New Centre for the Study of Religion Opens
On 12 September, the opening of SCALA – Centre for the Study of Religion in Society, Culture and Law – was marked at the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen. The event featured a keynote lecture by the distinguished scholar of religion, Professor Aaron W. Hughes, who set the stage for the centre’s future work.
SCALA is a new interdisciplinary research and teaching hub that brings together scholars, students, and external partners to explore how religion is understood, produced, and recognised across historical periods, cultural contexts, and in contemporary societies and states. Behind the centre are three experienced scholars: Professor Jan Loop, Associate Professor Niels Valdemar Vinding, and Associate Professor Jesper Petersen from the Faculty of Theology.
A Centre with International Ambitions
Dean Carsten Selch Jensen welcomed participants to the opening event and highlighted the centre’s potential as an international hub for the study of religion. The ambition is not only for SCALA to strengthen research at the faculty, but also to contribute to public debate and shape understandings of the role of religion in society, culture, and law.
SCALA organises its work around three main areas: Religion in History and Culture, Religion in Society and Community, and Religion in State and Law. Together, these span the field broadly – from historical analyses of religion to studies of how religious practices, institutions, and ideas influence political processes and legal systems.
Publications, Summer School, and Lecture Series
The centre has already laid out plans for the coming years. Two annual publications will present the latest research in an accessible format aimed at both academics and a wider audience. In addition, an international summer school will attract students and early-career researchers from across the globe.
A new lecture series, High Notes, will host leading international scholars in Copenhagen, with Aaron W. Hughes’ opening lecture as the first in the series. In 2026, the centre will also host a major international conference for the European Consortium for Church and State Research.
Aaron Hughes: Who Has the Right to Speak About Religion?
In his lecture The Tyranny of Authenticity, Aaron W. Hughes (University of Rochester) addressed some of the central challenges in the study of religion. He focused on the development of Islamic studies after 9/11, where both scholars and Muslim communities became entangled in debates over what constitutes the “true” Islam. According to Hughes, this pursuit of authenticity is problematic because it conflates the academic study of religion with theology.
Instead, Hughes argued, scholarship should investigate how religion is produced, understood, and applied in society, history, and law – not define what counts as an authentic religious practice.
Book Launch
The opening of SCALA coincided with the launch of The Production and Consumption of Non-Muslim Islams (Edinburgh University Press, 2025), edited by Anders Ackfeldt and Jesper Petersen. The volume demonstrates how understandings of Islam are shaped not only by Muslims, but also by politicians, the media, and other actors who frequently enter public debate as de facto interpreters of the religion.