In alignment with the on-going debates on the relation between the secular and the sacred, the Ph.D. programme analyses phenomena of secularities and secularisations, focusing on concepts, dimensions, developments and consequences of secularities. The basic assumption of these analyses holds that the relation between the secular and the sacred is not static but dynamic; therefore, models of conflict as well as models of co-operation in these relations have to be examined.

Concepts: Following the basic assumption, it is obvious that – in contrast to the convergence of global developments into the (Western-)European experience of secularisation – diverging concepts of the relation between the secular and the sacred have to be defined. Consequently, one has to refer to plural secularities as opposed to singular secularity.

Dimensions: Secularity and secularities are not unidimensional concepts. Generally, one has to distinguish between a more prescriptive dimension on the one hand and a more descriptive on the other. While the former concerns the legitimation of secular theories and practices (and the critique of these theories and practices), the latter relates to the institutionalisation and representation of these theories and practices within the public arena by public agents.

Developments: The (Western-)European experience of secularisation, consequently, loses its significance as paradigm for the development of the secular and the sacred. Rather, secularisation is only one out of many possibilities of this development. As a result, additional configurations of the secular and the sacred in the past and the present need to be conceptualised, demanding globally and historically comparative studies.

Consequences: Provided that the (Western-)European model of secularisation is contingent – and provided that the distinction between the secular and the sacred comes under the suspicion of being an ideological distinction – a society's social, cultural and political character is rendered problematic. In particular, the confrontation between a secular state's claim to dominance (secularism) and a religious claim to dominance is to be examined.

Within the Ph.D. programme – cooperating with the research on Multiple Secularities at Leipzig University – Ph.D. projects on secularities and secularisations are combined in an international and interdisciplinary perspective. These projects focus on theoretical and empirical analysis, casting light on current configurations of the relation between the secular and the sacred and on the developments and developmental paths leading to these configurations.