New and contested forms of religiosity

This project incorporates a differentiated field of religious expressions in the past and present. For one part, the research focuses on phenomena such as pilgrimage and appearances and cults around (holy) entities. For another part, the focus is on new, although sometimes implicit, forms of religiosity, spirituality, and ritual practices. The research delves into the identification of new forms and developments, as well as the analysis of their meaning in modern society, such as the instrumentalization of Mary as a “warrior saint” during the (new) Cold War and the struggle between conservative and progressive religious movements.