Dr. Robert Thomson

Assistant Professor, Sociology Justice and Equity Studies Coordinator

Contact

1310 Ben Graves Drive
Morton Hall
Room 243
Huntsville, AL 35899
Campus Map

256.824.2297
robert.thomson@uah.edu

Biography

Bob Thomson completed his Ph.D. in Sociology at Baylor University in 2017 focusing on the intersection of crime, religion, and social inequality. He then worked at Rice University as a postdoctoral research fellow for the Religion and Public Life Program before joining the Department of Sociology at UAH in 2019. That same year, Dr. Thomson published a book, Secularity and Science: What Scientists Around the World Really Think About Religion (Oxford University Press) alongside several other scholars at Rice University. Dr. Thomson’s current research includes a grant-funded project titled, “Black or Blue? A Pilot Study of Religious and Political Sources of Moral Attitudes Towards Police and Protest.” This pilot study seeks to understand the perceptions of police and emerging protest movements—such as Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, Antifa, and white nationalism—among both black and white Christians in the US.

Curriculum Vitae


Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology, Baylor University, 2017
  • M.A., Sociology, Baylor University, 2014
  • M.A., Theological Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary, 2012
  • M.S., Geotechnical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, 2002
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Cincinnati, 2000

Affiliations

  • American Society of Criminology
  • America Sociological Association
  • Southern Sociological Society
  • Society for the Social Scientific Study of Religion

Expertise

  • Crime and Deviance
  • Religion
  • Social Stratification
  • Quantitative Methodology
  • Science & Religion