Dr. Jorien Copier

Biography

Jorien Copier is an Assistant Professor in Empirical Practical Religious Studies at Radboud University. Her research focuses on religious communication, emphasizing how individuals search for, find, and use language to express their experiences of the sacred. Jorien's work delves into how language and experience shape educational contexts, chaplaincy, and religious communities, fostering resonance, connection, and transformation. She has an interdisciplinary academic background in religious studies, (practical) theology, and anthropology. Jorien studied Liberal Arts & Sciences with a major in cultural anthropology and religious studies at Utrecht University and completed a Research Master in Religious Studies cum laude at the University of Amsterdam, researching contemporary miracle narratives. Additionally, she obtained a secondary-school teaching qualification in religious education from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and has taught religion and worldviews in secondary education. Since joining Radboud University in 2015, she has taught qualitative research methods and supervised bachelor’s and master’s theses in religious studies and theology, with a specialization in chaplaincy. Jorien completed her doctoral research on identity formation in primary education and is affiliated with the Center for Religion and Contemporary Society, focusing on qualitative research pertaining to religion in society.

Research Interests