Religion and politics – a tense relationship that
raises significant social and academic questions. At the Cluster of Excellence, we investigate
this from antiquity to the present day. Religious diversity can create conflicts in plural
societies, be these conflicts about migration, religious freedom, or religion and violence. Here in the city of the Peace of Westphalia, we study how societies around the
world use legal and political means to regulate conflicts involving religion. My focus is on strategic litigation in religious politics: How do religious actors
use the law to pursue political goals? As one of the newer members of the cluster,
I can build on the research of my colleagues. The cluster provides extensive support
for early career researchers. We aim to create an inclusive and international
community – including the top researchers we appoint to our Blumenberg Professorship. How did religion and politics interact in ancient Kush, Egypt's neighbour? How did
this change when new deities emerged? Were they linked to a new political strategy?
I would not have been inspired to these questions without having worked for so many
years at the Cluster, with colleagues from 25 disciplines. Doing research in group across eras
and cultures can be challenging – and exciting. During the Nazi regime, about 10,000 persecuted
Jews from all over Europe sent letters to Pope Pius XII and the Vatican, asking for help.
My team and I have found these letters in the secret archives of the Vatican. There
are thousands of documents to go through, using methods of the digital humanities
– and the support of Citizen Scientists. We will elucidate the destiny behind every
letter: What happened to the petitioners? Were they given help, and if not, why? How
did the Vatican’s decision-making process evolve? We will make our data available in a
digital edition, and give each Jewish person who has been silenced their voice back. Traditional exegesis of the Quran often has an ahistorical understanding and
still justifies patriarchal structures. In contrast, I read the Quran as a
product of its time. I contextualise it – a gender-equitable interpretation. My collaboration with historians and Christian feminist theologians at the Cluster is very fruitful. The University of Münster is creating
the world’s only “Campus of Theology and Religious Studies”. It brings together
Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic theology, and various forms of Religious Studies. And
it will be home to one of the world’s largest theological libraries. The Campus can strengthen interdisciplinarity – and be a venue for dialogue
involving representatives from academia, politics, religion, media, and civil society. We provide society with knowledge regarding current challenges – our historical
perspective sharpening the view of the presence. We bring our knowledge into
discussion in many transfer formats. We discuss for example the digitalization of
religion: How do religious traditions change with new forms like digital prayers or online
fatwas? What political effects does the spread of conspiracy theories on the internet have?
Our research deals with issues of current relevance: conflicts over religious
practices, over belonging and non-belonging. Complex processes of religion and politics that
evolve rapidly – and require reliable research.