The University of Göttingen has announced the launch of a research network (CETREN) focused on ‘The Politics of the New.” Its initial project, “Secularism and New Religiosities” [PDF], seeks two postdoctoral research fellows:

The two positions, to begin in October 2013, will be offered as two-year fixed-term contracts on a full-time basis (currently 39,8 hours per week) and will be remunerated at the TV-L E13 level (in accordance with the German public sector pay scale).

The pilot project “Secularism and New Religiosities” examines new forms of religiosity that emerge under various regional or national regimes of secularism, and how these are shaped in transnational arenas of cultural, political and legal interaction […] Within this wider context, we invite post-doctoral research proposals that theoretically and empirically analyze new religiosities in comparative perspective; cross-religious as well as cross-regional comparisons are welcome. While the overall project’s main focus is on South Asia, East Asia, and Europe, proposals may broaden the comparative scope by including other regions.

Successful applicants must have a PhD in a relevant field, such as history, anthropology, sociology, political science, religious studies, or area studies. Researchers will be based at the University of Göttingen, but will be permitted to conduct fully-funded field research for part of the two-year period, upon consultation with the principal investigators.

Read the full advertisement and instructions on applying here.