William B. Parsons is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. His publications include The Enigma of the Oceanic Feeling, Religion and Psychology: Mapping the Terrain, Mourning Religion, Disciplining Freud on Religion, and dozens of essays in multiple journals and edited books. He has served as Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University, Director of the Rice University Humanities Research Center, Editor of Religious Studies Review, and has been a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at Hebrew University.