Department News
Grad Coordinator Katelyn Stoler Receives Staff Recognition Award
RELS Graduate Coordinator Katelyn Stoler has just received the 2023 Silver Level Staff Recognition Award from the School of Arts and Sciences. Way to go, Kate!
PhD Student Julio Nascimento Named 2023–24 Graduate Fellow in Korean Studies
PhD student Julio Nascimento has received the 2023–24 Graduate Fellow Award from the Kim Center for Korean Stud
Emeritus Professor Robert Kraft (1934–2023)
We are sad to report that the Berg Professor of Religious Studies, Emeritus
Professor Schaefer's Book Wins Prize from International Society for Science and Religion
Professor Schaefer's Wild Experiment has received a book prize from the
Prof. Schaefer Receives 2023 Ludwik Fleck Prize from Society for Social Studies of Science
Associate Professor Donovan Schaefer was just announced as the winner of the 2023 Fleck Prize for his book Wild Experiment: Feeling Sci
PhD Candidate Angela Xia Receives Two Grants for Archival Research
PhD Candidate Angela Xia has received two grant
Congratulations to ASSOCIATE Professors Megan Eaton Robb and Donovan Schaefer!
The Department of Religious Studies is thrilled to announce the recent promotions of two of our colleagues.
Claire Elliot wins the annual Khyentse Foundation Award for Excellence in Buddhist Studies
Claire Elliot graduated with her Masters in Asian studies from Cornell University in 2020, where she studied Thai, Pali, and Sinhala.
RELS Students Receive Prizes and Awards
RELS celebrated the accomplishments of many students and faculty at an end-of-year celebration held on Thursday, April 27th.
With particular strengths in the study of Christianity, Judaism, American religions, Islam, secularism, Buddhism, and other Asian religions, the Department of Religious Studies emphasizes descriptive, historical, and theoretical approaches to the study of religion.
Upcoming Events
Vaughn Booker, Title TBA
RELS Colloquium
Vaughn Booker (Africana Studies, Penn)
Laura Nasrallah, Title TBA
RELS Colloquium
Laura Nasrallah, Yale Divinity School
Rebuilding Community: Displaced Women and the Making of a Shia Ismaili Muslim Sociality
RELS Colloquium/Global Islamic Studies Lecture
Shenila Khoja-Moolji, Georgetown University
Faculty Bookshelf
Song and Story in Biblical Narrative: The History of a Literary Convention in Ancient Israel
This book examines a literary form within the Bible that has slipped through the cracks of modern scholarship: the mixing of song and story in biblical narrative.
On Wings of Diesel: Trucks, Identity, and Culture in Pakistan
Illustrated with beautiful colour photos throughout, On Wings of Diesel takes us on a journey through the fascinating world of Pakistani truck decoration.
Wayward Distractions: Ornament, Emotion, Zombies and the Study of Buddhism in Thailand
When more than 93 per cent of the citizens of one country profess a single religion, as Thais do Buddhism, and when that religion is deeply integrated into national institutions and ideologies, it
Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making a Sanctified World
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC), an African American Pentecostal denomination founded in 1896, has become the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States today.
White Evangelical Racism
In this clear-eyed, hard-hitting chronicle of American religion and politics, Anthea Butler answers that racism is at the core of conservative evangelical activism and power.
Wayward Distractions: Ornament, Emotion, Zombies and the Study of Buddhism in Thailand
When more than 93 per cent of the citizens of one country profess a single religion, as Thais do Buddhism, and when that religion is deeply integrated into national institutions and ideologies, it
Alef is for Allah: Childhood Emotion and Visual Culture in Islamic Societies
Alef Is for Allah is the first groundbreaking study of the emotional space occupied by children in modern Islamic societies.
Figures of Buddhist Modernity in Asia
This book introduces contemporary Buddhists from across Asia and from various walks of life.
Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in American-Occupied Japan
Religious freedom is a founding tenet of the United States, and it has frequently been used to justify policies towards other nations.
The Jews: A History
The Jews: A History is a comprehensive and accessible text that explores the religious, cultural, social, and economic diversity of the Jewish people and their faith.
Gathering Leaves and Lifting Words: Histories of Buddhist Monastic Education in Laos and Thailand
Gathering Leaves and Lifting Words examines modern and premodern Buddhist monastic education traditions in Laos and Thailand.
Jacob of Sarug’s Homilies on Women Whom Jesus Met
Bi-lingual in Syriac and English. Published by Gorgias Press.