By Jared Powell Jared Powell is a junior from Canton, Mississippi majoring in English and Religious Studies. He enjoys watching Seinfeld, his favorite TV show, and is always disappointed when somebody does not understand a reference to the famed sitcom. He one day hopes to become an architect, or maybe an importer-exporter of latex products. What are the various identities, religious or nonreligious, that an individual can assume? Why do individuals choose to identify with certain categories? How do individuals exhibit or prove […]
Category: Student Blog
Posts in this category are written by, or are about, undergraduate students in the Department.
REL, the Buzzfeed version
The Vimeo page has been pretty active so far this summer, and the REL movie crew has produced yet another hit! We took a cue from Buzzfeed for our newest video, “5 Things You Always Wanted to Know About REL Majors.” Watch to hear how our majors answer such questions as, “Why did you major in REL?”, “What do you like about the department?”, as well as a few fun ones too. 5 Things to Know About REL Majors from […]
Studying Religion and…
The third installment of our “Studying Religion and…” video series is ready to roll! This album showcases the range of interests of our students and professors. The newest video, “Wonderin’ Where Our Majors Are…,” features many of our current double majors, and even a few triple majors. While you’re watching this one, take a look back at the others in the album and you’ll see that we live by our motto of studying religion in culture… all across culture. Wonderin’ […]
Self-Help Jesus in America
By Allie Rash Allie Rash is a rising senior double majoring in Mathematics and Religious Studies. She hails from Franklin, TN, but calls North Carolina and Kansas home as well. This Spring Allie completed an independent study with Prof. Mike Altman on ideas of self-help in American Protestantism. In this post she reviews the final book they read together, Kate Bowler’s Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel. This post originally appeared on Allie’s independent study blog, Self-Help Jesus. […]
That’s not a “REAL” Religion
By Cynteria Jones Cynteria Jones is a senior majoring in English with a minor in Religious Studies. She is from Dadeville, Alabama. Though she has not selected a school thus far, she plans on attending law school in the Spring of 2015. Do you ever find yourself questioning religious beliefs that differ from your own, or simply feel as if yours is, somewhat, better? This is definitely the case concerning Satanism and other non-mainstream religions that exercise beliefs opposite of […]
The Myth of Universal Standard
By Joshua Blackwell Joshua Blackwell is a junior Biology major from Alabaster, Alabama. Despite his scientific focus, Joshua is also passionate about music, philosophy, and theology. Upon graduating, Joshua hopes to attend medical school. Over the past many years, we as Americans have become consumed by our culture. Rarely acknowledging the existence of an outside world, we idolize our own celebrities, magazines, fashion, and literature. Designers and authors may find inspiration in the work of others, of course; for the […]
How Art Thou?
By Chris Beacham Chris Beacham is a junior undergraduate majoring in Psychology and minoring in Religious Studies. He is from New Orleans, and enjoys filmmaking and reading eastern philosophy. Next to the word love, the word art is probably the most vague and general term in the English language. Merriam Webster dictionary defines art as “something that is created with imagination and skill that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings.” It seems to me that in a sense everything could […]
The 6th Annual Manly Cup!
Back in 2009, the Religious Studies Student Association rekindled the flames of an old rivalry in Manly Hall: The Manly Cup. What was, in 2009, a heated competition and turf war between the RSSA and Theta Alpha Kappa, the Religious Studies Honor Society, has evolved into a competition between the REL students and faculty. […]
The Nature of Truth, Categorization, and Other Blurry Matters
By Brooke Champagne Brooke Champagne is an instructor of English and the Assistant Director of First-Year Writing at The University of Alabama. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction from Louisiana State University. While she makes her living as a teacher, she is a perennial student of writing, religion, and language, including REL 419 in Spring 2014. If categorization is an ideological act, then the literary nonfiction genre is undergoing a major existential crisis. While there […]
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3rd Annual Dinner at Dr. Ramey’s
As they have for three years now, Prof. Steven Ramey and his wife, Terra Rodgers, hosted the final RSSA dinner for the department. From the homemade Indian food and desserts, to the South Indian coffee after dinner, and the wonderful conversation in between, it was a fantastic night! We even had a few musical performances from Raj and Han, Dr. Ramey’s sons, as well as our own Zach Price. There was a fantastic turnout from students and faculty to family and […]