Husson Professor Accepted into Fellowship Program to Study Religious Identity and Moral Beliefs

Published on: December 9, 2024

Husson University's College of Science and Humanities Professor Dr. Clifton Guthrie has been accepted to a fellowship program at the University of Birmingham in England and received a grant of $26,000 through the Templeton Foundation to fund his research.

Through the fellowship, New Perspectives on Social Psychology and Religious Cognition for Theology, Guthrie will learn social science methodologies and put them into action in a study on religious identity and moral beliefs.

"Dr. Guthries' fellowship as well as the funding from the Templeton Foundation is important to Husson because it publicly demonstrates that we educate the whole person at Husson while preparing them for their future careers," said Dean Phillip Taylor III, dean of the College of Science and Humanities. "The ability to think clearly and understand others from their point of view are essential elements of a professional education and helps make a Husson education unique."

The fellowship began with a three-week workshop over the summer with 30 other fellows held at the University of Birmingham in England, where they studied moral psyche and psychological methodologies. Now Guthrie will proceed with his individual research before sharing some of his findings at another fellowship workshop in April.

Guthrie’s research will consist of examining how religious identity affects or doesn’t affect individual moral beliefs.The research is centered around people who were raised religious but no longer consider themselves as such, paying close attention to how much of their religious upbringing or religious past carries forward with them. 

“So if they formed certain attitudes or morals while they were religious, do they still abide by them or do they reject those moral ideas? Those are the kinds of questions that I’m interested in,” said Guthrie.

The topic is of particular interest in Maine.

“We are one of the least religious states in the country as a percentage and so there are lots of people who are ex-religious here, so part of why I’m interested in this topic is that it’s very applicable to people here in Maine,” said Guthrie.

The grant money will help finance the study as well as travel for the fellowship including attending the workshop in England in April.

Taylor said there aren’t many fellowships that look at the intersection between philosophy and science.

“I hope he gets to interact with like-minded colleagues from around the world,” said Taylor.

Guthrie plans to present his research at Husson with his mentor at an event on campus in Fall 2025.

— Allison Yost