Roger Baumann, Assistant Professor of Sociology, recently received the Jack Shand Research Grant from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.
The project entitled, “American Evangelicals, Islam & the Competition for Religious Authority” is supported by a $5,000 award. This faculty-led research will involve up to 2 Hope College Undergraduate student researchers.
The project argues “that the legitimate symbolic authority to define others in debates derives from what George Steinmetz (2008) calls “ethnographic capital,” which refers to the authority and standing to define the character of the “other” and to prescribe an effective approach to them.” Dr. Baumann and his team of Hope College undergraduates will focus on the comparative study of three cases where American evangelical Christians publicly debated proper beliefs about and action towards Muslims and Islam.
Congratulations, Roger, on your recent award!