IJRR's "Book Talks" are comparable to traditional book reviews. However, instead of a unidirectional “evaluation,” this is a space for constructive and collegial dialogue between scholars with similar expertise. In each Book Talk, a reviewer responds to a recently-published book, providing a brief synopsis along with a set of critical/collaborative questions or comments, much like a letter between colleagues. Unlike most book reviews, the book's author has a chance to reply.

This work presents a detailed discussion of a social network representation of Luke’s Gospel. The main research question is how the early Christian network according to Luke look does like. In particular, we focus on Luke’s perspectives on ‘in’ and ‘out’. Our analysis shows that Luke’s primary focus is on the inclusion of every single person. His interest is not limited to women, but he opens the perspective to all people. Luke’s primary narrative interest in composing interpersonal relationship is the idea of participation in the βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ (kingdom of God). He carefully composes his work in such a way that (a) no group has a special position and (b) the participation in the βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ (kingdom of God) also results from the interpersonal encounter outside. Not every follower of Christ was previously excluded from society, but new (different) social participation always results afterwards. Thus, the divine work always turns concern (e.g. social concern) into participation.

This research examines the academic achievement and post-secondary enrollment of Muslim high school students in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) in comparison to students from other religious counterparts. Using the student Census of four pooled Grade 9 student cohorts from 2013 to 2016 and segmented assimilation theory and frameworks of social and cultural capital, we assess whether religion is associated with educational achievement in the Canadian context. Our findings show that Muslim students generally fall in the mid-range of academic performance, with lower average grades than some groups but outcomes comparable to others, particularly Christian students. However, after controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and academic factors, these differences largely diminish, and the predicted performance of Muslim students aligns with most religious groups. Muslim students show relatively higher odds of college enrollment, but somewhat lower odds of university enrollment compared to certain groups, though these patterns are mediated by control variables. Overall, religious identification is not a strong independent predictor of educational outcomes once broader determinants are considered, underscoring the importance of structural context in shaping student trajectories.

In the history of the Muslim world and in academic studies of Islam, the Sunni-Shi'ite distinction is highly salient. However, among lay Muslims, there is a substantial population that identify as “just a Muslim,” rather than a sectarian identity. This article examines which individuals are more likely to hold this ‘encompassing’ identity. It evaluates proximity to the ‘Islamic heartland,’ religious observance, self-reported religiosity, and demographic traits. It does this using several multi-national surveys of countries with large Muslim populations by the Pew Research Center and the Arab Barometer. The results indicate that the residents of the ‘Islamic heartland’ in the Middle East are generally less likely to adopt this homogenizing identity. Rather, it is more common in places like Europe and Central Asia. Demographic characteristics are not strong predictors of non-denominationalism. However, the non-sectarian labels are much less common among those who are religiously observant and who place more importance on Islam. These results suggest that the globalization of Islam could favor overlooking historically salient ecumenical distinctions or treating Islam, at least parts of Islam, as a cultural signifier rather than a religious tradition.

IJRR's "Book Talks" are comparable to traditional book reviews. However, instead of a unidirectional “evaluation,” this is a space for constructive and collegial dialogue between scholars with similar expertise. In each Book Talk, a reviewer responds to a recently-published book, providing a brief synopsis along with a set of critical/collaborative questions or comments, much like a letter between colleagues. Unlike most book reviews, the book's author has a chance to reply.

Religious and political identities often overlap but can also conflict. Both these identities involve complex constellations of attitudes, beliefs, and values, making complete congruence between religious and political identities unlikely. Such conflicts create cognitive dissonance that individuals feel compelled to resolve. Scholars have studied these resolutions, but the literature remains fragmented, focusing on case-specific strategies. I propose a comprehensive two-mechanism framework to understand the diverse strategies individuals use to reduce this dissonance. I argue that individuals attempt to manage this internal conflict by reducing the real/perceived distance between their religion's position and their political position (mechanism one), and/or they may reduce their sensitivity to the cognitive dissonance that results from that distance (mechanism two). I demonstrate this framework by analyzing 72 original long-form interviews with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about their views on abortion. This framework allows for a fuller discussion about these case-specific strategies, both within the context of a single case and across different religious traditions. In doing so, it enables researchers to contextualize strategies that people use to reconcile their religious and political beliefs, laying the groundwork for further research on how individuals navigate these incongruities.