Jana Riess
Jana Riess | |
---|---|
Born | Jana Kathryn Riess December 13, 1969 United States |
Occupation | Writer |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Education | PhD |
Alma mater | Columbia University |
Period | 1990s-present |
Genre | Religion |
Spouse | Phil Smith[1] |
Children | Jerusha (born c. 1999)[2] |
Jana Kathryn Riess (born December 13, 1969)[3][4] is an American writer and editor.
Riess's writings have focused on American religions, usually on organized movements such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and The Church of Christ, Scientist.
Background[]
Riess was born in the US Midwest, one of two children.[5] Her father[6] abandoned the family (mother Phyllis[7] and Jana; (by that time the brother was on his own) without warning in 1984.[8]
Riess has a Bachelor's degree from Wellesley College. She received a Master's degree in theology from the Princeton Theological Seminary and a PhD in American Religious studies from Columbia University. Riess is a Religion and American Studies professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She and husband Phil Smith reside in Cincinnati.[9] A convert to the LDS Church, Riess has spoken at Brigham Young University Women's Conference and other gatherings of the LDS Church, as well as professional conferences.
Writings[]
Among the books by Riess are What Would Buffy Do? and an abridgment of the Book of Mormon with commentary. Riess is a member of the LDS Church, having converted as an adult.[10] Riess is an expert on religion in literature. In 2001 she moderated a debate over whether the Harry Potter books were a tract for witchcraft.[11] In her 2019 The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church, which received critical praise,[12][13] Riess and her colleague Benjamin Knoll published a landmark analysis which questioned the accuracy of reports that LDS membership was growing.[12][13] She has been the religion book editor for Publishers Weekly.[9]
Tweeting the Bible[]
On October 4, 2009, Riess began a project to tweet the bible. Her "Twible" quest concluded in January 2013. Each tweet summarizes a chapter of the bible. Riess tweets the bible in order and plans to hit all 1,189 chapters in 140 characters.[14]
Works[]
- Books
- Riess, Jana (2002), The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England: A Guide to Sacred Sites and Peaceful Places, Mahwah, NJ: HiddenSpring, ISBN 978-1-58768-008-3
- —— (2004), What Would Buffy Do?: The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, ISBN 978-0-7879-6922-6CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- ——; Bigelow, Christopher Kimball (2005), Mormonism for Dummies, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-7645-7195-4CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (2005), The Book of Mormon: Selections Annotated and Explained, Woodstock, VT: SkyLight Paths, ISBN 1-59473-076-8CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Ogilbee, Mark; Riess, Jana (2006), American Pilgrimage: Eleven Sacred Journeys and Spiritual Destinations, Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, ISBN 978-1-55725-447-4
- __ (2011), Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor, Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, ISBN 978-1-55725-660-7CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Articles
- Riess, Jana (June 1999), "Stripling Warriors Choose the Right: The Cultural Engagements of Contemporary Mormon Kitsch" (PDF), Sunstone Magazine (114): 36–47
- —— (Spring 2000), "'Heathen in Our Fair Land': Presbyterian Women Missionaries in Utah, 1870–90", Journal of Mormon History, 26 (1): 165–195, archived from the original on August 8, 2011, retrieved December 3, 2018CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (August 21, 2000), "New Genres, Emerging Audiences", Publishers Weekly, 247 (34): S4CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (2001), "Mormon Fast and Testimony Meetings", in Colleen McDannell (ed.), Religions of the United States in Practice, 2, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 67–71, ISBN 0-691-01001-3CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (2001), "The Latter-day Saint Word of Wisdom", Religions of the United States in Practice, 2, pp. 297–301, ISBN 0-691-01001-3CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (2002), "Introduction", Mary Baker Eddy, Speaking for Herself: Autobiographical Reflections, Boston: The Writings of Mary Baker Eddy, pp. xv–xlv, ISBN 0-87952-275-5CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (March 2003), "Strengthening the Part-Member Marriage?: We're Just Fine, Thank You" (PDF), Sunstone (126): 66–67CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (July 2003), "Seek Ye Out of the Best Flicks: R-Rated Movies That Have Helped Me Think About the Gospel" (PDF), Sunstone Magazine (128): 42–44CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (March 2005), "'More Fully Unspotted from the World': Thoughts on Sabbath Keeping" (PDF), Sunstone (135): 23–25CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (March 2005), "Sacred Envy: What I've Learned from Other Religions" (PDF), Sunstone (136): 52–54CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (September 2005), "For the Love of Reading" (PDF), Sunstone (138): 56–58CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (September 2006), "How to Give a Sacrament Meeting Talk: An Open Letter to Converts" (PDF), Sunstone (142): 55–57CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (June 2007), "Why the Heck Don't Mormons Swear?: Musings on the Sacred and the Profane" (PDF), Sunstone (146): 57–59CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (October 2, 2007), "We're Christians Too", Christian Century, 124 (20): 9–10, archived from the original on October 11, 2008CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (December 2007), "Tributaries of Faith" (PDF), Sunstone (148): 20–26CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- —— (2009), "Book of Mormon Stories that Steph Meyer Tells to Me: LDS Themes in the Twilight Saga and the Host", BYU Studies, 48 (3): 141–47CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Other
- Riess, Jana (1991), "The Saints Go Marching In: Mormonism in American Politics, 1970–1990", [Honors thesis], Wellesley, MA: Department of Religion, Wellesley College Missing or empty
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(help) - —— (2000), "Heathen in Our Fair Land: Anti-Polygamy and Protestant Women's Missions to Utah, 1869–1910", [PhD Thesis], New York: Columbia University Missing or empty
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(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Bigelow, Christopher Kimball (2007), Jana Riess (ed.), The Timechart History of Mormonism from Premortality to the Present, Bassingbourne, Hertfordshire, UK: Worth Press, ISBN 978-1-903025-40-6
Footnotes[]
- ^ Flunking Sainthood, pp. 5, 153
- ^ Flunking Sainthood, pp. 19, 56
- ^ "The Book of Mormon: selections annotated and explained". Copyright Catalog (1978 to present). United States Copyright Office. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
- ^ Flunking Sainthood, p. 158
- ^ She has an older brother, John (ref. Flunking Sainthood, pp. 58, 168)
- ^ Her father died at age 71 in Mobile, Alabama, in October 2010 (Flunking Sainthood, pp. 166–169)
- ^ Annotated Book of Mormon, p. xix
- ^ Flunking Sainthood, pp. 166–169
- ^ a b Riess, Jana (September 2006). "How to Give a Sacrament Meeting Talk: An Open Letter to Converts" (PDF). Sunstone Magazine (142): 55–57. Retrieved June 21, 2010..
- ^ "My dad was an angry atheist . . My mom was considerably more charitable but no more interested in organized religion." (Flunking Sainthood, p. 1)
- ^ Deseret News, 9 December 2001
- ^ a b "The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church – BYU Studies".
- ^ a b "Secularization Hits the Mormons | Psychology Today".
- ^ "Tweeting the Bible", Patheos
External links[]
- 1969 births
- American Latter Day Saint writers
- American religion academics
- Columbia University alumni
- Converts to Mormonism
- Living people
- Mormon studies scholars
- Mormon memoirists
- Writers from Cincinnati
- Princeton Theological Seminary alumni
- Wellesley College alumni
- 20th-century American writers
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- 20th-century American women writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- Latter Day Saints from Ohio