Religious Studies News communicates important events of the field and examines critical issues in education, pedagogy, research, publishing, and the public understanding of religion. Sometimes that involves sharing what others are writing about the field and these issues.
In Open Tabs, RSN editors will share the articles they’ve been reading and thinking about. If you have recommendations for articles, podcasts, or other media you’ve recently encountered that examine issues that fall under the purview of RSN, email us.
What We’re Reading
Here’s what to know about Pete Hegseth’s new Office of Religious Affairs
Published October 1, 2026 in Religion News Service
By Yonat Shimron and Jack Jenkins
Excerpt:
“A memo announcing the establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs said it would “obtain sufficient funding and resources for religious affairs,” and “oversee research, technology, and analytical tools to support and assess spiritual fitness, spiritual readiness, and spiritual resilience” of soldiers.”
Pope Leo on AI Art: Beyond Aesthetics, ‘There Is an Ontological Difference’
Published October 2, 2026 in National Catholic Register
By Hannah Brockhaus
Excerpt:
“There is a fundamental difference between the art humans create and what artificial intelligence can make based on the work of others, Pope Leo XIV told a group of artists on Friday.
“The Church needs you,” the Pontiff said at the Oct. 2 encounter at the Vatican. “This is especially true in this age of artificial intelligence, in which we urgently need to distinguish human art from what is produced by machines.”
“There is an ontological difference — even before an aesthetic one — between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of the human, whereas ‘authentic culture and art preserve this spark,’” Leo said, quoting from his encyclical on AI, Magnifica Humanitas.
The Pope said this is the reason why the Catholic Church wishes to renew its alliance with artists and cultural institutions.”
As In Christa Pike’s Case, Spiritual Advisers Often Play A Role At Executions
Published October 9, 2026 in Religion Unplugged
By Bobby Ross Jr.
Excerpt:
“LAST WEEK, Tennessee attempted to make Christa Pike — sentenced to death for a 1995 murder she committed at age 18 — the 19th woman executed nationally since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976… Instead, the state botched its lethal injection of the 50-year-old Pike, who regained consciousness Tuesday, six days after the failed attempt to kill her. This shocking news caused me to reflect on the role of spiritual advisers at executions, including in Pike’s case.”
How Hollywood Films Have Reimagined The South Asian Epic ‘Ramayana’
Published October 14, 2026 in Religion Unplugged
AAR Member, Sohini Sarah Pillai
Excerpt:
“American audiences will be able to watch an English-dubbed version of “Ramayana,” a Hindi film based on a South Asian epic tradition, in theaters in November 2026… For hundreds of years, people from different religious traditions across South Asia have retold the “Ramayana” through dramas, narrative poems, shadow puppet plays, pageants, folk songs, comics, television shows and many other mediums. Director Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming “Ramayana” film is the latest retelling of this epic tradition. For over a decade, I have studied how South Asian epics have been retold within and outside the Indian subcontinent. While many American moviegoers may not recognize the word “Ramayana,” they may have already encountered its characters and stories on the big screen.”
And Listening to…
Between Qi and Science: My Experience of What Can’t Be Measured
During AAR member Kin Cheung’s childhood, his father worked in sweatshops. He also became something else: a popular self-taught healer in their Coney Island neighborhood.
Cheung has spent years studying Buddhism and healing as a scholar. Now he’s telling his father’s story.
Between Qi and Science: My Experience of What Can’t Be Measured is a six-episode audio memoir about qi, Chinese medicine, and the limits of Western biomedicine. It’s a limited series from The Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE) in collaboration with The Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative (APARRI).
News Source
