L'articulation de cette thèse découle d'une curiosité sur la façon dont les croyants africains contemporains urbains comprennent le Saint-Esprit. Les portraits que les théologiens africains ont dressés de la compréhension africaine du Saint-Esprit, semblent être basés sur un paradigme théologique dichotomique: la religion traditionnelle africaine et la tradition chrétienne occidentale, qui avait créé la dissonance dans la scène académique. Ce paradigme soulève un débat de continuité et de discontinuité entre les êtres spirituels des deux traditions, les esprits traditionnels et le Saint-Esprit. Cette thèse va prendre une attention particulière sur les travaux de Elochukwu Uzukwu et de Matthew Michael, qui figurent parmi les quelques théologiens africains ayant travaillé sur la compréhension de l'Esprit Saint. Uzukwu soutient la continuité fondée sur l'orientation théologique des églises indépendantes africaines, tandis que Michael s'est rangé du côté de ceux qui déclarent la discontinuité, se basant sur l'orientation théologique évangélique. Ces théologiens, qui adoptent des positions opposées en s’appuyant sur leurs orientations théologiques respectives, défendent des positions théologiquement bipolarisées de la pneumatologie africanisée et de la religiosité africaine. Étonnamment, le débat en cours parmi les théologiens n'a pas accordé beaucoup de place à la religiosité des croyants laïcs, ni à son étude empirique. Par conséquent, cette thèse a décidé d'interroger les croyants africains laïcs sur qui le Saint-Esprit est pour eux, en espérant que cette étude pourrait régler la dissonance persistante dans le terrain académique. Les voix des laïcs africains contemporains ont rapporté des récits vivants à la façon dont ils ont théologisé les deux mondes spirituels pour définir le Saint-Esprit dans une foi africaine. Leurs voix, qui ont été introduites dans le domaine universitaire, ont apporté des idées novatrices et des découvertes. Elles ont révélé comment la compréhension africanisée du Saint-Esprit présentée par les théologiens Africains ont été la position de la minorité des croyants, bien qu'elle ait fût représentée comme si elle était une pneumatologie africanisée populaire. À l'inverse, le paradigme bipolarisé sur lequel les théologiens africains articulaient la compréhension africanisée du Saint-Esprit semblait même dépassé. Par conséquent, sur la base des voix du terrain, cette thèse développe des propositions, pour une compréhension africanisée du Saint-Esprit, qui pourraient être pertinentes pour la religiosité urbaine de nos jours. Par les voix inédites à qui elle offre une ouverture, cette thèse appelle à réévaluer l'articulation entre le Christianisme et la religion traditionnelle en Afrique. / The articulation of this thesis derives from a curiosity on how the urban contemporary African believers understand the Holy Spirit. The portrayals African theologians have drawn of the African understanding of the Holy Spirit, seems to be based on a dichotomized theological paradigm: the African traditional religion and the Western Christian tradition, which had created dissonance on the academic stage. This paradigm raises a debate of continuity and discontinuity between the spiritual beings of the two traditions, the traditional spirits and the Holy Spirit. Elochukwu Uzukwu and Matthew Michael, whom this thesis will take a special attention, figure among the few works of the African theologians about the understanding of the Holy Spirit. Uzukwu supports continuity based on the African Independent Churches’ theological orientation, whereas Michael sided with those stating the discontinuity, grounds on the Evangelical theological orientation. These theologians, whom take opposite stances based on their respective theological orientations, represent theologically bipolarized stances on Africanized Pneumatology and the African religiosity. Surprisingly, the ongoing debate among the theologians did not accord much room to the lay believers’ religiosity nor on their empirical studies. Therefore, this thesis has decided to inquire the lay African believers on whom the Holy Spirit is to them hoping that this study could settle the dissonance persisting on the academic field. The voices of the contemporary lay African believers brought vivid accounts on how they have theologized the two spiritual worlds to define the Holy Spirit into an African faith. Their voices that were introduced to the academic field have brought innovative insights and discoveries. It revealed how the Africanized comprehension of the Holy Spirit presented by the African theologians were the stance of the very minority of believers, although it were wrapped as if it was a popular Africanized Pneumatology. Conversely, the bipolarized paradigm on which the African theologians were articulating the Africanized understanding of the Holy Spirit even appeared to be outmoded. Therefore, based on the voices of the ground, this thesis develops proposals for an Africanized understanding of the Holy Spirit that could be relevant and pertinent to an urban contemporary African religiosity. The unheard voices that this thesis brought its attention to call to re-evaluating the articulation between Christianity and Traditional Religion in Africa.

The presented work focuses on the topic of priests of selected Christian Churches, and their potential possibility to live in marriage. In order to view pastors comprehensively, it is essential to define who a priest is, how it is possible to become one, how to terminate this status, what the rights, duties and punishments for the priests are and what hierarchy each Church has. A historical overview of the priests' celibacy in the history of the Church and specifically in Czech history is also included in the diploma paper, as well as theology of celibacy. Roman-Catholic Church, Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia and Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren are selected for the purpose of this work.

Ce mémoire analyse la question de la désaffiliation et les concepts afférents chez les évangéliques de deuxième génération au Québec nés de parents convertis et socialisés dans le milieu évangélique. Au Canada depuis 2011, on remarque une tendance générale à une croissance modérée, si ce n’est une stabilité des groupes évangéliques. Derrière cette relative stabilité, l’on trouve notamment le phénomène de la désaffiliation religieuse, à savoir une désadhésion, un désengagement et une désidentification du milieu évangélique. Cette recherche est menée selon une approche qualitative biographique et semi-directive auprès de douze désaffiliés issus du milieu évangélique québécois. L’analyse des données prend appui sur les cadres théoriques conceptualisant la succession des générations, la déconversion et la désaffiliation. Il ressort que du point de vue générationnel la désaffiliation constitue un produit de la modernité tardive autour de la question du choix religieux, de la mobilité géographique et de l’adaptation des nouvelles églises urbaines. Du point de vue des enjeux spécifiquement liés au milieu évangélique, la désaffiliation survient pour certains interrogés suite à des difficultés à reproduire un modèle de conversion dominant véhiculé par la première génération et central à l’identité évangélique. À la fin des années 1990, le passage de l’école chrétienne publique, ou de l’école à la maison, vers l’univers de l’éducation publique déconfessionnalisée, produit une forme de « choc scolaire » amorçant une remise en question suscitant un début de « désadhésion ». Au mode de vie évangélique « tout ou rien », s’imbrique l’idéal de la pureté sexuelle et du mariage dont l’échec vient aussi agir comme déclencheur de désaffiliation engendrant le « désengagement » religieux. Au fil de la vie de ces membres, la désaffiliation se produit selon une chronologie marquée généralement par un désengagement suivi d’une « désidentification ». Enfin, par son examen de la trajectoire des trois quarts des interrogés s’orientant vers la non-religion, cette recherche contribue à l’élargissement des connaissances concernant la manière dont la désaffiliation évangélique contribue à la croissance du phénomène des sans-religions. Elle comble un manque de données empiriques concernant le sujet de la désaffiliation religieuse au sein des milieux du Réveil évangélique et québécois. / This master thesis analyzes the issue of disaffiliation and related concepts among second- generation evangelicals in Quebec born of converted parents and socialized in the evangelical milieu. In Canada since 2011, there has been a general trend of moderate growth, if not stability, among evangelical groups. Behind this relative stability lies the phenomenon of religious disaffiliation, that is, disadhesion, disengagement, and disidentification from the evangelical milieu. This research is conducted using a qualitative biographical and semi-directive approach with twelve disaffiliated persons from the evangelical milieu in Quebec. The analysis of the data is based on theoretical frameworks that conceptualize disaffiliation, deconversion, and generational succession. It emerges that from a generational point of view, disaffiliation is a product of late modernity around the issue of religious choice, geographic mobility, and the adaptation of new urban churches. From the point of view of issues specifically linked to the evangelical milieu, disaffiliation occurs for some respondents as a result of difficulties in reproducing a dominant conversion model conveyed by the first generation and central to evangelical identity. At the end of the 1990s, the transition from public Christian schools, or homeschooling, to the world of deconfessionalized public education produced a form of "school shock" that initiated a questioning that led to the beginning of disadhesion. To the evangelical way of life "all or nothing" is interwoven with the ideal of sexual purity and marriage whose failure also acts as a trigger of disaffiliation generating religious disengagement. Throughout these members' lives, disaffiliation occurs according to a chronology generally marked by disengagement followed by disidentification. Finally, by examining the trajectory of three- quarters of respondents moving toward non-religion, this research contributes to the expansion of knowledge about how evangelical disaffiliation contributes to the growth of the phenomenon of the non-religious. It fills a gap in empirical data concerning the subject of religious disaffiliation within the Evangelical Revival in Quebec milieu.

This dissertation argues for the renewal of Chinese evangelical spirituality by critical engagement with Christian mysticism. The dissertation argues that Chinese evangelicals can pursue life transformation by appropriating the Christian mystical tradition within the Chinese context while retaining core evangelical distinctions. It discloses that Chinese evangelicals have inherited some elements of the Christian mystical tradition. Purposeful review and critical engagement with Christian mysticism provide Chinese evangelicals with meaningful themes, lively witnesses, and practical insights for reimaging the pathway of future spiritual theology in their social-cultural context. Thus, it contributes to the sparse academic research on mainland Chinese spiritual theology and argues that Christian mysticism plays a particular role in its unique development. Furthermore, this dissertation holds that Chinese evangelical leaders should and can work together to lead Christians to acquire spiritual maturity while they are travelling on this spiritual pathway. It proposes an integration of biblical leadership and the social identity theory of leadership for leading a constructive change to the evangelical community. Such as proposal of change manifests the contribution of this dissertation to the fusion of theory and practice in spiritual or practical theology.

This thesis deals with the origins and subsequent historical development of the Congregation of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in Jablůnka, particularly from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. The first part describes the period before the issuing of the Patent of Toleration and its announcement and implementation, particularly in the context of Protestants in Jablůnka. The second part focuses on the nineteenth century; the transformation of a filial church in Jablůnka into an independent Parish church is also discussed. Another event mentioned is the founding of a confessional school and its transformation into a state-run primary school. The third part is devoted to the twentieth century, the pastors of the church and the specific spiritual trends that have influenced the functioning of the community. Future prospects of the congregation are outlined in interviews with its members.

German text / Diese Masterarbeit untersucht die mit der Predigtarbeit verbundene Stressbewältigung evangelischer Gemeindepfarrer der Region Karlsruhe (Deutschland). Zuerst werden an Hand der Literatur Möglichkeiten der Stressbewältigung in Forschung und Beratung sowie im Pfarrberuf reflektiert. Es folgt die Erfassung der empirischen Situation mit Hilfe teilstrukturierter Interviews und deren Bewertung in Anlehnung an Mayrings Qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse. Abschließend werden aus der theoretischen Reflexion und der empirischen Forschung konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet. Im Zentrum der Untersuchung steht die persönliche Praxis der Stressbewältigung im Rahmen der Predigtvorbereitung und des Predigtvortrages, wobei die Einbindung des geistlichen Lebens des Pfarrers interessiert. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung geben Anlass, insgesamt von einer stressreduzierenden Wirkung der Predigtarbeit auszugehen. Die berufsbedingt meditative Beschäftigung mit dem Predigttext fördert die Spiritualität. In Kombination mit autodidaktisch erworbenen Stressbewältigungskompetenzen ergibt sich daraus ein erstaunlich effektives Stressmanagement. Die Studie ist im Fachbereich der Praktischen Theologie verortet, steht aber interdisziplinär mit den Sozialwissenschaften in Verbindung und bedient sich deren Methodik. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

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This Master's thesis named "Approaches of Czech Churches towards Euthanasia" studies the topic of euthanasia through position papers of four selected churches active in the Czech Republic. The four examined churches are Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, and Czechoslovak Hussite Church whereas documents published by ecumenical panels are studied as well. The goal of the thesis is to create a statement overview of these four churches. First, the work introduces the topic itself, explains basic terms and development of different approaches. Second, it analyses position papers of examined churches which are subsequently compared in order to find the aspects which are common to the all four churches.

<p>This thesis is a contribution to the scholarly debate on how African Independent Churches (AICs) relate to outside partners. It is a case study from the perspective of the periphery of Ethiopia, which explains the origins of the Mekane Yesus Church in Kambata Hadiya</p><p>The diachronic structure of the study with a focus from 1944 to 1975 highlights how a group of Christians reacted to cultural pressure and formed a local independent church, the Kambata Evangelical Church 2 (KEC-2). The KEC-2 established relations with external partners, like a neighbouring mainstream conference of churches, a neighbouring mainstream church, an international organisation, and a mainstream overseas church and its mission. These relations influenced the KEC-2 to develop into a synod of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). The diachronic approach is augmented by synchronic structural analyses, illustrating how aspects in the independent KEC-2, like polity, worship, doctrine and ethos were changing.</p><p>The study contends that "Ethiopian Evangelical Solidarity" was a crucial factor in the development of the independent KEC-2 into a synod of the EECMY. As this factor helped the Ethiopians to transcend barriers of ethnicity, social status and denominationalism, it is not unreasonable to assume that the study has relevance for a wider African context.</p><p>This thesis builds on material taken mainly from unpublished printed sources in various languages from archives in Ethiopia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. These are supplemented by interviews made by the author.</p>

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