The overall purpose of the essay is to initiate a survey and highlight, on the basis of sufficiently material, the dealings between Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a member of the resistance and the Swedish Church and/or its representatives. The purpose of the survey is to structure Dietrich Bonhoeffers activities in Sweden and highlight its implications.The following research questions have been used:1: What was Dietrich Bonhoeffer doing in Sweden and what persons did he meet?2: What was the role of the Swedish Church during the Second World War? 3: What was the impact of Dietrich Bonhoeffers visits to Sweden?In conclusion, this study of the contacts between Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Swedish Church has shown: Dietrich Bonhoeffer was in Sweden on two occasions. He met representatives of the Swedish Church, which was engaged in issues related to ecumenism, resistance and peacework. Although the persons he met were representatives of the Swedish Church they sometimes acted as individuals with a Christian philosophy.

The goal an purpose of this essay is to study the diffrent points of view that Swedish priest within the Swedish Church have on the Topic of same sex marriage. I will use qualitative interview as method of choice to get answers for my questions.The results of my study reveal that same sex mariiage has been a dividing issue between the different participants. Those in favour of the church´s decision to legalize same sex marriage consider love to be the most importent reason for marriage, while those who oppose the decision consider marriage to be a holy sacrament that is not easily changed..

In this modern period, societal and religious groups are strongly divided regarding the acceptability of abortion. Despite so many attempts by various groups to find a middle ground, the debate on abortion still remains largely polarized, at its most dramatic point with the extreme conservatives claiming abortion to be the moral equivalent of murder and the extreme liberals see it as devoid of moral import. And this polarization is due to the legal battle that continues to shadow moral discussions. An acceptance of an ethical nuance will here play as a concession on the deeply contested question of whether abortion should be a legally protected option for a woman, and to an extent blame for the continued crudeness which can be laid at the doorstep of a moral theory itself. Apparently, the ethical literature on abortion has focused almost exclusively on the tiniest moral assessment on whether and when abortion is morally permissible.

Music and religion are concepts, which have been continually associated with spirituality throughout the history of Western religion. Since the dawn of mankind, it has been considered that music has had a clear function about how individuals grasp their inner emotions to reach the transcendent and comprehend "Self". The aim of this thesis is to gain greater understanding as to how a group of young catechists in the Swedish Lutheran Church feel, interpret and construct their identities through popular music. An exploration as to how this specific group perceives concepts such as the Bible, church, spirituality, and religion was undertaken. The theory forming the basis of this essay is derived from a sociological perspective of postmodernism.

Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop 1914 - 1931, understands his role as bishop from an integrated theological conception that episcopacy is a gift to the church and the apostolic succession a heritage of utmost value. Episcopacy is an important tool to make the churches come together. in his work for peace during the Great War it was through his position without any power that he could approach the politicians. His calling was not only for Sweden; he had a responsibility for the whole world. In the Ecumenical Cope for the 1925 Stockholm meeting Söderblom expressed his views on the importance of the Uppsala see.

The purpose with this thesis is to analyse the image of the Chinese that was constructed and maintained in the materials published in association to the Swedish Mission Covenant Church (SMF) missionary work in China between the years of 1890 to 1914.The analysed material is mainly from the periodical Missionsförbundet, the analyse also include various books, biographies and anthologies. Inspired by Michel Foucault I found my methodological starting point in his discourse term. Frome there, by the help of the texts of Torjer A. Olsen, I constructed a discourse analyses, by which I analysed my materials.The survey showed that the material associated to SMF foremost constructed a negative pictureof the Chinese as unclean, conservative, arrogant, liars, greedy, loud, bad singers and that the woman situation was seen as untenable. A more appreciative picture also emerged and the Chinese was described as polite and strong.

The connection between rune stones and churches is a known phenomenon. Unfortunately, very little is known about the previous function of the church sites, and consequently very little is known about what the connection between rune stones and churches means. The purpose of this study is to examine the rune stones connected to churches in the administrative province of Jönköping, in an effort to ascertain their purpose, symbolism and function. The aim is to find out if the rune stones connected to churches were primarily or secondarily placed on the site where the church was later built, and why some rune stones were built into the churches. Further, the inscriptions and iconography of rune stones have been analysed, and also their relation to their immediate surroundings.

Is it possible to convey spirituality through art and material culture? Is it possible to renew art within the traditional church so that it appeals and is understandable for the modern man? These are the fundamental questions of my master´s work, which has it´s starting point in a public commission for an artistic contribution to the new Pentecostal church in Kalmar. The work also addresses the question whether there is a need for symbolism, art and sacred objects also within the Pentecostal movement, a traditionally strong image hosting environment. If so, how is it possible to bring this in to the church without completely breaking with the tradition and ideology of the movement? I want to communicate the Christian message in a renewed way, and in this particular project also highlight the importance of using images also within the Pentecostal movement.

The Catholic Church launched several crusades during the medieval ages in order to regainthe holy lands and spread the word of God. Their main enemy, the Muslims had grownstronger and needed to be suppressed. This common enemy united Europe under the banner ofthe Catholic Church. In order to fund these crusades the church turned to the wealthyEuropean kings and lords and asked for funding. In return the kings received an indulgenceletter, and also greater respect from their subjects because of their new appreciation from thepope.

The study aims to describe and analyze the image of Mary Magdalene as expressed in the French artwork from 1400 and 1600s that this study deals with. The study also examines the historical context in order to find explanations for why the images of Mary Magdalene have changed. In the study Erwin Panofsky?s iconographic method is used to analyze the artworks and finding their underlying meaning. Delimitations are made that only works of art made by French artists from the 1400 and 1600s are analyzed and delimitations are also made that Mary Magdalene will act on her own in the works of art.

There are about 3 500 churches protected under the Heritage Conservation Act in Sweden today. These churches still belong to living congregations that want to be able to adapt them to the needs of today, just like people have done throughout history. But since the churches are protected, the congregations have to apply for a permit and that is not always given. This can lead to frustration, and you can sometimes hear representatives of the church express the view that antiquarian authorities are enemies that oppose the church. On the other hand we have the antiquarian authorities that, in a way, have to act as advocates for generations to come and make sure that there is a cultural heritage preserved for them when they grow up.

The purpose with our essay was to increase our knowledge about what social workers, with experience from working with drug addicts, perceive as the explanations to a person stopping the abuse and succeed in staying drug free. Our framing of the question was:- How do social workers define the term drug free?- How big a roll do the social worker believes she/he has in the process in which a person stops abusing drugs?- How do the social worker work with a person towards getting that person drug free?- What do the social worker believe to be the reason why a person stops abusing drugs?- What do the social worker perceive as helpful for a person to stay drug free?We did qualitative interviews with six social workers. Our main conclusion was that it is difficult to define the term drug free. The reason for stropping the drug abuse can vary, it can be the family situation, "hitting rock bottom", finding love or tiring.

The aim of this study is to look at the environmental effect on toddlers? social interactions during free play in two older and two newer preschools. Furthermore, we would like to investigate four preschool teachers? thoughts about the indoor environment when it comes to toddlers? interaction during free play.Qualitative methods containing interviews of the preschool teachers and observations of the children during their free playtime have been used to help us reach our conclusions. In addition, our theoretical conclusions have been derived from both the sociocultural perspective and the environmental psychology perspective.Our results have shown that variations in the preschool environment are of importance in the outcome of toddlers? different social interactions.

This essay studies the christening rites in Church of Sweden and what theological motives that are present herein, and how the current revision of the rites have brought in new theological motives with the basis in the contemporary theological debate about the liturgy and theology surrounding the christening rites.The conclusion of the essay is that the revised christening rites have not included any new motives, but has rather restructured and re-emphasized the motives to adopt the christening rites to the findings of contemporary research regarding the christening..

This thesis handles the problems regarding different value aspects which are applied during restoration and renovation of churches. The curator?s aspects along with the interests regarding change that exists today, is often integrated and is therefore affecting the final results. The thesis aims to discuss the different perspectives and to look at the different values the room possesses. Furthermore, the historical aspects are discussed along with possible strategies to increase a positive outcome of restorations and how to integrate churches to the modern standards in terms of use and allowing them to be a part of a living cultural heritage.Church buildings have historically speaking always had a significant meaning to people, independent of religious belief.