The 2025 Wheatley Institute Seminar on Religion and Politics provided an excellent opportunity for political science and sociology graduate students from around the country to explore the role of religion in society. The seminar explored the history and current landscape of religious identity, influence, pluralism, and its impact on American politics and culture. Students also explored quantitative and qualitative methods and experiential wisdom in studying religion and politics from leading faculty in the field. Learning areas included how to explore data sources for research on religion, how to classify religious groups for more accurate measurements in surveys, how to measure religious behavior and belief, and how to study specific religious traditions.
The participants were also assigned to a collaborative group project to workshop with each other, and a faculty mentor, on issues within the field. These collaborations were a highlight for participants as they allowed and opportunity to apply the skills they had been learning while also working through a significant question in their field with peers who each had different religious, educational, and national backgrounds. As a result, the seminar provided not only theoretical frameworks and working knowledge but practical experience for understanding religion and religious pluralism in the United States.
Thank you to Wheatley Fellow, Quin Monson, for leading the seminar and faculty mentors who participated:
- J. Tobin Grant (Southern Illinois University – Carbondale)
- Rebecca Glazier (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
- Samuel Perry (University of Oklahoma)
Participants came from the universities of Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Notre Dame, UT-Austin, Penn State, UNC Chapel Hill, Northwestern, BYU, California-Irvine, Waterloo, Minnesota, Baylor, Southern Illinois, Colorado-Boulder, North Texas, Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Minnesota-Twin Cities.
