Department of World Religions and Cultures, WMU

12/04/2025

Lots of publications coming out recently in the department. Here is Dr. Hagler's new book.
"For the Spanish colonizers of Mexico in the sixteenth century, the concept of “excess”—even the word itself—covered a multitude of sins, including idolatry and magic. In Sins of Excess, Anderson Hagler uses the language of excess as a lens for examining how the colonizers of New Spain conflated cultural diversity into a superficially—and usefully—homogeneous whole under the pejorative umbrella of excess in its many forms. In this way, Hagler suggests, deploying excess and its derivatives influenced how Spanish colonists came to view the practices of the Indigenous population."

12/04/2025

Dr. Covell posing with his latest two books at the American Academy of Religion Conference. One is a monograph on the teachings of Temple Buddhism in Japan today and the other an edited volume he co-edited with department alumnus Zach Smith.

08/13/2025

Please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested. Thank you!

04/15/2025

This might be of interest to some of you out there. It's this weekend.

03/18/2025

This should be of interest to some of you. If you're in town, be sure to check it out.

Spring Gala The WMU Asian Initiatives proudly presents the Spring Gala to celebrate the Asian Pacific Heritage Month with a vibrant showcase of captivating Asian-themed performances. Supported by various community groups, and WMU faculty and students, this event serves as a platform to honor and cel...

09/25/2024

This is going to be very interesting! Check out the upcoming talk by our own Dr. Riggs.

07/31/2024

Check out this latest video lecture by Dr. Siebert (he may have retired but he is still going strong!) and a graduate of our department Dr. Byrd.

Jürgen Moltmann was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1926, to an irreligious family. As a youngster, Moltmann adored Albert Einstein, and looked to study mathema...

07/24/2024

Check out this new publication by one of our recent graduates!

This essay proposes a new model for understanding religious transhumanism by extending existing frameworks that have been useful for predicting the success of new religious movements (NRMs). This paper focuses on the Mormon Transhumanist Association as a case of religious transhumanism that is incon...

07/16/2024

Call for papers for upcoming conference at WMU. Please spread the word.

07/08/2024

For those of you out there with an interest in Martial Arts/Self-Cultivation, we're hosting a free symposium and you join from online.
Our 2024 Asian Forum, Self-Cultivation in East Asian Martial Arts, will be held both in person and online on July 27 (Sat). All sessions are open to the public at 1750 Sangren Hall. Please help us spread the word about this free opportunity to your colleagues and students.

Please take 30 seconds to register online at: https://wmich.edu/.../asian-forum-participation-registration. Registration closes on July 22 (Mon).

9:00 Welcome Remarks
Dr. Andreas Niehaus, Ghent University
9:30-11:30 Panel I: Performing Self-Cultivation in Japan
1. Dr. Simona Lukminaitė-Anand (Osaka University), Girl Martial Artists in Meiji Japan
2. Bruce Cabaret (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes), Religious and Spirituals Representations in the Practice of Japanese Martial Arts
3. Martyna Lesniewska, (Freie Universität Berlin), Beyond the Battlefield: The Symbolic Essence of Samurai Armor in the Journey of Self-Cultivation and Martial Philosophy
4. Dr. Scott Martin (Bowling Green State University), Jiu Jitsu and Modernity in the United States, 1900-1925
14:00-16:00 Panel II: Conceptualizing Self-Cultivation: Concepts, Symbolism, and Ideologies
1. Dr. James Dorsey (Dartmouth College), What is This Self We Seek to Cultivate? The Historical and Ritualistic Construction of Self in Japanese Martial Arts
2. Dr. Kate Sylvester, Feel, Explore, Collaborate: A New Movement Literacy that Nurtures Self-Cultivation as an Inclusive Practice in the East Asian Martial Arts
3. Dr. Scott Hurley (Luther College), Classical Chinese Arts and Body Techniques: Master Wu Zhongxian, Martial Arts, and Daoist Soteriology in the Twenty-first Century
4. Dr. Per Faxneld (Södertörn University), Spirituality and Secularity in Swedish Budō

07/01/2024

Check out this new book on religion and alcohol by Dr. Covell and a graduate of our MA program Ryan Lemasters.

04/29/2024

One more on the new course.

The new course will be called “Native American Magic & Power.”