Academic focus

At Uppsala University, Euroculture approaches Europe as a historically evolving and morally contested project rather than a self-evident political or cultural entity. Through the Department of Theology’s expertise in religious studies, historical theology, ethics and the sociology of religion, students examine how Europe’s identities and values have been shaped by religious traditions, secular thought, philosophical debates and political power.

A distinctive feature of the Uppsala approach is its focus on the moral and intellectual foundations of Europe. Narratives such as “Christian Europe,” secular modernity, Enlightenment rationality and liberal universalism are examined as historically constructed ideas that have influenced political legitimacy, cultural belonging and the definition of European values. Students explore how religious concepts have been transformed into secular norms, how historical memories are selectively preserved or forgotten, and how Europe’s claims to universal values intersect with colonial legacies and nationalism.

The programme also examines crisis as a recurring challenge to Europe’s moral authority, social cohesion and political legitimacy. Questions of migration, religious diversity, human rights and minority protection are analysed not only as policy issues but also as ethical debates about justice, responsibility, equality and belonging. Through research-based seminars, primary-source analysis and independent projects, students develop the historical, interpretive and critical skills needed to understand Europe as a contested and globally interconnected project.

Key themes

Historicising European foundations and moral narratives
How did Europe come to understand itself as Christian, secular, democratic or committed to universal human rights? At Uppsala, students investigate the historical development of these narratives through theology, intellectual history, religious studies and philosophical inquiry.

The programme explores how biblical motifs, theological concepts and religious traditions have informed European political and cultural ideas, including sovereignty, rights, democracy, tolerance and equality. It also examines how these ideas have been reinterpreted over time and mobilised to justify particular understandings of European identity.

By tracing the historical origins and transformations of foundational concepts, students learn to distinguish historical developments from idealised narratives about Europe’s past. This critical approach reveals how appeals to tradition and universal values can create solidarity while also reinforcing hierarchies and excluding particular groups.

Religion, diversity and the ethics of belonging
Religion is examined as both a resource for European identity and a source of debate within European modernity. Students explore the relationship between religious traditions, secularism and public life, asking how societies negotiate differences in belief, practice and moral conviction.

Particular attention is given to migration, Islam in Europe, post-colonial legacies and the racialisation of religious difference. Students investigate how ideas such as integration, citizenship, tolerance and social cohesion are constructed, and how they can be used to justify either inclusion or exclusion. Comparative perspectives also illuminate the different ways European societies understand religious freedom, equality and the relationship between religion and the state.

Through discourse analysis, interpretive sociology and case-based research, students examine how religious and cultural identities are represented in public debate, policy documents and legal controversies. The emphasis is on understanding diversity not simply as a demographic reality, but as a question about the moral boundaries of European society and the principles through which pluralism is governed.

Crisis, human rights and contested moral authority
Uppsala approaches crisis as more than an interruption to European political life. Crises can reveal deeper tensions between universal values and particular identities, secular institutions and religious traditions, democratic ideals and exclusionary practices, or human rights commitments and colonial legacies.

Students explore the moral concepts that shape responses to these tensions, including responsibility, guilt, trust, redemption and solidarity. They consider how such concepts, many with histories in religious and philosophical traditions, continue to influence contemporary political language and public responses to conflict and social change.

Human rights and the rule of law provide an important setting for this inquiry. Students examine the historical and ethical foundations of human dignity, freedom of conscience, equality before the law and academic freedom. They investigate how rights are justified, interpreted, limited or instrumentalised, particularly amid political polarisation and pressure on democratic institutions. By combining ethical reasoning with historical and political analysis, students learn to assess not only whether European institutions uphold their stated principles, but also how those principles are defined and contested.

Regional strength

Uppsala’s distinctive regional strength lies in the Nordic countries and their experience of secularisation, religious diversity and social trust. Scandinavia offers a valuable setting for exploring how religious traditions continue to shape public ethics, welfare institutions, law and political culture, even in highly secular societies. Research on migration, Islam in Europe, minority governance and citizenship also connects Nordic experiences to wider debates about the relationship between Europe’s centre and its peripheries.

The department’s expertise extends to the Middle East and North Africa, global Islam and global Christianity, as well as transatlantic intellectual and theological exchanges. These perspectives help students understand how European ideas about secularism, tolerance, rights and sovereignty have developed through colonial encounters, missionary movements, migration and cross-cultural exchanges.

Methodologically, students work with historical and theological texts, policy documents, legal materials, empirical studies and public discourse. Training in historical contextualisation, genealogical analysis, discourse analysis and interpretive sociology enables them to trace how concepts emerge and change over time. Research seminars in the second and third semesters support the development of independent projects, combining theoretical frameworks, empirical material and reasoned ethical argument. Case-based learning and structured feedback further strengthen analytical writing, methodological transparency and critical reflection.

Questions students explore

• How have religious and secular narratives shaped Europe’s ideas of identity, modernity and universal values?

• How do migration, religious diversity and post-colonial legacies challenge European understandings of citizenship, equality and belonging?

• How can Europe uphold human rights and democratic principles while confronting the historical exclusions embedded in its own traditions?

• How do religious and ethical ideas continue to shape the ways European societies interpret crises and negotiate competing claims to moral authority?

Keywords: European intellectual history, historical theology, religion and secularism, moral philosophy, European identity, religious diversity, cultural memory, Christian heritage, Islam in Europe, migration, post-colonial legacies, human rights, freedom of conscience, rule of law, ethics, social cohesion, Nordic societies, critical discourse analysis, moral pluralism.