SMRE Session at the ISSR 2017 in Lausanne
The SMRE team has organized a session together with PEW at the ISSR 2017 in Lausanne (4-7 July 2017). The title of the session was "Contested Religious Belonging in Europe. Measuring Old Traditions and New Identities in Comparative Perspective". The session was organized instead of a separate SMRE Conference 2017 since the ISSR Conference 2017 has moved to Lausanne (Switzerland). Therefore we have decided to go for a joint event at this outstanding conference on research on religion.
Contested Religious Belonging in Europe. Measuring Old Traditions and New Identities in Comparative Perspective
The role of religion in European societies has become a prominent topic of public and academic de-bate. Questions concerning religion figure large when it comes to identities, politics and social inte-gration. Historically religion in Europe is a highly territorial feature of social structure. Its standard form is an exclusive social membership role. Currently Europe’s religious landscape is changing rap-idly. The number of religious bodies and communities is growing. Muslim minorities and persons without religious affiliation take a larger share within many countries. In addition, religious affiliation and religious belonging have gained a new prominence as categories of social identification. Consequently, the importance of statistics on religious affiliation has grown. Data on religious affiliation are regularly brought forward in debates about the strength, predominance and acceptance of various religious groups. Frequently, these numbers are doubted and disputed.
How different are countries and regions of Europe religiously? How religiously pluralized is Europe? And how and why do these differences and changes interplay with social conflicts concerning religious identities and state religious policies? Any scientific assessment must start with clarifying conceptual issues and giving data on religious affiliation.
Session with three panels
Panel 1: Measuring Religious Affiliation in Europe: Concepts, Methods and Instruments
The measurement of What? Problems of the measurement of religious affiliation and behaviour in Europe
Miroslav Tížik, Institute for Sociology of Slovak Academy of Sciences, miroslav.tizik@savba.sk
The Swiss Metadatabase of Religious Affiliation «SMRE»: Methodology, Data Collection and Algorithms.
Anastas Odermatt and Antonius Liedhegener, University of Lucerne, anastas.odermatt@unilu.ch
Panel 2: Perspectives on the Changing Religious Landscape of Europe. Case Studies on Religious Traditions, Cultures and Rituals.
Counting Pentecostals in Europe, 1970-2020: Issues and Trends
Todd Johnson, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, tjohnson@gcts.edu
The Settlement Congregations of the Moravians as Special Cases of Town Planning
Jürgen Lafrenz, University of Hamburg, juergen.lafrenz@uni-hamburg.de
Lived religion and sacred places in performing disposal of ashes rituals
Ida Marie Høeg, University of Agder, ida.m.hoeg@uia.no
Panel 3: Religious Affiliation and Religious Pluralization in Europe
The impact of immigration on Europe’s religious landscape in 2015 and in the future
Conrad Hackett, Pew Research Center, conradhackett@gmail.com
Religious Pluralisation in Contemporary Europe. Evidence, Revisions and Insights Based on New Estimates on Religious Affiliation
Antonius Liedhegener and Anastas Odermatt, University of Lucerne, antonius.liedhegener@unilu.ch
Religious Affiliation and Religiosity in Poland
Wojciech Sadlon, Institute for Catholic Church Statistics, w.sadlon@iskk.pl
Impressions of the panels
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Impressions of SMRE Lunch
The SMRE team has invited colleagues for a SMRE lunch during the ISSR. We wanted to say thank you to all who have collaborated and who have took an interest in the success of our project.
