A Case Study of the Maronite in San Antonio, Texas

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

A Case Study of the Maronite in San Antonio, Texas University of the Incarnate Word The Athenaeum Theses & Dissertations 5-2021 Belief and Belonging: A Case Study of the Maronite in San Antonio, Texas Rose Karam University of the Incarnate Word, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://athenaeum.uiw.edu/uiw_etds Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Organization Development Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, and the Sociology of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Karam, Rose, "Belief and Belonging: A Case Study of the Maronite in San Antonio, Texas" (2021). Theses & Dissertations. 384. https://athenaeum.uiw.edu/uiw_etds/384 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Athenaeum. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Athenaeum. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BELIEF AND BELONGING: A CASE STUDY OF THE MARONITES IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS by ROSE BASHARA KARAM A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the University of the Incarnate Word in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD May 2021 ii Copyright by Rose Bashara Karam 2021 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to begin this work with a brief statement of my place within this study. I identify as a third-generation Lebanese American Catholic. I am married to a second-generation Lebanese American Catholic. I was born in Austin to a Maronite Lebanese father and non- Lebanese mother. Although this study has participants from the San Antonio Maronite Church, I do not identify with any particular Maronite parish or its membership. The stories I will report are not my stories, and although my position might suggest otherwise, I do not speak for them. The experiences participants share are their own, and the analysis is based on their stories, not mine. As a Lebanese American, I feel the need to start a conversation on the value of this ethnic church and other similar churches that add to our multicultural society’s history and formation. I would like to thank my family for their continued support and encouragement. I would like to express appreciation to Dr. Alfredo Ortiz-Aragon, Dr. Scott Roberts, and Dr. Sharon Herbers for the valuable and supportive suggestions throughout the research process. And finally, I would like to thank the participants of this study for their contributions of time and the sharing their stories that made this study notable. To all those who have been alongside of me during this process I am deeply appreciative and thankful. Rose Bashara Karam iv DEDICATION To my parents Joseph and Myrtle Bashara My husband J. Raymond Karam And my children Myrtle, Frances, Martha, Elias and Kathleen Without their encouragement and support this work would not have been possible. v BELIEF AND BELONGING: A CASE STUDY OF THE MARONITES IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Rose Bashara Karam, PhD University of the Incarnate Word, 2021 This study focuses on a religious group in America and how it has managed to engage the third and fourth generations who have assimilated into the American cultural milieu while maintaining allegiance to the Church of Lebanon-the Maronite Catholic church. Most of these individuals in this study are the descendants of the early Lebanese Christian immigrants who arrived in America nearly a century ago. The first wave of these immigrants came at the turn of the 20th century as a result of religious persecution, economic stagnation, and regional discrimination against the Christians in Lebanon during the Ottoman regime. As a means of preserving their cherished religious beliefs in America, Maronite Catholic Churches established to provide both a place for spiritual worship and secular culture renewal for the Lebanese communities across America. The Maronite Church struggles with providing a place of prayer and renewal through the celebration of the Eucharist and with the image of being merely a secular institution of heritage. This study examines the relationship between the Maronite Church as an ethnic Eastern-rite Church and the identity formation and maintenance of Lebanese Americans affiliated with the Maronite Church in San Antonio, Texas. The study offers a greater understanding of the Maronite rite and its role in the Lebanese communities and adds to the body of knowledge in this field of study. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I: A STUDY OF THE MARONITE RITE AND ITS FOLLOWERS .........................2 Sociohistorical Background .................................................................................................3 Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................................11 Research Questions ............................................................................................................17 Methodology ......................................................................................................................17 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................20 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................................................23 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .......................................................................25 Contextual Background of the Lebanese Maronite ...........................................................26 Maronite Rite Sacred Identity ............................................................................................40 Maronite Rite Church Expansion .......................................................................................50 Ethnic Churches in the United States .................................................................................57 CHAPTER III: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .........................................................................67 Assimilation .......................................................................................................................69 Identity Development: Religious, Ethnic, And Social Identity .........................................79 Capacity and Sustainability ................................................................................................86 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................................................92 vii Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER IV: METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................................94 Research Design .................................................................................................................94 Constructivist Grounded Theory ........................................................................................99 Research Tools and Instruments ......................................................................................102 Data Analysis Process ......................................................................................................113 Ethical Considerations .....................................................................................................119 Validity and Trustworthiness ...........................................................................................120 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................................120 CHAPTER V: DATA ANALYSIS .............................................................................................122 Discussion of Data Analysis ............................................................................................122 Belonging: Elements of Social Identity ...........................................................................124 Believing: Elements of the Maronite Identity ..................................................................147 Becoming: Elements of the Process of Assimilation .......................................................161 Summary of Data Analysis ..............................................................................................172 CHAPTER VI: RESULTS AND SUMMARY ...........................................................................175 Findings Discussion .........................................................................................................176 Being: Ethnic Identity Development ...............................................................................180 Belonging: Social Identity ...............................................................................................190 Believing: Maronite Rite’s Identity Objective .................................................................200 Becoming: Elements of Internal/External Process of Adaptation ...................................211 Contextual and Affective Stimuli Model .........................................................................219 viii Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER VI: RESULTS AND SUMMARY Summary of Findings .......................................................................................................222 CHAPTER VII: SUSTAINABILITY DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..............224 Sustainability as Related to the Maronite Church ............................................................224
Recommended publications
  • Catholic Church Las Vegas Sunday of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth
    Saint Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church Las Vegas Sunday of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth St. Sharbel Pray for us! December 2019 Index Page Church Events 1 Visitation of Mary 2 News from our Leaders 3 Church Events 4 Beautiful Faces & Places 5 The Epiphany of God & Man 6 A Maronite Christmas 7 Miracles of Saint Sharbel 8 Community Life Announcements 9 Filipino News 10 10325 RANCHO Our Services HOLY MASSES Christmas Party flyer 11 DESTINO RD. DAILY: Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. English Holy Mass Intentions 12 LAS VEGAS NV SATURDAY VIGIL: 4:30 p.m. English 89183 SUNDAY: 9:30 a.m. English PHONE: & 11:30 AM Arabic/Aramaic/English 702-616-6902 1st Sunday : 4:30pm FAX: Rosario y la Misa en Español 702-616-4032. 2nd Sunday: 4:30 pm stsharbel.lv@ Rosary & Tagalog Mass gmail.com Sunday Catechism @ 8 am www.stsharbellasv (Classes are Sept – May) st To Keep a Lamp Burning we have to egas.org 1 SUNDAY 9:30 a.m. & 11:30am Keep Putting Oil in it. Mother Theresa Youth Mass December 2019 Page 2 Sunday of the Visitation of The Blessed Virgin Mary to Blessed Elizabeth “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47) Mary wanted to share her joy with her cousin Elizabeth and embarked on a journey that required days of difficult travel through the mountains in order to visit her. Mary’s visit blessed Elizabeth’s home with the presence of the Lord: As Elizabeth saw Mary, she and her child in her womb were filled with the Holy Spirit.
    [Show full text]
  • Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church Sunday of The
    April 2, 2017 Bulletin #14 Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church 2216 Eoff Street, Wheeling, WV 26003 Rectory: 304-233-1688 • Fax: 304-233-4714 E-Mail: [email protected] • Web Site: www.ololwv.com Msgr. Bakhos Chidiac, Pastor Evelyn Ghaphery, Organist Sunday of the Blind Man *Weekend Masses: Saturday evening at 4:00 p.m. [Rosary & Litany start 20 minutes before Mass] Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. [Rosary & Litany start 20 minutes before Mass] *Weekday Masses: Monday and Friday No Mass Tuesday to Thursday at Noon. [Rosary & Litany start 20 minutes before Mass] *Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament: First Saturday of the month at 3:30 p.m. First Sunday of the month after 10:30 a.m. Mass *Confession: Saturday: 3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. or any other time by appointment *Baptism: Please call the Pastor as soon as baby is born; at least one Godparent must be Catholic *Weddings: Please make arrangements at least six months in advance before any other plans are made *Sick Calls & Anointing of the Sick: Please notify the Pastor at 304-233-1688 *Parish Council: Lou Khourey, Mike Linton, Rita Strawn, P.J. Lenz, Mary Stees *Choir Members: Earl Duffy, George Thomas, Lou Khourey, Robert Harris, Shelly Hancher, Ted Olinski *Bulletin Coordinator: Thomasina Geimer *Sacristan: Mike Linton *Altar Boys: Dalton Haas, Shaun Hancher & Luke Lenz *Cedar Club: Linda Duffy, President 304-242-6853 *Women’s Society: Sandra Dusick, President 304-232-7395 *Bulletin Announcements: Submit all Bulletin Information to Msgr. Bakhos by Noon on Tuesday every week
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Maron Church
    Saint Maron Church Volume 22, Issue 3 Saint Maron Maronite Church April 2020 Message From Our Pastor Upcoming Beloved Parishioners and Friends of St. Maron, Events Peace and love to you from your spiritual home with the hope that you are all well and in good health. We will be At this very difficult unprecedented time, and the uncertainty that we are experiencing daily, we all hold strong to our faith praccing that is the wood of salvation for us. It was with the wood of safety for the Cross that the Lord Jesus saved us and with the wood of the Cross that we are carrying that we will be able to float in ourselves the ocean of this stormy ocean of life and reach the harbor of our safety with Je- sus our God. It is time for us to trust in the God of the Impossible, the God who and others loved us even to the point of death, the God who is with us today, tomorrow, and during this forever, the God who promised that nothing will separate us from Him if we love Him. Hold on to that love. difficult At a time when you are not able to go, even to church, to gather as a spiritual period. family, I encourage you and I invite you to turn your home into a little church. After all, church and society begins in the family and in holy homes. Let your home be a sanctuary where God finds a place to dwell until the day when we will We hope to return back together to worship him and to celebrate life together in your spiritual home of St.
    [Show full text]
  • 6. Tourism and Recreation
    Lebanon State of the Environment Report Ministry of Environment/LEDO 6. TOURISM AND RECREATION Tourism in Lebanon has traditionally been urban based, i.e., most tourists head for other urban areas and poles such as beach resorts, country clubs, casinos, and restaurants. In recent years, however, tourism and recreation are increasingly practiced in natural settings such as forests, protected areas, valleys, and mountain areas. Traditional tourism is generally more destructive, as more land is used for accommodation (chalets, mountain resorts, hotels, furnished apartments). Moreover, new accommodation facilities in remote areas require access roads and other infrastructure (e.g., water supply, wastewater network, electricity). While nature tourism is less resource demanding, it could generate added sources of pressure on the environment if poorly managed. How the country will manage its natural heritage will set the pace for nature tourism in the future. 6.1 Targeted Description Figure 6. 1 Tourism in the National Economy Tourism represents an important (US$ million) and growing economic sector, generating 1400 US$1,300 million in net revenues in 1998, 1200 up from US$673 million in 1994 (see 1000 Figure 6. 1). In 1995, services including 800 600 tourism accounted for 16.4 percent of 400 GDP (up from 14.3 percent in 1973). 200 0 1994 1995 1997 1998 Source: MoT, Central Bank, CAS (LEDO Indicator #43) 6.1.1 Evolution of tourism Developing accurate estimates of the number of tourists in Lebanon is difficult due to the ambiguity about “who is a tourist”. Many Lebanese return home to see their relatives and declare “tourism” to be the purpose of their visit.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Ann Maronite Church Information Booklet
    THE WAY TO PARADISE Saint Ann Maronite Church Scranton, PA INFORMATION BOOKLET Price and Sumner Avenue Scranton, PA 18504 (570) 344-2129 Page 1 of 27 THE FAITH AND LIFE OF THE CHURCH ARE EMBODIED IN HISTORY HANDED ON BY TEACHING EXPRESSED THROUGH LITURGY AND MEMORIALIZED IN ARCHITECTURE Msgr. Ronald N. Beshara Page 2 of 27 OUR PAST ... Maronite history has its origins in Antioch where the early Christians received their faith from Saint Peter after he fled persecutions in Jerusalem. According to Acts 11:26 the followers of Christ were called Christians for the first time in Antioch. The seat of the Church remained there for 7 years before being transferred to Rome. Prior to 741 there were 7 Syro-Catholic Popes, 5 of them were Syro-Maronites. Antioch was a Hellenistic city while Edessa to the Northeast maintained a Syriac-Aramaic culture followed by the Christians who later were to be called Maronite. Their tradition followed the language, theology and liturgy of Christ and His Apostles thus reflecting their mentality. After divisions and persecutions the Christians gradually migrated to the safety of the mountains in Lebanon. Thus the liturgical roots of the Maronite Church can be traced to Antioch and Edessa. In the 4th century Saint Maron, a friend of Saint John Chrysostom, fought the heresies that beset the Catholic Church at that time, particularly Arianism, Monophysitism and Nestorianism. His monastery became the principal center of pastoral and spiritual care for the area. The monks and followers, then called Maronites, were continually called upon and willing to sacrifice their lives for their religious convictions.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church 7032 Bowden Road Jacksonville, FL 32216 Ph: (904) 448-0203 / Fax: (904) 448-8277 E-Mail: [email protected]
    Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church 7032 Bowden Road Jacksonville, FL 32216 Ph: (904) 448-0203 / Fax: (904) 448-8277 E-mail: [email protected] Pastor: Father Elie Abi Chedid Deacon: Elias Shami Mass Schedule: Sundays: 11:15 AM February 2018 Volume 17 - Issue 2 Beloved parishioners , The Maronite Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saint Maron (+410), her Father and her Patron saint, on February 9 th . Saint Maron was a priest and a hermit; he lived in the fourth century in the mountain area of Antioch, which was one of the five major sees of early Christianity. Even though he sought a solitary ascetic life, his light of holiness could not be hidden, but it shone in that region and attracted to him a lot of people. After his death, those who embraced Christianity through his preaching and his example, and later through his disciples, became known as “Beit Maroun” / the “House of Maron” or Maronites; but they did not become a distinct Church until the year 685 AD when Saint John Maron was elected as the first Patriarch of Antioch for the Maronites. The identity of the Maronite Church is described by five distinguishing marks: -Maronites are Antiochene -where Christ’s followers were called Christians for the first time- (Acts 11:26) . -Maronites are heirs of Syriac cultural and religious heritage. -Maronites are Chalcedonian, meaning they were staunch supporters of the Council of Chalcedon, convened in 451 A.D., which taught that Jesus was true God and true man. -The Maronite Church is a Patriarchal and Monastic Church.
    [Show full text]
  • The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918)
    The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918) by Melanie Tanielian A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Beshara Doumani Professor Saba Mahmood Professor Margaret L. Anderson Professor Keith D. Watenpaugh Fall 2012 The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918) © Copyright 2012, Melanie Tanielian All Rights Reserved Abstract The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918) By Melanie Tanielian History University of California, Berkeley Professor Beshara Doumani, Chair World War I, no doubt, was a pivotal event in the history of the Middle East, as it marked the transition from empires to nation states. Taking Beirut and Mount Lebanon as a case study, the dissertation focuses on the experience of Ottoman civilians on the homefront and exposes the paradoxes of the Great War, in its totalizing and transformative nature. Focusing on the causes and symptoms of what locals have coined the ‘war of famine’ as well as on international and local relief efforts, the dissertation demonstrates how wartime privations fragmented the citizenry, turning neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother, and at the same time enabled social and administrative changes that resulted in the consolidation and strengthening of bureaucratic hierarchies and patron-client relationships. This dissertation is a detailed analysis of socio-economic challenges that the war posed for Ottoman subjects, focusing primarily on the distorting effects of food shortages, disease, wartime requisitioning, confiscations and conscriptions on everyday life as well as on the efforts of the local municipality and civil society organizations to provision and care for civilians.
    [Show full text]
  • Lebanese-Americans Identity, Citizenship and Political Behavior
    NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY – LOUAIZE PALMA JOURNAL A MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PUBLICATION Volume 11 Issue 1 2009 Contents Editorial 3 New century, old story! Race, religion, bureaucrats, and the Australian Lebanese story 7 Anne Monsour The Transnational Imagination: XXth century networks and institutions of the Mashreqi migration to Mexico 31 Camila Pastor de Maria y Campos Balad Niswen – Hukum Niswen: The Perception of Gender Inversions Between Lebanon and Australia 73 Nelia Hyndman-Rizik Diaspora and e-Commerce: The Globalization of Lebanese Baklava 105 Guita Hourani Lebanese-Americans’ Identity, Citizenship and Political Behavior 139 Rita Stephan Pathways to Social Mobility Lebanese Immigrants in Detroit and Small Business Enterprise 163 Sawsan Abdulrahim Pal. Jour., 2009, 11,3:5 Copyright © 2009 by Palma Journal, All Rights Reserved Editorial Palma Journal’s special issue on migration aims at contributing to this area of study in a unique manner. By providing a forum for non-veteran scholars in the field to share their current research findings with a broader public, Palma has joined hands with the Lebanese Emigration Research Center in celebrating LERC’s sixth anniversary serving international and interdisciplinary scholarly discourse between Lebanon and the rest of the world. The migration special issue owes its inception to a conversation between Beirut und Buenos Aires, in which Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous, an Austrian- American researcher at LERC, and the eminent Argentinean migration scholar, Ignacio Klich, developed the idea for a special migration issue and presented it to the LERC research team. This Libano-Austro-Iberian link laid the foundation for an exciting collection of articles, which I have had the privilege to guest edit.
    [Show full text]
  • DIVINE LITURGIES THIS WEEK ’S READING: Rom 6: 12-23 SATURDAY: 29 FEBRUARY / HEALING of the LEPER
    DIVINE LITURGIES THIS WEEK ’S READING: Rom 6: 12-23 SATURDAY: 29 FEBRUARY / HEALING OF THE LEPER 4:30PM Repose of Aaron Bella by Mom & Dad GOSPEL: Mark 1: 35-45 Repose of Theresa Gregg by Dolores Bishara SUNDAY: 01 MARCH LECTORS- Feb. 29 & Mar. 01 10:00AM Repose of John Dohar Saturday 4:30 PM Madeline Clarke by Fred, Annie & Joe Ciarniello Sunday 10:00 AM MCF Grades 7 & 8 Repose of Theresa Abraham by Eddie & Phyllis Farris MONDAY: 02 MARCH / ST. JOHN MARON ALTAR SERVERS - Feb. 29 & Mar. 01 8:30 AM Repose of Sied Thomas by the Daily Mass Group Sat. 4:30 PM Volunteers Sun. 10:00 AM Marc & Nic Judy, Sami AbouJaoude TUESDAY: 03 MARCH 8:30 AM Repose of John Saba by Yvonne Marzano USHERS FOR MARCH WEDNESDAY: 04 MARCH Sat. 4:30 PM TBA 8:30 AM Repose of Delour George by Sue Nakley Sun. 10:00 AM TBA THURSDAY: 05 MARCH No Liturgy NEXT WEEK’S READING: Rom 6: 12-23 FRIDAY: 06 MARCH 10:00 AM ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT GOSPEL: Mark 1: 35-45 12:00 Noon Repose of Harry Beshara by loving sister, Aleda Bukovinsky LECTORS- Mar. 07 & 08 Saturday 4:30 PM Charles Zidian, Jr. SATURDAY: 07 MARCH / HEALING OF THE Sunday 10:00 AM MCF Grades 9 - 12 HEMORRHAGING WOMAN 4:30PM Repose of Virginia George by Children, Grandchildren & Great-Grandchildren ALTAR SERVERS - Mar. 07 & 8 Repose of Gabriel A. Vigorito Sat. 4:30 PM Volunteers Sun. 10:00 AM Alexander & Christopher Simon; by loving wife, Jane A.
    [Show full text]
  • Father Tony Saab Joseph P
    Saint George Maronite Church Welcomes Father Tony Saab Joseph P. Checrallah, Jr. On October 1, 2020, the Family of Saint George Maronite Catholic Church welcomed Father Tony Saab as our new Pastor replacing Father Edward Nedder, who retired after serving as Pastor for almost 15 years. Father Tony was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He came to the United States in 1982. He completed his Graduate Studies in Theology at Boston College majoring in Scripture in 1993. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1997 by Patriarch Beshara Rai in Byblos, Lebanon. He was assigned as Pastor of Saint Anthony of the Desert Church in Mastita-Byblos, Lebanon where a beautiful Church for the Saint was built between 2004-2008. During his years of ministry in Byblos, Father Tony served as the Diocesan Spiritual Director of the Youth as well as the Diocesan Spiritual Director of "Faith and Light" ministering to those with special needs and mentally challenged. Between 1998 and 2008, Father Tony also worked as Professor of Cultural Studies at the Lebanese American University in Byblos, Lebanon. His position gave him a great opportunity to reach out and bring Christ to Lebanon’s youth and College students. He also taught at Notre Dame University (Louaize, Lebanon) as an educator of religious studies in Catholicism, Philosophy, and Education. Father Tony joined the Eparchy of Brooklyn in 2015 and served as an administrator at Saint George Church in Dover, NH. He was assigned as Pastor at Saint Maron Church in Torrington, CT in October of 2016. Father Tony looks forward to his new assignment and is excited to lead our Parish.
    [Show full text]
  • Lebanese Families Who Arrived in South Carolina Before 1950 Elizabeth Whitaker Clemson University, [email protected]
    Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 12-2006 From the Social Margins to the Center: Lebanese Families Who Arrived in South Carolina before 1950 Elizabeth Whitaker Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Whitaker, Elizabeth, "From the Social Margins to the Center: Lebanese Families Who Arrived in South Carolina before 1950" (2006). All Theses. 6. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/6 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FROM THE SOCIAL MARGINS TO THE CENTER LEBANESE FAMILIES WHO ARRIVED IN SOUTH CAROLINA BEFORE 1950 A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts History by Elizabeth Virginia Whitaker December 2006 Accepted by: Megan Taylor Shockley, Committee Chair Alan Grubb J.R. Andrew ii ABSTRACT The Lebanese families who arrived in South Carolina found themselves in a different environment than most had anticipated. Those who had spent time elsewhere in the U.S. found predominantly rural and predominantly Protestant South Carolina to be almost as alien as they or their parents had found the United States due partly to the religious differences and partly to the cultural differences between the Northeast, where most of them had lived for at least a few years after arriving in the United States, and the Southeast.
    [Show full text]
  • Embracing the Divine: Passion and Politics in the Christian Middle East
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Department of Near Eastern Languages and Departmental Papers (NELC) Civilizations (NELC) 11-2012 Embracing the Divine: Passion and Politics in the Christian Middle East Heather J. Sharkey University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/nelc_papers Part of the History of Christianity Commons, History of Religion Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, and the Political History Commons Recommended Citation Sharkey, H. J. (2012). Embracing the Divine: Passion and Politics in the Christian Middle East. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 44 (4), 809-810. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ S0020743812000955 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/nelc_papers/46 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Embracing the Divine: Passion and Politics in the Christian Middle East Disciplines History of Christianity | History of Religion | Islamic World and Near East History | Missions and World Christianity | Near and Middle Eastern Studies | Political History This review is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/nelc_papers/46 Akram Fouad Khater, Embracing the Divine: Passion and Politics in the Christian Middle East, Gender, Culture, and Politics in the Middle East (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2011). Pp. 335. $39.95 cloth. Reviewed by Heather J. Sharkey, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Penn.; email: [email protected] In this vividly rendered book, Akram Khater presents a fascinating account of an eighteenth-century woman who challenged Maronite and Roman Catholic conventions to pursue a career as a nun and to found a convent and religious order in Mount Lebanon.
    [Show full text]