Congratulations to AU's 2020 Religion Graduates

The Religion Department is proud and delighted to congratulate our four majors and twenty-nine minors graduating at the end of this school year. We are sorry we will not be all together in person to mark your achievement and to wish you every success.

 
Majors: Adam Bendel, Shannon Galleher, Mark Gorsuch, Connor McKinney

Minors (Religion and Ethics):  Dana Awlia, Christie Benton, Frances Boggs, Sarah Butti, Ty Coile, Paige Frankovich, Kyle Gibson, Christine Goldsmith, Samantha Hagans, Julia Hines, Marissa Humphries, Amanda Janecek, Caleb Johnson, Joshua Johnston, Jakson Kennedy, Lexus Lang, Alli Lange, Savannah Lewis, Kelly Luck, Jacob Nestle, Priscilla Nordman, John Oney, Zach Read, Shelby Reutter, Nathan Roblin, Allison Skerkavich, Madeline Sluss, Shelby Starnes, Morgan Tinnirello

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Under more normal circumstances, we would recognise our graduating seniors at our annual Last Lecture in April. While that was not possible, we still have the blog and social media. So please meet the graduating religion majors of 2020 in their own words (and share this link widely):

Mark Gorsuch - "I learned a great deal about the Atonement, Church History, and gained a deeper appreciation for the Old Testament. I was also able to go on two amazing trips with the religion department to Italy (where I saw the Pope twice!) and Israel where I walked in the footsteps of Christ. While writing my thesis ("Neither Meek Nor Mild: A Feminist Theological Perspective on The Blessed Virgin Mary") I learned a great deal about the greatest of saints, Mary the Mother of God. 

I plan to go on to get a master’s in clinical mental health counseling at Ashland Theological Seminary.

Mark in Jerusalem with AU

Adam Bendel -  "My time in the AU Religion department has taught me the necessary skills to formulate my own theology yet be open to numerous different thoughts and beliefs. After I graduate from AU, I will be moving on to Ashland Theological Seminary.  I hope to one day be ordained in the Brethren church." 

A special congratulations to Adam who has made the most of the Coronavirus shut down by marrying Sarah Butti (Religion minor, 2020) on Freer Field. Cameron Johnson (Religion major, 2012) conducted the ceremony at a safe distance with a few family and friends in attendance.

Adam and Sarah Butti on their wedding day, April 25, 2020

Shannon Galleher - "The most important thing that I learned from my time as a religion major at Ashland University is that you can never learn too much about God! I will be moving on to a position as a Social Media Coordinator at Fabriweld Corporation. While I may not be pursuing a career directly related to this major, I will use it everyday as I do youth ministry alongside my husband, Taylor, at Ashland Grace Church."

Shannon reaffirming her baptismal covenant in the Jordan River in 2017 with the Reverend Doctors Sue Dickson and Dan Hawk.

Connor McKinney - "As a religion major, I discovered my passion for sharing my gifts and knowledge of Christ and God to as many people as I can. I plan on using what I have learned to find employment in the field of patient advocacy.  I want to do this so that I can use the compassion and message of Christ that I have learned from my studies to spread the word of Christ. Also, connecting to my degree, I plan on coaching or working part-time at a church. My goal in all of this is to incorporate my faith in my work in any way that I can."

Congratulations to Connor and graduating religion minor Amanda Janecek on their recent engagement.

Connor and Amanda

The Prophets of Zoom at AU: Jemar Tisby, Michelle Higgins, and Seth Wispelwey

Historian Jemar Tisby was scheduled to speak at Ashland University in Peter Slade's class REL340 Religion and the Civil Rights Movement; that was until the Coronavirus cancelled all events and moved all classes online.

Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, kindly agreed to speak to the class on Zoom.

"It went so well," said Slade, "that it occured to me that there were other people I would love my students to meet and learn from." He invited Rev. Michelle Higgins, the founder of Faith for Justice in St. Louis, and Rev Seth Wispelwey, one of the organizers of Congregate Charlottesville. Both kindly agreed to show up.

Recordings of the classes are available for anyone to watch -- click on the titles to go to the videos (Slade apologizes for his limited Zoom skills):

1. Reconsidering Racial Reconciliation - A Conversation with Jemar Tisby

2. Six Years Since Ferguson - A Conversation with Michelle Higgins

3.  . . . since Charlottesville - A Conversation with Seth Wispelwey

Craig Hovey wins AU Excellence in Scholarship Award

Congratulations to the Religion Department's own Dr. Craig Hovey who is the winner of this year's Ashland University Excellence in Scholarship Award.  The award, which consists of a medal to be worn with regalia and a $3,000 honorarium, recognizes AU faculty who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship.

Dr. Hovey is well-deserving of this award. Since joining the faculty in 2009, he has written four books, edited five volumes, contributed thirteen essays to other edited volumes and encyclopedias, and had eleven articles published in peer-reviewed journals. His work has been recognized by his peers in the academy as contributing to the field of Theology and Ethics.  This recognition extends outside the United States; he is a scholar with an international reputation. The International Nietzsche Society recently invited him to be a keynote speaker at its meeting in England. He has also had his first book, To Share in the Body: A Theology of Martyrdom for Today’s Church, translated into Chinese!

Why not pass the time during this quarantine celebrating excellence in scholarship by reading some Hovey!

Religion Theses: Star Wars, Marriage, and Stand Your Ground

On Wednesday, December  4 at 5pm in the Library's Lecture Theater (take the elevator to the basement and turn right), six religion majors will make short presentations of their major theses. Please come along to celebrate the completion of their capstone projects, to learn from their research, and to ask questions. Topics covered in the presentations will range from Practical Theology, Ethics, Biblical Exegesis, to Church History.

Adam Bendel, "Practical Implications of Intergenerational Ministry"

Shannon Brown, "Taking the “Me” out of Marriage: A Community-Oriented Perspective"

Mark Gorsuch, "Neither Meek Nor Mild: A Feminist Theological Perspective on the Blessed Virgin Mary"

Leslie Mahaney, "Baptism Practices in the Early Church and their implications for Ministry in the Twenty-First Century"

Connor McKinney, "A Journey of Two Hero’s Far Far Away: The Gospel of Mark, Star Wars, and Joseph Campbell."

John Oney, "The Convergence—or Lack of Convergence—of Stand-Your-Ground with Pacifism and Just-War Theory"

The event is free and open to the community. 

Religion Classes Spring 2020

REL106 Exploring the Bible - Six sections (M,W, F, 10,11, 3 (honors); T,Th,  10:50) - core: Religion

There is a reason it is a best seller -- take this class and find out why for yourself.

REL107 Exploring World Religions - Six sections in a classroom (M,W, F,  12, 1; T,Th, 12:15, 1:40) and two sections online - core: Religion

REL109 Exploring Christian Ethics - One online section - limited "seats" (Dr. Spaulding))  
Start thinking about the BIG ISSUES--immigration, homosexuality, justice, war, abortion, love-- in this essential class for sentient beings.

REL 213 Life and Letters of Paul (M,W,F 1 - 1:50) 

An examination with Dr. Aune of the life of Saul/Paul, author of much of the New Testament and arguably the most important figure in Christianity after Jesus.  We make a careful study of relevant sections in the Book of Acts and the letters attributed to Paul, aided by useful secondary sources.  We consider not only theological and social concerns addressed by Paul but also the ways in which his teachings apply to the contemporary world.

REL214 Christian Formation & Life Calling (T,Th 1:40)

Dr. Dickson says: What matters? Sign up to figure it out. Seriously . . . if you are serious about your faith and wish to explore what it means to serve God faithfully then this class is for you.

REL 220 Taking Human Life - Two Sections (M,W, F 8 & 9)- core: Humanities

Dr. Hovey says: Is it ever okay to take human life? If so, under what conditions? Many of the hardest contemporary issues in society and for religious communities are related to these questions, whether suicide, euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment, or warfare. Join us for an exciting yet also serious course examining these ethical issues from philosophical and theological perspectives.

REL 340 Religion & The Civil Rights Movement in America - One Section (T, Th 10:50) - core: Humanities

Dr. Slade says: From the streets of Montgomery in 1954 to Charlottesville in 2017, churches and people of faith have been deeply involved in both sides of the civil rights movement in America. Using the tools of history, sociology and theology, this class will explore this recent chapter of American history. In addition to the movement of the 1950s and 60s, we will also look at the church-based racial reconciliation initiatives of the 90s and 00s. We will end with an examination of church's involvement in #BlackLivesMatter -- what has been dubbed by the press as the new civil rights movement, and mass incarceration "the New Jim Crow."

REL404  Seminar in Christian Theology: Atonement  One Section - (T-Th 9:25)
Dr. Hovey says: This semester's theme is the Doctrine of the Atonement: the meaning of the death of Christ. Does an innocent man's death appease an angry God? In what sense should Christ's death be considered a sacrifice? Is it a ransom? To whom? We will go in-depth into these and related debates in contemporary theological scholarship. Not to be missed!  This is one of the required theology seminars for Religion majors and both REL 106 and REL 208 are prerequisites.