The ISSRNC is a community of scholars interested in religion, nature, and culture. We are dedicated to helping scholars think across disciplines and foster critical inquiry and engaged scholarship. Learn more…
by Issrnc Admin · Published September 12, 2026
Like other authors in this little series of blog posts, I was drawn into the preparations for founding the ISSRNC in 2006 by the vastly interdisciplinary ERN project. From the beginning, “international” was both programmatic and challenging. Although we successfully attracted scholars from various disciplines, as well as activists and practitioners from all walks of life, most of the members were based in the US…
by Issrnc Admin · Published August 24, 2026
When I reflect on my debt to the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture, what often comes to mind is butterflies. Specifically, monarch butterflies. I don’t recall precisely how or when I became aware of the ISSRNC—though it was surely through religion scholar Bron Taylor. But the first conference I attended was the 2008 gathering in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico…
by Issrnc Admin · Published July 21, 2026
I’ve been involved with the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture (ISSRNC) almost from the start, beginning with the old membership committee, a handful of presentations, helping out with conference organizing, and five years as treasurer. All of this was fun, but nothing was more fascinating than being an eccentric philosopher…
by Issrnc Admin · Published June 15, 2026 · Last modified July 21, 2026
As a PhD student in 1994 I thought nobody else found questions of religion and nature both fascinating and incredibly important. Luckily, Belden Lane emerged as my dissertation adviser. He contributed an early voice to religion and nature in North America. Then I (not so randomly) ran into Bron Taylor, Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim, Jay McDaniel, Carol Adams, Paul Waldau, Sarah Pike, Roger Gottlieb, and so many more…
by Issrnc Admin · Published May 25, 2026 · Last modified July 21, 2026
I served as ISSRNC’s President from 2015-2018 and was fortunate to take the position after Bron Taylor’s, Kocku von Stuckrad’s, and Laura Hobgood’s leadership had already turned the society into a vibrant community of scholars…One of the most rewarding aspects of my involvement with ISSRNC has been supporting our collegial conference communities…
by Issrnc Admin · Published May 4, 2026
Over the past decade, but especially since the beginning of Trump’s second term, the US federal government has steadily intensified its assault on institutions of higher education, on climate science, on student activist organizations, on student loan forgiveness programs, and on programs of study that focus on social and racial inequalities…
by Issrnc Admin · Published April 24, 2026
We are excited to share information on two upcoming ISSRNC panels that have been organized as part of the American Academy of Religion...
by Issrnc Admin · Published March 18, 2026 · Last modified July 21, 2026
The idea to create the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture began in conversations I had with Sarah McFarland Taylor and Rebecca Gould in the late 1990s, as we lamented the difficulty at large conferences, such as the American Academy of Religion, in sustaining extended conversations…
