Secularisation is at the centre of a vibrant debate in the sociology of religion. In the last two decades, literature has started to challenge old predictions and interpretations of the future of religion, but few studies present a detailed contextual examination of religious change in contemporary societies. Offering a comparative analysis of Scotland and Sweden, two nations in the relatively secularised Northern Europe, this thesis argues that diverse historical and political trajectories shape distinct patterns of religious beliefs and practices. Scotland and Sweden are two secularising nations characterised by historically dominant Protestant churches, but which nonetheless differ largely in their experiences of religious decline. In order to discern and differentiate key aspects of religious change in each nation as well as to explore contextual meanings of religion, a mixed methods approach was adopted, comprised of secondary quantitative data analysis as well as in-depth interviews. Data analysis identified and highlighted broader patterns and individual understandings of religious beliefs as well as three dimensions of religious belonging: church attendance, religious identification and membership, and participation in rituals. Results show that on measures of religious beliefs and church attendance, Sweden appears further secularised than Scotland. Arguably, Sweden has seen rapid and relatively early secularisation, with important social structural and political changes that occurred in the second half of the 19th century. With noticeable generational differences, data on Scotland point towards the mid-20th century as a crucial time of religious decline. Additionally, the remaining functions of the national churches differ considerably in the two nations. A majority of Swedes identify with the Church of Sweden, which serves a largely secular purpose as part of a cultural heritage and as a provider of life cycle ceremonies. By contrast, the Church of Scotland has maintained a stronger commitment to religious doctrine in a nation that is more religiously diverse. The findings ultimately draw attention to the importance of context in the study of diverse and complex processes of religious change. As a result, they reveal limitations to attempts in the contemporary sociology of religion set out to generalise and dichotomise European trends of religious belief and belonging.

Ministers occupy a status-position within a social system that carries a well-defined set of cultural expectations about their roles. The membership of the minister’s church, the community at large, and the minister himself formulate ideas and expectations about the function of his roles. Whenever the minister performs his roles in a manner that is contrary to the expectations of the membership of his church or the community the result is a role discord. Role discord also occurs when the minister performs his roles in a way that contradicts his own self-image of his roles. Therefore, this thesis will have as its main objective the discovery of conflict which exists between the ideal expectations that the membership has of the minister’s roles and his self-concept of these roles; and to test hypotheses concerning this conflict.

This study traces the development of Tibetan 'treasure' texts and practices in contemporary times via the life-story and scriptural revelations of the Tibetan 'treasure revealer' (gter ston) Kun bzang bde chen gling pa (1928-2006). It examines how his revelations (gter ma) rooted in the historic spirituality of Tibet, continue and adapt into the twenty first century. The study is important in order to understand the ways this Asian religious concept develops and coalesces in North America. With the dramatic advances in communication through digital technology, it examines how gter ma texts and practices reach a modern audience. Also discussed are the implications of centuries old debates surrounding Buddhist lineage, transmission and ‘authenticity’ as well as concepts such as liberty, equality and authority. All of which are culture-specific constructions that differ radically when seen from a variety of perspectives. The main conclusion drawn from this research is that as a Western Vajrayāna ‘tradition’ emerges and intersects with older Tibetan forms, both must attempt to find a middle path between their differing applications and interpretations if they are to avoid drifting into an arena of extensive commercialisation, dilution and distortion.

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Thesis advisor: Stephen Pfohl / This work inquires about the subjectivity construction individuals perform in our contemporary media culture. It examines the structure of believing that can be inferred from the narrative elaboration of beliefs exerted in social conversations when pop-media related to spirituality or transcendency are used as inputs for conversation. For this purpose, I investigate the consumption of three films that triggered for their audiences intense controversies that included topics belonging to the blurry crossroad where spirituality, science, and religion intersect: What The Bleep do We (k)now!? (USA 2004), The Da Vinci Code (USA 2006), and The Passion of the Christ (USA 2004). My approach departs from the sociology of spirituality perspective, and draws on some insights developed by ritual studies, sociology of religion, social psychoanalysis, consumer studies, and visual studies. Based on a multi-method strategy of inquiry, formal film analysis, focus and discussion groups, and interview data collected from the audience, this dissertation finds that the burgeoning of a media driven popular culture spirituality in Mexico is creating a wave of Pop-Esotericism. As a rational narrative with consumption and conversational drives, Pop-Esotericism is not only a resonant media-reference, but also constitutes a pre-text in the construction of ephemeral and collective conversational spaces wherein the belief system is engaged and refurnished. To give a full account on the pop-esoteric phenomenon and on overall contemporary belief systems, I propose a theoretical model aimed to uncover the dynamics and strategies we engage to articulate spirituality, identity, and reality in our current global media context. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Uma análise comunicacional da explosão gospel e sua expressão entre os diferentes segmentos do cenário religioso evangélico contemporâneo no Brasil é o objeto deste trabalho. Inicialmente um movimento musical, o gospel explodiu na última década do século XX entre os evangélicos e deu forma a um modo de vida configurado pela tríade música-consumo e entretenimento. Esse modo de vida se expressa, especialmente, em novas formas de culto religioso e na relativização da ética protestante restritiva de costumes. A referida tríade é caracterizada pelas transformações advindas do reprocessamento das culturas das mídias, urbana e de mercado entre os evangélicos e da busca de superação da crise entre protestantismo e sociedade que tem marcado a história deste segmento no Brasil. Entretanto, a análise embasada nos estudos culturais e nas ciências da religião revelou que esses traços de modernidade da cultura gospel estão entrecruzados com a tradição, com a conservação de traços da identidade protestante no Brasil como o dualismo igreja vs. mundo, o individualismo, o intimismo religioso, o sectarismo, a rejeição da diversidade de manifestações culturais e religiosas, o antiecumenismo e o antiintelectualismo. O estudo sobre este encontro do antigo com o novo, do tradicional com o moderno remete à compreensão da cultura gospel como uma cultura híbrida. Uma estratégia de adaptação à modernidade e suas expressões hegemônicas - seja o pentecostalismo, no campo religioso, ou o capitalismo globalizado no campo sócio-histórico -com a garantia de preservação da expressão cultural religiosa tradicionalista, já conhecida e aprovada no "coração das igrejas". O hibridismo é aqui compreendido como criação estéril, uma modernidade de superfície passível de tensões: o "vinho novo em odres velhos". / This study is a communicational analysis of the gospel explosion and how that explosion is currently expressed amidst the different segments that are part of the contemporary Protestant religious scenario in Brazil. Initially a musical movement, this evangelical movement referred to as gospel, in the last decade of 20th century Brazil, has assumed three additional components that ultimately define it and shape its lifestyle: music, consumer consumption, and entertainment. This new life form is expressed in new ways of worship as well as the relativization of the restrictive Protestant behavioral ethic. These three additional elements arise as a result of the re-elaboration of three distinct cultures; the media, the urban world and the Protestant market and are a result of the search to overcome the history of tension between the Brazilian Protestant community and Brazilian society. However, based on cultural studies and the studies of religious sciences, we see that the modernity expressed in the current gospel culture maintains certain conservative Protestant characteristics such as the dualism between Church and the World, individualism, personal religious experience, sectarianism, and the rejection of cultural and religious diversity and as such is anti-ecumenical and anti-intellectual. As with any study of the old and the new, traditional and modern, we see that gospel culture is a hybrid culture; a strategic adaptation to modernity and its hegemonic expressions ? be it Pentecostalism, in the realm of religion, or globalized capitalism in the socio-historic realm. But what seems at first shaped by modernity, gospel, in fact, only appears modern while in reality continues to secure traditional Protestant characteristics in order to preserve its own culture. Hybridism, in this case, is not new and dynamic as the word might suggest, but a sterile creation, a modern face under which lie the same tensions: ?New wine into old wineskins.?

O foco desta pesquisa está em observar a influência social do catolicismo conservador no interior da Igreja no Brasil e, para além dos limites clericais, também no que diz respeito ao âmbito jurídico-político nacional. A ideia é analisar o possível prestígio daquelas alas católicas marcadamente ortodoxas e o seu potencial de persuasão, tanto no que se refere às fileiras institucionais eclesiásticas, quanto no que concerne às esferas propriamente estatais. Toma-se como ponto de partida a observação dos embates múltiplos do clero em reação à divulgação oficial do 3º Programa Nacional de Direitos Humanos (PNDH-3), em finais de 2009. Esse é o material específico da investigação. A escolha desse conjunto bem delimitado de acontecimentos tensos de produção de discursos não menos tensos baseia-se na constatação de uma certa singularidade histórica sua, na qual esses processos aparecem como que revestidos de características novas, para não dizer de um novo caráter, quando comparados com outras conjunturas nada remotas de relações Igreja- Estado em nosso país. / The subject of the forthcoming research is the social influence of conservative Catholicism within the Church in Brazil and, beyond clerical limits, also in the national legal and political system. The idea is to analyze Catholic conservatisms prestige and its potential ability to persuade, both with regard to institutional ecclesiastical ranks, as well as the state sectors. As a starting point, the research observes several of the clergys resistances that occur in reaction to the official release of the 3rd National Human Rights Program in late 2009. The research specifically focuses on these resistances. The observation of a unique history, in which these processes appear coated with new features, not to mention a new character when compared with other situations of church-state relations in our country, is the basis for the choice of this well-defined series of tense events, events that produce speeches equally tense.

Pretendeu-se analisar o processo de formação da heterogeneidade formal do campo religioso brasileiro tomando por objeto empírico o desenvolvimento de parte da produção intelectual religiosa durante as últimas décadas do século XIX. Examinando sociologicamente a emergência do espiritismo religioso, almejou-se entender e explicitar em sua lógica própria o processo de constituição de um mercado competitivo de bens de salvação caracterizado pela perda do monopólio religioso da igreja católica e pela ascensão da legitimidade institucional das outras religiões. Relacionando a idéia weberiana de racionalização das esferas de valor no caso a religiosa e as noções de trabalho e de divisão do trabalho religioso de Pierre Bourdieu, propôs-se uma análise das lutas dos grupos de agentes cujos interesses materiais e simbólicos tornam o campo religioso um terreno de operação para as lutas entre diferentes empresas de salvação. / This work aims to analyze the formation of the pluralism in Brazilian religious field. Its empirical object is the development process of part of the intellectual production on Religion during the last decades of the 19th century. A sociological examination of the emergency of the religious Spiritism was made in order to explain, through its own logic, the constitution process of a competitive goods salvation market. This research shows that this market is characterized by the loss of the religious monopoly from the Catholic Church and by the rising of the institutional legitimacy from other religions. By relating the Weberian idea of rationalization of the value spheres in this case, the religious one to the concepts of religious work and division of the religious work from Pierre Bourdieu, this research proposes an analysis of the struggles among the groups of agents whose material and symbolic interests have made the religious field become a field of operation for the struggles between different salvation companies

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-22T22:04:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 elder monteiro.pdf: 5989388 bytes, checksum: 3367f5992822ebb476e18ac94d12b422 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-09 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A expansão pentecostal é um fenômeno mundial com destaque para a América Latina e, mais especificamente, para o Brasil, maior país protestante deste continente (MARIANO, 2005). No Brasil, dois terços do grupo religioso, comumente denomina de evangélico , é representado pela vertente pentecostal. A Amazônia não foge dessa tendência pois, desde a década de 80, essa região chama a atenção da presença de instituições pentecostais. Em meados da primeira metade do século XIX ocorrem as primeiras manifestações do protestantismo na Amazônia, com a atuação de viajantes e propagandistas dessa doutrina. Somente em 1910 o pentecostalismo marca sua presença com a fundação da Assembleia de Deus pelos missionários suecos Gunnar Virgen e Daniel Berg. Atualmente essa denominação é a principal igreja pentecostal do Brasil e está presente de forma maciça na Amazônia e no Amazonas onde, de cada três pentecostais, dois são assembleianos. Embora tenhamos dados quantitativos, eles não permitem visualizar a dimensão de como se dá o desenvolvimento do pentecostalismo em comunidades rurais ou, mesmo, como essas formas de desenvolvimento influem na produção da identidade dessas comunidades. Para buscar responder a essa problemática, temos como locus de pesquisa a comunidade de Bom Jesus onde há a presença da Igreja Evangélica Assembleia de Deus do Brasil (IEADBAM). Localizada as margens do Paraná do Iauara, município de Manacapuru, no Rio Solimões, AM, a comunidade caracteriza-se por ser composta, predominantemente, por comunitários que se identificam com o pentecostalismo. Neste sentido, o objetivo central consiste em compreender a forma de desenvolvimento do pentecostalismo na comunidade Bom Jesus. Como objetivos específicos temos: 1) identificar as características gerais da comunidade Bom Jesus; 2) compreender as manifestações do pentecostalismo nela apresentada e; 3) compreender a produção das identidades sociais a partir da religião na comunidade. Como metodologia, buscou-se a pesquisa bibliográfica, a pesquisa de campo por meio da observação participante, aplicação de 18 questionários com representantes de grupos familiares e realização de 11 entrevistas com as lideranças da comunidade. Além disso, buscou-se reconstituir a Historia de Vida de dois atores sociais, cujas trajetórias interessavam aos nossos objetivos. Dada essas condições e com base nos dados de campo, conclui-se que a ausência dos agentes especialistas da religião na comunidade Bom Jesus permite o espaço necessário para a atuação dos leigos, principais atores na intercessão entre campo social e campo religioso, possibilitando a produção de um pentecostalismo leigo.

Pretendeu-se analisar o processo de formação da heterogeneidade formal do campo religioso brasileiro tomando por objeto empírico o desenvolvimento de parte da produção intelectual religiosa durante as últimas décadas do século XIX. Examinando sociologicamente a emergência do espiritismo religioso, almejou-se entender e explicitar em sua lógica própria o processo de constituição de um mercado competitivo de bens de salvação caracterizado pela perda do monopólio religioso da igreja católica e pela ascensão da legitimidade institucional das outras religiões. Relacionando a idéia weberiana de racionalização das esferas de valor no caso a religiosa e as noções de trabalho e de divisão do trabalho religioso de Pierre Bourdieu, propôs-se uma análise das lutas dos grupos de agentes cujos interesses materiais e simbólicos tornam o campo religioso um terreno de operação para as lutas entre diferentes empresas de salvação. / This work aims to analyze the formation of the pluralism in Brazilian religious field. Its empirical object is the development process of part of the intellectual production on Religion during the last decades of the 19th century. A sociological examination of the emergency of the religious Spiritism was made in order to explain, through its own logic, the constitution process of a competitive goods salvation market. This research shows that this market is characterized by the loss of the religious monopoly from the Catholic Church and by the rising of the institutional legitimacy from other religions. By relating the Weberian idea of rationalization of the value spheres in this case, the religious one to the concepts of religious work and division of the religious work from Pierre Bourdieu, this research proposes an analysis of the struggles among the groups of agents whose material and symbolic interests have made the religious field become a field of operation for the struggles between different salvation companies