Author: smallaxe

I have nothing against Daniel Peterson, and I’m not a fan of John Dehlin. I’m not interested in the so-called “hit piece” that the Mormon Studies Review was supposed to publish, nor do I really care about who leaked what Maxwell Institute emails (for a chronology of sorts, see here). However, I am quite embarrassed by this whole event, and these feelings of embarrassment bring to the fore long-standing feelings of embarrassment that I’ve had about FARMS and its association with BYU. Continue reading “Why I Laud the Maxwell Institute’s Direction”

Dear BYU Religious Education,

It’s now been over a year since our last correspondence. I’ve had some time to formulate my thoughts a little more constructively. I’d like to speak to you about the hiring process, and how you might adjust it to the mutual benefit of the candidates and yourself. I realize that some of these may be more applicable to one of your departments rather than both; but I hope this provides you some insight from the other side of the table. I also realize that some of these points are parts of on-going discussions within RE, so a lack of clarity on your part is not always intentional. It very well may be reflective of yet unfinished discussions.

Now, on to the recommendations, numbered for the sake of organization: Continue reading “Dear BYU Religious Education (Part 2)”

In the previous posts I described how two methodological problems with Religious Education allowed for the Bott problem, as well as the likely short-term response. In this post I’ll articulate a few thoughts in terms of what I see as a potential, and positive, long-term response to this situation.  Continue reading “The Trouble with BYU’s Religious Education (Part III)”

The previous post discussed two methodological problems with Religious Education that fostered the circumstances leading to Randy Bott’s troubling statements. In this post I will discuss what I see as the likely short-term response within RE. In the next post I will discuss my desired long-term response.

In the short-term, the Randy Bott situation will push RE professors toward what I’ll call an “orthodox professionalism.”  Continue reading “The Trouble with BYU’s Religious Education (Part II)”

This post isn’t meant to discuss the specifics of Randy Bott’s circumstances. Instead, I’d like to write about how the Bott situation signals two long-standing methodological problems for Religious Education as a whole. I believe this contributes to an ongoing discussion within Religious Education, but since I’m not privy to that discussion, I’d like to raise the issues here. Continue reading “The Trouble with BYU’s Religious Education (Part I)”