Hanneke Muthert new dean of the Faculty of RCS

Prof Hanneke Muthert has been appointed dean of the Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society by the Board of the University of Groningen from 1 September 2025 for a period of two years. Muthert is professor of Religious Psychology, with a special focus on spiritual care and well-being. She studied theology in Groningen and obtained her PhD in 2007 with a study on loss processing in schizophrenia. She has now been working at the University of Groningen for over 20 years, but only fairly recently full-time, as another track besides research and teaching is practice. She enjoyed working as a spiritual carer at GGZ Drenthe and in her own practice.

Research

The core of Muthert's current research is how people constructively exchange about what really matters: "I call that existential exchange. This turns out not to be so easy. Quite often our own judgements, listening skills and reflective capacity get in the way. At the same time, we also want to be seen and heard, especially when life is difficult. One-to-one conversations then seem far from always appropriate. That is why we are investigating what the use of imaginative interactive objects adds to the practice field of spiritual carers, for instance in the earthquake region and with young people."

Dean

In her new position as dean, Hanneke Muthert will have even more tasks. How will she combine her other and new tasks? "As mentioned, existential exchange is the key concept in my chair research. What I teach there has a clear link to change processes. And thinking beyond that, as portfolio holder for research, there are many opportunities to create beautiful collaborations and exchanges around the rich and multifaceted research taking place here at the faculty. In relation to our own tensions and challenges of our time, there are also always new opportunities, to which our faculty research can connect. I like to contribute to that, always making visible the importance of the religion factor."

Opening Academic Year

Muthert's first official appearance as dean will take place at the opening of the Academic Year of the Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society on Thursday, 4 September. During this opening, Augusto de Campos Neto, advisor at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment's Social Stability Expertise Unit, will also give a lecture. Afterwards, Muthert will start work for two years: "These are exciting times for the university and also for the faculty with all the developments taking place, both externally (how do people look at what universities can contribute) and internally (how do we organise ourselves as a strong discussion partner). I think it is important to pay attention to those very connections. In my work so far, I have learnt some wise lessons. 'Speaking to and never just about people or target groups' is one such, or "don't wait to be found, but actively go out to where that other person is.”"