Author: Kristian Petersen
Kristian Petersen , May 10th, 2018
Often when people think of Tibetan Buddhism they have a limited vision of that social reality, perhaps one that imagines monks sitting in meditation or focused on the…
Kristian Petersen , December 13th, 2017
Muslim women are often the focus of debate when it comes to public conversations about Islam. Much of this centers on feelings and assumptions surrounding an object, the…
Kristian Petersen , April 24th, 2017
In recent years, several scholars of religion have moved away from the examination of discursive textual domains or the meaning of ritual practices towards analyzing the material worlds…

Kristian Petersen , September 26th, 2015
Amanda Lucia View on Amazon Waiting several hours in line for a hug is well worth it for thousands of people, the devotees of the Guru, Amma, Mata…
Kristian Petersen , July 6th, 2015
Science and religion are often paired as diametric opposites. However, the boundaries of these two fields were not always as clear as they seem to be today. In…
Simon A. Wood and David Harrington Watt, ed.s, “Fundamentalism: Perspectives on a Contested History”
Kristian Petersen , June 8th, 2015
In the past few decades, radical fundamentalists have become a major force in the global world. Or at least that what we often here in media outlets or…
Kristian Petersen , April 13th, 2015
When did religion begin in South Asia? Many would argue that it was not until the colonial encounter that South Asians began to understand themselves as religious. In…
Kristian Petersen , July 18th, 2014
[Cross-posted from New Books in Religion] Very often evaluative questions about cultural phenomena are avoided for more descriptive or explanatory goals when approaching religions. Traditionally, this… Visit New Books…
Kristian Petersen , July 18th, 2014
Very often evaluative questions about cultural phenomena are avoided for more descriptive or explanatory goals when approaching religions. Traditionally, this set of concerns has been left to philosop……
Kristian Petersen , June 28th, 2014
[Cross-posted from New Books in Religion] What brings us together as scholars in Religious Studies? Are the various social phenomena commonly grouped together as religion really that similar? The Sacr… Visit…
Kristian Petersen , June 27th, 2014
What brings us together as scholars in Religious Studies? Are the various social phenomena commonly grouped together as religion really that similar? The Sacred Is the Profane: The…
Kristian Petersen , March 5th, 2014
[Cross-posted from New Books in Religion] In almost every graduate program in Religious Studies and many undergraduate majors you will find a course on theories and methods in…
Kristian Petersen , March 5th, 2014
In almost every graduate program in Religious Studies and many undergraduate majors you will find a course on theories and methods in the study of religion. Usually, in…
Kristian Petersen , February 18th, 2014
[Cross-posted from New Books in Islamic Studies] Several studies about Islam in Asian contexts highlight the pluralistic environment that Muslims inhabit and interplay of various religious traditions … Visit…
Kristian Petersen , February 18th, 2014
Several studies about Islam in Asian contexts highlight the pluralistic environment that Muslims inhabit and interplay of various religious traditions that color local practice and thought. In The…
Kristian Petersen , January 18th, 2014
[Cross-posted from New Books in Religion] We all know that religion is a universal feature of human history, right? Well, maybe not. In Before Religion: A History of a…
Kristian Petersen , January 18th, 2014
We all know that religion is a universal feature of human history, right? Well, maybe not. In Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept (Yale University Press,…
Kristian Petersen , October 10th, 2012
What does a wedding in Karbala in the year 680 have to do with South Asian Muslims today? As it turns out, this event informs contemporary ideas of…