The Challenges of Religious Literacy : The Case of Finland

"This open access book presents religious literacy as the main explanatory factor when dealing with certain ethnic groups that attract stereotypes which gloss over other personal factors such as age, class, gender and cultural differences. It discusses freedom of religion, and the Christian revival movement. It examines religious literacy and religious diversity in multi-faith schools. It looks into the role of Mosques and Islamic divorce. Finally, it discusses the prevention of violent radicalization and extremism in Finland. Using recent data on Finnish secular society, the book promotes a new understanding which is needed with respect to popular and media portrayal of religion, or with respect to public discussion about religion. It addresses actors in civic society, public servants and higher education"-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: Setting the Stage (Tuula Sakaranaho, Timo Aarrevaara, Johanna Konttori)....Pages 1-8 “There Is Freedom of Religion in Finland, But...” The Helsinki Mosque Debate (Teemu Pauha, Johanna Konttori)....Pages 9-24 Laestadians in the Public Sphere: Reading the Biggest Christian Revival Movement in Finland (Tapio Nykänen, Aini Linjakumpu)....Pages 25-38 Challenges of Religious Literacy in Education: Islam and the Governance of Religious Diversity in Multi-faith Schools (Inkeri Rissanen, Martin Ubani, Tuula Sakaranaho)....Pages 39-53 Governing Divorce Practices of Somali Finnish Muslims: Does Religious Literacy Matter? (Mulki Al-Sharmani, Sanna Mustasaari)....Pages 55-66 Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Extremism in Finland: The Role of Religious Literacy (Marja Tiilikainen, Tarja Mankkinen)....Pages 67-78 Conclusions: Religious Literacy Promotes Absorptive Capacity, Inclusion and Reflexivity in Society (Timo Aarrevaara, Tuula Sakaranaho, Johanna Konttori)....Pages 79-84