The focus of the Research programme in Religious Studies is on religious plurality in the Western world: differences within religions, differences between religions, and new phenomena such as radical individualisation that reshuffle the religious landscape. The programme not only studies official doctrines and established traditions and institutions, but also gives due attention to the whole spectrum of religious experience and practices in Western societies.

Studying Religious Studies at the University of Amsterdam

The programme fosters an interdisciplinary approach to religion: theories and methods from the social sciences, literature, cultural analysis, history and philosophy are taught and discussed. The programme gains coherence through the combination of an empirical focus on religion within Western cultures, a theoretical focus on religious plurality and a methodological focus on interdisciplinary research.