About MF CASR

MF CASR is an academic space for scholars of religion at MF, as well as a research hub for national and international scholars of religion connected to MF.

MF is Norway’s largest specialized institution in the academic study of religion, with strong and expanding research units in theology and religious studies; our researchers are in the top ranks with regard to academic publishing in Norway. MF CASR is an academic space for scholars of religion at MF, as well as a research hub for national and international scholars of religion connected to MF. MF CASR welcomes broad cooperation with scholars of religion from other institutions.

MF CASR is multi-disciplinary and embraces disciplines such as religious studies/history of religion, philosophy of religion, biblical studies, cultural and art history, and the sociology of religion. MF researchers are engaged in multiple themes and topics, ranging from feminist theology, rituals in secular society, interreligious dialogue, religion and media, material religion and new philology, to religion and violence, right-wing populism and religion and politics in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

MF CASR is located at the MF campus at Majorstua in the middle of Oslo and is an integral part of MF. Its staff is composed of MF researchers and guest researchers; MF CASR also offers yearly Global Fellowships for visiting scholars. It does not receive grant applications.

The aim of MF CASR is to:

• serve as a leading academic space for the scholarly study of religion
• serve as a location and hub for on-going research activities
• facilitate research and project cooperation between MF and external institutions
• communicate MF’s research to the policy community and relevant stakeholders
• provide academic input to public debates about religion in Norway

Activities

The MF Center for the Advanced Study of Religion hosts weekly meeting points and brown bag seminars, conferences, workshops, roundtable discussions, and open public events.  See our homepage for upcoming Tuesday Lunches and seminars, and also be sure to follow us on Facebook!

Annual Lecture

Every year, MF CASR hosts a distinguished scholar for our Annual Lecture. Most of the past Annual Lectures are available to watch online.

• 6 September 2019: Elizabeth Shakman Hurd (Northwestern University), “Religion on the Border: The Politics of the ‘Muslim Ban’ and the Limits of Law”
• 7 September 2020: Ute Hüsken (Universität Heidelberg), “Female Agency and Religious Conservatism: New Roles for Women in Hinduism”
• 28 October 2021: Annette Yoshiko Reed (New York University), “Archival Amnesia: The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Biblical Canon, and the Forgotten Jewish Past”
• 31 May 2022: Achille Mbembe (University of the Witwatersrand), “Restitution, Restoration and the Capacity for Truth”
• 21 September 2023: Egil Asprem (Stockholm University), "Magic, Gypsy Stereotyping, and Roma Agency: Reflections on the Roma in the European History of Magic"