Programs

Religion and the Public Sphere

Advancing and mobilizing new knowledge about religion, secularism, and public life

SSRC President Craig Calhoun (center) moderates a public dialogue with philosopher Charles Taylor (right) and Michael Warner of Yale University, April 2008.

Credit: Institute for Public Knowledge, NYU

Religion has emerged in recent years as an increasingly important aspect of national and international politics, as a contentious cultural force, and as a subject of sustained public debate. Through a wide range of innovative projects, the SSRC's Religion and the Public Sphere Program seeks to deepen the engagement and cooperation of social scientists working on religion, secularism and related topics and to expand critical scholarship in this increasingly important area of study. Recent projects have included a survey of the religious engagements of American undergraduates; the launching of a collective blog, The Immanent Frame; and a new Ford-funded initiative examining how spirituality shapes public life in America. Several edited volumes are planned.
Program Officer
Jonathan VanAntwerpen
Contacts

Projects