc. Therefore, in this study, what a religious building’s demolition would mean for their religious followers will be evaluated by conducting an in-depth analysis.

Topic 45: What is the purpose of religious architectural buildings? Discuss with a comparative analysis of different religious faiths.

Research Aim: All religious architectural buildings serve one common purpose: to provide a place for the religious followers to worship, congregate, and practice religious activities. However, different religious architectural buildings may also serve different or additional purposes. This study aims to conduct a comparative study between different religions to determine whether all religious architectural buildings serve the same purpose.

Topic 46: An expensive religious building does not encompass the basic human right of equality amongst all mankind. Discuss.

Research Aim: In today’s world where millions of people live below the poverty line, constructing an expensive religious building seems to contradict the notion of equality amongst all humankind and basic human rights. However, it can be argued that the poor people who do not have access to luxuries can avail comfort by visiting the expensive religious building. Therefore it is necessary to determine whether expensive religious buildings give all humankind equality and are in line with human rights. Get Free Custom Dissertation Topic .

Politics and Religion: Dissertation Topics

The study of religion and politics aims to draw an interconnecting relationship between the two subject areas and analyze their impact upon each other’s application. Below is a list of topics that may help aim to research the relationship between  Politics and Religion .

Topic 47: There needs to be clear distinction between political views and religious beliefs. Discuss.

Research Aim: As per secularist ideology, politics and religion are two different aspects and therefore should be clearly separated. However, religious doctrines tend to suggest that politics and religious beliefs go hand in hand. Given this argument, the present study adopts exploratory research to determine whether there must be a clear distinction between political views and religious beliefs.

Topic 48: Politics is used as a mask to cover up religious fanaticism. Critically analyse.

Research Aim: Politics include various activities which are used to govern a country. In a country where the governance is controlled or influenced by religious leaders or religious parties, religious fanaticism may be accepted and cultivated under political authority. In this research, the relationship between politics and religious fanaticism is critically analyzed to identify whether politics is used as a cover to foster religious fanaticism.

Topic 49: The fading association between religion and politics in a secular state.

Research Aim: secularism is a belief which segregates politics and state from religious affairs. Based on this notion, it can be argued that people tend to disassociate religion from worldly affairs in a secular state. Therefore the affiliation between religion and politics has been diminishing. In this study, the relationship between religion and politics is to be determined in a secular state to evaluate the extent to which religion is disassociated from politics.

Topic 50: Should religious leaders be equipped with some form of political or legal authority

Research Aim: Religious leaders have a great degree of power and influence over their religious communities, and their followers tend to obey their orders without questioning them. This shows that religious leaders can even use their position and religious authority to direct their followers wherever they want. Therefore this study focuses to critically analyze whether it would be correct to give religious leaders any political or legal authority.

Topic 51: The only reasons politicians bow to religious authority is to gain popularity. Critically analyse.

Research Aim: In countries where religious leaders have great influence and control over many people, the politicians sometimes join hands with religious leaders to win elections by gaining support from their religious followers. However, the politicians’ collation with the religious leaders may not necessarily mean that they bow down to the religious leaders. Still, it is a diplomatic step to gain their own political authority.

Topic 52: How has the religion Islam succumbed under political pressures? Critically analyse.

Research Aim: In the post 9/11 world, the religion Islam came under immense political pressure. The political activism by Islamic organizations and religious parties has been restricted to moderate the religion of Islam. In this research, a critical analysis is to be conducted to determine whether religion Islam surrendered under political pressures.

Topic 53: The role of Hindu extremists and politicians in Indian society.

Research Aim: In India, the Hindu extremist party RSS played a significant role in rising Hindu Nationalism in Indian politics. Since its independence, India has been identified as a secular state. Still, under the Hindu Nationalist party’s new rule, the Indian political landscape has been altered, and Hinduism dominance is forcefully implemented in Indian society. Given this, the present study aims to evaluate what impact the Hindu extremists and Hindu Nationalist politicians would have on Indian culture in terms of violence and injustice towards low-caste people and Muslims living in India.

Important Notes:

As a student of religion, philosophy and theology looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment on existing religion, philosophy and theology theories – i.e., to add value and interest in your research topic.

The field of religion, philosophy and theology is vast and interrelated to many other academic disciplines like  civil engineering ,  construction ,  law , and even  healthcare . That is why it is imperative to create a religion, philosophy and theology dissertation topic that is articular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic; it is based on your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic credit-ability, the research may not make logical sense, there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in  writing your dissertation  as you may end up in the cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

Keeping our advice in mind while developing a research topic will allow you to pick one of the best religion, philosophy, and theology dissertation topics that fulfill your requirement of writing a research paper and adds to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalizing your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample religion, philosophy and theology dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure your Dissertation

A well-structured   dissertation can help students   to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of  the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review :  This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analyzing published and unpublished literature on the chosen research topic to address  research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths while identifying any research gaps. Break down the topic and key terms that can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology: The  data collection  and  analysis  methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes  research design,  research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods and  data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis: Findings of the research are analyzed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include  graphs ,  charts  and  tables  in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and  Conclusion:  The researcher presents his interpretation of the results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is establishing the link between the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regards to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References:  Make sure to complete this following your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices: Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to  complete the dissertation  but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

About ResearchProspect Ltd

ResearchProspect is a  UK based academic writing service  which provides help with  Dissertation Proposal Writing ,  Ph.D. Proposal Writing ,  Dissertation Writing ,  Dissertation Editing and Improvement .

Our team of writers  is highly qualified and are experts in their respective fields. They have been working for us for a long time. Thus, they are well aware of the issues and the trends of the subject they specialize in. 

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Dissertations corrigés de philosophie pour le lycée

Catégorie : La religion

La religion, une force culturelle et spirituelle omniprésente dans l’histoire de l’humanité, soulève des questions complexes sur la croyance, la foi et la signification de l’existence. Elle nous amène à explorer la diversité des traditions religieuses, les liens entre la religion et la morale, et les tensions entre la foi et la raison. L’examen de la religion ouvre la voie à des réflexions profondes sur le sens de la vie et de la transcendance.

A quoi tient la force des religions ?

La force des religions suscite de nombreuses interrogations philosophiques. L’objectif de cette dissertation sera de comprendre à quoi tient cette puissance. Nous analyserons ainsi les fondements, les mécanismes et les influences des croyances religieuses dans notre société.

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• La religion

L’homme a-t-il nécessairement besoin de religion ?

La dissertation philosophique sur le besoin inhérent de l’homme pour la religion soulève des questions profondes sur la nature humaine, la spiritualité et la morale. Cette question invite à une analyse critique des dimensions sociologiques, psychologiques et philosophiques de la religion.

La religion est-elle contraire à la raison ?

La question de la compatibilité entre la religion et la raison a longtemps divisé les penseurs. Cette dissertation philosophique vise à explorer cette problématique complexe, en analysant les arguments pour et contre l’idée que la religion est contraire à la raison.

Est-il déraisonnable de croire en Dieu ?

La question de la croyance en Dieu a toujours suscité de vifs débats philosophiques. Est-il déraisonnable de croire en Dieu ? Cette dissertation explorera les arguments pour et contre la rationalité de la foi religieuse.

Croire, est-ce renoncer à la raison ?

La dissertation philosophique qui suit explore la relation complexe entre la foi et la raison. Elle se penche sur la question controversée : « Croire, est-ce renoncer à la raison ? » et tente de déterminer si ces deux concepts sont mutuellement exclusifs ou peuvent coexister harmonieusement.

Religious Studies PHD (Thesis)

  A Sample Plan represents one way to complete a program of study. Actual course selection and sequence will vary and should be discussed with your academic advisor(s).

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La religion - dissertations de philosophie

• A quoi sert la religion ?
• Croire, est-ce renoncer à savoir ?
• Doit-on considérer la religion comme l'ennemie de la raison ?
• Entre croire et savoir, faut-il choisir ?
• Est-ce faiblesse que de croire ?
• Faut-il aimer son prochain ?
• La foi religieuse exclut-elle tout recours à la raison ?
• La peur gouverne t-elle nos croyances ?
• La raison doit-elle combattre les croyances ?
• La raison peut-elle remplacer la religion ?
• La raison s'oppose t-elle à toutes formes de croyance ?
• La religion et la liberté s’excluent-elles ?
• La religion n'a-t-elle de fonction que sociale ?
• La religion n'est-elle qu'une consolation infantilisante ?
• La religion nourrit-elle l’amour ?

Trump loyalist pushes ‘post-Constitutional’ vision for second term

Russ Vought, the former president’s budget director, is laying the groundwork for a broad expansion of presidential powers.

A battle-tested D.C. bureaucrat and self-described Christian nationalist is drawing up detailed plans for a sweeping expansion of presidential power in a second Trump administration. Russ Vought, who served as the former president’s budget chief, calls his political strategy for razing long-standing guardrails “radical constitutionalism.”

He has helped craft proposals for Donald Trump to deploy the military to quash civil unrest, seize more control over the Justice Department and assert the power to withhold congressional appropriations — and that’s just on Trump’s first day back in office.

Vought, 48, is poised to steer this agenda from an influential perch in the White House, potentially as Trump’s chief of staff, according to some people involved in discussions about a second term who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

Since Trump left office, Vought has led the Center for Renewing America, part of a network of conservative advocacy groups staffed by former and potentially future Trump administration officials. Vought’s rise is a reminder that if Trump is reelected, he has said he will surround himself with loyalists eager to carry out his wishes, even if they violate traditional norms against executive overreach.

“We are living in a post-Constitutional time,” Vought wrote in a seminal 2022 essay , which argued that the left has corrupted the nation’s laws and institutions. Last week, after a jury convicted Trump of falsifying business records, Vought tweeted : “Do not tell me that we are living under the Constitution.”

Vought aims to harness what he calls the “woke and weaponized” bureaucracy that stymied the former president by stocking federal agencies with hardcore disciples who would wage culture wars on abortion and immigration. The proposals championed by Vought and other Trump allies to fundamentally reset the balance of power would represent a historic shift — one they see as a needed corrective.

“The president has to be able to drive the bureaucracy instead of being trapped by it,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who led the GOP’s 1994 takeover of Congress.

Vought did not respond to interview requests and a detailed list of questions from The Washington Post. This account of his plans for Trump’s potential first day back in office and the rest of a second term comes from interviews with people involved in the planning, a review of Vought’s public remarks and writings, and Center for Renewing America correspondence obtained by The Post.

The Trump campaign has distanced itself from the extensive planning. Campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a statement, “Unless a message is coming directly from President Trump or an authorized member of his campaign team, no aspect of future presidential staffing or policy announcements should be deemed official.”

But in a sign of Vought’s status as a key adviser, Trump and the Republican National Committee last month named him policy director for the 2024 platform committee — giving him a chance to push a party that did not adopt a platform in 2020 further to the right. Trump personally blessed Vought’s agenda at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for his group and said Vought would “do a great job in continuing our quest to make America great again.”

Some of Vought’s recommendations, such as bucking the Justice Department’s tradition of political independence, have long percolated in the conservative movement. But he is taking a harder line — and seeking to empower a presidential nominee who has openly vowed “ retribution ,” alarming some fellow conservatives who recall fighting against big government alongside Vought long before Trump’s election.

“I am concerned that he is willing to embrace an ends-justify-the-means mentality,” said Marc Short, formerly chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence , who has said he won’t endorse Trump. Vought, Short added, is embracing “tactics of growing government and using the levers of power in the federal bureaucracy to fight our political opponents.”

Vought’s long career as a staffer in Congress and at federal agencies has made him an asset to Project 2025, an initiative led by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, to lay the groundwork for a second Trump term. Vought wrote the chapter on the executive office of the president in Project 2025’s 920-page blueprint , and he is developing its playbook for the first 180 days, according to the people involved in the effort.

“We’re going to plant the flags now,” Vought told Trump’s former strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, on his far-right podcast. “It becomes a new governing consensus of the Republican Party.”

From fiscal hawk to MAGA warrior

Vought was raised in Trumbull, Conn., the son of an electrician and a teacher and the youngest of seven children. Brought up in what he has characterized as a “very strong, Bible-preaching, Bible-teaching church,” he attended Christian camps every summer. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian school in Illinois, and headed to Capitol Hill near the end of the Clinton administration.

Vought mastered the federal budget working for fiscal conservatives, including Sen. Phil Gramm and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, both Texas Republicans, while getting his law degree from George Washington University.

Years before the Freedom Caucus enforced right-wing ideology on Capitol Hill, Vought was the bomb-throwing executive director of the conservative House Republican Study Committee. His prime targets: big government and entitlement spending. He worked under Pence, then a congressman, who called him “one of the strongest advocates for the principles that guide us” in 2010.

That year, as the populist tea party movement was surging, Vought joined the Heritage Foundation’s new lobbying arm. From a Capitol Hill townhouse dubbed the “frat house,” Vought and his other brash, young male colleagues tormented Republican leaders by grading their fealty to fiscal conservatism.

“Russ was determined to make our scorecard tougher than others out there,” said Republican strategist Tim Chapman, who worked closely with Vought at Heritage Action. “He wanted to separate the wheat from the chaff.”

Joining the Trump transition allowed Vought to put his principles to paper. Later, Pence cast the tiebreaking vote for his confirmation in 2018 as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought ascended to the top post in 2019.

But instead of slashing spending as Vought and other budget officials recommended, Trump resisted significant reductions to domestic programs and backed trillions in emergency pandemic assistance. The national debt ballooned by more than $8 trillion.

Vought blamed Congress. And he stood by Trump throughout his tumultuous presidency, as a procession of other Cabinet officials balked at breaching what they viewed as ethical and legal boundaries. “A bunch of people around him who were constantly sitting on eggs and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s getting me to violate the law,’” was how Vought later described them at a Heritage Foundation event.

By contrast, Vought found workarounds to fulfill the president’s ambitions that tested legal limits and his own record opposing executive overreach and deficit spending.

When Congress blocked additional funding for Trump’s border wall, the budget office in early 2020 redirected billions of dollars from the Pentagon to what became one of the most expensive federal infrastructure projects in U.S. history. And it was Vought’s office that held up military aid to Ukraine as Trump pressed the government to dig up dirt on Joe Biden , prompting the president’s first impeachment. Vought defied a congressional subpoena during the impeachment inquiry , which he mocked as a “#shamprocess.” The Government Accountability Office concluded that his office broke the law, a claim Vought disputed.

Near the end of Trump’s presidency, Vought helped launch his biggest broadside at the “deep state” — an order to strip the civil service protections of up to tens of thousands of federal employees. The administration did not have time to fully implement the order.

After the 2020 election, as Trump refused to concede, Biden officials complained that Vought was impeding the transition. Vought rejected that accusation — but wrote that his office would not “dismantle this Administration’s work.” He was already planning ahead; bylaws for what would become the Center for Renewing America were adopted on the day of Biden’s inauguration, records show.

“There’s a marriage of convenience between Russ and Trump,” said Chapman, senior adviser at Pence’s group, Advancing American Freedom. “Russ has been pursuing an ideological agenda for a long time and views Trump’s second term as the best way to achieve it, while Trump needs people in his second term who are loyal and committed and adept at using the tools of the federal government.”

Radical constitutionalism

Since Biden took office, Vought has turned the Center for Renewing America into a hub of Trump loyalists, including Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer later charged in Georgia with trying to overturn Biden’s victory in 2020. Vought called Clark, who has pleaded not guilty, “a patriot who risked his career to help expose voter fraud.”

“I think the election was stolen,” Vought said in a 2022 interview with Trump activists Diamond and Silk. He is no longer in touch with Pence, his longtime patron, who has said Trump’s efforts to overturn the vote disqualified him from serving as president again, according to people familiar with the relationship who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive topic.

The Center for Renewing America is among several pro-Trump groups incubated by the Conservative Partnership Institute, founded in 2017 by former senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). The center, a tax-exempt group that is not required to publicly disclose its donors, raised $4.75 million in 2023, according to its annual report.

As Vought and other Trump allies work on blueprints for a second term, he is pushing a strategy he calls “radical constitutionalism.” The left has discarded the Constitution, Vought argues, so conservatives need to rise up, wrest power from the federal bureaucracy and centralize authority in the Oval Office.

“Our need is not just to win congressional majorities that blame the other side or fill seats on court benches to meddle at the margins,” he wrote in the 2022 essay. “It is to cast ourselves as dissidents of the current regime and to put on our shoulders the full weight of envisioning, articulating, and defending what a Radical Constitutionalism requires in the late hour that our country finds itself in, and then to do it.”

In practice, that could mean reinterpreting parts of the Constitution to achieve policy goals — such as by defining illegal immigration as an “invasion,” which would allow states to use wartime powers to stop it.

“We showed that millions of illegal aliens coming across, and Mexican cartels holding operational control of the border, constitute an invasion,” Vought wrote. “This is where we need to be radical in discarding or rethinking the legal paradigms that have confined our ability to return to the original Constitution.”

Vought also embraces Christian nationalism, a hard-right movement that seeks to infuse Christianity into all aspects of society, including government. He penned a 2021 Newsweek essay that disputed allegations of bias and asked, “Is There Anything Actually Wrong With ‘Christian Nationalism?’” He argued for “an institutional separation between church and state, but not the separation of Christianity from its influence on government and society.”

Looking at immigration through that lens, Vought has called for “mass deportation” of illegal immigrants and a “Christian immigration ethic” that would strictly limit the types of people allowed entry into the United States. At a 2023 conference organized by Christian and right-wing groups, he questioned whether legal immigration is “healthy” because, in a politically polarized climate, “immigration only increases and exasperates the divisions that we face in the country.”

In a podcast interview last year, Vought said it’s appropriate to question whether immigrants “have any sense of the Judeo-Christian worldview that this country was founded on,” adding, “And that doesn’t mean we don’t give religious liberty, but it does mean — are they wanting to come here and assimilate?”

Vought’s views amount to a kind of Anglo-Protestant cultural supremacism, said Paul D. Miller, a Georgetown University professor who published a book critiquing Christian nationalism.

“The Civil War taught us that America is big and broad and strong enough to include non-Christians and non-Whites,” Miller wrote in an email to The Post. “It also should have taught us that the greatest threat to the American vision are racial and religious supremacists.”

Planning for 2025

Vought’s playbook for Trump’s first 180 days, the final phase of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, has not been publicly released. But a review of his proposals so far suggests that a second Trump term could breach even more political norms than the first.

Vought argues that protocols intended to shield criminal cases from political influence, which were adopted in the wake of the Watergate scandal, have allowed unelected prosecutors to abuse their power. Even as Trump vows to “go after” Biden and his family without providing clear evidence of alleged crimes, Vought wants to gut the FBI and give the president more oversight over the Justice Department.

“Department of Justice is not an independent agency,” he said at a Heritage Foundation event last year. “If anyone brings it up in a policy meeting in the White House, I want them out of the meeting.”

Echoing Trump, Vought supports prosecuting officials who investigated the president and his allies. “It can’t just be hearings,” he told right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on his podcast. “It has to be investigations, an army of investigators that lead to firm convictions.”

Vought favors boosting White House control over other federal agencies that operate somewhat independently, such as the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces consumer protection laws, and the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates television and internet companies. Trump’s never-implemented order from his first term making it easier to fire government employees would allow the White House to excise policymakers who resist the will of the elected chief executive.

“It really concerns me, and I know it concerns Russ, that these agencies have turned on the very people they are supposed to serve,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who led a House panel that Vought pushed for on the alleged “weaponization” of government.

Vought also recommends reviving presidential “impoundment” power to withhold funding appropriated by Congress; the practice was outlawed after President Richard M. Nixon left office, but Vought calls that move “unconstitutional.” And he supports invoking the Insurrection Act, a law last updated in 1871 that allows the president to deploy the military for domestic law enforcement.

On abortion policy, Vought calls for Congress to outlaw the drugs used in medical abortions — a hard-line stance at odds with some Republicans, who are sidestepping an issue that has galvanized Democrats in recent elections.

“My personal story has fortified my beliefs,” Vought told antiabortion activists in 2020, describing how his younger daughter, now 10 years old, was born with cystic fibrosis. The chronic illness can cause severe digestive and breathing problems and require intense, daily treatment; patients’ average life span is 37 years, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Vought said in that speech that 87 percent of fetuses diagnosed with the disease are “tragically aborted” — though the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the ACOG and other health organizations told The Post they were not aware of any research of that nature.

Vought proposes in his Project 2025 chapter a new special assistant to the president to ensure “implementation of policies related to the promotion of life and family.” To Vought, that means curbing abortion — and boosting the birthrate. “The families of the West are not having enough babies for their societies to endure,” he wrote in a Center for Renewing America policy paper.

When Trump said this spring that abortion limits should be left to the states and was silent on a national ban, disappointing some antiabortion leaders, Vought urged them not to lose faith. “Trust the man who delivered the end of Roe when all the other pro life politicians could not,” he said .

Even fellow critics of the federal bureaucracy said some of Vought’s proposals would face legal challenges and other hurdles. Michael Glennon, a Tufts University constitutional law professor who wrote a book that Vought cites as a formative critique, said in an interview that the framers were wary of concentrating too much power in the presidency.

“If conservatives trash long-held political norms to move against liberals, what will protect them when liberals retake power?” Glennon asked.

Bannon, the former Trump strategist ordered this week to serve a four-month prison term for contempt of Congress, touted Vought and his colleagues as “madmen” ready to upend the U.S. government at a recent Center for Renewing America event.

“No institution set up within its first two years [has] had the impact of this organization,” Bannon said. “We’re going to rip and shred the federal government apart, and if you don’t like it, you can lump it.”

Caroline Kitchener, Aaron Schaffer and Jeff Stein contributed to this report.

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House Democrats step up to try to stop Project 2025 plans for a Trump White House

FILE - Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., speaks as the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure works to advance the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 18, 2022. A group of House Democrats is warning about the far-right Project 2025 agenda for a Trump White House. The Stop Project 2025 Task Force is announced by Huffman. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Warning about the far-right Project 2025 agenda for a Donald Trump White House, a group of House Democrats has launched a task force to start fighting the proposal and stop it from taking hold if the Republican former president returns to power.

Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California is unveiling The Stop Project 2025 Task Force on Tuesday, the latest sign that congressional Democrats and outside groups are treating Trump’s campaign seriously in the expected rematch against Democratic President Joe Biden this fall.

“The stakes just couldn’t be higher,” Huffman told The Associated Press.

Huffman said the Project 2025 agenda will hit “like a Blitzkrieg” and lawmakers need to be ready.

“If we’re trying to react to it and understand it in real time, it’s too late,” he said. “We need to see it coming well in advance and prepare ourselves accordingly.”

The Democratic-led task force comes as groups on and off Capitol Hill are increasingly alarmed over Project 2025, a sweeping blueprint from the conservative Heritage Foundation that is preparing to quickly help staff a new GOP administration with plans for dismantling aspects of the federal government and installing loyalists for a second Trump term.

Kevin Roberts, the president of The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America, scoffed at the “unserious” effort and said the left is “in a frenzy” as Project 2025 tries to wrest control of the federal bureaucracy.

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“Project 2025 will not be ‘stopped,’” Roberts said in a statement. He said the Democrats fighting Project 2025 are “more than welcome to try. We will not give up and we will win.”

While the Trump campaign has repeatedly said that outside groups do not speak for the former president, Project 2025’s 1,000-page proposal was drafted with input from a long list of former Trump administration officials who are poised to fill the top ranks of a potential new administration.

Core to the Project 2025 plan is ousting thousands of civil servants and replacing them with personnel from a database of applicants, an effort to reverse the setbacks of Trump’s first term, when many of his more extreme ideas were thwarted and blocked by those refusing to break norms or overextend presidential powers.

Huffman’s group is the latest to take on the Project 2025 proposal and plans for a Trump White House.

Last week, one of the nation’s leading civil rights organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union, announced it was preparing potential legal action to stop Trump’s campaign promise to launch mass deportations of immigrants on the first day of his presidency if elected. It’s the first of several memos the ACLU is rolling out, offering a blueprint on how it plans to respond to a second Trump or Biden term.

And others are detailing alleged threats to democracy if Trump’s attacks on the judicial system , plans to pardon those convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and threats of vengeance on political enemies take hold.

Huffman’s group is made up of about a half-dozen House Democratic lawmakers in a loose coalition separate from party leadership. It plans to begin briefing fellow lawmakers about Project 2025, hold a forum on Capitol Hill and inform voters about its ideas.

The group hopes to provide a hub of information for lawmakers, voters and organizations about various policy proposals, including immigration, reproductive rights and others.

As a founder of the Freethought Caucus on Capitol Hill, Huffman said he has particularly been alarmed about a rise of Christian nationalism within GOP ranks and efforts to push more conservative theology into government.

“We were able to beat back some of the worst of this Christian nationalist agenda, this authoritarian agenda, in the first Trump presidency, because they didn’t really know what they were doing,” Huffman said. “The fact that they have been putting all of this forethought and research and planning into a second Trump presidency means we’ll be dealing with a much more formidable foe, if it comes to that this time around.”

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024 .

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Committee on the Study of Religion

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Year 4: Dissertation Prospectus

The prospectus is a proposal formulated by the student about the intended doctoral dissertation. Within, at most, twelve months of passing generals,the student is expected to submit a the prospectus. Acceptance of the prospectus by the Standing Committee constitutes a kind of contract by which the full Committee agrees that if the student completes a successful dissertation that is in accord with, or a reasonable development from, what the prospectus delineates, it will recommend the degree.

It is the responsibility of the student to formulate, with as much advice and consultation as appropriate, a signifcant and worthwhile dissertation project that others will recognize as a solid contribution both to the chosen subfield and to the study of religion more generally. Each dissertation, in making a contribution to knowledge, should also illuminate our understanding of religion.

The student must choose a member of the Harvard faculty to supervise the prospectus and two or three additional faculty members to serve on the prospectus committee. The supervisor will most likely, but not necessarily, be the advisor who has been overseeing the student’s program to that point.

The prospectus is written for The Standing Committee on the Study of Religion as a whole, to whom it must be intelligible and cogent. Most Committee members will not be experts in the student's particular specialty. It should be no more than 3000 words double-spaced, excluding bibliography and notes. It is to be submitted electronically to the Program Administrator 2 weeks in advance of the Standing Committee meeting at which it will be considered.

The CSR will accept prospectuses at all of its meetings up to and including the April meeting. If a larger number of prospectuses is received at the April meeting, some may be tabled and discussed at the May CSR meeting. NO NEW PROSPECTUSES WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR THE MAY MEETING.

Advisor Responsibilities

Advisors are expected to be involved actively in the development of the prospectus—especially with regard to its scope and purpose—and to guide the student through early drafts.

When the prospectus is ready to be submitted to the Standing Committee, the student’s advisor should confirm that all of the formal guidelines for the prospectus have been met, by signing the "Prospectus Checklist", which is attached. If the student's advisor will not be able to attend the Standing Committee meeting in which the prospectus is being discussed, he or she should write a covering letter to the Chair of the Committee, indicating an evaluation of the project and a willingness to supervise the work. This letter also proposes two or three faculty members, in addition to the advisor, to serve as members of a prospectus committee. While the majority of the prospectus committee will be scholars in the  student's particular specialty, others outside his or her field might be included as well. The advisor should ascertain that these other scholars have read the draft of the prospectus, and be prepared to represent their views at the Standing Committee meeting.

Standing Committee Responsibilities

The Director of Graduate Studies or other appropriate faculty meets with doctoral students at the beginning of each academic year to discuss the prospectus process in detail.

There will also be a discussion of the entire prospectus process among faculty at the beginning of each academic year in a CSR meeting. This discussion will review the ethos and culture of the process, including the responsibility of all CSR faculty to read each prospectus carefully in advance, with the larger expectation that all theses address issues in the Study of Religion. CSR members should alert the advisor to any substantive concerns one week in advance of the meeting. The advisor may suggest changes with the student before the prospectus comes before the committee. Although it is rarely necessary, the student may opt to withdraw the draft for later submission. It is important that these professors have read the draft and conveyed their thoughts to the student and main advisor before it is submitted to the CSR.

Once the prospectus is submitted it will be considered, along with comments of the advisor, by the Standing Committee at its earliest scheduled meeting. When the CSR approves the prospectus, it also approves the thesis committee, on occasion making recommendations for additions or adjustments. In every case, the advisor is a member of the prospectus committee.

Please note that additional substantive questions may be raised during the discussion of the prospectus at the CSR meeting; there is no obligation on the part of the Standing Committee to pass a prospectus. If a prospectus is turned back to the student for revisions, it will be resubmitted to the doctoral subcommittee for approval, including approval of the dissertation committee.

Once the Standing Committee approves a prospectus, it will then refer it to the prospectus committee who will meet with the student to discuss the project in depth. Normally this is a two-hour meeting. The prospectus committee then reports back to the Standing Committee, recommending final approval of the proposal. In some cases the prospectus committee may indicate that it has asked the student to make some revisions and that it will delay its formal recommendation until they have been received. The prospectus committee, once its recommendation has been approved by the Standing Committee, is disbanded.

Drafting a Dissertation Prospectus

The purpose of a prospectus is to enable students: (1) to clarify what they conceive to be the nature and significance of their prospective dissertation work, and (2) to receive constructive criticism, advice and approval from both the full Committee on the Study of Religion and members of a prospectus committee. Formulating a prospectus for the faculty represents a significant stage in the course of dissertation work, and its importance should not be underestimated. Not only does it allow students to come to a fuller and more adequate understanding of their own project; it also enlists the active support of the faculty who are expected to provide significant advice and criticism at this crucial stage in its development.

While there are no well-established formulas or models for writing a prospectus, every prospectus should attend to the following issues:

Topic and thesis There is an important distinction between a topic and a thesis. A topic represents the issue which the dissertation addresses. A thesis constitutes the position which the student takes in relation to the topic; i.e., the central hypothesis which is to be examined. For example:

Topic: Barth’s theological method Thesis: Barth's theological method results from his interpretation of the Word of God as an act which is not subject to human manipulation.

In the prospectus, students should carefully circumscribe the topic of their dissertation, including historical and conceptual analyses of the topic (to the extent that such analyses clarify what the student takes to be at issue). The aim is not only to show how the dissertation will be done, but that the student is familiar enough with the topic that the project can be done and done within a reasonable timeframe. Students should be thinking about possible dissertation topics as they prepare for General exams, with the hope that the exam process will move easily into the writing of the prospectus.

Sources, Method, and Theory The prospectus must also be clear about the sources upon which the dissertation will depend, the method/s the student will be using, and where appropriate, the theoretical resources that will be relevant to their work. In discussing method, it is especially important to attend to any special problems that might occur in the course of research and to note how these problems might be addressed.

Contribution to Scholarship Students should specify as carefully as they can what they consider to be the various ways their project will contribute to the field of study in which they work. Students will include a brief statement of the current status of their topic within their larger field of study, to indicate the various problems at issue, and to show how their project will advance the discussion. Prospectuses are reviewed by the full Standing Committee and the concern of that committee includes the extent to which dissertation work can be understood to contribute not only to particular fields of study but also to the broader study of religion, continuing the intellectual work begun in Religion 2001 and 2002. Students are encouraged to articulate the contribution of their research to a future horizon of the community concerned with the study of religion in connection to the received heritage of religious studies and on contemporary discussions and debates, as topic and thesis are formulated and developed and as the worth of the project for scholarship is stated.

Chapter Outline The prospectus must provide an outline of the chapter divisions and a brief description of how the argument will be developed from chapter to chapter.

Bibliography The prospectus must include a brief bibliography indicating the principal primary and secondary sources upon which the thesis is expected to be based - it need not be exhaustive, but representative.

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Civil liberties groups say new ’10 Commandments’ law is a violation of religious freedom

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LOUISIANA ( KLFY ) – Louisiana is the first state to require the 10 Commandments be posted in public schools. Governor Jeff Landry signed the bill into law here in Lafayette on Wednesday as part of his ‘Dream Big’ education plan.

“This bill mandates the display of the 10 Commandments in every classroom in public elementary, secondary, and post-education schools in the state of Louisiana,” the Governor said with the bill in his hands.

Surrounded by students, Governor Landry proudly signed the bill into law, describing it as one of his favorites in the education plan.

Civil liberties group, however, describe it as a breach of the constitution. Four groups, including the Americans United for Separation of Church and State , The American Civil Liberties Union , the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana , and Freedom from Religion Foundation are joining together, filing a lawsuit against the law.

“It’s an abhorrent violation of the religious freedom of every family in Louisiana,” Americans United for Separation of Church and State, or AU, President and CEO Rachel Laser told News 10.

Governor Landry discusses signing of education bills

It’s a freedom Laser says is granted by the First Amendment. Laser says it’s unconstitutional for Louisiana to turn public schools into Sunday schools. “I think it’s really important to remember, those of us who love religious freedom, those of us who love religious, shouldn’t want religion to integrate with the state,” she said.

She says this law coerces a specific religion on students and also subjects religion to government interference. Laser adds the biggest battle is against white Christian nationalists. “White Christian nationalism is rooted in the belief that America was created for European Christians and that our government should reflect this privilege. That’s exactly what we’re fighting with this type of a law today,” Laser told News 10.

Laser says Governor Landry is favoring one set of religious beliefs over any other, and that violates not just religious freedom, but the constitution’s promise of separation of church and state.

“The church and state separation is important for keeping our nation on track to be the country that it promised to be for all of us and not just some of us,” she added.

Governor Landry has said publicly he ‘can’t wait to be sued.’

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