The central aim of my thesis is to examine the processes by which individuals from a Western background enter the International Society for Krishna Consciousnes (ISKCON), a transnational religious movement with its roots in Chaitanya Vaishnavism, a Hindu tradition originating in India. The central argument of my research is that extant models of conversion do not do justice to the process by which individuals enter ISKCON and assimilate its values, beliefs, and practices. This thesis thus critically examines conversion models/theories and seeks to refine our understanding of conversion, especially in relation to groups in which everyday ritual practice plays a central role. My research is based on the analysis of in-depth interviews with ISKCON entrants and engagement with theories on ritual and literature on conversion. The tradition’s essential practices involve chanting God’s holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and making food offerings to the Hindu deity Krishna (these are referred to as prasadam rites). Ritual is both a doorway for coming in contact with ISKCON and a crucial practice for entrants to make progress from the status of neophyte to novice and to qualify for successive initiation rituals. I draw mainly upon Catherine Bell’s theory of ritualisation to explore entry into ISKCON in relation to ritual practices. Ritualisation, in the ISKCON context, is a strategy that facilitates the internalisation of ISKCON’s central values and worldviews. This is made possible through the entrant’s initial exposure to its rituals, his/her search for the meaning behind these rituals, gradual acceptance of ISKCON’s 5 schemes of ritualisation, and, over the long-term, acquisition of ritual mastery. From a sociological perspective, entry into ISKCON is a three-staged process involving separation, transition, and incorporation. The stage of separation is a phase of accepting sets of oppositions concerned with polarities of purity and pollution, causing alienation from previous social circles and encouraging group-integration within ISKCON. The transitional stage is characterized by the internalisation of beliefs, worldviews and values. The stage of incorporation is marked by successive stages of seekership (searching for, and finding, meaning using ISKCON frameworks) and commitment (not just to ISKCON’s values and ritual practices, but also to its missionary agenda). To determine how ritual practice constructs power relationships and creates boundaries for the development of active agency and passivity, I look at four dimensions of ritualisation. These are (following Bell): (1) the effects of ritual practice on socialisation and vice versa; (2) the role of ritual specialists; (3) the forms of misrecognition and blindness resulting from ritual practice; and (4) the influence of ritualisation on the agency of entrants. My work demonstrates that “conversion” in the ISKCON context is marked by three crucial features. First, it is a process of gradual “drifting” into ISKCON’s fold, not a sudden change. Second, conversion to ISKCON’s belief system is facilitated by the adoption of the ritual practices central to ISKCON. Hence belief and practice are closely intertwined in the conversion process, with ritual practice serving, in most cases, as the entry point. And finally, my work demonstrates that this “conversion” does not entail a radical break with previously held religious beliefs and values. Instead, “converts” to ISKCON continue to profess their former faith, but now filter this through the lens of ISKCON’s Vaishnava devotionalism.

Clergy working in the Church of England are a rich opportunity for research. Their employment situation is anomalous and from the perspective of my own epistemological location in Human Resource Management there is little tradition of exploring the employment relationship within the Church of England. This scenario provided a unique environment for research. I teach Human Resource Management (HRM) in a university business school. I am also married to a clergyman. The catalyst for the research was bringing together these two different aspects of my life. In my research I use the frameworks of HRM to explore and understand working in the Church of England. I use the psychological contract, a well established concept in HRM. The psychological contract is a concept that can be used to explore the non-contractual elements of the employment relationship. Initially I explore the employment relationship through a series of group interviews. My research then documents through narrative inquiry the individual working lives of the clergy. I generate insights and understanding of both working in the Church of England in the twenty-first century and the psychological contract. I explore my own stance in relation to the participants. I come to understand my stance as a ‘conversant associate’. I am conversant with their ‘world’ and inhabit a role that associates me with the clergy while not being fully a member of the group. My original contribution is in two areas; Human Resources (HR) and the psychological contract and understanding the Church of England. My findings challenge the existing concept of the psychological contract for being too narrow and requiring revision. My participants work in a role and organisation with a long history. My findings indicate the power of this historical role on the expectations of the contemporary work. By expanding the scope of the psychological contract my findings challenge existing approaches to teaching and practising HR. HR is currently only identified with the business performance model. My findings indicate that this association is far too limited in scope. My research documents my participants’ perception of change in the Church of England. I report a stable understanding of the relationship and expectations between clergy and senior staff. This finding challenges contemporary understanding of the effect of change on the psychological contract. By giving voice to the current parish clergy I explore and make a contribution to the Church of England’s understanding of working as contemporary parish clergy. The Church of England is on the cusp of reforming its historical employment system, known as freehold. My findings indicate that the clergy’s understanding of the past paradoxically strengthens their understanding of contemporary working life and I report a ‘narrative of regret’. Clergy perceive that they are unable to fulfil their own expectations. As indicated above my research contributes to knowledge in two ways: understanding the psychological contract and working in the Church of England. These two areas of original contribution coalesce. Simultaneously I document working life in the Church of England and explore the psychological contract of contemporary clergy.

Interdisciplinary work is of the essence of pastoral theology, most obviously where theology and the human sciences interact. Such work carries with it a number of risks that are not always addressed or even recognised. The principal risk is that a facile attempt to forge links between disciplines may lead to serious distortions of the meanings of both. This thesis examines gestalt therapy and feminist theology as possible candidates for interdisciplinary work. By reading and interrogating the literature of both disciplines, it identifies their origins and analyses their core ideas. The thesis affirms disputed links between gestalt philosophy, psychology and the later therapy, and examines other contributors to the development of gestalt and its core ideas. It next examines the development and scope of feminist theology before analysing core ideas across the range of voices in feminist writing. From these core ideas it is possible to establish the values that writers and practitioners find important in their lives (practical-values). On this basis, it is shown that these two disciplines, despite differences of history and purpose, are compatible with each other and therefore suitable candidates for interdisciplinary work.

This thesis explores various trajectories of contextual theology as they have developed in the two Chinese enlightenments of twentieth and twenty-first century China. Drawing methodologically from the typological works of historian Justo González and the missiologists Stephen Bevans and Roger Schroeder, one of the main aims of this study is to map and evaluate the various types of Chinese theology. An analysis of three major Chinese Protestant representatives will identify the tendencies of each type, highlight the importance of a contextual theology in dealing with a context’s socio-political concerns and religiophilosophical tradition, and show a bias in Chinese theology towards Latin Christianity. This leads to the second major aim of the study to explore the usefulness of Eastern Orthodox category of theosis and related subjects in the Second Chinese Enlightenment. It will highlight the tendencies of Chinese philosophy and religion, inclusive of Chinese Protestantism, to exhibit many themes from Byzantine Christianity. It will also call attention to the potential usefulness of this other “Eastern” theology in China’s socio-political concerns. This study will conclude by discussing the possibilities of Eastern Orthodoxy in playing an important role in complementing and supplementing future developments of a Chinese contextual theology.

In the UK approximately 60% of deaths occur in acute hospital settings to people from different cultures and religions. This thesis explored the experiences of bereaved relatives from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants and religious leaders to explore the essences of bereavement and implications for providing religiously appropriate end of life and bereavement care in an acute hospital setting. Phenomenology provided the philosophical and intellectual framework and van Manen’s (1984) four existential dimensions of temporality, spatiality, corporeality, and communality the structure. Chronological story telling allowed exploration of the ‘lived’ experience of bereavement and demonstrated that current bereavement theories and practice are not always reflective of the diverse needs of a multifaith and multicultural population. Similarities and differences in the requirements of the 3 Abrahamic faiths became apparent through the experiences of all participants and the importance and significance of doing the right thing, at the right time for the right person in a sensitive and caring way was demonstrated. The impact of end of life care on the bereavement experience was palpable throughout participant recollections. The study highlighted education and training needs not only of hospital staff but of the general public and the need for a more holistic approach to bereavement theory, policy, practice and research.

Spirituality at work has received much interest in recent years, and a stream of research notes its benefits beyond a trend. Despite the topic’s growing recognition, the research community raised the need for the integration of spirituality at work with traditional areas of investigation (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2003). A potentially fruitful first step towards this involves use of person-organisation (PO) fit theory (Ashforth & Pratt, 2003; Sheep, 2004, 2006; Singhal & Chatterjee, 2006; Singhal, 2007). The purpose of this study is to build upon initial attempts towards this integration and to promote further acknowledgement of the potential benefits of incorporating spirituality at work into wider organisational psychology frameworks. This was achieved by integrating both PO fit and transpersonal psychology, and subsequently developing a theoretical model that investigates three questions: a) what antecedents lead individuals and organisations to seek spirituality at work?, b) what are the perceived spiritual preferences (needs) of individuals and how are those preferences fulfilled through the context of the workplace (supplies)?, and c) what are the consequences of meeting spiritual preferences (needs), as perceived by individuals? Using constructivist grounded theory, analysis of interview data from thirty-four participants located in organisations (one spiritual and three non-spiritual) across The Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Portugal led to a theory in which I propose a core category of reconciling self as a critical factor of spirituality at work. Reconciling self captures the process whereby the self consistently attempts to maintain a congruent relationship with the ego and the environment, and this construct emerged as the primary concern for participants. Reconciling self was influenced largely by meaning and purpose and the need to connect to something larger than oneself, and through the organisation making a difference. The congruence or perceived fit within the workplace was captured through the action strategy conscious reconciling experiences; in the case where the immediacy of such expression was compromised, reconciling self was noted through the action strategy active adjustment. The action strategies were influenced through a set of intervening conditions that included a set of spirituality at work needs and supplies, through a context that emphasised attributes such as spiritual values, a culture that focused on openness and support, and relational leadership. The consequences of spirituality at work included benefits such as individual job satisfaction, positivity and self-realisation, and organisational outcomes as being a force for good and fostering employee commitment. The contribution of this study includes a new theoretical model concerning why, when, and how spirituality at work influences individual and organisational processes and outcomes. Such understanding contributes to better understanding of spirituality at work, and identifies ways in which PO fit occurs within a broader psychological context than that proposed in mainstream organisational psychology (i.e. through reconciling self influenced by meaning and purpose, the need to connect to something larger than oneself, and a set of spirituality at work needs). These findings reduce the PO fit gap. Implications of the study include the findings that spirituality at work creates positive outcomes, and insistence on the role of connecting to something larger than oneself implies individuals are always in the process of moving toward reconciling self. Organisations should consider their ability to harness latent human potential and transcendence by extending self-boundaries and developing the self. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

This mixed method study, aims to first, explore the meaning, role, and purpose of religion and spirituality for people convicted of sexual offending. Exploration of their religious and spiritual experiences during periods of offending, incarceration, and desistance from offending, were examined through qualitative in-depth interviews and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Participants were drawn from prison and community populations. The second phase of the study examined the official risk management process of people convicted of sexual offending. In an effort to understand the extent to which criminal-justice practitioners utilised religious and spiritual communities during the risk-management process; 217 risk management plans were analysed. Results from the first phase of the research suggest that engaging and being affiliated with a religious or spiritual group might: foster the conditions needed to assist the desistance process; provide a context and language for developing non-offending identities; assist with a sense of belonging; help develop hope and manage negative emotions. Unexpectedly, findings from the second phase of the research demonstrated little evidence of practitioners using community groups or religious or spiritual activities as protective factors or supportive mechanisms in the formal risk-management process.

This study set out to take a definitive look at African Caribbean entrepreneurship by delineating the broad spectrum of historical and contemporary theories of ethnic entrepreneurship. It also looked in particular on the phenomenon of African Caribbean entrepreneurship through the lens of Pentecostalism, which is the most popular religious expression of African Caribbean peoples in the UK. The extent to which the socio‐cultural and psycho‐religious underpinnings of the African Caribbean person are amenable to entrepreneurial engagement was also subjected to analysis. This analysis focused on themes and perspectives, which are general to African Caribbean experience – individual, family and community. They were presented as age, gender or sex, education, family structure, motivation, and funding of entrepreneurial ventures. Also in connection with these were a number of factors, which operate at the nexus of African Caribbean Pentecostalism and entrepreneurship. These include historical antecedents, socioeconomic situations up to the 1950s, the ambiguity of Scriptures towards wealth as well as the impact of the psychology of time on the African Caribbean mind. All these provide a framework in which the existential and transcendental interact in the community of faith.

This thesis sits at the junction of asylum history and Anglo-Jewish history, specifically Scottish Jewish history, and contributes new perspectives to scholarship on histories of both psychiatry and Anglo-Jewry. It explores the lived experiences of Jewish patients admitted to the royal asylums of Edinburgh and Glasgow between 1870 and 1939 using a range of both quantitative and qualitative archival sources. A discussion of the relevant literature that has focused on ‘Anglo’ asylums and Anglo-Jewry, particularly on Scottish asylums and Scottish Jewry, provides the historical context for the research questions being asked about how Jewish patients admitted to the royal asylums were understood, diagnosed and treated. The quantitative Jewish patient population is presented, discussing: demographic variables such as gender distribution, age at admission and the patient’s marital status at admission; social variables such as ‘class’ as regards a patient’s accommodation within the asylum and their occupation; diagnostic variables such as the mental disorders identified; and finally institutional variables such as a patient’s discharge status and the length of a patient’s stay within the asylum. This Jewish patient profile is compared to control samples of non-Jewish patients to detect similarities and differences between the two groups, providing scope for the qualitative accounts that follow. Qualitative sources are then used, pulling out a number of individual case histories as detailed exemplars of broader claims, spread across three substantial chapters. The first qualitative chapter draws on several of the themes presented in the discussion of relevant literature, such as matters of Jewish demography, migration, family dynamics, social standing, cultural experiences and the like, as these intersect with the ‘asylum lifecycle’, meaning periods spent in and outside of the asylum by these patients. This material opens a door to the Jewish patient experience through the discussion and analysis of several themes, such as: family, community, immigration status, social class, migration histories, big and small and the asylum lifecycle with respect to patients who experienced multiple admissions to asylums. The next chapter’s overarching theme is the Jewish body – all aspects of Jewish embodiment; of embodying Jewishness – in the asylum. This theme is further broken down into specific areas for discussion, such as: the male Jewish body; poisoning, because historically Jews have been associated with the act of poisoning; the diagnostic criteria as it was applied to Jews during the period under investigation; the role of language within the clinical encounter; and troublesome patients. The goal here is to illustrate how the Jewish body was often seen as inherently different from other (British) asylum patients and therefore pathologised because of those differences, such that in certain situations merely being Jewish suggested a likelihood of being mentally unstable and possessing a mental illness due to the Jewishness association. The final qualitative chapter concentrates on Jewish women and their experiences within Scottish asylums, highlighting some of the gendered differences within that experience when compared to the male Jewish experience of madness that was primarily tackled in the previous chapter. This chapter discuses Jewish women and their place within the Jewish community and wider Anglo-Scottish society, and further it addresses the perceived close relationship between Jewish women and mental illness, itself complicated by the extent to which the woman concerned sought to live up to a vision of the perfect Jewish mother while also being judged through an idealized version of domestically content British (middle-class) womanly reserve. Final conclusions are added which summarise the contributions made by the thesis, and speculate about further inquires that might be conducted in this field.

This thesis draws on Freud to understand the innate human need to create boundaries and argues that ambivalence is an inescapable dilemma in their creation. It argues that a re-reading of Freud’s major thesis in Totem and Taboo via an engagement with the Dionysos myth and cult scholarship allows for a new understanding of dominant forms of hegemonic psychic and social formations that attempt to keep in place a false opposition of polis and phusis, self and Other, resulting in the perpetuation of oppressive structures and processes. The primary methodological claim of the thesis is that prior psychoanalytic engagements with cultus scholarship have suffered from being either insufficiently thorough or diffused in attempts to be comparative. A more holistic and detailed approach allows us to ground a psychoanalytic interpretation in the realities of said culture, allowing us to critique Freud’s misreading of Dionysos regarding the Primal Father and the psychic transmission of the Primal Crime. This thesis posits that Dionysos needs to acknowledged as a projection of the Primal Father fantasy linked to a basic ambivalence about the necessity of boundaries in psychosocial life. Using research from the classics and psychoanalysis alongside Queer and post-colonial theory, as well as extensive fieldwork and primary source analysis, this thesis provides a grounded materialist critique of psychoanalysis’ complicity in reproducing a false dichotomy between polis and phusis, a dichotomy that furthers the projection onto marginalised groups whose othering is linked to a fear and desire of a return to phusis and denial of its constant presence in the psyche and polis. This re-reading of Dionysos challenges the defensive structures, which are organised around ideas of subjectification that posit that phusis must be severed from polis/ego and projected onto Dionysos and all groups that threaten the precariousness of these boundaries.