Hans Göran Olsson

Primary fields of research

• Christianity and interreligious relations in Africa

• Religion, politics and national identities

• Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity, culture and values

Current research

My current research will explore the promotion of faith-based farming within Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity in South Africa. Situated against challenges of food security, environmental decline and climate change, the project uses ethnographic inquiry to examine the promotion of faith-based farming and how cultivating food reflects a space where ideas, norms and values about humans’ relationship to society and nature today are renegotiated and put into practice. The project is funded by the European Commision  (EU project FarGo - DLV - 843798).

• Faith-based farming in South Africa

• Religion, sustainability and environment

• Material religion and Christian practice

CV

As a researcher, I have focused on how religious belonging interact with, and relate to, politics and cultural change. My main focus-area has been the African context of Tanzania, where I have investigated the political implications of inter-religious relations, both on an institutional level, and more lately with a particular focus on the day-to-day interactions of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christian and Muslims. In my Ph.D work, I assessed the political ramifications of religious identity-making among Pentecostal labour migrants in the context of a Muslim-majority in Zanzibar. During my years as a undergraduate I also studied at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon.

Education

2017: Ph.D in Global Christianity and interreligious relations, Lund University.

2010: MA in African Studies, University of Copenhagen.

2007: BA in Religious Studies, Lund University.

Professional background

2019 – 2022: Marie Curie Fellow, Centre of African Studies, University of Copenhagen.

2018 – 2019:  Researcher, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University (50%).

2011 – 2017:  Ph.D candidate at Lund University.