The Center for Intercultural Theology and the Study of Religions is pleased to announce that the Ulrich Winkler Award 2026 will be awarded to Julia Kuhn (née Feldbauer) for her dissertation “Das Land Israel als Spannungsfeld im jüdisch-katholischen Dialog. Eine theologische Analyse des Konzeptes ‘Land’.”

Kuhn’s dissertation examines a central and still unresolved question in Jewish–Catholic relations: how Catholic theology interprets the Land and State of Israel, offering a state-of-the-art discussion of Catholic perspectives in dialogue with Jewish voices and engaging contemporary approaches such as the spatial turn and actor-network theory. The study proposes guiding principles for a Catholic Theology of the Land that takes Jewish voices seriously and responds to contemporary theological and political challenges.

Public Lecture The award will be presented in the context of a public lecture at the Crosscultural Religious Studies Summer School.

Lecture title:

• “The Land of Israel in Jewish–Catholic Dialogue: Theological Tensions and New Perspectives.”

About the Award and Selection The Ulrich Winkler Award recognizes outstanding dissertation or postdoctoral work in comparative theology and the study of religions that integrates international research and addresses contemporary issues with an outlook toward peaceful and constructive interreligious engagement. It aims to foster critical, appreciative attitudes toward other religious traditions and encourages Christianity to move beyond exclusive and polemical truth claims.

The award carries a prize of 1,000 EUR (including travel to Salzburg up to 200 EUR and one overnight stay). It is administered by a board of trustees; legal recourse is excluded.

Jury Perspectives

• Catherine Cornille commends the dissertation for its “state-of-the-art discussion” of Catholic perspectives in dialogue with Jewish voices, its helpful overview including critical Jewish perspectives and Palestinian Christian voices, and its rich, nuanced conclusion.
• Andreas Nehring highlights the dissertation’s balanced recognition of Jewish claims to the land alongside the obligation to pursue peace and justice, noting its important contribution to objectivity in a politically charged debate and its potential to advance Catholic theology of Israel.
• Frank X. Clooney notes the theological clarity and breadth of the work—in dialogue with the Catholic Church’s reflection on the Jewish people and attentive to realities “on the ground”—and its closeness to the spirit of Ulrich Winkler’s scholarship.
• Perry Schmid-Leukel praises the thesis for its differentiated mapping of diverse Jewish views on the religious and political aspects of the land and for exploring new theoretical strands that open fresh perspectives on this complex issue.

About the Laureate Julia Kuhn (née Feldbauer, 1995) teaches Catholic Religious Education at the upper-secondary level in Upper Austria. She completed her doctorate at the University of Salzburg (2021–2024) within the international research project “Developing a Theology of the Interreligious Dialogue from a Jewish–Christian Perspective.” Since 2022, she has moderated the “Network of Young Scholars in Jewish–Christian Dialogue.” Her dissertation has been published as “Spannungsfeld Israel. Eine katholische Theologie des Landes im Austausch mit jüdischen und kulturwissenschaftlichen Ansätzen.”

Background on Ulrich Winkler Ulrich Winkler (1961–2021) was an Associate Professor at the University of Salzburg, co-founder of the Centre for Intercultural Theology and the Study of Religions, and held the Laurentius Klein Chair of Biblical and Ecumenical Theology at the Theologisches Studienjahr Jerusalem in Dormition Abbey. His research focused on the theology of religions and comparative theology; the award reflects his commitment to rigorous, dialogical, and peace-oriented scholarship.