Research centres

We are committed to interdisciplinary research, practiced both individually and in specialized teams.

In addition to individual researchers, our teams are organized into two research centers. The Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion (LEVYNA) combines methods from the cognitive and evolutionary sciences, while the Center for the Digital Research of Religion (CEDRR) uses computational methodologies to enhance our understanding of historical data.

LEVYNA

The Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion (LEVYNA) is an interdisciplinary research centre that seeks to understand both what is universal and cross-culturally variable in religious traditions utilizing methods of laboratory and field experiments.

WEBSITE

CEDRR

The Centre for the Digital Research of Religion (CEDRR) is an interdisciplinary research centre applying digital technologies and digital methods of analysis in research into religion. It hosts the Generative Historiography of Religion Project (GEHIR) and the Dissident Networks Project (DISSINET) as well as other, individual projects.

WEBSITE

News from the centres

CEDRRPhD

6 Feb

Ondřej Homolka defended his thesis and got a PhD

On February 5 2026, Ondřej Homolka defended the thesis Spatial Dynamics of the Cult of Mary in Late Antiquity and passed successfully the State exam.

LEVYNA

20 Jan

Three evolutionary radiations shaped the evolution of global religious diversity

Recent article in journal Evolutionary Human Sciences, where LEVYNA members contributed data, asks whether religious denominations accumulate gradually or are generated in rapid bursts associated with specific historical events.

LEVYNA

18 Dec 2025

Sensing the Darkness: Dark Therapy, Authority, and Spiritual Experience

A recently published qualitative study by Jana Nenadalová explores Dark therapy, an alternative spiritual practice combining prolonged sensory deprivation with guidance from an authority figure, to understand how religious and spiritual experiences are induced. Drawing on predictive processing theory, the research shows that complete darkness can trigger intense psychological and perceptual phenomena, especially when participants feel a sense of control and bring expectations or prior beliefs into the experience.