Abstrakt Studiens övergripande syfte är att se hur den shiamuslimska ashuraritualen påverkas av migration där den förflyttas från en geografisk, kulturell och politisk kontext till en annan. Den utgår ifrån tre inledande frågeställningar: Hur genomförs ashuraritualen i Trollhättans shiamuslimska urdutalande församling? Vilka förändringar har ritualen genomgått sedan församlingen bildades enligt informanterna? Vilken påverkan har den omgivande kontexten på församlingens genomförande av ashuraritualen? Dessutom prövar studien hur ritualteorier av Vernon Schubel samt Carolina Humphrey och James Laidlaw kan användas för att skapa förståelse för dessa förändringar.   Resultatet i studien baseras på två observationstillfällen av ashuraritualen i Trollhättans moské i Lextorp samt en gruppintervju med utövare och två enskilda intervjuer med moskéns lokala auktoriteter. Materialet från dessa har analyserats utifrån konstruerade analyskategorier baserade på forskningsöversikt och resultat. Den teoretiska ramen för studien utgörs av ritualteorier av Vernon Schubel respektive Carolina Humphrey och James Laidlaw.   Studiens huvudsakliga slutsatser är att förändringarna i genomförandet av ashuraritualen är kopplade till de globala motsättningar som finns mellan shia- och sunnimuslimer snarare än den mer närliggande omgivande kontexten. Att förändringarna också beror på att den undersökta församlingen har ett ursprung i folkgruppen khojas från nordvästra Indien samt att församlingens sheikh som lokal auktoritet har ett avgörande inflytande över vad som räknas som godkända inslag i ritualen. Förutom dessa slutsatser visar också studien att Schubels samt Humphrey och Laidlaws ritualteorier kan bidra med förståelse när det gäller förändringar i ritualens genomförande även om detta inte är teoriernas primära syfte.   Studien är relevant som ett ritualteoretiskt inläggs samt för att nyansera bilden av shiaislam som minoritetsreligion i Sverige i en tid där mellanmuslimska konflikter, genom immigration och globalisering, blivit aktuella. / Abstract The overall aim of this study is to see how the shia islamic ashuraritual is influenced by migration as it is moved from one geographical, cultural and political context to another. The study is based on two initial questions: how is the Ashuraritual conducted in the urduspeaking shiamuslim congregation of Trollhättan? What changes has been undertaken in the ritual since the founding of the congregation according to the informants? What influence does the surrounding context have on the congregation’s implementation of the ashuraritual? In addition, the study examines how the ritual theories of Vernon Schubel, Carolina Humphrey and James Laidlaw can be used to get a further understanding om these changes.   The result of the study is based on two occasions of participant observations of the ashuraritual in Trollhättans Shia mosque in Lextorp together with one group interviews with practitioners and two individual interviews with local authorities of the mosque. The material from these has been analysed based on constructed categories derived from the research overview and the results. The theoretical framework of the study consists of the ritual theories of Vernon Schubel, Carolina Humphrey and James Laidlaw.   The main conclusions of the study are that the changes in the way that the ashuraritual is carried through are related to the global antagonism between Shia and Sunni Muslims rather than the more immediate surrounding context. The changes can also be related to the congregation’s origin as Khojas from North West India together with the local sheikh’s authority over what are to be consider approved elements of the ritual. In addition to these conclusions the study also shows that Schubel´s, Humphey and Laidlaws ritual theories can contribute to the understanding of changes in ritual implementation, even if that is not the original purpose of the theories.   The study is relevant from the perspective of ritual theory as well as to variegate the depiction of shiaislam as a minority religion in Sweden in a time when inter-muslim conflict through immigration and globalization has become relevant.

Arbetet är en feministteologisk studie av fyra kvinnliga gestalter från judendomen och kristendomens religiösa urkunder. Syftet med arbetet är att synliggöra kvinnor från religiösa texter och hur de får status för sin egen person eller gärning. Arbetet använder feministisk exegetik och kontextualisering med ett aktörsperspektiv som metod för analys. Målet är att undersöka hur de kvinnliga gestalterna beskrivs, vilken status de har, vilken handlingar de utför och hur det erkänns samt om det sker en förändring i status under historien och vad förändringen beror på. I arbetet står fyra kvinnliga gestalter i fokus: Sara, Ester, Rachav och Foibe från olika delar i judendomens och kristendomens religiösa urkunder. Som representant för den judiska urkundstexten är JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh från 2003 i översättning av The Jewish Publication Society. Där återfinns Sara och Ester. Som företrädare för kristendomens religiösa urkund valdes Bibelkommissionens översättning av Bibeln utgiven av Verbum förlag 2011 och här finns Rachav och Foibe. Analysen är uppdelad utifrån kvinnorna i kronologiskordning med gestalterna från Tanakh först följt av Bibeln. Varje gestalt studeras utifrån ett feministiskt perspektiv med fokus på kvinnornas agerande och status i förhållande till sin kontext. Sedan relateras gestalterna och deras beskrivning till ämnesplanen för religionskunskapsämnet i gymnasieskolan och vilka möjliga användningsområden de har i undervisningen. I resultatsammanfattningen och diskussionen kopplas resultatet till frågeställningarna, detta resulterar i slutsatser som att kvinnornas status förändras under historien vilket påverkas både av dem själva men även av yttre faktorer. Att kvinnorna är aktörer i sin kontext men även är beroende av andras agerande är slutsatser som kan dras av beskrivningarna kring de kvinnliga gestalterna från judendomen och kristendomens religiösa urkundstexter.

The Jesuit missionary St. Francis Xavier was the first European missionary to embark Japan in 1549. His letters show us how he depicted the Japanese faith. Thiis papers´ main question has revolved around how we can better understand Xaviers depictions of the Japanese faith in his correspondence to his peers. Until today, many scholars have been taking for granted that Xavier described this, for him, alien beliefs as separate religions. Xaviers depictions revolves overall around major differences labelled such as idolatry, heathendom and demon worship. In the light of critical religion theory and hermeneutic method the study shows that Xavier most likely did not regard the Japanese teachings as religions at all. This kind of “labels” was rather a way to express something that was not regarded as a separate religion.

In this essay the remastered version of the video game The Binding of Isaac- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, has been analysed on how it will fit as an educational material in the Swedish upper-secondary school. The portrayals and thematics in the game that is compatible for discussion in the ethic and moral field has been compared to two points from the curriculum for religious studies in the Swedish upper-secondary school, regarding ethic and moral arguments, theories and models. The parts of the game analysed is split in to two main groups: the Abrahamic religion’s position in the ethic and moral dilemmas in question, and how the discussions regarding the ethic and moral-compatible portrayals and thematics in upper-secondary school classroom’s could evolve. I concluded that the video game would be compatible with education in the upper-secondary school, though it’s up to the responsible teacher, regarding the time aspect, and how the teacher would consider the game to be received by pupils.

This essay compares two series of RE-textbooks written for secondary school students in Finland and Sweden. The aim of the essay is to come to a greater understanding of the similarities and differences between confession based and non-confessional religious education. The essay answers two questions, how Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity is represented in the books and how the different Christian churches are described in relation to the Finnish and Swedish society today. The results show that the Swedish textbook series describes the churches differently compared to each other, while the books from Finland portraits them in a more similar way. The Swedish books also focus more on secularism, and mediate a picture of the Swedish society today as non-religious. The Finnish textbooks present a picture of a society with a changing, not decreasing, religiosity.

In 2015 Skolverket presented a study which said that new editions of textbooks are too alike the old editions, and therefore have difficulties to meet the educational requirements set by Lgy11. The aim of this study is therefore to analyze how the textbooks Under samma himmel and Religion: för gymnasiet 1 portrays Judaism, Christianity and Islam to see if they reach a specific goal of Lgy11. The method that is used in this study to analyze these textbooks is a content analysis. The result of the study showed that both textbooks did not reach the goals of Lgy11. Christianity got the most space in the textbook and was portrayed as a heterogeneous religion, which may have its explanation in the exceptional position the religion has in Lgy11. Judaism although was portrayed as a Swedish religion due to lack of information about Judaism abroad, and Islam was portrayed as a homogenous religion due to lack of extended information about its different groups and ways to interpreted the religion. Therefore, the textbooks do not meet the requirements of Lgy11 and needs to be supplemented to meet the educational goals.

This study investigates the shofar and it´s relation to classical music in modern and contemporary time, and examine the cause of this interest in the western world among composers and musicians, namely the unique sound. The origins of the shofar stems from the Tanakh as a sacred ritual instrument and as a marketer of time up until today. Through rabbinic efforts of interpreting and preserving the authentic doctrines it has survived throughout millennia. With this newfounded interest conflicts and discussions of whether the shofar should be contained within its jewish sacred context of frame or whether it should be allowed to be used in profane music jewish or otherwise. With this paper I want to bring attention to the complex situation of the use of shofar and it´s motives in a profane world. Is it possible to take the shofar out of its traditional jewish context and maintain its reverence and authentic status of dignity. Through hermeneutic method these issues will be highlighted.

Critical studies of upper secondary text books in religion is a popular essay topic for soon to be teachers in Swedish universities. In particular the study of the portrayal of Islam in said textbooks, using Edward Saids well discussed oriental studies as a foundation. Thus, there are a lot of earlier essays and works showing similar results: that Islam and muslims tend to be ”othered” by being portrayed as a homogenous tradition and a homogenous group of people. This study also uses Saids oriental studies as at theoretical standpoint, but also the concept of religious literacy. By using qualitative content analysis this study has come up with similar results as many other essays. The main difference is the way the study shows how muslims are being ”othered”. By focusing on the textbooks usage of the word ”Allah” - the arabic word for ”God” - and how muslims are portrayed, the results show that muslims tend to be portrayed not only as a homogenous group, but as one with a specific God, different from the Judeo-Christian one. The results also show that certain phenomena that the different religions have in common tend to be left out when describing one or the other. All these tendencies combined might give the students a religious literacy constituted of facts and representations of islam characterized by the discourse Edward Said called orientalism.

The purpose with this study is to research how new religious movements are depicted, in textbooks used for upper secondary school in religious education, in contrast to how Christianity is depicted, and if there is a more negative depiction around new religious movements. The content analysis uses/investigates three chosen textbooks, all written for Swedish upper secondary education. The content analysis uses quantitatively research whereas the depiction of Christianity and new religious movements are investigated by counting as well as analyzing adjectives used to describe, furthermore what emotive value the adjectives carry. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis the syntheses of an adjective the study shows that more negatively charged adjectives are more common describing new religious movements in two of the textbooks and throughout all textbooks, Christianity is described positively.

This study reviews Lilith in Jewish mythology, specifically how she relates to the other main operators in the myths, which are God, Samael, Adam and Eve. Her connections with the animal who often symbolizes her, the serpent, has also been reviewed. Furthermore, the study examines what her relationship with the other operators says about her function in the myths. Using a hermeneutical method, the study examines extracts from rabbinic literature, the Alphabet of Ben Sira and Kabbalistic writings.The results show that Lilith’s symbolism and characteristics have drawn inspiration from Eve in the earlier writings, and that both women are portrayed in close relation with the serpent. In the Kabbalist tradition Lilith is a driving force in a narrative that strives for messianic victory, and together with her partner Samael she rules over evil. One of Lilith’s main functions is that of an antagonist, and an antipole, to the divinity and the primal couple, and essentially to goodness.