This thesis deals with the current situation of denominational religious education in Austria and the question of its future. The situation will be described including the historical development of the relationship between religion and politics and the legal framework of religious education in Austria. Afterwards models and systems of religious education in other European countries will be discussed. A major part of the thesis deals with challenges and recent developments of denominational religious education in Austria. This current situation will be discussed then against the historical background of the relationship between politics and religion in Austria. Afterwards the Austrian situation will be compared to other models in Europe to find out about similarities and differences. The final conclusion outlines what denominational religious education in Austria can learn from other systems in Europe and what are some ways it can be adapted to a more religiously diverse and secular Austria in the future.

Esta tese tem como objetivo analisar os (des)caminhos do debate sobre a relação igreja/política na revista A Seara, impresso editado pela Casa Publicadora das Assembleias de Deus (CPAD), entre os anos de 1956 e 1980. Parte-se de uma proposta analítica na qual a imprensa periódica, longe de ser um mero repositório de informações que podem ser isoladas de todos os elementos que lhes dão suporte, apresenta-se como um corpus documental cuja complexidade exige um olhar multidirecional capaz de entender que cada texto presente nas páginas de uma publicação seriada resulta de um intrincado jogo de interesses que perpassa o corpo de redatores e/ou grupos de influência. Assim, neste trabalho, com o propósito de ir além da imagem de A Seara como uma revista portadora de mensagens que expressavam o posicionamento oficial da igreja Assembleia de Deus sobre a política, optou-se por um modelo de análise que busca compreender como a dinâmica interna da redação dessa revista influenciava na abordagem desse polêmico tema que, em alguns casos, recebeu interpretações que se distanciavam das convicções firmadas por alas majoritárias do alto pastorado assembleiano. Para demonstrar essa dinâmica, todos os textos selecionados que trataram do tema política em A Seara foram analisados à luz dos projetos editoriais dos diferentes grupos que se alternaram na redação desse periódico em mais de duas décadas de circulação. Evidencia-se, a partir dessa perspectiva, que os distintos posicionamentos de A Seara sobre a relação igreja/política estavam diretamente ligados a demandas específicas de seus editores e não a uma visão institucional da igreja Assembleia de Deus acerca de um assunto tão complexo e sobre o qual era difícil estabelecer consensos. / This thesis analyses the ways of the debate about the relationship involving church/politic on the A Seara magazine, pressed by Casa Publicadora das Assembleias de Deus (CPAD), between the years of 1956 and 1980. It starts with an analytical proposal in which the periodic press, far from being a mere repository of information that can be isolated from all the elements that support them, presents itself as a documental corpus whose complexity requires a multidirectional view capable of understanding that each text present in the pages of a serial publication results from an intricate set of interests that permeates the writers and/or influence groups. So, in this work, with the purpose of going beyond the image of A Seara as a message carrier that expressed the official position of the Assembly of God church on politics, we opted for a model of analysis that seeks to understand how the internal dynamics of the editorial staff of this magazine influenced the approach of this controversial subject that, in some cases, received interpretations that distanced themselves from the convictions signed by the majority wing of the high pastorate. In order to demonstrate this dynamic, all the selected texts that dealt with the theme \"politics\" in A Seara were analyzed considering the editorial projects of the different groups that alternated in the writing of this periodical in more than two decades of circulation. It is evident from this perspective that A Seara\'s distinct positions on the church/political relationship were directly linked to the specific demands of its editors and not to an \"institutional\" view of the Assembly of God about a complex subject and on which it was difficult to reach consensus.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Benigno E. Aguirre, Dept. of Sociology. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Humboldt-Univ., Diss.--Berlin, 2004. / Literaturverz. S. [XV] - LI.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Liberal Studies." Includes bibliographical references (p. 27).

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Valerie Jean Conner, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed 6/15/04). Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation investigates the relationship between religion and the state in Enlightenment Europe as articulated by John Locke, Benedict de Spinoza and Jean Jacques Rousseau. I conduct the study focusing mainly on the primary texts of the above-mentioned theorists. Locke and Spinoza conceived of toleration to be the best way in which religion and the secular state could peacefully co-exist, even though they differed considerably in their respective understanding of the concept. Locke conceived of toleration using a moderate theological framework, predominantly paying attention to freedom of worship and the separate spheres of influence for religion and the state. On the other hand, Spinoza was radically secular in his interpretation focusing mainly on the freedom of thought, speech and even the press. Rousseau provided the main alternative to Locke and Spinoza's ideas on toleration. His understanding of the most effective relationship between religion and the state revolved around the implementation of a civil religion. This would be a religion based on civil principles. Rousseau argued that good citizenship, a good lawgiver, patriotism, the doctrine of separation of powers and an elective aristocracy were important for his ideas on civil religion to function effectively. Given the context of Enlightenment Europe, this dissertation concludes that toleration, or more exactly Locke's version of it, now forms the foundation of most Western secular states. This is because it did not digress from the most important aspects of contemporary religious doctrine. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This thesis examines the construction and utilization of gender in religious nationalist projects. Communalist groups sacralize gendered understandings of time, space, and community, rooted in the bifurcation of the public (masculine) realm and the private (feminine) sphere. Nationalist understandings of citizenship maintain the public and private division, but acknowledge the potential to politicize both. In this conception of citizenship, the private (feminine) is deployed to achieve social and religious change. This thesis analyzes two contemporary South Asian transnationalist groups, the Muslim Tablighi Jama`at and the Hindu Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and investigates women's participation in the nation as cultural repositories and as pedagogues. In these roles, women are able to recover and disseminate the "true" values and identity of the degenerate community, thereby revitalizing the nation. However, while women are empowered in these roles, they are simultaneously limited by patriarchal expectations of ideal womanly behaviour.

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, many predicted there would be economic policy convergence, where it was assumed that the post-Soviet states would all transition into liberal-capitalist economies. Over twenty years later, these forecasts have been confounded by the wide divergence in the political-economic policy practices of the post-Soviet states, which has been particularly apparent between Latvia and Belarus. In terms of policy, Latvia made comprehensive liberal reforms to become a market economy and orient its policies close to Europe and away from Russia. Conversely, Belarus has taken a completely divergent path from Latvia, and has followed a consistent and clear pattern of behavior in regards to political-economic affairs, which could be described as being anti-liberal, anti-reform, and pro-Russian in orientation. Comparing Latvia and Belarus provides an excellent case study to build on International Relations, International Political Economy and Comparative Politics literature, because traditional theories have difficulty in explaining these states divergent policies. This dissertation uses political-cultural theoretical arguments to explain the divergent patterns of political-economic development between both countries, and builds on the rich body of multidisciplinary literature on cultural studies found within Social Constructivism to help understand the political-cultural context in which Latvia’s and Belarus’s policies were chosen. Specifically, this dissertation highlights that the predominant political-cultural worldviews in Latvia and Belarus, were shaped by the historic religious-cultural environment in which these states were situated, which have had a central influence on the patterns of domestic political-economic development chosen by each country since 1991. Additionally, this dissertation also shows that such worldviews had important implications for international relations, in that Latvia being historically situated in the sphere of Western Christian culture gravitated towards the West and away from the Russia, while Belarus being historically situated predominantly in the cultural sphere of Russian Orthodox Christianity was more naturally prone to gravitate towards closer relations with Russia, and away from Western Europe. This is important in pointing to the prime influence of religious-cultural worldviews in shaping political-economic behavior. In doing so my work addresses many gaps left by previous theoretical explanations on post-Soviet transformation. In terms of policy implications, the findings will have a wider applicability in helping to understand the types of political-economic development policies that are chosen by other states in post-Communist, post-authoritarian, and post-colonial contexts, which are experiencing extensive transformation and integration into the global economy.