Exciting insights for young researchers on Boys' Day 2024 with CERES

CERES took part in Boys' Day 2024 with a workshop on the topic of Religious Scientists for a Day: Us and You - or All of Us?.
In this format, pupils had the opportunity to slip into the role of religious scholars for a day and explore the special features of the different world religions. Using religious objects, visual material, texts and the internet, the pupils familiarized themselves with the significance of religions. The experts then presented the religions they had researched to each other.

The lunch break provided an opportunity to show the students parts of the Ruhr-Universität campus and give them their first impressions of everyday student life. The dimensions of the buildings on campus, the spaciousness, the maze of corridors and staircases made a lasting impression. During a meal together in the canteen, the pupils also showed an interest in finding out more about studying in general and religious studies as a subject.

In the afternoon, the event concluded with an exchange with Prof. Dr. Carmen Meinert, Professor of Central Asian Religions at CERES. She gave the students an exciting insight into the day-to-day work of a religious scholar by presenting her field of research and the BuddhistRoad project in particular. Here too, the pupils' interest was quickly aroused. Numerous questions about Tibetan Buddhism, the beliefs of its followers, practices and rites were raised and answered by the professor. It became clear that the students had unconsciously come closer to the profession of religious studies on this day: They had approached religion as a subject of research with curiosity and a critical mindset.

The fact that the CERES workshop as part of Boys' Day was a successful experience for the pupils is thanks to the conscientious preparation and implementation by Carolin Zielonka and Cansu Günes as well as the exemplary cooperation with the Alfried Krupp School Lab at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Once again, we would like to thank the pupils for their interest and hope to have aroused their interest in religious studies.