No Arabic is required for Prof. Terri DeYoung’s introduction to the Qur’an (also spelled Koran) this spring. The Qur’an is the most influential written work in Arabic and has had an unmatched impact on the development of Islamic institutions and Islamic literatures for more than 1400 years.  The course emphasizes the historical context of the Qur’an’s revelation,

Professor Mark A. Smith has won the prestigious Morris D. Forkosch Book Award from the Council for Secular Humanism for his book, Secular Faith:  Why Culture Has Trumped Religion in American Politics.  The American Historical Association offers the prize annually in recognition of the best book in English in the field of British, British imperial, or

Congratulations to graduate student Della Campion who has been admitted to the Study of Religion PhD Program at the University of California, Davis.   The newest UC Davis graduate program inaugurated its first class of Ph.D. students in Fall 2013. As a “graduate group” rather a traditional academic department, students have the possibility to work

Religious leaders responded yesterday to new immigration policies, laid out in a memorandum released Tuesday (Feb. 21) by the Department of Homeland Security. The policies will expand Obama-era laws to allow “expedited removals” of any undocumented immigrant who has been in the U.S. for less than two years anywhere within the U.S.  “These policies are

Muslim Americans have helped raise more than $91,000 to repair vandalized headstones at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, according to an online fundraising page, amid attacks and threats against Jewish institutions.  U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited the graveyard on Wednesday and told clean-up volunteers, state officials and reporters that there was no

The subject of Francis’s homily at the daily Mass, Feb. 23,  was hypocrisy. He criticized the “scandal” of “saying one thing and doing another.” Many of these hypocrites, Francis implied, according to the Vatican’s text of his homily, are Catholics who act rigorously in their ritual observance but don’t apply the religion’s values to their

Tina Kotek was re-elected elected by her colleagues to serve a third term as the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.  Well done, Tina! For opening day remarks before the Legislative Asembly  here’s the link  Or you can read  it here

Religion in a Pluralistic Culture: Prospects and Perils  3rd Annual Pacific Northwest Religious Studies Conference April 8, 2017 Oregon State U The Religious Studies program at Oregon State University invites proposals for paper presentations or student panels from undergraduate students.  Proposals may be submitted on any subject that Addresses the academic study of religion. Paper presentations

ROME (RNS) More than 500 years after the Jews were expelled from Sicily, a tiny Jewish community will open its first synagogue in the island’s capital city of Palermo. To read article  

Egyptian police have arrested four people in the wake of the December bombing that killed dozens of Christians at Cairo’s Coptic Christian cathedral last month, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. The death toll from the bombing at a chapel next to St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo has risen to 28.   President Sisi, reiterated