Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR)

#Religion has wide-ranging effects on society, providing motivation/membership for social movements, shaping public discourse & fostering debate. Join us to explore these topics & more at the #SSSR_RRA2026 Annual Meeting in Denver.

🗓️ Submissions due March 31.

sssreligion.org/annual-meeti...

Departures board - Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash.

✈️ Are you an international scholar planning to submit a proposal for the upcoming #SSSR_RRA2026 Annual Meeting in Denver? The Society offers grants to help defray costs of attendance.

🗓️ Apply by March 31, 2026 for a Jack Shand International Travel Grant. Details ⬇️

sssreligion.org/awards-grant...

Plane window, clouds.Photo by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash.

🧳🛫 Grad students ➡️ Ready to share your research?
The SSSR is here to support emerging scholars with travel grants to attend the #SSSR_RRA2026 Annual Meeting. Submit your application by March 31st (same deadline as the submission of conference abstracts).
#Religion
sssreligion.org/awards-grant...

IRCSF research fellow Miray Philips, with REDWORD for Human Rights and Freedom of Expression, participated in the 18th session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues in November 2025. Read and watch all about it here: redword.ca/redword-disc...

Book Launch: Unearthing Lifestances: What Community Gardens Tell Us About Nonreligion YouTube video by Nonreligion in a Complex Future

Missed the recent Unearthing Lifestances book launch?? The recording is now available to watch on YouTube:

youtu.be/Ydj57K317eg

2026 Grants & Awards. SSSR logo

Our 2026 Awards and Grants online submissions are now open. Every year, the SSSR confers different awards and funds numerous grants, both for scholars already working in the field and for students. Explore all the opportunities for SSSR members. ⬇️ #Religion #Research
sssreligion.org/awards-grants/

We’re looking forward to hosting a webinar with Anna Strhan on her new co-authored book "Growing Up Godless: Non-Religious Childhoods in Contemporary England," 2:30pm-3:30pm EST on March 4th. To attend the free virtual event, please register here: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Rachael Shillitoe and Anna Strhan holding copies of Growing Up Godless

Publication day! So happy that this is finally out in the world. Thanks so much to the team @princetonupress.bsky.social and everyone else who has helped it and us along the way!

Plane window, clouds.Photo by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash.

🧳🛫 Grad students ➡️ Ready to share your research?
The SSSR is here to support emerging scholars with travel grants to attend the #SSSR_RRA2026 Annual Meeting. Submit your application by March 31st (same deadline as the submission of conference abstracts).
#Religion
sssreligion.org/awards-grant...

The Politicization of the 21 Libya Martyrs Eleven years have passed since ISIS broadcasted a gruesome video on February 15th, 2015, of the beheading of 20 Copts and a Ghanaian on a beach in Libya. The men, who hail from villages in Upper Egypt...

Check out our Research Fellow Miray Philips' new piece in Public Orthodoxy titled "The Politicization of the 21 Libya Martyrs": publicorthodoxy.org/2026/02/15/t...

For nearly a decade, Reading Religion has served as a scholarly and public resource for reviews of books, films, and review essays in religious studies.

Thank you to the editors, reviewers, authors, publishers, and readers whose care and labor sustained this work.

While applications are open for the 2026-2028 YSAR Cohort, check out some of the things our current members are up to!
From book talks and podcasts to UN forums and grant awards.
Learn more about YSAR & applications: raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/programs/you...

Which U.S. religious groups are most highly educated? Hindus and Jews are much more likely to have a four-year college degree than Americans in other religious groups.

Hindus and Jews are much more likely than Americans in other religious groups to have a four-year college degree. 🎓

Discover which U.S. religious groups are most highly educated here:

Cultural Jews and Cultural Catholics? Ahead of the Trend Article - Title: Cultural Jews and Cultural Catholics? ; Date: 2026-02-05

Cultural Jews and Cultural Catholics?

The latest #AheadOfTheTrend column looks at data comparing religion as faith tradition versus cultural identity. In this piece, @ryanburge.bsky.social analyzes survey data from @pewresearch.org on cultural Jews and Catholics.

Social science has much to contribute to understanding the dynamic & contested landscape of #Religion #Nonreligion and #Spirtuality in the 21st century. Join us in exploring religion’s shifting place in society at the #SSSR_RRA2026 annual meeting.

➡️ Submit your paper/session/panel proposal today.

Departures board - Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash.

✈️ Are you an international scholar planning to submit a proposal for the upcoming #SSSR_RRA2026 Annual Meeting in Denver? The Society offers grants to help defray costs of attendance.

🗓️ Apply by March 31, 2026 for a Jack Shand International Travel Grant. Details ⬇️

sssreligion.org/awards-grant...

Are women's rights more at risk than we thought? On the Handmaid's Tale, glass vs. rubber balls, and singing in the shower

Are women's rights more at risk than we thought? Another great essay from @ruthbraunstein.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/ruthbrau...

Continuing the conversation around Black History Month, check out some different syllabi around Black History! These different syllabi all focus on one of the many aspects of Black history.
Find the resources here: raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/resources/

Virtual webinar with Anna Strhan (University of York, UK) on her new book Growing Up Godless: Non-Religious Childhoods in Contemporary England. Organized by @ircsf.bsky.social
March 4th, from 2:30pm-3:30pm EST.
To attend the virtual event, please register on: heyor.ca/a6YVUy

This is a reminder that there is still time to register for the NCF's virtual book launch to celebrate the release of the new book, Unearthing Lifestances: What Community Gardens Tell Us About Nonreligion (De Gruyter, 2026)

February 24
4pm ET

Register here: uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Stories of Change in American Religion - Center for Religion and Civic Culture USC Dornsife Site

American #religion is changing, and we need more than hot takes and simple graphs. @USCCRCC is launching a multi-pronged effort to get better stories out there. Including journalism fellowships.
dornsife.usc.edu/crcc/stories...

Call for Papers #CfP for the Annual Meeting @sssreligion.bsky.social #SSSR_RRA2026 happening in Denver, from October 30 to November 1.
This year's theme is 'Rethinking Religion for the 21st Century'. Opened sincec Feb 1, 2026.
More info: sssreligion.org/annual-meeti...

Social science has much to contribute to understanding the dynamic & contested landscape of #Religion #Nonreligion and #Spirtuality in the 21st century. Join us in exploring religion’s shifting place in society at the #SSSR_RRA2026 annual meeting.

➡️ Submit your paper/session/panel proposal today.

Grant helping MSU’s Lukasik unite scholars to rethink diaspora in American religion

www.msstate.edu/newsroom/art...

@aarweb.bsky.social
@csraac.bsky.social

Applications are now open for the 2026-2028 Young Scholars in American Religion cohort.
Applications are due April 1, 2026.
Learn more about YSAR and apply to be apart of the next cohort: raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/young-schola...

Secularism & Nonreligion

Findings from new study by Cragun, Rodriguez, Smith & Speed (2026) "suggest that the nonreligious are not inherently less likely to give than the religious, and that secularization in the United States has not led to a decline in charitable giving." secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10....

What can community gardens tell us about nonreligion? How have debates over same-sex marriage revealed the boundaries between religion and nonreligion? Has there been a religious revival in the UK?

Find out about all this and more in this edition of the NCF's newsletter:

mailchi.mp/nonreligionp...

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Religious Studies Please review the details for the position before applying. When applying, please confirm your legal name is entered exactly as it appears on your government-issued identification. Ensure that you hav...

The Department of Religious Studies at @wellesley.edu invites applications for a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in #Religion in the Americas, beginning in fall, 2026.
➡️ Indigenous religious cultures, Christianities, Black & Diasporic religions. Apply by March 9.

wd1.myworkdaysite.com/recruiting/w...

Events - University of Victoria Lectures, conferences, symposia, a film series, field-trips and special events—these are some of the channels through which knowledge generated from CSRS research is shared with the communit...

Indigenous religions are undergoing a grassroots revival in Russia. What does this mean for a country so intimately tied to the Russian Orthodox Church? Find out Thursday. Registration and Zoom login at uvic.ca/csrs/events. @uvic-rcs.bsky.social #indigenousspirituality #russianreligion

From music to sports and media explore more of our free resources on popular culture and Black history!
Find the resources here: raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/resources/