Religious Studies

Talking about antisemitism

More than 200 people attended a talk by author Dara Horn at Penn Hillel, the first of six speaker events in a new series on antisemitism and education organized by the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies.

Louisa Shepard

Orthodox America

In Orthodox America, students explore the history of Orthodox Christian communities influencing American religious, political, legal, and literary landscapes.

Kristina García

Finding light in dark times

Professors Deven Patel and Steven Weitzman in the School of Arts & Sciences discuss why Diwali and Hanukkah, both festivals of lights, can act as symbols of hope.

Michele W. Berger

The search for meaning

During the course Living Deliberately: Monks, Saints, and the Contemplative Life, taught by Justin McDaniel of the School of Arts & Sciences, students experiment with ascetic practices.

Kristina García

Faith in public life 

In a conversation sponsored by the School of Social Policy & Practice, Ben Jealous discussed religion’s potential to transform society with Charles ‘Chaz’ Howard and David Saperstein.

Kristina García



Media Contact


In the News


The Conversation

For 150 years, Black journalists have known what Confederate monuments really stood for

Donovan Schaefer of the School of Arts & Sciences says that journalists at Black newspapers have historically criticized Confederate monuments for falsely enshrining Southern myths about why the Civil War was fought.

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AP News

A court in China sentences a famed Uyghur scholar to life in prison, foundation says 

A former Penn lecturer specializing in the study of her people’s folklore and traditions has been sentenced to life in prison.

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CNBC

I lived like a monk for 48 hours, and it helped me break three of my worst habits—here’s how

Justin McDaniel of the School of Arts & Sciences explains the benefits of his class “Living Deliberately,” which requires students to observe a code of silence and abstain from using electronic communications.

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The Nation

Gospel of a new Christian left

Anthea Butler of the School of Arts & Sciences says that slaveholder Christianity was central to the postbellum mythology of the South, with the Klan a symbol of white Christian nationalism.

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The New York Times

Religious freedom arguments underpin wave of challenges to abortion bans

Marci Hamilton of the School of Arts & Sciences says that the Satanic Temple’s abortion-related lawsuits are helpful for countering the religious right with a faith whose rights are being violated.

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Politico.com

The sleeper legal strategy that could topple abortion bans

Marci Hamilton of the School of Arts & Sciences says that there’s a strong argument for religious exemptions from abortion bans because those bills were initially passed for religious reasons.

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