Elaine Howard Ecklund
Elaine Howard Ecklund (PhD, Cornell University) is professor of sociology at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where she holds the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences. Ecklund has written five books, including Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think and Religion vs. Science: What Religious People Really Think (authored with Christopher P. Scheitle). In 2010, Science vs. Religion was named a "Book of the Week" by Times Higher Education and the "Book of the Year" on religion by HuffPost. She has also authored over seventy research articles and her research is frequently cited by US and international media. Ecklund was named as one of "50 Women to Watch" by Christianity Today and has been featured in venues such as NPR, the Washington Post, USA Today, the National Association of Evangelicals, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, BioLogos, Religion News Service, and HuffPost. In 2018, she gave the Gifford Lecture at the University of Edinburgh and from 2018-19 served as president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Ecklund is passionate about using research on religion to build common ground for the common good and, to that end, she founded the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University in 2010. She speaks regularly at churches about the intersection of science and spirituality.
