This paper clarifies where the distinction of what is viewed as religious and non-religious by teachers within religious education. More specifically, the study explores teachers’ affection and tendency to employ objects and practical activities throughout the education in this discipline. By employing experiential learning, teachers can include lived religion in their teaching. While experiences can increase the comprehension for the students, educations must be non-confessional, a line that is blurry. The method used in this study is of qualitative nature, based on semi-structured interviews with teachers teaching religion the study utilizes a thematic analysis upon how these respondents have used objects and practical activities in class. This study suggests that teachers equip and utilize objects in different ways. On the one hand, it was discovered that objects were used to educate in lived religion, on some occasions it further served as a didactic tool. On the other hand, some interviewees choose to exclude objects, entirely, from their teaching. Numerous teachers also include mediation in their teaching sessions, to either serve as a pause or to create a religious experience. Some interviewees choose to exclude meditation because of its risk of becoming confessional teaching. According to the findings in this study, to stage a religious ritual is often depicted as a confessional event, the definition is however unclear. This unclear distinction and the fact that teachers’ interpretations differ from the applicable guidelines, results in a wide variance and differences in the religious education, in the Swedish public schools.

This study, the first in its scope on transgender religiosity, is based on in-depth biographical interviews with 13 transgender participants with a Jewish Orthodox background (currently and formerly Orthodox). The primary aim of the study has been to elucidate the entanglements of gender and religion in three periods of the participants’ lives: pre-transition, transition and post-transition. One of the main topics investigated have been the ways participants negotiated gendered religious practices in those three periods. A secondary aim of this study has been to co-theorize, in dialogue with the participants, different possible paths for religious change; that is, the ways in which the larger Orthodox community might respond to the presence of openly transgender members in its midst. Concerning the findings, in the course of this study I have developed the themes of dislocations and reversal stories to explain how the participants negotiated the entanglements of gender and religion particularly in the transitional and post-transitional periods. The latter theme–reversal stories–has been of special relevance to explain how gendered religious practices, which were generally detrimental to the acceptance of the participants’ gender identities during the pre-transitional period, had the potential to become a powerful source for gender affirmation after transition. In this study I argue that this possibility and its related mode of agency are not contained within the binary resistance/subordination that feminist scholars have developed to account for the agency of women in traditionalist religions. In order to better conceptualize the notion of agency and explore the nature of the mutual entanglements of gender and religion, I deploy the body of theoretical work developed by Karen Barad known as agential realism. Lastly, I conclude by examining my initial commitments to social constructionism (in Peter Berger’s definition). In the final chapter, I describe how in the course of my study I have encountered three unexpected sites of resistance to social constructionism that have led me to reconsider my previous epistemological commitments and embrace posthumanism as a more satisfactory alternative. / The Impact of Religion - Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy

A presente tese estuda a produção artística de oratórios domésticos manufaturados no Brasil, sobretudo nos séculos XVIII e XIX, e que hoje se encontram recolhidos às dependências de museus brasileiros, públicos e particulares. Também, a tese procura compreender a dinâmica de sua trajetória no contexto doméstico, tomando, em particular, a São Paulo setecentista e oitocentista como cenário ilustrativo. Para esta abordagem, prima-se em observar tais artefatos religiosos ante seus dois distintos universos funcionais, respectivamente: de cunho devocional, em que os mesmos se destinam comumente às práticas da oração; e de cunho litúrgico, quando especialmente preparados para a orientação das celebrações oficiais da Igreja católica. Assim, baseando-se nas informações oferecidas por um conjunto de testemunhos pertinentes, de fontes textuais e diante do próprio acervo de oratórios elencado para análise, chega-se a uma leitura bastante aproximada do trabalho artístico realizado em torno desta produção, bem como das formas de organização dos espaços da morada, no contexto das vivências religiosas do catolicismo, corroborando a hipótese de que tais artefatos figuravam como protagonistas de complexas relações, humanas e materiais, que ali se estabeleciam. / This thesis studies the artistic production of the domestic oratories made in Brazil, especially in the 18th and 19yh centuries that have been kept now in public or private Brazilian museums. The thesis also tries to understand the dynamics of its course within the domestic context having São Paulo, particularly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as illustrative scenery. Concerning this approach, it is of utmost importance to observe such religious artifacts in their two distinct functional universes, respectively those of a devotional feature, when they are commonly intended to the act of praying, and those of a liturgical aspect when they were specially prepared for directing the official celebrations of the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, based upon information provided by a set of pertinent evidence, textual sources and before the collection of oratories that were chosen to be used for the analysis, a very close understanding of the artistic work performed towards this production, as well as the ways of organizing the spaces in a home within the context of the religious experiences of Catholicism, confirming the hypothesis that such artifacts were seen as the protagonists of the complex human and material relations that were establish there.

Jerusalem - the third holiest city in Islam - is home to some 300,000 Muslims. But due to Israel’s occupation, they live difficult and disrupted lives. What might it mean for Muslims to practice their faith - on the ground, day by day - in such a conflicted place? One way religion becomes a meaningful category in people’s lives is through ritual. Scholars of Muslim religious practice have been attuned to this insight and observed it in various contexts. But their analyses have often been predicated on an implicit and unquestioned assumption - that people who desire to perform rituals have the means to act on their intention in regular and routine ways. Scholars have also shown that when societies are in rapid transition - be they weakened or threatened - their rituals often evolve with them. In this project, therefore, I ask: what happens in Jerusalem when Muslims live under the existential threat of occupation and their ability to routinely perform religious rituals cannot be assumed? I argue that when rituals are disrupted, Muslims are forced to improvise. Religious rituals - like the performances of skilled jazz musicians - are spontaneous and dynamic but also practiced and deliberate. Rituals are spontaneous in that they respond to the occupation’s disruptions, making physical and discursive adjustments. They are practiced in that Muslims draw from an established repertoire of themes that includes Islam and sacred space, nationalism and resistance, local culture and geography. I term the coalescence of these dynamics the “improvisation thesis” and explore three case studies where specific improvisations have different levels of resonance. The Naqshbandi improvise rituals to make peace, but they are discordant with other established themes; Ramadan rituals have resonance that define specific moments; and the improvisations of the Murabitat are deeply resonant, influencing Muslim rituals throughout the city.

A presente tese estuda a produção artística de oratórios domésticos manufaturados no Brasil, sobretudo nos séculos XVIII e XIX, e que hoje se encontram recolhidos às dependências de museus brasileiros, públicos e particulares. Também, a tese procura compreender a dinâmica de sua trajetória no contexto doméstico, tomando, em particular, a São Paulo setecentista e oitocentista como cenário ilustrativo. Para esta abordagem, prima-se em observar tais artefatos religiosos ante seus dois distintos universos funcionais, respectivamente: de cunho devocional, em que os mesmos se destinam comumente às práticas da oração; e de cunho litúrgico, quando especialmente preparados para a orientação das celebrações oficiais da Igreja católica. Assim, baseando-se nas informações oferecidas por um conjunto de testemunhos pertinentes, de fontes textuais e diante do próprio acervo de oratórios elencado para análise, chega-se a uma leitura bastante aproximada do trabalho artístico realizado em torno desta produção, bem como das formas de organização dos espaços da morada, no contexto das vivências religiosas do catolicismo, corroborando a hipótese de que tais artefatos figuravam como protagonistas de complexas relações, humanas e materiais, que ali se estabeleciam. / This thesis studies the artistic production of the domestic oratories made in Brazil, especially in the 18th and 19yh centuries that have been kept now in public or private Brazilian museums. The thesis also tries to understand the dynamics of its course within the domestic context having São Paulo, particularly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as illustrative scenery. Concerning this approach, it is of utmost importance to observe such religious artifacts in their two distinct functional universes, respectively those of a devotional feature, when they are commonly intended to the act of praying, and those of a liturgical aspect when they were specially prepared for directing the official celebrations of the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, based upon information provided by a set of pertinent evidence, textual sources and before the collection of oratories that were chosen to be used for the analysis, a very close understanding of the artistic work performed towards this production, as well as the ways of organizing the spaces in a home within the context of the religious experiences of Catholicism, confirming the hypothesis that such artifacts were seen as the protagonists of the complex human and material relations that were establish there.

This ethnographic study investigates the process of placemaking in the context of the newly built Al-Hamd Mosque as a Muslim place of worship in Uppsala, Sweden. I consider how access to space e.g., a mosque or a prayer room, affects the religious practices of Muslims in their everyday life at work, school, or in public. I explore how people navigate other spaces, both physical and social, and what ‘strategies’ and ‘tactics’ are used to maintain their religious practice.  I suggest the need for two concepts of consensus in relation to placemaking. The first is what I call community consensus which occurs among Muslim actors in the process of establishing a place such as Al-Hamd Mosque. I explore rituals such as the Taleem sessions (religious seminars) and khutba al jumah (Friday sermon) to analyse negotiations and contestations that take place in such a process. It involves the organising of different actors through hierarchical and power relations to maintain or contest a system of regularities at the mosque. I argue that as a melting pot, multiple systems of order negotiate with one another at Al-Hamd Mosque to create and maintain the community consensus, while protecting the space from impurities. The second form of consensus I call public consensus, is the access to agreements, acceptance, and shared understanding vis-à-vis practising religion in public places in the broader Swedish society. I explore how the lack of public consensus calls for individuals to come up with ‘tactics,’ while groups, in the form of mosque associations, to come up with ‘strategies’ to create places of religious practice. The fluidity of religious practice and the adoption of alternative practices become key tactics assumed by individuals in performing different rituals and practices as they navigate a lack of public consensus in Sweden.

À la fin de l’année 1989, la Roumanie entamait son chemin vers la démocratie. Depuis, le pays a connu de nombreux changements dont une « revitalisation religieuse ». L’attrait pour la religion en Roumanie a suscité l’intérêt des chercheurs qui ont tenté de rendre compte de comportements qu’ils jugeaient contraires aux thèses des théories de la sécularisation et de la modernisation. Ma thèse part d’une critique de ces études qui, concentrées sur ces théories, omettent trop souvent l’action des individus dans la vie de tous les jours. Dans la présente recherche, j’utilise l’approche de la religion vécue pour me pencher sur des individus et leur manière de comprendre, d’exprimer, de pratiquer et d’expérimenter la religion au jour le jour. D’une manière réflexive, ma thèse examine la religion vécue dans la Roumanie postcommuniste à partir de pèlerinages réalisés durant le printemps et l’automne 2012 dans des monastères réputés pour leurs miracles, leurs confesseurs charismatiques ou leurs reliques. En raison de leur présence nombreuse dans les pèlerinages, les femmes se sont imposées comme les artisanes de la religion vécue en Roumanie. Elles sont au centre de ma thèse. En observant leurs croyances et leurs pratiques — et sans omettre la religion vécue des « porteurs de la religion officielle » —, j’explore des thèmes qui constituent autant de facettes de la religion vécue : le sort, le charisme, la matérialité et les reliques. Ma thèse propose deux contributions à la recherche. 1) L’étude de la pratique de la religion des pèlerines nous renseigne sur la manière dont la religion est comprise et pratiquée dans un contexte orthodoxe. Elle laisse également entrevoir les conséquences de cette pratique dans la Roumanie postcommuniste : en effet, la religion vécue s’avère un véhicule de valeurs qui s’opposent au discours démocratique officiel. 2) L’étude propose une contribution théorique et méthodologique à l’approche de la religion vécue. Le matériau empirique sur lequel elle repose indique que la religion vécue prend racine dans l’Église pour ensuite circuler entre les femmes et les représentants de l’institution. Dans ce mouvement de va-et-vient, la religion vécue appartient aux pèlerines, mais aussi aux « porteurs de la religion officielle ». / At the end of 1989, Romania embarked on a path towards democracy. From that moment on, the country has witnessed numerous changes, including a “religious revitalization.” The attraction of religion in post-communist Romania has sparked researchers’ interest; they have tried to explain what they judge contrary to theories of secularization and modernization. My thesis starts with a critique of these studies, which have too often neglected everyday actions of individuals. In the present study, I use a lived religion approach to understand the ways in which individuals understand, express, practice and experiment religion in their daily lives. In a reflexive manner, my thesis examines lived religion in post-communist Romania; it draws on fieldwork undertaken during pilgrimages in the spring and autumn of 2012 in monasteries known for their miracles, their charismatic confessors, or their relics. Because of their predominance during pilgrimages, women stand out as the main actors of lived religion in Romania. They are at the center of my thesis. Observing their beliefs and practices—without omitting the lived religion of the “carriers of official religion”—I set out to explore themes that represent as many facets of lived religion: fate, charisma, materiality, and relics. My thesis offers two research contributions to the sociology of religion. 1) The study of the pilgrim’s religious practice instructs us on the manner in which religion is understood and practiced in an Orthodox context. It also gives insight into the consequences of this practice in post-communist Romania: as it turns out, lived religion is a vehicle for values diverging from the official democratic discourse. 2) The study provides a theoretical and methodological contribution to the lived religion approach. Its empirical material indicates that lived religion stems from the Orthodox Church before circulating between women and church representatives. In this to-and-fro movement lived religion pertains to the pilgrims as well as to the “carriers of official religion.”

本論文的研究對象是台灣有些日治時期原本是天理教佈教所後來卻變成佛教(當地人所認為)的寺廟，其信仰型態和信徒的行為深受天理教影響，又與筆者在日本所觀察的天理教宗教實踐相當不同。透過深度訪談、參與觀察與文獻分析等方法，本文嘗試瞭解當地人的歷史經驗和緣於其自身宗教文化的詮釋。相關宗教實踐反映了天理教的社會背景、在台灣的傳教史和當地特有的宗教文化。這些實例的研究不僅呈現了一個新的層面—台灣漢人民間信仰和天理教的關係，也有助於台灣民間信仰的研究。 本文先首先指出十九世紀後半到二十世紀初期當時的天理教作為一個新興宗教，其發展受到日本明治政府宗教政策例如神道國教化所影響，在傳教和儀式上都受到政府的管制，在宗教組織方面則受到日本社會文化如傳統村落組織和「家制度(ie-seido)」的影響。並參考渡邊雅子的分類，指出天理教是「親子型」和「信徒萬人佈教師」型態的宗教，這種特質影響了日治時期天理教在台灣的傳教方法，是所謂「組織性傳教」和「單獨傳教」。本文指出傳教師個人傳教的解釋方式對於在異文化中傳教是非常重要的，由於「親子型」的傳教方式重視以信徒為傳教士，天理教本部在台灣缺乏正式的傳教方針和教義翻譯，此一狀況為日本傳教士對台灣本島信徒傳教過程中，提供了自由、寬鬆的解釋教義空間，以使用台灣當地的解釋，採取適合台灣人風俗的傳教方法。例如重視「神授(治病儀式)」、「神水(治病和保持平安)」等，因此避免了在異文化中傳教的衝突。此外也有以像父母和子女的關係來養成當地菁英的傳教方法，積極將信徒和其子女送到「原地」留學或拜領「神授方式之理」，這些當地人日後對教會的貢獻相當大。 本文也指出台灣的去殖民化與特有的後殖民狀況，造成在台灣戰後獨特的天理教變遷的型態。台灣齋教的齋堂真一堂不同於大陸佛教，對其他宗教較為寬容，能夠適合已經娶妻、吃葷的佈教所長們，因此提供了一個天理教和佛教融合的空間。例如：天理教西螺佈教所系統下信徒和佈教所整體到中國佛教會雲林縣支會辦公室的真一堂學習佛教的教義和儀式，使原本天理教的佈教所成為中國佛教會團體會員的寺廟，開始具有佛教的認同，但還是保留了天理教的要素。 另外，其用民間信仰的方式和佛教經典舉行天理教祖的聖誕儀式，反映了對神明的詮釋上的融合。例如日治時期用台灣漢人民間信仰中最高位的「天公」來比喻「天理大神」，替其供奉玉皇大帝的神像。祖靈神龕也隨著台灣民間風俗，變成「天理公媽牌位」。當地人並透過天理教祖的供品，生米和鹽跟其它供奉的神明區別，以意含其神明由來的特殊性。同時他們的寺廟名稱也表達與暗示了與天理教時期系統的連結。 最後，本文分析、比較明修堂法會、明道堂收驚儀式和天理教的神授儀式，探討儀式的變遷，指出私人建立寺廟的優點，如和信徒保持密切的關係，能夠對信徒提供非常貼心的服務。因此法會也有使用信徒各自準備的衣服舉行保持平安的儀式，收驚儀式用佛教經典舉行等，這些都是儀式為因應當地信徒的需求，以及與鄰接廟宇的競爭等相互影響所形成的。本文引用三尾裕子對中國宗教的說法，寺廟為了確保存續，必需要有理論上的武裝，所以民眾操作各種理論，必須重視菁英所有的文化和大眾所有的文化之間的相互作用。筆者將此一觀點與Lévi-Strauss提出的「bricolage」概念加以聯想，希望據以繼續發展未來相關的研究。 / According to the research of Fujii Takeshi, professor at Tokyo Gakugei University, there are 19 kinds of Japanese new religious organizations carrying out mission works in Taiwan now, and the earliest of them is Tenrikyo. Tenrikyo started their mission works during Japanese rule of Taiwan, and had acquired Taiwanese believers. Therefore, Tenrikyo is a very suitable example for the study of Japanese new religion’s development and changes in Taiwan. The object of this paper is the unique religious phenomena that is found during my study in Taiwan, the temple(natives call ‘miao’ in their language), namely the religious center of Taiwanese popular beliefs but used to be Tenrikyo’s branch in Japanese colonial period. This paper analyzes the syncretism of their religious ceremonies and beliefs, which have elements of both Chinese popular beliefs and Tenrikyo. It bases on qualitative interviews, participant observation and methods of textual analysis to make clear the historical and cultural contexts, changes of Japanese new religions there, to interpret their meanings and explicate causes of the transformations. This paper contains four chapters besides the introduction and conclusion. Its organization and summary are presented as follows. In chapter one, it explains teachings, the organization and history of Tenrikyo, focuses on the relations between god and human, influences of Japanese religious policy and the related socio-cultural system during the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. According to the classification proposed by Masako Watanbe, Tenrikyo is define as of “Vertical axis Parent-child model” and “Laity-focused propagation model”. This paper shows that one can find the same pattern working in missions in Taiwan. In chapter two it analyzes the methods of Tenrikyo’s mission work during the colonial period in Taiwan, especially the so-called “individual mission” and “organizational mission” and explains its manner of training for native elite believers. It also focuses on the intercultural processes in the mission work, which adapt to the differences between diverse cultural contexts and religious schemas, and the transformed interpretations of Tenrikyo’s doctrine and meanings of ceremony for Taiwanese native believers. Based on the analysis of historical materials and statistic records, characteristics of the development of Tenrikyo in the colonial period are presented as well. It finally presents accounts for some Toroku churches, which used to belong to Tenrikyo and have changed their identification in the postcolonial period after the World War II. In chapter three, this paper attempts to explain causes and the background of transformations of Tenrikyo beliefs and ceremony. One reason is due to the cultural policy of KMT government, and influences of the policy to Tenrikyo in Taiwan are analyzed. It also makes clear other related historical and cultural situation and context. For the adaptations under changes of the social and political situation, this paper especially draws attention to the unique process of decolonization in Taiwan. In chapter four, based on the author’s participant observation, it focuses on some religious practices in related temples and rituals, analyzes their transformations and provides interpretations of the changes and their meanings. With reference to the concept and schema about Chinese popular beliefs provided by previous Japanese scholars and the concept of ‘bricolage’ by Levi-Strauss, this paper’s contribution and interpretation will be able to lead the author for the research in the future. Despite many Japanese new religions implement their mission works in Taiwan, there is few research so far to mention it. This paper has introduced previous researches on it, and tries to point out the value and position of the study on Japanese new religions in Taiwan. Focusing especially on tasks and difficulties special for Japanese new religions, it actually has provided suggestions about prospects for anthropological study of Japanese new religion and Chinese popular beliefs in Taiwan.

L’objectif de ce mémoire est d’élaborer un outil permettant de réfléchir à la religion de façon à préserver les avancées des auteurs la conceptualisant en termes de frontières tout en tenant davantage compte de la compréhension que les acteurs la pratiquant en ont. À cette fin, j’adapte le concept de frontière à deux faces de Danielle Juteau (2015) de façon à concevoir la religion comme une catégorie formée à la fois par le rapport entre un Nous et un Autre — la face externe — et par les interprétations que les individus font de leurs pratiques religieuses — la face interne. Pour saisir cette face interne, j’avance que les tentatives actuelles de définir la religion sont inadéquates et qu’il est plus utile de la comprendre comme une forme de pratiques sociales dont le sens (religieux) découle de leur mise en narration. Cette mise en narration étant effectuée en réaction à un événement traumatique, je montre alors que la religion peut être saisie, du point de vue de la face interne, comme un ensemble particulier de narrations historiquement situées dont les individus ont le sentiment momentané qu’elles sont partagées. Ces narrations, pour être comprises, doivent donc être replacées dans le contexte de leur émergence. En Europe, cela signifie s’attarder aux premières tentatives d’imposer une compréhension de la religion à l’ensemble de la population au tournant de l’âge moderne, alors que, dans le reste du monde, cela signifie plutôt de s’attarder à l’exportation de ces narrations dans les empires coloniaux. / The aim of this thesis is to devise a tool allowing us to think about religion in such a way as to preserve the advancements of the authors conceptualizing it through the notion of frontier while taking in greater consideration the understandings of the actors who practise it. To this end, I adapt Danielle Juteau’s (2015) concept of two-sided frontier to conceive religion as a category formed by the relationship between an Us and an Other—the external side—as well as by the interpretations that individuals make of their own religious practices—the internal side. To grasp this internal side, I argue that the current attempts to define religion are inadequate and that it’s more useful to understand it as a form of social practices which acquire (religious) meaning by their insertion into narratives. This operation being a reaction to traumatic events, I show that religion can be thought, from the frontier’s internal side, as a particular set of historically located narratives of which individuals have the momentary impression that they’re shared. Thus, to be understood, these narratives have to be replaced in the context of their emergence. In Europe, that means to analyze the first attempts to impose an understanding of religion to every individual at the turn of the modern age, while, in the rest of the world, it means instead to analyze the exportation of these narratives into the colonial empires.

This study examines a type of moral conflict, a conflict of values. This through the method qualitative text analysis. To gain an understanding of this problem, insight into previous research is required. Previous research mainly deals with the issue of religion in the public sphere, including literature that concerns research fields on ethical moral philosophy and sociology. Therefore, to obtain in whose conditions are prioritized according to the public Islamic call to prayer in Sweden. Initially, the Declaration of Human Freedoms and Rights is presented, whereupon the question of refrain religious content is of interest. Hence, examine the tolerance and intolerance according to whose practice might contain limits. By starting from two selected theorists with different backgrounds, whereupon their research areas are separated. Examine their positions on the issue of moral value conflict. One of them has conducted social science research and the other is better known as a religious critic and neuroscientist. Through their theory formation, create an idea of how this conflict of values can be understood and interpreted. The public Islamic call to prayer will remain as the main theme of this study, which corresponds as the result of this study. The conclusion is clearly demonstrating various standpoints in this moral dilemma, different aspects are truly extensive. During investigation of different point of views, the purpose remains to state alternative explanations of understanding, and how to interpret the main conflict of value. A majority group in the society whose terms are privileged compared to a non-majority group. Different positions are clear in the result, whereupon the question of allowing public Islamic call to prayer, can thus be interpreted in different ways. Faiths, different beliefs, religion and culture, are numerous variables which had been studied in more detail to then be discussed in relation to the main question and the purpose, a moral conflict of value.