The Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History, Åbo Akademi University
Contact details
ContactBiskopsgatan 13
20500 Turku
Finland
Tel: +358 (0)20 7861 451
Email: donner.institute@abo.fi
https://www.donnerinstitute.fi/en/
Head of Department/Director
Ruth Illman
Tel: +358 50 517 5917
Email: ruth.illman@abo.fi
Activites
Pursues academic research activitiesMain research activities
The Donner Institute for Research in Religious
and Cultural History is a private research
institute attached to the Foundation for Åbo
Akademi University. The aim of the Institute is
to promote research in religious and cultural
history.
A current research project is 'Boundaries of Jewish Identities in Contemporary Finland'. This project examines central ideas of boundaries as they are negotiated and interpreted among Jews living in Finland today, compares the emerging patterns with Nordic counterparts, thus challenging perceptions that currently guide research on minority ethnic and religious identities. It ties on to recent developments within the research on lived religion and on identity and change in Jewish communities worldwide, creating previously unexplored possibilities for Nordic comparison. The objectives are to explore and explain contemporary Jewish lived religion in light of the challenges set by the fluctuating religious landscape of 21st century Finland, in comparison with Nordic contexts and to demonstrate how the case of Finland contributes to the theoretical and methodological development of the international research field. It spans four years and consists of four tightly interlinked case studies building on archival material, a quantitative questionnaire and ethnographic interviews.
There is a Jewish Studies library
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