Gert Pickel

Prof. Dr. Gert Pickel is a Professor of Sociology of Religion and Church at the Institute for Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology, Leipzig University. His roles include deputy spokesperson for the Competence Center for Right-Wing Extremism and Democracy Research, member of the Center for the Study of Religion, and advisory board member for the Academy of World Religions in Hamburg and the Hannah Arendt Institute at Dresden University of Technology. He heads the "Racism in Institutions" project network and co-directs the Leipzig branch of the Research Institute for Social Cohesion.

• Research focuses on sociology of religion, democracy, and political culture
• Current projects: German-Swiss study on religious/political collective identities, modern populism in Europe (East Germany), racism in institutions

Research Interests span comparative sociology of religion (secularization, pluralization), political sociology (social capital, populism, radicalism), and integration of migrants in Germany. He explores how religion interacts with politics, addressing issues like euthanasia, abortion, and gender identities through empirical, theory-driven methodologies.

Teaching covers religion in Germany/Europe, secularization processes, religion-politics dynamics, group-based prejudices, and intercultural comparisons. Courses are interdisciplinary (social sciences, humanities) with field trips to Central/Eastern Europe.

Scientific Awards: No awards explicitly mentioned in the text.

Grants and Projects:

• DFG-funded "Multiple Bible Uses in Late Modern Society" (2021-2024)
• BMBF-funded "Social Polarization and Radicalization" (2020-2024)
• EU-funded Jean-Monnet Centre (2020-2024)
• "InRa-Study" (2021-2024) on institutional racism

Labs and Teams: Member of Research Academy Leipzig; co-leader of the Leipzig branch of the Research Institute for Social Cohesion; contributor to the Leibniz WissenschaftsCampus Eastern Europe–Global Area.