Religious pluralization in Western European countries and the continuously changing relationship between the secular and the religious call for deliberation on the role of theology at public universities and its relationship with religious studies. In this project, we seek to address theology’s future under these new circumstances, with a particular focus on: 1) the disciplinary identity of and relationship between the academic disciplines of theology and religious studies and 2) the (re)valuation of academic theology in Western secular societies.
Both of these bear relevance for every university that is somehow embroiled in these developments of secularization and religious pluralization.
The problems and solutions to these issues are contextually coloured. Throughout Western Europe, countries and their universities have dealt differently with these developments, from a strict state-religion separation in France, to continuously close connections between the church and the universities in Germany and Belgium. In our highly secularized country, the Netherlands, theology and religious studies have shrunk drastically. Strong traditions in both fields are therefore at risk of disappearing or becoming (even more) marginalized. As scholars who are part of this context, the team members believe that this challenge can and should be addressed head-on.
The Research Group thereby adopts the position that the continuing relevance of both theology and religious studies can be reinvigorated by opting for a multi-disciplinary and multi-religious approach. Why and how this should be done is the object of the various sub-projects.