As Muslims increasingly cross ethnic, religious, and social barriers within Western societies, the rate of interfaith marriages continues to rise. As a result, several issues are generated within the Muslim community globally. One of these issues focuses on the subjectivity of Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men since Islamic religious texts may be unclear and indirect regarding the issue. Additionally, Muslims in the West are increasingly exposed to individuals from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, which raises the probability of exogamy. Many Muslims residing in the West do not have issues with exogamy; it is mostly familial and societal expectations that exude stress when individuals intermarry within the Muslim community. Openness to intermarriage among Muslims in the West can be attributable to differences in faith and identity development of second-generation Muslims growing up in Western countries, which can lead to a differentiation of Muslim identity in comparison to their parents and extended family. Regardless of the taboo and stigma that exist with regard to intermarriage in Islam, Muslim interfaith marriages in the West arguably can be seen as microcosmic representations of positive pluralistic relations in contemporary times. Through discussions of data collected for this research, this thesis considers the issues and ideas mentioned above as it considers the experiences of Muslims in interfaith marriages in Western societies by considering notions of gender, globalization, and religious pluralism. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This research project arose from my journeys with Protestant Christian women who were living in sexually unhappy marriages. In South African Protestant faith communities there is the expectation that Christian marriages will experience sexual fulfilment. For many Christian women however, sexual unhappiness becomes their reality. Sexuality is cocooned in silence not only within the church, but also in many Christian marriages. This leaves many Christian women (and men) with little or no recourse to address sexually unhappy marriages. My research journey briefly explored the social construction of sexuality within the history of Christianity to see which discourses underpin current constructions of White Christian female sexuality. This participatory feminist action research journey centralised the voices of present-day contexts: Protestant Christian women, as well as clergy, were invited to share their understandings and interpretations of matrimony and sexual practices in relation to their faith. With the help of narrative therapeutic practices, some of the dominant social and religious discourses that constitute White Christian female sexuality were explored, deconstructed and challenged. This research journey aimed to penetrate this silence and to invite Christian women, who are living in sexually unhappy marriages, to share their experiences. This exploration included the faith predicaments and relational complexities, challenges and dilemmas Protestant Christian women experience when living in sexually unhappy marriages. This feminist-grounded action research explored the effects and consequences which living in sexually unhappy marriages held for the cosearchers. / Practical Theology / D.Th. (Specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Because women are predominantly responsible for childcare, men are the primary income earners. Having acquired the marital assets, on divorce the husband would retain them in a marriage out of community of property. The wife would be left deskilled, financially dependent, with little likelihood of receiving spousal maintenance and with no marital assets. In 1984 the Matrimonial Property Act and in 1988 the Matrimonial Property Law Amendment Act introduced a judicial discretion to equitably redistribute marital assets in certain marriages out of community. This dissertation argues that the bases for the limitation of the judicial discretion to women married before a certain date are unsound and that the limitation arguably violates the equality clause of the Constitution. / Law / LL.M.

This paper aims to examine the heteronormativity that is present in John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga. This is achieved by performing a queer reading of the text with the help of Swedish Queer theorists Fanny Ambjörnsson and Tiina Rosenberg. I study the norm and how it is enforced by law, society and family. To get a complete image of the heteronormativity I also need to analyze the gender presented in the saga. For that task I use Judith Butler’s definitions of gender identity and the heterosexual matrix. I conclude that there is only a slight gender variation in the saga, mostly concerning the woman. Meanwhile the norms are broken repeatedly by different people and for different reasons. Generally all the non-normative behavior that is out of the public eye gets included and silenced by the family who acts as the norm. / Den här uppsatsen behandlar genus och heteronormativitet i romansviten Forsytesagan, hur dessa tar sig uttryck och vilken inverkan de har på romanfigurerna. Detta görs genom en queerläsning fokuserad på vad som sägs och än mer inte sägs i sagan. Det som analyseras är relationerna mellan människor, kraven som ställs på dem och deras begär till makt över egendom och över varandra. Vidare diskuteras hur heteronormen förändras under romanens gång, hur romanfigurerna bär sig åt för att hålla sig inom normen och vad som händer med dem som bryter mot normen. Slutsatsen blir att sagan behandlar förvånansvärt många frågor som än idag är aktuella, vissa av dem inlindade för att kunna tas upp i en sekelskiftsroman. Dessutom visas hur både genus och heteronorm förändrats under romanens gång, både i samhället i stort och inom familjen. Inte minst ges exempel på hur familjen agerar som norm och inkluderar alla avvikelser så länge som dessa sköts privat.

This research project arose from my journeys with Protestant Christian women who were living in sexually unhappy marriages. In South African Protestant faith communities there is the expectation that Christian marriages will experience sexual fulfilment. For many Christian women however, sexual unhappiness becomes their reality. Sexuality is cocooned in silence not only within the church, but also in many Christian marriages. This leaves many Christian women (and men) with little or no recourse to address sexually unhappy marriages. My research journey briefly explored the social construction of sexuality within the history of Christianity to see which discourses underpin current constructions of White Christian female sexuality. This participatory feminist action research journey centralised the voices of present-day contexts: Protestant Christian women, as well as clergy, were invited to share their understandings and interpretations of matrimony and sexual practices in relation to their faith. With the help of narrative therapeutic practices, some of the dominant social and religious discourses that constitute White Christian female sexuality were explored, deconstructed and challenged. This research journey aimed to penetrate this silence and to invite Christian women, who are living in sexually unhappy marriages, to share their experiences. This exploration included the faith predicaments and relational complexities, challenges and dilemmas Protestant Christian women experience when living in sexually unhappy marriages. This feminist-grounded action research explored the effects and consequences which living in sexually unhappy marriages held for the cosearchers. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Because women are predominantly responsible for childcare, men are the primary income earners. Having acquired the marital assets, on divorce the husband would retain them in a marriage out of community of property. The wife would be left deskilled, financially dependent, with little likelihood of receiving spousal maintenance and with no marital assets. In 1984 the Matrimonial Property Act and in 1988 the Matrimonial Property Law Amendment Act introduced a judicial discretion to equitably redistribute marital assets in certain marriages out of community. This dissertation argues that the bases for the limitation of the judicial discretion to women married before a certain date are unsound and that the limitation arguably violates the equality clause of the Constitution. / Law / LL.M.

The thesis "Zbraslavsko in sources of collective character 17.-19. century" treats informations from the register of births, marriages and deaths of the church St. James the Greater in Zbraslav in 1652-1800 years. The purpose of this thesis next to basic demographical data is the first name question - what (or who) had a bearing on this selection. Here are writing out all first names of this time together with the main factors, which have been able to decide on bearing the first name.

Since the 1970s, the Presbyterian Church in the United States has dealt with its most divisive issue ever: same-gender relationships. Two polity debates have occurred simultaneously: 1) The ordination and/or installation of partnered gay and lesbian Christians as church officers, i.e. deacons, elders, and ministers of the Word and Sacrament; 2) The permissibility of ministers to perform and officers to participate in same-gender blessings and marriages, both liturgical and civil. This period is characterised by an absence of theological discussion and formulation of biblical and/or theological statements. Rather, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and its predecessor churches, the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and Presbyterian Church in the U.S., all used polity to guide them. This is in line with the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, which decided in 1927 to solve controversial theological issues, not through theological discussion, but through polity. Since 1978, various polity processes have guided and shaped the two debates to form the current policies: 1) Presbyteries send overtures to General Assemblies, which, in turn issue “definitive guidance” statements and Authoritative Interpretations; 2) General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commissions (GAPJC) issue Authoritative Interpretations in both remedial and disciplinary cases, after complaints have moved through the ecclesiastical courts at Presbytery and/or synod level; 3) The 173 Presbyteries vote on amendments, approved by General Assemblies, to amend the Book of Order. The most notable amendment was the addition of G-6.0106b in 1997. This writer argues that G-6.0106b in the Book of Order, requiring “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness,” is a form of subscription, and, therefore, contrary to the entire history of the Presbyterian Church, which has rejected all forms of subscriptionism since 1706. Subscription to five standards briefly existed from 1910-1925, and was rejected by the 1926 and 1927 General Assemblies of the PCUSA. One ordination standard is now elevated above all other standards and, since 1997, there have been three attempts to rid the Book of Order of this requirement. W-4.9001 and G-6.0106b in the Book of Order reflect the changes made in the Westminster Confession of Faith in the 1950s, allowing for the divorce and remarriage of officers; namely marriage is between a man and a woman. Yet, it is used to exclude partnered gay and lesbian Christians from ordination and/or installation, and from participating in same-gender liturgical marriages. The debates have created camps of conservatives, centrists, and liberals, which consistently threaten the peace, unity, and purity of the church. Thousands of evangelicals and conservatives, opposed to partnered gay and lesbian officers, have left the denomination for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Additionally, Special Organisations, which are not accountable to the denomination, have added to the tension and created intolerance of others’ views. Copyright / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted

The Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990 came into operation thirty years ago and has remained relatively unchanged since its promulgation. The stated objective of the Act is to provide the surviving spouse with a claim for maintenance against the estate of the deceased spouse in certain circumstances. This objective is sound, as it is evident from an analysis of the history of our law that legislation was needed to address the financial position of a survivor following the death of his or her spouse. The practical application of the Act is, however, not as robust as it does not always achieve the stated objective and often leads to unintended consequences. This research has a dual objective. The first aim is to analyse the practical considerations when an executor applies the Act and to consider the challenges the executor must deal with when considering a maintenance claim under the Act. The second aim is to investigate possible solutions to these challenges and to consider whether there are viable alternative arrangements for the way in which a maintenance claim under the Act is handled. The purpose of the study is to formulate a comprehensive recommendation for legislative reform of the Act so that the practical application of the Act achieves a result that reflects the objective of the Act. / Private Law / LL.D.

The thesis focuses on the Ndau people of Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. Contact with Westerners brought significant changes to their marriage practices. South Africa General Mission (SAGM) missionaries required Ndau people to conduct church (“white”) weddings for their marriages to be recognised by the church. This has caused a problem whereby Ndau Christians marry traditionally/customarily and yet still have to conduct church weddings. The church has not rethought its position on the necessity for having this duplication of marriages. The thesis sought to develop an in-depth understanding of Ndau people’s perceptions and experiences on the connection between and the necessity for both marriages in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. Data regarding Ndau people’s understanding of marriage practices was collected using in-depth semi-structured and focus group interviews. Following a qualitative research design, the study used the phenomenological approach to collect data and postcolonialism as the research paradigm. Using these, twenty individual and five focus group interviews were conducted. Seven themes emerged from the data. These covered marriage practices of the Ndau, the most preferred way of marriage, various reasons for having church weddings, perceived relationship between the two marriages, different views on the sufficiency of traditional marriages, thoughts on the expenses of church weddings, and how participants married and reasons thereof. The findings showed that Ndau Christians conduct church weddings for several reasons. These are because they:  want to celebrate their marriages  desire God’s blessings when they convert to Christianity. It is regarded as God’s biblical requirement  understand it as a church requirement/rule  get church teaching that encourage church weddings  need recognition and acceptance in the church as well as general social recognition  associate Christianity with Westernisation vi  regard it as a deterrent to unfaithfulness and polygyny  regard church weddings as having wider official recognition than traditional marriages and  want associated material advantages. The conclusion states that there is neither a theological nor a biblical basis for requiring Ndau Christians to have church weddings. Using a postcolonial hybrid approach, the thesis suggests a merging of the two marriages into one ceremony. More recommendations were given and the church was challenged to be more responsive to its people’s struggles. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)