Religion and Fat = Protestant Christianity and Weight Loss? On the Intersections of Fat Studies and Religious Studies

This article introduces the special issue on religion and fat by providing an overview of the connections between fat studies and religious studies. We identify four areas of potential overlap: religion and the fat body; religion and embodiment more generally; religion, food, and eating; and religion, weight loss, and food restriction. We then introduce the articles in this volume, which focus largely, if not exclusively, on Protestant Christianity and weight loss. We conclude with a call for fat studies scholarship to take religion more seriously, and for scholarship on religion and fat to engage a broader range of questions and religious traditions.