The study of Muslims in South Asia—in India, but also in Bangladesh and Pakistan—is crucial for understanding contemporary Islam in our global world. South Asian Muslims are also active in the Arabian Gulf region and in Western Europe and North America, especially in the UK. In this course, we take “Islam in South Asia” as […]
This class explores the role of religion in movements for social change. We will address core questions in study of social movements – how movements emerge, why people join, how they mobilize resources, what strategies and tactics they employ, and what goals they seek – by examining a range of case studies, including civil rights […]
The modern study of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) effectively began in the nineteenth century, when scholars, through painstaking critical analysis of the biblical text, discovered that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) was written not by one author — Moses, according to venerable tradition — but by several, over the course of several centuries. […]
Louis Reinstein of the law firm Kelly Kronenberg was elected to serve as a Board Member for the University of Florida’s Department of Religion’s Advisory Board. Established in the 1980s, the Advisory Board promotes the visibility and recognition of religious studies and helps raise awareness for the critical contribution that religious diversification provides to society. The […]
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Why Major in Religion? Are you curious about people, societies, and cultures? Are you interested in the ideas and values that inspire and motivate people? Are you concerned about ideologies that inhibit progress or even spur people to violence? Religion is arguably the most powerful and pervasive force in the world. Majoring in religious studies […]
Jodi Shaw (Ph.D. Candidate, Asia) is currently an American Institute of Indian Studies Language Fellow (2017-2018) studying Tamil in South India. This is in preparation for her upcoming research in the fall of 2018 when she will travel to Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu in order to gather oral stories, as well as visit the archives of […]
Read more "Dancing Siva Never Dances Alone: UF Dissertation Project Receives Tedder Funding"
For this week’s Religion in the News stories, we didn’t have to look far. All we had to do was focus on our top-notch faculty as they address critical issues and important events in religion and culture. Take a look at their religion and news commentaries and analysis below: Religion prof Explains diwali holiday (UF […]
Since its launch in 2014, Dr. Terje Østebø has been at the helm of University of Florida’s Center for Global Islamic Studies (CGIS) as its Director. However, his tenure comes to an end this Fall semester. Taking over from Dr. Østebø is Dr. Benjamin Soares. The Center for Global Islamic Studies’ mission is to deepen our […]
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Bodies shape and are shaped by religious practice—they enact ritual, are fashioned to reflect religious identity, inspire and create devotional objects, and define boundaries of sacredness. How does the gender of such bodies shape experiences of the sacred, and how do devotees perform gender within religious landscapes? What does it mean to “masculinize” or “feminize” […]
Religion and science. The company line is that the two are locked in some inexorable conflict, some primeval wrestling match that has no bloodless resolution. But what if, in one person, the two could reside simultaneously? What if that person was a student and planned to take her degree in religious studies and merge that […]
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Over the last decade the study of religion has expanded its multidisciplinary reach by looking to see the ways in which religion and culture intersect with media and digital technology. Questions range from “How is religion represented in the media?” to “How are religious organizations using media and technology to promote their faiths” to more […]
Read more "The Nintendo Power Glove Touches the Hand of God — Religion & Culture in a Digital Age"