News and Press Releases

The research project ‘News from China? –  Knowledge-ressources, Knowledge-acquisition and Knowledge-transfer of Missionaries in China in the 19./20. Century’ at the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’ addresses the key question of for what purpose and in what context Christian missionaries acquired so-called ‘knowledge of China’ during the period in question. Sinologist and project leader Kerstin Storm and doctoral candidate Lisa Kerl report on their work with the sources and their findings on how knowledge was transferred to individuals, groups and institutions across nations.

Egyptologist Angelika Lohwasser from the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” is studying the relationship between cult and kingship in the ancient kingdom of Kush, Egypt’s southern neighbour. Since Kush was annexed to Pharaonic Egypt as a colony in the 2nd millennium BCE, later periods also show many Egyptian influences there. As a result, researchers have a strongly Egyptian or Egyptological perspective on Kushite culture and religion. In this interview, Lohwasser talks about how she takes a new, non-Egyptian perspective on the kingdom of Kush, and in particular the relationship between the Egyptian god Amun and the Kushite god Apedemak.

The research project led by Islamic studies scholar Philip Bockholt at the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’ focuses on one of the most important religious text genres in Islamic culture: Arabic-Ottoman translations of works of Quranic exegesis (Arabic: tafsīr). In this interview, he discusses why translations from Arabic into Turkish were so significant, what adaptations can be observed in the texts during the process of translation, and what role these translations played in disseminating religious knowledge.
 

Indonesien zählt zu den vielfältigsten Ländern der Welt – in geografischer, gesellschaftlicher und auch religiöser Hinsicht. Mit über 17.000 Inseln und mehr als 270 Millionen Einwohnerinnen und Einwohnern steht der Inselstaat vor besonderen Herausforderungen, gleichzeitig spielt das Archipel eine immer wichtigere Rolle in regionalen und globalen Zusammenhängen. Im Interview über ihre Indonesien-Forschung spricht die Religionswissenschaftlerin und evangelische Theologin Simone Sinn vom Exzellenzcluster über vergangene und gegenwärtige Konflikte, die Kolonialvergangenheit des Landes und die Rolle von Religion in der indonesischen Verfassung.

How did forms of belonging develop in ancient Greece, and which role did Amyklaion play as a central hub in Laconia? Historian Hans Beck's Research project, “Belonging in/to Laconia. An archaeohistorical study on the Sanctuary of Apollo at Amyklai and its surroundings”, at the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” explores this question. The subject of the study is the hill of Agia Kyriaki, 5 km south of Sparta, which has long been associated with the ancient cult center of Apollo Amyklaios. The research complements excavations that have been taking place on site for more than 20 years.

In this interview, Coptic scholar Gesa Schenke discusses her research at the Cluster of Excellence on two Egyptian manuscripts from the 4th and 10th centuries AD. Written in Coptic, the last stage of the Egyptian language, these manuscripts contain the earliest known Jewish-Christian record of the so-called Testament of Abraham. Gesa Schenke uses this narrative in the “Abraham in Everyday Life” project to explore the extent to which the thought of death and the impending Judgment of the Dead shapes religious, political and social behaviour in everyday life.

Ten subjects, three terms, one certificate: for the past year, students at the University of Münster have been able to enrol in the interdisciplinary certificate programme “Religion and Politics” that the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” offers. This allows them to study from a wide range of courses and learn about different disciplinary cultures. More than 50 students are currently enrolled in the certificate programme, with the numbers rising. 

According to scholars of Scandinavian studies, ideas about Vikings and pagan Norse mythology today can often not be verified scientifically. “They are based essentially on reports written by Christian scholars in the High Middle Ages well over a century later, since, besides brief runic inscriptions, no written texts from the original period have been preserved”, says  Scandinavian scholar Roland Scheel from the Cluster of Excellence announcing the international conference “Imagining Nordic Paganism” from 6 to 7 November. 

In an Interview, Archaeologist Katharina Schmidt talks about her project at the Cluster of Excellence on the mountain settlements in the Kingdom of Edom (700–500 BC) in what is now southern Jordan. Recent investigations of these mountain settlements suggest that they were not, as has often been assumed, inaccessible, temporary refuges. Rather, they were permanent, agriculturally self-sufficient settlements that were sustainably farmed over generations. This paints a completely new picture of Edom, which was composed of very different realities of life.

Organised jointly by the University of Münster and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, an international conference in Mid-October will focus on the Council of Nicaea 1,700 years ago and its ecumenical, interreligious and intercultural significance. ‘The creed established by the first ecumenical council in history is still of fundamental importance to the Catholic Church, as well as to Orthodox and most Protestant churches today. Nicaea has raised complex questions from an interreligious perspective, especially with regard to Jewish-Christian and Christian-Islamic relations – it is these question that the interdisciplinary conference will address’, says Professor of Dogmatics Michael Seewald from Münster, who is organising the conference together with Philipp G. Renczes SJ, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Gregorian University. 

The world’s most important collection of magisterial texts of the Roman Catholic Church will in future be edited by Professor of Dogmatics Michael Seewald from the University of Münster. Available in numerous languages, the ‘Denzinger’ compendium brings together the most important decisions made by the Church’s magisterium from antiquity to the present day. Seewald is taking over the work of Peter Hünermann, Professor of Dogmatics in Tübingen until 1997, who edited the compendium for more than 30 years, including its current 45th edition, published by Herder. The new edition will be published as part of the CREDENZ (Critical Edition of the Denzinger) research project.

Starting on 26 September at the University of Münster, an international conference will address the public role of Islam and Christianity, and their contribution to democracy in Indonesia. ‘Like those in Germany, Muslim and Christian communities in Indonesia are faced with the question of how to promote democracy and deal constructively with conflicts over religion’, say the organisers of the three-day conference, Protestant theologian and religious scholar Simone Sinn and Islamic theologian Mouhanad Khorchide from the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’.

From 15 to 17 October 2025, an international conference at the University of Münster will focus on the Council of Nicaea 1,700 years ago and its varied reception since then. As Professor of Dogmatics Michael Seewald explains, the creed formulated in Nicaea is still of fundamental importance to the Catholic Church, as well as to Orthodox and most Protestant churches today. Seewald is organising the interdisciplinary conference together with his colleague Philipp G. Renczes SJ, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Held in the Castle’s aula magna, the conference will see researchers from nine countries reflect on historical, transcultural, ecumenical and interreligious questions that arise in relation to the Council of Nicaea and its varied reception over the centuries.

Between religious tradition and aesthetic innovation: Russian art and literature of the 19th and 20th centuries contain numerous references to icon painting – for example, in Sergei Eisenstein's film ‘Bežin lug ’ or Kazimir Malevich's ‘Black Square’. “References to icons reveal a worldview, one that is certainly also political in nature,” says Slavic scholar Irina Wutsdorff from the University of Münster, whose research at the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” focuses on the significance of icons in Russian art and literature, in an interview together with Daniela Amodio.

Religious sociologists Detlef Pollack and Gergely Rosta have published an updated and expanded new edition of one of the most comprehensive empirical studies of religious trends worldwide. In it, the authors emphasize that the importance of religion has declined dramatically worldwide—even in previously religious strongholds, and even predominantly Muslim countries such as Iran and Turkey have not been spared this religious decline. With the new edition of their standard work Religion in the Modern Age, the researchers provide an up-to-date overview of these developments.

A new international study by the University of Münster on processes of religious socialization shows that in times of declining religiosity in society, whether people become religious or non-religious depends crucially on their family. “Our surveys and family interviews in Germany, Finland, Italy, Canada, and Hungary show that in all countries, religion is passed on to the younger generation primarily when the family cultivates a religious self-image, engages in religious practices such as prayer or singing together, and both parents belong to the same denomination—with mothers playing the most important role,” explain sociologists of religion Christel Gärtner, Linda Hennig, and Olaf Müller. The key findings are summarized in the new book Families and Religion.

US art historian Taylor McCall kicked off the lecture and reading series “Aesthetic Conceptions of the Body between Religion and Politics” in the annual theme “Body and Religion” of the Cluster of Excellence by talking about the relationship between body and religion in medieval medicine.

American ethnographer and translator Deborah Kapchan will speak in Münster about religious subcultures in Morocco. In her evening lecture entitled “Face to Face with the Spirits: Embodying the Imagination,” she will present her research on the connection between the body and imagination at the Cluster of Excellence. The lecture will take place on May 13.

The human body in art and literature is the subject of a new series of lectures and readings organized by the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster. The series also includes a reading from texts by the imprisoned Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who gave the Droste Reading at the Cluster of Excellence in 2024. The series kicks off on May 6 with a lecture by US art historian Taylor McCall entitled “Planetary Bodies: Religion and Medicine in Medieval Anatomical Images.”

On the death of Pope Francis, researchers in theology, religious studies and sociology of religion from the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” have assessed his pontificate and the media interest it generated.

Ein Beitrag von Perry Schmidt-Leukel vom Exzellenzcluster „Religion und Politik“ zum Tod des Papstes

According to researchers, public discussions about promoting diversity are often oversimplified. Sociologist Ines Michalowski from the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster emphasizes that the effects of diversity measures vary greatly and depend on numerous factors – including in the field of religion. Against this backdrop, the University of Münster has established a new degree program in Diversity and Social Inequality, which specifically prepares students to deal with diversity issues in organizations. Registration opens on May 1.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 2025 to Catholic theologian Michael Seewald from the University of Münster for his excellent research. In the video, he talks about his research in the field of systematic theology, particularly the history and hermeneutics of dogma, which shapes current theological debates on reform, change of faith and tradition.

Demons – according to researchers, these elusive beings, neither human nor divine, can be found in history, art and literature from antiquity to the present.In the interview “Of demons and devil's grimaces”, art historian Eva Krems, literary scholar Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf and historian Nikolas Funke talk about the approaches they take to the topic of “demons” in their respective research disciplines and where there are interdisciplinary similarities and differences. read more

In their new book Religionsunterricht 4.0 (Religious Education 4.0), legal scholar Hinnerk Wißmann and theologian Arnulf von Scheliha from the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster examine the future of religious education in Germany and make a case for preserving denominational religious education. Their criticism of the model of non-denominational religious education: “It can hardly correspond to the religious plurality that is actually lived.” The German Basic Law is flexible enough to deal with challenges such as secularization and pluralization.

Organised by the Pontifical Gregorian University and the University of Münster, an international conference will take place in Rome next week that focuses on the Council of Nicaea 1700 years ago and its significance today. ‘The first ecumenical council in history formulated a creed that is still fundamental for almost all churches today. It unites Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians’, says Michael Seewald, Professor of Dogmatics and the History of Dogma from Münster, who is organising the interdisciplinary conference with his colleague Philipp G. Renczes SJ from the Pontifical Gregorian University

Church historian Hubert Wolf and his team have presented their initial findings of the researchproject ‘Asking the Pope for Help’ in Rome, among other things, at the German ambassador to the Holy See. During the Shoah, around 10,000 Jews wrote letters to the Catholic Church asking for information about their relatives, for money or help in escaping. The Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’ is involved in the large-scale project, where it is carrying out research on Romania and Brazil. read more

US anthropologist Naveeda Khan from Johns Hopkins University spoke at the Cluster of Excellence about the complex interrelationship between religious traditions, climate change and the experience of hunger. In her lecture, Khan shed light on this relationship by examining how the Muslim population along the South Asian river Jamuna in Bangladesh deals with climate crises such as hunger. The researcher, herself a native of Bangladesh, emphasized not only the political dimensions of famine but also the metaphysical and spiritual meaning of the everyday handling of food.