Kristen Lucken directs the Program in Religious Studies at Brandeis University. Her research explores religion and society, immigration, ethnic and religious pluralism, social inclusion and nationalism.

While living and working in the Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia during a time of major historical change (1990-1998), Dr. Lucken witnessed the rise of ethno-religious nationalism and the unexpected dissolution of multi-cultural states. In 2005, she was awarded an Earhart Fellowship to join Peter Berger’s Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs at Boston University, where she earned her doctorate. There, she investigated the rise of ethnic nationalism in the Balkans and spent time with Bosnian refugees in New England to understand how immigrant religious and ethnic identities are maintained and transformed through the process of migration.

Since arriving at Brandeis in 2010, Dr. Lucken has taught courses in Sociology, Religious Studies, and International and Global Studies. Her published works address Bosnian refugee settlement in New England, the transnational religious lives of second-generation Hindu and Muslim-American immigrants, and the role played by religious institutions in immigrant ethnic identity maintenance. A current collaborative cross-national project investigates religion and spirituality in public institutions.