On February 25th, Kathryn Lofton will give a public lecture about how American politics increasingly reflects reality TV. It will be in the  Best Buy Theater in Northrop at 4:30pm. Co-sponsored by the Department of English

Co-sponsored by the Department of English . On February 25th, Kathryn Lofton will give a public lecture about how American politics increasingly reflects reality TV. It will be in the  Best Buy Theater in Northrop at 4:30pm.

Please join us on Tuesday, March 24th, for our annual Roetzel Family Lecture co-sponsored by the Department of English, Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature (CSCL), Philosophy, History and the program in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (HSTM.

Join our spring 2026 semester class about History of the Crusades with Professor Elijah Wallace.

We have more spring 2026 courses coming your way! Check out Professor Ajay Skaria's course where you will learn more about Hinduism: Making Modern India. If you have any questions you can reach out to us anytime.

The American Academy of Religion announced that Anna Seastrand, a Religious Studies Core Faculty Member, won the 2025 Religion and the Arts Book Award for Body, History, Myth: Early Modern Murals in South India. We congratulate Professor Seastrand on this incredible achievement.

Trace the history of Islam in America—from early exploration and the slave trade to Malcolm X and post transformations. Join RELS 3631: Islam in America: A History of the Present with Professor Aisha Ghani, Thursdays 4–6:30 PM, Spring 2026.

Spring semester registration is now open! Join Professor Andrea Sterk for World of Christianity, offered every Monday and Wednesday. Examine the history, beliefs, and cultural influence of Christianity in a course designed to expand your perspective.

We have more classes coming your way this Spring! Check out this Religion and Culture course with Professor Aisha Ghani. Learn about tracing the origins and history about the Religion and Culture.

If you haven't or even have registered for spring classes yet still check out our Religious Studies department courses! Join Professor Atur Ranjani in learning more about the interesting topic of Death and the Afterlife.

Join our spring 2026 semester class about History of the Crusades with Professor Elijah Wallace.

The American Academy of Religion announced that Anna Seastrand, a Religious Studies Core Faculty Member, won the 2025 Religion and the Arts Book Award for Body, History, Myth: Early Modern Murals in South India. We congratulate Professor Seastrand on this incredible achievement.

If you haven't or even have registered for spring classes yet still check out our Religious Studies department courses! Join Professor Atur Ranjani in learning more about the interesting topic of Death and the Afterlife.

We have more classes coming your way this Spring! Check out this Religion and Culture course with Professor Aisha Ghani. Learn about tracing the origins and history about the Religion and Culture.

Spring semester registration is now open! Join Professor Andrea Sterk for World of Christianity, offered every Monday and Wednesday. Examine the history, beliefs, and cultural influence of Christianity in a course designed to expand your perspective.

Trace the history of Islam in America—from early exploration and the slave trade to Malcolm X and post transformations. Join RELS 3631: Islam in America: A History of the Present with Professor Aisha Ghani, Thursdays 4–6:30 PM, Spring 2026.

Tomorrow, Nov. 12 is the virtual book launch for ARCHIVAL IRRUPTIONS (Duke University Press, 2025). Please join me at 6pm Central (7pm ET)! The event is part of the University of Minnesota’s History Book Club and you can register here: cla.umn.edu/history/news...

Explore the spiritual and cultural dimensions of South Asian art. Art of India, offered this spring by the Religious Studies Department, examines how artistic traditions reflect history and faith.

Are you interested in understanding religion from a global & cultural perspective? Enroll in RELS 1001 with Professor Sarah Dees : Spring Semester, M/W 2:30–3:45 PM.

Are you interested in learning more about key theories and the methods in the academic study of religion? Register to Professor Katharine Gerbner's spring semester course Theory and Method in Religion: Critical Approaches to the Study of Religion.

Are you interested in learning more about key theories and the methods in the academic study of religion? Register to Professor Katharine Gerbner's spring semester course Theory and Method in Religion: Critical Approaches to the Study of Religion.

Are you interested in understanding religion from a global & cultural perspective? Enroll in RELS 1001 with Professor Sarah Dees : Spring Semester, M/W 2:30–3:45 PM.

Unforgivable Discussion Recap: Last Tuesday, we hosted a powerful and honest conversation with Kevin O'Neil who shared insights from his book Unforgivable, and Patrick Wall brought deep experience and perspective to the discussion. 🎥 Check it out when you can: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTKT...

We want to highlight the release of Katharine Gerbner's groundbreaking book, Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica. Duke University Press, 2025.

Religious Studies Assistant Director Awarded 2025 Ann Bolin & Gil Herdt Book Prize Congratulations to Nathanael Homewood, Assistant Director of the Religious Studies Program, whose book Seductive Spirits has been awarded the 2025 Ann Bolin & Gil Herdt Book Prize.

I'm thrilled that my book is coming out this month, and even more thrilled to be on this fall lineup from @dukepress.bsky.social - so many amazing authors and titles! Check out the whole fall lineup here: dukeupress.wordpress.com/2025/10/01/n...

Check out the list of terrific #NewBooks we're releasing this month, including "Archival Irruptions," by Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social: buff.ly/oH4sMaj

Don’t miss this! On October 14th at 4 PM, join Kevin O'Neill and Patrick Wall in conversation about Unforgivable, a critical look at abuse and accountability in the Catholic Church. 📍 Location: Northrop Crosby Seminar room #Unforgivable #KevinONeill #PatrickWall #UMNEvents #religiousprogram

Don’t miss this! On October 14th at 4 PM, join Kevin O'Neill and Patrick Wall in conversation about Unforgivable, a critical look at abuse and accountability in the Catholic Church. 📍 Location: Northrop Crosby Seminar room #Unforgivable #KevinONeill #PatrickWall #UMNEvents #religiousprogram

Come be my colleague at the University of Minnesota -- we are hiring! @umn-rels.bsky.social The Religious Studies program at UMN is searching for a new TT position in Buddhist Studies. Please circulate widely!

We have two exciting opportunities for students that we want to share! We are offering a scholarship that is open to Religious Studies Majors/Minors, and Islamic Studies Minors, as well as hiring for a student worker position (open to all students). See the photos below for more details!

A WEEK FROM TODAY: We are excited to be co-sponsoring “Language and the Life of the Mind in the Age of AI” a talk by Meghan O’Gieblyn, author of God Human Animal Machine, hosted by @umnenglish.bsky.social on April 23, 2025, 4:30 - 5:30 PM. For all details about the talk, see the event post below.

We are excited to announce that in the fall, Dr. Antonio Musto joins our program as Assistant Professor of Early Islam. You can read more about Dr. Musto below, but he will contribute immensely to the program with incredible scholarship, innovative teaching, and exciting ideas. Welcome, Dr. Musto!

Our 2025 Roetzel Lecture was a success! We want to thank Dr. Anthony B. Pinn for an amazing lecture, the Roetzel family for their generosity, and all of you for attending and asking such thoughtful questions! The page below on our website has more photos and a link to a recording of the lecture.

TOMORROW: Dr. Anthony B. Pinn will be delivering our annual Roetzel Lecture, we hope to see you there!

We are excited to announce this talk, which will be presented by Dr. Francesca Chubb-Confer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion at Oberlin University. See all the details in the poster below.

We want to congratulate Religious Studies Core Faculty member Penny Edgell, who was recently quoted in a New York Times article about current trends in religion in the United States. The article can be read here: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/b...

Congratulations to Religious Studies Core Faculty member Aisha Ghani (Anthropology), who has been awarded a 2025–26 Institute for Advanced Study Residential Faculty Fellowship for her project, "Violence as Difference: Genealogical Theologies of Violence in Islam". See the IAS announcement below:

Congratulations to Religious Studies Affiliate Faculty member Dwight K. Lewis Jr. (Philosophy), who recently received a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation for his work with the Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC) here at UMN. For more info about CCEC: www.minnesotaccec.com

We are excited to announce our 2025 Roetzel Family Lecture! See the following poster for more details

Hello Bluesky! We are the Religious Studies Program at the University of Minnesota. Our program brings together perspectives, approaches, questions, and expertise from many disciplines. We provide students with a range of analytical tools and knowledge of particular traditions and time periods.