James A. Beckford
a Fellow of the British Academy, is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Warwick, UK, and a former President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. His main research interests are chaplaincies and relations between religion and the state. His publications include Social Theory and Religion (2003), Muslims in Prison: Challenge and Change in Britain and France (2005, with D. Joly and F. Khosrokhavar), The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion (2007, edited with N.J. Demerath III) and Migration and Religion (two edited volumes, 2015). He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Inger Furseth
dr. polit., is professor in sociology at the University of Oslo and adjunct professor at kifo, Institute for Church, Religion and Worldview Research, Oslo. Her research centers on religious diversity, public policies on religion, social and religious movements, gender issues, and social theory. Some of her books are Religious Complexity in the Public Sphere. Comparing Nordic Countries (2018, editor), From Quest for Truth to Being Oneself (2006), An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion (2006, with Pål Repstad), and A Comparative Study of Social and Religious Movements in Norway, 1780s-1905 (2002). She serves as Vice-President in the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (2016-) and is editor of Nordic Journal of Religion and Society (2005-).
Kristina Røynås Grundetjern
holds a master’s degree in religion from the University of Agder, Norway. After additional studies at The University of Oslo and VID Specialized University in Stavanger, Norway, she has practiced as a minister in the Church of Norway. Her master thesis from 2010 is called Veien og målet: en empirisk analyse av en pilegrimsvandring i dagens Norge [The road and the destination: An empirical analysis of a pilgrimage in contemporary Norway].
Jan-Olav Henriksen
is dr. theol. and dr. philos. He is professor in philosophy of religion at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Oslo, Norway, and professor in contemporary religion at the University of Agder, Norway. Henriksen has increasingly more
Bjarte Leer-Helgesen
holds a PhD in religion and is department manager, Agder and Telemark diocese, Norway. His academic work focuses on contextual theology and funerals. Leer-Helgesen is also a minister in the Church of Norway, where he has been working in a prison and with people addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Ida Marie Høeg
PhD, is professor in sociology of religion at the University of Agder, Norway. Her research fields include sociology of youth, ritual studies, sociology of Jewry, and sociology of death and bereavement. The findings from her research have been published in various articles and edited collections. Her last books include Religion og ungdom [Religion and youth] (2017, editor), and Den offentlige sorgen: Markeringer, ritualer og religion etter 22. juli [The public grief: Markings, rituals and religion after July 22] (2013, editor with O. Aagedal and P.K. Botvar).
Nils Martinius Justvik
holds a PhD in history and is associate professor of history at the University of Agder, Norway. Among his publications are the books Idrett og kristendom på Sørlandet [Sport and Christianity in Southern Norway] (2012), Idrett i sør. Vest-Agders idrettshistorie [Sports in the South. History of Sports in Vest-Agder] (2017) and Fra hav til hei. Aust-Agders idrettshistorie [From Sea to Mountains. History of Sports in Aust-Agder] (2018), and the article Aspects of muscular Christianity in Norway and the United States: a historiographical comparison, Journal of Religion and Society 16, 2014. He has also done regional and local studies about the labor movement in Norway.
Paul Leer-Salvesen
is professor in theology and ethics at the University of Agder, Norway. He is dr. philos in criminology from University of Oslo. He has published books and articles in theology, ethics, criminology and philosophy of law. Recent publications include: Theology after the massacre in Norway, Dialog: A Journal of Theology 52(2), 2013, Loyalty and Obedience: Challenges in Ethical Leadership,
Anne Løvland
holds a PhD and is professor at the Department of Norwegian Language and Media, University of Agder, Norway. She has a wide range of published articles on multimodality in schools and religious life. Among her publications are the book På mange måtar. Samansette tekstar i skolen [In many ways. Multimodal texts in school] (2007), and the article Religious symbols in public spaces: Asking people in and out of context, Nordic Journal of Religion and Society 28(2), 2015 (with Pål Repstad).
Tomas Rasmussen
is assistant professor at the University of Agder, Norway. He holds a master’s degree in Religion, Ethics and Society from University of Agder. In 2015 he published his master thesis Å være eller ikke være? Erfaring blant rumenske gatearbeidere i møte med befolkningen i Kristiansand by [To be or not to be? Romanian street-workers’ experiences meeting the population in the town Kristiansand].
Pål Repstad
is professor emeritus in sociology of religion at the University of Agder, Norway. He is dr.philos, and has written extensively on religious change, especially in mainstream religion in Norway. He was co-editor of Nordic Journal of Religion and Society 2005–2015 (with Inger Furseth), and is a former member of the council of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion. The book An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion (2006, with Inger Furseth) has been translated into five languages. Among his recent publications in English are articles in G. Vincett and E. Obinna (eds.): Christianity in the Modern World (2014), A. McKinnon and M. Trzebiatowska (eds.): Sociological Theory and the Question of Religion (2014), L. Molokotos-Liederman (ed.): Religion and Welfare in Europe (2017), K. Lundby (ed.): Contesting Religion (2018), and H. Joas (ed.): David Martin and the Sociology of Religion (2018). He holds an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University, Sweden.
Tale Steen-Johnsen
holds a PhD in sociology and is associate professor in sociology at the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. She is the author of State and Politics in Religious Peacebuilding (2017). In this volume, she underlines how religious peacebuilding initiatives should be studied in the light of the political context
Irene Trysnes
holds a PhD in sociology of religion and is associate professor at the Faculty of Social Science, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. Among her publications is the book Å campe med Gud. En studie av kristne sommerstevner [Camping with God. A study of Christian summer camps] (2010), and two chapters in Ida Marie Høeg (ed.): Religion og ungdom [Religion and youth] (2017).