Call for Papers: The International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society, 3rd Annual Conference

University of Birmingham and Online (hybrid conference) 13-15 July 2022 Bursaries and honoraria to support participation, whether in-person or online are available, see below for more. The International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society has been at the centre of the recent significant growth in social scientific and humanities research focusing on science, religion, and belief in society. Following our successful online conference…

STEMM and Belief in Diverse Contexts: Publics, Praxis, Policy and Pluralism Online conference, 7-9 July 2021 This conference took place from 7-9 July 2021 online. The final programme can be found at the following Download link: INSBS-Conference-2021-Final-ProgrammeDownload Included in the Programme are the following two plenary events. These are public lectures. Intersectional Approaches to Diversity in STEMM: Belief, Culture, and Inclusion The lack of diversity…

Registration: STEMM and Belief in Diverse Contexts: Publics, Praxis, Policy & Pluralism

Online conference, 7-9 July 2021 Conference format Due to constraints imposed by COVID 19, this conference will be entirely online. Sessions will be held throughout the day in order to enable people from different time zones to participate. Participants will be given the option of pre-recording their presentations, with recordings being submitted in advance of the conference dates.  If you have any questions or concerns about access or the conference…

How to Build an Academic Network

By Stephen H. Jones and Paula Brikci  On 5th February, the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society launched a call for grants to support the development of regional academic networks. In this blog, drawing on the insights of scholars from across the field, Stephen H. Jones and Paula Brikci look at what makes a good academic network and what anyone thinking of establishing…

Call for Papers: STEMM and Belief in Diverse Contexts: Publics, Praxis, Policy & Pluralism

Update 16 March: Call for Papers is now closed. Online conference, 7-9 July 2021 In the last decade, there has been significant growth in social scientific and humanities research focusing on science, religion and belief in society. Greater attention is being paid to the varied ways in which perceptions of different aspects of STEMM subjects (science, technology, engineering, medicine, and mathematics) have been, or are, influenced by religious and non-religious…

Announcing our first International Research Network grant awards

Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash We are pleased to announce the first awards made via our Seed Funding and Small Research Grants scheme. We have been able to award funding to fifteen projects in this first round of funding. Projects will focus on conducting socially relevant research across a variety of aspects in the field of religion and science in society, in a broad range of countries.

Emergent Themes in the Study of Science & Belief in Society

PhD Workshop Online 12 – 16 April 2021 The International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society (INSBS) will be running an international PhD workshop online from 12-16 April 2021. The workshop is open to anyone currently enrolled on a PhD programme and conducting research on any social or cultural aspect of Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths or Medicine (STEMM) in relation to any religious, spiritual or non-religious…

New Podcast Series launched

Today (14 October 2020) we are launching our new audio series: Science and Belief in Society podcasts. More information and a schedule of release dates can be found here.

Reflections on the 2020 Early Career Workshop

By Amanda Beardsley and Jude Likori The most frequently used words in feedback given by our ECR workshop participants In July of this year, the INSBS Network hosted a week-long workshop for Early Career Researchers. The Workshop was split into two groups to accommodate a broad range of time zones. Two members of the groups give us their reflections on the workshop below; Amanda (West Cohort) and Jude (East Cohort).

INSBS Conference Postponed

As you will all be aware, across many countries governments and universities have recently been placing restrictions on people’s travel in response to the COVID 19 epidemic, with many higher education institutions closing completely for an indefinite period. This includes bans on mass gathering over 100 people and incoming international travel in some countries including South Africa. In the UK we have not yet witnessed many restrictions on travel and…

Call for Participants: STEMM & Belief in Diverse Contexts, Early Career Researcher Workshop

29-30 June, 2020, Stellenbosch, South Africa Organised by the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society (INSBS) in association with the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. We invite expressions of interest to participate in the fully-funded, STEMM and Belief in Diverse Contexts Early Career Researcher (ECR) Workshop, which will take place in Stellenbosch, South Africa…

Call for Papers: STEMM and Belief in Diverse Contexts: Publics, Praxis, Policy and Pluralism

1 – 3 July, 2020 Stellenbosch, South Africa Call for Papers Please note: bursaries to support attendance are available, including (but not limited to) specific funds for early career researchers and researchers who are based in Africa. Organised by the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society (IRNSSBS) in association with the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST),…

Drawing boundaries: Reflections on the Science and Belief in Society conference, Birmingham 4th – 6th July, 2019

By James Riley A version of this article initially appeared on the International Society for Science & Religion website. Featured image credit: @CarolaLeicht From the 4th to 6th of July, 2019, the University of Birmingham, UK, hosted the inaugural conference of the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society (INSBS). It was a multidisciplinary event, with scholars from the history…

Science and Belief in Society Conference, Birmingham (UK) 4-6 July, 2019

The first annual conference of the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society was held at the University of Birmingham from 4-6 July, 2019. This multidisciplinary conference featured speakers from disciplines including the history of science, sociology of religion, science and technology studies, philosophy, social psychology, science communication studies, education studies, and anthropology. Keynote papers were given by historian Professor Peter Harrison, Australian Laureate Fellow…

Rethinking Science-Religion Conflict Narratives

Public Lecture, Thursday 4th July @ 17:30, University of Birmingham Australian Laureate Fellow Professor Peter Harrison will give a free public talk titled, “Rethinking Science-Religion Conflict Narratives,” on Thursday 4th July at 5:30pm in Lecture Theatre C of the Aston Webb Building at the University of Birmingham. A bio and abstract follow, below the poster for the event. Rethinking Science-Religion Conflict Narratives Abstract: For several decades now, historians of…

PRESS RELEASE: results of major new survey on evolution

  NEW EVOLUTION SURVEY SHOWS THAT WHILST THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN UK AND CANADA ACCEPT EVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE, NON-RELIGIOUS AND ATHEIST INDIVIDUALS SHOW SIMILAR DOUBTS ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF HUMANS AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS AS RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL INDIVIDUALS. Brighton, 5th September 2017 A Newman University/YouGov survey examining public perceptions and attitudes towards evolution has found that while there is a broad consensus of acceptance towards evolutionary science…