The thesis explores relations between members of the Church of Sweden and heterogeneous spirituality. More specifically heterogeneous spirituality is studied within the Church, a terrain understudied. The purpose statement, method and material are all bifurcated, following a mixed methods design. Prevalence and contents of heterogeneous spirituality are examined through statistical secondary analysis and semi-structured interviews. Common variables and questions are studied quantitatively and qualitatively. The examination is preceded by an underlying operationalization in which categories are determined as indicators of religion or spirituality, understood as ideal types corresponding to Paul Heelas' and Linda Woodhead's concepts life-as religion and subjective-life spirituality. The operational definitions enable a simultaneous exploration of three disparate theoretical perspectives. Two are associated with Heelas and Woodhead, namely the process of subjectivization and the spiritual revolution claim. The third is derived from Grace Davies works on believing and belonging, which predict growing heterogeneity in the religious landscape. The quantitative material consists of the extensive Enköpingsstudien and Medlem 2004. The secondary analysis' main contribution is tests of significance of variables previously overlooked, as well as a study of variables in detail previously explored as items within larger groups. The qualitative materials consist of semi-structured interviews with participants in spiritual networks within the Church of Sweden, exclusively recruited in the Diocese of Stockholm. The follow-up of identical questions quantitatively and qualitatively enables a dialogue between etic and emic perspectives. The interviews shed light over how etic indicators in fact can be interpreted by respondents in a given context. A premise for the spiritual revolution claim is conflict between religion and spirituality, manifest in the heartlands of the congregational domain and the holistic milieu. Expected consequences are negative association between variables characterizing life-as and subjective-life quantitatively, expressions of conflict or incompatibility qualitatively. Results supporting the claim were at large absent. Better fares Davies prediction of increasing heterogeneity, characterized by positive association as well as expressions of compatibility. Lastly, the informants' statements were permeated by signs of subjectivization. One conclusion is that Heelas' and Woodhead's implementation of life-as religion and subjective-life spirituality as distinct and rival milieus is unwarranted. Subjectivization seems to, contrary to Heelas and Woodhead, influence the congregational domain to a large extent.  This compromise use of the dichotomy religion and spirituality as largely distinct and differentiated phenomena. The overall tendency in the material is co-existence rather than conflict. Referring to Davie's phrase Believing without Belonging, I argue that Belonging and Believing Something Else better captures the members relationship to belief, belonging and heterogeneous spirituality.

Šiame darbe yra gvildenama abortu legitimumo problema iš pradžių apžvelgiant pačią aborto sąvoką ir atsiradimo istoriją. Platesnė šios problemos analizė pateikiama žmogaus gyvybės kaip absoliučios vertybės, taip pat ir žmogaus privatumo kaip vertybės atžvilgiu. Čia bandoma išdėstyti katalikiškąją bei filosofinę pozicijas, pasisakančias už žmogaus gyvybės vertę bei saugojimą nuo pradėjimo momento. Apžvelgiamos ir priešingos koncepcijos, moters teise į abortą priskiriančios prie privačių interesų. Šių vertybių santykio kolizija analizuojama tiek Europos Sąjungos viršnacionalinės, tiek ir kai kurių Europos valstybių nacionalinės teisės lygmenyje. Atskirai nagrinėjama Lietuvos bei Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų pozicija sprendžiant abortų legitimumo problema. / In this work the problem of legitimacy of abortions is analyzed by reviewing, first of all, the definition of abortion and history of its’ occurrence. Wider analysis of this problem is given from the point of view of human life as an absolute value as well as human privacy as a value. Herein it is tried to set forth catholic and philosophic positions that speak for the value of human life and its preservation since the moment of its’ beginning. Opposite conceptions that attribute woman’s right to abortion to private interests are also reviewed. Collision of relation between these values is analyzed in the level of supernational law of the European Union as well as in the level of national law of certain European states. Position of Lithuania and the United States of America in solution of the problem of abortion legitimacy is analyzed separately.

Peter Carey has been discussed in academia since the 1980s. And since then these discussions revolve around postmodernism, postcolonial studies or, indeed, both at once. So, either Peter Carey has been writing the same old novel for nearly thirty years by now, or there are whole worlds in his writings that have yet to be uncovered. Since I claim the latter is the case, this thesis sets out to chart at least a few areas of these vast forgotten territories, to use a consciously colonial metaphor. The theoretical ‘vehicle’ with which the new areas are entered is agency. Which means that the thesis investigates how individual characters manage to become successful actors, or fail to do so. The thesis first provides an overview of Carey's writing (Chapter 2), then traces three typical 'Carey themes' through his entire oeuvre and shows how they are relevant for agency (Chapter 3), before discussing the concept of agency itself at some length in Chapter 4. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 are close readings of My Life as a Fake, Illywhacker and Tristan Smith and investigate the novels' main characters' development in depth. The appendix contains research that would be relevant for a biographical approach to Carey's works. It explains the climate of Australian literature production in the 1970s in which Carey emerges as an author and that is relevant for his writing up to his latest works Amnesia and a Long Way from Home. It also relates a few biographical notes that are relevant for many of his works.:1. Introduction 4 2. Literary Overview of Carey’s Writing 18 3. Agency in Carey’s Writing: Three ‘Carey Themes’ 29 4. Agency 49 4.1. Important Terminology 49 4.2. Agency: A New Phenomenon? 53 4.3. The Ancient Sources of Agency 62 4.4. The Agency Game: The Sociological Concept of Agency 67 4.5. Agency, Nature, and Metaphysics 76 4.6. The Problem of Normativity 84 4.7. Getting the Moral Framework Back into the Picture 89 4.8. Getting Intrinsic Capacity Back into the Picture 95 4.9. The Whole Picture 100 5. My Life as a Fake 109 5.1. The Story 109 5.2. The Central Conflict: Apollo and Dionysus Caught in a ‘Deathlock’ 112 5.3. My Life as a Fake and the Struggle for Authenticity 125 5.4. Chubb and McCorkle Revisited: Authenticity and the Social Arena 132 5.5. Conclusion 138 6. Illywhacker 141 6.1. Lies and control 148 6.1.1. Book I 149 6.1.2. Book II 156 6.1.3. Book III 164 6.2. Compulsive Visions and Compelled Selves 171 6.2.1. The McGraths: Molly and Jack 185 6.2.2. The Young Compulsive Mistresses 190 6.3. Peter Carey’s Entrapped Dreamers 199 6.4. From the Aircraft Factory to the Museum: Baudrillard in Australia 204 6.4.1. The Three-Tiered Advance of Australia Fair 205 6.4.2. Agency in the Hyperreal Condition 214 6.4.3. Illywhacker and the Western World: Anti-Depressants 217 6.5. Final Remarks on Illywhacker 221 7. Tristan Smith 224 7.1. Tristan as Narrative Voice and as Character inside his Story 228 7.2. Tristan’s Bildung: A Study in two Mirror Phases 231 7.2.1. Initial Conceit 232 7.2.2. The Gaze of the Other 236 7.2.3. The First Mirror Stage 241 7.2.4. Interlude 246 7.2.5. The Voyage 249 7.2.6. The Second Mirror Stage 252 7.3. Tristan’s Subversiveness: “Bodies […] out of Control” 258 7.3.1. Postcolonial Approaches and External Reality 259 7.3.2. Cultural Simulation: Ghostdorps and Ghost Lights 264 7.3.3. Confronting Simulations: Tristan and Peggy 270 7.3.4. Not Escaping the Now: Felicity 275 7.3.5. Jacqui: From Self-Realisation to Escapism and Back to the Now 280 7.4. The Radical’s Conceit: Peter Carey’s Political Activists 287 8. Conclusion 292 9. Bibliography 303 10. Appendix 314 10.1. Publishing Carey: The Emergence of an Author 314 10.2. Peter Carey and the New Nationalism 320 10.3. Biographical Notes on Peter Carey’s Writing 330

Ever since the barriers between the Member States have diminished, more and more European Union (EU) citizens have chosen to work in a different State than their home state. Problems have occurred because of this cross border activity when workers have chosen to keep their pension funds taken in the home state, while working in the second State. These problems are caused by the national tax systems but also of the different tax rules that Member States have on pensions. Generally, most Member States’ pension systems are divided into three pillars. The first pillar is the social security scheme. The second one is the occupational scheme while the third pillar is the individual pension scheme. Together, the second and third pillars are recognized as supplementary pensions, since they supplement the pension incomes that arising from the first pillar. This thesis concerns the taxation of national persons who are covered by some type of occupational or private pension scheme. Most of the States do not allow deduction for premiums paid to these pensions that are taken with insurance companies established outside their territory. In a number of cases the ECJ has ruled that tax legislations that do not allow deductions of premiums or in some way prohibit the free movement shall be seen as discriminatory. The famous Bachmann case has been the only exception, where the ECJ ruled that the Belgian discriminatory rules could be justified in order to preserve the cohesion of the national tax system. The cohesion principle can be invoked if there exist a direct link between the deduction of contributions and the liability to tax the sums that will be paid to the beneficiary. Even though other justification grounds such as the effectiveness of fiscal control, the preservation of the tax base and the preservation of the tax neutrality has been invoked by Member States in various cases, the ECJ has not accepted them. Up to this point it is only Belgium that has succeeded to get the ECJ on its side. Conclusions can be drawn that the EC Treaty’s fundamental rights cannot be set aside by the Member States’ wish to preserve various tax protections, except when it is considered to be an absolute necessity, which has proven to be very seldom. Conclusion have been drawn that the ECJ has, through its judgments, had an immense impact on the national tax rules. Even though direct taxes are considered to be a part of a nation’s sovereignty, the ECJ has in an indirect way interfered with this sovereignty by invoking the EC Treaty’s free movement rules. The Court has thereby indicated that the Member States cannot freely construct their tax rules since they have to be consistent with the EC Treaty rules. Conclusions have also been drawn that the ECJ’s rulings are important for the strengthening of the supplementary pensions. EU citizens should be able to move freely between Member States and should keep their supplementary pensions in the State where they have been taken out and should not worry about ending their current pension funds in order to conclude new contracts in the State where they work, in order to be allowed deductions of contributions. / När gränserna mellan medlemsstaterna bortskaffades resulterade det i att alltmera av den Europeiska Unionens (EU) medborgare valde att arbeta i ett annat land än där de har sin hemvist. Problem har skapats av den gränsöverskridande aktiviteten då arbe-tare har valt att behålla sina pensioner från sina hemviststater. Dessa problem har i sin tur skapats av de nationella skattesystemen men även på grund av de olika skatte-regler som medlemsstaterna har på pensioner. Generellt sätt har de flesta medlemssta-ter pensionssystem som är uppdelade i tre olika pelare. Den offentliga pensionen tillhör den första pelaren. Andra pelaren utgörs av tjänstepensioner medan den tredje består av privata pensioner. Tillsammans anses andra och tredje pelaren vara supple-mentära pensioner, då de kompletterar de pensionsinkomster som uppstår av den första pelaren. Uppsatsen behandlar beskattningen hos fysiska personer som täcks av något slag av tjänste- eller privat pension. Många stater medger inte avdrag för premier som betalas in för dessa pensioner till ett försäkringsbolag etablerat utanför dess territorium. I ett antal rättsfall har EG-domstolen dömt att skatteregler som inte medger avdrag för premier eller på något sätt förhindrar den fria rörligheten ska anses diskriminerande. Undantaget har varit den berömda Bachmann målet där EG-domstolen ansåg att de belgiska diskriminerande reglerna kunde rättfärdigas för att behålla koherensen i det nationella skattesystemet. Koherensprincipen innebär att det måste finnas en direkt länk mellan avdragsrätten som medges till premier och skatteplikten som senare tas ut på det utfallande beloppet. Fastän andra rättfärdigande grunder som effektivitet i skattekontroll, skydd för nationella skatteintäkter och skydd för skatteneutralitet har framlagts av medlemsstaterna i diverse rättsfall, har EG-domstolen ogiltigförklarat samtliga grunder. Fram till idag är det endast Belgien som har lyckats att få EG-domstolen på sin sida. Slutsatser kan dras att EG-fördragets fundamentala rättigheter inte får sättas åsido av medlemsstaternas önskan att bevara diverse skatteskydd, förutom då det anses vara ytterst nödvändigt, vilket har visat sig vara väldigt sällan. I uppsatsen konkluderas att EG-domstolen har via sina domar haft en stark påverkan på de nationella skattereglerna. Trots att direkta skatter anses vara en nations suveränitet har EG-domstolen på ett indirekt sätt påträngt denna suveränitet genom att åberopa EG-fördragets frihetsregler. Domstolen har således indikerat att medlemsstater inte kan fritt konstruera sina skatteregler då de måste vara förenliga med EG-fördragets regler. I uppsatsen konkluderas även att EG-domstolens domar är viktiga för förstärkningen av de supplementära pensionerna. EU medborgare skall kunna röra sig fritt bland medlemsstater och samtidigt kunna behålla sina supplementära pensioner där de har tecknats och inte behöva avsluta sina pensioner och teckna nya i den staten där han arbetar för att vara berättigad till skatteavdrag på betalda premier.

<p>Ever since the barriers between the Member States have diminished, more and more European Union (EU) citizens have chosen to work in a different State than their home state. Problems have occurred because of this cross border activity when workers have chosen to keep their pension funds taken in the home state, while working in the second State. These problems are caused by the national tax systems but also of the different tax rules that Member States have on pensions. Generally, most Member States’ pension systems are divided into three pillars. The first pillar is the social security scheme. The second one is the occupational scheme while the third pillar is the individual pension scheme. Together, the second and third pillars are recognized as supplementary pensions, since they supplement the pension incomes that arising from the first pillar.</p><p>This thesis concerns the taxation of national persons who are covered by some type of occupational or private pension scheme. Most of the States do not allow deduction for premiums paid to these pensions that are taken with insurance companies established outside their territory. In a number of cases the ECJ has ruled that tax legislations that do not allow deductions of premiums or in some way prohibit the free movement shall be seen as discriminatory. The famous Bachmann case has been the only exception, where the ECJ ruled that the Belgian discriminatory rules could be justified in order to preserve the cohesion of the national tax system. The cohesion principle can be invoked if there exist a direct link between the deduction of contributions and the liability to tax the sums that will be paid to the beneficiary. Even though other justification grounds such as the effectiveness of fiscal control, the preservation of the tax base and the preservation of the tax neutrality has been invoked by Member States in various cases, the ECJ has not accepted them. Up to this point it is only Belgium that has succeeded to get the ECJ on its side. Conclusions can be drawn that the EC Treaty’s fundamental rights cannot be set aside by the Member States’ wish to preserve various tax protections, except when it is considered to be an absolute necessity, which has proven to be very seldom.</p><p>Conclusion have been drawn that the ECJ has, through its judgments, had an immense impact on the national tax rules. Even though direct taxes are considered to be a part of a nation’s sovereignty, the ECJ has in an indirect way interfered with this sovereignty by invoking the EC Treaty’s free movement rules. The Court has thereby indicated that the Member States cannot freely construct their tax rules since they have to be consistent with the EC Treaty rules.</p><p>Conclusions have also been drawn that the ECJ’s rulings are important for the strengthening of the supplementary pensions. EU citizens should be able to move freely between Member States and should keep their supplementary pensions in the State where they have been taken out and should not worry about ending their current pension funds in order to conclude new contracts in the State where they work, in order to be allowed deductions of contributions.</p> / <p>När gränserna mellan medlemsstaterna bortskaffades resulterade det i att alltmera av den Europeiska Unionens (EU) medborgare valde att arbeta i ett annat land än där de har sin hemvist. Problem har skapats av den gränsöverskridande aktiviteten då arbe-tare har valt att behålla sina pensioner från sina hemviststater. Dessa problem har i sin tur skapats av de nationella skattesystemen men även på grund av de olika skatte-regler som medlemsstaterna har på pensioner. Generellt sätt har de flesta medlemssta-ter pensionssystem som är uppdelade i tre olika pelare. Den offentliga pensionen tillhör den första pelaren. Andra pelaren utgörs av tjänstepensioner medan den tredje består av privata pensioner. Tillsammans anses andra och tredje pelaren vara supple-mentära pensioner, då de kompletterar de pensionsinkomster som uppstår av den första pelaren.</p><p>Uppsatsen behandlar beskattningen hos fysiska personer som täcks av något slag av tjänste- eller privat pension. Många stater medger inte avdrag för premier som betalas in för dessa pensioner till ett försäkringsbolag etablerat utanför dess territorium. I ett antal rättsfall har EG-domstolen dömt att skatteregler som inte medger avdrag för premier eller på något sätt förhindrar den fria rörligheten ska anses diskriminerande. Undantaget har varit den berömda Bachmann målet där EG-domstolen ansåg att de belgiska diskriminerande reglerna kunde rättfärdigas för att behålla koherensen i det nationella skattesystemet. Koherensprincipen innebär att det måste finnas en direkt länk mellan avdragsrätten som medges till premier och skatteplikten som senare tas ut på det utfallande beloppet. Fastän andra rättfärdigande grunder som effektivitet i skattekontroll, skydd för nationella skatteintäkter och skydd för skatteneutralitet har framlagts av medlemsstaterna i diverse rättsfall, har EG-domstolen ogiltigförklarat samtliga grunder. Fram till idag är det endast Belgien som har lyckats att få EG-domstolen på sin sida. Slutsatser kan dras att EG-fördragets fundamentala rättigheter inte får sättas åsido av medlemsstaternas önskan att bevara diverse skatteskydd, förutom då det anses vara ytterst nödvändigt, vilket har visat sig vara väldigt sällan.</p><p>I uppsatsen konkluderas att EG-domstolen har via sina domar haft en stark påverkan på de nationella skattereglerna. Trots att direkta skatter anses vara en nations suveränitet har EG-domstolen på ett indirekt sätt påträngt denna suveränitet genom att åberopa EG-fördragets frihetsregler. Domstolen har således indikerat att medlemsstater inte kan fritt konstruera sina skatteregler då de måste vara förenliga med EG-fördragets regler.</p><p>I uppsatsen konkluderas även att EG-domstolens domar är viktiga för förstärkningen av de supplementära pensionerna. EU medborgare skall kunna röra sig fritt bland medlemsstater och samtidigt kunna behålla sina supplementära pensioner där de har tecknats och inte behöva avsluta sina pensioner och teckna nya i den staten där han arbetar för att vara berättigad till skatteavdrag på betalda premier.</p>

The most popular paradigm for Jesus is 'Jesus as the Divine Saviour'. This image is inadequate for understanding the historical Jesus, because it is also inaccurate as an image for the Christian life. Marcus J Borg claims that the Christian life is about a relationship with God that involves us in a journey of transformation. In advocating the 'Third Quest', Borg develops an alternative image of 'Jesus as Jewish mystic ', contrary to the idea of 'Jesus as Jewish/Christian Messiah '. The image of Borg involves five universal religious personality types. The paradigm shift from 'Jesus as the Divine Saviour' to that of 'Jesus as Jewish mystic' is investigated as well as the relevance and consequences of this, for everyday religion and the conventional church. A plea for a positive assessment of the issue of the historical Jesus is presented. This could have existential implications for South African society as a whole. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.Th. (New Testament)

The most popular paradigm for Jesus is 'Jesus as the Divine Saviour'. This image is inadequate for understanding the historical Jesus, because it is also inaccurate as an image for the Christian life. Marcus J Borg claims that the Christian life is about a relationship with God that involves us in a journey of transformation. In advocating the 'Third Quest', Borg develops an alternative image of 'Jesus as Jewish mystic ', contrary to the idea of 'Jesus as Jewish/Christian Messiah '. The image of Borg involves five universal religious personality types. The paradigm shift from 'Jesus as the Divine Saviour' to that of 'Jesus as Jewish mystic' is investigated as well as the relevance and consequences of this, for everyday religion and the conventional church. A plea for a positive assessment of the issue of the historical Jesus is presented. This could have existential implications for South African society as a whole. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.Th. (New Testament)

Reality isn’t what it appears to be. Contexts are not always clear and visible. People don’t always say what they really mean. And they don’t always mean what they say. When life is your stage manager, anything can happen. I often say, life is hard, my head is harder. Making documentaries is not for the faint-hearted.This PhD project explores creative processes and parallel realities in documentary film, and discusses and conceptualizes the artistic practice of documentary filmmaking. The project consists in part of artistic works and essays that are critical reflections on the creative process and how that process can be conceptualized. The cinematic centerpiece of the thesis is entitled Images and the Worlds of Being (2011–2016). Previous subprojects are A Shift Between Worlds (2013–2015) and an essay book entitled In Real Life (or Elsewhere) (2013). Between 2013 and 2017, more essays were written, some of them translated to English. All the Swedish essays are available in PDF format. All of the works in the PhD project explore creative processes and parallel realities in two different ways: A Shift Between Worlds (2013–2015) explores identity and parallel realities in the gendered world. These works are based on two workshops led by Diane Torr, “Man for a Day” and “Woman for a Day.” They resulted in several component works, including two video essays, two audio works and two large-format photographic works, the latter in collaboration with photographer Johan Bergmark, as well as a short commentary film entitled Diane Speaks Out (2016). Images and the Worlds of Being (2011–2016) – a VR Classic Style film – explores what happens when documentary images are shown on four screens forming the walls of a room. This work also focuses on the view through the camera lens through which the filmmaker meets the world, in a hypnotic tapestry of parallel realities in a tenderly portrayed, runaway present. A sort of logical reasoning about the illogic of our era, in search of elusive reality (to paraphrase Jean Baudrillard) – the presence in the act of seeing. An experiment in the forms of visual knowledge, outside the traditional display windows. Shooting location: The World.