Comparative Study of Religion

The foremost research aim of the Comparative Study of Religion department is to advance the multidisciplinary and critical study of religion. In order to achieve this aim, two levels of research have been in constant interaction:

1. The study of “Lived Religion”: Different cases and aspects of “Lived Religion” —religious practices and discourses as part of the daily lives of people, embedded in diverse socio-cultural and political frameworks— are thoroughly investigated in the past and in the present, in different regions of the globe and by means of diverse methodologies and approaches. “Theorizing Religious Change” and “Religion, Identity, and Memory” are two examples. The study of these two specific themes, among others, directly relates to the second general aim;
2. Enhancement of theory and methodology: These specific studies of Lived Religion contribute to the general theoretical and methodological advancement of the study of religion.