Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

English

Major Professor

Jeffrey M. Ringer

Committee Members

Lisa M. King, Alexander Jamal-Jared

Abstract

This study explores how Black Pentecostal Christian women in the United States and Ghana perceive their health and healthcare experiences, with a particular focus on the relationship between Christianity and health through the lens of faith healing and positive emotions. Grounded in a constructionist and interpretivist framework, the research employs phenomenological interviewing to capture participants' lived experiences. A convenience and snowball sampling approach was used to recruit participants, with interviews conducted via Zoom and transcribed using Otter.ai. This project contributes to ongoing discussions in the Rhetoric of Religion and Health and religious approaches to healthcare. It highlights how Black Pentecostal women in Ghana and the U.S. use faith-based narratives as central rhetorical resources for making meaning of illness and healthcare decisions. Drawing from the broader Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, the study aligns with scholarship emphasizing patient narratives, spiritual agency, and culturally informed care (Hamilton 2020; Attard et al. 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 80% of the population in developing countries rely on Traditional and Faith Healing (TAFH) due to disparities in access to orthodox medical care. Some scholars also assert that prayer, meditation, and collective worship foster positive emotions, which enhance social connections, increase psychological resilience, and may even alleviate symptoms of illness. By examining the intersection of faith, healthcare, and well-being, this research highlights how spirituality influences health perceptions and decision-making among Black Pentecostal women. It also provides insight into how religious beliefs shape healthcare engagement in contexts where faith healing is an integral part of health-seeking behaviors.

Keywords: Black Pentecostal women, Pentecostalism, faith healing, positive emotions, religion and health, healthcare disparities, Traditional healing, qualitative research, phenomenology, constructionism, Ghana, United States

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