Riho Altnurme was elected Honorary Doctor of the University of Latvia

On 27 September, the University of Latvia conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Riho Altnurme, Vice Dean for Research of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Church History. The diploma was handed to him at the University of Latvia’s formal senate meeting dedicated to the university’s 105th anniversary.

According to the Department of Theology and Religious Studies of the University of Latvia, Altnurme was elected an Honorary Doctor for his unwavering commitment and valuable contribution to the cooperation between the University of Latvia and the University of Tartu.

Riho Altnurme has been an important cooperation partner for the theologians and religion researchers of the University of Latvia for a long time. He contributed to developing doctoral studies in theology and religious studies at the University of Latvia as a doctoral programme director from 2009 to 2011. Altnurme also participated in designing the new doctoral programme “Theology and Religious Studies” and preparing a joint module of the University of Latvia and the University of Tartu. At Altnurme’s initiative, joint doctoral seminars have been organised for more than ten years. In addition, he was a visiting professor in the Faculty of Theology of the University of Latvia from 2019 to 2022.

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Riho Altnurme was elected Professor of Church History at the University of Tartu in 2005. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Theology from 2003 to 2015 and has been the Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities since 2016. He is a leading expert in Estonian church history and has written a number of research publications on various issues, including Soviet religious policy and the history of theological education in Estonia. His research focuses on churches and society in the second half of the 20th century, the history of theology in Estonia, the methodology of church history, interconfessional relations, and secularisation. In 2023, Altnurme was elected an Honorary Doctor of the University of Helsinki.

More information about the University of Latvia’s new honorary doctors is available on the university’s website in Latvian and on the video recording of the senate meeting. The part about Riho Altnurme starts from the 59th minute of the video.

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