The multiple connections between emblematics and Natural History in the broader perspective of their underlying artistic, literary, political and religious ideologies.

‘We could share our knowledge more with others and apply it more widely,’ said Annetje Ottow, President of the Executive Board, while presenting the new Strategic Plan on the University’s 447th Dies Natalis. The new Strategic Plan therefore focuses on innovating and connecting, among disciplines and…

‘Make more room for nature on farmland and you'll be surprised at the result.' This was the advice from Geert de Snoo in his Dies lecture.

At the Faculty of Science, forty per cent of the employees are of a non-Dutch nationality. Amongst PhDs that is even sixty per cent. How are they doing in a time of working at home in a different culture, when travelling is not possible? Astronomer Yamila Miguel is the first in this series to tell her…

Lecture, LUCIS What's New?! Series

From October 1-3, 2017, the 24th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium was held at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA. The Symposium was attended by 100 participants, from 50 different countries, while interpretation at the venue was available in 11 languages (Arabic, French, Italian,…

Author and political scientist Mounir Samuel has spent recent years delving into the many ways that language can exclude people and bring them together.

Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion (LUCSoR), Thursday 10 and Friday 11 November 2016

Want to sponsor scientific research by raising funds? You can now do just that via Leiden University's campaign platform acties.steunleiden.nl. A broad range of projects have already started, including for research on genetic diseases.

In the early morning of Wednesday 7 October, a 21-year-old man from Valkenburg (South Holland) was arrested on suspicion of issuing threats against Leiden University.

How do religious narratives persuade their readers to believe their message? And how can it be that some readers even come to treat fantasy and science fiction as authoritative religious texts? These are the core questions treated in Markus Davidsen’s new book Narrative and Belief: The Religious Affordance…

Mirjam de Bruijn's VICI project Connecting in Times of Duress held its final conference in N'Djamena, Chad, from 23 to 29 October.

What if a major world event alters the trajectory of your research project? Tsolin Nalbantian was studying citizenship along the Turkish-Syrian border when the Syrian Civil War erupted and led to a global refugee crisis. While her research participants were forced to flee the region, she was forced…

Within the Comparative Religion Network staff and graduate students from LIAS-LUCSoR (and beyond) discuss ongoing work and cooperate on key issues in the comparative and systematic study of religion.

On Friday 9 September, Jeanin van Hooft, Professor of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, will deliver her inaugural lecture titled: 'The scope of connection'. She emphasises the value of collaboration and connection for scientific research. In addition, she pleads for more diversity; according to…

What forms does Muslim religiosity take in daily life? What is the relation between representations of Islam and Muslims by scholars and the views that exist in the ‘real world’?

Archaeologist Tuna Kalayci investigates roads in a recent edited book. What happens if we think of roads not only as containers of action but also as dynamic and complex phenomena, as the action itself? This question inspired Dr Tuna Kalayci to bring together various studies across a wide range of epochs…

In medical and psychological sciences, little research has been specifically conducted on women. Hormonal fluctuations were considered too intricate. Yes, research into sex and gender differences is complex, acknowledge neuroscientists Ellen de Bruijn and Lara Wierenga, but that’s precisely why it's…

Religious Studies at Leiden University allows you to study a broad spectrum of religions and their manifestations.

This dissertation is concerned with the study of the less than twenty remaining precolonial Mesoamerican codices. By considering these rare and fragile pictographic and hieroglyphic books from the cultural biography perspective, many different aspects of these books can be studied.

'Every year the courses are different, and there are new things to learn.' The 6th Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics from 18-29 July this year has attracted 120 participants, 90 international and 30 from the Netherlands.

LUCSoR faculty work closely together with societal partners on issues related to religious education and religion in society.

The Student Living Room at the KOG will soon officially open its doors. All Leiden Law School staff and students are welcome to come and see this new space during the official opening event on Tuesday 23 May at 12.00 hrs. A free lunch will be provided for all, we’ll raise a toast with a glass of bubbles,…

On Thursday 6 May 2021, alumni of the Bachelor Security Studies (BaSS) and the Master Crisis and Security Management (CSM) were gathered in an online event arranged by the Institute of Security and Global Affairs and the study association L.S.A. Custodia.

Nienke Beets of the Leiden Hortus botanicus has won the brand new Joke 't Hart Prize for connecting nature and art. For the botanical garden in Leiden, she developed a series of colourful plant icons and an educational board game. On 20 May, the Dutch Association of Botanical Gardens (NVBT) unanimously…

It gives us great pleasure to report that the search for a University Lecturer in Christianity in the Modern World has resulted in the appointment of Corey Williams, starting January 2015.

From Incident to Precedent

This research programme encourages the analysis of nascent Islam within the framework of religious studies.

This subproject examines how memories of flight and persecution shaped new social and religious identities in the Netherlands.

Religion in the ancient world, and ancient Egyptian religion in particular, is often perceived as static, hierarchically organised, and centred on priests, tombs, and temples. Engagement with archaeological and textual evidence dispels these beguiling if superficial narratives, however. Individuals…

In our collective journey to bridge social, economic, and cultural inequality in society, we must al play a part, says Wilco van Dijk. Unfortunately, notes Carolien Rieffe, minority groups are often not included in this 'we.' This became a focal point of discussion during the fifth Psychology Connected…

In recent decades, the Netherlands’ struggle with multiculturalism has caused an upsurge in public interest in the relationship between state and religion. In this, the Dutch address a subject relevant not just to them, but to all of Europe.

Time, Religion and Sacred Discourses of the Ayuuk People

Find out how to apply for Religious Studies at Leiden University by following our step-by step guide.

Anyone can tell a story. That is the guiding principle Hans Dekker, Senior programme leader at the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL), and his colleague Suzanne Verhees use to kick off their multi-day Storytellling course. Arjan van Unen participated in the course over the summer and learned how…

It’s an important theme at the University and beyond: student well-being. Even before coronavirus, research showed that loneliness and the pressure to succeed were causing particular problems for students, and these problems have only increased since the pandemic. Work is underway to improve the sit…

The present volume focuses on the political perceptions of the Hajj, its global religious appeal to Muslims, and the European struggle for influence and supremacy in the Muslim world in the age of pre-colonial and colonial empires.

Ms. Anaïs Massot defended her thesis on 26 January 2021

On 27 June 2019, Barry Bussey defended his thesis 'The Legal Revolution Against the Accommodation of Religion: The Secular Age v. The Sexular Age'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. P.B. Cliteur.

Michiel Pronk defended his thesis on 30 March 2016

A technique originally developed for satellite imaging can now be used to recover pictographic texts from underneath the surface of a five hundred year old Mexican manuscript.

At Leiden University you can study Islam and Muslim societies within two Dutch-language BA and various MA programmes and specializations.

Authority and Control in the Countryside looks at the economic, religious, political and cultural instruments that local and regional powers in the late antique to early medieval Mediterranean and Near East used to manage their rural hinterlands.

On 12 January 2023 ms. Nor Ismah successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

On February 20th, Gulnaz Sibgatullina succesfully defended her doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Gulnaz on this great result.

Steven Frost defended his thesis on 6 June 2017

How does the religious identity of islamic primary schools in the Netherlands relate to the social demands?

Aspects of Religious Leadership in Europe, 1100-2000

The Leiden Jewish Studies Association awarded the inaugural “Best Thesis in Jewish Studies” in December 2023.