Project Team
The research is managed by the following people:
Prof. Dr. Thomas Schlag
Practical Theology at Zürich University
With the focus of Religious Education, Church Theory
and Pastoral Theology
Kati Niemelä, ThD, MEd
Professor in Church and Social Studies (until 3/2017)
Senior Lecturer in Church and Social Studies (on leave until 3/2017)
Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology
University of Helsinki
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ilg, Pfarrer, Dipl.-Psych. (pastor, psychologist)
Project Manager
Christoph H. Maaß, Dr. rer. pol.
Research fellow at Tübingen University
Project Manager
Phone: +49 (0)7071-29-72878
Georg Hardecker, Dipl.-Theol.
Research fellow at Tübingen University
Project Manager
Phone: +49 (0)7071-29-72878
Meeting of the European researchers together with the US confirmation research team, in June 2014 in
Helsinki/Finland.
Researchers from all nine participating countries work together in the international team.
Meeting of 23 researchers from 9 European countries in Vienna/Austria (20-21 February 2014)
From left to right: Thomas Schlag (Switzerland), Tobias Beisswenger (Germany: United Methodist Church),
Bernd Krupka (Norway), Ida Marie Hoeg (Norway), Jonas Bromander (Sweden), Wolfgang Ilg (Germany),
Rahel Voirol-Sturzenegger (Switzerland), Jouko Porkka (Finland), Elisabeta Byrtek (Poland),
Per Pettersson (Sweden), Leise Christensen (Denmark), Friedrich Schweitzer (Germany),
Dagmar Lagger (Austria), Kati Niemelä (Finland), Tapani Innanen (Finland), Balázs Siba (Hungary)