Elmurat Ashiraliev is a Ph.D. candidate in the Religion in Philosophy, Politics, and Society track, specializing in the anthropology of religion. His research attends to the disruptions religious conversion produces and examines how Kyrgyz Protestant Christians claim belonging in a society where ethnic and religious identity are assumed to be inseparable. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, he asks what it means to be both Kyrgyz and Christian under conditions of social stigmatization, and explores how his interlocutors enact and reimagine the terms of that belonging. He is in the field in the Kyrgyz Republic (2026-2027).
Prior to his doctoral studies, Elmurat was a visiting fellow at the Central Asia Program at George Washington University (2019). He holds an M.A. in Central Asian Studies from the American University of Central Asia and graduated summa cum laude in Theological (Islamic) Studies from Osh State University.
Research Interests
anthropology of religion; belonging; conversion; ethnicity and nationalism; social theory; Central Asia and Kyrgyz Republic.
Awards & Grants
Boston University, Long Term Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship (2026-2027).
Boston University, Institute on Culture, Religion & World Affairs, Travel & Research Grants (2026)

View all profiles