Martyrs Visions and the Locus of Control: An investigation of the Passio SS Perpetuae et Felicitatis
Project Type
Faculty Scholarship
Scholarship Domain(s)
Scholarship of Discovery
Presentation Type
Presentation
Abstract
This project considers how the psychological concept of locus of control can be applied to the manner in which early Christian martyrs interpreted their situation. Locus of control suggests that individuals have either an external locus of control, in which life is controlled by external sources, or an internal locus of control, in which the individual has control. Visions and dreams played a significant role in challenging the idea that the Roman government controlled the life of the martyr and shifts the locus of control away from the Romans onto the martyr. In this project, I will trace this dynamic through the visions represented in the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas.
Permission Type
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Martyrs Visions and the Locus of Control: An investigation of the Passio SS Perpetuae et Felicitatis
Fishbowl
This project considers how the psychological concept of locus of control can be applied to the manner in which early Christian martyrs interpreted their situation. Locus of control suggests that individuals have either an external locus of control, in which life is controlled by external sources, or an internal locus of control, in which the individual has control. Visions and dreams played a significant role in challenging the idea that the Roman government controlled the life of the martyr and shifts the locus of control away from the Romans onto the martyr. In this project, I will trace this dynamic through the visions represented in the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas.