The common English phrasing “religious expression” carries with it a set of assumptions about what scholars of religion study as well as how and why they study it, though the term is today so widespread that I doubt many think much about what it entails.
continue readingCan We Analyze Trumpism as a Millenarian Movement?
Elizabeth Tagg is a graduating senior in the Department of Religious Studies, writing a thesis on apocalyptic rhetoric in the age of Trump. Donald Trump built his reputation as a political outsider who could “drain the swamp,” fix a broken system, and make America great again. Indeed, in his 2016 RNC speech, he declared that […]
continue reading“The Cult of Cults”: Pop Culture Representations of a Minority Religious Group
Allison Isidore is a second-year M.A. student in the Department of Religious Studies. On December 8, I submitted my last paper for the semester, wrapping up what has been, for many, a stressful period. Having just seen the trailer for the new HBOMAX docuseries “Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults,” I wondered how the religious […]
continue readingAnnouncing American Examples: A Workshop for Early Career Scholars of Religion in America
REL is very happy to announce a brand new project we are hosting in REL during 2019: American Examples.
continue readingThe World Cup and a Grandmother’s Blessing
Sierra Lawson is an M.A. student in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama; you can visit her website here. The World Cup has been a heavily anticipated sporting event for many countries since the 1930s, representing one of those phenomenon that invite communities to abandon divisive tension in favor of coming together to […]
continue readingMeet our Peer Mentors
This semester the Department of Religious Studies is proud to announce that we have teamed up with several students from various departments across campus to form our inaugural Peer Mentor Program (coordinated by Professor Touna). Because these students excelled in their REL Core course last semester, they will be available to help students in two of our […]
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