Centre for Religion and Public Life

The Centre for Religion and Public Life

A hub of research, impact and public engagement activities at the intersections of religion and public life in local, national and global contexts.

Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash

The Centre for Religion and Public Life (CRPL) studies the complex and critical role of religious belief and practice in contemporary society, locally, nationally and globally. It brings together academic staff and research students in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, as well as from other Schools at the University of Leeds.

Members of the Centre employ various methodological perspectives – such as sociology and anthropology of religion, theology, biblical, religious and cultural studies – as the Centre foregrounds interdisciplinarity as critical to the study of religion and public life.

The Director of the Centre is Professor Johanna Stiebert.

Our research

Research in the Centre is concerned with contemporary religion in relation to a wide range of current issues, such as gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, diaspora and globalisation, media, and development. The geographical contexts range from the city of Leeds, the UK and Europe, Africa and Asia. We have expertise in diverse religious traditions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and new religious movements.

Visit our Religion and Public Life blog and read our newsletters there to find out more about our events and activities, and work in and around the Centre.

Motorized rickshaw with photo of a girl holding a holy book, Our projects

Our projects

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Community Religions Project Community Religions Project

Community Religions Project

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Our people

View our members

 

Research clusters

Work in the Centre is clustered in the following research areas

Greta Thunberg; social activism; Media Futures; workshop; social media campaign; Religion, Activism and Social Justice

Religion, Activism and Social Justice

Work in this area is multidisciplinary, making use of anthropological, sociological, philosophical and theological approaches and concerns a wide range of global contexts

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Centre for religion and public life 6 Religion, Ethnicity and Diaspora

Religion, Ethnicity and Diaspora

This ethnographic research focuses on both local, national and international levels, and is mostly concerned with South Asian Muslim and Sikh communities and traditions.

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psychic event Religion, Ethics and Practice

Religion, Ethics and Practice

Research covers philosophical, theological, ethnographic approaches, and the relation between beliefs in an afterlife and ethical or political engagement; religion, animal ethics and environmentalism.

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Sacred Queer Stories Religion, Gender and Sexuality

Religion, Gender and Sexuality

Research in this area makes use of anthropological, sociological, geographical, theological and textual approaches, building on feminist, queer, and postcolonial perspectives.

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Father and sons lighting candles Religion, Health and Wellbeing

Religion, Health and Wellbeing

Work is empirical, examining the role of religious communities in public health, and also theological and philosophical, how religion contributes to human flourishing and spiritual well-being.

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Monk in prayer Religion, Media and Material Culture

Religion, Media and Material Culture

The work explores South Asian traditions and communities in Britain and makes use of ethnographic, sociological and media-studies approaches.

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Centre for philosophy of religion Religion, Politics and the State

Religion, Politics and the State

This work is multiscalar, ranging from neighbourhoods, local and national governments, state institutions such as the police, and international bodies.

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Impact and engagement

Impact activity is central to the work of the Centre. Our research strengths in the study of contemporary religion in local and global contexts require us to understand impact and public engagement in various forms as an integral part of our research – for example, in our work with local religious communities within the Community Religions Project, now spanning more than 50 years. This is the case for research in theology and biblical studies as well as religious studies. Discover more about our impact.

 

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Seminar series

The Centre for Religion and Public Life (CRPL) is thrilled to announce its seminar series for 2025-26!

Seminars are in-person only and take place at 11.30-13.00 in Botany House 1.03, on alternate Thursdays during teaching weeks.

We are delighted to confirm the schedule for semester two CRPL seminars. Please stay tuned for more event announcements.

  • 29 January 2026: Postgraduate Researchers Work-in-Progress Event
  • 12 February 2026: Dr Olivia Porter
  • 26 February 2026: Dr Chrissie Thwaites
  • 12 March 2026: Dr Theo Wildcroft
  • 26 March 2026: Dr Bethan Oake
  • 30 April 2026: Dr Stephen E. Gregg.

A record of past seminars hosted by the Centre for Religion and Public Life is available here.

For further information, please contact Johanna Stiebert (Director of CRPL): j.stiebert@leeds.ac.uk

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