Study of Religion and Сulturе

The Study of Religion and Culture investigates religious traditions, conceptions and action patterns in their cultural context, in close cooperation with other disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and cultural studies. In addition to the well-known religions, it is also interested in the emergence and evolution of 'worldviews' and orientation patterns. To determine their role in history and culture, the Study of Religion and Culture combines specialized knowledge of religions and cultures with a broad range of methodological perspectives.

The interdisciplinary conception breaks up established boundaries in favor of a comprehensive approach that integrates specialized knowledge from many different disciplines relating to the larger framework of ‘religion’ and ‘culture’. This presupposes a broad range of methodologies, interdisciplinary cooperation, reflection on the historical impact of the discipline on society, consideration and refinement of terms and descriptive methods, and strict separation between the objects of 'religion' and the objects of the Study of Religion and Culture.

These are the premises of the Chair of Theory and Methodology. Permanent cooperation agreements with Philosophy and Theology guarantee that the historical and empirical orientation of the Study of Religion is characterized by a unique breadth.

In Munich, the interdisciplinary nature of the Study of Religion is also reflected in the way it is anchored institutionally: it is associated with two Chairs (Faculty of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science and the Study of Religion, and Faculty of Protestant Theology).