The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how the books The Case for God and 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life by the historian Karen Armstrong has been discussed and debated in swedish mass media. Very few academics in the discipline of the history of religions has had such a broad public success as Karen Armstrong, and it is therefore important to acknowledge how major themes and issues in her writings are discussed on the public arena. With the aid of reception theory developed by Hans Robert Jauss and by Stuart Hall, I present three conclusions about the mass media reception of The Case for God and 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life. First of all, I show that the reception of the two books by Armstrong is dependent on differences in expectations and experiences, and that it is possible to spot and acknowledge these differences in the actual texts that make up the reception. Second, I give evidence to how central binary constructions in the arguments put forward by Armstrong are used and developed upon in the reception. Third, I demonstrate how differences in perceptions about Karen Armstrong as a person plays a major part in the reception, and that Armstrong herself is an active part in the construction of her own media image.

This analysis aims to examinate, with a comparative method, how the religions of Judaism and Islam are portrayed within three Swedish textbooks from 1979, 1998 and 2015 for use in upper secondary school. The three curriculums for upper secondary school from 1970, 1994 and 2011, will be used as to determined how appropriate the contents are in the textbooks. The three textbooks have all been used at different times and places in the Swedish upper secondary school’s subject of Religionskunskap (Religious education). This paper has three research questions: (1) How does the textbooks depict Judaism and Islam, (2) how are the believers and practitioners displayed in the contents and (3) to what extent does the textbooks correlate to the curriculums. The analysis showed that there are great differences between each textbook and how detailed the depictions are about the religions. Some of the depictions were negative stereotypes which did not fit the guidelines within the responding curriculum. / <p>Uppsats av didaktisk karaktär i Religionshistoria C</p>

There are many negative preconceptions about Islam and especially how Islam affects men and women. Women are often described to be subjugated by Islam. Sufism is Islamic mysticism and has been described as one way to give women the same opportunities as men. This thesis examines and compares how men and women are portrayed in texts written by two prominent Sufi mystics, Muhuiddin Ibn ’Arabi and Abu-Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali. To achieve this, I have analyzed one text of each author with a qualitative content analysis. Then I have compared the results to see if there are any differences or similarities in their way of describing men and women. The theory that has been used is Yvonne Hirdman’s gender theory. The aim of the thesis is to come to a greater understanding of whether Ibn ‘Arabi and al-Ghazali increase or decrease differences between men and women in their writings. Hirdmans gender theory says that by increasing differences between men and women it negatively affects gender equality. The aim is also to examine if they support the subjugation of women. The analysis shows that al-Ghazalis writings contribute to increase differences between men and women and he also supports the subjugation of women in his text. The majority of Ibn ‘Arabis writings does not describe men and women in a way that increases differences between men and women or subjugates women.

<p>Uppsatsen undersöker diskursen om Indien i Teosofisk tidskrift 1891-1894. Efter en introduktion till forskingsfälten, västerländsk esoterisk tradition och post-kolonialism, beskrivs den diskursiva framställningen av Indien i de svenska teosofernas tidskrift. Indien representerar en uråldrig visdom och ett samtida förfall. I den gamla sanskrit-litteraturen finner teosoferna svunna tiders andligt högtstående civilisation medan teosofernas samtida Indien är förslappat och i behov av revitalisering. Indien utgör även en motpol till västerlandet som är präglat av två andra sorts förfall: den andliga materialismen och en dogmatisk kyrkoreligion. Teosofernas uppgift blir att revitalisera Indiens uråldriga visdomar och förandliga väst i ett väst-östligt utbyte.</p><p>Denna bild av Indien har inte enbart påverkat nyandligheten utan även en bred västerländsk uppfattning om Indiens andlighet. Även inom hindu-nationalismen återfinns föreställningar som överensstämmer med teosofernas Indien-diskurs. Uppsatsen avslutas med en diskussion kring rötterna, betydelsen och spridningen av den teosofiska diskursen om Indien.</p>

Uppsatsen undersöker diskursen om Indien i Teosofisk tidskrift 1891-1894. Efter en introduktion till forskingsfälten, västerländsk esoterisk tradition och post-kolonialism, beskrivs den diskursiva framställningen av Indien i de svenska teosofernas tidskrift. Indien representerar en uråldrig visdom och ett samtida förfall. I den gamla sanskrit-litteraturen finner teosoferna svunna tiders andligt högtstående civilisation medan teosofernas samtida Indien är förslappat och i behov av revitalisering. Indien utgör även en motpol till västerlandet som är präglat av två andra sorts förfall: den andliga materialismen och en dogmatisk kyrkoreligion. Teosofernas uppgift blir att revitalisera Indiens uråldriga visdomar och förandliga väst i ett väst-östligt utbyte. Denna bild av Indien har inte enbart påverkat nyandligheten utan även en bred västerländsk uppfattning om Indiens andlighet. Även inom hindu-nationalismen återfinns föreställningar som överensstämmer med teosofernas Indien-diskurs. Uppsatsen avslutas med en diskussion kring rötterna, betydelsen och spridningen av den teosofiska diskursen om Indien.

During the course of history, the world have come to see powerful nations rise and fall, religions spread and diminish – and all too often there have been violent struggles between religious groups and secular forces, a fact that we still see in our world today. In the West, we often hear about the violent and fundamental dimensions of Islam. Buddhism is rarely a part of the equation in a western context, regarding violence. A common perception is the picture of Buddhism as a guardian of non-violent principles and values. The central theme of this essay circuits around views on violence and warfare in the Sri Lankan context, where religion and violence have come to be intertwined, often with political overtones. With different theoretical frameworks and angles I have illustrated and analyzed how the historical development can be linked to classical buddhist sources and how some singalease buddhists make use of a mythical glorious past to justify violence and warfare against the tamil minority population. But like all religious traditions there are also counterforces and exceptions that diverge from the mainstream, which I have found importnant to illuminate. Religious phenomena can be a complex matter to investigate and trying to see the variations within a religious tradition can be difficult but one way to adress theese issues (when it comes to religion and violence in Sri Lanka) is to give diverse and multifaceted pictures of the conflict for when it comes to religion, there are never one-sided answers.

No description available.

The period of church awakening in Sweden during the first half of the nineteenth century, has had a great influence on the Swedish society. During that time certain persons are to be noticed. Peter Fjellstedt and Peter Wieselgren, priests in the Swedish Church, are among those who were of special importance. But even the British preacher George Scott and later the Swedish layman Carl-Olof Rosenius became aware of the importance of networking. They all felt a call from God to preach a message of redemption and restoration. The people of Sweden were at that time under a burden of poverty, drunkedness and social destitution and thousands of people were touched by the message and had their lives changed. This study is concentrated on the reason why this movement started and how it continued during the first 60 years of the nineteenth century. I look at the importance of the doctrine (läran), the spirit of time (tidsandan) and the networks (nätverken). The conclusion is that the inheritance of Luther together with European pietism has been the reason for the reception of the message among people in general. The networks played a great role especially all the letters written by Fjellstedt and Wieselgren.

No description available.

<p>The period of church awakening in Sweden during the first half of the nineteenth century, has had a great influence on the Swedish society. During that time certain persons are to be noticed. Peter Fjellstedt and Peter Wieselgren, priests in the Swedish Church, are among those who were of special importance. But even the British preacher George Scott and later the Swedish layman Carl-Olof Rosenius became aware of the importance of networking. They all felt a call from God to preach a message of redemption and restoration. The people of Sweden were at that time under a burden of poverty, drunkedness and social destitution and thousands of people were touched by the message and had their lives changed.</p><p>This study is concentrated on the reason why this movement started and how it continued during the first 60 years of the nineteenth century. I look at the importance of the doctrine (läran), the spirit of time (tidsandan) and the networks (nätverken).</p><p>The conclusion is that the inheritance of Luther together with European pietism has been the reason for the reception of the message among people in general. The networks played a great role especially all the letters written by Fjellstedt and Wieselgren.</p>