Päivi Räisänen-Schröder

Päivi Räisänen-Schröder is an Academy Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Theology, specializing in Church History. She is affiliated with the Department of Church History and her research spans the fields of Theology, History, and Archaeology.

Her research interests focus on Reformation history, particularly lived religion, Anabaptism, gender studies in early modern Europe, emotions history, religious otherness, and early modern German history. She examines how ordinary people experienced and practiced religion during times of religious upheaval, with particular emphasis on personal documents and correspondence from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Her recent publications analyze religious experiences through letters, hagiographic materials, and personal narratives, revealing the complex interplay between official doctrine and everyday religious practice. Her work shows particular interest in how emotions, gender, and social status shaped religious experience during the Reformation era.

Räisänen-Schröder has been awarded prestigious Academy Research Fellow positions by the Research Council of Finland for projects including 'Emotion and Confession in Sixteenth-Century Germany' (2025-2027) and 'Tunteet ja tunnustuksellisuus 1500-luvun Saksassa' (2022-2027). She has also led projects on religion, gender and emotions in 18th century Jesuit and Pietist missions, and the history of radical reformation.

She has organized and participated in numerous conferences on Reformation studies, including the HEX Conference series, 'Reformation and Everyday Life,' and 'Encountering Others, Understanding Ourselves in Medieval and Early Modern Thought.'

Her research methodology emphasizes primary source analysis, particularly personal letters and documents that reveal the everyday religious experiences of both prominent figures and ordinary people during the Reformation period.