Marlene Ringgaard Lorensen

Marlene Ringgaard Lorensen

Cand.theol., Ph.d.

  • Karen Blixens Plads 16

    2300 København S

  • Source: Scopus
20032024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Primary fields of research

Homiletics (theology, history and practice of preaching), contextual theology, dialogue philosophy, 'other-wise homiletics', ethnographic ecclesiology, refugees' encounter with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, European preaching practices in light of the refugee situation, authorship of Mikhail Bakhtin in relation to preaching, practical theology, praxis theories.

New collaborative research project 2021-2023: "Complexity and Beyond in Studies of Religiosity in the Nordic Countries" financed by the Finnish Research Council: 

The aim of the network is to develop new and more precise understandings of the characteristics and backgrounds for changes in religiosity at the individual level in the Nordic countries during the last three to four decades and to create a stronger network for collaboration among Nordic researchers in the field.
The core substantive idea is to scrutinise and transcend three dominant theoretical narratives – secularization, individualization and competition – of religiosity in the Nordic countries. We hypothesize that changes in religiosity are consequences of interactions between structural (e.g., the organization of national churches) and individual (e.g., socialization) factors. A complexity framework (Byrne 2002, 2005, Furseth 2018), which presumes that cross-cutting trends in religiosity may occur at different levels and entities and multiple religious forms may exist at the same time at each level, will inform our overall approach. Comparative, mixed methods will be encouraged. We aim:
 To move beyond established theoretical narratives of changes in individuals’ religiosity by identifying developments in the Nordic countries that these narratives struggle to explain.
 To study the varying changes for religiosity that may be associated with structural changes (e.g., church–state relationships), social changes (e.g., immigration) and their interaction.
 To perform mixed-methods comparisons based on existing voluntary organizational and community-based qualitative studies as well as large-scale longitudinal, comparative data.
 To increase Nordic cooperation and research dissemination in articles in peer-reviewed journals, as well as in an edited volume published by a high-level international publisher.
 To initiate new research projects based on insights produced by network members.

Current research

1) Theology, history and praxis of Homiletics    

2) Ethnographic ecclesiology including empirical study of the encounter between refugees and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark. Part of the research project: Consumed identities. Ritualized food and the Negotiation of National Identity in the Danish Majority Church and the research project: Reassembling Democracy. Ritual as Cultural Resource in collaboration with Prof. mso, Gitte Buch-Hansen, KU. REDO is financed by the Norwegian Research Council.      

 

CV

Employment

2020 Vicedean of Education and Head of Studies at the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen.

2020 Interim Head of Studies at the Faculty of Theology,  University of Copenhagen.

2018 - Associate Professor in Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen.

2013 - 2018: Professor in Practical Theology with special obligations in the field of homiletics, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen.

 2012 - 2013: Visiting Scholar, Duke University Divinity School, Preceptor in MA course: Introduction to Christian Preaching.

 Sept-Oct. 2012: Research Assistant, Faculty of Theology, University Of Copenhagen.

Feb.-June 2012: External lecturer at the Department of Systematic Theology, University of Copenhagen teaching.

2006- June 2012: Ph.D. fellow at the Department of Systematic Theology, University of Copenhagen. Financed by the Danish Research Council for Culture and Communication.   

Education

  • 2006- June 2012: Ph.D. fellow at the Department of Systematic Theology, University of Copenhagen.               
  • 2000 - June 2005: Candidata theologiae, University of Copenhagen.    
  • 1997 - June 2000: Bachelor in Theology, University of Copenhagen.    
  • 1992-1995: Upper secondary school leaving examination, Fredericia Gymnasium.

 Studies abroad

  • 2002-2003: Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Nashville, Tennesse.
  • 1995-1996: l'Université de la Sorbonne Paris. Cours de langue et de civilisation francaises.   
  • 1991-1992: Millbrook Highschool, New York. Rotary exchange student.

 Academical posts and activities

  • Member of the board of Societas Homiletica
  • Co-editor of the International Journal of Homiletics. 
  • Head of continuing and further education at Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen.
  • 2009-2011: Elect Member of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Homiletics.
  • Co-planning and facilitating the Academy of Homiletics’ Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, Dec. 1st-3rd 2011.
  • Co-planning and facilitating the Academy of Homiletics’ Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 18th-20th 2010 (in affiliation with the Society of Biblical Literature).
  • 2011- 2013: Member of the redaction group at Religionspædagogisk Forlag (RPF),Frederiksberg
  • 2011:   Co-planning seminar on “The Theology of Preaching” at Copenhagen University, Oct. 5th-6th.
  • 2008:   Co-planning and facilitating the Societas Homiletica’s bi-annual conference in Copenhagen, June 2008.

 Conference paper presentations

  • "Prophetic Sermons: theological critique and grotesque hope in encounters with the climate crisis", University of Copenhagen, 15 April 2024

  • "“What is truth?” – homiletical theology in light of Hartmut Rosa’s Resonance", Societas Homiletica conference, Budapest, Hungary, August 2022

  •  

    "Listening to the Voices. Refugees as Co-authors of Practical Theology" Keynote lecture at the British and Irish Association of Practical Theology's Conferencen in collaboration with Ass. Prof. Gitte Buch-Hansen July 13th 2017.
  • "Paradoxical Hope in the Promise of Preaching" Keynote lecture at Societas Homiletica Bi-annual conference, Stellenbosch, Southafrica. March 16th. 2016.
  • “Touched by the Words – Corporeality and Liturgical Practices in the Johannine Jesus’ Speeches. A polyphonic performance for three voices”
    Joint presentation in collaboration with Professor Bent Flemming Nielsen and Professor Gitte Buch-Hansen at the session: Biblical Interpretation and Pastoral Theology at the Society of Biblical Literature Conference in Chicago, IL. Nov.17th 2012.
  •  “The ‘Word of God’ in Carnivalized Preaching - Reconsidering the Call to Preaching from a Bakhtinian Perspective”. In: Papers of the Academy of Homiletics 44th. Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA., Nov. 2010.
  • “Preaching as Dialogical Monologue: In Conversation with Mikhail M. Bakhtin and Other­wise Homiletics”. In: Papers of the Academy of Homiletics 43th. Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, Dec. 2009.
  • “In Search of Preaching – Does Scripture Make a Difference? - Homiletics in the Tension Field between Orality and Literacy”. In: Working Papers of the Societas Homiletica’s bi-annual meeting, København, June 2008.
  • “How the Word becomes Flesh and Dwells among Us: A ‘New Homiletic’ approach to
    ‘Advent Analogy’” In: Papers of the Academy of Homiletics 39th. Annual Meeting, Memphis, TN, Dec. 2004. 

 Languages

  • English: Level A
  • French: Level A
  • German: Level B
  • Latin: Level A
  • Greek: Level A
  • Hebrew: Level C

 

 

 

 

Keywords

  • Faculty of Theology
  • M.M. Bakhtin
  • Dialogicity
  • Homiletics
  • Practical theology
  • orality/literacy
  • Other-Wise homiletics
  • David Buttrick
  • John S. McClure

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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