Research areas

Tradition, identity and relevance

In both Muslim and Christian theology, there is always a fundamental processing of the relationship between the continuity, integrity and authenticity of the long faith traditions on the one hand, and negotiations of their contemporary meaning and comprehensibility on the other. The processing of these questions takes place within the framework of a combination of historical and hermeneutic methods where the focus is on clarifying how theological teachings and symbols are conveyed historically and how they can be critically examined and discussed constructively today. Responsible researcher: Thomas Ekstrand

Theology and worldviews in a post-Christian situation

In Sweden, contemporary Christian, Islamic, other religious outlooks, as well as secular worldviews, are characterized by a common condition. Culture and society have been characterized by many hundreds of years of Christian majority religion, which also during a long period was mandated by the state. This Christian heritage has a continued to develop, albeit with a shifting influence. From this point of view, the secular Sweden of today is can be regarded as a post-Christian country. This relationship challenges research to develop critical perspectives that can deal with the asymmetries that the post-Christian situation causes in the contemporary debate about different religious perspectives and worldview-issues. Responsible researcher: Mattias Martinson

Life issues and artistic expression

Artistic expression has a special ability to actualize and process theoretical problems and existential questions, which has to do with the connecting links that exist between art and life, fiction and reality, devotion and reason. Artistic expressions can constitute critical voices that challenges established thought patterns. In that way it provokes us to ask new questions and thus contribute to theological debates. This happens partly through theoretical work around perspectives and methods, partly through interpretive work, mainly in relation to literature, visual arts and film. Responsible researcher: Maria Essunger

Theology and philosophy

Both the Christian and Muslim traditions of ideas and teachings are strongly marked by philosophy. This imprinting certainly looks different in different contexts, and it is a special task for the systematic study of theology to discuss what role and importance philosophical concepts and theories play both in the historical development of doctrine and in the contemporary discussion of various theological questions. Modern theology is highly dependent on fundamental theological considerations, which are essentially based on different philosophical approaches. Responsible researcher Mohammad Fazlhashemi.