Independent confessional schools have been a heavily discussed subject in Sweden in recent years. At the same time, the spread of information is shifting more and more from the religious institutions themselves to be controlled by the media according to the mediatization theory. This paper aims to investigate what arguments are used, and which themes can be identified in the discussion about confessional schools in Sweden in two large newspapers using qualitative thematic analysis. Moreover, the investigation is using a quantitative approach to find out if the question about confessional schools have gained more or less attention during recent years, looking at the number of publications from Swedish newspapers. The findings show that the number of publications has risen quite drastically in the last 15 years, and the years with the highest peaks correlate with the election years in 2018 and 2022, which both were election years in Sweden. Moreover, the paper aims to gain a better understanding about how we can relate that discourse to mediatization theory. Meaning that the media plays a big part in controlling the narrative, together with the audience. The results in this investigation are quite similar to previous research concerning what type of themes that can be identified in the discussion and debates about confessional schools. The investigation also highlights some difficulties in the legislation and decisions made to control how confessional schools in Sweden are being run.

This paper has three aims: to identify how Islam and Muslims are pictured in Muslim popular music, to examine if the message has been adjusted dependig on the listener, and if the music can be used in the construction of identities. To achieve this aim, music by the artists Sami Yusuf and Maher Zain have been analyzed. The research questions are; which images of Islam and Muslims are being portrayed through the music of Sami Yusuf and Maher Zain? Are there any differences in the images and the messages depending on who the listener is? What meaning can the music have for the constuction of individual and collective forms of identity? The material consists of 52 song lyrics which have been studied using the method of content analysis. The data were analyzed in relation to Mediatization Theory as described by Hjarvard, Schofield Clark and Lövheim, as well as Ammerman's theory on identity and religion. The result of the study shows that Muslim popular music portray Islam as a religion of love that promotes peace. According to the themes that were identified Muslims are pictured as people who have gone through hardships, who have left their old life behind them and found inner peace with the help of Allah. Muslims are portrayed as people who love their families and the Prophet Muhammad, and they worship Allah and believe in an afterlife. Only small differences in the music's message depending on the receiver were found. One difference is that songs in English tend to contain a smaller amount of references to religion than songs that are sung in for example Arabic. The result show that muslim popular music can help the construction of identities because it portrays a different kind of image of Islam compared to the negative image portrayed by the media. The music also provides the listener with biographical stories to identify with and invities people to Islam. Moreover, the songs challenge both Western modernity and traditional Islam.

Through the history have the women been subordinated to the men, structures that still are present in these days even though feminist movements have tried work against them. One platform that is quite common to use for drawing attention to a certain subject is popular culture. Here the author can disguise their thoughts or highlight them through another context. This brought my attention to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale where religious symbols are commonly used through the book at the same time as women’s rights are neglected. I wanted to know how these religious symbols are connected to this kind of structures, how they are motivating them. To answer that question I used a text analysis with the focus to find the underlying factors to this kind of use of religious symbols and how the gender roles are built up. I used two kinds of theories, one is Stig Hjarvard’s mediatization theory with the focus on banal religion, and the other is Yvonne Hirdman’s gender theory that are focusing on the view of women through the history. What I found was that Atwood is using religion as a theme to criticize the patriarchal structures in her time and to comment on the use of religious symbols uncontextualized to debate on questions that affects a majority of people, like questions about sexuality, abortion and sexual abuse.

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Denna studie har undersökt medialiseringen av nätverket Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg. Det har skett genom att identifiera sociala handlingar på en mesonivå för att hitta medieringsprocesser bland dem. Analysen på makronivå (i relation med samhället) har i sin tur visat vilken betydelse medieringsprocesserna har haft för Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg. Urvalet har skett på sociala medier och nätverkets webbsida. Analysen är baserad på ett ramverk av Alice Mattoni och Emiliano Treré (2014) kombinerat med medialiseringsteorier, mer specifikt, Winfried Schulzs (2004) fyra processer inom medialisering tillsammans med José van Dijck och Thomas Poells (2013) medielogik på sociala medier. En kvalitativ textanalys har använts för att kunna studera materialet. Analysen har genomförts på två nivåer, en mesonivå för att hitta de sociala handlingarna och deras medieringsprocesser, och på en makronivå, för att se medialiseringen inom Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg. Resultatet visade att Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg har en stark medialisering, men att de samtidigt är långt från helt medialiserade. Vissa sociala handlingar har inte medialiseras, men har fortfarande haft en sammanslagning (amalgamation) med andra medierade handlingar. Slutligen har studien också påvisat att sociala rörelser bör studeras ytterligare ur ett medieperspektiv, för att förstå funktioner och förändringar inom dem. / This study has examined the mediatization of the social movement Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg. By identifying social practices at a meso level within Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg, mediation processes have been found. The analysis at a macro level (in relation with the society) have then led to the understanding of the mediation processes. The material selection has been made on social media and on the website of Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg. The analysis is based on a conceptual framework by Alice Mattoni and Emiliano Treré (2014), combined with mediatization theories, and more specifically, the four processes of social change within mediatization by Winfried Schulz (2004) together with the media logics in social media by José van Dijck and Thomas Poell (2013). A qualitative text analysis was used in order to study the material. The analysis was performed at two levels, firstly, at a meso level to identify the social practices and the mediation processes, and secondly, at a macro level to find the mediatization of Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg. The results showed that Refugees Welcome to Gothenburg has a strong mediatization, but at the same time, not completely. Some social practices have not been mediated. The non-mediated social practices, however, have shown an amalgamation (joining) with the mediated social practices. Finally, the essay has also shown that social movements should be studied from a media perspective even further, to be able to understand functions and changes within them.