From the advent of Christianization until around 1700 Christianity was the fundamental basis for society and culture in Denmark. But during the Enlightenment this started to change and after 1800 secularization gradually forced Christianity away from the public arena reducing it to a private matter, though without really contesting the Christian basis of the Danish society and culture.

This historical process has lead to a Danish society that is today both very secularized on the one hand and on the other carries strong marks of its Christian inheritance. It is the task of historical and church historical research to describe this development and its current consequences. However, this task is hampered by the fact that scholars working with Danish ecclesiastical and religious history are dispersed across various different institutions. Therefore it is the purpose of ”Network for the Historical Study of Religion” to establish further contact and collaboration between the relevant scholars placed at universities and at the The Royal Library, The State Archives and The National Museum of Denmark.

An overall aim of the network is to facilitate the implementation of new theoretical approaches to the study of religion into the empirical historical research. Another important goal is to increase conscious internationalisation of the Danish research in a field that has often had a narrow Danish perspective. Finally the network is meant to establish frames for continued collaboration, hopefully in at joint research project on the history of the Christian religion in Denmark.

Organization

The research network that by now has 80 members is funded by The Danish Council for Independent Research | Humanities (FKK) in the period 01.08.2009 – 01.08.2012. It is hosted by Section for Church History and Practical Theology at The Faculty of Theology, Aarhus University with professor Per Ingesman as its leader.

Apart from arranging meetings and conferences, the network organisation also coordinates the work of various research groups among its members. So far these consists of a group of researchers working with canonical law in Denmark and Scandinavia in the Middle Ages and another group working on the publication of a five-volume cultural history of Christianity in Denmark as well as a summarising volume in English.

More information

This page contains information in danish about arrangements and newsletters. You will also find a list of members and information about the organisation of the network.If you have questions or need any further information, please contact network secretary Anne Markussen ama@teo.au.dk or professor Per Ingesman pi@teo.au.dk.