I am an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Arizona State University, USA.
Prior to my time at ASU, I taught Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester, UK. I have also held positions at Pembroke College, University of Oxford; the University of Groningen, the Netherlands; and University College London (UCL), UK.
I received my PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2016.
Over the past two decades, a growing number of Christians in England have gone to court to enforce their right to religious liberty. Funded by conservative lobby groups and influenced by the legal strategies of their American peers, these claimants—registrars who conscientiously object to performing the marriages of same-sex couples, say, or employees asking for exceptions to uniform policies that forbid visible crucifixes—highlight the uneasy truce between law and religion in a country that maintains an established Church but is wary of public displays of religious conviction.
Representing God charts the changing place of public Christianity in England through the rise of Christian political activism and litigation. Based on two years of fieldwork split between a conservative Christian lobby group and a conservative evangelical church, Méadhbh McIvor explores the ideas and contested reception of this ostensibly American-inspired legal rhetoric. She argues that legal challenges aimed at protecting “Christian values” ultimately jeopardize those values, as moralities woven into the fabric of English national life are filtered from their quotidian context and rebranded as the niche interests of a cultural minority. By framing certain moral practices as specifically Christian, these activists present their religious convictions as something increasingly set apart from broader English culture, thereby hastening the secularization they seek to counter.
Representing God offers a unique look at how Christian politico-legal activism in England simultaneously responds to and constitutes the religious life of a nation.
Taking as its point of departure the proliferation of “We Believe…” signs on display in affluent ... more Taking as its point of departure the proliferation of “We Believe…” signs on display in affluent neighbourhoods throughout the United States, this article explores what it means to assert publicly one’s belief in what I call “liberal creeds.” Drawing on historical and anthropological analyses of the verb “to believe,” I highlight belief’s somewhat paradoxical capacity to marshal certainty and doubt in equal measure. By analysing the signs through the lens of “religion”—not necessarily on account of their espousing a particular theological standpoint, but because the vernacular of contemporary US religion locates “belief” at its centre—I argue that these creeds take on some of the cultural cachet of “religion” even as they also suffer from its reduction to mere opinion or personal quirk.
This introduction calls for an 'anthropology of grace' , arguing that an ethnographically informe... more This introduction calls for an 'anthropology of grace' , arguing that an ethnographically informed theory of grace will offer valuable interpretive tools not only to scholars of religion but also to anthropologists of law, economics, and power. Focusing on four interlinked dimensions of grace-its Christianity, sociality, temporality, and potentiality-we highlight the relevance of this concept to local and global politics, particularly in encounters across difference. Building on analyses of what has been called 'the Christianity of anthropology' , we suggest not only that Euro-Christian scholarship is indebted to the idea of grace but that its explicit invocation can propel emerging debates on time, sociality, and progressive politics. An interrogation of this theo-political concept reveals submerged conceptual assumptions and sheds new light on anthropology's decades-old investment in reciprocity (and its discontents).
Drawing on recent work in the field of law and religion, this paper focuses on the skepticism oft... more Drawing on recent work in the field of law and religion, this paper focuses on the skepticism often displayed towards a term that is simultaneously enabling and limiting: that of “religion.” Regardless of our interrogation of it, this terminology is operative in the world—not only among the scholars who frame it as a second-order category, but among our interlocutors, kinship networks, and public figures. Given the baggage that often accompanies it, I argue that it is unsurprising that so many of us are hesitant to apply this label to the people, places, and practices to which we attach meaning.
Journal of the American Academy of Religion (JAAR), 2019
This paper uses evangelical reflections on the meaning of "rights" to explore the juridification ... more This paper uses evangelical reflections on the meaning of "rights" to explore the juridification of religion in contemporary England. Drawing on sixteen months of participatory fieldwork with evangelicals in London, I argue that English evangelicals' critiques of Christian-interest litigation reflect the interaction of local theologies with developments in the law's regulation of religion, developments that have contributed to the relativization of Protestant Christianity even as historic church establishment is maintained. Through an exploration of the tension between the goals of (rights-based) individualism and (Christian) relationalism as they concern the law, I show how litigation can affect religious sub-jectivity even in the absence of a personal experience with the pageantry of the court.
Although human rights are often framed as the result of centuries of Western Christian thought, m... more Although human rights are often framed as the result of centuries of Western Christian thought, many English evangelicals are wary of the U.K.’s recent embrace of rights-based law. Yet this wariness does not preclude their use of human rights instruments in the courts. Drawing upon fieldwork with Christian lobbyists and lawyers in London, I argue that evangelical activists instrumentalise rights-based law so as to undermine the universalist claims on which they rest. By constructing themselves as a marginalised counterpublic whose rights are frequently ‘trumped’ by the competing claims of others, they hope to convince their fellow Britons that a society built upon the logic of equal rights cannot hope to deliver the human flourishing it promises. Given the salience of contemporary political conservatism, I call for further ethnographic research into counterpublic movements, and offer my interlocutors’ instrumentalisation of human rights as a critique of the inconsistencies of secular law.
Teaching Law and Religion: Case Study Archive, 2019
Case Study: Johns v Derby City Council [2011] EWHC 375
Eunice and Owen Johns, a Pentecostal coup... more Case Study: Johns v Derby City Council [2011] EWHC 375
Eunice and Owen Johns, a Pentecostal couple then living in the English Midlands, applied to their local council for approval as short-term foster carers. When the Johns’ conservative views on sexuality threatened to render them ineligible for approval, the parties agreed to ask the High Court for a declaration clarifying the law: how should the Council balance its duty not to discriminate on the grounds of religion or belief with its duty not to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation?
The judges who heard the case declined to answer the question put to them. Stating that it was at the ‘very outer limit’ of what might be considered their jurisdiction, they instead used their ruling to reflect on the principles ostensibly regulating the ‘relationship of law and religion in our society’ – and to heavily criticize the parties for bringing suit in the first place. This case study originated in the work of Méadhbh McIvor.
Contribution to "Leading Works in Law and Religion," analysing Winnifred Fallers Sullivan's "The ... more Contribution to "Leading Works in Law and Religion," analysing Winnifred Fallers Sullivan's "The Impossibility of Religious Freedom."
"Leading Works in Law and Religion" brings together leading and emerging scholars in the field from the United Kingdom and Ireland. Each contributor has been invited to select and analyse a "leading work," which has for them shed light on the way that Law and Religion are intertwined. The chapters are both autobiographical, reflecting upon the works that have proved significant to contributors, and also critical analyses of the current state of the field, exploring in particular the interdisciplinary potential of the study of Law and Religion.
This article presents an anthropological account of the European Court of Human Rights' approach ... more This article presents an anthropological account of the European Court of Human Rights' approach to material religion. Focusing on a range of cases involving an alleged violation of Article 9 – the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion – in relation to such diverse religious objects as cassette players, incense, crucifixes, photographs and cross necklaces, it draws on ethnographic studies of material culture to suggest a disconnect between the Court's emphasis on religion as belief and the lived experience of embodied, sensual and object-oriented religious practice. It concludes that Article 9's privileging of the forum internum over material practice has contributed to an immaterial view of religion and religious life. Such an understanding ultimately fails to appreciate the importance of objects in the creation, expression and maintenance of religious worlds.
In 2019, a nonprofit volunteer was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge for leaving jugs of water in... more In 2019, a nonprofit volunteer was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge for leaving jugs of water in the desert for passing migrants on the grounds that his actions were motivated by “sincerely held religious beliefs.” What can this tell us about religious freedom and state power on the US-Mexico border?
Regardless of our interrogation of it, the terminology of “religion” is operative in the world—no... more Regardless of our interrogation of it, the terminology of “religion” is operative in the world—not only among the scholars who frame it as a second-order category, but among our interlocutors and kinship networks. Given the baggage that often accompanies it, perhaps it is unsurprising that so many of us are hesitant to apply this label to the people, places, and practices to which we attach meaning.
Over the past two decades, a growing number of Christians in England have gone to court to enforce their right to religious liberty. Funded by conservative lobby groups and influenced by the legal strategies of their American peers, these claimants—registrars who conscientiously object to performing the marriages of same-sex couples, say, or employees asking for exceptions to uniform policies that forbid visible crucifixes—highlight the uneasy truce between law and religion in a country that maintains an established Church but is wary of public displays of religious conviction.
Representing God charts the changing place of public Christianity in England through the rise of Christian political activism and litigation. Based on two years of fieldwork split between a conservative Christian lobby group and a conservative evangelical church, Méadhbh McIvor explores the ideas and contested reception of this ostensibly American-inspired legal rhetoric. She argues that legal challenges aimed at protecting “Christian values” ultimately jeopardize those values, as moralities woven into the fabric of English national life are filtered from their quotidian context and rebranded as the niche interests of a cultural minority. By framing certain moral practices as specifically Christian, these activists present their religious convictions as something increasingly set apart from broader English culture, thereby hastening the secularization they seek to counter.
Representing God offers a unique look at how Christian politico-legal activism in England simultaneously responds to and constitutes the religious life of a nation.
Taking as its point of departure the proliferation of “We Believe…” signs on display in affluent ... more Taking as its point of departure the proliferation of “We Believe…” signs on display in affluent neighbourhoods throughout the United States, this article explores what it means to assert publicly one’s belief in what I call “liberal creeds.” Drawing on historical and anthropological analyses of the verb “to believe,” I highlight belief’s somewhat paradoxical capacity to marshal certainty and doubt in equal measure. By analysing the signs through the lens of “religion”—not necessarily on account of their espousing a particular theological standpoint, but because the vernacular of contemporary US religion locates “belief” at its centre—I argue that these creeds take on some of the cultural cachet of “religion” even as they also suffer from its reduction to mere opinion or personal quirk.
This introduction calls for an 'anthropology of grace' , arguing that an ethnographically informe... more This introduction calls for an 'anthropology of grace' , arguing that an ethnographically informed theory of grace will offer valuable interpretive tools not only to scholars of religion but also to anthropologists of law, economics, and power. Focusing on four interlinked dimensions of grace-its Christianity, sociality, temporality, and potentiality-we highlight the relevance of this concept to local and global politics, particularly in encounters across difference. Building on analyses of what has been called 'the Christianity of anthropology' , we suggest not only that Euro-Christian scholarship is indebted to the idea of grace but that its explicit invocation can propel emerging debates on time, sociality, and progressive politics. An interrogation of this theo-political concept reveals submerged conceptual assumptions and sheds new light on anthropology's decades-old investment in reciprocity (and its discontents).
Drawing on recent work in the field of law and religion, this paper focuses on the skepticism oft... more Drawing on recent work in the field of law and religion, this paper focuses on the skepticism often displayed towards a term that is simultaneously enabling and limiting: that of “religion.” Regardless of our interrogation of it, this terminology is operative in the world—not only among the scholars who frame it as a second-order category, but among our interlocutors, kinship networks, and public figures. Given the baggage that often accompanies it, I argue that it is unsurprising that so many of us are hesitant to apply this label to the people, places, and practices to which we attach meaning.
Journal of the American Academy of Religion (JAAR), 2019
This paper uses evangelical reflections on the meaning of "rights" to explore the juridification ... more This paper uses evangelical reflections on the meaning of "rights" to explore the juridification of religion in contemporary England. Drawing on sixteen months of participatory fieldwork with evangelicals in London, I argue that English evangelicals' critiques of Christian-interest litigation reflect the interaction of local theologies with developments in the law's regulation of religion, developments that have contributed to the relativization of Protestant Christianity even as historic church establishment is maintained. Through an exploration of the tension between the goals of (rights-based) individualism and (Christian) relationalism as they concern the law, I show how litigation can affect religious sub-jectivity even in the absence of a personal experience with the pageantry of the court.
Although human rights are often framed as the result of centuries of Western Christian thought, m... more Although human rights are often framed as the result of centuries of Western Christian thought, many English evangelicals are wary of the U.K.’s recent embrace of rights-based law. Yet this wariness does not preclude their use of human rights instruments in the courts. Drawing upon fieldwork with Christian lobbyists and lawyers in London, I argue that evangelical activists instrumentalise rights-based law so as to undermine the universalist claims on which they rest. By constructing themselves as a marginalised counterpublic whose rights are frequently ‘trumped’ by the competing claims of others, they hope to convince their fellow Britons that a society built upon the logic of equal rights cannot hope to deliver the human flourishing it promises. Given the salience of contemporary political conservatism, I call for further ethnographic research into counterpublic movements, and offer my interlocutors’ instrumentalisation of human rights as a critique of the inconsistencies of secular law.
Teaching Law and Religion: Case Study Archive, 2019
Case Study: Johns v Derby City Council [2011] EWHC 375
Eunice and Owen Johns, a Pentecostal coup... more Case Study: Johns v Derby City Council [2011] EWHC 375
Eunice and Owen Johns, a Pentecostal couple then living in the English Midlands, applied to their local council for approval as short-term foster carers. When the Johns’ conservative views on sexuality threatened to render them ineligible for approval, the parties agreed to ask the High Court for a declaration clarifying the law: how should the Council balance its duty not to discriminate on the grounds of religion or belief with its duty not to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation?
The judges who heard the case declined to answer the question put to them. Stating that it was at the ‘very outer limit’ of what might be considered their jurisdiction, they instead used their ruling to reflect on the principles ostensibly regulating the ‘relationship of law and religion in our society’ – and to heavily criticize the parties for bringing suit in the first place. This case study originated in the work of Méadhbh McIvor.
Contribution to "Leading Works in Law and Religion," analysing Winnifred Fallers Sullivan's "The ... more Contribution to "Leading Works in Law and Religion," analysing Winnifred Fallers Sullivan's "The Impossibility of Religious Freedom."
"Leading Works in Law and Religion" brings together leading and emerging scholars in the field from the United Kingdom and Ireland. Each contributor has been invited to select and analyse a "leading work," which has for them shed light on the way that Law and Religion are intertwined. The chapters are both autobiographical, reflecting upon the works that have proved significant to contributors, and also critical analyses of the current state of the field, exploring in particular the interdisciplinary potential of the study of Law and Religion.
This article presents an anthropological account of the European Court of Human Rights' approach ... more This article presents an anthropological account of the European Court of Human Rights' approach to material religion. Focusing on a range of cases involving an alleged violation of Article 9 – the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion – in relation to such diverse religious objects as cassette players, incense, crucifixes, photographs and cross necklaces, it draws on ethnographic studies of material culture to suggest a disconnect between the Court's emphasis on religion as belief and the lived experience of embodied, sensual and object-oriented religious practice. It concludes that Article 9's privileging of the forum internum over material practice has contributed to an immaterial view of religion and religious life. Such an understanding ultimately fails to appreciate the importance of objects in the creation, expression and maintenance of religious worlds.
In 2019, a nonprofit volunteer was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge for leaving jugs of water in... more In 2019, a nonprofit volunteer was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge for leaving jugs of water in the desert for passing migrants on the grounds that his actions were motivated by “sincerely held religious beliefs.” What can this tell us about religious freedom and state power on the US-Mexico border?
Regardless of our interrogation of it, the terminology of “religion” is operative in the world—no... more Regardless of our interrogation of it, the terminology of “religion” is operative in the world—not only among the scholars who frame it as a second-order category, but among our interlocutors and kinship networks. Given the baggage that often accompanies it, perhaps it is unsurprising that so many of us are hesitant to apply this label to the people, places, and practices to which we attach meaning.
How does the law shape the category of (free) religion, and by which mechanisms does this shaping... more How does the law shape the category of (free) religion, and by which mechanisms does this shaping occur? Building on conversations started at the Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalisation’s recent conference, ‘Reimagining Difference: Being, Thinking and Practicing Beyond Essentialism’, this collaborative Religion Factor and Religion: Going Public blog series explores law’s approach to – and creation of – religion and religious rights. In this post, Méadhbh McIvor responds to recent work by Helge Årsheim by reflecting on sex, politics, and legal tedium.
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Books by Méadhbh McIvor
Over the past two decades, a growing number of Christians in England have gone to court to enforce their right to religious liberty. Funded by conservative lobby groups and influenced by the legal strategies of their American peers, these claimants—registrars who conscientiously object to performing the marriages of same-sex couples, say, or employees asking for exceptions to uniform policies that forbid visible crucifixes—highlight the uneasy truce between law and religion in a country that maintains an established Church but is wary of public displays of religious conviction.
Representing God charts the changing place of public Christianity in England through the rise of Christian political activism and litigation. Based on two years of fieldwork split between a conservative Christian lobby group and a conservative evangelical church, Méadhbh McIvor explores the ideas and contested reception of this ostensibly American-inspired legal rhetoric. She argues that legal challenges aimed at protecting “Christian values” ultimately jeopardize those values, as moralities woven into the fabric of English national life are filtered from their quotidian context and rebranded as the niche interests of a cultural minority. By framing certain moral practices as specifically Christian, these activists present their religious convictions as something increasingly set apart from broader English culture, thereby hastening the secularization they seek to counter.
Representing God offers a unique look at how Christian politico-legal activism in England simultaneously responds to and constitutes the religious life of a nation.
Papers by Méadhbh McIvor
Eunice and Owen Johns, a Pentecostal couple then living in the English Midlands, applied to their local council for approval as short-term foster carers. When the Johns’ conservative views on sexuality threatened to render them ineligible for approval, the parties agreed to ask the High Court for a declaration clarifying the law: how should the Council balance its duty not to discriminate on the grounds of religion or belief with its duty not to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation?
The judges who heard the case declined to answer the question put to them. Stating that it was at the ‘very outer limit’ of what might be considered their jurisdiction, they instead used their ruling to reflect on the principles ostensibly regulating the ‘relationship of law and religion in our society’ – and to heavily criticize the parties for bringing suit in the first place. This case study originated in the work of Méadhbh McIvor.
"Leading Works in Law and Religion" brings together leading and emerging scholars in the field from the United Kingdom and Ireland. Each contributor has been invited to select and analyse a "leading work," which has for them shed light on the way that Law and Religion are intertwined. The chapters are both autobiographical, reflecting upon the works that have proved significant to contributors, and also critical analyses of the current state of the field, exploring in particular the interdisciplinary potential of the study of Law and Religion.
Public Scholarship by Méadhbh McIvor
Over the past two decades, a growing number of Christians in England have gone to court to enforce their right to religious liberty. Funded by conservative lobby groups and influenced by the legal strategies of their American peers, these claimants—registrars who conscientiously object to performing the marriages of same-sex couples, say, or employees asking for exceptions to uniform policies that forbid visible crucifixes—highlight the uneasy truce between law and religion in a country that maintains an established Church but is wary of public displays of religious conviction.
Representing God charts the changing place of public Christianity in England through the rise of Christian political activism and litigation. Based on two years of fieldwork split between a conservative Christian lobby group and a conservative evangelical church, Méadhbh McIvor explores the ideas and contested reception of this ostensibly American-inspired legal rhetoric. She argues that legal challenges aimed at protecting “Christian values” ultimately jeopardize those values, as moralities woven into the fabric of English national life are filtered from their quotidian context and rebranded as the niche interests of a cultural minority. By framing certain moral practices as specifically Christian, these activists present their religious convictions as something increasingly set apart from broader English culture, thereby hastening the secularization they seek to counter.
Representing God offers a unique look at how Christian politico-legal activism in England simultaneously responds to and constitutes the religious life of a nation.
Eunice and Owen Johns, a Pentecostal couple then living in the English Midlands, applied to their local council for approval as short-term foster carers. When the Johns’ conservative views on sexuality threatened to render them ineligible for approval, the parties agreed to ask the High Court for a declaration clarifying the law: how should the Council balance its duty not to discriminate on the grounds of religion or belief with its duty not to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation?
The judges who heard the case declined to answer the question put to them. Stating that it was at the ‘very outer limit’ of what might be considered their jurisdiction, they instead used their ruling to reflect on the principles ostensibly regulating the ‘relationship of law and religion in our society’ – and to heavily criticize the parties for bringing suit in the first place. This case study originated in the work of Méadhbh McIvor.
"Leading Works in Law and Religion" brings together leading and emerging scholars in the field from the United Kingdom and Ireland. Each contributor has been invited to select and analyse a "leading work," which has for them shed light on the way that Law and Religion are intertwined. The chapters are both autobiographical, reflecting upon the works that have proved significant to contributors, and also critical analyses of the current state of the field, exploring in particular the interdisciplinary potential of the study of Law and Religion.
https://religionfactor.net/2017/11/06/boredom-in-the-court/