"Religion and Politics" – Cluster of Excellence at the UNiversity of Münster

On Thursday, 22 May 2025, the German Research Foundation (DFG) announced the results of the first funding round of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments: the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” will not receive further funding. “In recent years, the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’ has produced internationally acclaimed research that has contributed much to our understanding of complex social relationships. It is regrettable that no further funding will be provided”, said Rector Prof. Dr. Johannes Wessels. Weiterlesen

Organized by the Cluster of Excellence , a new lecture and reading series deals with aesthetic conceptions of the body from the Middle Ages to the present day. Part of the series are readings from works by the imprisoned Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who gave the Droste reading at the Cluster of Excellence in 2024. A lecture by US art historian Taylor McCall marked the start of the series. The next evening lecture entitled "Martyrized, staged, sacralized – art historical perspectives on the body in the early modern period" will take place on 24 June. Read more

Body and religion are closely linked. The human body, which is the most direct level of human experience, is used to express and project religious ideas. For example, ablutions, head coverings, gender roles and body modifications are often religiously charged and integrated into a religious frame of reference. Deities are presented with human bodies – or not.
The complex relationship between religious practice and corporeality is explored in the new English-language anthology “The Body in Religion: Images and Practices” from the book series of the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics”. It is edited by Archaeologist Achim Lichtenberger, Egyptologist Angelika Lohwasser and Theologian Holger Strutwolf and published by Ergon Verlag. Read more