About the podcast
The RelPol podcast series is dedicated to showcasing the work of the RelPol research group and the broader IKOS community, with a specific focus on the intersection between religion and politics.
Through informative and engaging discussions, the podcast aims to promote new avenues for research, encourage academic collaboration, and make the work of researchers in this field more accessible to a broader audience.
Furthermore, the RelPol podcast series aims to engage with the work of guest scholars from other research centres worldwide and to build bridges around the topic of religion and politics.
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Episodes
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1. Kathinka Frøystad – Religious Offence in India
In this episode of the podcast, we discuss with Kathinka Frøystad, a Professor of Modern South Asian Studies at IKOS. Our focus is on her recent research about religious offence in India and the various ways in which religious controversies can either escalate unexpectedly or be resolved peacefully at the local level. Kathinka shares some of her findings from her latest book, which she co-edited with Vera Lazzaretti, titled "Beyond Courtrooms and Street Violence: Rethinking Religious Offence and Its Containment" (Routledge, 2023).
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2. Ricarda Stegmann – Entangled History in Paris
In this episode we meet our first international guest, Ricarda Stegmann (unifr.ch), a Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Fribourg, in Switzerland. Ricarda will tell us about the religious and political role of the Grand Mosque of Paris and introduce us to the analytical approach known as "entangled history." Her latest book is titled, "Verflochtene Identitäten Die Große Moschee von Paris zwischen Algerien und Frankreich. (vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com)" (V&R, 2019) but if you are looking for a reading in English, this is a book chapter on the same topic: Between Orient and Occident? The Colonial Legacy at the Grand Mosque of Paris (link.springer.com).
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3. Hanne Amanda Trangerud – Trump and the American Evangelicals
In this episode of the podcast, Hanne Amanda Trangerud takes us on a journey into the world of American Evangelicalism, shedding light on the relationship between Born-Again Christians and the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. You can read more on the subject in her articles "The Trump Prophecies (journals.sagepub.com)" and "The American Cyrus (mdpi.com)." Hanne is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the study of religion at IKOS, University of Oslo.
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4. Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay – Religion and the Politics of Future Fiction
Our guest in this episode of the podcast is Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay, an Associate Professor of Global Cultural Studies at the University of Oslo. Bodhisattva is a specialist in global future fiction and the director of the research projects CoFutures and Science Fictionality. In our conversation, he explains to us how myth and politics intersect in works of science fiction across the world. You can read more about this topic in his article On the Mythologerm: Kalpavigyan and the Question of Imperial Science (jstor.org)
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5. Olav Børreson Fossdal – Material Religion in Asylum Cases
In this episode of the podcast, Olav Børreson Fossdal, MA, a scholar of religion and emerging expert in the field, helps us navigate the complex journey of Iranian asylum seekers in Norway who are in the process of converting to Christianity. His insights are based on a skillful combination of empirical research and theoretical reflection, showcasing his deep understanding of the subject matter. Discover other compelling aspects of his work in the forthcoming edited volume titled Asylum and Conversion from Islam to Christianity in Europe (books.google.no).
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Aike Rots – Religion, Ecology, and Politics in Vietnam
In this episode, we are joined by Aike Rots, Professor of Japan Studies at the University of Oslo. Aike shares some of his findings on religion, politics, and ecology in Vietnam, drawing on his research project Whales of Power. We explore how Vietnam's Communist government navigates religious plurality and how environmental changes influence local religious practices. To learn more about Aike's work, click the link to read his 2023 article "When Gods Drown in Plastic," co-authored with Nhung Lu Rots.
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Bojidar Kolov – Political Theology in Russia
In this episode, we are pleased to host Bojidar Kolov, a lecturer in Russian history at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø and an expert on the political theology of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). Bojidar will help us understand how the ROC perceives its role in relation to the Russian state and how its discourse provides ideological resources for the expansionist aims of Putin's regime. He is also a participant in the Values-Based Regime Legitimation in Russia research project and has recently published on ecclesiastical populism in contemporary Russia and, together with Pål Kolstø, on the religious component in contemporary Russian imperialism
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Chiara Arnavas – Religion, Politics and Ecology in West Bengal
Our guest in this episode is Chiara Arnavas, a PhD Fellow at IKOS, who works on the intertwined construction of geographic, ecological, and religious frontiers in India. Chiara will share her insights on the dark side of sustainable urban projects in West Bengal and the discriminatory dynamics they entail. To learn more about Chiara's work, you can listen to her conversation with Kenneth Bo Nielsen on the Nordic Asia podcast.
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David Atwood – Religion and the Politics of Time
Our guest in this episode of the podcast is David Atwood, Professor of Religion in the Public Sphere at the University of Zurich and Director of the Center for Religion, Economy and Politics. David will help us understand how the act of organizing history has political implications and how historiography can give rise to new myths. This conversation serves as an introduction to his book Schwellenzeiten (2019). David also summarises some of his key ideas in a short article in English in the Bulletin for the Study of Religion.
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Mark Teeuwen – The Politics of Tradition in Japan
Our guest in this episode of the podcast is Mark Teeuwen, Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Oslo. Mark will introduce us to one of Japan's most famous festivals, Kyoto's Gion Festival, and help us retrace its millennial history. We will discover how religion, tradition, and politics are deeply interrelated and have helped shape and transform the festival over the course of the centuries. You can learn more about the festival in Mark's latest book, "Kyoto's Gion Festival. A Social History." For a concise overview, refer to his Open Access articles on "Religion" and JJRS.
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Zsolt Györegy – Translating Religion and Politics in Colonial South America
In this episode of the podcast, Zsolt Györegy, a PhD Fellow at IKOS, takes us to 17th-century South America and explains how cultural historians search for traces of native voices in missionaries’ chronicles using techniques of cultural translation. To learn more about Zsolt’s work, you can read his Open Access article Translating Guarani Artefacts in Antonio Ruiz de Montoya's Conquista Espiritual (2025).