Two troublesome portraits of religious studies professors often exist in the minds of some students at any given time: the Guru, or wise spiritual teacher, and the Deceiver. These metaphors capture student perceptions of us that may be ill-informed and beyond our control. We will examine and compare how our own chosen metaphors for…

There is a growing trend for graduate schools of social work to offer students the option of receiving dual degrees, which gives students the ability to obtain a Master of Social Work (MSW) along with a second graduate degree in less time than it would take to complete each degree individually. As of 2005, there were approximately 30 different…

This paper explores the concept and practice of "embodied pedagogy" as an alternative to the Cartesian approach to knowledge that is tacitly embedded in traditional modes of teaching and learning about religion. My analysis highlights a class I co-teach that combines the study of Aikido (a Japanese martial art) with seminar-style discussions of…

In this article we argue for an introductory course in the study of religion that proceeds through interactive interpretation as a responsible form of comparison. Interactive interpretation proceeds provisionally, and encourages students to formulate new questions of the materials instead of making final categories about the materials. We use…

In a considerable number of nations, "conservative modernization" has gained increasing influence. Neo-liberals, neo-conservatives, and new middle-class managerialists have defined the terrain of educational policy and practice. In some nations as well, authoritarian populist religious conservative movements and ideologies have also…

Local schools increasingly play a mediating role between intended curricular directives and actual classroom practice. This paper highlights how macro factors such as decentralized governance and subject's institutional status affect school-based decisions to diverge from official curricular policies. Specifically, it reports a three-dimensional…

Scholarship programs authored by state legislatures may conflict with a state's constitution. In the case of "Locke v. Davey" 540 U.S. 807 (2003), Joshua Davey challenged the State of Washington's withdrawal of his Promise Scholarship claiming violation of his First Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. This…

This study centers on the experiences of students and religious study faculty in the high school division of "CDS," a successful Kindergarten through Twelfth grade Jewish day school that defines itself as a "community" institution. The school affirms a high-profile commitment to including "the widest spectrum of Jewish practice and belief" in its…

This study examines the treatment of the three most practiced monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, within the pages of High School World History Textbooks. The results find that within World History textbooks Christianity and Islam receive more coverage than Judaism in narrative content, word usage, illustrations, and…

When Marvin Meyer was asked by the National Geographic Society to translate the most-sought after religious texts in recent history, the Gospel of Judas, he discovered a startling portrait of Judas Iscariot. Judas was not the reviled traitor who betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Judas was the trusted disciple, the close confidant, the friend. When his…

This article reports on two authors' work that has been recycled by Routledge without giving credit or royalty. When William E. Deal casually flipped through "Theory for Performance Studies: A Student's Guide," published this year by Routledge, he noticed a few familiar sentences. After taking a closer look, Mr. Deal, a professor of religious…

The place of religion in higher education has been and remains a complex issue internationally. This article aims to outline the nature and development of Religious Studies at the University of Zambia in Lusaka (UNZA) as an instance of how religion entered higher education in an African setting. In doing so, it will also provide perspectives on…

Dialogue on religion and sexuality is difficult because these topics consist of deeply seated concepts of self, as well as one's relationship to other selves in the world. This chapter offers practical steps for creating and navigating difficult dialogues with respect to sexuality and religion. It suggests that partnership with departments,…

This article presents a rationale as well as a proposal for a religious literacy curriculum in U.S. public high schools. Relying on the Religious Education curriculum currently in use in the United Kingdom, the authors sketch a religious literacy curriculum designed to help students thrive in a pluralistic and democratic society. In order to help…

For Russia, the 1990s were a time of thoroughgoing reexamination of fundamental issues in life and society. Contradictory searches for new paths of development also had an impact on problems of the spiritual life of the population and people's attitudes toward religion and church. The complexity of the religious situation in today's Russia is also…