Center for Textual, Historical, and Systematic Studies of Judaism and Christianity

The Center for Textual, Historical and Systematic Studies of Judaism and Christianity (CTHS) researches Christian and Jewish traditions that have influenced society over the past 3000 years. By studying texts and history and through systematic research, the CTHS researchers offer insight into the history of society and its major issues.

Highlights

CTHS Research update: van der Watt & den Dulk, The Ethics of John

14 April 2025 News item

New publication in the Radboud Prestige Lectures in New Testament series.

Inigo Bocken receives Simone Weil Award 2025

10 March 2025 News item

Dr Inigo Bocken - associate professor at both Radboud University and the Titus Brandsma Institute - has been presented with the 2025 Simone Weil Award.

“Pursuit of holiness” in the Provincia Belgica Flandrica during the second half of the seventeenth century

Research

In this project, the Carmelite pursuit of holiness in the second half of the 17th century is examined from four angles: as an administrative ambition, as a personal narrative, in the training of novices and within cultural sanctity-models.

Main lines of research

The formation of Jewish and Christian identities in antiquity, using textual, linguistic, and historiographic methods in conversation with fields such as archaeology, anthropology, trauma studies, postcolonial theory and empire studies, and critical social theory
Christian identity and dissident traditions from late antiquity until the present, investigating topics such as women in church leadership, mysticism and monasticism, changes in Roman Catholic identity in response to different historical contexts, Orthodox Christian theology and practice, and the history of dialogue between faith and reason; and
Christian identities in contemporary and global society, including public theology in a secular age, political theory, and feminist theology.

Mission and vision

The work of the CTHS focuses on religious texts and concepts, including philosophical, theological, and canonical reflections, as well as on religious commitments and identities, behaviour and ethics, and religious expressions in art and other media. CTHS studies the origins and later developments of Judaism and Christianity from antiquity to today, with one of its distinct concerns comprising the study of competing models of interpretation within the various Christian traditions—Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant.

Together, we promote research and teaching in two of the world’s major religious traditions, Judaism and Christianity, and to help our students critically engage with and understand an increasingly complex world by bringing current ideas, values, practices and sources of authority into conversation with historically, ecclesiastically, and culturally diverse traditions.