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Reading Religion

@readingreligion.bsky.social

An open book review site published by the American Academy of Religion (AARWeb). We provide up-to-date coverage of scholarly publishing in religious studies.

146 Followers  |  16 Following  |  104 Posts  |  Joined: 23.11.2024
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For nearly a decade, Reading Religion has served as a scholarly and public resource for reviews of books, films, and review essays in religious studies.

Thank you to the editors, reviewers, authors, publishers, and readers whose care and labor sustained this work.

23.02.2026 21:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

After careful consideration, the American Academy of Religion has decided that Reading Religion will cease operations on May 31, 2026.

Reviews will continue through May, after which the site will become a public archive.

With gratitude.

Official Statement: buff.ly/DYwZsam

12.02.2026 21:33 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 4
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How do objects, texts, and memory shape what we think we know about Charlemagne and sacred power? This new Reading Religion review essay rethinks Carolingian religious politics beyond myths of sacral empire. buff.ly/OkqHj0N

30.01.2026 18:51 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Four Books to Change Your Thinking About South Asian Religions - Reading Religion By Anne Murphy There are times in a career when work in the field stops you in your tracks. With this β€œFour Books” installment, I’d like to present two

Our latest Four Books post highlights scholarship that reframes how we think about South Asian religionsβ€”Sikh history, caste, Hindu–Muslim relations, and Islamic pasts and futures.
Read here β†’ buff.ly/ZA0YXpU

What recent work has reshaped your understanding of the region?

09.12.2025 19:52 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Davyda M. Hammond reviews 'Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery's Wake' by Judith Weisenfeld. buff.ly/Tt4zYaT

24.11.2025 19:15 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Free books at AAR/SBL! πŸ“š
Visit the AAR exhibit booth, sign up for the Reading Religion newsletter, and pick out a free book (while supplies last). #ReadingReligion #AARSBL25

23.11.2025 16:18 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Statement by the AAR Board of Directors, in Boston on November 21, 2025 - AAR Statement by the AAR Board of Directors, in Boston on November 21, 2025 As we are gathered in Boston for the Annual Meeting of the world’s largest professional society of religious studies scholars, w...

At the AAR/SBL annual meetings in Boston, we stand with colleagues raising concerns about ICE enforcement in and around sacred spaces. Please read the AAR Board statement and share know-your-rights β€œred cards” if you’re on site.

aarweb.org/news/aar-sta...

#AARSBL2025

22.11.2025 20:11 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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We are here in the exhibit hall at #aarsbl25
Stop by and say hello to Evan and Kimberly!
#bookreviews #religiousstudies #books

22.11.2025 19:55 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Ever thought about how a zombie show, a robot priest, or a futuristic wild west reflect religious questions? This review opens just that door. Dive in: buff.ly/hzP6ibt

20.11.2025 19:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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What does it mean to signify Black religion?
Juan M. Floyd-Thomas explores four key works that trace how Black religious life reshapes symbols, meaning, and culture.
Read: buff.ly/mr3jyCZ

18.11.2025 16:31 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Shu-chen Hsu Hsiung reviews 'Negotiating the Christian Past in China: Memory and Missions in Contemporary Xiamen' by Jifeng Liu. buff.ly/q86Cw5P

14.11.2025 15:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Animated image of the K-pop trio HUNTR/Xβ€”Rumi, Mira, and Zoeyβ€”standing in dynamic poses with glowing weapons, against a purple and blue stage backdrop filled with light trails from K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Animated image of the K-pop trio HUNTR/Xβ€”Rumi, Mira, and Zoeyβ€”standing in dynamic poses with glowing weapons, against a purple and blue stage backdrop filled with light trails from K-Pop Demon Hunters.

What happens when pop idols become shamans?
Minjung Noh’s review of K-Pop Demon Hunters explores how the film turns Korean shamanism into pop spectacleβ€”where fandom becomes faith and music becomes ritual.
Read more: buff.ly/pe8a31l
#Religion&Culture #KPop #FilmReview #PopularCulture #ReadingReligion

12.11.2025 16:30 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Justin Hawkins reviews 'Wayfaring: A Christian Approach to Mental Health Care' by Warren Kinghorn. buff.ly/TU17lgG

10.11.2025 18:30 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Ethan Doyle White reviews 'Vernacular Religion: Collected Essays of Leonard Norman Primiano' by Deborah Dash Moore (Editor) (@NYUpress) buff.ly/LCNih3S

06.11.2025 16:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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During Native American Heritage Month, we turn to Sugarcaneβ€”a searing documentary co-directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassieβ€”and our review exploring its portrayal of Indigenous caretaking, silence, and survival in the wake of church-run residential schools.
Read more β†’ buff.ly/WnFYBVz

04.11.2025 17:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Nancy Menning reviews 'Entangled Being: Unoriginal Sin and Wicked Problems' by Rebecca L. Copeland. buff.ly/umNssXV

31.10.2025 15:31 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Our October newsletter is here! Explore our Four Books essay on Buddhist modernism, a new reading list on magic, horror, and the supernatural, plus the latest reviews and titles available for review.
Read now β†’ buff.ly/WtNFtU8

#ReligiousStudies #BookReview #BuddhistModernism #MagicAndFaith

29.10.2025 16:05 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Ryan Coogler’s Sinnersβ€”where theology meets Southern Gothic horrorβ€”is back in IMAX just in time for Halloween.

Our review unpacks its mix of sin, blues, and blood in the Deep South. Read more: buff.ly/Oj2koEy

#SinnersMovie #Theology #SouthernGothic #Horror #BlackCinema

27.10.2025 20:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Negative Natural Theology - Reading Religion How can we live in harmony with the universe, and not just in it? What is it to feel at home in the world?Some thinkers who feel the force of these questions...

John Cottingham reviews 'Negative Natural Theology: God and the Limits of Reason' by Christopher J Insole. readingreligion.org/9780198932970

20.10.2025 15:37 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Lora Walsh reviews 'Conversion and the Contest of Creeds in Early Medieval Christianity' by Marta Szada. readingreligion.org/978100942644...

16.10.2025 17:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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EvanΒ  Sandsmark reviews 'Caryll Houselander:Β  A Biography' by Mary Frances Coady. readingreligion.org/978162698530...

14.10.2025 16:05 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Jared Secord reviews 'Ancient Christians and the Power of Curses: Magic, Aesthetics, and Justice' by Laura Salah Nasrallah. readingreligion.org/978100940573...

10.10.2025 14:03 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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New from Reading Religion β€” "Four Books on Buddhist Modernism" by Jack Meng-Tat Chia explores how Buddhism has engaged with modernity across time and space, from ethics under colonialism to digital-era innovation. buff.ly/D3yLCD1

09.10.2025 18:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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In this essay, Karen Jackson-Weaver reflects on four seminal works that have shaped her scholarship and the field of womanist theology and ethics. readingreligion.org/blog/four-bo...

08.10.2025 15:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Hispanic Heritage Month Reading List - AAR Some Suggested Titles from AAR's Reading Religion Reading ReligionΒ is an openly accessible book review websiteΒ published by the American Academy of Religion. The site provides up-to-date coverage of…

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, check out our reading list! aarweb.org/news/hispani...

06.10.2025 17:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Weston Wright reviews 'Making Pagans: Theatrical Practice and Comparative Religion in Early Modern England' by John Kuhn. readingreligion.org/978151282509...

02.10.2025 15:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Peyton White reviews 'Cannabis, Sacred and Profane' by Christopher Partridge. buff.ly/EUHaGKq

30.09.2025 16:06 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero reviews 'Bonhoeffer for the Church: An Introduction' by Matthew D. Kirkpatrick. readingreligion.org/9781506497822

26.09.2025 16:31 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Jennifer Schlegel reviews 'The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: and the Path to a Shared American Future' by Robert P. Jones readingreligion.org/978166800952...

24.09.2025 14:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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New at Reading Religion!
Four Books on Womanist Epistemology
Hispanic Heritage Month Reading List
Latest reviews & books
Read more: buff.ly/5AL26lM

23.09.2025 13:38 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0