From Job to Kevin: Scripture and Scripturalists in the Leftovers
Jill Marshall People do things with texts, in fictional worlds and in the real world.
Religion and the Black Power Movement: 7 Questions for Kerry Pimblott
Kerry Pimblott When I talked with Illinois-based scholars and activists about Black Power they would often mention Reverend Charles Koen and the United Front organization of Cairo, Illinois, as an important but forgotten local struggle.
Religion in Hip-Hop, Part 2: Unpacking the Methodology
L. Benjamin Rolsky While a significant component of our collective work as scholars and historians of religion, the critical method cannot fully capture the data under study because it never fully touches the ground.
Religion in Hip-Hop, Part 1: Exploring the Religious History of Kendrick Lamar
L. Benjamin Rolsky Lamar’s words may indeed be best understood through a method that foregrounds uses or functionality over content, but to read these words is to build an archive for millennial religiosity and spirituality in the twenty-first century through a nearly ubiquitous art form and commercial industry—hip-hop.
On Gender and American Judaism: 7 Questions with Sarah Imhoff
Sarah Imhoff Men have gender too, and that gender is not unchanging or ahistorical.
Watering the Roots of Mormonism: The Erie Canal’s Contribution to the Faith
S. Brent Plate Religious groups took various routes out of the area, often seeking ever greener pastures to the west. Many groups that began along the canal, like the Mormons, Spiritualists, and Adventists, spread to remote corners of the globe.
Comedy Central’s “Nathan For You”: Kafka for Late Capitalism
Daniel Anderson Yet there is a deeper connection between Kafka and Nathan For You. It lies in their insight into the utter control their worlds’ institutions wield over people.
On Getting to Know the Seemingly Different: 7 Questions for Kyle Conway
Kyle Conway But the paradox of salable diversity is not insurmountable. Over the course of six seasons, the show’s makers found ways to push against the limits they faced.
On Transitioning Out of the Academy: 7 Questions for Kelly Baker
Kelly J. Baker I don’t really define religion in relation to my work in this, but rather I write about the field of religious studies and the problem of contingent labor that religious studies and other scholars in the humanities face.
Humor is Not Just Entertainment: 7 Questions for David Feltmate
David Feltmate Popular culture scholarship is actually quite difficult, but people seem to think it is easy. It is not enough to just watch TV or listen to music, you really have to dig into the significance of the material and its social importance.