Ernils Larsson
Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at Centre for Multidisciplinary Research on Religion and Society (CRS)
- E-mail:
- ernils.larsson@teol.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Engelska parken
Thunbergsvägen 3C
751 20 Uppsala - Postal address:
- Teologiska institutionen
Box 511
751 20 Uppsala
Short presentation
Ernils Larsson is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Multidisciplinary Research on Religion and Society, where he is currently working on the project "From Secular Institution to Religious Organzation: Shrine Shinto in Postwar Japan", funded through the Swedish Research Council. His research focuses primarily on questions related to religion, law, and politics in postwar Japan.
Larsson holds a PhD degree in the history of religions from the Faculty of Theology, Uppsala University.

Publications
Recent publications
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On Being Nonreligious in Japan: Decline, Antipathy, and Aversion to Institutions
Part of Nova Religio, p. 124-126, 2026
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Ayodhya och Ise: När föreställda gemenskaper möter heliga geografier
Part of DIN, p. 11-33, 2026
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Kejsaren och Gud i en kristen kamikazepilots efterlämnade skrifter
Part of Religion i gränslandet, p. 215-226, Uppsala universitet, 2026
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Kvinnliga shintopräster i Japan idag
Part of Asiens religioner i rörelse – mellan tradition, samtid och lärande, p. 153-174, Föreningen lärare i religionskunskap, 2025
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Ambrosia eller djävulspiss?: Religiösa perspektiv på alkohol i historia och nutid
Makadam Förlag, 2025
All publications
Articles in journal
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Ayodhya och Ise: När föreställda gemenskaper möter heliga geografier
Part of DIN, p. 11-33, 2026
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Part of Contemporary Japan, p. 150-168, 2025
- DOI for Addressing the Shinto establishment: “Faith talk” and “God talk” in political rhetoric in contemporary Japan
- Download full text (pdf) of Addressing the Shinto establishment: “Faith talk” and “God talk” in political rhetoric in contemporary Japan
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The Naha Confucius Temple lawsuit and religion-making in Japan’s courts of law
Part of Critical Research on Religion, p. 26-41, 2024
- DOI for The Naha Confucius Temple lawsuit and religion-making in Japan’s courts of law
- Download full text (pdf) of The Naha Confucius Temple lawsuit and religion-making in Japan’s courts of law
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Covenantal Pluralism in “Homogenous” Japan: Finding a Space for Religious Pluralism
Part of Review of Faith and International Affairs, p. 43-55, 2022
- DOI for Covenantal Pluralism in “Homogenous” Japan: Finding a Space for Religious Pluralism
- Download full text (pdf) of Covenantal Pluralism in “Homogenous” Japan: Finding a Space for Religious Pluralism
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“Cutting Up a Chicken with a Cow-Cleaver”: Confucianism as a Religion in Japan’s Courts of Law
Part of Religions, 2022
- DOI for “Cutting Up a Chicken with a Cow-Cleaver”: Confucianism as a Religion in Japan’s Courts of Law
- Download full text (pdf) of “Cutting Up a Chicken with a Cow-Cleaver”: Confucianism as a Religion in Japan’s Courts of Law
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Jinja Honchō and the Politics of Constitutional Reform in Japan
Part of Japan Review, p. 227-252, 2017
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Nationalismen på frammarsch i Japan
Part of Svenska dagbladet, 2016
Books
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OS och val i Japan: OS och val i Japan
Utrikespolitiska Institutet, 2021
Chapters in book
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Kejsaren och Gud i en kristen kamikazepilots efterlämnade skrifter
Part of Religion i gränslandet, p. 215-226, Uppsala universitet, 2026
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Kvinnliga shintopräster i Japan idag
Part of Asiens religioner i rörelse – mellan tradition, samtid och lärande, p. 153-174, Föreningen lärare i religionskunskap, 2025
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Rus och religion: En kort kulturhistorisk överblick
Part of Ambrosia eller djävulspiss?, p. 19-31, Makadam Förlag, 2025
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Risvin i gudars och människors sällskap: Sake och omiki i japansk helgedomsshinto
Part of Ambrosia eller djävulspiss?, p. 128-144, Makadam Förlag, 2025
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Shintoistiska läsningar av japansk animerad film
Part of Religion och estetik, p. 70-89, Föreningen lärare i religionskunskap, 2025
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Part of The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions, p. 349-363, University of Hawai'i Press, 2024
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Part of The Palgrave Handbook of Religion and State Volume II, p. 283-306, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023
Collections (editor)
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Ambrosia eller djävulspiss?: Religiösa perspektiv på alkohol i historia och nutid
Makadam Förlag, 2025
Monograph doctoral thesis
Other
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On Being Nonreligious in Japan: Decline, Antipathy, and Aversion to Institutions
Part of Nova Religio, p. 124-126, 2026
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Part of Monumenta Nipponica, p. 170-176, 2025
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Handbook of Confucianism in Modern Japan, edited by Shaun O’Dwyer
Part of Japan Review, p. 246-248, 2024
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Spirituality and Alternativity in Contemporary Japan: Beyond Religion?
Part of Nova Religio, 2024
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Religion and World Politics: Connecting Theory with Practice
Part of Critical Research on Religion, p. 256-259, 2023
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Shintō in the History and Culture of Japan by Ronald S. Green
Part of Japan Review, p. 196-198, 2022
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Review: Larsson on Thomas, "Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in American-Occupied Japan"
Part of Humanities and Social Sciences Online, 2019
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Dynamism and the Ageing of a Japanese "New" Religion: Transformations and the Founder
Part of International Journal for the Study of New Religions, p. 219-222, 2019
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Part of Contemporary Japan, p. 271-275, 2018