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Study information

This study investigates and analyses didactical approaches in theory and practice of both scholars and expert teachers in Religious Education/Life World Orientation (for secondary level) in their role as Identity Agents in order to discover and develop didactical key components contributing to religious…

Are you thinking about studying Religious Studies? Learn more and watch the programme presentation.

The presence of religious idioms in people’s responses to vulnerability and misfortune is not unique to Aceh, or to Indonesia. Yet the scale of the tsunami coupled with the historically deeply ingrained presence of religion in Acehnese everyday life has magnified religious discourses on misfortune,…

The MA Religious Studies at Leiden University is designed to equip students with the tools and knowledge required for studying, interpreting, and analysing religion as a diverse (human) phenomenon. With its world-class scholars and access to exceptional research collections, the programme offers the…

What moves an individual, a society or a culture? How does religion relate to politics, economics and morals? Religion is everywhere and often plays, unnoticed, a large role in the daily lives of yourself and others.

Religion permeates our world and remains highly influential across all domains of human society, including politics, culture, and economics. Religion also plays a critical role in everyday life as it provides meaning, motivation, and social support for billions of people. The master Religious Studies…

Religion permeates our world and remains highly influential across all domains of human society, including politics, culture, and economics. Religion also plays a critical role in everyday life as it provides meaning, motivation, and social support for billions of people. The master Religious Studies…

Religions involve belief in the unbelievable: in evil spirits causing disease, in souls surviving death, and in gods punishing wrongdoers and blessing the just. Cognitive studies suggest that humans are predisposed to speculate about fate and divine agency, but support from so-called ‘plausibility structures’…

Jasmijn Rana demonstrates in the article 'Secular-religious self-improvement: Muslim women’s kickboxing in the Netherlands' that young Muslim women who kickbox develop agentive selves by challenging gender norms and living out their religious subjectivities.

Schatten uit het oude Armenië

Promotor: F.J. van Lunteren, E. Jorin

De semantiek van Aristoteles: waarheid en betekenis in het tijdperk van het darwinisme

This dissertation focuses on a new field of artistic research in which a visual artist takes on the role of researcher. The main research question is whether performance art integrated in an ecumenical service, combined with artistic directions from the artist, can enhance the religious experience of…

The role of religion in the identity construction of LGBTQIA+ folks

On 14 November 2019 Niek Schipper defended his thesis 'De invloed van de woonplaats op de fiscale behandeling van grensoverschrijdende werknemers'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. S.C.W. Douma and Prof. J.P. Boer.

Recently, studies have shown the similarities and differences in sources of meaning between religionists, ‘nones’ and atheists (see several studies of Schnell and others). The present study that will be conducted in three European countries tries to clarify the relationship between meaning giving and…

On 12 January 2022, Mirjam Franke defended the thesis 'Over de grens van de onrechtmatige daad'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. A.G. Castermans and Prof. J.H. Crijns.

Mathilde Mechling defended her thesis on 28 january 2020.

On 23 oktober 2018, Elsemieke Daalder defended her doctoral thesis 'De rechtspraakverzamelingen van Julius Paulus'. The doctoral research was supervised by prof. mr. W.J. Zwalve and Prof. mr. E. Koops.

This project receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101054849 (PURANA).

On 25 September 2019, Luuk Esser defended his thesis 'De strafbaarstelling van mensenhandel ontrafeld'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C.P.M. Cleiren and Prof. J.M. ten Voorde.

De lichtheid van literatuur: Engagement in de multiculturele samenleving (The Lightness of Literature: Engagement in the Multicultural Society) is a plea for the social relevance of literature. The book delves into an age-old debate about literature and social engagement, which has recently been reinvigorated…

Dit is een samenwerking tussen Huis van het boek, de Universiteit Leiden en de University of Virginia.

Systematisch geordend naslagwerk voor alle stadsrechten in Nederland

Abdessamad El Amraoui defended his thesis on 6 Mai 2015.

Taal als sleutel tot het begrijpen van de mens.

Discover the new MSc in Public Sector Economics at Leiden University, offered entirely in Dutch. This program prepares future policy economists by bridging economic theory, Dutch institutions, and real-world policy challenges. Starting September 2025 in The Hague, it focuses on key issues like inequality,…

On 17 October 2018, Thomas Sanders defended his doctoral thesis 'Invordering door de overheid: de invordering van geldschulden uit herstelsancties onder de Awb'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. mr. T. Barkhuysen and Prof. mr. M.W. Scheltema.

The new Master’s programme in Public Sector Economics (MSc Economics) prepares you to become the policy economist of the future. The programme enables you to bridge the gap between economic theories, scientific methods, the functioning of Dutch institutions and policy processes, as well as current societal…

De positie van kunst en kunstenaars in de westerse samenleving

Khadija Kadrouch-Outmany defended her thesis on 16 September 2014.

Religion and ethnicity are inextricably linked in discourse within and about Central Asia. One common narrative suggests that as a result of differences between historically sedentary and nomadic populations, ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks are naturally more religious and more likely to radicalise than their…

To what extent did The Netherlands' attitude towards European integration change after the 2005 referendum on the European Constitution?

Resilient Diversity: the Governance of Racial and Religious Plurality in the Dutch Empire, 1600-1800

On 19 February 2019, Mirjam Sombroek-van Doorm defended her thesis 'Medisch beroepsgeheim en de zorgplicht van de arts bij kindermishandeling in de rechtsverhouding tussen arts, kind en ouders'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A.G. Castermans en Prof. mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker.