Dear Revealer readers,

Later this month, together with Jews around the world, I will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. While Rosh Hashanah typically evokes images of people in synagogue for hours, or thoughts of the shofar’s sounds, my favorite moment of the holiday is dipping slices of apple in honey. That simple ritual is meant to signify hope that the coming year will be a sweet one. The custom starts the year on a positive note and reminds us to focus on life’s pleasures. Before delving into hours of introspection (a prominent aspect of Rosh Hashanah), the tradition directs one’s attention to the idea that life can contain countless simple blessings.

Revealer Editor, Brett Krutzsch

Religion, of course, is not simply a source of comfort; too often, religion brings pain as well. Accordingly, the September issue of the Revealer toggles between religion’s role in the suffering and joys of our world. The issue opens with religion as a source of pain in Cristina Rosetti’s “Polygamy, Incest, and Mormons in the Media,” where she explores why law enforcement officials have not prioritized prosecuting cases of known incest within fundamentalist Mormon communities, and why incest was even sanctioned by 19^th-century Mormon leaders in the first place. Then, in “Choreographing the Spirit,” Kathryn Dickason profiles prominent Black choreographer Kyle Marshall about the ways religion inspires his performances and how he sees dance as a vehicle for connecting with the divine. Next, in time for September’s Emmy awards, Valerie Stoker offers a review of two Emmy-nominated shows, Severance and Yellowjackets, and explores what each series has to say about religion’s place in modern life. And in “The Ubiquity of Religious Appropriation,” Rumya Putcha offers a review of Liz Bucar’s new book Stealing My Religion about people who borrow religious practices from various traditions to enhance their own lives without making a commitment to those religious communities.

The September issue also features the newest episode of the Revealer podcast: “Religious Cultural Appropriation.” Liz Bucar, author of Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation, join us to discuss religious appropriation and why it is so common today. We explore various types of appropriation, from non-Muslims wearing “solidarity hijab” to white Americans teaching yoga. And we consider if one can borrow practices from religious communities in respectful ways. You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

As the articles and podcast episode in this issue illustrate, religion can be a source of both remarkable comfort and abusive power. I hope our September issue offers you insights about religion’s many, and oftentimes conflicting, roles in today’s world. And I hope, as I will say while dipping apples in honey at the end of the month, that this coming year will be a sweet one for all of us.

Yours,
Brett Krutzsch, Ph.D.