Department of World Religions and Cultures, WMU

09/30/2026

Please join us on October 17th for a Symposium in honor of the retirement of Dr. Brian Wilson. See the attached flier for more information. Guest speakers will introduce their research and reflect on Dr. Wilson's career. Speakers include many graduates of the department who have gone on to successful careers in academia as well as scholars in Dr. Wilson's field.

04/14/2026

One of our graduates in the news. Ryan completed his MA with us and is now finishing a Ph.D.

A new article argues for a fresh approach to religious literacy to those endorsed by other scholars. It draws attention to their limitations by virtue of three challenges: conversion, multiple religious belonging and motivation.

03/21/2026

Very sad to report that Byron Earhart passed away. Byron taught in the department from 1966-1999 and continued teaching for us online from 1999-2018. He was an outstanding scholar of Japanese religions and his textbook on Japanese religions was in print and used in classes around the world for 50 years.

View H. Earhart's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

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...