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UC Davis experts: ReligionThe UC Davis faculty has a broad expertise across a variety of religious and spiritual topics. If you need information on a topic not listed, please contact News Service members Claudia Morain at (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu, or Julia Ann Easley at (530) 752-8248, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu. Contemporary religious issues
Religion in America
World religions
The Bible and historical Christianity
CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS ISSUESPledge of Allegiance case, church-state relationsLaw professor Alan Brownstein writes and works in the area of church-state relations, and he is available to comment on the Pledge of Allegiance case, Elk Grove United School District vs. Michael A. Newdow, to be argued in the U.S. Supreme Court March 24. Brownstein has written numerous articles on the religion clauses of the First Amendment, frequently lectures in this area to civic groups and has testified on legislation relating to church-state issues before California legislative committees. Brownstein advises the California Interfaith Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion on constitutional matters. Contact: Alan Brownstein, School of Law, (530) 752-2586 office, (530) 758-3378 home, aebrownstein@ucdavis.edu. Religion in the electionWhat is the proper role of religion in the election? UC Davis American studies professor Jay Mechling says a variety of religious issues will flavor the election season, including the Pledge of Allegiance case heading for the Supreme Court, the "sanctity of marriage" dispute over homosexual unions, the recent court decision about school vouchers for religious training and the legal tests for Bush's faith-based initiatives. He can also talk about how the political culture has changed from what was once an American "civil" or "public religion" that blended a nonsectarian (generally Protestant) religious view with the political theory out of the Enlightenment. Mechling writes and teaches about American culture. His book, "On My Honor: The Boy Scouts and American Culture," was published in 2001. Contact: Jay Mechling, American Studies, (530) 752-1983, jemechling@ucdavis.edu. Jewish-Christian relationsDavid Biale, the Emanuel Ringelblum Professor of Jewish History and director of Jewish studies at UC Davis, is available to speak on contemporary Jewish religion, Israeli politics and society, and Jewish-Christian relations. He edited the first major anthology of Jewish history since 1969, "Cultures of the Jews: A New History," published in 2002. He also wrote "Power and Powerlessness in Jewish History" and "Eros and the Jews" and edited "Insider/Outsider: American Jews and Multiculturalism." Biale is a regular columnist on issues pertaining to Israel and the Middle East for the San Francisco Chronicle and is a contributing editor and frequent writer in Tikkun Magazine. Contact: David Biale, History, (530) 752-1640 (office), (510) 524-9607, dbiale@ucdavis.edu. Religious conflictWhat is it that makes some religious groups able to live together in peace while others are in unending conflict? UC Davis comparative religion scholar Naomi Janowitz, who directed the UC Education Abroad Program in Israel between 1999 and 2001, can talk about whether living in a world of many cultures and religions means we are destined to see violent conflicts between people of differing religions. She says interactions in the ancient world offer important clues about tolerance and intolerance. She can also discuss how religious groups draw boundaries about claims to land, truth and divine power. Janowitz is author of "Magic in the Roman World: Pagans, Jews and Christians" (2001). Contact: Naomi Janowitz, Religious Studies, (510) 841-9159 home or (530) 752-6255 office, nhjanowitz@ucdavis.edu. Religious social movements and violenceJohn R. Hall, UC Davis professor of sociology and an affiliated professor of the Religious Studies Program, can talk about how religion is related to the violence that has occurred since Sept. 11, 2001. His books on the subject include "Gone From the Promised Land: Jonestown in American Cultural History" (1987), which will be republished this year as a second edition with a new introduction, commemorating the murders and mass suicide 25 years ago; and "Apocalypse Observed: Religious Movements and Violence in North America, Europe and Japan" (2000). Contact: John Hall, Sociology, (530) 752-7035, or Center for History, Society and Culture, (530) 752-1638, jrhall@ucdavis.edu. Psychology of religionPsychology professor Robert Emmons' research is at the interface of personality, psychology and religion. He focuses on how religiousness and spirituality reflect core aspects of the self and identity. Among other issues, he can talk about effects of feeling grateful on people's happiness and well-being. He is also interested in spiritual transformation and the effect it has on personality. Emmons is an associate editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of the Psychology of Religion, and a member of the American Psychological Association. He is the co-editor of the "The Psychology of Gratitude" (2004) and author of "The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality." Contact: Robert Emmons, Psychology, (530) 752-8844, raemmons@ucdavis.edu. Religious dissent, Muslim women's rightsProfessor Madhavi Sunder of the UC Davis School of Law is an expert on dissent within cultural groups, including religious organizations, and on women's human rights in Muslim communities. Without a change in its approach to culture, she says, law may become complicit in the backlash efforts of traditional leaders to silence dissent within organizations, whether over the religious service of homosexuals or over equality for women. In "Cultural Dissent," published in the Stanford Law Review in 2001, she calls for the law to recognize the right of members to make internal challenges to an organization. In "Piercing the Veil," published in the Yale Law Journal in 2003, she says law needs to accommodate internal reform movements within the Muslim religion and allow women the right to define and interpret their religion. Contact: Madhavi Sunder, School of Law, (530) 752-2896, msunder@ucdavis.edu. RELIGION IN AMERICAThe Black Church experienceMilmon F. Harrison, an assistant professor of African American and African studies at UC Davis, is a sociologist who looks at the various roles and meanings of Christianity and the Black Church in the African American experience. Currently, he is studying the Christian music industry and can talk about how the racial reconciliation movement among evangelicals is opening white-owned Christian music radio stations to multicultural talent. Harrison can also talk about the production of African American gospel music. He is writing a new book on "prosperity Christianity." His book "Name It and Claim It! The Word of Faith Movement and Contemporary African American Religion" concerns the Word of Faith movement, a contemporary charismatic, Christian movement gaining popularity among African Americans. Contact: Milmon Harrison, African American and African Studies, (530) 754-6622, mfharrison@ucdavis.edu. Spiritually based political groupsJudith Newton, UC Davis professor and director of women and gender studies, researches and writes about the Promise Keepers and spiritually based political groups such as The Call to Renewal and the Politics of Meaning. Her book, "From Panthers to Promise Keepers: Rethinking the Men's Movement" will be published this fall. Contact: Judith Newton, Women and Gender Studies, (530) 752-8988 office, (530) 756-3604 home, jlnewton@ucdavis.edu. Altered states of consciousnessCharles T. Tart, professor emeritus of psychology at UC Davis, is internationally known for research with altered states of consciousness (including mystical experiences), transpersonal (spiritual) psychology and parapsychology. He can also talk about New Age religions. His 13 books include two classics, "Altered States of Consciousness" and "Transpersonal Psychologies." His 1997 "Body, Mind, Spirit: Exploring the Parapsychology of Spirituality" explores the scientific foundations of transpersonal/spiritual psychology to show it is possible to be both a scientist and a spiritual seeker. His most recent book is "Mind Science: Meditation Training for Practical People" and is based on a workshop teaching scientists how to meditate. Contact: Charles T. Tart, Psychology, (510) 526-2591 home, cttart@ucdavis.edu. African American JewsUC Davis sociologist Bruce Haynes is currently writing a book on African American Jews in the United States. He specializes in the study of race and ethnic group relations within the context of urban and suburban community development. He most recently wrote "Red Lines, Black Spaces: The Politics of Race and Space in a Black Middle-Class Suburb" (2001), a case study of race and class politics in a New York City suburban community. Contact: Bruce Haynes, Sociology, (530) 754-7127, bdhaynes@ucdavis.edu. African immigrants and their religionsJacob Olupona, director and professor of African American and African studies at UC Davis, can talk about the rich variety of African immigrant religious communities in the United States. Funded by a $414,000 Ford Foundation grant, Olupona is researching the religious communities that support about a million Africans who have immigrated to the United States over the past four decades. He can also talk about how African communities are involved in faith-based community service. Olupona has authored and edited several books on African religion including "Kingship, Religion and Rituals in a Nigerian Community." He is the president of the African Association for the Study of Religion. Contact: Jacob Olupona, African American and African Studies, (530) 752-8354, jkolupona@ucdavis.edu. Indigenous cultural/religious dance traditionInés Hernández-Avila, associate professor of Native American studies, researches and writes about the Conchero dance tradition of Mexico City. Hernández-Avila's project demonstrates how this cultural/religious tradition has sustained itself and influenced, in varying degrees, the elaboration of a Chicana/o indigenous consciousness via the more popularly known and practiced Aztec dance tradition. She is presently developing a video-documentary project on the history of the group known as La Mesa del Santo Niño de Atocha, headed by the elder Teresa Mejía Martinez, and CD project (of songs sung by the elders of the Conchero community). Contact: Inés Hernández-Avila, Native American Studies (fluent in Spanish) (530) 752-4394, ighernandez@ucdavis.edu. WORLD RELIGIONSIslamBaki Tezcan, UC Davis assistant professor of history and religious studies, teaches classes on Islam and the Quran. His research focuses on the central Islamic world (now the modern Middle East) in the 16th and 17th centuries. He is also interested in modern Islamic movements in Turkey, where a political party with Islamic roots came to power last year. Contact: Baki Tezcan, History, (530) 752-9981, btezcan@ucdavis.edu. Asian religious movementsUC Davis anthropologist Smriti Srinivas can talk about contemporary religious movements -- Hindu, Islamic and Buddhist -- emerging out of Asia. Srinivas is currently writing a book about a transnational religious movement led by the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba. Her research interests also include the study of cities and urban cultures, performance and society, and the cultural construction of collective memory. She is the author of "The Mouths of People, the Voice of God: Buddhists and Muslims in a Frontier Community of Ladakh" (1998) and "Landscapes of Urban Memory: The Sacred and the Civic in India's High-Tech City" (2001). Contact: Smriti Srinivas, Anthropology, (530) 752-9223, ssrinivas@ucdavis.edu. Eastern religion and philosophy-Whalen Lai, UC Davis professor of religious studies, focuses on Eastern religious traditions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Gnosticism and Confucianism. He also is a scholar of Chinese philosophy and myth and of the Christian/Buddhist dialogue. Among his many publications are 12 entries in the Encyclopedia of Monasticism that engage in a Buddhist/Christian monastic comparison. He also has written about Buddhist ethics in the absence of a civil religion, examining the concept of civil society in the West and its applicability for China. He wrote the section on Chinese philosophy for the Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy (2001). Contact: Whalen Lai, Religious Studies, (530) 752-6002, ewlai@aol.com. Buddhism in ThailandUC Davis anthropologist Alan Klima studies Buddhism in Thailand, with an emphasis on meditation, death rituals and social movements. He can discuss the relationship between the Buddhist use of death imagery and issues of violence in the media and in political conflict. He can also draw connections between Buddhism and the economic crisis in Thailand. Klima wrote "The Funeral Casino: Meditation, Massacre, and Exchange with the Dead in Thailand" (2002). Contact: Alan Klima, Anthropology, (530) 752-7319 office, (916) 427-1587 home, aklima@ucdavis.edu. Aboriginal myth, time and languageAram A. Yengoyan, professor of anthropology, writes and teaches on the importance of myth among Aboriginal Australian cultures. Basically, myth as expressed through epics and legends is the link from the most ancient past to the present. In his work he shows how different language structures (either through tense or aspect) connect myth as a critical and active force in everyday realities among the Pitjantjatjara in Australia. He has published extensively on the theoretical and ethnographic implications. Contact: Aram A. Yengoyan, Teaching Resources Center, (530) 752-6050 or Anthropology, (530) 752-2849, aayengoyan@ucdavis.edu.
THE BIBLE AND HISTORICAL CHRISTIANITYThe Bible and place-based religionEnglish professor David Robertson teaches and studies place-based religion and spirituality and the Bible as literature. He has written a basic introduction to reading the Bible as a piece of literature ("The Old Testament and the Literary Critic") and regularly teaches courses on this subject. He is also interested in religion and the natural world and, in particular, in spiritual movements that assert the oneness of matter and spirit and the equivalence of universe and local place. His book, "Real Matter," deals with this theme as it relates to a number of West Coast writers. Contact: David Robertson, English, (530) 752-0698, darobertson@ucdavis.edu. Marriage and women in the Christian worldUC Davis English professor Frances Dolan writes about connections between the 16th and 17th century English-speaking culture and today's. She is currently working on a book about on the similarities between 17th and 20th century ideas regarding marriage. Dolan can discuss the tensions that occur because two central tenets of Christian doctrine -- male headship in marriage and the spiritual equality of husband and wife -- are irreconcilable. Dolan's book "Whores of Babylon: Catholicism, Gender, and Seventeenth-Century Print Culture "(1999) explores why Catholicism was associated with disorderly women in 17th century England in a period after the Reformation and from the perspective of Protestants. Contact: Frances Dolan, English, (530) 754 4897 office, (530) 756-6195 home, fdolan@ucdavis.edu Christianity in the Middle AgesBrenda Schildgen, professor of comparative literature at UC Davis, can talk about religion in the Middle Ages and Christian/Islamic/Jewish relations in Europe in the Middle Ages. She is author of "Crisis and Continuity: Time in the Gospel of Mark," "Power and Prejudice: The Reception of the Gospel of Mark" and "Pagans, Tartars, Jews, and Moslems in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales." Her latest book, published 2002, is "Dante and the Orient." Her next book is on late antique Christianity and she is researching the medieval vernacular Bible. Contact: Brenda Schildgen, Comparative Literature, (530) 752-9558, bdschildgen@ucdavis.edu. Christianity in Chaucer's timeClaire Waters, an assistant professor of English at UC Davis, studies works by and for medieval preachers, looking at how they instruct the preacher about self-presentation, authority and communication with an audience -- issues that are central to a teacher in any time period. She recently published a book on this topic, "Angels and Earthly Creatures: Preaching, Performance, and Gender in the Later Middle Ages" (2004). She can talk about how men and women dealt with authority in a religious context and about the influence of religious culture on secular literature. She is also a scholar of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," as well as medieval saints' lives. Contact; Claire Waters, English, (530) 752-0432, cmwaters@ucdavis.edu. Media contact:
Last updated April 20, 2005 |
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