If modernization is a process of compartmentalization, then ecologization is its opposite. This is the opening idea of this special issue, borrowed from Bruno Latour’s paper ‘To Modernize or to Ecologize? That’s the Question’ from 1998. In this text, Latour’s invitation is to take steps toward reconnecting nature, that is, the landscapes, other species, the environment, with the cultural in its political, existential, emotional and spiritual dimensions of our societies.

Combining ethnographic research conducted between 2017 and 2021 with historical analysis I explore how the notions of ecologization and romanticization can illuminate the nature practices of Swedish, urban, middle-class, nature enthusiasts. I argue such individuals speak of and relate to nature in ways that echo a romantic heritage characterized by nostalgia and longing for a nature perceived as beautiful, in contrast to everyday urban life. This imagery is reminiscent of Romanticism but I also see it as an expression of ecologization, since it contains a critique of anthropocentrism and an engagement with environmental care. The combination of individualistic and aesthetic appreciation of nature and ecological awareness expressed by my interlocutors, I conclude, represents a continuation of this historical legacy and demonstrates that Romanticism remains relevant as an analytical concept, and should not be seen as opposed to ecologization, but as a key aspect of it.

This article employs ethnographic material from Sweden and Estonia to examine the relationship between religion and the love of nature in Northern Europe - a region known for its widespread secularisation. We propose that the existential depth that is often ascribed to nature experiences in this part of the world points to a facet of the secularisation process, indicating that love of nature among today's Northern Europeans is deeply entangled with the processes of modernisation. The article provides a historical analysis of how this phenomenon arose and explores ways of approaching it that move beyond the religious-secular dichotomy. It concludes by construing love of nature as belonging to an 'existential field' in the Northern European cultural landscape.

Vad är detta märkliga som jag känner igen som religion? Varför tycks det spela en så stor roll i mänsklig kultur? Och varför skrämmer och lockar det mig på samma gång?

Genom historien har religion format världsbilder, livshållningar och samhällen, gjort tillvaron svårtolkad, mångbottnad och motsägelsefull för människor, men också levande och meningsfull. Och oavsett vad vi tycker om den, visar religionen inga tecken på att försvinna. Varför är det så? Vad är det för längtan den svarar mot?

Tillvaron är full av sådant vars orsaker och verkningar vi kan överblicka och förstå. Men för många rymmer den också dimensioner som inte lika lätt låter sig fångas, sådant som bryter mot vardagens profana ordning: stämningar, känslor och upplevelser som tycks peka mot något bortom det vanliga, något förtrollat och besjälat.

I En lockton i ödemarken fortsätter David Thurfjell att utforska och upplösa gränsen mellan religiösa och sekulära uttryck. Det blir en personlig berättelse som rör sig mellan olika världsdelar, tidsepoker och perspektiv, med nedslag i författarens egna erfarenheter såväl som i myter, riter och maktstrategier i världens olika religiösa traditioner.

The demographical changes during the last decades have created a sit­uation where Sweden has become one of the most secular and one of the most multireligious countries at the same time. This situation stands in stark contrast to the country's modern history in which its population have been largely homogeneous, and its religious landscape almost completely dominated by state-church Lutheranism. The growth of Sweden's Muslim population is what has caused most debate. According to calculations made by the Pew Research Center, one fifth of the country's total population is likely to be Muslim by 2050. This change also has consequences for the former state church, which now finds that also Muslims take part in its activities. In this article we present and analyze a novel survey-investigation on Muslims who self-identify as members of the Church of Sweden. In our analysis we differentiate between Muslims and what we call post-Muslims. While the former of these categories refers to those who self-identify as Muslims, the latter refers to people who do not refer to themselves as Muslims but who come from a Muslim family. These categories are mirrored by the Christians and post-Christians, who are selected by equivalent criteria. We conclude that most Muslims and post-Muslims have no affiliation to organized religious communities in Sweden and that among those who do, Christian churches are as important as the Muslim congregations. Among the churches, the Church of Sweden is the one in which most Muslims and post-Muslims are members. The Muslim and post-Muslim members of this church, we find, differ from each other. The Muslims are mostly Swedish-born 50–65-year-old women. They do not take part in any religious activities, and they celebrate Christian, but not Muslim, holidays. In terms of beliefs, they believe in a life after death, but mostly not in God or hell. The post-Muslims are mostly 30–49-year-old men who have come relatively recently to Sweden from the Middle East. They take part in congregational activities and celebrate both Muslim and Christian holidays. They also largely believe in God, a life after death, and hell. In terms of representation, they feel represented, primarily, by Muslim communities.

Inherited or acquired secularity? Secular identity among post-Muslims and post -Christians in Sweden Sweden is both secularised and multi-religious. This article analyses the secularity of Swedes with Muslim and Christian family backgrounds. Survey data were collected from people living in Sweden with a family background in Iraq, Iran, Yugoslavia, or Turkey, as well as from a control group of Swedish origin. We first present the extent to which respondents agree with the statement "I see myself as secular (non-religious)". This is followed by an exploratory regression analysis of what is associated with self-identification as secular. Country of origin and secularity in the immediate family were the variables that correlate most clearly with a secular self-image. Length of residence in Sweden, exposure to majority Swedish culture and socio-economic factors also have some influence. We conclude that secularity is mainly something that Swedes with a Muslim family background bring with them from their countries of origin, rather than something that they acquire in Sweden. The article concludes with a discussion that opens up the results for further theorising in the field of secularisation studies.

Sverige är samtidigt sekulariserat och mångreligiöst. Föreliggande studie bidrar till förståelsen av denna situation genom att diskutera sekularitet bland svenskar med muslimsk respektive kristen familjebakgrund. Materialet i undersökningen kommer från en enkät som skickades till i Sverige bosatta personer födda i, eller med föräldrar som föddes i, Irak, Iran, Jugoslavien eller Turkiet, samt till en kontrollgrupp (personer med familjebakgrund i Sverige). Inledningsvis presenteras i vilken utsträckning de svarande instämmer i påståendet ”jag ser på mig själv som sekulär (icke-religiös)”. Därefter följer en explorativ regressionsanalys av vad som sammanfaller med att beskriva sig som sekulär. Analysen visar att ursprungsland och graden av sekularitet i den närmsta familjen är det som tydligast samvarierar med en sekulär självbild. Viss betydelse har också vistelsetid i landet, exponering för svensk majoritetskultur och socioekonomiska faktorer. Vår slutsats är att sekularitet bland svenskar med muslimsk familjebakgrund huvudsakligen är något de har med sig från sina anknytningsländer och inte något de förvärvar i Sverige. Detsamma gäller svenskättade svarspersoner utan migrationsbakgrund. Artikeln avslutas med en diskussion som öppnar för vidare teoretisering inom sekulariseringsfältet.