Research

Religion, Science, and Society

Religious Discrimination and Victimization

How does an individual's religion shape how they perceive science? How does exposure to science shape an individual's religion? Group members have published research in journals like Public Understanding of Science and the Journal of Career Development.

How are changing religious demographics altering the frequency and nature of religious discrimination and criminal victimization? How does context influence these patterns? Group members have published research in journals like Social Currents and Review of Religious Research.

Dynamics of Religious Behavior and Identity

What processes lead an individual to identify with one religious label versus another? How do social contexts shape religious behavior? Group members have published research in journals like Social Forces, Sociological Forum and Rationality and Society.

Religion, Communities, and Solidarity

How do religious groups or cultures shape communities? How do religious organizations contribute to a community's solidarity and civil society? Group members have published research in journals like Social Science History and Sociology of Religion.

Religion and Health

How does religious group membership impact choices about health behaviors? How have religious groups been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic? Group members have received grants from the National Science Foundation and the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society. The grants have funded graduate student work on Amish COVID projects. Group members have published research in journals like the Journal of Plain and Anabaptist Communities and Vaccine.

Methodological Innovations in the Study of Religion

How can we expand our understanding of religion? How can we be innovative in the study of religion? Group members have received grants from the John Templeton Foundation for the study of multiple religious identification and for the study of religion through experiments in the Survey Experiments for the Scientific Study of Religion project which fields survey experiments through NORC's Amerispeak panel (https://www.sessr.org/). Group members have published research in journals like Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.