Recommendations for submitting an application as part of one of Iméra’s programmes:
1. The research project must be relevant to the intention of spending a research period at an institute of advanced study based in Marseille.
2. The research project must be relevant to the themes of one or more of the following programmes: Arts & Sciences: Indisciplined Knowledge; Interdisciplinary Dialogues; Mediterranean; and Necessary Utopias.
Conditions of application and residence
The ReligiS Chair at Iméra is part of the France 2030 programme ‘ReligiS – Religions and Societies Facing Contemporary Challenges’. Its aim is to host top-level researchers at Iméra whose work falls within the thematic scope of the ReligiS programme’s research axis.
The aim of the ReligiS/Iméra Chair is to bring an international dimension to the ReligiS programme by involving leading academics in the research carried out across ReligiS’s various research themes. The programme’s ambition is twofold. On the one hand, it seeks to establish a broad, interdisciplinary network at national level in order to provide a sustainable framework for research in this field and to train a new generation of young researchers. The Chair will therefore help to enhance France’s international appeal.
On the other hand, the aim is also to foster the emergence of a new, resolutely interdisciplinary scientific framework, in order to rethink the processes through which the relationship between religions and societies is transforming. The research will focus on identifying religious dynamics in contemporary society, based on three challenges:
- Where does the religious fit in (given that secularisation and globalisation are blurring the traditional boundaries of the religious)?
- How should we engage with the religious (given that religious pluralism appears to be both a challenge and an opportunity for society?
- How should we analyse the religious phenomenon? (given that understanding this phenomenon seems problematic for many of our contemporaries).
During their stay, the successful candidate will be invited to present their research in Strasbourg. They will also have the opportunity to collaborate with members of ReligiS at Aix Marseille Université.
Application deadline: October 19th, 2026 at 1pm (UTC+2)
Date of publication of results: early February 2027
Period of residence: 5 months between September 2027 and June 2028
Available periods of residence (to be chosen by the candidate; two possible options):
- 5-month residency during the first semester: from 01/09/2027 to 25/01/2028
- 5-month residency during the second semester: from 03/02/2028 to 28/06/2028
The ReligiS Chair: Religions and Societies Facing Contemporary Challenges is open to established researchers from all fields within the social sciences.
- Hold a Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree;
- Not have resided in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years preceding the deadline of the call for applications;
- Have a contract of employment (permanent or otherwise) at a foreign university or research establishment during the residency period.
The Chairholder receives a monthly allowance of €2,500.
He or she will also receive reimbursement of return travel expenses from and back to his or her country of origin and free accommodation on the Iméra site.
The criteria for assessing applications include, but are not limited to:
- The relevance, innovative nature and potential impact of the research project
- The researcher’s scientific excellence, measured against the highest international standards in the field
- The interdisciplinary nature of the project, which is also crucial for the researcher’s integration into the collective research dynamic at Iméra and within the academic ecosystem of Aix Marseille Université
- How the project relates to the France 2030 programme ‘ReligiS – Religions and Societies Facing Contemporary Challenges.’
- How the project ties in with the Iméra research programme selected in the application
The online application consists of the following documents:
- The completed application form (mandatory fields)
- Files to download:
- A presentation of the research project (maximum 5 pages) followed by a selective bibliography
- A curriculum vitae including a list of publications
- Optional: a letter of recommendation from a person who has played a decisive role in the applicant’s scientific career.
Submitted as part of the AMI-SHS call for proposals for national flagship programmes in the humanities and social sciences (France 2030), the ReligiS project brings together more than 450 researchers and academic staff from French universities and the CNRS, drawn from around 100 laboratories affiliated with the consortium’s member institutions. The consortium, comprising a total of 13 partners, brings together the leading French academic figures in the field.
The ReligiS programme takes as its starting point the changing nature of the interactions between religion and society in the contemporary world. Its main objective is to provide a multidimensional analysis of certain current processes observed in France, placing them within a global and long-term context. Its ambition is to use the generation and wide dissemination of scientific knowledge to help overcome the social and political tensions and challenges that are currently arising in relation to religions, whether these are established religions (such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism) or new religious and spiritual movements.
