This cluster will address issues of secularism in Europe, the Middle East, and other parts of the world, as well as in social thought respectively. The aim is to facilitate cross-regional comparisons that speak to the new role of religion and secularism. The cluster will seek to make RUC a focal point for comparative research on secularism.

In Europe, new religious actors gaining presence in the public sphere and debates surrounding migration and integration challenge existing patterns of public authority. In the Middle East and elsewhere debates around secularism take place on the background of drastic political changes and state fragility. Crucially, these phenomena must be understood and analysed comparatively on a global scale. By connecting existing research groups at RUC with various international networks, the cluster will create synergy and aim to put RUC as a whole on the map of secularism research.