News from 2015

On the 6-8^th of December the 4^th Interdisciplinary Religion and Society Research Directors Colloquium takes place at Uppsala University.

Raskrigaren is a story about the serial killer Peter Mangs. The book includes a great deal of interviews with Peter Mangs, extract from the extensive police investigation and interviews with relatives and the people who survived Mangs attacks.

Impact-researcher Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon’s book Frivilligarbete inom och för kyrkan was launched on the 15^th of December.

Between the 6^th and 8^th of December 2015, sociologist of religion and lawyers from all over the world gathered for the 4^th research directors’ Colloquium at the Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre (CRS). It resulted in some intensive days for exchange of ideas and deep scientific discussions.

The CRS-Impact of Religion Newsletter No. 4 2015 is now available online.

On the 16^th of December Impact-researcher Önver Cetrez’s book Borders and the Changing Bounderies of Knowledge is launched. Önver Cetrez wrote the book together with Inga Brandell and Marie Carlson.

On the 15^th of December Impact-researcher Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon’s book Frivilligarbete inom och för kyrkan is launched.

On the 3 of December Oriol Poveda, PhD student in sociology of religion, gave a successful lecture at the Center for Religion and Media at New York University.

 5 New doctoral researchers in the Impact programme

Ernils Larsson and Johannes Zeiler are doctoral students at the Faculty of Theology at Uppsala University but are now situated at Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre (CRS).

Josephine Sundqvist is a sociologist of religion in the Impact programme and has during the past years been based in Tanzania where she is writing her thesis about the religious organizations’ role within the local health care sector.

– It’s difficult to create a room open for different religions and cultures, and at the same time making it meaningful, says researcher Maria Liljas.

Impact researcher Marta Axner has, on behalf of the Equality Ombudsman in Sweden (DO), conducted a media analysis about how the Muslims are described in the Swedish media. The report has been criticized by a journalist in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Here is Marta Axner (together with Prof. Mia Lövheim) answer to the criticism.

With start in November, for a period of six months, Dr. and senior lecturer Ramani Hettiarachchi from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka is visiting CRS.

The Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Theology at Uppsala University will teach the Swedish public servants about human rights. 

Should a midwife be allowed to refuse to perform an abortion because it’s against her religious beliefs? And can a doctor deny a patient blood transfusion? Kavot Zillén, Impact-researcher and PhD student in international law, is facing those kind of questions in her research about medical staff’s religious- and freedom of conscience.

On the 4^th of November the seminar about Stephen LeDrew’s new book The Evolution of Atheism toke place at Uppsala Religion and Society Research Center (CRS).

Many Impact-researchers deal with religion and migration related issues; here are some examples of what is going on right now.

The book is a documentary novel titled Raskrigaren and it’s about the serial killer Peter Mangs. It includes a big number of interviews with Peter Mangs and with his victims as well as abstracts from the police investigation. 

The narrative is crucial when it comes to the credibility ratings in asylum procedures related to religion or sexual orientation as basis for protection. The procedure is difficult and demanding for the decision-maker.

On the 16^th of October, at the seminar titled "Re-launch of SIM", the future collaboration between SIM and CRS was discussed.

Rebecca Thorburn Stern, Associate Professor in International Law and Impact-researcher, together with researcher Hanna Wikström from University of Gothenburg, investigate the credibility ratings in asylum procedures in which religion or sexual orientation is claimed as a base for protection.

Karin Borevi, Associate Professor of Political Science at the Södertörn College, joins the Impact of Religion as deputy theme leader (Theme 1).

Associate professor Anna-Sara Lind in DN debatt, 16 September.

With start in September, for a period of three months, the Georgian doctoral student Ketevan Mosashvili from the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilsi State University is visiting CRS.  

The scientific board of the Impact of Religion programme has associated two new researchers to the programme.

About 30 people listened when the research project NOREL presented its results for Sweden on April 15^th. 

New publication by Professor Emeritus Carl-Reinhold Bråkenhielm.

Ethnologist from Södertörn joins the Scientific board.

Interview with PhD Jonas Lindberg in Kyrkans tidning.

Interview with Impact and NOREL researcher Jonas Lindberg in Swedish radio.

Sigtunastiftelsen, 18-20 May.

A new project within the Impact of Religion programme aims to widen the discussion and increase knowledge about the relationship between science and religion.

Interview with doctoral student Jonas Lindberg in the Christian newspaper Dagen.

New article by Per-Erik Nilsson.

Doctoral student from Aalborg, Denmark.

New publication by Impact senior advisor Grace Davie.

UNT publishes article by five Impact researchers on the terror attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

New report by Anders Bäckström and Ulrika Svalfors.

Professor Lövheim spends two months in Canterbury and London.

New book chapter by Anders Sjöborg.

Pia Karlsson Minganti about young Muslims, "Islamic Rage boy" and humor.

Whether churches and religious congregations should engage in welfare services is a complex issue.

New book chapter by Anders Sjöborg.

Impact researcher Per-Erik Nilsson reflects on the attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, and the debate that has followed.

New article by Jonas Lindberg.