Ole Kolbjørn Kjørven in the middle, after his defense Friday May 23rd, flanked by his
committee Sverre Dag Mogstad, Frank A. Rogers, Astri Ramsfjell and 
MF rector Vidar L. Haanes.
Foto: Pirjo Krabye.


Ole Kolbjørn Kjørven
Hedmark University College/MF Norwegian School of Theology

Project title 
RE teachers' Religious Literacy. An empirical study on RE teachers' interpretation 
of the biblical narrative The Prodigal Son.

Describe you project in 3-5 sentences 
Conceptualizations of religious literacy in RE are dominated by theoretical and normative thinking; 
on what students should learn and what teachers should teach. But what is the empirical basis for this? 
The fact is that we know very little about what religious literacy looks like in the field of practice. 
In the project I wanted to study RE teachers' literacy practices and analyze what happens when RE teachers 
interpret a religious narrative. The material was based on nine RE teachers' texts of reflection and also 
individual interviews. The theoretical perspective is based on reader response theory, and particularly 
Louise M. Rosenblatt's transactional theory which focuses on the mutual contingency between texts 
and readers in literacy practices.

What did you find? 
In order to understand RE teachers' religious literacy, therefore, it is imperative to understand what 
religious literacy looks like from the perspective of the ones doing it, that is, to understand what is going on 
when practitioners of RE make meaning of religious issues. In this study I found that it is what happens in 
concrete literacy events - what in the text is being emphasized and what is being ignored, and the effect 
of personal and collective biases - which determine the RE teachers' interpretations. 

How was the defense? 
The defense was a good experience. The trial lecture challenged me to reflect on the connection between 
literary theories and biblical hermeneutics. The defense developed into an interesting dialogue with the opponents, 
highlighting in particular the issue of normativity in empirical studies.

How has RVS helped your project? 
RVS helped me to understand the basic building blocks of a dissertation
 

Geir Johannes Barlaup

MHS School of Mission and Theology

Preliminary project title

Armed Forces Between Otherness and Respect: A Study of Norwegian Soldiers' Understanding of the Significance of Religion for the Professional Ethics Related to Operations in Afghanistan.

Description of the project

My objective is to have a look at how soldiers understand the significance of religion in their own life, in their encounter with the Afghans and what this means for military professional ethics. Methods are semi structured individual interviews, a questionnaire and group interviews. A main finding is that, with some very good exceptions, many seem to lack or have a poorly developed language to talk about religion.

What I am doing right now

At the moment I am working on proofreading, levelling and a preliminary coding of the interviews. The King (i.e. the Armed Forces) has granted me some mony for transcription help. Still, military 'tribal' language and acronyms are hard to understand for the civil lady who is helping me. Hence, a careful proofreading is required.

How has RVS helped your project?

Oh, in so many ways! I think the most important point is that RVS has provided an interdisciplinary meeting place that gives the opportunity to concentrate on research problems in a fellowship of researchers for some days. This is extremely valuable when working alone as I do, far from the oasis of an academic institution. Thus, the summer courses have given most. This is neither because of the heat nor the place at Lesvos, but travelling away means that nobody can escape into privacy after the sessions.

What would you like to have more of in RVS?

In general, I think RVS chooses topics of high relevance as it is. Nevertheless, in line with the answer above, I would like more courses according to the summer course model - not necessarily at Lesvos as I guess that is too expensive for many. Furthermore, as a student with limited contact with other academics, more focus on practical questions like how to allocate time, finding a good balance between the writing and education, the use of computer programs, how to assess own work etc would help.

And finally, thanks to RVS!

Hege Kristin Ringnes

MF – Norwegian School of Theology

Project title

Emotion regulation in Jehovah´s Witnesses

Please describe your project in 3-5 sentences

I started out with the more open research question: How is it to be a Jehovah´s Witness- with a psychology of religion perspective. Using theology as a starting point when doing quasi-structural interviewing, I was looking for psychological phenomena. The function of emotion regulation became an interesting and central phenomenon to study.

What are you doing right now?

I am analyzing interview material (again) with focus on emotion regulation strategies, using the tool Atlas.ti. I’m also writing on an article about strategies for regulating emotions among Jehovah´s Witnesses

How has RVS helped your project?

I have participated on two Lesvos Summer Courses, which were fantastic due to the place as well as good lectures and nice Ph.D.-students to discuss with. Other courses as well have been helpful and inspiring for learning both theory and method.

What would you like to have more of in RVS?

More money! I am the student board member in RVS and made a case at the 2013 Board Meeting about RVS-students not having enough money to attend courses. Hopefully our institutions will provide more money, so students can attend the RVS courses we need and want. In addition, I would have liked more psychology of religion perspective, and are very glad a course focusing on religion and emotion is scheduled in the future.