Francophone à France

Organisation/Company Université de Strasbourg Department Direction des ressources humaines Research Field Sociology Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 2 Mar 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37h30 Offer Starting Date 16 Mar 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

The ReligiS project (Religions and Societies Facing Contemporary Challenges) is a large-scale, structuring research initiative in the Social Sciences and Humanities, funded by the French State under the France 2030 investment program. The project runs for six years (April 2025 – March 2031) with a total budget of €9 million and is coordinated by Université de Strasbourg. ReligiS relies on a consortium of twelve French academic partners, including CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, École pratique des Hautes Études, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, École normale supérieure de Lyon, Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, Sciences Po Paris, Université de Lorraine, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, École française d’Athènes, and Bibliothèque nationale universitaire de Strasbourg, as well as numerous institutional and societal stakeholders. The project focuses on the long-term transformation of interactions between religions and societies in the contemporary world. The project pursues two main objectives. First, within the French academic context, it aims to develop a new, open, interdisciplinary and international scientific framework for rethinking the processes shaping relations between religions and societies. Second, it seeks to foster large-scale institutional change in the mechanisms for transferring academic knowledge on religions to policymakers and civil society.This dual ambition will be supported by the creation of the International College for the Study of Religions and Society (CI-ReligiS), hosted by the Université de Strasbourg and serving as a shared platform for all partner research centers engaged in the study of religion.

The postdoctoral research will be conducted within Research Group 3.3 “Ecology, Gender, Health” of the ReligiS Project. It focuses specifically on the relationships between ecology and religious or spiritual practices, with particular attention to their gendered and health-related dimensions.

The successful candidate will carry out empirical fieldwork on ecospirituality in the Francophone world, with the aim of providing an in‑depth and empirically grounded analysis of a rapidly evolving social milieu. The research will contribute to a better understanding of what recent scholarship has described as a dual process of “the spiritualisation of ecology and the ecologisation of religion”.

• Research activities:
  • Defining research questions and field sites in close collaboration with the academic supervisor
  • Collecting qualitative data (interviews, participant observation, attendance at events, etc.), including data from social networks and online platforms
  • Conducting sociological analysis of the empirical corpus, with supervisory support
  • Disseminating research results through participation in conferences, workshops and study days
  • Publishing three articles in peer‑reviewed international journals
• Associated activities:
  • Active participation in the activities of Research Group 3.3
  • Contribution to the organisation of conferences and study days on religion and ecology
  • Participation in the conference “Religion of the Heart / La religion du cœur” and in the edited volume resulting from this event

• Strong knowledge of the Francophone ecospirituality field or of ecotheology
• Solid expertise in qualitative research methods and interview analysis
• Familiarity with ecospirituality and/or ecotheology networks

• Proficiency in digital tools for data collection, transcription and qualitative data analysis
• Mastery of in‑depth qualitative interview methodologies
• Excellent academic writing and oral communication skills, including research dissemination

• Ability to work independently while contributing to collective research objectives
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills
• High level of commitment, adaptability and initiative

The successful candidate will be based at the Laboratory of Protestant Theology (UR 4378), located in the historic University Palace in Strasbourg. The laboratory’s priority research areas include the complex relationships between religion (including spiritual dimensions) and ecology. It brings together a broad range of disciplines organised into thematic teams: Biblical Worlds; History of Christianity; Contemporary Religious Thoughts, Beliefs and Practices. The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with the latter team.

The postdoctoral researcher will be supervised by Dr Christophe Monnot, Associate Professor in the Sociology of Religion, specialist in religion–ecology relations and co‑leader of the Research Group “Ecology, Gender, Health” within the ReligiS Project. The work will also involve collaboration with other members of the research consortium.

Place of work: MISHA (Interuniversity Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities of Alsace), Strasbourg

Mobility: The position requires several fieldwork trips within France and the wider European Francophone area

Indicative gross monthly salary: between €2,387 and €2,746, depending on experience

Applications should include a curriculum vitae, cover letter, copy of PhD diploma, and should be submitted by email to: