This thesis explores what members of religious minorities in Poland think about multiculturalism, the religious and ethnic homogeneity of Poland, and racism. The theoretical part includes discussion about the relation between Christianity and Polish national identity as well as the relation between Christianity and racism. The case study was based on the semi-structured interviews with five individuals representing various religious minorities.   The research conclusions, drawing upon the participants’ observations, are explored within a theoretical framework. The results suggest that the lack of exposure is seen as the foremost reason for racial and religious prejudice. Moreover, religion is identified to be more central than skin colour or other ethnic features when assessing “others”. In order to change minorities' position in Polish society, Poland needs social integration programmes designed together with members of minority communities, as well as the Church’s support in building unity.

This thesis aims at locating the position of the Jainas within the Indian religious landscape. From the second half of the 19th century onwards, novel concepts of collective religious identities and the formation of exclusive communities among religious lines have led to the establishment of the popular image of India's religious landscape as consisting of a Hindu majority and several religious minorities. This model is based on exclusive, often antagonistic religious categories. However, by discussing the position of the Jainas within the framework of India's religious pluralism, the present thesis attempts to question this popular concept. As will be argued, similar to members of other religious traditions, among Jainas too the identity discourse of the intellectual elite has introduced broader supra-locally, supra-caste-based concepts of community. However, this process of collective identity and community formation has not been based on, in Harjot Oberoi's terms, the 'construction of religious boundaries' (1994) between Jainas and Hindus. These `blurred boundaries´ between Hindus and Jainas in the modern Jaina identity discourse defy a concrete positioning of the Jainas within the framework of India's religious landscape.This thesis will begin with the analysis of the late 19th and early 20th century Jaina discourse of Western orientalists and intellectual Jainas, and its impact on the `definition´ of `Jaina values´ and the Jainas as a `community´. Mainly focusing on the regional sub-group of the Digambara Jainas of South Maharashtra and North Karnataka, the research will also discuss the impact of non-middle-class `agents´ in the process of community building among Jainas. In this respect it will be argued that lay-ascetic interaction and the performance of distinct rituals and festivals largely contribute to the establishment of community among Digambara Jainas. The strict practice of Digambara ascetics also adds the element of asceticism to the `Jaina values´, which have been propagated by intellectual lay Jaina individuals and organisations from the early 20th century onwards. These propagated `Jaina values´, most prominently among them ahiṃsā and tolerance, make Jainism the most suitable religion for modern times, and symbolise ancient Indian `values´ in their `purest form´.However, regarding the Jainas as a `community´, this Jaina discourse has remained rather vague and abstract. This vagueness finds its most concrete expression in the still undecided legal status of the Jainas regarding their inclusion among the nationwide religious minorities. In comparison to other Indian religious minority traditions, the Sikhs and Buddhists in particular, the `Jaina case´ suggests a complexity of collective religious identifications in the Indian religious landscape, which defies any fixed model.

This study examines the modern history of the Hui to understand how China, a multiethnic empire-turned-nation-state, has shaped and been shaped by its many “others,” particularly its ethnic and religious minorities. The Hui, as millions of Chinese-speaking Muslims scattered throughout China are known, are unique among the People’s Republic of China’s 55 officially recognized minorities in sharing nothing in common other than a religious identity, Islam. Moreover, unlike Tibetans and Mongolians in the PRC and many minorities in other post-imperial states, the Hui inherited no system of representation from the dynastic era. This lack of political institutionalization through the Qing reign should draw attention to what remains an underexamined period in Hui history—from the fall of the Qing to the founding of the PRC in 1949—and an unexamined question—How did the Hui become a nation? Focused on the large, inland province of Henan, Hui Nation tells this story. I show that Hui nationhood was not simply an elaboration of Communist ethnic policy but rather the consequence of a bottom-up social movement. Incorporating cultural and organizational change into social history, I further argue that this movement hinged on changes in Huis’ understanding of Islam and in the institutions that connected them to one another in the first half of the twentieth century.

This thesis examines documents from the US department of State relating to the Internal Affairs of Turkey in the years of 1918-1922, to answer questions pertaining to French imperial policy directed toward minority groups in French Mandate Syria, which included present-day nations of Lebanon and Syria. Of the many minority groups present in French Mandate Syria, I chose to examine the Maronite, Druze, Alawi, Eastern Christian, and Armenian communities because of their significant role in the state-building of Syria and Lebanon. By using documents originating from US diplomats, this thesis attempts to present the United States’ view on these imperial policies. In the formation of this perspective, the thesis asks some of the following questions: What were the effects of French imperial policies on Syrian minorities? And how did French imperial policy regarding minorities shape French Syrian society as a whole? To answer these questions as completely as possible, I supplemented the archival sources with material from significant scholars in Levantine and broader Mid-East history, like Albert Hourani and Yaron Friedman. My research suggests that policies pursued had a negative impact on all of the minorities but to a lesser extent for the Maronites, and other Christians. It also suggests that French imperial policy led to the creation of a violent society but steps could have been taken to produce a more peaceful outcome. The final goal of this thesis is to provide the historical narratives of the minority groups with an additional perspective, that of the US diplomats throughout the region.

This study is a comparative analysis of the marginalizarion of the Baha'is in Iran and the Ahmadis in Pakistan over the last forty years. It explores the relationship between Islam, the ulama and the state as explanatory variables. In particular, the increasing political influence of fundamentalist ulama and their closer association with state mechanisms, accompanied by the creation of a "purist," "Islamic" state ideology in Iran and Pakistan, leads to greater discrimination against these two heterodox Muslim minorities. The outcome is continuing institutionalized, state-sponsored discrimination that denies substantial legal, political and social rights to the Baha'is and the Ahmadis.

No description available.

No description available.

This research study deals with educators' experiences and daily encounters within two diverse school settings. Educators from both schools are from diverse religious, racial and cultural backgrounds. The study focuses on issues of social groups based on religious affiliations and was guided by theories of oppression and social justice. The following questions were the focus of the study: 1. What have been the experiences of non-Christian educators in a predominantly Christian school around religion? 2. What caused these experiences to be constructed in a way they did? 3. To what extent have the experiences of non-Christians at the school been similar to earlier experiences in relationship to religion in their lives? 4. To what extent are the experiences of non-Christians evidence for describing their situation as one of 'religious oppression'? A qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at one school and questionnaires were completed at the second school, as the researcher was unable to interview educators because of time constraints. The results of the research indicated that educator experiences differed from one school to the next. Although it is not possible to make a judgement about religious oppression based on such limited contexts, there is significant evidence of social exclusion based on religion at the one school. At times these issues are caught up in racial and gender issues, or issues between non-Christian religions. However, at the second school educators experienced a high degree of inclusion. The research raises questions about the ways in which schools in South Africa are addressing the constitutional and policy requirements concerning the acceptance of religious diversity. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Köln, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. xix-xlvi).

Thesis (doctoral)--Trier, 2008. / Summary in English (p. 325-327). Includes bibliographical references (p. 333-349).