The broad intellectual contribution of the workshop will be creative and expansive thinking about pressing needs and future goals for the study of religion as a multi-methodological academic enterprise with varying publics and complex responsibilities. The history of our field includes a record of assessing how the study of religion has been shaped by and has addressed the changing demands of society and culture. Tübingen has been a center of historical critical study of the bible and of Christian theology since the 19^th century, which eventually contributed to the establishment of the study of religion as a separate field in the humanities. Since then, the study of religion has shifted from an awkward relationship with Christian theology, characterized by attraction and repulsion, to a discipline that considers “religion” itself to be a concept in need of critical examination, as it is deeply implicated in colonialism, provincialism, and power. The study of theology, in the meantime, has evolved and expanded in many ways, among them the increasing integration of religious studies into theological research and the establishment of Islamic theology within the western academy. At a broader level, we also recognize that religion as a category cannot be ignored if we want to understand how sustainable coexistence on our shared planet can be achieved—or at least attempted. 2025 is an excellent time to bring these two communities together to take stock and look ahead: the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto will begin celebrations for its 50^th Anniversary and the Center for Religion, Culture, and Society (founded in 2021) animates new intellectual networks, with close connections to the Critical Proximities Cluster of Excellence, at the University of Tübingen.

This workshop showcases the strengths and possibilities of the study of religion at Tübingen and Toronto by convening scholars who study a broad array of time periods and regions, with a diversity of methods, languages, and religious traditions at play. By building conversation across four key themes, the workshop will address the changing shape and purpose of the multi-methodological study of religion and articulate a vision for what questions, methods, and theories will best enable futures for the study of religion.

The Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto and the Center for Religion, Culture, and Society at the University of Tübingen are two of the premier centers for the study of religion in the world. They have already had many long-standing collaborations between individual researchers over the years, with several colleagues who have spent significant time at both institutions. With this workshop, we aim to build on these collaborations by bringing together the interdisciplinary and multi-methodological resources of the two centers, including historical, ethnographic, digital, and philological approaches. Based on shared reflections on the history of the study of religion in each of our countries, we seek to strengthen our connections by establishing an institutional partnership and together, charting a future for research and teaching in this changing, and ever-relevant, field. The workshop will be a first step in fostering a longer-term international exchange and collaboration hub that brings together research professors and graduate students in the study of religion from Canada, Germany, and beyond. 

If you would like to attend the workshop, please register by e-mail to crcsspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de 

The conference venue Tübingen Castle is unfortunately not barrier-free. If you need assistance, we will be happy to help and organise whatever we can. Please let us know in advance by e-mail, if help is needed. 

Fürstenzimmer, Schloss Tübingen (Castle Tübingen)
Burgsteige 11
72070 Tübingen

Castle Tübingen on Google Maps