Paulo F. de Oliveira Fontes

I am an expert on the religious history of Portugal in the 19th and 20th centuries. I got my degree in History from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon (FLUL, 1982). I did my postgraduate studies in 20th Century History at the Institut d'Études Politiques in Paris (1987), having been a student of René Rémond and Émile Poulat. There I became interested in the new “Histoire Religieuse”. In Portugal, I was hired as a Research Assistant (1988) by the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), where I carried out research focussed on the Religious History of Portugal, alongside a varied teaching career in its various faculties (Theory of History, Economic History, Political History, History of Christianity). I took part in the creation of the Centre of Religious History Studies (CEHR, 1988-), where I participated in the relaunch of the journal Lusitania Sacra, the creation of 3 editorial collections and the scientific coordination of the 7 volumes of the História and Dicionário de História Religiosa de Portugal, as well as in building a team of researchers mobilised by Religious History. I did my PhD in 2007 on a subject that combines political, social and religious history (Catholic elites in Portugal during the Estado Novo). In a collaborative effort with other universities, I took part in the launch of the 1st Interuniversity Doctoral Programme in History (PIUDHist), with FCT funding, where I have taught regularly (2008-) and to whose Board of Directors I belong; I am a guest teacher on the MA and PhD programmes in History and Culture of Religions (FLUL, since 2010). The research projects carried out, the supervision of more than 20 master’s and doctoral dissertations, as well as the diversity of publications, indicate the impact and recognition of the path I have developed. I am a member of the UCP Scientific Society and of the Observatory of the Islamic World. Since 2014, I am the director of CEHR, along with other institutional positions held within UCP.