Ernst van den Hemel appointed Professor by Special Appointment of Religion in Heritage and Popular Culture
New chair on behalf of the Meertens Institute
Religious studies scholar Ernst van den Hemel has been appointed Professor by Special Appointment of Religion in Heritage and Popular Culture at Utrecht University. On behalf of the Meertens Institute, this newly established chair is hosted by the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies within the Faculty of Humanities. “Especially in 2025, research into and education about religion is urgently needed,” says Van den Hemel.
The intertwining of religion, heritage, and popular culture
Van den Hemel has been affiliated with the Meertens Institute since 2016, where he currently works as a senior researcher within the NL-Lab research group. His work explores the role of religion, heritage, and popular culture in society, with particular attention to emotion and media usage. For example, he has analysed the popularity of the annual televised spectacle The Passion and Bach’s Saint Matthew’s Passion in a Netherlands that has seen significant secularisation since the Second World War.
Chair within the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
“I’m absolutely delighted to be able to contribute to the Utrecht academic community,” says Van den Hemel. “The Faculty of Humanities offers the ideal environment for me to expand my research. The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies has an outstanding research group and students who explore religion in today’s society in innovative and highly relevant ways.”
“And that’s essential, because you only need to glance at the headlines to see how urgent religious research and education has become. Religion, both in the Netherlands and beyond, is entangled in heated and polarised public debates. This chair can help us better understand the role of religion in today’s world.”
The Research Institute for Philosophy and Religious Studies is also enthusiastic about the appointment, says director Christoph Baumgartner. “Van den Hemel’s research integrates religious studies with disciplines such as history and media studies, which strengthens the interdisciplinary profile of religious studies at Utrecht University. His research and teaching have already shown that his expertise and original insights are a tremendous asset to our work at the department. We look forward to an inspiring collaboration.”
About Ernst van den Hemel
Van den Hemel currently leads the MAKEBELIEF project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC). This project investigates how immersive media, such as virtual reality (VR), 4D-cinema and holograms, are used in theme parks and museums to represent religion, heritage, and national identity – from Dolly Parton’s Dollywood to Dinoland in Zwolle.
Van den Hemel has previously focused on how populist movements assign new meanings to the religious past, emotional polarisation concerning religion on social media, and the political culture of Calvinism.
In addition to his research, Van den Hemel has been lecturing at Utrecht’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies since 2015 and has chaired the Dutch Association for the Study of Religion since 2023. He previously taught at the University of Amsterdam and held research fellowships at Université Paris 8, UC Berkeley, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Utrecht University’s Centre for the Humanities.
About the Meertens Institute
The Meertens Institute studies and documents language and culture in the Netherlands, and Dutch language and culture throughout the world. Its work focuses on the phenomena that shape everyday life in our society.