Religion Newsletter 2021-2022

This year we highlight our Religion students and celebrate a return to in-person activities for the first time since the pandemic began. In this newsletter you will find news about our graduating students, student and faculty awards, as well as faculty teaching and research activities.

Encountering Religion

A group photo of the Fall 2021 Encountering Religion class visiting the Quad City Hindu Temple.

Seniors: Religion reflections and what comes next

Anna Bross

Anna is a double major in Religion and Secondary Education in Math. After graduation she plans on teaching math at a high needs school in the Quad Cities area. She says, “the Religion major has allowed me to learn so much about different cultures and people who come from different backgrounds than my own. It has exposed me to new worldly knowledge that has allowed me to create a more inclusive classroom as I teach. Because of the religion major I can better understand the backgrounds of my diverse students and use that knowledge to influence their learning.”

Annelisa Burns

Annelisa is a triple major in Religion, English, and German. She is also a reading/writing tutor on campus and Co-President of the Equestrian Club. Annelisa plans on going to graduate school for an MA in religious studies in order to become a religion professor. She may take a year to continue working for The Christian Century and APEP (Augustana Prison Education Program) before going on to grad school. She will be going to either Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago or the University of Iowa. Annelisa says, “I’m so grateful for my religion major. Academically, it’s allowed me to do interdisciplinary work and consider how existential questions apply to practical issues like race and environmentalism.”

Cassie Kruse

Cassie is a double major in Religion and Psychology. She is also on the varsity basketball team. Following graduation, Cassie will be taking a gap year where she will be working and coaching in her hometown of Hinsdale, Ill. She then plans on applying to Denver Seminary to obtain a double masters in Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling. Cassie states, “the study of religion has allowed me to deeply examine my own faith, deconstruct my problematic beliefs and come out the other side understanding that the God that I believe in welcomes and delights in my questions.”

Karsten Zielinski

Karsten is a double major in Religion and Biology. After graduation he will be heading to Rosalind Franklin University for a Doctorate of Physical Therapy program starting this summer. Karsten states, “the Religion major has meant a lot to me because I was able to grow close relationships with my classmates and my professors. They were able to do a wonderful job of allowing me to grow with the content and express my ideas in a safe way. I am very grateful for the way I have been able to learn from the religion department as it has had some of my favorite classes at Augustana as well as some of my favorite memories.” He is excited to use what he learned about people from the Religion Department to help him navigate not just graduate school but life after!

Noah Hill

Noah Hill is a Theatre Arts major who decided to pick up a Religion minor. He says, “many folks have wondered about that combination, but I have found it to be absolutely wonderful as we wouldn’t have theatre without religion and it has been wonderful to teach many theatre artists about it. The Religion Department has been a wonderful experience for me in figuring out what I believe, what others believe, and what religion really means/is and how it is important in our world today”. After graduation, Noah will be sticking around the Quad Cities, working in multiple theaters throughout the area as well as managing a small business store in the shopping district of LeClaire, Iowa.

Logan Myers

Logan is a double major in Political Science and Business Administration Management with a minor in Religion, and he will be attending law school after graduating from Augustana. He says, “my Religion minor has given me the requisite skills to understand different cultures, and it has helped me understand how religion functions in parts of the world other than the United States. It has also made me a much better reader and has expanded my intellectual horizons beyond belief. I highly recommend a Religion minor for those who are on the fence, because it will help you understand your colleagues and classmates in a much better way, and it will broaden your perspective on the rest of the world.” Logan is proud to utilize the skills and knowledge he has ascertained while completing his Religion minor in his professional career, and he knows that what he has learned will help him in every interpersonal situation going forward.

Ambrose Poduska

Ambrose is a neuroscience major with a double minor in Biology and Religion. After graduating, Ambrose plans on taking a gap year to work as a patient care technician at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. After gaining more clinical experience in the field, he plans on applying to physician assistant programs. Ambrose states, “being a Religion minor has helped me both personally and professionally in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Through this, my eyes have been opened up to a variety of different cultures and religions that I may have not otherwise been exposed to. Additionally, this has helped me professionally as I can work with patients with different cultural and religious backgrounds as I am better able to appreciate and understand their perspectives and ways of thinking. This allows for a deeper connection between a clinician and their patient. Furthermore, this is incredibly important as different religious beliefs play a major role in whether a person believes that a medical procedure is morally permissible or not.”

Faculty News

This year we bid farewell to Taido Chino and welcome Jennifer Kryszak to the department.

Dr. Khalil Andani

Dr. Andani presented a paper titled "In Search of the Quranic “Gospel”: Between Hermeneutics and History" at the 2021 Society of Biblical Literature, otherwise known as SBL. He also went on the YouTube show Blogging Theology to talk about the paper in detail.

Dr. Andani has also been busy with other presentations this past year which included a Presentation on “Islamic Neoplatonism” at the Global Philosophy of Religion Conference held at the University of Birmingham in June 2021 and a Presentation titled “An Ismaili Muslim Interpretation of Evolution” at Leiden University’s Islam and Evolution Conference held in July 2021. 

Furthermore, Andani organized and convened the Third International Ismaili Studies Conference virtually held at Leiden University where he also presented a paper called "Reconstructing Ismaili Neoplatonism".

His book chapter “Shi’i Ismaili Approaches to the Quran” was published in The Routledge Companion to the Quran. This chapter is an introductory account of Shi' Ismaili Muslim engagements with the Qur’an during the fourth/tenth and fifth/eleventh centuries.

Dr. Taido Chino

In November, Dr. Chino gave a presentation entitled "God Is Not White," for the Jesuit Center for Faith and Justice in Dublin, Ireland. His presentation explored not just the problem of racism, but the ways in which spiritual convictions can help make a meaningful contribution on this critical cultural issue. 

Dr. Chino, who has served as a Bergendoff Fellow for two and a half years, accepted a tenure-track position at Trinity College, in Bristol, England in the Fall of 2021. Taido's new work includes training ministers and teaching undergrads and postgrads while also supervising PhD candidates. The Religion Department congratulates Taido and wishes him well on his new journey.

Dr. Jennifer Kryszak

Dr. Jennifer Kryszak served as a part-time instructor in Religion for the Spring Semester and taught two sections of RELG 240 Christian Theology. Dr. Kryszak is also the Director of Strategic Planning for the Franciscan Peace Center, which is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa.

Dr. Jason Mahn

Dr. Mahn’s book, “Neighbor Love through Fearful Days: Finding Purpose and Meaning in a Time of Crisis” was published this past summer through Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2021. “Neighbor Love” is a reflection on pandemics-the Covid-19 pandemic, the accompanying economic collapse, and the pandemic of white supremacy-as well as on the calling to ‘serve thy neighbor’ and work toward the common good, even and especially in times of crisis. The book received many positive reviews including one in the Soren Kierkegaard Newsletter which stated: “What is literarily noteworthy about Mahn’s reflections of, and practical responses to, those five-and-a-half months is that fortune found him on the cusp of a 2020-21 sabbatical year. The timing allowed him time to compose, edit, find a publisher, and, amazingly, publish the book by the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year—a feat matched only by the likes of Kierkegaard’s own lightning-speed writing and publishing practices. The book’s timeliness is also noteworthy—this time paradoxically—for its very timelessness.”

Dr. Mahn also published an article titled “Room for Stories to Breathe: Vocation, Suffering, and Christian Narratives” Paradoxum and presented the following at the American Academy of Religion Conference held in November of 2021: "Social Justice, Resistance, and Religious Ethics in the Time of COVID-19" and a panel discussion on “Sickness and Salvations: American Religion and Christian Hope as Responses to Pandemics”

Mahn’s other recent works include a presentation at the Christian Scholars’ Conference, (June 9-22, 2021, Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN) titled “Meaning and Purpose in a Time of Crisis.” Furthermore, Mahn gave the opening plenary keynote address at the “Faith, Reason, and World Affairs Symposium” at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. in September of 2021 titled “Work in the Job Revolution: Making a Living and Making a Life”.

Dr. Nirmala S. Salgado

Dr. Salgado presented (virtually) on "Privilege and 'Choice' in Buddhist Studies" at a Roundtable on Challenging Privilege in Buddhist Institutions and in Buddhist Studies for the Buddhism Unit and Buddhist Critical Construction Reflection Unit at the American Academy of Religion annual meeting held in November 2021 in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Salgado also presented a paper (virtually) at the 26th European Conference on South Asian Studies held in July of 2021 in Vienna, Austria. The paper was titled: "Agency, Resistance, and Communal Practice among Sri Lankan Bhikkhunis" at the panel on "Dynamics of Female Agency in Religious Settings in India".

Her most recent article: "Tradition: Nuns and 'Theravada' in Sri Lanka" was published in March 2022 in the Routledge Handbook of Theravāda Buddhism.

Dr. M. Wolff

Dr. Wolff continues to participate in the Wabash Center's Teaching and Learning Workshop for Early Career Faculty Teaching Undergraduates 2021-2022. Wolff also organized a pre-tenure working group through the Faculty Exploration Groups, which consist of Augustana College faculty that meet monthly. One of their special sessions included a meeting with Susan Robinson who is a psychologist, faculty development consultant, and author of the book, “The Peak Performing Professor: A Practical Guide to Productivity and Happiness”.

Wolff’s most recent article, “Companion Sex Robots: Racialized Household Economics” was selected by the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion for the 2021 Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza New Scholars Award. Congratulations to Dr. Wolff on this achievement!

At the 2021 American Academy of Religion annual meeting, Wolff organized a panel for the Lesbian-Feminisms in Religion unit titled “Marcella Althau-Reid: Pandemic & Precarity,” a co-sponsored session with Latina/o Religion, Culture, and Society Unit titled “Revisiting the Borderlands: Anzaldua’s Contribution to Queer Theory and Latinx Religion,” and co-sponsored session with Islam, Gender, Women Unity titled “Exploring the Intersection of Lesbian-Feminisms and Islamic Studies.” Wolff also presided over a session on R.A. Judy’s Sentient Flesh to which Judy responded.

Wolff’s recently organized two panels for the National Women’s Studies Association titled, “Sacred Texts, Religious Feminisms: is there room for religion in revolutions?” and “Affect for Pedagogy: Feminisms Beyond Texts” and presented a paper titled, “The Role of Religion in Transnational Intersex and Trans Analytics.”

Student Awards

Floyd and Louise Anderson Award - Angela Ruehle

Established by Sharon L. Anderson Telleen ’68 (daughter), Barbara R. Anderson Lindquist ’71 (daughter), Katherine Telleen Stebe (granddaughter), Paul Telleen (grandson), Anders Lindquist ’04 (grandson), Britt Lindquist Simonson (granddaughter), and in memory of Floyd and Louise Anderson. The award is given to a student in the junior year, selected by the Religion Department faculty for recognition of excellence in Religious Studies (as measured and defined by the faculty).

Junior Angela Ruehle is the 2021-2022 recipient of the Floyd and Louise Anderson Award for Excellence in Religious Studies. Angela is from Mount Pleasant, Wisc., who is double majoring in Religion and Neuroscience. She works as a student worker in the Facilities Office and also as a part of the Augustana Campus Ministries leadership team. She also works off-campus as a Youth Program Assistant at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bettendorf, Iowa, and as a Direct Support Professional for New Choices Inc. She is also a member of Psi Chi. She states, “I love the Religion department at Augustana because of the wide variety of courses offered, which provides the opportunity to explore many cultures and systems of belief that I might not have otherwise encountered. I also love that at Augustana, I have the opportunity to have majors in both the humanities and sciences, which provides a broad field of education.” After graduating from Augustana, Ruehle plans on attending graduate school for Neuropsychology and hopes to continue after that to a Lutheran Seminary. She is interested in both working with children and youth in clinical settings, as well as in youth ministry, and maybe even being pastoral clergy one day. Congratulations Angela!

Outstanding Religion Major Award - Annelisa Burns and Cassie Kruse

The Outstanding Religion Major Award, given to one or more outstanding seniors who major in Religion, goes to two students this year – Annelisa Burns and Cassie Kruse. The department would like to recognize both Annelisa and Cassie among a very talented, engaged and dedicated senior class of religion majors. Annelisa and Cassie have been officially recognized at the Senior Honors Convocation. Congratulations Annelisa and Cassie!

Annelisa Burns

Annelisa states “I am so grateful to receive this award. The Religion Department means so much to me and has provided me with so much support and so many opportunities throughout my years at Augie. I am called to become a Religion professor myself one day, and much of that comes from the mentors I’ve had at Augustana, especially in the religion department. I love how interdisciplinary religious studies is and how the faculty always encourages us to bring in our other majors and interests. I’m also always impressed with how many religion classes combine theory or theology and practical, real-world issues. Through these classes, I’ve been able to focus on specific social justice issues while also considering large existential questions at the same time. Studying religion has made me a more empathetic person and has prepared me to become a teaching scholar in the future. Professionally, it sharpened my writing and critical thinking skills that set me up well for working with a national publication and going on to grad school. Personally, it gave me some wonderful friends and the best mentor in the world.”

Cassie Kruse

Cassie states that the Religion major has meant a lot for both her academic and personal life: “Academically, it has allowed me to question my own assumptions and biases. I have learned that my religious upbringing had a lot to do with how my world view has been shaped. Learning about both my own and others’ religions has shown me why I think the way I do, and allows me to better understand where others are coming from.”

Spring Events

Senior Inquiry projects

This year graduating seniors presented Senior Inquiry Research projects below at the Spring 2022 Augustana Celebration of Learning event. Their panels were moderated by Dr. M. Wolff.

● Anna Bross: “Religion and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A New Approach to Public Education” argues that religion is an important part of many students' cultures and backgrounds, and is a crucial part of the world that we live in. Thus, religion needs to be brought into the public education system by the educators and through curriculum so that students can see their backgrounds better represented, learn about a wider variety of religions and cultures, and have higher achievement rates.

● Annelisa Burns: “...and rive the very self from itself”: Incarnationalism, Sacramentalism and Environmentalism in Love in the Ruins'' is a joint SI with English that argues Walker Percy’s Love in the Ruins is a metaphor for how Gnosticism and dualism create conflict not just within one’s self, but between humankind and the natural world. Such a reformed relationship is rooted in the related answers of Aldo Leopold’s land ethic and Catholic understandings of sacramentalism, the incarnation, and the Eucharist.

● Tavian Cervantez: “Defense of a Socialist Reading of the Word of Jesus” aims to disrupt the connection between the political right and Christianity, and instead pursues a leftist lens through which one can perceive Jesus’ message. Cervantez argues in favor of a progressive model of socialism, and demonstrates that capitalism is fundamentally flawed and inherently sinful.

● Cassie Kruse: "The Atlanta Spa Tragedy and its Call to Evangelical Christianity: How Robert Allen Long's Action Show Deep Rooted Issues in the American Evangelical Church" is a look into the Atlanta Spa Tragedy, where Robert Allen Long took the lives of eight people in three massage parlors in Atlanta. Kruse uses the history of the Evangelical community that Long was a part of, including sexual shame, militant masculinity and porn addiction, to show that this was not a random act of violence.

● Emma Nuckles: “Mindfulness Meditation and Spiritual Health” is a joint SI with Public Health that examines both the benefits and drawbacks of Mindfulness Meditation (MM). She argues that practicing MM enhances individuals’ well-being, increases an individual’s self-awareness and self-understanding, while allowing for personal and spiritual growth and is often accepted as a mind-body technique for maintaining whole health and wellness.

● Jack Roche: “The Negative Stigma of Religion Regarding Mental Illness” examines negative stigma associated with religion and mental illness. After interrogating the validity of this assumption, Roche argues that religion has the potential to be a useful resource for improving brain health.

● Karsten Zielinski: “Religion and Spirituality in Healthcare, the Importance of Understanding Relationships and Trust in Physical Therapy” examines the importance of relationship-building among healthcare providers. Zielinski argues that strong relationships facilitate better healthcare, namely by attending to religion and physical therapy. 

News

Augustana Prison Education Program (APEP)

In Fall Term 2021, Augustana began offering a four-year degree program, the  Augustana Prison Education Program (APEP) for incarcerated men at the East Moline Correctional Center (EMCC). RELG 150 Encountering Religion was taught by Professor Mahn at the EMCC.

2022 January Term in Holden Village

This past January, Professor Jason Mahn took 11 Augustana students, by train and then by ferry boat, to the remote village of Holden settled in the Northern Cascade Mountains in Washington State. At Holden Village, the line between class time, chores and learning are blurred as Holden students are expected to live by a covenant of shared responsibilities to the group and the village itself.

Plans are underway to offer a J-Term Holden Village experience in 2024.