Departments Tilburg School of Catholic Theology

The School of Catholic Theology has two departments:

Religion and Practice

As of March 2023, Stefan Gärtner (*1965) has been appointed Head of Department of the Department of Religion and Practice. It is formed by the members of the research program "An Altar for an Unknown God?" which examines the changing(s) places of religion, Christianity and Catholicism in late modern society.

Stefan Gärtner is associate professor of practical theology, specifically poimenics, at TST. He holds a PhD and Habilitation in the subject of pastoral theology and has worked at Tilburg University since 2001. He is also a Privatdozent at the University of Münster.

His research assumes that the fundamental task of pastors and spiritual caregivers is the promotion of religious identity. This raises the question of the identity and professional actions of themselves. Among other things, Stefan Gärtner analyzes case studies to clarify this in an international comparative perspective.

Texts in Contexts

Research in the Texts in Contexts Department focuses on the origins and varying reception of Judeo-Christian sources in Western culture. This includes attention to how religion develops in the digital age. Cooperation with scholars from other disciplines, both within and outside Tilburg University, is pursued and encouraged, including in the form of joint publications.