Author: SJ Kessler

Congratulations to our 2022 Religion graduates!  The semester is over and summer break has arrived once again! Our Summer Blog Series this year will highlight our Religion undergraduate majors and minors, graduates and returnees. In each of the coming weeks, we’ll give the blog over to one of our students and let them tell you in…

The Department of Religion played host this past weekend (April 1-2) to the annual joint conferences of the Upper Midwest Region’s Society for Biblical Literature (SBL) and American Academy of Religion (AAR). Hosted for the first time in the region’s history at Gustavus Adolphus College, the joint meeting was attended in-person and online by over…

The Department of Religion proudly congratulates its four senior theses writers: Olivia Anderson-Blythe, Allison James, Jack Milford, & Teagan Shucker Each senior presented work at the Department’s annual autumn Religion Research Seminar, this year held on Zoom on Thursday, December 9th. Attendees included faculty from the Department, the broader Gustavus community, and many family members and friends, and…

For the first time in nearly two years, the students and faculty of the Department of Religion came together for a pre-Thanksgiving Social. Organized by the Department’s work study students, Sophie Martinez and Allison James, the evening was a chance to take a break from the semester and enjoy food and conversation. We look forward…

This past March, Dr. Thia Cooper published Queer and Indecent: An Introduction to the Theology of Marcella Althaus Reid (SCM Press). In June, Dr. Cooper sat down with Liam Miller, of the blog “Love.Rinse.Repeat” to discuss the book.  Here is Liam’s brief summary of their conversation, and a link to the video where you can listen and/or…

Dr. Sarah Ruble, Professor of Religion and Faculty Director of Assessment at the College, returns from a year’s sabbatical this coming fall. Here’s an update on what she’s been working on — including an exciting new YouTube series on race and Christianity in America, designed specifically for Sunday schools and Adult Ed.   Sabbatical Project My…

Dr. Mary Gaebler, Associate Professor in the Department of Religion, teaches in the area of theological ethics. Her work emerges from a preliminary interest in Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformation, and Lutheran theology. Dr. Gaebler will be on sabbatical this coming academic year, 2021-2. The following is her description of the ideas and questions she’ll…

Dr. Casey Elledge was featured this past year on Learning for Life @ Gustavus, a new podcast hosted by Dr. Greg Kaster (History). In an episode entitled “From Preacher’s Nephew to Religion Prof,” Dr. Elledge discusses his early exposure to lived Christianity, and the various influences that eventually brought him to the study of Second Temple Judaism…

We are excited to announce that Dr. Rodney Caruthers Jr., current Visiting Assistant Professor and Bruce Gray Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Religion, will be returning to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as a 2021-22 Fellow at the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies. The theme for the upcoming year will focus…

Hi Gustavus Religion Blog, I’m Jared Morningstar, 2018 graduate and alumnus of the Religion Department. Though I did not anticipate studying religion when I first arrived at Gustavus, I ended up living in Old Main for much of my four years of college. When I wasn’t eating at the caf or playing French horn in…