Research

Research Topics

We apply a cultural research approach to religion within our studies and emphasise religious phenomena by means of communication theories.

The interaction between religion, media, the body or concepts of gender and space is deepened in case studies in the European history of religion and the contemporary society. Our research work is based on a broad range of methodological procedures.

Inter- and transdisciplinary exchanges are a source of great inspiration for approaching religion in culture. This makes the cooperation with scholars from different fields and research traditions paramount to our work.

Media and Religion

Images, films, texts, music and rituals: diverse forms and modes of communication mould religious symbol systems, communities and traditions. Furthermore, they interact with each other and different spheres of society. This multifaceted relationship between media and religion in the past and present is a central issue of our research.

Religion and Visuality

Images are practices in which imagination and material things merge. Visual practices play a crucial role in reconstructing and understanding processes of diffusion and transmission from a historical and contemporary perspective. The critical analysis of images is based on a specific methodology which includes cultures of seeing as well as the cultural contexts and exchanges where images are produced, received, transformed and, sometimes, alienated.

Religion, Film and Audiovisual Media

Since its invention at the end of the 19th century, film influences imaginations of the human being, of its living environment and everyday life. Film and religion are tied on multiple levels. From the very beginning, the history of film and of religion are interrelated. On one hand, films stage religious symbols, narratives and visual constellations as well as ritual and religious practices. On the other hand, audiovisual media plays a central role within religious communities and transmission processes in society and history.

Religion and Music

Music and religion are strongly linked together: music is a fundamental element in rituals, it transcends everyday life and involves audiences at many levels. Religious motifs and symbols can be found in very different musical cultures. As a performative art, music merges the human being, the body and imagination.

Religion, the Body and Clothing

The critical analysis of the body as a fundamental medium opens up a new perspective on religion. Human beings experience themselves and their environment through the body. Religious traditions shape ideals of the human body by means of corporeal modifications and clothing.

Religion, Space and Place

Places are dynamic, they are negotiated in social practices. They are both the precondition and the result of human activities, concepts and living forms. Religious traditions and communities, exchanges and conflicts unfold within the tension of space and place. As a physical, social and symbolic dimension of human life, space is a challenging key concept for the Study of Religion.

Religion and Gender

Gender roles and concepts of gender interact with religious worldviews and norms. Gender roles are legitimised through myths and rituals, as well as negotiated and transmitted from one generation to the next in everyday life. As an anthropological basic concept, gender remains a highly debated and controversial dimension of human life.

Hermeneutics of the Study of Religion

Theoretical approaches to religion, the critical analysis and interpretation of religious phenomena, research on experiences and shaping of bodies, places, times and other dimensions of religion are always embedded in specific socio-cultural contexts. Therefore, a deep hermeneutical reflection upon our position within our fields of study is an indispensable task for the Study of Religion.