Centre for Religion and Public Life research clusters
Religion, Politics and the State
Centre for Religion and Public Life research examines how religious actors and beliefs engage the political, as well as how political bodies and state institutions engage with religious communities.
Work in this area is multiscalar, ranging from neighbourhoods, local and national governments, state institutions such as the police, and international bodies.
The research into the complex intersections of the religious and the political is also multidisciplinary, making use of anthropological, sociological, theological and philosophical approaches and perspectives. It addresses a wide range of topics, such as citizenship, democracy, policing, terrorism, the governance of religious diversity, and the management of charity and social services, both in Britain and in global contexts.
Researchers
- Dr Caroline Fielder
- Dr Alistair McFadyen
- Professor Seán McLoughlin
- Dr Mel Prideaux
- Dr Stefan Skrimshire
- Professor Emma Tomalin
- Dr Adriaan van Klinken
Postgraduate research students
- Kwame Aidan Ahaligah
- Kristi Boone
- Hollie Gowan
Key publications
Caroline Fielder, “Taking Steps toward an Understanding of ‘Civil Society with Chinese Characteristics’: An Exploration through the Eyes of Chinese Faith-based Organizations”, in Democracy and Civil Society in a Global Era, edited by Scott Nicholas Romaniuk and Marguerite Marlin (London: Routledge 2016).
Alistair McFadyen and Mel Prideaux, “The Placing of Religion in Policing and Policing Studies”, Policing and Society 24/5 (2014), 602-619.
Adriaan van Klinken, “Pentecostalism, Political Masculinity and Citizenship: The Born-Again Male Subject as Key to Zambia’s National Redemption”, Journal of Religion in Africa 46/2-3, 129-157.
Major projects
Tomalin is currently Co-Investigator on an ESRC funded project about “Understanding the Role of Faith Based Organisations in Anti-Trafficking in the UK”.