Spiritual narratives

Supervisors:

• Laura Kapinga
• Julia Doornbos

The manifestation of religion in contemporary societies is changing.

This project explores lived religion; ‘the embodied and enacted forms of spirituality that occur in everyday life’ (Ammerman, 2014, p. 189). This means that we do not only consider institutionalised forms of religion. Instead, the project focuses on how religion and spirituality are practised, negotiated and experienced in everyday life by individuals, families and communities.

The research teams are encouraged to explore the links between lived religion and wellbeing, and to take (inter)generational perspectives. With regards to wellbeing, you can think, for instance, about identity negotiation processes, the effects of the (in)tolerance of religious expressions in public places or work spaces, insider/outsider dynamics, community building and integration, and several health outcomes. Employing an (inter)generational lens can shed light on the changing meaning, attitudes and practices of religiosity and spirituality, the ways religion is transmitted to next generations and more. Each team can explore their own interests through qualitative and creative research methods.

In doing so, we will also discuss methodological and ethical questions, such as; why is religion almost invisible in many predominantly secular societies and research projects? How should we, as scholars (in training), look for religion and spirituality in contemporary societies? How can we make spiritual narratives more visible?