Doctoral Fellows

	John Balch Research Manager, Summer 2018 Lindamood Doctoral Fellow, 2016-Present John Balch is a Ph.D. student in the Religion and Science track at the Graduate Division of Religious Studies at Boston University. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Religion, Globalization and Culture from Hendrix College and a Master’s in Religion and Nature at the University of Florida. John is interested in quantitative and computational approaches within the cognitive science of religion, particularly the relationship between social networks and religious beliefs.
	shaunesse’ jacobs Doctoral Fellow, 2019-Present shaunesse‘ jacobs is a Ph.D. student in the Constructive Theology and Ethics track at the Boston University School of Theology. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Emory University, where she also completed a Master’s of Theological Studies and a Master’s in Bioethics. She is interested in communal incorporation of religious practices and theological doctrines when facing injustices in the U.S. healthcare system, specifically around the issue of black maternal mortality.
	Kaitlyn Martin Fox Doctoral Fellow, 2019-Present Kaitlyn Martin Fox is a Ph.D. candidate in the Religion Department at Boston University investigating the role of race and religion in American memory about historical traumas like the Holocaust and African American slavery. She examines memory in literature, film, and popular culture to consider how historical narratives inform our identities, ritual engagement with the past, and visions for the future. Kaitlyn uses these sites of collective remembering to ask how the complexities of trauma disrupt these historical narratives and require us to see them anew. Her dissertation analyzes four books commonly taught in U.S. public schools to better understand the cultural narratives that Americans tell and teach about race, religion, and secularism.
	Chad D. Moore Doctoral Fellow, 2020-Present Chad D. Moore is a PhD candidate at Boston University where he studies Religions in American Culture as part of the Graduate Program in Religion. Chad researches the history of evangelical politics between the New Deal and the Reagan Revolution. He is writing a dissertation tracing a network of evangelical entrepreneurs’ efforts to promote capitalism as a Christian value throughout the 20th century.
	Kendra M.H. Moore Doctoral Fellow, 2017-Present Kendra M. H. Moore is a Ph.D. student in the Religion and Science program of BU’s Graduate Division of Religious Studies. She focuses her work on psychology and neuroscience of religion. She graduated with a Bachelor of Behavioral Sciences from Hardin-Simmons University, and then went on to graduate with a Master of Theological Studies from Boston University. Her research centers on the role of the religious imagination and how this knowledge might unveil the cognitive constructs that influence human behavior on an ethical and moral level. This research addresses how central and authoritative religious images construct or deconstruct human relationships, institutions, rituals, and ideas of self.
	David Rohr Doctoral Fellow, 2013-2014, 2015-Present David Rohr earned his M.Div. from the Boston University School of Theology in 2012 and is currently working on his Ph.D. in Religion and Science at BU’s Graduate Division of Religious Studies. His own research is focused on the intersection of scientific and religious perspectives on human nature. Dave’s long-term goal is to contribute to the development of a theological anthropology that is consistent with contemporary science, yet capable of fully affirming human spiritual quests.
	Kate Stockly Lindamood Fellow, 2018 Doctoral Fellow, 2014-Present Kate Stockly is working on her Ph.D. in Science, Philosophy, and Religion at Boston University’s Graduate Division of Religious Studies. Within CMAC, she is working with Dr. Wesley Wildman and Dr. Patrick McNamara on the Sex Differences Project, seeking to uncover the complex interactions among sex, gender, religion, and spirituality. In general, her work is characterized by multidisciplinary investigation into human religiosity that aspires to harmonize the sciences and humanities. Kate is currently working on Spirit Tech with Dr. Wesley Wildman at CMAC.
	Seth Villegas Doctoral Fellow, 2017-Present Seth Villegas is a Ph.D. student in constructive theology at Boston University. He specializes in issues related to the dialogue between religion and science. He focuses primarily on how technology affects religious and religious-like ideas. Seth developed many of his current interests in religion and technology while he was an undergraduate in Silicon Valley. His current research examines transhumanist and other secular communities, asking questions about the future of religious life. Seth has a B.A. in english from Boston University and an M.A. in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.