INEZ AND JULIUS POLIN – INSTITUTE FOR THEOLOGICAL RESEARCH is our full name, but we generally shorten this to The Polin Institute. We’re an independent research institute at Åbo Akademi University.

Our address is The Polin Institute, Theologicum, Biskopsgatan 16, FI-20500 Åbo, Finland. Come and say hello!

Current news

  • 14.03.2024 | Uncategorized

    PENTECOSTALISM AND THE DIALECTICS OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE POSTCOLONY

    An international conference organized by the Polin Institute of Åbo Akademi University Espoo, Finland, 27th-30th August 2024 Pentecostalism is one of the most dynamic and influential forms of Christianity in contemporary Africa. It has been variously described as a response to modernity, a postmodern phenomenon itself, a revitalization movement, a return to the fundamental theology embodying […]

  • 19.06.2024 | Uncategorized

    The First Mission Station in South Africa

    A group of theologians and professors from Stellenbosch University and Åbo Akademi University gathered around Dr Isaac H. T. Balie, who was sitting in the yard of the Moravian missionary station under a big tree. Dr Balie told us about the history of the station and the story of Moravian missionary Georg Smith, and a […]

  • 17.06.2024 | Uncategorized

    Mosque Shafee in Cape Town

    In the image below, you can see a picture of a mosque and this mosque is Mosque Shafee which is situated in the Bo-Kaap area of Cape Town. I found the mosque to be beautiful and it was interesting to see the building because in Finland mosques are not recognisable in the same way from […]

  • 14.06.2024 | Uncategorized

    The Long Way from Rhodes

    Walking along the streets of Cape Town you can see a beige building with shops on the street level. Only a star at the gate will indicate what can be found inside those walls. We are being greeted by a woman, perhaps in her fifties. Her hair had traces of a life lived. But what […]

Upcoming events

For those applying for funding

Are you writing a doctoral thesis or are you a post-doc researcher in theology? The Polin Institute awards working scholarships to researchers and doctoral students. The research must take place in association with Åbo Akademi University. Find out more about how to apply for funding.