Keynote Speakers

Get to know more about our keynote speakers and other common program.
Dr. Tore Johnsen

"Decolonizing Theology in Times of Ecological and Indigenous Uncertainties: A Sámi/Nordic example"

Dr. is an associate professor at VID Specialized University in Tromsø, Norway. His research interests encompass Sámi Christianity, religiosity, and worldview; lived theology, indigenous theologies, and contextual theologies; public theology and ecotheology; the Norwegianization policy and truth and reconciliation processes in Sápmi and Norway; and decolonization of Scandinavian Lutheran majority theologies, particularly in the context of Norwegian and Nordic 19th-century nationalism.
Prof. Dr. Kristina Stoeckl 

"(Un)Democratic Religious Actors: How Far-Right Claims to Christianity Challenge Liberal Democracy and Churches in Europe"

Dr. Prof.  is a professor of sociology at the LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome. Her main areas of research are sociology of religion, political sociology, and social and political theory. She is a leading specialist on the global connections and dynamics of far-right Christianity, Russian Orthodoxy, and religion-state relations in Russia.
Prof. Dr. Elisa Uusimäki

"Travelling as a Space of Otherness and Accompanying Deities"

Prof. Dr. is professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism at the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University. She is an expert on the literary and cultural history of Judaism in antiquity, and she serves as the PI of the ERC project "An Intersectional Analysis of Ancient Jewish Travel Narratives."
Teologinen aikakauskirja: 130th Anniversary Panel

Reason, Emotions, and Research 

In what ways are the dynamics of reason and emotions reflected in the study of religion? How do religions increase or decrease the role of emotions in social debate and argumentation? What kind of intersections between religions and emotions do researchers see in their own work and its reception? Has research become emotional and what should be done in such case? These topics will be discussed by Professor of Social Ethics Jaana Hallamaa, Professor of Old Testament Studies Martti Nissinen, Professor of Church and Social Studies Anne Birgitta Pessi, and non-fiction writer and researcher Timo R. Stewart. The panel celebrates the 130th anniversary of the Finnish Theological Journal (Teologinen aikakauskirja), founded in 1896. The latest issue of the journal (1/2026) is a special issue focusing on the intersections of religion and emotions.

 

NB: The panel is in Finnish, translation in English will be available.