Religious Studies Faculty

Mary Bader - Associate Professor of Religious Studies
(330) 263-2357 / mbader@wooster.edu

B.A. Houghton College 1983; M.Div. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary 1987; Th.M., Ph.D. Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago 1993, 2002.

Mary Anna Bader is an associate professor of religious studies at The College of Wooster. A member of the faculty since 2002, she is particularly interested in the way in which Jewish and Christian Biblical literature portrays female characters. She also teaches in the women’s studies program.

Bader earned her B.S. at Houghton College (1983), her M.Div. at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (1987), and the Th.M. (1993), and Ph.D. (2002) at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.

Joan S. Friedman, Visiting Assistant Professor of History and Religious Studies and Campus Rabbi
(330) 263-2448 / jfriedman@wooster.edu

B.A. Pennsylvania 1974; M.A.H.L. Hebrew Union-Jewish Institute of Religion 1977; M.Phil., Ph.D. Columbia 1986, 2003.

Joan Friedman teaches courses in Jewish studies and the Holocaust for the Departments of History and Religious Studies at Wooster, where she has been a member of the faculty since 2004. She also advises Hillel, the Jewish student group on campus, through the Office of Interfaith Campus Ministries.

Friedman earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. She also received an M.A. and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. In addition, she earned a Ph.D. in Jewish history from Columbia University.

Friedman has served as rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Bloomington, Indiana; Jewish Chaplain at Colgate University; Associate Chaplain at Carleton College; and Interim Director of the Jewish Studies program at American University. She has also taught at HUC-JIR, Colgate University, St. Olaf College, and Denison University.

Jennifer L. Graber - Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
(330) 263-2306 / jegraber@wooster.edu

B.A. Goshen 1995; MTS. Emory 1999; Ph.D. Duke 2006.

Jennifer Graber is an assistant professor of religious studies at The College of Wooster, where she joined the faculty in 2006. She teaches courses in American religious history, Native American religions, and modern Christianity. Her areas of expertise include religious reform movements, 19th century America, and African American religions.

Graber received her B.A. in music from Goshen College (1995). She then earned a Master of Theological Studies degree from Emory University (1999) and a Ph.D. in religion from Duke University (2006).

Graber has published articles on Quaker prison activism and the use of gender in American religious debates. She is preparing her dissertation on the religious roots of the American prison system for publication. Graber holds membership in the American Academy of Religion, the American Society of Church History, and the Anabaptist/Mennonite Scholars Network.

Mark Graham - Associate Professor in Religious Studies
(330) 263-2138 / mgraham@wooster.edu

B.A., M.A. Ohio University 1979; 1988. Ph.D. Inidiana University 2003.

Mark W. Graham is an associate professor of religious studies at The College of Wooster and a member of the faculty since 2002. His teaching and research focuses on literary and artistic manifestations of religion in religious contexts, in the arts, and in popular culture. He also teaches Chinese religions.

Graham earned his A.B. (political science, 1979) and M.A. (philosophy,1988) from Ohio University, and his Ph.D. (2003) in religious studies from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Graham is the author of articles on religion and literature, and religion in American public memorials. His current research focuses on religion and film, and on religion, religious studies, and public intellectuals in American society. He is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Association for Asian Studies.

Ishwar Harris - Synod Professor of Religious Studies
(330) 263-2470 / iharris@wooster.edu

B.A. Lucknow (India) 1961; M.Div. Howard 1967; S.T.M. Pacific, Berkeley 1969; Ph.D. Claremont 1974.

Ishwar C. Harris is the Synod Professor of Religious Studies at The College of Wooster, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1981. An authority on Eastern religions, Harris is an expert on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, as well as the culture and civilization of India. He has also studied Gandhian thought and the Sarvodaya movement.

Harris received his B.A. from the Lucknow Christian College in India (1961), his M.Div. from the Howard Divinity School (1967), his S.T.M. from the Pacific School of Religion (1969), and his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate School (1974).

Before coming to Wooster, Harris taught religion at Rutgers University, and was an instructor at San Bernardino State College. Harris has written three books: The Laughing Buddha (2004), Gandhians in Contemporary India: The Vision and the Visionaries (1998), and Radhakrishna: Profile of a Universalist (1982).  

A member of the American Academy of Religion, the Society for Asian Studies, ASIANetwork, and the Ohio Academy of Religion, Harris has taken several trips to a Japanese monastery, Thailand, and one to Sri Lanka to study Buddhism. His most recent study leave was spent in China where he investigated Chinese Zen Buddhism.

Charles L. Kammer - Professor of Religious Studies
(330) 263-2473 / ckammer@wooster.edu

B.A. Colgate 1968; M.Div., Ph.D. Duke 1971, 1977.

Charles L. Kammer is a professor of religious studies and chair of the department at The College of Wooster. A member of the faculty since 1990, Kammer is also academic dean of Wooster’s Lay and Clergy Academies of Religion. His areas of expertise include biomedical ethics, healthcare delivery, economic justice, ethics in foreign policy, liberation theology, professional ethics, religion and violence, and the church in society.

Kammer received his B.A. from Colgate University (1968) before earning his M.Div. (1971), and his Ph.D. (1977) from Duke University.

Before joining Wooster’s faculty in 1990, he was a professor at St. Olaf College (1977-90). He has written numerous articles in his fields of expertise and two books in religion on social ethics: The Kingdom Revisited and Ethics and Liberation. In addition, he served for several years as a staff chaplain for Hospice of Wayne County. He is also pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Reedsburg, Ohio.

A member of the Society of Christian Ethics, the American Academy of Religion, Common Cause, Bread for the World, and the Hastings Society, Kammer is an ordained pastor with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.