Stefan Gelfgren

Background

About Stefan Gelfgren

I am an Associate Professor (Docent, 2013) of Sociology of Religion. I hold a PhD (2003) in the History of Ideas from Umeå University, an 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, University of Helsinki. My primary research interest lies in exploring the relationship between social, technical, and religious transformations—both historically and in contemporary contexts. In recent years, I have conducted several case-based studies on the use and impact of digital media within Christian churches and denominations. I am particularly interested in the interplay between digital/social media, power structures, and institutional frameworks. I am part of the Wallenberg-funded project “Data Is the New Oil (DINO): Digital Transformation – Balancing Social Benefit Against Personal Privacy.” The project studies the intersection between digital transformation and people's relations and attitudes to it. In collaboration with other scholars, Humlab, and the Swedish national research infrastructure InfraVis, I am leading the development of a database and an associated GIS map of churches and prayer houses in the Nordic countries, titled Nordic Places of Worship (NordPoW). I am also interested in questions related to the digital humanities, particularly its role as an academic discipline and its relationship to the humanities. Additionally, I have an interest in the intersection of research infrastructures and the humanities. Between 2015 and 2020, I served as the director of Humlab, a research infrastructure and unit at the Faculty of Arts within Digital Humanities. From 2016 to 2022, I was a member of the Council for Research Infrastructures at the Swedish Research Council. Currently, I am the chair of the Swedish Association for Sociology of Religion. I am also a member of the Faculty Board at the Faculty of Humanities, Umeå University.