This study examines the development and legitimation of the religious discourse inspired by the text, A Course in Miracles. Part One places Course spirituality in the context of other channelled texts of the 1960s and 70s which were a significant feature of the New Age network of the 1980s. It also explores themes from other channelled material of the time, the 'Seth ' texts by Jane Roberts, and argues that the widespread acceptance of channelled wisdom by New Age devotees suggests that they accept authority from outside the Self whilst holding to an epistemology of individual experience. An examination of emic definitions of the New Age in the 1980s suggests that the New Age network of spiritualities was not as amorphous as many scholars believed. It offers a five-point definition of ' holistic spiritualities' and suggests that this term could replace the term 'New Age' . Part Two follows Weber's study of how religions develop legitimation strateg ies for their followers. It shows that the narrative of how the Course came to be written developed into a tradition that legitimised the Course for its devotees and conferred chari sma on its scribe, Helen Schucman. An analysis is of the text of the Course demonstrates how appeals are made to rational ism through the internal logic of its thought system. The text is also shown to make links with ancient traditions by hark ng back to a biblical metanarrative and an ontology reminiscent of Hindu Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Hermeneutical battles between Course teachers in the last decade are shown to demonstrate Weber's routinisation of charisma, which marks the passing of the founding charisma. The study challenges Weber's lineal' model of development from charisma to routinisation. Part Three explores the popular spiritual self help literature derived from A Course in Miracles. These bestselling books detraditionalise religious language and authority making spiritual themes accessible to a wider public. The commercial success of the self help industry has caused publishers to commission further books of this genre. Part Four describes the fieldwork undertaken for the thesis, including descriptions of a se lection of Course meetings attended as a participant observer, the results of a survey placed in Miracle Worker magazine and interviews with Course devotees and readers of Course-related self help texts. In the context of contemporary secularisation debates, the thesis concludes that religious discourse is developing rather than disappearing. It argues that holistic spiritualities should no longer be regarded as 'alternative'. This has come about, in part, through the diffusion of holistic spiritual themes in popular Course-related self help literature.

This thesis presents a theological exploration of the problems and potentialities of speaking about Christian faith in the context of working life. It is based on a qualitative investigation of the experience of Christians working in secular institutions. The argument is that the discursive interface between work and worship raises critical questions of identity, of power and of language which challenge the integrity of Christian discipleship. The practice of articulating faith-talk in the working context is analyzed in the light of a trinitarian hermeneutic. The thesis addresses the practical theological question: How may a Christian speak adequately and appropriately of their faith at work? This question is explored through an integration of qualitative-representational analysis and theological-evaluative critique. An ethnographic method is developed, based on extended immersion in the field of secular work, and focused in a series of research conversations and reflective meetings. Analyzed from the perspective of a Christian woman who has struggled and continues to struggle to forge an adequate and contextual articulation of faith in workplace settings, the problematic is described through the metaphor of ‘a life in two languages’. A faithful resolution of the problem is approached through the contextual discovery of three trinitarian practices: of engagement, fluency and communion. The thesis makes a contribution to academic knowledge in the practical theology of working life. By addressing the communicative dimension of working life, and exploring the experience of Christians in the workplace using the resources of cultural theory and discourse analysis, the thesis presents a contemporary and practical perspective on work. In a field which attracts a large volume of popular and motivational writing, the study contributes a sustained and critical reflection and offers a creative map for interpreting the challenge of Christian witness at work in the light of a trinitarian understanding of faithful practice.

There are certain texts and certain ways of writing which when we encounter, we feel we are touching the edge of mystery. What obtains in such texts is the revelation of spirit, the resonance of the holy. The creation of texts that capture and display this sense is an artistic capability. To read receptively in a manner that uncovers this sense of spirit is also an artistic capability. These two approaches to writing and reading form the background of this study. Together they describe what is identified in the study as textual spirituality. The foreground of the study is a consideration of the unique aspects of the textual approach to spirituality with a view to how it can be cultivated and recognized in the academy and so contribute to the clearer organizing of spirituality as a discipline. There are three parts to the study. Part One deals with the challenges of understanding and studying spirituality and spirituality texts in general. It then explores, specifically, the philosophical bases and rationale forwriting spirituality texts as a mode of communicating the sense of spirit. Part Two of the study is demonstrative. It displays an example of the writing of an original spirituality text using the frameworks of the poetic, the narrative and the intuitive. Part Three, following, is largely concerned with those approaches to reading that facilitate the garnering of the sense of spirit from written texts. It then revisits the question of the disciplinary identity of textual spirituality and how it may have a cogent contribution in the academy. Overall, the study is an argument for the possibility of the artistic inscription and transcription of spirit through the agency of written texts. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

There are certain texts and certain ways of writing which when we encounter, we feel we are touching the edge of mystery. What obtains in such texts is the revelation of spirit, the resonance of the holy. The creation of texts that capture and display this sense is an artistic capability. To read receptively in a manner that uncovers this sense of spirit is also an artistic capability. These two approaches to writing and reading form the background of this study. Together they describe what is identified in the study as textual spirituality. The foreground of the study is a consideration of the unique aspects of the textual approach to spirituality with a view to how it can be cultivated and recognized in the academy and so contribute to the clearer organizing of spirituality as a discipline. There are three parts to the study. Part One deals with the challenges of understanding and studying spirituality and spirituality texts in general. It then explores, specifically, the philosophical bases and rationale forwriting spirituality texts as a mode of communicating the sense of spirit. Part Two of the study is demonstrative. It displays an example of the writing of an original spirituality text using the frameworks of the poetic, the narrative and the intuitive. Part Three, following, is largely concerned with those approaches to reading that facilitate the garnering of the sense of spirit from written texts. It then revisits the question of the disciplinary identity of textual spirituality and how it may have a cogent contribution in the academy. Overall, the study is an argument for the possibility of the artistic inscription and transcription of spirit through the agency of written texts. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

The theme of gift has in recent years been subject to considerable commentary in diverse disciplines including philosophy, anthropology, sociology, religious studies and literary criticism. The vast majority of these studies focus on how or whether gift can be differentiated from exchange. In this dissertation I maintain that gift is a form of giving and receiving that is distinct from exchange or commerce, and that it need not create an obligation to return or reciprocate. This gift is given unilaterally to the need of the other and results in relatedness rather than indebtedness. This essay considers the characteristics of exchange and of gift, then reviews the thought of five writers on giving/receiving and reciprocation. This is followed by an overview of the gift theme in African Traditional Religion and the Judaic and Christian traditions, and a concluding chapter summarising thoughts on gift and self-interest, sharing, need, and gratitude. / Religious Studies & Arabic / M.A.(Religious Studies)

The theme of gift has in recent years been subject to considerable commentary in diverse disciplines including philosophy, anthropology, sociology, religious studies and literary criticism. The vast majority of these studies focus on how or whether gift can be differentiated from exchange. In this dissertation I maintain that gift is a form of giving and receiving that is distinct from exchange or commerce, and that it need not create an obligation to return or reciprocate. This gift is given unilaterally to the need of the other and results in relatedness rather than indebtedness. This essay considers the characteristics of exchange and of gift, then reviews the thought of five writers on giving/receiving and reciprocation. This is followed by an overview of the gift theme in African Traditional Religion and the Judaic and Christian traditions, and a concluding chapter summarising thoughts on gift and self-interest, sharing, need, and gratitude. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A.(Religious Studies)