Prof. Rachel Feldman Wins AAR's Book Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion: Analytical-Descriptive Studies

Professor Rachel Feldman is the 2025 receipient of the American Academy of Religion Awards for Excellence in the Study of Religion: Analytical-Descriptive Studies for her book Messianic Zionish in the Digital Age: Jews, Noahides, and the Third Temple Imaginary (Rutgers University Press)

The AAR states that "This gripping multi-sited ethnography shows the promise of religious studies while pushing our field in new directions. Feldman follows her subjects around the world, from Israel to the Philippines to the Internet, showing how ideologies evolve as they circulate and how movements change unexpectedly. Deftly navigating complex and fraught politics, Feldman sensitively explores the lived experiences of a variety of actors while never losing sight of the high stakes and political context. She does not toggle between broad analysis and intimate portraits but, instead, writes at multiple scales at the same time. Her subjects develop flexible and dynamic religious identities, traversing ideologies and networks, shaped by a world they are seeking to reshape. This book captures something about the way we live now: online and in person, amid geopolitical violence, in a world of innovation and cruelty. A book for our times, this work reminds us why religious studies matters and shows us, in fresh ways, what scholarship can do."

Read the full article about the AAR 2025 Book Award Winners here: "2025 AAR Book Award Winners"