Return of religion in the public sphere? The Nordic countries from 1980s until the present
Many have claimed that there is a resurgence of religion in the public sphere, as witnessed in debates over religion in parliaments and the media, in contests over the relationship between the state and religion, the rights of religious minorities, and the visibility of religious symbolism in public. Research from the Nordic countries conducted three decades ago suggested that the major trend was a privatization of religion. The question posed during this conference is if there has been a resurgence of religion in the public sphere in Denmark, Sweden, Norway Finland and Iceland during the past twenty years.
Key note is Professor Michael Minkenberg at Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder) who will speak on religion, state, and democracy in Western societies. Many influential Nordic sociologists of religion will also present findings from comparative, empirical studies of religion and state, politics, media, and civil society.
The presentations at the conference are based on research from the five-year NORDCORP project “The Role of Religion in the Public Sphere. A Comparative Study of the Five Nordic Countries 1988-2008” funded by Nordic Research Councils for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (NOS-HS).
Registration.
The conference is open. In order to plan the serving of (free) lunch and refreshments, registration is required. Registration deadline March 20.
KIFO covers travel and stay for one person from KIFO’s main collaborative partners.
For questions and more information, please contact: kifo@kifo.no phone 0047 23 33 47 20
Program
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Thursday March 27 |
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| 08:30 | Registration and coffee |
| 09:00 | Welcome and practical information |
| Ånund Brottveit, KIFO Centre for Church Research | |
| 09:15 | Return of religion in the Nordic Public spheres? |
| Inger Furseth, KIFO and University of Oslo | |
| 09:45 | Religion, State, and Democracy in Western Societies: Old Questions and New Challenges |
| Michael Minkenberg, Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder) | |
| 10:45 | Coffee |
| 11:00 | Changing religious landscapes in Europe’s Nordic region 1980s-2013 |
| Inger Furseth, KIFO and University of Oslo Kimmo Ketola, The Church Research Institute, Finland Annette Leis Peters, Uppsala University Bjarni R. Sigurvinsson, University of Iceland |
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| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30 | Religion and state |
| Brian Jacobsen, University of Copenhagen Lene Kühle, Aarhus University Ulla Schmidt, KIFO |
|
| 15:15 | Coffee |
| 15:30 | Religion on the political agenda |
| Pål Ketil Botvar, KIFO Jonas Lindberg, Uppsala University Mia Lövheim, Uppsala University Kati Niemelä, University of Helsinki |
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| 17:15 | End of first day |
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Friday March 28 |
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| 09:00 | Religion and the media |
| Henrik Reintoft Christensen, Aarhus University Ann Kristin Gresaker, KIFO Knut Lundby, University of Oslo Mia Lövheim, Uppsala University Kati Niemelä, University of Helsinki |
|
| 10:45 | Coffee |
| 11:00 | Religion and civil society – the interfaith sector |
| Inger Furseth, KIFO, University of Oslo Kimmo Ketola, The Church Research Institute, Finland Annette Leis Peters, Uppsala University Pål Repstad, University of Agder Bjarni R. Sigurvinsson, University of Iceland Sivert Skålvoll Urstad, University of Agder |
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| 12:45 | Lunch |
| 13:45 | Major findings and implications |
| Comments by Michael Minkenberg and discussion | |
| 14:30 | End of conference |
