The Boniuk Institute is thrilled to announce the 2026 Reading Religion Salon. For years, this program has served as a cornerstone for graduate students to explore recent books on religious pluralism, conflict, and discrimination. In an exciting expansion of our mission to disseminate knowledge, we are opening our 2026 sessions virtually to the general public.
This year's curated reading list bridges diverse geographies and disciplines, tackling the most pressing questions regarding the conditions that shape religious pluralism and conflict. Our 2026 selections include:
- Religion and the American University, by James Fraser
- The Limits of Diversity, by Esther Chan
- Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin: Christian and Muslim Students Navigating Authoritarianism and Laïcité, 1970-2023, by Frédérick Madore
- Provoking Religion: Sex, Art, and the Culture Wars, by Anthony Petro
- Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion, by Samuel Perry
- Decolonizing Religion and Peacebuilding, by Atalia Omer
- Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery's Wake, by Judith Weisenfeld
- Religious Plurality in Africa, by Jansen, et al.
- Radical Romanticism: Democracy, Religion, and the Environmental Imagination, by Mark Cladis
- Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination, by Webb Keane
Participants will engage with the work of leading scholars and contribute to a global dialogue about the role of religion in the modern world. Led by Boniuk Institute faculty, these virtual sessions offer a unique window into the academic rigor and cross-disciplinary inquiry that define our community.
A full schedule of sessions is now available on the Boniuk Institute website. Whether you are a scholar, a practitioner, or a curious lifelong learner, we invite you to be a part of these vital conversations. We look forward to reading with you in 2026!