At the End of the World (podcast)

In this podcast episode (in Swedish), Jayne Svenungsson presents the new Lund-based research program ‘At the End of the World: A Transdisciplinary Approach to the Apocalyptic Imaginary in the Past and Present’ in conversation with Bo Westergaard: https://eskatologipodden.podbean.com/e/jayne-svenungsson-om-apokalyptiska-forestallningar/

The podcast series also features fascinating contributions by other scholars of the program, including Mårten Björk on politics and eschatology (https://eskatologipodden.podbean.com/e/marten-bjork-om-politik-och-eskatologi/) and Katarina Pålsson on eschatology in the patristic era (https://eskatologipodden.podbean.com/e/katarina-palsson-om-eskatologin-hos-kyrkofaderna/).

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At the End of the World

The research program At the End of the World: A Transdisciplinary Approach to the Apocalyptic Imaginary in the Past and Present has now begun. Funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and led by Jayne Svenungsson, Professor of Systematic Theology at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, the program’s 22-person research team bridges historical and contemporary studies of apocalyptic ideas and images. You can find the newly launched website for the program at https://www.endoftheworld.lu.se/ where you can see a list of recent publications or subscribe to the program’s newsletter. If you have any questions about At the End of the World, you can write to the program secretary Aaron James Goldman at aaron.goldman@ctr.lu.se.

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Doctoral position at the CTR in Lund

Doctoral student at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, within the project Scripture and Secularism

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has around 46 000 students and more than 8 000 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset.

The doctoral student will be part of the project Scripture and Secularism: Mapping the Impact of the Bible on the Conceptualizations of Europe, funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

The project Scripture and Secularism is a reception history inquiry into the ways the Bible has been seen as supportive of, and even foundational for, ideas and ideologies of Secular Europe since 1945.

The doctoral project should address questions relating to how the Bible and the Qur’an are perceived and used in a diversity of arenas, from political debates, thinktanks, and legal cases, to print and digital media, educational material, and by public intellectuals. By undertaking comparative work on the reception of the Qur’an and the Bible in public discourses in Europe, the doctoral research will contribute to the overall aim of the Scripture and Secularism project, namely to demonstrate the mechanisms whereby Christianity comes to be seen as ‘natural’ to Europe, while Islam is construed as ‘other’.

The doctoral position will be interdisciplinary, working in both biblical reception history and Islamic studies. 

The doctoral student will be admitted to one of the following subjects:

– Old Testament Exegesis

– Global Christianity and Interreligious Relations

– Jewish Studies

– Church History

– New Testament Exegesis

– Practical Theology

– Philosophy of Religion and Ethics

– History of Religion

– History of Religion specialising in Islamology

– Systematic Theology

Information about the different subjects can be found at https://www.ctr.lu.se/en/research/research-disciplines/

Information about doctoral studies at the Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology can be found at https://www.ht.lu.se/en/education/doctoral-studies/

Work assignments

Doctoral education. Departmental work, such as teaching and administrative tasks, can be assigned.

Admission requirements

Admission requirements for doctoral studies in each subject are specified in the relevant general syllabus, available at https://www.ht.lu.se/en/education/doctoral-studies/general-syllabi/

Assessment criteria

The selection process will primarily take into account the applicants’ ability to benefit from third cycle studies. This is assessed against the criteria quality, quantity, progression and relevance.

The application must include:

– CV/list of qualifications including relevant administrative and educational qualifications

– cover letter

– records of first- and second-cycle studies (attested copies of official transcripts of records)

– documentation of language skills of relevance for the research studies

– first- and second-cycle theses/degree projects

– any scholarly publications

– project proposal (1500 words max. excluding references)

Instructions for applying for a doctoral student position can be found here: https://www.ht.lu.se/en/education/doctoral-studies/application-and-admission/

Type of employment

Limit of tenure, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§.

About The Joint Faculties of the Humanities and Theology
The Joint Faculties of the Humanities and Theology have eight departments and carries out large and varied work within research and education with the purpose to understand people as cultural and social beings. The faculties have around 700 employees and around 4000 students. 

The Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR) has existed under various names in Lund ever since the University became operational in 1668. CTR conducts teaching in the specialisations of history of religions and religious behavioural science, biblical studies, church and mission studies and studies in faith and world views. Research is carried out within all the disciplines of religious studies and theology. 

We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts.

Type of employmentTemporary position longer than 6 months
First day of employment1 september 2023
SalaryMonthly salary
Number of positions1
Full-time equivalent100 %
CityLund
CountySkåne län
CountrySweden
Reference numberPA2023/41
ContactKristina Arnrup Thorsbro, Faculty Secretary, https://www.ht.lu.se/en/contacts/staff/Hanna Strømmen, Director of Project, https://www.ht.lu.se/en/contacts/staff/Blaženka Scheuer, Dep. Head of Department, https://www.ht.lu.se/en/contacts/staff/
Union representativeSACO:Saco-s-rådet vid Lunds universitet, kansli@saco-s.lu.seOFR/ST:Fackförbundet ST:s kansli, 046-2229362
Published15.Jan.2023
Last application date15.Feb.2023 11:59 PM CET
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Funded PhD-positions at MF, Oslo

Three PhD positions are now available at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society in Oslo.

Application deadline: 15th January 2023.

The position

MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society announces three PhD fellowships. The starting date for the PhD fellowships will be September 1st 2023.

A PhD position should to lead to a completed PhD degree. The positions are fully funded, fulltime, fixed term positions over three years, alternatively, four years with 25 % teaching or other relevant duties at MF. Proficiency in Norwegian might be expected for such duties.

The three positions are open to applicants with projects relevant to MF’s research areas and study portfolio in theology, religion and society. Applications with projects within religion and politics, educational research or the New Testament studies can be given priority.

Residency in Oslo is a requirement. Hiring is dependent on admission to MF’s PhD program. Completion of this program and a satisfactory progression throughout the employment period is a condition that has to be fulfilled. MF expects that project progress and writing production is satisfactory throughout the employment period. There will be a mid-way evaluation of the project.

The successful candidate is expected to work in accordance with MF’s aims and profile. 

Read more.

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Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrift: Pris för bästa vetenskapliga artikel för 2022

Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrift har utlyst ett pris för bästa vetenskapliga artikel för 2022. Priset, som uppgår till 50 000 kr, tilldelas den nydisputerade forskare som på bästa sätt författar en artikel som redogör för och självständigt utvecklar sitt avhandlingsämne eller annat relevant ämne inom religionsvetenskap och teologi.

Artikeln ska vara författad på svenska, danska eller norska. För att komma i fråga för priset ska författaren ha disputerat under perioden 2019–2022. Bidraget ska inte överstiga 6 000 ord och ska skrivas i enlighet med tidskriftens riktlinjer för manuskript (https://journals.lub.lu.se/STK/about/submissions).

Den vinnande artikeln publiceras i tidskriften under 2023. Flera av de inkomna artiklarna kan bli aktuella för publicering. Redaktionen förbehåller sig rätten att avstå utseende av vinnare om inget bidrag möter de krav som ställs på artikelns kvalitet eller om inte tillräckligt många bidrag inkommer. 

Bidragen skickas senast den 31 december 2022 till tidskriftens redaktionssekreterare, stk.red@ctr.lu.se.

English: Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrift is offering a prize for the best academic article in 2022. It will be awarded to the best article submitted by a scholar who in the last three years has defended his/her dissertation. The article should be written in Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian and be submitted by the 31st of December 2022.

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Director for Theology, Mission and Justice at LWF

Open position at The Lutheran World Federation:

In view of the current incumbent’s end of assignment, we are looking to hire a new Director for the Department for Theology, Mission and Justice.

To equal qualifications, preference will be given to candidates representing the diversity of LWF (Africa, Asia or Latin America and Caribbeans).

The position is located in the Communion Office in Geneva and the employment for a 5-year term, renewable once. 

Work time:                                       100%

Average travel days per year:              limited (7 – 19)

Closing date for applications:             31 March 2022

__________________________________________________________________________________

Purpose 

The Department for Theology, Mission and Justice (DTMJ) is primarily responsible for programs and themes geared towards supporting the presence and witness of the member churches of the Lutheran World Federation – a Communion of Churches (LWF) globally and locally.  DTMJ also houses the advocacy unit of the LWF. 

DTMJ sets the theological foundation of the LWF’s work. Its programs are grouped into

  • Theology for Transformation with programs on Lutheran Theological Identity, Communion and Formation, Public Theology, and Gender studies;
  • Church in Mission, with programs on Diakonia, Capacity Building & Leadership Development, and Youth;
  • Action for Justice, setting the overall advocacy directions and shaping the public voice of the LWF Communion, with programs on Human Rights & International Affairs, Interfaith & Peace, Gender Justice, and Climate Justice, under the leadership of the Head of Global Advocacy.

As a member of the Communion Office Leadership Team (COLT), the incumbent has the overview on the outcome of the department and in agreement with General Secretary decides on thematic orientations of the work of the department. S/he oversees the implementation of thematic and programmatic guidelines with the contribution of other departments/office.

S-he manages and accompanies thematic experts and program executives, providing a combination of vision and pragmatism.

As the leader of a resource department of theological and programmatic experts on specific methodologies, the incumbent is knowledgeable on the various global thematic and cross-departmental programs and provides strategic input to the General Secretary and his-her office members.

S-he ensures that theological support is adequately provided in the development of the programs, including those led by the Action for Justice team in coordination with the Department for World Service. S-he ensures that the work serves the needs of member churches, particularly in view of capacity building in the field of theology, advocacy, peace building and leadership development.  S-he ensures that adequate funding is sourced for the development of programs of the department. 

Required Qualifications

  • Degree in Theology (at least MA level or equivalent).
  • Experience in management
  • Fluent in English, other LWF languages are assets
  • Endorsement by a LWF member church 

Additional Study and Experience

  • Successful experience in a position involving mission, theological reflection, as well as management / program management in a church, a related agency or ecumenical organization
  • Considerable previous experience in working internationally.
  • Solid experience within a LWF member church in at least one related topic.
  • Demonstrated excellent capacity to develop interpersonal working relationships at both strategic and operational levels.
  • Proven ability to lead and interact with multi-cultural and multi-professional teams 

LWF Core Skills

  • Analytical thinking: level expert
  • Leadership: level expert
  • Achieving results: level expert
  • Accountability: level expert
  • Working effectively with others: level expert
  • Initiative level advanced 

Required Skills

  • People management: level expert
  • Facilitation / Negotiation: level expert
  • Communication / Networking: level expert
  • Promotion: level expert
  • Innovation: level advanced
  • Resources management / Fund raising / Finance: level advanced 

Position Environment and Dimensions

In coordination with the General Secretary and the leadership team, defines, develops and implements DTMJ programs at global and thematic levels, ensuring that programs are theologically rooted and achieving LWF strategic objectives.

Overall accountability of the department budget, programs’ results, quality and compliance, human resources and people management.

Internally, interacts with the General Secretary and the staff of his-her office, all LWF departments, program holders, regional secretaries and Country programs representatives/directors.

Supervises: Twelve direct supervisees in four teams. Department with 23 staff in total working from Geneva and other locations.

Externally, interacts with member churches, donors and related agencies 

Main duties

Department Management

  • To hold a large department team together.
  • To manage, negotiate, liaise with relevant partners for the coherence and the excellence of programs, both in terms of content and quality.
  • To create a conducive environment and manage efficiently the department with proven people management best practices.
  • To manage financial and logistic resources appropriately.

Supervision on Program Implementation

  • To ensure the implementation of the LWF strategy related priorities and decisions defined by the governance and the leadership team through effective, organized and coordinated activities / events.
  • To oversee and ensure the smooth development of all programs.

Expertise Development & Support

  • To ensure that quality and consistency is provided by DTMJ thematic experts to internal stakeholders within and across the departments, as well as externally, when exercising support and capacity building.
  • To ensure that program staff are equipped to carry out their programmatic work in the field of their specific expertise.
  • To contribute to LWF continuous improvement and knowledge management.

Promotion & Communication

  • To ensure the provision of adequate level of communication flow, reporting and information sharing, internally and externally.
  • To ensure the visibility of DTMJ activities and added value 

Special duties

As may be assigned by the General Secretary 

Major Challenges 

To develop, lead and manage a department at a time of change, both in terms of content, organization and staff. To demonstrate the department’s added value to its various stakeholders

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CfP: “Civil Theology”: A History of the Concept

The Italian journal “Politica e religione. Annuario di teologia politica/Yearbook of Political Theology” welcomes submissions from various fields (History of Political Thought, History of Christian, Jewish or Islamic Thought, Philosophy, Theology, History of Law) for an issue focussed on the history of the concept of “civil theology”

Abstract submission deadline: October 15, 2021
Full paper submission deadline: February 28, 2022
Contact: theopopedia@unitn.it

The Topic

The phrase “civil theology” (theologia civilis) appears in Augustine (The City of God, book VI) and is attributed to Varro. Along with the “mythical theology” of poets and the “natural theology” of philosophers, Varro mentions the “civil theology”, which concerns the public cult of gods established within the city. Making occasional appearances in medieval texts, from the early modern period onwards the phrase was increasingly used, and overlapped with similar expressions as “civil religion”, “political religion”, “political theology”, with no substantial variation in the meaning until D’Alembert’s and Diderot’s Encyclopédie. Nineteenth-century debates attest the preponderance of “political theology”, both in theological and political areas, and the phrase was subsequently made famous by Carl Schmitt’s essay on Political theology, in 1922.

The volume aims at casting light on the historical roots and the different uses, functions and meanings of the concept of “civil theology”/”political theology” from Varro to Schmitt. Special attention is to be paid to the semantic shifts of the concept and to its actual presence in a number of classic texts. Topics of interest include,page2image51732928page2image51734272

but are

• • • • • •

not limited to, the following:

V arro on “civil theology”: origins, roots. Theconceptof“civiltheology”inAntiquity,fromVarrotoAugustine. Theconceptof“civiltheology”intheMiddleAges. Theconceptof“civiltheology”/“politicaltheology”fromtheRenaissancetotheEncyclopédieTheconceptof“civiltheology”/“politicaltheology”inthe19thcent. Theconceptof“civiltheology”/“politicaltheology”inthe20thcent.

Submission

Abstracts (c. 150 words, with essential bibliography) should be submitted to the address theopopedia@unitn.it, by October 15, 2021. Selected authors will be notified by October 30, 2021. The full paper (in Italian, English, French, German or Spanish) should be approximately 45.000 characters, including footnotes, and should be sent electronically to theopopedia@unitn.it, by February 28, 2022. All submissions undergo a double-blind peer review process and should be prepared accordingly. Publication is expected by the end of 2022.

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Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrifts pris för bästa vetenskapliga artikel

Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrift utlyser härmed ett pris för bästa vetenskapliga artikel för 2021. Priset, som uppgår till 50 000 SEK, tilldelas den nydisputerade forskare som på bästa sätt författar en artikel som redogör för och självständigt utvecklar sitt avhandlingsämne eller annat relevant ämne inom religionsvetenskap och teologi. Artikeln ska vara författad på svenska, danska eller norska. För att komma i fråga för priset ska författaren ha disputerat under perioden 2018–2021. Bidraget ska inte överstiga 40 000 tecken (inkl. blanksteg och fotnoter) och ska skrivas i enlighet med tidskriftens riktlinjer för manuskript (https://journals.lub.lu.se/STK/about/submissions). Den vinnande artikeln publiceras i tidskriften under 2022. Flera av de inkomna artiklarna kan bli aktuella för publicering. Redaktionen förbehåller sig rätten att avstå utseende av vinnare om inget bidrag möter de krav som ställs på artikelns kvalitet. Bidragen skickas senast den 31december 2021 till tidskriftens redaktionssekreterare, stk.red@ctr.lu.se.

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Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology: Call for Proposals

Interactions between Christian thinkers and continental philosophy often have a critical focus, whether on the intellectual debt continental philosophers owe to the Christian tradition, or on the ways secular philosophers critique classical theological accounts of ultimate reality. Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology focuses on the joint potential of theology and continental philosophy for discovery and growth, using the intellectual resources continental philosophy makes available to open new horizons in philosophical theology.

Widening Horizons offers twelve grants for research projects that advance this constructive aim, which is laid out in more detail in the vision statement Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology: A Vision.  Please read this document carefully before applying.

Applications may be for small projects of up to £60,000 (including c. £8,000 fixed costs); or large projects of up to £160,000 (including c. £23,000 fixed costs).

Projects should start between 1st October 2021 and 1st March 2022, and end between 30th September 2023 and 28th February 2024. Most activities may be concentrated within a shorter period if desired.

The Call for Proposals closes on 31st May 2021 at 17:00 BST.

Click here to read more about the call for proposals.

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