Summary The second roundtable brings together historical, sociological, physiological, and cross-cultural perspectives. The discussion focuses on how to connect micro-level and macro-level evidence: individual…
Read more
Summary The first roundtable turns the day’s methodological talks into a shared discussion about triangulation. The central question is what researchers should do when…
Read more
Summary Gray presents the pleasures and pitfalls of cross-cultural comparative research. He starts from the fact that humans are biologically similar but culturally extremely…
Read more
Summary Poniat explains how historians can study religiosity and supernatural beliefs using sources that were not created for modern researchers. He discusses the central…
Read more
Summary Voas focuses on large-scale survey research and the sociological measurement of religion and supernatural worldviews. He distinguishes several dimensions that survey items may…
Read more
Summary Day brings a qualitative sociological and anthropological perspective to the study of supernatural belief. She emphasizes particular contexts, lived meanings, interviews, narratives, race,…
Read more
Summary Lang discusses physiological and neurological measures in the study of religion, drawing on laboratory and field research on rituals. The session pushes back…
Read more
Summary Gervais examines the promise and limits of implicit and speeded measures in the study of religiosity and atheism. He contrasts easy-to-collect self-reports with…
Read more
Summary Willard explains how vignettes can be used to present controlled social situations and infer beliefs, norms, and intuitions from participants’ reactions. She focuses…
Read more
Summary Burdett surveys developmental approaches to studying religion and supernatural cognition, with emphasis on work with children. She discusses behavioural paradigms, testimony and social-learning…
Read more