The Central European University is a vibrant, cosmopolitan and unique setting for the study of religion in a historical and comparative perspective. Situated at the crossroad of empires and world religions, Vienna offers a microcosm of interactions between religions, cultures and societies.

News

November 15, 2023

We, the undersigned senior and junior members of, as well as students associated to the Center for Religious Studies at Central European University, feel that it is our duty to raise our voice, together with the UN and many thousands of people worldwide, concerning the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

October 3, 2023

Your Excellencies,

On behalf of the Center for Religious Studies of Central European University, we are sending to you this letter in support of ICOMOS Armenia for their nomination of Dadivank Monastery and of the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh to be inserted in the “Europe’s 7 Most Endangered Heritage Sites 2024” program of Europa Nostra and the Euro- pean Investment Bank.

September 15, 2023

CEU faculty and students will be at Turkologentag and DAVO next week. Check the program to learn about the roundtables and presentations CEU members will bring and to join the event. 

21 September:

Papers:

Cankat Kaplan (together with Hasan Karataş), Deconstructing İcazetnames: The Rise and Fall of the Suhrawardi Heritage in the Formation and Periodization of Ottoman Sufism

Center for Religious Studies 
The Center for Religious Studies (CRS) is an academic forum at CEU fostering the study of religion. The Center actively initiates and coordinates research and disseminates research results through its academic events and publications that address religion-related questions in critical ways. As a hub of work in humanities and social sciences, CRS collaborates with many CEU departments and academic units. It crosses the boundaries of disciplines, confessional and geo-political categorizations, and covers periods from ancient to modern times. With institutional contacts throughout the region and worldwide, the CRS provides an important site for academic research and communication.

Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies
The Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies, issued by the CRS, represents a non-degree certificate in Religious Studies for enrolled MA and PhD students. Over the course of their studies, students are expected to engage in the study of religious phenomena ranging from Antiquity to modernity in a historical framework and through a wide variety of interdisciplinary approaches.

The Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies was launched in 2007 by the Center for Religious Studies (formerly the Religious Studies Program). Courses offered by the Center cover the scientific study of the three monotheistic religions, and their elements pertinent various historical periods, focusing on a multidisciplinary approach. Courses are offered by the departments of History, Medieval Studies, Philosophy, Jewish Studies, Sociology and Social Anthropology, Political Science, International Relations, and the School of Public Policy. 

The CEU Religious Studies alumni successfully acquire prestigious international scholarships aimed at further study at the prominent universities such as Yale, Oxford, Chicago, and Toronto, as well as many European research centers networked with other European universities. Some of them pursue the PhD programs at CEU, while others enter challenging professional fields pertaining to academia, culture, art and government.

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For more information about applying to participate in the CEU Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies, please write to the coordinator, Syed Kamran Khurshid, at religion@ceu.edu

Contact us

CRS Director: István Perczel (on sabbatical)

CRS Acting Director: Carsten L. Wilke

CRS Coordinator: Syed Kamran Khurshid

Postal address:
Center for Religious Studies
Central European University
1100 Vienna, Quellenstrasse 51
Austria

Telephone/Director in Austria: +43 125-230-2116
Telephone/Coordinator in Budapest: +36 1 327-3000 ex.2170

E-mail: religion@ceu.edu

Why Religious Studies at CEU?

Why Religious Studies at CEU?