Méadhbh McIvor is a social anthropologist whose research focuses on human rights, religious activism, and the legal regulation of religion in Europe and the United States. Her work investigates the state’s shaping of, response to, and interaction with religious practice.
She received a PhD in anthropology from the London School of Economics, where she explored conservative Christian activism and the politicization of rights-based law in the UK. The book based on this research, "Representing God: Christian Legal Activism in Contemporary England," was published by Princeton University Press in 2020. This research has also appeared in American Anthropologist, Ethnos and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.
While McIvor's previous work focused on socially conservative religious movements and their mobilization of rights-based law, she has more recently become interested in the way progressive religious communities in polarized political spaces understand the relationship between faith and civic engagement. This project investigates the religiously-motivated pursuit of justice among liberal religious actors in Arizona, USA.
Prior to joining the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in autumn 2024, McIvor taught social anthropology at the University of Manchester, UK. She previously held a Junior Research Fellowship at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, and has taught anthropology and religious studies at University College London and the University of Groningen.
McIvor is always inspired by students’ creativity, enthusiasm, and commitment, and have learnt a great deal from those she has been privileged to lecture, supervise, and work with. If you are a former student, please don’t hesitate to get in touch—it's always lovely to hear from you!
If you are a prospective PhD candidate whose proposed research focuses on legal anthropology, political anthropology, and/or the anthropology of religion, you can reach McIvor at meadhbh.mcivor[at]asu.edu to discuss potential supervision arrangements.
You can access her publications here.