Why study History of Church and Theology in Nijmegen?

How has Christianity gained stability and continuity as a religion? How has it sustained itself in changing social and cultural contexts? The answers can be found in the history of twenty centuries of Christianity – in all its diversity. Not only the ‘official’ developments are investigated in this Master’s specialisation. Special attention is also given to ‘suspicious’ Christians. Dissenting ideas and practices and how the Church authorities dealt with them are part of history. The interplay between authority and practices teaches us about how we got to where we are today.

A complex conjunction of events

The historical analysis students are taught is not limited to a unidirectional causal reconstruction of events. No one factor determines the course of history. It is often a complex conjunction of events. Students are encouraged to situate historical texts and developments in their cultural context – an issue often forgotten in public debates. Methodologically, students are encouraged to conjoin discourse analysis and a historically sound hermeneutic source criticism. To this effect, students are trained in systematic historical research, by using both diachronic and synchronic research methods.

“History is a tricky subject. You need to take the time to study resources from the past. To look beyond contemporary values and views and interpret them in the spirit in which they were written. That is the only way to avoid getting tied up in hypes and making easy judgements.”
—Dr. Gian Ackermans, lecturer and researcher at Radboud University

Master’s students are encouraged to elaborate their own ideas and proposals within our research programme. The number of possible research topics is endless. Students may look at any historical religious conflict or a political conflict and its effect on religion. Topics that have been researched in the past include forced baptisms of Jews, Augustine and infant education or the development of the sacrament of confession and the role of women in Cathar communities.