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Daniel Enstedt

Professor

Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion
Mail
daniel.enstedt@lir.gu.se
Visiting address
Renströmsgatan 6
41255 Göteborg
Postal address
Box 200
40530 Göteborg

About Daniel Enstedt

Daniel Enstedt is Professor of Religious Studies, with a PhD obtained in 2011 and a docent (associate professor) title since 2018.

His teaching and research are primarily contemporary and situated within the field of the sociology and psychology of religion. In addition to his research and teaching, he served as Director of Studies in Religious Studies and Theology between 2014–2018, and as Equal Treatment Officer at the department from 2013–2014. He was Deputy Head of Department for Education (Director of Education) at LIR between 2019–2021.

Current Research

Religious Literacy, Challenges, and Strategies in Upper Secondary Education (2025–2027)The collaborative project Religious Literacy, Challenges, and Strategies in Upper Secondary Education aims to develop didactic models in religious education that enhance students’ religious literacy by combining factual knowledge with reflective and analytical skills. The project is conducted in collaboration with Wilhelm Kardemark and upper secondary school teachers at Hulebäcksgymnasiet. Two research-based focal areas structure the study: Places and Bodies of Lived Religion and RE-searchers as a Pathway to Religious Literacy. The first examines how religion is practiced in everyday life and how this can be integrated into teaching to counteract stereotypes, while the second introduces the British RE-searchers concept to strengthen students’ investigative and perspective-taking abilities. The project follows a cyclical work model inspired by lesson study, in which teachers and researchers jointly identify challenges, develop teaching activities, and reflect on the results. The material consists of classroom observations, conversations, and teaching documentation. The results are expected to generate generalizable models for religious education that are both empirically grounded and practically applicable.

Completed Research

Experiences of Qigong (2019–2024)This project investigated the long-term results and effects of practicing Zhineng Qigong. While health effects formed an important part of the study, these were understood more holistically than in traditional medical or short-term experimental research. Zhineng Qigong, developed by Pang Ming in China during the 1970s and 1980s, has been an established qigong method in Sweden since 1993. It is also practiced in other Nordic countries and globally. Practitioners often emphasized the health-promoting effects and described the results of their practice in life stories centered on how various ailments and diseases had improved in connection with their qigong training. The project was funded by the Faculty of Humanities (University of Gothenburg) and the Sven and Dagmar Salén Foundation.

Lived Religion and Social Mobility among Migrants in Sweden (2020–2024)This research project examined the role of lived religion in social mobility and integration among three migrant groups in Sweden: Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians. Limited social mobility and segregation have a number of negative consequences for both society and individuals, including health-related problems, social isolation, inequality, unemployment, and increased segregation. In relation to these issues, the project explored the significance of lived religion among migrants in two Swedish regions: Angered (northeast Gothenburg) and Karlstad. The project was based on ethnographic fieldwork (interviews and participant observation), a mapping study, and a quantitative survey of participants’ social networks. The results were analyzed and discussed in relation to previous research and theories on religion, social mobility, social capital, intersectionality, and integration. By grounding the fieldwork in two contrasting regional contexts (Karlstad and Angered) and applying new interdisciplinary and theoretical perspectives, the project contributed to international research on migrants’ religiosity, social mobility, and integration.The project was conducted in collaboration with Katarina Plank, Karlstad University, and funded by the Swedish Research Council. Publications based on the results are planned for 2026.

Teaching

I have been teaching at the University of Gothenburg since 2006. My teaching has been conducted in Religious Studies, teacher education, and interdisciplinary courses at LIR, as well as in Public Health Science, Nutrition and Sports Science (Food and Religion), and at the Department of Psychology in the field of sexology and in the psychology program. Most of my teaching has been within the behavioral sciences of religion (sociology and psychology of religion) and in advanced courses within the religion teacher education program. In addition to teaching in the behavioral sciences of religion, I have been responsible for empirical and fieldwork-related courses, as well as supervision and examination of degree projects within the teacher education program. I have also supervised theses at the bachelor’s, one-year master’s, and two-year master’s levels.

Doctoral Supervision

Principal supervisor for Giulia Giubergia (PhD defense: 9 November 2018)

Principal supervisor for Lydia Heinevik

Assistant supervisor for Khaled Ahmed

Assistant supervisor for Emma Lundberg (PhD defense: 15 November 2024)

Assistant supervisor for Kristel Torgrimsson (PhD defense: 5 September 2025)

Networks

Founder of the Network for the Study of Lived Religion and Society at the University of Gothenburg (2015).

Member of the Swedish Society for the Sociology of Religion and its chair between 2019–2022.