03 Mar Meeting of ReliGen project‘s researchers in Riga
On 10-11 February, the first face-to-face meeting of ReliGen (Religion and Gender Equality: Baltic and Nordic Developments) project team took place at the University of Latvia in Riga. The meeting focused on the discussion of the project research progress in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Norway, its future directions and other project activities planned in 2022 and 2023.
In 2022 research teams conducted 120 semi-structured interviews with women belonging to diverse religious traditions representing majority and minority religions in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The research included women representing Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, Orthodox, Islamic, and Pagan religious traditions.
In 2022 research teams have collected a database containing 1405 online media articles from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Norway which present religion-based arguments on gender equality issues in the context of public discussions on ratification of the Istanbul Convention and sex education.
Additionally, in order to determine how gender and gender roles within different religious traditions are portrayed in education, the textbooks of religious education and social studies (civic education and history) were analyzed in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia and the preliminary results of the research were presented at the meeting, too.
The meeting also included discussion with by local guests – Jāna Jēruma-Grīnberga, the first Evangelical Lutheran bishop in the UK who has returned to Latvia and works for the changes in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Muslim woman Safija who shared her experience of living and practicing Islam in Latvia, and Agnese Logina a member of Riga City Council. Discussion overviewed the arising issues in the intersections between religions and gender equality.
The next face-to-face meeting of the project’s researchers is scheduled for 6-7 October, during the International Symposium in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Working together for an inclusive Europe
This project is participating in the programme “Innovation, Research, Education and Competitiveness”.
