Jeff Sharlet (born 1971) is an American academic, journalist, and author. Throughout his career, Sharlet's work has focused on religion.

Career

He is a contributing editor for '' Harper's'', ''

Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...

'', and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. His work has also appeared in ''Vanity Fair'', ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'', '' GQ'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', ''

Lapham's Quarterly ''Lapham's Quarterly'' is a literary magazine established in 2007 by former '' Harper's Magazine'' editor Lewis H. Lapham. Each issue examines a theme using primary source material from history. The inaugural issue "States of War" contained doze ...

'', ''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ''T ...

'', ''

Bookforum ''Bookforum'' is an American book review magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature that was based in New York City, New York. The magazine was founded in 1994 and announced in December of 2022 it would cease publishing after ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'', ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'', ''

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

'', ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

,'' ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...

'', ''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...

'', ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'', ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'', ''

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

'', and ''

The Baffler ''The Baffler'' is an American magazine of cultural, political, and business analysis. Established in 1988 by editors Thomas Frank and Keith White, it was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, until 2010, when it moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...

''. He has taught at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and is the Frederick Sessions Beebe '35 Professor in the Art of Writing at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

. He is the recipient of the

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for Reporting, the

MOLLY National Journalism Prize The MOLLY National Journalism Prize is awarded annually by the Texas Democracy Foundation dba ''The Texas Observer''. The award is intended to recognize superior journalism in the tradition of Molly Ivins. Description The award, presented annuall ...

, the

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission OutRight Action International (OutRight) is a LGBTIQ human rights non-governmental organization that addresses human rights violations and abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. OutRight Action International docum ...

's Outspoken Award, and the

Military Religious Freedom Foundation The Military Religious Freedom Foundation'' (MRFF) is a watchdog group and advocacy organization founded in 2005 by Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein. The group's goal states it will, "Ensure that members of the United States Armed Forces receive the ...

's Thomas Jefferson Award. Sharlet is the co-creator of two online journals: ''Killing the Buddha'', a literary magazine about religion, co-founded with Peter Manseau and ''

The Revealer ''The Revealer: A Review of Religion and Media'' is an online magazine published by the Center for Religion and Media at New York University. The ''Revealer'' publishes ten issues per year and features articles that explore religion and its many ...

'', a review of religion and media published by the

Center for Religion and Media. He is the former editor-in-chief of ''Pakn Treger'', a journal published by the

National Yiddish Book Center The Yiddish Book Center (formerly the National Yiddish Book Center), located on the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, is a cultural institution dedicated to the preservation of books in the Yiddish language, a ...

. Sharlet's interest in religion developed during childhood. Sharlet's mother was from a

Pentecostal Christian Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

background. His father is of

secular Jewish Secular Jew may refer to: * A general epithet for Jews who participate in modern secular society and are not stringently religious * Nonreligious Jews, including nonaffiliated, agnostics, etc. ** Jewish atheism ** Cultural Judaism * ''Hiloni ...

background. Raised in an eclectic religious environment, attending various people's churches and temples, he has said that he gravitates to stories about people's beliefs as the most natural way to engage the world. Sharlet was an executive producer of the five-part

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series '' The Family'' (2019), based on his books '' The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power'' and ''C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy''. He appears in interview segments throughout the series. Sharlet is the Frederick Sessions Beebe '35 Professor in the Art of Writing at

Published books

*In 2020

W.W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton An ...

published ''This Brilliant Darkness: A Book of Strangers.'' *In 2014

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

published ''Radiant Truths: Essential Dispatches, Reports, Confessions, and Other Essays on American Belief,'' edited by Jeff Sharlet. *In 2011

published ''Sweet Heaven When I Die: Faith, Faithlessness, and the Country In Between.'' The book investigates the margins of personal belief in America. *In 2010,

Little Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

published ''C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy''. *In 2008

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

published '' The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.'' The book investigates the political power of The Family, a secretive association of Christian evangelicals. *In 2009

Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as James B ...

published ''Believer, Beware: First-Person Dispatches from the Margins of Faith,'' co-edited by Sharlet and Peter Manseau. *In 2004 Free Press published ''Killing the Buddha: A Heretic's Bible'', coauthored by Sharlet and Peter Manseau.

References

External links

Official website
(archived in 2016)
Killing the Buddha
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharlet, Jeff American male journalists American people of Jewish descent Hampshire College alumni 1972 births Living people Vanity Fair (magazine) people