My research lies at the intersection of sociology of religion, political sociology, and social and political theory. I am internationally recognized as a leading scholar on the role of Christianity in contemporary value conflicts, democratic politics, and global culture wars.
I have pioneered research on the global Christian Right, Russian Orthodoxy, and religion–state relations, showing how conservative religious networks mobilize against LGBTI+ rights and reshape human rights debates worldwide. Together with international collaborators, I have conceptualized phenomena such as the “Moralist International” and the “double helix of norm mobilization”, which are now widely used in the study of religion and politics.
From 2016 until 2022, I directed the >> Postsecular Conflicts Research Group at the University of Innsbruck, which advanced interdisciplinary and comparative studies of religion, secularization, and democracy. With a strong regional focus on Russia and the former Soviet Union, and attention to transnational religious dynamics, our work produced influential studies on the Russian Orthodox Church as a global norm entrepreneur, on religion–state relations, and on global resistance to LGBTI+ rights.
My research has been supported by:
European Research Council Starting Grant (2016-2022, grant nr. 676804);
Austrian Science Foundation FWF Start Preis (2015-2021, grant nr. Y-919);
APART [Austrian Program for Advanced Research and Technology], Austrian Academy of Sciences (2012-2015, grant nr. 11545);
European Research Council Marie Skłodowska Curie Intra-European Fellowship FP7-MCIEF (2009-2012, grant nr. 235041).