Lars Ahlin

Hvad betyder det egentligt at betegne sig selv som "troende"?

Religion i Danmark, Apr 1, 2010

Danmark har i de seneste 50-60 år vaeret igennem dramatiske forandringer på en raekke samfundsomr... more Danmark har i de seneste 50-60 år vaeret igennem dramatiske forandringer på en raekke samfundsområder inklusive det religiøse. Disse har påvirket alle, men på forskellige måder afhaengig af hvornår den enkelte voksede op. I dag er det rimeligt i denne sammenhaeng at tale om fire forskellige generationer, med hver deres saerlige erfaringer. Disse fire generations forskellige tendenser når det gaelder det religiøse bliver her analyseret ud fra vaerdiundersøgelsen fra 2008 Af Lars Ahlin, ph.d., lektor i religionssociologi, Afdeling for Religionsvidenskab, Aarhus Universitet Generationer Den aeldste generation, førkrigsgenerationen, er født før eller under Anden Verdenskrig. Det er i dag en aldrende generation, da de yngste i år bliver 65 år. Derefter kommer efterkrigsgenerationen, der er født fra 1946 frem til 1960. Her er de yngste nu 50 år gamle. Fra 1961 til 1976 voksede generation X op og i denne er de yngste nu er på vej mod 35 år. De som er endnu yngre tilhører generation Y. Disse fire generationer vil blive analyseret med hensyn til forskellige "religiøse" variable. Analysen laves ud fra det datamateriale, der blev indsamlet for vaerdiundersøgelsen 2008. Dette består af svarene fra et tilfaeldigt udvalg af danskere, 18 år og aeldre, og totalt består materialet af cirka 1500 individer. Naervaerende analyse foretages ikke med udgangspunkt i, hvordan de "religiøse" variabler forholder sig til demografiske baggrundsvariabler som køn, alder, uddannelsesniveau eller urbaniseringsgrad. I stedet ligger fokus på hvordan "religiøs selvbetegnelse" forholder sig til andre "religiøse" variabler, dog hele tiden med generation som bagvedliggende forklarende faktor.

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Back To The Classics – The Relation Between Social Experiences And Religiosity

Nordic Journal of Religion and Society, Feb 10, 2017

The thesis of this article is that changes in religious views are causally related to changes in ... more The thesis of this article is that changes in religious views are causally related to changes in social realities. In arguing for this, references are made to the classics; the main inspiration, though, is Mary Douglas and her grid/group-model. She explicitly intends to reveal the importance of social experience for the individual’s religiosity. Douglas’ model has further been the starting point for the formulation of formal hypotheses to be tested. To accomplish this task a questionnaire was designed and sent out to a sample of the Swedish population. The hypotheses were to a great extent confirmed. The original thesis, though, had to be altered since it was found necessary to take the individual’s primary role in society as producer or consumer into account.

The Growth of Alternative Therapy: A Valid Argument against the Secularisation Thesis?

Journal of Contemporary Religion, 2015

The fact that alternative therapy has experienced vast growth during the last 30 years in most of... more The fact that alternative therapy has experienced vast growth during the last 30 years in most of the West is used by both Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead as an argument against the secularisation theory. The objective of this article is to examine whether such an argument can be seen as being valid. In order to do this, four preconditions are formulated whose fulfilment I consider to be necessary if the above-mentioned arguments against the secularisation theory are to be accepted. The four preconditions are discussed; they are as follows: 1) alternative therapy is of significant magnitude; 2) the alternative therapists themselves consider the practice to be spiritual; 3) the clients seeing such ‘spiritual’ therapists have a spiritually informed motive to do so; 4) ‘spirituality’ as understood both by practitioners and by clients has ‘religious’ connotations.

The Social Significance of Religion in the Enlarged Europe

Journal of Church and State, 2014

Description: Engaging with some of the central issues in the sociology of religion, this volume i... more Description: Engaging with some of the central issues in the sociology of religion, this volume investigates the role and significance of churches and religion in contemporary Western and Eastern Europe. Based on an extensive international research project, it offers case studies of various countries (including Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Russia, Estonia, Hungary and Croatia), as well as cross-country comparisons. Researching more precisely the present social relevance of church and religion at different levels, The Social Significance of Religion in the Enlarged Europe raises and responds to both descriptive and explanatory questions: Can we observe tendencies of religious decline in the various Western and Eastern European countries? Are we witnessing trends of religious individualization? To what extent has there been a religious upswing in the last few years? And what are the factors causing the observed processes of religious change?

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The Meaning of “Spirituality:” a discussion with its starting point in an investigation among alternative therapists

Implicit Religion, Aug 27, 2008

In the contemporary Western world one can observe a remarkable popularity of the term spirituali... more

Religionssociologien I en Kultur I Stadig Forandring

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A first precondition for a proper understanding of the religious landscape of t... more ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A first precondition for a proper understanding of the religious landscape of today is, when we construct our surveys, that the dominating traditional religion is not used as point of reference. Secondly we as sociologists of religion must take into account the theories of contemporary sociologists concerning the individual’s situation in late modern society. The last point is; if we want sociologically founded understanding of the changes of the religious field, we must take into account theories of the kind, represented by Mary Douglas’ grid/group-model, that connect the social experiences of the individual with his/her type of religiosity. DANSK RESUME: Muligheden for at konstruere det religiose felt i dag og dets forandringer pa en adaekvat og sociologisk relevant made forudsaetter, at en dominerende, traditionel religion ikke fungerer som referencepunkt. En relevant forstaelse af individets situation i det senmoderne samfund forudsaetter inddragelse af indsigt...

Faith and Worldview Communities and Their Leaders–Inward or Outward Looking?

Religious Complexity in the Public Sphere, 2017

This chapter analyzes some of the ways that the faith and worldview communities deal with the gro... more This chapter analyzes some of the ways that the faith and worldview communities deal with the growing religious diversity. The first part outlines the development of the “interfaith infrastructures” during the past decades. There has been a growth of interfaith bodies and religious umbrella organizations in all the five countries. These bodies are stronger at the national level in Norway and Finland, while local bodies are important in Sweden. The second part analyzes interview data of Norwegian national religious leaders, which show that most of them have an outward orientation and participate in bridgebuilding activities. The growth in the interfaith infrastructure has contributed to a deprivatization of religion in all the countries, findings that are supported in the interview study.

Individet bestemmer selv sin virkelighed: New age og nyliberalisme

Mutual Interests? Neoliberalism and New Age During the 1980s

Changing Religious Landscapes in the Nordic Countries

Religious Complexity in the Public Sphere, 2018

This chapter describes the transition from relative ethnic and religious homogeneity in Sweden, N... more This chapter describes the transition from relative ethnic and religious homogeneity in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland to more religiously diversity. The focus is on changes in the religious landscapes from the late 1980s until the present, which are discussed in relation to the economy, politics, immigration, and women’s employment. In spite of the fact that the Evangelical Lutheran majority churches still have large percentages of the populations as members, there is a steady decline in membership, religious beliefs, and practices, and a growing trend of people without religious affiliations. These trends can be signs of secularization at the individual level. Simultaneously, there is a growing religious diversity and alternative spirituality.

Krop, sind-eller ånd?: alternative behandlere og spiritualitet i Danmark

RAPPORT från en religionssociologisk undersökning inom Växjö Kyrkliga Samfällighet under våren 1994

Pilgrim, turist eller flygtning?

teo.au.dk

Religiøsiteten ser i dag anderledes ud end for halvtreds år siden. Markedet for religion er bleve... more

The Religious Market and the Problem of Conversion

Towards a new understanding of …, 1999

Pilgrim, turist eller flykting?: en studie av individuell religiös rörlighet i senmoderniteten

Hvad betyder det egentligt at betegne sig selv som "troende"?

Religion i Danmark

Danmark har i de seneste 50-60 år været igennem dramatiske forandringer på en række samfundsområd... more Danmark har i de seneste 50-60 år været igennem dramatiske forandringer på en række samfundsområder inklusive det religiøse. Disse har påvirket alle, men på forskellige måder afhængig af hvornår den enkelte voksede op. I dag er det rimeligt i denne sammenhæng at tale om fire forskellige generationer, med hver deres særlige erfaringer. Disse fire generationers forskellige tendenser når det gælder det religiøse bliver her analyseret ud fra værdiundersøgelsen fra 2008.

Back To The Classics – The Relation Between Social Experiences And Religiosity

Nordic Journal of Religion and Society, 2017

The thesis of this article is that changes in religious views are causally related to changes in ... more The thesis of this article is that changes in religious views are causally related to changes in social realities. In arguing for this, references are made to the classics; the main inspiration, though, is Mary Douglas and her grid/group-model. She explicitly intends to reveal the importance of social experience for the individual’s religiosity. Douglas’ model has further been the starting point for the formulation of formal hypotheses to be tested. To accomplish this task a questionnaire was designed and sent out to a sample of the Swedish population. The hypotheses were to a great extent confirmed. The original thesis, though, had to be altered since it was found necessary to take the individual’s primary role in society as producer or consumer into account.

Religionssociologien i en kultur i fortsat forandring

Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift, 2007

Muligheden for at konstruere det religiøse felt i dag og dets forandringer på en adækvat og socio... more Muligheden for at konstruere det religiøse felt i dag og dets forandringer på en adækvat og sociologisk relevant måde forudsætter, at en dominerende, traditionel religion ikke fungerer som referencepunkt. En relevant forståelse af individets situation i det senmoderne samfund forudsætter inddragelse af indsigter fra almen sociologi. Hvis vi skal forstå det religiøse felts forandring på en sociologisk relevant måde, skal vi desuden som udgangspunkt have en teori, der sammentænger enkeltindividers sociale erfaringer og typer af religiøsitet.

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Indre Mission: et offer for den subjektive vending?

Religionsvetenskapen i övergången från den första til den andra moderniteten

Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift, 2009

Den tyske sociolog Ulrich Beck er optaget af overgangen fra den første til den anden modernitet. ... more Den tyske sociolog Ulrich Beck er optaget af overgangen fra den første til den anden modernitet. Han argumenterer, for at denne overgang fører til, at sociologiske kategorier som klasse og familie bliver zombie-kategorier. De er kategorier skabt under den første modernitet, men som stadigvæk er i brug i dag under den anden modernitet, til trods for at de er levende døde kategorier. I denne artikel argumenteres for, at kategorier, begreber, brugt inden for religionsvidenskaben, primært religionssociologien, også kan betragtes som zombie-kategorier. De begreber, der diskuteres, er religiøse organisationer og religiøs tilhørighed, og udgangspunktet for diskussionen er den religiøse situation i dagens Danmark.

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