Understanding Unbelief
Programme outline
Recent years have seen growing interest in and debate about so-called ‘unbelief’ – i.e. unbelief in
‘religious’ phenomena such as God or gods, the afterlife, and the ultimate purpose of life. This interest
has been fuelled by a number of factors, including the rapid rise of the religious ‘nones’ (those who
do not describe themselves as having a religion), the flourishing of secularist activism, nonreligious
movements such as ‘New Atheism’, and policy debates around nonreligious inclusion in public
institutions. Despite this interest and the growth of research, there is still a substantial lack of
knowledge about the precise nature of such ‘unbelief’ – about what phenomena this loose notion
implies, about the alternative worldviews and existential cultures (e.g. humanism, agnosticism,
materialism) that can ground unbeliefs (Lee 2015), and about whether and how all of these ‘unbeliefs’
vary across contexts and cultures.
With generous funding from the John Templeton Foundation, in collaboration with the University of
Kent, St Mary’s University Twickenham, Coventry University and the Nonreligion and Secularity
Research Network, the new Understanding Unbelief research programme is the first major research
initiative of its kind to address the nature and variety of unbelief in the round. The programme has
several components. Firstly, it involves grant competitions, to generate and fund research from
across the human sciences, investigating diverse forms of unbelief across demographic groups and
cultural settings. Secondly, its core interdisciplinary research team will work across these areas to
build a more integrated understanding of unbelief, through a central research project called
Understanding Unbelief: Across Disciplines, Across Cultures (ADAC). Finally, the programme includes
public engagement activities (including a high profile closing conference to be held in Rome, 2019),
which aim to develop knowledge exchange between academic researchers in this field and wider
publics. Together, these strategies aim to produce the first scientifically coherent account of
‘unbelief’ and of what it means to be an ‘unbeliever’.
In collaboration with the Understanding Unbelief programme, the University of Kent is providing one
fully funded studentship to support doctoral research that will contribute to the programme’s broad
goals. The successful applicant will also participate in ADAC research.
As well as doctoral research and training, the successful applicant will be a core member of the
programme team, participating in group meetings and research, and contributing to the successful
delivery of the programme overall. The programme and its research is interdisciplinary, and applicants
should be interested to engage in a cross-disciplinary conversation (though interdisciplinary research
experience is not required, and their research proposal should be grounded in sociology, anthropology
and/or religious studies only).
Research projects should address the programme’s core research question: What is the nature and
diversity of unbelief? There are many ways of approaching this broad question, and projects will also
engage with more specific research questions, such as:
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What are the rates of belief and unbelief in the widespread religious concepts (e.g. God(s),
afterlife, ritual efficacy) and traditions (Christianity, Shinto, Candomblé) found in a particular
regional context?
To what extent is unbelief bound up with moral evaluations of (particular) religious ideas and
traditions, and/or the category of ‘religion’ in general?
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Do ‘unbeliefs’ hold in all circumstances, or do unbelievers resort to religious beliefs under
certain circumstances (such as health threats or the death of a loved one)? Do such
transformations occur across demographic and cultural boundaries?
To what extent is unbelief motivated and influenced by alternative existential beliefs (Lee
2015) or ‘sacred values’, such as agnosticism, materialism, Marxism, environmentalism,
humanism, transhumanism, scepticism, ancestral groups (or as yet unrecognised
alternatives)? How do these existential beliefs vary across demographic groups and cultures?
How much do different kinds of unbeliefs matter to people? Do they matter in particular
contexts and not others? Are people willing to make the same sacrifices for these nonreligious
beliefs as they are for religious ones?
How do different national contexts and religious backgrounds impact upon two important
categories of indifference: indifference towards religion and/or god(s), and towards the
existential? What is the relationship between these forms of indifference?
What are the major demographic factors impacting upon (different kinds of) unbeliefs? Do
these also vary according to national contexts and religious backgrounds?
Projects might address such questions through comparative study of two or several groups, or
through a detailed case study of a particular group of interest. The exact focus of this project will
develop in on-going discussions between the doctoral student undertaking this project and the
supervisory team.
The full programme website is under construction, but initial details about the programme can be
found on UCL’s Nonreligious Belief website at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/non-religiousbelief/understanding-unbelief. Information and resources that might be of particular note include,
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A short literature review for the Understanding Unbelief programme:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/non-religious-belief/understanding-unbelief/background
An overview of the ADAC research: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/non-religiousbelief/understanding-unbelief/core-research-ADAC
A glossary of core terms: www.ucl.ac.uk/non-religious-belief/resources/concepts/glossary/)
Further questions about the Understanding Unbelief programme can be discussed by emailing Dr
Lois Lee at [email protected]
Supervisory and training support
The project will begin in September 2017. The doctoral student holding this award will be based in
the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Kent. The Department has internationallyrecognised expertise in the social and cultural study of religion, and has a strong record of winning
national and international funding to provide advanced training to doctoral and post-doctoral
researchers. It also provides unique resources for training researches in social scientific methods for
the study of religion and nonreligion (see https://www.kent.ac.uk/religionmethods/.) The successful
award-holder would be expected to play an active role in the Department’s research events, which
include both a weekly Departmental research seminar and a programme of other symposia and
conferences. Our strong training environment means that doctoral students from our Department
intending to go on to future academic work have a strong track record of securing post-doctoral
positions after completion of their theses.
The lead supervisor for this project will be Dr Lois Lee (Dept. of Religious Studies, University of Kent),
and a second supervisor will be appointed to the supervisory team to reflect the research focus of
the successful applicant. Lois Lee is a sociologist of nonreligion and existential culture, and leads the
Understanding Unbelief programme.
The award-holder will primarily be based at the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus. The
studentship will normally cover both the award-holder’s fees for three years’ registration for
doctoral study as well as an annual maintenance grant (set at £14,296 for 2016/17). An additional
payment of £750 per annum will also be made to the student to support conference participation
and other travel costs. The doctoral researcher will also participate in programme meetings and
programme events (normally in Canterbury, or London), and in programme conferences in
Canterbury and Rome.
In general, full studentships are available to students who are settled in the UK and have been
ordinarily resident for a period of at least three years before the start of postgraduate studies. Feesonly awards are generally available to EU nationals resident in the EEA. International applicants are
normally not eligible
(http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/documents/documents/termsconditionstraininggrants-pdf/).
Selection process and person specification
The deadline for applications for this project will be 5.00pm on Friday 5th May. Applications should
be made by emailing a covering letter, research proposal and accompanying CV to Jacqui Martlew,
Research Support Officer, School of European Culture and Languages, at the University of Kent
([email protected]).
The covering letter should include:
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An explanation of why you are interested in this research programme
A brief research proposal, outlining your proposed doctoral research topic and main
methodology
An explanation of how your previous academic training provides a strong basis for you to
undertake it (e.g. through the particular modules/courses or dissertation topics that you have
pursued, or particular theoretical/methodological approaches that you have become interested
in)
An explanation of how you see this studentship project providing a basis for your future
academic or professional work.
Contact details of two academic referees who would be able to comment on your suitability to
undertake this research (note: references will be only taken up for short-listed candidates).
Your CV should include:
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A full overview of your previous academic training at university level, including overall degree
grades and grades for individual modules/courses that you have taken.
Details of any other professional or voluntary experience you have which would be of particular
relevance to this project.
It is expected that interviews for short-listed candidates will take place at the University of Kent in
early June. Short-listed candidates will also be asked to provide a sample of their written work prior
to interview.
The following criteria will be used to assess applications:
Essential
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Evidence of strong previous academic performance in a relevant subject area (e.g., sociology,
anthropology, religious studies). At a minimum, applicants will be expected to have an
undergraduate degree at a high 2:1 and have received (or be in the process of) achieving a
Masters’ level qualification at Merit level. In practice, however, previous experience of shortlisting for awards of this type mean that the minimum threshold for consideration for shortlisting is likely to be that candidates should have a first class honours degree and have received
(or be in the process of receiving) a Masters qualification in the Distinction range.
Clear evidence of an understanding of the focus of the Understanding Unbelief programme.
An ability to work collegially and effectively in the context of a programme involving both
academic and non-academic partners (e.g. excellent written and oral communication skills,
strong inter-personal skills, evidence of management of academic/project work to clear
deadlines).
An ability to think in sophisticated and sensitive ways about the complexities of academic
research in an area of public debate.
The motivation and interest to engage actively with the research environment in the
Department of Religious Studies at the University of Kent, as well as to make constructive use of
the interdisciplinary expertise across the Understanding Unbelief programme.
Desirable
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Evidence of previous study on a subject or approach directly relevant to this project (e.g. social
scientific approaches to the study of religion, nonreligion, atheism, secularity or ethics and
values).
Previous experience of writing for non-academic audiences.
Further questions about this project can be discussed by contacting Dr Lois Lee at
[email protected]