CANCELLED: Risk in Religion: Personal Safety, Power, and Courage in Religious Studies Research

This roundtable begins a discussion on the role of risk in religious studies. Religion is risky business, and scholars of religion are prone to taking on disproportionate forms of risk that can be difficult to manage. This roundtable gathers together an experienced group of interdisciplinary scholars who have conducted “risky” research in a range of comparative religious communities across Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions. Together they will reflect on challenges “in the field” and moral dilemmas that emerged during the process of data analysis, constructing critical and humanizing narratives, and presenting their research to diverse public audiences. Participants will discuss their research on clerical sex abuse in Catholic institutions, Orthodox Jewish queer/trans religious and ex-religious life, reproductive health in the United States among Muslim communities, and Israel’s theocratic right-wing.