General Information

Where’s Religion? is a new pedagogical and research digital application built by the Lived Religion in the Digital Age project at Saint Louis University. Designed for a broad range of users and research implementations, Where’s Religion? aims to move beyond quantifying religious institutions and formal adherence to faith traditions by developing a mapped, multisensory inventory of religion in public life—from streets, studios, and storefronts to parks, arenas, museums, front lawns, cemeteries, bodies, and more. By attending to religion as social fact, entangled with many aspects of modern life, Where’s Religion? seeks to democratize perspective and digitize discovery in order to contribute deeper insight and broader understanding of what it is to be human, together.

Specifically, the mobile and desktop application enables scholars, students, and public users to gather, upload, analyze, and visualize collected fieldwork data. For use “in the field,” the mobile app collects, timestamps, and geotags user notes, images, videos, and audio files. The accompanying desktop app allows for further refinement of user notes as well as inclusion of additional metadata on uploaded digital media. The result will be an ongoing collection of user entries—an attempted translation of lived, sensorial, local “religious” worlds into digital objects—all visualized in our scalable and interactive maps.

Deeply aware of the misuses and abuses of the categories and classifications of religion to create and sustain systems of oppression and exploitation, both historically and into the present, Where’s Religion? is grounded in best-practices for human subject research and digital peer review. The app aims to scaffold the ethics and practices of studying religion and is built to be readily accessible for classroom adoption as well as advanced research projects.

As we move from the initial development phase into the piloting phase of Where’s Religion?, we seek applications from individuals and groups to incorporate the mobile and desktop versions into their teaching and/or research and provide regular feedback to Lived Religion in the Digital Age. Applications may also be submitted to test the compatibility of Where’s Religion? with other digital humanities platforms and projects. All awardees will convene for two required workshops (one virtual, one on-location in St. Louis, Missouri) between September 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024. Grants of $2,500-$10,000 will be awarded to support these efforts.

Examples of eligible grant expenses include, but are not limited to, research and travel expenses relating to fellowship activities, convening local colloquia, hosting guest speakers, supplies purchases, syllabus design and preparation, research assistance, dependent care, and stipends of up to $4,000 for key personnel. Indirect costs cannot be supported by this award. Domestic travel expenses and local accommodations in St. Louis for the on-location workshop will also be provided in addition to the award and should not be included in the grant budget.  

Awards are available to faculty of all ranks and status, graduate students, independent scholars, and others with professional interest in religion, ethnography, theology, or related fields. Awards will be made on the basis of significance of the project, the applicant’s qualifications, the clarity of the proposal, and the proposed project’s feasibility, design, cost, and work plan. The review committee reserves the right, if necessary, to adjust proposed budgets in order to maximize the availability of funding for selected projects.

Please note that  graduate students must also submit a letter from their advisor supporting this application and approving this use of time, should an award be made.

Applications will be received through July 14, 2023. Award selections will be made by August 1, 2023. Please contact livedreligion@slu.edu with any questions or if you encounter any technical difficulties with the application process.

Lived Religion in the Digital Age is directed by Dr. Rachel McBride Lindsey and Dr. Pauline Lee. Dr. Adam Park is the Associate Director of Research. The project is generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and Saint Louis University. More information can be found on our website, www.religioninplace.org.