Andrew Chesnut selected as co-editor of religion encyclopedia

By Sian Wilkerson

As the new co-editor-in-chief of a seminal work on world religions, Virginia Commonwealth University professor R. Andrew Chesnut will play a key role in assembling a comprehensive overview of religious groups and individuals from Latin America.

Chesnut, Ph.D., a professor in the School of World Studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences and the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies, will also edit his own section - on folk saints - in the second edition of the "Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions," which will include more than 400 entries. His co-editor-in-chief is Rodrigo Toniol, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

The first edition of the encyclopedia is considered seminal work in the field, offering information on the main religions of Latin America and the Caribbean, including both centralized expressions and local variants and schisms. Chesnut said the new edition, which is slated to be published in fall 2027, will be even more comprehensive.

Now three decades into his academic career, Chesnut said he is looking forward to the "novel opportunity to collaborate with scores of colleagues across the Americas, and expand and fortify what stands as the most important reference work in my field."