Dr. Christof Sauer appointed professor at ETF in Leuven
Specialist in religious freedom joins the department of Religious Studies and Missiology
LEUVEN – 25 June 2014 – Dr Christof Sauer was recently named as Professor of Religious Studies and Missiology at the Evangelical Theological Faculty (ETF) in Leuven, Belgium. His research assignment has a specific focus on religious freedom and persecution. The extent of his appointment is 50%. This is a special academic chair, which will be financed externally.
Prof. Dr Christof Sauer is co-founder of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) and directs the unit of this institute in Cape Town, South Africa. In addition he edits its academic journal, International Journal for Religious Freedom, as well as various book series on this subject. His research assignment at the ETF focuses on individual and collective religious freedom. Prof. Sauer researches situations worldwide where this fundamental human right is restricted or violated, especially for Christians. Related phenomena, such as the persecution of people for their faith, will be reflected on from a Christian perspective.
Religious freedom
Pew Research Center stated in January 2014 that worldwide 76% of the world’s population live in a context where religious freedom is seriously restricted. The 2014 World Watch List of Open Doors International indicates that Christians in more than fifty countries suffer discrimination and persecution to varying degrees. Dr Christof Sauer: ‘Such persecution often occurs in the form of restricting or contesting the free exercise of religion of others, particularly the spreading of other beliefs. Persecution is in fact a violation of human rights.’
Prof. Dr Patrick Nullens, rector of the ETF says of the appointment of Prof. Dr Christof Sauer: ‘Historically, Christian thinking has contributed to the basis for the emphasis on freedom of conscience and human worth. Believing is a deeply human choice, which we want to experience in life in total freedom. Yet many people still continue to suffer under totalitarian and fanatical powers, secular or religious. The appointment of Dr Sauer at our faculty means that we, as students and teachers from different contexts and countries, will be able to think through current questions regarding human rights and religious freedom and conduct research from a Christian perspective.’
Academic profile of Prof. Dr Christof Sauer
Prof. Dr Christof Sauer (1963) undertook his academic theological training at the University of Tübingen in Germany and earned a doctorate in 2002 with research about Christian witness in a Muslim environment at the University of South Africa in Pretoria. In 2013 he completed postdoctoral research (Habilitation) on the topic ‘Martyrdom and mission: A comparison of positions in global Christianity’ at the Protestant University of Wuppertal/Bethel in Germany. He currently serves as Associate Professor Extraordinary in Practical Theology and Missiology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
International Institute for Religious Freedom
The professorship emerged in cooperation with the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) of the World Evangelical Alliance, with offices in Bonn, Cape Town and Colombo. The IIRF is already strongly involved in religious freedom advocacy at the European Union in Brussels.
The professorship of Dr Sauer at ETF in Leuven is made possible by several organisations actively engaged for religious freedom, including Hilfe für Mensch und Kirche (HMK) in Switzerland, and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) in the United States. Among the agencies requesting consultancy or commissioning paid research is Open Doors International.
