The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Research Affiliation Available

The Pluralism Project invites students and faculty in the comparative study of religion, anthropology, sociology, history, government, law, and other academic fields to participate in research on the changing contours of American religious life and the significance of religious pluralism for American civil society. Projects might include:

1. mapping the multireligious dynamics of particular cities and towns
2. studying the new civic instruments of relationship between faiths, such as interfaith councils and networks, especially in the wake of 9/11
3. understanding the emerging participation of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Muslim, or Jain communities in civil and political life
4. inerpreting the legal issues that emerge in a more religiously complex society

There are many areas of the United States where we have not yet had affiliates work, including a number of major cities (Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Memphis, San Diego, St. Louis, Wichita, and Topeka, for example) and states (Alabama, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, and Oklahoma for example). We would welcome applicants to work in these and other areas of the United States, including the revisiting of some of the research done earlier in the 1990s. Other topics might include Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist women's networks and conferences; Sikh, Hindu, or Vietnamese Buddhist summer camps; networks and conventions of Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, and other immigrants; faith-based service projects; the study of a particular temple, mosque, or gurdwara; the study of the ritual dimensions of community life; the study of a particular issue in the religious life of an American ethnic community. We are particularly interested in supporting research on post 9/11 developments in interfaith collaborations and other religious responses.

Undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty are encouraged to consider research work on this project.

Pluralism Project researchers present their work at our conferences and online. The Pluralism Project also expects a full written report on the research, either as an independent paper or as part of a larger project.

For further information, contact Kathryn Lohre at (617) 496-2481 or e-mail staff@pluralism.org.