François Gauthier

François Gauthier is a Full Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Fribourg. Originally from Quebec, he earned his PhD in Religious Sciences from UQAM and previously taught at the Department of Religious Sciences at UQAM from 2009-2012 before joining the University of Fribourg in 2013. He is also the co-founder and co-editor of MAUSS International, an interdisciplinary English-language journal, and serves on the editorial board of the Revue du MAUSS semestrielle.

His research spans a wide range of topics including:

• Sociology and anthropology of modern and contemporary religion in a global perspective
• Gift theory and its applications
• Religion and politics
• Religious festivals (particularly Burning Man and Rainbow Gatherings)
• Ritual studies (including death rituals)
• Neo-shamanism and alternative spiritualities
• Globalization and religion

Gauthier's work focuses on developing analytical frameworks for understanding modern and contemporary religious transformations within a global context, particularly examining the relationship between religion and the rise of neoliberalism and consumerism. His approach draws heavily on Marcel Mauss's gift theory and connects with broader social scientific theories.

His recent publications reveal a strong focus on the marketization of religion, with particular attention to Global Islam, religious transformations in Orthodox Eastern Europe, and Chinese religious developments. He has conducted significant research on transformational festivals like Burning Man and Rainbow Gatherings, exploring their ritual creativity and religious dimensions. His work also examines wellbeing-oriented spiritualities, religious change in risk societies, and the halal market phenomenon.

Gauthier has received research funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (FNS) for multiple projects including:

• "Spirits and Gods" (2025-2027)
• "Religion in the Market Era: The Rise of Market Islam, the Revenge of Confucius, and Other Stories from a Global Age" (2024)
• "European Network on Death Rituals - Annual Workshop" (2019-2020)
• "Burning Man and Transformational Event Cultures" (2018)
• "Ritual Creativity in the Swiss and European Rainbow Gatherings" (2017-2022)
• "Burning Progeny: The European Efflorescence of Burning Man" (2016-2019)

He is particularly known for his work on the European adaptation of Burning Man and its ethos, having organized symposia and conducted ethnographic research on European transformational festival cultures. His research on death rituals in Europe has contributed to understanding contemporary transformations in funerary practices across linguistic regions of Switzerland.