Max Perry Mueller (he/him) is an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Mueller is a theorist and historian of race and religion in American history, with particular interest in Indigenous and African-American religious experiences, epistemologies, and cosmologies. His first book, Race and the Making of the Mormon People (The University of North Carolina Press, 2017), examines how the three original American races—”red,” “black,” and “white”—were constructed as literary projects before these racial categories were read onto bodies of Americans of Native, African, and European descent. His second book, Wakara’s America: The Life and Legacy of a Native Founder of the American West (Basic Books) was, among other awards, a finalist for the Plutarch Award for Best Biography (2026). Mueller has written on religion, race, and politics for outlets including Slate, The New Republic, and The Atlantic. During his fellowship, he will be writing his next book, More, America: Twenty-Five More Founders of the United States of America (HarperCollins).
Research Area: Pluralism and Democracy
Follow him on:
- Bluesky: @maxperrymueller
- Threads: @maxperrymueller
