Ongoing Research

Interdisciplinary research

Research in the subject of Social Sciences of Religion and Practical Theology will during the period 2024-2026 through be pursued through projects based in two main areas. These emanate from the joint research areas presented under the heading Research Areas.

Learning about religion: school, community and everyday life

This research area focuses on how learning about religion takes place through school, media, communities and everyday life. The research explores new methods for developing research and teaching practices. Particular focus is placed on agency, complexity and practical knowledge in the encounter between different actors.

Sub-projects:

Religious education as an arena for practice-oriented research on how teachers and students deal with issues related to religion and worldview. The research builds on previous sociological and didactic research on how religion and worldviews are portrayed in the media and in schools, with a particular focus on controversial issues and how democratic competence and worldview literacy can be developed. Researcher: Malin Löfstedt.
Changing values and worldviews: children's and young people's everyday lives in relation to institutions such as family, religious communities, school and the media. The research builds on previous quantitative and qualitative studies of young people's religiosity and values in the sociology of religion and worldview research. Key theories and concepts are socialisation, learning (literacy), social participation, worldview and meaning-making. Researchers: Maria Klingenberg, Anders Sjöborg, Katarina Westerlund.

Religious practices and meaning-making in transition

This research area focuses on changes in practices and meaning-making within faith-based organisations such as churches and communities. The focus is on managing change and crises, how these are interpreted and how they can lead to innovative and more sustainable ways of living. The studies may aim both to highlight and confirm previous practices, resources and strategies for meaning-making, and to critically examine and develop these. Issues of power, gender and ethnicity are given particular attention.

Sub-project:

Practices within churches and other faith-based organisations. Practices are studied empirically as "lived religion" or "lived theology". Of particular interest is the practical knowledge that individuals and organisations manage, as well as power, gender and leadership within religious communities. Researcher: Katarina Westerlund.
Health, well-being and meaning: studies of coping strategies that people use to deal with the existential conditions of life and that contribute to health, well-being and meaning. Individual resources, social and community networks, and faith-based organisations are examined, as well as the interaction between them. Studies in collaboration with Region Stockholm and Gävle University College. Researcher: Önver Cetrez.
Elderly women’s voluntary work: a mixed methods study of resources, values and practices in religious and humanitarian organisations. The project examines voluntary engagement among women born between 1940 and 1955 and how social background, values, social relationships and practical work shape and maintain this engagement. The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council 2024–2027 and is being carried out in collaboration with the unit for research and analysis, Church of Sweden. Researchers: Martha Middlemiss LéMon, Mia Lövheim. https://www.uu.se/centrum/crs/forskning/pagaende-forskningsprojekt/aldre-kvinnors-frivilligarbete
Agency and Spirituality: Women's contributions to the formation of modernity in Sweden. The project studies spirituality as a motivation for personal and political change among seven Swedish women between 1915 and 1935. The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council 2024-2026 and is a collaboration between Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm and Uppsala University/CRS. Researcher: Mia Lövheim: https://ehs.se/forskning/aktorskap-och-andlighet-kvinnors-bidrag-till-formandet-av-modernitet-i-sverige/
Horizon Europe project GAPS. The project focuses on returning migrants' experiences of resilience and coping and will run from 2023 to 2026. Researcher: Önver Cetrez: www.returnmigration.com
The Belmont Forum/VR project PHOENIX focuses on migration, mobility and vulnerability and will run from 2023 to 2026. Researcher: Önver Cetrez: https://www.phoenix-climatemobilities.com