Overview

Renny Thomas is Assistant Professor  (Sociology and Social Anthropology), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, India. 

Before joining IISER, he taught at the Department of Sociology, Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, New Delhi (2015-2021). He was the Charles Wallace Fellow in Social Anthropology at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK (2017-2018). He was also the recipient of American Academy of Religion’s Collaborative International Research Grant, New York, USA (2015-2016).

His recent publications include:

“Brahmins as Scientists and Science as Brahmins’  Calling: Caste in an Indian Scientific Research Institute.” Public Understanding of Science (Sage) 29(3) (2020).

“Rational Believers: Religion, Spirituality and Tradition among Indian Scientists.” In Science, Belief and Society: International Perspectives on Religion, Non-Religion and the Public Understanding of Science (Eds. Stephen Jones, Tom Kaden and Rebecca Catto). Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press (2019);

“Beyond Conflict and Complementarity: Science and Religion in Contemporary India.” Science, Technology and Society (Sage) 23 (1): 47-64 (2018);

“Religious Rites and Scientific Communities: Ayudha Puja as ‘Culture’ at the Indian Institute of Science.” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science (Wiley) 53 (1): 95-122 (2018);

“Narratives in Feminist Sociology of Science: Contextualizing the Experiences(s) of Women Scientists in India”, in Gita Chadha and M.T Joseph (eds) Re-Imagining Sociology in India: Feminist Perspectives, London: Routledge (2018);

“Atheism and Unbelief among Indian Scientists: Towards an Anthropology of Atheism(s).” Society and Culture in South Asia (Sage), 3(1): 45-67 (2017).  

He is currently working on a book manuscript, tentatively titled, Beyond Disenchantment: Science and Religion in India. He is also working on an edited volume on scientism and scientific method.