Religious diversity is a constant challenge for European society and identity, resulting in an increased need for mutual understanding, in which scholars can play a crucial role.
Picking up the ESFRI Forum’s qualification that Religious Studies is a high potential strategic area, 13 European academic institutions have created a consortium which addresses the needs of a larger and infra-structured involvement of excellent scholars, based on the conviction that scholars and other users who deal with these issues «can be of high potential strategic value for creating a diachronic understanding of the historical development of religions and for enabling the appropriate elaboration of tools to manage inter-religious stress» (ESFRI Roadmap 2018), as well as intra-religious dynamics. Moreover, scientific fragmentation and increasing costs and complexity in research can be overcome. The solution is the improved efficiency of services and access to dominion-specific sources, expertise and tools.
If knowledge is the best tool for a shared response to issues related to religious diversity, RESILIENCE is the solution. This because an infrastructure on Religious Studies can impact research and, consequently, society.