How strong is Christian identity in Western Europe? How does this identity shape attitudes towards the nation and religious minorities? Pew Research Center presents its new report providing in-depth answers to these questions, and our expert panel is on hand to further interpret and discuss the report’s findings and its possible consequences.

This evening is ideal for those interested in religious and national identity, the role of religion in global affairs, demography, migration, European affairs and Christianity.

Dr. Neha Sahgal (@SahgalN) is an associate director of research at Pew Research Center; she specializes in international polling. She is an author of studies on the beliefs and practices of Muslims around the world, Christian-Muslim relations in sub- Saharan Africa, religious change in Latin America, religion’s role in Israeli society and religious identity and nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Esra Özyürek is an Associate Professor and Chair for Contemporary Turkish Studies at the European Institute, London School of Economics. Dr. Özyürek a political anthropologist who seeks to understand how Islam, Christianity, secularism, and nationalism are dynamically positioned in relation to each other in Turkey and in Europe. Her recent books include Being German, Becoming Muslim: Race, Religion and Conversion in the New Europe (2014) and Nostalgia for the Modern: State Secularism and Everyday Politics in Turkey (2007).

Professor Nasar Meer (@NasarMeer) is Professor of Race, Identity and Citizenship at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Meer’s work includes the study of citizenship and how collective membership is conceived and operationalised, the sociology and politics of antisemitism and Islamophobia and the development of 'Muslim consciousness' and how this features in debates about globalisation, the public sphere and secularism. His recent publications include Islam and Modernity, Volumes 1-4 (ed) (2017), Citizenship, Identity and the Politics of Multiculturalism: The Rise of Muslim Consciousness (2015) and Race and Ethnicity (2014).

Professor Matthew Engelke is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the London School of Economics. He also co-ordinates the School’s Programme for the Study of Religion and Non-Religion. Professor Engelke’s research focuses in the broadest sense on the connections between religion and culture, primarily in Africa and Britain. He has conducted in-depth fieldwork on an African Church in Zimbabwe, evangelical Christians in England, and, most recently, secular humanists in Britain.

Twitter hashtag for this event: #LSEPew

Pew Research Center is an independent, nonprofit “fact tank” that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research.

LSE Faith Centre runs innovative programmes and events promoting religious literacy, transformational interfaith leadership, and engagement with religion in global society.

LSE Religion and Global Society is a partnership between the Faith Centre and the Institute of Global Affairs which promotes an ‘understanding of religion and its relevance in world affairs’.

LSE European Institute is a dedicated centre for the interdisciplinary study of processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe.