ABSTRACT In a digital survey of the reception of Viking-themed and Norse-inspired media products among self-identifying Heathens, 76% of 407 respondents stated that they were comfortable using several terms to describe their religious identity. The bulk of the respondents resided in the United States of America (51%), followed by Nordic countries (22%), the United Kingdom (8%), and Canada (7%)—a geographical distribution that is also, to a large extent, reflected in the interview sample. Twenty-seven follow-up interviews revealed differences in terminological preferences and interpretations. Several respondents considered one term to be the most accurate descriptor, but used another to present themselves in social interactions. This raised the questions of how and why Norse-oriented Pagans select the self-descriptors that they do. Although respondents differ in terms of terminological choices, the motives and rationale that drive their selection are strikingly similar: terminological precision, successful social bonding, and avoidance of social stigma. Norse-oriented Pagans practice religious polyonymy (multiple names for the same thing or person) to ensure success in social interactions and manage social impressions of themselves and their religion’s public image. In a broader perspective, this study addresses how political and ideological context(s) and alignment can motivate choices about how to communicate one’s religious identity and why they vary.

ABSTRACT This article discusses the practices of Christian churches’ online ministries as acts of strategic communication, where the congregants’ needs and expectations are met, in a competitive market, without compromising the churches’ own identities. Six church leaders with a variety of denominational affiliations were interviewed for this study. Based on the interviews and previous research within the areas of strategic communication, marketization and marketing of religion, and online churches, a model is presented showing three main tracks along which online ministry may be considered. The first track is to consider it as a tool for branding and marketing, targeted at non-churchgoers, the second is to consider it as an additional service for existing congregants, and the third is to consider it in terms of a decentralized church. Although the primary reason for offering an online ministry may follow one of the three presented tracks, the interviews indicate that more users take advantage of the content presented online than just the targeted audience.

ABSTRACT In this article I analyse how gospel rap music is authenticated as a Christian practice in evangelical culture in Finland. The research data consist of interviews with nine self-identifying Christian rappers as well as media coverage of rap music in the evangelical press between the years 2005 and 2020. I first show how Finnish gospel rap music is embedded in the general late modern religious landscape, which is marked by therapeutic individualism, confessionalism, and striving for personal development. Secondly, I discuss how social diversity is performed in evangelical culture through rap music. Finally, I show how some rappers are engaged in grassroots anti-racist interventions in their musical activities, while the larger evangelical culture often remains reluctant to address the theme of structural racism in Christianity. In the conclusion, I argue that gospel rap music is a diverse and thriving refashioning of Protestant Christianity in an age when the appeal of Christianity in Finland is generally diminishing and Christianity is losing its former position as the dominant religious identity.

ABSTRACT Unlike political and business élites, few studies address attitudes among members of the church élite. Faced with politicians who refer to Christian heritage and values to justify restriction on immigration, we want to understand the attitudes of church leaders. This article draws on data from the Norwegian Leadership Surveys, conducted in 2000 and 2015, to identify attitudes to immigration and to the Norwegian welfare system among the Norwegian Church élite. The church élite respondents were recruited among bishops, deans, and members of the National Church Council in the Lutheran majority church, the Church of Norway. Finding that a pro-immigration position characterizes the Church élite, we explore how these attitudes can be understood by introducing various variables. As immigration allegedly represents challenges to socio-economic integration and to upholding the welfare state, we investigate whether pro-immigration attitudes correlate with attitudes to promoting integration and upholding the welfare state. We find that pro-immigration attitudes are correlated with concern for those not able to provide for themselves, stronger trust in the State than in markets, and no particular concern for the impact on the welfare state. Opposing a nationalist protection discourse, the church leaders express a humanistic or human-centered protection discourse, which we term ‘human-centered cosmopolitanism’.

ABSTRACT In secular contexts, the growing presence of Muslim women activists in the public sphere has challenged the stereotype that Islam plays an oppressive role in women’s emancipation and liberation. The relationship between secular feminism and religion is far more complex. This article explores how socially or politically engaged Muslim women understand, negotiate, and challenge secular feminist discourses and practices in Barcelona, Spain. Based upon 28 semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, and participant observation of political events, this article identifies three different positionings towards feminism: (1) women who identify as ‘feminist’, (2) women who identify as ‘Islamic feminist’, (3) women who express ambivalence regarding both feminism and Islamic feminism. Far from being a static classification, these three positionings show the different dilemmas that women face over the course of their lives. I discuss the way they are the result of negotiations and ‘recognition gaps’ in feminist movements.

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the current pejorative understanding and usage of the term ‘Christian hipster’ within the context of Emerging Christianity through a case study of a Dutch emerging project: PopUp Kerk. The (Christian) hipster is approached as a linguistic ideal type within a broader Western cultural discourse, in both popular culture and literature on Emerging Christianity, regarding the paradox of authenticity. I argue that, in contemporary and academic ‘hipster bashing’, the Christian hipster becomes both the stereotypical embodiment and the scapegoat of a paradox inherent in a Western culture focused on authenticity. In the second part of the article, I introduce an ideal typology to conceptualize the type of authenticity sought in hipster Emerging Christianity. I argue that taking the Christian hipster seriously can provide insights into the way the Zeitgeist is influencing the ways in which Western evangelical Protestantism more broadly understands and seeks authenticity. Finally, the article explores what theological insights the Christian hipster may offer regarding (in)authenticity and faith.

ABSTRACT Religious blogging has gained momentum in the last decade. Extensive research covers the evolution, organization, and activity of online Christian religious bloggers among Catholics, Protestants, and Neo-Protestant groups and most analyses focus on the perspective of bloggers. In this context, limited attention within the literature in English is paid to online Orthodox groups and very little is known about the clergy’s views of the activity of Ortho-bloggers. This article addresses this gap in the literature and aims to explain the attitudes of Orthodox priests toward Ortho-blogging activities. It uses Romania as a case study, due to its Orthodox majority, its strong internet infrastructure, and the online activity of the Orthodox Church. The analysis draws on qualitative methods—semi-structured interviews with Orthodox priests, conducted in January–February 2021. The results indicate that priests have normative attitudes toward Ortho-bloggers and their activities online. The findings have important theoretical and empirical implications for the study of religion and the engagement with new modes of communication in new democracies.