The main focus of the school is research and education in theology and religious studies. Theology has a long and complex history in Tartu, extending back to the Middle Ages and it has been taught at the University of Tartu since the university was founded in 1632. Religious studies as a separate field of research and education has developed in the past few decades. The school tries to build upon longstanding traditions as well as adapt to the modern world around it, creating an intricate, but productive environment for present and future development. Until 2015, the school was called the Faculty of Theology.
Both theology and religious studies are represented in the curriculum at BA, MA, and PhD level.
The school has many cooperative agreements with different churches in Estonia, but is not directly related to any of them, maintaining its academic independence. Theology taught at the school can be described as protestant, but is not linked to any specific protestant church. Religious studies at the school strives to maintain its independence and neutrality in these matters and concentrates on strictly academic research and teaching, working in close cooperation with the Estonian Society for the Study of Religions.
Teaching at the school is research-based and the specific research topics vary from Ancient Near East religions to the relationship of science and religion and the sociological study of contemporary religious trends in Estonia.
Read more!Ain Riistan, “From mythos to logos: Religious fundamentalism in the face of the modern condition called the meaning deficit disorder”
Paul Heelas, “Life Force”
Detlef Pollack, “Secularization theory and individualization thesis”
Eileen Barker, „Who and what belongs where - and when and why? Boundary construction, maintenance and change in new religious movements”
Erki Lind’s doctoral defence: “The concept of the body in Chinese and Indian bodily practices: transformation, perspective, and ethics”
Elo Süld’s doctoral defence: “Muhammad, der Gesandte Gottes, und Paulus, der Gesandte Christi. Ein Vergleich der Berufungs- und offenbarungsgeschichtlichen Vorstellungen mit Bezug auf die islamische sowie die biblische Tradition“
Marko Uibu´s doctoral defence: "Religiosity as cultural toolbox: a study of Estonian new spirituality"
For more videos on all sorts of academic and scientific topics see the video portal of the University of Tartu UTTV
See different lectures on our Youtube channel Youtube