Religion in Society Research Network

Lucia [pronounced like “Lucy” but with an “ah” at the end] is originally from Peru, where her dad lives, and currently resides in the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe (Ottawa-Gatineau). She is in the secondish year of her MA in Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, studying narratives, particularly mythologies, and how they appear in contemporary society. She is interested in intersectional, decolonial, and Global Southern approaches to scholarship, as well as knowledge translation far beyond the academy.

Henrique Fernandes Antunes is Research Director at the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. He holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of São Paulo and has been a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, with postdoctoral appointments at CEMS–EHESS, the University of Ottawa, and CEBRAP’s International Postdoctoral Program. He is a member of CEBRAP’s Religion in the Contemporary World group and is affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP). His research examines the regulation and global circulation of ayahuasca, as well as legal, political, and cultural frameworks surrounding psychedelics in Brazil and beyond.

Dr. Suhans Bansal is an early-career scholar and Assistant Professor of OB/HR. He earned his PhD in management from Delhi Technological University, New Delhi, India. His current research focuses on indigenous Indian spiritual frameworks, including Purushartha-based work orientation, and how these indigenous ideas promote ethical behaviour, well-being, and reduced conflict in organizations. He has published in ABDC A-category and SSCI-indexed journals and serves as an active reviewer for respected international journals published by Nature, Springer, and other major academic publishers.

Uğur Berk Kalelioğlu is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of Münster, Germany. His research focuses on populism and authoritarianism, the role of nationalist and religious discourse, and the dynamics of Turkish political culture. He holds a B.A. in Sociology from Izmir University of Economics, and completed his M.A. in Sociology and Political Science at the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Siegen. His scholarly work has appeared in journals such as Turkish Studies and the Journal of World of Turks (ZfWT), among others.

Gülşah Görücü is a social scientist and PhD Candidate in Cultural Communication and Technology. She holds a BA in Sociology and Advertising and an MA in Cultural Studies. Her interdisciplinary work examines how digital systems shape contemporary social life and how individuals and institutions negotiate and transform these systems. Positioned at the intersection of STS, Digital Humanities, Critical Media Infrastructure Studies, and Digital Culture Studies, her research focuses on platform governance, algorithmic culture, and digital communication politics. Her research area focuses on next-generation internet infrastructures and the evolving relations between platforms, users, and governance frameworks.

Dr. Javed Ali Kalhoro is an Assistant Professor at the National University of Modern Languages, Pakistan. Dr. Kalhoro holds a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the National Defence University. His research is mostly focused on youth extremism, ethnic conflicts and gender issues in Pakistan. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Kalhoro had a distinguished career as a journalist, serving as diplomatic and defence correspondent for Pakistan Television News (PTV), a state-run broadcast. He has extensive experience of reporting from conflict zones, including the Pakistan-Afghanistan border regions.

Juliet Chipo Sigauke is a PhD candidate in Religion Studies at the University of the Free State in South Africa. Her academic interests include, but are not limited to, world religions, witchcraft, human rights, gender, law and media. She also has a rich background in Classical/Ancient Studies, with a strong interest in historical accounts from the ancient world. Her current research study focuses on religious and legal responses to accusations of witchcraft, and how the media is a lens in exposing such acts. One of her primary interests in the current study is how witchcraft accusations are gendered and how traditional healers, who are considered religious leaders, have fallen victim to such accusations.