Karate är ett fenomen vilket betraktas av många som blott en sport, men av minst lika många som en livsstil. Målet med denna studie är att undersöka den djupare meningen bakom karate genom att undersöka karates ritualer. Ritualerna undersöks med hjälp av tre frågeställningar som fokuserar på vilka ritualerna är, ritualernas betydelser och huruvida de innehar en religiös dimension eller ej. Analysen som har drivits med hjälp av dessa tre frågeställningar har mynnat ut i resultat och antaganden. Resultaten har visat att det finns tre viktiga ritualer inom karate med varsin egen betydelse och mening. Ritualernas mening är bland annat orderbevarande, traditionell, filosofisk och spirituell men framför allt att meningen är individuell och personlig. Den religiösa dimensionen har inte gått att bevisa men inte heller att avfärda och precis som med meningen bakom ritualer är den religiösa dimensionen ytterst individuell och personlig.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:12:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006-Carlos Leonardo Bahiense da Silva.pdf: 596413 bytes, checksum: a8621533427e50251183ca94bb929c75 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-23 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / This dissertation aims at the study of the Shindo Renmei (The Association of the Path of the Subjects). This is a japanese secret society which appeared in S?o Paulo in 1942, quickly moving to other brazilian states. The research revealed that the emergence of the Shindo Renmei was a counter-strategy utilized by the japanese to preserve the japanese ethnicity in the tropics, in other words, to create a japanese Brazil. With the end of the Second World War, the japanese and brazilian-japanese community was divided into the victorious (kachigumi) and the defeat (makegumi). The victorious, formed by members of the Shindo and similar associations, refused to accept the defeat of Japan by the Allied Forces. Furthermore, they started to harass every japanese and his/her descendants who acknowledged that the Rising Sun had lost the war. In some cases, such japanese and brazilian-japanese thought of as the defeat were murdered by the kachigumi. The research showed that the fact that the victorious did not accept the defeat was crucially connected with the identification of a significant part of the japanese with the shintoist religion. According to such religion, the emperor and Japan were protected by the gods, being, therefore, unconquerable. The analysis also shows that the Shindo Renmei had fascist discourse, based on three elements: the cult of leader, intolerance of alterity and appreciation of the historic and national originality. / O presente trabalho tem como objeto a Shindo Renmei (Liga do Caminho dos S?ditos). Trata-se de uma sociedade secreta japonesa que surgiu em S?o Paulo, em 1942, espraiandose rapidamente para outros estados brasileiros. A pesquisa revelou que a emerg?ncia da Shindo Renmei foi uma contra-estrat?gia utilizada por nip?nicos para a manuten??o da etnicidade japonesa nos tr?picos, noutras palavras, para a forma??o de um Brasil japanizado. Com o fim da Segunda Guerra Mundial, a comunidade nip?nica e nipobrasileira dividiu-se em vitoristas (kachigumi) e derrotistas (makegumi). Os vitoristas, integrados por membros da Shindo e associa??es cong?neres, recusaram-se a aceitar a derrota do Jap?o para as for?as aliadas. Mais ainda: passaram a perseguir todos os japoneses e descendentes que reconheciam que o Sol Nascente havia perdido a guerra. Em alguns casos, tais nip?nicos e nikkeis tidos como derrotistas foram assassinados pelos kachigumi. A pesquisa mostrou que a n?o-aceita??o da derrota pelos vitoristas estava umbilicalmente atrelada ? identifica??o de parte significativa dos japoneses com a religi?o xinto?sta. Segundo tal religi?o, o imperador e o Jap?o eram protegidos pelos deuses, portanto, invenc?veis. A an?lise explicitou tamb?m que a Shindo Renmei apresentava um discurso fascista baseado na tr?ade: culto ao l?der, intoler?ncia ? alteridade, valoriza??o da originalidade hist?rica e nacional.

Text in German / Cosmology and sociology show that animism is the predominant worldview of Japan. Concepts of God, the issue of controlling mana-power, implications of the Japanese soul-concept, the orientation of the conscience and ancestor veneration are critically discussed with Christian beliefs. When compared to the Biblical peace-concept the Japanese peace-concept shows an aesthetic bias that has to be overcome by adding the concept of justice. Japanese soteriology has no reference to God the Creator, whose proclamation is the basis of understanding man's misfortune as rebellion against God and his salvation as reconciliation with Him. Cosmologically speaking, man experiences his misfortune as fear of super-human powers. Salvation is sought through defensive magic and fortunetelling. Christianity acknowledges security as a basic human need but seeks protection and guidance from God. The main focus of Japanese soteriology is in the field of sociology, which in Japan also includes the relationship with the living dead. Misfortune is mainly experienced as shame and ostracism, salvation as rehabilitation. Defilement of naturally good humans is a central theme in Japan's understanding of man's misfortune. The Christian concept of sin, on the contrary, has a theological and an ontological dimension as well. In Japan salvation is understood solely as this-worldly benefits such as health, happiness, prosperity, fertility, and longevity. But in Christianity suffering is a central theme. An overly strong orientation on "this world" can lead to ethical shallowness, overemphasizing the "coming world" to a dangerous ethical relativism. Christian soteriology must keep the tension between these two extremes. The hope of the coming world must neither be robbed of its historical truth by its transformation into a principle, nor must it be historically ineffective.As for his relationship with God, man is solely the object of God's salvation. But as for Christian acts, man is called to act "in the Lord". / Ausführungen zur Kosmologie und Soziologie zeigen, daß das vorherrschende Weltbild Japans das des Animismus ist. In kritischer Auseinandersetzung mit dem Christentum werden der Gottesbegriff, der Gebrauch der Mana-Kraft, Implikationen des Seelenbegriffs, die Gewissensorientierung und die Ahnenverehrung diskutiert. Die Gegenüberstellung mit dem biblischen Friedensbegriff zeigt, daß der japanische Friedensbegriff seine ästhetische Einseitigkeit durch die Erweiterung um den Aspekt der Gerechtigkeit überwinden muß. In Japan hat die Soteriologie keinen Bezug zu Gott, dem Schöpfer, dessen Verkündigung die Grundlage für das Verständnis des Unheils als Rebellion gegen ihn, des Heils als Versöhnung mit ihm ist. Kosmologisch wird das Unheil in Japan als Angst vor übermenschlichen Mächten erfahren, das Heil durch Schutzzauber und Wahrsagerei gesucht. Das Christentum erkennt das Grundbedürfnis der Sicherheit an, sucht Schutz und Führung aber bei Gott. Das Schwergewicht japanischer Soteriologie liegt im Bereich der Soziologie, zu der in Japan auch die Beziehung zu den living dead gehört. Unheil wird vor allem als Beschämung und Ächtung, Heil als Rehabilitation erfahren. Im japanischen Unheilsverständnis nimmt Verunreinigung des an sich guten Menschen einen hohen Stellenwert ein. Das christliche Sündenverständnis hat dagegen auch eine theologische und ontologische Dimension. Heil wird in Japan rein diesseitig als Gesundheit, Glück, Reichtum, Fruchtbarkeit und langes Leben verstanden. Dagegen spielt in der christlichen Heilslehre das Leiden eine zentrale Rolle. Eine zu starke Orientierung auf "diese Welt" kann zu ethischer Seichte, eine zu starke Orientierung auf die "kommende Welt" zu einer gefährlichen ethischen Relativierung führen. Die christliche Soteriologie muß die Spannung zwischen beiden Polen aufrechterhalten. Die Hoffnung auf die kommende Welt darf weder durch ihre Erhebung zum Prinzip ihrer geschichtlichen Wahrheit beraubt werden, noch darf sie selbst geschichtlicher Wirklichkeit entbehren. Was die Beziehung des Menschen zu Gott angeht, ist der Mensch ganz und gar Objekt des göttlichen Heilshandelns. Was aber das christliche Handeln angeht, ist der Mensch zum Handeln "im Herrn" berufen. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)

A presente dissertação trata das contribuições exercidas pelo Confucionismo junto às inter-relações doutrinárias presentes no pensamento tradicional japonês. A pesquisa foca no primeiro século do período Edo (1603 – 1867), onde tal filosofia ocupou importância fundamental para as mudanças advindas nos âmbitos sociais, culturais e políticos. Interagindo com o Budismo e o Xintoísmo, o Confucionismo vem a formar o chamado Pensamento Tokugawa, despontando como principal articulador desta relação. Observou-se que o Confucionismo foi reativado no Japão do século XVII como uma ideologia de Estado propícia à centralização política concluída pelo shogunato Tokugawa. Mas esta doutrina não foi empregada apenas pelos acadêmicos oficiais, tendo amplo uso popular, sobretudo por monges budistas dissidentes, que trouxeram seus estudos à tona. Neste contexto, o Confucionismo foi utilizado, muitas vezes, em conjunto com outras tradições religiosas e filosóficas das formas mais variadas: como em apropriações inter-doutrinárias, em níveis teóricos ou práticos, e na formação de vertentes sincréticas destas doutrinas. Uma de suas manifestações foi o bushido, código de ética moral dos samurais, filosofia que surgiu como uma resposta frente à crise deste segmento social, e que veio a oferecer fontes de elevada importância à compreensão histórica do pensamento do período. No objetivo de circundar a temática, conferimos a presença de certa tendência propícia ao estabelecimento de vinculações filosóficas e analogias, uma herança de experiências anteriores ocorridas na China. Nesta ocasião, o Confucionismo teria sido reintroduzido ao Japão, no século XIII, através dos mesmos monges responsáveis pela propagação do Budismo Zen em terras nipônicas. Outra conexão aqui traçada foi a que envolve medidas centralizadoras, o isolamento do Japão (sakoku jidai) e a emergência de um cenário cultural favorável ao crescimento confucionista. Neste aspecto, viu-se também a criação de determinada identidade japonesa, com feições confucionistas e tributária de uma reformulação educacional feita em conjunto com as demais doutrinas. O século XVII japonês foi marcado pela consolidação do Sankyo Itchi, a “unicidade dos três ensinos” – Confucionismo, Budismo e Xintoísmo –, que vem a ser uma das características principais do pensamento japonês hoje tido como “tradicional”. E é em torno desta interação que aqui acompanhamos o papel exercido pela doutrina de Confúcio no -ippon, a “terra do sol nascente”. / This dissertation is about Confucianism contributions to the doctrinal interrelationship in the japanese traditional thought. The research focuses on the first century of Edo period (1603 – 1867), where such philosophy ply fundamental importance to significant changes in social, cultural and political range. Interacting with Buddhism and Shintoism, Confucianism will form the so called Tokugawa Thought, and dawning as the main articulator of this relationship. It has been pointed out that the Confucianism was reactivated in Japan in 17th century as a State ideology appropriate to the political centralization finished by Tokugawa shogunate. But this doctrine has not been used only by the official faculty, having wide popular usage, mainly by dissident buddhist monks, who brought this studies back to the surface. In this context, the Confucianism has been often used combined with other religious and philosophical traditions in a variety of ways: as in interrelationship appropriations in theoretical or practical levels, and in the formation of syncretistic sects of this doctrine. One of its manifestations was the bushido, moral and ethical code of the samurai, philosophy which has aroused as an answer to the crisis of this social segment, and it offered highly importance fonts to the historical comprehension of the period’s thought. With the purpose of encompassing the subject, we have checked some propitious tendency to the establishment of philosophical links and analogy, a heritage of previous experiences in China. In this occasion, Confucianism would have been reintroduced to Japan, in the 13th century, by the same monks responsible for the Zen Buddhism spread in Nipponic lands. Another outlined connection was the one which involves centralization measures, Japan’s seclusion (sakoku jidai) and the emergence of a cultural scene favorable to the confucianist growth. In this aspect, we have seen the birth of a certain Japanese identity, with confucianist traits and favored by an educational reformulation made in combination with the other doctrines. The Japanese 17th century has been marked by the consolidation of Sankyo Itchi, the “unity of three teachings” – Confucianism, Buddhism and Shintoism – which is one of the main characteristics of the Japanese thought called “traditional nowadays. In this work, surrounding this interaction, we followed Confucius doctrine role in Nippon, the “land of the rising sun”.

Text in German / Cosmology and sociology show that animism is the predominant worldview of Japan. Concepts of God, the issue of controlling mana-power, implications of the Japanese soul-concept, the orientation of the conscience and ancestor veneration are critically discussed with Christian beliefs. When compared to the Biblical peace-concept the Japanese peace-concept shows an aesthetic bias that has to be overcome by adding the concept of justice. Japanese soteriology has no reference to God the Creator, whose proclamation is the basis of understanding man's misfortune as rebellion against God and his salvation as reconciliation with Him. Cosmologically speaking, man experiences his misfortune as fear of super-human powers. Salvation is sought through defensive magic and fortunetelling. Christianity acknowledges security as a basic human need but seeks protection and guidance from God. The main focus of Japanese soteriology is in the field of sociology, which in Japan also includes the relationship with the living dead. Misfortune is mainly experienced as shame and ostracism, salvation as rehabilitation. Defilement of naturally good humans is a central theme in Japan's understanding of man's misfortune. The Christian concept of sin, on the contrary, has a theological and an ontological dimension as well. In Japan salvation is understood solely as this-worldly benefits such as health, happiness, prosperity, fertility, and longevity. But in Christianity suffering is a central theme. An overly strong orientation on "this world" can lead to ethical shallowness, overemphasizing the "coming world" to a dangerous ethical relativism. Christian soteriology must keep the tension between these two extremes. The hope of the coming world must neither be robbed of its historical truth by its transformation into a principle, nor must it be historically ineffective.As for his relationship with God, man is solely the object of God's salvation. But as for Christian acts, man is called to act "in the Lord". / Ausführungen zur Kosmologie und Soziologie zeigen, daß das vorherrschende Weltbild Japans das des Animismus ist. In kritischer Auseinandersetzung mit dem Christentum werden der Gottesbegriff, der Gebrauch der Mana-Kraft, Implikationen des Seelenbegriffs, die Gewissensorientierung und die Ahnenverehrung diskutiert. Die Gegenüberstellung mit dem biblischen Friedensbegriff zeigt, daß der japanische Friedensbegriff seine ästhetische Einseitigkeit durch die Erweiterung um den Aspekt der Gerechtigkeit überwinden muß. In Japan hat die Soteriologie keinen Bezug zu Gott, dem Schöpfer, dessen Verkündigung die Grundlage für das Verständnis des Unheils als Rebellion gegen ihn, des Heils als Versöhnung mit ihm ist. Kosmologisch wird das Unheil in Japan als Angst vor übermenschlichen Mächten erfahren, das Heil durch Schutzzauber und Wahrsagerei gesucht. Das Christentum erkennt das Grundbedürfnis der Sicherheit an, sucht Schutz und Führung aber bei Gott. Das Schwergewicht japanischer Soteriologie liegt im Bereich der Soziologie, zu der in Japan auch die Beziehung zu den living dead gehört. Unheil wird vor allem als Beschämung und Ächtung, Heil als Rehabilitation erfahren. Im japanischen Unheilsverständnis nimmt Verunreinigung des an sich guten Menschen einen hohen Stellenwert ein. Das christliche Sündenverständnis hat dagegen auch eine theologische und ontologische Dimension. Heil wird in Japan rein diesseitig als Gesundheit, Glück, Reichtum, Fruchtbarkeit und langes Leben verstanden. Dagegen spielt in der christlichen Heilslehre das Leiden eine zentrale Rolle. Eine zu starke Orientierung auf "diese Welt" kann zu ethischer Seichte, eine zu starke Orientierung auf die "kommende Welt" zu einer gefährlichen ethischen Relativierung führen. Die christliche Soteriologie muß die Spannung zwischen beiden Polen aufrechterhalten. Die Hoffnung auf die kommende Welt darf weder durch ihre Erhebung zum Prinzip ihrer geschichtlichen Wahrheit beraubt werden, noch darf sie selbst geschichtlicher Wirklichkeit entbehren. Was die Beziehung des Menschen zu Gott angeht, ist der Mensch ganz und gar Objekt des göttlichen Heilshandelns. Was aber das christliche Handeln angeht, ist der Mensch zum Handeln "im Herrn" berufen. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)

A presente dissertação trata das contribuições exercidas pelo Confucionismo junto às inter-relações doutrinárias presentes no pensamento tradicional japonês. A pesquisa foca no primeiro século do período Edo (1603 – 1867), onde tal filosofia ocupou importância fundamental para as mudanças advindas nos âmbitos sociais, culturais e políticos. Interagindo com o Budismo e o Xintoísmo, o Confucionismo vem a formar o chamado Pensamento Tokugawa, despontando como principal articulador desta relação. Observou-se que o Confucionismo foi reativado no Japão do século XVII como uma ideologia de Estado propícia à centralização política concluída pelo shogunato Tokugawa. Mas esta doutrina não foi empregada apenas pelos acadêmicos oficiais, tendo amplo uso popular, sobretudo por monges budistas dissidentes, que trouxeram seus estudos à tona. Neste contexto, o Confucionismo foi utilizado, muitas vezes, em conjunto com outras tradições religiosas e filosóficas das formas mais variadas: como em apropriações inter-doutrinárias, em níveis teóricos ou práticos, e na formação de vertentes sincréticas destas doutrinas. Uma de suas manifestações foi o bushido, código de ética moral dos samurais, filosofia que surgiu como uma resposta frente à crise deste segmento social, e que veio a oferecer fontes de elevada importância à compreensão histórica do pensamento do período. No objetivo de circundar a temática, conferimos a presença de certa tendência propícia ao estabelecimento de vinculações filosóficas e analogias, uma herança de experiências anteriores ocorridas na China. Nesta ocasião, o Confucionismo teria sido reintroduzido ao Japão, no século XIII, através dos mesmos monges responsáveis pela propagação do Budismo Zen em terras nipônicas. Outra conexão aqui traçada foi a que envolve medidas centralizadoras, o isolamento do Japão (sakoku jidai) e a emergência de um cenário cultural favorável ao crescimento confucionista. Neste aspecto, viu-se também a criação de determinada identidade japonesa, com feições confucionistas e tributária de uma reformulação educacional feita em conjunto com as demais doutrinas. O século XVII japonês foi marcado pela consolidação do Sankyo Itchi, a “unicidade dos três ensinos” – Confucionismo, Budismo e Xintoísmo –, que vem a ser uma das características principais do pensamento japonês hoje tido como “tradicional”. E é em torno desta interação que aqui acompanhamos o papel exercido pela doutrina de Confúcio no -ippon, a “terra do sol nascente”. / This dissertation is about Confucianism contributions to the doctrinal interrelationship in the japanese traditional thought. The research focuses on the first century of Edo period (1603 – 1867), where such philosophy ply fundamental importance to significant changes in social, cultural and political range. Interacting with Buddhism and Shintoism, Confucianism will form the so called Tokugawa Thought, and dawning as the main articulator of this relationship. It has been pointed out that the Confucianism was reactivated in Japan in 17th century as a State ideology appropriate to the political centralization finished by Tokugawa shogunate. But this doctrine has not been used only by the official faculty, having wide popular usage, mainly by dissident buddhist monks, who brought this studies back to the surface. In this context, the Confucianism has been often used combined with other religious and philosophical traditions in a variety of ways: as in interrelationship appropriations in theoretical or practical levels, and in the formation of syncretistic sects of this doctrine. One of its manifestations was the bushido, moral and ethical code of the samurai, philosophy which has aroused as an answer to the crisis of this social segment, and it offered highly importance fonts to the historical comprehension of the period’s thought. With the purpose of encompassing the subject, we have checked some propitious tendency to the establishment of philosophical links and analogy, a heritage of previous experiences in China. In this occasion, Confucianism would have been reintroduced to Japan, in the 13th century, by the same monks responsible for the Zen Buddhism spread in Nipponic lands. Another outlined connection was the one which involves centralization measures, Japan’s seclusion (sakoku jidai) and the emergence of a cultural scene favorable to the confucianist growth. In this aspect, we have seen the birth of a certain Japanese identity, with confucianist traits and favored by an educational reformulation made in combination with the other doctrines. The Japanese 17th century has been marked by the consolidation of Sankyo Itchi, the “unity of three teachings” – Confucianism, Buddhism and Shintoism – which is one of the main characteristics of the Japanese thought called “traditional nowadays. In this work, surrounding this interaction, we followed Confucius doctrine role in Nippon, the “land of the rising sun”.

A presente dissertação trata das contribuições exercidas pelo Confucionismo junto às inter-relações doutrinárias presentes no pensamento tradicional japonês. A pesquisa foca no primeiro século do período Edo (1603 – 1867), onde tal filosofia ocupou importância fundamental para as mudanças advindas nos âmbitos sociais, culturais e políticos. Interagindo com o Budismo e o Xintoísmo, o Confucionismo vem a formar o chamado Pensamento Tokugawa, despontando como principal articulador desta relação. Observou-se que o Confucionismo foi reativado no Japão do século XVII como uma ideologia de Estado propícia à centralização política concluída pelo shogunato Tokugawa. Mas esta doutrina não foi empregada apenas pelos acadêmicos oficiais, tendo amplo uso popular, sobretudo por monges budistas dissidentes, que trouxeram seus estudos à tona. Neste contexto, o Confucionismo foi utilizado, muitas vezes, em conjunto com outras tradições religiosas e filosóficas das formas mais variadas: como em apropriações inter-doutrinárias, em níveis teóricos ou práticos, e na formação de vertentes sincréticas destas doutrinas. Uma de suas manifestações foi o bushido, código de ética moral dos samurais, filosofia que surgiu como uma resposta frente à crise deste segmento social, e que veio a oferecer fontes de elevada importância à compreensão histórica do pensamento do período. No objetivo de circundar a temática, conferimos a presença de certa tendência propícia ao estabelecimento de vinculações filosóficas e analogias, uma herança de experiências anteriores ocorridas na China. Nesta ocasião, o Confucionismo teria sido reintroduzido ao Japão, no século XIII, através dos mesmos monges responsáveis pela propagação do Budismo Zen em terras nipônicas. Outra conexão aqui traçada foi a que envolve medidas centralizadoras, o isolamento do Japão (sakoku jidai) e a emergência de um cenário cultural favorável ao crescimento confucionista. Neste aspecto, viu-se também a criação de determinada identidade japonesa, com feições confucionistas e tributária de uma reformulação educacional feita em conjunto com as demais doutrinas. O século XVII japonês foi marcado pela consolidação do Sankyo Itchi, a “unicidade dos três ensinos” – Confucionismo, Budismo e Xintoísmo –, que vem a ser uma das características principais do pensamento japonês hoje tido como “tradicional”. E é em torno desta interação que aqui acompanhamos o papel exercido pela doutrina de Confúcio no -ippon, a “terra do sol nascente”. / This dissertation is about Confucianism contributions to the doctrinal interrelationship in the japanese traditional thought. The research focuses on the first century of Edo period (1603 – 1867), where such philosophy ply fundamental importance to significant changes in social, cultural and political range. Interacting with Buddhism and Shintoism, Confucianism will form the so called Tokugawa Thought, and dawning as the main articulator of this relationship. It has been pointed out that the Confucianism was reactivated in Japan in 17th century as a State ideology appropriate to the political centralization finished by Tokugawa shogunate. But this doctrine has not been used only by the official faculty, having wide popular usage, mainly by dissident buddhist monks, who brought this studies back to the surface. In this context, the Confucianism has been often used combined with other religious and philosophical traditions in a variety of ways: as in interrelationship appropriations in theoretical or practical levels, and in the formation of syncretistic sects of this doctrine. One of its manifestations was the bushido, moral and ethical code of the samurai, philosophy which has aroused as an answer to the crisis of this social segment, and it offered highly importance fonts to the historical comprehension of the period’s thought. With the purpose of encompassing the subject, we have checked some propitious tendency to the establishment of philosophical links and analogy, a heritage of previous experiences in China. In this occasion, Confucianism would have been reintroduced to Japan, in the 13th century, by the same monks responsible for the Zen Buddhism spread in Nipponic lands. Another outlined connection was the one which involves centralization measures, Japan’s seclusion (sakoku jidai) and the emergence of a cultural scene favorable to the confucianist growth. In this aspect, we have seen the birth of a certain Japanese identity, with confucianist traits and favored by an educational reformulation made in combination with the other doctrines. The Japanese 17th century has been marked by the consolidation of Sankyo Itchi, the “unity of three teachings” – Confucianism, Buddhism and Shintoism – which is one of the main characteristics of the Japanese thought called “traditional nowadays. In this work, surrounding this interaction, we followed Confucius doctrine role in Nippon, the “land of the rising sun”.

Ancestor worship is conceived by some to be an outdated primitive custom with no relevance to modern society. However, this study shows that ancestor worship is still alive and well in numerous cultures and countries around the globe and that it is still practised in different forms today. This study focuses on the phenomenon of ancestor worship in Africa, Japan and Korea and specifically deals with the challenges it has posed to Christian missionaries in these contexts. Furthermore, this study examines the strategies which the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Church and Independent Churches have adopted to deal with this problem and the apparent mismatch with Christian theology. Therefore, the analysis of the phenomenon of ancestor worship is situated in the socio-cultural and religious paradigms of each of these countries and is examined in theological, missiological and Biblical terms. Most notably, the thesis attempts to determine whether or not ancestor worship can be considered to be a purely social and cultural phenomenon which carries certain ethical responsibilities in these cultures and whether or not it is congruent with Christian theology. This study has attempted to prove that in spite of the socio-cultural dimensions of ancestor worship and its rituals (with their ensuing ethical responsibilities in the cosmologies of these nations) it is still essentially worship. It is contended that ancestor worship is fundamentally a form of idolatry and contrary to the teachings of the Bible and is therefore does not articulate with Christian theology. The fundamental premise underlying the study is the ultimate authority of the Bible as the inspired word of God. This is a qualitative study which attempts to explore the phenomenon and rituals of ancestor worship on numerous levels. In each case the theological contributions of scholars in the field are evaluated and explored and ultimately benchmarked against the Biblical evidence. In the African context it is necessary therefore to look at African Christology and the attempts of scholars to contextualise the gospel in African terms. As such the continuity and discontinuity between traditional religion and the Bible is explored and the dangers of syncretism are addressed. The ultimate goal was to suggest a suitable approach for the Church to deal with the challenges which ancestor worship poses in these specific contexts. The study will motivate and argue for contextualisation as an appropriate mission principle in this regard. This takes into consideration the social responsibility which missionaries have towards the people to whom they introduce the gospel. The reason is that the close bond which exists between identity, culture and religion is acknowledged. If the religion or cultural practises are rejected because it does not comply with the Gospel’s requirements, then missionaries need to be sensitive to the void which they may create in the identity of the people and take appropriate steps to ameliorate the problem and avoid syncretism. / Thesis (PhD (Science of Religion and Missiology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

This study seeks to explore how Swedish textbooks in religion for upper secondary school presents East Asian teachings. The main focus will be on Confucianism, Daoism and Shinto. The aim is to explore how textbook authors relate to the Western concept of reli-gion when they describe the three East Asian teachings. Where do the authors choose to put the most emphasis when the coverage of the textbooks is limited? The study is done by qualitative text analysis as method. The theoretical perspective used is primarily critical religion theory. Five textbooks of religion for upper secondary school were studied and show in the results the different themes found in the texts regarding East Asian teachings. The analysis shows that Confucianism, Daoism and Shinto are presented in the textbooks as something different compared to the world religions. Occasionally the three teachings are portrayed as obsolete. By using a critical religion theory, it seems that the textbook authors were occasionally trying to fit in the teachings as sui generis religion. The authors seem to be aware that religious practice can be different in East Asia than it is generally done in the west. This study should be of help to Swedish religion studies teachers when educating in the subject. It is easy to fall into the trap of explaining foreign teachings through sui generis religion. By being critical before deciding to make use of Swedish textbooks in religion we can avoid reproducing unfair notations of East Asian teachings.

No description available.