Stefan Arvidsson (born 1968) is a Swedish historian who is Professor of the

History of Religions The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

and Professor in the Study of Religions at

Linnaeus University Linnaeus University (LNU) ( sv, Linnéuniversitetet) is a state university in the Swedish historical province (''landskap'') Småland, with two campuses located in Växjö and Kalmar respectively. Linnaeus University was established in 2010 by ...

Biography

Stefan Arvidsson was born in

Tranås Tranås () is a locality and the seat of Tranås Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 14,197 inhabitants in 2010. Overview It is close to the lake Sommen in the north of Småland. Its main commercial center is located along the main stree ...

, Sweden in 1968. Arvidsson received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in the

History of religion The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

s at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

. Since 2012, he has been Professor in the History of Religions at Stockholm University and Professor in the Study of Religions at

Theories

Arvidsson is a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, "but not in a dogmatic way". Regretting that the

Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( sv, Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti ; S/SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( sv, link=no, Socialdemokraterna ), is a social-d ...

and the Left Party have abandoned what he considers genuine

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, he is a proponent of a more radical form of socialism in line with the "

Eat the Rich "Eat the rich" is a political slogan associated with class conflict and anti-capitalism. The phrase is commonly attributed to political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from a quote first popularized during the French Revolution: "When the pe ...

" slogan. Arvidsson refers to this as "romantic socialism", which he contrasts with "classic socialism". He has been the author and editor of numerous Marxist publications. Several of his publications and research projects have been funded by

Sveriges riksbank Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the ''Riksbank'', is the central bank of Sweden. It is the world's oldest central bank and the fourth oldest bank in operation. Etymology The first part of the word ''riksbank'', ''riks'', stems from the Swedish w ...

. Arvidsson's PhD thesis examined

Indo-European studies Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics and an interdisciplinary field of study dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. The goal of those engaged in these studies is to amass information about the hypothetical pro ...

, and was published in English under the title ''Aryan Idols. The Indo-European Mythology as Ideology and Science'' (2006). Arvidsson considers Indo-European studies to be a

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

field, and has described

Indo-European mythology Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested � ...

as "the most sinister mythology of modern times". In his works, Arvidsson has sought to expose what he considers to be fascist political sympathies of Indo-Europeanists such as

Georges Dumézil Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French philologist, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and mythology. He was a professor at Istanbul University, École pratique d ...

. Arvidsson suggests that such an exposure may result in the abolishment ("

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (; non, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disasters, and the submers ...

") of the concept of Indo-European mythology.

Selected works

* ''Den lilla marxisten. En sorts ordbok'', 2005 * ''Aryan Idols. Indo-European Mythology as Science and Ideology'', 2006 * ''Draksjukan. Mytiska fantasier hos Tolkien, Wagner och de Vries'', 2007 * ''Marxismens filosofi'', 2007 * ''Morgonrodnad: socialismens stil och mytologi 1871-1914'', 2016 * ''The style and mythology of socialism: socialist idealism, 1871-1914'', 2017 * ''Socialist Imaginations: Utopias, Myths, and the Masses.'' 2018 * ''Religion and politics under capitalism: A humanistic approach to the terminology,'' 2019

References

External links

Heart in a Heartless World
- Personal website of Stefan Arvidsson 1968 births Academic staff of Linnaeus University Lund University alumni People from Jönköping County Academic staff of Stockholm University Swedish editors Swedish historians of religion Swedish non-fiction writers Living people {{Sweden-historian-stub

Biography

Theories

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links