Department News
Professor Durmaz Publishes "Stories between Christianity and Islam"
Professor Durmaz has published her monograph, Stories between Christianity and Islam: Saints, Memory, and Cultural Exchange in Late Antiquity and Beyond.
RELS Undergrads Olivia Haynie and Justin Seward Present on Their Research
RELS undergrads Olivia Haynie and Justin Seward presented their findings from their summer project with Prof.
Professor Thomas Appointed to Japan-US Friendship Commission
Professor Thomas was recently appointed to the Japan-US Friendship Commission (JUSFC), with joint appointment to the US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON).
Jillian Stinchcomb Receives Postdoctoral Fellowship at Institute for Advanced Study!
The Department is thrilled to announce that alumna Dr.
Anthea Butler Wins 2022 Marty Award from the American Academy of Religion
Each year, the American Academy of Religion presents the
Gabriel Raeburn awarded Dean’s Teaching Fellowship for Excellence!
The department is happy to announce that Dr. Gabriel Raeburn has been awarded a Dean’s Teaching Fellowship for Excellence from the School of Arts and Sciences! Dr.
Congratulations to Dr. Gabriel Raeburn!
Congratulations to Gabriel Raeburn, who successfully defended his dissertation "Preaching Prosperity: Pentecostals and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism, 1946–1988" on April 22, 2022!
Grad Student Awards and Fellowships
The Department is delighted to announce that several doctoral students in our program have recently received awards and fellowships!
Undergraduate Research Published in National Honor Society Journal
Emma Boockvar and Zoe Millstein, two students in Professor Robb's Religious Studies Course Gender, Sexuality, and Religion have had their research accepted for publication by The Journ
Max Dugan Named a 2021-2022 Dean's Scholar!
The Department of Religious Studies is delighted to announce that doctoral candidate Max Dugan has been appointed a 2021-2022 Dean's Scholar in the School of Arts and Sciences.
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
Book Launch: Reyhan Durmaz, Stories between Christianity and Islam
A Conversation with Barbara H. Roggema
Roundtable: Applying the Religious Studies PhD beyond the Professoriate
Rebecca Mendelson (Duke RELS PhD '20), Japanese Studies Librarian, Penn Libraries
,Rose Muravchick (Penn RELS PhD '14), Associate Director of Educational Development, Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Delaware
,Alex Ramos (Penn RELS PhD '17), Production Editor, Penn State University Press
Faculty Bookshelf
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
Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond
Publication of the proceedings of the conference "Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond" at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, August 2010, edited by Peter Skilling & Justin McDaniel.
The Origin of the Jews
The Jews have one of the longest continuously recorded histories of any people in the world, but what do we actually know about their origins?
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.
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.
Feeling Modern: The History of the Emotions in South Asia
A special issue of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, co-edited by Megan Robb with Elizabeth Chatterjee (Queen Mary, London) and Sneha Krishnan (Oxford).
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.
Jacob of Sarug’s Homilies on Women Whom Jesus Met
Bi-lingual in Syriac and English. Published by Gorgias Press.
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.
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.
Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence in Jewish Antiquity
In a world of relentless and often violent change, what does it take for a culture to survive?
Wild Experiment: Feeling Science and Secularism after Darwin
In Wild Experiment, Donovan O. Schaefer challenges the conventional wisdom that feeling and thinking are separate.