Dear Alumni and Friends,

This spring we celebrate the end of another academic year with the usual paradoxical acknowledgement of both how quickly it has gone and how long ago last September seems. Throughout the year we offered a rich array of programs, from the work of the Living Religion’s Collaborative, to a variety of RS Conversations, to special guests who spoke on topics from Human Trafficking to life in California’s Central Valley, just to name a few. Our faculty continue to publish in their fields at an impressive rate while remaining outstanding teachers in the classroom. We have even managed to pull off a couple of social events to remind us how much we enjoy each other’s company!

With the strong support of the Dean Daniel Press, we have expanded and continued to hire, successfully completing two assistant professor searches (South Asian Religions and Theological Ethics), completing the hiring of Dr. Christopher Tirres to the Buckley endowed chairs, as well bringing on three new AYALs (to join our eight continuing AYALs) for next year. We’ll share more about these impressive hires in the Fall 2024 edition of Perspectives.

Among the many faculty accomplishments and highlights of the last year, we are especially excited to share that Dr. Roberto Mata has been awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. Congratulations Roberto!

We also celebrate the accomplishments of our students, especially our graduating seniors and award winners. We continue to be proud of what Religious Studies majors and minors accomplish both within and beyond the classroom while they are here and out in the world once they graduate. We love hearing what our alumni are up to, so please drop us a message at religiousstudies@scu.edu and give us an update on where you are and what you are doing.

This is just a taste of the many accomplishments of the past year. Many more appear elsewhere in this edition of Perspectives.

Wishing all of you a good summer.

Jim Bennett
Chair, Religious Studies Department

Annual Religious Studies Reception

The Department of Religious Studies gathered in the Adobe Lodge in May to celebrate the achievements of Religious Studies majors and minors. Daniel Morgan served as Master of Ceremonies.

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Deep Inculturation Panel Discussion & Community Building with Gathering of Religious Studies, Jesuit School of Theology and Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries Faculty

On May 9-10, faculty from Religious Studies (RS), the Jesuit School of Theology (JST), and the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries (GPPM) gathered to build community and work toward further collaborations.  Events included a panel discussion on Antonio Sison's recently published anthology Deep Inculturation: Global Voices on Christian Faith and Indigenous Genius.  Panelists (and contributing authors) included Dr. Sison (Catholic Theological Union, Chicago), Dean Orobator (JST), and Chris Tirres (RS).  Alison Benders (VP for Mission and Ministry) offered a response, and Elyse Raby (RS) served as the moderator. The event was followed by a reception and a dinner.  The following morning, faculty from RS, GPPM, and JST convened for a cross-unit conversation to discuss possible future directions.  It was a rich and exciting conversation.

Living Religion Collaborative: Seeking Spatial Justice in Silicon Valley

Panelists Kurt Foreman (Cathedral of Faith) and Pastor Gerardo Vazquez (San Jose First United Methodist Church) participated in a discussion about spatial justice attended by students of RSOC 14 Exploring Living Religion and RSOC 99 Sociology of Religion classes on May 14.

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Winter RS Conversation - Can You Google God?

On March 12, Kevin Chaves asked the question of whether or not it is possible to "google" God. That is, in what ways is the internet a place for theological debate and reflection, and more importantly, how does one assess the truth-value of claims made online?

Spring RS Conversation - Truth in the Age of Information and Peacemaking in Northern Ireland

On May 15, Jim Bennett introduced the audience to peacemaking efforts in Northern Ireland, and talked about the connections people there made between themselves and other movements for liberation and justice, such as the pro-Palestine movement. Prof. Bennett placed this into a broader framework about conflict resolution, the problem of memory, and the capacity of art to create new forms of discursive practices around memory and meaning making.

Brown Bag Speaker Series in the Humanities

On February 15, Jaime Wright spoke about how  community organizations and congregations 
contribute to spatial justice by providing safety net  services, grassroots organizing, and cultural 
preservation in urban neighborhoods challenged by  gentrification and homelessness.

Brown Bag Speaker Series in the Humanities

Cathleen Chopra-McGowan presented her paper, “The Census and the Plague: Divine Provocation in 2 Samuel 24,” on May 23. She spoke about the character of God in the biblical book of Samuel and how King David’s decision to conduct a census provoked divine wrath.

Cathleen Chopra-McGowan

Served as expert for History Channel series, Holy Marvels, and co-authored report on child care needs at SCU.

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Daniel Morgan

Delivered talk on early-modern Islamic reform in South Asia and participated in Yale Conference honoring Mughal India historian, Muzaffar Alam.

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Chris Tirres

Becomes Michael J. Buckley Endowed Chair in Fall '24, and authored two books on Faith and Religion in the Americas.

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Karen Peterson-Iyer

Presented paper on Christian Ethics at SCE Conference, participated in Conversation with Author session for her new book on Sexual Ethics, and hosted anti-human trafficking guest speaker at TESP 108 class.

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Richard J. Riordan Award Winner

Religious Studies (and Philosophy) major Laura Clark ‘24 has been awarded the Richard J. Riordan Award. This University Award is in recognition of her outstanding contributions in the area of community service. After graduation, Clark will be serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps for a year in Portland, Maine working as a Legal Support Assistant for the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project.

Ignatian Center Leader

When it comes to Ignatian Center student leaders, RS Minor, Zoe Barton '24 has definitely experienced the value of a Jesuit education. Her journey began as an Ignatian Fellow two years running and is culminating as a prolific student writer with a natural curiosity and diligence to seek out stories of impact, including her own.

Read Zoe's Story

Kelby Uebelhor '21

Kelby pursued a master's in philosophy of religion at Yale and will be pursuing a PhD in philosophy at Fordham.

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Mitch Finley '73

After graduating from SCU in 1973, Mitch earned an M.A. in Theology at Marquette University.  After a few years in parish and diocesan ministries, He became a freelance writer, contributing to both local and national, and Catholic and secular periodicals. Ultimately, He also authored more than 30 books, almost all on topics related to Catholicism. To this day, I am proud to be a Santa Clara alum, and my Religious Studies major served me well in both graduate school and my career as a writer. 

Ramon Duran '22

"My first semester at Harvard has definitely been a learning experience. The abundance of resources available here can make it difficult to understand or 'level down' the university. Maybe it's like going into a vast library of books—there's some anxiety that comes with knowing that one can never read each and every one of them!"

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We would love to hear from you! If you have any news or memories to share (tell us your best RS story!), would like to update us about your current life and work, or have any ideas for RS programs and initiatives, please email religionteam@gmail.com.

You might include a story or photo of a recent event, or just let us know about your current location, career, or thoughts. Thank you!