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About the conference

The aim of this interdisciplinary conference is to examine religious identity construction, through
the study of texts and archaeology, hereunder differences and similarities in the many religious
groups’ identities in the Near East in the period AD 100 – 400.

These groups belonged to pagan religions, Judaism and early Christianity.

The period AD 100 – 400 is central to the understanding of the beginnings of Christianity in its geographic and cultural context. Furthermore the period offers the opportunity of exploring the religious plurality, which marked the period.

The presentations will focus on examinations of the various forms of interaction between pagan, Jewish
and early Christian culture and religion in the region, where Christianity developed. Space and texts
will be primary sources for examining these phenomena.
Some central questions to be explored include:

• How did changes in the religious identity manifest themselves in texts and the material culture? To what extent are conflicts and conflict management visible in the literary sources and the material culture?
• How did the respective societies relate to religious minorities and majorities? Do the changes in the religious landscape correspond to the changes visible in the literary sources?
• How did the dynamic relationship between the pagan religions, Judaism and early Christianity reflect itself in the material and written culture?