Nordic Journal of Practical Theology
type: channel
description: Nordic Journal of Practical Theology publishes peer-reviewed articles within the whole field of practical theology, with emphasis on, but now exclusively for, a Scandinavian context. NJPT is published and financed by MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society in cooperation with NLA University College and VID Specialized University. ISSN 3084-1135.
publisher: MF vitenskapelig høyskole
language: en
publication name: Nordic Journal of Practical Theology
issn: 1893-4773
items: Bokanmeldelse av Halvard Johannessens Prest: Kilder, mandat, funksjon, formål
items: Prosjektet Diakoni og profesjon – En presentasjon
items: Diakoni og profesjon
items: Fra Jesu henders tjeneste til mastergrad i diakoni
items: Diakonprofesjonen utvikler seg.
items: Kybernetikk og diakoni
items: Kritisk diakonal literacy: Om profesjonell yrkesutøvelse, kompetanse og samhandling
items: Den konfessionella kulturens betydelse för syn på uppgift, könsroller och organisering inom Diakonissanstalten och Diakonanstalten ca 1850–1910
items: A values-conscious facilitator lacking a cohesive strategy
items: Rowing in the same direction
items: Speaking Silence?
items: Words that make a difference
items: The Bible in the liturgy: Mark 10:13-16 as "the liturgical text"
items: Practical-theological boundary areas
items: Deacons’ Approachability on a Structural and Organisational Level
items: Bredde og brodd
items: Change to preserve, preserve to change
items: What Does The Church Sing?
items: With Jean-Luc Nancy to Groruddalen
items: Can a faith-based service providing (“diaconia”) organisation be world-view affirmative (“livssynsåpen”)?
items: The Body of Christ ad hoc?
items: Spiritual struggles
items: Aktivistisk kirke
items: Ord til å vakne av? (Og kanskje også til inspirasjon til å kvile med godt samvit?)
items: Transforming Moral Oblivion to Moral Agency
items: What’s the Right Rite?
items: A grief procession at the tree of life
items: Care for creation as practical-theological challenge
items: Pastoral care encountering climate emotions
items: Practical theology confronting the crisis in nature and climate

Bokanmeldelse av Halvard Johannessens Prest: Kilder, mandat, funksjon, formål
type: item
description: Hvad er en præst? Det er dette tilsyneladende simple spørgsmål, førsteamanuensis i teologi ved TF Halvard Johannessen søger at besvare i sin bog Prest: Kilder, mandat, funksjon, formål. Udgivelsen er noget så sjældent som en nutidig norsk pastoralteologi, og bogens omfang (380 sider) antyder, at svaret er mere komplekst end som så. Målet er da heller ikke at give et endeligt svar, men som det siges i forordet at starte en faglig samtale og en teoretisk afklaring af, hvad præstetjenesten betyder i dagens kirke og samfund. Bogen retter sig mod teologistudenter, præster, kirkeledelse, religionsvidenskabere og andre, der har interesse i at fordybe sig i præsterollen historisk og teoretisk, og giver en basal indføring i de mangfoldige forestillinger, der knytter sig til præsterollen, med særligt henblik på at give et signalement af præsterollen, som den har udkrystalliseret sig i en norsk, evangelisk-luthersk folkekirkelig kontekst. Samtidig er sigtet at råde bod på den manglende teologiske refleksion, som ifølge forfatteren knytter sig til de betydelige kulturelle, politiske og organisatoriske ændringer, som præsterollen i den norske kirke har undergået i de senere år. Her er bogens erklærede ambition at bidrage til en nutidig retningsgivende teori om præsterollen ved at tilbyde en integreret og sammenhængende pastoralteologisk forståelse. Anliggendet er således ikke kun at give en deskriptiv fremstilling af et klassisk luthersk syn på præsten, men også at plædere for en revitalisering af dette syn som sikring af, at det frigørende evangeliske budskab fortsat kan formidles i kirken. Den forståelse af pastoralteologi, der lægges til grund, sigter for det første mod at udgøre en teologisk professionsteori. Pastoralteologi (lejlighedsvist praktisk teologi) ses som den faglige basis, som sikrer præsteprofessionens kvalitet og bygger bro mellem akademisk teologi og den praksis, teologien retter sig mod. For det andet forstås pastoralteologi som kulturhermeneutik. Dette betyd…
subject: Book reviews
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creator: Kirsten D. Felter
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 132
ending page: 135
doi: 10.48626/aba0qy45

Prosjektet Diakoni og profesjon – En presentasjon
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description: Ideen til dette spesialnummeret om «Diakoni og profesjon» oppstod i kollegiet av lærere i den norske masterutdanningen i diakoni fra MF vitenskapelige høgskole (MF) og VID vitenskapelige høgskole (VIDvid), samt i forskningsgruppen CODE /DIAPPdiapp. Gruppen samler diakoniforskere, teologer, praksisforskere fra forskjellige høyre utdanningsinstitusjonen i Norge og Norden. Temaet lenker tankene til utviklingen av diakonprofesjonen fra 1970-tallet, da sosialt engasjement i større grad ble en selvfølgelig del av Den norske kirke og andre norske og nordiske kirkers profil og virke. Diakoni ble flyttet inn i forståelsen av kirkens vesen. Menighetsdiakoni er imidlertid ikke det eneste profesjonelle praksisfeltet for diakoni. Diakoner og andre diakonale profesjonsutøvere som helsearbeidere, sosialarbeidere og pedagoger, er utdannet til og jobber innenfor mange offentlige og private velferdstjenester. Spesialnummeret prøver å favne flere av disse profesjonelle diakonale kontekstene. To utviklinger i Norge bidro til at diakonivitenskap og forskning om diakonal praksis har opplevd en oppgang i løpet av de siste 20 årene. Den norske kvalitetsreformen i høyere utdanningen ledet til at Den norske kirke innførte et masterutdanningskrav for alle diakoner (2004), og etableringen av en forskerutdanning i Diakoni, verdier og profesjonell praksis ved Diakonhjemmet høgskole i 2013 (fra 2016 VIDvid). Innen rammen av disse to utdanningene har det de siste årene blitt utarbeidet et betydelig antall forskningsarbeider i skjæringsfeltet mellom diakoni og profesjon. Selv om utviklingen i andre nordiske land ikke har vært like gunstig for diakoniforskningen, kommer mange viktige diakonvitenskapelige impulser og innovasjoner også derfra. Dette temanummeret viser bredden i denne forskningen. Vårt mål har vært å lage en publikasjon om diakoni og profesjon på skandinaviske språk som er tilgjengelig for diakonale profesjonsutøvere, og som både kommenterer eksisterende perspektiver og tar diskusjonen…
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
creator: Gyrid Gunnes
creator: Annette Leis-Peters
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 7
ending page: 7
doi: 10.48626/xajhd942

Diakoni og profesjon
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description: De siste årene har TPT publisert et økende antall artikler om diakoni og diakoner. Denne temautgaven markerer et foreløpig høydepunkt, med en samling av seks artikler om diakontjenesten i et profesjonsperspektiv. Utgaven plasserer seg på den måten i et krysningspunkt mellom den økte forskningsinteressen for diakoner og en økende interesse for de skandinaviske velferdsprofesjonene. Det er nærliggende å se utviklingen som uttrykk for viktige endringer i det praktisk-teologiske faget, der en har beveget seg fra en ensidig oppmerksomhet om prestetjenesten i retning av et mer helhetlig blikk på alle kirkelige praksiser. Om en blar bakover i årgangene til TPT, vil en imidlertid se at dette ikke er helt rettferdig. Allerede i den første, programmatiske artikkelen i 1984, skrev Olav Skjevesland at praktisk teologi er «den vitenskap som kritisk og konstruktivt ledsager kirkens praksis», og denne praksisen beskrev han som et «flettverk», og som det «dynamiske (…) brede, levende og omskiftelige praksisfelt» som «brytes med uavlatelige strømninger i samfunnslivet og kulturen» («Praktisk teologi på norsk», s. 4). I denne visjonen for faget ligger et potensial for å integrere diakonale temaer i praktisk teologi og ekklesiologi, og mot slutten av artikkelen gjør han det også klart at diakoni må være en av den praktiske teologis underdisipliner. Noen år senere, i 1989, publiserer Skjevesland en egen artikkel om diakoni, «Fra anstaltdiakoni til diakonimenighet?» (nr. 2, s. 18–34), der han bl.a. skriver (s. 18): «Det er på høy tid å fornye oppmerksomheten omkring kirkens diakonale oppdrag. 1980-tallet har frembrakt en rekke bøker og artikler innenfor diakoniens fagfelt, og praktisk-kirkelige initiativ på området er tatt, ute og hjemme. Utviklingstrekkene peker i én hovedretning: I kirke etter kirke vokser erkjennelsen av at diakonien må få en helt sentral plass i morgendagens menighetsliv». Jeg synes også TPT et godt stykke på vei realiserte en praktisk teologi som var bredere enn Or…
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
creator: Fredrik Saxegaard
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 4
ending page: 6
doi: 10.48626/afqbay44

Fra Jesu henders tjeneste til mastergrad i diakoni
type: item
description: Based on a case study of the Diakonhjemmet (Deacons’ Home), the article examines how diaconal education in Norway has adapted to and challenged governmental authorities from the 1960s until day. The development is analyzed against the backdrop of major higher education reforms initiated by the Ottosen, Hernes, and Mjøs committees in the 1960s, 1980s, and around 2000. This archive-based study shows how a male, nursing-based deacon program opened to women and received public approval as social work education. Later, Diakonhjemmet achieved college status and launched a master’s program in diaconia. In an era marked by professionalization, academization, and secularization, it was far from certain that an interdisciplinary, faith-based education would survive. Broad governmental definitions of higher education, combined with openness to faith-based institutions, and Diakonhjemmet’s strategic positioning ensured the inclusion of diaconal education in Norway’s system.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Kristin Husby Dyrstad
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 93
ending page: 114
doi: 10.48626/xeyvnz07

Diakonprofesjonen utvikler seg.
type: item
description: The question this article seeks to answer: How do deacons in 2004 and 2015 describe and evaluate the activities of their local congregations and their own activities as diakonia? The data material is based on a survey among deacons conducted in 2015, which was a follow-up to a similar study conducted 10 years earlier. During this decade, many changes occurred that had an impact on the position of deacons. We have focused on three thematic areas: the activities of deacons, the cooperative relationships of deacons, and a factor analysis has been used to identify four deacon profiles. The profiles show systematic differences in the deacons' assessment of what are important activities in local diakonia. The surveys are also seen in light of recent empirical research on the activities of deacons. Carlos Ham has outlined a (desired) development from charity (caritative diakonia), to community oriented diakonia that strives for reciprocity, and then on to transformative diakonia, and the results
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Kari Jordheim
creator: Olav Helge Angell
creator: Annette Leis-Peters Leis-Peters
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 8
ending page: 34
doi: 10.48626/3gf6n463

Kybernetikk og diakoni
type: item
description: The article starts by tracing the establishment of the diacon as a professional practice in the Church of Norway in the 20thcentury. However, in contrast to Sirris, the article argues that this establishment does not entail a “shift in paradigm” when it comes to the knowledge foundation of the profession. Rather, the articles argues that the ethos of care of the health-care professions represent a continuity across the 20th century. Turing to the British theorist of cybernetics James Bridle, the article explores how other kinds of knowledge foundations for the professional practice of diacons would allow other social challenges to be discursively produced as diaconal challenges. Imagining different kinds of knowledge foundations for diaconal would equip diacons to address such challenges beyond the care ethos of the health care professionals.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Gyrid Gunnes
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 115
ending page: 131
doi: 10.48626/zwa3zy66

Kritisk diakonal literacy: Om profesjonell yrkesutøvelse, kompetanse og samhandling
type: item
description: Diaconia requires collaboration across structures and institutions, and diaconal tasks involve several professions. Professionals contribute with their own expertise but are also dependent on understanding the identity and self-understanding of collaborating partners. This article therefore asks: What kind of diaconal competence do professionals such as social workers, nurses and child welfare professionals etc. need in interaction with diaconal actors? I begin by explaining how key diaconal actors present their own diaconal identity. Attention is then drawn to the diaconal competence that such organizations partly expect, and partly want, from professionals within or outside their own institutional framework. This leads to a discussion of the concept of literacy and its associated critical perspective, and I argue that professional practitioners need critical diaconal literacy in their encounters with diaconal actors. The discussion is rounded off with a discussion of the implications this has for professional education.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Kjetil Fretheim
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 55
ending page: 70
doi: 10.48626/5wwk7102

Den konfessionella kulturens betydelse för syn på uppgift, könsroller och organisering inom Diakonissanstalten och Diakonanstalten ca 1850–1910
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description: The article examines the significance of confessional culture for conceptions of vocation, gender roles, and organizational forms within the Deaconess Institution and the Deacon Institution during the period circa 1850–1910. Confessional culture is placed within an intellectual-historical perspective and is linked to the changing role of the Church in the transition from an agrarian society to modernity. The study shows that the traditional Lutheran understanding of the household’s responsibility for one’s neighbor, as part of the earthly calling, was redefined within diaconal work into an understanding in which the work of deacons and deaconesses is seen as a necessary expression of evangelical love in society and its institutions. Within diakonia, an ideological shift thus occurs from law to gospel. The fact that women were given a professional position outside the home, and that men performed care work, was justified through this understanding of Christian social responsibility. Both the deaconess and deacon institutions were shaped by the notion of the institution as a household. This understanding entailed a modification of the Lutheran concept of the household, while at the same time reflecting a structural continuity with it. The institutions were pioneering actors in the emergence of early welfare professions—an initiative that should be understood against the background of its ideological context and the early processes of modernization.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Elisabeth Christiansson Drake
creator: Stig Linde
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 71
ending page: 92
doi: 10.48626/h4676973

A values-conscious facilitator lacking a cohesive strategy
type: item
description: Like other civic organizations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway extensively engages volunteers. This article presents findings from a survey among church employees who lead volunteers. It aims to determine which leadership practices are in use, whether leadership is conducted in a values-conscious way, and the prevalence and use of strategic plans for voluntary work. The research question is: To what extent do employees in the Church of Norway utilize leadership practices identified in Sporsheim and Sirris’ (2018) model for church volunteer leadership? A total of 89 employees in the dioceses of Oslo and Stavanger responded to a questionnaire. Our data show that practices such as facilitating and informing are prioritized over leading and motivating. We find a high degree of values consciousness, reflected both in the prevalence of congregational core values and in respondents articulating and expressing them. Plans and structures for voluntary work are less well developed and lack a cohesive profile. There are only small variations between the dioceses and professional groups.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Cecilie Midttun
creator: Stephen Sirris
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-27
publication date: 2025-11-27
starting page: 93
ending page: 121
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i2.5652

Rowing in the same direction
type: item
description: The article examines collective leadership where individuals share leadership functions. Considering perspectives on plural, shared leadership, and leader role theory, it explores co-leadership in the Church of Norway. The church is organized into two employer lines. The dioceses manage the clergy on behalf of the national legal entity, while the local parochial church councils manage other church employees. The organization of two entities in the same location requires good collaboration between the leaders to create one well-functioning local church. The article is based on an interview study among local church leaders, investigating how co-leadership becomes a tool to address challenges and opportunities within the dual organizing. The research question is: How do senior pastors and general managers understand each other’s leader roles, and how can their shared role space develop co-leadership within the Church of Norway’s dual employer organizing? The article provides a definition of co-leadership as well as a model showing how the duos emphasize three dimensions in co-leadership: building role understanding, ensuring communication infrastructures, and developing the organization.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Stephen Sirris
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-27
publication date: 2025-11-27
starting page: 69
ending page: 92
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i2.5651

Speaking Silence?
type: item
description: This article explores the declining role of the Church of Sweden through an in-depth analysis of its contemporary Church language. Drawing on previously collected empirical material, the study shows how Christian language today often fails to connect with people’s everyday lives. The analysis identifies three core problems, each contributing to a gap between abstract expressions and lived experience. The findings challenge earlier research that primarily attributes the church’s decline to a lack of knowledge about Christian doctrine. Instead, the article suggests that secularization may partly stem from a distancing from a dysfunctional religious language, rather than from societal modernization alone.
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creator: Caroline Klintborg
creator: Peder Thalén
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-27
publication date: 2025-11-27
starting page: 48
ending page: 68
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i2.5650

Words that make a difference
type: item
description: The article examines 44 sermons delivered in the Church of Norway and asks what makes a sermon feel existentially important to listeners in our time. Based on Jan-Olav Henriksen's theories of hermeneutic experience and Hartmut Rosa's theories of resonance, it contributes to the understanding of an existential oriented homiletic theology. The analysis shows that the sermons direct attention to questions that concern life here and now, rather than traditional themes such as sin and grace, or eternal life. Such concepts are not absent or without significance. But instead of using images from human life to illustrate or explain a divine reality, the tendency is for the sermons to use theological motifs to interpret the life people live now. The sermons with the strongest rhetorical dynamics are those that reflect a resonant relationship to people's experiential reality and at the same time show what is existentially at stake
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Inge Westly
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-27
publication date: 2025-11-27
starting page: 27
ending page: 47
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i2.5649

The Bible in the liturgy: Mark 10:13-16 as "the liturgical text"
type: item
description: This article explores how Mark 10:13–16 acquires meaning as a liturgical text. The notion of the “liturgical biblical text” underscores that the text as rendered in the baptismal liturgy may be regarded as distinct from the text as it appears in the Bible. This distinction arises because the text is shaped through selective excerpts and paratexts, intertextual connections within the liturgy, and its ritual enactment. The study aims to investigate how the materiality of the context of use—in this case, the baptismal liturgy—configures both the biblical text and its interpretation. The research question is: In what ways does the baptismal liturgy shape Mark 10:13–16? The primary source material comprises the baptismal liturgies of the Church of Norway from the late nineteenth century to the present. The article demonstrates how Mark 10 acquires meaning through its interplay with Lutheran baptismal theology and the culturally established narrative of Jesus and the children, a dynamic that ultimately influences contemporary Bible translations.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Ingunn Aadland
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-27
publication date: 2025-11-27
starting page: 5
ending page: 26
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i2.5648

Practical-theological boundary areas
type: item
description: No abstract.
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
creator: Fredrik Saxegaard
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-27
publication date: 2025-11-27
starting page: 3
ending page: 4
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i2.5647

Deacons’ Approachability on a Structural and Organisational Level
type: item
description: A fundamental precondition for deacons’ caregiving ministry is that both the service and its practitioners are perceived as accessible and approachable. This article explores how deacons’ approachability is shaped by structural and organizational conditions in the Church of Norway. The analysis draws on ecclesial governance documents, perspectives from professional theory, and existing diaconal research, and analytically it distinguishes between structural and organizational levels. The article demonstrates that deacons’ approachability is not only a matter of personal qualities or professional competence, but also of power, representation, organization, and institutional frameworks. It argues that approachability functions as a normative ideal in diaconia, while this ideal is only to a limited extent institutionally supported.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Åsta Marie Olafsson
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-23
publication date: 2026-06-23
starting page: 35
ending page: 54
doi: 10.48626/qktvsx63

Bredde og brodd
type: item
description: Editorial for NJPT, edition 1, 2025.
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
creator: Fredrik Saxegaard
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-31
publication date: 2025-05-31
starting page: 3
ending page: 4
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i1.5612

Change to preserve, preserve to change
type: item
description: No abstract for "other articles".
subject: Other articles
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creator: Helge Kollerøs Nylenna
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-31
publication date: 2025-05-31
starting page: 89
ending page: 100
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i1.5611

What Does The Church Sing?
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description: This article develops a typology of hymn genres focused on how the hymns themselves depict their own communicative situation. Hymns address God through “prayer” and “praise” (sacrificium). But they also address the created world through “hymns of preaching,” “hymns of witness,” and “hymns of contemplation,” allowing God to speak to the congregation through human words about God (sacramentum). The purpose of this genre typology is to contribute to the foundation for future hymnological explorations. Focusing on communicative genres in hymns can aid in literary theological analyses of hymns and facilitate discussions of hymn genres in church services. Finally, the genre typology can invite empirical explorations of the thoughts and feelings of hymn singers. The genre typology emerged from an abductive analysis of 117 Danish hymns, in dialogue with genre theory and hymnological literature, particularly the works of Norwegian hymnologists Sigmund Mowinckel and Dagfinn Zwilgmeier.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Mikkel Gabriel Christoffersen
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-31
publication date: 2025-05-31
starting page: 67
ending page: 87
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i1.5610

With Jean-Luc Nancy to Groruddalen
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description: The paper argues for the significance of smaller groups for congregational theory through an empirical reconstruction of a charismatic group active in Oslo from the late 1970s. The group is contextualised within its local and historical environment and models of church theory are referred to. The group will also be analysed using Jean-Luc Nancy’s theory of community. In accordance with Nancy, the dissolution of the group reveals potential that is tentatively pursued in an outline of an onto-theological congregational theory.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Carsten Schuerhoff
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-31
publication date: 2025-05-31
starting page: 48
ending page: 66
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i1.5609

Can a faith-based service providing (“diaconia”) organisation be world-view affirmative (“livssynsåpen”)?
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description: I etterkant av NOU 13:1 Det livssynsåpne samfunn har livssynsåpenhet blitt et begrep som ulike kristne aktører bruker for å beskrive sin virksomhet. Blant disse er Kirkens Bymisjon, som har produsert veilederen En livssynsåpen diakoni (2021). I veilederen fremsettes påstanden om at Kirkens Bymisjon er en livssynsåpen organisasjon som driver livssynsåpen diakoni. Artikkelen analyserer og drøfter påstanden i lys av livssynsåpenhet slik det forstås av Sturla Stålsett. Argumentasjonen i artikkelen viser problematiske sider ved påstanden, særlig når dette gjelder analogi-tenkning mellom Kirkens Bymisjon og staten. I siste del peker artikkelen på alternative strategier for hvordan livssynsåpenhet kan anvendes i diakonale organisasjoner. Èn av disse fortolker livssynsåpenhet som en invitasjon til å gjøre en skjønnsmessig likebehandling av andre religioner. Dette kan skje ved å ansette ikke-kristne religioners religiøse ledere i Kirkens Bymisjon for å drive progressivt ikke-kristent religiøst arbeid.
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creator: Gyrid Gunnes
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-31
publication date: 2025-05-31
starting page: 27
ending page: 47
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i1.5608

The Body of Christ ad hoc?
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description: During the Covid-19-pandemic, the Church of Sweden (CofS) adjusted its eucharistic practices, and congregations practiced a variety of adjustments. These adjustments were motivated and problematized in relation to community, often referencing a metaphor crucial in the development of CofS theology during the 20th Century: “the body of Christ.” Scholars also speculated on how these adjustments could affect theology in the long run. This article aims to describe the state of these practices one year after the pandemic, analyzing whether the various adjustments remain. By comparing two nationwide surveys from 2020 and 2023 within the CofS, the article shows that while some adjustments have declined, many remain. The theological implications of these changes are discussed in relation to the metaphor of the body of Christ, drawing on how the metaphor has been developed by theologians reflecting on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African context.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Sara Fransson
creator: Frida Mannerfelt
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-31
publication date: 2025-05-31
starting page: 5
ending page: 26
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v42i1.5607

Spiritual struggles
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description: Den amerikanske psykologen Kenneth Pargament ble på 1990-tallet kjent for sin teori om religiøs mestring. I to forskningsbidrag, The Psychology of Religion and Coping (1997) og Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy – Understanding and Adressing the Sacred (2007), beskjeftiget han seg med hva religiøs mestring er. Primært fokus var på positive resultater av å bruke religion som mestring. I denne nye boka, Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psycotherapy, tas «religionens mørke side» opp som tema. Pargament skriver den sammen med en annen psykologiprofessor, Julie J. Exline. I de tidligere bøkene har folks strev med religiøse spørsmål, både praktisk og teoretisk blitt omtalt som negativ religiøs mestring, men i samarbeidet med Exline har Pargament byttet terminologi til hennes karakterisering av temaene som «spiritual struggles». En direkte oversettelse av dette begrepet vil være «åndelig kamp» eller «troskamp», men det er begrep som er for vide og omfattende til å kunne brukes i faglig sammenheng. Derfor foretrekker jeg å benytte spiritual struggles som uoversatt fagterm.
subject: Book reviews
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creator: Tor Torbjørnsen
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 112
ending page: 115
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5582

Aktivistisk kirke
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description: Prest Ellen Hageman har vært synlig som prest og aktivist i mange sammenhenger og over en årrekke. Hun har vakt oppmerksomhet i media og kirke og har bidratt med en teologisk tilnærming til sivil ulydighet i klimakampen. Hun har hatt begravelse for en skog som skulle bli motorvei, forstyrret en påskegudstjeneste da hun gikk inn med et kors med døde dyr. Og nå i august vigslet hun området som skal bli Viken park i Fredrikstad. Det ligger en teologisk tenkning og kirkekritikk til grunn for hennes engasjement. Hennes perspektiv er et viktig bidrag til diskusjonen om hva kirkelig og spesielt liturgisk handling kan og bør være i en raskt forverrende klimakrise.
subject: Other articles
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creator: Marion Grau
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 107
ending page: 111
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5581

Ord til å vakne av? (Og kanskje også til inspirasjon til å kvile med godt samvit?)
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description: Det går ikkje lenger å lukke augo eller prøve å bolte igjen øyra: Vi er nøydde til å ta alvoret inn over oss. Alt liv på kloden er truga og dersom ikkje vi, menneska, handlar raskt og målmedvite saman, vil dei menneskeskapte klimaendringane kunne føre til ein katastrofe av ufattelege dimensjonar. Vi kan merke det på kroppen, på uveret med regn og storm og i lange periodar med ulideleg varme. Vi kan høyre og sjå det på nyheitene og også i vervarsla. FNs generalsekretær tar i bruk dei heilt store orda for det internasjonale klimatoppmøtet: «Vi er på veg til klimahelvetet med foten på gasspedalen». Vi kan sjå det i augo til dei vi møter: Mange unge er redde, fleire av dei ser ikkje anna råd enn å arbeide dag og natt for å hindre den store katastrofen. Nokre er lamma av angst og motløyse, andre er slitne på kropp og sjel. Og det heile set sit preg på den måten vi snakkar med kvarandre på og dei orda vi gjer bruk av: klima-angst, klima-skam og miljøkatastrofar til dømes.
subject: Other articles
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creator: Rolv Nøtvik Jakobsen
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 92
ending page: 106
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5580

Transforming Moral Oblivion to Moral Agency
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description: It is a rare and precious gift to be alive as human beings at this crucible point in time. “The next five years may be the most important in human history,” declares a South African climate expert. Decisions and actions taken by human beings in the next few years will determine the fate of life on Earth. Never has the need to see clearly “what is going on” so that we may respond wisely borne more long-lasting and morally weighted consequences. Nevertheless, most of “us” (myself included) fail to face squarely the climate-related realities at hand and our role in them. This is most odd: Our house is burning. Though the fire has not yet reached our rooms, it is raging through many others’ rooms, and our children are in the house. Yet, we pour fuel on the fire.
subject: Other articles
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creator: Cynthia Moe-Lobeda
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 80
ending page: 91
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5579

What’s the Right Rite?
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description: In the face of ecological crises, we are largely still living in what Joanna Macy calls “Business as Usual,” even as global systems are shifting and irreversible tipping points nearing or already even past. I explore here how, if at all, the practice of corporate confession empowers Christians to engage these questions, arguing that we need a much richer liturgical repertoire of practices. I approach these questions through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s resistance to “cheap grace” in relation to the tangle of structural sin, complicity, and inextricability involved in contemporary eco-justice questions and in relation to eco-anxiety and other eco-/climate emotions. I use this lens to analyze forms of corporate confession from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s liturgical resource Sundays & Seasons. In the conclusion, I point to larger forms of practice that could complement confession and help restore it to its proper role in fostering costly grace.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Lisa E. Dahill
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 58
ending page: 79
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5578

A grief procession at the tree of life
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description: Liturgy and rituals do not seem to be the obvious tools for fighting against climate change. It might even make the situation worse by providing false hopes at a time when several tipping points already have passed. But, in the words of eco-theologian Larry Rasmussen, “religion addresses the big questions of life through elaborate symbol systems—rites and rituals, sacraments, and stories» dealing with death and renewal (Rasmussen, 2013, 34). I will thus argue that liturgy still have something to offer in the face of ecological crisis. Building on insights from performance studies, ritual studies and the works of thinkers such as Diana Taylor and Sara Pike, I apply an eco-liturgical approach for interpreting two diverse ritual expressions. The first is an altarpiece by Gunnar Torvund, “Tree of life” in Voksen Church, Oslo. The other is a “march of grief for extinct species” arranged by Extinction Rebellion in Oslo prior to the 2021 parliamentary elections in Norway. I conclude by arguing for eco-liturgical practice in the intersection of contemplation and activism.
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creator: Carl Petter Opsahl
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 41
ending page: 57
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5577

Care for creation as practical-theological challenge
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description: This article focuses on the local parish as a practical-theological resource in relation to the acute climate crisis and crisis for biological diversity. The author argues that theologizing grown out of local experiences has special strengths compared to statements developed on national levels of the church. This has to do with how local parish life is rooted in local circumstances, human lives as well as the richness of other forms of local biological life which makes parish life possible. The source of the argument comes from experiences in a local parish on the Swedish East Coast, where the extreme draught in the summer of 2018 gave rise to a continued engagement, which has contributed to theological changes. The understanding of the parish has been widened to include human and non-human creatures alike, which in turn is affecting patterns of praying, from praying for, to praying with the whole creation, of which humans are a part.
subject: Peer reviewed articles
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creator: Ninna Edgardh
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 23
ending page: 40
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5576

Pastoral care encountering climate emotions
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description: The climate crisis represents an existential threat, necessitating adaptations in pastoral care to address its complex emotional landscape. This article explores the integration of two key concepts—emotional granularity and existential resonance—into the field of pastoral care, enriching established grief models such as Kübler-Ross's stages of grief and Stroebe and Schut's dual-process model. Drawing from Lisa Feldman Barrett's theory of emotional granularity, which enhances psychological flexibility by differentiating emotional states, and Hartmut Rosa's resonance theory, which emphasizes meaningful connection to the world, the article offers innovative frameworks for addressing climate-related emotions like eco-anxiety, ecological grief, and active hope. These approaches aim to expand pastoral care's capacity to foster emotional awareness and reconnect individuals with their environment and spirituality. By integrating these theories, pastoral care can provide tools for navigating the emotional and existential challenges of the climate crisis, promoting emotional resilience and deeper existential engagement.
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creator: Gry Stålsett
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 5
ending page: 22
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5575

Practical theology confronting the crisis in nature and climate
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description: Nature and climate issues are not in the news. News media offer constant reports about storms, floods and disturbing research findings. When it comes to people's practical and political engagement, it still seems to be the immediate things that matter. We do not need to go to the recent American election to make such observations. In October 2024, the analysis agency Kantar presented its annual climate barometer, which shows that climate engagement among the Norwegian population is falling in all age groups. While climate engagement was a top issue a few years ago, it now ranks fifth in the list of challenges Norwegians believe the country is facing. The economy, crime and health issues are more worrying. The analysis agency wonders if there is a resignation spreading. What consequences should the situation have for theological work?
subject: Editorial
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creator: Inge Westly
creator: Marion Grau
creator: Carl Petter Opsahl
creator: Tone Stangeland Kaufman
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Nordic Journal of Practical Theology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-29
publication date: 2024-12-29
starting page: 1
ending page: 4
doi: 10.48626/tpt.v41i2.5573