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.

Från att ha varit en exotisk liten religion som har fört en tynande närvaro i södra Irak och Iran har mandeismen flyttat till västvärlden och däribland Sverige. När allt fler mandéer möter en ny kultur och ett nytt samhälle i Sverige påverkar det inte bara dem som individer utan även religionen mandeism. I denna uppsats har jag påbörjat att undersöka hur mandéer ser på sin identitet och religion. Jag har tagit min utgångspunkt i en bred teoretisk diskussion om identitet, religion och sekualisering. Mandeismen är en gnostisk religion som troligtvis har sina rötter i dagens Israel/Palestina och ser Johannes döparen som den sista profeten.

The following essay aims to determine what textbooks and teaching media educators in the county of Västerbotten use when teaching the relation between religion and science. Based on educational science theory and through analyzes of factual texts, the teaching materials was examined to determine how much focus they put on the thematic of religion and science. The result shows how the different teaching materials affect this thematic differently. The main conclusion is therefore that students in Sweden could, depending on the teaching materials used in their education, be taught by different standards to reach the same requirements..

Uppsatsen analyserar Mia Törnbloms bok Självkänsla nu! utifrån ett religionsvetenskapligt perspektiv och diskuterar om man kan se Törnbloms bok som ett substitut till religion i dagens sekulariserade samhälle..

Ett syfte med denna uppsats är att belysa hur det är att vara same och troende i dagens samhälle. Jag kommer att skriva om samernas religion idag med fokus på deras natursyn samt deras synsätt på miljöfrågor och den globala uppvärmningen. För att kunna göra detta har jag även fördjupat mig i deras traditionella religion och förhållandet till naturen. Jag ska försöka besvara frågeställningarna nedan.Hur såg den traditionella samiska religionen ut och hur förhöll man sig till naturen?Vilken påverkan har kristendomen haft?Hur ser samerna på de aktuella miljöfrågorna och den globala uppvärmningen?Hur framställs samerna idag i litteratur och media? Hur ser religion ut bland samer idag?.

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.

This essay examines the role religion plays in kindergarten. Today, the Swedish kindergarten provides child care for a secular and multicultural society where religion is considered a private matter that should not influence government nor the policy documents of kindergarten and elementary school. According to a study by Jenny Berglund, there is a so-called Protestant bias present in the Swedish elementary school. Protestant bias is shaped by a ?marinade? of liberal Protestant Christianity and has an indirect influence on how other religions are described, how religion is defined and how concepts such as religion, tradition or culture are viwed.The study was also based on Ninian Smart?s dimensions of religion, whichcorrelates to Berglund?s theory on Protestant bias.

Denna uppsats består av en jämförande studie av två ärkebiskopar ? KG Hammar (Svenska kyrkan) och Rowan Williams (Church of England) - ur ett postmodernt teologiskt perspektiv. Syftet var att söka finna postmoderna influenser hos de båda ärkebiskoparna i såväl teori som praktik och undersöka konsekvenserna av ett postmodernt teologiskt agerande.  Undersökningen visade att båda ärkebiskoparna influerades av postmodern teologi i teorin. Hammar förde också som ärkebiskop fram sina personliga postmoderna insikter, medan Williams av olika anledningar generellt valde att endast föra fram kyrkans åsikt. Båda handlingsalternativen medförde såväl kritik som uppskattning.

This study concerns ways in which Muslims in Sweden construct their identities. The theoretical approach of the study is based on the assumption that people construct their identities through narratives. Circumstances such as time, place, and relationships affect how narratives are told and therefore how we perceive ourselves and the world around us.In the wake of 11th of September 2001, the old colonial narrative of ?the West vs. the East? has become powerful, and makes many question the possibility of successfully integrating Muslims immigrants in Western countries.

En studie om religionsämnets utveckling under 1900-talet genom läroplanerna och en religionsdidaktisk debatt om ämnets vikt och svårigheter. Vidare en empirisk undersökning om vad lärare och elever tycker om ämnet i grundskolan..

En jämförelse mellan New Age och kristendom som visar likheter och skillnader, samt en prövning efter en religionsdefinition..

As a Swedish landscape architecture student living in Australia for five years, I have often wondered if my memories and my associations with the landscape and the nature in Sweden, are the same as other Swedish people living in Melbourne. Most of the Swedish people who live here in Melbourne remember and associate Sweden?s nature and landscape with where they grew up or where they used to live. The plants that most of the Swedish people I asked missed from Sweden were associated to special feelings or activities. The general type of landscape people remember from Sweden is that of a landscape covered in forests, which you can walk freely through. With these memories as a foundation and with inspiration from the Swedish landscape architect Thorbjörn Anderson?s way of creating places, by letting a few strong changes play against the existing elements,2 but also with consideration of the climate and the severe shortage of water that is current in Melbourne, will I create a design concept for the garden surrounding the Swedish Church in Melbourne. A design concept that will generate memories and associations to Swedish landscapes..

Over the last few years, many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the aid sector have grown and become important economic, social and political actors in Sweden. However this sector has also been hard criticized in terms of aid effectiveness. Church of Sweden (CoS), a well established organization in this sector, has faced new challenges in form of demands from their environment regarding reporting aid work. These demands have pushed the International Department of Church of Sweden into a process for adapting the structure in order to meet the new effectiveness requirements. Using both, Contingency Theory and Resource Dependence Theory as theoretical framework and a single case study as research strategy, this master thesis goes in deep into the description of the change of the structure of the International Department. This work shows how the different parts of the organization functions and what impact will these changes in the structure mean for the future of the organization. The analysis of the empirical evidence related to the theoretical framework shows that the organization responds to external demands through a more centralized structure than before.

My intention with writing this essay is to find out how and in what way the priests in the Allhelgona Church in Stockholm use or are influenced by the ideas of C. G. Jung. This could be in their theology, their sermons or in their private counselling with members of the church.I have gathered a few interviews for this essay with the priests Olle Carlsson and Mary Philipsson which I have then analyzed and drawn conclusions from.Finally I make an assessment of the information and also see what problems may arise out of incorporating Jungian themes into a Christian atmosphere..