Inscriptions, images, objects, literatures and rites of the religions in the contexts where the biblical texts were conceived, studied with the tools of the study of religion.
Faculdade Unida de Vitória, Brazil
Research group certified by CNPq
Research foci
The research group Observatório de Universos Bíblicos (Observatory of Biblical Universes, OUB) investigates religious phenomena, practices and productions in the historical and cultural contexts in which biblical texts were conceived, produced and first received, through the lens and tools of the study of religion.
Traditionally tied to Christian exegesis and theology, the study of biblical traditions has been increasingly cross-pollinated, conceptually and methodologically, by other fields of knowledge. Yet while this new configuration has dissolved old disciplinary boundaries and brought back bodies of evidence once neglected, it lacks the conceptual articulation needed to address the resulting epistemological destabilisation.
In light of this, the group brings together research that examines inscriptions, images, objects, literatures and rites of the religions of the biblical universes through the questions, tools and conceptual frameworks of the anthropology, archaeology, hermeneutics, philosophy, history, literature and sociology of religion.
Investigates how artefacts from the contexts in which biblical texts were conceived, produced and first received mediated religious ideas and practices in the ancient Southern Levant. Brings together research that examines inscriptions, images and objects of the biblical universes through the questions, tools and conceptual frameworks of the anthropology, archaeology, hermeneutics, philosophy, history and literature of religion.
Investigates how (para)biblical texts from the contexts in which biblical texts were conceived, produced and first received mediated religious ideas and practices. Brings together research that examines inscriptions, literatures and rites of the biblical universes through the questions, tools and conceptual frameworks of the anthropology, hermeneutics, philosophy, history, literature and sociology of religion.
Investigates how scholars of the contexts in which biblical texts were conceived, produced and first received mediate the concept of religion. Brings together research that examines the aesthetics of reception and the history of interpretation and of research on the biblical universes through the questions, tools and conceptual frameworks of the anthropology, hermeneutics, history, literature and sociology of religion.
Faculdade Unida de Vitória
Faculdade Unida de Vitória
Faculdade Unida de Vitória
Faculdade Unida de Vitória
Faculdade Unida de Vitória
FIPEMIG; PUC Campinas
PhD candidate, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina
Master's student, Faculdade Unida de Vitória
University of Münster, Germany
National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Rome
University of Wuppertal, Germany
The official composition of the group is listed on the group's page in the CNPq Directory of Research Groups (opens in a new tab).
14–18
Sep 2026Vitória, Brazil
III International Summer School
Itinerant international school offering methodological training in iconography for master's and doctoral students and early-career researchers in ancient Near Eastern studies, biblical studies and the history of religions. Organised by Thomas Wagner (University of Wuppertal) and Silas Klein Cardoso (FUV), it alternates between Europe and Latin America and awards 2 ECTS (20 hours). In cooperation with ABIB, EABS and the Observatory.
08–09
Jun 2026
International symposium
Two days of lectures on the zodiac, astrology and religious conceptions of time, from Hellenistic Babylonia to Brazilian rap, with scholars from FUV, PUC Campinas, UMESP, FIPEMIG and Southern Methodist University (Dallas). Organised by the Observatory with Faculdade Unida de Vitória and its graduate programme PPGPCR.
Location: Universidad De Los Lagos, Osorno, Los Lagos, Chile
Notes: Organizado pela Universidad de Los Lagos (Osorno/CL) e pela Red Behemot de Investigación. Participação José Adriano Filho (presencial) e Silas Klein (online).
Location: Faculdade Unida, R. Eng. Fábio Ruschi, 161 - Bento Ferreira, Vitória - ES, 29050-670, Brasil
Notes: Reunião híbrida restrita a membros do grupo
Location: Rabinstraße 8, 53111 Bonn, Alemanha
Notes: Ökumenisches Alttestamentliches Oberseminar im Wintersemester 2026/27, Universität Bonn, Alttestamentliches Seminar | Kath.-Theol. Fakultät
Group meetings, seminars and public events appear here as soon as they are scheduled.
Ask for the programme by e-mail