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| Center for the Study of Religion and Society | |
|---|---|
| Name | Center for the Study of Religion and Society |
| Established | 1980s |
| Type | Research institute |
| Location | University campus |
| Director | Academic leadership |
Center for the Study of Religion and Society is an academic research center dedicated to interdisciplinary investigation of religious belief, practice, and institutions in social contexts. It connects scholars from sociology, anthropology, history, political science, and law to study religion alongside public life, demography, and cultural change. The center hosts conferences, supports graduate training, and publishes empirical and theoretical work that informs policymakers, faith communities, and global institutions.
The center emerged amid shifts in American academia during the late 20th century, shaped by debates surrounding secularization, the role of religion after the Second Vatican Council, and demographic transformations studied by scholars influenced by Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, and Clifford Geertz. Early institutional allies included the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, and university departments such as Harvard University, University of Chicago, and Princeton University. Directors and founding faculty often had ties to programs at Yale University, Stanford University, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and international centers like the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and the Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. The center’s archives reflect exchanges with projects funded by the Social Science Research Council, the Russell Sage Foundation, and collaborations with researchers affiliated with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the British Academy.
The mission emphasizes empirical rigor and comparative perspective, engaging topics such as religious pluralism, secularism, political mobilization, and legal pluralism. Research agendas link to work on migration studied by scholars at Migration Policy Institute and demographic trends researched by the Pew Research Center and the United Nations Population Fund. Projects interrogate relationships among religious movements, social networks, and institutions such as the United Nations, the European Union, and national parliaments. Methodologically, the center draws on surveys pioneered by the General Social Survey, fieldwork traditions associated with American Anthropological Association, and archival methods used in Library of Congress collections.
The governance model combines an interdisciplinary faculty committee with external advisory boards including members from universities like Duke University, University of Michigan, Yale University, and international partners such as McGill University and the University of Oxford. Leadership roles have included directors who previously held posts at institutions such as Princeton Theological Seminary, Emory University, Georgetown University, and appointments tied to national academies such as the National Academy of Sciences. Administrative support often coordinates with university offices like the Office of the Provost and grant offices that negotiate awards from entities like the National Science Foundation and private foundations such as the Carnegie Corporation.
The center runs postdoctoral fellowships aligned with models at the Harvard Divinity School and the Institute for Advanced Study, graduate training seminars comparable to those at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences and public lecture series modeled on events at the Gifford Lectures and Nobel Prize symposia. Signature initiatives include comparative projects on religion and politics paralleling studies by the Brookings Institution and the Hoover Institution, interfaith dialogue programs referencing efforts by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Interfaith Youth Core, and longitudinal survey initiatives inspired by the World Values Survey.
Publications span working paper series, edited volumes, and peer-reviewed journals, engaging outlets such as the American Sociological Review, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Sociology of Religion, and collaborations with university presses including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Princeton University Press. Major projects have examined topics addressed in works by scholars associated with Edwin S. Gaustad, Peter Berger, Rodney Stark, and Paul Tillich, as well as contemporary analyses linked to research appearing in the New York Times and policy briefs for the United States Institute of Peace.
The center maintains partnerships with academic units and policy organizations, coordinating research with the Pew Research Center, the World Bank, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and regional research networks such as the African Studies Association and the Middle East Studies Association. Collaborations include joint conferences with the American Political Science Association, interdisciplinary workshops with the American Historical Association, and exchange programs tied to institutions like the Humboldt University of Berlin and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.
Faculty and alumni include scholars who moved on to appointments or visiting positions at institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, University of Chicago, Princeton University, Stanford University, Columbia University, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, McGill University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, Cornell University, New York University, Brown University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vanderbilt University, Rutgers University, University of Toronto, Australian National University, University of Edinburgh, King's College London, Leiden University, National University of Singapore, Seoul National University, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, University of São Paulo, University of Cape Town, Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Zhejiang University, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Istanbul University, Aarhus University, and University of Amsterdam. Alumni have contributed to publications and public service within organizations such as the United Nations, the European Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and national cultural institutions including the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.
Category:Research institutes