SCIRE: Social cohesion, identity and religion in Europe, 400-1200

In December 2010, Walter Pohl was awarded the Advanced Grant of the European Research Council(ERC), which allows for a five-year period of research. The project started in May 2011 and finished in April 2016. It was hosted by the University of Vienna; the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW) was the second beneficiary institution.

In the early Middle Ages, Europe’s political landscape was significantly shaped by the emergence of new fundamental modes of identification, both ethnic and religious. These processes created new forms of social cohesion and conflict. With the Bible, Christianity provided a repertoire of patterns suitable to give order and orientation that were significant for the shaping of ethnic identities.

The relation between Christianity, its repertoire of identification, and ethnic identity, both as forms of discourse and as social practices, were the focus of SCIRE in a number of studies.

For more detailed information see the website of the project and the project Synopsis.