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Religious Studies News

Jonathan Thumas Headed to Columbia University:

Jonathan Thumas, class of '13, is headed to Columbia University in New York, NY to begin an M.A. program in East Asian Religions with the help of a FLAS Japanese language scholarship. Jonathan was a summer scholar in 2012, with advisor Dr. Marwood Larson-Harris, and conducted research on mountain religion in Japan emphasizing the esoteric Shugendō tradition, a form of Japanese mountain asceticism. This work fueled his senior thesis entitled Nature in the Shugendo Amalgam: An Example of Contemporary Japanese Folk Religion, for which he earned the "Best Senior Thesis" award in the department.

Bridget Gautieri Returns from "Plunge" Program in Europe

Bridget Gautieri, a rising sophomore majoring in Religious Studies, has just returned from a summer European trip designed for young adults involved in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The program enabled Bridget to learn about Lutheran and other Christian organizations around the world and how young adults can be more involved in them. She spent time in Geneva, Switzerland visiting the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches, and in Taizé, France at a Catholic-Christian commune, where students focused on simple living, silence, bible study, and took part in the different jobs necessary to keep a commune running. Bridget says she was most affected by her time in Taizé, where she experienced the depth of three lessons: "1. Sometimes God speaks loudest in silence 2. God wants you to be happy 3. God wants you to love yourself." You can learn more about the program on the ELCA website (www.elca.org, search for "Plunge Event").

Congratulations to Theta Alpha Kappa Inductees: 

Congratulations to Julia Boudrye, Timothy Smith, Jonathan Thumas, and Patrick Whitson, who were inducted this spring into Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society for Religious Studies and Theology. Inductees have attained a GPA of at least 3.7 in their field, an overall GPA of at least 3.0, and are in the upper 35% of their class.