Reconstructive social research in the interpretive tradition: an interview with Monika Wohlrab-Sahr

A focus on reconstructive social research lies at the center of Monika Wohlrab-Sahr's interpretive approach to sociology. Anchored in biographical research and hermeneutics, reconstructive social research purposely sidesteps paradigmatic conflict between different school-like environments. Instead, Wohlrab-Sahr's globally oriented research projects, such as “Multiple Secularities,” follow a cultural sociological framework and seek to build bridges between various schools and disciplines. In this interview, Wohlrab-Sahr recalls the beginnings of her academic career as a “convert” from theology to sociology. Further, she reflects on her interpretive perspective and scholarly agenda while describing her empirical research aimed at understanding the elusive boundary between religious and non-religious experience and practice.