Hare Kristus och Buddha som Messias? : en kvalitativ innehållsanalys om hur hinduism och buddhism framställs i läroböcker för gymnasiet och årskurs 4-6

The aim of this paper is to examine how the religions Hinduism and Buddhism compared to Christianity are portrayed and described, in a number of Swedish text books. The research questions used in order to reach the aim of the study are: How are Hinduism and Buddhism portrayed in comparison to Christianity in textbooks, Are the religions described in relation to a Christian norm in the textbooks and in what ways, and How can the portrayal of the religions be understood using theories of religious change in a modern Swedish context? The study is based on four Swedish text books used in Swedish primary school and upper secondary school. All of the books are written in correlation with the latest curriculum for the Swedish school system. The research method used in this study is qualitative content analysis. The theoretical framework is based on Kumashiro’s theory about anti-oppressive pedagogy combined with studies of religious change in modern day Sweden. The result of the study shows that the descriptions of the religions Hinduism and Buddhism are different from how the authors describe Christianity. The authors mostly point out and focus on the philosophical sides of Hinduism and Buddhism, while the main focus in the texts about Christianity is on Christian history. Hindu- ism and Buddhism tend to be described through the lenses of stereotypes which are also upheld by the fact that some of the authors gives a more nuanced picture of Christianity. Most of the authors agree on that religion in the Western world and especially in Sweden is a private matter. When the authors describe the religions in their original countries the descriptions and portrayals vary and the religions are described both as private and public.