SSRC Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal Program

Funding for projects exploring the impact of religion and/or spirituality on democratic systems of government, or significant democratic movements, and vice versa.

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is an independent, international, non-profit organisation that fosters innovative research, nurtures new generations of social scientists, deepens how inquiry is practiced within and across disciplines, and mobilises necessary knowledge on important public issues.

The SSRC operates the Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal Program in partnership with the Fetzer Institute. The programme specifically seeks to support research exploring whether, how and under what conditions religion and/or spirituality shapes democratic systems of government, or significant democratic movements, and vice versa.

Award recipients will explore the intersection of religious and/or spiritual identities, behaviours, attitudes and organisations with social and political structures, processes, and institutions. Proposals must elucidate how the project will engage specific examples of religion and/or spiritual ideas or movements as well as how the specific example is relevant to a contemporary question of democracy or democratic action in a particular location or locations.

Proposals are welcomed 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. Projects may take a historical perspective but must demonstrate strong relevance to the current moment.

Research questions should focus tightly on specific empirical examples, and proposed research methods should be appropriate to answer those questions. Applications should demonstrate strong interest in disseminating findings to academic audiences, practitioners, and to broader interested publics.