Rudy Busto

Rudy Busto is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on American Religion with particular emphases on race, science fiction, and counterdisciplinary approaches to religious studies.

Education: Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley (area: American Religion).

Research Interests: Busto’s work interrogates how racial formations shape religious studies methodologies. He employs science fiction as a lens to explore alterity, post-human futures, and marginalized religious expressions. Key themes include indigeneity, evangelicalism, and transnational religious traditions. His counterdisciplinary approach challenges established disciplinary boundaries to uncover hidden knowledge systems.

Teaching: Busto teaches courses like Religion & Science Fiction (RS 110F), First Contact (RS 190FC), and graduate seminars on Race and Religion (RS 266R). His pedagogical focus bridges critical theory and lived religious practices.

Recent Contributions: He contributes to academic discourse through peer-reviewed articles and reviews, including analyses of nuclear dread in pop culture and Chicano Mormon activism. His 2005 monograph on Reies López Tijerina remains a seminal work in Latino religious activism studies.