"To practice the history of religions... is to insist on discussing the temporal, contextual, situated, interested, human, and material dimensions of those discourses, practices, and institutions that characteristically represent themselves as eternal, transcendent, spiritual, and divine."

- Bruce Lincoln, "Theses on Method" (1996)

Welcome

The Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania offers a wide range of courses, undergraduate Majors and Minors, and a renowned PhD program. With particular strengths in the study of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and the African-American religious experience, it emphasizes historical and critical approaches, as well as interdisciplinary exploration within and beyond Religious Studies.

Department of Religious Studies
201 Cohen Hall
249 S. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304
Telephone: (215) 898-7425

Chair of the Department: Jamal J. Elias
Graduate Chair: Anthea Butler
Undergraduate Chair: Justin McDaniel


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News

Jamal J. Elias and Justin McDaniel awarded 2012 Guggenheim Fellowships

We are proud and excited to announce TWO 2012 Guggenheim awardees in our department!

Ann Matter wins TCPW/Provost Award

Congratulations to Prof. Ann Matter on having been chosen to receive the 2012 TCPW/Provost Award. The annual award, issued by the Trustees' Council of Penn Women and the Office of the Provost, recognizes significant contributions in advancing the role of women in higher education and research at Penn.

UPennRELS on Tumblr!

Follow our Tumblr, for more department news as well as videos, images, etc., related to the academic study of religion at Penn and beyond.

Jamal J. Elias wins AIPS "Best Senior Book" Prize

Congratulations to Prof. Jamal J. Elias, whose newest book On Wings of Diesel: Identity, Imagination and Truck Decoration in Pakistan (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2011) has been awarded the "Best Senior Book" prize by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies.

Talya Fishman wins Jewish National Book Award

We are excited to announce that Talya Fishman has won the 2011 Nahum M. Sarna Memorial Award (National Jewish Book Award) for best Scholarly book in Jewish Studies for: Becoming the People of the Talmud: Oral Torah as Written Tradition in Medieval Jewish Cultures (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011).

Anthea Butler named among "Five Women in Religion to Watch"

"Anthea Butler models what engaged scholarship looks like in the 21st century.... [She] brings a scholar’s eye to contemporary politics and decodes the work religion is doing in the public square." - Excerpt from "Five Women in Religion to Watch" by Sarah Sentilles,  CNN Belief Blog.

Glenn Greenwald gives Boardman Lecture *Audio Now Available*

This year's Boardman Lecture (22 March) featured Glenn Greenwald, one of the most influential political commentators in the country, speaking on "Endless War and the Erosion of Civil Liberties in the Age of Terrorism." The event attracted more than 200 attendees.

RELS 356 makes international news

An AP article on Justin McDaniel's course this semester, "Living Deliberately," has been picked up by newspapers and websites around the world, including NPR, CBS, ABC, and the China Post, as well as Economic Times, boston.com, and SFChronicle.

Art on Wheels

Religious studies professor Jamal J. Elias explores the culture of truck decoration in Pakistan.

Religious Studies and Business?

A recent article cite's Justin McDaniel's RELS 356 course, "Living Deliberately," as related to several business' attempts to curtail its workforce's addiction to electronic communication.

 

Memory and Forgetting

This year, the Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins is exploring the theme of memory. This year's graduate student co-chairs are Christine Luckritz Marquis (Duke), Phil Webster (Penn), and Todd Berzon (Columbia).

Justin McDaniel Presents New Book to Princess of Thailand

On January 6th, Justin McDaniel presented his new book, The Lovelorn Ghost and Magical Monk (Columbia University Press, 2011) to the Princess of Thailand (Her Majesty Maha Chakri Sirinthon). Afterwards there was a formal book launch and talk in Bangkok, Thailand in partnership with Chulalongkorn University's Institute of Thai Studies and Columbia University Press.

Religion, Rhetoric and the 2012 Election

Religious Studies professor Anthea Butler is featured in the Penn Current and Daily Pennsylvanian discussing the upcoming presidential election.

Anthea Butler comments on current controversies

Read Prof. Butler's thoughts on Eddie Long, OWS, the sex abuse trial of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, and more in Religion Dispatches. Her recent TV appearances include FoxNews Good Day Philadelphia and MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry.

Why the World Needs Religious Studies

Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State: “Our diplomats need to be trained to know the religions of the countries where they’re going.”

Video Slide Show about Dr. Jamal Elias's new book

http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/news/penn-professor-chronicles-technicolor...

Audio Interview about McDaniel's course Living Deliberately

Listen to the on-line interview about Justin McDaniel's new course, Living Deliberately, here:

 

http://www.tricycle.com/blog/tricycle-talk-upenn-professor-justin-mcdaniel

 

 

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