Abstracts til TKRS 18:1

Pétur Pétursson: Ancestors and Destiny. Icelanders' Approach to Death and the Afterlife
Individual and social ways of coping with death are always based in some way or other on accen­tuating the importance of the continuation of life. Mainline Christian churches tend to approach death by emphasizing the human aspects of dying and pastoral care of the bereaved ones rather than - as was common in earlier times - focusing on dogmatic aspects of the salvation of the soul. This paper deals with Icelanders' approach to death and the afterlife during the time of seculariza­tion and nation building, using both available comparative survey data and secondary sources on religious and social change in Iceland. I examine the question of how in modern Icelandic society the memory of one's ancestors is related to death rituals and the attitudes of people to the future well-being of their heirs. The results show that in this respect Iceland has certain characteristics that leave some conventional theories of secularization and privatization in modern society in doubt.
Pages 1-15

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Pétur Pétursson
Professor of Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík
E-mail: petp@hi.is 

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Mari-Anne Zahl: Religion, livssyn og sosialt arbeid - en tilsynelatende komplisert kombinasjon
This article explores Norwegian social workers and their views on religion and spirituality. The following questions are asked: 1.What is their view on religion? 2. How do they value the integra­tion of religion and worldviews in their social work? Data is drawn from a comparative study of social workers in professional organizations in the USA, UK, and Norway. The translated UK questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 2000 Norwegian social workers. The findings in this study show, first, that the respondents were favorably inclined to specific conduct mentioned, although they did not use it in their practice. Second, while the respondents wanted to expand their knowledge and skills in this area, approximately 1/4 of the respondents viewed integrating religion and spirituality to be against the mission of social work and its code of ethics. Since the 1999 Norwegian General Plan for health and social work education suggests a holistic understanding of human beings that includes spirituality, this study shows the need to debate issues relating to religion and spirituality among Norwegian social workers and schools of social work.
Pages 17-30

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Mari-Anne Zahl
Dr. polit., Master of social work. Associate professor in social work,
Institutt for sosialt arbeid og helsevitenskap, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
E-mail: mari.zahl@svt.ntnu.no

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Flemming Jørgensen: En naturlig og nødvendig tilbakekalling. Et utviklingsperspektiv på Peter Bergers sekulariseringsteori
Peter L. Berger has commonly been referred to as a representative of the old secularization thesis. During the past decades, he has been presented as one of the leading scholars within this para­digm. This is due to his book The Sacred Canopy (1967) where he presents a multi-dimensional theory of secularization. However, this article argues that Berger criticized his own theory quickly after the publication of this book. In fact, Berger was one of the first scholars within the sociology of religion to doubt the inevitability of secularization. In his writings from the late sixties and early seventies, it is possible to trace how he modified his view from a mechanical theory of seculariza­tion towards a more dialectic understanding. In 1996, his desecularization thesis reached its matu­ration. Steve Bruce finds Berger's recantation curious and unnecessary – this article argues that it is natural and necessary. It shows when, where, and how Berger's recantation takes place. 
Side 31-45

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Flemming Jørgensen
Cand.philol., History of religions, University of Oslo
E-mail: flemski@hotmail.com

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Kati Niemelä: Doctrinal Views and Conflicts among Clergy and other Church Employees in Finland
This article examines doctrinal views and conflicts among employees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Three questions are posed. First, what do the ordained ministers and other church employees believe today and how do they view the Bible? Second, what kind of personal conflicts do the church employees perceive regarding the teachings of the church? Third, how do they cope with these conflicts? The study, conducted in 2002, is based on survey data and in-depth interviews of church employees. The findings in this study indicate that the majority of church employees in Finland have tradi­tional beliefs that tend to concur with the main tenets of Christian faith. One in ten employees voices serious doubts or does not believe. There is more variation in beliefs related to life after death and the existence of Hell. Of all the different groups of employees examined, diaconal work­ers have the most traditional beliefs. This study also shows that conflictual views tend to be related to ethical issues, and that the most common coping strategy in such conflicts is to remain silent. 
Side 47-71

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Kati Niemelä, Theologie Doctor, Master of Education
Senior researcher, The Church Research Institute, Tampere, Finland
E-mail: kati.niemela@evl.fi

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Jan-Olav Henriksen: Spirituality and religion – worlds apart? Heelas' and Woodhead's The Spiritual Revolution read as a resource for cultural and theological criticism
This article discusses different implications and problems related to the distinction between spiri­tuality based on subjective life on the one hand, and traditional religious traditions based on exter­nal authority, on the other hand, as this is presented in Paul Heelas' and Linda Woodhead's recent book from Kendal England, The Spiritual Revolution (2005).The article also examines some of the book's results in terms of their challenges for further research in other contexts, as well as for social criticism and theological anthropology. Moreover, it suggests that empirical evidence from a Nordic context, as well as more theoretical elements, pose problems to uphold the above-men­tioned distinction in such a strict sense as Heelas and Woodhead do.
Side 73-88

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Jan-Olav Henriksen, dr.theol. and dr.philos.
Professor in philosophy of religion, The Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology (MF), Oslo; Adjunct professor in religious studies at Agder University College, Kristiansand, Norway
E-mail: jan.o.henriksen@mf.no

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