Welcome

The Elon Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society is the research arm of the Elon University multi-faith center, which is located in the heart of campus and seeks to foster a diverse community of study, discourse and practice that promotes mutual understanding and respect across and within religious traditions and belief systems and contributes to the development of global citizenship.

The Elon Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society highlights and promotes the interdisciplinary study of religion, culture, and society. This faculty-led center draws together faculty from disciplines across Elon’s campus, with students, staff, community members, and experts from the region and beyond. The Center will work to foster research, teaching, and dialogue that informs community knowledge and action. Pursuing fulfillment of Elon’s commitment to multi-faith education and engagement, the CSRCS convenes and facilitates dialogue that advances the understanding of the role of religion in society with intellectual rigor and academic integrity.

The Center offers rich and varied resources to fulfill the university’s vision of encouraging spiritual formation and expression, promoting religious literacy and respect for diverse faith traditions and world views, examining the role of religion in society, and supporting research and scholarship on religion. The Center invites broad participation of community members into meaningful dialogue, regardless of personal professions of faith, as a reflection of our commitment to modeling the respectful exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Center Intiatives include:

  • Supporting the interdisciplinary study of religion on Elon's campus among faculty and students;
  • Sponsoring colloquia on emerging and enduring issues related to the role of religion in culture and society;
  • Promoting excellence in undergraduate research related to the study of religion;
  • Establishing an international scholar-in-residence program;
  • Offering support for faculty on engaging the topic of religion in academic settings.

News and Events

Ariela Marcus-Sells wins prestigious national fellowship

The assistant professor of religious studies will use the support from the National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to support her work on a book manuscript. 

Article by Geoffrey Claussen republished in new ethics collection

Claussen’s article is included in Virtue Ethics, edited by Tom Angier (Routledge, 2018).

CEL well-represented at ISSOTL 2018

Several Elon Center for Engaged Learning representatives presented at the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) 2018 conference, including scholars from multiple CEL research seminars.

Religious Studies faculty present research at major conference

Members of the Religious Studies department presented their research and participated in the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature in Denver, CO, Nov. 17-20.

Claussen publishes article on war and humility
 

Religious Studies Professor Geoffrey Claussen's new article appears in the journal Interreligious Studies and Interreligious Theology.