Catherine L. Albanese and American Religious History: A Symposium

Join us as we honor the work and legacy of Catherine L. Albanese, J. F. Rowny Distinguished Professor Emerita in Comparative Religions at UC Santa Barbara. Albanese joined UCSB's Department of Religious Studies in 1987 and retired in 2010. Her research on American metaphysical spirituality has reshaped the field of American religious history. She is past president of the American Academy of Religion and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Albanese is the author of numerous articles and books, including America: Religions and Religion (1981; 5th edition 2012), Nature Religion in America: From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age (1990), A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion (2007), and The Delight Makers: Anglo-American Metaphysical Religion and the Pursuit of Happiness (2023). Her forthcoming book is Kaleidoscope: Pluralism, White Supremacy, and American Religious History (2026), the title of the keynote lecture she will give as the culmination of this symposium.

Symposium speakers include Albanese's former graduate students and current students in the Religious Studies department as well as esteemed colleagues in the field of American religious history.

10:00-11:30, Panel: Nature and Field

Emma Hanlon, Dusty Hoesly, Kerry Mitchell, Lisa Sideris, Ann Taves, Douglas L. Winiarski
11:30-12:30, Lunch

12:30-2:00, Panel: Bodies and Matter

Richard J. Callahan, Jr., Lisle Dalton, Philip Deslippe, Martha Finch, Matthew M. Harris, Kristy Slominski, Martha Smith, David Walker
2:30-4:00, Panel: Metaphysics and the Secular

Joseph Blankholm, Finbarr Curtis, Kati Curts, Shelby King, John L. Modern, Elijah Siegler, Laura Snell, Patrick Tugwell
4:00-5:00, Reception

5:00-6:30, Keynote Lecture

Catherine L. Albanese, "Kaleidoscope: Pluralism, White Supremacy, and American Religious History" (Martin E. Marty Lecture on Religion in American Life)

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