American Religion Postdoctoral Scholar

Position Summary

The Center for Religion and the Human invites applications for a postdoctoral scholar to serve as managing editor for the project American Religion in 100 Objects.

The Center for Religion and the Human (CRH), established in 2019, is a research center that seeks to reshape academic and public conversations about religion’s relevance to fundamental and emergent questions about the human and human society. Funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and drawing on the resources and opportunities afforded by Indiana University (IU), the CRH offers a deep roster of workshops, exhibits, public programming, and conversations concerning new frontiers in research and pedagogy.

The CRH is home to the open‑access academic journal American Religion, which is published semiannually as a forum for intellectual and creative engagement for religion in the Americas.

American Religion in 100 Objects is an initiative of the American Religion journal and leverages the momentum of an existing collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution’s Under Gods project, which marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence by spotlighting both the significance and the complexity of religion in US history. A curated, web‑based collection of new work by academics, artists, and practitioners, American Religion in 100 Objects brings together a range of voices to reflect on what selected objects can tell us about religion in and around the US.

It both emphasizes the primacy of material objects as generative for telling this story and, through these objects, significantly expands the limits of what can and should be understood as religious in the first place. The project blends tradition and innovation, the familiar and the strange, through public scholarship that challenges and invites audiences to reconsider long‑held assumptions about America, religion, and the resonant ways these two ideas intersect.

Responsibilities will include participation in the intellectual vision of the project while overseeing its day‑to‑day editorial operations. This includes commissioning, receiving, and accepting submitted reflections, corresponding with contributors, and collaborating with the CRH Associate Director to plan a series of public‑facing events and exhibits. A graduate student assistant will be recruited and overseen by the postdoctoral scholar to serve as a copy editor, keep track of permissions for images and other intellectual property, run the project’s social media accounts, and provide other support as needed.

The postdoctoral scholar will pursue their own research, participate in the intellectual life of the CRH, teach one course per year, and serve as the managing editor of American Religion in 100 Objects.

The term of this position is two years, beginning on July 1, 2026 and ending on June 30, 2028. The salary is $65,000 annually plus health benefits.

We invite applications from qualified candidates at the beginning of their academic careers who do not yet hold tenure‑track academic positions. Applicants should submit the following:

• a cover letter describing the applicant’s interest in American religion and their relevant experience with project management and/or editorial work;
• their CV;
• a research statement of about 500 words describing their research and professional goals;
• names and contact information for two references.

Applications should be submitted online at  Applications received by March 30, 2026 will receive full consideration.

Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer and provider of ADA services and prohibits discrimination in hiring. See Indiana University Notice of Non‑Discrimination here which includes contact information.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline in hand by the time they start the position.

Preference will be given to applicants whose research engages American religion and who have project management or editorial experience.

Queries should be sent to thehuman.