Theology, Values and Social Dynamics (TVSD)

Helena Vilaça graduated in Sociology at Faculdade de Ciêcias Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Has a PhD in Sociology, since 2003, received from Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto (FLUP), were she teaches as an Assistant Professor with "agragação" in the Sociology Department. In 2001, was a Visiting Professor at the Uppsala University Theology Department (Sweden) and in 2013 was elected for the Council of International Society for the Sociology of Religion.
She is a researcher at Instituto de Sociologia da Universidade do Porto and her scientific work has been focussing particularly over religion, e.g.; religious and ethical pluralism; migrations, ethnicities and religion; Portuguese Catholicism, protestant and evangelical communities. The professor has been researching this subjects in various international networks and projects, of which we highlight: "L'Église catholique face aux nouveaux défis éthiques, sociaux et politiques (2009-2013)", under the scope of GERICR network, financed by the Spanish Science Ministry ; "Immigration, Ethnicity and Religion: Religious and Immigrant Communities from East Europe" (2008-2010), supported by FCT; "Church and Religion in an Enlarged Europe" (2004-2008), supported by Wolkswagen Foundation; "Religious and Moral Pluralism" (1995-2001), financed by European Science Foundation.

She is interested in the relation between evangelical Christianity and modernity, is presently investigating church planting and revitalizing phenomenons in local churches in Europe and particularly in Portugal, their presence in the internet, and the role of reverse mission - i.e., the coming to Europe of missionaries form the southern parts of the globe, namely, Brazil and Africa - in the European re-Christianising.