020015 VO-L Cultural History of Christianity (2026S)

The religious character of a society is clearly reflected in its calendar and the holidays marked therein. The year 2026, for example, indicates a Christian influence (counted from the assumed date of the birth of Jesus Christ), but the beginning of the year on January 1 is an ancient legacy of Julius Caesar’s Roman calendar. The Jewish year 5786, on the other hand, began on October 3, 2025, and ends on September 22, 2026, as it is a lunisolar calendar that also follows the lunar cycle. The weekly rhythm is also a Jewish legacy, shifted from the Sabbath to Sunday in Christianity and to Friday as a day of rest in Islam. The other holidays, some of which are work-free, have a religious background, in contrast to the few political holidays (such as the Austrian National Day on October 26). But that’s not all, as festivals and holidays of other religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism are also relevant in European societies.
The lecture series examines the origins of the current calendar and its religious festivals. Various experts present the festivals and holidays of the religions of Europe, as well as their historical backgrounds, cultural influences, legal framework and special celebration cultures, including reflections on religious festivals in an increasingly secular society.

Schedule:

March 4th General Information 1
Uta Heil (etf), Introduction1: Calendars / Social Time / Sacred Time

March 11th General Information 2
Uta Heil (etf), Christian Calendar, Sunday / Week, and Festivals in general

(not March 18th)

March 25th Lived Festivals
Uta Heil (etf), Sharing experiences with students

(Easter Break)

April 15th Law
Stefan Schima (Religionsrecht), Religious Feasts and their legal possibilities

April 22rd Catholic Perspective
Jan-Heiner Tück (ktf), The rhythm of sacred time: The liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church – special feast days in the church year

April 29th Festivals in Orthodoxy
Ioan Moga (ktf), Feast days in the Orthodox liturgical year: between the actualization of the Incarnation and eschatological anticipation

May 6th Modern History
Martin Scheutz (Inst. für Österr. Geschichtsforschung), Kalender and their religious frame (gregorianic, french, and sowjetic Calendar)

May 13th Jewish Perspective
Constanza Cordoni (Judaistik), The Jewish Calendar

May 20th Islamic Perspective
Tugrul Kurt (islam. Theol.), Marking Sacred Time: Motives, Meanings, and Practices of Islamic Festivals

May 27th Protestant Perspective
Cornelia Richter (Bischöfin), Protestant perspectives on festivals

June 3rd Uta Heil
Uta Heil (etf), Ritual and beyond

June 10th Other Religions
Nina Mirnig (Ostasienkunde), Religious Feast in Hinduism and Buddhism

(not June 17th)

June 24th Final discussion
Uta Heil