In teaching and research, special emphasis is placed on interrelations among traditions and with other societal fields, as well as on overarching regional developments.

Our primary research areas are Sanlun and Hwaŏm Buddhism on the Korean peninsula and their connections with the Chinese mainland. To trace intertextual relations, we mainly apply computer-assisted philological methods.  

Courses relevant to East Asian religions are regularly taught also by colleagues in neighboring fields of East Asian Studies (Chinese Studies, Korean Studies, Japanese Studies, East Asian Politics) and Religious Studies.

Thus, at RUB a broad spectrum of topics can be studied, ranging from early Chinese Taoism and Confucianism to the influence of Christianity in modernity.