The reformed Hindu organisations play a major role in the provision of religious and cultural support within the local Hindu community. This study examines the role played by the reformed Hindu organisations in the provision of religious and cultural information within the greater Ethekwini region. The research methodology includes triangulation, where qualitative and quantitative research is employed. Interviews, historical research, observation as well as document and content analysis assists in the collation of information. This exploratory study seeks to determine the kinds of information formats and methods of dissemination that are used by the organisations. Religious and cultural information offered through other services such as the languages classes are discussed. The Indian languages used by the religious leaders are explored. The level of library services offered, the contents and authorship of the published material are investigated. Non-print media and problems associated with the use of the non-print media are discussed. Also discussed are interpersonal means of information dissemination and preservation, like the oral tradition of singing and delivering talks. Essential details of classification in ancient Indian libraries are included in the study since libraries have been a part of Hindu temples and universities from ancient times. Brief historical information regarding the arrival of the Indians in South Africa and the subsequent establishment of the Hindu religion within KwaZulu-Natal is provided. Reasons for the development and support given to the establishment of the reformed Hindu organisations are outlined. An analysis of the interviews conducted covering all the objectives of the study is also included. The collections held by the different libraries/library services are analysed. The significant role played by the reformed Hindu organisations in the preservation and dissemination of religious and cultural information presented in a variety of formats is discussed in the concluding remarks. The researcher has included recommendations that would benefit the participating organisations in their efforts as preservers and disseminators of religious and cultural information. / Thesis (M.I.S)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Religious disaffiliation among Millennials has increased significantly in the past decade alongside rapidly changing social relationships amplified by social media applications. In the United States, many Millennials claim no religious identity with many leaving their religion for a variety of reasons. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of religiously disaffiliated Millennials regarding their psychological health and well-being. Self-determination theory fulfilled the theoretical framework for examining the lived experiences of young adults regarding their well-being after religious disaffiliation. A purposive sample of 12 male and female religiously disaffiliated Millennials was recruited for semistructured interviews. Content analysis was used to code interviews, identify themes, and explore the lived experiences of disaffiliated young adults. Six themes emerged from the data analysis that included religious disaffiliates inherited their childhood religion; contradictory experiences highlighted a need to disaffiliate; after disaffiliation, individuals stopped attending the church with no other actions; after disaffiliation, participants appeared to be able to connect with their authentic self; participants had negative connotations of religion after disaffiliating; and families accepted disaffiliation after it occurred. The implications for social change include providing better understanding of the psychological health and well-being of Millennials who have disaffiliated, as well as demonstrating a need for future research that focuses on future generational cohorts and how religious organizations and churches are accounting for disaffiliation within their congregations.

This study explores the roles of religious organizations in the refugee movement “Lampedusa in Hamburg”, in Hamburg, Germany during 2013 and 2014. “Lampedusa in Hamburg” consisted of approximately 300 refugees who had come from Libya, and decided to fight for their right to stay in Germany. Early on, religious organizations became important supporters to the movement, by providing the members food and shelter. By analyzing archival material and interviews with two religious representatives, this thesis investigates the involvement of religious organizations, their collaborations, and the outcomes produced by their work during the protests, using theories connected to secularization and religion and migration. The analysis shows that the involvement of religious organizations in the “Lampedusa in Hamburg”- movement is an example of how faith-based actors in the West are standing up against authorities and objecting migration policies. Their work, collaborations and impact were clearly shaped by national ties with the German state and their position in society.  Further, local dynamics formed the roles of the religious organizations, especially in the case of the St. Pauli church – one of the most central religious actors – located in St. Pauli, a block with a long history of protests. During the Lampedusa in Hamburg-movement, processes operating at global, national, and local scales met, exposing the complexities of the roles that religious organizations take on, as they become involved in migrant processes in Western Europe today.

This project explores the global spread of the two Taiwanese religious organizations Foguangshan (佛光山, “Buddha’s Light Mountain”) and Yiguandao (一貫道, “Way of Pervading Unity”) by applying the theoretical framework of transnational social spaces. Particularly since the gradual relaxation of political restraints in 1980s Taiwan, both religious organizations have started to spread their religious and cultural traditions on a global scale. Their endeavours connect, cross, and inhabit countries affected by Chinese migration as well as facilitate border-crossing spatial arrangements such as transnational communities (including Chinese diaspora / Chinese cultural sphere / Buddhism).

The present study has two aims. Firstly, it investigates whether religious organizations in the Stockholm area have adapted and designed activities for different target groups. Secondly, it explores the means by which such activities are marketed. The data used to carry out the study consists of information obtained from the organizations’ own websites, i.e., their descriptions of their activities and of their organization. The study draws upon Hjarvard’s mediatization theory and Campbell’s theory of online and offline religion. Both theories deal with religion and media. Hjarvard’s theory focuses on society at large and how religious actors have had to adapt themselves and their content to fit the times. Campbell’s theory serves as a valuable addition to Hjarvard’s approach by arguing that religion online functions as a complement to religion offline, i.e, outside the context of the Internet and other media. The method used to gather and analyze the data is content analysis, i.e., the systematic coding of themes identified in the sources. The coding scheme developed here includes such categories as target groups, language usage, marketing, and the site where activities take place. The results indicate that there are distinct differences in the way organizations design activities for specific target groups. For instance, some organizations devote a significant amount of online information to activities for children, while others do not mention such activities at all on their websites. Some organizations stress helping people in need as a core purpose, while others emphasize their engagement in providing activities for young people. Two out of five organizations had some form of activity that take place via the Internet. Marketing strategies deployed to “sell” their activities also vary, for instance by their ways of using language or by citing statistics in their argumentation. The answers to the questions asked at the outset of this study show that the empirical cases investigated support Hjarvard’s and Campbell’s theories, since there is a correlation between on the one hand the way in which organizations use the Internet to communicate and how they adapt, and on the other how religion online and offline interact.

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A liberdade religiosa é o direito fundamental que tutela a crença, o culto e as demais atividades religiosas, dos indivíduos e das organizações religiosas, e consagra neutralidade estatal. A religião deve ser entendida em termos amplíssimos. Abrange toda atividade ligada ao sobrenatural. A religião não se confunde com ideologia, filosofia, sociologia. O Estado neutro não pode se posicionar a respeito do acerto ou desacerto de uma determinada crença religiosa. No entanto, pode controlar a sinceridade. Há três aspectos: individual (indivíduos), coletivo (organizações religiosas) e institucional (Estado). Em relação aos indivíduos, destacam-se o direito de isonomia (tratamento diferenciado), de crença e de privacidade religiosa. Em relação às organizações religiosas, destacam-se seus aspectos societários, cíveis, trabalhistas e tributários; a liberdade de culto e de proselitismo. Em seu aspecto institucional, a neutralidade impõe que o Estado não tome partido em favor de nenhuma religião; reconhece um valor positivo geral à religião. Temas analisados: direito penal; abuso de direito; transfusão de sangue; tratamento de saúde diferenciado; sacrifícios de animais; curas espirituais; proselitismo, pregação contrária ao homossexualismo e a crenças afro-brasileiras; rádios comunitárias; desconto e pagamento de dízimos e ofertas; direito urbanístico e de vizinhança; uso de símbolos religiosos por particulares e pelo Estado; ensino e casamento religiosos, entre outros. / Religious freedom is a fundamental right that protects beliefs, worship and other religious activities from individuals and religious organizations and ensures state neutrality. Religion ought to be widely comprehended. It comprehends all sorts of activities related to the supernatural. Religion should not be confused with ideology, philosophy and sociology. A neutral state must not take a stand about the strengths or weaknesses of a certain religious belief. Nonetheless, it can control sincerity. Religious freedom has three aspects: an individual one (regarding individuals), a collective one (regarding religious organizations) and an institutional one (regarding the state). In terms of individuals, the right to isonomy (equal treatment), religious belief and privacy is to be pointed out. In terms of religious organizations, social, civil, tributary and labor aspects are to be pointed out as well as freedom of worship and proselytism. As for the institutional aspect of religious freedom, the neutrality principle prevents the state from taking any stand concerning any religion and generally recognizes religion as something positive. Topics discussed: penal law; abuse of rights; blood transfusion; privileged health treatment; animal sacrifice; spiritual healing; proselytism; preaching against homosexuality and African Brazilian beliefs; community radio stations; withholding tithes and offerings; urban and neighborhood law; use of religious symbols by individuals and the state; religious teaching and weddings, etc.

A liberdade religiosa é o direito fundamental que tutela a crença, o culto e as demais atividades religiosas, dos indivíduos e das organizações religiosas, e consagra neutralidade estatal. A religião deve ser entendida em termos amplíssimos. Abrange toda atividade ligada ao sobrenatural. A religião não se confunde com ideologia, filosofia, sociologia. O Estado neutro não pode se posicionar a respeito do acerto ou desacerto de uma determinada crença religiosa. No entanto, pode controlar a sinceridade. Há três aspectos: individual (indivíduos), coletivo (organizações religiosas) e institucional (Estado). Em relação aos indivíduos, destacam-se o direito de isonomia (tratamento diferenciado), de crença e de privacidade religiosa. Em relação às organizações religiosas, destacam-se seus aspectos societários, cíveis, trabalhistas e tributários; a liberdade de culto e de proselitismo. Em seu aspecto institucional, a neutralidade impõe que o Estado não tome partido em favor de nenhuma religião; reconhece um valor positivo geral à religião. Temas analisados: direito penal; abuso de direito; transfusão de sangue; tratamento de saúde diferenciado; sacrifícios de animais; curas espirituais; proselitismo, pregação contrária ao homossexualismo e a crenças afro-brasileiras; rádios comunitárias; desconto e pagamento de dízimos e ofertas; direito urbanístico e de vizinhança; uso de símbolos religiosos por particulares e pelo Estado; ensino e casamento religiosos, entre outros. / Religious freedom is a fundamental right that protects beliefs, worship and other religious activities from individuals and religious organizations and ensures state neutrality. Religion ought to be widely comprehended. It comprehends all sorts of activities related to the supernatural. Religion should not be confused with ideology, philosophy and sociology. A neutral state must not take a stand about the strengths or weaknesses of a certain religious belief. Nonetheless, it can control sincerity. Religious freedom has three aspects: an individual one (regarding individuals), a collective one (regarding religious organizations) and an institutional one (regarding the state). In terms of individuals, the right to isonomy (equal treatment), religious belief and privacy is to be pointed out. In terms of religious organizations, social, civil, tributary and labor aspects are to be pointed out as well as freedom of worship and proselytism. As for the institutional aspect of religious freedom, the neutrality principle prevents the state from taking any stand concerning any religion and generally recognizes religion as something positive. Topics discussed: penal law; abuse of rights; blood transfusion; privileged health treatment; animal sacrifice; spiritual healing; proselytism; preaching against homosexuality and African Brazilian beliefs; community radio stations; withholding tithes and offerings; urban and neighborhood law; use of religious symbols by individuals and the state; religious teaching and weddings, etc.

No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:20:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Otacilio Pedro de Macedo.pdf: 5225799 bytes, checksum: 0b3da7583bd3221c26e73014d54213bd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-09 / This study intends to demonstrate how pressing it has become to provide religious organizations (i. e. churches at large) with a specific judicial regime. Even more pressing still with the void created by the the new Civil Code (sanctioned by law 10,406, from Jan. 10th,2002) disposing at item IV of article 44 that religious organizations are to be viewed as legal entities of private right, leaving out, however, the way such organizations should be controlled, an oversight not extended to foundations or other kinds of associations or societies. Unmindful that once classified as associations they would fall under the direct control of the State and consequently be deprived of privileges up to then granted, the churches hastened to gather Congress representatives committed to their cause and succeeded in palliating the impending risk by passing law 10,825 (Dec.22nd, 2003), which however failed once more to define what religious organizations should be understood as under the judicial point of view. The lack of a body of specific rules inherent in the exercise of such organizations hinders the natural flow of legal organs in the universe of legal activity, keeping open a gap that had better be filled as soon as possible in order that both rights and duties of churches may yield benefits to civil society and to the legal system. To this end the study made here expects to lead / Intenta o presente estudo demonstrar quão necessário se faz instituir um regime jurídico específico às organizações religiosas entendidas como igrejas. Tão mais premente é a necessidade diante da lacuna deixada pelo Novo Código Civil (aprovado pela Lei 10.406, de 10 de janeiro de 2002), que dispôs no inciso IV do art. 44 - serem as organizações religiosas pessoas jurídicas de direito privado, mas não se pronunciou sobre o modo de as reger, falha na qual não resvalou ao legislar sobre as associações, fundações e sociedades. Desatentas de que classificadas como associações ficariam sujeitas ao controle direto do Estado, vindo a perder privilégios até então assegurados, mobilizaram as igrejas seus líderes no Congresso e lograram afastar o risco iminente pela aprovação da Lei 10.825, de 22 de dezembro de 2003, lei, entretanto, que tampouco conceitua a noção de organizações religiosas sob o aspecto jurídico. A inexistência de um conjunto de regras específicas e inerentes à atividade de tais organizações empece o livre trânsito do ente jurídico no universo do direito, perpetuando uma lacuna que cumpre colmatar a fim de garantir que os direitos e deveres das igrejas gerem benefícios à sociedade em geral e ao próprio sistema legal. Nessa direção pretende colaborar o estudo aqui desenvolvido