The unit is divided into seven research teams. A central research interest is the beginning of Christianity as a Jewish movement and the gradual parting of ways of the two religions.
Special attention is paid to the significance of social and legitimation strategies.
One goal is a comprehensive overall account of early Christian ideology. This large project is supported by specialized research in selected areas which have been insufficiently explored in international scholarship. The boundaries of the biblical canon are programmatically ignored. Jewish ideology is studied both as a matrix of emerging Christianity and in its own right. A number of methodological approaches are used.