Summary:

The principal aim of the Research Network on Science, Religion and Health (RN-SRH) is to foster exchange and collaboration among researchers working at the intersection of science, religion, and health. The project builds up on the experience of a previous project funded by the INSBS Regional Network Grant programme but aims to go much further, pursue more innovative strategies and amplify its long-term impact in academia and beyond.

This phase has four objectives:

1. First, to stimulate exchange and cross-fertilisation of ideas between academics and professionals to advance the understanding of social and cultural narratives, and practices, on science, religion/spirituality and health in contemporary societies. We will work to promote the involvement of Global South scholars, and members of underrepresented groups. We consider that academic conversations and atmospheres can highly benefit from being more inclusive.
2. Second, to promote training and mentoring activities for early career researchers, especially from historically underrepresented groups, and fostering innovative teaching and mentoring methodologies. The aim is to foster intergenerational conversations between established and early career scholars and generate pathways for collaboration.
3. Third, to consolidate the existing dialogues in science, religion, and health by laying a solid theoretical and methodological foundation for future researcher exploring science, religion, and health. In order to establish the field, and consolidate this research agenda, we need to publish a foundational text that would allow to build upon it. But also, we need to generate a stable space of dialogue, and involvement, to create a long-term lasting impact.
4. Fourth, to promote the advancement of the field through an active engagement with science communication that can show to the public its relevance and disseminate its main developments.

The four main outputs of the network will be the following:

1. The organisation of a Summer School on Religion, Science and Health addressed  to early-career scholars, and aimed to generate collaboration among lecturers and students of global south and global north, especially those from underrepresented groups. The summer school will also develop a follow-up mentoring program, using innovative methodologies, for the early-careers researchers.
2. The organisation of a monthly online seminar series covering research topics at the intersection on religion, health and science. Each seminar will be organised by a different member of the network, which will allow to showcase research from very different geographical contexts. The monthly online seminar series will be a stable platform to foster academic conversations an discuss innovative research.
3. The promotion, and improvement, of the network’s digital presence by establishing an online space of reference in the field through multimedia collaborations for the blog and an interactive social media strategy. A key outcome in this line will be the elaboration of video abstract highlighting the relevance of the field and network’s purpose to be circulated in social media.
4. The publication of a handbook gathering contributions at the intersection of Science, Religion and Health, and aimed to build, and disseminate, a state-of-theart of the discipline.

In terms of impact, our main aim is to create a space of encounter and encourage collaboration among academics from very different geographical locations, and at different stages of their careers. We envision the network as a site for the emergence of new collaboration projects (in terms of research, publication and/or dissemination) but also as an opportunity to generate new knowledge and disseminate it widely and internationally. Additionally, our aim is to consolidate the already existing research network on religion, science and health that has already achieved encouraging results (e.g., successful summer school, systematic review on the field, creation of a visual identity).

The managerial and operational aspects of the network will be conducted by a team of researchers based at the Autonomous University of Barcelona who will work in coordination with an international board of researchers working at Leipzig University, CONICET, UNAM, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Turin University, Université de Montreal, Witwatersrand University, Deakin University and others.