The RelEx Core Team - Photo: Tinksu Wessman, Sapfograf

The RelEx Core Team – Photo: Tinksu Wessman, Sapfograf

RelEx | Religion and Social Exclusion

A Cross-Cultural Approach and New Methodology

RelEx investigates how socially excluded people view and relate to religion on a cross-cultural scale using a new mixed-methods framework specifically developed for this purpose. Research is conducted in Ghana, Finland, India, Peru, and the Philippines. In each context, our empirical research focuses on the religious views of persons subjected to three particular forms of social exclusion related to:

For further information visit “about the project”. 

RelEx is the third Centre of Excellence in our research programme, which focuses on critically expanding the conceptual and methodological toolbox of the study of religions, especially with regard to contemporary forms of religiosity, including spiritual and non-religious expressions. The previous CoE:s were “Post-Secular Culture and a Changing Religious Landscape” (2010-2014) and “Young Adults and Religion in a Global Perspective” (2015-2018).

Funder information: RelEx is an ÅAU Centre of Excellence funded by the Åbo Akademi University Foundation during 2024–2028.

Project Highlights

RELEX focuses on four ethnic minorities and/or indigenous groups that are each associated with particular forms of religion and that each face several types of context-dependent social exclusion. These groups are the Sámi, the Fulani, the Awajún, the Santal, and the Batak.

RELEX conducts empirical research among incarcerated people in a number of both male and female low and medium-security prisons in each country included.

LGBTQI+ communities have historically experienced several forms of social exclusion and discrimination. While the situation nowadays differs notably from one cultural context to another, the social exclusion of LGBTQI+ persons has often been justified on religious grounds, as sexual and gender non-conformity have been deemed incompatible with religious mores. Attitudes towards LGBTQI+ persons vary decisively between Finland, Ghana, India, Peru, and the Philippines. While a fair amount of research exists on LGBTQI+ and religion in Western contexts, less is known about the situation in most other parts of the world and research combining and comparing several contexts is rare.

Panel Discussion on Social Exclusion with Hilary Silver and Aminkeng A. Alemanji

On Friday, March 14th, the Religion and Social Exclusion (RelEx) project organized a panel discussion on social exclusion, featuring Hilary Silver and Aminkeng A. Alemanji. The event brought together students from the Social Exclusion Master’s program, offering them the opportunity to engage with leading scholars in the field.

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Peter Nynäs Presents RelEx at the SSSR Conference in Pittsburg

Peter Nynäs participated in the SSSR conference in Pittsburgh with a presentation on the background of RelEx.

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RelEx Presents at the EASR in Gothenburg, Sweden

On 23rd  August 2024 Relex researchers Marcus Moberg, Linda Annunen, and Karoliina Dahl presented the RelEx-project at EASR 2024 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

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RelEx Kick-off Workshop: 14–16 June in Turku

RelEx held a three-day workshop on developing our research instruments at the Åbo Akademi University, Arken Campus in Turku from 14 to 16 June, 2024.

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Upcoming Events

RelEx 2025 Winter Workshop

In March 2025, RelEx will host a full-week workshop at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland. This workshop will provide researchers responsible for data collection across the project’s participating countries with an opportunity to practice using all RelEx research instruments. It will also feature presentations from members of the advisory board and steering group, who will share their expertise on the instruments and offer insights into working with various cases and contexts.

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