Organization profile

Organisation Profile

The Department of Practical Theology focuses on the operations of different churches and other religious communities - in their foundabons, theories and practical results. The Department is responsible for teaching in the following three disciplines: General Practical Theology, Religious Education, and Church and Social Studies. The Department is also responsible for the applied studies which give students the opportuniq to acquire practical experience of congregational and religious work while also putting theoretical knowledge into practice.

The Department of Practical Theology is engaged in a number of research projects, some of which are international joint ventures and some of national importance. The Department participates in the nationwide interdisciplinary research programme on "The Economic Crisis of the 1990s in Finland", launched by the Academy of Finland. One of the international ventures is the research project on visual theology together with the Department of Art History of the University of Jyvaskyla, the Department of Church Architecture and Modern Church Art of the Universiq of Marburg, and the Liturgical Institute of the State University of Groningen; this study investigates the ecclesiastical art and theology of images in Finnish churches. A joint Nordic project is the study on children's life situations and their interpretations of life.

The Department is collaborating in a Nordic homiletic project on Lutheran sermon in the Nordic countries, and with the Research Institute of the Lutheran Church in Finland and Suomen Gallup (Finnish Gallup) on an extensive project called "European Values."

Ongoing research activities include an extensive project on pastoral care, an investigation into church administration and operational planning, and a study on Finnish liturgical tradition. Finnish religiosiq and the study of religious movements are a part of the Department's research areas. Further projects are studies on religious learning, distance teaching in religious pedagogy, further training for church employees, religious committment, alienation, and international relations of the churches.

Kuvio Digital Archives (www.kuvio.helsinki.fi), an umbrella archives for various academic uses, has been developed since 1995 at the Department of Practical Theology. Its backbone is the Archives for the Church Architecture and the Arts, which comprises of over 3000 press quality scans of modern European church architecture.

International and National Collaboration Publications and projects within past five years.

Profiles

Timo Åvist

timo.avist@helsinki.fi

Person: Other personnel, UH

Johan Bastubacka

johan.bastubacka@helsinki.fi

Practical Theology - University Lecturer
Staff Services - Docent

Person: UH, Teaching and research personnel

Maria Buchert

maria.buchert@helsinki.fi

Practical Theology - University Instructor

Person: UH, Teaching and research personnel

Raili Gothoni

Practical Theology

Person: Extern

Henrietta Grönlund

Practical Theology - University Lecturer
Helsinki Inequality Initiative (INEQ)
Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS)
Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies (Urbaria)
Staff Services - Docent

Person: UH, Teaching and research personnel

Projects 2002 2021

7 Active
28 Finished

Kulttuuri- ja katsomussensitiivistä opetusta ja ohjausta kehittämässä

Innanen, T., Kimanen, A., Akar, S., Kallioniemi, A. & Puukari, S.

01/09/2017 → …

Project: Other project

Kaupunkilainen köyhyys tänään

Grönlund, H. & Seppälä, T.

01/06/2017 → 31/12/2019

Project: Research project

MeRela: Meaningful Relations: Patient and family carer encountering death at home

Vähäkangas, A., Seppänen, M., Saarelainen, S. & Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen, A.

09/01/2017 → 31/03/2021

Project: Research project

ProNoLa: Protestant Legacies in Nordic Law: Uses of the Past in the Construction of the Secularity of Law

Christoffersen, L., Slotte, P., Rasmussen, T., Lind, A., Heinig, H., Knuutila, J., Bastubacka, J., Gregersen, N. H., Dreyer, R. H. C., Tönnesen, A., Årsheim, H., Sunde, J. Ø., Wejryd, C., Enkvist, V., Modéer, K. Å., Kauffman, T. & Munsonius, H.

01/09/2016 → 30/06/2019

Project: Research project

Differences between West (Denmark/Norway) and East Nordic (Sweden/Finland) Countries concerning the Lutheran impacts on general understanding of law as secular from the early 16th Century to the beginning of the 22nd Century

Slotte, P., Bastubacka, J. & Christoffersen, L.

01/06/2016 → 31/01/2020

Project: Research project

Publications 1968 2020

Matalan kynnyksen kohtaamispaikkojen sijainti ja saatavuus Helsingin kaupunginosissa

Seppälä, T., Grönlund, H. & Kemppainen, T., 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : Janus : sosiaalipolitiikan ja sosiaalityön tutkimuksen aikakauslehti.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Avioliitto yhteiskunnallisena ja kirkollisena instituutiona Suomessa 1200-luvulta 2000-luvun alkuun oikeudellisten näkemysten valossa.

Knuutila, J., 19 Jun 2019, Perhe ja avioliitto muutoksessa.. Hytönen, M. (ed.). 1. ed. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus, Vol. 127. (Kirkon tutkimuskeskus).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review

Open Access

Between Lutheran Legacy and Economy as Religion: The Contested Roles of Philanthropy in Finland Today

Grönlund, H., 2019, (Accepted/In press) On the Legacy of Protestant Lutheranism in Finland: Societal Perspectives. Sinnemäki, K., Portman, A., Tilli, J. & Nelson, R. H. (eds.). Finnish Literature Society, (Studia Fennica Historica).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review