Religious Studies

A woman wearing headphones and a yellow sweater sits in a comfortable chair with a laptop in her lap.

Ask the Expert: How Americans Are Learning About Judaism and Religion Through Art and Culture

September 29, 2026

A growing number of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, according to the Pew Research Center, but those broader shifts don’t necessarily mean Americans’ religious lives are disappearing. To understand what religion looks like in 21st-century America, scholars like Michigan State University Associate Professor Laura Yares are asking different questions. Yares co-authored the recent book “Judaism Mediated: Learning About Jewishness through the…

Illustrated poster for the “Sacred Nine Project: The Billings Pendulum 250,” featuring a colonial-era figure swinging a mallet, with text promoting a performance about revolutionary America.

Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Religious Studies / Research

MSU Professor Brings America’s First Composer to Life in October Musical Performance

September 21, 2026

As the United States continues to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, David Stowe, Professor of Religious Studies and Adjunct Professor of History at Michigan State University, is helping audiences rediscover a figure often overlooked in the story of the American Revolution: composer, teacher, writer, and patriot William Billings. On Sunday, Oct. 4, the public is invited to experience “The…

A group of more than 20 people pose together on the steps outside a brick building.

Community Outreach / English / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Programs / Religious Studies

MSU Fellowship Helps Michigan Teachers Rethink Genocide Education

August 19, 2026

As artificial intelligence and social media reshape how students evaluate information, teaching about genocide and mass atrocities has grown more complex. Teachers in Michigan are required to spend at least six hours on genocide curriculum during grades 8-12. They must navigate not only changing technology but also shifting geopolitical events and a generation of students who see the world differently…

A man with gray hair and a beard wearing a gray polo shirt.

Faculty / Faculty / News / Religious Studies / Research / U.S. Impact

Ask the Expert: How William Billings’ Music Became the Soundtrack of the American Revolution

July 1, 2026

Familiar figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin are receiving renewed attention as the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, when the American Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. According to Michigan State University Professor David W. Stowe, another figure deserves a place in the story: William…

A medium close-up portrait of a smiling man with a shaved head and a full, well-groomed beard and mustache. He is wearing a blue and white plaid button-down shirt under a dark gray, textured shawl-collar cardigan sweater. He is posing outdoors in front of a soft-focused background featuring a dark wooden structure with small windows.

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Religious Studies

Morgan Shipley Brings Vision for Collaboration and Growth as New Religious Studies Chair

June 26, 2026

Morgan Shipley, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Foglio Endowed Chair of Spirituality, will begin his five-year appointment as Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University on July 1, 2026. Shipley joined the Department of Religious Studies in 2013 after earning a Doctor of Philosophy in American Studies from MSU. In the years since, he has…

A women with long dark hair that's dyed purple at the ends wearing a striped shirt and beaded necklace. The background is a wood paneled hallway.

Faculty / Faculty / Michigan Impact / News / Religious Studies / Research / U.S. Impact

Ask the Expert: How Indigenous Science Fiction Expands the Genre

June 16, 2026

Science fiction remains an enduring touchstone of pop culture, but it’s broader than spaceships and aliens like you see in the recent “Project Hail Mary” movie — no offense, Ryan Gosling. Science fiction is also an area researched by scholars exploring what it says about our current culture, collective past, and the varying viewpoints of its creators. Michigan State University…

A composite image featuring a portrait of Ellen VanderMyde, a woman with blonde hair smiling in front of a colorful abstract painting, alongside an aerial, high-angle view of a vast agricultural research site, featuring a grid of vibrant green crop plots separated by dirt paths, with a distant treeline, a blue lake, and a bright blue sky filled with fluffy white clouds.

African American and African Studies / Arts MSU / Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty / Michigan Impact / News / Programs / Religious Studies / Research / Scholarship

Humanizing the Science: W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Artist-in-Residence Program Marks Fifth Year

May 21, 2026

The Farmscapes to Forests: Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research Artists-in-Residence Program is entering its fifth year, featuring Kalamazoo-based visual artist Ellen VanderMyde as the 2026 Artist-in-Residence and the debut of the program’s first group exhibition showcasing the work of last year’s cohort of Michigan State University College of Arts & Letters artists.

2026 award recipients Avery Riehl (left), Emma Wilkins (center), and Alliah Woodside (right) stand together smiling in front of a projected College of Arts & Letters slide. Riehl wears a black short-sleeve top with long red hair down; Wilkins wears a black blazer over a white top with curly hair and clear-framed glasses; Woodside wears a white ribbed fitted dress and an ornate blue and gold head wrap. A green Department of Religious Studies table is partially visible in the foreground.

News / Religious Studies / Student / Student

Religious Studies Students Honored for Outstanding Achievements

April 23, 2026

The Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University celebrated undergraduate excellence at its 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Awards Ceremony on April 17, recognizing students whose academic achievements and community commitments reflect the department's core values. Three students — Alliah Woodside, Emma Wilkins, and Avery Riehl — were each presented with awards at the event for their outstanding achievements.

A grid of four headshots of the 2025-2026 Fintz Award recipients. Top left: Laura Yares, smiling, with shoulder-length brown hair and blue earrings, against a yellow background. Top right: Jonathan Choti, smiling, with a navy blazer. Bottom left: Nerli Paredes Ruvalcaba, smiling, with long pink-tinted hair. Bottom right: Aaron Schultz, smiling, with a beard and glasses

Award / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Linguistics / News / Philosophy / Religious Studies

Four MSU Faculty Honored with Fintz Award for Teaching Excellence

April 20, 2026

Four College of Arts & Letters faculty have been selected as this year’s recipients of the Fintz Award for Teaching Excellence in the Arts and Humanities in recognition of their exemplary Integrative Arts and Humanities (IAH) instruction. Presented each spring by the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities (CISAH), the Fintz Award, which is student nominated, recognizes outstanding faculty who engage students in arts and humanities ways of knowing while helping them develop critical thinking and effective communication skills.

A group of nine College of Arts & Letters faculty members standing in two rows, smiling and posing for a group photo. They are dressed in business professional attire, including dark blazers, a teal jacket, dress shirts with ties, and a cream blouse. They stand on a patterned rug in a well-lit indoor lounge area featuring an orange seating bench, a wood-slatted ceiling, and warm pendant lighting. In the blurred foreground, the hands of a person holding a smartphone are visible, capturing the picture of the group.

AAHD / Art, Art History, and Design / English / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Linguistics / News / Philosophy / Religious Studies / Spanish / Theatre

MSU Celebrates Promoted Faculty, Honoring 29 from the College of Arts & Letters

February 14, 2026

During the 2025-2026 academic year, 24 faculty members within the College of Arts & Letters received promotions. The success of these individuals was celebrated at special ceremonies hosted by the Office of the Provost. “On behalf of the College of Arts & Letters, I want to congratulate our faculty members who have earned promotions this year,” said Thomas Stubblefield, Dean of the College of Arts & Letters.