Iowa's Department of Classics and Religious Studies faculty are experts committed to exploring and developing new knowledge about the religions of the world—which is central to its mission as a unit embedded in a major research university.
Students enrolled in our programs benefit from faculty research and are exposed to the latest knowledge in the field—from local and global religious developments to long-standing and novel ethical issues. In addition to new perspectives on religious history, and innovative approaches to the discovery and interpretation of ancient texts.
Some of these important findings are explained in published work. Explore several select faculty and alumni publications featured on this page.
Select faculty publications
Human Rights in Islamic Societies, Muslims and the Western Conception of Rights
This book compares Islamic and Western ideas of human rights in order to ascertain which human rights, if any, can be considered universal. This is a profound topic with a rich history that is highly relevant within global politics and society today.
The arguments in this book are formed by bringing William Talbott’s Which Rights Should Be Universal? (2005) and Abdulaziz Sachedina’s Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights (2014) into conversation. By bridging the gap between cultural relativists and moral universalists, this book seeks to offer a new model for the understanding of human rights. It contends that human rights abuses are outcomes of complex systems by design and/or by default. Therefore, it proposes that a rigorous systems-thinking approach will contribute to addressing the challenge of human rights.
Engaging with Islamic and Western, historical and contemporary, and relativist and universalist thought, this book is a fresh take on a perennially important issue. As such, it will be a first-rate resource for any scholars working in religious studies, Islamic studies, Middle East studies, ethics, sociology, and law and religion.
Soundtrack to a Movement: African American Islam, Jazz, and Black Internationalism
Explores how jazz helped propel the rise of African American Islam during the era of global Black liberation. Amid the social change and liberation of the civil rights and Black Power movements, the tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded a tribute to Malcolm X’s emancipatory political consciousness. Shepp saw similarities between his revolutionary hero and John Coltrane, one of the most influential jazz musicians of the era. Later, the esteemed trumpeter Miles Davis echoed Shepp’s sentiment, recognizing that Coltrane’s music represented the very passion, rage, rebellion, and love that Malcolm X preached.
Soundtrack to a Movement examines the link between the revolutionary Black Islam of the post-WWII generation and jazz music. It argues that from the late 1940s and ’50s though the 1970s, Islam rose in prominence among African Americans in part because of the embrace of the religion among jazz musicians. The book demonstrates that the values that Islam and jazz shared—Black affirmation, freedom, and self-determination—were key to the growth of African American Islamic communities, and that it was jazz musicians who led the way in shaping encounters with Islam as they developed a Black Atlantic “cool” that shaped both Black religion and jazz styles.
When the Medium Was the Mission, The Atlantic Telegraph and the Religious Origins of Network Culture
An innovative exploration of religion's influence on communication networks
When Samuel Morse sent the words “what hath God wrought” from the U.S. Supreme Court to Baltimore in mere minutes, it was the first public demonstration of words travelling faster than human beings and farther than a line of sight in the U.S. This strange confluence of media, religion, technology, and U.S. nationhood lies at the foundation of global networks.
The advent of a telegraph cable crossing the Atlantic Ocean was viewed much the way the internet is today, to herald a coming world-wide unification. President Buchanan declared that the Atlantic Telegraph would be “an instrument destined by divine providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world” through which “the nations of Christendom [would] spontaneously unite.” Evangelical Protestantism embraced the new technology as indicating God’s support for their work to Christianize the globe. Public figures in the US imagined this new communication technology in primarily religious terms as offering the means to unite the world and inspire peaceful relations among nations. Religious utopianists saw the telegraph as the dawn of a perfect future.
Religious framing thus dominated the interpretation of the technology’s possibilities, forging an imaginary of networks as connective, so much so that connection is now fundamental to the idea of networks. In reality, however, networks are marked, at core, by disconnection. With lively historical sources and an accessible engagement with critical theory, When the Medium was the Mission tells the story of how connection was made into the fundamental promise of networks, illuminating the power of public Protestantism in the first network imaginaries, which continue to resonate today in false expectations of connection.
Gender Politics at Home and Abroad
Hyaeweol Choi examines the formation of modern gender relations in Korea from a transnational perspective. Diverging from a conventional understanding of 'secularization' as a defining feature of modernity, Choi argues that Protestant Christianity, introduced to Korea in the late nineteenth century, was crucial in shaping modern gender ideology, reforming domestic practices and claiming new space for women in the public sphere. In Korea, Japanese colonial power–and with it, Japanese representations of modernity–was confronted with the dominant cultural and material power of Europe and the US, which was reflected in Korean attitudes. One of the key agents in conveying ideas of “Western modernity” in Korea was globally connected Christianity, especially U.S.-led Protestant missionary organizations. By placing gender and religion at the center of the analysis, Choi shows that the development of modern gender relations was rooted in the transnational experience of Koreans and not in a simple nexus of the colonizer and the colonized.
Monasteries and the Care of Souls in Late Antique Christianity: Cognition and Discipline
In Monasteries and the Care of Souls in Late Antique Christianity, Paul C. Dilley explores the personal practices and group rituals through which the thoughts of monastic disciples were monitored and trained to purify the mind and help them achieve salvation. Dilley draws widely on the interdisciplinary field of cognitive studies, especially anthropology, in his analysis of key monastic 'cognitive disciplines', such as meditation on scripture, the fear of God, and prayer. In addition, various rituals distinctive to communal monasticism, including entrance procedures, the commemoration of founders, and collective repentance, are given their first extended analysis. Participants engaged in 'heart-work' on their thoughts and emotions, which were understood to reflect the community's spiritual state. This book will be of interest to scholars of early Christianity and the ancient world more generally for its detailed description of communal monastic culture and its innovative methodology.
A Companion to the Huguenots
Raymond Mentzer
The Huguenots are among the best known of early modern European religious minorities. Their suffering in 16th and 17th-century France is a familiar story. The flight of many Huguenots from the kingdom after 1685 conferred upon them a preeminent place in the accounts of forced religious migrations. Their history has become synonymous with repression and intolerance. At the same time, Huguenot accomplishments in France and the lands to which they fled have long been celebrated. They are distinguished by their theological formulations, political thought, and artistic achievements. This volume offers an encompassing portrait of the Huguenot past, investigates the principal lines of historical development, and suggests the interpretative frameworks that scholars have advanced for appreciating the Huguenot experience.
Anatomy of Dissent in Islamic Societies, Ibadism, Rebellion, and Legitimacy
The 'Arab Spring' that began in 2011 has placed a spotlight on the transfer of political power in Islamic societies, reviving old questions about the place of political dissent and rebellion in Islamic civilization and raising new ones about the place of religion in modern Islamic societies. In Anatomy of Dissent in Islamic Societies, Ahmed E. Souaiaia examines the complex historical evolution of Islamic civilization in an effort to trace the roots of the paradigms and principles of Islamic political and legal theories. This study is one of the first attempts at providing a fuller picture of the place of dissent and rebellion in Islamic civilization by interpreting Sunni and Shi`i records in the context of little-known Ibad?i political and legal materials. As the oldest sect, Ibad?iyyah provides a record of the ways sectarianism and dissent developed and impinged on Islamic society and thought.
The Cursillo Movement in America: Catholics, Protestants, and Fourth-Day Spirituality
The internationally growing Cursillo movement, or "short course in Christianity," founded in 1944 by Spanish Catholic lay practitioners, has become popular among American Catholics and Protestants alike. This lay-led weekend experience helps participants recommit to and live their faith. Emphasizing how American Christians have privileged the individual religious experience and downplayed denominational and theological differences in favor of a common identity as renewed people of faith, Kristy Nabhan-Warren focuses on cursillistas–those who have completed a Cursillo weekend–to show how their experiences are a touchstone for understanding these trends in post-1960s American Christianity.
Aquinas on the Emotions: A Religious-Ethical Inquiry
All of us want to be happy and live well. Sometimes intense emotions affect our happiness—and, in turn, our moral lives. Our emotions can have a significant impact on our perceptions of reality, the choices we make, and the ways in which we interact with others. Can we, as moral agents, have an effect on our emotions? Do we have any choice when it comes to our emotions?
How Zen Became Zen: The Dispute over Enlightenment and the Formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty China
How Zen Became Zen takes a novel approach to understanding one of the most crucial developments in Zen Buddhism: the dispute over the nature of enlightenment that erupted within the Chinese Chan (Zen) school in the twelfth century.
The Self Possessed: Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization
Frederick Smith
The Self Possessed is a multifaceted, diachronic study reconsidering the very nature of religion in South Asia, the culmination of years of intensive research. Frederick M. Smith proposes that positive oracular or ecstatic possession is the most common form of spiritual expression in India, and that it has been linguistically distinguished from negative, disease-producing possession for thousands of years.
The Jewish Experience (Fourth Edition)
Jay Holstein
This is a book about the Hebrew Bible. It is the author's intention that this book serve to introduce the reader to both the problems and delights of biblical study. The problems are legion: the Hebrew Bible is an ancient book written in an ancient tongue; it consists of thirty-nine books which appear to differ widely both in form and content; and it is considered by the adherents of three world religions to be sacred literature, which for many implies that it is not to be read as one would read any other book. These and other problems will be discussed in this book with the goal in mind of formulating a method of beginning to read the Hebrew Bible. More than anything else, this book is about how to read the Hebrew Bible.
Alumni books
Congratulations to our prestigious alumni authors–we are so proud of you! If you are a University of Iowa Religious Studies alum and your book is not listed, please let us know by emailing religion@uiowa.edu.
The Festival of Indra: Innovation, Archaism, and Revival in a South Asian Performance
Dr. Michael Baltutis
SUNY Press, 2023
Dr. Baltutis is a 2008 PhD graduate and currently serves as Professor of South Asian Religions and Department Chair of Anthropology, Global Religions, and Cultures, and Chair of Global Council at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Book description: The Festival of Indra details the textual and performative history of an important South Asian festival and its role in the development of classical Hinduism. Drawing on various genres of Sanskrit textual sources—especially the epic Mahābhārata—the book highlights the innovative ways that this annual public festival has supported the stable royal power responsible for the sponsorship of these texts. More than just a textual project, however, the book devotes significant ethnographic attention to the only contemporary performance of this festival that adheres to the classical Sanskrit record: the Indrajatra of Kathmandu, Nepal. Here, Indra's tall pole remains the festival's focal point, though its addition of the royal blessing by Kumari, the "living goddess" of Nepal, and the regular presence of the fierce god Bhairav show several significant ways that ritual agents have re-constructed this festival over the past two thousand years.
Interpretation: A Critical Primer (Concepts in the Study of Religion)
Dr. Nathan Eric Dickman
Equinox Publishing, 2023
Dr. Dickman is a 2009 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies and is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of the Ozarks.
Book description: This volume examines the nature of interpretation, strategies within interpretation, and negotiations about the adequacy of an interpretation, with special attention paid to possible roles interpretation plays in the academic study of religions. While many people engage in interpretation, it is not clear what interpretation is. Throughout the book, a number of fundamental questions posed throughout the history of hermeneutics (theory of interpretation) are addressed. What is an "interpretation"? What or who determines the meaning of a text? What helps in navigating competitions or conflicts of interpretation? What is the place of interpretation in the academy, relative to explanatory sciences and productive arts? The unique approach taken to interpretation here is based on the fundamental axiom of philosophical hermeneutics-the hermeneutic priority of questioning. Through this, the author makes a case for the critical value of interpretation. Most other books focus either on historical developments of hermeneutics, on key modern hermeneutic philosophers, or on specific sacred texts such as in biblical or Quranic hermeneutics. Each chapter of this book refines a conceptual element that combines with others into a theory of interpretation useful for the classroom and in scholarship on hermeneutics.
Molinist Philosophical and Theological Ventures
Dr. Kirk R. MacGregor
Pickwick, 2022
Dr. MacGregor is a 2005 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies and is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas.
Book description: This volume represents a significant advance of the philosophical and theological conversation surrounding Molinism. It opens by arguing that Molinism constitutes the best explanation of the scriptural data on divine sovereignty, human freedom, predestination, grace, and God's salvific will. The alleged biblical prooftexts for open theism are better explained, according to Kirk MacGregor, by Molinism. Responding to philosophical critics of Molinism, MacGregor offers a novel solution to the well-known grounding objection and a robust critique of arguments from explanatory priority. He also presents a Molinist interpretation of branching time models as heuristic illustrations of the relationship between possibility and feasibility. Seeking to push Molinism into new territories, MacGregor furnishes a Molinist account of sacred music, according to which music plays a powerful apologetic function. Finally, regarding the nature of hell, MacGregor contends that Molinism is compatible with both eternalism and eventual universalism.
Pietism and the Sacraments: The Life and Theology of August Hermann Francke
Dr. Peter Yoder
Pietist, Moravian, and Anabaptist Studies Book 6
Pennsylvania State University Press, 2021
Dr. Yoder is a 2011 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies, and as of 2021, he serves as Assistant Professor of Honors and History at Montreat College (Montreat, N.C.).
Book Description: Considered by many to be one of the most influential German Pietists, August Hermann Francke lived during a moment when an emphasis on conversion was beginning to produce small shifts in how the sacraments were defined—a harbinger of later, more dramatic changes to come in evangelical theology. In this book, Peter James Yoder uses Francke and his theology as a case study for the ecclesiological stirrings that led to the rise of evangelicalism and global Protestantism.
A Hermeneutics of Contemplative Silence
Dr. Michele Kueter Petersen
Paul Ricoeur, Edith Stein, and the Heart of Meaning
Rowman & Littlefield, October 2021
Dr. Petersen is a 2011 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies.
Book description: This book probes the texts of Paul Ricoeur and Edith Stein to disclose the role of silence in the creation of meaning. To understand and live out of contemplative awareness as a way to think through transformative human experience is an ethical and spiritual task, one that warrants explanation and interpretation.
Under the Bed of Heaven: Christian Eschatology and Sexual Ethics
Dr. Richard W. McCarty
SUNY Press, Dec 2021
Dr. McCarty is a 2008 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies, and currently a Professor of Religious Studies at Mercyhurst University, Erie, Pennsylvania.
Book description: Explores how concepts of sex in heaven can inform Christian sexual ethics in ways that challenge traditional norms and open new possibilities. Under the Bed of Heaven is a work of Christian ethics that examines how eschatology might reshape concepts of sexual morality. With the rise of institutional Christianity in the Roman Empire, Christian attitudes about sexual desire and activity were soon controlled by doctrines of virginity and celibacy, or, monogamous marriage for the sake of procreation. These moral theologies aligned with a certain track of Christian eschatology, which imagined the future resurrection of the body, but without any corresponding sexual desires. As a result, traditional Christianity developed a preference for celibacy on earth to match the loss of sexual desire and activity in heaven, making marriage and monogamy temporal goods only.
A Historical and Theological Investigation of John’s Gospel
Dr. Kirk R. MacGregor
Palgrave Macmillan. 2020
Dr. MacGregor is a 2005 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies and is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas.
Book description: This book provides original and controversial contributions into specific areas of Johannine studies, along with defenses of various traditional theological interpretations of John that are commonly overlooked in New Testament scholarship. MacGregor offers new insights into the authorship of the Fourth Gospel, the content of the underlying Signs Source, the meaning of the phrases “believe in him” and “believe in his name,” Jesus’ claim that Abraham saw his day, the significance of John 14.6, and why the resurrected Jesus upbraided Thomas. MacGregor employs the doctrine of middle knowledge to reconcile the seemingly paradoxical Johannine claims of divine predestination, genuine human freedom, and the universal divine salvific will. He defends the ontological equality but functional subordination of the Johannine Jesus to God the Father as well as the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit as presented by the Gospel of John.
The Battle for the Sabbath in the Dutch Reformation
Dr. Kyle Dieleman
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage. 2019
Dr. Dieleman is a 2017 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies and is a Professor of History at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, Illinois.
Book description: Kyle J. Dieleman focuses on the doctrinal and practical importance of Sunday observance in the early modern Reformed communities in the Low Countries. My project investigates the theological import of the Sabbath and its practical applications. The first step is to focus on how Dutch Reformed theologians conceived of the Sabbath. The theology of the Sabbath, I argue, moves over time from an emphasis on spiritual rest to participating in the ministries of the church to a strict rest from all work and recreation. The next step is to explore congregants’ actual Sunday practices. By attending to church governance records at the national, regional, and local levels the importance of proper Sabbath observance quickly becomes clear. The provincial synod records, classes’ records, and consistory records indicate that church authorities were adamant that church members faithfully attend sermon and catechism services, refrain from sinful practices, and abstain from recreational activities. Equally as telling as the observance demanded of church members is how church authorities responded. The church records portray these authorities as fretting over the disordered and unregulated nature of improper Sabbath observance. Having established the importance of the Sabbath in Dutch Reformed theology and lived piety, I argue the emphasis on Sunday observance is best understood as resulting from two main factors. First, the emphasis on proper Sunday observance is a result of the Reformed church authorities attempting to maintain the pious reputation of the Reformed faith and establish the identity of the Reformed Church amid multiple other confessional identities. Second, proper observance of the Sabbath was important because it ensured order within the church and society more broadly.
Moving the Mountains: Science and Socio-Religious Revolution in India
Dr. Pankaj Jain
New York, New York: Routledge. 2017
Dr. Jain is a 2008 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies and is an Associate Professor in Philosophy & Religion at the Univeristy of North Texas, Denton, Texas.
Book description: Scholars have long noticed a discrepancy in the way non-Western and Western peoples conceptualize the scientific and religious worlds. Non-Western traditions and communities, such as of India, are better positioned to provide an alternative to the Western dualistic thinking of separating science and religion. The Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO) was founded by Dr. Anil Joshi in the 1970s as a new movement looking at the economic and development needs of rural villages in the Indian Himalayas, and encouraging them to use local resources in order to open up new avenues to self-reliance.
This book argues that the concept of dharma, the law that supports the regulatory order of the universe in Indian culture, can be applied as an overarching term for HESCO’s socio-economic work. This book presents the social-environmental work in contemporary India by Dr. Anil Joshi in the Himalayas and by Baba Seechewal in Punjab, combining the ideas of traditional and scientific ecological knowledge systems. Based on these two examples, the book presents the holistic model transcending the dichotomies of nature vs. culture and science vs. religion, especially as practiced and utilized in the non-Western society such as India.
Contemporary Theology: An Introduction—Classical, Evangelical, Philosophical, and Global Perspectives
Dr. Kirk R. MacGregor
Zondervan, 2019
Dr. MacGregor is a 2005 PhD graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies and is, as of August 2016, serving as Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas.
Book description: Accessible and comprehensive, Contemporary Theology: An Introduction by professor and author Kirk R. MacGregor provides a chronological survey of the major thinkers and schools of thought in modern theology in a manner that is both approachable and intriguing.
Unique among introductions to contemporary theology, MacGregor includes:
- Evangelical perspectives alongside mainline and liberal developments
- The influence of philosophy and the recent Christian philosophical renaissance on theology
- Global contributions
- Recent developments in exegetical theology
- The implications of theological shifts on ethics and church life
Contemporary Theology: An Introduction is noteworthy for making complex thought understandable and for tracing the landscape of modern theology in a well-organized and easy-to-follow manner.
"Contemporary Theology: An Introduction will assuredly—and quickly—become an indispensable addition to the required reading list for undergraduate and graduate courses on Christian theology and Christian ethics. As in all his publications, Professor MacGregor combines comprehensive and context-driven historical analysis with superlative writing skills. Difficult concepts are presented in a clearly-written, crisp, and engaging style. For the general reader interested in the positive impact of Christian ethics on our fragmented and contentious world, your understanding of the ongoing cultural struggle for ethical assurances, drawn from the long history of Christian theology, will be exponentially enhanced. Highly recommended!" -John K. Simmons, professor emeritus of religious studies, Western Illinois University
Judging Jesus: World Religions' Answers to "Who Do People Say That I Am?"
Dr. Wayne G. Johnson
Hamilton Books, 2016
Dr. Johnson is a PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies and as of January 2017, serving as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Book description: Few persons have had greater impact on history than Jesus of Nazareth. That he existed is generally conceded. Who he was remains a major issue. Since great religions claim to possess basic and unique truths about the human venture, the Christian message about Jesus challenges other great religions. Much of world history is marked by the responses of great religions to this Christian challenge.
Virtue and Irony in American Democracy: Revisiting Dewey and Niebuhr
Dr. Daniel Morris
Lexington Books, 2015
Dr. Morris is a 2012 PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies and as of January 2017 a Teaching Fellow at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Book description: What virtues are necessary for democracy to succeed? This book turns to John Dewey and Reinhold Niebuhr, two of America’s most influential theorists of democracy, to answer this question. Dewey and Niebuhr both implied—although for very different reasons—that humility and mutuality are important virtues for the success of people rule. Not only do these virtues allow people to participate well in their own governance, they also equip us to meet challenges to democracy generated by free-market economic policy and practices. Ironically, though, Dewey and Niebuhr quarreled with each other for twenty years and missed the opportunity to achieve political consensus. In their discourse with each other they failed to become “one out of many,” a task that is distilled in the democratic rallying cry “e pluribus unum.” This failure itself reflects a deficiency in democratic virtue. Thus, exploring the Dewey/Niebuhr debate with attention to their discursive failures reveals the importance of a third virtue: democratic tolerance. If democracy is to succeed, we must cultivate a deeper hospitality toward difference than Dewey and Niebuhr were able to extend to each other.
"Sometime in the spring of 1968—marked, as it was, by the assassinations of MLK and RFK, and the Tet Offensive—the New Left replaced the Old and the focus of sociopolitical attention shifted from economics, the distribution of power, institutional purpose, and progress to political identity, suspicion of power, self-fulfillment, and revolution. The shift was probably both necessary and inevitable, but a decade and a half into the twenty-first century, many of the concerns of the Old Left are ascendant. We are, therefore, fortunate to have Dan Morris' new book re-introduce us to two towering figures of the Old Left: John Dewey and Reinhold Niebuhr. Morris deftly links the philosopher and the theologian to each other, managing not only to walk us through their work and their conflicts but to bring their insights to bear on some of the most pressing issues we now face." Mark Douglas, Columbia Theological Seminary.
Into the Pensive: The Philosophy and Mythology of Harry Potter
Dr. Patrick McCauley
Schiffer Publishing, 2015
Dr. McCauley is a PhD Graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies in 2006, and as of 2016, serving as an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia.
Book description: This book takes a look at the arc of the storyline in Harry Potter, digging below the surface to explore ethical, mythological, and religious meanings in J.K. Rowling’s best-selling series. Why do we find ourselves so intrigued with the tale of Harry Potter? Many of the millions who passionately read the Harry Potter series found they could relate to the details, dreams, and fears of Harry’s life. From a phoenix that dies and rises again to Dumbledore, a character who appears in a realm beyond death, there can be little doubt that Rowling’s story delves into profound themes and ideas. She tackles issues of grief, responsibility, individual excellence, and heroism in the face of violence and corruption. This philosophical analysis shows that if, in fact, we do find ourselves reflected in Harry’s story, then we may also find that our destiny and individual potential resonates with his as well.
"Patrick McCauley's 'Into the Pensieve' is the most important piece of new-wave scholarship by an individual author that has come out in the recent tsunami of re-evaluation of the Hogwarts Saga by academics and fandom at large. His insights about Rowling's just-below-the-conscious threshold theme of violence against women taken alone are more than worth the price of the book; they open up our understanding not only of Harry's adventures but Rowling's subsequent work in 'Casual Vacancy' and her Cormoran Strike novels. McCauley's writing is lucid, crisp, and engaging and his arguments cogent. Every serious reader of Harry Potter, of any of the works of Joanne Rowling, will benefit from and enjoy her and his re-immersion in the Wizarding World via McCauley's 'Pensieve." -John Granger
Hope and the Longing for Utopia: Futures and Illusions in Theology and Narrative
Dr. Daniel Boscaljon
Pickwick Publications, 2014.
Dr. Boscaljon, a 2009 PhD graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies, is as of 2016, serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Book description: At present the battle over who defines our future is being waged most publicly by secular and religious fundamentalists. Hope and the Longing for Utopia offers an alternative position, disclosing a conceptual path toward potential worlds that resist a limited view of human potential and the gift of religion. In addition to outlining the value of embracing unknown potentialities, these twelve interdisciplinary essays explore why it has become crucial that we commit to hoping for values that resist traditional ideological commitments. Contextualized by contemporary writing on utopia, and drawing from a wealth of times and cultures ranging from Calvin's Geneva to early twentieth-century Japanese children's stories to Hollywood cinema, these essays cumulatively disclose the fundamental importance of resisting tantalizing certainties while considering the importance of the unknown and unknowable. Beginning with a set of four essays outlining the importance of hope and utopia as diagnostic concepts, and following with four concrete examples, the collection ends with a set of essays that provide theological speculations on the need to embrace finitude and limitations in a world increasingly enframed by secularizing impulses. Overall, this book discloses how hope and utopia illuminate ways to think past simplified wishes for the future.
"This is a strong and timely volume that, in its counter to the dystopic tendencies of the last hundred years, offers significant hope in breaking down the old (and ongoing) divisions between the religious and the secular and between our status in quo and our future longing." -Andrew W. Hass, University of Stirling, Scotland
Kirtland Temple: The Biography of a Shared Mormon Sacred Space
Dr. David J. Howlett
University of Illinois Press, 2014.
Dr. Howlett, a 2010 PhD graduate of the University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies, as of 2016 serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Skidmore College, New York.
Book description: The only temple completed by Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio, receives 30,000 Mormon pilgrims every year. The site's religious significance and the space itself are contested by distinct Mormon denominations: its owner, the relatively liberal Community of Christ, and the larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"A groundbreaking biography of one of Mormonism's holiest shrines. The only temple completed by Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio, receives 30,000 Mormon pilgrims every year. The site's religious significance and the space itself are contested by distinct Mormon denominations: its owner, the relatively liberal Community of Christ, and the larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. David J. Howlett sets the biography of Kirtland Temple against the backdrop of this religious rivalry. The two sides have long contested the temple's ownership, purpose, and significance in both the courts and Mormon literature. Yet members of each denomination have occasionally cooperated to establish periods of co-worship, host joint tours, and create friendships. Howlett uses the temple to build a model for understanding what he calls parallel pilgrimage--the set of dynamics of disagreement and alliance by religious rivals at a shared sacred site. At the same time, he illuminates social and intellectual changes in the two main branches of Mormonism since the 1830s, providing a much-needed history of the lesser-known Community of Christ." University of Illinois Press.
The Laudians and the Elizabethan Church: History, Conformity and Religious Identity in Post-Reformation England
Dr. Calvin Lane
Pickering and Chatto Publishers, 2013
Dr. Lane, a 2010 PhD graduate of the University of Iowa, as of 2015, serving as Affiliate Professor at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, WI.
Book description: Notions of religious conformity in England were redefined during the mid-seventeenth century; for many it was as though the previous century's reformation was being reversed. Lane considers how a select group of churchmen – the Laudians – reshaped the meaning of church conformity during a period of religious and political turmoil. He emphasizes the Laudians' use of history in their arguments, particularly their creative appeal to common sensibilities about the reign of Elizabeth I as a 'Golden Age'. This book assesses the way historical claims functioned within the discourse of religious and political legitimacy in early modern England. On the basis of this monograph, Dr. Lane was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London.
'a novel and truly useful approach that is a welcome addition to studies of Laudianism and seventeenth-century English religion ... will prove fascinating to anyone interested in seventeenth-century England' - American Historical Review