det ideologiska och praktiskpolitiska identitetsbygge som George W. Bush under sin presidentperiod arbetade med på den inrikespolitiska arenan fanns en rad ideologiska byggklossar som var hämtade från tankar omkring en ”compassionate conservatism”. Arbetet med bygget, som oftast skedde i skuggan av utrikespolitiska händelser, framskred på flera fronter under hela presidentperioden. Det ingick i en övergripande politisk policy med två inriktningar eller huvudmål, sammanfattningsvis beskrivna i det första installationstalet med orden ”justice” och ”compassion.”

Målen återkom exempelvis i ett ”fund-raising letter” daterat den 23 maj 2003. I detta brev nämnde Bush att hans arbete syftade dels till ”expanding peace and freedom throughout the world” – en policy som drabbades hårt av den svåra politiska och militära utvecklingen i Irak och Afganistan, dels till att hjälpa nationen att bli mer ”compassionate and prosperous”.

Bush kunde i sammanhanget mycket förenklat beskriva sin egen ”compassionate conservatism” med att säga att han var en ”conservative with a heart”. Detta skedde till exempel när han tillfrågades om varför han så starkt betonade god undervisning för alla barn och det därtill hörande temat ”No Child Left Behind”. I installationstalet förklarade Bush vidare: ”America, at its best, is compassionate”. Bakom dessa ord och bakom ett flertal politiska ställningstaganden fanns naturligtvis sammansatta och komplicerade drivkrafter. Flera av de byggklossar som i Bushs politiska och praktiska identitetsbygge bildade själva fundamentet hade otvetydiga kopplingar till en religiöst präglad övertygelse. För att fullt ut kunna förstå den politiska frågan krävs därför även kännedom om dess religio-politiska kontext.

Syftet med detta arbete är att från religionsvetenskaplig synvinkel på ett introducerande sätt presentera några reflektioner över religionens roll för George W. Bushs ”compassionate conservatism.”

The religio-political setting of the Inauguration Ceremonies—with songs, pastors, presidential addresses, prayers, blessings etc.—is clearly revealing an American sentiment, which includes an interconnection between patriotism and Christianity. “God bless America” and “One nation under God” are common themes as well as other references related to Religious and often specifically Christian theological viewpoints. It is argued that the ceremonies themselves not only reveal parts of a general civil religion,  but in fact they become proclamations of a specific American public theology. They form a sort of rites-de-passage of the nation, bringing forward a new President; from now on acting not only as a political leader but also as a sort of a pastor (priest and/or prophet) of the nation, using the White House as an impressive pulpit. The type of religious dimension presented in the presidential inauguration ceremonies of Bush Sr. and Obama has often been described as civil religion, but the outspoken theological content is not fully compatible with French sociological theory or German sociological theory, which are often used to describe civil religion. Therefore, a more accurate description of the modern American version is “public theology.”

I denna avhandling granskas den teori om distributiv rättvisa som presenterats av den amerikanske filosofen Michael Walzer. Walzer har alltsedan publikationen av Spheres of Justice 1983 varit en av de mest inflytelserika teoretikerna inom forskningsfältet distributiv rättvisa. Trots detta missförstås hans teori ofta. Den antas också lida av allvarliga brister.

Syftet med avhandlingen är att genom rekonstruktiv filosofisk analys klargöra och förstärka Walzers teori om distributiv rättvisa. Efter en kort översikt av Walzers tidiga verk, i vilka viktiga begrepp introduceras och utvecklas, analyseras den etablerade teorin. Genom att underkasta de centrala delarna av Walzers teori en kritisk och rekonstruerande filosofisk analys, så kan en klarare och starkare version frambringas. Viktiga idéer och begrepp såsom community, consent, interpretation, social meanings, complex equality och minimal morality diskuteras, kritiseras och revideras därför i syfte att klargöra och stärka teorin.

En jämförelse görs även mellan John Rawls breda reflektiva ekvilibrium och Walzers interpretativa metod. Jag hävdar att de två filosofernas metoder uppvisar anmärkningsvärda likheter

Denna studie bidrar till förståelsen av hur första århundradets Kristus-troende, särskilt de som delade Efesierbrevets föreställningar, upplevde relationen mellan social identitet som Kristus-troende och beteendenormer. För att förstå detta, används ett antal kognitionsvetenskapliga teorier i kombination med historiskkritiska metoder. Efter en teoretisk genomgång av relevanta kognitionsvetenskapliga teorier och diskussioner om de epistemologiska problemen med att tillämpa kognitiva teorier på historiska texter, används teorierna för att förstå a) hur Efesierbrevet föreställer sig relationen mellan identitet och beteendenormer, och b) de potentiella gruppdynamiska effekterna av dessa föreställningar. Resultatet är en demonstration av hur Efesierbrevet är kapabelt att skapa en koherent berättelse, som börjar med Gud och slutar med beteende(-normer), och som främjar gruppdynamiska och psykologiska effekter såsom intergruppsdistinktion, självkänsla, kognitiv säkerhet och konsensus inom gruppen, intragrupps-samarbete, moraliska omdömen och inklusion/marginalisering, motivation att förbli hängiven, samt, sist men inte minst, en upplevelse av kapacitet och plikt att handla moraliskt.

The American Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899) was the most famous revivalist of the late 1800s and exercised a wide and lasting influence on the Protestant world, reaching Swedes in Sweden and America. His influence was felt among Swedes despite the fact that he was of English heritage, never visited Sweden or any Scandinavian country, and never spoke a word of the Swedish language. Nevertheless, he became a “hero” revivalist among Swedish Mission Friends in Sweden and America.

Moody’s early ministry was centered in Chicago, the largest urban population of Swedes in the United States. In 1867, he first came into contact with Swedish immigrants in Chicago known as Mission Friends. The church that he founded, Chicago Avenue Church, later organized a Swedish fellowship. Many Swedes who immigrated to America, a land of religious pluralism, were eager to adopt Moody’s beliefs and methods. Fredrik Franson who joined Moody’s church became a proponent of the American revivalist’s beliefs and methods, spreading them in America, Sweden and other countries. E. A. Skogsbergh, a pioneer of the Mission Covenant in America, adopted Moody’s preaching style so much that he became known as “the Swedish Moody.”

News of Moody’s large revival campaigns in Great Britain from 1873–1875 traveled quickly to Sweden, making “Mr. Moody” a household name in homes of many Mission Friends. Moody’s sermons published in Sweden were distributed in books, newspapers, and colporteur tracts, and led to the spread of Sweden’s “Moody fever” from 1875–1880. P. P. Waldenström cited Moody as an example of evangelical cooperation in events leading to the founding of Svenska Missionsförbundet (Swedish Mission Covenant). Songs of Moody’s musical partner, Ira D. Sankey, were translated into Swedish by Theodor Truvé and Erik Nyström and sung in homes and mission houses. Moody’s influence extended even to Sweden’s Archbishop Nathan Söderblom who during his college years attended Moody’s student conference at Northfield, Massachusetts. As Mission Friends adopted Moody’s alliance ideal, beliefs, and methods, their religious identity shifted in the direction of Moody’s new American evangelicalism.

Gemenskap är eftersträvansvärt för de flesta människor. Samtidigt är många gemenskaper relativt homogena och likriktade. På ett liknande sätt är många kristna församlingsgemenskaper uppbyggda, dvs. de är gemenskaper där mångfalden får svårt att hävda sig. Kan teologin bidra med öppningar i ett samtal om gemenskap och mångfald i den kristna församlingen och i mänskligt samliv? Denna avhandling utgår från hur man inom två konkreta församlingar i Svenska kyrkan talar om identitet och pluralism och försöker komma till rätta med att man har olika tankefigurer för hur en församlingsgemenskap skall kunna innefatta mångfald. Församlingarnas svårigheter pekar mot ett allmänkyrkligt dilemma, kanske allmänmänskligt: Hur förena gemenskap och mångfald? Dietrich Bonhoeffer är en teolog som i sina skrifter diskuterade just denna problematik, först som ung i avhandlingen Sanctorum Communio, senare som ledare för prästseminariet i Finkenwalde i boken Life Together och slutligen som motståndsman under krigsåren i det som var avsett att bli hans magnum opus, Ethics. Utifrån Bonhoeffers teologiska diskussion blir det viktigt att möta församlingarnas praktiska dilemma genom ansvarigt handlande i den konkreta situationen, att försöka gestalta en församlingsgemenskap som bejakar olikhet, medveten om mångfalden och om att varje handling hotar att utestänga några.

Föreliggande text är en analys av talet om identitet och pluralism i Olaus Petri och Södertälje-Tveta församlingar. Studien utfördes under åren 2003 och 2004 och har efter det strukturerats och analyserats. Materialet från Örebro Olaus Petri har redan använts i min licentiatavhandling, Den här presenterade texten utgör ”källmaterial” för den doktorsavhandling jag kommer att lägga fram under 2008 med titeln Gemenskap och mångfald. Den som enbart är intresserad av det empiriska materialet kan läsa texten fristående från avhandlingen och på så sätt få en bild av undersökningen. Metodkapitlet tjänar funktionen att göra denna text läsbar och möjlig att förstå. Den som också är intresserad av den teologiska analysen av materialet hänvisas till avhandlingen, där det också kommer att finnas ett mer utbyggt metodkapitel.

Niclas Blåder

The purpose of this work is to do a qualitative study of the identity of the Baptist congregation in Asker and the mentality which is created in that congregation during the period 1858–1887. The question at issue concerns the content, the creation, the continuity, the changes, the rate of exclusion, the expressions, etc of the identity and the mentality.The dissertation is divided into five parts: Part one (chapter 1–2) includes issues of theoretical and methodological interest. The purpose of part two (chapter 3–5) is to give some background information, to sketch the landscape in which the Baptist congregation of Asker is placed. Part three (chapter 6–13) is the main part of the dissertation, in which the results of the study of the eight selected areas are presented and analysed. Part four (chapter 14–15) is the part where the results of the studies of the different areas are put together and the whole picture of the identity and mentality of the congregation is presented. The conclusion is that the identity is constructed out of two kinds of relations, an inner religious and several outer relations, such as the Lutheran state church, the society, the history and so on. These relationships construct the identity. The congregation mediate their identity through preaching, through special institutions and through the normative common life of the congregation. The mentality of the congregation is characterized by spiritual rationality, dualistic thinking, insecure security, limited democracy, and assured faith and efficiency In the last fifth part we find some words for further study and thinking, two appendixes and the list of sources and literature.

This licentiate thesis is written at the multi-disciplinary research school Identity and Pluralism−and also within the subject of Church History−at the Department of Culture and Communication, University of Linkoping, Sweden.

In the thesis the rise of the Cell Group Church is explained. Further the Cell Group Church is analyzed with help of questions regarding identity and pluralism. The author conceives a basis of identity, an approach to define cell-structured churches. This basis can in turn constitute a premise for continued research. Furthermore adequate criteria to evaluate the movement are put forth.

The dissertation poses three main questions. How was the Cell Group Church formed? Is it possible to identify the Cell Group Church with help of identity markers? What criteria are appropriate to use for an evaluation of the Cell Group Church?

The concept of the Cell Group Church was coined by Dr. Ralph W. Neighbour and it is he and his book ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ which are the eye-catchers in this thesis. In what way might Neighbour’s own personal development have affected the design? The intention is not to make a psychological study of Neighbour’s persona, but to weigh in some decisive events that are found in Neighbour’s own biography and that might have affected the design of the Cell Group Church. But influence also has occurred from the outside. What has happened when the Cell Group Church has met the congregations of reality in Korea, Singapore, The Ivory Coast and Columbia? What has Neighbour modified and what in the Cell Group Church has endured? Within the given frame, 1965-2006, there has been an interaction going on between Neighbour and his personal development on the one side and his encounters with reality on the other. In this tension a process of reform is growing. The author will highlight what is lasting in this process, what stands for continuity, and what means a change of identity. The method is to begin with historically descriptive but devolves into being analytical.

This thesis contributes to the basic research in the field of the Cell Group Church. The movement of the Cell Church is a part of a forceful global course of events within Christianity. There are historians of religion and sociologists of religion who mean that a new kind of Christianity is forming in our times. The manner in which the Cell Group Church relates to its contemporary period is interesting both from international as well as Swedish conditions. Is the Cell Group Church an alternative that will replace the churches of old? Can the Cell Group Church contribute to the survival of the churches of old?

In Malaysia ethnic and religious pluralism goes hand in hand. Pluralism affects all sectors of society. Obviously it creates tensions but all the same Malaysia is remarkable as an example of how different ethnic and religious groups peacefully live side by side. In this book, Malaysian scholars write about how pluralism affects different areas of their society. They have different disciplinary backgrounds and they focus on a variety of aspects of religious pluralism: social relations, religious dialogue, legal pluralism, pluralism at the marketplace and how pluralism affects educational preferences. The authors point both at the possibilities and at the problems of religious pluralism in Malaysia.

The six essays collected in this volume address from different disciplinary perspectives the implication of religious pluralism for school, work, politics, values and law.

Reevany Bustami analyses the new Malaysian Prime Minister’s view on national identity and religious pluralism. Ellisha Nasruddin examines pluralism as manifested in the form of ethnic integration within work organisations. Göran Collste discusses the possibilities of moral and political consensus in nations characterised by religious pluralism. Edgar Almén describes the modern Swedish history of handling pluralism within religious education. Annika Rabo discusses family law and religious pluralism in Syria and, finally, Hans Ingvar Roth focuses on factors contributing to social and political polarisation and on conditions for a fruitful inter- and intra religious dialogue.

In this volume, three examples of studies in religious identity and pluralism are given by researchers at the Department of Religion and Culture, Linköping University.

Associate Professor Håkan Ulfgard focuses on some fundamental perceptions of biblical and Jewish identity formation.

Associate Professor Kjell O. Lejon describes how the religious and political history of the United States of America have formed identity marks of the American civil religion, and gives examples of how they have been used historically, especially in a political context.

Professor Göran Collste brings up questions concerning political ethics and philosophy based upon experiences in multiethnic and multi religious Malaysia.

his research report, written by Dr. Hans Ingvar Roth, M.Litt. (Oxon), Th.D. (Lund), is an attempt to give an overview of the growing academic research field »Identity and Pluralism», with specific emphasis on historical, contemporary and potential contributions of Theology and Religious Studies. The report argues that Theology and Religious Studies could make valuable contributions in this area. This becomes obvious, e.g. with reference to the current debate on multiculturalism.

This volume also includes a brief introduction to the research education in Identity and Pluralism at the Department of Religion and Culture, Linköping University, written by Dr. Kjell O. Lejon, Associate Professor and Director of Research at the department.