Associate Professor of Latinx Communities Jonathan E. Calvillo has been named a 2026-2027 Public Fellow of the nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).
Calvillo is one of nine interdisciplinary scholars in PRRI’s ninth cohort of Public Fellows and the second cohort as part of its Religion and Protecting Democracy Initiative.
PRRI Public Fellows collaborate with the organization’s researchers to generate impactful commentary and analysis at the intersection of religion, culture, and politics in one of four areas based on their scholarly work. Calvillo is one of two Fellows with a focus on immigration and American society.
“America is undergoing sweeping political, social, and religious change, with new fault lines emerging alongside old ones,” said PRRI’s CEO Melissa Deckman in the announcement. “Investing in public scholars who can illuminate these dynamics is central to PRRI’s mission. This year’s Public Fellows bring the kind of rigorous, innovative research that will sharpen how we read and respond to this pivotal moment.”
A member of Candler’s faculty since 2022, Calvillo’s work examines how distinct Latinx populations build communities of belonging through faith and creativity, often in the face of systemic exclusion. Along with numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, he is the author of three books: The Saints of Santa Ana: Faith and Ethnicity in a Mexican Majority City (Oxford University Press, 2020); In the Time of Sky-Rhyming: How Hip Hop Resonated in Brown Los Angeles, (Oxford, 2024); and When the Spirit Is Your Inheritance: Reflections on Borderlands Pentecostalism (Fortress Press, 2024).
The Public Religion Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy. PRRI Public Fellows are selected through a competitive nationwide open call for mid-career scholars.