Important donation for a chair in Jewish Thought

“It’s been a long-standing vision at our Faculty to have professorships in all three major monotheistic world religions. That’s being fulfilled with this donation. In these troubled times in particular, when the need for intercultural understanding is great, this is a very important initiative,” says Cecilia Wejryd, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Uppsala University.

Jewish Studies is a well-established and expanding field at leading universities around the world. However, there is currently no professorship with this specialisation in Sweden.

“The Foundation is pleased that Uppsala University and the Faculty of Theology can now fill this gap and that the position of Uppsala University and Sweden in this research field will be strengthened,” says Maria Söderberg, Chair of the Torsten Söderberg Foundation.

Jewish Studies is an interdisciplinary research field and investigates a great variety of different aspects of Jewish life – philosophy, law, culture, history, religion and language. The new professorship will specialise in the more narrowly defined area of Jewish Thought.

“This research area studies Jewish texts and their interpretations in relation to the history of ideas. The focus is on how this interaction has shaped Jewish life and culture, but also on how Christian and Muslim theology has been influenced by Jewish ideas throughout history,” Wejryd explains.

Need for knowledge in the community

Judaism is one of the three Abrahamic religions, along with Christianity and Islam (all three religions derive their origins from the patriarch Abraham). Professorships specialising in Christianity have existed for a long time at Uppsala University, and since 2012 there has been a professorship in Islamic Theology and Philosophy, but not in Jewish Studies.

Wejryd notes that there is also a great, general need for knowledge about Jewish culture in the broader community, for example in public sector organisations such as healthcare providers and schools.

“Strengthening education and research in this field can assist in increasing knowledge in the community at large as well as promoting a greater understanding of and tolerance between the different religions. Many Swedish Jews today bear witness to expressions of anti-Semitism and there is generally a growing intolerance in society. It is important to counteract such tendencies with knowledge and thus contribute to a better climate for dialogue,” Wejryd concludes.

Anneli Waara