Advaita Vedanta, as a philosophy, is also known as radical non-dualism and therefore cannot accommodate a concept such as an Avatara. The concept Avatara can best be described, yet not comprehensively in the English language, as âincarnationâ. Although the teaching of this philosophy was not established by Shankara, one could confidently admit that he firmly established it as a philosophy to be reckoned with. Advaita Vedanta, being a philosophy focused on radical non-dualism, in that it states: There is none other than the Absolute Brahman, could not conceive of any other than Brahman. This being is so, the world and everything in it, including humans and Avatara should never exist; yet in the philosophy of Shankara it does âexistâ, albeit at an empirical level. This is possible because of the following arguments presented by Shankara in support of an empirical reality. ï· The first argument is based on the understanding of what reality is. According to Shankara, the understanding and testing of reality is based on the criterion of truth. For something to be true it has to have an element of non-contradiction and has to survive through the three periods of time: past, present and future. In other words it must be immutable and permanent. For Shankara, Brahman is the only reality (paramarthika) and everything else is false: it is neither real nor unreal (e.g. the world and everything in it). ï· The relationship between Brahman and the empirical world can be described by the term vyavaharika. This relationship is similar to an example of a rope and a snake. In this example, the rope appears as a snake for one that views this from a distance. Yet when one gets closer, one realises that it is not a snake but a rope. It can therefore be said that the snake was a superimposition on the rope. The rope was real but the snake was false. From afar the snake looked real but is in reality unreal or not real. Similarly Shankara explains the relationship between the world and Brahman. The world is a superimposition on Brahman. Upon correct knowledge, the world disappears and only Brahman remains. The world, one can therefore say, is an illusion. ï· This illusion according to Shankara is brought about by Maya and is related to terms such as: appearance, ignorance, superimposition, power, deception and falsehood. For Shankara this is the principle of becoming and appearance through which the absolute non-dual Brahman becomes diversified and manifold. ï· The state in which Brahman is therefore consciously associated with Maya to create the universe is called Ishvara (god). This causes an ontological dilemma for the status of Maya. The best way for Shankara to define Maya was to say that it is neither existent nor non-existent. If Maya was existent, then his philosophy of absolute non-dualism becomes questionable because there would be another reality. If non-existent, then the empirical world would not exist. To resolve this dilemma Shankara posits the idea of two levels of truth which includes two aspects of Brahman, Nirguna Brahman (Absolute Brahman) and Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes (Ishvara) or one could say âa superimposed Brahmanâ). ï· Ishvara (Saguna Brahman), being the âsuperimposed Brahmanâ has other aspects emanating from it. According to Shankara the three most important emanations are Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer). The Brahmasutras have also confirmed that there were other gods created as well. ï· With this creation of the world, other created beings were responsible for the preservation of dharma (duties) in this world. When adharma began to overpower dharma, something had to be done to bring stability in the world. For this reason, Vishnu incarnated himself as Krishna. This incarnation became better known in Hinduism as Avatara. ï· It was necessary for Shankara to concede to the Avatara notion, because many of his followers worshipped an aspect of Ishvara. His theory was that the worship (bhakti) of other gods and deities was simply a means to moksha, but cannot directly attain moksha. The purpose for bhakti was a way to prepare the devotee to be purified so as to acquire knowledge, which, according to Shankara, removes Maya (veil of ignorance) thus liberating the jiva from bondage to attain Brahman realisation or moksha. ï· Finally, in considering and understanding radical non-dualism, this research has proven that, within his philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, Shankara is forced to incorporate and utilise the concept of Avatara within the ambits of the Hindu religious tradition. This then constitutes the finding of this research.

Current research and anecdotal evidence has suggested that students enrolled in the QSA (Queensland Studies Authority) subject for Year 11 and Year 12, Study of Religion, as outlined in the Senior Syllabus for Study of Religion, are experiencing difficulties in meaning-making. This may be due to particular methodologies being employed to teach the subject to secondary students (Barnes, 2001; Flood, 1999; Kay, 1997). The purpose of this research was to explore the connection between student difficulty in meaning making in Study of Religion and the employment of phenomenological methodologies as a pedagogical tool for teaching Study of Religion. It was anticipated that this study would illuminate the nature of the relationship between these two variables and provide a framework for the consideration of possible changes to current methodologies being employed in the Study of Religion classroom. The researcher adopted a case-study approach and further utilized the research methods of a survey questionnaire and a focus group to collect data. A cross-sectional survey at a Catholic co-educational College was completed. Forty-five students from a Study of Religion cohort totalling ninety were surveyed at this College. This was followed up by a focus group discussion involving five of the original forty-five students surveyed. The participants furnished a range of valuable insights in regard to the connection between student difficulty in meaning-making and the employment of largely phenomenological methodologies in teaching Study of Religion. Data analysis revealed that students enrolled in Study of Religion in Year 12 are struggling to construct meaning when phenomenological methodologies are predominantly employed. This is arguably a result of phenomenological methodologies having their provenance within a modernist paradigm. Consequently, methodologies that once assisted students to make meaning effectively in a modern context are unable to continue to do so in a post-modern context. This may be due to paradigmatic shifts in Education, Philosophy and Religious Studies.

Religious education involves learning about religion and the possibility of having religious experiences. Although measuring religious knowledge can be fairly straightforward, assessing whether students are having religious experiences can be more difficult. The purpose of this self-study is to develop clearer understanding of the interactions that might enable my students' religious experiences and how I might recognize when such experiences are occurring. I have written 10 narratives describing situations in which I believed students in my seminary had religious experiences. I interviewed those students to better understand their side of the narrative, and then used the Listening Guide to analyze the narratives and find whether and in what ways I was able to tell when a student was having religious experiences in my classroom. Four plotlines emerged from the data, which centered on what the student was doing to prepare for religious experiences. These ranged from simple attendance and participation to extensive outside seeking and preparation. Regarding my involvement in these experiences as a teacher, I found that common elements across the plotlines included taking time to know students and attending to intuitions about their needs. Implications of the present study are explored for both religious educators and teachers in other content areas who might be interested in helping students move beyond content knowledge toward meaningful engagement with a discipline.

I denna studie analyseras bilder i svenska religionsläroböcker för högstadiet. Syftet med denna studie är att granska och analysera hur ikoniska och anikoniska gudabilder inom hinduismen lyfts fram genom bilder i olika läroböcker sedan läroplanen (Lgr11) infördes. Analysen avser att undersöka om bilderna representerar ett inhemskt perspektiv (det vill säga hinduisk ikonografi) eller exempelvis ett orientalistiskt perspektiv. Resultaten jämförs sedan med hur styrdokumentens skrivningar uttrycker att ikoniska och anikoniska gudabilder inom hinduismen ska lyftas i religionsundervisning. Studien innefattar semiotiska bildanalyser och analys av tillhörande texter samt analys av styrdokument. Resultaten visar att bilderna i läroböckerna står i relation till ett inhemskt perspektiv, men att tillhörande texter och förklaringar till stor del står i relation till orientalistiska perspektiv. Resultaten visar att bilderna överensstämmer med styrdokumentens skrivningar men att det ändå är en brist i information och fakta. Det kan påverka elevernas förmåga att förstå hinduismen utifrån ett inhemskt perspektiv och istället fortsätta influeras av det orientalistiska perspektivet. / Images in swedish schoolbooks for religions studies in secondary school will be analysed in this essay. The purpose of the essay is to review and analyse how iconic and aniconic images of gods within hinduism are presented in images from textbooks that are produced since the new swedish policy documents (Lgr11) were introduced. The intent with the analyse is to find if the images represent a domestic perspective (hindu iconography) or an oriental perspective. The results from that will then be compared to how the swedish school policies about religion education present that iconic and aniconic images of gods within hinduism should be mediated in religious studies. The essay includes semiotic analyses of the images and analyse of the belonging texts, also an analyse of the policy documents. The results shows that the images in the schoolbooks meet the hindu iconography, while the text and explanations that comes with the images have an oriental perspective. The result also shows that the images meet the school documents guidelines but there is a lack of information and facts. This may affect the students ability to properly understand what hindusim is from a domestic perspective and will instead continue the be influenced with an oriental perspective.

I den här uppsatsen analyseras tre vanligt förekommande läroböcker i religionskunskap utifrån ett postkolonialt perspektiv i jakt på koloniala maktdiskurser. Passager där hinduism och hinduer målas upp som ”våran” motsats belyses och analyseras. Även delar innehållande etnocentrism i allmänhet och eurocentrism i synnerhet samt exotiserande beskrivningar lyfts upp i ljuset och diskuteras. I ett försök att koppla samman det teoretiska med det praktiska utfördes intervjuer med aktivt undervisande lärare. Det huvudsakliga målet med denna intervjustudie var att se hur stor risken är när ”förorenade” läroböcker används. Intervjustudien syftade således till att få en bild av i hur stor utsträckning läroböcker används i klassrumsmiljön och i planeringsprocessen av lektioner och hur ofta nya läroböcker köps in. Studiernas resultat är milt positiva. Även om ”gamla” koloniala tankar hittades i läroböckerna så verkar det som om den koloniala diskursen är försvagad i lärobokssammanhang, då de nyare läroböckerna hade färre koloniala spår än den äldsta som innehöll många. En annan del av studiernas resultat som kan ses som positivt är att lärares attityder kring läroboksanvändning verkar ha ändrats. Detta betyder att även om en lärobok innehåller koloniala diskurser så betyder det nödvändigtvis inte att de följer med in i elevens kunskaper. Detta är på grund av att läroboken numer ses som en informationskälla i mängden jämfört med dess tidigare roll som ”sanningsförmedlaren med stort S”. / In this paper three commonly used school textbooks for religion studies are analyzed using post-colonial theory in search for colonial power discourses. Passages where Hindu religion is described as “our” opposite are highlighted. Also occurrences of ethnocentrism in general and eurocentrism in particular as well as exoticism are brought to the light and discussed. In an effort to connect the theoretical with the practical an interview study is made with active teachers. The main goal is to see how big the risk, with using “tainted” textbooks, is. In the interview study questions about how large role textbooks plays in their classrooms and lesson planning and how often they bought new textbooks were asked. The results of the studies are mildly positive. Even though traces of old colonial thoughts were found in the school textbooks it seems as though the colonial discourse within the the textbooks sphere is weakened, since the newest of the textbooks analyzed did not have many colonial traces compared to the oldest one which had plenty. Another positive result of the studies is that teachers' attitudes towards textbook usage seems to have changed. This means that even though your textbook might have a colonial discourse there is no guarantee that it will stick on your students. Since textbooks now is seen as merely another source of information compared to its earlier status as The Source of Information.

The aim of this study is presented by two steps. The first is to gain an insight into what students think regarding sustainable development and religion. The second is to investigate what content in sustainable development can be used in religious studies through the students' perspective and how this content can be implemented to promote the work for sustainable development in schools. Seventeen qualitative semi-structured interviews with mainly open questions are performed. The focus is to get information about how Swedish high school students reason about and reflect on sustainable development and how they reflect on its connection to religion and to religious studies. The empirical result is analysed and discussed. The conclusions show that the respondents wish a sustainable society with a lifestyle without excessive consumption and thereby without environmental problems, with security and with a good education. They emphasize the importance of a meaningful, safe, and challenging education on religious studies. They are willing to discuss in depth and with respect for the different opinions that may emerge, about different perceptions of sustainable development that are related to the different identities and ways of religious lifestyles. This can be achieved through a communicative approach in the classroom, with a goal to create the dialogic classroom

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-02-19T12:43:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1245396 bytes, checksum: a1ecc307325da2e0c864335f93e5799b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-19T12:43:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1245396 bytes, checksum: a1ecc307325da2e0c864335f93e5799b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-16 / This thesis has as its goal to study the problem of evil through literature with the aid of the literary philosophical hermeneutics. In order to develop this theme, in first place, we seek to localize this study within the religion studies. We propose that hermeneutics can be a mediator among philosophy, theology, religion studies, and their respective approaches to religion. Next, we present exemplary how the discussions of philosophy, theology, and religion studies occur inside literature. We show also, briefly, how the problem of evil is placed as a theme of interest for philosophy and theology. At the end of this part, we present C. S. Lewis, the author whose work Out of the Silent Planet is the object of our study, and we expose the methodology of this thesis. In the second chapter, we discuss panoramically the problem of evil in philosophy and theology. Then, we present a panel with the major studies that examine the interface between the problem of evil and the works of C. S. Lewis. At the end of the chapter, we list the main categories/aspects of the problem of evil which are articulated in the apologetic approach of Lewis in The Problem of Pain, and that echoes in the fictional narrative of our object of study. The main categories/aspects of the problem of evil, which relate to the first volume of the Space Trilogy are: divine omnipotence, the fall of man, the human pain and the animal pain. In order to study the problem of evil in the literature, we seek in the literary philosophical hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur a model of analysis. We abstract from the work Time and Narrative the Ricoeurian triple mímesis as an itinerary for the study of Out of the Silent Planet. At last, we apply the resulting model to the analysis of the first volume of the C. S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy. In mímesis I, we study the fiction environment and the characters of the story. In mímesis II, we locate the chapter in the work where the narrative can be seen as a whole. Then, we describe how the categories/aspects of the problem of evil are articulated in this part of Out of the Silent Planet, we verify how the narrative shares elements of the literature body of the time in which it was produced, and how it breaks from this tradition. In mímesis III, we approach the values and the ethical practical implications that can be verified in the reading of the book. C. S. Lewis proposes in his narrative a theodicy from a theist Christian standpoint, using fiction to transmit his way of understanding the problem of evil and its implications. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo estudar o problema do mal através da literatura com o auxílio da hermenêutica filosófica literária. Para desenvolver esse tema, em primeiro lugar, buscamos localizar este estudo dentro das ciências das religiões. Propomos que a hermenêutica pode ser uma mediadora entre filosofia, teologia, ciências das religiões e suas respectivas abordagens à religião. Depois, apresentamos exemplarmente como as discussões da filosofia, da teologia e das ciências das religiões ocorrem dentro da literatura. Mostramos também, brevemente, como o problema do mal se coloca como tema de interesse para a filosofia e para a teologia. No final da primeira parte, introduzimos C. S. Lewis, o autor cuja a obra Além do planeta silencioso é o objeto do nosso estudo e expomos a metodologia dessa dissertação. No segundo capítulo, discutimos panoramicamente o problema do mal na filosofia e na teologia. Em seguida, apresentamos um painel com os principais estudos que examinam a interface entre o problema do mal e as obras de C. S. Lewis. Ao final do capítulo, elencamos as principais categorias/aspectos do problema do mal que são articuladas na abordagem apologética de Lewis em O problema do sofrimento e que ecoam na narrativa ficcional do nosso objeto de estudo. As principais categorias/aspectos do problema do mal que se relacionam com o primeiro volume da Trilogia cósmica são: a onipotência divina, a queda do homem, o sofrimento humano e o sofrimento animal. Para estudar o problema do mal na literatura, buscamos na hermenêutica filosófica literária de Paul Ricoeur um modelo de análise. Abstraímos da obra Tempo e narrativa a tríplice mimese ricoeuriana como roteiro para o estudo de Além do planeta silencioso. Por fim, aplicamos o modelo resultante à análise do primeiro volume da Trilogia cósmica de C. S. Lewis. Em mímesis I, estudamos a ambientação da ficção e os personagens da história. Em mímesis II, localizamos o capítulo da obra onde a narrativa pode ser vista como um todo. Então, descrevemos como as categorias/aspectos do problema do mal são articuladas nessa parte de Além do planeta silencioso, verificamos como a narrativa compartilha elementos do corpo literário da época em que foi produzida e como ela rompe com essa tradição. Em mímesis III, abordamos os valores e as implicações éticas práticas que podem ser verificadas na leitura do livro. C. S. Lewis propõe em sua narrativa uma teodiceia desde um ponto de vista teísta cristão, utilizando-se da ficção para transmitir sua maneira de entender o problema do mal e suas implicações.