The LOEWE Center “Dynamics of the Religious” (DynaRel), a new research consortium bringing together Goethe University Frankfurt, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, is commencing its work. Funded by the State of Hesse through the LOEWE research funding program with approximately €19 million for an initial period from 2026 to 2029, the Center examines relationships between Judaism, Christianity and Islam in both historical and contemporary contexts. DynaRel is the first project in the LOEWE center funding line dedicated exclusively to the humanities, social sciences and educational research. The Center will introduce itself to a wider public for the first time at its official opening on

Monday, June 22, at 6:00 p.m.
Lecture Hall 5, Lecture Hall Center, Westend Campus

The keynote address will be delivered by historian Professor David Nirenberg (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton) on the topic “What Does History Have to Do with Prophecy? Past and Future in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.” This will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Dr. Raida Chbib (Academy for Islam in Research and Society, Goethe University Frankfurt), Professor Nathan Gibson (Study of Religion, Goethe University Frankfurt), Professor Yossef Schwartz (Tel Aviv University) and Professor Sita Steckel (Department of History, Goethe University Frankfurt), who will discuss perspectives on researching religious dynamics in historical and contemporary settings. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Christian Ströbele (Academy of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart).

“The LOEWE Center ‘Dynamics of the Religious’ offers a unique opportunity to establish, over the long term, a major center for innovative research on religion with international visibility here in Hesse,” says Professor Christian Wiese, scholar of religion and Jewish studies at Goethe University and the Center’s academic coordinator. “DynaRel investigates the close religious and cultural entanglements between Judaism, Christianity and Islam from Late Antiquity to the present day, while also addressing their conflictual constellations through an interdisciplinary and interreligious lens. In early May, we had the pleasure of welcoming more than 30 doctoral researchers and postdoctoral scholars from numerous countries and are now excited to begin our work.”

DynaRel is the only LOEWE Center newly approved in the current funding round and, alongside the Frankfurt Cancer Institute, is the second LOEWE Center hosted by Goethe University. Bringing together more than 30 subprojects from the study of religion, philosophy of religion, Jewish studies, Islamic studies, Christian theologies, archaeology and anthropology, history, sociology, political science and educational research, as well as four newly established professorships, the Center is uniquely positioned to analyze the religious, cultural, social and political dynamics between Judaism, Christianity and Islam in all their complexity. A key concept underpinning its work is that of “ambivalent neighborhoods.” Contemporary questions at the intersection of religion and politics can only be understood against the backdrop of the close historical, cultural and spatial entanglements among these religious traditions. Researchers at the Center therefore examine not only conflicts between religious communities but also the dialogical resources they offer for engaging constructively with diversity and difference in plural, post-migrant societies.

“Interdisciplinary exchange is particularly important in this context,” emphasizes Professor Antje Röder, sociologist at Philipps-Universität Marburg and deputy spokesperson of the Center. “In discussions of current challenges, the past and the broader context are often overlooked, even though they are essential for understanding present-day conflicts and for developing sustainable perspectives for the future.”

DynaRel places a special emphasis on multireligious coexistence in Hesse and the Rhine-Main region. Led by Goethe University, researchers from Frankfurt, Marburg and Giessen collaborate with international research institutions and non-university partners. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is also involved through two subprojects. Beyond the academic sphere, the Center plans to engage with partners from civil society.

“DynaRel’s research areas – religious entanglements, political and ideological instrumentalization, the transformation of religious neighborhoods through forced displacement and migration, and reflection and transfer into educational contexts – are of great scholarly relevance while also addressing key societal issues and challenges facing plural societies,” says Professor Armina Omerika, scholar of Islamic studies at Goethe University Frankfurt and deputy spokesperson of the Center. “Engagement with society is therefore of particular importance. Academic research can stimulate and enrich public debate, while experiences and perspectives from society can in turn inform research and open up new avenues for reflection.”