CRPL Newsletter, March 2026

Dear CRPL Members (and friends),

It's time for the March 2026 newsletter, and we have several exciting events/news items to highlight!

Our researcher of the month is Flávio Lopes Arantes. You can learn all about his research here.

On May 7 at 15:00, Latrell Felix will be joining us for a seminar on her research. Talk title, abstract, and invitations will be sent out soon!

On May 8 we will be hosting a workshop on the Religious Literacy in Further Education: A Social Justice Approach project! Registration is free and is available here.

Johanna Stiebert has two new publications:

Stiebert, J. 'Masculinities, Violence and Hebrew Bible Studies,' Modern Believing 67.2 (Spring 2026): 123-32. See here: https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/mb/67/2

Stiebert, J. 'Incest and the Hebrew Bible,' in Chris Greenough and Caroline Blyth (eds.), T&T Handbook of Sexualities in the Bible and its Reception. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark. See here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/tt-clark-handbook-of-sexualities-in-the-bible-and-its-reception-9780567712363/

Erin Clark was interviewed for a recent article published by Natacha Marbot and Caroline Pernes for the French magazine Télérama. The article can be accessed here: https://www.telerama.fr/debats-reportages/aux-etats-unis-comment-les-influenceuses-mormonnes-prechent-la-bonne-parole-entre-tiktok-et-tele-realite-7029533.php . Erin is happy to share a PDF copy of the article for anyone not able to access it.

Tendai Mangena has a new publication:

Mangena, T. (2026). Kubereka: singleness, childlessness and non-biological mothering in Shona culture. Journal of Gender Studies, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2026.2637530

Emmanuel Erhijodo has been awarded the Water@Leeds SPRING funding. The award will fund hiscollaboration with the Centre for Ecopoetics at the University of Warwick, where he will conduct research on ecopoetry, water activism and community engagement: Supporting the Next Generation: SPRING winners 2026 | water@leeds Congratulations, Emmanuel!

Jonathan Smith has three new publications:

Bauman, Whitney A, Samsul Maarif, and Jonathan Davis Smith. 2025. Religion, Decolonization, and the Planetary Community: Voices from the Indonesian Archipelago. Edited by Whitney A. Bauman, Samsul Maarif, and Jonathan Davis Smith. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003527398

Smith, Jonathan Davis, Martha Hesty Susilowati, Samsul Maarif, and Eko Cahyono. 2026. “When Energy Transitions Drive Polarization: Narratives of Green Energy and Mitigation Strategies by Proponents and Opponents of Geothermal Energy Developments in Indonesia.” Energy Policy 210 (115080): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115080

Ahnaf, Mohammad Iqbal, Yayi Suryo Prabandari, Jonathan Davis Smith, Fuji Riang Prastowo, and Leyla Adrianti Hermina. 2025. “Gaps and Links Between Religious Institutions and Mental Health Practitioners in Indonesia.” Pastoral Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-025-01289-1

Sophia Lambert has published two blog posts on her research into the Bradford Reform Jewish community as part of her PhD research, available here and here.