History of Contemporary Religious Identities and IDeas
CRIID research group
History of Church and Theology Research Unit
KU Leuven Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
About us
The CRIID research group is committed to studying the history of religious ideas and expressions with a particular focus on the Catholic Church in the twentieth century.
Situated in the Research Unit of History of the Church and Theology of the KU Leuven Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, it draws on a long tradition of archival and textual research, but aims to creatively challenge its own discipline through interdisciplinary exchanges and methodological innovation.
Research
Religious Identities and Ideas
With a focus on travelling concepts as a point of departure, the research group aims to explore historical processes of identity formation and meaning making in religious contexts. The history of European Christianity, in particular the Catholic Church and its theology is central with a great openness to the history of underrepresented groups, multifaceted identities and tensions around theological and identitarian normativity.
Second Vatican Council
Vatican II (1962-1965) deeply defined the self-understanding of the Catholic Church and marked a turning point in its dealings with modernity. The research team considers the preservation of conciliar material and research of this event and its documents as a service to its continued reception.
(Digital) Methods in the Study of Religion
The CRIID team is committed to exploring new avenues for studying the religious past. Building on classic archival history and textual research, it finds inspiration in the other SSH disciplines and seeks to integrate insights from Digital Humanities. in the first place it looks at the added value of oral history, historical network research, archive digitization and the use of qualitative text analysis software.
Meet the Team
Dries Bosschaert is tenure track assistant professor. His research focuses on the history of European Christianity and identity debates in the long 20th century. He coordinates the CRIID research group and is a member of the KU Leuven research unit History of Church and Theology. He coordinates the Centre for the Study of the Second Vatican Council. Faculty webpage / Publications / ORCID
Arputha Lilly Antony is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, and a member of the Research Unit History of Church and Theology. She graduated a Master’s Degree in Theology and Religious Studies (2023) at KU Leuven. Previously she obtained a Master’s Degree in Physics (2017) at Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu and a Bachelor’s Degree in Education (2018) at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh in India. Her doctoral research project focuses on the mission history of the sisters of the Society of Jesus Mary Joseph (JMJ) in India. Faculty webpage / ORCID
Maite De Beukeleer is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, and a member of the Research Unit History of Church and Theology. Previously she obtained a Master’s Degree in History (2017) and a Master’s Degree in Cultural Management (2018) at the University of Antwerp. Her research project focuses on the “Auxiliaires de l’Apostolat”. Faculty webpage / Publications / ORCID
Leen Deflem graduated from KU Leuven with a Master’s degree in History, and obtained a Certificate in Theology and a Teacher’s License. She is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, and a member of the Research Unit History of Church and Theology. Her research, “We All Knew”, seeks to understand through oral history the possible (theological) motivations of individuals who, as bystanders, witnessed transgressive behaviour within Catholic Flemish contexts in the past (1950-1989). She currently is the secretary of Research Unit History of Church and Theology. Faculty webpage / Publications / ORCID
Chidiebere Obiora Nnabugwu‘s research interests include the history and reception of the Second Vatican Council, Catholic social teaching, and the twentieth-century history of Catholicism in Africa. His doctoral project focuses on the conciliar treatment of the socio-economic question and is entitled “Vatican II and the African Struggle for Justice (GS 63-72)”. He is a PhD fellow of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Faculty webpage / Publications / ORCID
Lieneke Timpers graduated from University College London with a Master’s degree in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. She obtained a degree in Theology & Religious Studies at KU Leuven, and is currently working for RESILIENCE as team leader for the RESILIENCE TNA exchange programme, as well as working together with the KU Leuven team on developing research services for religious studies. Her research focuses on digital religion in systematic theology.
Our Research Projects
Vatican II and the African Struggle for Justice (GS 63-72): An Historical Study of the Contribution of the African Bishops to “Gaudium et Spes” and its Reception in Africa (Dioceses of Awka and Yaounde). More information
The “Auxiliaires de l’Apostolat”: A 20th-century Network of Belgian Catholic Lay Women and their Role in Societal and Ecclesiastical Change (1940-1977). More information
Bystandership in power and sexual abuse of minors in local Catholic contexts from historical, empirical-theological, and social psychology perspectives (REACT). More information
The (Un)told Mission History of the sisters of the Society of Jesus Mary Joseph (JMJ) in India: An Historical Study of Missionary Generations Shifting Between Dutch Legacy and Indian Inculturation (1904 – 1969). More information
Activities
2024
Participation at the American Academy for Religion Annual Meeting (San Diego, 23-26 November 2024)
Participation at the European Academy of Religion Conference (Palermo, 20-23 May 2024)
- A Universal Horror? Shifts in Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse and Global Catholicism Five Years After the 2019 Vatican Summit on Child Protection panel
- Embracing Taboos in/and Challenging Paradigms panel
- From ‘Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus’ to a dialogical church: 60 years after Unitatis Redintegratio panel
Study day: Prismatisch Geloven: LGBTQ+, Kerk en Samenleving (Leuven, 23 April 2024). For more information visit the website
Advisory Board Meeting (International) of the REACT-Project (Online, 18 April 2024)
Advisory Board Meeting (National) of the REACT-Project (Online, 18 April 2024)
Participation of Leen Deflem at the European Forum For Restorative Justice Book Retrait (San Sebastián, 8-9 April 2024)
Seminar: Arputha Lilly Antony, The (Un)told Mission History of The Sisters of The Society of Jesus Mary Joseph (JMJ) In India: An Historical Study of Missionary Generations Shifting Between Dutch Legacy And Indian Inculturation (1904 – 1969), presented at Studie Tweedaagse Vrouwen van Bethanië (Utrecht, 7 – 8 March, 2024)
KU Leuven led Sarajevo Workshop: a two-day workshop consisting of interviews with researchers at Sarajevo University to explore their research needs, as well as a RESILIENCE workshop on measuring impact within the project (Leuven, 4-5 March 2024)
Visiting scholar: Cristina Erquiaga Martínez (5 February-5 March 2024)
Visiting scholar: Claire Maligot (4-5 January 2024)
CRIID Collaborations
Centre for the Study of the Second Vatican Council is an interdisciplinary research center at the KU Leuven Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies that aims to preserve source material documenting the history of Vatican II and to advance and support research regarding the Council. More information
RESILIENCE is a unique, interdisciplinary and invigorating research infrastructure for all Religious Studies, building a high-performance platform, supplying evolving tools and big data to scholars from all the scientific disciplines crossing religions in their diachronical and synchronical variety. More information
Vatican II: Legacy and Mandate aims to develop an intercontinental and intercultural theological commentary of Vatican II. With over 130 international scholars involved this project will accomplish a twelve volume history and commentary of the Vatican II documents. More information
News
Get in touch
Sint-Michielsstraat 6 – box 3101
3000 Leuven – Belgium
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