Mitt syfte med denna uppsats var att undersöka Katolska och Syrisk-Ortodoxa kyrkans förståelse av bikten. Det var på grund utav mitt intresse för båda kyrkorna samt att jag inte funnit något liknande material på svenska som jag valde just detta syfte med min uppsats. Jag har i bästa möjliga mån försökt presentera och analysera bikten utifrån katolsk och syrisk-ortodox tradition. Jag har genom att granska de båda traditionernas katekeser samt bibeln och andra källor, försökt söka deras förståelse av bikten samt hur de tänker kring de olika delarna som bikten omfattas av. Jag valde ut de texter som jag kände passade bäst och var mest representativa för traditionerna samt de texter som har en koppling till kyrkans auktoriteter, det vill säga påvar och patriarker. Genom att använda mig av primärkällor som är skrivna ur ett inifrån perspektiv har jag kunnat få ta del av den korrekta förståelsen om av vad traditionerna egentligen tycker om och förstår av bikten.

Under 2000-talet har antalet vigslar stadigt ökat i Sverige. I den här studien berättar unga män och kvinnor i åtta heterosexuella par om sina bröllop, från det att beslutet om giftermål togs och tills bröllopsdagen är över. Hälften av paren gifter sig borgerligt och övriga enligt Svenska kyrkans vigselordning. Syftet med studien är att förstå den mening som unga vuxna skapar i sina bröllop och i berättelserna om dem. I analysen används reflexiv och narrativ metod kombinerad med teorier från religionssociologi, kultursociologi, familjesociologi, ritstudier och genusvetenskap. Studiens centrala resultat är att bröllop både förenar och skiljer människor åt. På mikronivå, två individer emellan, stärker giftermålet banden inom familjen. Detta gäller dels känslomässigt, dels juridiskt och ekonomiskt. Barnet är centralt i sammanhanget. Samtidigt finns det föreställningar om hur brud och brudgum ska bete sig och framträda i bröllopssammanhanget som kan ha en särskiljande effekt på man och kvinna. På mesonivå beskrivs särskilt den kyrkliga vigseln som ett bra tillfälle att samla släkt och vänner.  Flera borgerliga vigslar är däremot hemliga, i syfte att hålla släkt och vänner borta från dem. Själva riten har både en förenande och separerande effekt. Den samlar människor i en gemensam handling men upplevelsen av den är individuell och tolkningarna kan skilja sig åt från person till person. På makronivå, i samhället, framträder bröllopets enande betydelse i att samtliga som gifter sig blir en del av ett kollektiv genom att de följer normen för vad en ”riktig” familj är. Samtidigt separerar det de gifta från personer som inte är gifta vilket också kan ses som en av ritens funktioner. En jämförelse de två vigselgrupperna (borgerlig respektive kyrklig) emellan visar att det uppkommer en åtskillnad av människor som resulterar i två grupper, de som gör vad ”man ska” göra och de som inte gör det. Det stora kyrkliga bröllopet är normerande. Bröllopsnormen upprätthålls genom den offentliga mediala bröllopsberättelsen men kanske främst genom människors praktiker. På metanivå, inom forskningen, kan olika forskningsdiscipliner mötas i studier av bröllop, vilket avhandlingen är ett exempel på. Men tidigare forskning har närmast uteslutande fokuserat på de svenskkyrkliga vigslarna samt trenden med stora bröllop. Den här avhandlingen bidrar till synliggörandet av den vanligt förekommande, men publikt närmast osynliga riten; den lilla borgerliga vigseln. / In this study, 16 young Swedish adults share their personal stories about their weddings. The stories start with the couples’ decisions to marry and end with the individual experience of the wedding ceremony. Half of those interviewed have a civil ceremony and the rest marry in church. The study’s purpose is to understand the meaning that young adults create in their weddings and in their stories about them. In the analysis I use narrative and reflexive method combined with theories from sociology of religion, cultural sociology, sociology of the family, ritual studies and gender research. The key result achieved by the study is that weddings unify as well as create tensions. On the micro level, between two individuals, the rite is integrating. Interviewees justify their marriage with the argument that it strengthens ties within the family, in which children are a central part. This applies both to an emotional aspect and to a legal and financial aspect. At the same time, the stories contain notions of how the bride and groom should behave and appear in the wedding context, which may lead to conflicts between the man and woman. The bride is understood to be the main character and the man is supposed to play a supporting role. This legitimises a gender-based division of labor. On the meso-level, the wedding is experienced as a unifying force especially in the relationships of church wedding couples to family and friends. Several couples with civil marriages, however, do not want anyone else on their wedding and separates themselves from other people. On the macro-level, in society, unification appears in the interviewees’ experiences of being part of a collective, those who follow the norm for what a "real" family is. A comparison between the two wedding groups (civil and ecclesiastical) shows, however, one further aspect of tension. A distinction appears between human beings resulting in two groups: those who do the “right thing” (have a big church wedding) and those who do not. This leads to intersectional effects, concerning gender and class, on each individual. The integrating and separating effects of weddings are also seen on the meta-level, within academia. On the one hand, various research disciplines can meet in studies of weddings. But in the selection of the types of weddings that are studied, there are often priorities made that result in distinctions being made. Most studies focus on big weddings, and primarily on church weddings while the others are neglected. My dissertation contributes to the visibility of the common, but publicly almost invisible rite; the small civil wedding.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stockholms högskola, 1930. / Summary in German. Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-226).

The aim of this paper is to describe and explain how the separation between state and church effects the power relations between state and religious groups and organizations. Former state church, The Swedish church, is in this paper, not included in the definition of religious groups. The reform (“stat-kyrka reformen”) took place between 1995 and year 2000.I’m examining if religious groups had any influence on the reform. My expectation is to give a clearer picture of religious groups and its power position in Swedish politics and society. A process-tracing method is used. I use different theories, theory of power and influence and theory of collective action. The reason for the decision to separate church and state was to handle social changes such as increasing secularism, pluralism and multiculturalism. This paper can however conclude that the state, after the reform, has shown an even greater, less secular, determination to connect with religious groups. I can also conclude that these religious groups had influence on the reform itself, partly because of its power resources and partly because its ability for collective actions.

Spiritual care in hospitals is a well-established practice in Sweden that is justified by religious freedom. Contemporary Sweden is a multicultural society with a culturally and religiously diverse population. Since 2006, a Muslim spiritual care organization has been established in co-operation with the Swedish state. This interview study with Muslim spiritual caregivers examines how Islam is being interpreted and how Muslim spiritual care in Swedish hospitals is apprehended by the informants. By approaching Islam as a discursive tradition and combining historical and ethnological methods, this study sheds light on what aspects of Islam are considered relevant in the hospital context and it examines why that is the case. The study shows that Muslim spiritual care is regarded to be a complement to other healthcare practices. To a large extent, the care is provided by supportive conversations, Islamic counseling, as well as help with religious practices and rituals. To manage a patient’s various wants and the denominational diversity, the Muslim representatives hold that they put the patient’s and the relatives’ needs and interpretations of Islam first. The study concludes that the representatives are spiritual care professionals that are loyal to the state and the secular institutions they serve. This involves staying true to ideals of cultural and religious pluralism and equality but also knowing that these principles are subordinated to the hospital’s rules. This constructs boundaries regarding how Islam is interpreted and has to be negotiated in the efforts of making Islam a natural part of the institution.

This thesis examines the view on society in an early 20th century Swedish periodical journal of liberal theology, Kristendomen och vår tid (Christianity and our time). During the late 19th century, a new school of liberal theology gained influence among various protestant theological faculties in Germany. In emphasising the ethical teachings of the historical Jesus of Nazareth as the basis for Christianity and a worldly kingdom of God, liberal theologians advocated social and political reform, becoming influential in German society at the turn of the century. As this liberal theology was adapted in Sweden, a group of priests and theologians founded the journal KVT as a medium for spreading liberal theology to their peers, but also, this thesis suggests, to advocate a particular view on society and role for the church and the priesthood in a way similar to the development in Germany. The analysis of the view on society in KVT suggests a shift over time regarding the expressed purpose and role of church in society, which can be understood within the context of contemporary development of political life in Sweden. In the early 1900s, an ideal of a church highly active in social welfare practices in society is apparent in the journal, whereas in the 1920s the role and main purpose of the church is understood rather as a sort of societal moral consciousness.

The years around 1968 societal change was on the agenda of many political, cultural and other movements. This paper is about the role of Church of Sweden in relation to the demands of contemporary society. How did Church of Sweden approach the challenges that the time around 1968 presented in terms of vulnerability and human distress? In particular, what was the ability of the church and its members to be an active force in reducing the remaining pockets of poverty, to enhance equality? Did the church offer a possibility for the committed to participate through the church in improving human conditions in the world, something generally expected by a Christian church?     By the reading of the church weekly magazine, Vår Kyrka, and applying a theory on “space of action”, the paper concludes that it was hard to develop meaningful social work in the parishes, partly due to the Parish Governance Act, Församlingsstyrelselagen. It was the international work that offered a “space of action” for the active parish members. Lutherhjälpen (Church of Sweden Aid) and Svenska kyrkans mission (Church of Sweden Mission) grew in importance and affected parishwork and the witness of the church at the time.

Denna studie undersöker kyrkan som välfärdsaktör och belyser, utifrån intervjuer med professionella diakoniarbetare, hur protestantiskt kristna kyrkor i Sverige gör socialt arbete. Empiriska data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 15 diakoniarbetare fördelade över hela landet och analyserats med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Genom tematisering och kodning har tre huvudteman med underteman framträtt: Kyrkans roll i samhället, Självständighet och beroende samt Inkludering och exkludering. Av resultatet framkommer att kyrkan ser ett behov av välfärdstjänster utöver de som erbjuds av offentlig sektor. Många gånger anser sig kyrkan vara kapabel att utföra stöd och hjälp på ett sätt som offentliga myndigheter inte kan och därmed utgör ett komplement till offentliga aktörer. Exempelvis anser sig kyrkan inte enbart kunna möta människors fysiska nöd utan också sociala behov och existentiella frågor. Kyrkans omfattande krisberedskap och volontära krafter framhålls som en styrka och som viktiga resurser. Diakonin skiljer sig från socialt arbete på så sätt att den bygger på den kristna tron som också utgör en central del och en grund för kyrkans sociala förändringsarbete. Vidare belyser studien styrkor och svagheter hos civila välfärdsaktörer och problematiserar maktstrukturer i hjälpalliansen. Slutligen belyser studien vikten av professionell kompetens och ett kritiskt förhållningssätt i en organisation som drivs av välvilja och volontärt engagemang. Studien visar att en kritiskt reflekterande kyrka genom sina volontära resurser har potential att vara en viktig samarbetspartner för offentliga aktörer, en välfärdsaktör som är värd att tas på allvar. / This study examines churches as welfare actors and demonstrates how protestant churches in Sweden accomplish social work.  The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 professional diaconal workers from all over Sweden and analysed through a thematic analysis. Through thematisation and coding three main themes were identified: The role of churches in society, Independence and dependence and Inclusion and exclusion. The findings show that churches are seeing a need to offer welfare services as a complement to services offered by the public sector. The churches are often capable to offer support and help in a way that authorities are not able to offer and therefore they act as a compliment to public actors. For example, the churches can not only satisfy physical needs, but also the social needs and a support to deal with existential issues of people. The extensive crisis preparedness and voluntary resources of the churches are presented as a strength. In Sweden the diaconal work differs from social work, offered by the public sector, by building on Christian faith that is also an important component in the churches work for social change among vulnerable people. The study also exhibits strengths and weaknesses in civil society actors and problematises power structures in the help alliance. Finally, this study illustrates the importance of having professional competence and a critical approach in an organisation that is operated with kindness and voluntary engagement. The study shows that churches, through their voluntary resources and while maintaining a critical reflection, have the potential to be important collaboration partners for public actors, and are therefore welfare actors to be taken seriously.

No description available.

A need for new churches arose in Sweden during the 1950’s when modern suburbs for the growing urban population were developed around the Swedish cities. Four architects, Peter Celsing, Sigurd Lewerentz, Hans Borgström and Bengt Lindroos, who were known for their profane modernist architecture, were commissioned to design three churches in Stockholm's new districts: S:t Tomas kyrka in Vällingby, St. Markuskyrkan in Björkhagen and Söderledskyrkan in Farsta and all were inaugurated in 1960.  The purpose of the essay is to investigate how the sacral textiles of the three modernist churches look like in the year of inauguration and how they related to their respective contexts in the form of the modernist church rooms 1960. The investigation is done with the help of the questions: How do the sacral textiles look like in the modernist neighborhood church? Why do they look the way they do? What has influenced their appearance and design? The questions are answered with the support of the theories Material Culture and the performativity theory, and the investigation is carried out using Material Culture as a method and the textile science documentation method. In order to be able to determine what modernity was in the contemporaneity of the sacral textiles, whimsical terms have been operationalized, which are taken from the contemporary literature that speaks about what the modern can be or not be. This is a theoretical starting point from which the investigation into modernity starts.  The result of the investigation shows that the sacral textiles in their newly manufactured parts was influenced by the modernist church context. It appears in the essay that the influencing factors were several and they appeared in the context of the church ́s liturgy, the architect ́s visions and the designers’ artistic signature in expression. These gave effect in different ways to the appearance and design of the sacred textiles.