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The Global Religion Research Initiative awards funding to 48 research proposals

Author: Olivia Hall

In this first round of competition, the GRRI received over 150 research proposals from scholars at 100 colleges and universities around the world. The submissions were reviewed by leading social science scholars and 48 of the proposals were awarded funding this 2017 round.

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If you went to Catholic school, you'll probably send your kids to Catholic school too

Author: Olivia Hall

Private Catholic or non-religious private school? Public school or homeschooled? With a variety of schooling options available, how do parents decide where to send their children for high school, and what is the most influential factor in this decision?

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Kevin Christiano is Recipient of the 2016 Prix-du-Québec Award

Author: Rae Hoffman

Kevin J. Christiano, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, is the recipient of the 2016 Prix-du-Québec, presented by the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie of the Gouvernement du Québec in association with the American Council for Québec Studies.

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New book born from Notre Dame conference on polarization in the Catholic Church

Author: Olivia Hall

While universality—and unity amid diversity—is a fundamental characteristic of Roman Catholicism, all-too-familiar issues related to gender, sexuality, race, and authority have wrought the church with internal conflict and no clear path to finding middle ground.

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A new book co-edited by Mary Ellen Konieczny, Ph.D

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First-ever national catalog of protest data gives researchers more complete picture of events

Author: Brittany Collins Kaufman

Protests and demonstrations are an integral part of democracy, especially during election years. Data from these events give researchers insight into areas ranging from policy to social movements to religion. Historically, the best way to collect protest-event data has been to scour newspaper reports, a method that researchers have long admitted can lead to flawed or skewed information.…

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Polarization in the US Catholic Church Naming the Wounds, Beginning to Heal

Author: Rae Hoffman

Polarization in the US Catholic Church Naming the Wounds, Beginning to Heal. Edited by Mary Ellen Konieczny, Charles C. Camosy, and Tricia C. Bruce Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press. 

It is no secret: the body of Christ in the United States is broken. While universality-and unity amid diversity-is a fundamental characteristic of Roman Catholicism, all-too-familiar issues related to gender, sexuality, race, and authority have rent the church. Healthy debates, characteristic of a living tradition, suffer instead from an absence of genuine engagement and dialogue. But there is still much that binds American Catholics. In naming the wounds and exploring their social and religious underpinnings, Polarization in the US Catholic Church underscores how shared beliefs and aspirations can heal deep fissures and the hurts they have caused. Cutting across disciplinary and political lines, this volume brings essential commentary in the direction of reclaimed universality among American Catholics.…

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Global Religion Research Initiative

Author: Rae Hoffman

The Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame is pleased to announce the Global Religion Research Initiative (GRRI), directed by Christian Smith. The competitive research and writing grants and fellowship programs to be awarded over the next three years are intended to advance the social scientific study of religions around the globe.  Opportunities for funding are available to scholars at all stages of their careers.  Visit grri.nd.edu

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New book explores how Catholic parishes contribute to polarization

Author: Liquid error: internal

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Same-sex marriage, abortion and other cultural conflicts centered on the family have intensified in recent years, particularly among American Catholics. These same conflicts also are widely believed to form the basis for much of the moral polarization in public politics among Americans in general.

A new book by Mary Ellen Konieczny, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, examines how religion and family life are intertwined and how local parishes shape that intersection.

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Exploring Capitalism and Catholicism in India and Dubai

Author: Mary Hendriksen

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.

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Renowned sociologist Robert Bellah to visit Notre Dame

Author: Liquid error: internal

Robert Bellah

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.”

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Robert Bellah coming to Notre Dame

Author: Heather Price

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. 

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Undergraduate Fellows Program -- Call for Applications for 2013-2014

Author: Heather Price

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.…

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CSRS Announces New Undergraduate Fellows Program to Start in Fall 2012

Author: Heather Price

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.…

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