What is the role of religion in rapidly developing societies? It is a hotly contested question among social scientists and theologians alike, with the prevailing view holding that global capitalism either makes religion irrelevant or produces a backlash of fundamentalism. Brandon Vaidyanathan, a graduate student in Notre Dame’s Department of Sociology, is discovering a different reality as he focuses on the world of skilled professionals in multinational corporations in two rapidly globalizing cities—Bangalore, India, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Read More

Sociologist Robert Bellah will visit the University of Notre Dame on March 19 (Tuesday). The Elliott Professor of Sociology emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, Bellah will present a lecture titled “The Modern Project in Light of Human Evolution” at 4:30 p.m. in the Notre Dame Conference Center at McKenna Hall, to be followed by a public reception in the atrium at 6 p.m. On March 20 (Wednesday), the University will host a public discussion and breakfast with Bellah at 9 a.m. also in McKenna Hall.

“Bob Bellah is an international celebrity,” says Lionel M. Jensen, associate professor in Notre Dame’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and concurrent professor in the Department of History.

“He is a living exemplar of the sociology of religion as a discipline, one whose current work is in dialogue with the earlier founders of the discipline — (Emile) Durkheim and (Max) Weber.” Read More

Robert N. Bellah, distinguished professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley and National Humanities Medal awardee, will be spending three days with faculty and student scholars to discuss his current research project. On Tuesday, March 19th, he will be publically speaking on his latest research regarding religion and human evolution.  Read More

We are excited to announce the open call for applications to our second year of the Undergraduate Fellows Program. Our Center officially invites applications for our year-long Undergraduate Religion Research Fellows Program for the 2013-2014 academic year. This Fellows program encourages student involvement and participation in the Center through becoming a part of the intellectual community and individual scholarship – encouraging undergraduates to explore the possibility of becoming academic scholars of religion in a variety of disciplines and fields for their future careers. Read More

A new report from Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies and CSRS Fellows, Edwin Hernandez and David Sikkink, describes the political views and behaviors of leaders and congregants in Latino churches in Chicago.  Read More

We are excited to announce the open call for applications to our new Fellows Program! Our Center officially invites applications for our year-long Undergraduate Religion Research Fellows Program for the 2012-2013 academic year. This Fellows program encourages student involvement and participation in the Center through becoming a part of the intellectual community and individual scholarship – encouraging undergraduates to explore the possibility of becoming academic scholars of religion in a variety of disciplines and fields for their future careers. Read More

Homies and Hermanos: God and Gangs in Central America
Robert Brenneman

Notre Dame’s Science of Generosity Initiative has awarded $1.4 million to four research projects that will study the origins, manifestations and consequences of generosity. The winning projects were chosen from among 325 proposals by scholars in 32 countries and numerous disciplines. Read More

Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith’s latest book is one of two winners of the 2010 Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize from the International Association for Critical Realism (IACR). What is a Person?: Rethinking Humanity, Social Life, and the Moral Good from the Person Up (University of Chicago Press) presents a new model for social theory that embraces the best of our humanistic visions of people, life, and society. Read More

At a time when the battered economy caused many sociology programs to freeze hiring for a second consecutive year, the University of Notre Dame doubled down. “I am pleased to say that we hired four of the very best young scholars in the nation and each one will be joining us in the fall of 2011,” says Professor Rory McVeigh, chair of the Department of Sociology. “These scholars, as a group, not only build on our preexisting strengths but also help us to establish strength in some new areas of research.” Read More