Projects
The research projects in the NRP 58 have been broken down into six modules:
Module 1: Religious pluralism and Swiss society
Research module 1 entails an analysis of Switzerland’s religious minorities, some of which have long been present there and some of which have arisen as a result of immigration: Tamil Hindus, Vietnamese and Tibetan Buddhists, Jews and Orthodox Christians. How can these religious minorities preserve their traditions and at the same time adapt to the changes in context that have taken place? Which factors can be pinpointed as helping or hindering the integration of the members of such religious communities in Switzerland? How are these religious communities changing as the older generations are succeeded by the younger ones?
More Module 2: Muslims in Switzerland
Research module 2 addresses a number of questions concerning Switzerland’s largest religious minority, namely the various Muslim denominations. In addition to the aspects addressed in module 1, this module will also ask the following questions: How do Switzerland’s Muslim communities present themselves to the public? How do they uphold their own specific interests? How are non-Sunni Muslims – i.e. the minorities within the minority – organized?
More Module 3: Religions in public Institutions
Research module 3 is concerned with the role played by religion in various secular areas of public life: What role does religion play in social work and teacher training? At what point do those who are aging turn to religion for support? What is the role of religion in Switzerland’s prisons? How can the social benefits of the care and other services provided by religious communities be measured?
More Module 4: Young people, school and religion
Module 4 is devoted to young people’s attitudes to religion, how they feel about the choice of religions on offer and the use of religion to make distinctions. What is the role of a religious upbringing and education – at home, in the religious community and at school? What is the role of religion in the development of individual identity among young people?
More Module 5: Forms of religious life
Module 5 is concerned with individual attitudes to religion and religiosity and with how Switzerland’s religious makeup is structured: How can Switzerland’s religious makeup be coherently described? How is it changing in comparison to that of other countries? Which new forms of religiosity and religious practice can be observed? What will be the effect of the trend away from institutionalized religion?
More Module 6: Religion, media and politics
Module 6 explores religion’s public presence both in society and in the political sphere. What is the role of the media here? Which topics do they address? To what extent do they take account of the sheer diversity of religious communities now domiciled in Switzerland? How do they influence the options open to religious communities and to their members? And how do the religious communities, for their part, seek to influence the media? In which areas can religious communities be said to act as lobby groups?
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