Jana Riess

Jana Riess
Born Jana Kathryn Riess
(1969-12-13) 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' 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 Mormon gatherings, as well as professional conferences. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and daughter.

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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 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] 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.[12]

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 978-0-7879-6922-6
  • ——; Bigelow, Christopher Kimball (2005), Mormonism for Dummies, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-7645-7195-4
  • —— (2005), The Book of Mormon: Selections Annotated and Explained, Woodstock, VT: SkyLight Paths, ISBN 1-59473-076-8
  • 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 978-1-55725-660-7
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
  • —— (August 21, 2000), "New Genres, Emerging Audiences", Publishers Weekly, 247 (34): S4
  • —— (2001), "Mormon Fast and Testimony Meetings", in Colleen McDannell, Religions of the United States in Practice, 2, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 67–71, ISBN 0-691-01001-3
  • —— (2001), "The Latter-day Saint Word of Wisdom", Religions of the United States in Practice, 2, pp. 297–301, ISBN 0-691-01001-3
  • —— (2002), "Introduction", Mary Baker Eddy, Speaking for Herself: Autobiographical Reflections, Boston: The Writings of Mary Baker Eddy, pp. xv–xlv, ISBN 0-87952-275-5
  • —— (March 2003), "Strengthening the Part-Member Marriage?: We're Just Fine, Thank You" (PDF), Sunstone (126): 66–67
  • —— (July 2003), "Seek Ye Out of the Best Flicks: R-Rated Movies That Have Helped Me Think About the Gospel" (PDF), Sunstone Magazine (128): 42–44
  • —— (March 2005), "'More Fully Unspotted from the World': Thoughts on Sabbath Keeping" (PDF), Sunstone (135): 23–25
  • —— (March 2005), "Sacred Envy: What I've Learned from Other Religions" (PDF), Sunstone (136): 52–54
  • —— (September 2005), "For the Love of Reading" (PDF), Sunstone (138): 56–58
  • —— (September 2006), "How to Give a Sacrament Meeting Talk: An Open Letter to Converts" (PDF), Sunstone (142): 55–57
  • —— (June 2007), "Why the Heck Don't Mormons Swear?: Musings on the Sacred and the Profane" (PDF), Sunstone (146): 57–59
  • —— (October 2, 2007), "We're Christians Too", Christian Century, 124 (20): 9–10, archived from the original on October 11, 2008
  • —— (December 2007), "Tributaries of Faith" (PDF), Sunstone (148): 20–26
  • —— (2009), "Book of Mormon Stories that Steph Meyer Tells to Me: LDS Themes in the Twilight Saga and the Host", BYU Studies, 48 (3): 141–47
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 |title= (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 |title= (help)
  • 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

  1. ↑ Flunking Sainthood, pp. 5, 153
  2. ↑ Flunking Sainthood, pp. 19, 56
  3. ↑ "The Book of Mormon: selections annotated and explained". Copyright Catalog (1978 to present). United States Copyright Office. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  4. ↑ Flunking Sainthood, p. 158
  5. ↑ She has an older brother, John (ref. Flunking Sainthood, pp. 58, 168)
  6. ↑ Her father died at age 71 in Mobile, Alabama, in October 2010 (Flunking Sainthood, pp. 166–169)
  7. ↑ Annotated Book of Mormon, p. xix
  8. ↑ Flunking Sainthood, pp. 166–169
  9. 1 2 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. .
  10. ↑ "My dad was an angry atheist . . My mom was considerably more charitable but no more interested in organized religion . ." (Flunking Sainthood, p. 1)
  11. ↑ Deseret News, 9 December 2001
  12. ↑ "Tweeting the Bible", Patheos
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