On the Soul

Royce 306

This discussion of the soul departs from the concept of the soul that for thousands of years has occupied the attention of philosophers and theologians and pervaded religious discourse. Morris is concerned with what William James referred to as ‘the popular soul,’ the soul as it is invoked by expressions such as ‘an expansive soul,’...

Between Bible and Qur’an

Royce Hall, Rm 314

The Qur’an draws on three major earlier traditions, those of Judaism, Christianity tradition, and pre-Islamic paganism, and while the Qur’an presents itself as a continuation and confirmation of the Torah and the Gospel, its style deviates significantly from that found in Biblical texts. Western scholarship has focused on Biblical influence in terms of the characters...

Shout to the Lord: Making Worship Music in the Evangelical America

Royce 306

How do people make worship music? What does it take to turn songs into worship and to turn worship into songs? This deep study of more than 75 leaders in Evangelical worship across America sheds light on the way that songwriters, worship leaders, and music industry professionals make music that can serve the needs of...

Restoring the Synagogue Soundtrack

Powell Library

In this talk “Jewish Religious Music in Nineteenth-Century America: Restoring the Synagogue Soundtrack”, Professor Judah Cohen of Indiana University explores the very creation of what we know today as “Jewish music.” There were no professional cantors in synagogues in early America. Choirs were non-existent. Synagogue practice mirrored that in European synagogues. But all that changed...

Symposium: “On the Matter of Blackness in Europe: Transnational Perspectives”

Charles E. Young Research Library and Royce Hall

Organized by the UCLA Department of African American Studies Co-Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion A Symposium featuring Keynote Speaker Gloria Wekker, Professor Emerita at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and a renowned scholar of Black feminism, Dutch anticolonialism, and diaspora. Key Symposium questions will include: How do marginalized experiences of Blackness within...

Fall 2019 Welcome Reception

Royce Hall, Rm 306

You are cordially invited to attend the Center for the Study of Religion Fall 2019 Welcome Reception. We look forward to seeing you there!   Event Flyer RSVP Below:    

Secular Rituals: How Nonreligious People Make Religion Less Religious

Royce 306

As more Americans become nonreligious, life-cycle rituals and other ceremonies that religious experts once performed are increasingly the responsibility of everyday people and ritual experts for hire. Very secular people avoid rituals or work hard to minimize their resemblance to religion. Secular people who have left strict religious groups often rebel by inverting the rituals...

The Báb, Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi (1819 – 1850): His Life, Writings, and Religion

UCLA Faculty Center

Schedule: 8am-9am: Light breakfast 9am-12:30pm: Morning Session: The Movement of the Báb Welcome by Dr. Simon Joseph (UCLA) Moderated by Dr. Nahid Pirnazar (UCLA) Performance by Dr. Manouchehr Sadeghi Introduced by Dr. Latifeh Hagigi (UCLA) Presentations by Dr. Sholeh Quinn (UC Merced), Dr. Abbas Amanat (Yale University), and Dr. Janet Afary (UC Santa Barbara) 12:30pm-2pm:...