Professional Pipelines
To ensure that doctoral students - who will become leaders in civic life, the academy, philanthropy, and other fields - are learning about changes in religion and spirituality, we provide opportunities for them to complete related paid internships outside of the academy. In partnership with the American Council of Learned Societies, we are running two national competitions. The first cohort was announced in April 2026; information on the next round of applications is forthcoming.
2026 Graduate Interns
Graduate Fellows in the News
ACLS Community Message
July 8, 2026, ACLS.org - Funded by Templeton Religion Trust as part of a larger initiative exploring changing religious institutions in the United States today, the program provides practical summer work opportunities for PhD students studying topics in religion... Read the article.
‘God commands us not to kill’: Faith leaders protest 50 years of executions
July 2, 2026, ReligionNews.com - On the anniversary of a Supreme Court ruling reinstating the US death penalty, faith leaders, those affected by murder and activists organize to call for an end to the death penalty. But religion has also been present in support for capital punishment... Read the article.
PCUSA, American Academy of Religion call Gaza war a genocide
July 1, 2026, ReligionNews.com - The largest Presbyterian denomination in the US and the American Academy of Religion both referred to Israel's war in Gaza as genocide in new resolutions condemning the war... Read the article.
Japanese internment survivors, faith leaders demand closure of South Texas ICE detention center
June 27, 2026, TexasTribune.org - Completing a pilgrimage from a World War II internment camp in Crystal City, activists said history is repeating itself with family detentions at the Dilley facility... Read the article.
As supporters praise Texas’ proposed “Judeo-Christian” curriculum, rabbis say it dismisses Judaism
June 25, 2026, TexasTribune.org - A required reading list before the State Board of Education would present a predominantly Christian perspective to public school students, Jewish leaders say... Read the article.
Juneteenth is a religious reckoning
June 18, 2026, ReligionNews.com - The Equal Justice Initiative’s Bryan Stevenson says confronting America’s lynching history is a matter of faith that demands truth-telling and repentance — especially on America’s most recently recognized national holiday... Read the article.
SCOTUS stops execution of inmate who became ministry leader
June 12, 2026, ReligionNews.com - The Supreme Court...prevented Alabama from executing a man who became a Christian ministry leader during his 26 years on death row, deciding that killing him using nitrogen gas was unconstitutional... Read the article.
Biola acquires Phoenix seminary
June 5, 2026, ReligionNews.com - After three decades of independent operations, Phoenix Seminary is set to be acquired by the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University... Read the article.
2026 Graduate Internships awarded
April 27, 2026, BrynMawr.edu - The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has named the inaugural awardees of the Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future... Read the article.
ACLS Graduate Internships announced
April 23, 2026, ACLS.org - The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is pleased to name the inaugural awardees of the Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future Program... Read the article.
ACLS Graduate Internships
November 3, 2025, ACLS.org - American Council of Learned Societies now accepting applications to create a pipeline of new leaders knowledgeable about the rapidly changing American religious landscape... Read the article.
More about our Approach
Research
Our research will examine congregational closures (endings), spiritual innovation (beginnings), and the changing shape of religious leadership in the United States... learn more.
Public-Facing Programming
This project will expand public knowledge about the religious and spiritual landscapes by sharing its findings through legacy and new medium including traditional news... learn more.
Professional Pipelines
This project will enable current doctoral students to complete paid internships outside of the academy to better understand and prepare for leadership in the emerging spiritual infrastructure... learn more.
Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future
How are religious and spiritual changes happening in the United States today? What are the institutions through which spirituality, religion and broader approaches to meaning making are and will continue to be taught, learned and passed across generations?