Claremont's initiative has been met with "a great deal of interest," Torjesen said. "What we're doing with all these different councils and religious communities is envisioning a partnership. We want to do the study of religion in relationship with people who practice it so it's not an adversarial relationship."

She said no concerns have been voiced, and that also has been true with the other faith communities involved.

To help build the foundation for LDS studies, the school held a conference two weeks ago titled "Positioning Mormonism in Religious Studies and American History," which brought together key scholars in LDS studies. Presenters examined topics ranging from the integration of the Book of Mormon within literary and cultural studies to examination of the historical practices within the church.

Brian Birch, director of religious studies at Utah Valley State College, received his doctorate from Claremont and said the school's use of advisory groups is innovative because scholars of religious studies "are beginning to recognize there's a component of it that has implications for religious communities." Believers have long wanted to be understood "on their own terms rather than having a disconnect between the academic world and the practices of the faith."

"It's a negotiation. Of course the school wants to retain its academic autonomy and manage the hiring process and curriculum, but they also want input. Those councils will serve an important role in fund raising and consulting with the school. Part of understanding religion is dialoguing with people in religious community so there's a sense in which this takes the study of religion out of the ivory tower."

Birch, a Latter-day Saint, has been at the forefront of UVSC efforts to reach out to the community to help quell suspicions about the motives for studying the LDS Church from a scholarly — rather than a faith-based — perspective.

He lauds the Claremont effort, saying many church members as well as local academics believe "that it's safer to establish this outside Utah."

"There is so much cultural baggage and still a lot of hurdles we have to jump over in order to make the community feel comfortable with academic study of Mormonism. We've made what we believe is great progress here, but Claremont has an excellent reputation in religious studies, and there are many in the Southern California LDS community who are interested in seeing this done."