Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Faculty of Humanities
Department of Philosophy
+31 20 59 86683
Govert J. Buijs studied political science, philosophy and theology at various institutions in The Netherlands and Canada and holds a PhD in political philosophy of the VU University (‘Vrije Universiteit’) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. From 1991 to 1999 he was Director of Studies at the Christian Study Centre (currently called Forum-C). His dissertation on Eric Voegelin’s analysis of totalitarian ideologies won the Savornin Lohman prize for political thought related to Christianity. He currently holds the Abraham Kuyper Chair for Political Philosophy & Religion at the philosophy department of the VU University. He also teaches Philosophy of Economics at the faculty of Economics & Business Administration of the same university.
Buijs is a philosopher with an interdisciplinary orientation whose research interests include the role of religion and morality in the interplay of politics, civil society and the market. Recent research focuses on the socio-political impact of the Christian concepts of agape/caritas in the past, present and future. Buijs is a board member of the research centre of the Dutch Christian-Democratic Party. He acts as a policy advisor for (managers and boards of) numerous civil society organisations in The Netherlands and is a regular commentator in Dutch media on socio-ethical issues.