Dunja Sharbat Dar

Dunja Sharbat Dar is a Research Associate and PhD Candidate at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). She holds an M.A. in Religious Studies from RUB and a B.A. in Religious Studies and Japanese Studies from RUB and Fukushima University. Her research focuses on religion in Japan, socio-religious transformation post-disaster, sacred architecture, and queer studies. She co-organizes academic initiatives like the Mapping Religionswissenschaft project and contributes to the blog Marginalien. Her work bridges religious studies with urban sociology and popular culture.

Education:

• B.A.: Religious Studies & Japanese Studies (RUB and Fukushima University, 2017)
• M.A.: Religious Studies (RUB, 2019)
• PhD: 'Religious Space and the Invisible – understanding socio-spatial arrangements in Japanese churches' (ongoing at CERES)

Research Interests: Her work examines how religious spaces adapt to societal changes, particularly post-disaster transformations in Fukushima and the role of 'atmosphere' in churches. She explores intersections between religion, popular culture (e.g., anime, manga, video games), and queer theory. Recent focus includes evangelical mission strategies in Japan and the impact of digital platforms on religious identity.

Key Contributions:

• Co-edited Sakralität im Wandel (2022) on urban religious architecture
• Presented at international conferences on Fukushima’s religious recovery and Japanese Christian communities
• Contributed to public discussions on post-COVID religious practices and LGBTQ+ advocacy

Labs/Teams: Affiliated with the Graduate School of Metaphor and Religion and the CRC 1475 'Metaphors of Religion'. She is part of CERES’ Early Career Researchers' Program and co-managed workshops on grant writing and nuclear-age religious transformations.