Sample Grants
Grant Title Award Date Grant Amount
 
Modes of Religiosity: Psychological and Cognitive Foundations of Religiosity

Professor Luther H. Martin, Department of Religion
University of Vermont (Burlington VT)

Professor Robert N. McCauley, Department of Philosophy
Emory University (Atlanta GA)

This grant helped support two interdisciplinary workshops whereby an international group of scholars assessed the new, cognitively based "modes of religiosity" theory of religion, originally developed by Dr. Harvey Whitehouse. These workshops, the American component of a larger research project partially funded by the British Academy, were held at the University of Vermont and at Emory University. Research has been published in the edited volumes Theorizing Religions Past: Archaeology, History, and Cognition (AltaMira Press, 2004) and Mind and Religion: Psychological and Cognitive Foundations of Religion (AltaMira Press, 2005).
 May 2002 $24,000
Cognitive Neuroscience and Spiritual Realities

Revd. Dr. Fraser Watts, Starbridge Lecturer in Theology and Natural Science
Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies
University of Cambridge (Cambridge UK)

This grant supported a pilot research program in cognitive neuroscience and spiritual realities. The program consisted of three topics: religious cognition; gratitude; and mind and brain as aspects of human nature. This research included projects on human spiritual qualities, scientific and theological perspectives on the human person, and cognitive/neuroscience approaches to the understanding of God.
 January 2004 $186,015
Natural Theological Reasoning in Children and Adults: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

Dr. Olivera Petrovich, Department of Experimental Psychology
University of Oxford (UK)

This research grant funded a survey of British and Japanese children and adults to assess their teleological and cosmological inferences and reasoning in a cross-cultural comparison. Research is being prepared for publication as a book entitled The Child's Theory of the World.
 February 2002 $50,000
Science, Consciousness and Ultimate Reality: Exploration of the Interface Between Science, Religion, and Consciousness

David Lorimer, Director
Scientific and Medical Network (Fife Scotland)

This grant supported a project to stimulate academic and public interest in consciousness from scientific, philosophical, and religious perspectives. Speakers and participants also considered the nature of spiritual experience and interdisciplinary issues arising from consciousness studies. The project included public dialogues, academic seminars, a public conference, and an edited volume entitled Science, Consciousness and Ultimate Reality.
 March 2001 $134,498
Funding Areas