UChicagoReads: Religion

UChicagoReads features books written by UChicago staff, faculty, students, and alumni or those written about University topics. Do you know of a book we should feature? Do you have a book of your own? Email us at uchicagointranet@uchicago.edu.

In honor of Chicago’s newest global sensation, “Da Pope,” more widely known as Pope Leo XIV, we’ve compiled three books on religion by University of Chicago faculty. From the wide range of books on religion and spirituality written by faculty of the Divinity School, we have selected three books to represent a variety of religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism. Whether you're seeking wisdom, inspiration, or just an intriguing story, these thought-provoking reads all have new perspectives to offer.

The Life and Work of Auleshi: Sherpa Buddhist Art and Adept

Matthew T. Kapstein, Hugh R. Downs, Ngawang Tengye
© 2024 | 186 pages

Synopsis

The Sherpa Buddhist monk Ngawang Leksh. (1913– 1983), familiarly known as Auleshi—a name that might be approximated as “Uncle Benedict” in English—occupies a unique place in the history of Buddhism in twentieth-century Nepal. At once an accomplished artist and a yogi living always in retreat, he eschewed the trappings of a “Buddhist master” but taught instead through his art and, above all, his personal example. In this, he embodied the ideal of transmitting the Dharma without teaching a word. As we honor the hundred-and-tenth anniversary of his birth, and fortieth since his death, with those who knew him now few, it seems appropriate to make available to all what may be recalled of his life and work.

About the authors

Matthew T. Kapstein is Professor Emeritus in the division of Religious Studies of the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris and Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He was formerly the director of the Tibetan Studies research team of the Center for the Study of East Asian Civilizations.

Kapstein’s coauthors, Hugh R. Downs and Ngawang Tengye, are not affiliated with the University of Chicago, and little information about them is publicly available.

Christianity as a Way of Life

Kevin W. Hector
© 2023 | 449 pages

Synopsis

In Christianity as a Way of Life, Kevin W. Hector argues that we can understand Christianity as a set of practices designed to transform one’s way of perceiving and being in the world. Hector examines practices that reorient us to God, that transform our way of being in the world, and that reshape our way of being with others. Taken together, these practices aim to transform our way of perceiving and acting in the face of success and failure, risk and loss, guilt and shame, love, and loss of control. These transformations can add up to a transformation of one’s very self.

To make sense of Christianity as a way of life, Hector argues, these practices must be understood within the context of Christian beliefs about sin, Jesus, redemption, and eternal life. Understanding them thus requires a systematic theology, which Hector offers in this interpretation of the Christian tradition.

About the author

Kevin W. Hector is the Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor of Theology and of the Philosophy of Religions; also in the College. Hector's teaching and research are devoted largely to interpretive questions, particularly (a) how best to understand faith commitments, and (b) how the outworking of such commitments can shed light on broader cultural issues. Hector received the 2013 Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring.

Ethics for the Coming Storm: Climate Change and Jewish Thought

Laurie Zoloth
© 2023 | 272 pages

Synopsis

In Ethics for the Coming Storm, Zoloth reexamines the usual narratives of Eden to consider how Biblical narratives and rabbinic commentary create a new language to understand and act in times of crisis. She considers how the classic analysis of creating doubt—seen as the ultimate sin in the Hebrew Bible—helps us to understand and critique the extraction industry. Zoloth argues for a creative exploration of philosophic and historical arguments for social ethics and social action, seeking a collective and not only an individual solution to global warming.

About the author

Laurie Zoloth is the Margaret E. Burton Professor of Religion and Ethics; also in the College; The Program in Jewish Studies; and the MacLean Center for Biomedical Ethics at the Pritzker School of Medicine. A leader in the field of religious studies with particular scholarly interest in bioethics and Jewish studies, Zoloth’s research explores religion and ethics, drawing from sources ranging from Biblical and Talmudic texts to postmodern Jewish philosophy. Her scholarship spans the ethics of genetic engineering, gene drives, stem cell research, synthetic biology, social justice in health care, and how science and medicine are taught. She also researches the practices of interreligious dialogue, exploring how religion plays a role in public discussion and policy.

Zoloth currently serves on the national Ethics Advisory Board of NASA and the national steering committee of The Engineering Biology Research Consortium. She has served as the dean of the Divinity School and as the Senior Advisor to the Provost on Social Ethics at the University of Chicago.