Cultural History of Christianity (B.A.)
Are you interested in the function and social as well as historical significance of sacred works of art? How religious practices were changed and influenced by the interpretation of Christian theologians? Or what the relics of late antiquity or early Christianity said about the politics of the time? Then you are in the right place! Discover the world of Christian-influenced European culture and Eastern Christianity.
Fact Sheet
- Degree
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
- Admission
- No Admissions Restrictions
- Duration of studies
- 6 semesters
- Teaching language
- completely in German
- Faculty
- Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology
- Start of degree program
- Winter semester
- Number of students
- 1-50
- Special ways to study
- 2-subject Bachelor, Part-time degree program
- Special features
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- You should be interested in history and cultural history if you wish to study Cultural History of Christianity. Religious affiliation or religiosity is not expected.
- The study of the Cultural History of Christianity also involves studying the Old and New Testament, i.e. the Bible.
Program overview
What is the degree program about?
Society, art, literature and politics were already closely intertwined in the Middle Ages – with Christianity as the foundation. In the Cultural History of Christianity degree program, sources and phenomena of the Christian-influenced culture of Europe and Eastern Christianity are developed, interpreted and historically classified. The degree program teaches fundamental knowledge of the history of Christianity from more than 2000 years.
For example, we ask ourselves questions about the dimensions of meaning of religious practices, for example in liturgy. The sacral function, but also the political explosive power of Christian works of art are examined. What biblical content is used in these objects? What do the artistic and literary relics of this time say about society and politics? Which important theologians, mystics or other chroniclers influenced biblical interpretations and how did these changes affect religious practices? How is the development of Christianity to be understood against the background of the disintegrating late Roman Empire? Understanding communication, interaction, and media representations of Christianity also requires a good academic knowledge of the origin, content, and structure of the Bible.
In short, this degree program provides an overview of Christianity’s most important cultural contributions in a historical context. The content offered, which consists of six theological sub-disciplines, illustrates the important role played by theology: Early Church History, Modern Church History, Christian Archaeology and Art History, History and Theology of the Christian East, Old Testament and New Testament.
The first phase of the degree program consists of basic modules. The second phase consists of specialization modules. The last semester is used to write the Bachelor’s thesis.
Course content:
- Early church history
- Modern church history
- Christian archaeology and art history
- Theology and the history of Eastern Christianity
- Old Testament
- New Testament
- An interest in the historically oriented theological sub-disciplines
- A willingness to deal with the content, structure and study of the Bible
- A basic interest in Christian culture and its historical development
- A willingness to read and write academic texts
- An open-minded attitude towards and interest in historical-theological questions and content
A list of career prospects can only give a limited insight. Since the Cultural History of Christianity degree program is a degree program that was established only very recently, no specific professional profile has yet emerged. After undergoing training in a variety of areas and developing communication skills and the ability to reflect, graduates of Cultural History of Christianity can gain a foothold in many fields outside the discipline. As a general rule, students should seek information as early as possible from a study advisor and from points of contact from their own degree program about the relevant prerequisites (BA, MA, doctoral degree) for a particular career.
- Museum assistant
- Exhibition curator
- Information processing
- Documentation
- Libraries and publishing houses
- Journalism and editing
- Adult education
- In the intercultural area at the interface between business, politics and culture
- Tourism
- Public relations
- In national or international institutions
- Research and teaching
Possible combinations without overlaps
- Art History
- Business and Economics
- English and American Studies
- French Studies
- German studies
- Greek Philology
- History
- Indo-European and Indo-Iranian Studies
- Islamic Religious Studies
- Italian Studies
- Japanese Studies
- Latin Philology
- Medieval Latin and Neo-Latin
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Scandinavian Studies (BA)
- Sociology
- Theater and Media Studies
With these subject combinations, there are generally no overlaps in the timetable.
Possible overlaps in the timetable
- Book Studies
- Chinese Studies
- Computational Linguistics
- Digital Humanities and Social Sciences
- Education
- Geography: Cultural Geography as a two subject Bachelor's degree program
- Hispanic Studies
- Oriental Studies
If you combine these subjects, individual courses may overlap in your timetable. For this reason, you can only combine the following subjects with your chosen subject after a consultation. Students are responsible for ensuring that the combination can be studied and that the deadlines set out in Section 11 of the ABMStPOPhil are met. When enrolling, proof of a corresponding consultation with the Central Student Advisory Service or the Student Service Center (Faculty of Humanities, Social Studies, and Theology) must be submitted.
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Application for a Degree Program
Admission Requirements and Application
Admission
- 1st semester: No Admissions Restrictions
Application deadline
- Winter semester: 30.09.
- Summer semester: nicht möglich
Language skills
- German language skills for international applicants: DSH 2 (written 2 / oral 1) or equivalent
Details and notes
The application deadline for the winter semester for international applicants is July 15th.
In addition to the general qualification for university entrance (Abitur), there are other access options for studying at FAU.
