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
An Uncouth Monk: The Moral Aesthetics of Buddhist Para-Charisma
CEAS/RELS/TRAP Faculty Working Group Joint Lecture on Southeast Asian Religions
Sara A. Swenson, Dartmouth College
Works in Progress with Barbara Ambros
TRAP Faculty Working Group Workshop
Barbara Ambros, UNC-Chapel Hill
Barbara Ambros, Title TBA
RELS Colloquium/TRAP Faculty Working Group Lecture
Barbara Ambros, UNC-Chapel Hill
Faculty Bookshelf
Figures of Buddhist Modernity in Asia
This book introduces contemporary Buddhists from across Asia and from various walks of life.
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.
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?
The Throne Carrier of God: The Life and Thought of ‘Ala’ ad-dawla as-Simnani
This book constitutes a comprehensive investigation of the life and teachings of one of the most famous Sufis of the Iranian world.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
