Cecilie Endresen

Academic interests

• Islam and pluralism in Europe 
• Christianity and politics
• Religion, politics and identity in Southeast Europe
• Islam and Christianity in the Balkans
• Religion among the Albanians
• Religion and globalization
• Secularisation and religious change
• Alternative religion, New age spirituality and new religious movements

Ongoing research

At present, I explore emerging forms of alternative religion in the Balkans, encounters between new age spirituality and Islam, and religious change among Albanian migrants, as part of MUSLIM+/- and ALTERNATIVE MUSLIMS, sub-projects of Mobile Muslims/Invisible Islam which I manage together with my colleague Ragnhild J. Zorgati.

Higher education and employment history

• Tenured position as associate professor in history of religion at Dept. of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS) since 2016.
• Postdoctoral fellow 2012-2016, funded by the Research Council of Norway (FRIPRO), with the project Religious and national identities among Albanians in relation to Greece and Europe (CRYMUS). Guest researcher at Centre d'Études Turques, Ottomanes, Balkaniques et Centrasiatiques, EHESS, 2014-2015.
• PhD in 2010. Dissertation: Is the Albanian’s religion really “Albanianism”? Religion and nation according to Muslim and Christian leaders in Albania.
• MA degree (hovedfag) in history of religion, 2000. Thesis: The right-winged archangels of Romania: A study of the mystico-fascist Legionary Movement after Communism. (Incl. Romanian language component from the Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 1998-1999).
• BA degree (cand.mag) in 1997, with history of religion, philosophy, German, East European area studies and ethics.
• Contract work at history of religion, IKOS, 2010-2013.
• Researcher at the project Strategies of Symbolic Nation-building in South Eastern Europe, funded by the Research Council of Norway, 2011.
• Contract work as political analyst in the Balkans, incl. 1.5 years for the European Union, all in all 3.5 years between 2001 and 2008. 
• Researcher at the project Religion and nationalism in the Western Balkans, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Courses taught

• REL3050 - Islam in Europe
• REL2250 - Islam - traditions and development
• REL3020 - Religion and politics
• REL1001 - Theory in the study of religion
• REL3210/REL4220 - Christianity beyond the church. Popular culture, everyday religion and popular piety
• REL4001 - Theory and method in the history of religion
• REL3060 - New Age spirituality: historical roots