Two projects supporting the Utrecht strategic theme Institutions: understanding the dynamics of open societies and the OIKOS Gravitation Programme Anchoring Innovation focus on institutional change in Late Antiquity. They are listed as a and b in the domain Philosophy and Religion.
This project seeks to delve into the material and sociological mechanisms underlying the rise of Christianity in the centre of the Roman world. By performing archaeological fieldwork and combining these with research methodologies deriving from the social sciences, this project focusses on how a major innovation, such as the rise of Christianity, succeeded in conquering the hearts and minds of the ancients, transforming classical civilization in the process and thus anchoring new ways of dealing with religion in ways that have impacted Europe's history ever since.
