Elaine Howard Ecklund is the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, Professor of Sociology, and director of the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance at Rice University. In 2010, she founded the Religion and Public Life Program and served as director for 12 years. As a sociologist of religion, science, and work, she is particularly interested in social change and how institutions change, especially when individuals leverage aspects of their religious, race, and gender identities to change institutions. Over the past several years Ecklund’s research has explored how scientists in different nations understand religion, ethics, and gender; religion at work; and the overlap between racial and religious discrimination in workplaces. Most recently Ecklund co-directed a $2.9 million grant in order to create a new field of sociological research examining how identities and beliefs around race and gender are related to attitudes about science and religion.

Ecklund is the author of nine books, over 150 research articles, and numerous op-eds. She has received grants and awards from multiple organizations including the National Science Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, Templeton World Charity Foundation, and Templeton Religion Trust. Her latest books include Religion in a Changing Workplace (OUP, 2024) and Varieties of Atheism in Science (OUP, 2021) as well as Why Science and Faith Need Each Other (Brazos, 2020).