Research project
L*CeSAR - Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Religions
The Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Religions (L*CeSAR) facilitates the integration of scholarly expertise and resources, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and intellectual exchange among researchers of ancient religions, both within Leiden University and in the broader academic community.
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- Kim Beerden
Leiden University has a long-standing tradition in the study of ancient religions and is home to many specialists in the field. Until now, however, disciplinary boundaries have often hindered full collaboration across Faculties and Institutes.
The Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Religions (L*CeSAR), established in 2025, seeks to overcome these divisions by enabling scholars to pool their expertise and resources more effectively. The Center’s mission is to foster academic exchange among researchers working on ancient religions – both within Leiden University and beyond.
By ancient religions – note the plural – we refer to religious phenomena spanning a wide range of geographical and cultural contexts. While our starting point is the Greco-Roman Mediterranean, our focus extends explicitly to religious interactions within the broader ‘global’ ancient world.