Andrew Singleton
Staff memberAndrew Singleton is Professor of Sociology and Social Research in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin. His work explores the interconnections between social and religious change, with a specific focus on Australia and the Global South. Recent research has explored teen religion and spirituality, and the history and current expressions of Spiritualism in Australia (the religion that contacts the dead). A social research practitioner, Andrew incorporates survey research, ethnography, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and archival research into his work. He is particularly interested in the application of mixed methods and deals in the dark arts of statistics. Before joining Deakin in 2015, Andrew taught in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University.
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Research
Andrew is the recipient of ARC funding (Discovery; Linkage) and industry funding. Recent selected highlights include:
- 2019-2023. ARC LINKAGE PROJECT: Discovering a ‘Good Read’: Pathways to Reading for Australian Teens. LP180100258 ($346,097). CIs: Dr Leonie Rutherford (Deakin); A/Prof Michael Dezuanni (QUT); A/Prof Katya Johanson (Deakin); Prof Andrew Singleton (Deakin).
- This project employs mixed methods to discover how teens choose books to read for pleasure. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading.
- 2017-2020. ARC DISCOVERY PROJECT: DP170100563. Social Engagement in Spiritualism ($144,000). CIs: Prof Andrew Singleton (Deakin); A/Prof Matt Tomlinson (University of Oslo/ANU).
- This is a unique, four-year investigation of the sociological, anthropological, and historical dimensions of Spiritualism in Australia, a small but highly influential religious movement. The sociological component demonstrates how Spiritualism articulates with the wider Australian religious context. Anthropologically, the project examines ritual forms in which Spiritualists aim to speak with the dead. Taken together, we are mapping the production and effect of belief on family, civic participation, and ethics.
- 2016-19. ARC DISCOVERY PROJECT: DP160102367 ($460,000). Australian Young People’s Perspectives on Religions and Non-religious Worldviews. CIs: A/Prof Mary Louise Rasmussen (ANU); Prof Andrew Singleton (Deakin); Dr Anna Halafoff (Deakin); Prof Gary Bouma (Monash).
- The Australia’s Generation Z study (AGZ Study) was a national survey of Australian adolescents’ experiences and understandings of religious, spiritual, gender, and sexual diversity. It found that young Australians are generally very tolerant of religious and sexual diversity. Additionally, the study developed a new way of conceptualising the worldviews of Australian teens. Reflecting their diverse commitments to religious, spiritual, and nonreligious beliefs, it identified and named six different ‘worldview types’ of Australian Gen Z’s (Religiously Committed, Nominally Religious, Spiritual but Not Religious, Seekers, Indifferent and This Worldly). Results support inclusion of sexual and cultural differences in the school curriculum.
- 2015-16. Industry-sponsored research project Outcome Evaluation of the Phunktional Regional Performance Program ($66,000) Research team: A/Prof. Andrew Singleton and Prof. Ruth Webber. Industry partner: Phunktional Theatre Company.
- 2019-2023. ARC LINKAGE PROJECT: Discovering a ‘Good Read’: Pathways to Reading for Australian Teens. LP180100258 ($346,097). CIs: Dr Leonie Rutherford (Deakin); A/Prof Michael Dezuanni (QUT); A/Prof Katya Johanson (Deakin); Prof Andrew Singleton (Deakin).
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Selected publications
Books
- 2021. Andrew Singleton, Anna Halafoff, Mary Lou Rasmussen, and Gary Bouma, Freedoms, Faiths and Futures: Teenage Australians on Religion, Sexuality and Diversity. London, Bloomsbury.
- 2014. Andrew Singleton, Religion, Culture and Society: A Global Approach. London, Sage Publications.
- 2007. Michael Mason, Andrew Singleton, and Ruth Webber, The Spirit of Generation Y: Young People’s Spirituality in a Changing Australia. Melbourne, John Garratt Publishing. (Reprinted 2008)
Chapters in books
- 2020. Andrew Singleton, ‘Strong Church or Niche Market? The Demography of the Pentecostal Church in Australia’, in C. Rocha, M. Hutchinson, and K. Openshaw (eds), Australian Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements Arguments from the Margins. Leiden: Brill.
- 2018. Andrew Singleton, ‘Beyond Faith? Recent Trends in Religion and Spirituality among Teenagers’, in M. de Souza and A. Halafoff (eds), Re-enchanting Education and Spiritual Wellbeing: Fostering Belonging and Meaning-making for Global Citizens. Routledge: Abingdon.
- 2013. Andrew Singleton, ‘Echoes of the Past: The Influence of Spiritualism on Contemporary Belief’, in C. Moreman (ed.), The Spiritualist Movement: Speaking with the Dead in America and around the World (Vol. 2). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Articles in refereed academic journal
- 2020. Mary Lou Rasmussen, Sulamith Graefenstein, Andrew Singleton, Anna Halafoff, and Gary Bouma, ‘Methodological Challenges of Designing a Survey to Capture Young People’s (Non-Binary) Affiliations in Relationship to Religion, Sexuality and Gender’, International Journal of Social Research Methodology.
- 2017. Andrew Singleton, ‘The Summer of the Spirits: Spiritual Tourism to America’s Foremost Village of Spirit Mediums’, Annals of Tourism Research, 67: 48-57.
- 2016. Andrew Singleton, ‘Seven Heavens? The Character and Importance of Afterlife Belief among Contemporary Australians’, Mortality, 21 (2): 167-184.
- 2015. Andrew Singleton, ‘Are Religious ‘Nones’ Secular? The Case of the Nones in Australia’, Journal of Beliefs & Values, 36 (2): 239- 243.
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Teaching
Andrew teaches: social research methods (qualitative and quantitative); statistics; introduction to sociology; the sociology of religion; and gender studies.
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Supervision
Andrewhas successfully supervised 20 HDR candidates to completion. He supervises projects on a wide range of topics including:
- sociology of religion: spirituality, youth religion, new religious movements, global Christianity, secularisation, non-religion, religious change, religious movements in the Global South
- gender: men, masculinity, gender and the media
- research methods: quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods.
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Media
Andrew wrote and narrated the Australia’s Generation Z podcast, a short podcast series describing the AGZ study, a national study of teenagers, religion, and spirituality. It is available on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Pocketcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/australias-generation-z-podcast/id1506129875
https://open.spotify.com/show/3Um32Bcrfrx62QtoF2VWUn?si=ydL1AnD6RrmR7lvkO4kqvQ