Apparently The Rapture is trending? Time to surface and oldie: No, the Rapture is not in the Bible: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvsj...

The Kabbalistic Tree of Baking Whereby divine Volume emanates to the lower vessels & is differentiated into units

I didn't realize how bad Google's enshittifictaion had become, until I switched my default browser to DuckDuckGo a few seconds ago. Holy shit, the AI overviews were degrading the user experience so much.

Definitely the best Iran headline of the year

A lot of the justifications point to the number of Religious Studies majors—but is this really how a dept’s value should be judged? In many RS departments in which I’ve taught, our courses have enormous enrollments & student interest +

apropos of the religious studies isn’t theology convos… my mom: i’m going to put [a copy of your book] by the altar. me: i don’t know that it’s good enough for god, mom. my dad: but god is all you write about. (i didn’t have the heart to tell them i don’t write about god, obvs.)

This is a neat video by @andrewmarkhenry.bsky.social, relevant to the considerations we've been playing with as part of #MythAugust, and very much the sort of thing we mean when we talk about a world feeling "lived-in" on @worldbuildcast.bsky.social. youtu.be/pjrrUZeJMSo

we used to build household shrines to Going On The Computer and it's no coincidence that as we abandoned these we started straying further from god's light

Can any of my religious studies colleagues explain to me why Peter Thiel is so fascinated by the Antichrist? I need to know more

WITH 50% INCREASE, SHAKERS FASTEST GROWING RELIGION IN AMERICA

The Shaker population has risen by 50%: www.npr.org/2025/08/19/n...

I remember attending the Society of Biblical Literature’s annual meeting for the first time. I thought I had entered the twilight zone. So weird seeing papers being read word-for-word. We academics have normalized it as part of academic culture, but it is fucking weird.

Just imagine, extend their vision: the student preparing for that job interview, that interview isn't with a person, it's with a chatbot if the chatbot decides they get a job... wait I thought there weren't any jobs anymore, so is this a job where they just do prompting all day?

I’m curious to see the antithesis. A university with no AI. Only pen, paper, and discussion. I’d put my money on those graduates than those graduating from “A.I.-native universities”

The most controversial thing I think @katieturnerphd.com dropped in her recent "What did Jesus Wear?" webinar (organized by @andrewmarkhenry.bsky.social) was that Jesus may well have worn socks with sandals. In all seriousness, it was phenomenal and deeply educational.

Every 2 years, my Belgian hometown celebrates the Medieval witches that used to live there. There's a parade, fireworks, and at the end, the burning of a witch at the stake. There's a lot of folklore involved, including decorating your front garden with witches

What did Jesus wear—and why does it matter? Join @katieturnerphd.com for a deep dive into 2nd Temple period Jewish clothing and how dress shaped identity, power, and piety in Jesus’s world. Live online talk. Register here: www.religiondepartment.com/jesus-wear

“After two glorious years at the helm of this wonderful company, I have decided that being CEO during the release of Mechahitler was honestly a pretty bad vibe.”

Time is running out to sign up for summer Coptic course! Starts Tuesday

Starting in a few days on July 8!

I’m honored! 🥹 Gj @andrewmarkhenry.bsky.social!

Day in the life of a religious studies YouTuber: spending an hour before filming two separate videos by practicing Tibetan and Arabic pronunciations....which I'll still probably mess up.

$175 for 8-week Coptic course focused on learning to read the Gospel of Thomas. Access to weekly 90-minute lecture (available synchronous or asynch.), learning materials authored by me, and weekly office hours. #Coptic #DigitalPhilology #NagHammadi #Apocrypha #BiblicalStudies

Great opportunity for those who would like to learn Coptic!

Super excited about this!

Absolutely ecstatic to announce that we here at Religion for Breakfast are offering an online Intro to Coptic class...using the Gospel of Thomas as the primary text! Taught by the amazing scholar of early Christianity Dr. Lydia Bremer-McCollum. Learn more here: www.religiondepartment.com/coptic

Are you a scholar of religion with a passion for public scholarship? Want to share your work with an enthusiastic, global audience hungry for deeper learning? We’re inviting scholars to give lectures in a live Zoom series hosted by Religion for Breakfast. More here! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

New RFB guest lecture coming this week! Did environmental disasters help bring down the Roman Empire and boost the rise of Christianity? Join us for a deep-dive with friend of the show and scholar of early Christianity Dr. Travis Proctor. Register here: www.religiondepartment.com/offers/o2NGS...

new vid by @andrewmarkhenry.bsky.social dropped: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyER...

New video! Who was Nimrod? This mysterious guy shows up in a brief passage in the book of Genesis describing him as a mighty hunter and builder of cities: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK9H...

This is a really common belief but... Jerome absolutely understood the translation choice he made (from קרן, “radient”, to cornuta, “horned”). In fact, in his commentary on Ezekiel he wrote: "Moses’ face had been glorified, or as it says in the Hebrew, horned." A 🧵 on translation & its afterlives

New video out from Religion For Breakfast @andrewmarkhenry.bsky.social! People ask me about this often, glad to have something punchy to share. 😆https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KRqbZ1hiLk

Religion for Breakfast just passed 1 million subscribers moments ago! When I started this channel 11 years ago, I never could have imagined making it this far. New subscribers and old...thank you everyone for joining me on this journey, learning about religion together.

gonna start saying “is the pope from Chicago?” when someone asks me an obvious question

Honestly, this feels like drastic measures time for the universities that can afford it. E.g., issue e-ink laptops without an internet connection that only allows export to write papers. (You could hand-transcribe a ChatGPT paper, but I imagine it’d still reduce use.) nymag.com/intelligence...

Imo, Andor is still the best Star Wars series. But damn, season 2 has been moving too slowly. Borderline boring. Finally ramped up this week.

God I am so tired of seeing this same weirdo pronatalist couple in the media all the time

BREAKING: Police just surrounded Rev. William Barber, prominent activist and pastor, as he and others prayed in the U.S. Capitol Rontunda. Police then expelled everyone (including press!) from the Rotunda to (presumably) arrest them. I've covered protests here a lot. Never seen anything like it.

TikTok wishing me Happy Easter. Curious if they do this for other religious holidays?

'Tis the season!

New video!: In Islam, Satan isn’t a fallen angel—but a jinn named Iblīs. This video explores his story in the Qurʾān, his role as tempter and adversary, and how scholars and mystics have interpreted him over the centuries. Who is the Devil in Islam?: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y8m...

Every spring, people claim the Easter Bunny is an ancient pagan symbol tied to a spring goddess named Eostre or Ostara. I've even found articles on the BBC and Smithsonian website repeating this claim. But the real story is way more recent—and surprisingly traceable. 🧵

Hey everyone! I’m offering an online seminar starting this month: "Magic in the Ancient World." I’ve adapted it from a course I used to teach at Boston University. Register here!: www.religiondepartment.com

New video! Māori atheism is rising, but it’s not just about nonbelief—it’s also about decolonization. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRaC... 🧵👇

This is horrible to post, but I may as well post it. We are essentially shutting down research operations in my group, which is focused on treatments for pediatric brain cancer. I’m a well funded investigator, and there’s no choice. Science can’t function without the stability of NIH

Well, look at this here from @pauldjupe.bsky.social and @brooklynwalker.bsky.social In their own survey data they find clear evidence that young men are more religious than young women on all kinds of metrics. Including: Religious ID Worship Attendance Religious Involvement Christian Nationalism

The other website is pretty much done