par Nella van den Brandt (Postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty oh Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium)

In this presentation, I discuss the experiences of interreligious couples by exploring data from a research project in process in Belgium. I focus on couples in which one partner is Muslim, and the other is non-religious, Christian or Jewish. I approach ‘mixedness’ as potentially comprising various types of difference and inequality, because religious difference is often racialised and gendered. I will explore the narratives of 24 interviewees with the following question: how is ‘mixedness’ negotiated in everyday life? I foreground the topics of religious transformation, children’s education and racism. On the basis of my analysis, I will argue that ‘mixedness’ emerges through intimate relationality that co-shapes, reinforces, contests and reimagines religio-racial formations.

Nella van den Brandt is a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium. Her book Religion, Gender and Race in Western European Arts and Culture: Thinking Through Religious Transformation was published by Routledge in 2024. From 2022-2024, she worked as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow on women’s religious exits in the UK and the Netherlands (Coventry University, UK). Her current project explores the experiences of interreligious romantic couples in Belgium. She is senior editor of the international academic journal Religion and Gender.

Friday 17th October 2025, from 10:30 am until 12 pm

Room S.15.215
Campus Solbosch - Building S - 15th floor
Avenue Jeanne 44
Bruxelles 1050

Registration here