Explore the mysteries of faith at USAO’s 2024 Ableson Religious Reconciliation Lecture

Immerse yourself in the extraordinary world of human spirituality and the quest for the divine with Dr. Tanya Marie Luhrmann during the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma’s 2024 Ableson Religious Reconciliation Lecture. Luhrmann, a scholar whose groundbreaking research spans continents and cultures, is the Albert Ray Lang Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University.

The lecture will take place on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. in the USAO Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.

“We are honored to have Professor Luhrmann join us for the 2024 Ableson Religious Reconciliation Lecture. Her work seeks to understand the inner lives of religious believers and how they make the divine more real in their daily lives,” said Dr. Zach Simpson, professor of philosophy and religious studies. “Professor Luhrmann’s insights into the human experience of the divine will undoubtedly inspire and challenge our students and community members alike.”

Throughout her career, Luhrmann has worked with diverse communities worldwide. She has conducted research with homeless and mentally ill women on the streets of Chicago, engaged with individuals who hear the voice of the divine in cities like Chennai, Accra, and the South Bay, and studied evangelical Christians in North America. Additionally, her work includes studying Zoroastrians who strive to create a more mystical faith and people who practice magic.

Luhrmann was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003, received a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007, and was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2022. Her book “When God Talks Back” was a New York Times Notable Book and won the $100,000 Grawemeyer Prize for Religion by the University of Louisville. Her writings have appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and many other respected publications. She is also the author of several influential books, including “Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft,” “The Good Parsi,” “Of Two Minds,” “Our Most Troubling Madness,” and “How God Becomes Real.” Currently, she is working on a new book titled “Voices.”

For more information visit usao.edu/ableson.