Academic CV

Reduced CV. Last update, 24 Feb 2022. PDF available soon.

Dr CHRISTOPHER R. COTTER, MA (Hons), MSc, PhD, AFHEA

• https://www.open.ac.uk/research/people/cc27768 
• http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/persons/christopher-r-cotter/

Address: School of Social Sciences and Global Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University

Telephone: +44 131 549 7962

Email: Christopher.Cotter<at>open.ac.uk

CURRENT POSITION

• Staff Tutor (Lecturer) in Sociology and Religious Studies, The Open University, UK

SELECTED PREVIOUS POSITIONS

• Teaching Fellow in Anthropology and Sociology of Religions, University of Edinburgh (September  2021–December 2021)
• Lecturer in Religious Studies, University of Chester (November 2020–December 2021)
• Tutor in Religious Studies, University of Edinburgh (September 2013–August 2017; September 2020–August 2021)
• IASH-CTPI Duncan Forrester Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh (December 2020–September 2021)
• Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh (September 2017–August 2020)

EDUCATION

PhD in Religious Studies

Lancaster University (2012–2016). Viva passed without corrections, 19 December 2016. Supervisor: Professor Kim Knott. Examiners: Professor Linda Woodhead and Professor Martin Stringer.

Religion-Related Discourse: A Critical Approach to Non-Religion in Edinburgh’s Southside

MSc by Research with Distinction in Divinity (Religious Studies)

University of Edinburgh (2011)

Toward a Typology of ‘Nonreligion’: A Qualitative Analysis of Everyday Narratives of Scottish University Students [Supervisor: Dr Steven Sutcliffe]. Full pdf of this thesis available through Academia.edu.

MA (Hons) Religious Studies with First Class Honours

University of Edinburgh (2006–2010)

Honours Courses in Indigenous Traditions, New Age, Islam, Judaism, Phenomenology, and Sociology. Dissertation Title: Consciousness Raising: The Critique, Agenda and Inherent Precariousness of Contemporary Anglophone Atheism [Supervisor: Dr Steven Sutcliffe]

ACADEMIC SERVICE

The Religious Studies Project, http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com

Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief, January 2012–present

Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN), http://nsrn.net

• Co-Director, November 2014–Present
• Managing Editor/Bibliography Manager, NSRN Online, August 2012–Present
• Deputy Editor and Bibliography Manager, NSRN Online, August 2011–August 2012

British Association for the Study of Religions, http://www.basr.ac.uk  

• Honorary Treasurer, September 2015–Present
• Social Media Co-Manager, September 2012–September 2015

Culture on the Edge, http://edge.ua.edu

• Chapter 3 collaborator, September 2017 – Present

Co-Editor, Secularism and Nonreligion, July 2018 – Present

Editorial Board Member, Implicit Religion, January 2016–Present

PUBLICATIONS

Monograph

• Cotter, Christopher R. 2020. The Critical Study of Non-Religion: Discourse, Identification and Locality. London: Bloomsbury.

Edited Volumes

• Cotter, Christopher R., Philip Quadrio, and Jonathan Tuckett, eds. 2017. New Atheism: Critical Perspectives and Contemporary Debates. Dordrecht: Springer.
• Cotter, Christopher R. and David G. Robertson, eds. 2016. After World Religions: Reconstructing Religious Studies. London: Routledge.
• Day, Abby, Giselle Vincett and Christopher R. Cotter, eds. 2013. Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular. Farnham: Ashgate.

Chapters and Articles

• Cotter, Christopher R. Forthcoming 2022. “New Atheism”, “The difference between atheism, agnosticism, non-religion and the secular”, and “Who are the most famous atheists?” in Atheism in Five Minutes, edited by Teemu Taira. Sheffield: Equinox
• Cotter, Christopher R. Forthcoming 2023. “Because YOU’RE an Early Adopter” in Fabricating Authenticity, edited by Andie Alexander and Jason M. Ellsworth. Sheffield: Equinox.
• Cotter, Christopher R. Forthcoming 2022. “Non-Religion as Religion-Related Discourse: An Empirical Invitation.” In Formatting Non-Religion in Late Modern Societies. Dordrecht: Springer.
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2021. “New Atheism” in The Cambridge History of Atheism, edited by Michael Ruse and Stephen Bullivant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1007–1023.
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2020. “The Good, The Bad, and the Non-Religion: The Good/Bad Rhetoric in Non-Religion Studies” in Hijacked: A Critical Treatment of the Public Rhetoric of Good and Bad Religion, edited by Leslie Dorrough Smith, Steffen Führding, and Adrian Hermann. Sheffield: Equinox, 154–168.
• Cotter, Christopher R., and Lois Lee. 2020. Entries on “Agnosticism”, “Atheism” and “Secularization.” in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Sociology of Religion, edited by Adam Possamai and Anthony Joseph Blasi. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Cotter, Christopher R., and David G. Robertson. 2020. “Critique and Community: Podcasting Religious Studies.” In Digital Humanities and Research Methods in Religious Studies: An Introduction, edited by Christopher Cantwell and Kristian Petersen. Boston: De Gruyter, 273–290.
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2019. “Incorporating Secularism and Related Constructs within the Critical Study of Religion.” Implicit Religion. 22 (1): 78–85.
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2018. “A History of the BASR: Some Preliminary Findings.” BASR Bulletin 132 (May): 12–16. https://basr.ac.uk/2018/05/22/basr-bulletin-132-may-2018/
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2017. “You’re Greek? Well… I’m (Northern) Irish, Kind’a. In Fabricating Identities, edited by Russell T. McCutcheon. Sheffield: Equinox.
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2017. “New Atheism, Open-Mindedness, and Critical Thinking.” In New Atheism: Critical Perspectives and Contemporary Debates, edited by Christopher R. Cotter, Philip Quadrio and Jonathan Tuckett. Dordrecht: Springer.
• Cotter, Christopher R., Philip Quadrio and Jonathan Tuckett. 2017. “Introduction.” In New Atheism: Critical Perspectives and Contemporary Debates, edited by Christopher R. Cotter, Philip Quadrio and Jonathan Tuckett. Dordrecht: Springer.
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2017. “A Discursive Approach to ‘Religious Indifference’: Critical Reflections from Edinburgh’s Southside.” In Religious Indifferences: Between and Beyond Religion and Nonreligion, edited by Johannes Quack and Cora Schuh. Dordrecht: Springer.
• Cotter, Christopher R , Grace Davie, James A. Beckford, Saliha Chattoo, Mia Lövheim, Manuel A. Vásquez, and Abby Day. 2016. “Around Abby Day’s Believing in Belonging: Belief & Social identity in the Modern World.” Religion and Society: Advances in Research 7:97–115.
• Cotter, Christopher R. and David G. Robertson. 2016.  “Introduction: The ‘World Religions’ Paradigm in Contemporary Religious Studies.” In After ‘World Religions’: Reconstructing Religious Studies, edited by Christopher R. Cotter and David G. Robertson. London: Routledge. 1–26.
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2015. “Without God yet not Without Nuance: A Qualitative Study of Atheism and Non-religion among Scottish University Students.” In Atheist Identities: Spaces and Social Contexts, edited by Lori G. Beaman and Steven Tomlins. Dordrecht: Springer, 171–193.
• Lee, Lois, with Stephen Bullivant and Christopher R. Cotter. 2013. “Irreligion: A Contemporary Bibliography.” In Toward a Sociology of Irreligion, by Colin Campbell. Alcuin Academics.
• Day, Abby, Giselle Vincett and Christopher R. Cotter. 2013. “What Lies Between: Exploring the Depths of Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular.” In Social Identities Between the Sacred and the Secular, edited by Abby Day, Giselle Vincett and Christopher R. Cotter, 1–6. Farnham: Ashgate.
• Cotter, Christopher R. 2011. “Consciousness Raising: The critique, agenda, and inherent precariousness of contemporary Anglophone atheism.” International Journal for the Study of New Religions 2 (1): 77–103.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• 2020–2021. University of Chester. 9 Lectures, Religion and Culture (Level 6), 9 Lectures, Lived Religions (Level 4), 3 Lectures, Field Study of Religion (Level 5), and 4 Lectures, Advanced Theories of Religion (Level 7).
• 2020–2021. Teaching Assistant. University of Edinburgh. 10 tutorials per course. Religion in Modern Britain (2 groups), Popular Religion, Women and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (3 groups), and Jews and Muslims (2 groups).
• 2019–2020. University of Edinburgh. 11 Lectures, Course Manager and Author. Atheism, Humanism and Non-Religion (Level 10)/Atheism and the Rejection of Religion (Level 11).
• 2019. University of Helsinki. Erasmus+ teaching exchange. 3 lectures [Podcasting Religious Studies; Empirical Study of Non-Religion; Public Rhetoric of Good/Bad Religion/Non-Religion]; supervision and discussion sessions; 3 podcast recordings.
• 2018–2019. University of Edinburgh. 10 lectures [Course Manager and Author], Atheism, Humanism and Non-Religion [UG]/Atheism and the Rejection of Religion [PG]. 3 lectures, Religion in Modern Britain [Atheism and the Rejection of Religion]. 2 lectures, Theory and Method in the Study of Religion [RS as a Discipline, Studying Non-Religiony]
• 2017–2018. University of Edinburgh. 12 lectures, Studying Religions [RS as a Discipline, Visual Culture, Exhibiting ‘Religion’, and Space, Place and Pilgrimage]; 3 lectures, Theory and Method in the Study of Religion [RS as a Discipline, Studying Non-Religion, Boundaries and Interdisciplinarity]; 1 lecture, Theories of Religion [Time for Reflection in the Scottish Parliament].
• 2013–2017. Teaching Assistant. University of Edinburgh. 10 weeks a time. Lived Religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (2013–2014), Global Religions A: Judaism, Buddhism and Islam (2015–2016), Global Religions: South Asian, Indigenous & New Traditions (2014), Atheism in Debate: Dawkins, his allies, and his opponents (2014–2015), Global Religions B: Indigenous African Religions and Religions of Asia (2015), Studying Religions (2015–2016), Religion in Modern Britain (2017). Leading weekly tutorials, marking presentations, weekly submissions, ‘mini-essays’, and course essay/s.
• 2016–2017. Distance Learning Teaching Assistant. 10 weeks. Religion and Conflict (2016 and 2017), Faith Debates (2017). Online Masters Modules, Lancaster University, UK, Promoting and moderating discussion in VLE, and student support.
• 2015–2016. Lecturer. 5 weeks. An Introduction to Atheism and Non-religion. Office of Lifelong Learning, University of Edinburgh (5×2 hour sessions)
• 2016. Guest Lecturer. ‘Non-religion and Indifference.’ Lancaster University first year undergraduate Religious Studies, 21 April 2016.
• 2015. Guest Lecturer. Classify and Conquer: Rethinking the World Religions Paradigm. Online undergraduate seminar with David G. Robertson. Practicum Blog. 13 February 2015.
• 2013. Guest Lecturer. ‘Atheism and Nonreligion’ at Leeds Trinity University College. for Second Year Undergraduate Religious Studies. Course Organizer – Dr Suzanne Owen. 16 May 2013.
• 2012. Guest Lecturer. ‘Atheism and the Rejection of Religion’. Selected Themes in the Study of Religion. Taught MSc in Religious Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK, 21 March 2012.
• 2011. Guest Lecturer. ‘Atheism and the Rejection of Religion’. Selected Themes in the Study of Religion. Taught MSc in Religious Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK, 2 March 2011.

MEMBERSHIPS

• British Association for the Study of Religions (2010–Present)
• British Sociological Association (2012)
• British Sociological Association: Sociology of Religion Study Group (2012–2016)
• European Association for the Study of Religions (2010–Present)
• Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (2009–Present)
• Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (2011–2016)

OTHER RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

• April 2017–Present. History of the British Association for the Study of Religions.
• July–December 2012. Content analysis on Contact, the Journal of the Scottish Pastoral Association (1960–75) for Dr Steven Sutcliffe, as part of the AHRC Religion & Society Programme funded Theology and Therapy Project.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 1 July 2016.

ACADEMIC REFERENCES

• Professor Carole Cusack, Professor of Religious Studies, Studies in Religion, University of Sydney, Carole.Cusack@sydney.edu.au
• Dr Wendy Dossett, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Theology and Religious Studies, University of Chester, W.Dossett@chester.ac.uk
• Professor Kim Knott, Professor of Religious and Secular Studies, Politics, Philosophy, and Religion, Lancaster University, K.Knott@lancaster.ac.uk
• Dr Arkotong Longkumer, Senior Lecturer in Modern Asia, University of Edinburgh, A.Longkumer@ed.ac.uk 
• Dr Steven Sutcliffe, Senior Lecturer in the Study of Religion, University of Edinburgh, S.Sutcliffe@ed.ac.uk