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akademiskacademic quarterkvarterVolume 03. Fall 2011 • on the webReligion in Scandinavian Crime FictionKim Toft Hansenis Teaching Assistant Professor at Aalborg University.Hansen has in connection with the research programmeCrime Fiction and Crime Journalism inScandinavia published widely about crime fiction.His book “Mord og metafysik” (Murder and Metaphysics)(2012) discusses a tendency within fictionto discuss the absolute, the divine, and thesupernatural.Crime fiction has generally been associated with empirical investigationand rational analysis. The genre is often historically linked tomodern society, secular mind-frames and natural and realistic explanationsof events (Hansen, 2012). Nevertheless, it is possible toidentify a link to appearances transgressing this epistemologicalboundary of the genre. In addition, contemporary Scandinaviancrime fiction is showing a significant interest in aspects of humanexistence transcending empirical and rational realism. Recent genredevelopments build a bridge into questions about spirituality.What I intend to do here is, firstly, to develop a theoretical frameworkfor this discussion where I consider theories of transgressionand religion. Secondly, I wish to run through five relatively popularexamples of Scandinavian crime fiction to show how this genretrend works. Lastly, I will connect this with what has been dubbedmediatized religion and a more general, philosophical explanation ofwhy we see this development: The project of modernity is, as aresult of cultural changes, at the moment transgressing its ownepistemological boundaries opening up into what has been calledthe post-secular. Methodologically, as it may appear, I wish to givea cultural explanation of a growing tendency in recent Scandinaviancrime fiction. More precisely, I wish to connect this genre de-Volume03 231