Deadline: 14-Apr-22
The Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal (RSDR) fellowship program invites proposals for research at the intersection of religion, spirituality, and democracy in the United States. The fellowships offer research support over a period of up to 12 months to doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy and to postdoctoral researchers within five years of their PhD.
Aim
- The Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal (RSDR) Fellowship of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) aims to bring knowledge of the place of religion and spirituality into scholarly and public conversations about renewing democracy in the United States. These fellowships are offered by the SSRC Program on Religion and the Public Sphere with the support and partnership of the Fetzer Institute.
Research Themes
- For this year’s RFP, they especially seek projects that shed light on 1) the religious and spiritual dimensions of the deep political polarization and dysfunction in the US today and/or 2) the ways religious ideas, actors, and institutions may (or may not) be contributing to more inclusive and civil democratic politics.
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Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Religious nationalism, and particularly the rise of Christian nationalism
- Religious, spiritual, and theological dimensions of contemporary movements that challenge (or legitimate) racial inequalities and exclusions
- Gendered dimensions of groups and movements that situate themselves at the nexus of religion and politics
- Political participation and the social mobilization of religious identities
- The intersection of political polarization, the online circulation of miss-/dis-information, “New Age” spiritualties, and conspiracy theory movements
- Debates within and between religious and spiritual groups that connect with broader political issues (e.g. the proper role of government in a democracy) and public debates.
Benefits
Doctoral candidates will receive up to $15,000 and postdoctoral researchers up to $18,000 toward.
Eligibility Criteria
- They welcome proposals on religion and spirituality in its relation to democracy from across all fields in the social sciences (including, but not limited to: anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, and sociology), as well as the humanities, theology, and other relevant fields. Research projects using any social science methodology, quantitative, qualitative, or mixed, are eligible. Proposals will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary selection committee on their overall quality and their potential to deepen understanding of the role that religion and spirituality play in democracy and to inform practical engagement around these issues. Applications, especially from recent PhD recipients, should demonstrate strong interest in disseminating findings to academic audiences, practitioners, and to broader interested publics.
- Fellowship funds will typically be used for activities directly related to research, such as travel expenses and accommodations, research equipment and supplies, support for research assistants, and costs for access to publications or proprietary databases. In exceptional cases, and in consultation with program staff, award funds may be used to cover other expenses.
- Given the uncertainty with regard to the feasibility of travel and in-person activities due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, applicants are encouraged to consider the potential of virtual research methods. If travel or in-person research is proposed, applicants should account for the potential impact of the pandemic in their plans.
For more ionformation, visit Social Science Research Council.
For more information, visit https://www.ssrc.org/programs/religion-and-the-public-sphere/religion-spirituality-and-democratic-renewal-fellowship/