In his farewell address at the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention, outgoing president J.D. Greear acknowledged the internal disputes but assured attendees that the Baptist faith continues to affirm “those doctrines most contested in our culture,” such as “the authority, and the inerrancy, and the sufficiency of scripture.” Recently, other prominent Christians have touted a belief […]
Department of Religious Studies
A Look at Our Latest Books
2021 Spring and Summer titles from our college community.
Why Easter is called Easter, and other little-known facts about the holiday
The date of Easter, when the resurrection of Jesus is said to have taken place, changes from year to year. The reason for this variation is that Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. I am a religious studies scholar specializing in early Christianity, and my […]
Ticket to Read
Fall 2020 books from our college community.
The Earth’s Keepers: How Religion Can Guide Environmentalism
If you knew in the next life you’d become a tree, you might hesitate before you cut one down. Or if you were to become one of the ocean’s fish, perhaps you’d be more careful about how you dispose of certain plastics. That’s Karma, at least as it’s applied in an environmental context, which might […]
Helping Students Set Sail
The Pro Bene Meritis award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts. Since 1984, the annual award has been given to alumni, faculty members and friends of the college who are committed to the liberal arts, have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits or have participated in service related […]
Not Lost in Translation
Fifteen-year Project Introduces India’s Earliest Text to Modern Readers Like so many big ideas, it all started over drinks — in this case, glasses of wine in New Orleans. Fifteen years later, a labor of love finally came to fruition for Joel Brereton, associate professor of Asian Studies and Religious Studies, when his joint translation […]
The Gospels in Rewrite
University of Texas at Austin Classics and Religious Studies Professor L. Michael White is equally at home reading ancient texts as he is directing the archaeological dig of the oldest known Jewish synagogue in Europe and teaching large undergraduate classes and graduate seminars. He brings teaching and research together in writing journal articles and books. […]
America’s Church
Religious studies scholar offers uniquely broad perspective on Catholic presence in nation’s capital In 1913, Bishop Thomas J. Shahan received the pope’s blessing to pursue his vision for a church in Washington, D.C. — a national shrine that would honor the Virgin Mary, serve as a destination for pilgrims and stake a Catholic claim in […]
Books: Fall 2011
Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It By H.W. Brands, professor, Department of History Historian H.W. Brands charts the dollar’s astonishing rise to become the world’s principal currency recounting key episodes in U.S. monetary history, from the Civil War debate over fiat money (greenbacks) to the recent […]
Minoring in Miller
Religious studies professor’s devotion to teaching recognized Professor G. Howard Miller began teaching at The University of Texas at Austin in 1971 in Burdine 106, an auditorium seating hundreds of students. “I felt like a rock star,” says Miller, a University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor of History and Religious Studies, who retired earlier this year. […]