This study is about what it is like to live in Stockholm with a shawl based on Muslim women's own experiences and perspectives. In this study I interviewed four Muslim women wearing shawls of different ages and backgrounds that live in Stockholm. With the help of these qualitative interviews, the researcher has been able to analyse and discuss their responses to get a view on how they feel about living in Stockholm wearing a shawl. The aim of the study was to get answers to these two questions: How does the respondent’s choice of wearing a shawl affect their way of living in Stockholm? How do the respondents perceive the received treatment from others at their workplace and in public? The respondents respond to how the choice of wearing a shawl has affected their way of living in Stockholm and how they feel that people meet them at work and in public on their free time. This study’s respondents do not represent all Muslim women with shawls in Stockholm. But based on their answers, it is still possible to get a picture of what it is like to live as a Muslim woman with a shawl in Stockholm. The respondents explained how they felt that people had prejudices about them based on what they looked like. They feel that there are different prejudices about both the shawl and Islam, which they considered to be a factor in how they were dealt with by different people in the society. The prejudices can vary from that the shawl is not their own choice to the shawl is being seen as a religious symbol and linked to negative incidents in which Islam is involved. Wearing a shawl in Stockholm can be a challenge as the shawl stands out and women with the shawl can be seen as different

In this bachelor’s thesis I have focused on the question why people who live in secular societies use insight or vipassana meditation. The study is based on the rational choice theory developed by Rodney Stark. I have used an inductive qualitative method including e-mail interviews with practitioners of vipassana meditation. The study has shown why some people start the practice and how people’s expectations of vipassana meditation can differ in what they wanted from their practice. The study showed that practitioners and the society that surrounds them influenced each other. The study highlighted the way vipassana meditation was practiced on a secular basis.

Dans les années 1880, en Grande-Bretagne, les idées socialistes connaissent un regain d’intérêt et des organisations socialistes sont créées. La contribution théorique et militante d’Annie Besant (1847-1933) à l’effervescence intellectuelle du « renouveau socialiste » a été importante. Annie Besant a pourtant été marginalisée par les historiens du mouvement socialiste. Après dix ans de militantisme dans la National Secular Society (NSS), l’organisation radicale, mais antisocialiste de Charles Bradlaugh, Annie Besant en vient, dans de nombreux articles et opuscules, à définir un socialisme évolutionniste. Elle exige l’intervention de l’État dans l’économie ainsi que la mise en place de droits sociaux. En 1885, elle adhère à la jeune Société fabienne et participe à l’élaboration de la doctrine fabienne fondée sur l’implication des socialistes dans les institutions politique et sur un collectivisme graduel. En aidant les allumettières de chez Byrant and May lorsqu’elles se mettent en grève puis forment un syndicat, Annie Besant contribue au « nouvel unionisme ». En 1888, lorsqu’elle est élue au conseil des écoles de Londres, elle défend ouvertement un programme socialiste. En 1889, Annie Besant se convertit à la théosophie, doctrine spiritualiste inspirée par les religions et les philosophies orientales. Dans un premier temps, elle renonce au militantisme politique et social. Cependant, après son installation en Inde, elle milite pour l’autodétermination de cette nation dès les années 1910. Elle s’intéresse de nouveau aux idéaux socialistes et cherche à nouer des alliances au sein du parti travailliste. Prendre en compte l’évolution du parcours d’Annie Besant, ainsi que les prolongements de son engagement socialiste, permet de mieux appréhender la nature et le développement du socialisme britannique de la fin du XIXe et du début du XXe siècle. / In the 1880s, socialist ideas attracted renewed interest in Britain and socialist organisations were set up. Annie Besant (1847-1933)’s theoretical and militant contribution to the intellectual ferment of the “Socialist Revival” was important. Annie Besant was nevertheless marginalised by historians of the socialist movement. After ten years of militancy in Charles Bradlaugh’s radical but anti-socialist National Secular Society (NSS), Annie Besant came to argue in numerous articles and pamphlets, for an evolutionary socialism, demanding state intervention in the economy and the establishment of social rights. In 1885, she joined the newly formed Fabian Society and took part in the elaboration of the Fabian doctrine based on involvement in traditional politics and gradual collectivism. In helping the Bryant and May’s women matchmakers when they struck and formed a union, Annie Besant contributed to “new unionism”. In 1888, when she was elected to the London School Board, she openly defended a socialist programme. In 1889, Annie Besant converted to theosophy, a spiritualist doctrine inspired by eastern philosophies and religions. First, she gave up political and social agitation. However, after moving to India she agitated for Home Rule in India from the 1910s. Her interest in socialist ideals was renewed and she sought to make alliances within the Labour party. Taking into account the evolution her career, but also the sequel to her socialist commitment, is crucial to understand the nature and the development of British socialism at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century.

The dissertation starts from the premise that we are living in an increasingly individualistic and secular society. The church is seen as a worshipping community, where mutual care emanating from true Christian community could serve as a corrective to current fragmentation. A theory is developed of the church as a caring and worshipping faith community which exists alongside other communities. The church therefore exists to enable people to embody the gospel ideals in their lives. The whole Christian community must thus be seen to be offering the love, compassion and acceptance that is needed today. This role can be enhanced by encouraging training in caring skills. The faith community exercises its nurturing support system through the fusion of horizons as members seek to give expression to their faith. This faith community functions against the background of the myriad of relationships and different communities in which its members find themselves in. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This research examined the lived experiences of an Afghan Muslim male participant group. This study explored their immigration from a Southwest-Asian, highly non-secular society to a Western-style, liberal, secular nation-state. Further, this research was an examination of Muslim male identity as an attribute that is closely related to lived experiences, environment and cultural assimilation. Also, this study looked closely at the meanings that this Afghan Muslim male immigrant group attached to identity, as well as exploring their unique narratives during pre-immigration and post-immigration periods. This qualitative research study used narrative methods to unearth the lived experiences of five Afghan Muslim male citizens. These participants immigrated to the U.S. while serving as interpreters and translators for the coalition forces during the Afghanistan War between 2003 and 2012. Several researchers have examined Muslim immigration from Eastern to Western nations, focusing on their adaptation, assimilation, and developmental patterns. The research objective of this study was slightly different and important to social science in that it focused on how a select group of Afghan Muslim males conceptualized their own sense of identity and how their notion of identity was shaped and influenced by their own pre- and post-migration experiences. To this end, the discoveries in this study revealed that the nature of the identities for many in this study may be deemed more blended and in some instances renegotiated, holding onto parts of their core native identities while embracing aspects of the cultural, ethnic, and social elements of their new host land that fit within their own individual frame of reference.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise vise à contribuer aux études rituelles et à l’anthropologie du sécularisme. Sur la base d’une recherche ethnographique menée au Québec, nous étudions la pratique des officiants de rites de passage séculiers qui opèrent en dehors de la religion organisée. Il s’agit de comprendre comment ceux-ci renouvèlent les rites de passage en dehors d’un appui ou d’une régulation institutionnels. Nous traitons des cérémonies de naissance et de mariage et cherchons spécifiquement à étudier comment ces célébrants, tels qu’ils se décrivent, recourent à l’innovation et à la créativité rituelle pour offrir des rites porteurs de sens dans un contexte social marqué par une hétérogénéité de sensibilités religieuses. En effet, les célébrants séculiers s’adressent à des individus distanciés de la religion instituée et doivent donc satisfaire leurs valeurs, croyances et visions du monde ainsi que celles des membres de leur entourage encore proches de la tradition catholique. Les résultats de cette recherche qualitative se basent sur un échantillon de dix célébrants séculiers établis au Québec et présentant une diversité d’approches et de contextes de pratique. La collecte de données est basée sur des entretiens semi-dirigés ainsi que des observations effectuées auprès d’eux. Cette étude montre que les célébrants les plus créatifs sont motivés par la dimension sociale et spirituelle de la célébration plutôt que par des motifs économiques. Même s’ils opèrent en atomes libres, ils s’inscrivent dans un nouveau paradigme rituel plus large observé par Catherine Bell (2009). Celui-ci est axé sur les éléments suivant : une conception du rite qui dépasse la frontière du religieux et devient un moyen universel d’épanouissement du soi et du collectif ; un rite de passage qui est conçu comme un processus transformationnel et réflexif pour les principaux participants; une fonction sociale du rite qui se manifeste dans la consolidation du relationnel et un registre d’authenticité alors que les croyances religieuses deviennent secondaires ; une autorité du célébrant qui diminue en faveur de celle des participants ; une dimension expérientielle et participative du rite qui est fortement investie. / This master thesis aims at making a contribution to ritual studies and the anthropology of secularism. The ethnographic research I present is based in Quebec and centers on new specialists of secular rites of passage, who are ritual makers that practice outside of organized religion. My central objective is to understand how these self-described celebrants creatively contribute to the practice of rites of passage, without relying purely on institutional support or regulation. The focus of this thesis is on birth and wedding ceremonies. I present how these celebrants use ritual innovation and creativity to offer meaningful rites in a social context marked by diversity with respect to different religious sensitivities. Indeed, secular celebrants direct their services toward people who are distanced from institutionalized religion and therefore must satisfy their values, beliefs and worldviews, in addition to elder members of the community that may still adhere to catholic traditions. The results of this qualitative research are based on a sample of ten secular celebrants operating in Quebec and displaying a variety of approaches to ritual making. The primary mode of data gathering is through semi-directed interviews and observational interactions with ritual practitioners. This study demonstrates that the social and spiritual dimensions of the wedding and birth celebrations drive the ritual celebrants, rather than purely economical motivations. Even though ritual makers may develop their practice independently from one another, the most innovative celebrants share traits and participate in a larger emerging ritual paradigm observed by Catherine Bell (2009). This paradigm is characterized by a vision where rites of passage are considered a universal means for the empowerment of the self and the community; rites of passage become a transformational as well as reflexive process for the core ritual participants; the social function of ritual is emphasized toward an ideal of authenticity whereas religious beliefs take a secondary importance; the ritual leader loses authority in favour of the participants; the experiential and participatory component of ritual are strongly invested.

The dissertation starts from the premise that we are living in an increasingly individualistic and secular society. The church is seen as a worshipping community, where mutual care emanating from true Christian community could serve as a corrective to current fragmentation. A theory is developed of the church as a caring and worshipping faith community which exists alongside other communities. The church therefore exists to enable people to embody the gospel ideals in their lives. The whole Christian community must thus be seen to be offering the love, compassion and acceptance that is needed today. This role can be enhanced by encouraging training in caring skills. The faith community exercises its nurturing support system through the fusion of horizons as members seek to give expression to their faith. This faith community functions against the background of the myriad of relationships and different communities in which its members find themselves in. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The main topic of this work is an effort to answer the question, whether confessional teaching of religion is the right way to approach pupils from secular environment. In the first part of my work I follow up the definition of catechesis and its history. Next I compare confessional and unconfessional way of teaching religion, and as an alternative to it, I propose the teaching focused on cultural context. I also give attention to the term ?secular society? and consequences from that in religion teaching. I look for goals and contents of religion teaching in individual church documents with consideration to non-religious pupils. In the last section of this work I pay attention to developmental psychology, development of religious judgment and the character of educator. In the very end I try to find solutions to teachings focused on cultural context.