This thesis is an ethnographic account of contemporary religious practice among a Bantu agricultural people in Southern Tanzania, the majority of whom are affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church. It examines the dialectic between Christianity and what the Pogoro consider to be 'traditional' practice as resulting in a locally defined Catholicism and in the separation of formal, official Christianity from 'traditional practice'. The thesis looks at how the existence of an institutional religion, in this case Catholicism, defines some aspects of local practice as traditional in opposition to it, while, at the same time, elements of Christian practice have been adopted by the community in a non institutional way. The thesis describes Pogoro Christianity, the role of the Church and Pogoro perceptions of it and gives an account of that which they consider to belong to the realm of 'tradition'. Traditional practice is not in actuality unchanging, but any changes in traditional practice must be legitimated by the authority of the dead and the spirits. The first part of the thesis provides the historical and geographical background. This is followed by a chapter on the Catholic Church in the area and official Catholic practice. Local Catholic practice and perceptions of the church and Christianity are described and accounted for. The next section looks at what is constituted as belonging to the realm of 'tradition'. The core chapters in this section describe girls puberty rites, funerals and the relationship with the dead. It is here that Catholic practice enters the realm of 'tradition'. A chapter examines the place of witchcraft eradication movements among the Pogoro, and in East and central Africa, to demonstrate how 'tradition' can and does change, and to provide a contrast with the position of Christianity among the Pogoro. This is dealt with in the final chapter in which I argue that there are limits on the 'traditionalisation' of Christianity among the Pogoro, and in other similar societies, and that these limits are to some extent a function of the institutional nature of Christianity.

This thesis looks at the South African development of employment legislation, the provision of the contract of employment, and employee-employer relationship. It briefly examines the historical development of such relationship in South Africa and the most recent legislation. In addition, this thesis also examines existing Islamic literature on the employee-employer relationship and analyzes these principles. The precedence set by Muslim jurists and the juridical verdicts are critically analyzed and discussed. The overall findings of this research into Islamic and South African perspectives on employee-employer relationship will hopefully have implications for policy makers, Islamic scholars, non-governmental organizations and a whole range of stakeholders, both locally and internationally. / Thesis (M.A)-University of Durban-Westville, 2004.

This thesis provides a critique of the penology of capital punishment from the perspectives of Christianity and Islam. In order to ascertain the basic theological approaches of both religions towards capital punishment, Chapters 2 and 3 examine the core Scriptural texts, laws and traditions of both Christianity and Islam respectively. These chapters reveal how different methods of Scriptural interpretation and differences in religious practice, within each faith, have led to divergent opinions regarding the legitimacy and acceptability of capital punishment. Chapters 4 and 5 examine two of the primary penological justifications for the death penalty; retributivism and deterrence. It is demonstrated how they can be used, within secular and religious frameworks, to both condemn and condone the use of the punishment. Chapter 6 considers a variety of contemporary methods used to execute offenders and asks whether the methods used have any effect on the religious acceptance or rejection of the penalty. Finally, Chapter 7 presents one of the most controversial aspects of the contemporary death penalty debate, namely the unequal application of the penalty as it pertains particularly to black offenders, indigent offenders and mentally ill offenders. This serious criticism of the death penalty is considered first in general secular terms and then in light of the teachings of both religions and it is asked how the religious arguments in favour of the death penalty stand in light of such serious violations of human rights and justice. The thesis concludes with the assertion that, while a strong case can be made from within both religions for the use of capital punishment in principle, in practice given current practices of criminal justice systems worldwide there is a strong case to be made, if not for abolition, then at least for a drastic curtailment of the practice and a long-term moratorium on capital punishment on religious grounds.

No description available.

This thesis explores the prestige associated in late medieval Scotland with Flemish luxury products, using a material culture-based approach founded on the premise that objects can reveal the beliefs and attitudes of those who used them. Adding to existing scholarship which concentrates on the economic, political, and diplomatic connections between Scotland and Flanders, this research offers a new artefactual dimension to this relationship. It challenges the perception of Scotland as culturally and materially unsophisticated while simultaneously considering how objects were used in the expression of elite power and status. What drives this work is that late medieval Scottish elites were fully immersed in the most highly regarded and fashionable material trends of western Europe and that their consumption patterns fit into a wider mentality which saw Flemish craftsmanship as an ideal. A new model is thus presented, moving away from the traditional concentration on fluctuating wool exports and taking into account the cultural agency of noble, ecclesiastic, and burghal elites. It entails the initial examination of Scottish consumer demand and its impact on the Flemish luxury market. Following this are chapters on gift exchange and the presentation of magnificence, centred around the perception of the Flemish aesthetic as representative of elite status. Finally, this approach is applied to the burghal and clerical spheres, arguing that Flemish church furniture played a role in the formation and maintenance of elite urban identities. The comprehensive examination of artefactual sources, combined with the commercial, ritual, and ceremonial evidence found in written sources, enables the building up of a clearer impression of Scoto-Flemish material culture than has previously been realised. It is demonstrated that the material environment of late medieval Scottish elites was comparable to those of other European polities, constituting a common cultural sphere furnished by the luxury products of Flanders and the southern Low Countries.

Belief in angels and their intervention in the material world is prevalent in the United States. Theoretically, the concept of folk religion offers an instructive lens into the popularity of these beliefs, which exist inside, outside, and across official religious doctrines, and are therefore able to transcend the boundaries of specific religious traditions by appealing to a diverse array of believers. Empirical analyses from a recent national survey support the application of the concept of folk religion, demonstrating that these beliefs are present in substantial proportions across disparate subgroups. Belief in angelic intervention is prevalent among conservative and "mainline" Protestants, Catholics, those with high levels of conventional religious practice, biblical literalists, and even those who strongly believe in "paranormal" phenomena such as Bigfoot and ESP. Belief in angels and claims of angelic protection provide compelling and flexible narratives, ready cognitive attributions, and emotional comfort. Consequently, these views have strong memetic appeal and are transposable into multifarious subcultures.

The increasing religious diversity in Sweden suggests that healthcare professionalsincreasingly encounter a variety of religious perspectives in their work. Previous researchindicates that incorporating religious aspects in healthcare can enhance the well-being ofindividuals in elder and psychiatric care. This study aims to investigate how Swedish healthcareprofessionals address religious diversity while providing healthcare services. While previousresearch has predominantly focused on the patient’s perspective of religion, this study focuseson the healthcare professionals’ experiences and positions taken regarding religious diversity.The data for this study consists of semi-structured interviews with five nurses and assistantnurses within psychiatric care and five nursing assistants providing elderly care services.This study employs Madeleine Leininger’s theory of culture care diversity and universality,originally developed in the United States, to provide guidance to healthcare professionalsdealing with cultural diversity. Religion, a key cultural aspect in the theory is centrally exploredin this study. The four main tenets of the theory are examined and their applicability within aSwedish context is examined.The result of this study shows that patients within both elderly and psychiatric care request thatthe care they receive be adjusted according to their religious believes. The study also showsthat patients frequently request for the possibility of practicing religion when in need ofhealthcare. The participants of this study agree that religious adjusted care and religiouspractices have a positive impact on the patient’s health. They also clarify that one of the reasonsthis is not applied on a large scale is the lack of religious knowledge among the professionals.All ten participants in this study have also stated that there are no models or techniques (as faras they know) for treating religious diversity in their professions

No description available.

This thesis aims to contribute to the ongoing critical discussion within the sociology of religion by focusing on the seldom considered perspective of methodology. As such, it consists of a theoretical part that problematizes the ways in which religion has been analyzed, and an empirical part that develops how religiosity can be approached in sociological studies. The thesis seeks, in other words, to contribute to how sociologists analyze religion, and addresses a research problem that has gained new relevance in the aftermath of criticism of the secularization paradigm. In the theoretical part, the assumptions underlying the ways in which religion is studied are revisited, as is the impact that these have had as faras the empirical study of religion is concerned in one of the countries often assumed to be secularized – i.e. Sweden. The empirical part of the thesis is comprised of three studies based on the latest European Value Survey, qualitative interviews and the Blogosphere on religion-related content (n=220000 blog posts). The results from these studies are used to reconsider the religiousmainstream, the “package”-like assumptions often made about affiliation, belief and practice, as well as the fact that the study of religiosity tends to be relegated to the periphery of the imagination of sociologists of religion. The thesis proposes that if we want to study religion in a lay people sensitive way we cannot continue to overlook their understandings of the sacred, the ways in which they regard their own religiosity, and the fact that their affiliation,belief and practice do not necessarily fit the expectations of established ways of analyzing religion.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-17T15:02:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 563370 bytes, checksum: f5253b3a7d3c8ddd7b684fffe244c7ff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The number of elderly in the end of the twentieth first century has been increasing and is now a reality also found in Brazil and in the state of Paraíba, considered the fifth state in the Northeast region with larger elderly population. Allied to these changes is added the emergence of a greater number of institutionalized elderly, due to new social, cultural and family patterns. Technological advances brought new features, previous diagnoses in medicine, surgery and pharmacology, providing more effective therapeutic and care interventions, have led a significant number of people to reach the age increasingly high. This new population profile raised the question of institutionalization, where some aspects have contributed to the significant increase in long-stay institutions for the elderly (ILPIs): the insertion of women in the labor market, reducing the number of children per family and the levels of chronic degenerative diseases common in this age group. In this context the practice of religion the daily life of the asylum institution serves as an anchor to better meet the challenges, whether personal or group living, because religion, religiosity and spirituality help in facing the old age with security, hope and faith of better days. The research aimed to analyze the history and oral memory of the daily of religious practices of the elderly in asylum situation, construct a theoretical referential about the theme in question and trace the socio-demographic profile of eight elderly women users of one of the six ILPIs of the municipality of João Pessoa and of that institution. It is an exploratory, descriptive bibliographical and documental research, with qualitative and quantitative approaches, focusing an institution located in the Jardim Cidade Universitária neighborhood. The instruments for data collection were: semi-structured interview and in loco observations, using a diary of notes and records of the elderly women who participated in the survey. A remarkable characteristic in the researched ILPI is the clientele composed of 34 women, all with compromised health, aged between 60 to 107 years old, but the sample was of 8 women between 60 and 84 years old. In relation to socio-demographic data, it was found that: 47% were single, 12.5% married and others, among widowed and separated, totaled 50%, data that address the issue of no ability of skill families, who do not know take care of their elderly. 75% were born in the state of Paraíba, 12.5% were from Pernambuco and 12.5% of Espírito Santo, most is brought by relatives or the Public Prosecution of Paraíba. On admission an social and care evaluation is made. 62.5% are users between 6 months to 2 years, 12.5% were 3-4 years, and 25% are over 4 years. Regarding religion, 75% are Catholics, 12.5% are Protestant and 12.5% are Spiritualists. During the interviews the elderly women said that, before coming to the ILPI, professed another religious practice, but as the ILPI professes the Catholic religion, they accept or, in the silence of his room, profess their practice of origin that gives comfort and hope for better days. / O número de idosos no fim do século XXI vem aumentando e hoje é uma realidade também constatada no Brasil e no estado da Paraíba, considerado o quinto estado da região Nordeste com maior população idosa. Aliado a essas mudanças acrescenta-se o surgimento de um número maior de idosos institucionalizados, devido aos novos padrões sociais, culturais e familiares. Os avanços tecnológicos trouxeram novos recursos, diagnósticos prévios no campo da medicina, cirurgia e farmacologia, propiciando intervenções terapêuticas e assistenciais mais efetivas, levando um número significativo de pessoas a chegarem à faixa etária cada vez mais elevada. Esse novo perfil populacional trouxe à tona a questão da institucionalização, onde alguns aspectos vêm contribuindo para o aumento significativo das instituições de longa permanência para idosos (ILPIs): a inserção da mulher no mercado de trabalho, a redução do número de filhos por família e os níveis de doenças crônicas degenerativas comuns nesse grupo etário. Nesse contexto a prática religiosa no cotidiano da instituição asilar serve como uma âncora no sentido de melhor enfrentar os desafios, sejam pessoais ou de convivência grupal, pois a religião, a religiosidade e a espiritualidade auxiliam no enfrentamento da velhice com segurança, esperança e fé de dias melhores. A pesquisa teve como objetivos analisar a história e memória oral do cotidiano das práticas religiosas da pessoa idosa em situação asilar, construir um referencial teórico acerca da temática em questão e traçar o perfil sociodemográfico de oito idosas usuárias de uma das seis ILPIs do município de João Pessoa e da referida instituição. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória, descritiva, bibliográfica e documental, com abordagens qualitativa e quantitativa, tendo como enfoque uma instituição localizada no bairro Jardim Cidade Universitária. Os instrumentos para coleta de dados foram: entrevista semiestruturada e observações in loco, sendo utilizados um diário de anotações e prontuários das idosas que participaram da pesquisa. Uma característica marcante na ILPI pesquisada é a clientela, composta de 34 mulheres, todas com a saúde comprometida, na faixa etária entre 60 a 107 anos, mas a amostra foi de 8 mulheres entre 60 a 84 anos. Em relação aos dados sociodemográficos, foi constatado que: 47% eram solteiras, 12,5% casadas e outras, entre viúvas e separadas, somaram 50%, dados que remetem à questão da não habilidade das famílias, que não sabem cuidar dos seus idosos. 75% eram naturais do estado da Paraíba, 12,5% eram de Pernambuco e 12,5% do Espírito Santo, a maioria é trazida pelos familiares ou Ministério Público da Paraíba. Na admissão é feita uma avaliação socioassistencial. 62,5% são usuárias entre 6 meses a 2 anos; 12,5% são de 3 a 4 anos; e 25% são de mais de 4 anos. Em relação à religião, 75% são católicas, 12,5% são evangélicas e 12,5% são espíritas. Durante os depoimentos as idosas declararam que antes de virem para a ILPI professavam outra prática religiosa, mas como a ILPI professa a religião católica, elas aceitam ou, no silêncio dos seus aposentos, professam sua prática de origem que as confortam e dá esperança para dias melhores.