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.

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

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

Our latest Four Books post highlights scholarship that reframes how we think about South Asian religions—Sikh history, caste, Hindu–Muslim relations, and Islamic pasts and futures. Read here → buff.ly/ZA0YXpU What recent work has reshaped your understanding of the region?

Davyda M. Hammond reviews 'Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery's Wake' by Judith Weisenfeld. buff.ly/Tt4zYaT

Free books at AAR/SBL! 📚 Visit the AAR exhibit booth, sign up for the Reading Religion newsletter, and pick out a free book (while supplies last). #ReadingReligion #AARSBL25

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 “red cards” if you’re on site. aarweb.org/news/aar-sta... #AARSBL2025

We are here in the exhibit hall at #aarsbl25 Stop by and say hello to Evan and Kimberly! #bookreviews #religiousstudies #books

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

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

Shu-chen Hsu Hsiung reviews 'Negotiating the Christian Past in China: Memory and Missions in Contemporary Xiamen' by Jifeng Liu. buff.ly/q86Cw5P

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 spectacle—where fandom becomes faith and music becomes ritual. Read more: buff.ly/pe8a31l #Religion&Culture #KPop #FilmReview #PopularCulture #ReadingReligion

Justin Hawkins reviews 'Wayfaring: A Christian Approach to Mental Health Care' by Warren Kinghorn. buff.ly/TU17lgG

Ethan Doyle White reviews 'Vernacular Religion: Collected Essays of Leonard Norman Primiano' by Deborah Dash Moore (Editor) (@NYUpress) buff.ly/LCNih3S

During Native American Heritage Month, we turn to Sugarcane—a searing documentary co-directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie—and our review exploring its portrayal of Indigenous caretaking, silence, and survival in the wake of church-run residential schools. Read more → buff.ly/WnFYBVz

Nancy Menning reviews 'Entangled Being: Unoriginal Sin and Wicked Problems' by Rebecca L. Copeland. buff.ly/umNssXV

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 → buff.ly/WtNFtU8 #ReligiousStudies #BookReview #BuddhistModernism #MagicAndFaith

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners—where theology meets Southern Gothic horror—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

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

Lora Walsh reviews 'Conversion and the Contest of Creeds in Early Medieval Christianity' by Marta Szada. readingreligion.org/978100942644...

Evan  Sandsmark reviews 'Caryll Houselander:  A Biography' by Mary Frances Coady. readingreligion.org/978162698530...

Jared Secord reviews 'Ancient Christians and the Power of Curses: Magic, Aesthetics, and Justice' by Laura Salah Nasrallah. readingreligion.org/978100940573...

New from Reading Religion — "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

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...

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

Weston Wright reviews 'Making Pagans: Theatrical Practice and Comparative Religion in Early Modern England' by John Kuhn. readingreligion.org/978151282509...

Peyton White reviews 'Cannabis, Sacred and Profane' by Christopher Partridge. buff.ly/EUHaGKq

Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero reviews 'Bonhoeffer for the Church: An Introduction' by Matthew D. Kirkpatrick. readingreligion.org/9781506497822

Jennifer Schlegel reviews 'The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: and the Path to a Shared American Future' by Robert P. Jones readingreligion.org/978166800952...

New at Reading Religion! Four Books on Womanist Epistemology Hispanic Heritage Month Reading List Latest reviews & books Read more: buff.ly/5AL26lM

Marion Eames White reviews 'When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species' by Rafael Rachel Neis (@ucpress) readingreligion.org/9780520391192

KD Thompson reviews 'Zanzibari Muslim Moderns: Islamic Paths to Progress in the Interwar Period' by Anne K. Bang (@OUPAcademic) readingreligion.org/9780197797754

Gaye Morris reviews 'The Popes on Air: The History of Vatican Radio from Its Origins to World War II' by Raffaella Perin. readingreligion.org/978153150715...

Jonah Peter Bissell reviews 'The Bible and Farm Animal Welfare' by David Grumett. readingreligion.org/979838521859...

Manasicha Akepiyapornchai reviews 'Empire Inside Out: Religion, Conquest, and Community in Kṛṣṇadevarāya's Āmuktamālyada' by Ilanit Loewy Shacham. readingreligion.org/9780197776223

Fernando Garcia reviews 'Growing in Virtue: Aquinas on Habit' by William C. Mattison III. readingreligion.org/9781647123284

Tiffany Hunsinger reviews 'Another Gospel: Christian Nationalism and the Crisis of Evangelical Identity' by Joel Looper. readingreligion.org/9780802884275

Tazeen M. Ali reviews 'Neo-Traditionalism in Islam in the West: Orthodoxy, Spirituality and Politics' by Walaa Quisay. readingreligion.org/978139950277...

James C. Ungureanu reviews 'Rousseau's God: Theology, Religion, and the Natural Goodness of Man' by John T. Scott. readingreligion.org/978022682550...

Philip Hollander reviews 'Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical' by Shaul Magid. buff.ly/YgmNtTD

Sharonda Stith reviews 'The Prophet's Whistle: Late Antique Orality, Literacy, and the Quran' by George Archer. readingreligion.org/9781609389451

Allen Doyle reviews 'C. S. Lewis on Higher Education: The Pedagogy of Pleasure' by Stewart Goetz. readingreligion.org/9781350355118

New reviews & essays are live at Reading Religion! * Sugarcane doc review * Essay on voices of resistance *End of Summer reading list *Call for editorial board members 👉 Read more in our newsletter: buff.ly/MYU5IUf

Joyanna Eisenberg reviews 'Autism and Worship: A Liturgical Theology' by Armand Léon van Ommen. readingreligion.org/9781481319898

Stephen Young reviews 'Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age' by Felicia Wu Song readingreligion.org/9781666775631

This searing review of "Sugarcane" by historian Zara Surratt honors the documentary’s radical tenderness, exposing the silence, sorrow, and strength at the heart of Indigenous caretaking. shorturl.at/5196d

Taylor Denyer reviews 'Reckoning Methodism: Mission and Division in the Public Church' by Darryl W. Stephens readingreligion.org/9781666775631

"'Sugarcane' doesn’t reopen old wounds—it reveals the ones that never healed.” This searing review by historian Zara Surratt honors the documentary’s radical tenderness, exposing the silence, sorrow, and strength at the heart of Indigenous caretaking. Read the review: shorturl.at/5196d

Sarah Davis-Secord reviews 'Jewish Muslims: How Christians Imagined Islam as the Enemy' by David M. Freidenreich readingreligion.org/9780520344716

David Greder reviews 'The Study of Religions in Ireland: Past, Present and Future' by Brendan McNamara (Editor), Hazel O'Brien (Editor) readingreligion.org/9781350291782/