Religion in Praxis Conversation Series

Scholars struggle to piece together the historical puzzle of Jesus' life and are faced with the task of interpreting his teachings within the cultural and political milieu of his time. In the quest to understand Jesus Christ, two distinct perspectives emerge: the "historical Jesus" and the "theological Jesus. This fascinating dichotomy presents a unique challenge: how do we reconcile the flesh and blood figure who walked the earth with the divine being revered across Christian denominations? Delving into the historical evidence, we confront miracles through the lens of historical research, questioning their place in factual analysis while exploring their theological significance. As denominations diverge in their portrayals of Christ, we witness the evolution of theological understanding, shaped not only by canonical texts but also by the insights of non-canonical works such as the Gnostic Gospels. Recent archaeological discoveries further color our understanding of the historical background of Jesus, prompting us to distinguish between the teachings directly attributed to Jesus and those developed by later followers. In a modern context marked by secularism and a plurality of religious expressions, the challenge extends to reconciling these different accounts of Jesus while exploring the contemporary relevance of his dual perspectives.

Do the long-running conflicts over territory, saints, and sacred sites that have engulfed the Eastern Orthodox churches in post-communist Eastern Europe reflect deep-seated political and national rivalries? In this episode we discuss the book by Emil Hilton Saggau, "Nationalisation of the Sacred Orthodox Historiography, Memory, and Politics in Montenegro." We ask what does "Nationalisation of the Sacred" offer regarding the theological backdrop behind ongoing conflicts within Eastern Orthodoxy? A distinguished panel, including Professors Cyril Hovorun and Katharina Kunter, joins the author in reflecting on the book's key arguments and seeks to answer how have various strands of Eastern Orthodoxy adapted to the contemporary political context, transforming history, memory, and politics to suit the needs of rival nations and churches?

In this episode, the Conversation Series presents ‘Swedish Crossroads: Church, Death, and the Quest for Meaning’; a comprehensive examination of the interrelationship between death, societal norms, and spiritual beliefs within the distinct socio-cultural context of Sweden. The discussion critically analyzes the influence of Swedish secular values, particularly those stemming from Lutheran secularization, on societal perceptions of death and the grieving process. The episode also explores the role of death education in Swedish schools, examining its impact on shaping children's perceptions of mortality in a context characterized by high rates of atheism. With Dr. Jakob Wirén we examine the mechanisms through which individuals seek meaning and closure following the loss of loved ones, considering the cultural and environmental implications of practices such as natural burial. ‘Swedish Crossroads: Church, Death, and the Quest for Meaning’ also reflects on the historical significance of Swedish folklore, examining the persistence and transformation of afterlife tales and their influence on contemporary attitudes toward death. The episode critically reflects on the lessons learned from Sweden's approach to palliative care and the ethos of death with dignity. In analyzing the broader societal implications, the podcast discusses the application of "lagom" - the Swedish philosophy of balance - in the context of grief and loss. It assesses how Sweden's liberal church policies on funerals and memorials reflect evolving societal attitudes toward death amid increasing secularization. It also considers the role of Sweden's extensive welfare and social support systems in shaping individual approaches to existential questions about mortality.

Can centuries-old religious practices adapt to unprecedented global challenges? I discuss the book with co-authors of chapters: Professor Tymofii Brik and Vasilios N. Makrides as well as PhD candidate Stefan Radojkovic.

“Orthodox Christianity and the COVID-19 Pandemic” chronicles the resilience and adaptation of Orthodox communities to the pandemic. It examines how different Orthodox Christian churches responded to the health crisis, revealing insights about faith, culture, and crisis management. From Finland’s quiet churches to Greece’s vibrant communities, the book covers Orthodox practices in several countries and their parches, including Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Georgia, Serbia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden.

The book asks whether Orthodox Christianity is evolving in response to societal changes. It examines how ancient traditions have been reconciled with modern health challenges, and highlights the ingenuity of religious leaders in reshaping roles and congregational worship. Each chapter offers a unique narrative that reflects broader societal changes during the health emergency.

“Orthodox Christianity and the COVID-19 Pandemic” will appeal not only to academic audiences, but to anyone interested in the relationship between global events and religious institutions. It delves into the often overlooked or understudied world of the Orthodox Churches. The book encourages readers to reflect and contribute to the dialogue on the evolving role of religion in the contemporary world.

In my latest research, I delve into the complex world of Orthodox Christianity and its impact on society in times of crisis. I explore how faith acts as a dual force - providing comfort and influencing political events. I focus on three distinct areas in which Orthodoxy plays a central role.

First, I look at how church and state interact in Ukraine, Serbia, and Georgia. I explore the influence of the Orthodox Church during political upheavals and how it's influenced by the secular world.

Next, I turn to the COVID-19 pandemic and how Orthodox Christianity has responded to its challenges, adapting ancient practices for a modern crisis.

Finally, I take you to Ukraine, where faith intertwines with war and identity, revealing how Orthodoxy can offer hope as well as fuel conflict.

This journey through faith and crisis aims to illuminate the powerful role of Orthodox Christianity in shaping our world, both as a protector and as a player on the political stage.

In the twenty-fourth episode of the Conversations Series, our host Tornike Metreveli is joined by Professor Oliver Scharbrodt to unpack the ethical, legal, and societal ramifications of Quran burnings in Sweden. As a nation celebrated for its commitment to free speech and multiculturalism, Sweden finds itself at the intersection of a daunting dilemma. The provocative act of Quran burning by far-right activists challenges the country's stance between upholding free speech and maintaining religious tolerance. The episode explores three central themes: the historical antecedents of religious text desecration, the motivations behind such polarizing acts within the larger European context, and the tensions between freedom of expression, religious tolerance, and societal cohesion. The episode seeks to explore how a liberal democracy reconciles its founding principles with the imperative of societal harmony. The conversation aims to illuminate the broader implications for ongoing debates about secularism, multiculturalism, and religious freedom not only in Sweden, but across Europe.

In this edition, we embark on a trilogy of discussions with the esteemed, award-winning sociologist, Professor Liah Greenfeld. Our dialogue applies theories of nationalism and modernity to understand the motivations behind the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

We first dissect the underpinnings of Russia's national identity and consciousness, exploring how historical and cultural roots may fuel its aspiration to recapture territories deemed intrinsically Russian. This investigation offers a lens through which to comprehend the invasion as part of a 'Greater Russia' narrative.

In the subsequent conversation, we study the impact of modernity on Russia's geopolitical power plays, interpreting the Ukrainian invasion as an expression of Russia's assertion of power in a modern global context. We juxtapose the divergent journeys Russia and Ukraine have undertaken towards nationhood. Understanding these unique pathways, moulded by historical, cultural, and institutional factors, offers valuable insight into the conflict between the two nations.

Finally, in the concluding discussion, we delve into the function of elites within this geopolitical context. We explore how mutable societal norms and elite strategies in Russia craft national objectives, such as the narrative of reclaiming Ukraine.

Ignoring White House warnings, Russia's surprising invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 left the world in shock. The war, initiated by Putin, has seen an unexpected resistance from Ukrainians, the West's unity, and Russia's growing isolation. 

Harvard historian Professor Serhii Plokhy provides a comprehensive analysis of the conflict's origins and its likely future impacts. Although the full-scale conflict began with the 2014 Russian seizure of the Crimean parliament, its roots lie in post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse of earlier centuries. Plokhy points out that this new Cold War was predictable, not inevitable. 

Ukraine has been central to Russia's self-conception, even as Ukrainians chart a different course. Amid nuclear proliferation, a crumbling post-Cold War international order, and rising populist nationalism, Ukraine now marks a critical divide between authoritarianism and democratic Europe. 

In this episode of the Praxis in Religion Conversation Series, Tornike Metreveli discusses with Professor Tamara Grdzelidze, a former Ambassador of Georgia to the Holy See, how ecclesiastical borders related to national boundaries and what connections exist between Orthodoxy and national identity. Orthodox Christianity is reviewed for its capacity for a complex and multifaceted relationship with political power throughout its history. In some cases, Orthodox Christianity has influenced political power and shaped the policies and practices of ruling elites. In other cases, political power has shaped the direction and development of Orthodox Christianity. Today, the relationship between Orthodox Christianity and political power is particularly relevant in Eastern Europe, where the influence of Orthodox Christianity on society and politics is significant. However, the connections between Orthodoxy and political power are far from simple and fixed. They are influenced by a variety of historical, cultural, and social factors, and can vary significantly from one country or region to another.

In recent years, the integrity and identity of Europe have been challenged. So-called populist and nationalist movements have reshaped several European democracies’ political landscapes, the Coronavirus Pandemic has put pressure on Europe’s health care systems and economies, and a recent invasion of Ukraine has raised major questions about the borders and capacities of Europe’s economic and defense alliances. In this context, political figures, religious leaders and others have drawn on strands of Christian traditions to mediate between various parties, including governments, religious institutions, research institutions, and private citizens. This conference aims to investigate the place of Christianity – historically, theoretically, and practically – in Europe’s (and individual European countries’) ongoing challenges. Do these challenges constitute a crisis? If so, what kind of crisis does Europe face? What is the role of Christianity (actual, or possible) in exacerbating the challenges Europe faces, or in resolving them? We will deploy a variety of methodologies to approach and address these and other questions about the intersection of Christianity, politics, and identity in Europe.

This episode of R&T, and special edition of the Conversations Series, is a panel discussion from the conference Christianity and Crisis in European Contexts (28-29/10 2022) held at CTR. Johanna Gustafsson Lundberg opens the episode, by introducing us to the moderator, Göran Rosenberg, as well as speakers Tornike Metreveli, Valentina Napolitano, Elisabeth Shakman Hurd & Ulrich Schmiedel.

How did the state arise in Europe? The canonical answer is Charles Tilly’s: “war made the state and the state made war.” The starting point is the fragmentation of territorial political authority in Europe after the collapse of the Carolingian empire in 888, and the ambitions of rulers in the early modern (1500-1700) era. To expand their rule, monarchs and princes fought bitter wars with other other—and to fund this increasingly costly warfare, they extracted taxes. Domestic institutions such as state administrations, fiscal offices, and parliaments arose in response to these needs.  In these “bellecist” accounts, rulers who succeeded in building up the administrative and military apparatus of war went on to consolidate their territorial gains and ensure the survival of their states. These relentless pressures eventually meant fewer and bigger states, from as many as 500 independent states in Europe in 1500 to 30 four centuries later. In a current episode, Anna Grzymala Busse takes Charles Tilly to church, and questions each of these core pillars of the bellecist story. She shows that roots of many state institutions are found in the medieval era, not the early modern. Fragmentation was not simply a post-imperial legacy, but a sustained and deliberate policy.

This is the twelfth episode of the Praxis in Religion Conversation Series where Tornike hosts Prof. Nicholas Denysenko. In this conversation, titled "A Rebirth of Orthodoxy: Moral and Epistemological Preliminaries," Professor Denysenko reflects on the historical tensions simmering between Ecumenical and Moscow Patriarchates since 1920s. Denysenko examines the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s intervention in Ukraine and the creation of Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and provides a scholarly analysis of and debate on Russian world ideain the wider ecclesial psychological framework. The conversation between Tornike Metreveli and Nicholas Denysenko delves deeper into the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian world since 2009, power dynamics within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), their anti-war position and ethical, moral and theological implications of the Russian invasion on Orthodox Christianity globally.

This conversation with Dr. Tetiana Kalenychenko will give a rare insight into the current religious situation in Ukraine and situate ongoing events in the wider historical context.

This is the tenth episode in the Religion in Praxis Conversations Series (previously known simply as "the Conversations Series") and today's speaker is Elizabeth Shakman Hurd.

While offering important perspectives on the myriad evidentiary assessment challenges facing adjudicators, the legal and social scientific literature bypasses the political theological questions that interest me here. What are the theological and political conditions that sustain practices of political and religious asylum seeking despite the persistent limitations and limits surrounding legal adjudication involving religion? Given the instability of the category of religion, why do the authorities persist in trying to establish whether a person, action, belief, or practice is credibly subject to religious persecution? How might we understand religion anew in this context?

To address these questions, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd approaches the question of religion in asylum seeking and claiming through the prism of theology, understood in this context as a mode of inquiry that takes the human as a question rather than as a given, and acknowledges the significance of human finitude rather than an assertion of human mastery. We situate the argument in the context of ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the migration crisis cause by this war.

What are the religious dimensions of an ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine? What are the global religious and theological responses to this war? In this special episode of the Religion in Praxis Conversation series, I am hosting an eminent sociologist Professor Jose Casanova to address these and some other relevant questions pertaining to the religious aspects of this war.

In our special series on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, I talked with three renowned scholars. In the first part, together with Cyril Hovorun, we try to understand Putin's mind, his operational tactics, and the political theology behind this invasion. In the second part, Ulrich Schmid helps us to delve deeper into the history of ideas and wider geopolitical and historical contexts. In the third part, Regina Elsner guides us through the doctrinal controversies and ethical dimensions of the Russian Orthodox Church's position over the invasion

This is the the ninth episode of the Conversation Series, Siniša Malešević, sociologist and a Chair of Sociology at University College Dublin, will talk on the topic of "Grounded Nationalisms: a Sociological Analysis."

Globalisation is not the enemy of nationalism; instead, Professor Malešević shows, the two forces have developed together through modern history. Malešević challenges dominant views which see nationalism as a declining social force. He explains why the recent escalations of populist nationalism throughout the world do not represent a social anomaly but are, in fact, a historical norm. By focusing on ever-increasing organisational capacity, greater ideological penetration and networks of micro-solidarity, Malešević shows how and why nationalism has become deeply grounded in the everyday life of modern human beings. The author explores the social dynamics of these grounded nationalisms via an analysis of varied contexts, from Ireland to the Balkans. His findings show that increased ideological diffusion and the rising coercive capacities of states and other organisations have enabled nationalism to expand and establish itself as the dominant operative ideology of modernity.

Malešević’s main research interests include the study of war and organised violence, ethnicity, nation-states, and nationalism, empires, ideology, sociological theory and the comparative historical sociology.

Music for the Conversation Series is generously provided by the Shavnabada Choir .The project author and the host of the Conversation Series is Dr. Tornike Metreveli.

This episode is produced by Joel Kuhlin for the Center for Theology and Religious Studies.

This is the fifth episode of the Conversation Series, with the theme “Studying Lived Religion: Contexts and Practices” and with the guest Nancy T. Ammermann. Although the study of lived religion has been around for over two decades, there has not been an agreed-upon definition of what it encompasses, and we have lacked a sociological theory to frame the way it is studied. Ammerman offers a definition that expands lived religion’s geographic scope and a framework of seven dimensions around which we can analyze lived religious practice. Examples from multiple traditions and disciplines show the range of methods available for such studies, offering practical tips for how to begin. Her work opens up how we understand the category of lived religion, erasing the artificial divide between what happens in congregations and other religious institutions and what happens in other settings. Professor Ammerman shows how deeply religion permeates everyday lives. In revealing the often overlooked ways that religion shapes human experience, she invites us all into new ways of seeing the world around us.

Nancy T. Ammerman is one of the most influential sociologists in the study of lived religion. Her most recent research published in her edited 2006 book Everyday Religion Observing Modern Religious Lives (Oxford University Press) and her 2013 book, Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes Finding Religion in Everyday Life, (Oxford University Press) explored the ways religion and spirituality are part of the everyday world of work, home, health, and public life Following on that research, she has articulated an invitation to “re think religion” based on sociological theories of practice and a body of research on “lived religion”. Pulling all of this together is her book Studying Lived Religion Contexts and Practices, which will be out from NYU Press in October 2021. Along with Grace Davie, she was Coordinating Lead Author for “Religions and Social Progress Critical Assessments and Creative Partnerships” in the Report of the International Panel for Social Progress (Cambridge University Press 2018).

In this episode, the three speakers, Jayne Svenungsson, Patrik Fridlund, and Paul Linjamaa examine the shifting and at times counterintuitive dimensions of the concept of religion as a category of analysis and category of practice. In this episode, we further problematize the discursive practices of religion as a social force in western philosophy, and the functional dimension of religion as a producer and communicator of meaning – in the light of religious involvements in post-truth politics, relativization of factuality and evidence, socio-political implications of those interactions. Lastly, the episode examines the mechanisms concerning constructions of orthodoxy and heterodoxy, and heresiology as a phenomena.

A special thank you to Professor Tymofii Brik, who kindly agreed to substitute our regular host, Tornike, for this episode.