"Religion and Politics" – Cluster of Excellence at the UNiversity of Münster

The Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics. Dynamics of Tradition and Innovation” has been investigating since 2007 the complex relationship between religion and politics across eras and cultures. In the funding phase from 2019 to 2025, the 140 researchers from 20 disciplines in the humanities and social sciences analyze in transepochal studies ranging from antiquity to the present day the factors that make religion the motor of political and social change. The research network is the largest of its kind in Germany; and, of the Clusters of Excellence, one of the oldest and the only one to deal with the issue of religion. full story

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Icons – a symbol of Russian identity between tradition, religion and politics

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 Dostojevsky’s novel ‘The Idiot’, 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.
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“Families play a key role in passing on religion – especially mothers”

According to an international study by the University of Münster, the question of whether people become religious or non-religious at a time of religious decline in society depends very much on the 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 above all when the family cultivates a religious self-image, engages in joint religious practices such as prayer or singing, and when both parents belong to the same denomination – the most important role in religious socialization is played by mothers”, explain sociologists of religion Christel Gärtner, Linda Hennig and Olaf Müller. Read more

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No new funding phase for the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics”

On Thursday, 22 May 2025, the German Research Foundation (DFG) announced the results of the first funding round of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments: the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” will not receive further funding after a two year phase-out funding until 2027. “In recent years, the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’ has produced internationally acclaimed research that has contributed much to our understanding of complex social relationships. It is regrettable that no further funding will be provided”, said Rector Prof. Dr. Johannes Wessels. Read more

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