Identity Formation

Monsters and Misunderstanding: Seeing the “Other” in Frankenstein

religionmatters · 8 Nov 2025 · Leave a Comment

Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters When students first meet the creature in Frankenstein, they often see a monster—grotesque, ugly, and violent. But Mary Shelley invites us to look deeper. Her creature begins not as a monster at all, but as a learner: curious, articulate, and yearning to belong. When his outstretched hand [...]

Breaking Cover: What Søren Kierkegaard and Becket Can Teach in Our Classrooms

religionmatters · 18 Oct 2025 · Leave a Comment

Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters When I first encountered Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), it wasn’t in a philosophy seminar but through a story. In one of his many theological texts, Pope Benedict XVI retold Kierkegaard’s famous parable of the clown warning that the theater was on fire. The audience laughed, thinking it was [...]

Persepolis: Protests, Conversing with God, and Growing Up

religionmatters · 13 Sep 2024 · Leave a Comment

Guest Blog: Jane Fitzpatrick, Contributing Writer for Religion Matters Review of Persepolis: The Story of Childhood (2004) by Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi has created an unforgettable artifact of the Iranian Revolution through her autobiographical coming-of-age memoir. Formatted as a black-and-white graphic novel, it was listed as one of the top 100 books of the 21st century […]

Beyond Religious Identity: Muslim Youth, the Duality of Consciousness, and Creating a Path in America

religionmatters · 18 May 2023 · Leave a Comment

Guest Post: Abeer Ramadan-Shinnawi, Founder of Altair Education Consulting Finding one’s identity, in any community, and especially during adolescence, is not a linear path. But this journey is often more fraught when one is a member of a community of color or a community that is negatively perceived. In the case of Muslim youth, such […]

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