This paper examines how Hinduism and Buddhism are portrayed in three textbooks for an upper secondary school course in religion and is limited to a selection of books published in 2009. Based on a qualitative content analysis, the paper examines the extent to which there is an intentional division, that is to say a line between ‘them and us’ in the ways in which the religions are described, and to what extent the description of these religions in the textbooks are Eurocentric. The study focuses on whether or not there is a ‘them and us’ perspective in the different books and if so, the ways in which this approach is evident. The result of this study shows that traces of a ‘them and us’ perspective can be found in all three books. In some cases a homogeneous ‘us’ is contrasted with a homogeneous ‘them’; where the ‘us’ represents ‘Europeans’ and the Christian ‘West’ and the ‘them’ represents ‘the other’ that is to say Hindus and Buddhists as well as their religious beliefs. All of the books in the study contain terminology and images that present Hinduism and Buddhism as something ‘different’ and ‘exotic’ and thus reinforce the Eurocentric image of ‘the other’. The textbook’s authors often fail to differentiate between religion and culture which, in many cases, can lead to Hinduism being portrayed as irrational and primitive. In addition to this, the textbooks also ignore the religions individual in favor of a more generalized and collective stereotype of a ‘Hindu’ or a ‘Buddhist’.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-37897 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Rosander Hammarsten, Johan |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper, KV |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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