Department for the Study of Religions

17 Feb

Did ancient sources overestimate the mortality of the Antonine Plague?

In a new article, Anestis Karasaridis and Aleš Chalupa used epidemiological SIR/SEIR models to simulate different pathogen scenarios and found that the death toll might not have been as high as ancient sources suggest.

12 Feb

Gender patterns in medieval heresy incriminations

Examining an extensive register of inquisition from Bologna, 1291-1310, we found that women tended to incriminate other women, while men incriminated across genders.

30 Jan

Vyhlášení výběrového řízení na studijní pobyty ERASMUS+

28 Jan

Socioeconomic variation in motivations for ritual practice – a new study by LEVYNA & UConn

In an ethnographic survey-based study published in the journal Religions, D. Xygalatas and P. Maňo looked at variation in motivations for ritual practice and how it relates to the socioeconomic status of respondents. The findings indicate that whereas people of lower socioeconomic standing address more immediate concerns related to material security and safety in their ritual practices, people at the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum tend to focus on the fulfillment of spiritual, social, or cultural needs.

24 Jan

Monasticism beyond the Monastery: religious life and society in the medieval West (RLBcB547)

23 Jan

Experimentally testing the existential insecurity hypothesis

In a new Registered Report published in Collabra, M. Lang and R. Chvaja experimentally tested whether secular individuals would be willing to join religious groups when threatened with cooperative insecurity. The results showed that while this effect was weak in a behavioral test, a self-reported willingness to join was much stronger than anticipated.

12 Dec 2024

David Zbíral was appointed Professor in History

Professor Zbíral received his appointment decree from the president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, on December 10, 2024, in Karolinum, Prague. Congratulations!

20 Nov 2024

Members of customs offices impacted the spread of the Roman cult of Mithras: New article

Aleš Chalupa, Tomáš Glomb, and Juraj Sarkisjan published the article: Stations of the Publicum Portorium Illyrici are a Strong Predictor of the Mithraic Presence in the Danubian Provinces: Geographical Analysis of the Distribution of the Roman Cult of Mithras in Open Archaeology.