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Transformations of Religiosity - Research Team

Religion is changing. Contrast experiences (disruptive and revelatory experiences) are leading many people into new contemplative practices (meditation, yoga and ayahuasca) to create their own blend of spirituality. How do they find meaning? And how does their spirituality differ from therapy, art or wellness?

We focus on (1) empirical research on "new spirituals." Who are they? What drives them? How do they engage with meaning? How are they changing the religious landscape in the Netherlands and the West? (2) The philosophical questions that such fluid spirituality raises. What does religion still mean in this context? What is the role of transcendence? In what ways do non-Western traditions (Zen, yoga, ayahuasca) meet Western modernity? We follow the ontological turn initiated by thinkers like Bruno Latour: how can we think in a new way about what does and does not exist, and are there multiple ways in which things can exist?

Research Team - Transformations of Religiosity

  • Mission

    To become the leading center of research into new empirical and philosophical research into the various transformations of religiosity in the Netherlands and the West. 

  • Goals

    The research agenda of this group for 2021-2024 is to theorize and map out new forms of religiosity in new ways that can be applied, for example, to the domain of spiritual care in an interfaith context. Research projects are:

    • The encounter of Zen, Yoga and Ayahuasca traditions with Western modernity
    • Contrast experiences (disruptive and revelatory experiences) as a source of spirituality
    • Spirituality in relation to ecology and nature
    • New forms of religious community
    • Meaning-making processes in spiritually fluid people
    • Liquid divinity: an ontological approach to ayahuasca religiosity
    • The role of psychedelics in spiritual care

  • Team

    Team leader:
    André van der Braak

    Team members
    Hans Alma
    Henk Blezer
    Elpine de Boer (Leiden University)
    Manuela Kalsky
    Christa Anbeek
    Jonatan Hendriks
    Jill Peters
    Gertie Blaauwendraad
    Annemarie Foppen

  • Disciplines

    Systematical, Empirical

  • Possible thesis topics and PhD Topics
    • The encounter of Zen, Yoga and Ayahuasca traditions with Western modernity (see the BA course module Spirituality Today)
    • Contrast experiences (disruptive and revelatory experiences) as a source of spirituality
    • Spirituality in relation to ecology and nature (e.g. Karen Armstrong, Sacred Nature)
    • New forms of religious community
    • Meaning-making processes in spiritually fluid people
    • Liquid divinity: an ontological approach to ayahuasca religiosity
    • Psychedelics in Spiritual Care (e.g. psilocybin in palliative care, psychedelic-assisted spiritual care: possibilities and pitfalls, psychedelics and life-threatening illnesses, psychedelics and meaning-making)

  • Collaboration Senior and Junior Researchers

    The Juniors will present parts of their research in the meetings. One of the Juniors will be appointed as the secretary of the group.

  • Academic relevance and societal urgency

    The rapid transformation of the religious landscape is a socially very relevant development. The old concepts of pillorization and religious affiliation no longer suffice to adequately map this landscape. New concepts and ways of thinking are needed in order to bring these new religious realities into focus.

  • Methods

    Our research will be a combination of conceptual, hermeneutical and empirical approaches. We follow the ontological turn as defined in anthropology: asking ontological questions without providing ontological answers.