Institute for the Bio-Cultural Study of Religion

An Institute of the Center for Mind and Culture

IBCSR is a research institute handling religion-focused research within the Center for Mind and Culture.

Science On Religion.org features news on the scientific study of religion, book reviews, and videos.

Exploring My Religion.org: get instant feedback on your spirituality and contribute to scientific research.

Religion, Brain & Behavior is the flagship journal in the bio-cultural study of religion, discounted for IBCSR members.

Current Post-Doctoral Fellows

Connor Wood

Connor Wood

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW, 2016-2018

LINDAMOOD FELLOW, 2010-2015

Connor Wood recently earned his PhD from the Graduate Division of Religious Studies at Boston University. His research interests include religion and health, human ethology, signaling theory, ritual studies, shamanism, evolutionary theory, cultural evolution, cognitive styles, and the public understanding of issues in science and religion. He is currently working on the Modeling Religion Project. Connor can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Joel C. Daniels

Joel C. Daniels

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW, 2015-2017
LINDAMOOD FELLOW, 2010-2014
DOCTORAL FELLOW, 2009-2010

Joel Daniels (PhD, Boston University) edits the IBCSR Research Review. He is also Assistant Editor for Religion, Brain & Behavior. Visit his BU webpage here.

Stephanie N. Arel

Stephanie N. Arel

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW, 2015-2017

Dr. Stephanie N. Arel completed a PhD from Boston University’s School of Theology and is currently training in trauma modalities for clinical treatment at the New York Institute for the Psychotherapies. Her work on IBCSR’s Sex Differences and Religion Project probes questions about the constitution of material and spiritual bodies, as well as how both interdepend on sexual reproduction. She is also interested in the ontogeny of shame and the role of violence in spiritual formation, especially as these relate to sex and gender.

Justin E. Lane

Justin E. Lane

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW, 2015-2018

Dr. Justin Lane completed a doctoral at Oxford University and is working in the Institute's Modeling Religion Project.

Yair Lior

Yair Lior

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW, 2015-2017

Dr. Yair Lior completed his doctoral studies at Boston University. His research at IBCSR is in the Comparative Cultural Systems Project, where he focuses on systems and information approaches to comparative religion. He is particularly interested in highlighting parallels between the Chinese and Jewish traditions as a showcase for the instrumentality of new comparative methodologies. His academic training is in Chinese philosophy, religion, and Song dynasty intellectual history, especially Neo-Confucian thought.

Former Post-Doctoral Fellows

Nat Barrett, 2007-2013

Luke Matthews, 2008-2012

Brandon Daniel-Hughes, 2008-2009

Edward Modestino, 2013-2015

Aimee Radom, 2011-2015

Ravi Iyer, 2012-2015

Erica Harris, 2013-2015

P. Monroe Butler, 2013-2015

IBCSR Research Review

IBCSR Research Review is a free monthly email newsletter surveying all recent work in the bio-cultural study of religion and in spirituality & health research. Register here after answering a simple anti-bot question.
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