Agricultural Christianity. Labouring on Soil and Soul in Northern Europe (1550–1750)
Navn på bevillingshaver
Søren Frank Jensen
Titel
Postdoctoral Fellow
Institution
University of Copenhagen
Beløb
DKK 1,879,659
År
2025
Bevillingstype
Reintegration Fellowships
Hvad?
In this project, I investigate the role of agriculture in religious texts from c. 1550–1750, a period when the relationship between agriculture and religion saw great disruption. I examine neglected sources from Northern Europe that combine agriculture and devotion to show how religious ideas and practices of farming shaped the historical relationship between humans and nature.
Hvorfor?
The planetary crisis calls for renewed historical investigation into the interplay between nature and religion. Today, agriculture is both a major driver of climate change and highly vulnerable to its effects. By tracing how earlier societies linked farming with belief, the project offers insight into the long history of human–nature relations.
Hvordan?
The project studies overlooked Danish and German publications where agriculture is a central theme. It analyses how sermon collections, prayer and hymn books, catechisms, funeral orations, religious calendars, and weather reports reflect knowledge of the natural world, encourage agricultural innovation, and articulate a Christian ethic of cultivation.