Book with results
Schweitzer, Friedrich / Ilg, Wolfgang / Simojoki, Henrik (eds.) (2010): Confirmation Work in Europe: Empirical Results, Experiences and Challenges. A Comparative Study from Seven Countries. Gütersloh. (Order form in English) (Order form in German)
ISBN: 978-3-579-08089-5
This volume contains the results of the first international-comparative empirical study on confirmation work in seven European countries (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland). The confirmation work in each of the countries is described theoretically and empirically in parallel chapters, with information about the current situation as well as about the different models of confirmation work and practical experiences. Comparative chapters focus on core questions, concerning didactic issues and methods but also the meaning of confirmation work for church and society at large.
The book includes many new impulses that go beyond the traditional national contexts. It raises new questions and offers innovative perspectives for the praxis and theory of confirmation work.
The book is written by a team of authors from all of the participating countries. It is based on an empirical study with more than 28000 confirmands, parents and workers.
The book is part of a book series in the Gütersloher Verlagshaus / Germany (Information and Order form in English) (Information and Order form in German)
Access to SPSS-data
- The dataset is accessible for scientists in SPSS-format. It is stored by the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS, Germany) which is connected to CESSDA (Consortium for European Social Sciences) and IFDO (International Federation of Data Organizations).
- People who are interested in re-analyzing the datasets have to be advanced users of SPSS. Without knowledge about SPSS-Syntax, data selection, weighting cases and aggregated data, your analysis will not lead to correct results.We recommend to allow for at least one day for getting acquainted with the dataset.
- You find the dataset with the GESIS access-number ZA5226 (DOI:10.4232/1.10103)
Description of Dataset ZA5226
Ordering form for datasets from GESIS - All questionnaires can be downloaded here (English version).
Annotated International Bibliography on Confirmation Work
Due to restricted space in the book, the annotated bibliography is not printed in the book but can be downloaded here (see book, p. 25):
Link to bibliography
A German version of the annotated bibliography is published in:
Internationale Forschungsbibliografie zur Konfirmandenarbeit (2009). in: Elsenbast, Volker; Schweitzer, Friedrich (Hg.): Konfirmandenarbeit erforschen. Ziele - Erfahrungen - Perspektiven. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, S. 215-222.
Published Articles and Books from the Project (Selection)
Christensen, Leise; Dormor, Duncan, Hoeg, Ida, Ilg, Wolfgang; Niemelä, Kati. 2010 Protestant confirmation in European perspective. in: Collins-Mayo, Sylvia / Dandelion, Pink (eds.) (2010): Religion and Youth. Ashgate, 181-189.
Christensen, Leise. (2009). Hvad mener konfirmanderne om konfirmationsforberedelsen? (What do the confirmands think about their preparationstime?). in: Kritisk Forum for Praktisk Teologi 15 (Critical Forum for Practical Theology), 15-25.
Cramer, Colin; Elsenbast, Volker; Ilg, Wolfgang; Schweitzer, Friedrich (2008): Konfirmandenarbeit erforschen: regional – national – international. Innovative Perspektiven einer empirischen Untersuchung zur kirchlichen Arbeit mit Kindern und Jugendlichen. in: ZPT - Zeitschrift für Pädagogik und Theologie 60, 104-118.
(Researching confirmation work on regional, national and international level)
Høeg, Ida Marie (2009): Konfirmasjonstiden har vært bra - jeg har fått litt mer kunnskap og hatt det fint sammen med de andre konfirmantene. Pp. 221-236 in: Lægdene, Stig (red.): Samfunnet i gudstjenesten. Praktisk-kirkelig årbok 2009. Hasvik: Brøytebil. ONLINE VERSION
(Confirmation time was nice - I increased my knowledge somewhat and I had a good time with the other confirmants)
Ilg, Wolfgang; Cramer, Colin (2009): Empirische Untersuchungen zur Konfirmandenarbeit. in: Schlag, Thomas; Neuberth, Rudi; Kunz, Ralph (Ed.): Konfirmandenarbeit in der pluralistischen Gesellschaft, Theologischer Verlag Zürich, 237-251.
(Empirical studies on confirmation work)
Ilg, Wolfgang / Schweitzer, Friedrich (2010): Researching confirmation work in Europe: The need for multi-level analysis for identifying individual and group influences in non-formal education. in: Journal of Empirical Theology 23, 159-178. ONLINE VERSION
Krupka, Bernd (2009): Konfirmasjon som innlemming i kirkens tradisjon: Norske konfirmantmedarbeideres perspektiv på konfirmanttiden. Pp 237-254 in: Praktisk kirkelig årbok 2009. ONLINE VERSION
(Becoming a part of the tradition of the church: Norwegian confirmant workers' view on confirmation)
Krupka, Bernd, Reite, Ingrid (eds., 2010): Mellom pietisme og pluralitet. Konfirmasjonsarbeid i fire nordiske land. Oslo: Iko-forlaget (Prismet bok). Between Pietism and Plurality. Confirmation Work in Four Nordic Countries. With contributions by Ida Marie Høeg, Per Pettersson, Kati Niemelä, Tapani Innanen, Jouko Porkka.
Schweitzer, Friedrich; Ilg, Wolfgang; Simojoki, Henrik (2009): Aufgaben, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen international-vergleichender Forschung zur Konfirmandenarbeit. in: Elsenbast, Volker; Schweitzer, Friedrich (Hg.): Konfirmandenarbeit erforschen. Ziele - Erfahrungen - Perspektiven. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 197-211.
(what can be expected from international comparative studies on confirmation work?)
Simojoki, Henrik / Schweitzer, Friedrich / Ilg, Wolfgang (2011): Europäische Impulse für die Konfirmandenarbeit. Empirische Befunde aus einer internationalen Studie. in: Deutsches Pfarrerblatt 111, 189-193. ONLINE VERSION
(European impulses for confirmation work. Empirical findings from an international study)
Papers and presentations
09 November 2007 in Zürich/Switzerland:
Atelier "Konfirmandenarbeit erforschen" by Wolfgang Ilg at the "Zukunftskongress Konfirmandenarbeit" (University of Zürich in cooperation with the Reformed Church of Zürich).
10 April 2008 in Birmingham/UK:
Paper "International Research on Confirmation Work" by Leise Christensen, Ida Marie Hoeg, Wolfgang Ilg and Kati Niemelä at the Annual Conference of the British Sociological Association - Sociology of Religion Study Group
13-15 August 2008:
Session / papers on confirmation research by Kati Niemelä and Per Pettersson at the 19th Nordic Conference in Sociology of Religion in Turku/Finland.
02 March 2009
Presentation of the German results in Berlin/Germany, followed by a series of regional presentations.
26-28 March 2009
Presentation at the Conference “Welfare and Values in Europe. Transitions related to Religion, Minorities and Gender, International Research Conference" at Uppsala / Sweden
27-31 July 2009
Session / papers at the Conference of the ISSR (International Society of Sociology of Religion) in Santiago de Compostella / Spain.
The results of the international study on confirmation work were presented in an international conference from 26-28 February 2010 in Loegumkloster/Denmark. Programme of the Loegumkloster-conference