We believe innovative and exciting academic inquiries depend on conversations between people who approach the study of religion from different angles.
Applications for 2027-28 will open in September, 2026 In September 1981, the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology jointly inaugurated a program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in the Study of Religion. Although planned and staffed initially by the faculties from Iliff and the University of Denver's Department of Religious Studies, other faculty from the Graduate Schools of Pro
06/10/2026
Congratulations to Jessica Patterson for passing her proposal defense today! This is a big accomplishment and we can't wait to see where you go for the rest of your PhD journey!
Title: "Diffracting Āsana: Reconfiguring and Re-membering the Matter(ing) of Bodies in Practice and Pedagogy"
Announcing Jessica Patterson's proposal defense!
Title: "Diffracting Āsana: Reconfiguring and Re-membering the Matter(ing) of Bodies in Practice and Pedagogy"
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Time: 10:30am-12:30pm
Location: ONLINE ONLY
Check your institutional email for the Zoom link.
05/31/2026
Deadline for submission is August 1st, 2026. Please email [email protected] with the subject heading “Submission for JOAA Fall2026”
We do not standardize citation styles but ask you to use either MLA, APA, or Chicago consistently throughout your document
Acceptances announced on September 15th
05/27/2026
Send your congratulations to Robert Monson who passed their proposal defense yesterday! 🥳
Title: Black (Disabled) Lives Mattering: A Theoethical Construction of New Futures Alongside Black Sacred Disabled Bodies
05/19/2026
Please extend a big congratulations to Lex Dunbar who passed their proposal defense today! 🥳
Title: Trans*cendence in Subjugation: Trans*figuring Black Theology and Black Studies through Polydox Becoming and Black Transmasculine Narratives in the Afterlife of Slavery
Happening tomorrow, Tuesday May 19th, Lex Dunbar's Proposal Defense!
Title: Trans*cendence in Subjugation: Trans*figuring Black Theology and Black Studies through Polydox Becoming and Black Transmasculine Narratives in the Afterlife of Slavery
Date: Tuesday, May 19th
Time: 10am-12pm
Location & Zoom link: check email from JDP
05/12/2026
Today the JDP celebrated its annual Spring Fling & GSA Awards! The winners, voted on by the JDP community, are as follows:
Robert Monson - Outstanding Student
Marisa Hulstine - Outstanding Leadership & Community Service
Lex Dunar - Outstanding Publishing, Presenting & Research
Joseph Foltz - Outstanding Junior Scholar
Dr. April Mack - Outstanding Faculty Member
05/07/2026
There's a new doctor in the house!! Congratulations to Dr. Taylor Muma who passed her dissertation defense today 🎉🥳
We are so proud of everything you accomplished in the JDP and look forward to seeing where you go from here!
05/05/2026
LTTE: Religious Studies is necessary for DU’s ‘The Denver Difference’ – The Denver Clarion By: David C. Kemp | April 30, 2026 The University of Denver has many excellent departments, programs, faculty, staff, donors and initiatives that come together to create “The Denver Difference.” A funding campaign, but more importantly, a genuine selling point and multidimensional transformation...
05/05/2026
Religious Studies at DU is "under review" putting faculty, programs, and the entire department at risk.
While the JDP is safe, this still impacts our beloved professors and classes.
Show your support for RLGS however you can, and read JDP student David Kemp's Clarion piece about it below:
LTTE: Religious Studies is necessary for DU’s ‘The Denver Difference’ – The Denver Clarion By: David C. Kemp | April 30, 2026 The University of Denver has many excellent departments, programs, faculty, staff, donors and initiatives that come together to create “The Denver Difference.” A funding campaign, but more importantly, a genuine selling point and multidimensional transformation...
