Speaker: Jade
Job title: Doctoral researcher
Company: KU Leuven

About the spreaker
Jade Willaert (Antwerp, 2001) is a doctoral researcher of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen) and a member of the Research Unit Pastoral and Empirical Theology at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven. In her doctoral research (2024-2028), she explores how Catholics in Flanders, Belgium construct and negotiate their Catholic identity in relation to LGBTQ+ matters. The project aims to gain insight into the views of Flemish Catholics on LGBTQ+ matters and how they interpret the diverse perspectives on this subject within the Catholic Church. This PhD is supervised by Prof. Dr. Annemie Dillen and Prof. Dr. Dries Bosschaert. Before starting this project, she studied theology and religious studies at KU Leuven. She completed the research master's programme ‘Master of Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion’ with a major in pastoral theology in 2024. Both her bachelor's and research master's theses focused on topics related to (the history of) LGBTQ+ Catholicism in Flanders. Contact me: jade.willaert@kuleuven.be