Dr Stephen Jones

During this academic year all my office hours will be online and by appointment. My usual office hours are 13:00-14:00 on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2020
• PhD, Sociology, 2010 (University of London)
• MRes, 2006 (University of London)
• MGeog (Arts), 2000 (University of Leeds)

I completed my doctorate in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and subsequently held positions at York St John University, the University of Bristol and Newman University and before joining the University of Birmingham as Lecturer in 2018.

I teach on LM Approaches to Islamic Studies; LM Political Islam; LI Science and Belief in Society; and LC Lived Religions.

Islam in the West, the governance of Islamic institutions, sociology of religion, religion and public policy, religion and politics, liberalism and religion, science and belief, science and Islam, STEMM and religious diversity

Find out more - our PhD Theology and Religion  page has information about doctoral research at the University of Birmingham.

Fundamentally, I am interested in the formation and public negotiation of religious and non-religious moral convictions. I have two areas of expertise linked to this core interest. One is in the negotiation of the Islamic tradition in Western contexts, including debates about Islam and multiculturalism, secularism, liberalism and rationalism. The other is in religious and non-religious publics’ perceptions of science, and how these perceptions impact upon diversity and inclusion in STEMM disciplines and institutions, as well as in wider society.

I have a background in sociology and have worked on a wide range of social research projects, most associated with one or the other of these two specialisms. These include: ‘Religious Literacy Leadership in Higher Education’ (HEFCE, 2009–2011); ‘Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance’ (ESRC/AHRC, 2010–2012); ‘Public Spirit’ (AHRC, 2012–2013); ‘Public Faith and Financial Services Industry’ (Barrow Cadbury Trust, 2014–2015); and ‘Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum’ (TRT, 2014–2017). I am presently Co-Investigator on a major 6 country multi-disciplinary study, ‘Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum Global Perspectives’ (TRT, 2018–2022) and Co-Primary Investigator on a new project developing the International Research Network for the Social Study of Science and Religion (TRT, 2019-2022). I am also Primary Investigator on the project 'Science and the Transmission of Islamic Knowledge in Britain’ (Rice University, 2020-2023) and a British Academy-funded Small Grant project entitled ‘The Nature of Contemporary Islamophobia’ (2020-2022).

• General Secretary of the Muslims in Britain Research Network (2017–present)