The concept of youth participation is explored in the EFKS church context where the perspectives of young Samoan people of South Auckland are explored. In the Samoan culture, children and young people are usually the unheard and quiet voices at formal settings (Simanu, 2002; Tamasese, 2009). This thesis analyses the place of young people in...

This thesis is a work in practical theology that examines the tension between two realities. On the one hand, there are the stated policies of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) that encourage its members to live out a diverse life together. On the other hand, there is the reality confirmed in my...

The purpose of this thesis is to study the intersection between the forms of Christianity introduced into Samoa, and traditional Samoan social patterns and values, in the period up to 1880. A long introduction lays the groundwork for the rest of the work, by setting out the conception of Samoan society that is the basis...

Following feminist critiques and challenges to the distinctive and discourse within the genre of public theology, this research further explores possibilities in feminist public theologies. By engaging with the work of Luce Irigaray and acknowledging the relational paradigm shift that her philosophy effects, this research explores a public theology of relationships. This exploration takes place...

This dissertation seeks to understand the religious experience of Samoans in New Zealand. The research uses the framework and themes of phenomenology of religion to observe, describe and interpret the expressions of Samoan religious experience in the thoughts of Samoans, their actions and their communities.The major analysis is conducted on the basis of selected theoretical...