"Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society"
brings together research on religion at the University of Vienna and makes it internationally visible. The centre currently involves around 70 researchers from 7 faculties and 14 disciplines (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Islamic theology, Jewish Studies, Islamic Studies and Religious Studies, Social Sciences, Law and Cultural Studies, History, Philosophy and Education, Evolutionary Biology).
Since our founding in 2010, we explore the reciprocal relationship between religion, religiosity and transformation processes in contemporary global contexts. The RaT research centre considers itself an academic contribution to a dialogue between the large religious traditions on the one hand and religion and the secular world on the other.
News
Success for JRAT: Journal edited by the research centre RaT reaches Q1 in the SCImago ranking
Success for JRAT: Journal edited by the research centre RaT reaches Q1 in the SCImago ranking
We are pleased to announce that the "Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society", published by RaT in open access, has risen to the top quarter of the best cited journals in the new SCImago ranking in the field of Religious Studies.
This means that our journal has significantly improved on its previous, already very respectable, position in Q2.
This is a great success for our center and makes an important contribution to increasing the international visibility of theology and religious studies at the University of Vienna. The high level of performance in these subjects at our university was recently confirmed by the new QS ranking, in which the University of Vienna was ranked 21st in the field of "Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies". This represents an improvement of 7 compared to the previous year, which means that Theology and Religious Studies once again occupies the second-best position among all subjects represented at the University of Vienna!
Events
In this column you can find an overview of current events:
Study Week
Kunst als Ausdrucksform in den Religionen
22. – 25.7.2024, Schloss Seggau bei Leibnitz
Religiöse Diskurse in westlichen Demokratien – Initiative christlich-jüdische Studienwoche im Gespräch mit dem Islam
Publications
Here you can find an overview of the latest scientific publications of the research centre. This includes our journal JRAT, the Supplementa belonging to the journal and the RaT book series:
New Issue: RaT Series Volume 30, The Heir. A Christology
by Leonardo Paris
New Issue: RaT Series Volume 28, Agents of Violence. Non-Governmental Armed Forces in Southwest Asia, North Africa and beyond
edited by Rüdiger Lohlker and Katharina Ivanyi
New Issue: JRAT Supplementa Volume 3, Religious Experience, Secular Reason and Politics around 1945. Sources for Rethinking Religion and Spirituality in Contemporary Societies
edited by Hans Schelkshorn and Herman Westerink
New Issue: JRAT 9 (2/2023), From Syncretism to Hybridity: Transformations in African-derived American Religions
New Issue: RaT Series volume 26, Zeiten wenden?! Konstellationen von Gottesreden nach der Postmoderne
edited by Anne-Kathrin Fischbach and Stephan Tautz
Article published "in advance":
Heinrich, Richard: Die Leiter in Jakobs Traum: Spekulationen zu einem Symbol
This article will be integrated in our upcoming issue JRAT 10 (2/2024) "Philosophy and the Bible"
Article published "in advance":
Breu, Clarissa: Double Turning and Other Duplicities. A Performative Reading of John 20:11–18
This article will be integrated in our upcoming issue JRAT 10 (2/2024) "Philosophy and the Bible"
Article published "in advance":
Brumec, Snežana: Triggers of Exceptional Experiences on the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage
Article published "in advance":
Indelicato, Alessandro and Martín, Juan Carlos: Fuzzy Hybrid Approach to Shatter Religious Tolerance and Fundamentalism Stereotypes across Diverse Nations
Article published "in advance":
Gericke, Jaco: The Hebrew Bible and Philosophy of Religion
This article will be integrated in our upcoming issue JRAT 10 (2/2024) "Philosophy and the Bible"
Article published "in advance":
Maltabarova, Makhabbad:Esoteric Dance Practices of the Early Twentieth Century: Case Study of George Gurdjieff’s Movements
Article published "in advance":
Strube, Julian: Global Religious History and Religious Comparison: a Programmatic Outline
Article published "in advance":
Spalová, Barbora and Gajdoš Adam: Church Life LIVE! Ritual Innovations and Repertoires of Belonging in Czech and Slovak Christian Communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Article published "in advance":
Bergunder, Michael: Encounters of the Brahmanical Sanskrit Tradition with Persian Scholarship in the Mughal Empire. Genealogical Critique and the Relevance of the Pre-colonial Past in a Global Religious History
Article published "in advance":
Zemmin, Florian: The Potentials and Limits of Going Global. Islam’s Social Contingency and Absolute Truth in Arabic Sociologies of Religion
Article published "in advance":
Kleine, Christoph: When Christianity Became a Shūshi 宗旨. Cultural Encounters and Comparisons between Europe and Japan and the Origins of a Global History of Religion
Article published "in advance":
Strube, Julian: Religious Comparativism, Esotericism, and the Global Occult: A Methodological Outline
This article will be integrated in our upcoming issue JRAT 10 (1/2024) "Global Religious History: Perspectives for Religious Comparativism"
Article published "in advance":
Maltese, Giovanni: Phallogocentrism, Global Entanglements and Comparison in the Study of Religion. Mysticism and Gender as Category of Knowledge among Muslim Intellectuals (1938–41)
This article will be integrated in our upcoming issue JRAT 10 (1/2024) "Global Religious History: Perspectives for Religious Comparativism"
Article published "in advance":
Schmidt, Bettina E. and Stockly, Kate: The Fruits of Spiritual Experiences during the Pandemic: COVID-19 and the Effects of Non-Ordinary Experiences
RaT Features
In this category, we present a selection of recent books and projects by our members. Currently:
Appel, Kurt (2024): The Eighth Day. Biblical Time as Openness of Chronological Times. In: Ines Testoni, Fabio Scardigli et al.(eds.), Eternity Between Space and Time. From Consciousness to the Cosmos, De Gruyter: Berlin/Boston, pp. 163-172.
Gabriele Palasciano (ed.), "Christianisme, cancel culture et wokisme. Quel rapport au passé en société contemporaine?" Avec une note introductive de Noam Chomsky. L'Harmattan: Paris 2024.
Ikenna Okafor, Josee Ngalula Nicholaus Segeja, Stan Chu Ilo (eds.): Toward a Synodal Church in Africa: Echoes from an African Christian Palaver. Orbis Books 2024.