The purpose of this essay was to examine the role of Religious beliefs, actions and practice in young people's own description of their identity. An additional goal was to examine how young people describe their identity in relation to their primary and secondary socialization. A qualitative method was used with semi - structured interviews and six young people between the ages of 18 and 23 were interviewed.            The interview results show that three out of the six young people think of themselves as Religious while the remaining three emphasize that they are secularized Muslims. The results also show that the young people emphasize that the celebration of feasts in the family is the main focus.  Four out of the six young people point out that they are themselves among friends, their families and in the mosque, while the remaining two feel a communion with their Muslim friends and people in the mosque.       Three out of the six young people consume alcohol and eat pork, while the remaining three refrain from this. The young people emphasize that their beliefs are a personal matter between themselves and God, and that their actions don't define them as being Muslims or non-Muslims..

The study's aim was to increase knowledge about the resistance of the Muslim Religious expressions in the public sphere and its emergence on the basis of the case around the opposition to call for prayer. The study was conducted through the use of the qualitative research approach through interviews with informants who have a pronounced aversion regarding the existence of the public call to prayer in Sweden. The study's questions have been answered by an analysis of the empirical material by using different theoretical points that illustrate how Western standards are valued higher than the other, in the various standard systems. The view of the Muslim Religious practices depicted by informants through an interpretative framework that is characterized by Islamophobic arguments that are considered to be incompatible with Western culture and the principles of the secular state striving. Such discourses can create an uneven distribution of power between Muslims and non-Muslims on the basis of the West's representations of Orientalism explained based in ethnocentric knowledge.

This master thesis is an ethnological study focusing members of a young, urban Jewishdiaspora in Sweden. The study's aim is to problematize and describe the relation between theJewish minority that is regarded as Religious, and the secular normative majority societyregarded as non-Religious. The study explores questions regarding social positioning,belonging and memory and how Jewish traditions are practiced in contemporary Sweden. Themethodological approaches are interviews and participation observations with a specific focuson food; its symbolic value and how food can materialize identities and communicatememories. The empirical data comprises 24 interviews in total, of which 11 interviews havebeen chosen and thus constitute the material on which the study's analysis is made upon.

The fact that animals have feelings is something that is commonly agreed. Many authors showhow animals' views of their environment is quite similar with human views. Animals, whichare slaughtered without prior stunning, find the moment of slaughter unpleasant and stressing.This is shown in numerous of scientific studies. The cognitive ability of animals can becompared to how they experience feelings and scientists have shown how the structures in thebrain that involves feelings and cognitive behaviours in animals are very much the same asthe structures in human brains. Because of this, some scientists consider that behaviour inanimals can be directly interpreted into human feelings.Halal- and kosher slaughter comes from traditions.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether Religious behavior or Religious identity changes when a person with Muslim background moves to a Christian country and also very secular such as Sweden. I have interviewed five people with Muslim background that have moved from Turkey to Sweden. In this study I have applied Anthony Giddens and Thomas Ziehe's theories about building up an identity but also Nader Ahmadis theory of migration and identity.The results of this study show that there is a change in the practice of religion but also that this differs between these five people who came from the same country. Nevertheless, a change in the practice of religion can on one hand be as a result of modernity and on the other hand, exclusion of family. It also proves that it is not possible to draw general conclusions on this issue instead it should be looked at from an individual perspective..

The purpose of this paper is to examine if there are any differences or similarities when it comes to teaching religion in a multicultural school versus teaching religion in a homogeneous school in Sweden. How do teachers describe Religious education in schools and how do they justify their teaching strategies? What similarities or differences are there between teachers' approaches when teaching religion in homogeneous versus multicultural schools?The study is based on qualitative interviews which includes a total of four schools; two homogeneous and two multicultural. These schools have been selected with the help of the Migration Board's annual report from 2014 as well as from my own personal knowledge. One Religious teacher from each of the schools was interviewed.The conclusion, among others, is that ethnic Swedish pupils do not have the same understanding of religion as students of different ethnicity.

This study explores how music can be seen as a vehicle for Religious faith. How does music transcend beliefs and messages from God to humans, and how can it be used as a way of interpreting and recognizing the supreme, ultimate existence that people refer to as ?God?? Music has been used as an important expression in Religious cults throughout times. It has been used as a healing force, in accordance with what has been said about God's willingness to heal humans. Historical examples include Paul, Origen, St.

The purpose of this study in the psychology of religion is to explore the process of an individual?s shift in orienting system, from a Religious to an atheistic. The materials used are autobiographical accounts obtained from two books. One that has been used as a primary source and one as a secondary. By using Rambo?s process oriented theory of Religious conversion relevant themes and categories were chosen and later subjected to further analysis using Pargament?s theory of religion and coping.

AbstractEmma Hjalmarsson, teacher studentMaria Talevska, teacher studentTitle: So different yet so alike â A comparative study focusing on the pedagogical leadership in two different cultures.Växjö University, Fall Semester 2005, Department of the HumanitiesGIX 192, Degree project/Religious Studies in Secondary EducationThis paper compares the pedagogical leadership in Thailand and Sweden. By performing interviews, handing out questionnaires and observing class rooms we wanted to compare the relationship between pupils and teachers from one school in Sweden and one school in Thailand.From the pupils we wanted information about their view on teachers; what characterizes the best teacher, what the worst teacher is like and how they would like a teacher to be.From the teachers on the other hand we wanted to know what kind of relationship they would like to have with their pupils and how they work to accomplish that purpose. We also wanted to find out if they put more emphasis on upbringing or knowledge and if there are any Religious influences in the education.Finally, we also wanted to see if there was something from the pedagogical view in the Thai school that we could use in education in Sweden..

This study aims at using discourse analysis to analyze SFI students attitudes to religion and religiosity in an SFI-context. The questions are: How is the discourse constructed and maintained by religion and religiosity of SFI students in an SFI context? How do SFI participants experience that their religion has affected their time at SFI?Using a case study approach, interviews were conducted with a group of SFI students. The results show that the Religious discourse in SFI is influenced by the SFI-context and affected based on the current education discourse that exists there. Furthermore, the discourse is designed and maintained by the participants private Religious beliefs and the religion of the majority of the group, One canhere speak of a strong social unit forming a plausibility structure The power structure that emerges is that the majority has the power to define the significance of religion and place within the SFI context. In the SFI-context the participants view is that religion is something private that should not be expressed in the school environment.

The purpose of this essay is to examine how Irish people on a rural location practice their faith in everyday life. The intention is also to find out what strategies my interviewees use to negotiate the abuse scandal and what their thoughts on the Catholic Church are. The material mainly consists of interviews with seven people part of a rural parish in Ireland. My research also entails smaller observations and conversations in the homes of the participants.The results indicate that they all consider themselves Religious, however not all Catholic. All of the participants integrate their religion in everyday life.

The essay explores how the category ?religion? occurs and functions in the regulatory documents governing the Swedish public service companies. The study also highlights Swedens changed Religious demographics and the changing media landscape. The material that is under investigation is the external and internal policy documents for Sveriges Radio, Sveriges Television and Utbildningsradion. The study is done by a qualitative content analysis which results are carved out by search units in relation to the category religion and then discussed and analyzed.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, issues related to religion and violence has beenactualized in the media. Do Islamic texts and sources legitimate violent actions? In responseto these questions, some professional scholars of Islam argued that the 11 September terroristswere not really Muslims, but hijackers of Islam. According to other scholars, such argumentsreflect a common sui-generis discourse in Religious studies which stresses the autonomy ofReligious phenomena, the priority of faith over cultural production, interior experiences andbeliefs over social practice. The scholars in favor for a naturalistic approach in Religiousstudies argues that, in order to approach religion in a naturalistic way, we have to be critical ofrepresentations of religion ? and in this case representations of Islam ? drawing on a suigenerisdiscourse.

In the medieval ruling catholic time the church walls was swarmed with programs of pictures with Religious motives there the animal figures rich symbolics was significant first and foremost for the illiterate. Principally the inspiration comes from the antiquitys pagan world of fables and bestiary Christian world of symbols with the bible as the essential source. The essay describes six of the most common animal symbols who occur; dragon, the sneak in the Paradise, mouth of hell, lion, the fox as a preacher and the devil.To attain to a discussion about why just animals are used as symbols for human characteristics in the medieval church art instead for human beings as it's actually be about, I have studied bestiary and other literature about medieval churchpainting to get an understanding about the history of ideas about the thoughts of the time and about symbolics of animals, worth and how the Christianity have had an influence on the pictures.I have used Johannes Rosenrods church pictures from Tensta church in Uppland from 1437 as an exemplification but also mentioned other unknown painters who used similar animal codes and motives.It's plausible that the purpose of the animal figures was both Religious and political, which was used by both the spiritual and the worldly authority so they could keep their dominance over the peasant. The figures was simple to read and remember and they made a deep impression on the people together with the sermon. The churchgoer get so to speak a sound- and image experience, a medieval reality who impress their world of ideas.When it's about the artistic formation of Religious expression and characteristics it was undoubtedly a great advantage for the artists to use an animal code like a schemata.

This thesis examines how teachers in physical education work with gender and gender roles in two Religious schools in Stockholm. My main research questions were how the teachers relate to gender roles, if they think of gender when planning the lessons and do the boys or the girls get more attention from the teacher, if so, how do they get it?This study is based on interviews and observations, which makes it a qualitative study. The P. E.