Religion and Practice

The research program focuses on religious practices that have a Christian—and particularly Catholic—signature or origin. Places of God can thus be those places where one traditionally expects to find the religious. But the program also focuses on such places not immediately associated with religious, Christian, or Catholic dimensions.

In both categories, attention to transformation of religious practices in late modernity is fundamental. Thus, traditional places of God are also subject to transformation, given the liquidity of late modernity. Among non-traditional places, transformation can be such that explicitly religious, let alone Christian or Catholic, dimensions are hardly recognizable or considered relevant anymore.

Indeed, over the past half century, religion and, in the Western European context, Christianity underwent profound changes. The earlier research program The Late Modern Transformation of Religion: the Case of the New Catholicism centered on the insight that the common opposition modernity-versus-religion needs to be put into perspective. In that classical approach, late modernity appears as a secular context from which religion has mostly disappeared. Our research clarifies that the term "disappearance" is inadequate to interpret secularization in Western society. Societal attention to the crumbling institutional form of religion led to tunnel vision. A decline in church attendance was equated with secularization. Additionally, the opposition between modernity and religion brings blind spots.

The contribution of religion to late modernity should be further studied rather than posing an opposition. An analysis of handling existential questions concerning individual and communal existence, of identity queries, of practices of fulfillment, of ecclesial and societal developments in culture, politics, science, health care, media, and education reveals that there is no unequivocal disappearance of religion, and even of Catholicism. Therefore, we will search for where religious and more specifically Christian and Catholic aspects are found in this late modern era.

The research framework

The focus of the previous research program with Catholicism as a case study is thus broadened in the current program to non-religious practices as well. Traces of the Christian tradition can be found where previously they were not or, at least, were not sought. This displacement of the religious becomes tangible on a daily basis in fields such as spiritual care and psychological counseling; in the expanding world of wellness; in previously non-existent fields such as gaming and social media; in the art world; in new popular rituals; in projects concerning interreligious collaboration, in the ever-challenged religious education in schools; in the increasing attention to ecological issues; or in the problem of (religious) radicalization. This observation entails, on the one hand, that the institutional-church domain as a traditional and often seen as exclusive place of God is changing. On the other hand, questions arise about these new places.

This range cannot be captured with a single discipline or method but [RB1] requires conceptual clarification and methodical study. In our program, the transformation of religion is further understood in terms of translocation or change of place. The emphasis is less on the temporal (from modernity to late modernity) and more on a topological approach. This ties in with the traditional notion of loci theologici as well as with the spatial turn in the human and social sciences. The key question is therefore: what are the characteristics of the changing places of religious, especially the Christian and the Catholic, aspects in the late modern context?

With the loci theologici, the research program, on the one hand, connects with to a conceptual framework from the theological tradition. This early modern framework of thought is indebted to Melchior Cano, who introduced a distinction between "internal" and "external" places. On the other hand, it aligns with a wide range of perspectives from the religious studies and social sciences. This includes considering Kim Knott's spatial analysis approach or Jonathan Z. Smith, who puts the idea of to take place, or "finding place," at the center of a religious studies approach that seeks to move beyond belief as the sole starting point. It is perspectives like these that help explore how loci theologici, or places of God, are established in practice.

Research questions

This ongoing reflection provides opportunities for an interdisciplinary research program. It has as its general research question: what are the characteristics of the changing places of religious, particularly Christian and Catholic, aspects in the late modern context? This question requires an approach that brings theological, philosophical, and religious studies perspectives into critical cross-pollination. The main question is focused on the following sub-questions, which are consistent with the practical-theological methodology of observing, evaluating, and stimulating:

1. What are the new places of the Christian and the Catholic aspects, and how do they relate to the classical institutional ones? What practices occur in these place? What is the position of Christian heritage in current societal debates regarding individual and communal identity?
2. What is the significance of the shifting place of the religious on the self-understanding of individuals, society, and institutional Christianity? What theological and societal challenges does this present, and how can non-traditional places of God be interpreted?
3. How can Christian and ecclesiastical tradition be reformulated with a forward-looking approach in the face of a pluralistic society? How can a normative discourse about God be connected to a religious studies perspective within the late modern context? 

Valorization

Religion is among those topics that societal actors (journalists, politicians, policy makers, and health-care providers) are confronted with on a daily basis and about which they express their views. The actors involved need experience, knowledge, and expertise to avoid stereotyping and scientifically irresponsible approaches to religious practices. Our program contributes to building this expertise. Its societal relevance lies in analyzing and adjusting a growing religious illiteracy, especially among the new generations.

In addition to this critical function, the research program also aims to collaborate with the societal and ecclesial field by providing expertise and new insights by means of publications, symposia, training programs, and projects. This is linked to Tilburg University's Impact Program which ran from 2018-2021 with the three themes: Data Sciences for the Social Good, Empowering the Resilient society, and Enhancing Health and Wellbeing. This line will continue with broad prosperity serving as a thematic guide. In the debate on the ethical implications of big data, for example, the research program can unfold strategies to counter anthropological reductionism. Within the themes concerning a resilient society and health and well-being, the program pays attention to questions concerning the spiritual dimension of the human person, not only within spiritual care.