The project’s work will build on earlier research carried out in Nordic, European and North-American contexts. Helsinki and Aarhus are among major world centers for the cognitive study of religion. Biblical scholars in Helsinki have been active in organizing a Nordforsk-sponsored network for “Socio-Cognitive Perspectives on Early Judaism and Early Christianity,” consisting of a total of 74 members from universities in all the Nordic countries; the network started its work in the fall of 2010 and will continue till the beginning of 2014. During the last ten years a number of workshops and conference sessions have been organized, along with the publication of pilot studies on the use of social-scientific, cognitive and ritual approaches in biblical studies. Important forums for the development of socio-cognitive approaches to biblical materials have been conference program units under the titles of “Mind, Society and Tradition” (SBL International Meetings 2007–12) and “Mind, Society and Religion in the Biblical World” (SBL Annual Meeting 2012–17), both chaired by Istvan Czachesz and Risto Uro. The latter unit has organized joint sessions with other SBL and AAR groups, such as “Ritual in the Biblical World” section (SBL) and “The Cognitive Science of Religion” group (AAR).