Study of Religion as an Analytical Discipline Workshop
@soraaad.bsky.social
SORAAAD.org, allowing people to gather w/o being religious since 2011. Qual Research on Religion, Religion-like stuff, and Religion & stuff best not studied as religious but key to understanding those doing, being, saying & feeling stuff labeled religion
Pinned
I infodump.
Allow people to gather and not be religious.
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Reposted by Study of Religion as an Analytical Discipline Workshop
Happy North America publication day to Slavery & the Jews of Medieval Egypt! I'll be giving talks this Winter and Spring in Atlanta, Columbia (SC), Urbana-Champaign, and Boston. And I'll be Zooming in to some seminars to discuss the work with students. I'm very happy to share this work with you!
Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt by @caperry.bsky.social is a new global #history of the slave trade, the lives of enslaved people, & the role of slavery in the formation of Jewish & Arab-Islamic culture in the medieval Middle East.
Out now (17 Mar UK pub): press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Out now (17 Mar UK pub): press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
January 20, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Happy North America publication day to Slavery & the Jews of Medieval Egypt! I'll be giving talks this Winter and Spring in Atlanta, Columbia (SC), Urbana-Champaign, and Boston. And I'll be Zooming in to some seminars to discuss the work with students. I'm very happy to share this work with you!
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Religion in the U.S.
Editorial in the National Catholic Reporter: "The vice president's comments justifying the death of Renee Good are a moral stain on the collective witness of our Catholic faith. His repeated attempts to blame Good for her own death are fundamentally incompatible with the Gospel."
Catholic Vice President Vance takes to social media to justify killing of Renee Good
After the tragic shooting of Renee Good at the hands of ICE, the Catholic vice president of the United States took to social media to justify the killing.
www.ncronline.org
January 8, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Religion in the U.S.
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Religion in the U.S.
Jefferson was so proud of the law disestablishing the state church in Virginia he had it carved on his grave.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith claims that every single one of the Founding Fathers "by today's standards, would be labeled a far-right Christian nationalist."
January 11, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Religion in the U.S.
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Religion in the U.S.
An arsonist hit a Mississippi synagogue Saturday. Seven Torahs were damaged or destroyed in the fire.
One Torah, from the Holocaust, was in a glass case and wasn't touched.
The same synagogue was bombed by the KKK in 1967.
mississippitoday.org/2026/01/10/f...
One Torah, from the Holocaust, was in a glass case and wasn't touched.
The same synagogue was bombed by the KKK in 1967.
mississippitoday.org/2026/01/10/f...
Predawn fire reduces parts of Mississippi's largest synagogue to charred ruins - Mississippi Today
A fire heavily damaged Jackson’s only synagogue before dawn Saturday – the same house of worship that was firebombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967 because the rabbi had been an advocate for civil rights...
mississippitoday.org
January 11, 2026 at 8:13 AM
Religion in the U.S.
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Religion in the U.S.
Religion and Civil Rights
Religion and Immigration.
Renée Nicole Good
Religion and Civil Rights
Religion and Immigration.
Renée Nicole Good
The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness has released a statement on the death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old Presbyterian woman whose fatal shooting by a U.S. ICE officer last week in Minneapolis has sparked protests around the country. Read the full statement here:
pcusa.org/news-storyte...
pcusa.org/news-storyte...
January 12, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Religion in the U.S.
Religion and Civil Rights
Religion and Immigration.
Renée Nicole Good
Religion and Civil Rights
Religion and Immigration.
Renée Nicole Good
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Religion in the U.S.
Religion and Violence
Religion and Supersessionism
Religion and Violence
Religion and Supersessionism
Stephen Pittman, a 19-year-old man accused of setting fire to Jackson’s only synagogue, declared that “Jesus Christ is lord” as he beamed into federal court from his hospital room where he was being treated for burns on Monday.
buff.ly/2BZAHgm
buff.ly/2BZAHgm
Jackson Synagogue Burning Suspect Tells Judge, 'Jesus Christ Is Lord'
A suspect in the arson fire at the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, allegedly admitted to targeting it because of its “Jewish ties.”
www.mississippifreepress.org
January 12, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Religion in the U.S.
Religion and Violence
Religion and Supersessionism
Religion and Violence
Religion and Supersessionism
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Religion in the U.S.
Activists interrupted the service of a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul, MN, today to protest that one of the pastors is the acting director of the nearby ICE field office:
publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/protesters...
publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/protesters...
Protesters Disrupt Southern Baptist Church of Pastor Who Leads ICE Office in Minnesota
On Sunday, an unplanned liturgy of “ICE out!” and “Justice for Renee Good!” erupted in the sanctuary of a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
publicwitness.wordandway.org
January 19, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Religion in the U.S.
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Religion in the U.S.
Three U.S. Catholic cardinals urged the Trump administration to use a moral compass in pursuing its foreign policy, saying U.S. military action in Venezuela, threats of acquiring Greenland and cuts in foreign aid risk bringing vast suffering instead of promoting peace.
US Catholic cardinals urge Trump administration to embrace a moral compass in foreign policy
Three U.S. Catholic cardinals urged the Trump administration on Monday to use a moral compass in pursuing its foreign policy, saying U.S. military action in Venezuela, threats of acquiring Greenlan…
trib.al
January 19, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Religion in the U.S.
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In this @forward.com piece, @louiskeene.bsky.social & I explore the trope, "the synagogue of satan," which the Beth Israel arson suspect used to describe the synagogue. Originating from the Book of Revelation, the phrase has featured in antisemitic tropes ranging from Billy Graham to Candace Owens.
What the 'synagogue of Satan' slur tells us about Christian antisemitism
Billy Graham’s use of the phrase underscored a connection between Christianity and antisemitism seen in the 2026 Mississippi synagogue fire.
forward.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:56 PM
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Religion in the U.S.
Also, please note:
Also, please note:
If a Minnesotan says to you, "I don't plan to let you do that," run.
January 18, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Religion in the U.S.
Also, please note:
Also, please note:
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Religion in the U.S.
It’s come to this: “Catholic members of the US armed forces could in good conscience consider disobeying orders to attack Greenland if such orders were issued, according to Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the bishop responsible for the pastoral care of US military personnel.”
Military archbishop: Troops could refuse orders on Greenland
Speaking to Britain's Sunday program on BBC, Archbishop Timothy Broglio reiterated that conscience could permit refusal of an unjust military order.
aleteia.org
January 20, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Religion in the U.S.
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People don't really think through how the Nazis actively made it harder for Jews to leave
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
German Jews were citizens of Germany at the start of 1933. By the end of 1933, the Nazis had
removed citizenship from naturalized citizen Jews.
In 1935, all German Jews were fully stripped of their German citizenship.
Citizenship under dictatorships is contingent for targeted minorities.
removed citizenship from naturalized citizen Jews.
In 1935, all German Jews were fully stripped of their German citizenship.
Citizenship under dictatorships is contingent for targeted minorities.
January 20, 2026 at 8:47 PM
People don't really think through how the Nazis actively made it harder for Jews to leave
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
The idea that all Americans are guaranteed any kind of freedom of movement, including boarding a flight, is quite the presumption at this point.
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Left: writing the damn paper in the shadows of an archive nearby.
Right: presenting the said paper as a keynote at a fancy conference.
#academicchatter
Right: presenting the said paper as a keynote at a fancy conference.
#academicchatter
January 20, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Left: writing the damn paper in the shadows of an archive nearby.
Right: presenting the said paper as a keynote at a fancy conference.
#academicchatter
Right: presenting the said paper as a keynote at a fancy conference.
#academicchatter
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In just under a month I'm running a workshop for our doctoral students on unsticking their writing process, and whenever I do one of these I like to share a wide range of tips (with or without attribution, as the tipster prefers). So: what is your most effective and/or unhinged writing advice?
January 20, 2026 at 9:35 PM
In just under a month I'm running a workshop for our doctoral students on unsticking their writing process, and whenever I do one of these I like to share a wide range of tips (with or without attribution, as the tipster prefers). So: what is your most effective and/or unhinged writing advice?
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My top tip for this group is going to be keeping a rubber duck on their desk so that they can look deep into its implacable rubber eyes and explain the thing they are trying to say in language so simple that even a duck can understand... and then type out what they just said.
January 20, 2026 at 9:38 PM
My top tip for this group is going to be keeping a rubber duck on their desk so that they can look deep into its implacable rubber eyes and explain the thing they are trying to say in language so simple that even a duck can understand... and then type out what they just said.
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That is a tip I ALWAYS give, but it will be displacing my former seriously life changing writing hack, "Skip the coffee shop and set up at a table in the back of your local pub because it'll be dead quiet in the middle of the day while the coffee shop's heaving." Pubs here never open before 5pm.
January 20, 2026 at 9:39 PM
That is a tip I ALWAYS give, but it will be displacing my former seriously life changing writing hack, "Skip the coffee shop and set up at a table in the back of your local pub because it'll be dead quiet in the middle of the day while the coffee shop's heaving." Pubs here never open before 5pm.
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"... a generally accepted consensus has not been reached. For any biblical scholar, this implies that the danger of cherry-picking lies at hand. With this I mean that members of our guild have the inclination to follow the theory that best seems to fit with one’s exegetical agenda" (Bob Becking)
January 17, 2026 at 10:17 PM
"... a generally accepted consensus has not been reached. For any biblical scholar, this implies that the danger of cherry-picking lies at hand. With this I mean that members of our guild have the inclination to follow the theory that best seems to fit with one’s exegetical agenda" (Bob Becking)
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Becking's comment reminds me of Stephen Moore & Yvonne Sherwood's description of too many BS books and articles:
"here, first, in numbing dry detail is my method; now watch and be amazed while I apply it woodenly to this unsuspecting biblical text..."
"here, first, in numbing dry detail is my method; now watch and be amazed while I apply it woodenly to this unsuspecting biblical text..."
January 17, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Becking's comment reminds me of Stephen Moore & Yvonne Sherwood's description of too many BS books and articles:
"here, first, in numbing dry detail is my method; now watch and be amazed while I apply it woodenly to this unsuspecting biblical text..."
"here, first, in numbing dry detail is my method; now watch and be amazed while I apply it woodenly to this unsuspecting biblical text..."
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"... The restless quest for ever - new methods with which to read the same old texts has always predetermined our dealings as biblical scholars with literary studies."
(Moore & Sherwood)
(Moore & Sherwood)
January 17, 2026 at 10:28 PM
"... The restless quest for ever - new methods with which to read the same old texts has always predetermined our dealings as biblical scholars with literary studies."
(Moore & Sherwood)
(Moore & Sherwood)
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I have long thought that most biblical scholars who turned to 'literary' methods from the 70s/80s were working under a transformed theological assumption of sensus plenior--that we can always find greater depths of meaning in biblical texts. What else appears to justify this 'obsession with method'?
January 17, 2026 at 10:34 PM
I have long thought that most biblical scholars who turned to 'literary' methods from the 70s/80s were working under a transformed theological assumption of sensus plenior--that we can always find greater depths of meaning in biblical texts. What else appears to justify this 'obsession with method'?
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Reposted by Study of Religion as an Analytical Discipline Workshop
1/2 "I shall now demonstrate that the religion patronised by the Australian Supreme Being, and inculcated in his Mysteries, is actually used to counteract the immoral character which natives acquire by associating with Anglo-Saxon Christians."
- Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion (1898), 195
- Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion (1898), 195
January 20, 2026 at 9:36 PM
1/2 "I shall now demonstrate that the religion patronised by the Australian Supreme Being, and inculcated in his Mysteries, is actually used to counteract the immoral character which natives acquire by associating with Anglo-Saxon Christians."
- Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion (1898), 195
- Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion (1898), 195
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2/2 The [Australian] Kurnai began by kneading the stomachs of the lads about to be initiated (that is, if they have been associating with Christians), to expel selfishness and greed."
- Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion (1898), 195-196
- Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion (1898), 195-196
January 20, 2026 at 9:36 PM
2/2 The [Australian] Kurnai began by kneading the stomachs of the lads about to be initiated (that is, if they have been associating with Christians), to expel selfishness and greed."
- Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion (1898), 195-196
- Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion (1898), 195-196
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Breaking: Three unions are calling on the University of Minnesota to shut down for Jan. 23. They include the Graduate Labor Union Electrical Workers Local 1105, AFSCME 3800, & Teamsters Local 320. Campus undergraduate organizations are joining the call. labornotes.org/2026/01/will...
January 20, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Breaking: Three unions are calling on the University of Minnesota to shut down for Jan. 23. They include the Graduate Labor Union Electrical Workers Local 1105, AFSCME 3800, & Teamsters Local 320. Campus undergraduate organizations are joining the call. labornotes.org/2026/01/will...