Department of Religious Studies - School of Arts & Sciences

The Department of Religious Studies offers Richmond students the opportunity to study a broad range of religions from an academic perspective.

Religious Studies Feature Stories

Akers Wins 2019 Dickerson Award

Robin R. Akers, '19, is the recipient of the 2019 Lynn C. Dickerson Award.

UR Religious Studies Professor Awarded $7,500 to Develop Event Series, New Course on Islam in Asia

Mimi Hanaoka, associate professor of religious studies in Islam, has been awarded her second Transregional Research Junior Scholar Fellowship by the Social Science Research Council.

Fellowship Supports Professor's Book Project on Iran-Japan Relations

Mimi Hanaoka, University of Richmond associate professor of religious studies in Islam, has been awarded a Mednick Fellowship by the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges for her book project, Views of the Asian Other: Educational Reform and Models of Modernity for Japan and Muslim Reformers.

Douglas Winiarski, UR Professor and Award-Winning Author, Receives NEH Stipend for Latest Book Project

University of Richmond religious studies and American Studies professor Douglas Winiarski will begin two central chapters of his latest book project, Shakers & the Shawnee Prophet: A Microhistory of Religious Violence on the Early American Frontier, 1805–1815, this summer.

New Sabbatical Fellowship Program in the School of Arts & Sciences

Building Community in A&S

Etelson Wins 2018 Dickerson Award

Jeremy Etelson, '18, was the recipient of the 2018 Lynn C. Dickerson Award. He is now pursuing an M.Phil. in political thought at the University of Cambridge.

"Religious Studies has been an intellectual haven for me since my arrival, offering a place where I have felt safe and encouraged to approach material honestly and with real curiosity," said Etelson. "Whether it be from-critical and literary analyses of biblical text, historical examinations of occult practices in early America, or studying and questioning the bases of religiously founded ethics and epistemologies around the world, the Department of Religious Studies has offered me a versatile and deeply contextual way of looking at the human condition."

UR's Longest Tenured Professor Frank Eakin Awarded Who's Who Lifetime Achievement Award for Achievements in Religious Studies

Frank Eakin, Weinstein-Rosenthal professor of Jewish and Christian studies at the University of Richmond, has been awarded an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who, a publisher of biographical profiles.

University of Richmond Professor Receives 2018 Book Award by The New England Society

University of Richmond religious studies and American studies professor Douglas Winiarski has been awarded a 2018 Book Award for nonfiction by The New England Society for his work, Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.

University of Richmond professor Douglas Winiarski awarded 2018 Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy

University of Richmond professor Douglas Winiarski, who teaches in the Department of Religious Studies and the American Studies program, has won a 2018 Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy for his book, “Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.”

University of Richmond professor Douglas Winiarski named as finalist for prestigious book award, the George Washington Prize

University of Richmond religious studies and American studies professor Douglas Winiarski has been named as a finalist for the 2018 George Washington Prize for his book, “Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.”

Experiencing a religious revolution

Douglas Winiarski explores how 18th century Americans experienced religion differently than previous generations.

Hannah Verrette, '18

Over the summer, junior Hannah Verrette, ’18, had the opportunity to job shadow alumnus Dr. Dylan Tierney, ’95, at his job as an infectious disease physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, through the Office of Alumni & Career Services’ Spider Shadowing program.

University of Richmond professor awarded $40,000 research grant

Mimi Hanaoka, an assistant professor of religious studies at University of Richmond, has received a $40,000 grant from the Social Science Research Council.

Sam Bell, '17

As a religious studies major, one would assume Sam Bell's research had some connection to the field. Instead, he spent his summer studying ESB construction of bent functions in conjunction with math professor James Davis.

Learning from the Dead

Faculty and students from a variety of disciplines find fertile ground for learning in a long-neglected cemetery.

Scholarship Repository Readership

The University of Richmond's Scholarship Repository shares faculty publications with a world-wide audience. The map below shows where articles from religion faculty are being read around the globe.

Faculty Highlights

Hanaoka Awarded Dr. Mimi Hanaoka has been awarded a Social Science Research Council Transregional Research Junior Scholar Fellowship: InterAsian Contexts and Connections New Paradigms Grant.
Hanaoka Awarded Fellowship Dr. Mimi Hanaoka has been awarded a VFIC Mednick Fellowship for her book project, Views of the Asian Other: Educational Reform and Models of Modernity for Japan and Muslim Reformers.
Eakin Award
Religious studies professor and master of liberal arts program chair Frank Eakin was awarded an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who, a publisher of biographical profiles.
Winiarski New England Society Book Award
Religious studies and American studies professor Douglas Winiarski has been awarded a 2018 Book Award for nonfiction by The New England Society for his work, Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.
Winiarski Book Wins Bancroft Prize
Religious studies professor Doug Winiarski's book Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England won the 2018 Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy, presented by Columbia University.
Winiarski Book Finalist for George Washington Prize
Religious studies professor Doug Winiarski's book, Darkness Falls on the Land of Light Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England, was named one of seven finalists for the 2018 George Washington Prize.
Winiarski Book
Dr. Doug Winiarski published the book, Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England.
Davis in Christian Science Monitor
Dr. Scott Davis was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, in a piece about on Buddhism and violence.
Hanaoka Book
Dr. Mimi Hanaoka recently published her first book, Authority and Identity in Medieval Islamic Historiography: Persian Histories from the Peripheries, which explains themes and literary strategies that “centered” texts from “peripheral” regions in medieval Persia.
Cobb Book
Dr. Stephanie Cobb recently published Divine Deliverance: Pain and Painlessness in Early Christian Martyr Texts.

Upcoming Courses

The Bible as Literature
Sex & Salvation in 19th Century America
Introduction to the New Testament
Islam in America
Buddhist Philosophy
Foundations of Social Ethics
Asian Ethics: Dao of Living
A History of Antisemitism
Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud (FYS)
Cultural History of Sex (FYS)
Dreaming of the Prophet (FYS)
Anxiety and Ethics (FYS)

Learn more

Resources

Library Research Guide

Speaker Series

Office of Sustainability

Contact Us

Mailing address:
Department of Religious Studies
Weinstein Hall, Room 102
231 Richmond Way
University of Richmond, Virginia 23173

Phone: (804) 289-8325
Fax: (804) 287-6504

Chair: Stephanie Cobb
Administrative coordinator: Carolyn E. Smart