Each spring, the Boniuk Institute presents the Senior Scholar Award to an individual who has made outstanding scholarly contributions to the public understanding of religion broadly as well as pluralism and tolerance. We are excited to announce that Professor Tariq Modood, a professor of sociology at the University of Bristol and the founding director of its Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, has been named as the 2025 Boniuk Institute Senior Scholar.
Professor Modood’s research interests have included theory and politics of racism, multiculturalism and secularism; ethnic, national and religious identities, in particular Muslims in the West; comparisons between Western Europe, North America and South and South-East Asia. His current scholarship focuses on political theory and sociology of multiculturalism and secularism. Modood has led several cross- national projects, including a 26- country project, Radicalisation, Secularism and the Governance of Religion: Bringing Together Diverse Perspectives. He is committed to public engagement, is a regular contributor to media and policy debates, and has served on several councils and commissions, such as the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life.
His latest book, co-authored with Thomas Sealy, The New Governance of Religious Diversity (Wiley, Aug. 2024) explores the challenges states face when governing religious diversity and makes a case for thinking through secularism, liberalism, multiculturalism and nationalism in theory and practice.
He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, Fellow of the British Academy, and a Member of the Order of the British Empire.