Religious Studies News/Events

March 31st, 2008-Dr. Elizabeth McNamer (standing, pictured below) spoke to a packed house at WVU on the topic of "The First Century of Christianity in Jerusalem." McNamer discussed many very compelling facets of early Christianity, including the idea that Jesus and his followers shared some similarities with the monastic Jewish sect of the Essenes. The Essenes were the group believed to be responsible for the authorship of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The lecture was made possible by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Visitor's Program and WVU alumnus Dr. David Fogarty.

March 12th, 2008-A religious studies professor who has participated in archeological excavations in Israel will speak Monday, March 31, 2008 at West Virginia University.  

Elizabeth McNamer, a professor at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont., will present "The First Century of Christianity in Jerusalem" at 4 p.m. in Room G-21 at Woodburn Hall. Her talk is free and open to the public.  

McNamer is a director and longtime participant of the Bethsaida excavations in Israel. She is also the editor of "Scripture from Scratch," a popular guide to understanding scripture. Her videos on scripture are produced by Saint Anthony Messenger Press, and her New Testament course was chosen by the Teaching Company of America for video production in 1993.

McNamer and a group of students from Rocky Mountain College worked last summer with Aaron Gale, associate professor and coordinator of religious studies at WVU, who also led a group of WVU students on the Bethsaida excavations.

January 24th, 2008-We are proud to announce that the Program for Religious Studies has a BRAND NEW major and minor program of study! Please see our link entitled "The New Major and Minor" for all the exciting details!

August 20th, 2007-We are proud to welcome two new faculty members to the Program for Religious Studies. Professor Xiaofei Tu will be a senior lecturer in the area of Asian religions and Chinese studies. He is currently completing his Ph.D. at Syracuse University. Professor Alison Downie will be a lecturer in world religions. She is currently completing her Ph.D. at Duquesne University. Welcome to WVU, Professors Tu and Downie!!!

August 19th, 2007-The fall Philosophy/Humanities/Religious Studies picnic will be held on Tuesday, August 28th from 4;00-6:00 at Krepps Park. All majors, minors, and interested students are welcome to attend.

August 21st, 2006-The fall Philosophy/Humanities/Religious Studies picnic will be held on Tuesday, September 5th from 4;00-6:00 at Kreps Park. All majors, minors, and interested students are welcome to attend.

August 16th, 2006-Congratulations are in order for Dr. Aaron Gale, who has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Gale began his career at WVU in the fall of 2000, and will continue as Coordinator of Religious Studies for the 2006-2007 school year.

April 26th, 2006-The WVU Philosophy and Religious Studies departments held the annual "spring send-off" picnic on Tuesday, April 25th. Over 40 students, staff, and faculty members had a great time enjoying some home-cooked food while discussing religion and philosophy.

April 5th, 2006-Dr. Aaron Gale was named as one of five winners of the WVU Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award for 2006.

Since coming to WVU in 2000, Gale has revamped religious studies from a program whose Christian seminary-based classes rarely drew 30 students to an interdisciplinary program whose focus on major world religions attracts hundreds of students.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States had something to do with that. In the wake of the attacks, Provost Gerald Lang called on faculty to develop courses that could help students understand a world suddenly reshaped by little known ideologies.

Gale's contribution was "The Faiths of Abraham," a course that examined Judaism, Christianity and Islam and quickly filled at 50 students. Bolstered by the course's popularity, Gale created a second, broader class, "Introduction to World Religions," and that offering is drawing 200 students.

Now coordinator of the religious studies program, Gale has also team-taught courses with faculty from other departments to give students different views of a topic.

He has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in religious studies from John Carroll University and a doctorate in biblical studies from Northwestern University .

He is the recipient of the 2004 Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award.

March 22nd, 2006-Dr. Aaron Gale is traveling to Israel with five WVU students this summer to work on an archaeological dig in Israel this May/June. Gale and the students will be working with dig director Dr. Rami Arav at the biblical city of Bethsaida. The WVU diggers will work for two weeks at the dig then travel to Jerusalem where they will stay in the Old City and tour many important historical and religious sites. A summary of the trip will follow.

February 20th, 2006-World-renowned archaeologist Dr. Rami Arav will speak on Tuesday evening, February 21st at 7:00pm in room G15 of the LIfe Sciences Building. Dr Arav, who discovered the biblical city of Bethsaida, will discuss "Jesus Uncovered: Archaeology and the Biblical City of Bethsaida." Bethsaida is the third-most mentioned city in the New Testament, and is believed to be the city where Jesus performed many miracles. Dr. Arav's lecture is free and open to the public. The presentation is sponsored by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Visitors Series.