Challenges of Religious Literacy

Dr. Tuula Sakaranaho is Professor of the Study of Religions and Vice Dean, at the Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki. Her research interests concern the governance of religious diversity in a multicultural European society, with a special focus on religious freedom and Muslims in Europe. She has also published on religious education in Finland and on Islamic religious education in Finland and Ireland.Dr. Timo Aarrevaara is a Professor of Public Management at the University of Lapland, Principal investigator of the research team of Professions in Arctic Societies, co-editor in Spring Changing Academy Series and has conducted number of scholarly projects.Dr. Johanna Konttori  is a research coordinator at the University of Helsinki. In her doctoral work (2015) she examined the political debates on headscarves and full veils in 21st-century France. Her main areas of expertise include state–religion relations, religions in the public sphere, and Islam, all inthe European context. These topics also informed her postdoctoral research, in which she examined religious literacy in Finland

• ​Chapter 1. Introduction: Setting the stage.- Chapter 2. “There is Freedom of Religion in Finland, but…”: The Helsinki Mosque Debate.- Chapter 3. Laestadians in “the world”: reading the biggest Christian revival movement in Finland.- Chapter 4. Religious literacy and the governance of religious diversity in multi-faith schools: The Case of Islam.- Chapter 5. Islamic Divorce in Finland and Role of Mosques: Revisiting Binaries.- Chapter 6. Prevention of violent radicalization and extremism in Finland: the role of religious literacy.- Chapter 7. Conclusions: Religious literacy promotes absorptive capacity, inclusion and reflexivity in society.