The Immanent Frame

The Immanent Frame, published by the @ssrc_org, has long served as a central site for debate and analysis of the role of religion in public life. We’re thrilled to share a refreshed version of the website: tif.ssrc.org/2026/03/18/rei…

Since 2007, @ImmanentFrame has served as a central node for vibrant analysis of the role of religion in public life. We’re thrilled to share a refreshed version of the TIF website, marking a new chapter and enhancing the visibility of TIF’s scholarly work: tif.ssrc.org

The SSRC mourns the loss of philosopher and social theorist Jürgen Habermas (1929–2026). Read on to revisit some of Habermas’ contributions to SSRC’s work on religion and the public sphere @ImmanentFrame.

“The Dilemmas of Digital Samsara,” originally published in SSRC’s @ImmanentFrame, is featured in @tricyclemag’s Spring 2026 issue. Read David McMahan’s account of digital samsara and how to approach karma, or action, in the online world: tricycle.org/magazine/buddh…

Sufis say this too:One of the most sophisticated theories of karma, offered by the Yogācāra school of Buddhism...posits that each action of mind, body, and speech creates a kind of seed or impression that is deposited into the “storehouse consciousness”

NEW | David McMahan (@FandMCollege) continues our "Karmic historiography" forum. He observes, "The unique psychic state of our era, the scrolling mind, is fashioned to keep the light of critical thought low and the wire of impulse hot." tif.ssrc.org/2025/08/13/alg… @ssrc_org

New Forum | Jonathan Gold (@PrincetonCCSR) coedits and introduces "Karmic historiography," a forum that "draws on Buddhist concepts to create fresh perspectives on contemporary and historical issues." tif.ssrc.org/2025/08/06/kar… @ssrc_org

Read Jonathan Gold's new essay introducing @ImmanentFrame's series on Karmic Historiography: "Call it karmic historiography when we interrogate history for where it is, potentially, the outcome of accumulated moral acts—whether positive or negative." tif.ssrc.org/2025/08/06/kar…

Only a few days left! Remember to submit your essays by Monday, January 6!

To catch up on the debates featured @ImmanentFrame this year, read our top essays of 2024, featuring reflections by Laura Levitt, Walaa Quisay, J. Barton Scott, and many others. tif.ssrc.org/2024/12/11/mos…

CALL FOR ESSAYS | The Immanent Frame is welcoming essay submissions on the theme of US politics and religion until the sixth of January. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please share widely! tif.ssrc.org/2024/11/26/aut…

NEW | @wmstell explores Biblical literalism's role among American evangelicals, especially when making arguments about marrying same-sex couples and ordaining LGBTQ people. tif.ssrc.org/2024/11/13/the…

@BoniukInstitute and @RiceRPLC @R_C_Schneider , has revisited an essay from 2014, exploring through a new introductory essay, the role that religion plays in the political and social arenas of South Africa. @ImmanentFrame Read it at: tif.ssrc.org/2024/10/30/rev…

New | @R_C_Schneider revisits her 2014 essay "Jesus, religion, and revolution in the South African elections" in the wake of ANC's historic 2024 loss. How have faith leaders shaped South Africa’s political past—and how are they hoping to shape its future? tif.ssrc.org/2024/10/30/rev…

New | @RuthBraunstein revisits her 2019 essay "Making budgets moral again" in the runup to the 2024 US elections. How have moral dimensions of government spending been shaped by religious discourse--and how is the religious left imagining an alternative? tif.ssrc.org/2024/10/16/rev…

This collection on Religion and Violence In These Times is excellent - I recommend it highly, for your own reflection and teaching. Vital, in these times! @ImmanentFrame ! My essay is on the aftermath of war, reshuffled patterns of violence, spiritual warfare, and peacemaking.

These essays give us new ways to imagine violence in these times--with and past the social formations the term "religion" helps us to see.

Afzar Moin asks how Mughal sacred kinship can teach us about a governance that is neither religious nor secular. tif.ssrc.org/2024/10/02/mug…

NEW | Today, William Cavanaugh closes our Ruinations forum with an incisive question: Does "religion and violence" discourse get to the root of violence, or does it point us towards certain kinds of violence while making it possible to ignore others? tif.ssrc.org/2024/10/09/thi…