The Immanent Frame

The Immanent Frame is an interdisciplinary digital forum focused on the relationships among religion, secularism, modernity, politics, and public life. It was established in October 2007 in conjunction with Social Science Research Council projects concerning religion and the public sphere. Rather than functioning as a conventional commercial media outlet, it provides a scholarly publishing and discussion environment in which academics and other intellectuals can present research, debate concepts, and connect specialized arguments with broader public conversations. The forum was initially conceived as an experimental blog. Its structure invited contributions from a wide range of scholars in the humanities and social sciences, allowing a single topic to be approached through different disciplinary, geographical, and theoretical perspectives. Jonathan VanAntwerpen, then an SSRC program director, led the team that established the site and served as its editor-in-chief for several years. The forum’s name refers to the idea of an “immanent frame,” a central concept associated with Charles Taylor’s account of modern secularity in his 2007 book A Secular Age. One of the site’s earliest and most visible projects was an extensive online discussion of A Secular Age. Contributors included Taylor himself, Robert Bellah, Wendy Brown, and other prominent scholars. The discussion helped establish the forum’s characteristic model: sustained, multi-author engagement with influential work rather than short, isolated commentary. More broadly, The Immanent Frame has published work on the historical formation of secular categories, the politics of religious difference, anthropology and sociology of religion, law and public life, race, colonialism, democracy, and the changing meanings of modernity. The forum received external recognition early in its existence. In 2008 it was named an official honoree of the Webby Awards and was identified by The Revealer as a notable new religion-related website in its academic category. In September 2011, it partnered with Killing the Buddha to launch Frequencies, a related project that explored the religious dimensions of apparently ordinary cultural practices and concepts. Frequencies subsequently received Webby recognition as well. The Immanent Frame has continued to organize thematic forums and special projects. Examples include inquiries into nature and normativity, new approaches to secular modernity, and the relationship between antiblackness, religion, Black life, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2019, editor Mona Oraby worked with Daniel Vaca and other collaborators to launch The Universe of Terms, a project intended to make academic discussions of religion and secularism more accessible through visual imagery, concise prose, and compelling narrative forms, particularly for college students and wider publics. Its contributor community has included scholars such as Talal Asad, José Casanova, Craig Calhoun, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Veena Das, Wendy Doniger, John Esposito, Saba Mahmood, Robert Orsi, Joan Wallach Scott, Alfred Stepan, Michael Warner, and many others. In 2016, the publication created its first editorial board, formalizing a collective editorial structure that included scholars from sociology, political science, anthropology, and history. The platform’s identity therefore rests on scholarly plurality, conceptual debate, and public-facing intellectual work rather than on products, subscriptions, or commercial services.

The Immanent Frame emerged in 2007 from Social Science Research Council initiatives concerning religion and the public sphere. The project was developed as an experimental online forum rather than as a conventional journal or news publication. Its purpose was to create a space where scholars in the humanities and social sciences could respond to one another, test concepts in public, and address questions about secularism, religion, politics, and modernity for readers beyond narrowly specialized academic communities. The forum was established in October 2007 by an SSRC team led by program director Jonathan VanAntwerpen, who served as editor-in-chief for several years. Its title invokes the “immanent frame,” a concept associated with Charles Taylor’s analysis of modern secular conditions in A Secular Age, published in 2007. The relationship between the site’s name and Taylor’s book became especially visible through one of its first major editorial projects: an extended online discussion of A Secular Age. The forum published contributions from Taylor, Robert Bellah, Wendy Brown, and other scholars, creating a multi-perspective conversation around a major work in the study of secularity. During its early years, The Immanent Frame developed a reputation for combining academic expertise with accessible digital publishing. It received recognition in 2008 as an official honoree of the Webby Awards and was also highlighted by The Revealer as a noteworthy new religion website in its academic category. In September 2011, it collaborated with Killing the Buddha on Frequencies, a project that examined religious meaning in ordinary cultural practices and forms. Frequencies later received recognition as an official Webby honoree. The forum’s subject matter expanded beyond debates narrowly defined as “religious studies.” Its publishing has addressed secularism as a political and historical formation, the public role of religion, anthropology and sociology of belief, law, democracy, race, colonialism, cultural theory, and competing interpretations of modernity. Thematic forums have included work on nature and normativity, new approaches to the secular, and the connections between antiblackness, religion, Black life, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2016, the publication established its first editorial board. The board brought together scholars including Courtney Bender, Ruth Braunstein, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Saba Mahmood, Mayanthi Fernando, and Daniel Vaca, among others. Later additions included Vaughn Booker, Todne Thomas, and Nathan Schneider. This development marked a move toward a more explicitly collective editorial model while preserving the forum’s interdisciplinary character. In November 2019, editor Mona Oraby worked with Daniel Vaca and other collaborators to launch The Universe of Terms. The project addressed the challenge of communicating scholarship on religion and secularism to students and broader publics who may respond more readily to visual material, concise prose, and narrative explanation. It exemplified The Immanent Frame’s continuing effort to connect scholarly inquiry with public understanding. The platform’s contributors have included a large group of internationally recognized scholars, among them Arjun Appadurai, Talal Asad, Rajeev Bhargava, Akeel Bilgrami, José Casanova, Craig Calhoun, Dipesh Chakrabarty, William E. Connolly, Veena Das, Hent de Vries, Wendy Doniger, Simon During, John Esposito, Nilüfer Göle, David Hollinger, Mark Juergensmeyer, Mark Lilla, Kathryn Lofton, Tanya Luhrmann, Saba Mahmood, Martin E. Marty, Tomoko Masuzawa, Russell T. McCutcheon, Birgit Meyer, John Milbank, Tariq Modood, Ebrahim Moosa, Samuel Moyn, Robert Orsi, Ann Pellegrini, Elizabeth Povinelli, Vijay Prashad, Robert D. Putnam, Olivier Roy, Joan Wallach Scott, Jonathan Z. Smith, Judith Stacey, Alfred Stepan, Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Mark C. Taylor, Peter van der Veer, Michael Warner, Nicholas Wolterstorff, and many others. The resulting archive positions The Immanent Frame as a significant digital venue for interdisciplinary debate about religion, secularism, and public life.

• 2019

  The Universe of Terms launches

  [1]The Immanent Frameen.wikipedia.org

  Mona Oraby, Daniel Vaca, and collaborators introduce a special project focused on accessible communication about religion and secularism.

• 2016

  First editorial board established

  [1]The Immanent Frameen.wikipedia.org

  The forum creates its first formal editorial board.

• 2011

  Frequencies launches

  [1]The Immanent Frameen.wikipedia.org

  The Immanent Frame and Killing the Buddha launch the collaborative Frequencies project.

• 2008

  Webby Awards official honoree

  [1]The Immanent Frameen.wikipedia.org

  The forum receives official-honoree recognition from the 12th annual Webby Awards.

• 2007

  The Immanent Frame is established

  [1]The Immanent Frameen.wikipedia.org

  The SSRC establishes the digital forum in connection with projects on religion and the public sphere.

• 2007

  Discussion of A Secular Age begins

  [1]The Immanent Frameen.wikipedia.org

  The forum launches an extensive discussion of Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age, with contributions from Taylor, Robert Bellah, Wendy Brown, and others.

An academically rigorous but publicly accessible digital forum situated between scholarly publishing, interdisciplinary debate, and public intellectual journalism. Its distinctive subject area is the study of secularism, religion, and the public sphere, with particular attention to how these categories intersect with politics, race, modernity, culture, and social institutions.

• Digital academic forum · 2007

  The Immanent Frame

  The core online publication and discussion platform. It presents interdisciplinary essays, responses, interviews, and thematic forums on religion, secularism, modernity, politics, race, law, and the public sphere. Its editorial approach combines specialist scholarship with public-facing writing and encourages dialogue across disciplines.

• Collaborative digital special project · 2011

  Frequencies

  A project launched in partnership with Killing the Buddha in 2011. Frequencies explored the religious dimensions of ordinary cultural practices and concepts, extending the forum’s interest in how religion appears in public and everyday life.

• Educational digital special project · 2019

  The Universe of Terms

  A project launched in 2019 to make academic study of religion and secularism more approachable through visual imagery, concise prose, and narrative presentation. It was framed as a response to students’ and broader readers’ demand for engaging explanatory formats.

• 2019The Universe of Terms

  College students · Academic readers · General public

  The project sought to communicate scholarship on religion and secularism through accessible visual and narrative forms.

  Outcome. The project broadened the forum’s public-education and engagement orientation.

  Source
• 2011Frequencies partnership

  International digital readership

  The Immanent Frame partnered with Killing the Buddha to develop a project about religious meaning in everyday cultural forms.

  Outcome. Frequencies later received official-honoree recognition at the Webby Awards.

  Source
• 2007A Secular Age discussion

  International academic readership · Public humanities

  The forum organized an extensive, multi-author discussion of Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age, using contributions from leading scholars to examine the book’s account of secular modernity.

  Outcome. The discussion helped define the forum’s interdisciplinary and dialogic editorial identity.

  Source

• 2016

  Create a formal editorial boardStrategy

  Background

  The forum had developed a broad interdisciplinary contributor network since its launch.

  Action taken

  The Immanent Frame established its first editorial board with scholars from sociology, political science, anthropology, and history.

  Aftermath

  Editorial responsibility became more explicitly collective while retaining the platform’s interdisciplinary scope.

  Source

• 2007

  Adopt an experimental, multi-contributor blog modelStrategy

  Background

  The SSRC sought a digital venue for interdisciplinary discussion of religion and the public sphere.

  Action taken

  The project was structured as an open-ended forum inviting contributions from scholars across the humanities and social sciences.

  Aftermath

  The model became central to the publication’s identity and enabled extended discussions of major books and concepts.

  Source

1. 1The Immanent Frameen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Immanent Frame official websitetif.ssrc.org