Religious Studies

Religious studies is a field within the humanities and cultural studies that is not tied to any specific religious affiliation. It explores human actions and ideas, texts and objects, institutions and relationships, both past and present, that are generally considered "religious."  

Religious studies critically examines what "religion" means in both academic discourse and everyday understanding, as well as the boundaries of what can be labeled as "religious."  

In your studies, you will explore questions such as: What does religion actually mean? How have religions historically developed? And how do they shape our modern society in today’s complex world?  

To answer these questions, you will gain foundational knowledge about Christianity, Islam, Judaism, as well as non-monotheistic religions and new religious movements. Building on this knowledge, you will learn to engage with religiously influenced texts and manuscripts, images and architecture, Hollywood films, Instagram stories, or music. You will also develop skills to observe religious phenomena academically or conduct interviews.  

At Goethe University, religious studies is institutionally anchored in two faculties: the Faculty of Protestant Theology (FB 06) and the Faculty of Catholic Theology (FB 07). The field is represented by three professorships in religious studies:  

• Religious Studies/History of Religion: Prof. Dr. Catherina Wenzel (FB 06: Homepage)  
• Religious Studies with a Focus on Jewish-Islamic Relations: Prof. Dr. Nathan Gibson (FB 06: Homepage)  
• Theology of Religion and Religious Studies: Prof. Dr. Anja Middelbeck-Varwick (FB 07: Homepage)  

The teaching team in religious studies is further supported by the Martin Buber Professorship for Jewish Religious Philosophy (FB 06), additional professorships from both faculties, the Professorship for Older Scandinavian Studies (FB 10), and the Institute for the Study of Culture and Religion of Islam (FB 09).  

Key areas of focus in religious studies at Goethe University include:  

• Theories and methods in religious studies
• History of religion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
• Jewish-Christian, Jewish-Islamic, and Christian-Islamic relations
• Dynamics of religious coexistence and conflict
• Intercultural dialogue
• Discourses on power and abuse
• Digital methods in religious studies
• Material religion and cultural heritage

Further information

The BA Religious Studies program (minor) is divided into two phases: the foundational phase and the advanced phase.

During the foundational phase, you will gain an introduction to the key fundamentals, theories, and research methods of the field in Module BA 001 (Introduction to Religious Studies). In Module BA 002 (Basic Knowledge of Religions), you will acquire foundational knowledge about Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, as well as other non-monotheistic religions (such as Buddhism or Hinduism) or new religious movements (such as Neopaganism or Bahá'í). Module BA 003 (Empirical Research in Religion) equips you with the tools needed for conducting empirical research in the field of religion.

In the advanced phase, you can choose from five modules and select two that best match your interests: BA 005 (Intercultural Religious Research), BA 006 (Philosophy of Religion / Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History), BA 007 (History of Religion), BA 008 (Interdisciplinary Theoretical Approaches), and BA 009 (Optional Module).