Grant title: New Religiosity and the Digital Study of Eudaimonia

Co-PIs: Stephen Christopher and Suzanne Newcombe

We are currently recruiting 200 scholars of new religions to complete a large poll called the "New Religiosity Poll" (NRP). Of particular focus are esoteric movements (broadly defined). The poll focuses on beliefs, gender roles, technology use, health and financial practices, and disaffiliation, among other aspects. Contributors need substantial ethnographic and historical knowledge of a movement to complete an entry. To see the poll questions, visit here. 

We estimate it will take about 14 hours to complete. You do not answer all the questions; when you click "no" for an answer, it closes down a lot of secondary questions. Each entry will be double reviewed, receive a DOI, and be published open access on the Database of Religious History (DRH), hosted at The University of British Columbia in Canada. As an honorarium, we pay 300 CAD per completed entry.

To read more about our project, please see our website:

Newreligiosity.org

To read more about the sign-in process, please see this PowerPoint: https://docs.google.com/.../1O7oZ9jhgTrRO3l.../edit....

A key aspect to his project is to get multiple entries from the same group from different regions or time frames. Also, entries can be completed by scholars, current members (or leadership), and former members. When answering questions, there are two basic levels of possible analysis: orthodoxy (answering the questions according to official orthodoxy of what "should" be) and member experience (answering the questions according to lived religious practices). 

If you're interested, please get in touch and let's set up a Zoom call in early 2026.

Email Stephen Christopher at:

Stephen.Christopher@kcl.ac.uk