abstract: This dissertation project addresses one of the most critical problems in the study of religion: how do scriptures acquire significance in religious communities in ways that go beyond the meaning of their words? Based on data collected during ethnographic work in Maharashtra, India, in 2011 and 2012, I analyze the complex relationship between a religious text and its readers with reference to ritual reading of the <italics>Gurucaritra, a Marathi scripture written in the sixteenth century. I argue that readers of the <italics>Gurucaritra create a self-actualized modern religiosity both by interpreting the content of the text and by negotiating the rules of praxis surrounding their reading activity. In particular, this dissertation analyzes the ways in which members of the Dattatreya tradition in urban Maharashatra ritualize their tradition's central text-- the <italics>Gurucaritra--in terms of everyday issues and concerns of the present. Taking inspiration from reader-response criticism, I focus on the <italics> pArAyaN; (reading the entire text) of the <italics>Gurucaritra, the central scripture of the Dattatreya tradition, in the context of its contemporary readings in Maharashtra. In the process of reading the <italics>Gurucaritra, readers become modern by making a conscious selection from their tradition. In the process of approaching their tradition through the text, what they achieve is a sense of continuity and a faith that, if they have the support of the guru, nothing can go wrong. In the process of choosing elements from their tradition, they ultimately achieve a sense of being modern individuals who work out rules of religiosity for themselves. This dissertation contributes to the study of scriptures in two major ways: first, by bringing forth how religious communities engage with scriptures for reasons other than their comprehension; second, by showing how scriptures can play a crucial role in religious communities in the context of addressing concerns of their present. Thus, this research contributes to the fields of scripture studies, Hinduism, and literary criticism. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Religious Studies 2014

Stockholm County is a post-industrial Swedish region characterized by high levels of mobility and technologization as well as ethnic and religious diversity. Among its religious minorities exist various strands of charismatic Christianity, some of which originate from the Pentecostal revival of the early 20th century and some of which belong to more recent movements. The aim of this ethnographic study is to examine how affiliates of the multicultural charismatic Christian congregation New Life Church practice religiosity within the context of their personal daily lives, within the framework of the general congregation and in terms of their involvements with other religious organizations in the area of Stockholm. Beginning with the assumption that the practice of contemporary religiosity and the development of a religious identity are part of an ongoing process of habituation, the study describes how practitioners cultivate a form of charismatic piety characterized by certain embodied orientations, patterns of ritualization and narrative genres. To shed further light on this process, it draws upon a variety of theories concerning ritualization, embodiment, performance, narratives and materiality. Apart from this, the study also constitutes an attempt to explore and measure the impact on the practitioners’ religiosity of late modern developments such as urbanization, detraditionalization and global mobility as well as the growing absorption in consumerism, emotional intimacy and the unfolding of the “authentic” inner self. While pursuing these ends, the study also calls into question previous assumptions about charismatic Christianity in Sweden, most particularly the assumption that today’s practitioners remain inclined to be entirely faithful to one given institution and its system of beliefs and practices. Indeed this view is directly challenged herein by the finding that contemporary charismatics are far more inclined to eclectically appropriate elements and models of thoughts from various contexts of origin as well as to affiliate with and/or visit multiple Christian institutions.

The study investigates the development of church infrastructure within the urban environment. A symbiotic interaction between church form and urban conditions is proposed and contextualised through analysis of existing church models and current spatial concerns within Pretoria’s inner-city. The potential of church as agent for urban renewal and community development is identified and the study generates a spatial and programmatic model aligned with the inner-city’s need for meaningful and integrated interventions. A systemic definition of church proposes a multi-layered programme based on partnership and interaction while alternative church positioning suggests the concept of re-claiming inner-city spaces, applied through the re-development of the Schubart Park housing complex. AFRIKAANS : Hierdie studie ondersoek die ontwikkeling van kerk infrastruktuur in die stedelike omgewing. ‘n Simbiotiese interaksie tussen kerkvorm en stedelike kondisies word voorgestel en gekontekstualiseer deur analise van bestaande kerk modelle en ruimtelike kwessies in die middestad van Pretoria. studie identifiseer die potensiaal van kerk as agent vir stedelike hernuwing en gemeenskapsontwikkeling en vervolgens word n ruimtelike en programmatiese model in lyn gestel met die middestad se tekort aan betekenisvolle en geintegreerde ingrypings. Sistemiese definisie van kerk stel n gelaagde program voor gebasseer op vennootskap en interaksie terwyl alternatiewe plasing van die hergebruik van stedelike ruimtes voorstel wat toegepas word deur die herontwikkeling van die Schubart Park behuisings kompleks. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted