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Denna studie syftar till att undersöka lärares förhållningssätt till begreppet mångfald så som det skrivs fram i ämnesplanen för religionskunskap i LGY11. Fem kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med lärare i religionskunskap på gymnasiet. Dessa intervjuer har tolkats med hjälp av en narrativ analysmetod och relaterats dels till olika filosofiska perspektiv, normkritisk pedagogik samt fältet för kontroversiella frågor i undervisning. Resultatet påvisar att det finns såväl likheter som skillnader mellan lärarnas förhållningssätt. En likhet var att många av dem intog ett elevperspektiv i sin undervisning och berättade om hur de anpassar sin undervisning till olika elevgrupper. En skillnad berör hur man uppfattar själva religionsämnet som sådant; vissa av lärarna talade i termer av att motverka fördomar, andra om att ämnet kan bidra till en ökad förståelse hos eleverna själva.

This study was aimed to investigate how a ”us and them” emerged in a group of young poeplés description and approaches to individuals and groups with a religiois identity. As a method to investigate this, a qualitative and semi-structured interview was done with six high school students from northern Sweden. When the interviews was done, an analysis was made using a social constructionist framework in general and three constructions of a ”us and them” as social, congruent and conflictual in particular. The results showed that all students used a social, congruent and conflictual creation of ”us and them” related to religion in different ways. The social construction was found to be interwined with the congruent construction in most students desciptions. Most of the students described that a sense of fellowship and shared values is what creates an ”us” and separates groups into ”us and them”. In the students approaches to religions and people in general, who were incongruent with themselves, the conflictual construction of ”us and them” was shown. This category included extremism, generalization of religious individuals and political views.

The purpose of this essay is to analyze how textbooks in religious studies describes gender and sexuality. The textbooks that were chosen are used in upper secondary school in Sweden. The method that was used was a content analysis with the help of queer theory and intersectionality. There is not much Swedish previous research on this topic. The analyze of the textbooks showed that there are varying amounts of different expressions for gender and sexuality in all the textbooks. A couple of common expressions that were shown was that men is superior to women, women’s place in the religious hierarchy is questioned, that sexuality is something that has its purpose in a marriage and to get pregnant, and that homosexuality is still something that is considered abnormal. These expressions could mostly be found in chapters dedicated to marriage, gender, or sexuality but there were also expressions in the chapters about the different religions. The differences between the textbooks were mostly how much expression there was about the gender and sexuality but also what kind of sexuality that was mentioned in the textbooks.

Denna studie syftade till att förstå förändringar av elevers livsfrågor och lärares didaktiska val i livsfrågeundervisningen under de senaste 30 åren. Även lärarens förutsättningar och behov för undervisning av livsfrågor undersöks. Valet av metod var kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med lärare på högstadiet med erfarenhet av läroplan Lpo94, Lgr11 samt Lgr 22. Intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades sedan med hjälp av en idéanalys, vilket synliggjorde likheter och skillnader i lärarnas värderingar och uttryck. Resultatet analyserades sedan utifrån ett generationsperspektiv med hjälp av begreppen självuttryck och normkritik. I materialet framgick att elevernas livsfrågor har förändrats under de senaste 30 åren. De har gått från att utgå från lärare och religiösa livsfrågor så som frågor om livet, döden och abort till ökat elevfokus och mer privata frågor om till exempel sexualitet, kärlek och relationer. Livsfrågorna påverkas även av samhällets förändringar. Lärarnas didaktiska val har förändrats för att ackommodera de elever de har, både över tid samt från grupp till grupp. Bland annat har de blivit mer nyanserade i sina svar för att göra livsfrågor mindre kontroversiella. Lärarnas undervisning påverkas även av yttre faktorer såsom tidstillgång, ineffektiva arbetsverktyg och ökat behov av anpassningar i undervisningen. Studien påvisar behovet av tvärvetenskapliga angreppssätt föratt förstå våra elever och deras behov i skolan. Skolverket och huvudmän behöver jobba för kontinuerlig fortbildning inom livsfrågor och generationer och lärarutbildningar behöver innehålla element för att träna lärarstudenter i svårigheterna med att undervisa i olika kontexter och olika generationer.

Den här studien syftade till att intervjua fyra muslimska tjejer för att ta reda på muslimska flickors upplevelse av att ha en religiös identitet i den svenska skola, vilka utmaningar och möjligheter de har till att utöva sin religiösa identitet, hur de upplever att andra elever uttrycker sig om islam samt på vilka sätt skolan kan underlätta för muslimska elever som vill praktisera islam. Valet av metod var att utföra en kvalitativ fokusgruppsintervju med muslimska ungdomar mellan 13-15 år som genomfördes på deltagarnas skola med hjälp av ljudupptagning som därefter transkriberades. Efter genomförandet av intervjun gjordes en analys utifrån ett intersektionellt perspektiv med hjälp av begreppen religiös proximitet samt sekulär och svenskhetsdiskurs. I materialet framgick att skolans lösningar på de utmaningar som religiösa individer i skolan har inte alltid är ideala och att vissa ändringar önskas av elever med religiös identitet. Det framkom av deltagarna i studien att det finns flera utmaningar, men att den främsta är andra elevers tal om islam. Andra elevers negativa tal om islam kommer enligt deltagarna i denna undersökning från okunskap som skapar fördomar och i vissa fall kränkande behandling.Resultatet påpekade att andra elevers negativa tal om islam försatte deltagarna i rollen som representanter för islam vilket kan vara problematiskt då det främst sker utanför klassrummet där vuxna inte finns tillgängliga på samma sätt för att säkerställa att alla elever känner sig bekväma med situationen. Avslutningsvis rekommenderas utifrån studiens resultat att utmaningar samt andra elevers tal ska synliggöras för elever och personal på skolorna för att möjliggöra en större förståelse och aktiv motverkan av fördomar, kränkningar och trakasserier.

Denna uppsats undersöker förenligheten och argumentationen kring islam och de mänskliga rättigheterna utifrån två artiklar skrivna av Elena Namli och Irene Oh. Frågeställningarna som studien vilar på är hur författarna argumenterar för förhållandet mellan sharia och mänskliga rättigheter i sina artiklar, vilka typer av förståelse av sharia respektive mänskliga som rättigheter framträder i författarnas artiklar samt om författarnas argumentation kring sharia och mänskliga rättigheter kan bidra till en större förståelse inom skolan.

Undersökningens metod är en kvalitativ textanalys, i form av en komparativ litteraturstudie där de två artiklarnas innehåll har analyserats. Resultatet av analysen av artiklarna visar hur en gemensam sakfråga, exempelvis sharia, i en dialog bidrar till större förståelse för förenligheten mellan islam och mänskliga rättigheter. Förståelsen för mänskliga rättigheter och islam varierar då sharia, inom islam, kan tolkas både som en gudomlig lag, en juridisk lag eller en familjerättslig lag. Mänskliga rättigheter kan förstås som både en moralisk lag eller en juridisk lag. Argumentationen i artiklarna framhäver även västvärldens förförståelse för förenligheten, där ofta västvärldens tolkningar och synsätt på sharia och mänskliga rättigheter är en oskriven norm.

Målet med denna studie är att belysa hur de manliga eleverna i skolan agerar i en klass med kvinnliga elever som majoritet. Detta är ett led i den jämställda utbildningen som skolan erbjuder. Jämställdhetsarbete är att bryta mönster, förutfattade meningar och fördomar.

Syftet och frågeställningarna som undersöks i denna studie riktar sig mot de manliga eleverna och hur de reagerar och agerar kring att de är färre i antal än de kvinnliga eleverna. Tidigare forskning visar bland annat på att män av olika anledningar, inte har kommit från den stereotypiska rollen de förväntas ha.

Jag har använt mig av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys för att bearbeta den information som jag samlat in genom intervjuer utförda efter en observation av en klass med flest kvinnliga elever.

Analysen av den studie jag genomfört visar att det är tre kategorier som är mest framträdande i den diskussion som de manliga eleverna framför nämligen att de manliga eleverna antingen tycker att de egenskaper de kvinnliga eleverna har är positiva eller negativa, att de ofta ställer sitt eget beteende i motpol till deras och slutligen att de anmärker ofta på hur de kvinnliga eleverna argumenterar.

We encounter images and visual expressions on a daily basis. An image says more than a thousand words... but maybe the images can say too much? The school plays an important role in the development of democracy, gender equality, tolerance and respect of human rights. It is therefore important to have a discussion about the content of the textbooks and reflecting upon how these support the school's duty. I intend to investigate how images are produced in teaching materials for religious education, focusing on Christianity and Islam. The method of the essay is a semiotic content analysis. To reach the purpose, to investigate how and what images depicted in the teaching materials for religious education, four questions have been compiled: How does the image material look? What relationship does image and text have with each other, and how do they communicate? What is the balance between men and women? Are these different depending on the subject area? Do the textbooks show stereotypes or generalizing views through pictures? The result of the study shows that the analyzed textbooks have a relatively rich image content. Both books have religious phenomena as the main motive of the pictures. One of my most important issues in this analysis was whether the images had a reasonable caption or text link in the current text. Only 8% of the analyzed material had no caption or text attachment. The result also shows that both textbooks reinforce stereotypes. In Christianity, it became clear that 55% of the imagery shows stereotypical patterns, and in the texts about Islam, 60% show stereotypical patterns. A general view is that images contribute to learning and can help explain and illustrate a difficult subject. In particular, images are good for creating variation from the text, but using images must be done with care and caution, as images can easily contribute and reinforce stereotypic perceptions and prejudices.

During the 20th century, Sweden developed into a mainly secularized society with low key institutional religious presence on the political scene. Church and state separated in year 2000, as a result of a long term development separating religion and politics in Sweden. But a new development has been taking place in the last decade in Sweden on municipality levels. Being a society with less the 5% of the population born abroad in the beginning of the 1960s, contemporary Sweden is today a cultural multi-diverse society with close to 20% of its population born abroad. As a result of migration Sweden has rather rapidly developed into a cultural diverse and multi-religious society. Starting in the year 2006 on a municipality level, representatives of religious organizations have in Sweden become invited participants in a growing number of Swedish cities through involvement in inter-religious councils. Often political local authorities has decided to take a leading role in the councils, seemingly out of a growing awareness of faith-based organizations crucial role in promoting social cohesion in local settings.

This paper presents a case study where the formation of an inter-religious council is taking place in a mid-sized Swedish town. The paper presentation outlines the result of interviews with three kinds of actors; (1) elected politicians responsible for strategic policymaking in local community, (2) civil servants responsible for carrying out these policies and (3) representatives of Christian and Moslem faith-based organizations active in the local community.

Main research questions are the following: What are the key expectations on the council from the different actors’ point of view? What kind of challenges are perceived to be crucial by different actors which should be dealt with in the short and long run?

Analyses are made comparing similarities and disagreements in various respondents’ views.The answers from the participants are also discussed through the lens of problematizing the overarching aim of the interreligious council. Does it promote a wished for social cohesion or does it involuntarily strengthen group conflict in pluralistic Sweden? The outcome of the empirical data will also be put in a European context about the consequences on local level when interreligious dialogue is established as part of municipalities’ inter-cultural strategies.

Swedish society is characterized by secularization but as a result of migration during the last decades Sweden has developed into a more pluralistic society. On local level this is also detectable through a development of inter-religious councils in a growing number of Swedish cities. Often local political authorities has decided to play a crucial part in the councils, seemingly out of a growing awareness of faith-based organizations vital role in promoting social cohesion in local settings. This paper presents a case study where the formation of an inter-religious council is taking place in a mid-sized Swedish town. It presents the result of interviews with three kind of actors; (1) elected politicians responsible for strategic policymaking in local community, (2) civil servants responsible carrying out these policies and (3) representatives of participatory Christian and Moslem faith-based organizations active in the local community. Main research questions: What are the key expectations on the council from the different actors’ point of view? What kind of challenges should be dealt with in the short and long perspective from different actors’ point of view? Analysis will be made comparing similarities and disagreements in various views.

This article presents the Swiss-Iraqi director Samir Jamal Aldin and his thriller Baghdad in My Shadow (2019) and puts it into a context of the re-negotiation of identities in a culturally diverse Europe. The director’s intention is presented as a wish to deal with taboo issues related to gay rights, women’s emancipation, and religious fundamentalism within an Iraqi community in contemporary London.

The film is analysed with the help of (1) theories analysing tensions between liberal-secular and religious-fundamentalist standpoints, and (2) theories about film viewers’ engagement, amplifying audiences’ emotions and thoughts about complex societal issues.

The film could be said to advocate a standpoint of dynamic secularism promoting individual rights. The article argues, furthermore, that Samir as a Swiss-Iraqi filmmaker encourages thick viewing through his thriller format and invites the audience to a deeper emotional and intellectual understanding of liberal principles, honour culture, and hybrid identity positions in contemporary Europe.

Abstract 

The new millennium's migration movements have created increasingly pluralistic European societies, displaying a high level of both religious and ethnic diversity (Castles et al. 2014, Pew Research Center 2017, Furseth et al. 2019, Illman, Martikainen & Nynäs 2018, Körs 2018, Axelson & Stier, 2020). Scholars from different fields describe how tensions in culturally diverse societies are played out and how different groups with religious and secular world views are sometimes in dialogue, sometimes in conflict (Lundby 2018, De Kadt 2018, Pratt 2018, Göndör 2017).

Also, film directors get themselves engaged in these issues and try to capture how life looks in the age of migration (Castles, Haas & Miller 2014, Trifonova 2020). One of the more recent and interesting films on this topic was made by a Swiss-Iraqi director Samir Jamal Aldin. The director presented his film Baghdad in my Shadow (2019) at the international film festival in Locarno, Switzerland, in August 2019. In this fiction film, the director invites us to a group of people with a multicultural background, rooted in various geographical areas, embodying a mixed cultural heritage, including religious traditions of different kinds. In a thriller format, he describes a family story with roots in Saddam Hussain’s Iraq during the 1980s and the 1990s, loosely based on his own Iraqi background. 

The aim is to analyse Baghdad in my Shadow (2019) through theoretical perspectives on the re-negotiation of identities and migrant experiences in contemporary, multi-religious Europe. The director address charged matters and discusses issues related to tensions between diverse identity positions within a migrant family in a minority community. He shows characters taking on liberal gay rights and female emancipative positions as well as characters leaning towards traditional gender roles anchored in socio-centric world views. He also shows generational tension between secularized Muslim identities in the elderly generation in struggle with young relatives attracted to conservative Salafism.

The aim is furthermore to analyze audiovisual storytelling through theories on media as framing and amplifying complex issues in contemporary society, including religious affiliations. I will especially dwell on aspects on storytelling’s capacity to engage its audience through emotional engagement. Finally I will also tap in to the film’s capacity to stir up emotions in real-life dialogue between the director and the film’s audience, exemplified by situations taking place during the screening of the film at Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF) on 9th of October 2020.

Muslimer på film har en lång historia fylld av stereotypa klichéer utifrån ett i huvudsak fientligt och fördomsfullt berättande. Det finns dock tecken på att filmskildringar bryter ny mark och skapar nya berättelser och förändrade bilder av muslimsk religiositet (Alhassen2018, Petersen 2021b, Axelson 2022). Det huvudsakliga intresset i följande kapitel ägnas åt ett antal filmer som lagt stor möda på att inte trampa på i en upplöjd fåra av islamfientlighet. I denna del behandlas filmer som Cecil B. DeMilles skildring av Mose liv i The Ten Commandments (1956), Ridley Scotts hantering av korsfarartiden i Kingdom of Heaven (2005), den mauretanska regissören Abderrahmane Sissako och hans berättelse om jihadismens inbrytande i Timbuktu (2014) och slutligen den svenske regissören Tarik Salehs uppmärksammade film Boy from Heaven (2022) om konflikter mellan sekulära och religiösa makteliter i dagens Egypten. Kapitlet syftar ytterst sett till att lyfta fram filmberättande som bidrar till nyansrikedom i skildringar av muslimsk tro på film, dvs, filmer som bidrar till det som journalisten och medieforskaren Maytha Alhassen kallar cultural change, “to challenge hegemonic cultural narratives and hopefully also change behavior” (2018; 45).

Perceived ambivalence of Muslims in public space through a cinematic lens 

Research lately displays existing ambivalence towards the phenomenon of religion and increased diversity of convictions. Signs of heated worldview conflicts especially between political and religious discourses are more and more discussed among scholars related to gender equality, liberal rights, security, cultural heritage, and secularism. In media debates a general anti-religious secularistic discourse is detectable as well as a long tradition of anti-Arab sentiments in movies, expressed as hostile notions of Islam and Muslims as perceived threats to modern society and secular liberal values. Also, scriptwriters and directors are engaged in these topics. In this paper I want to discuss how religious and liberal-secular worldview conflicts are played lately in fictional formats such as tv-series like Kalifat (2020) or movies like Baghdad in My Shadow (2019) or Kingdom of Heaven (2005). Through audiovisual storytelling theories of mediatization can be illustrated as well as used as theoretical concepts for analysis of fiction as vehicle for amplification of emotions in contemporary society. The paper will relate to the overarching topic of how a public may apprehend Islam/Muslims in a stereotypical manner but also how fiction could be used to increase more nuanced imagery of Muslim positions. 

This article analyzes how movies have been reproducing a pejorative and stereotypical storytelling regarding Muslims and Arabs for more than a century, mainly along a narrow-minded dichotomy between “bad” fanatic religious extremists or “good” non-religious secularized Muslims. The aim has moreover been to explore alternative storytelling combined with applying a model to discuss emotional engagement among movie goers. The conclusion is that mainstream movie culture is still indebted to stereotypical images of Islam/Muslims. But things are changing. More nuanced storytelling has been taking place lately, giving room for a broader spectrum of Muslim religious identity positions, including examples of religious wisdom and spiritual integrity, offering the audience imagery beyond the stereotypical “good” and “bad” dichotomy. Looking outside Hollywood and European mainstream films, new voices are heard, making way for a larger spectrum of positions.

Religious identities in fiction and emotional engagement 

Media research lately displays existing ambivalence towards the phenomenon of religion. In media debates general anti-religious secularistic discourses are detectable as well as an antimuslim discourses. Fictional characters involved in religious activities are often depicted through stereotypical perceptions of religious identities and especially so characters of Muslim tradition. Scriptwriters and filmmakers who struggle to depict a wide range of Muslim identities in contemporary society must deal with a long tradition of anti-Arab sentiments in Hollywood movies, expressed as persisting notions of Muslims as perceived threats to modern society and liberal values, often in line with the infamous idea of a clash between civilizations. In this presentation I discuss how fiction formats are used to display a wider range of religious identities, through movies such as On God’s and Men (2010) or Baghdad in My Shadow (2019). Through audiovisual storytelling, theories of mediatization are illustrated, as well as used as theoretical concepts for analysis of fiction as a vehicle for amplification of emotions on heated topics. 

Abstract The outcome of a case study about contemporary viewing habits in a Swedish audience will support claims about viewers as active and playful (Höijer 1998, Hoover 2006, Plantinga 2009). In line with mediatization theory it is argued that spiritual meaning making is taking place through mediated experiences and supports perspectives that media has become the primary source of religious ideas (Lynch 2007, Hjarvard 2008, 2012). The soft side of mediatization processes is illustrated where results from in-depth interviews show how adults are developing moral and metaphysical ideas by reflecting on themes developed in fiction films (Zillman 2005, Partridge 2008, Oliver & Hartmann 2010).  Vernacular meaning making beyond institutionalized religion, embedded in everyday life, such as viewer’s dealing with fiction narratives such as Pulp Fiction, Love Actually or Gladiator, highlights the need for a more complex understanding of elevated enchantment experiences.  An overly cognitive understanding of these processes is challenged, questioning the ‘banal’ notion in mediatization theory (Hjarvard 2008, 2012, Lövheim 2011, Nybro Petersen 2012). Instead of sticking to the ‘banal’ notion adopted in the mediatization theoretical framework, indicating something predictable, trivial or even dull, the paper strongly argues for a less pejorative concept, giving a more adequate and nuanced description of the interplay between cognition and affects creating emotional response in the audience. The presentation contributes to a development of concepts which combines aesthetic, affective and cognitive components in an investigation of spectator’s moves from emotional evaluation of intra-text narration to extra-textual systems of beliefs and moral assessments (Marsh 2007, Johnston 2007, Axelson 2011). It calls for new ways of understanding audiovisual cinematic input as a form of ‘film thinking’, not equivalent to illustrated philosophy (Frampton 2006, Brodén & Noheden 2013), providing symbolic narratives stirring cognition, powered by affect. 

Tomas Axelson, ThD

Assistant Professor Religious Studies, School of Humanities & Media,

Högskolan Dalarna University, Sweden

Project: Spectator engagement in film and utopian self-reflexivity. Moving Images and Moved Minds. (The Swedish Research Council)

http://www.du.se/sv/AVM/Personal/Tomas-Axelson

Abstract  In a case study about viewing habits in a Swedish audience I sampled 309 questionnaires; interviews with five focus group were conducted together with ten in-depth individual interviews discussing altogether fifteen favorite films exploring specific scenes of idiosyncratic relevance.  The outcome supports claims about viewers as active and playful (cf. Höijer 1998, Frampton 2006, Hoover 2006, Plantinga 2009). In line with mediatization theory I also argue that spiritual meaning making takes place through mediated experiences and I support theories about fiction films as important sources for moral and spiritual reflection (Partridge 2004, Zillman 2005, Lynch 2007, Plantinga 2009). What Hjarvard calls the soft side of mediatization processes (2008) is illustrated showing adults experiencing enchantment through favorite films (Jerslev 2006, Partridge 2008, Klinger 2008, Oliver & Hartmann 2010).  Vernacular meaning making embedded in everyday life and spectators dealing with fiction narratives such as Gladiator, Amelie from Montmartre or Avatar highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of elevated cinematic experiences. The reported impact of specific movies is analyzed through theories where cognition and affect are central aspects of spectators’ engagements with a film (Tan 1996, Caroll 1999, Grodal 2009). Crucially important are theories of meaning-making where viewers’ detailed interpretation of specific scenes are embedded in high-level meaning-making where world view issues and spectators’ moral frameworks are activated (Zillman 2005, Andersson & Andersson 2005, Frampton 2006, Lynch 2007, Avila 2007, Axelson 2008, Plantinga 2009).  Also results from a growing body of empirical oriented research in film studies are relevant with an interest in what happens with the flesh and blood spectator exposed to filmic narratives (Jerslev 2006, Klinger 2008, Barker 2009, Suckfüll 2010, Oliver & Hartmann 2010). Analyzing the qualitative results of my case study, I want to challenge the claim that the viewer has to suspend higher order reflective cognitive structures in order to experience suture (Butler & Palesh 2004). What I find in my empirical examples is responses related to spectators’ highest levels of mental activity, all anchored in the sensual-emotional apparatus (Grodal 2009). My outcome is in line with a growing number of empirical case studies which support conclusions that both thinking and behavior are affected by film watching (Marsh 2007, Sückfull 2010, Oliver & Hartmann 2010, Axelson forthcoming). The presentation contributes to a development of concepts which combines aesthetic, affective and cognitive components in an investigation of spectator’s moves from emotional evaluation of intra-text narration to extra-textual assessments, testing the narrative for larger significance in idiosyncratic ways (Bordwell & Thompson 1997, Marsh 2007, Johnston 2007, Bruun Vaage 2009, Axelson 2011).

There are a several profitable concepts suggested to embrace the complex interplay between affects, cognition and emotions when individuals respond to fictional narratives. Robert K. Johnston label it “deepening gaze” (2007: 307) and “transformative viewing” (2007: 305). Philosopher Mitch Avila proposes “high cognition” (2007: 228) and Casper Thybjerg ”higher meaning” (2008: 60). Torben Grodal talks about “feelings of deep meaning” (Grodal 2009: 149). With a nod to Clifford Geertz, Craig Detweiler adopts “thick description” (2007: 47) as do Kutter Callaway altering it to ”thick interpretations” (Callaway 2013: 203).  Frampton states it in a paradox; ”affective intelligence” (Frampton 2006: 166).

As a result of the empirical investigation, inspired by Geertz, Detweiler & Callaway, I advocate thick viewing for capturing the viewing process of these specific moments of film experience when profound and intensified emotional interpretations take place.

The author

As a sociologist of religion, Tomas Axelsons research deals with people’s use of mediated narratives to make sense of reality in a society characterized by individualization, mediatization and pluralized world views.  He explores uses of fiction film as a resource in every day life and he is currently finishing his three year project funded by the Swedish Research Council: Spectator engagement in film and utopian self-reflexivity. Moving Images and Moved Minds.

http://www.du.se/sv/AVM/Personal/Tomas-Axelson

Bibliography

• Axelson, T. (Forthcoming 2014). Den rörliga bildens förmåga att beröra.[1] Stockholm: Liber
• Axelson, T. (In peer review). Vernacular Meaning Making. Examples of narrative impact in fiction film questioning the ’banal’ notion in mediatization theory. Nordicom Review. Nordicom Göteborg.
• Axelson, T. (2011). Människans behov av fiktion. Den rörliga bildens förmåga att beröra människan på djupet.[2]Kulturella perspektiv. Volume 2. Article retrieved from

www.kultmed.umu.se/digitalAssets/74/74304_axelson-22011.pdf

• Axelson, Tomas (2010) “Narration, Visualization and Mind. Movies in everyday life as a resource for utopian self-reflection.” Paper presentation at CMRC, 7^th Conference of Media, Religion & Culture in Toronto, Canada 9 – 13th August 2010.
• Axelson, Tomas (2008) Movies and Meaning. Studying Audience, Favourite Films and Existential Matters. Particip@tions : Journal of Audience and Reception Studies. Volume 5, (1). Doctoral dissertation summary. ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS. Article retrieved from

http://www.participations.org/Volume%205/Issue%201%20-%20special/5_01_axelson.htm

 [1] English translation: Moving Images and Moved Minds.

[2] English translation: Our need for fiction. Deeply Moved by Moving Images. Cultural Perspectives.

In a case study about viewing habits in a Swedish audience I sampled 309 questionnaires; interviews with five focus group were conducted together with ten in-depth individual interviews discussing altogether fifteen favorite films exploring specific scenes of idiosyncratic relevance.  The outcome supports claims about viewers as active and playful (cf. Höijer 1998, Frampton 2006, Hoover 2006, Plantinga 2009). In line with mediatization theory I will also argue that spiritual meaning making takes place through mediated experiences and I support theories about fiction films as important sources for moral and spiritual reflection (Partridge 2004, Zillman 2005, Lynch 2007, Plantinga 2009). What Hjarvard calls the soft side of mediatization processes (2008) is illustrated showing adults experiencing enchantment through favorite films (Jerslev 2006, Partridge 2008, Klinger 2008, Oliver & Hartmann 2010).  Vernacular meaning making embedded in everyday life and spectators dealing with fiction narratives such as Gladiator, Amelie from Montmartre or Avatar highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of elevated cinematic experiences. The reported impact of specific movies is analyzed through theories where cognition and affect are pivotal aspects of spectators’ engagements with a film (Tan 1996, Caroll 1999, Grodal 2009). Crucially important are theories of meaning-making where viewers’ detailed interpretation of specific scenes are embedded in high-level meaning-making where world view issues and spectators’ moral frameworks are activated (Zillman 2005, Andersson & Andersson 2005, Frampton 2006, Lynch 2007, Avila 2007, Axelson 2008, Plantinga 2009).  Also results from a growing body of empirical oriented research in film studies are relevant with an interest in what happens with the flesh and blood spectator exposed to filmic narratives (Jerslev 2006, Klinger 2008, Suckfüll 2010, Oliver & Hartmann 2010). Analyzing the qualitative results of my case study, I want to challenge the claim that the viewer has to suspend higher order reflective cognitive structures in order to experience suture (Butler & Palesh 2004). What I find in my empirical examples is responses related to spectators’ highest levels of mental activity, all anchored in the sensual-emotional apparatus (Grodal 2009). My outcome support a growing number of empirical case studies which support conclusions that both thinking and behavior are affected by film watching (Marsh 2007, Barker 2009, Sückfull 2010, Oliver & Hartmann 2010, Axelson forthcoming). The presentation contributes to a development of concepts which combines aesthetic, affective and cognitive components in an investigation of spectator’s moves from emotional evaluation of intra-text narration to extra-textual assessments, testing the narrative for larger significance in idiosyncratic ways (Bordwell & Thompson 1997, Marsh 2007, Johnston 2007, Bruun Vaage 2009, Axelson 2011).

There are a several profitable concepts suggested to embrace the complex interplay between affects, cognition and emotions when individuals respond to fictional narratives. Robert K. Johnston label it “deepening gaze” (2007: 307) and “transformative viewing” (2007: 305). Philosopher Mitch Avila proposes “high cognition” (2007: 228) and Casper Thybjerg ”higher meaning” (2008: 60). Torben Grodal talks about “feelings of deep meaning” (Grodal 2009: 149). With a nod to Clifford Geertz, Craig Detweiler adopts “thick description” (2007: 47) as do Kutter Callaway altering it to ”thick interpretations” (Callaway 2013: 203).  Frampton states it in a paradox; ”affective intelligence” (Frampton 2006: 166).

As a result of the empirical investigation, inspired by Geertz, Detweiler & Callaway, I advocate thick viewing for capturing the viewing process of these specific moments of film experience when profound and intensified emotional interpretations take place.

The outcome of an audience study supports theories stating that stories are a primary means by which we make sense of our experiences over time. Empirical examples of narrative impact are presented in which specific fiction film scenes condense spectators' lives, identities and beliefs. One conclusion is that spectators test the emotional realism of the narative for greater significance, connecting diegetic fiction experiences with their extra-diegetic world in their quest for meaning, self and identity. The 'banal' notion of the mediatization of religion theory is questioned as unsatisfactory in the theoretical context of individualized meaning-making processes. As a semantically negatively charged concept, it is problematic when analyzing empirical examples of spectators' use of fictional narratives, especially when trying to characterize the idiosyncratic and complex interplay between spectators' fiction emotions and their testing of mediated narratives in an exercise to find moral significance in extra-filmic life. Instead vernacular meaning-making is proposed.

Religions can facilitate cohesion,  belonging and feelings of safety or can underpin tensions, separatism or terrorism. This has led local, national and international policymakers to use inter-religious councils to overcome local conflicts by facilitating dialogue. Sweden has a growing number of inter-religious councils around the country. This article focuses on the inter-religious council in Midtown. The aim is (1) to describe how politicians, civil servants and religious leaders as participants in the council express their expectations on the Midtown  inter-religious council, and (2) to analyse these accounts in the light of ongoing research and European examples of inter-religious dialogue. Data have been collected via interviews and participant observation, and analysed through two critical lenses, one focusing on social cohesion, the other on fears of militant religious extremism. Results show that members of the Midtown council view religions as constituting possible obstacles but mainly as an important  asset in a process of developing a cohesive society.

This literature study examines religious elements in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis through the grid of Kafka’s diaries and letters. The purpose is to, based on a dialogic narrative analysis and critical hermeneutics, investigate whether there is any relationship between the religious elements in the novel and Kafka’s personal attitude to religion as described in his diaries and letters. The study opposes the essentialist understanding of Kafka as a prophet of Jewish religion and instead intends to present a more complex picture of The Metamorphosis and Kafka’s own attitude to religion where his writing was a method for him to make his world more understandable.

Uppsatsen syfte är att med utgångspunkt i tre författares klimatdidaktiska respektive miljöetiska teorier, analysera två didaktiska forskningsstudier om undervisning om hållbar utveckling, med avseende på dess tillämpbarhet för undervisning om hållbar utveckling inom ramen för religionsämnets etikmoment. Metoden för denna studie är en kvalitativ litteraturstudie.

Resultatet av analysen visar att lärare är medvetna om sin undervisning gällande hållbar utveckling. De hoppas hjälpa elever att utveckla ett kritiskt förhållningssätt samt förståelse inför andra människor och deras levnadsvillkor. Man arbetar mest med miljö- och klimatfrågor i den ekologiska aspekten av definitionen av hållbar utveckling och även med den sociala aspekten av ämnet. Demokrati, etik och samhällsansvar ska ge eleverna verktyg att forma sin egen framtid med tillförsikt.