Edward Dutton

Error: On page 16 it is stated that Niemi (2003) produced a Masters thesis on the Sudanese in Finland. This is in error. Niemi did not produce a Masters on the subject. The author would like rectify this mistake.

Sudan and Suomi (‘Finland’ in Finnish) are very different nations. Various assessments have rated Finland the best country in the world in which to live while Sudan struggles, mired in poverty and intermittent civil war. Finland is the world’s most northerly nation state while Sudan lies close to equator. But, despite the many differences, Finland began to accept Southern Sudanese – mostly Christian – refugees in 2001 and they have since established a nationwide Anglican community and various other churches. There is a significantly sized Southern Sudanese community in Oulu, in the north of the country.
From Sudan to Suomi is an ethnographic account of the Southern Sudanese Christian churches in Oulu and the first detailed ethnographic account of any Southern Sudanese community in Finland. Through participant observation, it attempts to gain a deeper understanding of Southern Sudanese religiosity and culture and the way in which Southern Sudanese life has developed in its specifically Finnish cultural context. In doing so, From Sudan to Suomi also aims to help those who work with Sudanese refugees better understand the dynamics and nuances of Southern Sudanese Diaspora culture.

How does university turn students into who they become?

Why are student evangelicals such a significant and controversial force at so many universities?

In many countries, university has become the main Rite of Passage between the child and adult worlds. University can be enjoyable and fascinating but also life-changing and traumatic. And at the exact time when a student's identity is the most challenged and uncertain, student evangelical groups are highly organised on many university campuses to offer students a powerful identity so that the world makes sense once again. For some, these groups will protect them from the university's assault on their faith. For others, they will challenge and even change who they are.

Meeting Jesus at University explores universities in six countries. Drawing upon detailed fieldwork, it examines the largest student evangelical group at each university in order to understand in depth the relationship between the student evangelical group and the university which it aims to convert. Meeting Jesus at University offers an original contribution to the discussion of Rites of Passage, examining what is experienced at university and how university breaks down and remoulds young people. It explores why student evangelicals are so active, particularly at Britain and America's most prestigious and identity-challenging institutions meaning that students at these places are the most likely to find themselves meeting Jesus at university.

'Finland has a unique culture.' This is uncritically accepted by many ordinary Finns, travel writers and even foreign and Finnish academics. Why is Finnish culture accepted as being unique? What do people really mean when they term Finnish culture as 'unique'? Is Finnish culture really a mystery - an enigma, beyond comparison; something that can never 'make sense'?

In The Finnuit, Edward Dutton reveals Finnish 'uniqueness' to be a religious dogma. It reflects the modern-day religions of Romantic nationalism and its cousin Cultural Relativism which turn disempowered cultures into mysterious gods to be worshipped and awed at. And Dutton argues that Finnish culture can be 'understood' - like anything - through comparison. Drawing upon detailed fieldwork, he finds that Finnish culture makes sense as a diluted Greenland - the world's most advanced Arctic culture.

Abstract. This article will shed new light on the Confession of St Patrick by examining it through the prism of the culture shock model. It will argue that the stages of the saint’s conversion broadly follow the stages of culture shock and that some modern examples of culture shock are very similar to
religious conversion experience. It will contextualise these observations into the thesis that ‘religion’ and ‘culture’ are only clearly distinguished in Western or post-Enlightenment societies, that ‘culture’
has come to replace God in many modern societies and that a strong divide between the two concepts
is not philosophically sustainable. Accordingly, it will apply the modern model of ‘culture shock’ to Patrick’s experience, arguing that it exemplifies this model.

Scientific anthropologists tend to argue for the veracity of their approach and assume that the most logical approach will ultimately reclaim the discipline from postmodernists and extreme-naturalists. This article advocates scientific anthropology but stresses that being logically coherent is only part of the process of scientific revolutions. It demonstrates that anthropology is broadly in the grip of those who are implicitly religious – not rational – and then presents a libertarian manifesto on how anthropology – in practical terms – might be returned to the scientific fold.

This article will examine the religious dimensions to the phenomenon of Culture Shock. Drawing upon a functionalist definition of religion, it will argue, with some nuances, that Culture Shock sits in the Romantic tradition of Cultural Relativism and this is best understood in religious terms. It will also compare Culture Shock to Religious Experience and Conversion Experience, further demonstrating its implicit religiosity. It will recommend changes in the way it is taught, as part of the burgeoning field of Intercultural Education, at many universities.

This paper examines the nature of evangelism amongst an evangelical group at a Dutch university and compares it to a similar group at a British university. In addressing the differences, the paper submits that, to a great extent, an explanation can be found in the centrality of 'Tolerance' in Dutch cultural life which it suggests leads to an emphasis on witness evangelism. The paper examines the history and beliefs of both groups as well as explaining the fieldwork method employed. It explores tolerance in Holland drawing upon the views of various cultural commentators as well as the views of Dutch evangelical students on this issue. It then examines differences between the two groups with regard to group activity, evangelical activity and the expression of religious and ethical opinions. It suggests that the desire to be perceived as being tolerant in Holland, and its consequences, are significant in explaining the differences found.

This article will argue that ‘uniqueness’ can be understood as a form of Implicit Religion. This will be demonstrated through an analysis of the word and the use of fieldwork in two cultures in which ‘uniqueness’ is a strong component of the nationalist discourse. In doing so, it will respond to serious and superficially persuasive criticisms of the idea that uniqueness relates to religion and, implicitly, of Implicit Religion as a concept. It will highlight the logically sustainable philosophical presuppositions underlying Implicit Religion and the false rationalist and unsustainable philosophical presuppositions underlying the critique. It will conclude that the critique itself would be fruitful pasture for Implicit Religion analysis.

There has been considerable criticism of ‘Religious Studies,’ as a separate discipline, focussing on the category of ‘religion.’ This article aims to develop this debate by defending the ‘religion’ category but nevertheless criticising ‘Religious Studies’ in terms of its practical consequences for scholarship. Working on the view that scholarship aims to criticise accepted knowledge in pursuit of truth and foster a rational atmosphere for discussion, the article will argue that Religious Studies, as a separate discipline within the restrictions in which it often operates, potentially damages this aim. Solutions will be proposed to the Religious Studies problem and the article will aim to open-up a debate.

This article aims to make an original contribution to the discussion of the dynamics of social class in Finland. Drawing upon fieldwork in Oulu, Kokkola, and Helsinki, it will argue that though such issues as ‘work’ and ‘language’ remain salient to Finnish emic social stratification, class discourse is increasingly reflecting a consumerist environment in which social boundaries are drawn and recognized through various forms of consumption. The article argues that Finnish class discourse parallels a shift in many Western European countries whereby production becomes less significant to identity – and creating the social ‘other’ – than consumption. It looks at the diverse ways in which, as in other Western cultures, consumption practices serve to organize Finnish social stratification through examining a number of social stereotypes that represent latent class boundaries. The specific ways in which Finnish developments differ from cultures which have been analyzed in depth (such as the Britain and the USA) are also examined and concerted future research into Finnish latent class terms is recommended.

This article will attempt to reconcile Turner’s Communitas -based understanding of the liminal phase with the various forms of the Contestation Model propounded by his critics. It will argue that these models can, apparently, be reconciled if the given liminal phase is examined in terms of level and that this is most apparent when examining an initiation ritual rather than a pilgrimage. The article will draw upon detailed fieldwork with an evangelical student group operating in the highly liminal environment of Oxford University. It will demonstrate, notably in relation to the issue of social class, that each level of structure leads to communitas in which a further level of structure develops. Hence, it will be argued that there is concomitantly structure and anti-structure on each level of the multilayered university and university-evangelical-group experience. The article will appreciate that further research will of course be required to develop this idea theoretically and practically and will recommend future research in this regard.

This article aims to make an original contribution to the discussion of the dynamics of social status expression in Finland. Drawing upon fieldwork in Oulu and Kokkola, it will examine how a sample of Finnish people express and play for social status through the interior decoration of their homes. It will suggest, based on the fieldwork, that Finnish social stratification may be undergoing a shift away from identification by formal ‘education’ and towards parameters based around broader consumption patterns, especially amongst the young. However, it will also highlight social status-based differences in terms of this status expression and suggest how these reflect the evolution of Finnish social stratification and culture more broadly.

This aim of this article is cast a neuroscientific light on recent research into student evangelicalism. The article will draw upon findings which indicate that universities which are particularly transitional and prestigious tend to have (in contrast to less transitional universities), tightly differentiated and ‘fundamentalist’ student evangelical groups and higher levels of conversion while at university. While accepting the influence of this environment in pressuring students (a significant factor in conversion), this article will suggest that students’ intelligence and creativity is also a significant factor. Following the neuroscientific research of Persinger and others, it will argue that Oxford University students are likely to be not just more intelligent in IQ terms than comparable students but more creative, more original in their thinking and more able to acquire knowledge. These characteristics will all be shown, drawing upon neuroscientific data, to make religious experience more likely in an individual.

This article will examine the debate over the racial origins of the Finns in a new way by looking at the dominant perspective in terms of myth. Focussing on Kemiläinen’s (1998, 2000) discussion, as one of the most salient, the article will dissect the structure of her racial myth and look at how, following Levi-Strauss and Kunin, this myth helps to uphold the contemporary, dominant idea amongst the Finnish elite that Finns are ‘Western’ or ‘European.’ It will note that Kemiläinen’s discussion (in spite of counter evidence) indeed upholds the dominant cultural discourse in contemporary Finland and it will look at how Finland’s status could be understood in this context.

The aim of this article is to examine the successfulness of death metaphors in the contemporary debate over the Secularisation Theory. Through doing so, the article will propose criteria by which the success of a metaphor in the sociology of religion and in social science more broadly can be assessed. It will examine metaphors employed by Stark, Bruce and Callum Brown. It will firstly discuss the nature of the Secularisation debate, metaphor and metaphor in sociology and science more broadly. Then, drawing upon previous research in this area, it will discuss the use of metaphor and analogy in academic discourse and examine criteria by which the success of scientific metaphors might be assessed. Thereafter, it will look at the successfulness of the main recent metaphors employed by proponents and critics of secularisation in terms of these criteria.

This article will employ examinations of baptism ritual in Finland and Greenland to argue that it may be fruitful to orient discussions of Finnish folk religiosity, and possibly even some aspects of culture more broadly, towards the Greenlandic Inuit rather than Finland’s Scandinavian neighbours, as often occurs. The article will demonstrate that the pre-Christian world-view of both cultures was shamanistic and that this was not shared to the same extent in the Scandinavian countries. The article will show that this comparable shamanistic world-view can be observed in contemporary attitudes to Lutheran baptism in both countries which, as life changing rituals or Rites of Passage, would be most likely to preserve traditional perspectives. It will examine the possible consequences of this for future anthropological discussion of Finnish religion and cultural dynamics and suggest that comparison to Greenland may be helpful in furthering our understanding of Finnish religiosity.

It has been widely noted that formerly taboo sexual swearing is an increasing part of contemporary popular culture, especially among the young. It has equally been observed that evangelical Christians (or at least evangelical Christian students) tend to swear in an idiosyncratic way (e.g., Bramadat 2000), though this has not been looked at in depth. This article will examine the ways in which two evangelical student groups use swearing as part of their “witness evangelism.” Drawing upon fieldwork, as well as research by Douglas (1966), McEnery (2006), Reiss (2000) and Stark (1996), it will argue that the groups” use of swearing leads to successful evangelism because it gives the group a sense of status in broader society—but also clear boundaries in relation to that society— while maintaining the cultural heritage of those that the groups are attempting to evangelise. Moreover, it will suggest that it helps to create social bonds, within certain parameters, and provides a means of talking about and expressing Christianity and thus “witnessing.”

This article will look at the phenomenon of 'eye-glazing' and the impact, both positive and negative, that this unsettling phenomenon, sometimes observed in religious studies research, has had on my own development as an anthropologist working with Evangelical groups. It will examine the experience of being unable to understand and structure a particular 'culture shock' in one's own research, focussing on eye-glazing, and will examine both the positive and negative consequences for the anthropologist from a personal perspective, placing its findings within the broader anthropological discussion. It will also aim to provide detailed descriptive examples of a fascinating phenomenon of which there has been relatively little discussion in the anthropology of religion.

This article will examine Political Correctness at British universities and its effect on and relationship with student evangelical groups. Drawing upon the anthropological method, it will argue that, for many, contemporary student evangelical groups involve a 'student rebellion' in relation to Political Correctness. Thus, it will be demonstrated that the Christian Union is Politically Incorrect and contains a minority from non-evangelical backgrounds for whom its views and lifestyle might be seen as a kind of rebellion. The group has experienced considerable difficulties with the Politically Correct Student Union, as will be demonstrated. The article will further examine the evangelical student group Speak which it will argue - though fundamentally evangelical - is Politically Correct. Following various definitions of Political Correctness, it will be argued that Speak's rise can be seen as a kind of 'student rebellion' amongst conservative evangelicals. Thus, Political Correctness is both a means of student rebellion and an object against which students are rebelling depending on religious background.

The aim of this article is to examine a specific response of the group Unite Against Racism (UAR) to electoral victories by the British National Party (BNP) in terms of ritual dynamics. We will first discuss the nature of taboo drawing on the work of Douglas. This will be related to Turner's work on liminality and ritual and Edmund Leach's on taboo. The relationship between ritual and taboo will then be examined as will the BNP's policies in comparison to the beliefs of the UAR. Thereafter we will discuss the nature of the UAR's response to BNP victories and how this can be understood as being a ritual in the senses suggested by both Leach and Gilbert Lewis. The degree to which the BNP, or votes for the BNP in certain areas, might be seen to create taboo for UAR members will be discussed in depth. It will be demonstrated that the superficially senseless act of the UAR protesting against democracy makes sense when analysed as ritual.

This article will examine the Big Brother television series through the prism of the anthropology of religion. It will examine the ways in which Big Brother is comparable to a pilgrimage on the one hand and a tribal initiation ceremony on the other. In this regard, Victor Turner’s research on these subjects, and related criticisms, will be discussed in detail. It will argue that one possible reason for the popularity of Big Brother is that it is a modern liminal phase in which contestants undergo suffering to attain the status of celebrity. This, it will argue, is pertinent because modern society prizes celebrity so highly. Thus, it will argue that the Big Brother programme appeals not only to voyeurism but to a kind of religious or tribal structure–that those who endure suffering have their status raised.

This article will examine the use of contemporary fashions as a means by which evangelical students express a sense of differentiation from other students. It will draw upon detailed participant observation. It will use this data to criticise Turner’s understanding of liminality. The article will demonstrate that university is a liminal phase and that Oxford University is more liminal than Leiden University. It will argue that, drawing upon the groups assessed, liminality is better defined as a loosening of structure on one level and a reassertion of structure on another. In looking at fashions among evangelical students, it will argue that the more liminal a university is, the more structured and differentiated its main evangelical group appears to be. Moreover, the article aims to provide useful research into fashion among evangelical students.

The aim of this article is to examine the place of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) within the contemporary discourse on Scottish nationalism. The article will outline the history and place of the SSP within Scottish politics, define the parameters of nationalism and nationalist political parties and demonstrate the distinctiveness of thr SSP as overtly internationalist and socialist but also nationalist. It will then conduct the most salient aspects of contemporary Scottish nationalism. Drawing upon discussions by McCrone, Bruce and others it will be argued that Scottish nationalism can be understood as anti-English in a variety of respects while other components will be examined. The policies, linguistic usage and public presentation of the SSP will then be examined in the context of this discussion. It will be demonstrated that the SSP selectively employs Scottish nationalism to fit in with a socialist discourse but also allows nationalism to predominate over socialist-internationalism. As a result the SSP, despite its internationalism, is, in many respects, a nationalist group which should not be neglected in any discussion of Scottish nationalism.