Scientific Network on the Relationship Between Religious Minorities and Majorities
Over a period of three years, the network, which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), will investigate how religious minorities and majorities reciprocally constitute themselves discursively, i.e. how they understand themselves and how they are perceived and addressed as such by other parts of society. With its focus on religious institutions, networks and movements, the network pursues firstly the goal of identifying religious minority majority constellations (MMK). The underlying working hypothesis is that minorities and majorities are most likely to be attributed or perceived as religious if other attributes such as ethnic, political, socio-economic, etc. are to be avoided and certain interests concealed. In addition, the network considers the consequences for the perception of MMKs and their religious, social and political status. The network aims to expand the current state of research, which often only focuses on religious minorities as such. How MMKs emerge in the respective social formations, how they can be identified, how they are mutually dependent and what consequences result from discursive demarcations is an open question.