Department News
Congratulations to Dr. Abdul Manan Bhat and Dr. Hallie Swanson!
The Graduate Group in Religious Studies is delighted to announce two successful doctoral defenses over the past week.
The Scopes Trial at 100 in the Penn Gazette
The Pennsylvania Gazette has written up the department's Spring Boardman Symposium, "The Scopes Trial at 100." Penn graduate Mary A
PhD Candidate Kirby Sokolow Receives Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Research Fellowship
PhD candidate Kirby Sokolow was recently ann
Professor Thomas's "Religion of Anime" Featured in Omnia
Professor Thomas's course, "The Religion of Anime," got a brief writeup in the "Three Questions" column in Omnia.
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:
Graduate and Undergraduate Prizes at the Year-End Reception
The Department of Religious Studies acknowledged the accomplishments of several students at our year-end reception on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
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!
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
Religious Affects: Animality, Evolution, and Power
In Religious Affects, Donovan Schaefer challenges the notion that religion is inextricably linked to language and belief, proposing instead that it is primarily driven by affects.
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.
Print and the Urdu Public: Muslims, Newspapers, and Urban Life in Colonial India
Published by Oxford University Press
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 New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions
Edited by Matthew D. McMullen and Jolyon Baraka Thomas
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.
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.
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.
Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan
Drawing on Tradition examines religious aspects of the culture of manga and anime production and consumption through a methodological synthesis of narrative and visual analysis, history, a
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.
