Professor Andreas Önver Cetrez, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology of Religion, Department of Theology, Uppsala University, Sweden

Academic Role & Position

  • Holds the position of Professor in the **Psychology of Religion** at Uppsala University within the Theology Faculty, specifically in the unit for Social Sciences of Religion and Practical Theology.
  • Earned his Ph.D. in Psychology of Religion and Cultural Psychology from Uppsala University in **2005** with a dissertation focused on identity and ritualization among Suroyo (Assyrian/Syriac) migrants in Sweden.

Research Interests & Key Themes

  • Professor Cetrez works at the intersection of religion, migration, culture, and psychological well-being. His main research areas include:
  • Identity formation and religious/ethnic identity among migrant populations
  • Acculturation, ritualization, and meaning-making among immigrants and refugees
  • Resilience, coping, and existential/spiritual health, especially among forced migrants or displaced groups
  • Conflict, trauma, genocide, and the impact of religion in conflict settings
  • Youth, marginality, vulnerable immigrant groups (psychology of religion applied to those experiencing marginalization)
  • Use of both qualitative and quantitative methods, mixed-method research designs

Notable Projects & Roles

  • RESPOND – Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond: Served as coordinator / scientific lead for this EU Horizon2020 project.
  • GAPs: Co-coordinating a current Horizon Europe project related to return migration.
  • Earlier projects: Gilgamesh (on Iraqi refugees in Sweden) and mental-health pilot studies among Assyrian Christian refugees in Istanbul.
  • Administrative / civic roles: Deputy Director of the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (2014-2016), Scientific Secretary of the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Uppsala)

Teaching & Academic Contributions

  • His teaching spans undergraduate to doctoral levels, across courses in psychology of religion, qualitative & quantitative methods, religion and migration, inter-religious encounters, youth identity, etc.
  • Supervises PhD students and contributes to edited volumes, peer-reviewed articles, and book chapters in his domains of expertise.