http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/1752/betsy-c-chadbourn Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sat, 13 Jun 2026 04:49:57 -0400 Sat, 13 Jun 2026 04:49:57 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/867/asceticism-in-the-modern-world-the-religion-of-self-deprivation By Betsy C. Chadbourn - Among the questions that have attracted my attention during my theological career thus far, nothing has struck me more forcibly than the possibility of asceticism existing in the modern world. Modern asceticism initially appears an absurdity. A non-existent. Something of the past, along with the once thriving Christian religion that laid its foundations. Before, we associated the ascetic with monkish values, the valorisation of chastity, a life of deprivation. Repulsion toward the flesh. Hostility for food. Enmity on all we call pleasure. Yes, modernity is surely an exodus from such; a secular... Fri, 14 Mar 2014 04:53 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/867/asceticism-in-the-modern-world-the-religion-of-self-deprivation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/828/is-paganism-a-religion-exploring-the-historical-and-contemporary-relevance-of-paganism By Betsy C. Chadbourn - Years of adversity and oppression have pushed the once thriving practice of Paganism into the shadows. Even in our contemporary world of so-called religious freedom, some are still afraid to admit to their beliefs or to identify as a Pagan. To many, it may come as a surprise to find groups of otherwise ordinary people who refer to themselves as Witches and ask to be treated seriously as members of a religion, on a par with Jews, Methodists, Catholics, and the like. Should we bypass our ignorance as such a traditional society and embrace these alternative movements? Is this contemporarily revived... Wed, 11 Dec 2013 08:28 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/828/is-paganism-a-religion-exploring-the-historical-and-contemporary-relevance-of-paganism