Department News
Max Dugan Earns Multiple Awards
PhD Candidate Max Dugan has received several fellowships and awards in the spring 2021 term. He received a resear
Professor Thomas at Michigan Talks Japan Podcast
Professor Thomas was interviewed about his book Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in American-Occupied Japan for the Michigan Talks Japan podcast.
Prof Robb interviewed for New Books in Islam Podcast
Listen to the Podcast interview with Prof. Robb here.
Professor Butler's Virtual Book Tour Dates
Professor Butler has a busy spring as she promotes her new book, White Evangelical Racism, at several virtual events.
Professor Butler Interviewed at Religion Dispatches and Keeping it 101 about White Evangelical Racism
Professor Butler's new book drops soon, and the interviews are coming in fast and furious.
Professor Thomas Selected for Sacred Writes 2021 Cohort
Professor Thomas has been selected as one of 24 fellows for trainings conducted by Sacred Writes, a project supporting public scholarship on religi
Professor Thomas Curates "American Religion, Inside Out"
Professor Thomas has curated a collection of essays as an online journal supplement for American Religion.
Professor Robb Awarded Fulbright Research Chair in South Asian Islam
The U.S. Department of State and the J.
Professor Robb Speaks at the Society for the Promotion of Urdu (India)
Professor Robb will speak for the Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind) or the Society for the Promotion of Urdu (India) on Friday, January 29th at 11:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Professor Schaefer at the Classical Ideas Podcast
Professor Schaefer was recently interviewed about his book Religious Affects at the Classical Ideas Podcast.
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
The Diaspora Within: Mizrahi Jews from Minneapolis to Jerusalem
Claris Harbon, Al Akhawayn University
Religious Studies Colloquium: Joseph Blankholm, "Is There a Secular Tradition? How Religious Studies Can Help Us Understand Secular People”
Joseph Blankholm, University of California-Santa Barbara
"Demonology and Popular Piety in Second Temple Judaism and Beyond"
Annette Yoshiko Reed, New York University
Faculty Bookshelf
Aisha’s Cushion: Religious Art, Perception, and Practice in Islam
Media coverage of the Danish cartoon crisis and the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan left Westerners with a strong impression that Islam does not countenance depiction of religious imagery.
Wisdom as a Way of Life: Theravada Buddhism Reimagined
This wide-ranging and powerful book argues that Theravāda Buddhism provides ways of thinking about the self that can reinvigorate the humanities and offer broader insights into how to learn and how
Islam
Islam is a concise and readable survey of the history of Islam from the birth of Muhammad in seventh century Arabia to the differing situations of Muslims throughout today's world.
The FBI and Religion
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has had a long and tortuous relationship with religion over almost the entirety of its existence.
The Evolution of Affect Theory: The Humanities, the Sciences, and the Study of Power
Across the humanities, a set of interrelated concepts - excess, becoming, the event - have gained purchase as analytical tools for thinking about power.
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.
Architects of Buddhist Leisure: Socially Disengaged Buddhism in Asia’s Museum, Monuments, and Amusement Parks
Buddhism, often described as an austere religion that condemns desire, promotes denial, and idealizes the contemplative life, actually has a thriving leisure culture in Asia.
Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan
Manga and anime (illustrated serial novels and animated films) are highly influential Japanese entertainment media that boast tremendous domestic consumption as well as worldwide distribution and a