Elina Inkeri Hartikainen

Elina Inkeri Hartikainen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo. Her research focuses on the intersection of religion, politics, law, and race in Brazil, particularly examining African origin religions like Candomblé. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Chicago (2013) and has held previous positions at the University of Helsinki and the University of Chicago. Her work explores themes such as secularism, ethnoracial policy, and the politics of recognition.

Her research projects include analyzing Candomblé practitioners' responses to religious violence through state ethnoracial policies and investigating the intersection of race and religion in secular governance. She contributes to editorial boards of journals such as PoLAR: Political Anthropology Review and Conexões e Ideias.

Elina’s publications span themes like religious intolerance in Brazil, legal frameworks for religious rights, and the semiotics of secularism. Her work bridges socio-cultural and linguistic anthropological approaches to legal and political processes.