The aim of RRE is to expose students to the traditions, formative processes and mutual interactions in the ancient world of the three most influential religions at the root of European culture and history: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
The three religions have traditionally been studied more or less separately. The aspiration of RRE is to study the three religions together in their formative period from a comparative per­spective and using a variety of approaches, which include historical, philological, social scien­tific, feminist and literary ones.

Doctrines, Rituals, Canonical Texts, Myths, Religious Institutions Doctrines, rituals, canonical texts, myths, religious institutions - phenomena central to each of the three religions - are studied along with their relationship to society, politics, law, gender issues, and ethics. Specific topics may include ideas of martyrdom, the justification or con­demnation of war, asceticism, religious authorities, the position of women, different strategies for interpreting authoritative religious texts and many more.

The programme offers more than themes of merely historical relevance. It will also enhance the students' general understanding of contemporary Nordic, European and Western identities, since the three religions in interaction with one another have had and continue to have a profound influence on the development of European culture and society.

For centuries Christianity has been the dominant majority religion, while Judaism and Islam as minority religions have been seen as the `other,' against which Christian European identity has been shaped. In the contemporary world, by contrast, the situation is more fluent.

Host Institutions The Religious Roots of Europe (RRE) is a joint master's degree programme offered by the Faculty of Theology, the University of Oslo, in cooperation with the following five Nordic Universities:

The Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University
The Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus
The Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen
The Faculty of Humanities at the University of Bergen
The Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki