I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania near the Mennonite and Amish communities before moving to California for college. Now, I have returned to California by way of Florida, Chicago, Indianapolis, Minnesota, and Arizona. My teaching career followed the pathway of Loyola of Chicago to Indian University Purdue University Indianapolis to Carleton College in Minnesota to Arizona State University and finally to Palomar College. I grew up believing I was an athlete and did play baseball and basketball into college. Eventually, my athletic roots and academic vocation merged as I came to focus on the topic of religion and sports, especially with the writing of The Holy Trinity of American Sports: Civil Religion in Football, Baseball, and Basketball. More recently, my interests have expanded to focus on varieties of American Civil Religion, interfaith relations, Mennonites, and spiritual practices.
Education
- B.A., History and Religious Studies, Fresno Pacific College
- M.A., Religious Studies, The University of Chicago
- Ph.D., History of Christianity/American Religions, The University of Chicago
- Dissertation: “The Spirituality of a Weary Traveler: The Religious Life of W.E.B. Du Bois”