Syftet med undervisning i religionskunskap är att elever ska utveckla förståelse för olika sätt att leva och förhålla sig till världen. Ett fokus på religion som praktik ska enligt läroplanen också finnas. I skolan får elever lära sig om de olika världsreligionerna men mer sällan får de höra talas om vad nyhednisk religion är. Ännu mer sällan undervisas elever i skolan om ritualer som något föränderligt och kontextbundet. Eftersom nyhednisk religion definieras mer utifrån sin praktik än sin tro så förmedlas ritualers uppbyggnad och syfte fördelaktigt genom studier av nyhednisk religion. Uppsatsens syfte är att berika religionsundervisningen genom att undersöka hur rituell kreativitet yttrar sig vid skapandet av ritualer inom wicca och modern asatro samt vilka funktioner ritualerna fyller för utövarna. Detta skapar möjligheter för elever att bredda sin förståelse av ritualer och nyhedniska religioner. Metoden som används är en systematisk litteraturstudie. Examensarbetet undersöker vad forskningen idag säger om rituell kreativitet inom de två valda religionerna. Syftet med detta är att öka lärares kunskap om ritualer som fenomen. Resultaten i examensarbetet visar enligt forskningen att de två religionerna till viss del inspireras utav varandra då ritualer återskapas. Detta är dock något som utövare av religionerna själva inte håller med om. Resultaten visar dessutom att förekomsten av skriftliga källor är en bristvara. Inom modern asatro finns ett begränsat utbud av förkristna källor som de förhåller sig till medan det inom wicca helt saknas äldre källor. Bristen på källor leder inom båda religionerna till en stor rituell kreativitet med föränderliga ritualer som inspireras av de utövare som utför dem. Gemensamt för de båda religionerna är att ritualer snarare än tro är det centrala och att ritualer fyller mycket viktiga sociala funktioner. Att öka kunskapen om hur ritualer skapas och vilken funktion de fyller för utövarna är viktigt för förståelsen om ritualer som fenomen.

This essay examines how witches are portrayed in American produced TV-series in the year 2000 and forward, what elements could have effected that portrayal in the series and also how this portrayal differs itself from witches within Wicca. The material used for this examination are the TV-series Charmed, The Vampire Diaries and Witches of East End and as comparing literature; Living Wicca, The Spiral Dance and Witchcraft Today. The methods used for this process are discourse analysis and content analysis. I used theories of Pierre Wiktorin about religion and popular culture. I used three themes (Characteristics, Practice and mode of thinking) for the processing of the material and to structure the result. The results showed that the witches in the TV-series had a lot in common such as they were all women, they were born with their powers and the human life is sacred in comparison to other creatures that exist in the series. The comparison showed that there are significant differences between the witches in the TV-series and the witches in Wicca. Practicing witches within Wicca is part of a religion where rituals are of high importance and the Goddess and God are worshiped. These are the most important discrepancies that are not a part of witches in TV-series.  The question about why the series are so similar has been analyzed with theories about moral panic and post-feminism to show how social structures can play a part in how TV-series are written. The conclusions that I have reached is that the witches in the series are portrayed very similar. They are all women, they have inherited their abilities as witches and they keep searching for love and are in a constant battle with evil. Elements that could have effected this portrayal are the theories about moral panic, that discusses the fighting against evil, and postfeminism, that discusses the love aspect and the fact that they are all women.  The witches in the series and the witches within wicca are very different. The biggest one is the fact that wicca is a religion that involves rituals for the God and Goddess. This has no part of the portrayal of witches in the TV-series.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:05:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo4337_1.pdf: 5458828 bytes, checksum: 31c7a3e22d74c9d803f6fca2c53ae376 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / A contemporaneidade é o fator englobante da Wicca. Esta religião possui princípios estritamente ligados ao culto à natureza. Procurei nesta pesquisa abordar alguns aspectos que traduzem a relação entre os fundamentos wiccanianos e a sociedade envolvente; pontos de convergência e divergência, bem como, as adaptações realizadas para que um culto à natureza possa ser praticado dentro da contemporaneidade. Para tanto utilizei a observação participante de algumas comemorações ritualísticas, realizei entrevistas com praticantes da Wicca e participei de eventos,como reuniões e oficinas que trataram sobre esta religião. Abordei características como, a sacralidade do espaço e do tempo, a cosmologia do feminino, a contemporaneidade ritual, rituais de cura, entre outras. Existem algumas críticas e algumas conciliações entre a Wicca e os fatores contemporâneos, no entanto os resultados desta pesquisa ressaltaram o fato de que a Wicca e a contemporaneidade não são opostas ou rivais. A Wicca nasceu na sociedade contemporânea através de praticantes que são indivíduos contemporâneos e por isso, apesar de ter suas origens nos fundamentos da Antiga Religião Celta, ela adquire características da supermodernidade e também realiza adaptações de seus cultos e rituais para que os mesmos possam, ou melhor, na tentativa de que os mesmo se encaixem dentro da roupagem da sociedade atual. Por fim, este trabalho discute questões pertinentes ao contexto religioso contemporâneo nos moldes do neopaganismo, especificamente com relação a manifestação Wicca

In this essay, I have examined how wicca and witchcraft interacts with femininity and female empowerment. Wicca and witchcraft have become popular new-age movements which has a large presence online, where different accounts post content relation to their beliefs and practises. I have chosen to study one of these accounts found on Instagram, using a feminist empowerment theory and a constructionist perspective. The research questions are concerning the messages that are being conveyed through the posted content, the nature of the witch or wiccan identity as constructed on the Instagram account, and whether these two combined create a digital environment which aims to and succeeds in empowering women. I have done this by collecting the last 100 images posted on the account as of April 1st, and conducting content analysis on those images, coding them, and sorting them into categories through an inductive approach. Once the images have been sorted into the appropriate categories I use a feminist empowerment theory to analyse how empowerment is created through the posts.    In the study, I have found that the content of the chosen Instagram account can be said to have an empowering message. The categories found through the study are Acceptance, Advertisement, Astrology, Death/Darkness, Fashion/Style, Friendship, Magic, Manifestation, Romance, Self-Improvement, and Sexuality.  Together, these categories construct an image of wicca and witchcraft as a movement which encourages its practitioners/followers to gain confidence, work toward their goals, break norms, and value their relationships, while simultaneously conveying acceptance of one’s own flaws and quirks. The nature of the magic/supernatural elements of the posted content were usually different rites and practises that could help one open, be more confident, and let go of harmful or negative aspects in life. Further, I found that the account could also be said to spiritually empower women as they take charge of their own beliefs and together construct the religion that they wish to be part of.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-07-04T20:00:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dartagnanabdiassilva.pdf: 4505385 bytes, checksum: 6fcd6fd053771b01e7f44fbe614bf30e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-08T14:45:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 dartagnanabdiassilva.pdf: 4505385 bytes, checksum: 6fcd6fd053771b01e7f44fbe614bf30e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-08T14:45:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dartagnanabdiassilva.pdf: 4505385 bytes, checksum: 6fcd6fd053771b01e7f44fbe614bf30e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-24 / CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Criada no século XX, a Wicca pode ser enquadrada compondo o espectro da chamada Nova Era. Caracteriza-se por ser uma religião autonômica, ecológica e de privatização religiosa. Herda dessa constituição um processo de reencantamento do mundo e, ambiguamente, de manutenção do mundo secularizado em que vivemos. Da mesma forma, em sua formação atual, ela pode ser considerada, simultaneamente, um processo de communitas, enquanto também se articula a partir de comunidades emocionais. Esses dois conceitos, aparentemente distintos – um vindo de Victor Turner, o outro de Danièle Hervieu-Léger –, parecem se entrelaçar, quando analisamos a dinâmica desse campo: em sua estrutura ritualística e religiosa/social. Compondo a ambientalização moderna dessa religião essa dinâmica constante provoca tensões e porosidades no campo. O primeiro descreve com exatidão o processo da traçagem do Círculo Mágico e o segundo se dirige aos seus covens. Desse modo, o presente trabalho propõe algumas reflexões a respeito da realidade wiccana encontrada na cidade do Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Buscase compreender, portanto, a pergunta “quem são os bruxos modernos?”. A resposta a essa pergunta nos leva à compreensão crescente e profunda desse tema tão recente e tão vasto de pesquisa. / Created in the 20th century, Wicca can be framed composing the New Age spectrum. It is characterised for being an autonomic and ecologic religion and also for religious privatization. For its constitution, it inherits a process of re-enchantment of the world and, ambiguously, of maintenance of the secularised world that we live in. In the same way, in its current formation, it can be considered, simultaneously, a process of communitas, as it comes from emotional communities. These two concepts, aparently distinct one from another – the first coming from Victor Turner, and the other from Danièle Hervieu-Léger –, seem to interweave when we analyse the dynamics of this field: in its ritualistic and religious/social structure. Composing the modern environmentalization of this religion, the constant dynamics causes tensions and porosity in the area. The first describes with exactitude the drawing process of the Magic Circle; the second heads to its covens. Therefore, the present work proposes some reflexions concearning the Wicca reality found in the city of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Thus, it is an attempt to comprehend the following question: “Who are the modern witches [Wiccans]?” The answer to this question lead us to the crescent and deep comprehension of this very recent and wide topic.

Submitted by Angela Maria de Oliveira (amolivei@uepg.br) on 2017-11-28T10:40:53Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Pamella Louise Camargo.pdf: 1295109 bytes, checksum: 1778739a61b2071632922d74a8bd07ed (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-28T10:40:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Pamella Louise Camargo.pdf: 1295109 bytes, checksum: 1778739a61b2071632922d74a8bd07ed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-16 / A obra La Sorcière foi escrita em 1862 pelo historiador francês Jules Michelet e trata do tema da feitiçaria na Europa. A obra busca contemplar desde a criação da figura da feiticeira até a perseguição em massa promovida pela inquisição. Escrita em cerca de dois meses, em meio ao movimento romântico e em uma época de embates entre literatura e história, La Sorcière apresenta uma concepção romântica de concretude dos fenômenos mágicos e da bruxaria como crença de resistência popular ao clero e a nobreza. Pautada em uma estética literária próxima a do romance e com uma preocupação pedagógica; a obra acaba por ser precursora da noção de um culto organizado de bruxaria como rebeldia e “anti-religião”. Buscaremos demonstrar como a estética romântica e pedagógica de Michelet foi responsável pela ideia da bruxaria como permanência do paganismo europeu. Essa ideia de permanência e rebeldia auxiliou a moldar as modernas práticas de bruxaria e neopaganismo. Buscaremos, portanto, demonstrar que Michelet pode ser considerado, através de sua obra, um dos precursores da Wicca, a bruxaria moderna.Para tanto nos utilizaremos das teorias da Estética da Recepção de Jauss e a Teoria do Efeito Estético de Iser, dando ênfase a última. / The work La Sorcière was written in 1862 by the French historian Jules Michelet and deals with the theme of witchcraft in Europe. The work seeks to contemplate from the creation of the figure of the sorceress to a mass persecution promoted by the inquisition. Written in about two months, amid the romantic movement and in an era of interchange between literature and history, La Sorcière presents a romantic conception of the concretization of magical phenomena and witchcraft as a belief of popular resistance to the clergy and a nobility. Guided by a literary aesthetic close to the novel and with a pedagogical concern; The work turns out to be precursory of the notion of an organized cult of witchcraft like rebellion and "anti-religion". We will try to demonstrate how Michelet's romantic and pedagogical aesthetic was responsible for the idea of witchcraft as a permanence of European paganism. This idea of permanence and rebellion is responsible for practical practices of witchcraft and neopaganism. We will try, therefore, to demonstrate that Michelet can be considered, through his work, one of the forerunners of Wicca, a modern witchery. For this we will use the theories of the Aesthetics of the Reception of Jauss and the Theory of Esthetic Effect of Iser, emphasizing the last one.

This thesis is an intensive, multi-layered analysis of an unpublished, English language, handwritten, mid-20th century manuscript. Originally undated, untitled and unsigned, it has now been positively identified as “Text A”, a Wiccan proto-Book of Shadows compiled by Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884-1964) in the last half of the 1940’s. Different methodologies were applied to the document: transcription using Leiden conventions, handwriting analysis to identify the author, archival research to uncover photographs of the manuscript in use, historical and bibliographical research to situate the manuscript and its author, and finally, an in-depth and exhaustive source analysis to uncover literary and documentary influences on the text. Subsequently, the manuscript was identified as handwritten by Gerald Gardner, from 1940 to 1949, and contains almost no original material other than a handful of pages for a speech or oral presentation. The rest of the document is comprised of extracts from published sources available to Gardner. These include books on Free Masonry, Templars, British Folklore, Kabbalah, Magic – ancient and ceremonial, and books by Aleister Crowley. The document also includes ritual passages and ceremonies, most of which also appear in Gardner’s published novel, High Magic’s Aid. Two theme-lines, “Magic – ancient and ceremonial” and “the writings of Aleiser Crowley”, comprising almost 40% of the total page count, were chosen for thorough analysis. Based on the information revealed by the various methodologies applied to this document, one can assert that Gardner’s claims to have been initiated into an ancient indigenous tradition, Wicca, and to be making available its long secret rituals are not supported by this document.

O trabalho visa conhecer a Wicca - religião neopagã surgida na década de 50. No estudo, a Wicca e a figura da bruxa são desvendadas, sobretudo em suas manifestações nos meios de comunicação, que atinge crianças e adolescentes brasileiros. É também abordado como a Wicca se processa como fenômeno educativo do pós-modernismo via Internet, através do jogo de computador Runescape. A história da Wicca e da Inquisição são analisadas, em suas interações com a figura da Grande Mãe e do feminismo. / The work is an study of Wicca neopagan religion which appeared in the 50s. Inside this study, Wicca and the figure of the witch are analyzed, in special their manifestations into the mass media, which influences Brazilian children and teens. It also analyses how Wicca occurs as an educative post modern phenomena, through Internet, into the pc game Runescape. The history of Wicca and the Inquisition are also analyzed, and their connections with the figure of the Great Mother and feminism.

This thesis is an intensive, multi-layered analysis of an unpublished, English language, handwritten, mid-20th century manuscript. Originally undated, untitled and unsigned, it has now been positively identified as “Text A”, a Wiccan proto-Book of Shadows compiled by Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884-1964) in the last half of the 1940’s. Different methodologies were applied to the document: transcription using Leiden conventions, handwriting analysis to identify the author, archival research to uncover photographs of the manuscript in use, historical and bibliographical research to situate the manuscript and its author, and finally, an in-depth and exhaustive source analysis to uncover literary and documentary influences on the text. Subsequently, the manuscript was identified as handwritten by Gerald Gardner, from 1940 to 1949, and contains almost no original material other than a handful of pages for a speech or oral presentation. The rest of the document is comprised of extracts from published sources available to Gardner. These include books on Free Masonry, Templars, British Folklore, Kabbalah, Magic – ancient and ceremonial, and books by Aleister Crowley. The document also includes ritual passages and ceremonies, most of which also appear in Gardner’s published novel, High Magic’s Aid. Two theme-lines, “Magic – ancient and ceremonial” and “the writings of Aleiser Crowley”, comprising almost 40% of the total page count, were chosen for thorough analysis. Based on the information revealed by the various methodologies applied to this document, one can assert that Gardner’s claims to have been initiated into an ancient indigenous tradition, Wicca, and to be making available its long secret rituals are not supported by this document.

Today we live in a world of heightened religious awareness and sensitivity. The events of September 11, 2001 sent a shock wave throughout American society and in some cases ignited a religious spark in those shocked by the attacks. The result has been a distinct and clearly visible fragmentation of the United States along religious and ideological boundaries. The United States Military is not immune to stress caused by these divides. There have been claims of anti-Muslim sentiment within select units of the U.S. Army; accusations that some leaders at the U.S. Air Force Academy were using their positions to promote their faith and discriminate against minority faiths, and allegations that the U.S. Navy is prohibiting chaplains from practicing their faith. In this thesis, I examine these and other cases along with the religious diversity trends since 2001 to demonstrate that the potential for continued and increased religious conflict in the military is high. I will further argue that the solution to avoiding these conflicts is through training and education provided at the initial stages of enlisted training and at the commissioning source for officers.