How does quality data shape our interpretation of the religious landscape in the United States? Religion data is increasingly used beyond the work of researchers and academics in the media, classrooms, congregations, and beyond to describe patterns and make strategic decisions. Understanding religion as a demographic category—and how this demographic is changing—can be integral for our institutions' products, priorities, and the ways that they interact with religious communities. In this episode of Religion &, our panel of scholars will explore the importance of collecting and interpreting reputable religion data and offer data-driven insights and practical implications for understanding the evolving religious landscape. Join us for a conversation that considers the challenges and benefits of religion data collection and how this work can shape public discourse around religion.

Host: Erica Dollhopf

Erica Dollhopf is the Associate Director of Research for Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University Indianapolis. Dr. Dollhopf received a Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in American Studies from Lehigh University. She has authored numerous publications on congregations, congregational vitality, and faith-based nonprofits and she was awarded the Religious Research Association's 2024 Outstanding Applied Research Award for her article on congregation vitality in the United Church of Christ. Dr. Dollhopf is the co-chair of the 2030 US Religion Census and the current president of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

Panelist: Besheer Mohamed

Besheer Mohamed is a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center with extensive experience studying Muslim American communities. More broadly, his research examines religious identities, beliefs and practices in the United States, with a particular focus on the intersection of religion and race. He has led public opinion studies on the experiences and attitudes of Muslim Americans, a religious profile of Asian Americans, the religious composition of Hispanic Americans, and faith among Black Americans, among others. He also publishes regularly in scholarly journals and has authored book chapters for Oxford University Press and NYU Press. His insights have been featured in prominent media outlets such as CNN, NPR, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Besheer holds a doctorate in sociology and a master's degree in Middle East studies from the University of Chicago.

Panelist: Allison Norton

Allison L. Norton is the Associate Professor of Migration Studies and Congregational Life at Hartford International University, where she is co-directs the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and directs the Pastoral Innovation Network of New England. She is most interested in applied research that makes a tangible difference for religious communities and congregations. She is currently co-authoring a book titled Migrant God, Migrant Faith (IVP Academic) and serving as Co-Investigator on the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations study.

Panelist: Gina Zurlo

Gina A. Zurlo (Ph.D., Boston University) is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer in World Christianity at Harvard Divinity School (Cambridge, MA). Her research interests include World Christianity, sociology of religion, quantitative studies, and gender studies. She is editor of the World Christian Database (Brill) and World Religion Database (Brill), and her latest books are Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement (Wiley-Blackwell) and the Compact Atlas of Global Christianity (University of Edinburgh Press, with Kenneth R. Ross and Todd M. Johnson). Dr. Zurlo was named one of the BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 for her work quantifying religion and non-religion worldwide.

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Show Notes: https://raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/teaching_resources/religion-demographics-show-notes/

Teaching and Learning Resources: https://raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/teaching_resources/religion-demographics-teaching-resources/

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As universities face growing pressure to demonstrate the market value of a liberal arts education, Religious Studies and related departments are exploring new pathways to prepare graduates for the job market. This episode of Religion & examines emerging models for career-focused bachelor's and graduate tracks and partnerships designed to connect students with professional opportunities. While these initiatives aim to respond to increasing demands for career readiness, they also raise important questions as to how departments balance the promise of employability with the value of critical, humanistic inquiry. Join us for a conversation about the opportunities, challenges, and debates surrounding this shift—and what it means for the future of Religious Studies in higher education.

Host: Rachel Wheeler

Rachel Wheeler is Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Indiana University Indianapolis. She is a leading scholar on missions and Native American Christianity in early America. Her current project is developing an app for faculty that helps to make the invisible work of academic service and domestic labor visible on academic CVs in hopes of creating a more just climate for women faculty and faculty of color. She has published essays in The Washington Post, Women in Higher Education, Religion and Politics, and other venues, in addition to scholarly articles in leading journals.

Panelist: Julie Byrne

Julie Byrne holds the Monsignor Thomas J. Hartman Chair in Catholic Studies and serves as Professor in the Department of Religion at Hofstra University. She is the author of The Other Catholics: Remaking America's Largest Religion (Columbia, 2016) and O God of Players: The Story of the Immaculata Mighty Macs (Columbia, 2003). In addition to Catholic Studies, she writes and teaches about topics in comparative religions of the Americas, focusing on contemporary communities and connectivity to current events.

Panelist: Amy DeRogatis

Amy DeRogatis is Chair and Professor of Religion and American Culture in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University. Dr. DeRogatis' research focuses on the multiple ways that religious groups, people, and communities in North America express religious ideas, commitments, beliefs, and knowledge through embodied practices. For ten years Dr. DeRogatis co-directed with Dr. Isaac Weiner the American Religious Sounds Project, a collaborative digital sonic initiative. She has recently begun a research project on Edith Cold, a twentieth-century American missionary who witnessed the atrocities in Hadjin, Turkey in spring 1920.

Panelist: Russell McCutcheon

Russell T. McCutcheon was, for 18 years, the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama, responsible for reviving a unit that was once scheduled for closure. He publishes and teaches broadly in the field, on its history, theories of religion, myth, and ritual, and has produced a number of resources for instructors as well as those leading Departments. He is also the current chair of the American Academy of Religion's Academic Relations Committee.

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Podcasts have become a tool for scholars to share ideas beyond academic publishing and the classroom. In an era when the traditional methods (books, articles) of engaging the wider public in scholarship and research about religion are fading, podcasts offer an accessible space for broader audiences to engage with the field. This episode of Religion & explores the growth of podcasts designed and led by scholars of religion and considers how these platforms function as public scholarship in a moment of fractured attention and limited opportunities to share knowledge otherwise. What are their promises? Are there downsides and should we be concerned? Join us for a conversation that highlights creativity, accessibility, challenges, and the evolving role of scholars in shaping public discourse about religion.

Host: Andrea Jain

Andrea R. Jain, Ph.D. is Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University Indianapolis and research affiliate at Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute, editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and author of Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture (Oxford 2014) and Peace Love Yoga: The Politics of Global Spirituality (Oxford, 2020). She received her doctorate degree in religious studies from Rice University in 2010. Her areas of research include religion and capitalism; global spirituality and modern yoga; gender, sexuality, and religion; and theories of religion.

Panelist: Megan Goodwin

Megan Goodwin is Senior Editor at Religion Dispatches and Nerd-in-Chief at Feral Nerd Consulting. With Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, she cohosted and coproduced the award-winning podcast "Keeping It 101: A Killjoy's Introduction to Religion." Their most recent book, Religion Is Not Done With You, is now available through Beacon Press.

Panelist: Brad Onishi

Brad Onishi is a social commentator, scholar, and co-host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast. He founded Axis Mundi Media in 2023 in order to provide a platform for research-based podcasts focused on safeguarding democracy from the threats of extremism and authoritarianism. Onishi is a frequent guest on national radio, podcast, and television outlets, including "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross and MSNBC. His podcast ranks in the top 50 of Politics shows on Apple's podcast charts. His book, Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism – And What Comes Next, is available now.

Panelist: Chris Stevenson

Chris Stevenson is the co-founder and president of the private, digital-first National Museum of American History. He is also the founder of America's Quilt of Faith, a civic nonprofit that champions the indispensability of religion to the American experiment in self-government. Chris has a Bachelor of Science in applied physics, Masters of Arts in teaching physics, and a Masters of Science in agricultural engineering. He is the host of the museum's podcast Religion in the American Experience. Mr. Stevenson is the author of Letters from an American Husband and Father. He lives with his wife and family in Purcellville, Virginia.

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