Dag Øistein Endsjø (born 11 November 1968 in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of religious studies at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He's been published in thirteen languages.

Career

Endsjø research focuses on the continuity between traditional Greek and early Christian beliefs,

sexuality and religion The views of the various different religions and religious believers regarding human sexuality range widely among and within them, from giving sex and sexuality a rather negative connotation to believing that sex is the highest expression of the ...

, religion and human rights, and religion and popular culture. In his book ''Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the Success of Christianity'' (2009), he demonstrates how Christian

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

beliefs also connect to ancient Greek beliefs in

and

physical immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

and may have contributed to the early success of Christianity in the Hellenistic Mediterranean. The book ''Primordial Landscapes, Incorruptible Bodies'' (2008) deals with the continuity of geography, asceticism, immortality between traditional Greek and early Christian worldviews. Of his other books, ''Sex and Religion: Teachings and Taboos in the History of World Faiths'' has been published in twelve languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, English, Italian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Swedish, and Ukrainian, while ''The History of Immortality'' is published in Norwegian and Latvian. Endsjø has published various texts on religion and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

, religion and

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

, and the cultural understanding of

sexuality and space Sexuality and space is a field of study within human geography. The phrase encompasses all relationships and interactions between human sexuality, space and place, themes studied within cultural geography, i.e., environmental and architectural psyc ...

in ancient Greek religion. He writes on a variety of political and popularized subjects in Norwegian media. As an expert on human rights, Endsjø also contributed to change the Norwegian equal rights legislation more in accordance with international human rights, as well as the national debate on equal rights into a general discussion of human rights. Endsjø is also the designer of the coat of arms of Fjord Municipality in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

.
Fjord kommune. Kommunevåpen
'. 12 June 2020. He participated in the Norwegian selection for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest as a lyricist and as part of the band SubDiva.

Books

* ''Udødelighetens historie. Fra Jesus’ oppstandelse til zombier, antioksidanter og barn i ilden'' (''History of immortality. From the resurrection of Jesus to zombies, antioxidants and children in the fire''). . Oslo: Cappelen Damm 2016. Also published in Latvian. *
Sex and Religion: Teachings and Taboos in the History of World Faiths
'. London: Reaktion Books 2011. . This book is also published in Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Italian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Swedish and Ukrainian. * ''Det folk vil ha. Religion og populærkultur'' (''What People Want. Religion and Popular Culture'') (written together with Liv Ingeborg Lied). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget 2011. *
Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the Success of Christianity
'. New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2009. . *
Primordial Landscapes, Incorruptible Bodies
'. New York: Peter Lang 2008. . * ''Naturlig sex. Seksualitet og kjønn i den kristne antikken'' (co-editor with

Halvor Moxnes Halvor Moxnes (born 1944) is a Norwegian theologian. He was born in Stokke on 13 September 1944. He received his Doctor of Theology degree in 1978 with the thesis ''Theology in Conflict: Studies in Paul's Understanding of God in Romans'', and was ...

and

Jostein Børtnes Jostein Børtnes (born 16 April 1937) is a Norwegian literary historian and Slavist with emphasis on Russian. He was born in Hovin, Telemark. He took the Russian training in the Norwegian Armed Forces, then graduated with the cand.philol. degree ...

). Oslo: Gyldendal Akademisk 2002. * ''Lei av kjønn? Nær-kjønn-opplevelser og andre beretninger fra virkeligheten'' (co-editor with

Helge Svare Helge or Helgi is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch mostly male name. The name is derived from Proto-Norse ''Hailaga'' with its original meaning being ''dedicated to the gods''. For its Slavic version, see Oleg. Its feminine equivalent is Olga. ...

). Oslo: Cappelen Akademisk Forlag 2001.

Other publications (selection)

“The Other Way around? How Freedom of Religion May Protect LGBT Rights”
''The International Journal of Human Rights'' 24:10, 2020: 1681–1700.
“Immortal Bodies, Before Christ. Bodily Continuity in Ancient Greece and 1 Corinthians”
''Journal for the Study of the New Testament'', vol. 30, 2008: 417–36.
“Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights and the Religious Relativism of Human Rights”
''Human Rights Review'', vol. 6:2, 2005: 102–10.
“To Control Death. Sacrifice and Space in Classical Greece”
''Religion'', vol. 33/4, 2003: 323–340.
“To Lock up Eleusis. A Question of Liminal Space”
''Numen'', vol. 47, 2000: 351–86. *�
Placing the Unplaceable. The Making of Apollonius’s Argonautic Geography
��. ''Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies'', vol 38. 1997: 373–85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endsjo, Dag Oistein 1968 births Religion academics Living people