Maren Freudenberg Appointed Adjunct Professor

Ruhr University Bochum has appointed Maren Freudenberg as an adjunct professor (Apl. Prof.). With this appointment, the university recognizes her academic achievements in research and teaching. Freudenberg has been with CERES since 2016, first as a research assistant, then as coordinator of the Research College on Comparative Regional Regulation of Religious Plurality (RePliV), later as an adjunct professor of religious studies, and most recently as an academic advisor. She completed her habilitation in January 2025 at the Faculty of Social Sciences on the topic of Evangelicalism and Authority in the United States, Germany, and Switzerland. She has held the position of Dean of Studies since January 2026. In addition, she is co-editor of the journal Entangled Religions, which is based at CERES.

In her research and teaching, Freudenberg currently focuses in particular on the relationship between religion, politics, and the economy; the role of religion in modernity; and Evangelical and Free Church Christianity in the United States and German-speaking Europe.Another area of focus is qualitative methods in the study of religion. These topics are also reflected in her teaching: In the summer semester of 2026, she taught courses on the economics of religion and American Mormonism, among other subjects; in the winter semester, her courses will focus on the Christian right in the U.S. and the modern history of religion in Germany, the U.S., and the Middle East. Freudenberg is also active in CERES’s knowledge transfer efforts and offers various programs for the interested public. CERES warmly congratulates her on this well-deserved appointment and looks forward to our shared future.