2026 Theses Master's

Disability In Buddhism And Christianity: Cursory Impressions And Liberatory Analysis

Stoddart, Xi Emma-Ruth

This project aims to show that, despite these first impressions that may view both traditions as ableist in an American context, both Buddhism and Christianity offer liberatory viewpoints and imaginations of disability. For both traditions, these include the potential to see disability as human variance rather than moral failing and recognizing disability as an experience positioned to understand beliefs of suffering; additionally, for Buddhism, there is precedent to encounter disability with accommodation while in Christianity, there is room to, in light of disability's rupture of virtuous suffering, turn towards the life of Jesus as a theological locus. After moving through these points systematically, I end by looking towards next steps for scholarship and imagining disabled joy and existence into each tradition.