News

The Religion Department will present a Black History Month Program at Toliver Chapel Missionary Baptist Church (1402 Elm Avenue, Waco, TX) on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 6:30pm. Dr. Nicole Myers Turner of Princeton University will share a talk entitled "Black Baptist History is Black History."

Dr. Mandy McMichael, Associate Director at Baylor University's Religion Department, addresses the ongoing disparities for women in ministry within Baptist life and the Religion departments commitment to ensuring they have a safe and supportive environment to nurture their calling and discover their full ministerial gifts. Read more here.

This year's annual department lecture will feature Dr. Natalie Carnes. 

Alicia Myers appointed Associate Professor of New Testament

The Baylor Libraries Author Series featured two faculty authors from the religion department: Dr. João Chaves and Dr. Mikeal Parsons. The topic of their lecture was their book, “Remembering Antônia Teixeira: A Story of Missions, Violence and Institutional Hypocrisy.” 

The Baylor Department of Religion recently hosted award-winning staff writer, author and political correspondent, Tim Alberta, for the annual J.M Dawson Lecture series. Read what MacKenzie Grizzard, Staff Writer for the Baylor Lariat had to say about it in her article titled,  "American politics needs ‘an act of God,’ says best-selling author."

A three-day Baylor University symposium on “Migration and Food Needs: Latin American and U.S. Perspectives” will bring together scholars, practitioners, policymakers and students April 16-18 in an exploration of the crucial intersections between food, migration, religion, economic opportunity and human flourishing, including the culinary contributions of migrants to U.S. communities.

This years Annual Department Lecture will feature Dr. Cynthia Shafer-Elliott. 

The Department of Religion to host Whitten Endowed Lecture Series featuring Dr. William J. Barber II.

Allison Brown, a PhD Student at Baylor University, has been selected as an NEH Summer Scholar from a national applicant pool to attend one of 21 seminars and institutes supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. She will participate in a seminar entitled “Printing and the Book During the Reformation.”

After a 15-month renovation that started in 2020, Tidwell Bible Building reopened for the start of the fall 2021 semester. With the renovation, Tidwell is now able to display artifacts from biblical times that were acquired with the help of Dr. Bruce Cresson, a former professor in the Department of Religion.

The Department of Religion is honored to display a portrait of Rev. Robert L. Gilbert in the 1st floor lobby. Rev. Robert L.  Gilbert — an influential educator, pastor and civil rights leader in the Waco area — graduated from Baylor in 1967 with a B.A. in religion. In 1970, he became the first African-American to enroll in Baylor’s graduate program in the department of religion.

During a ceremonial ribbon cutting, Baylor University today celebrated the opening of the newly-renovated Tidwell Bible Building, one of many historic buildings that make up the core of the University’s campus.

WACO, Texas (June 22, 2021) – Benjamin “Jack” Young, B.A. ’21, has been selected as one of 10 Lilly Graduate Fellows for 2021.

Every spring, the Baylor Family bids happy retirement to professors and staff who have dedicated their professional lives to the university and its students. It’s always a bittersweet mix — sadness in seeing them go, happiness for a well-deserved next step — but we wish them all well in the next phase of their lives. […]

WACO, Texas (April 19, 2021) — Baylor University’s department of religion has announced that Wemimo Bright Jaiyesimi of Lagos, Nigeria, has been named the recipient of the inaugural Robert L. Gilbert Scholar in Religion Graduate Fellowship.

Dr. Devan Stahl’s call to bioethics began with her own experience as a patient. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as a young woman, she recognized aspects of the healthcare system that could be improved — most notably, the ways doctors and decision-makers communicated with (and considered) people with disabilities. Stahl, an assistant professor of religion, joined […]