Authors:Bengt-Ove Andreassen, Roald E. Kristiansen, Rolf Inge Larsen Pages: 1–3 - 1–3 Abstract: The aim of this thematic issue on research on the Laestadian movement is to dwell with and look back on how the research on Laestadius and the Laestadian movement has developed, but at the same time show the latest developments in this research. In order to do so, researchers from the Nordic countries contributed to this thematic issue on research perspectives on the Laestadian movement. ‘Approaching Laestadianism’ presents theoretical articles and research overviews in order to present updates and tendencies in the research about the Laestadian movement. PubDate: 2020-05-23 DOI: 10.30664/ar.95047 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2020)
Authors:Sandra Wallenius-Korkalo Pages: 4–21 - 4–21 Abstract: This article analyses representations of Conservative Laestadianism in contemporary Finnish and Finnish-American popular culture. Drawing from political studies, religious studies and cultural studies, the article sheds light on the ways in which Conservative Laestadianism is present in societal debate and in the cultural imagination. Focusing on religious corporeality, the article scrutinises the embodied practices of Conservative Laestadianism and the ways in which the representations participate in making sense of gender, sexuality, and power in religious communities. Contemporary understandings in popular culture are revealed through the detailed analysis of four cultural products of different genres depicting Conservative Laestadianism: a film entitled Kielletty hedelmä (Forbidden Fruit, 2009), a novel entitled We Sinners (2012), a reality television show entitled Iholla (On the Skin, 2013), and a play entitled Taivaslaulu (Heavensong, 2015). As a synthesis of the representations of Conservative Laestadianism, the article presents a dynamic triad of care, longing, and control. Furthermore, the article raises questions about the potential of popular culture in calling for a dialogue between Conservative Laestadianism and society at large. PubDate: 2020-05-23 DOI: 10.30664/ar.86094 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2020)
Authors:Anssi Ollilainen Pages: 22–3 - 22–3 Abstract: Firstborn Laestadians represent one branch of the Laestadian revival movement following the so-called Great Division of around the turn of the twentieth century. This article examines two concepts; ‘the priesthood of all believers’ and ‘the preacher’, which are used by adherents of Firstborn Laestadianism (FBL) to elucidate the further schism which took place in 2014–16 between the Firstborn and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF). Both concepts are to some extent contrasted with comparable ideas in Martin Luther’s (1483–1546) and Lars Levi Laestadius’s (1800–61) thinking, because Luther and Laestadius are held in high esteem by the Firstborn. PubDate: 2020-05-23 DOI: 10.30664/ar.85753 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2020)
Authors:Gerd Snellman Pages: 40–5 - 40–5 Abstract: In this article, I discuss my experiences of being an insider researching Laestadianism. I present my research, noting the advantages and disadvantages, ending with a conclusion in which I refer to the discussion among anthropologists and ethnologists, especially in the study of religion. The outcome is that even though the distinction insider–outsider researcher is complicated, both insider and outsider researchers will improve the research, contributing to its nuanced presentation. PubDate: 2020-05-23 DOI: 10.30664/ar.85998 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2020)
Authors:Roald E. Kristiansen Pages: 55–7 - 55–7 Abstract: The issue to be discussed here is how society’s views of the Laestadian revival has changed over the course of the revival movement’s first 100 years. The article claims that society’s emerging view of the revival is characterized by two different positions. The first period is typical of the last part of the nineteenth century and is characterized by the fact that the evaluation of the revival took as its point of departure the instigator of the revival, Lars Levi Laestadius (1800–61). The characteristic of Laestadius himself would, it was thought, be characteristic of the movement he had instigated. During this first period, the revival was sharply criticized. This negative attitude gradually changed from the turn of the century onwards. The second period is characterized by greater openness towards understanding the revival on its own premises. This openness showed itself at first in Swedish publications that treated the revival in an exotic fashion with the aim to arouse greater interest in the Swedish cultural life in the north. This interest in the distinctive qualities of the revival was later also expressed in Norway, thus contributing to a change of view in how society viewed Laestadianism. Typical of the second period is that it was primarily in the ecclesiastical environment that a new interest in the revival established itself. PubDate: 2020-05-23 DOI: 10.30664/ar.87789 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2020)
Authors:Rolf Inge Larsen Pages: 74–9 - 74–9 Abstract: This article provides an overview and discusses the history of research on Laestadianism in Norway over the last 60 years. Research history earlier than 1960 and doctoral theses are discussed in this issue of Approaching Religion by Roald E. Kristiansen and Bengt-Ove Andreassen. It gives an impression of the nuances in approach between different academic disciplines and also different insider perspectives on Norwegian Laestadianism. The article shows that there is a need for comparative research on Laestadianism in Norway between different geographic regions and academic disciplines. PubDate: 2020-05-23 DOI: 10.30664/ar.87497 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2020)
Authors:Bengt-Ove Andreassen Pages: 91–1 - 91–1 Abstract: The scope of the review is all doctoral theses that exist on Laestadius and the Laestadian movement. A total of 31 doctoral theses on Laestadius and the Laestadian movment are included in this review.The Laestadian movement is an international one, albeit primarily established in the Nordic countries, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The review aims at presenting an overview of doctoral theses, countries which they are produced, which academic disciplines that have contributed in this research, and finally discuss some main tendencies. PubDate: 2020-05-24 DOI: 10.30664/ar.86819 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2020)
Authors:Kaisa Maliniemi Pages: 110– - 110– Abstract: Review of Anne Heith's Laestadius and Laestadianism in the Contested Field of Cultural Heritage: A Study of Contemporary Sámi and Tornedalian Texts (Umeå University, 2018). PubDate: 2020-05-24 DOI: 10.30664/ar.89392 Issue No:Vol. 10, No. 1 (2020)
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