Stefan Gelfgren

I am an associate professor of sociology of religion and senior lecturer in religion didactics. I have a PhD in the History of Ideas from Umeå University, a MPhil in the History of Christianity from Birmingham University, UK, and a BA in construction engineering. During spring 2022 I was the Erik Allardt fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, Helsingfors University.

My primary research interest concerns the relation between social, technical and religious transformations - today and throughout history. During the last years I have conducted some case based research studies on the use and effect of digital media within Christian churches and denominations. I am interested in digital and social media in relation to power representatives and institutional structures.

My PhD thesis from 2003 deals with the Swedish confessional revivalist movement Evangeliska Fosterlands-Stiftelsen (EFS, 'The Swedish Evangelical Mission Society') between 1856-1910. The tension between revivalism, modernity and secularisation are concepts used to interpret what happened during the period. This is an issue I have returned to over the years.

I am interested in questions related to the digital humanities, as a subject, and its relation to the humanities in general. I also find an interest in questions related to infrastructure and the humanities.

Starting in 2023, I am part of the Wallenberg-funded project “Data Is the New Oil (DINO): Digital transformation – to balance social benefit against personal privacy", with Professor Coppélie Cocq as PI. The project studies intersection between the digital transformation and people's relations to it.

Between 2017 and 2021 I was the PI for a project on so called soft surveillance (iAccept: Soft surveillance - between acceptance and resistance), financed by the Wallenberg foundation. I have also been involved in a research project on social media and disability (2016-2018), led by professor Lotta Vikström (Experiences of disabilities in life and online: Life course perspectives on disabled people from past society to present). Between 2010 and 2013 I was working within the project Pinocchio goes to Church: The religious life of avatars (financed by the Swedish Research Council, and lead by professor Jørgen Straarup), focusing on churches in virtual worlds.

During 2016-2018 I was part of the European Bible Belt network, founded by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, via Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

Teaching and publications
I have taught courses within Church History, Digital Humanities, History of Technology, History of Ideas and Religious Studies. 

I have published books, articles in books and journals, mainly on the relation between social and religious changes within the Christian sphere from the 16th century until today and also published on Digital Humanities, surveillance, revivalism, adult education, pedagogy and digital media. See list of publications. 

Other commitments
CUrrently I'm chairing the Swedish Association for Sociology of Religion. I'm also memeber of the faculty board at the Faculty of Humanites, Umeå University.

Between 2015 and 2020 I was the director of Humlab, a unit and research infrastructure at the Faculty of Arts within the field of Digital Humanities. I was (2016-2022) a member of the Council for Research Infrastructures at The Swedish Research Council. I am also part of the steering group for the research network Religious History of the North (REHN) and the board of the Theology foundation, Umeå university.

I have also been member of the board of DIGSUM (Digital Social Research Unit Umeå) and the Umeå University School of Restaurant and Culinary Arts, both Umeå University. I represented the Faculty of Arts in Umeå University's steering group for Interactive Environments. I have been a member of the International Advisory Board of the Centre for Communication and Computing, University of Copenhagen, and the reference group for Digital Humanities at Uppsala University.