Jörg Rüpke honoured with honorary doctorate from Aarhus University

Rüpke is an internationally renowned scholar of religion and one of the world's leading experts on ancient religions, particularly those of the Roman Empire. He has set new standards in religious studies with influential concepts such as urban religion and lived ancient religion.

His research is characterised by a strongly interdisciplinary approach that brings together textual, archaeological and historical sources in order to shed new light on the role of religion in everyday life and in the urban environment of antiquity. Since 2007, he has maintained a close and fruitful collaboration with researchers at Aarhus University and the Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet). He has a good academic partnership with the head of the centre, archaeologist Professor Rubina Raja. This has led to joint courses, research projects, publications and important international conferences, which emphasises the depth and importance of his connections to the academic community at Aarhus University. On 11 September 2025, Rüpke therefore also delivered the prestigious Future Lecture at Aarhus University's School for Culture and Society, moderated by Rubina Raja.

We warmly congratulate Jörg Rüpke on this outstanding and well-deserved recognition, which further strengthens our close cooperation with the University of Aarhus and its prestigious Institute for Advanced Study",

said Professor Dr Hartmut Rosa, Director of the Max-Weber-Kolleg.