Academic year 2024-25 is projected to be a year of transition for the DRH project, as we consolidate the achievements of the last major development and data gathering push and begin plans for a completely new direction, focused on the religious dynamics of the recent past and contemporary world. This pivot will allow us to address different research questions and attract new scholars to the project, both as contributors and analysts.
Our first data dump, in the form of the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample of Religion (SCCSR, v1) was released at the end of May 2024. This massive dataset provides the first ever, standardized historical sample of key religious groups, places and texts from across the globe and throughout history. During our transition year, a key goal will be filling remaining important gaps in the SCCRS and releasing a v2 by May 2025.
Working with the CatMapper project, we also plan to rationalize our religious traditional tagging tree, with the goal of making it the standard religion ontology for cross-cultural research. A new version of the Religious Group poll (v7) will include substantial new sections targeted at Asian religions and New Religious Movements, creating an analytic tool better able to capture the nuances of contemporary global and syncretic religions.
Finally, an OFI will be submitted for a major new grant exploring the impact of religious transitions and innovation on metrics of social trust, personal health and moral values. We intend to also explore the cultural evolutionary dynamics that drive reformation movements, schisms and the rise of new prophetic traditions, and the role colonialism has played in the historical trajectories of religion, in particular the types of syncretic practices which arise in these complex historical areas.
