Secularization is an ambiguous concept. An important part of the Swedes' self-understanding is about a larger secularization process that forms the basis of Swedish society. The link between revival movements and secularization indicates a paradoxical relationship, since "revival" may have meant religious renewal; repentance or spiritual awakening. Spiritualism has been hijacked by religion, an individual spiritual center does not have to mean an "invisible religion". The release from the supremacy of religion can mean the prophet, the pope, the priest, the church or the state religion. This essay has a western and a secularized perspective, as the essay also emphasizes that secularization is a western phenomenon. The thesis examines Gustavi's congregation in the dioceses of Gothenburg during the years 1860 to 1903. The thesis investigates how the number of communion guests has changed during these years. The question is how much has the number of communion guests changed as a percentage from 1860 to 1903 as well as what the priests' views on the sects in the congregation were. The question regarding the number of communion guests has been answered by statistical calculations. The question of the priests' view of the sects within the congregation has been answered by reading the priesthood documents. The essay also provides a deeper understanding of the concept of secularization, as this concept is widely debated. The revival movements undermined the unified power of the state church. The collectivist state church was replaced by individualists who, in their revival, sought a spiritual awakening. In the Gustavi congregation there was a liberation from a religious authority.

Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy)--Miami University, Dept. of Political Science, 2004. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-158).

Cette thèse de doctorat discute trois questions principales. Tout d'abord, notre recherche atteste l’augmentation des nouveaux phénomènes religieux en Iran. Ensuite, elle les examine afin de découvrir leurs caractéristiques. Enfin, après avoir choisi l’appellation "New Spiritual Trainings" pour les identifier, cette étude analyse les raisons sociologiques derrière leur émergence dans la société iranienne. De ces analyses découle la thèse principale de notre propos: en analysant sociologiquement les conflits religieux au sein de la société iranienne, nous mettons l'accent, d'une part, sur la démonstration du processus de capture et de cristallisation de la religion par les institutions politiques en religion d'État et, d'autre part, sur la décristallisation de la religion par les individus à travers laquelle la notion de la "religion abritée" sera théorisée. / This research discusses three principle questions; firstly proving the rise of the new religious phenomena through the inquiry in Iran; secondly this research examines carefully the new religious phenomena appearing in Iranian society in order to discover their characteristics and find a suitable term to typify them. After selecting the label of “New Spiritual Trainings” (NSTs) for identifying such new phenomena, this study analyzes the sociological reasons behind this emergence in Iranian society. The main thesis of this dissertation is sociological analyses of religious conflicts within current Iranian society and also demonstrating the process by which religion is captured and crystallized into an official State religion by political institutions on one hand and de-crystallized by individuals on the other hand through which the concept of “harbored religion” will be theorized.

The present work intends to investigate the concept of blessing in the Old Testament, especially in the Pentateuch. The first part analyzes the general characteristics of the term to bless / blessing in the Hebrew Bible and looks at the etymology, the semantic field, the formulas, the gestures, rites and words of blessing. As blessing is the continuous and permanent activity of God in history, the chapter finishes with the concept of history in the ancient world. The second chapter makes an incursion into the characteristics of the ancient biblical society in the two big periods of pre-state Israel and Israel as a state. It studies the nomadic pre-history and the pre-state sedentary Israel paying particular attention to the social organization in families, clans and tribes. In the state period, it gives attention to the Deuteronomic reform and its consequences in the social and religious life of Israel. The third chapter presents the exegesis of selected texts. In the primeval history it looks at blessing in creation, and in the patriarchal history it searches for the strokes of blessing in the family and state context. It also deals with the priestly blessing in Numbers 6,22-27 with special attention to the cult, and with selected texts from Deuteronomy that connect blessing with covenant and endow it with conditionality. The last chapter presents a reflection about family religion and state religion in Israel, and studies the characteristics of blessing in both fields that interrelate not always without tensions- and articulate between them. / El presente trabajo pretende investigar el concepto de bendición en el Antiguo Testamento, especialmente en el Pentateuco. La primera parte analiza las características generales del término bendecir / bendición en la Biblia Hebrea y hace un recorrido por la etimología, el campo semántico, las fórmulas, gestos, ritos y palabras de bendición. Como la bendición es la actividad continua y permanente de Dios en la historia, el primer capítulo termina viendo el concepto de historia en el mundo antiguo. El segundo capítulo hace una incursión en las características de la sociedad bíblica antigua en los dos grandes períodos del Israel pre estatal y estatal. Estudia la prehistoria nómade y el Israel sedentario pre estatal dando particular atención a la organización social en familias, clanes y tribus. En el período estatal la atención se detiene particularmente en la reforma deuteronómica y sus implicancias en la vida social y religiosa de Israel. El tercer capítulo presenta la exégesis de textos elegidos. En la historia primordial mira la bendición en la creación, y en la historia de los patriarcas busca los trazos de la bendición en contexto familiar y estatal. Aborda también la bendición sacerdotal de Números 6,22-27 con especial referencia al culto, y textos escogidos del Deuteronomio que conectan la bendición con la alianza y la dotan de condicionalidad. El último capítulo es una reflexión teológica sobre la religión familiar y la religión estatal en Israel y estudia las características de la bendición en estos ámbitos que se interrelacionan no siempre sin tensiones- y se articulan entre sí.