| 1. |
- Addo, Giuseppina
(author)
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Join the Holy Spirit on Zoom : African Pentecostal churches and their liturgical practices during COVID-19
- 2021
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. - 1799-3121. ; 11:2, s. 45-61
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The COVID-19 global pandemic impacted all social relations, including the way religious communities engage in worship services. Due to strict social distancing protocols, the only viable solution for many congregations was online worship. This article investigates how platforms in cyberspace, such as Zoom, can provide a substitute for the core religious practices found in physical worship services, particularly for African Pentecostal believers who rely heavily-on the aesthetic and sensory experience of their religious environment. Drawing on the theoretic-al concept of affordance, it is argued that digital affordances such as the chat box and emojis are used by believers to communicate affective moments arising from the sensory experience of worship. Members of the congregation become 'digital spiritual hype people-' who render support to leaders in order to create and regenerate an affective environment where the presence of the Holy Spirit can be felt. The Holy Spirit, a fundamental pillar for Evangelical Christians, is understood as an embedded presence within the digital infrastructure. The internet connection, the phone and computers and screens are all re-appropriated as spiritual tools through which miraculous healing can be dispensed to believers in need. This research stands at a critical juncture between what might be termed the `pre-COVID era' and the `post-COVID era'. As vaccination plans continue to roll out and social distancing measures are slowly being lifted, a `post-COVID era' for African Pente-costals means negotiating the boundaries between online and offline spaces to fulfil core religious practices.
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| 2. |
- Alvarsson, Jan-Åke, 1952-
(author)
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Research on Pentecostalism in Sweden
- 2015
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In: Approaching Religion. - : DONNER INST RESEARCH RELIGIOUS & CULTURAL HISTORY. - 1799-3121. ; 5:1, s. 16-30
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article aims to orientate and introduce Potential researchers into Swedish Pentecostal movements, or those who wish to provide an overview of Scandinavian Christianity, by giving a brief summary of the history of Pentecostalism in Sweden and an overview of the main academic monographs that have been produced on this particular branch of Christianity. The idea is to highlight areas where we find relevant research and to point to areas into which there has been little or no investigation. Following, by way of introduction, a brief historical sketch, there is a note on spirituality before we are given a review of some thirty major academic works on the subject that a potential researcher would need to take into consideration.
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| 3. |
- Berglund, Carl Johan, Teologie doktor, 1973-
(author)
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The Innovation of a Master Wonder-worker in the Character of Simon Peter
- 2024
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In: Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 14:1, s. 99-114
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Simon Peter undergoes a considerable development from the character’s first introduction in the Gospel of Mark to later narratives, where he gains remarkable miraculous abilities. In Mark, he witnesses Jesus performing numerous miracles without himself being named as the performer of a single one, but in Matthew’s Gospel Peter walks on water (Matt 14:22–33), in Acts he heals two paralytics and raises a woman from the dead (Acts 3:1–10; 9:32–42), and in the fourth-century Latin Acts of Peter, also known as Actus Vercellenses, the character makes a dog speak (Acts Pet. 9.9–15), miraculously restores a shattered marble statue (11.8–23), and revives several people from the dead (27.1–11, 28.63–66). This article examines how Peter’s various miracles contribute to their respective stories, analyses how they respond to the needs of their respective authors, and discusses what they tell us about the use of genre in the narrative tradition about the apostle Peter and his miracles.
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| 4. |
- Cejvan, Olivia
(author)
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A Laboratory of Stories : Teaching and Learning through Community Lore in the Contemporary Esoteric Society Sodalitas Rosae Crucis
- 2024
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In: Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 14:2, s. 30-43
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article develops the concept of community lore, initially devised by the social learning theorists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger (1991). In extending this promising but hitherto neglected aspect of their work, this article sheds light on how and why community lore sustains and propels teaching and learning in the contemporary esoteric society Sodalitas Rosae Crucis (SRC). Ethnographic findings illuminate how the situated, informal community lore becomes a pervasive learning device that underwrites individual and collective learning, as it emerges in small talk, gossip, and cautionary tales, told and shared among members. Furthermore, a dynamic of tradition and innovation is at play within the community lore, as it sustains tradition while also providing a breeding ground for new ideas and practices that lead to innovation. Within the constructive tension between tradition and innovation, I delineate how community lore works as an educational resource, with explanatory value for situated learning, especially within esoteric communities of practice.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Duncan, Rebecca, et al.
(author)
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Decolonising the COVID-19 pandemic : On Being in this Together
- 2021
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 11:2, s. 115-131
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- At its inception, the COVID-19 pandemic was described as something inherently new, capable of crossing and erasing the economic, racial, gendered, and religious divides that stratify societies around the world. However, the ongoing pandemic is not new or egalitarian, but fuelled by, and fuelling, crises already under way on a global scale. In this article we examine on the one hand the relationship between the pandemic and still-active formations of racialised and gendered power, and on the other the pandemic's inextricability from a dispersed and uneven planetary emergency. As the environmental historian Jason W. Moore notes, this emergency disproportionately affects ‘women, people of colour and (neo)colonial populations’ (2019: 54), and the effects of COVID-19 are similarly unevenly allocated.
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| 7. |
- Faxneld, Per, 1978-
(author)
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'Mirages and visions in the air' : Tyra Kleen and the paradoxes of esoteric art
- 2021
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. - 1799-3121. ; 11:1, s. 63-76
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Around the year 1900, European discourse on art was becoming increasingly 'esotericized'. The 1890s saw esoteric art salons create a sensation in Paris, and art critics and theorists painted a picture of the true artist and the esotericist as overlapping figures. There was also at the time a conflict regarding mediumistic art, a phenomenon initially made popular through Spiritualist mediums. This debate, as we shall see, had interesting gendered dimensions. In what follows, I will discuss how the Swedish female esotericist and artist Tyra Kleen (1874-1951) attempted to situate herself in connection to the concept of the artist as a magus, and the tensions between the positive view of mediumism in Spiritualism and the more negative or cautious approach to it in Theosophy, as well as in relation to the attendant gender issues.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Goransson, Per
(author)
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Mapping the geography of choirs in Sweden
- 2022
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In: Approaching Religion. - : DONNER INST RESEARCH RELIGIOUS & CULTURAL HISTORY. - 1799-3121. ; 12:1, s. 77-97
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The geography of choirs has seldom received attention in human geography and even less so in a Swedish context. This article analyses the geography of choirs in Sweden by focusing on choir members in the Church of Sweden. Sweden offers an interesting case of choral geography because of (1) the Church of Sweden's geographical presence, (2) the number of choir members, and (3) the role of religion in contemporary Swedish society. An intimation of the contemporary significance is that the Church of Sweden has 78,170 choir members in 2020 and is active in every municipality. The data consist of the Church of Sweden membership and choir members visualized in turn on maps. The qualitative analyses of the quantitative data reveal that there seem to be few youth-choir members in Sweden. There seem to be many children choir members in the larger cities but fewer in rural areas. The northern part of Sweden seems to have generally lower levels of choir members but higher membership in the Church of Sweden. Another finding is that high membership in the church does not necessarily mean a high number of choir memberships. For further studies, quantitative engagement with more datasets together with an engagement with post-secular theories is suggested.
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| 10. |
- Gunner, Gunilla, 1953-, et al.
(author)
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Heritigization and foreign diplomacy : Claiming a religious building to enhance Swedish-Russian contacts in the aftermath of the Cold War
- 2023
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. - 1799-3121. ; 13:2, s. 40-56
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The article investigates the complex negotiation process regarding the renovation of St Catherine’s church in St Petersburg. Additionally, the goal is to gain novel understanding of how former religious spaces can be transformed and highlight the various significances these structures may possess in different contexts, particularly at the junction of religion and cultural heritage. Built in 1865, the church served as a place of worship for the Swedish-speaking congregation for nearly eighty years before being repurposed as a sports school. Recently, Sweden has aimed to restore the church and utilize it as a centre for Swedish–Russian relations. The article examines the reasons and arguments for renovation, as well as the progress that has been made to date. Additionally, it explores the role of Sweden in Russia through the perspectives of various stakeholders, including members of the congregation, diplomats, politicians, architects and priests.
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| 11. |
- Hammer, Olav, et al.
(author)
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Religious responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 11:2, s. 1-4
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Editorial of Approaching Religion, Vol. 11 Issue 2.
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| 12. |
- Illman, Ruth
(author)
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[Review of:] Orthodox Christianity and Gender : Dynamics of Tradition, Culture and Lived Practice
- 2020
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 10:2, s. 200-202
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Review (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Book review of Kupari, Helena, and Elina Vuola (eds.), 2020. Orthodox Christianity and Gender. Dynamics of Tradition, Culture and Lived Practice.Routledge Studies in Religion (London & New York: Routledge). Open access publication: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203701188: 214 pp.
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| 13. |
- Jarnkvist, Karin, Lektor i sociologi, 1975-
(author)
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Critical-feminist studies of funerals : A way to grasp the rite's complexity
- 2023
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 13:1, s. 138-152
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article aims to show how critical -feminist studies can improve research on funerals by contributing to a more complex understanding of ritualization and how it can be explored. The article discusses central issues within critical-feminist theory in relation to previous studies of funerals in Sweden and presents theoretical approaches that may improve the field of funeral studies.Intersectionality, queer phenomenology and ritual practice theory are introduced as ex amples of approaches that might help the researcher deal with questions of representation in research, rejection of othering and application of non-essentialism - central issues in critical -feminist theory. Critical-feminist studies may, for example, uncover intersections of power relations in the ritual field, reveal experiences of inclusion/exclusion and contribute to a relational and dynamic understanding of ritual practice. Thereby, they provide complex knowledge of funerals, essential for understanding their functions for individuals and societies in times of ritual change.
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| 14. |
- Kuusela, Tommy, 1979-
(author)
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In Search of a National Epic : The use of Old Norse myths in Tolkien's vision of Middle-earth
- 2014
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 4:1, s. 25-36
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this article some aspects of Tolkien’s work with regard to his relationship to folklore and nationalism are presented. It is also argued, contrary to Lauri Honko’s view of literary epics, that pre-literary sources constitute a problem for the creators of literary epics and that their elements can direct the choice of plot and form. Tolkien felt that there was a British – but no English – mythology comparable to the Greek, Finnish or Norse ones. He tried to reconstruct the ‘lost mythology’ with building blocks from existing mythologies, and dedicated his work to the English people. In this, he saw himself as a compiler of old source material. This article considers his use of Old Norse sources. With Honko’s notion of the second life of folklore it is argued that Tolkien managed to popularise folklore material while his efforts to make his work exclusively English failed; for a contemporary audience it is rather cross-cultural.
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Lövheim, Mia, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Social media : implications for everyday life, politics and human agency
- 2013
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In: Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 3:2, s. 26-37
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- With the current saturation of digital devices in contemporary society, the boundaries between humans and machines have become increasingly blurred. This digitalization of everyday life both obscures and reminds us of the fact that identity, agency and power cannot be attributed to the individual or the machine alone: rather, they are the outcome of interactions and negotiations within a network of actors. Social media, such as Facebook, blogs, Twitter and YouTube, show clearly that the ‘meaning’ or ‘effect’ of digital technologies is formed through the practices in which they are used and the social relations and institutions that develop around them. This article presents views expressed during a panel discussion on the implications of social media for everyday life, politics and human agency at the Aboagora Symposium, held on 14th August 2013. The panel was organized as a dialogue between the participants and the discussion was structured around three questions, presented below. The participants in the panel were; Professor André Jansson (Karlstad University), Professor Susanna Paasonen (University of Turku) and adjunct Professor Johanna Sumiala (University of Helsinki). The panel was chaired by Professor Mia Lövheim (Uppsala University).
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| 17. |
- Martinson, Mattias, 1970-
(author)
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Atheism as Culture and Condition : Nietzschean Reflections on the Contemporary Invisibility of Profound Godlessness
- 2012
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In: Approaching Religion. - Åbo : Donnerska institutet. - 1799-3121. ; 2:1, s. 75-86
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper I focus on a difficulty in our contemporary discourse about atheism. My rough thesis is that certain important problems stem from the fact that contemporary culture at large is already fine tuned with many of the crucial ‘virtues’ that are held forth strongly by leading atheists. Thus, one might perhaps claim that the New Atheists are mostly preaching to the already converted. However, the main problem with this picture is that a ‘cultural atheism’, or secularism, of the kind that I have in mind is far from identical with the ‘ideological atheisms’ of the contemporary debates. The theologians who respond to atheists are extremely frustrated and the debate is asymmetrical. If there is some sort of cultural identity between these camps it is constituted by an invisible cultural logic that expresses a profound godlessness beyond ideological distinctions. I will focus on the Swedish context and its peculiarities in order to theorise this cultural logic. In dialogue with Friedrich Nietzsche, I develop a notion of moral emptiness and connect it to the idea of profound godlessness. I then suggest that his creative and affirmative criticism of nihilism is an interesting opening for further debate.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Nordh, Helena, et al.
(author)
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‘It is the greenness, the nature, it looks as if someone has taken care of the place very well’ : Experiences from St Eskil cemetery in Sweden
- 2023
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In: Approaching religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 13, s. 105-122
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article is about experiences of a cemetery landscape: a physical space that was chosen as a depository for human remains, and where different memorial and disposal practices have developed behavioural patterns that together form a cemetery culture. Through qualitative research at St Eskil’s, Eskilstuna, Sweden, encompassing field observations and interviews (N=14) with stakeholders and people from the general public, we aim to describe and discuss the cemetery as a place and environment experienced from a perspective of people of diverse backgrounds. The study reveals important characteristics that facilitate designing, caretaking, developing and using cemeteries more generally. Findings show that most interviewees, independent for example of cultural or religious adherence, describe the cemetery as a beautiful natural or garden-like place. The well-maintained landscape is emphasized as a self-evident or impressive quality. The cemetery is experienced as ‘typically Swedish’ and described in terms of order and sense of care. Diversity in both design and multi-cultural and individual expressions are observed, acknowledged and welcomed. We conclude that nature (including a garden approach), care and diversity are key concepts that should be considered in design and development of future cemeteries.
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| 22. |
- Nordström, Birgitta, 1963
(author)
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Dressing the dead body
- 2016
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In: Art Approaching Science and Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 6:2, s. 143-155
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- My current research focuses on textiles and rites, especially woven textiles for funerals and moments of loss. What active role can a textile such as an infant-wrapping cloth or a funeral pall play in the mourning process? This article will describe the development and current questions that address 1) the infant-wrapping cloth – the textile that is used to dress, clothe, or cover the dead body with particular attention to the question of infant mortality and the material practices of care. 2) The funeral pall that is used at funerals, draped over the coffin or as a body cover at hospital viewing rooms. One example to be presented is Kortedalakrönika (‘The Chronicle of Kortedala’), a collaborative project, woven for a church in Gothenburg. My work is based in artistic practice but opens up several scientific and existential questions.
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| 23. |
- Olsson, Susanne, 1971-, et al.
(author)
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Editorial
- 2022
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 12:2, s. 1-3
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Editorial for Vol. 12, Issue 2
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| 24. |
- Olsson, Susanne, 1971-, et al.
(author)
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Editorial: Nordic fundamentalism
- 2022
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. - 1799-3121. ; 12:2, s. 1-3
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Editorial for Vol. 12, Issue 2
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| 25. |
- Olsson, Susanne, 1971-, et al.
(author)
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‘One of the most important questions that human beings have to understand’ : Salafism as Islamic deferentialist fundamentalism
- 2022
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 12:2, s. 59-76
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the present article, the authors argue that the study of Salafism as a contemporary Islamic new religious movement could benefit from an analytical perspective separating fundamentalism into the modes of inferentialism and deferentialism. The basics of these concepts are outlined and discussed in relation to different aspects of contemporary Salafism as well as in relation to previous tendencies in Islamic history. As a case study, the authors employ the concept in an analysis of a contemporary Swedish Salafi discourse on the ‘wiping of the (leather) socks’ in the context of ritual purity. The authors argue that the concept of ‘deferential fundamentalism’ has a potential in the study of Salafism in that it allows for comparative analysis, both cross-religiously and diachronically, in contextualising Salafism historically. It also allows for an analysis of Salafi thought and practice in relation to theories of how human beings in general process social information.
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| 26. |
- Pfändtner, Willy, 1947-
(author)
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A Postcolonial Philosophy of Religion and Interreligious Polylogue
- 2011
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 1:1, s. 33-40
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this article, an agenda for the development of a philosophy of religion which is informed by the challenges and possibilities of religious plurality is suggested. It is argued that the philosophy of religion as an academic discipline is in need of a kind of reconstruction if it is to maintain its relevance and connection to actual religious phenomena as they present themselves globally. The problem originates in the fact that the modern concept of religions has a distorting effect when applied to non-western traditions. The article focuses on a way to understand religious diversity by using aspects of Heidegger’s fundamental ontology to illuminate different ways of being religious within the same tradition and also to find similar religious dispositions across traditions. It is argued that this can inform interreligious dialogue so that this dialogue—or rather, polylogue—itself can serve as a tool to develop a postcolonial existential philosophy of religion. Part of this project would be to find and apply concepts and categories by reading religious traditions and subtraditions through each other. The article ends with a few suggestions on how this can be done, in this case by drawing on traditions from India.Willy Pfändtner is Senior Lecturer, Study of Religions, Södertörn University, Sweden. Website: http://webappl.sh.se/C1256E5B0040BEB2/0/9E349559FD45F42DC1257577003D0278
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| 27. |
- Plank, Katarina, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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Caring for Health, Bodies, and Development : Teaching New Spiritual Practices in the Church of Sweden
- 2024
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture. - 1799-3121. ; 14:2, s. 113-131
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Over the last fifty years a plethora of new spiritual practices has emerged in the Church of Sweden. Many fall within a category of holistic practices, aimed at engaging body, soul, and spirit. Among these, two categories are dominant: meditations and movement-based bodily practices. Some of these practices are contested by other Christians on a theological basis. The article asks: Who are the new ritual specialists teaching these practices? Why do they teach these practices? Why in the church? By using a bottom-up perspective and studying practices which lie outside the traditional Christian religious rites, which has been the focus in research on the Church of Sweden, we find that the holistic practices are framed in a culture of care, focusing on bodily and spiritual wellbeing. We suggest that the predominance of women in body-movement practices should be understood as a generational feature rather than as an expression of the feminization of the church. Many of the leaders are women who were part of new spiritual movements as well as body-mind practices and various forms of dance in gyms and yoga studios in the 1990s and early 2000s, finding an openness to bringing their knowledge into the church.
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| 28. |
- Plank, Katarina, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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Caring for Health, Bodies, and Development : Teaching New Spiritual Practices in the Church of Sweden
- 2024
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture. - 1799-3121. ; 14:2, s. 113-131
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Over the last fifty years a plethora of new spiritual practices has emerged in the Church of Sweden. Many fall within a category of holistic practices, aimed at engaging body, soul, and spirit. Among these, two categories are dominant: meditations and movement-based bodily practices. Some of these practices are contested by other Christians on a theological basis. The article asks: Who are the new ritual specialists teaching these practices? Why do they teach these practices? Why in the church? By using a bottom-up perspective and studying practices which lie outside the traditional Christian religious rites, which has been the focus in research on the Church of Sweden, we find that the holistic practices are framed in a culture of care, focusing on bodily and spiritual wellbeing. We suggest that the predominance of women in body-movement practices should be understood as a generational feature rather than as an expression of the feminization of the church. Many of the leaders are women who were part of new spiritual movements as well as body-mind practices and various forms of dance in gyms and yoga studios in the 1990s and early 2000s, finding an openness to bringing their knowledge into the church.
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| 29. |
- Seits, Irina, PhD
(author)
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From ignis mundi to the world’s first oil-tanker : The legacy of the Nobels’ oil empire in Baku
- 2023
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. - 1799-3121. ; 13:2, s. 57-76
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article analyses mechanisms of heri tagisation that transformed oil from a natural to a cultural resource through the case study of the Branobel corporation, which operated in Azerbaijan from the late nineteenth century, and by reflecting on the role of the Branobel corporate narrative in heritagisation of oil and in justification of the world order based on fossil fuels. The narratives developed by the Branobel corporation introduced their business legacy as a part of global heritage. In the article I refer to the ‘The Thirty Years of Activity of the Oil Production Association of the Brothers Nobel. 1879–1909’ published in 1909, that not only reports on Branobel’s industrial achievements, but promotes the history of oil, propagating its civilisational importance, while describing the company as an evolutionary part of this history. In their branding strategy, Branobel referred to the ancient religious cults and mythologies of Azerbaijan, for example in the case of the world’s first oil-tanker ‘Zoroaster’, designed by Ludvig Nobel. The images of Ateshgah, ‘The Fire Temple of Baku’, were used on the company’s emblems to connect symbolically the industrial oil mining with the ‘eternal fires’ worshipped at the Absheron Peninsula as ‘the lights of life’.
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| 30. |
- Sorgenfrei, Simon, Docent, et al.
(author)
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Salafi Sufism? : Islamic Border-Keeping in COntemporary Sweden
- 2022
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. - 1799-3121. ; 12:2, s. 77-91
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this article is to analyse a local expression of the transnational Ahbash Sufi movement in light of recent scholarship on the relationship between Salafism and Sufism as well as Islamic neo-traditionalism. Some researchers have reacted against a dichotomous relationship between fundamentalism and Sufism, instead suggesting a continuum and a mutual interdependence. We aim to contribute to a developed understanding of the process whereby some Sufi actors go on the attack against their Islamic foes by publicly and loudly claiming to represent ‘true Islam’ as found in the ‘fundamentals’ of Islam – but with a different understanding of what those fundamentals are. We analyse a series of interviews with a local representative of the transnational Ahbash Sufi movement in Malmö, Sweden; the Ahbash movement has its central leadership in Lebanon. Through discussing the representative’s understanding of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bidʿa, in particular concerning the celebration of the prophet Muhammad’s birthday (mawlid al-nabi), we note a combined emphasis on authoritative textual sources – including the Qurʾan and hadith literature – and the allegedly unbroken traditional knowledge transmission which secures a correct understanding of Islam. This shows an ambiguous space of Islamic thought and practice, an arguably Salafi-affected neo-traditionalist defense of Sufism, which transgresses commonly employed dichotomies between Salafism and Sufism.
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| 31. |
- Ström Lehander, Karin
(author)
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Tyra Kleen : Artist and spiritual seeker
- 2021
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. - 1799-3121. ; 11:1, s. 174-183
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Swedish artist and writer Tyra Kleen (1874-1951) was a professional artist and a constant traveller who had a great interest in different religious questions. This article describes her Symbolist artistry, her interest in Theosophy and her journeys to India and Asia.
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| 32. |
- Svensson, Jonas, 1969-
(author)
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Minding the pandemic : A CSR perspective on patterns in Muslim religious responses to COVID-19
- 2021
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 11:2, s. 23-44
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article analyses clusters of Muslim responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in a theoretical framework provided by the cognitive science of religion. The responses include theological reflections on the origin, nature, and religious significance of the disease, religious justifications for restrictions on communal worship, apologetics in the light of COVID-19, and how aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic relate to issues of purity, impurity, and contagion. This article places the responses in a wider theoretical context that contributes to explaining their emergence as cultural representations, and, as a consequence, may promote further comparative research into responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in other religious traditions.
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| 33. |
- Wirén, Jakob
(author)
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Until death do us part? : Swedish cemeteries from an inter-faith and no-faith perspective
- 2023
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 13:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In life, identity is based on many things. In death, people tend to be identified more on the basis of religion: separate cemeteries for Jews, Buddhists and the Plymouth Brethren, separate quarters for Muslims, Yezidis, Bahá’í and Orthodox Christians. However, it is not true that cemeteries are only a place for religious division. They are also public spaces and, as such, places where people from all walks of life go. Cemeteries are places where religious preferences and customs are negotiated in a very special way.In this article, practical and theological aspects of cemeteries are discussed from an inter-religious point of view. What areas of conflict are there? How do people of different faiths reflect on each other and the option of cohabiting in death? To what extent are the preferences of different religious groups met in Swedish cemeteries? To some extent, these practical and theological questions pertaining to cemeteries may serve as a lens that sharpens our eyes to challenges of religious freedom and our chance to live (and die) together.
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| 34. |
- Åhman, Henrik
(author)
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The aesthetic turn : Exploring the religious dimensions of digital technology
- 2016
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In: Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 6:2, s. 156-163
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The arena for developing digital technology has undergone an aesthetic turn, broadening the focus from a functionalist approach producing centralized systems in the 1970s and 1980s to an increased awareness of the aesthetic aspects of the individual user’s interaction with technology in the 1990s and 2000s. Within the academic research fields studying digital technology (e.g. Human-Computer Interaction and Interaction Design) the aesthetic turn has resulted in a shift from a strong emphasis on user behaviour to an increased interest in aesthetic perspectives on the role of the designer, the design process, and the design material. Within these fields, aesthetics has often been interpreted as belonging to the realm of the individual; personal experiences such as pleasure, engagement, and emotions have been emphasized in both technology development and technology research. Aesthetics is not, however, only an individual phenomenon but also has relational and structural components that need to be acknowledged. Structural aspects of aesthetics condition the possibilities for individuals interacting with digital technology. Thus, the tension between individual and relational aspects of aesthetics in digital technology also reflects a tension between freedom and limitation; between change and permanence; between destabilizing and stabilizing forces. Such a broadened understanding of aesthetics offers a model of digital technology that roughly corresponds to Mark C. Taylor’s definition of religion. Taylor argues that religion is constituted by, on the one hand, a figuring moment characterized by structural stability and universality, and, on the other hand, a disfiguring moment characterized by disruption, particularity, and change. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the aesthetic turn and Taylor’s definition of religion to illustrate similarities between the two, suggesting possible religious dimensions of digital technology and how that can inform our understanding of people’s interaction with digital technology.
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- Östling, Erik A. W., 1983-
(author)
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‘The wrath of God on children of disobedience’ : COVID-19 in the theology and ideology of the Westboro Baptist Church
- 2021
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In: Approaching Religion. - : Approaching Religion. - 1799-3121. ; 11:2, s. 82-97
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The arrival of pandemic diseases (of which COVID-19 is the latest, but not likely to be the last) could be understood, along with impending ecological disaster and global warming, to be the major existential threats envisioned by, and facing, our contemporary culture. This article focuses on the use made of the theme of COVID-19 in the theology and ideology of the Westboro Baptist Church – a Calvinist and Primitive Baptist church founded in Topeka, Kansas in the 1950s by Fred Phelps Sr (1929–2014). While numerically small, the church has become infamous through its practice of picketing funerals, and has been characterized as a hate group espousing antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ positions. Through a reading and analysis of sermons and other published materials from the Westboro Baptist Church, the article maps the motif of COVID-19 as it is used by a church whose members perceive themselves as the heralds of an angry God.
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