Secular Studies Association Brussels

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel has a strong and longstanding expertise on secular thought, in historical as well as contemporary perspectives. This is rooted in the basic principle of the university, the principle of free inquiry (vrij onderzoek), which unites scientists from the exact and human sciences alike. The newly established Secular Studies Association Brussel (SSAB) unites the academics as the Center for the Study of the Enlightenment and Free Thought once did. The present core of the new research group is still to be found in the humanities, with researchers from the departments of history, philosophy, the law faculty and the faculty of psychology and education. We warmly welcome contributions made by other disciplines. As such our approach to secular studies is purposely broad.

We are convinced that research into the growing group of seculars in society should become a spearhead of our university, able to collaborate on an equal footing with analogous foreign researchers and institutes. These collaborations or partnerships can provide a platform able to connect with a society that is increasing in diversity, but where the, broadly defined, secular profile is still little known.