Umeå University's logo

War and propaganda have been linked together for a long time because of a natural human inhibition against killing other humans. To get citizens to give their consent to go to war and kill, the leader(s) need to influence them. The aim of this study is to analyse the content and functions of the U.S. governments post 9/11 propaganda to find out how this where done. Coyne and Hall argue that propagandists need the publics enlighted consent to be able to influence them. This work will prove that the U.S. government used propagandistic tools, like the fear of our own and our civilizations annihilation through an apocalyptic language, to circumvent our rational thinking and talk unbridled to our emotions and thereby inhibit our higher cognitive functions. As method we use bricolage. Bricolage interpretations adapt different technical discourses to each other and move freely between different techniques and concepts. In this work it had an advancement over other methods because our field of investigation stretched over different fields of research and we were free to use the method that best suited our collected data. We demonstrate that the U.S. government functioned as fearmongers on their home audience to stir up emotions so the citizens would choose the path that best suited the leader(s), but that it was far from being enlighted.

This research aims to examine character education in pesantrens (Islamic boarding schools also known as pondok pesantren) as a model of religious education in transforming the attitudes of students in line with the values and culture of a diverse society. This study is based on documents related to the curriculum and student guidance system, which were confirmed through interviews with leaders and teachers, as well as observations at Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, Indonesia. The research findings indicate that Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, Indonesia, has implemented a transformative education system. Students have undergone a transformation from traditional, fanatic, and closed values to modern, rational, disciplined, inclusive, independent, and responsible ones. The transformation in students' personalities occurs not only through classroom learning but also through reflective engagement in pesantren management, discussions, and public speaking exercises. The findings of this study imply that the religious education system in pesantrens should prioritize not only the cognitive aspects of doctrinal religious knowledge, but also involve students in society, fostering open, tolerant, and rational characters.

This is a psychobiographical study of a Muslim advocate of nonviolence: Wahiduddin Khan. The study is based on seven semi-structured interviews, several of Khan’s speeches, and a number of his books. The material was subjected to narrative analysis, informed by McAdams’ and Polkinghorne’s methodological guidelines. The theoretical framework of the analysis is life story theory of identity. The purpose of the study is to examine the relation between Khan’s identity, ideology and culture. The results of the study showed that his identity and ideology evolved over time, and that they are deeply embedded in Indian culture and society.

Vad är fundamentalism och terrorism och hur förhåller de sig till varandra? Varför ansluter sig vissa till militanta grupper och vad kännetecknar radikalisering? Vilka inre och yttre faktorer ligger bakom religiöst motiverade våldshandlingar? Fundamentalism och terrorism är globala fenomen som berör alla religioner på ett eller annat sätt. I boken behandlas dessa företeelser ur ett religionspsykologiskt perspektiv. Forskning har visat att det finns ett antal sociala och psykologiska faktorer som kan få helt vanliga människor att begå fruktansvärda handlingar. Med hjälp av konkreta exempel visar författaren att religiösa och sekulära våldshandlingar styrs av samma mekanismer och kan förklaras på likartade sätt. Denna andra upplaga av Fundamentalism och helig terror är reviderad, utökad och uppdaterad.

In this article, I discuss Hjalmar Sundén’s theoretical and methodological contributions to the psychological study of religion in the Nordic countries, including a discussion of role theory and Sundén’s way of conducting (and presenting) his research. Nordic scholars’ use of role theory is analyzed and discussed. My analysis of the state of research reveals that the use of role theory reached its peak during the 1970s. Scholarly interest in the theory declined during the 1980s, and has been virtually abandoned since the mid-1990s. In these earlier studies, the theory was primarily used to elucidate the psychological dynamic of various religious phenomena, rather than to test the theory systematically against data. However, these scholars gave the theory an empirical underpinning, and identified details in the theory that needed to be refined and revised. I propose several possible reasons for the decline in scholarly interest in role theory. Finally, I suggest that Sundén’s methodological contributions may have had a bigger impact on the study of religion than his theoretical contributions.