The VDTR Supervisors
The supervisors listed here are members of the Vienna Doctoral School of Theology and Research on Religion VDTR. They form a dedicated network of scholars from a wide range of different theological and non-theological disciplines and are committed to providing high-quality doctoral supervision in their respective field of expertise. In this way, they guarantee their doctoral students excellent professional training and support them in forming professional networks.
| Surname, Name | Discipline(s) | Research Focus | Faculty | Languages of Supervision |
| Appel, Kurt | Fundamental Theology, Philosophy of Religion | Philosophy and Theology of History, Hegel and German Idealism, Postmodern Philosophy, Eschatology, Question of God | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, Italian, English |
| Aslan, Ednan (emer.*) | Islamic-Theological Studies | Islamic religious education, Muslims in Europe, Muslim students in public schools, Research on Violence, Research on Radicalisation | Department of Islamic-Theological Studies | German, Englisch and Turkish |
| Cordoni, Constanza | Jewish Studies | Jewish and Christian biblical reception, Jewish cultural history (late antiquity, Middle Ages), rabbinic literature, Jewish hermeneutics, historical narratology, historical identity research | Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies | German, English, Spanish, French, Italian |
| Danz, Christian | Systematic Theology AB (Augsburg Confession) | Fundamental Theology, Dogmatics (doctrine of God, Christology, Pneumatology), Reformation Theology, History of Theology of the 19th and 20th century, Ethics (Human Rights), Theology of Religions, Philosophy of Religion | Faculty of Protestant Theology | |
| Deibl, Jakob | Catholic Theology, Aesthetics | Religion and Aesthetics, Philosophy of Religion, Poetry, Sacred Architecture | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English, Italian |
| Engemann, Wilfried (emer.) | Practical Theology and Psychology of Religion | Homiletics, Pastoral Care Teaching, Liturgical Studies, Psychology of Religion, Theological Anthropology | Faculty of Protestant Theology | |
| Feulner, Hans-Jürgen | Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology (ecumenical) | Liturgies and Rites in the different Churches of West and East, Sacramental Theology, Rituals in Film, Sacral Hygiene | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English, French (after consultation only) |
| Filipović, Alexander | Social Ethics | Basic questions of Christian social ethics, ethics of public communication (media ethics), technology ethics/digital ethics, political ethics/practical social philosophy, philosophical pragmatism, social empiricism and ethics, normative aspects of social theory | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English |
| Giampieri-Deutsch, Patrizia | Philosophy, Psychotherapy Research (Psychoanalysis, Psychodynamic Psychotherapies) | Psychology of religion (psychological and psychodynamic aspects of religious experiences in the Abrahamic religions), Religion, Diplomacy, and International Relations, Hermann Cohen research (Cohen's view of a “religion of reason”) | Faculty of Philosophy and Education | German, Italian, English |
| Grohmann, Marianne | Old Testament Studies | Psalms and Lamentations, Anthropology and Gender-related Issues, Fertility and Birth in the Hebrew Bible, Hermeneutics, Exegesis in Literary Studies, Theory of Metaphor, Reception of Jewish Biblical Exegesis | Faculty of Protestant Theology | German, English |
| Heil, Uta | Christian History, Archaeology and Art | Late Antiquity/Early Middle Ages (History of Theology, History of the Interpretation of Scripture, "Structuring of Time", Historiography) | Faculty of Protestant Theology | |
| Heinrich, Esther | Philosophy | Philosophy of religion (e.g. Ludwig Wittgenstein, Simone Weil, proof of the existence of God), philosophy and the Hebrew Bible, relationship between religion and mathematics/logic/science | Faculty of Philosophy and Education | German, English |
| Hödl, Hans Gerald (emer.) | Religious Studies | African & African American Religions, Mormonism, Criticism of Religion, Ritual, Religion & Media | Faculty of Protestant Theology | German, English, French, Spanish (after consultation only) |
| Ivanyi, Katharina | Islamic Studies | Islamic Studies, Islamic Law, Cultural and Intellectual History of Islam, History of Ideas | Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies | |
| Kowatsch, Andreas | Canon Law and Law on Religion | Austrian Constitutional Law on Religion, "Europeanisation" of Religious Law, Ecclesiastical Constitutional Law, Ecclesiastical Personal Status Law | Faculty of Catholic Theology | |
| Körtner, Ulrich (emer.) | Systematic theology, protestant | fundamental theology, hermeneutics, dogmatics, ethics, medical ethics | Faculty of Protestant Theology | |
| Kurt, Tuğrul | Islamic-Theological Studies | Quran research, Quran sciences, Quran exegesis, Islamic textual sciences (Koran and Hadith), Isrāʾīliyyāt research, environment and intertexts of the Qur'an, Islamic history, beginnings (sources) of Islam, the cultural and religious landscape of the Arabian Peninsula, History and development of Islamic mysticism, Early Christianity and the churches of the East (Syrian Christianity), Religious studies, history of religion, cultural and religious encounters (of world religions) in the past and present | Department of Islamic-Theological Studies | German, English, Turkish |
| Langer, Gerhard (emer.) | Jewish Studies | Jewish Cultural History in Antiquity, Rabbinic Literature, Reception-Historical Studies of Biblical Texts, Processing of Jewish Tradition in German-Language Literature, Jewish-Christian "Encounters" (Cultural Transfer, etc.) | Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies | German, English (Knowledge of German is a prerequisite for someone writing in English) |
| Lehmann, Karsten | Religious Studies | Religious plurality, religious and civil society networks 'on the ground', interreligious contacts & interreligious dialogue, religiously legitimized violence, religion and (international politics), methods of empirical research on religion | Faculty of Protestant Theology | Deutsch, Englisch |
| Lehner-Hartmann, Andrea | Religious Education (Catholic) | Subject Didactics, Gender, Violence, Religious Education, Subjective Theories | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English (Knowledge of German is a prerequisite for someone writing in English) |
| Lohlker, Rüdiger (emer.) | Islamic Studies | Islamic Thought, Sufism, Modern Islam | Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies | German, English |
| Mattes, Astrid | Religious Studies | Religion and Migration, Politics of Religion, Religions in Austria, Islam in Europe, Qualitative Methods, Youth Religion, Digital Religion | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English |
| Moga, Ioan | Orthodox Theology (Systematic Theology) | Dogmatics - Ecclesiology, History of Theology of the 20th Century, Orthodox - Catholic Dialogues | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English or Romanian (Knowledge of German is a prerequisite for someone writing in English or Romanian) |
| Müller, Sigrid | Systematic Theology and Ethics | Basis of Theological Ethics, History of Theological Ethics, Ethics in Medicine, Intercultural Ethics, Bioethics, Human Dignity | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English, French, Spanish or Italian (learning English and German in the course of the doctoral studies is compulsory) |
| Németh, Thomas | Studies on the Eastern Churches | History of Eastern Churches in Austria and in Central/Eastern Europe, Churches in Ukraine, Theology and Law of Eastern Catholic Churches, Liturgy and Art of Byzantine Churches | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English or Ukrainian (the willingness to learn German and English is always a prerequisite) |
| Oehler, Markus | New Testament Studies | History of Religion and Social History, Epistle to the Romans, History of Pre-Constantinian Christianity | Faculty of Protestant Theology | German, English |
| Ott, Tabea | Medical Ethics and Diaconal Sciences | Medical ethics and ethics of artificial intelligence, Ethics and memory, Ethics of visibility and ethics of attention, Theories of recognition, Vulnerability & care, Intersectional feminist theology and theory, Ethics and science communication, Diaconal science, Purity cultures | Faculty of Protestant Theology | German, English |
| Pilhofer, Philipp | Christian History, Archaeology and Art | History of theological education, Culture of study in the early modern period/university history, Hagiography & martyr cult, Transformation processes in late antiquity, especially Christianisation, Asia Minor in Roman and Byzantine times, digital humanities & digital editions | Faculty of Protestant Theology | German, English |
| Pock, Johann | Pastoral Theology, Homiletics | Pastoral Care of the Sacraments, Ritual Research, Congregation, Diakonia, Preaching | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English, Italian |
| Pokorny, Lukas | Religious Studies | Millenarianism, Religions of East Asia, Confucianism, New and Alternative Religious Movements (Esotericism), Religion in Austria | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English |
| Polak, Regina | Practical Theology | Religion, Migration and Urbanisation, Christian-Jewish and Christian-Islamic Dialogue, Anti-Semitism and Racism, Socio-Religious Transformation Processes in Europe, Value Research, Basic Theological Questions of a Church in Transition | Faculty of Catholic Theology | |
| Prüller-Jagenteufel, Gunter | Theological Ethics | Intercultural Ethics, Ethics of Liberation, Ecumenism | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English |
| Rothgangel, Martin | Religious Education | Basic Questions of Science Theory in Religious Education and Theology, Empirical Religious Education, International-Comparative Religious Education, General Subject Didactics | Center for Teacher Education | German |
| Roubekas, Nickolas P. | Religious Studies | Ancient religions, early Christianity, Greek and Roman religions, ancient Mediterranean religions, method and theory in the study of religion, anthropology of religion, theories of religion, atheism, myth, mythology, myth theories | Faculty of Catholic Theology | English |
| Schelander, Robert (emer.) | Religious Education | Historical Religious Education, School and Religion | Faculty of Protestant Theology | German, English |
| Schelkshorn, Johann (emer.) | Philosophy of Religion | Philosophy of Religion, Cross-cultural Philosophy (Latin American Philosophy), Practical Philosophy, Theories of Modernity - Philosophy of Religion; Cross-cultural Philosophy (Latin American Philosophy), Practical Philosophy, Theories of Modernity | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German |
| Schellenberg-Lagler, Annette | Old Testament Studies | Prehistory (Gen 1-11), Priestly (Scriptural) Literature, Wisdom Literature, Song of Songs, Old Testament, Anthropology, Controversies about Theological Questions in the Old Testament and its Environment, Relations between the Old Testament and its ancient Near Eastern Environment | Faculty of Protestant Theology | German, English |
| Schwarz, Susanne | Religious Education | Questions of religious education, upbringing, and socialization; perspectives of children, adolescents, and adults on religion, faith, and religious educational processes; sexuality and religion from a religious-pedagogical perspective; ambiguity from a religious-pedagogical perspective; non-denominationality/non-religiosity from a religious-pedagogical perspective | Faculty of Protestant Theology | German, English |
| Sejdini, Zekirija | Islamic Theology | Islamic Theology in Contemporary European Society, Theological Religious Pluralism, Interreligious Dialogue from a Muslim Perspective, Empirical Islamic Theology, Islamic Education in Contemporary Society | Department of Islamic-Theological Studies | German |
| Siquans, Agnethe | Old Testament Studies | Inner Biblical Exegesis, Feminist / Gender-fair Exegesis, History of Reception | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English |
| Staudigl, Michael | Philosophy | Phenomenology, Political Philosophy, Social Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion, Violence Research (esp. religious violence) | Faculty of Philosophy and Education | |
| Stowasser, Martin (emer.) | New Testament Biblical Studies | Historical Jesus, Gospels, Revelation to John, Passion-Narratives, Infancy Narratives, Ethics of the New Testament | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English, Italian |
| Tiwald, Markus | New Testament Studies | Parting of the Ways between Judaism and Christianity, contextualising the Theology of Jesus and Paul in early Judaism, Jewish-Christian Dialogue, questioning the Origins of Christianity | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English (Knowledge of German is a prerequisite for someone writing in English) |
| Treitler, Wolfgang | Fundamental Theology | Jewish-Christian Discourse, Shoa Literature, Questions on the Messiah, Sexualised Violence | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English (Knowledge of German is a prerequisite for someone writing in English) |
| Tück, Jan-Heiner | Dogmatics and History of Dogma | Dogmatic theology, Christology, Ecclesiology, Eucharistic theology and sacramental theology, dialogue with Judaism, theodicy, literature and religion | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English |
| Yıldırım, Rıza | Alevi Theological Studies | Alevi Studies (Alevi Theology, Alevi History, Bektashi Sufism, Bektashi History, etc.), Islamic Studies, Sufism, Shiism, Heterodoxy/Heresy in Islam, Islamic History, Middle Eastern Studies, Ottoman History, Iranian History (with a focus on the Safavid period), Oral Tradition, Collective Memory (projects related to Religious/Islamic Studies) | Department of Islamic-Theological Studies | English, Turkish |
| Zulehner, Paul M.(emer.) | Pastoral Theology, Homiletics | Pastoral theology, Research on Religion and Values | Faculty of Catholic Theology | German, English |
* emer. = Professor emeritus