Event Date
The Religion and Sexual Abuse Project seeks proposals for six grants of $20,000.
The Project is made up of a team of religious studies scholars specializing in a range of traditions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Yoga, NRMs, and Catholicism. The grants will fund projects that promise to benefit the scholarly study of sexual abuse across religious traditions and cultures. The grants could support writing projects, workshops, conferences, special programs, documentaries, theater productions, visual art projects, or other endeavors related to research on religion and sexual abuse. Collaborative projects are welcome.
The team will select researchers who specialize in areas that complement or contribute to the existing research team’s expertise. For example, we encourage applications from those specializing in Protestantism, such as Evangelicalism and Southern Baptist denominations, the Black Church, Mormonism, Judaism, Islam, or Indigenous traditions. We are also interested in thematic projects that engage critical race theory, ethnic studies, trauma studies, childhood studies, gender and sexuality, religion and violence, or religion and law. We strongly encourage applications from scholars of color, and junior or contingent faculty.
All grant proposals should include the following:
- Complete contact information and Abbreviated CV (max. 2 pages)
- Project Narrative (max 500 words): A narrative description of the project detailing how the project promises to benefit the scholarly study of religion and sexual abuse.
- Timeline (max 200 words): A clear timeline for the completion of the grant. Please note that projects are to be completed within four years of award announcement.
- Two-page Budget and Budget Justification: A detailed budget, including office expenses, travel expenses, honoraria, stipend, and other expenses. Please note that institutional overhead costs may not be included in this budget.
The Religion and Sexual Abuse Project is a collaboration between scholars of religion with a range of expertise. We aim to further scholarly understandings of the dynamics of sexual abuse and misconduct in religious communities. Project leaders acknowledge the deep harm that sexual abuse causes as well as the importance of situating sexual abuse in broader cultural, historical, and social contexts. This project aims to support conversations between different stakeholders in a range of domains, including academia, religious communities, the media, and advocacy platforms. The Religion and Sexual Abuse Project is funded at the level of $550,000 by the Henry Luce Foundation. These funds support the academic projects of the leadership team, additional grants, conferences, collaborations with advocacy organizations, pedagogical resources, and an online resource hub. Members of the leadership team all have PhDs and hold positions at the rank of associate professor at colleges or universities. Some are members of religious communities. Others have no personal relationship to the communities they study. Participants in this project are committed to transparency regarding their positionalities.
Please contact Amanda Lucia, amanda.lucia@ucr.edu, with questions regarding the project, suggestions for potential collaborators, or assistance in constructing a budget. All grant applications must be submitted by email to Kent Brintnall, kbrintna@uncc.edu by no later than February 1, 2020. Grant awardees will be announced on April 14, 2020. Funding for the grants provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.