Religion and Pluralism, Ancient & Modern

Since time immemorial, there has been a tension between 'us' and 'them'. Which role did in- and exclusion play in antiquity? What are the boundaries of tolerance in societies, in past and present?

In Europe, this tension is strongly felt in relations between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Partly due to present migration from Islamic countries, questions of identity and 'belonging' are still strongly linked to religious persuasion. This MA-track focuses on the (internal) diversity, existence and coexistence of the three major monotheistic religions, and how these relationships have shaped our contemporary societies.

You will explore the impact of religious diversity on the formation of social identities across the Graeco-Roman world, Late Antiquity, the medieval era, and the modern period. Central to this is the tension between tolerance and acceptance on the one hand, and rejection and exclusion on the other, as they unfolded over the past two thousand years.

The programme trains you to analyse textual sources that reflect encounters between these religious traditions, applying a wide range of methods and perspectives: archaeology, codicology, paleography, epigraphy, and philological analysis and interpretation.