New Religion #3 Neoliberalism as a Belief System
- Date
- 22 January 2026
- Time
- 17:00 -19:30
- Location
- BG 3
- Room
- VOX-POP
We often imagine ourselves to be living in a secular age, yet we continue to subscribe, often unconsciously, to a strict ideology. In the church of the market, productivity becomes a virtue, output a form of salvation, and our personalities commodities to be optimised. A world without capitalism has become almost impossible to conceive. But if the economy functions as a faith, can we choose to stop believing?
This evening features two in-depth talks and a set of interactive interventions. Professor Wouter Hanegraaff will explore the historical roots of neoliberalism, while researcher Naomi Woltring will examine its impact on contemporary society. Throughout the programme, Sam Kailani will guide the audience through a series of “micro-rituals”: short, collective exercises designed to help us deconstruct our inner capitalist, ranging from sharing “Resumés of Failures” to practising “Anti-Networking.”
Practical information
The programme is open to everyone free of charge. We do kindly invite you to register due to limited capacity.
Guest speakers
Naomi Woltring is a historian and political scientist who obtained her PhD in December 2023 with the dissertation De marktconforme verzorgingsstaat (The Market-Conforming Welfare State). Her research investigates how the Dutch welfare state was fundamentally transformed under the influence of neoliberal ideas between 1989 and 2008. She focuses on the intersection of politics, science, and policy, examining themes such as marketization, social security, and public housing.
Wouter J. Hanegraaff is Full Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and an honorary member of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism. As a leading expert on Esotericism in Western Culture, he investigates 'rejected knowledge,' revealing how spiritual undercurrents remain deeply embedded within our supposedly rational, secular culture.
Co-curator and moderator
Sam’s curiosity for the different ways people give meaning to their lives brought him to the field of Religion Sciences. It was within this field, he started to understand how difficult it actually is to define religion. He noticed how the public had this old fashioned idea of what it entails, but he also noticed how self-proclaimed secular people were part of social groups that had certain rituals, even dogma’s, and he asked himself: isn’t this just a new form of religion? It fuelled the idea for this programme series wherein he wants to investigate the broadness of the spectrum of religion and spirituality and he hopes the series can serve as a mirror for people to reflect on their own spirituality. Sam is currently doing his Bachelor Religious Studies at the University of Amsterdam.
