North Rhein-Westphalia Day 2026: Campus of Theology and Religious Studies
Insights into interdisciplinary research on religion were provided by Uni Münster from 28 to 30 August 2026 – Multimedia exhibition showcased the research, degree programmes and institutions that the new Campus will bring together from 2027 – Presentation on the theme ‘Dialogue and Diversity’
An insight into the wide range of research, degree programmes and institutions that the internationally unique Campus of Theology and Religious Studies will bring together from 2027 has been provided by the University of Münster at the North Rhein-Westphalia Day from 28 to 30 August 2026. Situated between Hüfferstraße and Robert-Koch-Straße, the Campus will bring together institutions conducting interdisciplinary research and teaching on religion that have been scattered across the city for decades, including Protestant, Catholic and Islamic theology, Jewish studies, religious studies, the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’, and other institutions studying religion.
The multimedia exhibition on the North Rhein-Westphalia Day theme ‘Dialogue and Diversity’ has provided information on a diversity of degree programmes and findings from interdisciplinary research on religion: from ancient shrines and religious parodies in Judaism to the future of religious education in schools and spiritual patchwork communities on the internet. A quiz tested your knowledge of religions past and present, and challenged common clichés.
The University of Münster’s new campus for Theology and Religious Studies generated a great deal of interest and positive feedback at the NRW Day 2026. Numerous guests raised a wide range of questions and engaged in discussions, including Bishop Heiner Wilmer, Chair of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK); Dorothea Deppermann, Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Parliament; and Sylvia Löhrmann, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Commissioner for Anti-Semitism.
Open-air lecture theatre ‘Religions, Peace and Violence’
The programme of the theme ‘Dialogue and Diversity’ at Überwasserkirchplatz has hosted a wide range of presentations on current research and social issues that have showcased the University of Münster’s research on religion. On Saturday 29 August 2026 from 5.30 to 7.45 pm, the Cluster of Excellence’s open-air lecture theatre ‘Religions, Peace and Violence’ has seen researchers from the University of Münster use case studies from both the past and the present to examine the relationship that religions have to peace and violence. Those present included the Egyptologist Angelika Lohwasser, the Islamic theologian Mouhanad Khorchide, the Catholic theologian Oliver Dyma, the Catholic theologian Regina Elsner, the historian Wolfram Drews, the scholar of religious studies Simone Sinn and the Protestant theologian Arnulf von Scheliha. (vvm)
Campus of Theology and Religious Studies
The past few decades have seen the University of Münster become an internationally renowned centre for research on religion that spans all eras and cultures. From 2027, the Campus will house the world’s largest research library on religion, and consolidate and strengthen dialogue between disciplines and faiths. Based in the city where the Peace of Westphalia was signed, the Campus will become a place of understanding where academia, politics and religion, the media, culture and the arts can come together to discuss issues in the contested field of religion and politics. (vvm)
