Emma Cieslik on Muck Rack

Emma Cieslik

(She/Her)
  • National Museum of American History, Collections Specialist
Washington, D.C.
As seen in: Yahoo Life, Smithsonian, Atlas Obscura, Smithsonian Magazine, Teen Vogue, Yahoo, Yahoo Style Canada, Hyperallergic, The Advocate Magazine, Truthout and

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Emma Cieslik’s Biography

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Emma Cieslik (she/her) is a museum professional, religious scholar, and writer based in Washington, D.C. Her research and writing focuses on 2SLGBTQIA+ religious identity, material religion, religious fashion, religion and politics, and the intersections of gender, sexuality, and faith.

Emma Cieslik’s Journalist Portfolio

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Mary, Mother of God, Help Me Find Queer Joy

Mary, Mother of God, Help Me Find Queer Joy

Is it possible to see Mary as a gender-bending, queer prophetess?

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The Trend of Non-Catholics Wearing Rosaries As a Fashion Statement

The Trend of Non-Catholics Wearing Rosaries As a Fashion Statement

Rosary beads are used to express Catholic identity and as an instrument of prayer, but they've been appropria…

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In Altar Installations, Loni Johnson Cultivates Space for Ancestral Spiritual Memory

In Altar Installations, Loni Johnson Cultivates Space for Ancestral Spiritual Memory

Johnson unpacks her spiritual lineage through works that reclaim ancestral memory, hold space for reverence, …

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Coptic Women Sing Too: The Power of Raising Coptic Orthodox Women's Voices

Coptic Women Sing Too: The Power of Raising Coptic Orthodox Women's Voices

When Mariam Youssef was told she couldn't sing, it was in essence a mechanism of holding her cultural identit…

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"Smells and Bells": Catholic Material Religion in Twenty-First-Century America

"Smells and Bells": Catholic Material Religion in Twenty-First-Century America

Worn by lay people since the early Middle Ages, devotional scapulars carry symbols or verses that once connec…

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Fostering Partnership, Foregrounding Trust: The Craft Institution Consortium

Fostering Partnership, Foregrounding Trust: The Craft Institution Consortium

Between July 20 and 22, 2021, AACI hosted the Craft Institution Consortium, where organizations discussed fut…

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Articles

James Dobson's Appearance in the Epstein Files is No Surprise

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By Emma Cieslik
| Religion Dispatches
Please be aware that the following article contains references to child abuse, child sexual abuse, and child sexual abuse materials. It didn’t receive a great deal of attention at the time, but among the well-known and well-connected figures who popped up in the 3 million pages of Epstein files released by the Justice Department was evangelical author and Focus on the Family founder, James Dobson.
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End Times on the National Mall

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By Karen E. Park, Emma Cieslik
| Religion Dispatches
Unlike the coverage of so many of its transgressions, reporting on the Trump administration’s “America-themed prayer rally,” known officially as Rededicate 250, was largely accurate. Event organizers clearly sought to project an image of broad Christian unity in opposition to secularism. Onstage were Short for Make America Great Again, the slogan of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
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“El dedo que entra en la llaga:” A conversation about the art of unsettling with Iñaki Guerras

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By Emma Cieslik
| Whitehot Magazine
It Is A Way, by the artist. Permission from the artist. This is one of my favorite works because of how explicitly it explores both the weaponization of religious doctine to enable real-world violence and also how violence has become, within some religious communities, sacrosanct. I was raised in a Catholic church where the priest described his ideal angel as one strapped with amo and holding machine guns.
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Interview

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Why did you become a journalist?

I am a religious scholar and writer, who began conducting archival, oral historical, and ethnographic experience six years ago.

When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?

I am most likely in a museum, scouting out my favorite new queer artist!

Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?

This is a difficult question because I have so many favorites, but I love Hyperallergic, Folklife Magazine, and National Geographic.

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