How religion is lived, argued and imagined in contemporary Europe
Dr. Ömer F. Gürlesin is a sociologist of religion. His research looks at how religious meaning, moral orientation and authority take shape in everyday life and public debate, with a focus on Islam in Europe, the Sufi tradition and, more recently, religious language in climate discourse. He is a fellow researcher at the Center for Religion in the Public Sphere (CRiPS), Tilburg University.
Background: Noah’s Ark, from Hafiz-i Abru’s Majma‘ al-tawarikh, Herat, c. 1425. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Four areas of research
Lived religion and Islam in Europe
Popular and everyday religiosity among Muslims in the Netherlands, from Friday sermons and the changing role of imams to religious identity among young people.
Sufi thought and Islamic art
Classical Sufi texts, such as Rumi and Ahmed Avni Konuk’s Mathnawī commentary, read alongside the arts they shaped: calligraphy, manuscripts and music.
Religion and climate
Religious and apocalyptic language in Dutch climate debates, studied with computational text analysis. NWO-funded project at Tilburg University, 2023–2026.
religionclimate.org →Religion, cohesion and public policy
Research with direct policy relevance: prevention of radicalisation, transnational religious governance through mosque sermons, citizenship and religious education, and polarisation in public debate.
Among Dutch-Turkish Muslims, high religiosity takes different forms and rests on different motivations; there is no single way of being a devout Muslim.
The distinction between the “great” and “little” traditions of Islam is key to understanding the religious life of Turkish Muslims, in Turkey and in the diaspora.
For Muslims in Europe, the real question is not whether one is a believer, but whether the content of one’s belief makes one open to others or ethnocentric.
The economic disadvantages of immigrant life play an important role in the kinds of religiosity Muslim migrants choose on Europe’s religious market.
Dutch-Turkish Muslims express their faith through particular religious voices, and these voices can be expected to change as their circumstances change.
As the economic position of Muslim migrants in Europe improves, a more reflexive and spiritual form of religiosity can be expected to develop in the long term.
Recent articles and chapters
Tussen geloof en groene taal: Klimaatorganisaties op Twitter/X in Nederland (2023)
Islamic history and philosophy, explained for a wider audience
Tahqiq is an English-language channel with videos on Islamic intellectual history, Sufi thought and religion in today’s world. The videos draw on academic research but are made to be accessible to anyone interested.
Islam’s greatest debates: al-Ghazali vs Ibn Taymiyya
The 800-year-old feud shaping Islam today
Who was right about philosophy? Al-Ghazali vs Ibn Rushd
Conferences co-organized
Cosmos: Goddelijk Canvas? Kunst, religie en klimaatverandering
Geloven in tijden van stijgende zeeën
New events and talks will be announced here.