Hjalmar Sundén’s Impact on the Study of Religion in the Nordic Countries

Tomas Lindgren

doi:10.33356/temenos.46249

Abstract

In this article, I discuss Hjalmar Sundén’s theoretical and methodological contributions to the psychological study of religion in the Nordic countries, including a discussion of role theory and Sundén’s way of conducting (and presenting) his research. Nordic scholars’ use of role theory is analyzed and discussed. My analysis of the state of research reveals that the use of role theory reached its peak during the 1970s. Scholarly interest in the theory declined during the 1980s, and has been virtually abandoned since the mid-1990s. In these earlier studies, the theory was primarily used to elucidate the psychological dynamic of various religious phenomena, rather than to test the theory systematically against data. However, these scholars gave the theory an empirical underpinning, and identified details in the theory that needed to be refined and revised. I propose several possible reasons for the decline in scholarly interest in role theory. Finally, I suggest that Sundén’s methodological contributions may have had a bigger impact on the study of religion than his theoretical contributions.

Highlights

In this article, I discuss Hjalmar Sundén’s theoretical and methodological contributions to the psychological study of religion in the Nordic countries, including a discussion of role theory and Sundén’s way of conducting his research
Hjalmar Sundén (1908–1993) was awarded a personal professorship in the Psychology of Religion at Uppsala University in 1967. It was the first Nordic chair in the field, and the establishment of the chair meant that the Psychology of Religion became recognized as a separate discipline within Religious Studies
Sundén was a popular professor, who attracted students from all over the Nordic countries, and he played an important role for the Psychology of Religion in Sweden, where the discipline has had greater importance in comparison to other Nordic countries

Summary

TOMAS LINDGREN

Religion to study the psychological conditions and functions of religious experiences and religious behaviors. His research and writings testify that he was well acquainted with contemporary research in both of these fields

Scholar and Author

Role Theory

The Theory in Practice

Discussion