Department News
Professor McDaniel's "Existential Despair" Featured in the Penn Gazette
Professor McDaniel's course "Existential Despair" was featured in the Penn Gazette. Here's an excerpt:
Professor Elias Named Chair of Penn Press Editorial Board
Jamal J. Elias, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of the Humanities, has been named the Chair of the Penn Press Editorial Board.
PhD Candidate Hallie Swanson Receives the Stallybrass Prize
Hallie Swanson has just received word that she has won Penn's Stallybrass Prize!
Congratulations to Dr. Jeremy Steinberg!
The Graduate Group in Religious Studies is delighted to congratulate Dr.
Sam Herrmann Wins Dissertation Research Award!
The Religious Studies Graduate Group is very happy to announce that PhD Candidate Sam Herrmann has received a Dissertation Research Award from the Graduate Division of Arts and Sciences!
Graduate Students Sana Rizvi, Kirby Sokolow, and Jeremy Steinberg Win RELS Research Awards
The Religious Studies Graduate Group is delighted to announce the winners of our annual research awards!
Aditya Bhattacharjee Receives Fellowship at Cornell's Society for the Humanities
The Department of Religious Studies is delighted to announce that alumnus Aditya N.
Jules Lingenfelter wins 2025 Albert Clark Award
We are thrilled to announce that Julia (Jules) Lingenfelter (Sophomore) has won the 2025 Albert Clark Award of Theta Alpha Kappa, the Nat
Professor Durmaz Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure
On February 28, Penn's Board of Trustees voted to confirm Dr. Reyhan Durmaz's promotion to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure, effective July 1, 2025.
Professor McDaniel on "Living Deliberately through Existential Despair"
OMNIA has shared a video of Professor McDaniel's recent talk on his popular classes "Living Deliberately" and "Existential Despair."
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.
Faculty Bookshelf
Cosmologies and Biologies: Illuminated Siamese Manuscripts of Death, Time and the Body
A beautifully illustrated study of rare and unique Siamese manuscripts.
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
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.
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.
Solomon: The Lure of Wisdom
Tradition has it that King Solomon knew everything there was to know—the mysteries of nature, of love, of God himself—but what do we know of him?
The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions
Edited by Matthew D. McMullen and Jolyon Baraka Thomas
Religion and the Self in Antiquity
Many recent studies have argued that the self is a modern invention, a concept developed in the last three centuries.
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
Muslims Against the Muslim League: Critiques of the Idea of Pakistan
An anthology of essays, edited by Ali Usman Qasmi and Megan Eaton Robb, exploring Muslim criticism of the founding of Pakistan.
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.
Key Themes for the Study of Islam
Key Themes for the Study of Islam examines the central themes and concepts indispensable to an informed understanding of Islamic religion and society.
