"Examines the historical development of the study of religions in Sweden - often called the most secularized country in the world - as well as the impact of Swedish scholarship internationally"--

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the study of religions in Sweden, from the early twentieth century to the present and shows how the intersection of national and social forces shape the study of religion in specific countries and contexts. It traces the establishment of the study of religions as an integrated part of Higher Education in Sweden and it critically examines the development of the most significant disciplines, themes and questions that form Religious Studies in Sweden. Demonstrating the interconnection between nationality and the formation of the academic study of religion, the book explores how Sweden is often described as the most secularised country in the world, yet the study of religions in Sweden has a long, rich, and diverse history. The book emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the study of religions, and bring together the voices of 30 scholars.

The main aim of this book is to contribute to the relationship between science and religion. This book aims to do constructive theological work out of a particular cultural context. The point of departure is contemporary Swedish religion and worldviews. One focus is the process of biologization (i.e., how the worldviews of the general public in Sweden are shaped by biological science). Is there a gap between Swedes in general and the perceptions of Swedish clergy? The answer is based on sociological studies on science and religion in Sweden and the United States. Furthermore, the book contains a study of Swedish theologians, from Nathan Söderblom to the present Archbishop Antje Jackelén, and their shifting understanding of the relation between science and religion. The philosophical aspects of this relation are given special consideration. What models of the relation inform the contemporary scholarly discussion? Are science and religion in conflict, separate, or in mutual creative interaction?

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the study of religions in Sweden, from the early twentieth century to the present and shows how the intersection of national and social forces shape the study of religion in specific countries and contexts. It traces the establishment of the study of religions as an integrated part of Higher Education in Sweden and it critically examines the development of the most significant disciplines, themes and questions that form Religious Studies in Sweden. Demonstrating the interconnection between nationality and the formation of the academic study of religion, the book explores how Sweden is often described as the most secularised country in the world, yet the study of religions in Sweden has a long, rich, and diverse history. The book emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the study of religions, and bring together the voices of 30 scholars.

This book provides a comprehensive and field-defining examination of the study of religions in Ireland. By bringing together some of the foremost experts on religions in an Irish context, it critically traces the development of an important field of study and evaluates the thematic threads that have emerged as significant. It thereby offers an assessment of contemporary religions in Ireland and their relationships to society, culture, economics, politics and the State. Contributors make connections between topics as diverse as Ireland's Revolutionary Period, the formation of the Irish State, the decline of Catholicism, the rise of migrant religions and New Religious Movements and the effects of secularisation on religions and society. This book emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the study of religions whilst illustrating the coherent themes that have shaped the development of the field in Ireland, making it unique.

A theoretical model of religious change is developed, according to which a study of secularization at the individual level should take into account not only the extent to which individuals adhere to certain religious beliefs, but also their personal commitment to these beliefs. Data from two empirical studies are analyzed; a nationwide panel survey made in 1955 and 1970, the data from which had not previously been studied at the individual level, and a nationwide survey of world-views and value systems among the Swedish population, carried out in 1986. traditional religious beliefs that took place in Sweden during the period studied was due not only to a successive decline in religious beliefs from older birth cohorts to younger, probably connected with differences in religious socialization, but also to a decline in religious beliefs within given birth cohorts, a decline most pronounced in the younger age strata. Both surveys gave a picture of Sweden as a highly secularized country, in the sense that low shares of the population adhere to the Christian faith or attend public worship. religion or private religion, may have emerged instead. While the results indicated that the Christian faith has to some extent been replaced by a rather vague belief in a transcendent power and that certain other beliefs, e.g. belief in reincarnation, may have gained ground, they did not suggest that a large part of the population could be described in such categories. They indicate, rather, the presence of widely diffused sets of beliefs, heterogene and vague, that from strict substantial criteria can hardly be undertood as religion.

The book is based on a local study of contemporary popular or new religiosity in the area of Dalarna, Sweden. One of the book's purposes is to explore how religion is perceived in our time and how Christianity has shaped our view of what belongs to the "religion" and what is seen as "superstition".