In my research, I interlace historical, textual, comparative, hermeneutic as well as sociological methods and try to explore various aspects of the phenomenon religion in past and present. Generally, I am interested in the reciprocity between religion and society that is characterized by the intersectionality of gender, class, age and ethnicity. My special research interests are mainly focussed on three areas:

Religion and Gender

In the past decades, the category "gender" has become an important component in research, which also applies to the field of religions. The term gender refers to its social construction and is internationally prevalent in the scientific discourse. The German term "Geschlecht" has the advantage that it encompasses the biological sex as well as the social gender and is thus consistent with the findings that these dimensions are not to be separated from each other. Gender and religion are interwoven in several ways. On the one hand, religious traditions, views, symbols and practices are not gender-neutral, but characterized gender-specifically. Furthermore, the gender roles, images, stereotypes, ideals and self-conception of women and men within the context of a particular culture are in constant correlation with its respective religious-philosophical heritage. On the other hand, the traditional research and presentation of religions itself is predominantly marked by a one-sided androcentric perspective. The complex of religions and gender comprises a broad range of themes and questions. Since more than 25 years I have been dealing with the most varied aspects of this vast research field. A first focus are religio-historical in-depth analyses (such as thea-logy in the ancient Orient; the emancipation of women in modern Hinduism; the access of women to religious knowledge in Brahmanic Hinduism and in Rabbinic Judaism or transgender-phenomena in Hindu traditions), while a second focus lies on the comparative-systematic perspective. Central issues here are the connections between religions, gender roles and gender orders; body and body symbolisms; sexuality and sexual violence; gender transformations in form of bodily and symbolic phenomena, but also questions on gender-specific religiosity/spirituality or gender-specific symbols of divinity and the references to social gender roles and relationships. Many publications exist on these subjects that I plan to integrate into an introductory, systematic synopsis over the next years.

Near-Death Experiences in the Context of Contemporary Religiosity/Spirituality

Many religious traditions report about journeys to the otherworld by (female or male) shamans, founders of religions, saints, or visionaries. There is an astounding wealth of transmissions on diverse ascents to heaven or descents to hell. (Not only) from the perspective of religious studies, near-death experiences are considered a modern version of these journeys that are found widespread across the religions. Such experiences are common worldwide and the public interest is enormous and increasing. The contents of near-death experiences vary according to culture, religious affiliation or biography. There are several scientific explanatory approaches that so far have been anything but coherent. It is at first interesting to analyse how clear and strong the respective ideological background of the single researcher shapes an "objective" view of the phenomenon. This research area virtually is a prime example for the entanglement of science and subjective ideology. Thus, the two extreme perceptions of near-death experiences as either a figment or as empirical-objective evidence for life after death stand opposite each other. Central to my approach is the attempt to consider near-death experiences as mystical experiences that transcend everyday reality. At any rate, these experiences prove that in the extreme situation of subjectively encountering death, human beings immerse relatively frequently into a profoundly religio-ethical dimension that impacts their attitude towards life and death sustainably. It is evident that the popularization of the phenomenon conforms to the contemporary religious field and its characteristic elements (Hubert Knoblauch: Populäre Religiosität). Within the religious traditions, detailed descriptions of the worlds beyond mostly have the function to offer orientation for the living, to shake them up and to motivate them to lead better lives. Partially, journeys to the otherworld also serve those dead who are in an unpleasant state and in need of help. What meanings and functions the theme of the journey to the otherworld has for modern humans in the form of near-death experiences, is a special question that I aim to pursue more closely.

Inter-Religious/Spiritual Dimensions of Palliative Care or Spiritual Care

Palliative Care administers to the physical-mental-social-spiritual dimensions of critically ill or dying patients and their affected relatives. In multi-religious modern Western societies, the Christian hospital chaplaincy has lost its formerly undisputed position. However, in the hospice movement and in Palliative Care, Christian spirituality still has great significance, not least because the hospice idea itself is strongly influenced by Christian values. Nowadays, Buddhist traditions play an important role in Western societies as in many cases they seem to form a bridge between the levels of a non-denominational and an individual spirituality. Apart from terminal care in the institutionalized religious traditions, numerous forms of spiritual care for the dying have emerged which are located outside of organized religions. The dimensions of spiritual care and support for the dead constitute a special aspect which has received little attention so far. Many facets of this care for the dead are anchored within the religious traditions, but it also plays a role in modern secular societies. Spiritual Care is a modern phenomenon that is not only relevant in palliative care, but in the healthcare sector in general. The term is applied to confessional Christian pastoral care in its modern (often inter-religiously renewed) appearance, to the traditional support on the part of various religions (such as Islam, Judaism, etc.), but also to spiritual support beyond the established traditions. From the perspective of religious studies, Spiritual Care is particularly interesting since developments of the contemporary religio-spiritual culture are reflected in this field. I gained broad expertise in this field as I have taught in an interdisciplinary university course on Palliative Care for 15 years where I learnt a lot myself from various professors, and I have been active in training and advanced training up to the present day. The theoretical and practical exposition of this area has already found its expression in numerous publications. In the future, I will continue to work on individual detail aspects, especially since a contextual bridge may be built to the subject area of near-death experiences insofar as these phenomena are being increasingly perceived in their relevance for Palliative/Spiritual Care in recent times (Allan Kellehear; Simon Peng-Keller).