New Vlog-Series: Saddle up scholars! A Cowboy Church diary

Have you ever wondered what cowboys have to do with religious studies? In the Midwest of the USA there have been so-called cowboy churches for a number of years: Churches in which cowboys pray to Jesus. In these churches, western riding, roping and bullriding are part of everyday church life.

The Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at Ruhr-University Bochum proudly announces its latest project :The first episode of a new vlog series has now been published under the title „Saddle up scholars! A Cowboy Church diary“. In the YouTube series we accompany Anna Kira Hippert, doctoral student at CERES, on her way to the USA and gain insights into her field of research, the Cowboy Churches. 

She will work together with the Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, and will provide answers to many questions in her field of research: How do you actually do research on site? What is participant observation? How and with whom do you conduct interviews? And what role does the horse really play for Christian cowboys? 

In the first episode of „Saddle up scholars!“ we meet Anna Kira Hippert at the western stable „Greb Performances Horses“ in Bochum, Germany. Anna talks about her personal connection to western riding and how she accidentally stumbled into the arena of a cowboy church while studying abroad.

You can find the first episode on our CERES YouTube channel (ceres_rub) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyBTdheOTYw&t=9s.