Summary: Building on a previous grant, this project applies novel social network theory and methods (Wasserman & Faust, 1994) to increasing the socio-academic impact of the established Latin-American Research Network for the Study of Science, Belief and Society (LARNSSBS – https://www.crysnetwork.org/). Informed by this theoretical perspective, improved network efficiency is pursued by strengthening interconnections among previously identified research groups and by strategically expanding its membership to include key social actors beyond academia.

The project’s specific aims are:

• To promote the development of an enduring, mature, and impactful cross-national/regional research network capable of effectively supporting projects studying science-belief relationships in and between Latin American societies.
• To improve the LARNSSBS’ social architecture in ways that can most effectively support scholars working on science and religion in Latin America and increase the visibility of their work.
• To provide isolated researchers working on science-beliefs relationships in Latin America with access to collaborative spaces where they can make connections, mobilize limited resources, and coordinate collective action.
• To promote information flow/exchange among the small number of research teams/centres focused on science-beliefs relationships in the region.

We will undertake the following main activities:

1. Community building and content dissemination to facilitate colectivity and network institutionalization.
2. Recruitment of 70 additional LARNSSBS individual members and 10 institutional partners.
3. Facilitation of monthly virtual meetings among members and key social actors for sharing information, meet scholars with similar interests, and design new collaborative projects.
4. Organization of a hybrid conference in Buenos Aires (culminating event) for presentation of selected work and strategic planning of future steps (e.g., follow-up funding, follow-up events, future publication opportunities, etc.) by key network members.
5. Publication of a special issue in one Latin America-based academic journal (Austral Comunicación) and participation in local/regional conferences to disseminate work produced by LARNSSBS members and to increase public awareness of it.
6. Creation of a digital research centre in Spanish and Portuguese on Science and Religion in Latin America based on the academic activities conducted by the LARNSSBS.

Besides the current 7 institutions that are members of LARNSSBS, the new Project will incorporate individual partners from relevant countries in the field like Brazil and research groups that are not based in specific universities like Quaerentibus.org and Associação Brasileira de Cristãos na Ciência. LARNSSBS members will continue improving and disseminating an asynchronous short online training course on Science, Belief and Public Communication for Latin American scientists.

Our activities will leave two main legacies beyond the end of the grant:

1. An internationally recognized Latin American network of researchers contributing with transnational and intercultural studies on Science and Religion.
2. A growing and visible Latin American hub of research teams in a better position to conduct and publish research and competitively pursue funding.