MGS Masteroppgave Silje Sævareid Kleiveland.Pdf (324.7Kb)
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A Qualitative Study A Journey Towards Hillsong Church A Norwegian Story Silje Sævareid Kleiveland VID vitenskapelige høgskole Stavanger Masteroppgave Master i Global Studies Antall ord: 27869 16.Mai 2018 1 Acknowledgement First, I want to say thank you to Hillsong church, and especially Hillsong Sandnes, where I have spent most of my research time throughout this study. Thank you for letting me join your church and fellowship, and for including me in your «family». Especially thanks to those of you who let me interview you. It was interesting and «lærerikt» to talk to you. And i wouldn’t´t have been able to do the research if if wasn’t´t for you. So thank you! Further, I want to thank my supervisor Stian Sørlie Eriksen who has provided meaningful guidance and inspiration through the process. Thanks to my little sister Camilla and Anette for their help and motivation in stressful times Last, but not at all the least, Erlend. Thank you for always being supportive of me, and backing me up in whatever I chose to do. Thank you for words of wisdom and encouragement. And for making dinner and walking the dog, while I´m working om my thesis. Abstract Hillsong Norway, which have congregations in several of the larger cities in Norway. Hillsong Norway quite recently formally established through incorporation of an already existing comparable locally grown church network. Based on qualitative studies and fieldwork in both churches, the thesis discusses how individuals and congregations come to see themselves as part of a global church and how this relates to individual and congregational identity. Using especially transnational social theory and globalization perspectives, the thesis addresses how taking part in global networks like these affect the sense of belonging, identities as well as social and community values in the congregations. My master thesis set focus on young adults putting church as number one priority in their life. The church is Hillsong Norway, where my fieldwork has primarily been on the west coast of 2 Norway, in Sandnes and Stavanger. I want to investigate what attract young adult towards Hillsong Church, and further what it means to be a part of a global network like Hillsong. As there are no research published on Hillsong Norway at this point, I find it very exciting to enter this new field. As Hillsong being such a fast growing and worldwide church, I wanted to study this church and the concept it is built on both a local and global perspective. Moreover, why is this church attracting so many young people- especially people who might not be used to going to church. Personally, I have been to Hillsong Church several times- both at their global conferences and Sunday-services at my local church. I find the enthusiasm and engagement interesting, therefore I wanted to find out more about this particular church, Hillsong. Innholdsfortegnelse Acknowledgement ..................................................................................................................... 2 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7 1.1 Background context for the study .................................................................................... 8 1.2 Motivations for the study ................................................................................................. 9 1.3 Academic context ......................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Structure of the thesis .................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Little scholarly attention/ further research needed ........................................................ 12 2 Background and context ....................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Key concepts .................................................................................................................. 14 2.1.1 Globalization ............................................................................................................ 14 2.1.2 Pentecostalism .......................................................................................................... 15 2.2 The Local Context ......................................................................................................... 16 2.2.1 Intro Church Sandnes .............................................................................................. 16 2.2.2 The Pentecostal Movement in Norway ................................................................... 18 2.2.3 Brian Houston, Oslo Christian Center (OKS) and Hillsong Family ....................... 19 3 2.3 The Global Context ....................................................................................................... 21 2.3.1 Hillsong Australia – A historical perspective ......................................................... 21 2.3.2 Hillsong Church Movement – A Global Church (incl. graphic structure) .............. 22 2.4 Research Context/Academic articles ............................................................................. 24 2.5 Summary: ...................................................................................................................... 24 3 Key Theoretical Perspectives ............................................................................................... 26 3.1 Belonging ...................................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Identification .................................................................................................................. 27 3.3 Community ................................................................................................................... 28 3.4 A global religion ........................................................................................................... 29 3.5 Globalization ................................................................................................................ 29 3.6 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 30 4 Methodological Considerations/ Methodology .................................................................... 30 4.1 A Qualitative Research Design...................................................................................... 31 4.2 Validity .......................................................................................................................... 32 4.3 Reliability ...................................................................................................................... 33 4.4 Methods for collecting data ........................................................................................... 34 4.4.1 Participant-observation ........................................................................................... 34 4.5 Informants ...................................................................................................................... 38 4.6 Limitation and selection ................................................................................................ 38 4.7 Strategy for analysis ...................................................................................................... 40 4.8 The Role of the Researcher .......................................................................................... 40 4.9 Ethical considerations .................................................................................................... 43 4.10 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 43 5 Presentation and Analysis of Findings ................................................................................. 44 5.1 Sense of belonging (Family).......................................................................................... 44 5.2 Embodiment of Grace .................................................................................................... 47 4 5.3 The importance of music ............................................................................................... 50 5.4 Being part of something bigger than yourself ............................................................... 52 5.5 A part of something bigger ............................................................................................ 54 5.6 Identity ........................................................................................................................... 55 5.7 A Culture of Inclusion and Excellence .......................................................................... 57 5.7.1 Excellence ............................................................................................................... 58 5.8 An Everyday Lifestyle ................................................................................................... 60 5.9 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 64 6 DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................... 65 6.1 Belonging