The research of ENID concerns itself with the instrumental aspects of Christian piety and devotional practices, from the 14th to the 20th century.

Though piety, ‘pietas’ or ‘devotio’, is the main focus, what especially interests the research within ENID is how it was practiced, the ‘praxis pietatis’, and what instruments were used to shape, intensify and express both individual and collective piety: books, pictures, devotional objects, music, liturgies and actions.
Through interchange of ideas, sharing of knowledge and critical discourse, the cross disciplinary research of ENID aims at gaining a deeper insight into the mechanisms of piety and devotion, in order to understand the phenomena and their instruments as essential features in the religious and cultural development of Europe.