IMS — the Institute for the Study of Multireligiosity and Secularity

Sweden is now the most secular and also the most multireligious country in Europe. This is a situation that means we are facing both great challenges and new opportunities. IMS — the Institute for the Study of Multireligiosity and Secularity – is a multidisciplinary environment that aims to improve empirical research, collaboration and continuing education on issues that relate to multireligiosity and secularity in Sweden.

The relationship between the various institutions of the secular state and Sweden’s increasingly multireligious society is at the heart of the research conducted at IMS. We conduct research that centres on schools, as well as healthcare and policing. Ongoing projects are also investigating how public administration is meeting the challenges entailed by the societal transformation that has occurred in recent decades.

In addition to research activities, IMS conducts seminars to which representatives of relevant public and private sector organisations are invited, as participants or audience members. We organise open lectures and panel debates on the issues that are the institute’s focus.

IMS offers course packages and lectures on current societal issues, designed for municipalities, regions, police organisations and security services, teachers, social workers and others who need the knowledge produced through the centre’s activities.

The institute is led by researchers who specialise in studies of religion and migration, secularity and society, and gathers affiliated researchers from other disciplines at Swedish higher education institutions.