Lars Levi Læstadius (1800-1861) var en stor och viktig människa. Han är ihågkommen och mycket omskriven. Læstadius var en aktiv nykterhetskämpe, botaniker och älskad präst. Utöver detta var han även den som grundade den märkliga väckelsen omkring år 1845 som än idag bär hans namn: læstadianismen. Læstadianerna, som de troende kom att kallas, lyssnade till denne stränga man och lärde sig att leva som han predikade, ett enkelt och nyktert liv. De kristna höll ihop under hela Læstadius liv och även en tid efter hans död, då den nye ledaren blev Læstadius följeslagare, Johan Raattamaa. Under hans tid samlades læstadianerna kring honom. Efter hans död blev det svårare att hålla väckelsen samlad kring en central punkt utan att ha någon speciell ledare att lyssna på. Slutligen splittrades de troende efter många oenigheter och smutskastning och delades i två grupper med egna ledare och predikanter. Trots försök till försoning blev det inte någon återförening mellan de två och sidorna kom att kallas sig öst- och västsidorna - gammellæstadianerna respektive de förstföddas församling. Gammellæstadierna fick efter ett tag meningsskiljaktigheter gällande bland annat Bibeln och bönen och även denna grupp delade på sig och bildade Tornedalsriktningen och Finland Fridsföreningars Centralförbund (SRK). Förutom dessa två riktningar finns några mindre grupper som kommit antingen från SRK eller från den västlæstadianska gruppen. Læstadianismen finns idag på många platser i världen, i en mindre sträng, östlig gren, och en lika sträng, västlig gren, som under Læstadius och Raattamaas tid. Gudstjänsten och arbetet med denna skiljer sig på vissa punkter hos dessa riktningar, men det finns såklart även många likheter hos dem. Livsstilen och mentaliteten är ganska lika vad gäller familjelivet, äktenskap, nöjen, alkohol mm. Den röda tråden som följer alla læstadianers liv, oavsett kön eller grupp, är att inget får ta din odelade uppmärksamhet från Gud varför man väljer att undvika saker som kan vara distraherade såsom TV, musik och materiella ting.

Religiös fundamentalism har på senare tid blivit ett vanligare fenomen trots ett mer sekulariserat samhälle. Detta för att sekularisering i sig inte innebär att människor blivit mindre religiösa utan att religionen har bytt plats från det offentliga till det privata. På grund av att fundamentalism ofta motsätter sig demokrati och pluralism, värden som ska främjas enligt den svenska läroplanen, är det viktigt att skolelever får bekanta sig med fundamentalism som fenomen. Därför undersöker jag i denna uppsats vilken bild läroböcker ger av fenomenet. Enligt Kjell Härenstam finns det problem med att försöka framställa religioner på ett objektivt sätt i läroböcker. Detta eftersom författaren aldrig kan bortse från sina egna värderingar och kultur. ”Kunskap är alltid någons kunskap.” Därför ställer Härenstam den objektiva, positivistiska kunskapen mot det hermeneutiskt, vidgade perspektivet och menar att religioner bör belysas ur så många perspektiv som möjligt. Undersökningen omfattar sex stycken böcker där den äldsta är från 1997 och den nyaste från 2007. Genom textanalys kommer jag fram till att fundamentalism inte ges så mycket utrymme i läroböcker. De former av fundamentalism som presenteras är främst kristen och muslimsk fundamentalism. Den kristna formen beskrivs som något som förekommer inom mindre församlingar och sekter och vänder sig mot modern vetenskap medan den muslimska formen beskrivs som ett fenomen som har ett större folkligt stöd än den kristna och främst vänder sig mot västvärldens influenser. Profana, hinduistiska och judiska former av fundamentalism förekommer också men inte alls i samma utsträckning. Den objektiva kunskapssynen är dominerande i böckerna medan de böcker som jag anser som bäst i undersökningen kombinerar både försök till objektiva framställningar med olika perspektiv på fenomenet och diskussionsfrågor som tar utgångspunkt i elevernas egna bilder av fundamentalism.

Den egna nyfikenheten, studierna i religionsvetenskap samt ett intresse för hembygdshistoria har fått mig att välja det ämne som denna uppsats handlar om. Viljan till att försöka levandegöra en del av traktens historia har också varit den största drivkraften i detta arbete. Huvudämnet för uppsatsen handlar om en religiös sekt i Järvsö under 1800-talet. Sekten kallades i folkmun för ”hedbergare” men är i kyrkohistorien mer känd under namnet hedbergianer. Båda dessa namn kom av att församlingsmedlemmarna i dessa utbytargrupper inspirerades av en finsk präst vid namn Fredrik Gabriel Hedberg. Det övergripande syftet med arbetet är att göra en historisk beskrivning av hedbergarna i Järvsö, då från rörelsens uppkomst till dess fall. Mer specifika frågeställningar som jag ska besvara i denna uppsats är följande: Vilka var orsakerna till hedbergarnas brytning med kyrka och samhälle? På vilket sätt påverkade brytningen med kyrkan församlingsmedlemmarnas privata liv, vilka konsekvenser fick den?

Analyzing novels by Sheri Reynolds, Lee Smith, Barbara Kingsolver, Alice Walker, Gloria Naylor, and Sue Monk Kidd, I argue that these authors challenge religious structures by dramatizing the struggle between love and resentment that brings many women to the point of crisis but also inspires imaginative and generative processes of appropriation and revision, emphasizing not destination but process. Employing first-person narration in coming-of-age stories, Smith, Reynolds, and Kingsolver highlight the various narratives that govern the experiences of children born into religious cultures, including narratives of sexual development, gender identity, and religious conversion, to portray the difficulty of articulating female experience within the limited lexicon of Christian fundamentalism. As they mature into adulthood, the girl characters in these novels break from tradition to develop new consciousness by altering and adapting religious language, understood as open and malleable rather than authoritative and fixed. Smith, Kidd, and Naylor incorporate the Virgin Mary and divine maternal figures from non-Christian traditions to restore the mother-daughter relationship that is eclipsed by the Father and Son in Christian tradition. Identifying the female body as a site of spiritual knowledge, these authors present a metaphorical return to the womb that empowers their characters to embrace divine maternal love that transgresses the masculine symbolic order, displacing (but not necessarily destroying) the authority of God the Father and His human representatives. Reynolds and Walker portray physical pain, central to the Christian image of crucifixion, as destroying the ability of women to speak, denying them subjectivity. Through transgressive sexual relationships infused with religious significance, these authors disrupt the Christian moral paradigm by presenting bodily pleasure as an alternative to the Christian valorization of sacrifice. The replacement of pain with pleasure inspires imaginative work that makes private spirituality shareable through artistic creation. The novels I study present themes that also concern Christian and non-Christian feminist theologians: the development of feminine images of the divine, emphasis on immanence over transcendence, the apprehension of the divine in nature, and the necessity of challenging the reification of religious images and dualisms that undermine female subjectivity. I show the reciprocal relationship between fiction and theology, as theologians treat women's literature as sacred texts and fiction writers give life to abstract religious concepts through narrative.

Studies have suggested that the Christian Right, composed largely of Protestant fundamentalists, is a political movement characterized by an extreme right-wing (conservative) ideological bias. The general assumption by students of religion and politics has been that the Christian Right reflects a consistently conservative position with regard to both economic and social policy issues. However, minimal quantitative research has been employed to lend substance to such theories. The goal of this study was to employ quantitative research data to determine the political biases and ideology of Protestant fundamentalists on bothChristian Right is indeed conservative on issues policy, but much less so (even somewhat liberal) on economic or social welfare policy.This study was conducted using survey data collected by the National Opinion Research Center, General Social Surveys (NORC). The Protestant respondents were separated from the non-Protestant respondents, and indexes were computed to reflect the composite scores of the Protestant respondents on issues of social policy and social welfare policy. Although the results were somewhat inconclusive with regard to social welfare issues, the findings generally supported the hypothesis: There is a statistically significant positive relationship between social policy conservatism and degree of Protestant fundamentalism, strong enough to be of theoretical importance. Conversely, there is, in some instances, a statistically significant positive relationship between support for social welfare and degree of Protestant fundamentalism. The prevailing theory that Protestant fundamentalists are economic conservatives was shown to be a questionable if not a false theory.The conclusion of the present study was that the Christian Right is acutely aware of and politically motivated by social policy issues, concerned that the fundamentalist's perception of the proper morality is carried out in public policy. The Protestant fundamentalist position on issues of social policy reflects a conservative ideological bias. The economic issues, however, are of much less importance to members of the Christian Right, and perhaps may be unrelated to any type of religious position or religious intensity. Where relationships were found to exist, the Christian Right was shown to be moderate or even liberal, reflecting some degree of support for government-provided social welfare programs, a position at variance with the general conservative political movement. Some speculations as to the dichotomy of the Christian Right as a conservative political movement are offered, and several reasons for this dichotomy between social and economic policy issues are offered in light of the religious beliefs held by Protestant fundamentalists. / Department of Political Science

Due to the fact that Scripture is the authoritative Word of God (Belgic Confession. Article 5), the infallible written Word of God. is and stays the basis for Christian ethics. Scripture is not just another single source for Christian ethics among other sources, but it is the decisive source among all other sources. The question then arises - how is it possible in the ever-changing life situation of the modem day context of society? In an ever increasing secularized society places the Christian life and also the Christian ethics under more pressure. The acceptance of the authority of Scripture is therefore indispensable for Christian ethics. Scripture does however not present a text as an absolute answer for every possible or similar ethical problem. The deep-seated principles of Scripture must be exposed. From these principles norms should be derived that is applicable to the modem problem. The problem statement that follows from this culminates as the following: Can a thematic analysis of the Biblical dogma present a fundamental working foundation for Christian ethics in modem day society and serve as a corrective for the problematic approaches of a biblicistic as well as an over critical view of Scripture for the basis of ethics? The central theoretical argument of the study is the following: A thematic analysis of the Biblical dogma can indeed present a fundamental, working foundation for Christian ethics in modem day society and can serve as a corrective for the problematic approaches of a biblicistic as well as an over critical view of Scripture for the basis of ethics. In the second chapter the definitions of what could be defined as Christian ethical perspectives and principles is examined. In other words, the purpose of the chapter is to examine and to give a broad overview of the understanding of ethics, morality, morals etc. The qualified deontological approach is chosen due to the fact that normative approach with its focus on Scripture as authoritative therein plays a big role. The third chapter focuses on which view of Scripture and use of Scripture is normally applied in Reformed ethics in the use or interpretation of Scripture. Special attention is given to the authority of Scripture, view of Scripture and an attempt is made to convey the hermeneutical points of departure (axioms) in order to derive an intra-biblical use of Scripture. The chapter comes to the conclusion that even though the Christian ethicist does have in theory at his disposal a biblical-founded hermeneutical model it does not safeguard him against a faulty use or interpretation of Scripture in practice in the fourth chapter the present-day Scriptural principles that serves as basis and cadre for the interpretation of Scripture in light of the answering of Christian ethical questions is examined. In light of the present-day situation seems that although there is a sound hermeneutical axiom that serves as filters in the interpretation of Scripture in the reformed ethics, in practice either a biblicistic or a Criticism of Scripture approach to Scripture is chosen. The approaches of the fundamentalistic/biblicistic and Criticism of Scripture is examined and m e s to the conclusion that both, in their own way, does bring the authority and the message of Scripture in disrepute. In the event of the fundamentalistic and biblicistic approach the divine inspiration character of Scripture is overemphasized and all Scriptural Utterances is treated on the same level to such an instance that everything is sanctioned. In the event of the Criticism of Scripture the human fallible character is again overemphasized to the extent that the normative authority of Scripture for Christian ethics is not taken into account . The chapter comes to the conclusion mat a "third way” must be examined to circumvent the many pitfalls of either a fundamentalistic/biblicistic of Criticism of Scripture in the interpretation of Scripture in light of a modem day ethical problem. In the fifth chapter an adjudication and evaluation of the quality of the use or Interpretation of Scripture in light of capital punishment within the biblical view of a right to life is given as a representative of modem day ethical problems. In light of the principles given in Chapter 3 and 4 it is shown that Scripture is most often misused despite fair hermeneutical principles Only to reflect the ethicist own preconceived ideas. The last chapter indicates an approach that might possibly serve as an alternative/valid use or interpretation of Scripture in reformed ethics other than a typical biblicistic/fundamentalistic or Criticism of Scripture approach. The chapter draws to the conclusion that the contextual-paradigmatic approach is at this time the only capable approach of acknowledging the proper interpretation of Scripture to shed some light on the ethical problems of modem day society, without stepping into the boundaries of either a biblicistic/fundamentalistic of Criticism of Scripture interpretation of Scripture. The contextual-paradigmatic approach succeeds in preventing the ethicist to misinterpret Biblical texts that seems to be of importance to the debate of capital punishment and to make a scientific contribution lo important debates in South Africa today, especially those related to the interpretation of the Bible and its use in the development of South Africa. In this way an attempt is made to contribute towards and to provide guidelines for a healthy and responsible society and for the functioning of Christians within the current South African state. The message of the Bible must thus be established in a responsible and valid way, and communicated effectively to society. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Ethics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006

In the history of the Reformed Churches of South Africa (RCSA) great emphisis was placed on the notion to make decisions on the basis, and in accordance to the Scriptures. In spite of this notion, the church community of the RCSA stand in the midst of great tension regarding some decisions. In the fifty year period from the centenary festival in 1959 to the 150 year festival in 2009, assemblies of the church community were confronted with many objections to decisions regarding racial relations, the acceptance of the 1983-translation of the Bible in Afrikaans, the acceptance of the 2001-Psalter, the use of small cups in the Holy Communion and the role of women in the offices of deacon, elder and minister. The question that’s being addressed in this study is, if a shift in the RCSA’s view of Scripture took place. Chapter 2 gives an historical overview of the decisions that gave way to to the differences mentioned above. From the historical overview the aspects regarding the view of Scripture can be formulated. In chapter 3 the relation between the differences and the view of Scripture are examined. At first a short definition of the reformed view of Scripture are formulated. Hermeneutical and view of Scripture aspects of the raports of deputies and decisions of assemblies are tested according to the formulated definition of a reformed view of Scripture. Chapter 4 examines the influence that paradigm shifts had on the differences in the RCSA. Focus is placed on the influence of postmodernism on the one hand and fundamentalism on the other. Attention is also given to the stance of the RCSA on these two paradigms of thought with relation to the view of Scripture. In light of the reformed view of Scripture the postmodern approach to hermeneutics is discarded as well as the the fundamentalist view of Scripture. In spite of the reality of paradigmshifts, the raports of deputies and the decisions of assemblies does not reflect this reality. Chapter 5 tries to point a way out to handle the differences in the ligt of the Reformed view of Scripture. Focus is placed on the place the sociohistorical context holds in the revelationhistorical exegetical process. The chapter further investigates the relation between desicions on Scriptural grounds and the right to protest according to artical 31 of the Reformed Chrurchorder. Attention in given to so called ordinary cases ans essential cases. The notion that differences can be solved when dessicions is based on Scripture alone is put forward in this chapter. / Thesis (M.Th. (Church and Dogma History))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

In the history of the Reformed Churches of South Africa (RCSA) great emphisis was placed on the notion to make decisions on the basis, and in accordance to the Scriptures. In spite of this notion, the church community of the RCSA stand in the midst of great tension regarding some decisions. In the fifty year period from the centenary festival in 1959 to the 150 year festival in 2009, assemblies of the church community were confronted with many objections to decisions regarding racial relations, the acceptance of the 1983-translation of the Bible in Afrikaans, the acceptance of the 2001-Psalter, the use of small cups in the Holy Communion and the role of women in the offices of deacon, elder and minister. The question that’s being addressed in this study is, if a shift in the RCSA’s view of Scripture took place. Chapter 2 gives an historical overview of the decisions that gave way to to the differences mentioned above. From the historical overview the aspects regarding the view of Scripture can be formulated. In chapter 3 the relation between the differences and the view of Scripture are examined. At first a short definition of the reformed view of Scripture are formulated. Hermeneutical and view of Scripture aspects of the raports of deputies and decisions of assemblies are tested according to the formulated definition of a reformed view of Scripture. Chapter 4 examines the influence that paradigm shifts had on the differences in the RCSA. Focus is placed on the influence of postmodernism on the one hand and fundamentalism on the other. Attention is also given to the stance of the RCSA on these two paradigms of thought with relation to the view of Scripture. In light of the reformed view of Scripture the postmodern approach to hermeneutics is discarded as well as the the fundamentalist view of Scripture. In spite of the reality of paradigmshifts, the raports of deputies and the decisions of assemblies does not reflect this reality. Chapter 5 tries to point a way out to handle the differences in the ligt of the Reformed view of Scripture. Focus is placed on the place the sociohistorical context holds in the revelationhistorical exegetical process. The chapter further investigates the relation between desicions on Scriptural grounds and the right to protest according to artical 31 of the Reformed Chrurchorder. Attention in given to so called ordinary cases ans essential cases. The notion that differences can be solved when dessicions is based on Scripture alone is put forward in this chapter. / Thesis (M.Th. (Church and Dogma History))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

In this study five individuals who worked in Svenska Israelsmissionen and at the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem are focused. These are Greta Andrén, deaconess in Svenska Israelsmissionen from 1934 and matron at the Swedish Theological Institute from 1946 to 1971, Birger Pernow, director of Svenska Israelsmissionen from 1930 to 1961, Harald Sahlin director of the Swedish Theological Institute in 1947, Hans Kosmala director of the Swedish Theological Institute from 1951 to 1971, and finally H.S. Nyberg, Chair of the Swedish board of the Swedish Theological Institute from 1955 to 1974. The study uses theoretical perspectives from Hannah Arendt, Mahmood Mamdani and Rudolf Bultmann. A common idea among Lutheran Christians in the first half of 20th century Sweden implied that Jews who left Europe for Palestine or Israel were not just seen as refugees or colonialists - but viewed as returnees, to the Promised Land. The idea of peoples’ origins, and original home, is traced in European race thinking. This study is discussing how many of the studied individuals combined superstitious interpretations of history with apocalyptic interpretations of the Bible and a Romantic national ideal. Svenska Israelsmissionen and the Swedish Theological Institute participated in Svenska Israelhjälpen in 1952, which resulted in 75 Swedish houses sent to the State of Israel. These houses were built on land where until July 1948 the Palestinian Arab village Qastina was located. The Jewish state was supported, but, the establishment of an Arab State in Palestine according to the UN decision of Nov 1947 was not essential for these Lutheran Christians in Sweden.  The analysis involves an effort to translate the religious language of the studied objects into a secular language.

Thesis (doctoral)--Florida State University. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [253]-282) and index.