The purpose of the call for applications is to award grants to universities that are part of the Catalan university system to carry out research projects in the field of religious affairs, in order to obtain scientific results and generate new knowledge with applicable proposals for intervention that have an impact on Catalan society, specifically on one of the topics detailed in the objective.

The definitive resolution of the call was published at the end of 2021. The research project is led by Marc Grau, lecturer at the Faculty of Education Sciences and researcher for the Childcare & Family Policies Chair, part of the Institute for Advanced Family Studies at UIC Barcelona. Titled “Religiositat i resiliència familiar en temps de la COVID-19 a Catalunya: lliçons per al futur” (Religiosity and family resistance in times of COVID-19 in Catalonia: lessons for the future), Grau, alongside his research team from the Institute for Advanced Family Studies, Montserrat Gas, Rejina Selvam, Laia Pi, Consuelo León, Rita Cavallotti and Belén Zárate presented the study whose main objective is to determine possible indicators to measure the contribution of religion to family resilience in Catalonia.

The project also aims to gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between religiosity and family resilience in extraordinary times such as those onset by the outbreak of COVID-19, and to analyse what role gender might play in these relationships.

The data analysis will consist of a qualitative methodology including in-depth interviews with Catalan families with children under the age of 10, focus group discussions with families of different religious denominations and focus group discussions with experts in the field.

The final outcome of the research will be the publication of articles in high-impact journals to further research on the role of religiosity as a potential dynamic element in fostering family resilience and the role of gender.