research directory

Sociology, Sociology of Religion

Jones, Stephen

United Kingdom
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Overview

I am a sociologist of religion specialising in the study of Islam and Muslims in the UK and religious and non-religious publics’ perceptions of science.

I completed my doctorate in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and subsequently held positions at York St John University, Newman University and the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, University of Bristol, before joining the University of Birmingham in 2018. My guiding academic interest is in the formation and public negotiation of religious and non-religious moral convictions. I have a specific interest in the negotiation of the Islamic tradition in secular contexts, including debates about Islam and multiculturalism, secularism, liberalism and rationalism. I am the current General Secretary of the Muslims in Britain Research Network, and have a book on these themes forthcoming with IB Tauris, Islam and the Secular State: National Identity and The Transformation of Muslim Community in Britain. Alongside this, I have worked on a wide range of projects focusing on Muslim political participation, faith-based social action and religion in higher education. Since 2014, my research has turned to focus on public interactions between science and (non-)religious belief, both in the UK and, more recently, internationally. I was a member of the research team on ‘Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum’ (2014-2017), and am co-editor (with Rebecca Catto and Tom Kaden) of Science, Belief and Society: International Perspectives on Religion, Non-Religion and the Public Understanding of Science. I also a presently Co-Investigator on the follow-on study, ‘Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum Global Perspectives’.