I am a university teacher, associate professor (docent) and researcher in church history at Åbo Akademi University. Since March 2018, I am Head of Education for Theology at the Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology. My original research has covered the history and legacy of Christian mission and European colonialism in Africa; in particular, in Tanzania and Namibia. In the recent years, I have focused on issues relating to cultural memory and political uses of the past. In this work, I have especially focused on Protestantism, Pietism, and Christian mission in Finland and Africa, as well as on the "re-building" of cultural memory sites in the former GDR.
The aim of this article is to study the general and contextual issues related to prayers for the ... more The aim of this article is to study the general and contextual issues related to prayers for the departed with a focus on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). In 2012, the ELCT published a new hymnal, which included a number of prayers for those mourning their deceased friends and relatives, as well as prayers for the deceased individuals themselves. As a result of considerable criticism, this hymnal was replaced by a new edition in 2017, in which the prayers for the departed were omitted. The article further scrutinises the historical and theological aspects of praying for the departed in Lutheranism. It studies examples of prayers for the dead in Lutheran churches in two other countries, Finland and Sweden, and relates these to the situation in the ELCT.
In this article, I will scrutinise two of the most famous explorers of Africa, David Livingstone ... more In this article, I will scrutinise two of the most famous explorers of Africa, David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, and how their adventures were described in the Swedish and Finnish newspapers in the late 19th century. The intention is to shed light on a chapter in history, when ordinary people started to take an interest in Africa and the opportunities and adventures this continent could offer. To the Nordic public Livingstone – the medical missionary and adventurer – became known in the early 1850s. This was soon after his Nile River Expedition started, and, as most of his letters failed to reach the coast, Livingstone was feared dead. Stanley – at that time an unknown journalist – travelled to Africa to find him. Livingstone’s travels and Stanley’s fame as Livingstone’s rescuer occurred before the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, and before the start of the Scramble for Africa. Nevertheless, they were active at a time of industrial revolution, many new inventions, a political urge in the western world to conquer Africa, and, not least, an increased number of newspapers feeding the population with interesting news about worlds far away.
This article aims to explore aspects of oppression and revolution at the Paulinum-Assembly Hall a... more This article aims to explore aspects of oppression and revolution at the Paulinum-Assembly Hall and University Church of St. Paul – a property of Leipzig University. This grandiose church-like building was officially inaugurated on the first weekend in December 2017, as the intellectual and spiritual – geistige und geistliche – centre of the University of Leipzig. This article will consider the palimpsestic characteristics of the Paulinum, particularly in relation to two aspects. The first being that the Paulinum inherited some of the inventory and traditions from its predecessor, the medieval Church of St. Paul, which was destroyed by the GDR leadership in 1968. While the second is that new layers of memories and points of reference that have been added because of the struggle against and the overcoming of socialist oppression during the German reunification. Finally, the building of the Paulinum can also be seen as an attempt to undo some of the ills perpetrated during the GDR era.
Finnish Society of Church History 2017 Yearbook, 2017
In June 1527, the Swedish king, Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), gathered the four estates to a diet – or... more In June 1527, the Swedish king, Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), gathered the four estates to a diet – or Riksdag – in Västerås. At this important meeting, the king’s power was consolidated, at the cost of the Catholic Church, which was stripped of its economic wealth and political influence. In several ways, the Diet of Västerås would also mark the beginning of the reformation in Sweden and Finland. This is visible in the recess, which was composed and signed at the diet. According to the recess, only “God’s pure Word” would henceforth be preached in the kingdom. Moreover, claiming that the king was introducing a new religion became illegal although, after the Diet in Västerås, it was clear that Martin Luther’s teachings would be accepted in Sweden. In this article, the seven most influential Swedish Church historical works from 1695 to 1999 are scrutinised. I will focus on two issues. On the one hand, I will study how these seven works portray the reformation, its agents, and its opponents in relation to the Diet of Västerås. On the other hand, I am interested in how the studies differ from each other, with particular emphasis on church issues. When I for instance discuss political matters, I do so in relation to matters concerning the church and the reformation.
In 1545, Martin Luther consecrated the medieval St. Paul Church of Leipzig into a university chur... more In 1545, Martin Luther consecrated the medieval St. Paul Church of Leipzig into a university church. By that time, this old Dominican church had already served the Leipzig University for more than hundred years. As an Evangelical church, it would continue to serve the university for more than four hundred years until 1968, when it was blown down by the socialist regime. Today it has been rebuilt. In December 2017 the “new St. Paul” – the Paulinum, Assembly Hall and University Church of St. Paul – was inaugurated. This article studies the memory of the St. Paul Church through the Paulinum. Particular attention will be given to the relation between the secular and the sacred in the old St. Paul and in the new Paulinum. Hosting religious and nonreligious services and functions alike was a natural part of the St. Paul Church for centuries. But this tradition has been challenged, and has been subject to debate in the planning and building of the Paulinum.
Mending the World? Possibilities and Obstacles for Religion, Church, and Theology, 2017
On the 30th of May 1968 the medieval university church of St. Paul in the East German town of Lei... more On the 30th of May 1968 the medieval university church of St. Paul in the East German town of Leipzig was blown down. The reason for this radical act was that the Politbüro of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) had decided to build a new university complex. In this re-shaping of the very heart of Leipzig—the Karl-Marx-Platz—the East German leadership saw it important to get rid of the church. What the SED was aspiring was a kind of mending of this part of the world according to Soviet socialist principles. Today—nearly five decades later—the St. Paul church is being rebuilt. This article scrutinizes the destruction and re-building of the university church from a cultural memory perspective.
This is an introductory chapter in the book "Väckelser som minnes- och meningsskapande narrativ" ... more This is an introductory chapter in the book "Väckelser som minnes- och meningsskapande narrativ" (Revivals as a narrative for the creation of memory and meaning). The chapter is discussing cultural memory, identity, and uses of history from a Nordic church- and (Christian) revival history perspective. The book was published in June 2017 in the series Studies of Religion and Memory, and it will be published online (www.relmem.net) in the autumn of 2017.
In 1992, the old Finnish mission station Olukonda in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia was ... more In 1992, the old Finnish mission station Olukonda in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia was declared a national heritage site. This was the first such heritage declaration after Namibia gained its independence in 1990. In this article, I examine the Olukonda station from a historical and cultural memory perspective. The legendary missionary Martti Rautanen – or Nakambale – resided at the site between 1880 and his death in 1926, and he is buried at Olukonda together with most of his family members. Olukonda is the site where the relationship between the king(s) and the missionaries was tested, shaped, and consolidated. At Olukonda Finnishmissionary Lutheranism was gradually adopted by Ondonga society, and eventually Olukonda would become a site which the Ovambo would view as a part of their own heritage. In the article, I discuss remembrance and forgetting, time demarcations, and the different understandings of decisive events of the past. I argue that Olukonda is the main site which nurtures the memory of the Lutheran past in northern Namibia, but also that, at Olukonda, various mission and church related memories intermingle with nationalism and Ovambo culture.
Finnish Society of Church History 2015 Yearbook, 2015
Pietistprästen August Hermann Francke hade många strängar på sin lyra. Han var professor vid univ... more Pietistprästen August Hermann Francke hade många strängar på sin lyra. Han var professor vid universitetet i Halle och pastor i Sankt Georgskyrkan i Glaucha alldeles utanför Halle, och från år 1714 kyrkoherde i Sankt Ulrichskyrkan i Halle. Mest känd skulle Francke dock bli som stiftelseledare. I Glaucha grundade Francke från 1695 fram till sin död 1727 ett pietistiskt stiftelsecentrum med bland annat barnhem, skolor, tryckeri, bokhandel, tidningsredaktion och apotek. För Francke var det ultimata syftet med denna verksamhet att i pietistisk anda förändra världen. Franckes filantropiska arbete väckte intresse i många europeiska kungahus. Under Franckes ledning spred sig Hallepietismen både som fromhetsriktning och verksamhetsmodell till Östeuropa, Ryssland och Norden och bortom Europa genom mission och migration till Indien och efter Franckes död även till Nordamerika. I denna artikel undersöks minnet av August Hermann Francke vid dessa Franckesche Stiftungen zu Halle. Hurdant är och hur presenteras i dag minnet av August Hermann Francke och för vem? Under lupp i denna artikel är särskilt de utställningar och presentationer som belyser Francke, såsom den fasta utställningen om honom i det som i början av 1700-talet var hans bostad. I artikeln betraktas Francke och hans stiftelser i ljuset av aktuell kulturell minnesforskning där vikten av att betona minnets transkulturalitet har accentuerats. Francke och Franckestiftelserna
The Shifting Boundaries of Tolerance : Inclusion, Exclusion, and Religious Communities of Memory, May 19, 2016
This article scrutinises the work of the Finnish Missionary Society as regards the creating of a ... more This article scrutinises the work of the Finnish Missionary Society as regards the creating of a Church Law in the emerging Ovambo Lutheran Church, in what is today the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. The work resulted, in 1924, in the church’s first Church Rules. In this endeavour, the Finnish missionaries took as a model the Finnish Church Law of 1869, but also utilised elements from the old Swedish Church Law from 1686. The aim of the missionaries was to create a law that could establish proper foundations for a Lutheran Church of their own preference. In the two last chapters of the article, the issue of transculturality is discussed. It is suggested that the Finnish mission’s undertaking in Namibia was not simply characterised by the imposition of a new religion and new rules, but rather that this work was a fitting example of cultural exchange and transfusion. In this cultural exchange, various hybridised groups and individuals interacted in what would eventually result in a Lutheran church built on different cultural traditions, religious practices, and memories.
In August 2012 the Olufuko Festival was introduced in the town Outapi in northern Namibia. The ai... more In August 2012 the Olufuko Festival was introduced in the town Outapi in northern Namibia. The aim of this festival was to exhibit Ovambo culture in various ways during a week-long festival. One of the central aspects of the Olufuko Festival was the old female initiation rite olufuko. Female initiation had never been in the good books of missionary Christianity. It was criticized by the Finnish Lutheran missionaries in the late nineteenth century and it was forbidden in the Lutheran church regulations in 1924. By the mid-twentieth century, when Christianity was firmly rooted among the Ovambo, female initiation had virtually disappeared from some areas and had been pushed into the periphery in other areas. The “new” Olufuko Festival in 2012 and 2013 received considerable coverage in the national press, not least because of the high profile politicians supporting it. This Olufuko Festival was a success in terms of visibility for Outapi and the Omusati Region and in terms of the number of participants attending. Namibia’s first president, Sam Nujoma, was the patron of the Festival and among the visitors counted several dignitaries, including the president of the Republic of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), however, the response to this Olufuko Festival was negative. This article will scrutinize ELCIN and its Finnish Missionary Society heritage through female initiation in Ovambo culture: ohango among the Ndonga, olufuko among the Mbalantu and efundula among the Kwanyama ethnic groups.
Spirit Possession and Trance: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Mar 1, 2010
Between the years 2004 and 2007 four schools in the north of Namibia were allegedly attacked by s... more Between the years 2004 and 2007 four schools in the north of Namibia were allegedly attacked by supernatural powers. The attacks looked dramatic. Students were seen collapsing, crying, screaming or roaming around the school yard and neighbourhood. Some of the students – most of whom were females – had visions. Others feared that they would catch fire, experienced sheer panic or reacted with aggression towards all and everything. The incidents created a stir throughout Namibia and were vividly portrayed in the national newspapers and television news. This chapter will focus on interpretations of spirit attacks in schools in northern Namibia, with particular attention given to the context of the Lutheran church. The geographical area covered is commonly called Owamboland which consists of four regions: Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena and Oshikoto. The key question is: How has the phenomenon of spirit attacks in Namibian schools been interpreted? Among those who witnessed the school drama three dominant theories were suggested for the origin of the attacks. Some believed that the students were attacked or possessed by evil spirits. Others were convinced that the students had been bewitched. A third group believed that the schools were haunted by restless ancestor spirits or "oilulu".
This article will scrutinise the concept of tolerance within part of the Swedish and Finnish miss... more This article will scrutinise the concept of tolerance within part of the Swedish and Finnish missionary movement during the second half of the nineteenth century. As will be discussed below, tolerance involves both processes of including and excluding. In the context of Christian mission in the 1800s tolerance encompassed inclusion as embracing and accepting of individuals and customs considered to be in line with the ethos of the mission and exclusion as rejecting of individuals and customs deemed as incompatible. But as is presupposed in this article, tolerance also bore an internal and external character, where the internal, at least initially, constituted the practitioners of mission and the external constituted the receivers of mission. In practice, however, the distinction between internal and external was a rather complex matter. The key question in the following will be: What characterized tolerance and toleration within the Swedish and Finnish mission societies in the second half of the nineteenth century?
Historiska perspektiv på kyrka och väckelse, Dec 17, 2013
I kyrkohistorien har 1800-talet ofta kallats för missionens stora århundrade. Även i Sverige och ... more I kyrkohistorien har 1800-talet ofta kallats för missionens stora århundrade. Även i Sverige och Finland väcktes under 1800-talet intresse för mission, och flera missionssällskap såg dagens ljus. I anslutning till dessa missionssällskap utgavs ett antal tidningar. Denna artikel är ett försök att belysa tidningarnas särdrag och betydelse för missionsverksamheten. Jag kommer att närma mig tidningarna från två perspektiv. Dels försöker jag belysa tidningarna som återspegling av den verklighet och verksamhet som försiggick i de svenska och finska missionssällskapen, dels kommer jag att lyfta fram tidningarna som redskap för inspiration och påverkan. Särskild uppmärksamhet fästs vid Svenska Missionssällskapet, Evangeliska Fosterlandsstiftelsen och Finska Missionssällskapet, men även övriga missionsorgan kommer att tangeras.
The Shifting Boundaries of Tolerance: Inclusion, Exclusion, and Religious Communities of Memory (Studies on Religion and Memory, 2016), 2016
Religious diversity, tolerance and intolerance, inclusion and exclusion are phenomena that have p... more Religious diversity, tolerance and intolerance, inclusion and exclusion are phenomena that have prevailed throughout the 2,000-year long history of Christianity. In this volume, five Nordic researchers with five different perspectives explore the shifting boundaries of religious tolerance in Finland, Sweden, and beyond. Their contributions deal with different scenarios and a variety of themes; from religious conformity to openness, from misconduct to forgiveness and reconciliation, from Jewish cantonist soldiers to Sami Christians, from the Russian Empire to Ovamboland, and, last but not least, from past events to present remembrance among religious communities.
För många kristna väckelserörelser har det kollektiva minnet en framstående betydelse. I sin syn ... more För många kristna väckelserörelser har det kollektiva minnet en framstående betydelse. I sin syn på sig själva och sin verksamhet relaterar väckelserörelserna dels till ett mer universellt kristet budskap och till bibliska episoder och personer. Dels innehar även lokalt förankrade och tidsmässigt mer närliggande händelser, såsom rörelsens ursprungsberättelse, en central roll när det kom-mer till rörelsens självförståelse och sammanhållning. På detta sätt utgör minnet av det förflutna en naturlig och självklar del av väckelserörelsen och dess identitet. I föreliggande antologi studeras nordiska kristna väckelserörelser som kollektiva minnesgemenskaper. Härmed uppstår ett möte mellan väckelsehistorisk forskning och kulturell minnesforskning. I tolv artiklar studeras minne och tradition i olika väckelsesammanhang i Norge, Sverige och Finland. Studies on Religion and Memory är en skriftserie kopplad till nätverket Religion and Memory (relmem.net). Skriftserien publicerar undersökningar i mötet mellan teologi och religionsvetenskap samt kulturell minnesforskning och historiebruk.
The aim of this article is to study the general and contextual issues related to prayers for the ... more The aim of this article is to study the general and contextual issues related to prayers for the departed with a focus on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). In 2012, the ELCT published a new hymnal, which included a number of prayers for those mourning their deceased friends and relatives, as well as prayers for the deceased individuals themselves. As a result of considerable criticism, this hymnal was replaced by a new edition in 2017, in which the prayers for the departed were omitted. The article further scrutinises the historical and theological aspects of praying for the departed in Lutheranism. It studies examples of prayers for the dead in Lutheran churches in two other countries, Finland and Sweden, and relates these to the situation in the ELCT.
In this article, I will scrutinise two of the most famous explorers of Africa, David Livingstone ... more In this article, I will scrutinise two of the most famous explorers of Africa, David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, and how their adventures were described in the Swedish and Finnish newspapers in the late 19th century. The intention is to shed light on a chapter in history, when ordinary people started to take an interest in Africa and the opportunities and adventures this continent could offer. To the Nordic public Livingstone – the medical missionary and adventurer – became known in the early 1850s. This was soon after his Nile River Expedition started, and, as most of his letters failed to reach the coast, Livingstone was feared dead. Stanley – at that time an unknown journalist – travelled to Africa to find him. Livingstone’s travels and Stanley’s fame as Livingstone’s rescuer occurred before the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, and before the start of the Scramble for Africa. Nevertheless, they were active at a time of industrial revolution, many new inventions, a political urge in the western world to conquer Africa, and, not least, an increased number of newspapers feeding the population with interesting news about worlds far away.
This article aims to explore aspects of oppression and revolution at the Paulinum-Assembly Hall a... more This article aims to explore aspects of oppression and revolution at the Paulinum-Assembly Hall and University Church of St. Paul – a property of Leipzig University. This grandiose church-like building was officially inaugurated on the first weekend in December 2017, as the intellectual and spiritual – geistige und geistliche – centre of the University of Leipzig. This article will consider the palimpsestic characteristics of the Paulinum, particularly in relation to two aspects. The first being that the Paulinum inherited some of the inventory and traditions from its predecessor, the medieval Church of St. Paul, which was destroyed by the GDR leadership in 1968. While the second is that new layers of memories and points of reference that have been added because of the struggle against and the overcoming of socialist oppression during the German reunification. Finally, the building of the Paulinum can also be seen as an attempt to undo some of the ills perpetrated during the GDR era.
Finnish Society of Church History 2017 Yearbook, 2017
In June 1527, the Swedish king, Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), gathered the four estates to a diet – or... more In June 1527, the Swedish king, Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), gathered the four estates to a diet – or Riksdag – in Västerås. At this important meeting, the king’s power was consolidated, at the cost of the Catholic Church, which was stripped of its economic wealth and political influence. In several ways, the Diet of Västerås would also mark the beginning of the reformation in Sweden and Finland. This is visible in the recess, which was composed and signed at the diet. According to the recess, only “God’s pure Word” would henceforth be preached in the kingdom. Moreover, claiming that the king was introducing a new religion became illegal although, after the Diet in Västerås, it was clear that Martin Luther’s teachings would be accepted in Sweden. In this article, the seven most influential Swedish Church historical works from 1695 to 1999 are scrutinised. I will focus on two issues. On the one hand, I will study how these seven works portray the reformation, its agents, and its opponents in relation to the Diet of Västerås. On the other hand, I am interested in how the studies differ from each other, with particular emphasis on church issues. When I for instance discuss political matters, I do so in relation to matters concerning the church and the reformation.
In 1545, Martin Luther consecrated the medieval St. Paul Church of Leipzig into a university chur... more In 1545, Martin Luther consecrated the medieval St. Paul Church of Leipzig into a university church. By that time, this old Dominican church had already served the Leipzig University for more than hundred years. As an Evangelical church, it would continue to serve the university for more than four hundred years until 1968, when it was blown down by the socialist regime. Today it has been rebuilt. In December 2017 the “new St. Paul” – the Paulinum, Assembly Hall and University Church of St. Paul – was inaugurated. This article studies the memory of the St. Paul Church through the Paulinum. Particular attention will be given to the relation between the secular and the sacred in the old St. Paul and in the new Paulinum. Hosting religious and nonreligious services and functions alike was a natural part of the St. Paul Church for centuries. But this tradition has been challenged, and has been subject to debate in the planning and building of the Paulinum.
Mending the World? Possibilities and Obstacles for Religion, Church, and Theology, 2017
On the 30th of May 1968 the medieval university church of St. Paul in the East German town of Lei... more On the 30th of May 1968 the medieval university church of St. Paul in the East German town of Leipzig was blown down. The reason for this radical act was that the Politbüro of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) had decided to build a new university complex. In this re-shaping of the very heart of Leipzig—the Karl-Marx-Platz—the East German leadership saw it important to get rid of the church. What the SED was aspiring was a kind of mending of this part of the world according to Soviet socialist principles. Today—nearly five decades later—the St. Paul church is being rebuilt. This article scrutinizes the destruction and re-building of the university church from a cultural memory perspective.
This is an introductory chapter in the book "Väckelser som minnes- och meningsskapande narrativ" ... more This is an introductory chapter in the book "Väckelser som minnes- och meningsskapande narrativ" (Revivals as a narrative for the creation of memory and meaning). The chapter is discussing cultural memory, identity, and uses of history from a Nordic church- and (Christian) revival history perspective. The book was published in June 2017 in the series Studies of Religion and Memory, and it will be published online (www.relmem.net) in the autumn of 2017.
In 1992, the old Finnish mission station Olukonda in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia was ... more In 1992, the old Finnish mission station Olukonda in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia was declared a national heritage site. This was the first such heritage declaration after Namibia gained its independence in 1990. In this article, I examine the Olukonda station from a historical and cultural memory perspective. The legendary missionary Martti Rautanen – or Nakambale – resided at the site between 1880 and his death in 1926, and he is buried at Olukonda together with most of his family members. Olukonda is the site where the relationship between the king(s) and the missionaries was tested, shaped, and consolidated. At Olukonda Finnishmissionary Lutheranism was gradually adopted by Ondonga society, and eventually Olukonda would become a site which the Ovambo would view as a part of their own heritage. In the article, I discuss remembrance and forgetting, time demarcations, and the different understandings of decisive events of the past. I argue that Olukonda is the main site which nurtures the memory of the Lutheran past in northern Namibia, but also that, at Olukonda, various mission and church related memories intermingle with nationalism and Ovambo culture.
Finnish Society of Church History 2015 Yearbook, 2015
Pietistprästen August Hermann Francke hade många strängar på sin lyra. Han var professor vid univ... more Pietistprästen August Hermann Francke hade många strängar på sin lyra. Han var professor vid universitetet i Halle och pastor i Sankt Georgskyrkan i Glaucha alldeles utanför Halle, och från år 1714 kyrkoherde i Sankt Ulrichskyrkan i Halle. Mest känd skulle Francke dock bli som stiftelseledare. I Glaucha grundade Francke från 1695 fram till sin död 1727 ett pietistiskt stiftelsecentrum med bland annat barnhem, skolor, tryckeri, bokhandel, tidningsredaktion och apotek. För Francke var det ultimata syftet med denna verksamhet att i pietistisk anda förändra världen. Franckes filantropiska arbete väckte intresse i många europeiska kungahus. Under Franckes ledning spred sig Hallepietismen både som fromhetsriktning och verksamhetsmodell till Östeuropa, Ryssland och Norden och bortom Europa genom mission och migration till Indien och efter Franckes död även till Nordamerika. I denna artikel undersöks minnet av August Hermann Francke vid dessa Franckesche Stiftungen zu Halle. Hurdant är och hur presenteras i dag minnet av August Hermann Francke och för vem? Under lupp i denna artikel är särskilt de utställningar och presentationer som belyser Francke, såsom den fasta utställningen om honom i det som i början av 1700-talet var hans bostad. I artikeln betraktas Francke och hans stiftelser i ljuset av aktuell kulturell minnesforskning där vikten av att betona minnets transkulturalitet har accentuerats. Francke och Franckestiftelserna
The Shifting Boundaries of Tolerance : Inclusion, Exclusion, and Religious Communities of Memory, May 19, 2016
This article scrutinises the work of the Finnish Missionary Society as regards the creating of a ... more This article scrutinises the work of the Finnish Missionary Society as regards the creating of a Church Law in the emerging Ovambo Lutheran Church, in what is today the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. The work resulted, in 1924, in the church’s first Church Rules. In this endeavour, the Finnish missionaries took as a model the Finnish Church Law of 1869, but also utilised elements from the old Swedish Church Law from 1686. The aim of the missionaries was to create a law that could establish proper foundations for a Lutheran Church of their own preference. In the two last chapters of the article, the issue of transculturality is discussed. It is suggested that the Finnish mission’s undertaking in Namibia was not simply characterised by the imposition of a new religion and new rules, but rather that this work was a fitting example of cultural exchange and transfusion. In this cultural exchange, various hybridised groups and individuals interacted in what would eventually result in a Lutheran church built on different cultural traditions, religious practices, and memories.
In August 2012 the Olufuko Festival was introduced in the town Outapi in northern Namibia. The ai... more In August 2012 the Olufuko Festival was introduced in the town Outapi in northern Namibia. The aim of this festival was to exhibit Ovambo culture in various ways during a week-long festival. One of the central aspects of the Olufuko Festival was the old female initiation rite olufuko. Female initiation had never been in the good books of missionary Christianity. It was criticized by the Finnish Lutheran missionaries in the late nineteenth century and it was forbidden in the Lutheran church regulations in 1924. By the mid-twentieth century, when Christianity was firmly rooted among the Ovambo, female initiation had virtually disappeared from some areas and had been pushed into the periphery in other areas. The “new” Olufuko Festival in 2012 and 2013 received considerable coverage in the national press, not least because of the high profile politicians supporting it. This Olufuko Festival was a success in terms of visibility for Outapi and the Omusati Region and in terms of the number of participants attending. Namibia’s first president, Sam Nujoma, was the patron of the Festival and among the visitors counted several dignitaries, including the president of the Republic of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), however, the response to this Olufuko Festival was negative. This article will scrutinize ELCIN and its Finnish Missionary Society heritage through female initiation in Ovambo culture: ohango among the Ndonga, olufuko among the Mbalantu and efundula among the Kwanyama ethnic groups.
Spirit Possession and Trance: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Mar 1, 2010
Between the years 2004 and 2007 four schools in the north of Namibia were allegedly attacked by s... more Between the years 2004 and 2007 four schools in the north of Namibia were allegedly attacked by supernatural powers. The attacks looked dramatic. Students were seen collapsing, crying, screaming or roaming around the school yard and neighbourhood. Some of the students – most of whom were females – had visions. Others feared that they would catch fire, experienced sheer panic or reacted with aggression towards all and everything. The incidents created a stir throughout Namibia and were vividly portrayed in the national newspapers and television news. This chapter will focus on interpretations of spirit attacks in schools in northern Namibia, with particular attention given to the context of the Lutheran church. The geographical area covered is commonly called Owamboland which consists of four regions: Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena and Oshikoto. The key question is: How has the phenomenon of spirit attacks in Namibian schools been interpreted? Among those who witnessed the school drama three dominant theories were suggested for the origin of the attacks. Some believed that the students were attacked or possessed by evil spirits. Others were convinced that the students had been bewitched. A third group believed that the schools were haunted by restless ancestor spirits or "oilulu".
This article will scrutinise the concept of tolerance within part of the Swedish and Finnish miss... more This article will scrutinise the concept of tolerance within part of the Swedish and Finnish missionary movement during the second half of the nineteenth century. As will be discussed below, tolerance involves both processes of including and excluding. In the context of Christian mission in the 1800s tolerance encompassed inclusion as embracing and accepting of individuals and customs considered to be in line with the ethos of the mission and exclusion as rejecting of individuals and customs deemed as incompatible. But as is presupposed in this article, tolerance also bore an internal and external character, where the internal, at least initially, constituted the practitioners of mission and the external constituted the receivers of mission. In practice, however, the distinction between internal and external was a rather complex matter. The key question in the following will be: What characterized tolerance and toleration within the Swedish and Finnish mission societies in the second half of the nineteenth century?
Historiska perspektiv på kyrka och väckelse, Dec 17, 2013
I kyrkohistorien har 1800-talet ofta kallats för missionens stora århundrade. Även i Sverige och ... more I kyrkohistorien har 1800-talet ofta kallats för missionens stora århundrade. Även i Sverige och Finland väcktes under 1800-talet intresse för mission, och flera missionssällskap såg dagens ljus. I anslutning till dessa missionssällskap utgavs ett antal tidningar. Denna artikel är ett försök att belysa tidningarnas särdrag och betydelse för missionsverksamheten. Jag kommer att närma mig tidningarna från två perspektiv. Dels försöker jag belysa tidningarna som återspegling av den verklighet och verksamhet som försiggick i de svenska och finska missionssällskapen, dels kommer jag att lyfta fram tidningarna som redskap för inspiration och påverkan. Särskild uppmärksamhet fästs vid Svenska Missionssällskapet, Evangeliska Fosterlandsstiftelsen och Finska Missionssällskapet, men även övriga missionsorgan kommer att tangeras.
The Shifting Boundaries of Tolerance: Inclusion, Exclusion, and Religious Communities of Memory (Studies on Religion and Memory, 2016), 2016
Religious diversity, tolerance and intolerance, inclusion and exclusion are phenomena that have p... more Religious diversity, tolerance and intolerance, inclusion and exclusion are phenomena that have prevailed throughout the 2,000-year long history of Christianity. In this volume, five Nordic researchers with five different perspectives explore the shifting boundaries of religious tolerance in Finland, Sweden, and beyond. Their contributions deal with different scenarios and a variety of themes; from religious conformity to openness, from misconduct to forgiveness and reconciliation, from Jewish cantonist soldiers to Sami Christians, from the Russian Empire to Ovamboland, and, last but not least, from past events to present remembrance among religious communities.
För många kristna väckelserörelser har det kollektiva minnet en framstående betydelse. I sin syn ... more För många kristna väckelserörelser har det kollektiva minnet en framstående betydelse. I sin syn på sig själva och sin verksamhet relaterar väckelserörelserna dels till ett mer universellt kristet budskap och till bibliska episoder och personer. Dels innehar även lokalt förankrade och tidsmässigt mer närliggande händelser, såsom rörelsens ursprungsberättelse, en central roll när det kom-mer till rörelsens självförståelse och sammanhållning. På detta sätt utgör minnet av det förflutna en naturlig och självklar del av väckelserörelsen och dess identitet. I föreliggande antologi studeras nordiska kristna väckelserörelser som kollektiva minnesgemenskaper. Härmed uppstår ett möte mellan väckelsehistorisk forskning och kulturell minnesforskning. I tolv artiklar studeras minne och tradition i olika väckelsesammanhang i Norge, Sverige och Finland. Studies on Religion and Memory är en skriftserie kopplad till nätverket Religion and Memory (relmem.net). Skriftserien publicerar undersökningar i mötet mellan teologi och religionsvetenskap samt kulturell minnesforskning och historiebruk.
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Papers by Kim Groop
In this article, the seven most influential Swedish Church historical works from 1695 to 1999 are scrutinised. I will focus on two issues. On the one hand, I will study how these seven works portray the reformation, its agents, and its opponents in relation to the Diet of Västerås. On the other hand, I am interested in how the studies differ from each other, with particular emphasis on church issues. When I for instance discuss political matters, I do so in relation to matters concerning the church and the reformation.
Stiftungen zu Halle. Hurdant är och hur presenteras i dag minnet av August Hermann Francke och för vem? Under lupp i denna artikel är särskilt de utställningar och presentationer som belyser Francke, såsom den fasta utställningen om honom i det som i början av 1700-talet var hans bostad. I artikeln betraktas Francke och hans stiftelser i ljuset av aktuell kulturell minnesforskning där vikten av att betona minnets
transkulturalitet har accentuerats. Francke och Franckestiftelserna
of missionary Christianity. It was criticized by the Finnish Lutheran missionaries in the late nineteenth century and it was forbidden in the Lutheran church regulations in 1924. By the mid-twentieth century, when Christianity was firmly rooted among the Ovambo, female initiation had virtually disappeared from some areas and had been pushed into the periphery in other areas. The “new” Olufuko Festival in 2012 and 2013
received considerable coverage in the national press, not least because of the high profile politicians supporting it. This Olufuko Festival was a success in terms of visibility for Outapi and the Omusati Region and in terms of the number of participants attending. Namibia’s first president, Sam Nujoma, was the patron of the Festival and among the visitors counted several dignitaries, including the president of the Republic of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), however, the response to this Olufuko Festival was negative. This article will scrutinize ELCIN and its Finnish Missionary Society heritage through female initiation in Ovambo culture: ohango among the Ndonga, olufuko among the Mbalantu and efundula among the Kwanyama ethnic groups.
Books by Kim Groop
In this article, the seven most influential Swedish Church historical works from 1695 to 1999 are scrutinised. I will focus on two issues. On the one hand, I will study how these seven works portray the reformation, its agents, and its opponents in relation to the Diet of Västerås. On the other hand, I am interested in how the studies differ from each other, with particular emphasis on church issues. When I for instance discuss political matters, I do so in relation to matters concerning the church and the reformation.
Stiftungen zu Halle. Hurdant är och hur presenteras i dag minnet av August Hermann Francke och för vem? Under lupp i denna artikel är särskilt de utställningar och presentationer som belyser Francke, såsom den fasta utställningen om honom i det som i början av 1700-talet var hans bostad. I artikeln betraktas Francke och hans stiftelser i ljuset av aktuell kulturell minnesforskning där vikten av att betona minnets
transkulturalitet har accentuerats. Francke och Franckestiftelserna
of missionary Christianity. It was criticized by the Finnish Lutheran missionaries in the late nineteenth century and it was forbidden in the Lutheran church regulations in 1924. By the mid-twentieth century, when Christianity was firmly rooted among the Ovambo, female initiation had virtually disappeared from some areas and had been pushed into the periphery in other areas. The “new” Olufuko Festival in 2012 and 2013
received considerable coverage in the national press, not least because of the high profile politicians supporting it. This Olufuko Festival was a success in terms of visibility for Outapi and the Omusati Region and in terms of the number of participants attending. Namibia’s first president, Sam Nujoma, was the patron of the Festival and among the visitors counted several dignitaries, including the president of the Republic of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), however, the response to this Olufuko Festival was negative. This article will scrutinize ELCIN and its Finnish Missionary Society heritage through female initiation in Ovambo culture: ohango among the Ndonga, olufuko among the Mbalantu and efundula among the Kwanyama ethnic groups.