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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 3d

Register now for the latest webinar in our series, Nonreligion, Past and Present: Interdisciplinary Conversations, a collaboration with @ishash.bsky.social. This webinar will focus on the relationship between science and the natural world.

Oct 29, 1pm ET

Register uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Nonreligion, Past and Present: Interdisciplinary Conversations

Science and Nonreligion

Renny Thomas (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal), Stephen Weldon (University of Oklahoma), Bernard Lightman (York University, Toronto), and Lauren Strumos (University of Alberta).

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Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · 6d

Masterclass announcement! Lori Beaman of @nonreligioncf.bsky.social will be talking to us on "Exploring
Deep Equality" next week on Thursday 16th October.

3pm South Africa / 9am Canada / 10am Brazil / 2pm UK

Zoom link: us06web.zoom.us/j/8160513998...

Access code: 108926

Exploring Deep Equality

Speaker: Prof Lori G. Beaman

Lori G. Beaman is the Canada Research Chair in Religious Diversity and Social Change and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa. She directs Nonreligion in a Complex Future, an international, comparative, and interdisciplinary project exploring the social impact of the growth of nonreligion in diverse cultural contexts. Her research focuses on nonreligion, religious diversity, equality, and law, engaging both mainstream and underrepresented populations. She is the author of Deep Equality in an Era of Religious Diversity (Oxford University Press).

Thursday 16th October 2025

15:00–16:30 - South Africa / 9:00–10:30 - Canada / 10:00–11:30 - Brazil / 14:00–14:30 - United Kingdom

Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81605139987?pwd=0fqVBC5RMrdI5eaQKHiCvEguMespPB.1

Access code: 108926

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ISHASH @ishash.bsky.social · 16d

Looking forward hearing our newest associate director, Barathy MG, speaking at this webinar!

Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 16d

Discover India's rich humanist heritage from ancient Charvaka philosophy to modern secular ideals. Join our expert panel discussion on 16 October online. humanists.uk/events/explo...

Beyond Belief | Exploring India's Humanist Heritage

Get an email that automatically logs you in:

humanists.uk

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 16d

Happening next week:

A webinar from the @socialrepair.bsky.social project, co-led by Lori Beaman.

"Understanding Global Racisms: Beyond Euro-American Centricity," Tariq Modood

October 1, 2025
9am ET

Zoom link: us06web.zoom.us/j/8174893023...
Access code: 546157

Understanding Global Racisms:
Beyond Euro-American centricity

Prof Tariq Modood

Tariq Modood is Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy, the founding director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at the University of Bristol and the co-founder of the international journal, Ethnicities. He served on the Commission on
the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, the National Equality Panel, and the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life.

His latest books include Essays on Secularism and Multiculturalism (2019), Multiculturalism: A Civic Idea (2nd ed; 2013); and as Special Issues co-editor with Thomas Sealy, Beyond Euro-Americancentric Forms of Racism and Anti-racism (Political Quarterly, 2022) and Global Comparative Analysis of the Governance of Religious Diversity (Religion, State and Society, 2022). His latest book, with Thomas Sealy, is The New Governance of Religious Diversity (2024).

Prof Modood will be speaking on how the concept of racialisation, developed in Britain and the Global North, may be useful for understanding some forms of prejudice, exclusion and domination in the Global South.

DISCUSSANT
Morgane Reina

Morgane Reina has a PhD in Sociology from the University of
Brasília (2021). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences
(Multidisciplinary) from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
(Sciences Po – 2013) and a Master’s degree in Political Sociology from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po – 2015).

DATE:
Wednesday, 1
October 2025

TIME:
15:00 - South Africa
9:00 - Canada (Ottawa)
10:00 - Brazil (São Paulo)
14:00 - United Kingdom

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 17d

Our most recent webinar is now available on YouTube!

In this webinar, Sarah Kathleen Johnson presented her new book, Occasional Religious Practice: Valuing a Very Ordinary Religious Experience (Oxford University Press, 2025).

Watch here: youtu.be/9bB7vl135Dc?...

Meet the Author: Sarah Kathleen Johnson

YouTube video by Nonreligion in a Complex Future

youtu.be

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 18d

@hugorabbia.bsky.social

Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 18d

Abstract
We examine the strengths and weaknesses of different “absence measures” scholars use to classify individuals as religious or nonreligious. Drawing on a novel dataset with data from eight countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Norway, the UK, and the USA), we analyze how many people would be considered nonreligious based on four common measures: religious affiliation, religious service attendance, belief in a monotheistic god, and self-reported religiosity. We find that different measures lead to substantially different estimates of the number of nonreligious people in a country. The single measure that identifies the highest percentage of nonreligious people is never attending religious services, while the measure that identified the lowest percentage was those who report they are not at all religious. We also show that self-reported religiosity is a stronger predictor of attitudes toward religion than the other measures. Our findings suggest that scholars need to consider carefully the implications of using different measures of nonreligion, as this decision can have a meaningful impact on research findings.

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 18d

Read the latest article from NCF team members Ryan Cragun, Hugo Rabbia, Sivert Skålvoll Urstad, and Peter Beyer. In this article, the authors draw on research from the NCF's Social and Cultural Values Survey to re-think how to best measure nonreligion.

secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10....

New Publication Alert

“Measuring Nonreligion as Absence: Testing Various Approaches”

Secularism and Nonreligion (2025)

Ryan T. Cragun
NCF Co-Investigator, University of Tampa

Hugo H. Rabbia
NCF Contributor, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Sivert Skålvoll Urstad
NCF Contributor, University of Agder

Peter Beyer
NCF Co-Investigator, University of Ottawa

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Secularism & Nonreligion @s-n-journal.bsky.social · 20d

🔴 NEW PUBLICATION 🔴
"Measuring Nonreligion as Absence: Testing Various Approaches" by R. T. Cragun, H. H. Rabbia, S. Skålvoll Urstad and P. Beyer

The paper examines different “absence measures” scholars use to classify individuals as religious/nonreligious

🔗 Read it (Open): doi.org/10.5334/snr....

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Hugo H. Rabbia @hugorabbia.bsky.social · 22d

Cragun, RT, Rabbia, HH, Urstad, SS and Beyer, P. 2025. Measuring Nonreligion as Absence: Testing Various Approaches. Secularism and Nonreligion, 14: 6, pp. 1–12. DOI: lnkd.in/dvfczk5h (English, below) 🧵👇

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

lnkd.in

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 27d

There is still time to register for our upcoming Meet the Author webinar with Sarah Kathleen Johnson discussing her recent book, Occasional Religious Practice: Valuing a Very Ordinary Religious Experience

Wednesday, September 17
12 pm ET

Register here: uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

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Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · Sep 12

One of our team members, @ninianjames.bsky.social has recently had a blog published on the @vox-pol.bsky.social blog! In it, he discusses the pros and cons of different approaches to studying social media in 2025

voxpol.eu/accessing-so...

Accessing Social Media Data in 2025 - VOX - Pol

By Ninian Frenguelli It is increasingly difficult to access data from social media platforms. Researcher access to Meta platforms was removed in 2024 when CrowdTangle was shut down, but it was already...

voxpol.eu

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · Sep 11

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · Sep 11

Some pics from NCF team members' presentations during the recent Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network conference earlier this week!

@thensrn.bsky.social

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Hugo H. Rabbia @hugorabbia.bsky.social · Sep 9

Today, I presented some results from the survey conducted in eight countries by @nonreligioncf.bsky.social on behalf of several colleagues at the annual meeting of @thensrn.bsky.social. Thank you for allowing us to join online and for the super interesting questions and comments. 🙌

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · Sep 4

The 2025 Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network Conference will take place on Sept. 8-10 in Bratislava, Slovakia and virtually. It will feature presentations from leading researchers on nonreligion, including many NCF team members. For more details, see here:

thensrn.org/2025-nonreli...

2025 Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network Conference

Nonreligion and Secularity at Cultural Crossroads 8-10 September 2025 Venue: Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ilkovicova 6, Bratislava, Conference Book of Abstracts c…

thensrn.org

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ISHASH @ishash.bsky.social · Aug 29

We're delighted to be hosting another interdisciplinary conversation with @nonreligioncf.bsky.social! Join us on Wed 29 October for a discussion of the relationship between science and nonreligion, from the perspectives of historians and social scientists. Sign up: uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Green poster for Nonreligion, Past and Present: Interdisciplinary Conversations - Science and Nonreligion. Wednesday 29 October 2025, 10.00 PT, 13.00 ET, 17.00 GMT, and 18.00 CET. Speakers: Renny Thomas (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal), Stephen Weldon (University of Oklahoma), Bernard Lightman (York University, Toronto) and Lauren Strumos (University of Alberta). Logos of Nonreligion in a Complex Future, International Society for Historians of Atheism, Secularism, and Humanism, uOttowa, SSHRC CRSH.

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · Aug 28

Register now for our upcoming Meet the Author webinar featuring Sarah Kathleen Johnson. In this webinar, Dr. Johnson will discuss her recent book, Occasional Religious Practice: Valuing a Very Ordinary Religious Experience (2025).

September 17
12pm ET

Register: uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

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Teemu Taira @teemutaira.bsky.social · Aug 12

This is a great resource for people interested in atheism/nonreligion. There are also some nice words about my edited volume "Atheism in Five Minutes" (from 23 min onwards). www.youtube.com/watch?v=peTq...

100 Years of Secular Studies: What Science Says About the Nonreligious

YouTube video by Religiolog

www.youtube.com

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Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · Jul 22

This is in just an hour!
@ninianjames.bsky.social @cmillerphd.bsky.social @nathgalexander.bsky.social @nonreligioncf.bsky.social

Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · Jul 14

📣Event Announcement!📣

Upcoming online seminar:
To the right, the feminine: Religious women and the struggles over the public policy repertoire in health in Brazil

Tuesday, 22 July 2025
16:00 – 17:00 / South Africa;
10:00 – 11:00 / Ottawa;
11:00 – 12:00 / São Paulo;
15:00 – 16:00 / United Kingdom

To the Right, the Feminine: Religious Women and the Struggles Over the Public Policy Repertoire in Health in Brazil
Speaker: Jacqueline Moraes Teixeira
Jacqueline Moraes Teixeira is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Society at the School of Public Health, University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. She is also a researcher at the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP), where her work explores intersections of gender, race, sexuality, and religion.
She holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from USP. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from USP (2008), and a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Mackenzie Presbyterian University (2012).
Her research focuses on religion and social markers of difference, the role of education in promoting human rights, and how public health policies are shaped and implemented.

Discussant: Ninian Frenguelli
Ninian Frenguelli is a Postdoctoral Research Officer at the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC), based at Swansea University, Wales, United Kingdom.

DATE: Tuesday, 22 July 2025
TIME: 16:00 – 17:00 / South Africa 10:00 – 11:00 / Canada (Ottawa) 11:00 – 12:00 / Brazil (São Paulo) 15:00 – 16:00 / United Kingdom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8611 7216945? pwd=fXTVTroazKlrXZDRpSjlvVLk Yk71G2.1

Hosted by: Repairing Sociality, Safeguarding Democragy research group
Funded by the Trans-Atlantic Platform on Democracy, Governance and Trust

Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento, University of Ottawa, Swansea University, University of the Western Cape, Walter Sisulu University

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · Jul 17

Check out this upcoming event with the Social Repair project:

Social Repair @socialrepair.bsky.social · Jul 14

📣Event Announcement!📣

Upcoming online seminar:
To the right, the feminine: Religious women and the struggles over the public policy repertoire in health in Brazil

Tuesday, 22 July 2025
16:00 – 17:00 / South Africa;
10:00 – 11:00 / Ottawa;
11:00 – 12:00 / São Paulo;
15:00 – 16:00 / United Kingdom

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Reposted by Nonreligion in a Complex Future

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · Jul 7

Very happy to have my copy of Ting Guo's new book in hand! I reviewed it for the Journal of the @aarweb.bsky.social a few months back (link below) and it's an amazing piece of scholarship, brilliantly connecting affect theory, secularism/religious studies, and Sinophone studies. Beautiful cover too!

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De Gruyter Brill Religion, Bible, and Theology @dgb-relbibtheo.bsky.social · Jul 3

It's open access, folks 🔓 ⬇️

Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · Jul 3

Read the newest article from NCF team members Dana Gaudette, Ryan T. Cragun, and Sivert Skålvoll Urstad, "A Disparity in Soul and Afterlife Beliefs: Exploring Cultural Perspectives and Predictors in Nordic Countries," Nordic Journal of Religion and Society

www.scup.com/eprint/6JU5E...

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · Jul 3

Abstract
Drawing on data from Norway and Finland, we explore three questions in this paper. First, do nonreligious individuals in these two countries report believing in a soul? Second, do those same individuals report believing in an afterlife? And third, what factors predict believing in a soul? We find that 65.2% of unaffiliated individuals in Norway and 58.3% of unaffiliated individuals in Finland report believing in a soul, but much smaller percentages – 24.7% and 24.1%, respectively – report believing in an afterlife. We find that religiosity and spirituality do not predict belief in a soul, but that believing in an afterlife, reincarnation, and universal energy do. This leads us to believe that many of the nonreligious individuals who report believing in a soul in these two countries likely do not believe in a supernatural soul but rather use the word “soul” in a naturalistic sense to describe one’s personality or individual identity.

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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · Jul 3

Read the newest article from NCF team members Dana Gaudette, Ryan T. Cragun, and Sivert Skålvoll Urstad, "A Disparity in Soul and Afterlife Beliefs: Exploring Cultural Perspectives and Predictors in Nordic Countries," Nordic Journal of Religion and Society

www.scup.com/eprint/6JU5E...

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