Thesis Abstract

This paper is analyzes worldviews, value systems, culture and identity formation, religious socialization and education taking place in various cultural settings in Sweden and across different age groups. The study accessed the idea of worldview in relation to values and identity. The results of these empirical studies are based on qualitative and quantitative data sets and mixed methods. Applying theories of value and identity with the bio-ecological model of human development through the life-course the paper discusses world- view formation and religious types of worldview associated with the cognitive development, social learning and socialization of young people. The process of worldview formation, future orientation and ethical action competence of young people is discussed within the frame of socialization and education.

Thesis Overview

INTRODUCTION

This paper attempts an in depth analysis of the issues pertaining to the prevailing worldviews and value systems in relation to how they are shaped by culture and identity. Today, the internet has changed the way in which people view the world. Information networks have and continue to display enormous effects on the way different peoples view the world. Giddens is of the opinion that we are currently in a worldwide period of transition (Giddens, 1994). A close look at the happenings of today in relation to worldviews will reveal that his opinion is not entirely worng. It is the hypothesis of this study that the prevalent worldviews of today are not the result of ideologies, customs or traditions of previous generations but rather is the result of a new kind of order which is the result of the easy access to information systems present today. This paper discusses worldview formation from a longitudinal study perspective, using theories of value and identity across the lifespan (Bronfenbrenner, 2005); it focuses particularly on the relationship between religious worldviews and the cognitive development, social learning and socialization of young people (Helve 1993a). Worldview formation, future orientation and the ethical action competence of young people are discussed in the context of religious socialization and education.