David Thurfjell
Biographic Data
| ID | 1637582 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David Thurfjell |
| GIVEN NAMES | David |
| FAMILY NAME | Thurfjell |
| SIGNATURE | THURFJELL D |
| AFFILIATIONS | Södertörn University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6976-8435 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 6 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Ecologizing Nature Among (Not Quite) Secular Northerners: Special Issue Editors’ Introduction
If modernization is a process of compartmentalization, then ecologization is its opposite. This is the opening idea of this special issue, borrowed from Bruno Latour’s paper ‘To Modernize or to Ecologize? That’s the Question’ from 1998. In this text, Latour’s invitation is to take steps toward reconnecting nature, that is, the landscapes, other species, the environment, with the cultural in its political, existential, emotional and spiritual dime…
Ecologizing Romanticism: The Eco-Spirituality of Urban Middle-Class Swedes
Combining ethnographic research conducted between 2017 and 2021 with historical analysis I explore how the notions of ecologization and romanticization can illuminate the nature practices of Swedish, urban, middle-class, nature enthusiasts. I argue such individuals speak of and relate to nature in ways that echo a romantic heritage characterized by nostalgia and longing for a nature perceived as beautiful, in contrast to everyday urban life. This…
The forest is my church’: Christianity, secularisation and love of nature in a northern European existential field
This article employs ethnographic material from Sweden and Estonia to examine the relationship between religion and the love of nature in Northern Europe – a region known for its widespread secularisation. We propose that the existential depth that is often ascribed to nature experiences in this part of the world points to a facet of the secularisation process, indicating that love of nature among today's Northern Europeans is deeply entangled wi…
Ärvd eller erövrad sekularitet: Sekulär identitet bland postmuslimer och postkristna i Sverige
Sverige är samtidigt sekulariserat och mångreligiöst. Föreliggande studie bidrar till förståelsen av denna situation genom att diskutera sekularitet bland svenskar med muslimsk respektive kristen familjebakgrund. Materialet i undersökningen kommer från en enkät som skickades till i Sverige bosatta personer födda i, eller med föräldrar som föddes i, Irak, Iran, Jugoslavien eller Turkiet, samt till en kontrollgrupp (personer med familjebakgrund i S…
Muslims by Ascription: On Post-Lutheran Secularity and Muslim Immigrants
This article empirically explores the interplay between the secular, post-Lutheran majority culture and Muslim immigrants in Sweden. It presents the ambiguous role of religion in the country’s mainstream discourse, the othering of religion that is characteristic to this, and the expectations of Muslims to be strongly religious that follows as its consequence. Four results of a web-panel survey with Swedes of Muslim and Christian family background…
The Relocation of Transcendence
Denmark, Estonia, and Sweden are, if measured by certain sociological criteria, considered to be three of the world’s most secular countries. Nature—forests, pristine beaches, and the countryside—plays a specific role in the allegedly secular discourse of the mainstream populations of these nations. Not only is it almost without exception deemed as a positive asset worthy of protection, it is also thought of as holding certain existential qualiti…
The dissolution of the history of religions: Contemporary challenges of a humanities discipline in Sweden
The discipline of History of religions has changed in Sweden over the latest decades. Its traditional connection to text and language has weakened and its emphasis shifted towards social and contemporary aspects of religion. In this article the societal trends and the reforms in Swedish university politics that lie behind this change are pinpointed and discussed. It is argued that the transformation has been twofold. On the one hand the disciplin…
Religionswissenschaftand the challenge of multi-religious student groups
Multi-religious student groups pose challenges to Religious Studies programmes. This essay proposes a pedagogical method for tackling feelings of exclusion among students who do not share the secular post-Judeo-Christian worldview that is often taken for granted in European curricula. It argues that the diverse backgrounds of the students can be made an asset rather than a problem if principles of self-contextualisation, non-confessionalism, pers…
Living Shi'ism: Instances of Ritualisation Among Islamist Men in Contemporary Iran
This book is about Iranian Islamism on grass-roots level. It provides a vivid, near-life portrait of young activist men who uphold this movement through their zealous support of revolutionary ideals and the present regime. It is based on interviews with a group of volunteers in the Iranian home guard movement known as basij during a period of four years. By focusing on beliefs and rituals of individual persons, it gives a unique picture of the sh…
Do'a-ye Komeil. Translation and Analysis of a Contemporary Shi'ite Prayer Meeting
No abstract available
The forest is my church’: Christianity, secularisation and love of nature in a northern European existential field
This article employs ethnographic material from Sweden and Estonia to examine the relationship between religion and the love of nature in Northern Europe – a region known for its widespread secularisation. We propose that the existential depth that is often ascribed to nature experiences in this part of the world points to a facet of the secularisation process, indicating that love of nature among today's Northern Europeans is deeply entangled wi…
Muslims by Ascription: On Post-Lutheran Secularity and Muslim Immigrants
This article empirically explores the interplay between the secular, post-Lutheran majority culture and Muslim immigrants in Sweden. It presents the ambiguous role of religion in the country’s mainstream discourse, the othering of religion that is characteristic to this, and the expectations of Muslims to be strongly religious that follows as its consequence. Four results of a web-panel survey with Swedes of Muslim and Christian family background…
Do'a-ye Komeil. Translation and Analysis of a Contemporary Shi'ite Prayer Meeting
No abstract available
Living Shi'ism: Instances of Ritualisation Among Islamist Men in Contemporary Iran
This book is about Iranian Islamism on grass-roots level. It provides a vivid, near-life portrait of young activist men who uphold this movement through their zealous support of revolutionary ideals and the present regime. It is based on interviews with a group of volunteers in the Iranian home guard movement known as basij during a period of four years. By focusing on beliefs and rituals of individual persons, it gives a unique picture of the sh…
Religionswissenschaftand the challenge of multi-religious student groups
Multi-religious student groups pose challenges to Religious Studies programmes. This essay proposes a pedagogical method for tackling feelings of exclusion among students who do not share the secular post-Judeo-Christian worldview that is often taken for granted in European curricula. It argues that the diverse backgrounds of the students can be made an asset rather than a problem if principles of self-contextualisation, non-confessionalism, pers…
The dissolution of the history of religions: Contemporary challenges of a humanities discipline in Sweden
The discipline of History of religions has changed in Sweden over the latest decades. Its traditional connection to text and language has weakened and its emphasis shifted towards social and contemporary aspects of religion. In this article the societal trends and the reforms in Swedish university politics that lie behind this change are pinpointed and discussed. It is argued that the transformation has been twofold. On the one hand the disciplin…
The Relocation of Transcendence
Denmark, Estonia, and Sweden are, if measured by certain sociological criteria, considered to be three of the world’s most secular countries. Nature—forests, pristine beaches, and the countryside—plays a specific role in the allegedly secular discourse of the mainstream populations of these nations. Not only is it almost without exception deemed as a positive asset worthy of protection, it is also thought of as holding certain existential qualiti…
Muslims by Ascription: On Post-Lutheran Secularity and Muslim Immigrants
This article empirically explores the interplay between the secular, post-Lutheran majority culture and Muslim immigrants in Sweden. It presents the ambiguous role of religion in the country’s mainstream discourse, the othering of religion that is characteristic to this, and the expectations of Muslims to be strongly religious that follows as its consequence. Four results of a web-panel survey with Swedes of Muslim and Christian family background…
Ärvd eller erövrad sekularitet: Sekulär identitet bland postmuslimer och postkristna i Sverige
Sverige är samtidigt sekulariserat och mångreligiöst. Föreliggande studie bidrar till förståelsen av denna situation genom att diskutera sekularitet bland svenskar med muslimsk respektive kristen familjebakgrund. Materialet i undersökningen kommer från en enkät som skickades till i Sverige bosatta personer födda i, eller med föräldrar som föddes i, Irak, Iran, Jugoslavien eller Turkiet, samt till en kontrollgrupp (personer med familjebakgrund i S…
The forest is my church’: Christianity, secularisation and love of nature in a northern European existential field
This article employs ethnographic material from Sweden and Estonia to examine the relationship between religion and the love of nature in Northern Europe – a region known for its widespread secularisation. We propose that the existential depth that is often ascribed to nature experiences in this part of the world points to a facet of the secularisation process, indicating that love of nature among today's Northern Europeans is deeply entangled wi…
Ecologizing Nature Among (Not Quite) Secular Northerners: Special Issue Editors’ Introduction
If modernization is a process of compartmentalization, then ecologization is its opposite. This is the opening idea of this special issue, borrowed from Bruno Latour’s paper ‘To Modernize or to Ecologize? That’s the Question’ from 1998. In this text, Latour’s invitation is to take steps toward reconnecting nature, that is, the landscapes, other species, the environment, with the cultural in its political, existential, emotional and spiritual dime…
Ecologizing Romanticism: The Eco-Spirituality of Urban Middle-Class Swedes
Combining ethnographic research conducted between 2017 and 2021 with historical analysis I explore how the notions of ecologization and romanticization can illuminate the nature practices of Swedish, urban, middle-class, nature enthusiasts. I argue such individuals speak of and relate to nature in ways that echo a romantic heritage characterized by nostalgia and longing for a nature perceived as beautiful, in contrast to everyday urban life. This…
Philosophy (8 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Political science (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Epistemology (4 works) · Religion and Society Interactions (4 works) · Religious studies (4 works) · Art (3 works) · Biology (3 works) · Law (3 works)