A U of I professor has published the first critical study of one of Nepal’s most cherished narrative traditions.
Tracing a sacred narrative in NepalJessica Vantine Birkenholtz has published the first critical study of one of Nepal’s most cherished narrative traditions.
2018 Thulin LectureSex and American Christianity: The Religious Divides that Fractured a Nation
New Certificate in Interfaith Studies
See the world more clearlyStudy the traditions that influence culture and policy around the globe.
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz, Assistant Professor of Religion, has published a new book titled Reciting the Goddess: Narratives of Place and the Making of Hinduism in Nepal (Oxford University Press).
Book of essays considers how religions view other faiths
More Department News
- University of Illinois professor of religion Jonathan Ebel has been awarded a 2017 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. Ebel is one of 173 scholars, artists and scientists named as 2017 Guggenheim Fellows. They were chosen from almost 3,000 applicants on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise, according to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, in a press release.
Career Paths in Religion
REL/SAME 520What is a pilgrimage? Who becomes a pilgrim, and how or why do they do so? What does it mean to undertake a pilgrimage? Who or what are the objects of devotion or the physical and/or spiritual destination guiding these pilgrims?
REL 332
REL 291Introduction to the historical, religious, and socio-cultural aspects of Hinduism in the US. The role of Hinduism in the maintenance of the ethnic identity of Indians in the US will be examined in the context of the rituals, languages, temples, family, and other social organizations.
RLST 350Learn about the most well-known Hindu goddesses, at both the pan-Hindu and local level. Explore their mythical narratives, associated powers, iconography, and rituals of worship. Same as CWL 350 and SAME 350.
RLST 287Explore the history of Buddhism. From its origin in India to its spread throughout China and Japan, learn how its development relates to cultural adaptation.
