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The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman Empire : The Case of Vibia Perpetua Molly Mazuk Advisor: Dr. David Finkelman St. Mary’s Project

The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman Empire : The Case of Vibia Perpetua

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The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman Empire : The Case of Vibia Perpetua. Molly Mazuk Advisor: Dr. David Finkelman St. Mary’s Project. Overview. Literature Review Review of past research In-depth psychological examination of Christian martyrs Psychohistory - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman Empire : The Case of Vibia Perpetua

Molly MazukAdvisor: Dr. David Finkelman

St. Mary’s Project

Page 2: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Overview

• Literature Review

• Review of past research

• In-depth psychological examination of Christian martyrs• Psychohistory

• Lesson Plan

Page 3: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Christian Martyrs • Religious

martyrs are treated with personal biases

• Personal religious experiences

Page 4: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Vibia Perpetua• Martyred in 203 A.D. in

Carthage at age 22

• Martyred with many others from her community

• Wrote an account of her imprisonment

Page 5: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Psychohistory

Pros• Provides

understanding of the individuals involved

• Similarities between humans throughout time

• New perspectives

Cons• Limited information

available

• Presentism

• Fitting information to theories rather than theories to information

Page 6: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Topics • Dream Analysis

• Psychosexual issues

• Moral development

• Gender identity

• Religious Perspective

Page 7: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Dream Analysis• Four dreams

• Perpetua’s interpretation• Religious symbolism

• Freudian interpretation• Latent sexual imagery• Problems

• Davis’s (2005) Interpretation

• Conclusions

Page 8: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Psychosexual Issues• Oedipus complex in relationship between martyrs

and God

• Sexual urges that lead to self-harm or “suicide”• Masochistic• Exhibitionistic• Narcissistic

• Comparisons to modern psychotic individuals

• Conclusions

Page 9: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Moral Development

• Advanced stages of moral development• Kohlberg• Gilligan

• Martyrdom as a pro-social behavior

• Conclusions

Page 10: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Gender Identity

• Gender identity of martyrs• Male martyrs• Female martyrs

• Masculinizing martyrdom

• Conclusions

Page 11: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Religious Perspective• Criticisms of psychological

interpretations

• Normative Religious Behavior/Religiosity

• Martyrdom as an extension of normative religious behavior

• Conclusions

Page 12: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Future Studies

• Other martyrs

• Different psychological methods

• Psychological study of modern martyrs• Soldiers• Terrorists• Social/Political Activists

Page 13: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

Questions?

Page 14: The Psychology of the Christian Martyrs of the Roman  Empire  : The Case of  Vibia  Perpetua

References• Barlow, H. (2007). Dead for good: Martyrdom and the rise of the suicide bomber. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.• Barry, C. M., Padilla-Walker, L. M., Madsen, S. D., &Nelson, L. J. (2007). The impact of maternal relationship quality on emerging

adults’ prosocial tendencies: Indirect effects via regulation of prosocial values. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=29&hid=8&sid=2abb9db6-af4c-4738-8878-0414ccce841c%40sessionmgr4

• Bradford, D. T. (1990). Early Christian martyrdom and the psychology of depression, suicide, and bodily mutilation. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 27(1), 30-41.

• Bulkeley, K. (1997). An introduction to the psychology of dreaming. Westport, CT: Praeger.• Chadwick, H. (1993). The penguin history of the church: The early church. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Inc. • Church, A. J. & Brodribb, W. J. (2009). The Annals. Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/ annals.html• Cobb, L. S. (2008). Dying to be men: Gender and language in early Christian martyr texts. New York, NY: Columbia

University Press. • Davis, P. M. (2005). The weaning of perpetua: Female embodiment and spiritual growth metaphor in the dream of an early

Christian martyr. Dreaming, 15(4), 261-270.• Ehrman, B.D. (1999). After the new testament: A reader in early Christianity. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.• Eisenberg, N., Cumberland, A., Guthrie, I. K., Murphy, B. C. & Shepard, S. A. (2005). Age changes in prosocial responding and

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early adulthood: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 993- 1006. • Ferrero, M. (2006). Martyrdom contracts. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50(6), 855-877.• Fields, R. M. (2004). The psychology and theology of martyrdom. In C.E. Stout (Ed.), Martyrdom: The psychology,

theology, and politics of self-sacrifice (3-22). Westport, CT: Praeger.• Freud, S. (1910). The origin and development of psychoanalysis. The American Journals of Psychology, 22(2), 181-218.• Gilligan, C. (1977). In a different voice: Women’s conceptions of self and morality. Harvard Educational Review 47(4), 481-517.• Halsall, P. (1998). Ancient history sourcebook: The ritual cannibalism charge against the Christians. Retrieved from

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