Academic world training an eye on Mormonism

Harvard Divinity School has long prided itself on the diversity of its curriculum — it currently features classes in American Buddhism, Jewish Apocalypticism and Classical Sufism — but it took until this semester for the venerable school to offer a course on one of the fastest-growing faiths in the world: Mormonism.

The decision by Harvard to add "Mormonism and the American Experience" reflects what appears to be an uptick of interest in Mormonism in higher education nationally.

Two non-Mormon universities, Claremont Graduate University in California and Utah State University, have established the first endowed chairs in Mormon studies, and the University of Wyoming is considering taking a similar step. The American Academy of Religion, which is the largest association of religion scholars worldwide, has established a new group for specialists in Mormon studies.

There are more presses publishing academic works about Mormonism, more academic conferences on the religion, and more non-Mormon scholars studying The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as Mormonism is formally known.

"The interest is growing in Mormon studies generally, and it's becoming something that other religious studies scholars have to take account of and pay greater attention to," said Melissa Proctor, a visiting lecturer teaching the new class at Harvard.

"Some people believe we have entered a golden age of sorts in Mormon studies," said Proctor, who grew up in the church and is working on a book about contemporary Mormon women.

Proctor noted that the future of Mormon studies at Harvard is unclear, and the dean of Harvard's divinity school, William A. Graham, said Proctor's willingness to teach about Mormonism was a plus but that she was primarily invited to teach this year because of her expertise in other areas. She also teaches courses on ethics and gender.

"Mormonism does pop up occasionally in the Harvard curriculum but usually as a part of American religious history courses rather than as a special topic for an entire course," Graham said by e-mail. "With so many major traditions of human religious history and life to try to cover, higher priorities usually come ahead of Mormonism, namely traditions such as Shinto or Confucian or Taoist traditions, for which we currently have no specialists on our faculty."

Whether or not Harvard continues to offer the class, scholars say a rising academic interest in Mormonism at universities nationally parallels the increasing visibility of Mormonism in American popular and political culture.