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Bulletin for the study of religion feed- Bulletin 41.2
- Reed M. N. Weep Retirement
- Field Notes: News and Announcements in the Discipline
- Divinity Manifest in a Female Body: Guglielma of Milan as the Holy Spirit, Female Deity and Female Leadership in the Later Middle Ages
- Sexual Liberality as Othering: The Case of Islam in Late Antiquity and Modernity
- SORAAAD Book Notes with the Bulletin
- Romania’s Saving Angels: ”New Men”, Orthodoxy and Blood Mysticism in the Legionary Movement
- Christus Virgo: Representations of Christ as a Virgin in Early Christianity and Late Antiquity
- Editorial: New Challenges, New Directions
- 'The Stars Down to Earth' - Why Educated Women in the Western World Use Astrology
Category Archives: Kenny Paul Smith
Is Religion “Different Enough”?
As I discussed in an earlier Bulletin post, in defending the continued employment of “religion” as analytically distinct interpretive category, scholars such as Ivan Strenski argue that, relative to other modes of human behavior, what we typically identify as religion … Continue reading
On Trayvon Martin, Perceived Identities, and Zombie Imaginaries
In his recent comments on the Fox News Channel’s FOX & Friends morning show, Geraldo Rivera claimed that the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was equally the result of (i) an “overzealous and irrational” neighborhood watchman (George Zimmerman) as … Continue reading
The Potent Instability of Religion & Magic
In November 2007, during one of the worst droughts in Georgia history, then-Governor Sonny Purdue “stepped up to a podium outside the state Capitol… and led a solemn crowd of several hundred people in a prayer for rain on his … Continue reading
Posted in Kenny Paul Smith, Religion and Popular Culture
Tagged 700 Club, drought, Flunking Sainthood, Georgia, Jana Reiss, Magic, Pat Roberston, Religion, Sonny Purdue, tornadoes
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Vampire Churches, Vampire Images, and “Invented Religions”
[Please Note: This paper was presented at the AAR's Southeast Regional Commission for the Study of Religion (SECSOR) yearly conference in Atlanta this past weekend, as part of a panel on "Zombies and Zombie Apocalypses." Over the next week, additional … Continue reading
Posted in Kenny Paul Smith, Religion and Popular Culture
Tagged AAR, churches, commodities, Dragon-Con, religion and popular culture, SECSOR, vampires, zombies
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SORAAD BookNotes with the Bulletin: Randall Styers, Making Magic
This week’s book note looks at another discussion of magic, Randall Styers’ Making Magic: Religion, Magic, and Science in the Modern World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004). Styers is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of … Continue reading
SORAAAD BookNotes with the Bulletin: Allison P. Courdet, Religion, Magic, and Science in Early Modern Europe and America
This week’s “book note” looks at a very recent attempt to locate the comparative category “magic” in larger historical and discursive contexts, Allison P. Courdet, Religion, Magic, and Science in Early Modern Europe and America (Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2011). Courdet … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, Kenny Paul Smith
Tagged Allison Courdet, Magic, Modernity, Religion, Science
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Liberal Apocalypticism
In an earlier Bulletin post, I discussed briefly the emergence of “Prepper” subculture, that is, largely white, middle-class Americans who, out of a conviction that society stands on the brink of collapse, are stockpiling food, weapons, ammunition, and supplies of … Continue reading
Posted in Kenny Paul Smith
Tagged George W. Bush, Liberalism, National Geographic, Obama, Preppers
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The Rise of the Preppers
In an insightful online piece (that includes historical analysis from Bulletin contributor Cathy Gutierrez), we learn of “a growing subculture of Americans who refer to themselves informally as ‘preppers,”’ that is, folks stockpiling food and firearms alongside innumerable other supplies … Continue reading
Posted in Kenny Paul Smith, Religion and Popular Culture
Tagged American Religious History, Apocalypse, Glenn Beck, Preppers
6 Comments
The Existential Work of the Jedi
In a Bulletin post from August 2011, I speculated about the likely religious future of George Lucas’ still wildly popular, and globally distributed, Star Wars universe. Might figures such as the Jedi Knight come to play an increasingly explicit role … Continue reading