Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Douglas Sloan. Dissertation Committee: Gerald Sheppard. Bibliography: leaves 327-337.

Thesis--Uppsala. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 172-177).

Thesis (PhD) Australian Catholic University, 2005. / Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Bibliography: p. 237-253. Also available in an electronic version via the internet.

The study was concerned with the communal movement as an illustration of Sorokin's thesis. Sorokin maintains that our culture is moving from a sensate or this-worldly form to an ideational or other-worldly definition of reality. It was shown through the works of Kanter and Fairfield that the utopian ideals expressed by commune members tend toward ideational beliefs. Three variables were chosen as indicative of the trend toward ideational values--alienation from the sensate culture, commitment to a group opposed to the sensate society, and religiosity or belief in the supernatural. Seven communes were selected as a purposive sample--two monasteries, three populations of a Christian community, a Skinnerian commune, and a Hindu group. These were chosen because they were all creedal communes; that is, they all had some core ideology, and because they varied widely in their religious beliefs. Three main hypotheses were tested regarding the relationship between commitment and alienation, the relationship between religiosity and alienation, and the relationship between commitment and religiosity. It was found that the cohesion measure of commitment and belief in God were negatively related to alienation at significant levels. There was no significant relationship between the involvement dimension of commitment, between orthodoxy and alienation, or between commitment and religiosity. The author concluded that several of the measures need modification for use in testing Sorokin's thesis. Nevertheless, it appears that there is a tendency toward ideational beliefs in creedal communes, although the trend is still in its initial stages. / Master of Science

Thesis (M.S. in Community Research and Action)--Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2007. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis deals with the constitutional and statutory regulation of freedom of religion in the Czech Republic. The aim is to describe and evaluate the current state of legal regulation and analyse some of its aspects considering the judgements of the Constitutional Court and of the European Court of Human Rights. The thesis is composed of four chapters. The introductory chapter consists of three parts. The first part defines the basic terminology used in the following parts of the thesis. The second part examines constitutional and statutory regulation. Relevant international treaties are also mentioned. The third part focuses on the relationship between the state and religious communities, and its effect on the level of religious freedom. The second chapter concentrates on the inner dimension of freedom of thought, conscience and religion (the so-called forum internum) as an expression of inviolability of the inner life of a human. It also addresses the right to change religion or belief and problems which may result from proselytism. The third chapter deals with outer displays of religion or belief (the so-called forum externum). It describes the forms of outer displays of religion or belief, namely worship, teaching, practice and observance, enshrined not only in the Charter of Fundamental...

This dissertation contributes to conversations regarding the impact of open user centered innovation on cultural production by focusing on the construction and production of religious products within one large-scale open user-centered technological environment, 3D virtual worlds. Particularly, this study examines how virtual world users construct (non-gaming) religious communities and practices and how the technology impacts the forms of religious expression these users create. Due to its existing religious sector and affordances for user-created content, Second Life (SL) was chosen as the context of study for this dissertation project. Building upon Von-Hippel's (2005) user-centered innovation theory, construction and production within three different user-centered religious communities in SL were explored. Using a comparative ethnographic approach over a 14-month period, involving participant observations, interviews and hyper-media techniques, the social construction of customized religious products amidst technical, social, and economic virtual/non-virtual structures were analyzed. Exploratory findings demonstrate that the democratizing of cultural innovation, that is the construction of heterogeneous cultural religious products by the everyday user, is a matter of patterned relational pathways. The greater possible patterned pathways the higher potential for democratized cultural innovation, an increasing number of users developing new ways of doing religion. The fewer patterned pathways the less the potential for democratize cultural innovation and the greater potential for reproducing within the virtual realm the same cultural frames that define the current social order in the non-virtual realm.

Resumé This thesis concerns itself with legal position and operation of The Federation of Jewish Communities in Czech Republic. It brings the perspective on fundamental legal regulations which form a base for operation of The Federation of Jewish Communities and which the Federation is obliged to conform to. The thesis also includes historical insight and cultural background of Jewish religion and its relevant particularities. The aim of my thesis was to put the operation and standing of The Federation of Jewish Communities into Czech legal framework, to describe a specific linkage of legal regulations with religious practice and Jewish religious observances and to use real-life examples to demonstrate the impact and reflection of legal regulations in life of members of Jewish communities and associated organizations. This thesis is divided into four chapters (apart from Preamble and Conclusion), most of which is then further divided into subchapters and other sections. First chapter concerns itself with general definition of religious freedom in the context of Czech legal system, with basic overview of legal sources of Czech state ecclesiastical law and with assessment of Federation's position in the context of Legal Act Nr. 3/2002 Coll. on freedom of religious confession and the position of churches and...

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