Living a Catholic life: Understanding the intimate lives of young Catholic women in Flanders

This PhD project takes the lives of (young) Roman Catholic women as a starting point to examine how religiosity is constructed and performed. I investigate how these women navigate between religious traditions and prescriptions, and secular society. Furthermore, I seek to explore how religious beliefs and teachings inform their interpretations, experiences, and practices pertaining to intimate relationships, and sexuality. The research adopts an anthropological framework by conducting empirical research among Catholic women who are active in the Church, and deploys a lived religion perspective. I draw upon feminist theory, gender studies, and religious studies in order to theorize the lived realities of these Catholic women.