Professor Grace Davie
BA (Exon); Ph D (London); Honorary Doctorate (Uppsala)
Professor of Sociology
My research interests lie in the sociology of religion, with a particular emphasis on patterns of religion in Europe. I am also interested in the new theoretical paradigms that are emerging in the field – not least the notion of ‘multiple modernities’. How are we to make sense of the growing significance of religion in the modern world with tools and concepts that have emerged (largely) from the 'exceptional' European case?
More recently I have become interested in the interactions between religion and welfare, religion and healthcare and religion and law, recognizing once again the implications of these new fields for sociological thinking about religion.
I continue to pursue these interests in retirement. My most recent book is Religion in Britain: A Persistent Paradox. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015
