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Location Location Location: Belief, Belonging and the Places That Hold Us Together

Published 1 September 2026
St Michael’s Tower on Glastonbury Tor, a 14th century church tower on a grassy hill

We are happy to announce the second of our panel sessions taking place at ESC 2026, asking why people gather and even co-habit around shared beliefs, and why some spiritual communities endure while others fade?

In a wide-ranging conversation chaired by Andy Wilson, evolutionary researcher Kat Ford, anthropologist Susannah Crockford and BBC journalist Mike Wendling will explore the forces that draw people together and give places power. Moving from the human need for belonging to the spiritual landscapes of Glastonbury and Sedona, the panel will examine how stories, rituals and communities become rooted in place.

It will also consider how the internet has transformed the way beliefs spread, allowing seekers to find one another across distance. While accelerating conspiracy, polarisation and extremism. Does belonging still need a home? Come to this panel and find out!

  • Dr Kathryn Ford is an Evolutionary Behavioural Scientist whose research focuses on religious and spiritual beliefs, seeking to understand why religious and spiritual beliefs are such a widespread feature of human culture. She has used both data driven research and anthropological approaches to the study of beliefs, behavior, and identity, recently conducting long-term fieldwork in Glastonbury UK. Kat has been a member of the Merseyside Skeptics Society since 2012 and is a founding member of Skeptics in the Pub Online.
  • Dr Susannah Crockford is a lecturer in anthropology, specialising in environmental and medical anthropology and the anthropology of religion. Her first book, Ripples of the Universe: Spirituality in Sedona, Arizona, was published in May 2021 by the University of Chicago Press. Her second book, A Perturbed System: Religion and Climate Change at the End of a World, was published in July 2026 by the same publisher.
  • Mike Wendling is a journalist who specialises in covering the US and international far-right, conspiracy theories and fringe movements and American politics. A former editor of BBC Trending and co-founder of the BBC’s disinformation unit, he is the author of two books - Alt-Right: From 4chan to the White House and Day of Reckoning: How the Far-Right Declared War on Democracy.
  • Andy Wilson is part of the organising team for ESC 2026, a founding board member of the QED conference, and until 2025 was host of the popular skeptical podcast InKredulous. He was an early board member of the Merseyside Skeptics Society and in 2010 was one of the driving forces behind the 10:23 Campaign, and he took the role of emcee at QED 2012.

Tickets are still available at the early bird rate of £120 for ECSO members, or £140 for non-members - with online-only tickets now available for just £10. Pick up your tickets today.