Tapahtumat

Healing and Meditation in Contemporary Christianity and Spirituality, 10.2.2026, Turku/Åbo.

The seminar focuses on alternative healing practices and meditation, and their relationship to Christianity, particularly in the Nordic countries. The seminar also serves as the kick-off event for the Meaningful Margins project. We invite researchers from various fields and especially students interested in writing a Master’s thesis related to the seminar’s theme to participate.

What: Seminar Healing and Meditation in Contemporary Christianity and Spirituality
When: Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 1:00 PM–5:00 PM
Where: Åbo Akademi, Room AURA G107

Tuesday 10 February, Åbo Akademi, AURA G107 (Address: Tehtaankatu 2)

Program

Session 1

13.00-13.10: Welcome: Minna Opas & Marcus Moberg
13:10-13.30: Katarina Plank: An immanent turn in Protestant Spirituality – lived religion, new spiritual practices and theological legitimacy in the Church of Sweden
13:30-13:50: Kimmo Ketola: Alternative Spiritual Practices and Christianity in Finland
13:50-14:10: Terhi Utriainen: Angel spirituality: Complementary or alternative
14:10-14:30: Jaana Kouri: Q & A – Some methodological concerns in researching contemporary shamanism
14:30-14:45: Discussion

14:45-15:05: Coffee

Session 2:

15:05-15:15: Introduction of Meaningful Margins project, Minna Opas & Marcus Moberg
15:15-15:30: Tommy Ramstedt: Christian Appropriation of Yoga and Mindfulness. Insights from a previous project
15:30-15:45: Katriina Hulkkonen: Discussions about the ‘mainstream’ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in ‘marginal’ alternative spiritual media – Changes from the late 1980s to the early 2020s
15:45-16:00: Linda Annunen: Embodied ways of knowing: senses, sound and experience in alternative spiritual healing and meditation
16:00-16:15: Taika Nummi: Living After Worldviews Fracture: Post-Christian Disorientation and Alternative Spiritual Healing in Finland
16:15-16:30: Comments, Sofia Sjö
16:30-17:00 Discussion