Submitted by la334 on Mon, 01/06/2026 - 10:27
Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry are part of a major new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded project examining how delusional, conspiracist and culturally accepted beliefs are formed, experienced and understood.
The interdisciplinary project, Exploring the Grey Zone: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Religious Delusions and Conspiracy Beliefs, is led by Professor Joseph Webster in the Faculty of Divinity and brings together expertise from anthropology, philosophy, psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience across the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and the University of Glasgow.
Dr Emilio Fernandez-Egea and Professor Paul Fletcher from Cambridge's Department of Psychiatry are co-investigators on the project, which has been awarded approximately £1 million through the UKRI Cross-Council Responsive Mode scheme, administered by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
The project will investigate what researchers describe as the "grey zone" between delusional and non-delusional beliefs, focusing on how social, cultural and psychological factors influence belief formation and experiences that may be perceived as unusual or stigmatised. Researchers will explore case studies on religious beliefs and conspiracy narratives, examining how context shapes how beliefs are understood and categorised.
Clinical recruitment will take place through Cambridge's Clozapine Clinic and psychosis services, helping to connect the project's theoretical and social questions with clinical perspectives and lived experience.
Professor Joseph Webster said: "We propose to develop a novel biopsychosocial formulation of delusional beliefs which combines complementary perspectives from social anthropology, philosophy, psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience."
The two-year project aims to develop new approaches to understanding the relationship between belief, culture and mental health, while contributing to wider discussions around stigma, diagnosis and the social dimensions of psychiatric experiences.
More information about the project is available via the research group website: Schizophrenia Research Group Cambridge.
For further information about the award, see the Faculty of Divinity announcement: Faculty of Divinity news story.