LEVYNA is an interdisciplinary centre affiliated with the Department for the Study of Religions, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. It is the only institution in the world exclusively dedicated to the experimental study of religion. Combining methods and expertise from the Humanities and the Sciences, LEVYNA brings together researchers with backgrounds as diverse as Religious Studies, Anthropology, History, Psychology, and Neuroscience, who work collaboratively to investigate religious belief and behaviour. It aims to train young scholars in employing scientific methods in the study of religion, and to produce high quality research on religion through cross-disciplinary collaboration, methodological integration and innovation.

29 Jun 2020

Does ritual behavior decrease anxiety?

A new publication by Martin Lang, Jan Krátký and Dimitris Xygalatas in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

29 Jan 2020

Open post-doc position

We are looking for a new colleague to join our lab for two years as a post-doc researcher with a specialization in economic games and behavioral experiments.

23 Jan 2020

A new research called “SACRIFICE” has been just launched

It will examine how participation in costly rituals affects the willingness to sacrifice one’s resources during inter-group conflict.

23 Dec 2019

Our Ph.D. students received a grant from the Development Fund of Masaryk University

They will use the money to create a new and innovative course in which they will focus on the evolution of human cooperation and the role that religion played in this process.

2 Oct 2019

Jan Horský won the second place in the student poster competition

Jan was awarded at the conference PTNCE 2019 held in Prague with a large LEVYNA presence.

10 Sep 2019

Martin Lang is this year’s recipient of the IAPR’s Early Career Award

Martin was awarded the prize at the bi-annual conference of the International Association for the Psychology of Religion (IAPR). On this occasion, he also delivered the invited lecture “Religions as complex adaptive systems: The evolutionary paths of religious beliefs and behaviors.”