Pluriel

University platform for research on Islam

Initiated by
the Federation
of European
Catholic
Universities

Supported by
the International
Federation
of Catholic
Universities

Bénédicte Du Chaffaut

Born in 1946 in Paris, Bénédicte du Chaffaut is a member of the leadership team at the Theological Center of Meylan-Grenoble, where she heads the “Spirituality, Ecumenism, and Interreligious Relations” department.

Trained in sociology (Master’s degree, 1969) and at Sciences Po Paris (Public Service section, 1972), she completed her education with a Master’s degree in theology specializing in Islamic studies (1992). After her first professional experience at Publicis Conseil (1972-1975), she continued her career as a research officer at the Laboratory for Communication Studies and Research (1975-1992).

Her involvement in Islamic-Christian dialogue materialized from 1992 at the Theological Center of Meylan-Grenoble, which she directed from 1997 to 2003. She actively participates in national interfaith dialogue bodies, particularly within the Service for Relations with Islam (1996-2005), and later the Service for Relations with Muslims of the French Bishops’ Conference (2011-2015). At the European level, she represented France on the Islam Europe Committee (2005-2010).

Her research, conducted notably at the Laboratory of Islamic Studies at the Catholic University of Lyon since 2008, focuses primarily on the status of women in Islam. She has published numerous articles and contributions on feminist movements in Islam, religious authority, and contemporary issues of radicalization. Her expertise is regularly sought at international conferences, particularly at the Jacques Cartier Talks (2019-2023). She also served on the scientific committee of “Islamochristiana,” the journal of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (2011-2021).

Member of the Research group

Université catholique de Lyon - France

Religious fundamentalism (Closed)

The research group seeks to clarify the mechanisms of fundamentalism and its various expressions. Very often, ideological and ritualistic orders are so interwoven that they lead to community identifications.

Researchers of this group

Member of the Research group

Université catholique de Lyon - France

Centre d'études des cultures et des religions, UCLy - France

Authority and Regulation in Islam (Lyon)

After a research programme on religious, Islamic and Biblical fundamentalism, and a deconstructivist approach to fundamentalism, we thought it was important to approach the notion of authority in link with religion, especially in Islamic context. Persons with authority or identified places of authority are not a simple process. This is all the more true in the Sunni Muslim tradition, the absence of a designation by the Prophet of an institution willing to regulate the religious questions will open the way to a plurality of modalities that may be of theological or theological-political nature.

Researchers of this group

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