Researching Global Religious Landscapes

Researching Global Religious Landscapes: A Methodology between Universalism and Particularism, edited by Peter Nynäs, Ruth Illman, Nurit Novis-Deutsch and Rafael Fernández-Hart, Equinox, 2024

Last month marked a significant milestone with the publication of Researching Global Religious Landscapes. This volume represents a pivotal point in the application of Q-methodology within the field of Religious Studies, following the framework designed by Professor David Wulff. Originally undertaken in collaboration with Dr. Mika Lassander, now Head of Development at Statistics Finland, this endeavour has led to several externally funded projects and publications. Of particular importance is the earlier volume The Diversity Of Worldviews Among Young Adults (eds. Nynäs et al., Springer 2022), which presents key insights from our examination of contemporary religious, spiritual, and secular perspectives across 12 countries worldwide.

Co-edited with Dr. Ruth Illman, Dr. Nurit Novis-Deutsch, and Dr. Rafael Fernández-Hart, Researching Global Religious Landscapes: A Methodology between Universalism and Particularism was published by Equinox in 2024. This volume officially concludes my project titled “Young Adults and Religion in a Global Perspective: A Cross‐cultural, Comparative and Mixed‐method Study of Religious Subjectivities and Values in their Context” (YARG). Supported by the Åbo Akademi University Foundation and the Academy of Finland, this project was designated as an Åbo Akademi University Centre of Excellence in Research (2015-2021).

In essence, this new volume addresses the overarching research question: What methodological and theoretical implications emerge from our findings regarding the conceptualization of contemporary religion? Stemming from our broader interest in YARG to confront the challenges of global and cross-cultural religious research beyond Eurocentric perspectives and the world religions paradigm, the volume specifically explores the methodological query: “How should researchers navigate conceptually within a global landscape of religious and secular worldviews?”

Rather than providing a definitive answer to this ambitious question, the volume emphasizes the necessity of coming back to this inquiry on an ongoing basis within the Study of Religions. Methodologies are inherently influenced by our worldviews and ontologies, thus subject to change. Nevertheless, this question permeates all nine chapters in various ways, covering diverse topics such as identities, values, diversity, translation, in addition to the complexity that characterizes the configurations of the religious, the secular and the spiritual today.

On the one hand, we underscore in this volume on a general level both the problematic nature of viewing religion as universally applicable, and, on the other, the limitations involved in approaching religion solely within contextual, particular frameworks. As contrast, we suggest the possibility of a pragmatic approach that transcends dichotomies, embracing a pluralistic and adaptable methodological stance, inspired by Michael Lambek’s article in Numen (2014). As an alternative, we advocate for a sensitive conceptual and methodological toolbox to navigate the interconnected world of religious and secular worldviews. Would a subject like the Study of Lifeviews constituted by the methodological richness of the Study of Religions, be better equipped for this?  

Our exploration at the intersection of Q-methodology and methodological biases within the Study of Religions is an ongoing endeavour. In our newly established Centre of Excellence – RELEX: Religion and Social Exclusion: A Cross-Cultural Approach and New Methodology – we are investigating the interplay between social exclusion and religion on a cross-cultural scale, with a focus on developing systematic and reliable methodologies. Once again, methodological advancement remains at the forefront of our pursuits.

Peter Nynäs