Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven
4 years (October 2021– September 2025)
80-100% (depending on seniority)
Project:
Dissenting Church. Developing a critical theological understanding of contestation around normative claims in the Roman Catholic Church and beyond
Supervisor: Prof. Judith Gruber
Funded by Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO)
Description of the research project – scientific objectives:
The goal of this postdoctoral project is to develop a theologically robust understanding of the role of conflict in the Roman Catholic Church. The project will pursue this goal by studying cases of dissent in the RCC with an interdisciplinary approach that brings together postmodern Critical Theories and Systematic Theology in order to critically describe and theologically interpret conflicts around the normative understanding of RC tradition.
(Cf. below the project abstract)
The successful candidate will
- perform independent scientific research within a collaborative research team.
- deliver written reports of your research on a regular basis.
- prepare a monograph manuscript on the topic of dissent in the RCC.
- publish academic articles related to the research project in international peer-reviewed journals.
- support the valorization of research results into tangible deliverables (cf. conference organization, publication of conference proceedings).
- participate in, and contribute to, scientific meetings and conferences, presenting your research to the scientific community.
- actively participate in outreach activities aimed at promoting your research to a wider audience.
- collaborate with the other members of the research team to advance your research and training.
- contribute to the Research Unit of Systematic Theology and the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at KU Leuven by participating in their regular programme of academic activities (e.g. seminars) and by undertaking administrative activities and providing scientific services to the research initiatives of the Faculty.
Profile and requirements
We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic, critical and creative individual to join the research team. The candidate should have a demonstrable interest in ecclesiology and postmodern critical theories.
- You hold a PhD degree in theology by the start of the position.
- You obtained outstanding academic results.
- You are interested in interdisciplinary research and have strong analytical skills.
- You have an excellent command of English.
- You are willing and able to collaborate with other researchers.
We offer
- A postdoctoral position for 4 years. Salary is competitive and in accordance with university standards, and includes social benefits. Depending on seniority, the candidate will be hired for a 80-100% position. The contract will initially be for 1 year. This will be extended for a further 3 years subject to a positive performance review.
- Work space and equipment, along with a budget for travelling and other research-related expenses
- Support in research and publication
- A stimulating environment of motivated scholars: KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that conducts both fundamental and applied scientific research. The university is strongly inter- and multidisciplinary in its orientation and strives for international excellence.
How to apply:
Email your application materials (in English) to Prof. Judith Gruber
- a letter of motivation (up to 2 pages)
- your academic CV, including your publication list
- a sample chapter of your work in English
Deadline: April 12, 2021
Dissenting Church – Project Abstract:
Religious communities such as the Roman Catholic Church are deeply affected by contestation around normative claims. However, little direct attention has been given to a theological assessment of such conflict. This lacuna mirrors a theoretical gap in Critical Theories: Theology and CT are two disciplines in which the theorization of normative claims plays a dominant role; both also recognize contestation of norms as an empirical phenomenon. As of now, however, neither of them has developed an adequate framework that can fully grasp how normativity is grounded in contestation. In theology, this often also leads to a misrecognition of how deeply inner-ecclesial conflicts are shaped by macro-societal debates. This project seeks to close this gap by studying the RCC as a test case to understand how contestation can be acknowledged as a foundational part of any community and the normative claims it makes about reality. It does this by studying cases of dissent in the RCC with an interdisciplinary approach that brings together postmodern Critical Theories, Systematic Theology and reconstructive social research in order to critically describe and theologically interpret conflicts around the normative understanding of RC tradition. Its overall aim is to (1) develop a theologically robust interpretation of the foundational role of contestation in the RCC that can serve to (2) develop a critical-theoretical framework for understanding the relation between contestation and normativity.
The research for this project consists of a text-based study and a qualitative social empirical study, as well as a synthesis of the results. It will be conducted by a team consisting of a postdoctoral researcher, who will work on the text-based study and the synthesis of results, and a doctoral researcher, who will conduct the social-empirical study. Both will work in close consultancy with the project supervisor.
