This is a complex research project particularly because of its ambition to elaborate and refine key concepts such as lay religious practice, religious/confessional identities, normative policy of the Church from a methodological point of view. To fulfill this goal the research strategy will be constructed along three, interconnected lines: a critical assessment of the secondary literature, source analysis in an interdisciplinary manner, elaboration of a methodology deriving and responding to the exigencies of current scholarship in the field of religious studies and the locally produced textual and non-textual sources.

As its overall goal, the project aims to create a nucleus of research at the Faculty of History and Philosophy in Cluj with international visibility.

The aims of the project can be achieved by recruiting scholars from Romania and from abroad at various stages of their professional development. The emphasis will be placed on training younger scholars at the beginning of their career in a formative and competitive environment. The scholars need to be able to respond to the exigencies of the methodology and the nature of the sources. The structure of the research team is a flexible one, as it includes five members for the entire duration of the project and several other scholars for shorter periods of time.

In addition to the director of the project, Maria Crăciun, the team includes four other members: Ovidiu Ghitta, Mária Lupescu Makó, Carmen Florea and Ciprian Firea.