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Raffaella Taylor-Seymour

Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Box 90964, Durham, NC 27708
Box 90964, Durham, NC 27708
Office hours Wed 12-2pm in Gray 327  

Overview


Raffaella's research uses ethnographic and archival methods to examine how colonialism violently upended and reshaped understandings of religion, gender, sexuality, and the environment in Zimbabwe. Her work shows how colonial states deployed ideas about religion to remake bodies, relations, and landscapes, and explores how people contest these legacies in the present.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Assistant Professor of Religious Studies · 2025 - Present Religious Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Recent Publications


Climate Justice and Religion

Chapter · February 17, 2026 This book offers a comprehensive exploration of debates on climate justice across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, developing a new conceptual framework that transcends disciplinary divides. ... Cite

Unexpected Callings: Reimagining Ancestors and Queerness in Zimbabwe

Journal Article Cultural Anthropology · February 1, 2026 Cite

Troubling Climate and Religion: The Climate Crisis beyond Disenchantment

Journal Article Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science · November 6, 2025 ... Full text Open Access Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


The University of Chicago · 2022 Ph.D.
The University of Chicago · 2017 M.A.
University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) · 2014 B.A.